10-17-2012, 09:43 AM
(10-17-2012, 07:54 AM)doug link Wrote:Unlike somnambule, I do think we have players with the talent and skill to make our offense exciting and fun to watch. I actually think we have a lot of them. Even though Josh has consistently struggled other than the 2nd half vs. Arizona, I am not even convinced that he (much less Nottingham, Hogan, et al) doesn't have the ability to lead an offense that is fun to watch -- the jury is out on that for me, but Josh has thrown a number of catchable balls that have been dropped in every game. But Josh has played best when he (in my opinion) hasn't been forced to play in the handcuffs I think the coaches have put on him. He played well in the 2nd half vs. Arizona when we had to go for it to keep up with Arizona's torrid offense, as he did in the last drive of the 1st half at ND.
I think there definitely is something to your argument that the offense is handcuffed by playcalling, but the important thing to remember about that Arizona game is that Arizona is terrible at defense. Yes JN played a lot better when he started looking downfield and letting it rip, but he also had the luxury of having all his receivers open all the time.