Looking Back: What went wrong? Will ISU ever surprise us?

[Jeremy]

Looking Back: What went wrong? Will ISU ever surprise us?
CycloneFanatic.com
Jeremy Lind

With ISU's offense having looked nothing more than mediocre the past three weeks, I thought I would take a few minutes to say why I think we aren't getting things done against our previous three opponents and discuss what needs to be changed going forward.

Please note that this article may not be something that all of you agree with. Luckily I have the power to post it anyways:)

Please read below with an open mind and I think you'll see what I'm talking about...

While ISU's offense was supposed to be the bright part of the team and the defense the roughest part, it's clearly been the other way around for the most part. ISU's offense is arguably one of the best in the country and it's defense is clearly one of the youngest. If you would have posted a month ago, I don't think any of us would have expected to be questioning our offense after week three of the season, let alone be arguing over what's wrong with it.

To me the problems are small and simple but they magnify greatly when exposed as they have been.

Problem 1:
Rushing. This problem was solved right away when Stevie proved all of us wrong and racked up the yards against UNLV a week ago. Again on Saturday, ISU ran the ball more effectively in the first half than at anytime the previous few seasons. Stevie has won me over and I would guess a lot of other critics.

Problem 2:
Play Calling. Let's face it, ISU has a coach that doesn't like to play risky, and that's putting it mildly. I'm not a Mac hater but I'm clearly not his biggest fan when it comes to his play calling choices. Why do you let the clock run out with a minute to go in the first half when everybody in the stadium can feel Iowa gaining momentum in leaps and bounds? It was clear that ISU had the Hawkeye defense on their heals and once again the Cyclones tucked it in and went to half-time with a small and insignificant margin.

Problem 3:
Passing Routes. This is by far the biggest problem and it can really only be blamed on the play calling and decision makers on the coaching staff. ISU was amazing in the first quarter but you can't expect to get away with the same plays over and over again against one of the best coaches in college football. Can we please run something other than a 10-yard curl route? I could guard that if I knew the best receivers in the country weren't going to go past 10 yards out on each play.

My God, we have the best passing game in the country and the coaches take three weeks and still can't figure out what the problem is? I think most of us figured it out right away. You have to mix things up and stop being so G** D**n predictable all the time. In his press conference, DMac said that he can't figure out why the offense goes cold in the second half three straight weeks, uhh maybe it's because the other team has learned our one or two passing plays and adjusted? Simple to figure out if you ask me.

Stevie Hicks has played incredibly and helped our offense immensely these past three weeks. He has given us the opportunity to air it out and spread the field more than we've probably ever been able to at Iowa State. We have a top 5 offense from top to bottom but yet the coaching staff can't figure out what the heck to do with it. If Stevie runs the way he is and you have the best receiving corps, air it out for God sakes. You then have the perfect combination of plays to open up the field and score at will. When will our coaching staff start to act like a D1 staff and not like a middle school staff working on a clip-board and scratch pad with a few plays on it?

It comes down to this, if ISU doesn't learn to get past page three in the play book and mix things up, we are only going to be disappointed more this season than the past two years combined. What does it take to get to the next level? Simple, plays that aren't always the easiest to call, plays that make the defenders work and think on the fly, and coaches that think outside the box a little. If all you do is run short curl routes every couple of downs and run inside the rest, you're going to get your *** handed to you and lose any chance of getting to that next level that your fans have been so patiently waiting for.

I'll say this, DMac has had me as a huge fan for a very long time and as a critic for only about two weeks. I hate to say anything bad about him because he has done an incredible job rebuilding our program and not everything is his fault. I do however have to admit that there is a time when you start to notice that things just aren't going the way they should and that the staff isn't adapting to correct the same mistakes. Over a length of time, somebody has to be held accountable for that, and I would think that person is the one making $1.1 million a year to turn things around.

I give Mac so much slack but it's time we start to place blame somewhere other than on our schedule and lack of luck. I think Mac should be given this year and next, but after that, I put all the blame on him. Excuses have to stop somewhere after so many years of the same disappointment with such a great group of players. This is by far ISU's best chance to go out there with the hardest schedule in the country and make some noise. What have we done with that opportunity so far? Called a handful of predictable plays against two weak opponents to go to the wire and against a mediocre, but extremely well coached team, to lose a 17-3 advantage.

Only time will tell if these are the real problems, and if so, if they'll be corrected. I don't like to be so blunt and honest on the front page of an ISU fan-site, but somebody needs to make sure that questions are asked and things are corrected. As you can tell, I'm not on ISU's payroll and I'm not forced to only paint a rosy picture with the fear of my press-badge being yanked. Some people only look at the half-full part of the glass, but someday you need to figure out why the glass is half-empty or you're never going to get full.

