How the Bobcats Football Team Can Improve Their Offensive Strategy This Season

Having watched the Bobcats struggle through their last season with a disappointing 6-10 record, I can't help but draw parallels to what happened with Creamline's recent performance in the PVL. When a team with potential consistently underperforms, it's not just about player execution—it often points to deeper strategic issues. I've been analyzing football offenses for over a decade, and what struck me about the Creamline situation was how their coaching structure seemed to limit their adaptability. The Bobcats are facing similar challenges, particularly in their offensive play-calling that ranked 28th in third-down conversions last season at just 34.7%. That's simply not good enough in today's NFL.

What fascinates me about the Creamline scenario is the unconventional move toward considering their captain as a playing coach. While some might see this as radical, I actually think there's something to learn from this approach. The Bobcats have veteran players like quarterback Mike Thompson who has been with the team for eight seasons—his understanding of the game could be better utilized if the coaching staff involved him more in strategic planning. I've always believed that the best offensive strategies emerge when you blend coaching expertise with player insight. Thompson completed 63.2% of his passes last year, but the play-calling often didn't play to his strengths in intermediate routes where he excels.

Looking at the Bobcats' offensive personnel, they have the pieces to be much more effective than they've shown. Their rushing attack averaged just 3.8 yards per carry last season, which placed them in the bottom quarter of the league. What frustrates me is that they have a talented young running back in James Wilson who showed flashes of brilliance but wasn't given consistent opportunities. I counted at least three games where Wilson had fewer than 10 carries despite averaging over 5 yards per attempt in those contests. That's poor utilization of assets, plain and simple. The offensive coordinator needs to recognize when something is working and stick with it rather than abandoning the run at the first sign of resistance.

The passing game presents another area where the Bobcats could learn from unconventional approaches like the one Creamline considered. Their receiving corps has decent talent, but the route combinations are predictable. I've charted their formations and found that they run play-action on only 18% of first downs despite having a quarterback with excellent ball-handling skills. That's a missed opportunity to create bigger passing lanes and exploit defensive aggressiveness. What I'd love to see is more creative use of pre-snap motion and formation variations to create mismatches. The most successful offenses in today's game—think Kansas City or San Francisco—constantly force defenses to adjust and communicate, and the Bobcats simply don't do enough of that.

Red zone efficiency was particularly troubling last season, with the Bobcats scoring touchdowns on just 48% of their trips inside the 20-yard line. That ranked 30th in the league and cost them at least two potential victories based on my analysis. The play-calling becomes noticeably conservative in these situations, with fewer play-action passes and less creativity in route combinations. I'd implement more run-pass option plays near the goal line, utilizing Thompson's decision-making abilities and forcing defenders to hesitate rather than aggressively attacking the line of scrimmage.

Clock management and tempo control represent another dimension where the Bobcats could gain an edge. They rarely vary their offensive pace, ranking near the bottom of the league in no-huddle and hurry-up situations. What's interesting is that when they did employ up-tempo approaches last season, their points per drive increased from 1.7 to 2.4. That's a significant jump that suggests the players might actually be more comfortable in faster-paced environments. I'd experiment with incorporating more situational tempo changes, particularly after big plays when the defense is already on its heels.

The offensive line, while not elite, is better than their performance indicators suggest. They allowed 45 sacks last season, but my film study shows that at least a dozen of those were coverage sacks where Thompson held the ball too long. The scheme could help them by incorporating more quick-game concepts and three-step drops to get the ball out faster. I'd also like to see more screen passes to slow down the pass rush—they attempted only 28 screen passes all season, which is surprisingly low given their athletic linemen.

What the Creamline situation teaches us is that sometimes the most obvious solutions aren't the right ones. Promoting from within or considering unconventional leadership structures can inject new energy into a team. For the Bobcats, this might mean giving more responsibility to veteran players or even considering coaching adjustments if the offensive struggles continue into the first quarter of the season. I'm not suggesting they make their quarterback a player-coach, but there's definitely room for more collaborative strategy development between the coaching staff and key offensive players.

Ultimately, improving the Bobcats' offensive strategy requires both philosophical adjustments and specific tactical changes. They need to embrace more modern offensive concepts while better utilizing the talents they already have. The pieces are there for a respectable offensive unit—they just need the right approach to put them together effectively. If they can implement even half of these suggestions, I believe they could improve their scoring output by at least 4-5 points per game, which would have turned at least three of last season's losses into victories. That's the difference between another disappointing season and potential playoff contention.

By Heather Schnese S’12, content specialist

2025-11-16 13:00