Why is the Cougar offense failing?
by Fightfightfight on Nov 7, 2010 1:56 PM PST
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PrintA month ago I thought this offense was good enough to get into a shootout with anybody in this conference and come out on top. Jeff Tuel was connecting on a high percentage of his passes, the receivers were making BIG plays look easy and the protection was passable, though just barely. We had no running game, but we were getting points on the board and could score from anywhere on the field.
The last four games, the offense has really struggled. What happened? I see two important injuries in Solomon and Gonzales. Our offensive line was never good, and we lost one of our steadier blockers in Gonzales. This does not fully account for the horrendous play of our O line the last couple games, but it certainly didn't help. Solomon had been sure handed before his injury, and I think we may have a few less drops from our receivers if he had stayed healthy. Simone, Monty and a couple other guys have been dinged up and missed games here and there, though Mitz as been the better back and had a good game Saturday, and Simone has pulled a Huddini this year and disappeared due to various injuries. Neither had been a serious factor in our offensive successes this year.
I think the real factor is that teams have figured out our team. We are one dimensional offensively, and the one thing we are good at, passing the ball, is very susceptible to pressure with just four rushers. The down lineman that we face simply do not worry about the run. They look to penetrate every play, and if the running back gets behind them there is no threat for them to take it the distance, or really past 5 yards. The linebackers can drop into their zone, knowing that the backs are slow enough that they can easily recover and tackle for a moderate gain at best. This is crippling. 7 players in coverage and pressure arriving quickly on the QB is a perfect defense.
I think this problem is one that can get better next year. Getting two explosive backs in the lineup with Galvin and Sankey should be enough to keep defenses from completely disregarding the run and shutting down the pass. The O line should also improve, but I am not convinced that the improvement will be significant. Hopefully Mitz, Sankey and a healthy Galvin will be able to punish teams for selling out on the pass with some zone reads, some draws, screens and getting into the flat as an outlet. Hopefully our O line can handle four pass rushers, and at the very least make a defense commit 5 to rushing to get pressure, or give Tuel time to pick the zone apart.
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This offense has an identity crisis
That first touchdown drive on Saturday was a thing of beauty then it’s like the bottom fell out of the offense. Should we even be talking about Sankey? Can we talk about verbals? I have a eerie feeling about his commitment status, that’s all I am going to say about that. This offense is one dimensional and defenses in the their preparation know that and can exploit a young QB and a patchwork offensive line. We have to remember that Jeff Tuel is still an true sophomore. As you mention we have no stable running attack, and really no explosive or dynamic backs. We average around 73 rushing yards per game and that’s 117 in the FBS. I would like to Logwone Mitz more often! I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, but I think Montgomery isn’t the same player he was we saw against Stanford last year. He had to overcome a life threatening injury, and I think it’s unfair to expect him to be the same player he was before that freak injury.
"If anyone epitomized Cougar grit and courage, Jason Gesser did that." - Bob Robertson
I agree on most of what you are saying.
I am currently counting Sankey as part of next years team, but I understand why you are hesitant to do that. Even if it is only Galvin making a splash in the lineup next year I am still excited. He is the kind of back that can truly punish a defense for disrespecting the run. I also like Logwone, but he is inconsistent in pass protection and lacks the speed to turn a good gain into a big play. However, he is big and physical and he fights past first contact, which is a great trait to have considering our porous offensive line. Monty, unfortunately, is and has been done. It is not his fault and considering his circumstances he is a hell of a ball player, but the fact remains that his explosiveness and power are skills of his past and he is simply not cutting it at a Pac 10 level.
by Fightfightfight on Nov 8, 2010 9:35 AM PST up reply actions
I love Mitz's game!
I’m excited for our backfield next year, “crossing my fingers.”
"If anyone epitomized Cougar grit and courage, Jason Gesser did that." - Bob Robertson
by Cougz4Life509 on Nov 8, 2010 1:15 PM PST up reply actions
Rebuilding on Offense ... will Bishop Sankey be part of it?
