Offensive adjustments?

[roses04]

Just a thought, and I doubt we will see any changes, but two games this year the Air Raid struggled due to weather.

One was the Colorado game, the "swirling wind" as described by CML, caused some major issues in the first half of that game, and then of course the Apple Cup.

I know running the ball more seems to be out of the question, but this offensive line is getting bigger and better each year. Maybe, just maybe, we say the hell with the wide splits, go to a more traditional offensive and play power football from time to time, to give the defense more things to think about. As more teams do a better job of defending the Air Raid as Cal and the UW did, rushing 3 and sending out 4 receivers against 8 DBs has it's limitations.

Iowa State has a real good defense, they kept Oklahoma to 37 points, the only other teams to keep OU below 40 were ARMY and Texas. ISU held West Virginia to 14 points, Baylor to 14 points, both pass first offenses, West Virginia is a carbon copy of the our offense with a few wrinkles. Weather won't play a factor in the Alamo Bowl needless to say, but ISU has defended Air Raid offenses real well. So it will be interesting to see if any adjustments or tweaks are made. ISU has a legit defense, the type that will cause the Air Raid a lot of problems. Of course the Air Raid is about space and making the defense defend the whole field, however when they are only rushing 3 we don't make them defend the line of scrimmage. As much as people jumped on Jimmy Lake, his one point can't be argued with, "preparing for them is easy, they just keep doing the same thing every year."

So we have a lot of time to prepare, so does anyone think will we see any minor adjustments? If there are no new wrinkles to confuse the ISU defense, it could be a long evening in San Antonio.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

No.

We destroy ISU straight up. Good D in the B12 is akin to being to tallest midget. The only thing that gives this O fits is when the D gets pressure with 3, which I'm doubting ISU has the hosses to do.

We win by 30+

 

[BiggsCoug]

So changing schemes? Not happening.

 

[dgibbons]

Just a thought, and I doubt we will see any changes, but two games this year the Air Raid struggled due to weather.

One was the Colorado game, the "swirling wind" as described by CML, caused some major issues in the first half of that game, and then of course the Apple Cup.

I know running the ball more seems to be out of the question, but this offensive line is getting bigger and better each year. Maybe, just maybe, we say the hell with the wide splits, go to a more traditional offensive and play power football from time to time, to give the defense more things to think about. As more teams do a better job of defending the Air Raid as Cal and the UW did, rushing 3 and sending out 4 receivers against 8 DBs has it's limitations.

Iowa State has a real good defense, they kept Oklahoma to 37 points, the only other teams to keep OU below 40 were ARMY and Texas. ISU held West Virginia to 14 points, Baylor to 14 points, both pass first offenses, West Virginia is a carbon copy of the our offense with a few wrinkles. Weather won't play a factor in the Alamo Bowl needless to say, but ISU has defended Air Raid offenses real well. So it will be interesting to see if any adjustments or tweaks are made. ISU has a legit defense, the type that will cause the Air Raid a lot of problems. Of course the Air Raid is about space and making the defense defend the whole field, however when they are only rushing 3 we don't make them defend the line of scrimmage. As much as people jumped on Jimmy Lake, his one point can't be argued with, "preparing for them is easy, they just keep doing the same thing every year."

So we have a lot of time to prepare, so does anyone think will we see any minor adjustments? If there are no new wrinkles to confuse the ISU defense, it could be a long evening in San Antonio.

Why play to ISU's strength? Changing the whole offense would be doing that.

 

[Cougatron]

The offense works fine. Only in the most extreme circumstances does it suffer and that is quite rare.

If we are going to throw the ball we have one of the best coaches in the history of the game.

If we abandon the pass for our rare bad weather than we should (in the future) opt for the best at the run like Kentucky’s Eddie Gran.

But we shouldn’t change anything currently and just continue to just improving the roster over time.

As I highlighted in another post our talent gap is closing with UW and others with our current trajectory and eventually the weather issue won’t be as much of a problem when it hits us. (It’ll still be a problem but not won’t effect us as much)

 

[CougEd]

The offense works fine. Only in the most extreme circumstances does it suffer and that is quite rare.

If we are going to throw the ball we have one of the best coaches in the history of the game.

If we abandon the pass for our rare bad weather than we should (in the future) opt for the best at the run like Kentucky’s Eddie Gran.

But we shouldn’t change anything currently and just continue to just improving the roster over time.

As I highlighted in another post our talent gap is closing with UW and others with our current trajectory and eventually the weather issue won’t be as much of a problem when it hits us. (It’ll still be a problem but not won’t effect us as much)

What were the extreme circumstances in the Apple Cups 2016 and 2017? The last two Cal games?

 

[dgibbons]

What were the extreme circumstances in the Apple Cups 2016 and 2017? The last two Cal games?

Ed has spoken. Clearly the offense is broken. When are we switching to the triple option?

 

[Loyal Coug]

Ed has spoken. Clearly the offense is broken. When are we switching to the triple option?

Rump turn option is preferable. The way I see it, CML now has 2 Coach of the Year awards, now putting him on a level of esteem equal to Walden and Price. So now he shouldn't be embarrassed to call them up for advice on offensive schemes. A little rump turn option, a little "Jay Dumas" WR pass, whatever other tricks those Hall of Famers might have in their back pockets.

 

[longtimecoug]

What were the extreme circumstances in the Apple Cups 2016 and 2017? The last two Cal games?

