Perhaps it's because I was so glad to see a win that I didn't bother doing much dissection of the post-game stats, but I didn't realize the offense was that pedestrian in the game. And it's an interesting contrast, because I actually enjoyed watching the offense this time. Lining up in heavy run sets and then throwing to a TE or FB in the flat, effectively using playaction to open up the passing game, the occasional trick play (flea flicker!)--it looked a lot like the mid-2000s Tedford offenses (albeit a less productive version).
Wazzu gives up 36 points per game (worst in the Pac-12); let's see if we can finally break 30 this weekend.
Re: the 1 yard line, OH MY GOD yes just use the damn qb sneak no bs its literally the easiest playcall ever unless you worry about a Mahomes situation from last year in the nfl. You just know vanilla runs from the 1 are going to get blown up unless you are like Wisconsin or Iowa, the playaction from the 1 to the backup or 3rd string TE almost always works along with your choice of a qb sneak, look at the UO-OSU game from the week prior.
I was losing my MIND at the end of the game, as well as at the end of the half. After giving Oregon the opportunity to score 2 touchdowns in 1 1/2 minutes at the end of the first half, with a measly 4 point lead they essentially did 3 kneel downs and then tried to get a 4th and 10? This left Oregon more than 2 minutes to work with. Coaching malpractice.
Nice Review. I think the "tough love" perspective is smart for this year's team. Garbers' accuracy was really off for a lot of the game forcing that gave up a lot of potential gains because the receivers were unable to catch the ball in stride and had to jump, dive, slide, and adjust to compensate for the frequent inaccuracies. That said, seeing Garbers hit Remigio for a long ball was SO refreshing. We have some solidly talented receivers and we just need to find a way to get them the ball deeper and more accurately!
This is a tough love article and reminds me of what my high school coach yelled at me once during practice: "you've improved 110% but you're still the god damn shits!!"
I hope we dont see delayed kneel-downs ever again. Not only do I think it borders on poor sportsmanship, but its inviting trouble. O-Lineman half speed blocking and then D-Lineman raging.. it's just an injury to a lineman or your qb, or a fight waiting to happen.
Re: Offense--Couldn't agree more! Pretty conservative and relied on our defense to bail out the O. We were very fortunate the D stepped up...but this is not the recipe for winning football. Given the conservative nature of the O, made it more perplexing why they didn't attempt the field goal.
The CAL team that showed up for the UO game is the team that I thought would show up this season. They finally got enough starters back AND they finally got into a groove with Musgrave's complex offense. With only one week of Spring ball and four weeks of limited fall camp, I did not believe they would be clicking with the new offense in the first few games. If you couple that with starters that were lost to Covid and special teams disasters, it was a recipe for our losses. If we can get back to a regular schedule and have a regular Spring session and Fall camp for 2021, I believe that we will be a solid contender for the PAC12 North, in spite of losing a number of good players. It will be interesting to see if any of our non-pro caliber studs (Curhan, etc.) come back for the additional year of eligibility they have been granted. It will also be interesting to see how Wilcox deals with those that sat out this year (Tevin Paul etc.) if they return next year.
Thanks for the post-mortem on what was a very odd game. I am now hopeful that we can sneak out of the Palouse with a win next Saturday night, considering how soundly USC beat WSU.
Perhaps it's because I was so glad to see a win that I didn't bother doing much dissection of the post-game stats, but I didn't realize the offense was that pedestrian in the game. And it's an interesting contrast, because I actually enjoyed watching the offense this time. Lining up in heavy run sets and then throwing to a TE or FB in the flat, effectively using playaction to open up the passing game, the occasional trick play (flea flicker!)--it looked a lot like the mid-2000s Tedford offenses (albeit a less productive version).
Wazzu gives up 36 points per game (worst in the Pac-12); let's see if we can finally break 30 this weekend.
Re: the 1 yard line, OH MY GOD yes just use the damn qb sneak no bs its literally the easiest playcall ever unless you worry about a Mahomes situation from last year in the nfl. You just know vanilla runs from the 1 are going to get blown up unless you are like Wisconsin or Iowa, the playaction from the 1 to the backup or 3rd string TE almost always works along with your choice of a qb sneak, look at the UO-OSU game from the week prior.
I was losing my MIND at the end of the game, as well as at the end of the half. After giving Oregon the opportunity to score 2 touchdowns in 1 1/2 minutes at the end of the first half, with a measly 4 point lead they essentially did 3 kneel downs and then tried to get a 4th and 10? This left Oregon more than 2 minutes to work with. Coaching malpractice.
Well stated. Your characterization of our past three, and this year was so Old Blue I had to pqtm.
Still savoring those 4th quarter stops.
Next stop, Pullman. Cougs took a first quarter walloping in LA. I hope the Bears can stifle them in similar fashion.
Nice Review. I think the "tough love" perspective is smart for this year's team. Garbers' accuracy was really off for a lot of the game forcing that gave up a lot of potential gains because the receivers were unable to catch the ball in stride and had to jump, dive, slide, and adjust to compensate for the frequent inaccuracies. That said, seeing Garbers hit Remigio for a long ball was SO refreshing. We have some solidly talented receivers and we just need to find a way to get them the ball deeper and more accurately!
This is a tough love article and reminds me of what my high school coach yelled at me once during practice: "you've improved 110% but you're still the god damn shits!!"
I hope we dont see delayed kneel-downs ever again. Not only do I think it borders on poor sportsmanship, but its inviting trouble. O-Lineman half speed blocking and then D-Lineman raging.. it's just an injury to a lineman or your qb, or a fight waiting to happen.
Re: Offense--Couldn't agree more! Pretty conservative and relied on our defense to bail out the O. We were very fortunate the D stepped up...but this is not the recipe for winning football. Given the conservative nature of the O, made it more perplexing why they didn't attempt the field goal.
The CAL team that showed up for the UO game is the team that I thought would show up this season. They finally got enough starters back AND they finally got into a groove with Musgrave's complex offense. With only one week of Spring ball and four weeks of limited fall camp, I did not believe they would be clicking with the new offense in the first few games. If you couple that with starters that were lost to Covid and special teams disasters, it was a recipe for our losses. If we can get back to a regular schedule and have a regular Spring session and Fall camp for 2021, I believe that we will be a solid contender for the PAC12 North, in spite of losing a number of good players. It will be interesting to see if any of our non-pro caliber studs (Curhan, etc.) come back for the additional year of eligibility they have been granted. It will also be interesting to see how Wilcox deals with those that sat out this year (Tevin Paul etc.) if they return next year.
Thanks for the post-mortem on what was a very odd game. I am now hopeful that we can sneak out of the Palouse with a win next Saturday night, considering how soundly USC beat WSU.