It's clear he doesn't like Smith and is using revisionist history to go back and say that "we glossed over" and "should have know" that we'd expect that while completely discrediting that we have substandard QB play. When QB play is brought up, it circles back to the coaching. Then on top of that, pointing out that Petersen's last 2 years (the years AFTER Kellen Moore) are indications that Petersen is losing it - even though as DNC and HFNY are pointing out there's a lot of cherry picking going on.
I don't know if you were at the Boise game in 2013, but I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Boise had no shot of winning that game. I actually thought that considering the circumstances Boise played really well on offense. At no point the entire night were they able to gain any kind of separation in the passing game. On top of that, Southwick was a good, but not great, Boise QB and definitely not a PAC caliber QB game in and game out against a tanned, rested, and focused PAC defense playing at home. Between that game, and looking at a similar situation in Vegas where Boise clearly lacked the athletes on the field yet somehow won the game, convinced me that Petersen was in fact a far better coach than I had historically given him credit for (well before the hire).
You're fitting your narrative into a perspective that you are trying to lead on. What you're not considering at all is how AFTER Kellen Moore games like the 2013 game in Seattle magnified to Petersen how difficult it would be to continue winning at such a high level at Boise. No matter how well he coaches up his players, there's a certain reality that the overall depth and quality of the program will not hold up against a higher end Big 5 conference team. Even with Petersen gone this year, Boise played very well for about 3 quarters in Atlanta this year against Ole Miss before they started to wear down, made some mistakes, and Ole Miss pulled away. In fact, it's a very similar story to what happened in Seattle last year.
There's a reason that Petersen continually is dropping hints to the media talking about how Miles is doing a lot of what they are asking of him but also noting that one of his biggest areas of improvement will come in the area of recognition and playing with anticipation. We've seen 3 QBs play this year and at this point 0 of the 3 show the ability to really do either. That's a MASSIVE problem. With Miles specifically, while you can play the position without a gun for an arm if you can play with anticipation and recognition, it's almost impossible to play at a high level without those traits and an arm. If you have the arm, it can help minimize weaknesses with anticipation and recognition - much like a 100 mph fastball can help offset some problems with location. We talk often about finding ways to get Ross the ball, but a lot of getting him the ball is tied to weaknesses in the QB position as the routes that Ross will run well are the drags and quick slants that you need to throw the WR open vs. waiting for the WR to come open.
There is talent on this offense - but there's also a lot of guys being asked to do things that quite honestly they aren't really prepared to do. Mickens is being asked to be a #1 WR when really he's suited to be a #3 slot WR. One common trait of a great team (regardless of sport) is that players are slotted appropriately and asked to do what they are capable of and not what they aren't capable of. In that regard, we have massive problems on offense.
Things will get better, but it's going to take a little bit of time. We will need a offseason to reassess what strengths and weaknesses we have on offense and find something that will highlight and minimize. All the while, we need to also keep a mindset on what the ultimate vision that we have and finding the players that fit that vision. There will obviously be tweaks in the interim, but the worst thing that we could do is completely switch up our offense to fit the current players and allow the current players (and their existing limitations) shape the future direction and identity of the offense.
In the interim, I'm perfectly content to see incremental progress, the team playing the right way, and learning how to develop the tools necessary to win when the going gets tough instead of just winning the games when we are front running the entire time. We didn't close the game against ASU. But we were down 10-0 with seemingly no expectation of doing anything that would lead us not only back into the game but to win. Instead we find a play out of Timu and then a drive that ideally would have finished in a TD but got us back to level. That doesn't happen last year. The next step in the growth of this program would be the defense coming out and following up the game tying drive by getting a stop and turning it back over to the offense. And the final growth is the offense following up that drive with a game winning drive. This program will grow from this adversity. We'll find ourselves some players and some pretenders.
