David Cutcliffe Breaks Down Offensive Problems
Duke’s offense has struggled this year, but it hasn’t been due to a lack of attention.
David Cutcliffe broke down his analysis of the Blue Devils’ offensive woes this season.
“Well, I mean efficiency are plays of four or more yards,” he said. “And sometimes people get caught up in only looking at explosives. Where we're running low are the efficiency.”
Duke’s offense has not had enough efficient plays this season.
“A play of four or more yards should be at 60 percent or higher,” he said. “And that's where we're missing the boat.”
Duke has not hit the 60 percent mark in a single game this season. It’s high was 58.3 percent against Middle Tennessee. In four of their losses, the Blue Devils were below 40 percent, and for the season, the efficient play rate is 43.4 percent, nearly 17 percentage points shy of the benchmark.
“The other thing where we're slowly declining is on possession downs,” Cutcliffe said. “Look at the numbers on third and fourth downs. If you can't stay on the field, you can't score points. When you have a decline in possessions and turnovers increase, you got a double dose of issues."
With the exception of the Georgia Tech win, Duke’s combined third and fourth down conversion rate has fallen every week since the Middle Tennessee game.
“We may have nine people doing something perfect, and two not getting the job done,” Cutcliffe said. “We may have 10-and-1, not getting the job done. That's kind of the nature of offensive football. And as I said, when we throw in, whether it's miscommunication or sloppy carrying of the ball, turnovers, a lack of four or more yards and tough times with possession downs, there's not many points out there.”
