Our offensive ineptitude

[RoysRunts]

The A gap dive is a core component of the offense. They are going to run it, because when it works the offense hums.

Again, listen to Babers, he's being honest, he's telling anyone who will listen that his goal is to have the team playing well by game three or four.

What Year?

 

[hoopsupstate]

I’m not sure what you can call that will work. Where are the strengths on the offensive side of the ball? I don’t see any playmakers that you can count on. DeVito is inconsistent at best. No backs and the receivers aren’t close to being ACC level. The Oline is still a joke. I’m not sure who could cone up with a game plan with this talent.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Of course you can judge. But nothing about our prep was normal, losing 2 RBs and having no guards isn't normal. There's a new OC, they tend to take longer than DCs to get up and running. And not having Chris Bleich hurts and the corrupt NC2A can abcdef right off for that crime.

All true. Still, I saw like the exact same thing as last year which is actually crazy to think. In fact..the o line was better than the first 6 last year. The 7 sacks is misleading.

 

[cuseincincy]

Were our tight ends targeted at all (edit- yes, one of them was a quick hitter to the flat that was basically thrown before the snap, and the defender was all over him, see below)? The most unique play we ran today was when Jordan started like 20 yards behind the line at the snap. Other than that? I did not see anything.

- I saw a bunch of slow, read option half back dives.
- I saw a bunch of quick hitters that were decided on before the play even developed, some that had zero shot of success either because the defender was right there or the wide out not looking.
- I saw PLENTY of passes deep down the sideline, some that probably should have been completed, but a throw that will always be a low % one because the sideline is a secondary defender and the guy you are targeting is apparently under 170lbs now
- I saw a nice throw to the back end of the end zone that should have been a touchdown.
- I saw a couple of nice runs by Tommy where he stepped up and committed and made sure he dove past the line.
- I saw Queeley make some nice catches, seemingly becoming the "#2" guy.
- I also saw way too many roll outs that led to nothing, and lack of identifying options 2, 3, 4.
- I did not see any attempt at a screen pass to our supposed speedsters- either Jordan, or Johnson.
- I saw us in shot gun on 4th and 1, that we did not get.
- I saw us run the ball on 3rd and 13 from inside the 15, because we "needed the points" and we couldn't risk a negative play or a turnover there (interesting... we also missed guaranteed points on basically the same kick not long after... interesting).

Unfortunately, I did not see nearly enough out there, and too much of the same.

That last one did it for me. That was "not trying" to me.

 

[qdawgg]

Is it too early in the season to say Marrone was a more aggressive and dynamic play caller? At least he was aware there was 40% of the field you’re allowed to throw to, called the middle. It’s not just a running lane you have to aim towards every 1st and 2nd down.

 

[SUFan44]

Of course you can judge. But nothing about our prep was normal, losing 2 RBs and having no guards isn't normal. There's a new OC, they tend to take longer than DCs to get up and running. And not having Chris Bleich hurts and the corrupt NC2A can abcdef right off for that crime.

Meh. Fair points all around but there are plenty of issues that are trends. Poor discipline, time management & QB play being the top three in my book.

 

[GoSU96]

UNC was playing well by quarter three.

uh, there’s a reason they are ranked preseason

 

[TheCusian]

Is it too early in the season to say Marrone was a more aggressive and dynamic play caller? At least he was aware there was 40% of the field you’re allowed to throw to, called the middle. It’s not just a running lane you have to aim towards every 1st and 2nd down.

we passed to the middle of the field today; some of Harris best plays were in the slot

 

[CuseOnly]

This is simple, our QB is not good.

No Field vision, terrible pocket presence, no playmaker instincts.

Notice how Howell mad the game look easy, our QB makes the game look painful and forced.

 

[sufandu]

This is a throwaway year and everyone needs to start treating it like that. Enjoy that you can watch any football at all. Although at points today I said I missed when sports were shut down.

Offense right now has issues everywhere. Either due to missing personnel or just general lack of talent. OL, QB, RB, WR, TE, even the OC with some head scratchers. You can't sustain a drive when every couple of plays, someone is going to make a critical mistake.

