Can the air raid adapt?

[grahamcoug]

This is a difficult topic with lots of emotions.

To me it seems tomorrow’s game is not only a must win, but a must adapt using the running game by design and by check down. Fans keep hoping this will happen, but it just doesn’t seem to happen much. I am not ready to give up on the air raid. But it almost seems like this is more than the players trying harder and playing better. (Which they can improve in). If these changes don’t happen, then I don’t see the air raid beating many defenses. Then WSU has to cross that bridge and address a difficult topic- perhaps a change is needed in the head coach. That would be difficult because Leach has been so good for WSU, the players, and the fans. His approach through simplicity and repetition have value in football and in life as he has taken the team from abysmal to good and taken young adults to men. I hope we win and show some adaptation. GO COUGS.

 

[WASH ST A&M FAN]

11-2 (2018)

 

[grahamcoug]

11-2 That is a really strong and important recollection. I am grateful.

 

[Pinkcadillac]

Trolling?

 

[random soul]

This is a difficult topic with lots of emotions.

To me it seems tomorrow’s game is not only a must win, but a must adapt using the running game by design and by check down. Fans keep hoping this will happen, but it just doesn’t seem to happen much. I am not ready to give up on the air raid. But it almost seems like this is more than the players trying harder and playing better. (Which they can improve in). If these changes don’t happen, then I don’t see the air raid beating many defenses. Then WSU has to cross that bridge and address a difficult topic- perhaps a change is needed in the head coach. That would be difficult because Leach has been so good for WSU, the players, and the fans. His approach through simplicity and repetition have value in football and in life as he has taken the team from abysmal to good and taken young adults to men. I hope we win and show some adaptation. GO COUGS.

Barry Switzer won national titles in the '80s with the wishbone because he had elite talent all over his roster. Sure the offense was sorta predictable, but the only teams that could shut it down were those with enough talent to compete.

What's missing this year over last is better defense and a quarterback with improvisational skills so impressive that he's moved from a JC nobody wanted to an NFL starter in 4 years. My big disappointment this year isn't the offense, (though the turnovers against UCLA were horrid and the general unwillingness to run the ball right at a defense that dares us to costs us against good defenses), and it's not even a secondary that I figured was going to have issues after Thompson left. It's the front seven. That's a relatively veteran group that's gone backwards. Neither Pelluer nor Dale were the athletes that a lot of their potential replacements are, but they knew where to be and they were sure tacklers. To me that's coaching.

 

[Cougatron]

This is a difficult topic with lots of emotions.

To me it seems tomorrow’s game is not only a must win, but a must adapt using the running game by design and by check down. Fans keep hoping this will happen, but it just doesn’t seem to happen much. I am not ready to give up on the air raid. But it almost seems like this is more than the players trying harder and playing better. (Which they can improve in). If these changes don’t happen, then I don’t see the air raid beating many defenses. Then WSU has to cross that bridge and address a difficult topic- perhaps a change is needed in the head coach. That would be difficult because Leach has been so good for WSU, the players, and the fans. His approach through simplicity and repetition have value in football and in life as he has taken the team from abysmal to good and taken young adults to men. I hope we win and show some adaptation. GO COUGS.

The Air Raid beats a lot of defenses. In fact

We are #4 in total offense.
We are #6 in scoring offense

In the country.

It's not the offense.

We are #105 in total defense
We are #100 in scoring defense.

That's the problem.

 

[BiggsCoug]

The offense has lost the last two games. All their fault. They dropped the ball, literally.

For the offense to really take off they have to force the defense to defend the run. Could they still win some games? Yes. Will Leach ever maximize what he could do at WSU? No.

On one hand I see a coach that could win 80 games in 10 years at WSU. Literally the glory days of WSU football.

On the other hand I see a coach that left meat on the bone. 80 games couldve been 90. Maybe a few more. And the reason that meat was left on the bone??? Coaching.

The question for me is... am I fine with missed opportunity or not? We arent talking about a 4-8 team that missed being 6-6. WSU has been knocking on the door the past few years and IMO lost games because the head coach wont run the ball so much as 15 times out of 70 snaps.

