01-12-2017, 02:56 PM
Ok, I have to ask. Do folks here think we ran a "complicated" offense this year? I don't see it. The QBs didn't make lots of adjustments at the LOS that I recall. They mostly ran the play sent in to them (occasionally somewhat belatedly according to many) from the sideline. And most of the plays were pretty much the same thing, run CMac or Love someplace. When it is third down, try to throw something (and "mostly" nobody will be open/the QB will be sacked/ throw the ball into the ground). The problems weren't the command of the playbook. The problems were that we couldn't execute. It may also be that we missed a lot of chances by not being able to check into the right play, but I don't think we lost to UW because we couldn't read the defense. It was because that defense spent as much time in our backfield as Burns. OK, I am over-stating how bad we were, We did finish 10-3. BUT we didn't lose due to complexity of offense. Now, were we in a situation where we should have been playing Costello, who probably was less able to adjust than the guys we did play? Would his "expected" better execution matter? That is really the only issue I can see related to complexity. We can speculate whether Costello would have been a net positive. Apparently, Shaw et al didn't think so.
I think the famous quote from the USC player who supposedly said "If they run power one more time, I am subbing myself out" better describes our offensive philosophy. Not much doubt what is coming. Doesn't matter. We have at our disposal a big, complex and powerful playbook. When we have a team that can operate the whole thing, and we need to, we use it. But we actually prefer to be as simple as possible, control the ball, shorten the game, and win. This may be reflected in the every two year period, where we go from IOC to fully capable. We probably aren't an elite team when we can't operate the entire playbook. But we can still be quite good. This year, we couldn't impose our will on 3 of our opponents, not because we didn't run the "right" play, but because we couldn't execute the plays we ran.
I think the famous quote from the USC player who supposedly said "If they run power one more time, I am subbing myself out" better describes our offensive philosophy. Not much doubt what is coming. Doesn't matter. We have at our disposal a big, complex and powerful playbook. When we have a team that can operate the whole thing, and we need to, we use it. But we actually prefer to be as simple as possible, control the ball, shorten the game, and win. This may be reflected in the every two year period, where we go from IOC to fully capable. We probably aren't an elite team when we can't operate the entire playbook. But we can still be quite good. This year, we couldn't impose our will on 3 of our opponents, not because we didn't run the "right" play, but because we couldn't execute the plays we ran.