If we averaged 23 points per game thus far, we'd be 3-1.
I'd be willing to bet that we'll surrender 23 points or more only once the rest of the season, unless the wheels completely come off (and I don't think Matt Campbell HC lets that happen).
THE SUNDAY AFTER: TCU
- Thread starter ChrisMWilliams
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If we averaged 23 points per game thus far, we'd be 3-1.
I'd be willing to bet that we'll surrender 23 points or more only once the rest of the season, unless the wheels completely come off (and I don't think Matt Campbell HC lets that happen).
Apples and oranges, sorry. Mark Richt and Matt Campbell are two completely different people. Some can do both jobs, some can't.
This, it's been brought up before.
Once Park left the offense got very limited.
Zeb played a bad game Saturday, but I'm not ready to write him off yet. Regardless the offensive scheme needs some serious adjustments.
This analysis is really spot on. I know some people here didn't like Manning, and he wasn't perfect by any means, but I think the offense would be in a much better spot right now if Manning was still OC. And he was likely only going to improve with more experience.
For whatever reason, so much of what we are trying to do is within 10yds of the LOS, rushing and passing. That could be concerns with OL blocking, QB decision-making, etc. You just are not going to score many points if you don't get more aggressive with playcalling and pick up big gains. I don't think I've seen us use a 2-RB set yet this season, with all our depth and playmaking. Kene can absolutely fly, and he's only gotten a handful of snaps. Use DM and Butler as decoys, get the ball to Kene, Milton, and others who can make big plays themselves.
Should have beaten Iowa and TCU. With the way our offense is performing, OSU, WVU, Texas, and Tech all appear to be losses right now. No way our defense can hold all those teams down.
For whatever reason, so much of what we are trying to do is within 10yds of the LOS, rushing and passing. That could be concerns with OL blocking, QB decision-making, etc. You just are not going to score many points if you don't get more aggressive with playcalling and pick up big gains. I don't think I've seen us use a 2-RB set yet this season, with all our depth and playmaking. Kene can absolutely fly, and he's only gotten a handful of snaps. Use DM and Butler as decoys, get the ball to Kene, Milton, and others who can make big plays themselves.
Should have beaten Iowa and TCU. With the way our offense is performing, OSU, WVU, Texas, and Tech all appear to be losses right now. No way our defense can hold all those teams down.
I don't think running up the gut is the answer. I think running what utilizes players' strengths is the answer. A well run screen would have been great the other night. At one point ISU ran it but Zeb through into a mess instead of dumping it off to someone with space.
Sure, reverses, etc. can be a part of the game and can inject some energy.
Wouldn't it just be better if there was something reliable to play off of first?
Agree. Describing our play calling as "predictable" is definitely telling, but not surprising to most us who have watched the first four games.
I wasn't thrilled with Manning either, and made that clear last season, but he definitely was at least marginally better than CMC IMO.
Jay did another awesome job in his analysis. Makes you wonder if we have anyone on staff that sees these same obvious deficiencies with our playcalling and scheme as Jay does? You would think we obviously do, but week after week when we don't see any improvement, it just makes one wonder.
My biggest complaint with ISU football offensively going all the way back to probably Seneca Wallace or even further, is our complete lack of being able to make defenses pay for blitzing us. Just drives me insane, and I'm so glad Jay mentioned it in this article.
The opposition NEVER pays for bringing pressure on us it seems. We don't seem to have any "hot" routes that you automatically go to when the opposition brings its LBs on blitzes. When the LBs blitz, it opens up a gaping whole in the middle of the field 7-10 yds or so downfield. If the LBs come, then your TE or slot WR should automatically slant right over the middle to the vacated area instead of running their normal route, and Zeb should read this too and hit them.
And if the defense wants to bring its safeties up into this vacated area at the snap, then you have Butler or Eaton running deep posts over the top for an easy TD.
Instead, on these blitzes, either we get sacked or Zeb tries forcing it to the sideline with a really long pass that is very susceptible to an easy pick 6. We have nothing over the middle.
Question for Jay or other experts...
I'm being picky about the defense, but I do see room for improvement on 3rd downs. We do so well to quickly get teams to 3rd and medium, only to constantly give up a 1st down conversion. That can be draining on the defense, and obviously affects field position for our struggling offense. I believe TCU was 11/20 on 3rd downs.
What can Heacock do to generate a bit more pressure on 3rd downs and get off the field? I know he doesn't want to completely deviate from the scheme that has been so effective, but there has to be some minor tweaks to get a bit more aggressive. Can we use more of a 4-man rush? Use more speed rushers (McDonald, Harvey) instead of the big DEs/DTs?
Obviously facing a guy like Robinson you are leary of him getting out of the pocket, so disciplined/contained pressure is key. That is a whole other discussion about our own QB's not being a threat in the zone read or keeping plays alive with their feet....We saw what Zeb's big run did to keep a drive alive.
