There has been so many questions about the offense that I thought I would throw my two cents in. I don't think many will agree with it all but, what's discussion for?
The number one person to blame is Josh Henson. Period. This is his squad to make as he sees fit. People want to blame recruiting, quarterback, etc., and I'll talk about that, but Henson is the one who decides how we play.
When you see a team upset another, it's not because of better recruits. It's because of scheme and coaching. Ole Miss may have had a few great recruiting classes ($$$$$$), but not consistently better than Bama. Players play but coaches decide how they play.
I believe we have completely gotten away from who we are. When our offenses were unstoppable, we used misdirection, multiple sets, the whole field. We do none of this now. That is the biggest change from Yost to Henson. When is the last time you saw a crossing route or throwback or dump pass? When did we last run a true sweep or end around? We never pressure the corners.
The last thing that is critical, in my eyes, is the use of the middle of the field. We do not use the middle third of the field. Ever. Rarely. How easy does that make it for a defense? Very. This is on Henson and Henson only.
That leads me to point two. Mauk is not to blame for this. Henson is. If Henson has no confidence that Mauk can throw in the center of the field or read a defense, take him out. He's not your best option then. Our offense could not be any more vanilla. At the end of these games, I scratch my head saying, "That's it?" We do nothing special or well. I believe our receivers are more than capable but the scheme does not allow for confusion of the defense, missed assignments, overreaction because it is so plain.
We would bitch until the cows came home about jet sweeps, but at least it created movement. We create little movement now. I believe football is about deception and angles. That is simply not there anymore and that is on Henson. After his first year, everyone was afraid he was going to leave. If he left today, would you care?
If we ever hope to have a special offense again, it's on Henson. And, it isn't going to happen with Mauk. The key to our offense was always moving the chains, high third-down completions. Mauk isn't that guy. Not a knock on him. It's just not his forte. I would put in Lock, let him grow and let the results be damned.
The third problem, as I see it, is Ricker. He has not gotten the best out of people and I don't really recall him landing any recruits. The line is a f-ing mess. The harder pill to swallow is that four of the five starters are seniors. Screw that! If you're going to underperform, at least give the young guys a shot to help with the future. Give me Pendleton and others. I find the switching off of linemen in camp to all positions and sides an absolute disservice to them. Put them where you want them and let them learn without screwing around with all the mechanics.
Lastly, Pinkel gets $4 million or whatever a year. All of these decisions do and have included him. If he is going to sit back and relegate duties to the coordinators, he should hold their ass to the fire.
Just my opinion..
The number one person to blame is Josh Henson. Period. This is his squad to make as he sees fit. People want to blame recruiting, quarterback, etc., and I'll talk about that, but Henson is the one who decides how we play.
When you see a team upset another, it's not because of better recruits. It's because of scheme and coaching. Ole Miss may have had a few great recruiting classes ($$$$$$), but not consistently better than Bama. Players play but coaches decide how they play.
I believe we have completely gotten away from who we are. When our offenses were unstoppable, we used misdirection, multiple sets, the whole field. We do none of this now. That is the biggest change from Yost to Henson. When is the last time you saw a crossing route or throwback or dump pass? When did we last run a true sweep or end around? We never pressure the corners.
The last thing that is critical, in my eyes, is the use of the middle of the field. We do not use the middle third of the field. Ever. Rarely. How easy does that make it for a defense? Very. This is on Henson and Henson only.
That leads me to point two. Mauk is not to blame for this. Henson is. If Henson has no confidence that Mauk can throw in the center of the field or read a defense, take him out. He's not your best option then. Our offense could not be any more vanilla. At the end of these games, I scratch my head saying, "That's it?" We do nothing special or well. I believe our receivers are more than capable but the scheme does not allow for confusion of the defense, missed assignments, overreaction because it is so plain.
We would bitch until the cows came home about jet sweeps, but at least it created movement. We create little movement now. I believe football is about deception and angles. That is simply not there anymore and that is on Henson. After his first year, everyone was afraid he was going to leave. If he left today, would you care?
If we ever hope to have a special offense again, it's on Henson. And, it isn't going to happen with Mauk. The key to our offense was always moving the chains, high third-down completions. Mauk isn't that guy. Not a knock on him. It's just not his forte. I would put in Lock, let him grow and let the results be damned.
The third problem, as I see it, is Ricker. He has not gotten the best out of people and I don't really recall him landing any recruits. The line is a f-ing mess. The harder pill to swallow is that four of the five starters are seniors. Screw that! If you're going to underperform, at least give the young guys a shot to help with the future. Give me Pendleton and others. I find the switching off of linemen in camp to all positions and sides an absolute disservice to them. Put them where you want them and let them learn without screwing around with all the mechanics.
Lastly, Pinkel gets $4 million or whatever a year. All of these decisions do and have included him. If he is going to sit back and relegate duties to the coordinators, he should hold their ass to the fire.
Just my opinion..
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