Perfect playcall for a touchdown pass? Dropped. Get a couple wide open WRs deep? Overthrow them. OL gives the QB time? The RB misses an easy block. Our QB cannot throw on the run at all, I'm not sure I've ever seen him complete a pass after moving, and unfortunately he has to move a lot. 3 man rush? 5 OL and the TE can't block them, and the TE gets a hold too. RBs trying to bounce things outside when they should just run straight ahead (Jordan's east-west was disheartening, nothing close to his north-south).

UNC played a base defense all day, and from it, they shut down the run, rushed the passer. Makes it easy if you can do that. And we're starting a fullback at guard.

We'll see how it evolves, but without a few key pieces, I wouldn't get overly upset, it's not going to be worth it.

I can get that it's a throwaway year. If that's the case, work on some stuff we don't normally do. What have we got to lose?

 

[phil77]

The legend of Dungey growing no he was the only one responsible for the 10 win season. Not like he got benched and hurt multiple times that year...

 

[blizz]

Yep.

 

[orangeinohio]

uh, there’s a reason they are ranked preseason

So it’s fine that other teams are ready for the first game of the season but SU is not?

 

[Briancuse]

I can get that it's a throwaway year. If that's the case, work on some stuff we don't normally do. What have we got to lose?

This whole throwaway year is that just for us or are other teams going for that too? They are still keeping score right? Btw not getting on you just pointing it out.

 

[DoctorBombay]

Really discouraging start. Trying to stay positive, it was just the first game after all. However what i saw from the QB & running game, not to mention play calling, was very disheartening.
I don’t like TD’s feel for the game. It’s the same feeling I’ve had about him since ND in Yankee Stadium. The “leadership” vibe just doesn’t seem to be there.
I thought the O-line played a bit better & the defense held up their end, so there are some encouraging signs.
The next couple of weeks will, or should tell us whether we’re actually moving forward, or are stuck watching the same movie...AGAIN.

 

[Steelerswan]

I'm seeing lots of people saying that the lack of training time, COVID opt outs, or other factors are the reason that our offense was so embarassingly pop-warner-esque today.

I'm not sure I buy this argument. First of all because all teams are dealing with many of the same issues yet manage to put out a representative performance. Frankly, it looked a whole lot like i remember it last year. Last year, I remember a whole lot of games where our defense carried the water for long stretches only to fall apart after trying to single handedly keep us in games while the offense does absolutely nothing. Our offense is unbelievably predictable, not even a bit creative. We don't use tight ends at all. We dont stretch the field at all beyond the occasional chuck downfield 3 yards out of bounds. Way too many of our pass plays are at or behind the LOS. Is Tommy incapable of throwing the ball downfield beyond the aforementioned throws OOB?

We got a new OC and for what? This? It's like they come to SU and its back to the same 5 stupid plays we always run.

I don't know what the answer is but, based on last season and the start of this one, it's seeming more and more to me that Eric Dungey was the main reason we got to 10 wins and that his success was despite the system and not because of it.

Amen, it's time we give ED his due and the crazy expectations, which I never bought into need to come to light. ED overcame oline issues, playcalling, and still had wrs that developed at his disposal. Last year, with those wrs graduated, most thought the system would take over but there was an obvious disconnect with wrs ready to step up and TD, who yes did step in , in spots. But, its much different being the starter and stepping in for relief, injury rules. The combo of ED graduating, the lack of wr development, and inability to put together an OL has all converged to 5-7 last year. Add in the fact the T2 was never gonna get it done here. Love the coordinator changes this year, but the O is still dinos baby and the lack of wr, ol development is staggering. On dino.

 

[Steelerswan]

Of course you can judge. But nothing about our prep was normal, losing 2 RBs and having no guards isn't normal. There's a new OC, they tend to take longer than DCs to get up and running. And not having Chris Bleich hurts and the corrupt NC2A can abcdef right off for that crime.

Pleasse...the 2 missing rbs HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. let's get off that now...

 

[Steelerswan]

I’m not sure what you can call that will work. Where are the strengths on the offensive side of the ball? I don’t see any playmakers that you can count on. DeVito is inconsistent at best. No backs and the receivers aren’t close to being ACC level. The Oline is still a joke. I’m not sure who could cone up with a game plan with this talent.

The oline actually played the best of any offensive unit. The weak link was qb, we, and the play calling.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I really expected, with Elmore at OG, that we’d see at least a couple plays with Elmore pulling and Jordan running outside behind him. I mean, I know that’s not part of our zone read scheme, but the personnel we’ve been forced to use just kind of lends itself to that.

