I know there are a bazillion threads on this, it's pretty much the main point of discussion around here. Just wanted to put some thoughts out there about our offense and a little Deuce Hogan reference as well.
Clearly our offense is not getting the job done. The 2021 team, with a top 30 offense, probably goes 12-0 regular season and has a decent shot to beat Michigan. So...why are we so consistently bad on offense?
Most would say it's because KF has laid down the law on what our offense should be and that our OC's are pretty much puppets implementing his scheme. Maybe that's true, maybe not. It would certainly explain why our offense has been so consistently mediocre for so long. But it doesn't explain seasons like 2002 and 2009, where the offense was pretty decent. Perhaps those seasons were just a convergence of personnel.....but if that's true, then the offense is fine, it's the jimmy's and Joes, right? At a bare minimum, I think KF constrains the OC's to enforce complimentary football. I think he believes...and maybe rightfully so...that a team that can't pull in top 20 recruiting classes needs to slow down the game.
The bottom line is that our offense is offensive and 3 and outs just isn't going to help the defense out....at all.
But I think the problem runs deeper. I find it very concerning that other teams seem to be able to bring in a freshman QB, freshman WR's etc that can contribute day one if they have the talent. Are they super learners who can pick up an offense over the summer, jump in a be a significant factor in September and a star by November? Meanwhile, we have players that have been with the program 2 years that just don't know the offense well enough to contribute after several years. How does that happen? Is our offense just too complicated for college football?
This brings me to the Deuce Hogan reference. Maybe he is the most "talented" QB, but is just struggling to pick up an overly complicated offense. Maybe he has the physical tools, but just doesn't perform well in our pro-style offense.
So, it's time to revamp our offense...I think just about everyone agrees with this. I personally feel like we should still attempt to maintain some semblance of complimentary football, but maybe think about what that really means. Scoring quickly is certainly better than a 3 and out, even though both put your defense right back on the field. We need an offense that puts players with athletic skills in a position to succeed.
What are my goals of this revamp:
To simplify things a bit: Give the QB's an easier task...even though I hate it, maybe have them get the pre-snap reads from the sidelines. A lot of teams are doing it and it seems to work. Maybe less zone blocking on run plays. It feels like it is most susceptible to the weakest link factor and is difficult to master...falling apart if you don't execute it perfectly.
I'd put an emphasis on QB's that have some mobility. I don't want to run a bunch of zone read and other designed QB runs because I don't think QB's are likely to get through a season playing that way. It may work great in September, but by November you're on QB #2 or QB #1 playing hurt. But you do need a QB that can scramble and extend. Drew Tate and Russell Wilson would be my prototypes....obviously I'm not saying they'll all be that good, but that's the type of player I'm looking for. No more 6'5" guys that can't move. It just takes away on factor for the defense to deal with.
I'm not sure how to achieve the other bullets...I'm not a football guru....how do we keeps defenses honest? How do we punish teams that are super aggressive on D? What are you thoughts on this?
All right...for those who read this far...laugh away. I'm sure I'll get roasted for this post on a number of different angles.
Clearly our offense is not getting the job done. The 2021 team, with a top 30 offense, probably goes 12-0 regular season and has a decent shot to beat Michigan. So...why are we so consistently bad on offense?
Most would say it's because KF has laid down the law on what our offense should be and that our OC's are pretty much puppets implementing his scheme. Maybe that's true, maybe not. It would certainly explain why our offense has been so consistently mediocre for so long. But it doesn't explain seasons like 2002 and 2009, where the offense was pretty decent. Perhaps those seasons were just a convergence of personnel.....but if that's true, then the offense is fine, it's the jimmy's and Joes, right? At a bare minimum, I think KF constrains the OC's to enforce complimentary football. I think he believes...and maybe rightfully so...that a team that can't pull in top 20 recruiting classes needs to slow down the game.
The bottom line is that our offense is offensive and 3 and outs just isn't going to help the defense out....at all.
But I think the problem runs deeper. I find it very concerning that other teams seem to be able to bring in a freshman QB, freshman WR's etc that can contribute day one if they have the talent. Are they super learners who can pick up an offense over the summer, jump in a be a significant factor in September and a star by November? Meanwhile, we have players that have been with the program 2 years that just don't know the offense well enough to contribute after several years. How does that happen? Is our offense just too complicated for college football?
This brings me to the Deuce Hogan reference. Maybe he is the most "talented" QB, but is just struggling to pick up an overly complicated offense. Maybe he has the physical tools, but just doesn't perform well in our pro-style offense.
So, it's time to revamp our offense...I think just about everyone agrees with this. I personally feel like we should still attempt to maintain some semblance of complimentary football, but maybe think about what that really means. Scoring quickly is certainly better than a 3 and out, even though both put your defense right back on the field. We need an offense that puts players with athletic skills in a position to succeed.
What are my goals of this revamp:
- Simplify the offense. I want high skill guys to be able to contribute early. I want QB's to have less paralysis by analysis. I want players to "play" more and "think" less. It's hard to get in the zone when you have to consciously think about what your doing.
- Mitigate weak links. It's college ball...you have players rotating in and out every year, there are always going to be significant weak links for a program like Iowa's. We need to mitigate their impact as much as possible.
- Keep defenses honest...force them to defend 11 players, punish them for aggression.
- Be adaptable enough to adjust for different teams. We struggle with 3 man fronts right now and we struggle with teams that play hyper aggressive on D. We need to be able to easily adapt for those teams.
- Maintain an emphasis on not turning the ball over, but don't make it a death sentence. The way we handled IKM this year was good I think...gave him time to clean things up, but eventually it became clear he was a liability on the field.
To simplify things a bit: Give the QB's an easier task...even though I hate it, maybe have them get the pre-snap reads from the sidelines. A lot of teams are doing it and it seems to work. Maybe less zone blocking on run plays. It feels like it is most susceptible to the weakest link factor and is difficult to master...falling apart if you don't execute it perfectly.
I'd put an emphasis on QB's that have some mobility. I don't want to run a bunch of zone read and other designed QB runs because I don't think QB's are likely to get through a season playing that way. It may work great in September, but by November you're on QB #2 or QB #1 playing hurt. But you do need a QB that can scramble and extend. Drew Tate and Russell Wilson would be my prototypes....obviously I'm not saying they'll all be that good, but that's the type of player I'm looking for. No more 6'5" guys that can't move. It just takes away on factor for the defense to deal with.
I'm not sure how to achieve the other bullets...I'm not a football guru....how do we keeps defenses honest? How do we punish teams that are super aggressive on D? What are you thoughts on this?
All right...for those who read this far...laugh away. I'm sure I'll get roasted for this post on a number of different angles.