Uh-oh, Coug fans. If Oregon gets their mitts into Brendon Bigelow, it might set off a domino with Bishop.
Four-star prospects Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brendon Bigelow and Kasen Williams lead a class that’s ranked higher than California, Oregon, Arizona, UCLA and others. Bigelow might jump at some point but the Huskies are showing more interest in Washington State four-star pledge Bishop Sankey as either a complement or replacement.
Hide your kids, hide your wife, hide your husbands.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
by Gekko Mojo on Nov 9, 2010 4:55 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Apparently his girlfriend
just signed up to play bball for Daugherty, so we got that going for us….
by TiltingRight on Nov 11, 2010 12:31 PM PST up reply actions
This isn't the same offense that faced Oregon, etc..
You downplay the injuries. Those are a HUGE component. Gonzalez is a significantly better athlete than Hannam, and when a poor to mediocre line takes a step backwards in talent, that is a big issue.
At one point vs. Cal we had a total of 2 RB’s who were “healthy” in total – Mitz, and Staden, who’s been banged up all year. Everyone else was out. And a walk-on WR played much of that game as well, and without any true possession receivers (Karstetter injuried; Simone out; Solomon out, etc.) Tuel had a tough time finding someone short.
Our offense definitely has not & probably will not hit its stride this year without Gonzalez, Pencer, Galvin, etc, and given the lack of depth & experience. But I do agree – our RB’s have been as equally bad as our line. When the line has opened up holes our backs have failed to take advantage, making poor decisions. Monty has had good games; and miserable games. As had Staden & Mitz.
To be competitive, we need either the running game or passing game, and since the running game has been nonexistent all year, if our WR’s are hurt & out we’re extremely challenged. Next year with 4 returning OL starters at the same positions, and hopefully some added depth on the line we’ll be much improved. Tuel will be smarter & more experienced. Our WR depth will only get better – much better, with Williams & an experienced Wilson, plus all the other cogs, etc. Galvin is a stud. If we can simply provide depth around all these guys we’ll be in pretty good shape.
Without depth, we’re seriously hurting, and that is pretty obvious. It’s not the same offense that was starting to come around a few weeks ago. Not at all.
The injuries have been important,
but most of the guys you noted, that I didn’t, were not a major part of our offensive sucesses. Simone has been nearly non existent, and it’s not his fault because he’s been hurt, but the fact is we haven’t seen him much. Monty has been pretty poor this year, doesn’t seem to be the same back. Like Simone, you can’t blame him. Gonzales was doing very well, but Hannam has been a starter all year and David was replaced by Fullington. I definitely think these injuries are an important part of why we have struggled offensively, nobody can argue with that. But I think that the biggest issue is that we are totally one dimensional on offense, and even when we were totally healthy we couldn’t get it done. Because it didn’t work when we were healthy, I have a hard time believing that injuries are playing the biggest role in this.
I do think this will be better next year, there will be better talent and better depth. But we need it to get much better, we need to be able to run the ball effectively to keep our deep passing game potent.
by Fightfightfight on Nov 11, 2010 11:32 PM PST up reply actions
I will allow that the Gonzales loss was huge
But I think the others aren’t as big of a deal as some think they are. But that’s just me.
Three reasons
Inconsistent line play—injuries, inexperience, and rotation shuffling. Whatever you do, don’t look at the OL 2-deep in this week’s press release. At best, it’s depressing. At worst, it’s horrifying.
Lack of a guy who can make things happen in the backfield. Mitz is a good straight-ahead runner, but he doesn’t make people miss. Given the previous point, we need someone who can make people miss, because our OL misses people on a regular basis.
Lack of a credible threat at TE and banged-up slot receivers—nobody has to go out of their way to cover the short and intermediate routes, meaning that our outside guys (who are the strength of this offense) don’t often see single coverage.
Galvin & Butler-Booker, Williams, another year of S&C for Gonzales & Fullington
We simply don’t have the OL or talent at running back to run the ball leaving Tuel and Wilson/Karstetter as the offense.
