run blocking is easier than pass-blocking. Wish our fans understood this
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We won 9 games last year with an offense that averaged 21 ppg of offensive production within the SEC. I’m not sure what offense you watched last year to think that a change is going to somehow make us worse than that, but Leach’s offense was on par with Moorhead’s within the SEC when you take out defensive / special team scoring that has zero to do with offense. Leach the head coach was much better than Leach the OC. As actual coaches on here have said, run blocking is much easier to transition to than pass blocking. We have 4 returning starters that have been playing football for a long time. This is not going to be an excuse that is acceptable. If our offense isn’t good it’s because we hired the wrong guy.
If the offense isnt good its bc we are seeing 7 man boxes and cover one and we cant get open or run the ball consistently. Man takes away the pass option of RPO and 6 1/2 7 man boxes can make you take 2-3 yards and be patient. I personally think the OL will be good but not great. We have some tough kids that have played a lot of ball. RB will be the same way.
If we can run the ball we will be fine. If not idk if we are good enough outside to beat good teams. I do think Walley, Zavion, Whittemore and Tulu have a chance vs man but that was a big reason Tulu didnt do as much as we wanted, there is more to playing WR that running straight ahead really fast. Robinson/Roberson need to be able to run a fade or retrace on 3rd and 7 and win.
Adding a TE/H and some creativity to our run game is going to do wonders. So is 2nd/3rd level RPOs
Tulu being put in the slot is going to be a big difference. I have been a big Will critic, but I believe he is perfect for this offense. There was too much on his plate in the air raid and I like the OL. The running game is going to make his job much easier. When we ran the ball last year Will was fantastic. It will be the same with this offense.
Tulu made the play of the year on the fumble in the Egg. I like him and he has been good for us, but im not sure he will ever be a true WR that knows how to beat man or sit down when he needs to. Again im not down on him but this is a huge year for him to show he can do it. He has made some big plays good and bad. Needs to be consistent. Needs to be more than a speed sweep and returner. Leach didnt not use him on purpose
It will be interesting too se at the end of football season who comes back and eats CROW based on all the predictions of doom and gloom in both directions !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! more or less passing and more and less running.
I think most understand this, but blowing the DL off the ball to open a gap, or OL having the speed to pull around the end or get downfield is what will make the difference. As long as we run an unpredictable offense, that keeps the DC guessing, we'll likely be fine. I saw the Ap State vs UNC game last year, the Ap State Offense was spectacular.
We have a talented, veteran team. All the unknowns -such as how well the offense will be day 1- are just that, unknown. We can argue about the difficulty of say, the OL blocking, but whether you say "it's really hard" or "its really easy", all you're doing is saying what you think is likely to happen. But it's possible they surprise us in either direction.
We have to see them play to find out the truth. I like the staff and the players so I think our ceiling is 9 wins... but we also have a lot of new stuff on offense so I could see a floor or 6-6. By guess is 7-5/8-4 with how a down to the wire game goes being the difference in the 2.
That offense averaged virtually the same offensive scoring output in SEC play in year 1 with nothing but Croom recruits that Leach’s offense gave us in year 3. That 2009 team also faced the #2 SOS in the country, where last year we had the #24 post season SOS.
Our running backs- or more or less their durability- is a bigger issue than many want to admit.
We're going to have to throw the ball to maximize the players that we currently have. If Barbay is hard headed and demands that we establish the run with this group it's simply not going to maximize our talent. The fact that we threw it more with Will in during the spring game was encouraging to me though.
But I'll be perfectly honest- I'm not worried about our offense this year. 2024 though is another matter.
People should be a little more concerned about our defense too. The secondary is a huge question mark.
This is the point people are glossing over. I don't think our offense will be worse next year, but what if it's about the same or only slightly better AND our defense takes a step back? People are acting like that's not possible.
Yes, we return a lot of guys that have played, but we also lost 7 starters. Those guys were starters for a reason and I don't think the replacements for Forbes, Young and Wheat are going to be nearly as good. Maybe not for Charlton and Green either.
I like our defensive coaches and we do have some guys who have flashed that might be ready to step up, but in a league where the margin of error is VERY small, it only takes a little step back to cause another L or two, especially with more toss up games on the road this year.
The SC game is HUGE, and we need Arkansas, A&M and Auburn to be no better than last year.
I definitely think 8-4 is possible, heck maybe 9-3 if everything breaks perfectly our way, but I think 6-6 is possible as well.
Well we have 4 running backs. You cant carry more than 4 scholarship RBs. If they get hurt you did your part. Cant worry about that.
Corner is going to be fine. Safety could
Be a problem but not bc we dont have talent. They are way more talented now than we were in 2020. It is the hardest position to play in this defense
Yea, that's why I said offensive scoring output. Forbes returning pick 6's and Tulu running back kickoffs for touchdowns has nothing to do with the offensive scheme. Leach's offense was mediocre at best last year against virtually the entire conference. Mullen's first team was as well, but he was having to deal with Croom offensive players in year 1. OOC scoring is pretty pointless to talk about, however the 09 team faced 2 really good OOC opponents and last year we faced 4 horrible defenses. That's a huge reason for the overall scoring difference.