Offensive Issues

UNTLifer · September 20, 2016

Captain Obvious Alert!

The two areas that concern me are OL and WR. Regarding the OL, I know we lost Kirby, but my goodness, this has gone from a position of strength to one of weakness. Players like Miles, Barr, Rice, etc... were highly touted. What has happened?

Our WR's have got to be more aggressive in creating separation and going after the ball.

Harry · September 20, 2016

I agree 100% on this and was thinking of posting something similar.

We now know every team we play will be running an all out blitz and packing the box on every play for the most part.

So how do we combat this? In my mind, we needed more quick hit plays against Florida and likely the rest of the schedule. We just don't have the line depth right now to keep Fine in the pocket for long periods of time.

My hope is that the WR separation will improve as the season progresses. You are correct though, we got 0 separation against Florida and that is concerning.

UNTLifer · September 20, 2016

The struggles against Florida, who arguable has one of the best defenses in FBS, don't concern me as much as the other teams we have played. Their DB's may be the strength of their team, but our WR's just appear timid. Well, other than Kelvin Smith, and we need to involve him more in the passing game.

edcollopy · September 20, 2016

Fine can throw on the run so let's get him out of the pocket some to keep the linebackers honest when the blitz the A & B gaps. I know at Tech they throw alot of quick slants to stop some of the blitzing, but Fine's lack of height may make that tougher. So, get him outside where he can see a bit easier and maybe run for a while if they are manning up our receivers.

DT 90 · September 20, 2016

14 minutes ago, Harry said:

I agree 100% on this and was thinking of posting something similar.

We now know every team we play will be running an all out blitz and packing the box on every play for the most part.

So how do we combat this? In my mind, we needed more quick hit plays against Florida and likely the rest of the schedule. We just don't have the line depth right now to keep Fine in the pocket for long periods of time.

My hope is that the WR separation will improve as the season progresses. You are correct though, we got 0 separation against Florida and that is concerning.

I wouldn't base your evaluation on the Florida game. They had speed to burn. Very few are going to get separation on them. Same for the Oline against them. Probably the fastest team- D speed in the country.

Edited September 20, 2016 by DT 90

Wag Tag · September 20, 2016

11 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Captain Obvious Alert!

The two areas that concern me are OL and WR. Regarding the OL, I know we lost Kirby, but my goodness, this has gone from a position of strength to one of weakness. Players like Miles, Barr, Rice, etc... were highly touted. What has happened?

Our WR's have got to be more aggressive in creating separation and going after the ball.

Separation separation! Let's not just think of bombs! Quick slants? No way Ivery can't get separation from the slot or our body up ex tight end! Skinny post! How many did Alec miss in the SMU game? I remember 3! As far as stacking the box! Roll out MF with a run pass option! The number 1 objective for the offense is to give him time in the pocket. 2 back set if have to and protect! I really believe this will be MFer break out game!! GMG

MeanGreenTexan · September 20, 2016

1 hour ago, UNTLifer said:

Captain Obvious Alert!

The two areas that concern me are OL and WR. Regarding the OL, I know we lost Kirby, but my goodness, this has gone from a position of strength to one of weakness. Players like Miles, Barr, Rice, etc... were highly touted. What has happened?

Our WR's have got to be more aggressive in creating separation and going after the ball.

Wasn't Barr a walk-on?

EDIT: nope. He was a good-un. Thanks for the memory-jogging @MGNation92

Edited September 20, 2016 by MeanGreenTexan

MGNation92 · September 20, 2016

4 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Wasn't Barr a walk-on?

http://247sports.com/Player/Creighton-Barr-62154?Institution=21274

Looks pretty highly touted to me

Monkeypox · September 20, 2016

I'd be less concerned if the blocking weren't also an issue in the BC game. I think part of it is underestimating the difficulty in changing the offensive systems. I don't think their struggles should be unexpected at this point. I expect great improvement from Barr and Murray over the next few years. They're both sophomores whose freshman years were wasted in last year's hell, now on their 2nd system. Both have the skillset and frames to do good work.

Aldo · September 20, 2016

Weren't these o linemen recruited for a power run scheme? They're having to figure out wide split and air raid scheme. At times it is one-on-one back pedal.

Give them some time to gel and learn, and give the staff some time to recruit their linemen.

Also, let's not forget about Thaddeous Thompson in addition to our other big guys.

MeanGreenTexan · September 20, 2016

5 minutes ago, Monkeypox said:

I'd be less concerned if the blocking weren't also an issue in the BC game. I think part of it is underestimating the difficulty in changing the offensive systems. I don't think their struggles should be unexpected at this point. I expect great improvement from Barr and Murray over the next few years. They're both sophomores whose freshman years were wasted in last year's hell, now on their 2nd system. Both have the skillset and frames to do good work.

Agree. Murray had some PT last year, Barr was sitting for much of the year behind a pretty good player in Kirby. Then, spent much of the spring playing Guard while Rice was playing Center. So he's really gaining experience in the middle of the fire. I expect him to get better as the year goes on.

And yes, the scheme must play a role in the extended learning curve, but that cannot be an excuse. I bet the OL gets better and better with each game... especially after playing against FL.

UNT Mean Green · September 20, 2016

27 minutes ago, Aldo said:

Weren't these o linemen recruited for a power run scheme? They're having to figure out wide split and air raid scheme. At times it is one-on-one back pedal.