Losing Solomon meant the only 2 true weapons Tuel has are Wilson and Karstetter. Those 2 have been great but they have mostly been effective down the sidelines which leaeves most of the rest of the field left untapped.
Get Tuel out of the season healthy and another year stronger. He’s a warrior and will end up one of the better returning QBs in the conference.
Get Gonzales back and another 15 to 20 pounds on him and Fullington and you have quality OTs plus Rico Forbes comes in and hopefully 1 or 2 other JC OLM. Maybe they can finally start using the TE as more than another blocker with Dunn getting into the mix next year and Lintz having more experience.
At running back, Galvin will give them an actual true weapon in the backfield for the first time in a very long time and don’t forget about Butler-Booker hopefully arriving in January. He could end up pushing for a starting job as well. So even if Sankey/James doesn’t materialize I think they are in better shape than people may realize.
At receiver, Kristoff Williams should give them a physical and hopefully explosive receiver that can do some damage in the middle of the field as teams continue to focus on Wilson and Karstetter on the outside. I wonder how they will end up using Williams? Barton should improve his second year and they also add Blair Bomber. While Bomber might not be a #1 or 2 receiver, he probably will not only do the little things but get free with defenses focusing on other players. Hopefully Simone gets healthy next year as well.
All hinges on them improving on the OL though. If they get the bodies and that unit comes together this becomes a potent offense on paper. We will see if they can put it all together though.
"All hinges on them improving on the OL though."
Correct. And I’m not convinced they’ll be dramatically improved next year.
They need a couple more JCs
With all the coach chatter that could impact their ability to get a couple more JCs to come in. They have a couple in Fonoti (not sure on the spelling) and Munro that would fill the bill. I think both those guy are in the Jacobson mold and might end up moving inside to give them more depth there. That’s my best case scenario.
LT = Fullington/Forbes
LG = Jacobson/JC
C = Roxas/Bosch
RG = Guerra/JC
RT = Gonzales/Reitnoeur
I think Morton would have enough talent and depth to work with if that was how it were to play out. A lot more competition for positions as well. If they end up missing those 2 jcs then they will need 2 of Pencer, Hodgdon, Valenzuela to step it up.
When they were healthy I felt the OL was at least serviceable. Not great but at least an average line. Another year and some good JCs and they could go to good.
One more to add to the equation...
Spitz should be part of the OL next year, I believe…
by All Cougar all the time on Nov 12, 2010 10:26 PM PST up reply actions
Yes, because JC's have made such an amazing difference this year
How is Jacobson’s “nasty attitude” working out as far as, you know, blocking guys? How is Rankin doing?
Look, I’m glad both guys are here. But the first year of any JC is pretty much a waste. And depth only helps in the event of injuries. This team’s biggest problem on the line isn’t depth; it’s top-end talent. And JC’s aren’t going to help with that.
by Jeff Nusser on Nov 13, 2010 10:59 AM PST up reply actions
Depends on the JC
JCs rarely come in and make an immediate impact from game 1. Usually on a good team they start to figure it out around game 4-6. Jerome Riley and Jermaine Green were good from the start. They waited too long to play Jerome Harrison behind Chris Bruhn but Harrison wasn’t it pretty obvious how good Harrison was from the limited early carries he was getting? Maybe not close to 2000 yard good but still good. Linemen are probably going to take longer as well so I definitely agree with you. In this case though I am hoping for JC OLM that can provide depth the first year and step in for Guerra, Jacobson, Gonzales when they leave in a year.
I think Gonzales came in and was doing a pretty good job at LT even though he still needed to get bigger and maybe should be at RT.
Rankin was out for a year, out of shape for fall camp, and they move him out of need to d-tackle this year. So either he takes 10 to 15 pounds of “roll” off and moves out to d-end or he puts on 10 pounds more and stays at d-tackle. What we need to find is a d-tackle that can collapse the pocket and require a double like Rien Long had with Jeremy Williams and Tai Tupai. I don’t know where that player is.
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