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Message: [QUOTE="billsin01, post: 3248931, member: 837"] So a lot has happened here, which is interesting b/c I think there were a lot of folks wondering if we would see a shakeup like this after the debacle that was the '19 season. I'm not going to pretend to know for sure what to think of our recruits or the coaching hires (so far) but some food for thought nonetheless. [B]On the coaching hires: Remember how bad the coaching was in 2019[/B] We can discuss the talent level and it's relevant to do so, but it's important not to forget that any way you slice it the coaching was absolutely brutal throughout the season last year. Undisciplined, very few discernable in game or game-to-game adjustments, the offensive line was not only brutal in the run game but one of the worst we've seen in the passing game, the defense was not only terrible at stopping drives, but they also specialized at giving up an absurd number of big plays and missing tackles, we completed a pitiful number of passes in the middle of the field, we didn't take advantage of the talented kids we do have in any appreciable way. It was an all around disaster the likes of which only GRob could make worse. [B]I mention that b/c it speaks to how we evaluate the hires[/B] Whatever we think of Gilbert or Arnett or the Ward/Lynch combo (and let's face it -- these guys know something about football and our struggles can't be simply laid at their feet entirely) it's worth pointing out that whether we completely reinvent ourselves on both sides of the ball or not, if we simply get better on one or both sides of the ball -- even if it's only fundamentals like blocking and tackling and avoiding huge penalties -- it would be a significant improvement and largely at least allow us to stay in games more often. [B]What I'd like to see[/B] Arnett, it seems, has been universally lauded, but I don't know that much about him. What I do know is that i'd rather go down swinging and being aggressive defensively. I think if you can improve the tackling and put a more aggressive system in place, this could potentially be an effective -- perhaps not dominant -- but effective defense. There is some talent on that side of the ball and if we can scheme creatively and tackle better, that could be a solid unit. Offensively, I haven't loved what I've read on Gilbert but if we can simply block the way we did in the last few games, that alone could be a massive improvement. Would also love to see us generate some tempo. Last year that rarely happened so hope we can get back to that a bit. I'd personally love to see us attack the seam more effectively in the passing game, but I'm not an offensive coordinator so we'll see. At the end of the day, last year was a disaster so if there is an improvement ushered in by both of these guys -- even if it's moderate -- it would be really nice. [B]On recruiting (don't worry, not going to get into the stars discussion) We need a quarterback or, ideally, two (just figured I'd state the obvious)[/B] We'll tackle the Devito discussion in a bit but we absolutely HAVE to land a legitimate freshman QB option for the future (regardless of what people think of Summers -- and I liked his film). I'd also love to see us grab a QB that could play immediately to at least give us little bit of depth. I know this isn't earth-shattering but people talk so much about stars and rankings, etc., that I think sometimes we forget about the sheer value of numbers. We've got to get better numbers at QB. [B]Should we be worried about where are coaches are from re: recruiting?[/B] Saw consternation about Arnett being from New Mexico and coaching at SDSU and Gilbert being a Texas guy. I get it -- we aren't going to recruit from outside our region very often but it seems to me that a good coach is paramount and a guy who has some charisma should be able to recruit and bring in talent anywhere. Would we love a great coach with northeast ties? Sure, but ultimately if we hired two good coaches, it should be fine from a recruiting perspective regardless. [B]On personnel Think Arnett has some players to work with[/B] We're not overwhelming on either side of the ball and we'll miss both Coleman and Robinson, but we have some players -- particularly in the secondary -- that could be interesting for Arnett to work with. Cisco, Trill, Melifonwu, Jonathan, Black, Mikel Jones etc., are kids that can play. Will be interesting to see if the scheme can take advantage of some of these guys. [B]How do we scheme offensively with Devito?[/B] So I'm probably as down on Devito as anyone on the board. That's not to say he's solely responsible for our struggles or that he's not a good kid, nor that he doesn't have talent, nor is it to say that he's not extremely likely to be the starting QB the next two years. But, I just don't see a lot I love there. So the question is how do we scheme around him. He throws the ball down the field decently, throws a decent screen and isn't a bad straight ahead runner. So we can work with that. One thing I've seen a lot of in these playoff games is QB draws. Have to feel like that would be something we need to try and take advantage of with Tommy. He also has nice arm strength and if we can get him to get rid of the ball and attack the field with quick reads and throws -- slants in particular -- that would seem to feed into his skill set. Can we add some packages with a second QB/RB who can run -- wildcat if it's an RB or if we took a kid like the lefty high school QB we apparently are passing on in Fla. a package with some really simple throws but mostly read-option plays that we can run with someone other than Tommy, I think that would be huge. I know QB platoons are rarely ideal but I'm really hopeful we don't end up doing what we did last season where we ran a read option run game that was basically a halfback dive b/c Devito not only didn't run often but ran ineffectively when he did run and a passing game that was either WR screens or down-the-sideline throws. Need to be better than that. [/QUOTE]

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