How many here are simply tired of the Air Raid?
- Thread starter YakiCoug
- Start date
People are always tired of an offense that sputters. Then fall back in love when the offense puts up big numbers.
Reality is that it doesn't matter what scheme you run. There will be good days are bad days whether you're running the triple option or the Air Raid. At WSU we need to run a system to maximize the production from the talent available. We're not going to out recruit SC to run a pro style offense.
I’m tired of watching our defense get lit up. UW passed for 90 yards and ran it down our throats. Same with MSU.
We needed the defense to step up last night against a predictable offense, and they failed miserably.
We needed the defense to step up last night against a predictable offense, and they failed miserably.
9-4 and in the Holiday Bowl.
I think the Air Raid is just fine.
I think the Air Raid is just fine.
This year, in my opinion, our struggles are more related to lack of WR production. Simply put, I didn't see the separation like we saw with Craycraft and Marks.
I think with a little bit of evolution, the air raid can be a great offensive scheme. And yes, you also need the athletes to run it. You need a QB who can make quick decisions and you need WRs who can get separation and who can find gaps in the D. WR was a very poor position this season. Lots of drops, only one...maybe two guys who could stretch the field... both of those guys quit on the team. Last night was what happens when you try to run the air raid with 4-5 WRs who are average at best. Nothing against Sweet. He played his butt off. But he's limited physically. He is a good contributor who can make a few plays a game, but he's not WR1 or even WR2 material. He's more of a slot WR. We needed one of the young guys to step up and make plays on the outside and no one did.
The extreme percentage of passing is very frustrating. It's not inconceivable that it could be 3rd down and 6 feet to the end zone and the pass the ball. It's also not inconceivable that there's been disconnect between the QB and his receivers as well as the HC and his offense this year. Anyone who makes this into a QB debate and saying "Tyler proved he's not the man next year" is simply misguided. Just can't stand people who want to beat a horse that's not born yet. I'd have to check the TOP, but I'm sure the defense was on the field a great deal in the first half. We'd have to run the ball more to sustain drives and the conversation just goes around and around.
Then others would say that there was more separation, open looks and that they didn't get the ball. I believe there was a larger window of opportunity earlier in the season, it wasn't taken advantage of and ball didn't get rolling entirely. The defense played better for the most part and the offense didn't improve from 2016'. Combine the 2016' offense with the 2017' defense (plus a couple of guys kicked off before the season started) and who knows what they could of done. Still very proud of the way the defense played in spite of all the setbacks.
I just hope that leach really opens up the QB position next year. All of the potential candidates have the physical ability to run the Air Raid the right way. It would also be nice to hire an O line coach who knows what he is doing.The Air raid is here to stay as long as leach is the head coach. Leach now has a contract which few bigger schools will offer more,given leach s history.
The Air raid needs to evolve. I don't know if it can with Leach. The same creativity that dreamed it up seems to be holding it back.
Fun-da-mentals are missing on D. It is not a lot of fun when the da-mental part is off. (out of position, wrong gap, missing tackles, etc....) I hope that side of the ball can be fixed with experience. I hope the offensive side of the ball can be fixed with speed at the wide receiver position and better play calling. But I am not too hopeful about the play calling.
Boy, I don’t know if it’s fundamentals. We just don’t play a lot of teams who commit to power running. When we do, they destroy us. MSU was getting 2-3 yards in sneaks and 5-7 yards off tackle.
Doesn't explain the recent success against Stanford - would be 3 in a row if WSU had a kicker in 2015
We have trouble with strong backs. Missed tackles pop up when we're facing strong back like Coleman at UW. MSU's RB goes about 225. We still don't have much size on D.
We’re not a terrible team. I hope nobody is suggesting that we are. We’ve caught Stanford at the right time the past 2 years. First a banged up McCafferrey and a horrible QB, and this year a one legged Love and a first time QB starter.
I was actually encouraged that Hilinski showed some patience and didn’t force a bunch of bad passes. The run checks will come with more time.
It’s the Asperger’s: a fixation on doing things repetitively in an obsessive manner.
Total offense rankings by season (using yards, not points, per game):
2017: 38
2016: 17
2015: 20
2014: 9
2013: 52
2012: 92
Total offense (using yards/play):
2017: 71
2016: 40
2015: 46
2014: 34
2013: 75
2012: 109
Scoring offense (pts/game):
2017: 51
2016: 18
2015: 49
2014: 48
2013: 53
2012: 108
What sticks out:
- With 2016 as an outlier, the trend in scoring offense speaks volumes ... once established, it's been pretty flat. A ranking around 50th isn't great.
- This year's yards/play ranking also is interesting. Even though the bowl game result cuts against it, let's hope most of this season's problems were due to a combination of Falk's issues and some (hopefully temporary) limitations in our WR play.
- I think the 2014 Halliday-led season, in particular, gives some hope that the offense can still function in today's landscape. That said, he was really just getting it and chucking it, to use a word I haven't in about 30 years. 9th in yards, but only 34th in yards/play, is pretty remarkable since the Air Raid is a no-huddle offense but not inherently a tempo offense. As you guys may recall, the problem back then was getting a lot of yards but then having major problems in the red zone and with a great deal of those yards racked up in the second half of games WSU lost.
2017: 38
2016: 17
2015: 20
2014: 9
2013: 52
2012: 92
Total offense (using yards/play):
2017: 71
2016: 40
2015: 46
2014: 34
2013: 75
2012: 109
Scoring offense (pts/game):
2017: 51
2016: 18
2015: 49
2014: 48
2013: 53
2012: 108
What sticks out:
- With 2016 as an outlier, the trend in scoring offense speaks volumes ... once established, it's been pretty flat. A ranking around 50th isn't great.
