Thats the root cause.
But the response to that- bring in more TEs, ie the CMC response. Thats what killed them - again.
That made the entire offense super easy to defend. Tech just brought more guys to the box, so you still had pressure, but now you cant run it either.
CMC has done this for years, and its just never worked. How he hasnt seen that and come up with Plan B (screens? Spread out field and run? Draw plays?) Is absolutely beyond me.
Guys, formations and TE's aren't the problem.
If they were, the option would NEVER work, the Wing T would not still be a thing, even at the high school level, and Iowa could play the deaf, dumb and blind and still only win 1 game if it was about formations.
Its - not to sound like a motion of the ocean saying - how you use them.
Having 3 Tight ends is fine.
Having 5 wide receivers, is also, fine.
As is everywhere in between.
Throw it 50 times a game, I don't care. Throw it twice. IDC.
Both have won (and lost) a lot of football games over the years.
But the ones that win the most are the ones that have built in protections, and ones that tell the defense "you didn't see what your eyes just told your brain what they saw".
Those are the great offenses. Its not about #s in the box, per say, though that does muddy it for the offense.
Its about an ability to make the defense think you're playing checkers, while playing chess. Or vice versea. That's what makes Heacock great.