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Are the best athletes on the field?
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:38 am
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:38 am
Saban once told us something rather interesting at a Fight Club luncheon.
When he arrived at LSU, he graded the players in terms of athletic ability. Nearly half of the top 22 athletes were sitting on the bench instead of starting. He said his job was to figure out a way to get those athletes onto the field.
Given some of the complaining about Jefferson and Womack, do you think Kelly is not playing the best athletes he could? Serious question.
When he arrived at LSU, he graded the players in terms of athletic ability. Nearly half of the top 22 athletes were sitting on the bench instead of starting. He said his job was to figure out a way to get those athletes onto the field.
Given some of the complaining about Jefferson and Womack, do you think Kelly is not playing the best athletes he could? Serious question.
15
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:45 am to prplhze2000
I just mentioned this, Saban put the best 22 players on the field regardless of their classification. Obviously CBK is not on board with this philosophy. The best 22 are not on the field at all times with limited breathers or goal line situations. Its nothing but "LOOK" and "COMPLETE PROCESS" from CBK. So I guess we have to be 3-5 or 4-4 till CBK changes his views and its now trying to save a sinking ship.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:48 am to prplhze2000
Kelly said House has total control over the entire D. It’s House making the poor personnel choices but IMO Kelly should be stepping in there instead of deferring responsibility.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:52 am to prplhze2000
That can work to a certain point…
Chris Hilton is a better athlete than Lacy but still has his fair share of drops.
Kylin Jackson is a better athlete than john emery and Josh Williams yet Josh Williams is the better running back at this point and time
Defense I don’t know. They all look unathletic, stiff, and slow minus Perkins and weeks
Chris Hilton is a better athlete than Lacy but still has his fair share of drops.
Kylin Jackson is a better athlete than john emery and Josh Williams yet Josh Williams is the better running back at this point and time
Defense I don’t know. They all look unathletic, stiff, and slow minus Perkins and weeks
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:56 am to prplhze2000
No these are the scrubs. Their dads just show up to the booster club meetings and help cook. 
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:58 am to prplhze2000
It is concerning that it seems many players are having trouble grasping the defensive system and their jobs within it. Apparently it is keeping younger more athletic players on the bench because they haven't learned their job yet. Its slowing players down (Perkins) because they don't understand their roles within the defense.
Former TCU coach, Gary Patterson, has famously said he could teach his entire defense to players in two practices. He has always been known to have and has had highly ranked defenses.
My point is, if House has the more athletic players so confused, that they can't learn the system and get off the bench then his system is to complicated. He needs to simply, simplify, and simplify some more like Gary Patterson does.
Former TCU coach, Gary Patterson, has famously said he could teach his entire defense to players in two practices. He has always been known to have and has had highly ranked defenses.
My point is, if House has the more athletic players so confused, that they can't learn the system and get off the bench then his system is to complicated. He needs to simply, simplify, and simplify some more like Gary Patterson does.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 9:12 am to prplhze2000
No. Why are you asking this question? The Head Football Coach has told us that the best players are not on the field.
In his press conference after the Ole Miss loss he said that they are trying to find a balance between scheme and personnel. That’s what that means.
Some of his best talent does not know all of the schemes, so he is simplifying his schemes to get that talent on the field, then smart OCs like Kiffen are annihilating the simplified schemes, and so he switches back to the more complex schemes, in which our less talented players have to play. Then they miss tackles and such. And so it goes.
If you think you can figure this out, think again. The coaches know 50 times what you know, they are thinking about it 10 times as much, and they are 5 times as motivated to solve the problem. Let’s see what they come up with.
In his press conference after the Ole Miss loss he said that they are trying to find a balance between scheme and personnel. That’s what that means.
Some of his best talent does not know all of the schemes, so he is simplifying his schemes to get that talent on the field, then smart OCs like Kiffen are annihilating the simplified schemes, and so he switches back to the more complex schemes, in which our less talented players have to play. Then they miss tackles and such. And so it goes.
If you think you can figure this out, think again. The coaches know 50 times what you know, they are thinking about it 10 times as much, and they are 5 times as motivated to solve the problem. Let’s see what they come up with.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 9:15 am to prplhze2000
do you think Saban would put guys who don't know their assignments or plays on the field? There is more to just playing the best athletes.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 9:16 am to prplhze2000
Little by little I’m getting the feeling that Kelly is almost as stubborn as Miles was
Posted on 10/3/23 at 9:26 am to prplhze2000
I think people are reading way too far into this.
Every team has talented freshmen who see less playing time because they aren’t ready. If anything, I’ve seen us play more freshmen than normal over the past two years. True “day 1 starters” are exceedingly rare, especially among non-early enrollees.
