Braelon Allen: The B1G's Leading Receiver?

During spring and fall camp Braelon Allen said to the media he wanted to catch 50 passes this year to which most of the reporters took with a chuckle. Laugh if you want but after two games Braelon stands at the top of the conference with 13 catches which leaves him on pace for 78 catches in the regular season and well on pace to achieve his goal. But with 13 catches he only has 37 yards for a paltry 2.8 yards per reception average. So while he is catching the ball a lot he isn't doing much with it. So what's wrong?

To get where we are lets first go back in time and talk about how the running backs were used in the Chryst system. Putting it simply not very much at all. Mostly in the Chryst system the backs were used in protection with the occasional designed throw to the back on a screen or maybe a wheel route which is why the yards per reception numbers are way higher in comparison to this season.

So far this season we have seen a lot more variety in how Braelon has been used in the passing game. He has been used on screens, both bubbles and slip screens. He has caught a few shovel passes, and has taken off up the seam on wheel routes. But where he has been used the most so far has been as a check down option in the drop back passing game. These check downs have been a mixed bag of medium gains to getting caught at or behind the line of scrimmage with the later being seen as a major failure of the offense, however these check downs are replacing a long standing component of the Badger passing game, incompletions.

In the Chryst drop back game when only 2-3 players are usually going out in the pattern (with some exceptions) what does the QB do when he goes through his progression and nothing is open? Usually it involved bailing out of the pocket or forcing the ball into a window that really wasn’t open, because if it was the ball would have been thrown already.

These low percentage options lead to at best incompletions and at worst turnovers. What the check downs do is replace these low percentage option with a high percentage low risk option to gain yards. With 4 or 5 receivers in the pattern by the time Tanner gets to the RBs there are no options down field and he wants to just get rid of the ball, giving the backs a chance to make a play instead of forcing the ball into a bad spot and risking a turnover.

So looking at 37 yards it doesn't seem like much but when you look at the alternative of no yards or worse turning it over the choice is easy. Yes we want to see Mordecai throw the ball down field more but he is only one component of the passing game, a passing game that requires the whole offense to execute.