10-19-2018, 04:00 PM
(10-19-2018, 01:20 PM)stupac2 Wrote: I don't care if Shaw has or hasn't done this before, and I don't care if this time it lead to the win. In modern football coaches have finally started to realize that possessing the football is the most important part of the game, and that "taking risks" is only in comparison to an asinine, incorrect baseline. Coaches have finally started to realize to run your regular offense in these situations, because that's what leads to wins. Running into the line 3 times and punting is stupid. We were playing stupid. We're Stanford! Of all the things we should be "stupid" is not one of them.
The only explanation I can see is that Shaw was afraid Costello's injury would hamper him and that putting the ball into the air was riskier than normal. I don't think Costello's stats back that up, but if that's what Shaw was thinking, well, fine. That's less stupid. But try something. ASU was clearly selling out to stop the run, make them pay somehow.
Maybe this won't happen again, but the fact that we've been decrying the early-game offense since the first game of the year and we still came out and averaged 2.2 yards per play is telling me that Shaw isn't learning. And that's inexcusable. Gameplan to the talents of the team you have, no the team you want. Shaw isn't doing that, and it's infuriating.
(And, note, that I have traditionally been a big Shaw defender. I think that in previous years he has done a good job, and a lot of the complaints about him are poorly founded. But he massively screwed up that game and is massively screwing up this season and needs to fix it, fast.)
Well, that's not quite right either. You have to adjust your game plan to the situation at hand. You wouldn't, for example, use your base offense if you have 2 minutes left in the game and are behind a score, since you have to be able to stop the clock. Likewise, if you are clearly ahead it is a reasonable strategy to "turtle" and trade time outs for possessions. That is especially true if you have a solid running game and have a decent chance of getting a first down running.
The problem in this case was that a) Shaw started turtling too early and b) we don't have the offense to have a shot of getting a first down running it three times. I think you do have to adjust your game plan for the game situation, but I do think in this particular case (and probably to an extent in general) Shaw is a bit too conservative too soon. That is, I think there is an optimal amount of shifting from your typical run/pass mix to a more run oriented offense that depends on your lead, the time remaining, and the relative strengths of your run and pass game, and that Shaw probably adjusts to running the ball too much too soon (particularly this year).
BC