IMHO he was great last night. Great game plan. We didn't try to impose our will but took what the defense dictated to offset the blitzing. Fortunately, Cj's quick reads , head downfield and quick releases were the difference.
Greg Davis best game so far?
- Thread starter TouchdownHawks
- Start date
I would have liked to have seen the interview with KF to start the 2nd half where he supposedly say I don't care if we can run. We are going to have win this one through the air.
I have tried to to pass a little praise to Greg Davis in the 3 opening contests. I do think he's doing just fine. But my logical and common sense conclusion is this: CJ Beathard has single handedly made Greg Davis and Kirk Ferentz "better" Coaches. (as he would have last year given the reins, something I consider to be fact, not my opinion)
The offense certainly looks much better than last year. They play calling has been more creative, especially last night. Thought the game plan was excellent, especially with the adjustments to the blitizing that became apparent in the 2nd quarter.
I believe Narduzzi was got expecting the Old Ferentz not the new "Gun Slinging" Ferentz. Captain Kirk used his old tendencies against Narduzzi and being flexible and fluid allowed Captain Kirk to out coach Narduzzi.
I do think this is largely the reason as well.
KF has taken a different approach to trying to score at the ends of halfs but even that decision is tied in with having a better QB.
The punt on 4th and inches from the 40 for a net gain of 20 yards was reminiscent of old Ferentz ways.
Another thing that is helping is that for the first time in I don't know how long the receivers are actually holding onto the damn ball. Makes a big difference. Maybe that's largely due to CJB, but it seems to me for the past several years, we must have led the nation, or at least been real close, in dropped passes.
Short passing game is improved. Very few short throws with receivers going lateral to sideline. Still going to get tackled for little to no gain occasionally on bubbles, quick hitches, and swing passes, but the opponent has to make a play on the ball carrier as opposed to stepping out of bounds.
Still need to do a better job of using draws and screens. A few designed qb draws would be good too. He waited too long to use draws yesterday. Also he never came back to the reverse motion as a decoy in the running game.
As far as the passing game is concerned we need to use the middle of the field better and find more creative ways to target smith.
As far as the passing game is concerned we need to use the middle of the field better and find more creative ways to target smith.
My only complaint about the play calling last night was that we should have been utilizing the quick slants from the get go, When they blitz both inside linebackers you should be running slants each and every time.
As far as CJ making G.D. look good, Good qb's always make their coordinators look very smart, Brady and Manning have made several O.C.'s look like geniuses, They than become just another guy when they go to other teams.
As far as CJ making G.D. look good, Good qb's always make their coordinators look very smart, Brady and Manning have made several O.C.'s look like geniuses, They than become just another guy when they go to other teams.
Took a while to adjust to the blitz...having played MSU they should have known the defense would be aggressive. Finally started throwing to the middle where the blitzes were coming from. I'm still not a fan of GD and the improvement to me is all CJ. His ability to run and extend a play is huge. With rudock it was just a bad pass or sack. Way to much east and west passing, need more down hill passing. Need misdirection, toss sweep, and spread the field to run. No creativity in the passing, very vanilla. I will get hammered, but better defenses are going to get us. We luckily miss most of the top teams in the big and there defenses. Love CJ and he will give us a chance in every game!
At this point I really doubt most will give him kudos, like most I hoped for his departure, but, to underscore last nights game planning and execution is a little bafflingly.
I actually thought they should have been more vanilla in the 2nd half. The O line was starting to push them around and they could have run, run, run, and I don't think Pitt could have stopped them. When you almost bust a big run on a QB sneak, in a short yardage situation, you are winning the battle in the trenches. I'd also like to see CJB take off running more to make teams pay if they are going to blitz. It will at least slow down the pass rush, especially from the ends. More slants, screens and runs were needed in the 2nd half. Stop the east and west passes, which are high risk, little reward. The pick 6 came on a down and out.
I'm more concerned with the lack of a pass rush than the offense scoring points. The Pitt QB had all day to throw the ball. The D did a nice job against the run, and the DB's did a nice job covering when a QB has all day. Somehow need to put some pressure on opposing QB's or the offense is going to need to score a lot of points to win games.
I'm more concerned with the lack of a pass rush than the offense scoring points. The Pitt QB had all day to throw the ball. The D did a nice job against the run, and the DB's did a nice job covering when a QB has all day. Somehow need to put some pressure on opposing QB's or the offense is going to need to score a lot of points to win games.
