Through the first three games of the 2019 season, the problem with the Colorado Buffaloes’ offense was clear: It couldn’t get into a rhythm early.
What should have been one of the most potent offensive attacks in the Pac-12 was just average because of its slow starts. It flashed world-beating potential at the end of games but also painful ineptitude early on.
Colorado had scored nearly twice as many points in the second half (72) as it had in the first half (37).
That changed against Arizona State.
The Buffaloes scored touchdowns on three of their four first-half possessions and a field goal on the other. A defense that had given up seven points per game to that point had no answers.
The question is why.
Earlier in the week, prior to the game, quarterback Steven Montez said he felt the offense was “lethargic.” The Buffs’ minds and bodies were too slow to find game speed. He wanted to raise the energy level off the bat, by going up-tempo early. That would force people to run to the line of scrimmage, make their reads quickly, and raise heartrates.
But after the game, Montez said that wasn’t what sparked the offense.
“I think we definitely had a better sense of urgency, especially from the start of the game,” Montez said. “But going faster is kind of a double-edged sword.”
There’s a difference between moving fast and moving in-rhythm. The first is what causes Montez to move frantically in the pocket and try to extend plays with his legs, according to the quarterback. The second is what allows the offense to mechanically dink-and-dunk its way down the field until somebody breaks free for a big play like it’s supposed to.
For the past three years, the easiest way to gauge which mode the Buffs are in has been by looking at Montez’s feet.
“(New offensive coordinator Jay) Johnson and I have been doing a huge job of emphasizing, once I hit that third step in my drop, to get that initial slide back up in the pocket,” Montez said.
Instead of dropping back in the pocket and drifting, Johnson is training his quarterback to bounce off the last step in his drop and step up in the pocket. This helps Montez in a number of ways, namely by making it more difficult for edge rushers to beat the Buffs’ tackles and have an angle on the quarterback.
Maybe even more importantly, Montez has something to do with his feet so they won’t take on a mind of their own, like they’ve been apt to do.
Montez blames himself for not stepping up more in the past, but there hasn’t always been a pocket to step into. The Arizona State game was the first time the Buffs have consistently built one this season. It was the second time they used the same five linemen for an entire game.
“They’re kind of getting together and learning that communication piece,” Johnson said of his linemen. “What they do lends to everything else that happens.”
Building a pocket takes discipline from all five offensive linemen. The tackles force the edge rushers to run themselves out of an angle upfield. The interior linemen hold their ground at the line of scrimmage. Nobody is looking to build a head of steam and blow up a linebacker, they’re dropping into a semi-circle and staying in formation. It’s about technique and chemistry, not brute strength.
It’s no coincidence that Steven Montez’s best performance of the season — 337 yards on 23-of-30 passing for three touchdowns and no turnovers — came on the same night as the offensive line’s best performance.
“It just makes a world of difference when they play that well,” Montez said. “All the credit goes to them.”
If all goes well, Montez’s job will continue to require less and less creativity as the season progresses. He won’t search for escape routes or wave at receivers to run downfield. Everything will just go by the book.
Step, cross, step, cross, gather. Step up. Fire.
But it all depends on the pocket he’s given to work with.