You mentioned Jefferson and Womack. Jefferson is really an outlier in that he’s not a “young player” - he was in the 2019 class at WVU. That said, someone brought up a good point about how the tempo impacted our defensive rotation. This is going to affect the DL more than anything because those guys rotate the most. In hindsight the staff probably should have put Jefferson in to start more drives, though.
It sounds like Womack was in the doghouse for something. I know many don’t agree with that kind of discipline, but it’s been a focus under Kelly and I don’t foresee it changing.
But my larger point with respect to the younger players would be this: the fact that we’ve seen Whit Weeks, Ashton Stamps, Da’Shawn Womak, Kaleb Jackson, and Lance Heard play meaningful snaps at all should already tell you Kelly isn’t afraid to play young guys. All of those guys are true freshmen, and it’s not at all typical to have that many true freshmen playing this early.
On top of that you have the evidence from last year with Campbell, Jones, Taylor, and Perkins.
Anyone who doesn’t think Kelly is willing to play those guys is ignoring the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. People are arguing over whether Weeks and Womack should be #1 at their positions but we wouldn’t even be having this conversation if Kelly truly valued experience over everything, as people like to suggest.
Every team has talented freshmen who see less playing time because they aren’t ready. If anything, I’ve seen us play more freshmen than normal over the past two years. True “day 1 starters” are exceedingly rare, especially among non-early enrollees.
You mentioned Jefferson and Womack. Jefferson is really an outlier in that he’s not a “young player” - he was in the 2019 class at WVU. That said, someone brought up a good point about how the tempo impacted our defensive rotation. This is going to affect the DL more than anything because those guys rotate the most. In hindsight the staff probably should have put Jefferson in to start more drives, though.
It sounds like Womack was in the doghouse for something. I know many don’t agree with that kind of discipline, but it’s been a focus under Kelly and I don’t foresee it changing.
But my larger point with respect to the younger players would be this: the fact that we’ve seen Whit Weeks, Ashton Stamps, Da’Shawn Womak, Kaleb Jackson, and Lance Heard play meaningful snaps at all should already tell you Kelly isn’t afraid to play young guys. All of those guys are true freshmen, and it’s not at all typical to have that many true freshmen playing this early.
On top of that you have the evidence from last year with Campbell, Jones, Taylor, and Perkins.
Anyone who doesn’t think Kelly is willing to play those guys is ignoring the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. People are arguing over whether Weeks and Womack should be #1 at their positions but we wouldn’t even be having this conversation if Kelly truly valued experience over everything, as people like to suggest.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 9:46 am to prplhze2000
It does seem that way!
Posted on 10/3/23 at 10:54 am to prplhze2000
In my mind this is exactly why you bring in Pete Jenkins. Let him look at what we have and figure who are the best group to have on the forked at the same time.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 12:19 pm to prplhze2000
Ideally you want the best athletes who are also able to understand and execute the scheme/gameplan. Unfortunately, that rarely is the case. And that's what separates average coaches from great coaches.
What good is a great athlete if he doesn't know how to play or what he's doing? On the flip-side, what good is a great scheme/approach if your players can't execute it.
Great coaches look at their personnel and design a plan/scheme that fits their strengths. It may not be the preferred scheme/approach of the coach. It may not even be the same approach he uses next year. But it is what gives his talent the best chance to execute well.
What I'm seeing is a coaching staff that has a plan/scheme they want to run and are only willing to play the guys who they feel can understand it...even if they aren't good enough to execute it. You're seeing the result.
A good coach would say "this is what I WANT to do, but I don't quite have the guys to do it. So for this season I'm going to do what best fits my guys. It may not be perfect. It may not be what I want to do next year. But for now that is what we are going to do."
What good is a great athlete if he doesn't know how to play or what he's doing? On the flip-side, what good is a great scheme/approach if your players can't execute it.
Great coaches look at their personnel and design a plan/scheme that fits their strengths. It may not be the preferred scheme/approach of the coach. It may not even be the same approach he uses next year. But it is what gives his talent the best chance to execute well.
What I'm seeing is a coaching staff that has a plan/scheme they want to run and are only willing to play the guys who they feel can understand it...even if they aren't good enough to execute it. You're seeing the result.
A good coach would say "this is what I WANT to do, but I don't quite have the guys to do it. So for this season I'm going to do what best fits my guys. It may not be perfect. It may not be what I want to do next year. But for now that is what we are going to do."
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:50 pm to prplhze2000
No they are not.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:58 pm to prplhze2000
I was talking to a friend I played high school ball with about that today, we had a coach that was gifted at getting the best players in the position they should be playing, we may need to look at some of the wide receivers and see if we have a cornerback or two.
Posted on 10/4/23 at 5:46 am to prplhze2000
Has anybody seen Speights make a play yet? But he starts in front of Weeks who makes plays every series he's in.
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