12-22-2017, 11:05 AM
Winflop, I understood that you weren't advocating changing everything. What it comes down to, I think, is "what play does Shaw think is most likely to work?". I think Shaw is quite aware he has options, that there isn't a single way to proceed. The reason you don't see "adjustments" is not because they aren't considered, but rather that they are considered and usually rejected. I can understand that you don't agree with this decision in some cases. Shaw does what he thinks will work. You may think something else may work better. You may be right. However, it is a little hard to argue this point because we can't do the experiment. OTOH, it isn't immediately obvious to me that you are right and Shaw is wrong. I too become frustrated when we run the same running play three times in a row and it doesn't work. However, I do remember a more aggressive brand of Stanford football that was offensively more exciting but considerably less effective in terms of wins and losses. For that reason, I basically am willing to say Shaw is probably right, at least much of the time. To his credit, when he becomes convinced he was not right (the WSU game), he says so.