ColomboLQ said:
CoachHBU2008 said:
You can put Griffin back there and the result would still be the same. Again as much as I like Nixon it's the play calling. It's always been the play calling. And i am very specific about play calling not the offensive scheme. There is no true scheme. Just a bunch of plays put together. There is too much inconsistency and randomness to the play calling. No quick game. No screens to take advantage of an over zealous pass rush. Our receivers are running deep elongated routes which doesn't play to the strengths of our OLine, although I will say that the two picks Charlie had the line gave him a very clean pocket. Brewer and crew are out there fighting hard.
Nix needs to speed up the tempo. He seems more in his element when he does that. And because we are supposedly running the NFL version of Chip Kelly's offense, it's only effective when there is tempo.
We don't have an offense. We have playmakers. We just need to focus on getting the ball quickly to the playmakers and let Charlie do what he does best and make plays and get out of their way.
That clearly and succinctly sums up the offensive side of the ball.
You're in your right to disagree. But at some point you have to be real with the offensive play calling. I don't know how to say it. It's sporadic. I'm not sure what you are seeing that everyone is not. Even Rhule has said it. This not dissing Rhule, or Nixon or the team. I mentioned that it is the toughness and grit that has helped us accomplish this great success despite the offense ineptitude in many occasions.
Even when playing the soft parts of our schedule, a lot of our success was based on individual playmaking. The metrics can say one thing, but when you watch the game and see Brewer running for his life to make a play or Ebner reversing fields and housing it, it gives these metrics context.
Whether you like it or not, our offense is not consistent and at the level our defense deserves. It is not taking advantage of the speed we have in the skill positions. And a lot of times it goes away from the strengths of our o-line which is running the ball to the edges on wide side of the field. That's fact not opinion. And it doesn't mean that we should fire Rhule or that we are terrible. No one here is saying that.
But what I am saying is that with the talent we have on both sides we can beat OSU in Stillwater. I don't see why we can't beat TCU in Fort Worth nor do I see why we can't win a close one against a Texas team that is vulnerable at defensive back. I'm merely suggesting that we perhaps condense what we do and focus on plays that get our guys the ball quicker and in space. I'm just asking that we focus on what we do well and eliminate play calls that goes against our strengths. It's not overly critical to suggest we get more screen game going to our backs. Or running tunnel screens with our receivers instead of the stagnant screen we run from trips set. I'm suggesting we move the pocket to help Charlie avoid hits. Run more slants and hitch routes against soft coverage instead of having our receivers on long developing routes and asking our growing o-line to block for more than a couple of seconds. I'm even suggesting that we run a little more than quarterback sneak out of under center I formation that way we can actually have a play action game out of that formation.
All these things are fixable without changing the offensive scheme dramatically. If Snow can adjust his defense to cater to his talent, I don't think it's harsh to ask Nixon and Thomas (if Thomas is actually involved in play calling) to make some adjustments and simplify the playbook to double down on our strengths. They've done it before. Made some adjustments after half time of both games. Why not just decide now wholesale that we are going to condense the playbook and let our guys make plays? Let's make that decision now going into these games instead of going into our games running a multitude of plays that have no rhyme or reason to it and forces us to continuously have to claw back into games and pull them out in the end.
I think our players are now figuring it out. At this time of the season identities get solidified. We are a tough and grind it out group that is becoming more and more physical as the season as well as Rhule's tenure progresses. Let's help them out with our play calling and just let them go out there and play.