UCLA Football and the Amoeba Offense

The UCLA Football team and their “Amoeba Offense” will use elements of both the power game and the spread offense, which could inject some life into the team.

Before I talk about the “Amoeba Offense”, I have to give credit to my Go Joe Bruin writer and What’s Bruin Show podcast co-host Jake Merrifield who coined the term.

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What is this “Amoeba Offense”? It is the offensive style that will utilize UCLA Football‘s offensive system of the last four years (the spread offense) and add some power elements to it.

It seems that when Head Coach Jim Mora and Offensive Coordinator Kennedy Polamalu decided to add some power to the offense, it was misconstrued and believed that the Bruins were going completely toward smash mouth football.

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The worries are warranted as another Go Joe Bruin writer, Michael Hanna, pointed out in his article The Philosophical Gamble That Could Define The Jim Mora Era of UCLA Football. Simply, Hanna states that a complete shift would be risky because (1) they do not have the players for the system and (2) UCLA has not proven to be a very disciplined team that could handle the power game.

Both points are a huge cause for concern, but it does not seem UCLA is “all in” with the power game. That is probably why Mora got a little miffed during spring practice when it was brought up that the Bruins were going to a “pro-style offense”. He stated they were not a “pro style” team and  reiterated several times during spring that the Bruins would also use a lot of their offense from last season. And why not? Go with what you got.

During the Spring Showcase, UCLA continually put out four receivers on different plays, but also used a fullback to power their short game. That is what this “Amoeba Offense” is and it could be a very good thing.

With sophomore QB Josh Rosen looking to top his record breaking freshman season, this new offense could open up a lot of opportunities for him and the offense.

Next: Using The Amoeba In Game Planning and Match Ups