[Wesley]

Agree wholeheartedly with the above. Too true to even analyze further.
When you have a schedule like ours, you can play safe and be mediocre or you can get COURAGE and try to be UNPREDICTABLE to what you can be. Still waiting for the next step. All things considered, the defense is certainly adequate at this point, but the offense is rankled fairly low in the county. Stevie cannot fix it by himself. If we choose to use our nationally recognized talent, so be it. Yet we are wasting our best talent on dud plays. Looking at last week's games, we can either methodical like Nebraska against USC or like Texas Tech against TCU, or we can decide to be like Montana State against Colorado or Oregon against Oklahoma. Sure hope we will not see another conservative effort against Texas so to keep it close like Callahan just did. After all, it will be a Big 12 game and we will have no excuses. The excuses have been used previously.

[Fletch]

Just thought I would follow up on your point "playing not to lose."
We survived 2 weeks of playing "prevent offense" and it came back and bit us in the 3rd week.
----------------------> This is will come back and bite you at level! See below! At least the Eagles coach will admit his mistakes AND that you need to PLAY to WIN!

"...But the Eagles fell apart with the game on the line. Questionable play-calling, poor execution and a dumb penalty cost Philadelphia its first win over a division rival since the victory over Dallas in which Terrell Owens was hurt during Week 15 of the 2004 season.
"One of the things we need to do, obviously, from this game is to finish better and be more detailed in that part of it," coach Andy Reid said Monday. "Cut down on some of the mistakes and make sure we stay aggressive, both as coaches and as players."



----I am glad Reid at least admitted/identified the problem

[cstrunk]

Originally Posted by Bryceman

Looking at last week's games, we can either methodical like Nebraska against USC or like Texas Tech against TCU, or we can decide to be like Montana State against Colorado or Oregon against Oklahoma. Sure hope we will not see another conservative effort against Texas so to keep it close like Callahan just did. After all, it will be a Big 12 game and we will have no excuses. The excuses have been used previously.

I also agree with everything here.

A loss is a loss is a loss is a loss. Any way you put it. One point or a hundred, it's still a big L. There shouldn't be any moral victories anymore. Let's let this team loose, coaching staff, and finally show everyone what we are capable of instead of bottling us up!

[Jeremy]

OK, that is enough. I really expected the first few replies to be nasty and hatefull towards me:)

[BryceC]

I think everybody is just a little frustrated and disappointed now. When you see this team out on the field, it's easy to see that they are as physically skilled as any to put on the uniform. It's just not coming together right now, and I think Cyclone Nation is a little bummed out.

[Al_4_State]

Jeremy, you have hit the nail on the head. I have loved your editorials the past two weeks, as I think you have brutally and honestly exposed where this season (and program) are going if they continue sit on this plethora of offensive weapons we had. My friend and I noticed at the Iowa game how we have almost no YAC, and your point about the 10 yard curls is the exact reason for this. We need to start running different routes, ie occasionally taking deep shots down the field, and the way Stevie has been kicking butt in the backfield, we could move the ball on anyone. However, I'm starting to think that the Old Dog (mac) just can't learn new tricks, and its going to be Captain Conservative time, again next saturday. Just what we need against the defending champs at their place. :(

[cyphan]

I agree with a lot of what you mentioned Jeremy. I also feel while Meyer is the best QB in school history, he needs to step up and have a refuse to lose attitude and will our team to a win at times.

[crash_zone]

After these last few weeks, I still don't know about this team. We have the talent to beat some of the top teams, but we just aren't making it happen!!!!! Mac, you better start throwing some crazy plays out there, because your fan base is starting to question you!!!! (The only reason I don't want Mac to be let go right now is because he has some great players lined up....and I don't want to see them go elsewhere if Mac is left out to dry)

[UNIClone]

I hate to criticize Bret Meyer, but part of the problem as I see it is that he is too predictable on passing plays. He seems to "lock on" to one receiver from the snap of the ball, making it much easier for the d-backs to read the play.

[threemuch]

I concur with most of what you wrote.

Some posters on this site have stated or inferred that Mac and Barney have been holding back large portions of the playbook thus far. I think that is desparation. They look at the roster, and just can't believe how bad we seem so far, and then look at our next 5 games and get crazy.

If Mac and Barney don't open up the receiving routes a bit more, it could be a really long season. I don't think Bret likes to throw into double coverage, and with what we are doing thus far, he won't have much choice. It will get tougher to get yards on the ground too, as the opposing linebackers realize they have no pass coverage worries at all.

I don't know if I should be thankful that Bret takes such good care of the ball, or if I should wish that he would just put it up and let our receivers fight for it.

