Recently, I discussed the idea of the Raiders making better use of their talented “other” halfback, Michael Bush, in my article Bush vs. McFadden. In this article, I’m going to look at several different ways that the Raiders could use Michael Bush more effectively and also ways to keep the two tailbacks on the field together more often.
One of the most often referred to two back systems nowadays is commonly known as the “Wildcat Formation.” For the Raiders in the recent past, the wildcat has not proven to be very effective. But you can’t exactly say that they have put in the time or the effort to perfect the formation.
The Miami Dolphins could be pointed to as the team that has had the most success with it at the professional level using the combination of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. But the wildcat at the college level was made famous by Darren McFadden and now Dallas Cowboys halfback, Felix Jones, back in their college days at Arkansas under offensive coordinators Gus Malzahn and David Lee – who is currently the Miami Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach.
The fact that McFadden has experience in the system and that Michael Bush played quarterback before becoming a super stud tailback at Louisville makes this formation a no brainer for the Raiders. All I keep hearing from the haters is that Jason Campbell is a horrible quarterback, so they certainly won’t mind seeing him on the field less as the Raiders work more often from this unique formation.
Another way to get Bush more involved in the offense if you are not a fan of the wildcat is to utilize him as the team’s second tight end in some formations. Obviously, Bush would need to improve his route running, but there is no question he has the hands, speed, and versatility to be a more productive second tight end than anybody else they currently have on the roster. There’s no way he could replace the value of a Zach Miller or another top flight tight end in the NFL, but utilizing Bush in a tight end formation would make it difficult for the defense to assess what is going to take place on a given play.
Also, out of a two tight set with Bush, the Raiders could use pre-snap motions to split Bush out, or even put him in the backfield with McFadden. Really, there are multiple sets the Raiders could shift into from this initial two tight set. Or they could just line up and run their normal two tight offensive set with Bush in the mix. The thing is that at 6’1” and 245 pounds, Bush is big enough to play that position effectively.
That’s the thing about Michael Bush – he does not have to be used as a one trick pony. He can do a lot more with his unique skill set than just being a between the tackles pounder. But if you want to line him up with Marcel Reece in front of him, why not split Darren McFadden out as a wide receiver like the Raiders did in his first couple of seasons? That leads me to my third formation – a straight-up I-formation with three wide outs, Darren McFadden amongst them.
Why do I say that McFadden has to be amongst the wide receivers? Because it’s all about making the defense confused. Are we covering McFadden, are we worried about Bush in the I-form, are we wondering where Jacoby Ford is? These are things that you can’t prepare for unless you have an ultra unique set of skill players in practice. Let’s not forget that Marcel Reece is the most dangerous fullback in football.
But let’s talk about power running for a second. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets of NCAA Division I football have been using a unique style of offense for years. In Atlanta, they call it the “triple option offense” and it is very unique and in depth. The Raiders have all the right parts in place to be effective using some of the sets out of that playbook. You need a quarterback who can be effective running the ball, two halfbacks who can be effective in the run and the pass, and a versatile fullback, all of which the Raiders have in place already.
Another thing about this offense is that it has more recently developed into a solid passing offense as well, producing first round pick wide receivers Calvin “Megatron” Johnson and Denver Broncos 2010 first round rookie Demaryius Thomas. But this offense was originally designed with the purpose of being effective on the ground. With Bush, McFadden, Campbell, Reece and the wide receivers of the Raiders, a similar set could be effective at making things more complicated for opposing defenses.
While I highly doubt that the Raiders are actually contemplating installing a triple option formation, it could be very effective. And they probably won’t expand on their wildcat sets either, even though that could be successful as well. But one thing I know is that they should utilize Michael Bush more this season than they did in 2010 and in my honest opinion that doesn’t necessarily mean taking Darren McFadden off of the field. Feel free to share any formational sets in which you could see them using Bush below in the comments section on this page.
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