11-2 is a great season. I think it couldve been 13-0 with a PAC 12 title. Both happy for 11-2 and disappointed at not 13-0. League title runs dont come around often for WSU. Missing them when youre close hurts more than some other schools.

 

[COCoug]

Yes yes yes
The Air Raid is good for us. In fact its so good that everyone in the league is running parts of it and everyone is practicing against it every week. That element of "surprise" is long gone.

Its true that we were 11-2 last year, but its also true we have lost our last 3 PAC 12 games, and are not favored today. The AR works great when it is run to perfection, but so does every offense. I don't want a coaching change, but we need to see some evolution here. We need to be able to win games where the QB isn't perfect and when the weather is bad, and we need to beat the Huskies. And yes, we need more balance with the run and be able to use clock when we have a lead.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Yes yes yes
The Air Raid is good for us. In fact its so good that everyone in the league is running parts of it and everyone is practicing against it every week. That element of "surprise" is long gone.

Its true that we were 11-2 last year, but its also true we have lost our last 3 PAC 12 games, and are not favored today. The AR works great when it is run to perfection, but so does every offense. I don't want a coaching change, but we need to see some evolution here. We need to be able to win games where the QB isn't perfect and when the weather is bad, and we need to beat the Huskies. And yes, we need more balance with the run and be able to use clock when we have a lead.

Im fine with no balance. What I wanna see is WSU pound whatever is given. If it’s pass, fine. If it’s run, fine. Make the defense pick their poison and drink it. Stop letting them off the hook and not having to defend the run at all.

Question... if they came out and ran the ball 55 of 70 snaps... does the DC line up with 4 DL or does he continue to believe theyll throw the ball???

 

[GrayOnGray]

I'm so desperate I am more concerned about how well we play rather than whether we win.

Scoring 13 points with the Air Raid won't do.
Massive turnovers must stop.
Plenty for the defense to improve on.

I have to believe our guys are better than that.
Right now a moral victory would at least be a turning point away from disaster.

 

[Glad Cougar]

The offense has lost the last two games. All their fault. They dropped the ball, literally.

For the offense to really take off they have to force the defense to defend the run. Could they still win some games? Yes. Will Leach ever maximize what he could do at WSU? No.

On one hand I see a coach that could win 80 games in 10 years at WSU. Literally the glory days of WSU football.

On the other hand I see a coach that left meat on the bone. 80 games couldve been 90. Maybe a few more. And the reason that meat was left on the bone??? Coaching.

The question for me is... am I fine with missed opportunity or not? We arent talking about a 4-8 team that missed being 6-6. WSU has been knocking on the door the past few years and IMO lost games because the head coach wont run the ball so much as 15 times out of 70 snaps.

11-2 is a great season. I think it couldve been 13-0 with a PAC 12 title. Both happy for 11-2 and disappointed at not 13-0. League title runs dont come around often for WSU. Missing them when youre close hurts more than some other schools.

I totally agree that running the ball when given the opportunity is the right thing to do. Borghi is a special running back and we need to use his talents to get what we can out of the offense. I totally disagree that the offense deserves all the blame for losing the last 2 games. To disregard the defense's culpability, especially in a game where the offense scores 63 points, is senseless. I'm not sure I've ever seen a Cougar defense as inept as ours was vs. UCLA in the last 19 minutes of that game. The turnovers were egregious, but a poor UCLA offense should not have been able to move the ball at will like that. I'm sure the Cougar offense feels like it needs to score a TD on every possession of every game in order to win. They could use a little help from the other side of the ball.

Glad Cougar

 

[BiggsCoug]

I totally agree that running the ball when given the opportunity is the right thing to do. Borghi is a special running back and we need to use his talents to get what we can out of the offense. I totally disagree that the offense deserves all the blame for losing the last 2 games. To disregard the defense's culpability, especially in a game where the offense scores 63 points, is senseless. I'm not sure I've ever seen a Cougar defense as inept as ours was vs. UCLA in the last 19 minutes of that game. The turnovers were egregious, but a poor UCLA offense should not have been able to move the ball at will like that. I'm sure the Cougar offense feels like it needs to score a TD on every possession of every game in order to win. They could use a little help from the other side of the ball.