I'm being picky about the defense, but I do see room for improvement on 3rd downs. We do so well to quickly get teams to 3rd and medium, only to constantly give up a 1st down conversion. That can be draining on the defense, and obviously affects field position for our struggling offense. I believe TCU was 11/20 on 3rd downs.
What can Heacock do to generate a bit more pressure on 3rd downs and get off the field? I know he doesn't want to completely deviate from the scheme that has been so effective, but there has to be some minor tweaks to get a bit more aggressive. Can we use more of a 4-man rush? Use more speed rushers (McDonald, Harvey) instead of the big DEs/DTs?
Obviously facing a guy like Robinson you are leary of him getting out of the pocket, so disciplined/contained pressure is key. That is a whole other discussion about our own QB's not being a threat in the zone read or keeping plays alive with their feet....We saw what Zeb's big run did to keep a drive alive.
I wonder how much of the offensive play calling is directly related to how good the defense is playing. They don't want to take risks because the defense is playing well enough that the offense doesn't need to do much. Happened quite a bit last year too.
Not advocating for that approach, just thinking out loud. Some of the comments Campbell has made in the post game conference has kind of hinted at that thought process in those games.
Not advocating for that approach, just thinking out loud. Some of the comments Campbell has made in the post game conference has kind of hinted at that thought process in those games.
On the ISU fumble that went for the TD, the OL got completely destroyed right up the middle. I know some guys pulled for the draw play, but you have to at least slow the guys coming right up the middle. The blitz did disrupt the play further, but not sure it Zeb would have got the pass off anyway as fast as that guy came in. OL still is awful and not sure if you can scheme around that and get the ball down field in the seams, but doing the same handful a plays and hoping it will work out is a disaster.
Great analysis as always. CMC needs an OC desperately. I realize he can call plays, but someone dedicated to figuring out what to do to change the attack is needed badly. Need to make it a lot harder for the other team's DC.
One additional not, TCU got away with a really blatant facemask by number 77 on the tunnel screen TD. Guy just ripped one of the pursuing defenders to the ground by the facemask. Can't see it in Jay's clip, but it was really bad in one of the other clips of the play.
Great analysis as always. CMC needs an OC desperately. I realize he can call plays, but someone dedicated to figuring out what to do to change the attack is needed badly. Need to make it a lot harder for the other team's DC.
One additional not, TCU got away with a really blatant facemask by number 77 on the tunnel screen TD. Guy just ripped one of the pursuing defenders to the ground by the facemask. Can't see it in Jay's clip, but it was really bad in one of the other clips of the play.
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Jay did a phenomenal job of pointing out that the Defenses we've played, including Akron, were reaching the point of attack before our Offense was even set. THEY KNEW OUR PLAYS BEFORE WE WERE EVEN SET. That's an OC problem.
Completely agree with you, but nothing has seemed to work for us. I can't stand on 3rd and longish when we rush only 3 and the QB has all day to throw, but it has generally worked for us even though it's very frustrating to watch. I mean, our defense has done pretty well stat wise anyway.
Problem has been that usually when we bring a 4th or 5th rusher, we either still can't get to the QB, or they are able to throw quickly underneath and beat us (which we are unable to do to them unfortunately). We did get pressure with McDonald on a stunt though, which was awesome to see, but that was VERY rare for us.
Attributing this to not hiring an OC is ignoring last year once Park left, and wishful thinking.
This is what happens when you have a staff with little confidence in the offense. Combine that with having a lot of faith in the defense, and punting seems to be viewed as one of the best possible outcomes. There’s a reason we generally score when the defense faces a tougher challenge. We’re forced to take risks.
I’m all for conservative offense in combination with good defense and special teams. But at some point you get so restrictive that you stack the deck against what you can actually otherwise do, and become unproductive without actually gaining anything in the risk department. We’ve reached that point.
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We were also backed up at the 3 yard line and tied. The thought process is:
1. Give yourself room away from the goalline
2. Then after you have some room, try to move down the field using as much of the clock as you can.
CMC just needed to go out and steal someone from the MAC. That league is full of good OC just waiting to take the jump to the next level. Should have gone and got an OL coach too. At this point it looks like the season could be a lost opportunity.
A couple weeks ago I was attacked for questioning whether Campbell ever had OC chops or if he was possibly propped up by Candle. Toledo got better offensively when Campbell left and the offense here has been average at best. Everything we've done the last two years has relied on individual effort and ability. How many times have we had a receiver running uncovered in the secondary because Campbell nuked their safeties? Never. This is comparable to Messinghams offense. If DM is out for a period of time, it may be worse. It's by far the worst offense in the Big 12 right now and I don't really see that changing because I don't know how coaches are changing overnight. I have complete faith in Campbell as a HC but I have about zero in him as an OC. If I were him, I'd go hire some HS or low level college guys who's been throwing up a boatload of points and give him control over the offense. No position coaching, just design and gameplan.
I've been very happy with the OL progress. They were pretty damn good on Saturday. Definitely good enough to win.
I always like when people mention a bunch of simplistic **** like this that would make no difference in how an offense operates.
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