Give them some time to gel and learn, and give the staff some time to recruit their linemen.

Also, let's not forget about Thaddeous Thompson in addition to our other big guys.

Absolutely on the lineman. It'll take them a while, and, in reality, we probably don't have the personnel that the staff desires to really make this offense go.

Thaddeous showed up in the Swamp ready to play. Didn't notice much of Kelvin there.

GMG_Dallas · September 20, 2016

I'm excited about this OL. Barring (no pun intended) injuries, transfers, etc... this group should have time to mesh and in a year or two, we could have a top O-Line in C-USA. Young guys + lots of experience early bodes well long term.

MeanGreenTexan · September 20, 2016

32 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

I'm excited about this OL. Barring (no pun intended) injuries, transfers, etc... this group should have time to mesh and in a year or two, we could have a top O-Line in C-USA. Young guys + lots of experience early bodes well long term.

Agree, and I'm glad Woodworth is able to sit behind Rice this year. I thought he played well last year at tackle when he had some snaps there. I think he'll be able to step right in and fill Rice's spot next season without issue.

Mike Jackson · September 21, 2016

On 9/20/2016 at 2:06 PM, UNTLifer said:

Our WR's have got to be more aggressive in creating separation and going after the ball.

Florida just had better athletes at DB than we have at WR. However I consistently noticed No. 11 Thompson as being one of the playmakers at that position. And I don't think he was a coincidence he was the only WR to have any success in Florida, merger as it was. They do need to be more aggressive and they should win match-up against secondary's in our conference. The same could be said of our offensive line but they haven't played well against any of the competition so for except BC.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Mike Jackson

Mean Green 93-98 · September 21, 2016

6 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Wasn't Barr a walk-on?

EDIT: nope. He was a good-un. Thanks for the memory-jogging @MGNation92

You were probably thinking of Kirby.

UTSA Fan · September 21, 2016

One issue that's offensive is 90 being benched to create a safe space.

MGNation92 · September 21, 2016

Need to create some quick pass plays to get Mason in a rhythm. Rice's pass rush won't be as ferocious as Florida but setting his confidence early will be key the rest of the year

Ryan Munthe · September 21, 2016

8 hours ago, UTSA Fan said:

One issue that's offensive is 90 being benched to create a safe space.

Or that he broke every rule there was and thought he could get away with it? And had different accounts solely to brigade downvote folks?

UTSA Fan · September 21, 2016

35 minutes ago, Ryan Munthe said:

Or that he broke every rule there was and thought he could get away with it? And had different accounts solely to brigade downvote folks?

Really? I didn't know that. I thought he was booted for being controversial. Oh well, like they say, do the crime...

untjim1995 · September 21, 2016

19 hours ago, Aldo said:

Weren't these o linemen recruited for a power run scheme? They're having to figure out wide split and air raid scheme. At times it is one-on-one back pedal.

Give them some time to gel and learn, and give the staff some time to recruit their linemen.

Also, let's not forget about Thaddeous Thompson in addition to our other big guys.

This is what some of us have been trying to say for awhile. Littrell's system is 180 degrees different from McCarney's and these guys were mostly low-rated recruits that came here to run his decrepit office.

Just like we saw this week, with a great recruiting pickup of a guy that is damn-near a 4* kid, the future is only brighter with these kinds of roster additions. He's got to get talent here that fits his system. I think we can see that they system works when it has the right personnel. He just has to keep winning these battles...

Christopher Walker · September 21, 2016

3 hours ago, Ryan Munthe said:

Or that he broke every rule there was and thought he could get away with it? And had different accounts solely to brigade downvote folks?

He doesn't have multiple accounts.

untjim1995 · September 21, 2016

1 minute ago, Christopher Walker said:

He doesn't have multiple accounts.

And even if he did, who cares about down or up votes on your posts? Its not you are winning or losing anything based on your vote totals...

aztecskin · September 21, 2016

1 minute ago, untjim1995 said:

And even if he did, who cares about down or up votes on your posts? Its not you are winning or losing anything based on your vote totals...

You lose my respect eternal if you have red next to your rep.

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Re: the line. -- Yeah the scheme change has a lot to do with what we are seeing. The line is better at creating run lanes than they are pass blocking. The Florida DL is really good and basically exacerbated the flaws in our guys. We had technique problems AND were beat athletically. Going forward we should see less of the latter, and a slow reduction of the former.

SilverEagle · September 21, 2016

14 hours ago, Mike Jackson said:

Florida just had better athletes at DB than we have at WR. However I consistently noticed No. 1! Thompson as being one of the playmakers at that position. And I don't think he was a coincidence he was the only WR to have any success in Florida, merger as it was. They do need to be more aggressive and they should win match-up against secondary's in our conference. The same could be said of our offensive line but they haven't played well against any of the competition so for except BC.

I believe I observed that the coaches were trying to address the issue of the WR getting separation and fighting for the ball at the end of the BC game. Both Morris and Fine kept throwing the fade into the end zone when clearly it hadn't been working up to that point. I remember yelling "it's not working, do something else". But then realized that what the coaches were doing was getting some live practice on going after the ball in their games' junk time. The BC DB's were very aggressive and we had no success on those plays. But they did get a lot of film for the WR's and QB's to watch.

I'm going to choose to give the coaches credit for using their "junk time" of the game wisely.