Glad Cougar

I dont think you can discount 6 turnovers that much. Nor the short fields.

The offense hamstrung the defense. I think it is disingenuous to blame the defense for that loss when the offense kept giving UCLA the ball. How many drives was the defense supposed to defend? How many times can you expect UCLA not to score on short fields? Buddy Ryan wouldve punched Leach in the face.

 

[cougarhawk1]

I think some of this semantics, youd like to see the qb check down to the run more, I agree.

The air raid is no easier to defend today than it was 20 years ago, if you think it is, you don't understand it.

as a side note, one time that im aware of, Leach used a 6-4 255 pass receiving Samoan tight end in the offense at Texas Tech and it was very effective. He never used it another season.

 

[cr8zyncalif]

The air raid has one thing in common with the rest of the offenses: if you execute well you do better than if you execute poorly. But...and it is a big But...IMHO the difference in results between good execution and poor execution is the greatest with the air raid. Bigger than with any other offense, and much bigger than some of them. And even if execution is flawless, there is an over-riding tendency to pass even when a run would serve better. Every D tries to show a look that encourages the pass so the QB does not check into a run, and over and over again we respond in the way the D wants.

As for the comments re: OU and the wishbone; well, kinda sorta but not completely. Holieway was an exceptional option QB who managed to remain healthy for the entire natty season. A bit ironic, since he got to take Aikman's place because Troy went down early with a season ending injury, and Switzer then had no choice based on personnel but to switch back to the wishbone. OU as a team did not have substantially better talent than the rest of the top 10 that year, and was not even head and shoulders above the rest of the Big 8. It was all about Holieway. He was so good as an option QB that Aikman knew he had to transfer after that season, once his leg was healed. The wishbone is very hard to defend if it is run right even if talent is equal across the board. Throw in Jamelle and a good supporting cast and it was even tougher. I think you could probably say the same thing about the air raid with an optimum air raid QB. But bear in mind that the optimum air raid QB would run the ball more than we have this season.

 

[BiggsCoug]

The air raid has one thing in common with the rest of the offenses: if you execute well you do better than if you execute poorly. But...and it is a big But...IMHO the difference in results between good execution and poor execution is the greatest with the air raid. Bigger than with any other offense, and much bigger than some of them. And even if execution is flawless, there is an over-riding tendency to pass even when a run would serve better. Every D tries to show a look that encourages the pass so the QB does not check into a run, and over and over again we respond in the way the D wants.

As for the comments re: OU and the wishbone; well, kinda sorta but not completely. Holieway was an exceptional option QB who managed to remain healthy for the entire natty season. A bit ironic, since he got to take Aikman's place because Troy went down early with a season ending injury, and Switzer then had no choice based on personnel but to switch back to the wishbone. OU as a team did not have substantially better talent than the rest of the top 10 that year, and was not even head and shoulders above the rest of the Big 8. It was all about Holieway. He was so good as an option QB that Aikman knew he had to transfer after that season, once his leg was healed. The wishbone is very hard to defend if it is run right even if talent is equal across the board. Throw in Jamelle and a good supporting cast and it was even tougher. I think you could probably say the same thing about the air raid with an optimum air raid QB. But bear in mind that the optimum air raid QB would run the ball more than we have this season.

It is the opposing teams DC that is essentially calling the plays for WSU. Nothing deep, wide open backs and flats, no run game. So everything over the middle, short to medium.

 

[Strokee23]

If the Air Raid “adapts” then it’s no longer the Mike Leach Air Raid. It will be a different offense, a different system.

fluke turnovers/fumbles (UCLA game), 13 points against an elite defense, on the road, in a storm (Utah game) does not mean the offense needs to “adapt.” The offense is not the problem with the team. It’s not perfect, they are not executing perfectly, they must improve, but the offense is not the problem.

