Mixed signals from Rhoads. What do they mean?

Aclone

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OK so they replace the OC and the team continues to lose games...who gets the blame then? There are more problems with the team than play calling. Problems often start at the top and work their way down.

Duh, the new OC. Haven't you learned that lesson from our last three or four OC's?
 

IcSyU

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Until Sam Richardson is 100% you can't evaluate the offensive coordinator. Our playcalling wasn't great yesterday but it wasn't as bad as it's made out to be. When you take away Sam's ability to run and he throws extremely poorly for the first 50 minutes of a game (sans the TD ball to Bundrage) there isn't an offense out there which can solve that.

Somehow every other team in the conference finds a quarterback who can deliver a ball within 5 yards of the LOS on the receiver's numbers 70%+ of the time. Our receivers catching the screen passes are jumping, falling to their knees, falling back, etc. most of the time and that extra second is turning a 4 yard gain into no gain or a loss. We run a receiver on a shallow cross who is torching a linebacker and then gets caught from behind because the throw isn't out in front of him and a play that was going to go for 15+ is now a 3 yard gain.

We missed a LOT of open receivers yesterday and I can count on 1 hand how many balls were delivered where they needed to be to get more than just a catch. Once that changes the offense will magically fix itself. Yesterday wasn't a problem with receivers getting separation. We overthrew a bunch of open receivers down the field.

You can evaluate that we have struck out recruiting quarterbacks for a few years but that's a reflection upon the whole staff so that doesn't bode well for Coach Rhoads.

To a post a few above, what offense has proven successful long term at Iowa State? There isn't one. No matter what offense you run you have to recruit well for it. We don't recruit well for any kind of offense. We play a soft defense because we can't recruit well enough to play in your face without getting burned constantly. I'm trying to think of a team that was good but had garbage for talent and was "coached up" to another level. You can coach up talent but a dumpster fire is a dumpster fire no matter how hard you try to coach it up.
 
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Judoka

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Until Sam Richardson is 100% you can't evaluate the offensive coordinator. Our playcalling wasn't great yesterday but it wasn't as bad as it's made out to be. When you take away Sam's ability to run and he throws extremely poorly for the first 50 minutes of a game (sans the TD ball to Bundrage) there isn't an offense out there which can solve that.

I agree with you that the playcalling was much better last night than it was against UNI. However, I don't think that there was a gameplan that put us in position to score and I also feel like the coaches have gotten into the heads of our QB and RBs. With two weeks to prepare we couldn't come up with anything better than that? And if Richardson really was hurt and only at 50% how do you not have the backup QB ready to go enough that he can step in for a game and allow Richardson to heal up? Or at least take the occasional series so Sam can get some ice.
 

Spam

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It's not easy making a mid season change either. Promote internally, throw the new guy into a completely unfair situation, and demote him at the end of the season and look for someone from outside?

Or look for someone from outside now? You're not going to steal a coach away from some school in the middle of the season. That leaves you with the unemployed pool of coaches to choose from. And there is probably a reason they're unemployed.

Making Mess the player caller was obviously a mistake, and I hope that mistake does not define CPR's career at Iowa State.
 

IcSyU

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I agree with you that the playcalling was much better last night than it was against UNI. However, I don't think that there was a gameplan that put us in position to score and I also feel like the coaches have gotten into the heads of our QB and RBs. With two weeks to prepare we couldn't come up with anything better than that? And if Richardson really was hurt and only at 50% how do you not have the backup QB ready to go enough that he can step in for a game and allow Richardson to heal up? Or at least take the occasional series so Sam can get some ice.
Rhoads said on the post-game show last night they thought they had a better chance to win with limited Sam on the field over Rohach. That doesn't say a whole lot for Rohach as he's not better than a quarterback who is limited on his running ability and because of his ankle is also limited in his passing.

It looked like last night Sam was told to give the ball off because the ends were crashing hard and he was giving it off. On a day where he's healthy enough to run he'd have been able to bust off a few for huge gains. When you take away that element of our offense we're easy to defend because the unblocked defender no longer has to respect the read.

If Michael Vick ends up hurt the same thing will happen to the Eagles. He can't beat you with his arm so their offense will be completely one-dimensional. For 50 minutes yesterday we didn't even have 1 dimension.
 
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Acylum

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I don't think there's a really good offensive mind anywhere on this staff. Hell, bring Walden in for OC. At least his offenses were interesting. Not to mention, special teams too. I'll take points wherever we can find them.
 

