I blame this one on the combination of the offensive line and play-calling more-so than Burris. BC was generally not rushing too hard and instead dropping linebackers back into pass coverage... they were just reading Burris and trying to anticipate everything. No surprise that there were several ints. When you've got the ball in the fourth and trailing by less than a touchdown, there's no real urgency or need to abandon the run. Run the ball, keep the linebackers honest, and the short passes will open up. Instead, Burris was constantly trying to make the long (10 yard +) pass because the short pass coverage was always so tight. I'm a big fan of Cortez, but the offensive scheme this year is almost reminding me of Jenkins' offensive schemes that totally ignored the run. Obviously, it's Burris who is responsible for throwing the ints and not hanging onto the ball, but a bit of balance in the attack would have seen more drives convert into scores.
|