The problem is the defense. The defense sucks. The players are below average and the coaching is below average. The Utah game, with all of the factors, is likely a game they lose with last year’s team. They almost lost to Utah, in Pullman, with perfect weather. Last year’s offense probably would not have scored more than 63 points against UCLA. Last year’s defense would not have given up 67 points, even with the fluke turnovers and poor special teams play.

 

[BiggsCoug]

If the Air Raid “adapts” then it’s no longer the Mike Leach Air Raid. It will be a different offense, a different system.

fluke turnovers/fumbles (UCLA game), 13 points against an elite defense, on the road, in a storm (Utah game) does not mean the offense needs to “adapt.” The offense is not the problem with the team. It’s not perfect, they are not executing perfectly, they must improve, but the offense is not the problem.

The problem is the defense. The defense sucks. The players are below average and the coaching is below average. The Utah game, with all of the factors, is likely a game they lose with last year’s team. They almost lost to Utah, in Pullman, with perfect weather. Last year’s offense probably would not have scored more than 63 points against UCLA. Last year’s defense would not have given up 67 points, even with the fluke turnovers and poor special teams play.

Wrong.

 

[Strokee23]

Wrong.

Idiot.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Idiot.

Nope. You are wrong on the internet.

 

[Strokee23]

Nope. You are wrong on the internet.

Yep. You are correct on the idiotnet.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Yep. You are correct on the idiotnet.

Lol. You’re stupid.

 

[froropmkr72]

Nope. You are wrong on the internet.

look back on his 12 posts....he started posting during the ucla game...I think he's the the uw troll who's been pretending to be a WSU fan for years. Really sad. Probably ChinookPirate.

 

[Strokee23]

look back on his 12 posts....he started posting during the ucla game...I think he's the the uw troll who's been pretending to be a WSU fan for years. Really sad. Probably ChinookPirate.

You really are ****ing loony tunes. Who is this UW troll and ChinookPirate person you’re so paranoid of?

 

[Coug90]

The Air Raid beats a lot of defenses. In fact

We are #4 in total offense.
We are #6 in scoring offense

In the country.

It's not the offense.

We are #105 in total defense
We are #100 in scoring defense.

That's the problem.

Football is a team sport. There’s enough talent on offense to overcome the deficiencies on defense. The offense had several opportunities to hold onto the ball and easily secure a win against UCLA, and failed. The offense sucked against Utah. The offense left a lot of points on the field today even though they scored 34. They weren’t getting pressure and couldn’t match up on our receivers. Should have put up 50 easily.

defense is rebuilding but offense has plenty of firepower to overcome. They aren’t getting it done either.

 

[ShockandAweWSU]

A QB who can run or make timed runs like Minshew did is what will take this offense to the next level. Gordon moves better than Falk and Holliday, but he can't really extend the play like Minshew did.

 

[dgibbons]

I'm so desperate I am more concerned about how well we play rather than whether we win.

Scoring 13 points with the Air Raid won't do.
Massive turnovers must stop.
Plenty for the defense to improve on.

I have to believe our guys are better than that.
Right now a moral victory would at least be a turning point away from disaster.

You mean like having zero turnovers today?

 

[GrayOnGray]

You mean like having zero turnovers today?

Yup.

 

[Strokee23]

Football is a team sport. There’s enough talent on offense to overcome the deficiencies on defense. The offense had several opportunities to hold onto the ball and easily secure a win against UCLA, and failed. The offense sucked against Utah. The offense left a lot of points on the field today even though they scored 34. They weren’t getting pressure and couldn’t match up on our receivers. Should have put up 50 easily.

defense is rebuilding but offense has plenty of firepower to overcome. They aren’t getting it done either.

Enough with the “football is a team sport” statement. Of course it is. It’s foolish and hypocritical to say that and then bash the offense for not overcoming the deficiencies of the defense. The team is losing primarily because of the defense. During this 3-game in conference losing streak the offense is averaging 37 ppg, while the defense is giving up 46 ppg. The offense has faced more talented defenses than the offenses the team has faced. It’s unfair to say that the #1 statistical offense in the conference should just “do more” because they’re capable. The defense sucks. Period.