Offensive Woes

[peanuts104]

Instead of whining, let's have a thread trying to deconstruct why our offense has fallen off for the past three games. I have a few ideas and it is probably a combination of it all. Feel free to share yours!

1) I suspect Chandler's throwing shoulder isn't 100% from the Tulane game sack. He was hitting out routes to the sidelines in his sleep at the beginning of the season and I don't think I've seen him complete once since the Tulane game. Obviously we don't really have proven QB talent behind him so he's trying to contribute still and play through it. I think E. Morris said it was a stinger in a presser and if it is, that is something that can come and go.

2) With the exception of Porter breaking a couple of big ones, the running game is almost no existent and makes us one dimensional. I don't think the backs are the ones to blame. The oline cannot consistently carve out lanes for our backs between the tackles. There were a few edge play runs last night that netted us 3-4 yards a play and I think that might be a direction we should go if the oline cannot create run lanes consistently. And the edge run game leads into...

3) the screen game. Teams know we love to run screen plays, it's very obvious from our film. E. Morris needs to change things up in this regard. Too predictable. The other problem with the screen game is it isolates the play to one side of the field, so if the screen is a bust (as was the case a couple of times last night), the safety valve is on the same side of the field where all the defenders are now concentrated. A lot of our passing and rollout plays tend to isolate one side of the field or the other and it makes passing lanes very tight or non-existent.

4) This late in the season, offensive playcalling hasn't changed much and it is predictable. Defenses are just better prepared for E. Morris' tendencies as a playcaller.

[emmitt01]

1 hour ago, peanuts104 said:

Instead of whining, let's have a thread trying to deconstruct why our offense has fallen off for the past three games. I have a few ideas and it is probably a combination of it all. Feel free to share yours!

1) I suspect Chandler's throwing shoulder isn't 100% from the Tulane game sack. He was hitting out routes to the sidelines in his sleep at the beginning of the season and I don't think I've seen him complete once since the Tulane game. Obviously we don't really have proven QB talent behind him so he's trying to contribute still and play through it. I think E. Morris said it was a stinger in a presser and if it is, that is something that can come and go.

2) With the exception of Porter breaking a couple of big ones, the running game is almost no existent and makes us one dimensional. I don't think the backs are the ones to blame. The oline cannot consistently carve out lanes for our backs between the tackles. There were a few edge play runs last night that netted us 3-4 yards a play and I think that might be a direction we should go if the oline cannot create run lanes consistently. And the edge run game leads into...

3) the screen game. Teams know we love to run screen plays, it's very obvious from our film. E. Morris needs to change things up in this regard. Too predictable. The other problem with the screen game is it isolates the play to one side of the field, so if the screen is a bust (as was the case a couple of times last night), the safety valve is on the same side of the field where all the defenders are now concentrated. A lot of our passing and rollout plays tend to isolate one side of the field or the other and it makes passing lanes very tight or non-existent.

4) This late in the season, offensive playcalling hasn't changed much and it is predictable. Defenses are just better prepared for E. Morris' tendencies as a playcaller.

You could have posted #3 and still identified 90% of the issues.  The Texas Tech “throw it sideways and hope to get forward” garbage is consistently putting us behind the sticks.  It was sooooo clear last night that nUTSAck’s corners knew they could blow plays up by getting around the WR that was trying to block them on the perimeter (and our blocking was also a bit suspect in that regard)

[peanuts104]

2 minutes ago, emmitt01 said:

You could have posted #3 and still identified 90% of the issues.  The Texas Tech “throw it sideways and hope to get forward” garbage is consistently putting us behind the sticks.  It was sooooo clear last night that nUTSAck’s corners knew they could blow plays up by getting around the WR that was trying to block them on the perimeter (and our blocking was also a bit suspect in that regard)

Yup, it's what army and Tulane did to us too. Defenses have our number and we have to pivot to something else.

[untjim1995]

People loved Leach and they watched him raise Tech up to #2 that one miraculous time. 
 

But that system is only meant to compete over time against teams with less talent on defense. Whenever it faces ANYONE with legitimated defensive talent or coaching, it almost always loses. Tech, Wazzu, and MSU were always the same thing under Leach. But people adored Leach’s quirkiness and randomness, so he got a pass. These Leach disciples aren’t ever gonna win anything of note. And I completely blame Leach for his influence on turning TX HS football into glorified 7-on-7. Today, linemen and defense are hardly produced at any decent level in this state. Why? Because this crap doesn’t condone hitting in practice or focusing on defense. Instead, we get basketball scores for the winning teams.

[MeanGreen22]

I think our receiving core isn’t that great either. Obviously, DT is shifty as hell. But Damon has been hurt, Sides hasn’t been anywhere near his 2023 version, and Young/Coleman are freshmen.

One of the reasons why you throw alot of screens is because your guys can’t get separation down the field. 

[3_n_out]

1 hour ago, emmitt01 said:

You could have posted #3 and still identified 90% of the issues.  The Texas Tech “throw it sideways and hope to get forward” garbage is consistently putting us behind the sticks.  It was sooooo clear last night that nUTSAck’s corners knew they could blow plays up by getting around the WR that was trying to block them on the perimeter (and our blocking was also a bit suspect in that regard)

Maybe someone needs to inform EM the forward pass has been invented. 

Edited 18 hours ago by 3_n_out

[tmjerm]

I don’t like our pass protection.  Chandler has too tough of a time standing in the pocket but we rarely get him in space.  Sprint out passes would help a ton with that. 

[Son Of A Flying Worm]

It's mostly Chandler not playing as well recently, especially in high leverage situations (e.g. the end zone INTs). Not sure how much of it is injury related or him pressing. The offense is very dependent on him playing well, so any drop off hurts a ton. Just getting him back on track is the most important thing short term.

Big picture the OL has been the biggest issue all year though. There is no consistency. We started our 8th (!) different combination against UTSA. We've started 9 different players, including 2 true freshmen (sometimes on the field simultaneously) and 3 different players have started at multiple positions. Jett Duncan has started at C, LT, RT, and the last game at RG. Good grief. The lack of consistency, inexperience, and talent gives us an OL that doesn't consistently run or pass block well. We could play with our food against Tulsa and still drop the hammer on them. It's harder to do that when you play teams who aren't near the bottom of FBS.

The OL issue is partly our own doing. Gabe Blair has been hurt all year. Ma'Kayi Lee is, I guess, injured? He lost his starting spot against Wyoming, played some garbage time snaps, and hasn't been on the field since. But aside from them, if Lee is hurt, the combination shuffling has been about talent as much as health. Larry Moore III and Leke got benched. I'm a Duncan fan, but if he is an option to start at tackle then you know the roster is a problem.