Don't Expect Many If Any Changes In Offense

[cycloneworld]

Good basic roundup.

It's a bummer this season especially since we're in the 'we suck' in most categories ... maybe not every game, but enough that it's extremely challenging to establish any consistency.

It's possible to have success with the system and be marginal in some of those categories, from season to season, but definitely can't be the majority.

I agree. And Campbell/Heacock have proven to be able to build, operate, and maintain an elite defense. So why in the hell are we grinding out low possession games on offense. You do that when you have a **** defense and want to limit the other people's touches.

If anything, we should be doing the EXACT OPPOSITE - go up tempo, play faster, etc. because so what if we give our opponents 2-3 more possessions per game...the defense has proven they can handle it.

When your offense is average but can't score in the redzone, you need to give them MORE opportunities, not less. Campbell is a smart coach, he cannot be oblivious to this (I hope).

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

One think I haven't heard much this year is how we look in practice. In just about every presser he blames inconsistency on our offensive woes. Is he seeing that inconsistency in practice?

With Covid and teams not hitting as much in practice, is his team struggling to adjust to game speed both physically & mentally.

Most teams have limited contact during practice for a while. It's been changing since the 90s.

 

[cycloneworld]

Having a high scoring offense aligns with his expectations. He's just going to take a different approach to get 30 points than Lincoln Riley, Gundy or Leach. I think Campbell's ideal offense is around 60/40 run vs. pass.

Which is perfectly fine if you have Breece Hall and David Montgomery in the backfield. But we don't have that and we have made zero adjustments and continue to try the same **** over and over and apparently expect different results.

 

[3TrueFans]

My struggle is over Campbell's tenure there are 2 positions we struggle- OL & Kicker.

Those positions are less about bringing in 4/5 star recruits and more about player development by focusing on technique and physical development. Using a Campbell term- honing your craft.

I'd be more concerned about punter than kicker, I don't think our kicking situation has been that bad before this year.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I agree. And Campbell/Heacock have proven to be able to build, operate, and maintain an elite defense. So why in the hell are we grinding out low possession games on offense. You do that when you have a **** defense and want to limit the other people's touches.

If anything, we should be doing the EXACT OPPOSITE - go up tempo, play faster, etc. because so what if we give our opponents 2-3 more possessions per game...the defense has proven they can handle it.

When your offense is average but can't score in the redzone, you need to give them MORE opportunities, not less. Campbell is a smart coach, he cannot be oblivious to this (I hope).

It's not his preferred style. This game is passing old school coaches by. Adapt or die. You can't go off your gut anymore. Analytics, NIL are here and Matt better find a way to get better.

 

[ruxCYtable]

Given how much he cares about the development of the players, both as football players and as people, that wouldn't surprise me.

I think he looks at football as a way to help young men become grown men, a milieu where they can learn, grow, mature as humans. And he takes pride and personal reward in watching those young men develop. I think that is what he feels his calling or vocation really is. Not just winning football games.

The fact that he may care more about the relationships with those guys more than they care, that would take a hammer to his real goals. And frankly, it would hurt.

If CMC said, "hey I have $20M in the bank that I will never spend, NIL is wrecking what I want to do with my life, so I am going to go help guys at a Div3 school instead because that is my vocation" - would you really be all that shocked?

I would not be shocked if someday -- and I am not implying in any way it would happen soon -- he resigned without another job in hand just to recharge. What he would do after is anyone's guess.

 

[CYEATHAWK]

“With that, you see inept, an inability to function,” Campbell said of a hypothetical fundamentally flawed group. “Those aren’t our issues. Where we’re at offensively, it’s been the inconsistency.”

"“It’s not the call. It’s not the play. They are all there,” Campbell said. “It’s the execution of it. Those are things that continue to lead to inconsistency. That’s the hard thing about it and the frustrating thing about it.