Falk assuming the fetal position

 

[CougEd]

Ed has spoken. Clearly the offense is broken. When are we switching to the triple option?[/QUOTE

Clearly that is what I said .

 

[Coug90]

No.

We destroy ISU straight up. Good D in the B12 is akin to being to tallest midget. The only thing that gives this O fits is when the D gets pressure with 3, which I'm doubting ISU has the hosses to do.

We win by 30+

ISU led their conference with 30 sacks I believe. Minshews going to have to make some quick reads, get the ball out on time and make good decisions.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

ISU led their conference with 30 sacks I believe. Minshews going to have to make some quick reads, get the ball out on time and make good decisions.

What's new?

Unless there is a blinding blizzard again, we demolish their "vaunted" defense.

We win by 60+

 

[Coug90]

What's new?

Unless there is a blinding blizzard again, we demolish their "vaunted" defense.

We win by 60+

Hope you’re right just saying their D is probably equivalent to what we see in our conference as the toughest match ups, Cal/UW. They’ve seen the air raid and will have a month to practice for it. It will be a test.

 

[SDCoug]

What's new?

Unless there is a blinding blizzard again, we demolish their "vaunted" defense.

We win by 60+

After the last two year’s bowl games, I’ll wait until after the game is over to get confident.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

After the last two year’s bowl games, I’ll wait until after the game is over to get confident.

What's the point of having guarded expectations anymore?

Go in thinking we'll lose and do, bummer.
Go in thinking we'll win and lose, bummer.
Go in thinking we'll win and win, winner!

IDK, I'm just done with the whole "piss on my head and tell me it's raining" thing.

We're good. Really good. Top 10 in the polls and cfp good. The consensus is that we should still be 12 if not a little higher. ISU isn't and never was, so stop selling me a bill of goods that just doesn't ring true.

That being said, any team can beat another team on any given day, and they are talented enough to raise that chance some. However, they will have to catch lightning in a bottle to beat the Cougs in the prestigeous Alamo Bowl in incredible San Antonio (German for a whales anus, btw...)

 

[SDCoug]

What's the point of having guarded expectations anymore?

Go in thinking we'll lose and do, bummer.
Go in thinking we'll win and lose, bummer.
Go in thinking we'll win and win, winner!

IDK, I'm just done with the whole "piss on my head and tell me it's raining" thing.

We're good. Really good. Top 10 in the polls and cfp good. The consensus is that we should still be too 12 if not a little higher. ISU isn't and never was, so stop selling me a bill of goods that just doesn't ring true.

That being said, any team can beat another team on any given day, and they are talented enough to raise that chance some. However, they will have to catch lightning in a bottle to beat the Cougs in the prestigeous Alamo Bowl in incredible San Antonio (German for a whales and, btw...)

It’s a defense mechanism. I’ve found that when I expect too much from things outside of my control, particularly Coug athletics, I tend to take the losses much harder.

 

[WASH ST A&M FAN]

I know it’s fun for some to look at all the negative facts, but here’s one the other way.

Now Leach finally gets tape on an Opposing Team Playing many Air Raid Offenses (Baylor, Tech, Oklahoma, WV, and to some degree wide open Okie St).

 

[Coug1990]

What were the extreme circumstances in the Apple Cups 2016 and 2017? The last two Cal games?

The extreme circumstances were the uw clearly had the more talented players, as evidenced by the numerous high NFL draft picks. This is the first year that the gap in talent was not as large. Maybe you had not read this in other threads, but Tron, others, and I have written about this point.

 

[CougEd]

The extreme circumstances were the uw clearly had the more talented players, as evidenced by the numerous high NFL draft picks. This is the first year that the gap in talent was not as large. Maybe you had not read this in other threads, but Tron, others, and I have written about this point.

Hmmm ... no I get the reasoning you are putting forth. But how does osu get 23 on them, UCLA get 24, Stanford 23 , asu 20? And we barely in low teens?

And are you saying we have to have high draft picks across the board or at wr to close the gap under 15?

We thought reason we lost in 2014 was because they had Marcus peters etc. Then they gave way to Jones and King in 2015. Plus Budda . Now they have Murphy and rapp and mcintosh . Are we hoping that they make a mistake recruiting in the secondary?

 

[Coug1990]

Hmmm ... no I get the reasoning you are putting forth. But how does osu get 23 on them, UCLA get 24, Stanford 23 , asu 20? And we barely in low teens?

And are you saying we have to have high draft picks across the board or at wr to close the gap under 15?

We thought reason we lost in 2014 was because they had Marcus peters etc. Then they gave way to Jones and King in 2015. Plus Budda . Now they have Murphy and rapp and mcintosh . Are we hoping that they make a mistake recruiting in the secondary?

There is a reason why the games are actually played because in a single instance, anything can happen. But, we all know in the end, talent wins the majority of the time.

I hate excuses, but I have been to hundreds of games and by far, that was the worst weather for a game that I have ever attended. Do I believe it played a huge part in the outcome of the Apple Cup. Yes. Does it matter? No. They won and they will go to the Rose Bowl. End of story.

Now, this is WSU's best team all around. So, the team is improved. However, the talent on the uw team is not as good. This is the worst set of receivers they have had after losing a first round and second round the last two years respectively. The defensive line has been the strength of their defense, but again, high draft picks have hurt them. So yes, they have come back to the pack.