BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Not surprisingly, Rich Rodriguez isn't a fan of Bret Bielema's idea of a 15-second grace period for the defense to substitute when offenses gain a first down.
Rodriguez said during ESPN's College Football Live on Thursday, "Well, Bret is a terrific coach and a great friend. I don't know if those comments are maybe self-serving a little bit from a standpoint that those guys don't want to face that. But he's had success against it. It's still eleven on eleven. I mean, certainly the rules favor the offense as far as substitution goes."
"But fair? It's still eleven on eleven. I didn't hear people talking about it being fair or unfair when the Buffalo Bills were using (tempo) with the old K-Gun offense and going to a Super Bowl."
What about the safety concern? Do you buy that?
Rodriguez said, "Not at all. If you're in shape, you still have time to substitute. With all these timeouts and stoppages for play. You have three-minute timeouts in every quarter for TV. I don't see that at all. Some basketball teams play up-tempo and fast break all the time, they don't talk about that being an issue."
What about Bielema's proposal of a 15- second grace period when the offense makes a first down? Do you ever seen the rules committee getting involved with tempo?
"No, I don't think so," said Rodriguez. "I'd like to have less stoppages and play faster. You talk about entertainment and fun to watch, I think we're fun to watch when we're playing. I don't know how much fun it is to watch a huddle. That's the biggest waste of time in football. I think from an excitement standpoint and the players, I think they like to play."
Last season, Rodriguez dialed 83 plays per game, one of the highest in the country. Marshall (90) and LA Tech (88) were ahead of the Wildcats.
Here's how he stacks up against other play-callers.
Rodriguez said during ESPN's College Football Live on Thursday, "Well, Bret is a terrific coach and a great friend. I don't know if those comments are maybe self-serving a little bit from a standpoint that those guys don't want to face that. But he's had success against it. It's still eleven on eleven. I mean, certainly the rules favor the offense as far as substitution goes."
"But fair? It's still eleven on eleven. I didn't hear people talking about it being fair or unfair when the Buffalo Bills were using (tempo) with the old K-Gun offense and going to a Super Bowl."
What about the safety concern? Do you buy that?
Rodriguez said, "Not at all. If you're in shape, you still have time to substitute. With all these timeouts and stoppages for play. You have three-minute timeouts in every quarter for TV. I don't see that at all. Some basketball teams play up-tempo and fast break all the time, they don't talk about that being an issue."
What about Bielema's proposal of a 15- second grace period when the offense makes a first down? Do you ever seen the rules committee getting involved with tempo?
"No, I don't think so," said Rodriguez. "I'd like to have less stoppages and play faster. You talk about entertainment and fun to watch, I think we're fun to watch when we're playing. I don't know how much fun it is to watch a huddle. That's the biggest waste of time in football. I think from an excitement standpoint and the players, I think they like to play."
Last season, Rodriguez dialed 83 plays per game, one of the highest in the country. Marshall (90) and LA Tech (88) were ahead of the Wildcats.
Here's how he stacks up against other play-callers.
