Hey y'all... just thought I"d chime in but probably won't be back much but wanted to do my two cents.
A) The passing attack is not what some think it is. Coming into today we were 77th in completion percentage, 48th in passing effeciency and 48th in passing offense and bottom half in interceptions thrown.
B) We were actually 37th nationally in rushing offense. That surprised me, to be honest.
C) We miss Dylan Barrett. He was rough versus Houston, or was it Baylor? But then snapped back and its clear we missed him (and of course Brahmer)
D) We are not great on offensively. We're just not. This is not a team that can air raid when you throw it to 2 guys 90% of the time. Yes, they're great. But the targets and receptions are just so insanely skewed, I think ironically today might have been one of the better days in terms of distribution and number of catches.
E) I'll trust the coaches but watching him play, I just don't see why James Neal is thought so highly of. I thought Buhr actually played really really well. And that's not totally a knock on Neal, it's hard moving from guard to tackle than to guard, etc.
F) We're entirely too predictable. Okay, we go heavy personnel, bring Hansen in (Is he still hurt? Cause I"m wondering why in a half where he averaged I think almost 6 yards a carry and had a reception for 8 yards, he only touched the ball 5 times in the 1st half).
But my point was, we go heavy after the false start. Then go Play action pass. Run the option to the short sideline or wide side. Don't go heavy then run straight ahead. I don't mind going heavy. The problem is being so predictable in what you're doing afterwards.
We don't move the pocket much if at all, there's not many half rolls or full rolls. We don't do a ton of screens (middle or TE screens, etc). I seem to remember a few to Kolar back in the day.
We have some neat wrinkles, we have some good players - but we just are predictable and essentially reliant on two guys in the passing game.
Which is why you can pressure the QB. If you know he's going to focus on them, and most your plays are designed for then, I'm going to come in, blitz you, twist, and get pressure up front before those guys get open. That's where that TE, or slot receiver like Akers, can have a huge impact. Or Eli Green, whose had flashes, or Brown. Someone. Because now its harder to blitz when you have to worry about 3, 4 guys rather than essentially 2. Even when Brahmer's played, he's never really been super involved from a pass catching standpoint.
And I get it. Higgins and Noel are great. But as the season wears on, you've gotta be able to find someone else to step up and catch the ball more. Or at least target. Fumble aside which obviously was huge, I thought Burkle's game and Moore's catch were huge because we were getting them involved more. I take that as a positive. Its kinda like running or throwing to open the other aspect. Target Eli Green or Alston a few times a game more, whomever, I don't care, and Higgins and Noel will have an easier time getting open and separation.
But basically it comes down to we're too predictable. When we pass, when we run and out of what formation. And the fact that everyone knows we're basically targeting only 2 players, and that 90+% of our drop backs or essentially straight drop backs -
if you've ever played or coached OL - you know how hard that is to try to block. Defensive coordinators are going to have a field day with twists and games and blitzes if you have a stationary pocket with a straight drop and essentially, 2 targets or a majority of the time, two targets.
Still plenty to play for.
But the offense is what it's been all season. Inconsistent. Which to some degree should be expected with a new, young OC and a still young QB and a relatively young RB room, etc. But that's why I just don't get the idea I hear some people say that this offense is elite. It hasn't been. There's no metric other than the fact we can hit a big play a couple times a game to suggest we're anywhere close to top 25.
We were 37th in rushing, 48th in passing coming into today. That's what, 43rd ish? Very solid, very respectable. But not elite.
Anyways, hopefully we can beat Kansas next week, get Cincy at home... still have an outside shot at the league but honestly, if you told me we'd win 9-10 regular season games, playoffs / Big 12 title or not, I'd take that every year. Disappointing day but honestly, not incredibly surprising
Hope y'all are doing well and take care