Pelican offense shows signs of life

Outside of Jeremy Williams’ meteoric rise up NFL draft boards — most scouts now consider him a top-five wide out — there has been extremely little on the offensive side of the ball for fans of the Green Wave to get excited about.

Plagued by turnovers and an inability to execute in the red zone, the Tulane offense has only been able to muster 16 points in two games. Luckily for the Wave faithful who have been forced to endure two games worth of broken running plays and ill-timed sacks, Offensive Coordinator Dan Dodd has introduced a package designed to keep opposing defenses guessing and inject some much needed excitement into both the team and the crowd.

The package — referred to by Coach Toledo as the Pelican Offense — is a variation of the traditional formation known as the Wildcat, sending quarterback Joe Kemp out to a wide receiver position and putting freshman playmaker D.J. Banks under center. The speedy Banks played quarterback in high school for West Monroe, and his versatility as both a running and passing threat is what makes the Pelican dangerous.

During a standard running play, where a traditional quarterback hands the ball off, the offense plays 10-on-11, as the quarterback is not involved in blocking. Banks’ ability to run from the quarterback position means that the offense can now play 11-on-11, with every other offensive player helping clear the way. This means that opposing safeties need to be more conscientious of helping defend the run. If they over-commit, Banks can use his arm to beat them deep.

All of this sounds good on paper, but the Pelican has one inherent weakness: it takes away snaps from your first team offense in favor of players who only see limited action, making it difficult for your starting quarterback to maintain a rhythm and for your Wildcat/Pelican playmaker to find one. Banks recognizes the challenge, but maintains a positive outlook.

“Sometimes it can be challenging when you come into a situation where a big play is needed or you’re just stepping in,” said Banks. “The crowd could be getting involved. The coaches prepare me in practice and I feel like I have enough preparation; I feel like I should just be able to go in and do whatever I need to do.”

Banks was spared from the BYU debacle, but his game against Tulsa perfectly illustrates the risk-reward paradigm of both the Pelican and of putting inexperienced-but-talented players in big spots. Banks threw two passes: one a momentum-changing 39-yard completion, the other a drive-killing interception.

The Pelican clearly isn’t anywhere close to supplanting Toledo’s pro-style offense, but credit Dodd for his creative game plan to keep defenses honest. Ultimately, the true value of this package may be the practice time opposing teams must devote to preparing for it. This, of course, is time not spent focusing on the core of the Tulane offense. The offense certainly has had its difficulties this season, but don’t blame Dodd for a lack of creativity.

Freshman quarterback D.J. Banks goes deep vs. Tulsa.