[cardcrimson]

I like this team and I’m excited to see a potential return to intellectual brutality this year. 

Let’s go 41-14 Stanford. 

I think this team has been significantly underrated. As someone mentioned. This team was within 1 score of winning 7 games last year. I think the scheme was completely wrong under Taylor and we correct the ship with running the ball and using our TEs more this year.

Within one score of winning seven games last year is an extraordinarily misleading way to look at it. For one, I have no idea what you mean. We won three games and the four closest losses had a combined margin of 16 points. In most football games that’s at least three scores, though if you get touchdowns and convert on both two point conversions it can be two. In no way is it one and in no way were we remotely close to bowl eligibility, much less seven wins. In fact, by your strained logic we were more than three times closer to one win (five combined points from that) than to seven wins. 

The truth is that we were a relatively lucky team in terms of close game outcomes, relatively lucky in terms of turnovers as well, and relatively unlucky in terms of injuries (there is SP+ data for all of this if you’re interested), meaning that on balance our actual results were pretty fairly reflective of our quality. The leading algorithms, which account for close games as best as possible, pegged us as #102, #103, and #85. We were horrendous and it’s not a good take to think we were at all close to being decent. 

It is possible Taylor had the wrong scheme. My problem with that argument is that from the posts it seems the assumption is that he did not establish the run but could have. Our run game has flailed for years because our offensive line has been garbage. If the line is still garbage, scheme, running, and intellectual brutality can’t save us. 

The hope has to be that a combination of things - more NFL style run blocking schemes, a camp focus on physicality, hitting big on a couple transfers who haven’t proved anything yet, better year to year strength development than we’ve seen the last two years under the same staff, firing Viane Talamaivao, Reich being generally a better motivator…all that adds up to the ability to move the ball. I really hope so and don’t rule it out. It is pretty wishful though, and any analysis of why we’ve flailed and how we’ll do this year has to start with the offensive line.

I assume he simply meant we lost four games by a touchdown or less: TCU, Wake, Cal, and SJSU. . . .

[cardcrimson]

I like this team and I’m excited to see a potential return to intellectual brutality this year. 

Let’s go 41-14 Stanford. 

I think this team has been significantly underrated. As someone mentioned. This team was within 1 score of winning 7 games last year. I think the scheme was completely wrong under Taylor and we correct the ship with running the ball and using our TEs more this year.

Within one score of winning seven games last year is an extraordinarily misleading way to look at it. For one, I have no idea what you mean. We won three games and the four closest losses had a combined margin of 16 points. In most football games that’s at least three scores, though if you get touchdowns and convert on both two point conversions it can be two. In no way is it one and in no way were we remotely close to bowl eligibility, much less seven wins. In fact, by your strained logic we were more than three times closer to one win (five combined points from that) than to seven wins. 

The truth is that we were a relatively lucky team in terms of close game outcomes, relatively lucky in terms of turnovers as well, and relatively unlucky in terms of injuries (there is SP+ data for all of this if you’re interested), meaning that on balance our actual results were pretty fairly reflective of our quality. The leading algorithms, which account for close games as best as possible, pegged us as #102, #103, and #85. We were horrendous and it’s not a good take to think we were at all close to being decent. 

It is possible Taylor had the wrong scheme. My problem with that argument is that from the posts it seems the assumption is that he did not establish the run but could have. Our run game has flailed for years because our offensive line has been garbage. If the line is still garbage, scheme, running, and intellectual brutality can’t save us. 

The hope has to be that a combination of things - more NFL style run blocking schemes, a camp focus on physicality, hitting big on a couple transfers who haven’t proved anything yet, better year to year strength development than we’ve seen the last two years under the same staff, firing Viane Talamaivao, Reich being generally a better motivator…all that adds up to the ability to move the ball. I really hope so and don’t rule it out. It is pretty wishful though, and any analysis of why we’ve flailed and how we’ll do this year has to start with the offensive line.

I assume he simply meant we lost four games by a touchdown or less: TCU, Wake, Cal, and SJSU. . . .