Lester/Shafer need to loosen the leash early...

[orangeinjersey]

To me it seems clear that the play calling early on is designed to limit what Dungey has to do. This is probably a philosophy designed to limit mistakes from a true frosh qb who had only started 1 game (CMU). Just like CMU, and just like early LSU, and now USF, we can't be down 2 TD's and then decide to open up the offense.

Lester/Shafer need to let the kid loose, let him take his lumps and get through his growing pains. And we need to chill with all that option, the kid is going to get killed.

 

[Oswego93]

I agree. I mentioned it in the game thread, but it is worth repeating:

As an extremely conservative coach, HCSS will always play it vanilla in any game in which he thinks his squad is even with, or better than, the opposing team. It's not until it becomes GLARINGLY apparent that the formula will fail, does he take the leash off the dogs. Hell, for years, that has been the philosophy of the Defense too: they get increasingly aggressive/blitz happy the closer the opposition gets to the endzone.

It's really only against teams that they are heavy underdogs against that he seems to play like a riverboat gambler from the get-go.

 

[jekelish]

I was truly baffled by the offensive play calling and personnel in the first half. I'm sorry, but Jordan Fredericks is by so far our best RB it's ridiculous. He needs to be taking 75% of the snaps.

 

[gmoney44]

The short side option in the first half was killing me. I thought George Deleone snuck into the coordinator box and was reliving old glories.

 

[Rocco]

To me it seems clear that the play calling early on is designed to limit what Dungey has to do. This is probably a philosophy designed to limit mistakes from a true frosh qb who had only started 1 game (CMU). Just like CMU, and just like early LSU, and now USF, we can't be down 2 TD's and then decide to open up the offense.

Lester/Shafer need to let the kid loose, let him take his lumps and get through his growing pains. And we need to chill with all that option, the kid is going to get killed.

Great post, agree 1000%. If they are really worried about easing him in, playing conservative and going down 2 scores is not helping him. Puts a lot of pressure on his shoulders and forces him into blitz happy situations.

The play calling in the LSU game was awesome; they should open it up like that every game.

 

[MikeSU02]

To me it seems clear that the play calling early on is designed to limit what Dungey has to do. This is probably a philosophy designed to limit mistakes from a true frosh qb who had only started 1 game (CMU). Just like CMU, and just like early LSU, and now USF, we can't be down 2 TD's and then decide to open up the offense.

Lester/Shafer need to let the kid loose, let him take his lumps and get through his growing pains. And we need to chill with all that option, the kid is going to get killed.

Kid has basically played 3.5 games and has 7 passing TDs and 2 rushing TDs, with one INT.

Not bad for a kid that usually would be redshirting and trying to add muscle and study the play book.

 

[RF2044]

To me it seems clear that the play calling early on is designed to limit what Dungey has to do. This is probably a philosophy designed to limit mistakes from a true frosh qb who had only started 1 game (CMU). Just like CMU, and just like early LSU, and now USF, we can't be down 2 TD's and then decide to open up the offense.

Lester/Shafer need to let the kid loose, let him take his lumps and get through his growing pains. And we need to chill with all that option, the kid is going to get killed.

I wonder if some of that had to do with Dungey getting his first live snaps after the injury.

Agree 100%, though. We saw the same thing against LSU, too, when they finally took the leash off and let Mahoney run the full offense. Yesterday, it seems like we were committed to running in the 1st half, opened it up in the third.

Open it up from the first possession and play to win.

 

[Oswego93]

Kid has basically played 3.5 games and has 7 passing TDs and 2 rushing TDs, with one INT.

Not bad for a kid that usually would be redshirting and trying to add muscle and study the play book.

Exactly. Seeing some nimrods calling for Mahoney in the game thread yesterday was silly. This kid's "growing pains" have not been costly.

 

[MikeSU02]

Exactly. Seeing some nimrods calling for Mahoney in the game thread yesterday was silly. This kid's "growing pains" have not been costly.

I wrote this in another thread, but as much as Mahoney should be celebrated for his effort (and it was a HELLUVA effort) against LSU, he can't make half the throws or take half the hits ED can.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I agree. I mentioned it in the game thread, but it is worth repeating:

As an extremely conservative coach, HCSS will always play it vanilla in any game in which he thinks his squad is even with, or better than, the opposing team. It's not until it becomes GLARINGLY apparent that the formula will fail, does he take the leash off the dogs. Hell, for years, that has been the philosophy of the Defense too: they get increasingly aggressive/blitz happy the closer the opposition gets to the endzone.

It's really only against teams that they are heavy underdogs against that he seems to play like a riverboat gambler from the get-go.

This is exactly what I'm talking about when I say I'm concerned the staff may have some philosophies that lower our ceiling.

 

[Oakland]

I like what I see in ED alot - the guy is already doing more than most of our QBs have done in the last 15 years. And I was certainly not calling for Mahoney to come in. However, I am intrigued with Mahoney. He should not have been able to do what he did against LSU, and yet he did. His worst problem was the 6 or 7 ankle throws (mostly in the first half) and I expect those to disappear quickly. I'd luv to see a blow out of UVA so we could see some more of Mahoney - we might have two diamonds in the rough.

I wrote this in another thread, but as much as Mahoney should be celebrated for his effort (and it was a HELLUVA effort) against LSU, he can't make half the throws or take half the hits ED can.

 

[KevMonstah]

They seem to be trying to out-think themselves with some of the play calling. I think defensively, they are terrible at
this. You don't have to do stunts/blitzes/blah-blah-whatever every single play. Yesterday was almost begging for the
team to switch to a mush rush, just to keep the QB contained, and have guys able to react to the run, as opposed to
having the first cut get you past seven guys. But, that's on defense.

I just don't get the fascination with triple option and stuff, when you have clearly some RBs who have talent,
and look, spread wide with a toss sweep, and off they'd go. They ran one option to the short side of the field
with Ben Lewis. Really? Not a quick guy, with Lewis? Throughout the first half, they gained nothing on the
ground, and then thought an option with not the fastest WR is going to do something? Maybe the game got
past my understanding of football, but you have a few RBs who can run or catch a screen pass here and there,
you have Ishmael-Estime-Custis as WRs you can work around all over, you have Lewis and TEs who can work
the middle of the field, I just don't see why you look at all that, and then say "you know, an option to the
short side of the field makes sense here." No it doesn't. Stop making things harder than they need to be.

Kev