re: When the Topic of an OC is Brought Up.....

GFunk, you do make some good points.

quote:

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They sat down a kid who was leading the conference in passing efficiency last year.

Logic tells any outside observer that sitting a player who is operating the passing game more efficiently than any other conference QB obviously means they are not interested in a passing offense operating as efficiently as possible.

They replaced him with a much less efficient passing QB who ran much better.

Logic tells any outside observer that-again-they have zero interest in the passing offense compared to the running game.

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Ok, context. New offensive coordinator and resulting coaching shuffle. Rough, nasty schedule. Expect to lose a couple games (Oregon, WVU are potential losses). Take your lumps implementing the new system in a rebuilding year. But, look out- we caught lightning in a bottle, and that tough schedule pushed us to the top of the polls. Time to consider scaling back the changes, take advantage of the experience your players have in the old system (which they should be more comfortable running), to win NOW. By the time JJ is back, we're in position to realistically play for the title, only 1 of 2 teams (with Bama) with a clear path. If we lost to Oregon or elsewhere, when JJ returned, we might still be doing the "new" scheme exclusively (even with JJ); instead we're re-inserting parts of Crowton's offense.

Bama game 1- we won, and several things occurred with that game. First off, it cemented us as heavy favorites to play for the national title; secondly it was clear the new scheme wasn't established enough as of then to beat Bama. Lee wasn't moving the team at all with the passing attack, and Bama stonewalled the power runs. Also, Bama didn't drop far, and a rematch was even discussed (the "I'd be honored" quote) in the immediate postgame interview.

So- what do you do? Keep trying to go prostyle/playaction with Lee, having seen firsthand that Bama had that locked up, or go with JJ and the more fluid option runs, which were the only chinks exposed in Bama's defense? Miles chose the latter. Probably either scheme combined with our defense and special teams would beat any other team, but the option running game was the best shot in a rematch (heck, that even fits the "definition of insanity" threads we see now; Miles chose what worked instead of what didn't).

It didn't work, but that's not relevant. It was the smarter move. Just imagine the screaming if we went back to Lee and Bama tore him up again, and we knew JJ was sitting on the bench with a win under his belt. "Why the hell didn't you switch to him for this game? Hell, why didn't you start him the rest of the season, you knew we would be seeing them again? You stupid blah-blah, you got rocks in your head! Even I know JJ gave us the only chance to beat them!"

Anyhow; that was last year. This year, we're all-in with the prostyle offense, and we're taking lumps to develop it. Combined with the injuries on the line, forcing the new QB to have to react faster than Lee did, things have looked bad at times. The WRs are mostly trying too hard to do something to make up for the problems- Beckham and Landry are not relaxed out there. Instead of taking the catch and tackle, they're pressing- and dropping. But they just want to make a play for their QB, and that's normal. Boone seems like he's finally getting used to seeing the field after being a career fill-in player, and that's to be expected too.

I'm of the opinion that this break came at the perfect time. I bet that despite some new plays being added for Bama, most of the practices will be to calm the offense down, and get them more comfortable. Get Mett to see the field in rhythm, instead of panicking and trying to get rid of the ball to 1 player before he gets hit. Get the WRs to trust themselves more and just run the correct routes and catch the balls, instead of looking to see if the QB is still standing, or trying to score as soon as they see the ball in the air.

The scheme is fine, the current players are a little rattled right now. We're 7-1 despite that. Give them time.