Tre4ISU

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I don't take playing SR as an indication of Rohach not being capable. They have always been stubborn when it comes to playing the younger guys
 

3TrueFans

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UNIGuy4Cy

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My wife knows very little about football and even she knew what we were running on several occasions throughout the game, I laughed on the 4th down when she said before the 4th down we were running a screen play.
 

kingcy

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He has complained about the play calling and points scored the last 3 seasons.
 

cloneluke80

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execution was most of the problem yesterday.

If people are calling for walden, well i am at a loss for words.

I do wonder what a mike leach or chip smith could do with our inferior talent... hard to say...

one interesting point, our last 3 head coaches including Rhoads all came out of the defensive side of the ball as assistants...mac, chiz and now Rhoads...
 

tyler24

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execution was most of the problem yesterday.

If people are calling for walden, well i am at a loss for words.

I do wonder what a mike leach or chip smith could do with our inferior talent... hard to say...

one interesting point, our last 3 head coaches including Rhoads all came out of the defensive side of the ball as assistants...mac, chiz and now Rhoads...

Probably a lot. Pretty sure he has walk-ons starting on his o-line at wazzu st.
 

Wesley

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OK....this thread is getting Whacky. If Rhoads is just NOW realizing we can't run an offense after the Liberty Bowl and other glaring examples, I think Governor Branstad or someone should step in immediately and relieve him of duty.
I think there are some contract issues and --of course--Money involved. If Mess changes duties he could be out a bunch of cash and CPR is looking more and more like McCarney in that--although he cares about ISU a lot--he cares about his buddies and his standing in the Coaching good 'ol boys club more.
I want someone who freaking loves ISU coaching this team. Someone who loves ISU would have re-tooled coaching after the Liberty Bowl. This offense does not work at ISU. Period. The Diaz firing at Texas may have been complicated by political correctness in the university system of Texas....But the Bielima firing at Wisconsin last year turned out to be a correct move IMO. I hate Beilema, but heck I respect him for that move. I would back CPR to do something...anything.

Chizslack liked his buddies for a year.
 

Luth4Cy

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OK....this thread is getting Whacky. If Rhoads is just NOW realizing we can't run an offense after the Liberty Bowl and other glaring examples, I think Governor Branstad or someone should step in immediately and relieve him of duty.
I think there are some contract issues and --of course--Money involved. If Mess changes duties he could be out a bunch of cash and CPR is looking more and more like McCarney in that--although he cares about ISU a lot--he cares about his buddies and his standing in the Coaching good 'ol boys club more.
I want someone who freaking loves ISU coaching this team. Someone who loves ISU would have re-tooled coaching after the Liberty Bowl. This offense does not work at ISU. Period. The Diaz firing at Texas may have been complicated by political correctness in the university system of Texas....But the Bielima firing at Wisconsin last year turned out to be a correct move IMO. I hate Beilema, but heck I respect him for that move. I would back CPR to do something...anything.

I don't think he's just now realizing, I think he though Mess would be much improved this season, similar to how he improved last season. I think he though bringing in Coach K would greatly help our running game, and it hasn't yet.

Now he has to decide if he wants to make a change now or wait until the end of the season. It's possible he wants to wait until the end of the season to see what potential OC's are available to hire.
 

JUKEBOX

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execution was most of the problem yesterday.

If people are calling for walden, well i am at a loss for words.

I do wonder what a mike leach or chip smith could do with our inferior talent... hard to say...

one interesting point, our last 3 head coaches including Rhoads all came out of the defensive side of the ball as assistants...mac, chiz and now Rhoads...


Leach has NOBODY at Wazzou. Completely dead program he took over.

Year 2 he is 2-1 so far, close to 3-0. Wins against USC and put up 48 points against a nobody. How many times has ISU put up over 48 points in the current regime?
 

Beyerball

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Is Steve Loney coaching somewhere? He and he alone could save this program, tremendous oline coach and heck of an OC. Pay him $700k a year to come in, we have the $$ now.
 
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Beyerball

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I mean Loney is an asst Ol coach at Tampa bay? Not the head OL coach bit an asst OL coach. I mean come on, get back to Isu where you belong already. Didn't realize he took the HC job at Drake in 2007 for one year, strange move. His roots are ISU and the best OL's we ever had where under Loney. I think we do have some very good young talent at the OL, Lalk, big dog and Campos are all going to be really good OL
 

SpokaneCY

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Rhoads said on the post-game show last night they thought they had a better chance to win with limited Sam on the field over Rohach. That doesn't say a whole lot for Rohach as he's not better than a quarterback who is limited on his running ability and because of his ankle is also limited in his passing.

Just before SR got the nod last year CPR consistently said SR wasn't ready until the one magical day when we WAS ready. Color me skeptical that 1 day last year SR crossed that magical "ready" line. If Rohach is your 2nd string QB but he is NOT prepared to play a single snap than there are issues with our program.