The problem with 5 wide is that you always leave your QB on an Island. Richt always demands that his running backs can block well. Blitzing will be what we do not want but a team like VT can expose this strategy most of the time.
And the problem with keeping a RB in to block is that you're only sending out 4 WR's.
I can tell you through personal experience (and frustration) that sending 5 guys out on routes changes the way you call a defense.
If we go empty we still have one extra blocker if they rush 4. We're man-on-man if they blitz and rush 5. And if they rush 6 then they're in Cover-0 and good luck.
So Macho, given this teams personnell(lack of TE and RB depth) do you think going 5-wide more consistently is the way to go moving forward?
I think we ran just enough of it Saturday. I love empty, especially if you use the RB as the
#3 WR and motion him in/out of the backfield.
Sending the RB out on routes from the backfield is just as good IMO though. I just know that having 5 guys running routes is much more problematic then having just 4. It's really hard for your intermediate pass defenders to get adequate depth in their drops when they have to account for a RB coming out of the backfield.