Iowa State football's Matt Campbell says execution, nothing structural, is hampering offense

Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell says it's not play calling that's holding the Cyclones back.

www.desmoinesregister.com

Doesn't being "inept" and the "inability to function" lead directly to being inconsistent?

You know........that seems to be a growing problem. Him trying to be too smart by half.

When the defense makes a mistake and leaves your slot receiver open inside the 5 yard line do you:

A. Say F it...............run the play
B. Check out and take the gift

I'm sure when he says these things he does realize there are 11 D1 athlete's on the other side of the ball whose primary concern is to deny the offense it's ability to function. They have a say. Don't think so ask coach Heacock.

So as you beat your drum of execution with things that will not work and for whatever reason will not think outside the box then yeah.......the appearance of being inept with the inability to function look very real. That is as simple as it gets.

 

[Dandy]

Campbell will never be fired, nor should he be. I've heard, however, he's very disenchanted with what's going on with portal/NIL. Take that for whatever it's worth, which may be absolutely nothing.

I would imagine one example would be Craig McDonald. Left for Auburn and everyone was like huh??? I don't think he's played at all recently. He reached out to the ISU staff and asked to come back. They told him no. McDonald's family still come to ISU games.

 

[Dandy]

Why would this happen?

Money? Idk. Just my thoughts.

 

[jsb]

I would imagine one example would be Craig McDonald. Left for Auburn and everyone was like huh??? I don't think he's played at all recently. He reached out to the ISU staff and asked to come back. They told him no. McDonald's family still come to ISU games.

Ha! If this is true it’s super interesting.

 

[Dannynoonan]

I listened to Monday's Two Guys Named Chris and Hassel nailed it. There are no issues with how Matt Campbell wants us to play offensively. BUT...if you are going to play that way - low possession, mid-teens scoring - you MUST be elite at the little things. And, we all know, ISU is the opposite of elite while Iowa is very good to elite in the margins. If you are going to play Campbell's offensive style you must have:

1. Excellent punting (we suck)
2. Excellent FG kicking (we suck)
3. Limit turnovers and mistakes (we suck)
4. Limit penalties, especially "simple" ones like false starts (we suck)
5. Get turnovers from your defense that position the offense well (we aren't very good).
6. Get scores from your defense (we suck)

And that's just to name a few. Every single one of these is amplified when you are playing games in the teens. So Matt Campbell is crazy if he thinks we play this way and be terrible in the margins.

To me, we need structural changes because we have demonstrated for years we really suck in the margins. Until Matt realizes this, we are going to be 7-6 with NFL talent or 4-8 with a Top 10 defense.

Thanks for that info.
That is not what I want to watch- if it were I would watch Iowa and love doing it. I know I am only one person, but I won't wath another season of this crap because it's too painful to watch.

 

[MeowingCows]

This claim is too simplistic, some mistakes in execution can be mostly coaching errors, but others may be on the player. Certainly there are times in every game where players just do the wrong thing, contrary to what they have been coached to do.

Here's my take on it. Execution errors for a game or two are on the player. Gotta do the right thing when it matters.

Execution problems for a whole season become a coaching problem. You aren't effectively teaching the players how to do the right things. A lack of development starts as a player issue early and turns into a coaching problem down the line.

A multi-year trend of similar problems is certainly a coaching problem.

 

[joefrog]

Thanks for that info.
That is not what I want to watch- if it were I would watch Iowa and love doing it. I know I am only one person, but I won't wath another season of this crap because it's too painful to watch.

The only real reason to watch this crap now is to post on this forum about how bad and predictable the football is that we are watching, lay the blame for it on CMC, and watch his defenders rally and attack like you have offended their god.

The entertainment is here, online, and not on the TV.

 

[Cloned4Life]

So in essence, we need to be Iowa. And this came from Hassel? Perfect. Nothing to see here. Glad I didn't waste my time listening.

We don't NEED to be Iowa. But Campbell clearly wants to be Iowa. And I hate Hassel more than anyone, but he's 100% spot on here, as is the poster you quoted.