Nope. HB into the A gap again.

We might and ive missed it, but do we ever pull linemen like that? A very common nfl call but it seems everything we do is just trying to run straight forward. Ironically enough, we also had seasons where we ran tons of WR sweeps directly East/West.

 

[City of Cuse]

Just one more kick to the groin.

 

[RandomGuy]

What i saw was fixable.

I watched the game 3 times. Devito was good with the quick reads(yes, there were slants). We need more.

The oline did indeed pull. Often the guard, and the T. Inexplicably, 1 time the RT, RG pulled, and there was NO ONE there to pick up the pressure.(2 guys) Jordan Tackle for a loss. Like the pull, but you can't get unabated to the RB. Fixable. Other plays Berg's assignment appeared inside. Pointed to the unblocked man, and he was missed. (At least once). Fixable. Not sure if these were missed line calls, or scheme concessions. Fixable.

Pat Davis was in for 2 series. He set a nice block for Jawar. The blitz that killed us all last year? That was mostly fixed. Credit to the Gs , RBs here(and TE).

It was a disappointing day, but the issue on offense did not seem insurmountable. I'm hoping our TEs can get into the open field more.

Our defense was fantastic, for 3Qs

 

[SuRaider307]

Erv phillips was a good college Player... Maybe 1 rung below an NFL player in talent. Even in ED's last year the warning signs were there that our Offense was starting to miss the short passes from the slot. Its my belief that Sean Lewis had a TON to do with the 5 yard slot read plays that we could count on to get 5 yards at will to keep drives going. We just haven't seen much of it since ED's junior year(Sean Lewis last). Its my belief that Sean had ED looking at the D Alignment and making the SLOT the first read...regardless of which play was called. ED and Erv could always be on the same page because The D alignment dictated which way Erv was going to break his route to... We have lost that completely since Lewis's departure and i have been hoping Dino would have looked back on those seasons to figure out why we are so stagnant on O. There is simply no question our O has looked different the last few years without Lewis calling the O but supposedly the system is the same... I brought it up 2 years ago even in our 10 win season.. I brought it up last year as well... I have watched tape from last years games... its missing completely and for the love of God.. someone in the off season have Dino go back and take a look at what we used to run and why we were so much more efficient on O.. Its so obvious its criminal... Phillips was an above average college player.. but we have personnel on our team this year with as much talent... By the way.. this would also take pressure off our O line.. not to mention get Devito looking somewhere other than just the sideline... Frustration is at a near all time high with this obvious fix for me right now

 

[MadNY3]

This is a throwaway year and everyone needs to start treating it like that. Enjoy that you can watch any football at all. Although at points today I said I missed when sports were shut down.

Offense right now has issues everywhere. Either due to missing personnel or just general lack of talent. OL, QB, RB, WR, TE, even the OC with some head scratchers. You can't sustain a drive when every couple of plays, someone is going to make a critical mistake.

Perfect playcall for a touchdown pass? Dropped. Get a couple wide open WRs deep? Overthrow them. OL gives the QB time? The RB misses an easy block. Our QB cannot throw on the run at all, I'm not sure I've ever seen him complete a pass after moving, and unfortunately he has to move a lot. 3 man rush? 5 OL and the TE can't block them, and the TE gets a hold too. RBs trying to bounce things outside when they should just run straight ahead (Jordan's east-west was disheartening, nothing close to his north-south).

UNC played a base defense all day, and from it, they shut down the run, rushed the passer. Makes it easy if you can do that. And we're starting a fullback at guard.

We'll see how it evolves, but without a few key pieces, I wouldn't get overly upset, it's not going to be worth it.

I don’t think any year is a throwaway, not when games are played on tv and we have committed recruits to stay the course.

In a year where there are less teams to watch on TV, this is an opportunity for Syracuse to show it is a decent program.

We aren’t playing for National Championships - that part is throwaway - so winning games only helps the program build.

 

[City of Cuse]

I watched the game 3 times.

Duuuuuuude, go outside.

 

[RandomGuy]

View attachment 187822
Duuuuuuude, go outside.

Lol!!! Only the offense, on fast forward... 27 minutes of possession. Clemson blowing out wake bored me