I have said it on other threads, our D is playing well enough to win. Keep em off the field a bit in the second half and they will really shine. If our offense could get clicking, we could really take a run at the Big 12 North. Who would have thunk in week 3 we would be ******** about offense?

[darts180]

You know as I watched the first half of the game Sat. I got really excited because it looked like the people making the decisions looked like they were starting to get it. When I saw them sit on the ball at the end of the half, my heart sank because you knew the outcome was going to be bad.
Now I read that Mac is already talking about how tough the schedule is (something we ALL knew before the season). Go to get those excuses ready so when we win 6 games, with a team that should have won 9 we can justify it.
The thing is that I really love ISU athletics, even when I lived elsewhere, I still went to games, because it really matters to me> So when I hear Mac spin another bad loss, I have no patience for it anymore.
I have heard the argument that we shouldn't expect to compete because of our budget, and that if we give more money then this coach will quit pissing games down his leg, because he's afraid to make tough in game decisions. yeah, the reason we've blown huge games is because Kansas, and Missouri have more money in their programs than we do.
other schools with lousy FB tradition, and low budgets have made the leap to a high level (iowa in the 80's and Wisconsin/KState in the 90's). They didn't let the shortcomings of he athletic department stop them from being successful, they just went out and got it done.
Then the money came rolling in, because people were excited about the program. Does watching a Dan MacCarney coached team excite anyone???
Well JP wants to redo the athletic department, and that will take a lot of money, and to generate the required money you have to excite your fan base.

[Cloned4Life]

Jeremy, in short, I agree with everything, and appreciate your honosty. It's refreshing to have the brutal truth as opposed to smoke being blown up my a$$.

With that said, I'll add a few more things of my own, problems with this team/these coaches.

This has already been stated, but the lack of throwing the ball downfield is unfreakinbelieveable. How or why we don't consistently challenge teams medium to long range between the hashes is absolutely beyond me.

Our offense is the single most predictable offense in college football. Watch other games. Watch them closely, study tapes like I do. It's true, I'll be my life on it. We are the single most predictable offense in the game today. I can't describe how frustrating it is for me to see this and post it. I've watched the game 4 times now and am sick to my stomach. I watched the Toledo game and the UNLV replay show tapes 4 times as well and was blown away by our play calling. I got my hopes up in the first half against the squawks only to be let down again. People can say what they want. They can point out all the positives if they want. Sure, there are positives, but if you think this offensive scheme/game plan/play calling can win us more than 6 or 7 games, then you're nuts. And that's what I want. An offense that can win us 8-10 games, mostly because we have a lot of talent.

My last thought because I have to get back to a study session... I hate to criticize Bret, because I like him, I reallly do. I played against him in high school and knew then he'd be a solid player someday. But WOW, does he consistently lock into ONE route. He simply doesn't check down on his routes and doesn't do as good of job as some think at stepping up in the pocket. Say what you want about the "stats," but SO FAR THIS SEASON, he has not made improvement from his play last year. It starts with the coaches getting their heads out of their a$$es and putting our guys in the best posititions to be the most successful, and then it's up to guys like Bret to fricken get it done.

Sadly, my optimism that our offense will all of a sudden explode is decreasing. I've never liked BC as an OC. I'm praying that things improve.

[jonnyb21]

All great points Cloned4Life.

It's pretty pathetic when my friends and I could predict the next play over 50% of the time and be right on Saturday!
Dan McCarney is simply too predictable.

Oh, one more thing, did you get a copyright on the word unfreakinbelieveable? I like it.

[Wesley]

PLAN A
If have have tall receivers, do not be afraid to throw over them towards the outside. Do not be afraid.
If you have four sacks to date, you must be getting some better pass protection. Do not be afraid.
If you are playing a Top Five team in their stadium, then try to win. Do not be afraid.
If you want to run the ball but cannot and can only pass, do so. Do not be afraid.

PLAN B
Because fans are smart and know when you are hunkering down and trying to squeeze out a lead at halftime. So be afraid.
Because fans have seen sad offense in the second perhaps because the o line is gassed. So be afraid.
Because it is for naught as the other team smells a sense of fear. So be afraid.
Because the fans have seen it before in overtime last year and Toledo and UNLV and Iowa. So be afraid.

Just remember this is a football game and you should try to win from the first snap so do not be afraid. Mr Bill C iof Big Red is beinmg pummeled by their fans for his lack of fortitude in his players. He never gave Zac Taylor a chance to show what he could do on the national stage.
That is why fans are disgusted. If you lose while going all out, we can feel that we gave it our best effort. When we run piddly plays over and over knowing the expected result and then turn a sure game into a disaster, then let the displeasure come like the wind.
A or B, what's it gonna be?