- This year's yards/play ranking also is interesting. Even though the bowl game result cuts against it, let's hope most of this season's problems were due to a combination of Falk's issues and some (hopefully temporary) limitations in our WR play.
- I think the 2014 Halliday-led season, in particular, gives some hope that the offense can still function in today's landscape. That said, he was really just getting it and chucking it, to use a word I haven't in about 30 years. 9th in yards, but only 34th in yards/play, is pretty remarkable since the Air Raid is a no-huddle offense but not inherently a tempo offense. As you guys may recall, the problem back then was getting a lot of yards but then having major problems in the red zone and with a great deal of those yards racked up in the second half of games WSU lost.
So i will"hate the starter" I think that people should quit reading press clippings and reading meaningless stats. If you look at Hilinski s stats ,he had a Falk like day. They indicate he had a great game. These are the kinds of games that make up a good deal of Falk s stats. The ability to produce early when the game is on the line is very important. The defense did not produce so the cougs had no chance to win the game To Hilinski s credit he did not throw a lot of desperation passes and showed some mobility. I hope that the next starter has to earn the starting position i also wish that leach will hire a new O line coach and demote the current coach to a less vital position.
I want to see our offense get back to being more explosive than it has been over the last season or season and a half. Personally I really don't see the Air Raid as the root issue though.
We are grumbling over 9-win seasons. That shows just how far this program has come in a relatively short period of time during the Leach era.
We are grumbling over 9-win seasons. That shows just how far this program has come in a relatively short period of time during the Leach era.
One thing that bothers me is that despite the Air Raid offense we run, we are not attracting top-notch speedy wide receiver recruits. Maybe with a speed-burner at wide out and Borghi at running back we will have the final cards in place to make defenses play us honestly.
Mixed feelings. On the one hand, I agree with this ... grumbling over 9-win seasons feels odd. I appreciate the overall quality of the football we are seeing now.
On the other, though, it feels like this season left quite a bit on the table. It's rare to have a legitimately very good defense in Pullman, especially opposite the Air Raid, and seeing the offense sputter pretty much all season was frustrating when the defense was good enough, at least on paper, for the team to win more games if the offense performed well. We don't get many chances for 11- or 12-win seasons, so crap like the Cal and Arizona games, even if we leave aside the UW game, stings.
Maybe we’ve finally hit the jackpot with the WR recruits in this class. At the same time, the quality of RB recruits we’ve been getting has been better than I expected.
We were pulling bodies early, enough that when Lepua and other guys did not qualify it didn’t hurt. Vaeao is in the NFL. Ekuale has a shot. Hercules will get drafted. But once it got to one true DT recruit, Toki failing to qualify and Tapa washing out we had trouble. It was easy to see coming, like Wulff’s OL recruiting.
Yes, Falk can be immortalized and be given the Golden Key to Pullman once he leaves. I celebrate the player and his graduation. Hell, he has a hell of a lot more supporters here who will sing his praises and his trip to Vahalla
I’m a D guy. Baseball scores are good games to me. I miss the days of Doba D. Big D plays are far more exciting than big O plays.
Well you got with Drue Jackson. If he is not an immediate starter I will hit the floor. Watched him in 7 on 7 and he is the real deal. They have at about a 4.5 40 time but I think he is faster than that and his shuttle time at 4.11 is strong.
MSUs RB is basically LeVeon Bell Jr, so you are not going to stop him. Best way to slow that type of an attack down is to control the ball. Worst way to control the ball is to try and pass it 90% of the time. Which is why the end result was pretty easy to predict.
9 wins makes me like the Air Raid. Keep upgrading the recruiting classes and we will end up with a team that can steadily run it a bit better. Long term, it looks good to me.
Like one of my closest friends (a TT grad) told me when our hiring of Mike Leach was announced, there will be times when Leach will frustrate the living s**t out of you. But the guy will win a lot more than he will lose. I don't think he has had a QB yet that is a great fit for his system. A good fit, yes. But a great fit? No way. And we've never had the WR depth that his system requires, though that gets a little better every year.
Like one of my closest friends (a TT grad) told me when our hiring of Mike Leach was announced, there will be times when Leach will frustrate the living s**t out of you. But the guy will win a lot more than he will lose. I don't think he has had a QB yet that is a great fit for his system. A good fit, yes. But a great fit? No way. And we've never had the WR depth that his system requires, though that gets a little better every year.
The one thing TT definitely had that we haven't so far are legit NFL receivers. Not just marginal practice squad maybes. That and I suspect they were a bit stouter at Oline
I’m tired of seeing an open field for Hilinski to run. He’s a dual threat, he didn’t use that aspect of his game. For all the praise that Leach gave their QB for extending drives with his feet, he fails to allow his own QB to keep the other team honest. In my mind, a dual threat QB is what this offense needs to ignite the air raid.
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Agree. I like the speed defense that Grinch has installed but we still need a couple of wide bodies to plug the middle. Teams like the uw are simply running up the middle and crushing our fast but smaller d-linemen. Losing Ekuale to graduation creates a problem for the next season. We have two big kids coming in next year and could use another among the last five recruits.
Yes, we have done well against Stanford but, frankly, I don't know why. Theoretically, they should be routinely stomping us.
Because Furd has had poor QB play since Hogan graduated. And Shaw is vastly overrated.
Agree with this.
Cougs got 9 wins but it's not like there can't be personnel improvements in almost every spot.
Cougs also have a good schedule next year. Three winnable non conference games and then a bye week after game 6.
Possible to go 5-1 (loss to USC) before the balance of the conference schedule.
Guess what - 9 wins looks probable right now for this team.
Agree on Shaw, although I think he’s a great recruiting fit for Stanford. He exudes a very Stanfordesque arrogance.
