Getting off to a fast start on offense, especially against a quality opponent, can be a huge confidence builder for a unit to continue build on as the game wears on.
One of the best teams in the country at starting fast this season has been Alabama, who used their fast start to pummel Vanderbilt 59-0 this past Saturday. Coming into the game, Vanderbilt was bringing the best defense in the country statistically.
Alabama started fast, and didn't let up, scoring 21 points in the first and third quarters, amassing almost 500 yards rushing, and dominating the time of possession 43 minutes to Vandy's 17 minutes.
At his weekly presser, Saban was asked the key to their ability to start games fast, and he responded with a simple answer before going on to share some more keys to their success.
"The first thing that I would think of is that teams that are well prepared get off to a fast start. That's the first thing that I would think of."
"We have to execute well in the beginning of the game. The big focus in the last game was not to start fast, but there are two parts; Start fast and finish strong. The starting fast part we got right, the finishing strong part we hadn't gotten right, but I thought we got it right in that last game."
Moral of the story here if you want to start games fast - have your guys really, really well prepared so they can just go out there and execute. It's a super simple concept that not enough teams invest in.
https://youtu.be/bhP3WlTp5ZY