As much as Coach Freeze would like to admit it, a finesse attack on the ground can only get you so far in the SEC. The implementation of the Pistol can be a game-changer for an offense that’s as good as it gets through the air. A power-run game would help the Rebels salt away games and limit possessions of other teams, but the formation can help open up an already high-powered passing attack as well.Ĭase in point: Look at how this authentic play-action fake garnered the attention of the entire defense. I shudder to think about how powerful this offense would be if the primary ball-carriers were Judd and the 6-foot-1, 214-pound Jordan Wilkins (48 attempts for 204 yards), the latter of which I predicted to be a breakout star for this season’s Rebel squad. Judd looks like a stud the more I study his 31 carries - on which he’s gained 166 yards for a 5.4 average. This is “Grown Man” ball, folks, from Ole Miss! To further the point, this run was equipped with a trap block by a pulling left guard Javon Patterson. Here we see the 5-foot-11, 221-pound Akeem Judd being deployed on a Dive out of “Ace personnel.” Notice how he’s able to get North/South from the jump opposed to having to take an initial lateral step from the Gun. However, the implementation of the “Pistol” formation can help out on a number of fronts by providing an avenue for back-to-the-basket play-action-fakes and generating organic downhill running lanes. Make no mistake: Freeze’s offense is primarily a Shotgun-based outfit. That’s why I’ve been completely intrigued by Freeze’s implementation, or lack thereof, of a couple of bigger backs in a formation designed at achieving the proper angle for a power-run game. Sure, I’d like to say that the Rebels’ ability to bend the edge in the run game with the diminutive Jaylen Walton, 5-foot-8, 172 pounds, is enough to be a factor in a conference that eats its young for breakfast if it can’t establish the line of scrimmage, but it’s not.

Pistol action basketball