 

[CycloneVet]

So in essence, we need to be Iowa. And this came from Hassel? Perfect. Nothing to see here. Glad I didn't waste my time listening.

Yea **** Hassel

 

[CycloneVet]

The overall philosophy is fine. Power running but an overall balanced attack.

He is not wrong that the execution (especially by the OL) has been atrocious more often than not.

I think the 2 biggest problems on offense are:
1) how they are coaching/teaching the guys to execute isn't working - especially the OL
2) the overall management of the offensive scheme seems, let's say, "unsophisticated"

• the way they adjust the offense to the players in the summer
• there doesn't seem to be any "lets score on this play" explosiveness
• don't seem to attack all areas of the field consistently
• route trees combined with QB progressions
• in game adjustments to what is and is not working

That's all about who is in charge doing the coaching on offense.

Right now there is a lack of offensive talent. That is leading to lack of explosive plays. I wish we could run the touchdown play every time lol

 

[FerShizzle]

Here are some quotes from a DM Register article today from CMC regarding the offense:

"With Iowa State last in the Big 12 most statistical categories and ranked 110th nationally in scoring, there’s a natural inclination to wonder if something is structurally or philosophically wrong with the Cyclones’ offense.

That, though, is not what coach Matt Campbell says he sees when he watches film of his team.

“With that, you see inept, an inability to function,” Campbell said of a hypothetical fundamentally flawed group. “Those aren’t our issues. Where we’re at offensively, it’s been the inconsistency.”

"“It’s not the call. It’s not the play. They are all there,” Campbell said. “It’s the execution of it. Those are things that continue to lead to inconsistency. That’s the hard thing about it and the frustrating thing about it.

Even has the players spouting the exact same thing. Per Noel - "“It wasn’t the play call. It was just us executing the play, being able to pick up the right blocks and do our right assignments to be able to execute that play.” Also - "“Knowing that it’s the execution part, knowing that it’s something we can fix and hold ourselves accountable for is in a way a good thing because we know we can go back and fix it.”

CMC is doubling/tripling down on his offense and play-calling. Given this, I expect to see little change for next year (staff, offense plays, scoring, and ultimately record). I guess he has now watched the tape and has decided it is not his system that is at fault. Unsurprising to say the least.

Iowa State football's Matt Campbell says execution, nothing structural, is hampering offense

Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell says it's not play calling that's holding the Cyclones back.

www.desmoinesregister.com

Putting players in bad calls where the D can easily predict the play call and then blaming the players for not executing.

CMC better watch himself here. Defending your buddy at the expense of the players is not sustainable.

 

[Tre4ISU]

I could not disagree with him more. Our offense has been incredibly consistent. It's been pretty bad all year, save the garbage can games and even those games were nothing great. I would agree there's a lot of implied OL blame in those quotes, which, like, duh, but it doesn't really matter that much. The offense stinks and it's his job to get it fixed in a pretty timely manner. He doesn't have to fix it in a way that I or others may like which would be in a way that went to more of a matchup targeting type of philosophy given we aren't likely to have a talent advantage across the board but the important thing, at least for next year, is that we look functional through drastically improved OL play.

I don't think Tom Manning is the answer there either. I don't think he was all that good of an OL coach at Toledo seeing as he never had a guy drafted and the analytics never thought he was very good, not to mention they got better when he left. I would find it really hard to believe that through the OL struggles of recent years Myers is just a lone guy working out there and Manning isn't around it at all. This has to be partially on his coaching as well so I think it's time you go find another guy and preferably a QB coach who could come in and give you some new ideas of things to run off your run game to make the offense more dynamic.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Ha! If this is true it’s super interesting.

Kind of sad honestly.

 

[jsb]

Kind of sad honestly.

Maybe. But I don’t know that you want to set the expectation of allowing a player back in after they’ve kind ****** you over.