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Offensive Changes Needed

spiderjpo

spiderjpo

Assistant Coach
Mar 11, 2004
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It will be interesting to see if Huesman makes significant offensive changes in the off-season. It's obvious we have no power running game or even a short yardage package with the current scheme. Everything is based on finesse and heavily dependant on QB reads. Huesman has to have some doubts at this point if this type of football will win consistently in the CAA. He also should have some real trust issues with our QB's propensity to turn the ball over, read defenses to make check-downs and miss open receivers. Down and distance decisions regarding play-calling are also very questionable. Hopefully some serious decions will be made quickly to help our offensive production. We had numerous chances this year to put teams away but could not make the offensive plays to score or keep the chains moving when needed.
 
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My concern is that he will have turned over so much of the staff after 3 years that you have to question his ability to field a competent staff. At this point, I almost feel like if he succeeds, it's as much blind luck as actual strategy and planning. They've recruited well, seemingly. Other than that, not sure.
 
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I already question his ability to find a CAA level staff., particularly on offense.
 
Hanca said:
I already question his ability to find a CAA level staff., particularly on offense.
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I am not defending this offense, but we did have the #1 offense in the CAA in 2017. Durden has had success in the CAA before, too.

Of course, he had Rodney Landers. And Kyle Lauletta. And Jacob Huesman in between.
So, the offense is pretty good when you have a conference offensive player of the year at QB. :)
 
An improved running game would really help to balance out the offense and take some of the pressure off Mancuso. It think it's clear that the coaches weren't comfortable with what we had at QB headed into this season as evidenced by bringing in English to compete for the spot. This isn't a knock on Joe...he showed some good things this year and does have some very good skills...but I'm not sure if his lapses in judgment/ball security are because of the way he sees the field or because he feels like he has to force things to make a play. We have to put more weapons out on the field whether that is with personnel or scheme. I like our RB's in the screen game and occasional sweeps but we really need that power rb to balance things out.
 
I'm far from an expert here, but it seems like Russ has never prioritized a power running game, correct? And I would imagine that the type of running style you choose could demand differences in the type of linemen you recruit and the blocking schemes you use, though maybe I'm wrong there. Just seems like we're not going to have a power back type of offense unless we make a big shift.

That said, the RB injuries this year definitely hurt us. We have talent there, it just wasn't healthy enough.
 
It was hard to visualize what this offense is supposed to look like with all the rb injuries and our inability to get a push up front on inside runs. Our last 2 games we rushed for 61 and 31 yards respectively against our two biggest rivals. You've got to be supremely talented in the passing game to overcome that much unbalance. When I say "power rb" i'd be happy just seeing some north/south running as opposed to the perimeter stuff. Someone who puts their foot in the ground and gets positive yardage consistently. I know that's tough to do when there is no running room though.
 
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Captain Anderson said:
It was hard to visualize what this offense is supposed to look like with all the rb injuries and our inability to get a push up front on inside runs. Our last 2 games we rushed for 61 and 31 yards respectively against our two biggest rivals. You've got to be supremely talented in the passing game to overcome that much unbalance. When I say "power rb" i'd be happy just seeing some north/south running as opposed to the perimeter stuff. Someone who puts their foot in the ground and gets positive yardage consistently. I know that's tough to do when there is no running room though.
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RH is trying to run the offense he had when his kid played at Chattanooga. It's like generals fighting the last war. His kid was an exceptional multiple threat QB. He doesn't have that at UR. You could see his discomfort with Lauletta -- who RH had no idea about how to use. He's now abandoned the running game at a time when the elite of the CAA are returning to it. RH is out of sinc with the big time CAA teams. (JMU, Nova and Towson are in the top 5 of the league in rushing. UR is 9th) , As such get used to 4-7, 5-6 and maybe an occasional 6-5
 
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Hanca said:
Agree. But should not our stud AD demand he make staff changes?
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It's not the AD's job to micromanage the staff of each program. That's on the head coach, as he's the one responsible. He needs to have coaches he can trust, not someone hand-picked by the AD.

However - and it's a big however - if the head coach's decisions don't lead to success, then he's held accountable and the whole bunch get sent packing. IMHO Huesman has one more year to show he can be an effective UR coach.
 
Wood Hall said:
It's not the AD's job to micromanage the staff of each program. That's on the head coach, as he's the one responsible. He needs to have coaches he can trust, not someone hand-picked by the AD.

However - and it's a big however - if the head coach's decisions don't lead to success, then he's held accountable and the whole bunch get sent packing. IMHO Huesman has one more year to show he can be an effective UR coach.
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Russ has effectively delegated most all offensive strategy and schemes to Jeff D.Jeff D has also been instrumental with Graduate Transfers.Honestly,believed that with Satterfield upstairs and Jeff on the field that things would click offensively.Coaches don’t fumble or throw interceptions.Coaches don’t drop potential receptions thrown perfectly.Coaches don’t drop interceptions either.

We seem to take 1 step forward and 1.5 steps backward.All 3 facets of the game need work.
Offensive,Special Teams,Defense in that order.
 
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We used there is a push to recruit a big back. Interesting seeing VT yesterday- they use tight ends as running backs. Big guys who can take care of the ball and also catch passes and be good blockers. We have some TEs who are big and fast and might be ideal at RB.
 
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I see team after team after team after team utilize tight ends for more than just blockers (especially in the NFL). Tsangeos had 6 receptions all season, and threw 1 pass (complete for 24 yds). All other tight ends caught a total of 3 passes. I don't know how many targets they got, but it wasn't many. Durden is clueless. I can't believe he is still here.
 
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SpiderRick said:
I see team after team after team after team utilize tight ends for more than just blockers (especially in the NFL). Tsangeos had 6 receptions all season, and threw 1 pass (complete for 24 yds). All other tight ends caught a total of 3 passes. I don't know how many targets they got, but it wasn't many. Durden is clueless. I can't believe he is still here.
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Interesting that you reference the NFL use of tight ends. The Ravens and Lamar Jackson, have 3 tight ends
that are used more than their wide recievers. (and one of them, Boyle is a Blue Hen) . I can’t believe or understand why we didn’t use ours way more.
 
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Wow, Herm's not messing around. One week after pulling one of the biggest upsets in college football this year (and becoming bowl eligible).
In most of their losses this year, offense didn't seem to be the problem.
 
32counter said:
Russ has effectively delegated most all offensive strategy and schemes to Jeff D.Jeff D has also been instrumental with Graduate Transfers.Honestly,believed that with Satterfield upstairs and Jeff on the field that things would click offensively.Coaches don’t fumble or throw interceptions.Coaches don’t drop potential receptions thrown perfectly.Coaches don’t drop interceptions either.

We seem to take 1 step forward and 1.5 steps backward.All 3 facets of the game need work.
Offensive,Special Teams,Defense in that order.
Click to expand...

don't you know the mantra on these boards is that the coaches are responsible for all the mistakes players make?
 
SpiderRick said:
Seems like I've heard "next year" more than a few times in football and basketball. I hope some of us older Spiders don't age out before "next year" gets here.
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Yeah, Rick. You are among the fan demographic that FRS frequently references.:eek:
 
Hanca said:
So hopeful getting new OC. Guess not happening
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In a sport that doesn't bring in positive revenue, and ticket sales way down, I would almost be certain that coach's hands are tied by our AD (no contract buy-outs)
 
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