It's clear he doesn't like Smith and is using revisionist history to go back and say that "we glossed over" and "should have know" that we'd expect that while completely discrediting that we have substandard QB play. When QB play is brought up, it circles back to the coaching. Then on top of that, pointing out that Petersen's last 2 years (the years AFTER Kellen Moore) are indications that Petersen is losing it - even though as DNC and HFNY are pointing out there's a lot of cherry picking going on.
I don't know if you were at the Boise game in 2013, but I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Boise had no shot of winning that game. I actually thought that considering the circumstances Boise played really well on offense. At no point the entire night were they able to gain any kind of separation in the passing game. On top of that, Southwick was a good, but not great, Boise QB and definitely not a PAC caliber QB game in and game out against a tanned, rested, and focused PAC defense playing at home. Between that game, and looking at a similar situation in Vegas where Boise clearly lacked the athletes on the field yet somehow won the game, convinced me that Petersen was in fact a far better coach than I had historically given him credit for (well before the hire).
You're fitting your narrative into a perspective that you are trying to lead on. What you're not considering at all is how AFTER Kellen Moore games like the 2013 game in Seattle magnified to Petersen how difficult it would be to continue winning at such a high level at Boise. No matter how well he coaches up his players, there's a certain reality that the overall depth and quality of the program will not hold up against a higher end Big 5 conference team. Even with Petersen gone this year, Boise played very well for about 3 quarters in Atlanta this year against Ole Miss before they started to wear down, made some mistakes, and Ole Miss pulled away. In fact, it's a very similar story to what happened in Seattle last year.
There's a reason that Petersen continually is dropping hints to the media talking about how Miles is doing a lot of what they are asking of him but also noting that one of his biggest areas of improvement will come in the area of recognition and playing with anticipation. We've seen 3 QBs play this year and at this point 0 of the 3 show the ability to really do either. That's a MASSIVE problem. With Miles specifically, while you can play the position without a gun for an arm if you can play with anticipation and recognition, it's almost impossible to play at a high level without those traits and an arm. If you have the arm, it can help minimize weaknesses with anticipation and recognition - much like a 100 mph fastball can help offset some problems with location. We talk often about finding ways to get Ross the ball, but a lot of getting him the ball is tied to weaknesses in the QB position as the routes that Ross will run well are the drags and quick slants that you need to throw the WR open vs. waiting for the WR to come open.
There is talent on this offense - but there's also a lot of guys being asked to do things that quite honestly they aren't really prepared to do. Mickens is being asked to be a #1 WR when really he's suited to be a #3 slot WR. One common trait of a great team (regardless of sport) is that players are slotted appropriately and asked to do what they are capable of and not what they aren't capable of. In that regard, we have massive problems on offense.
Things will get better, but it's going to take a little bit of time. We will need a offseason to reassess what strengths and weaknesses we have on offense and find something that will highlight and minimize. All the while, we need to also keep a mindset on what the ultimate vision that we have and finding the players that fit that vision. There will obviously be tweaks in the interim, but the worst thing that we could do is completely switch up our offense to fit the current players and allow the current players (and their existing limitations) shape the future direction and identity of the offense.
In the interim, I'm perfectly content to see incremental progress, the team playing the right way, and learning how to develop the tools necessary to win when the going gets tough instead of just winning the games when we are front running the entire time. We didn't close the game against ASU. But we were down 10-0 with seemingly no expectation of doing anything that would lead us not only back into the game but to win. Instead we find a play out of Timu and then a drive that ideally would have finished in a TD but got us back to level. That doesn't happen last year. The next step in the growth of this program would be the defense coming out and following up the game tying drive by getting a stop and turning it back over to the offense. And the final growth is the offense following up that drive with a game winning drive. This program will grow from this adversity. We'll find ourselves some players and some pretenders.
I agree with Tequilla on the bold parts.
None of these QBs are the ones that Petersen wants as QB. That's why I think KJCS and Browning are likely to be the starters next year; they're the kinda cerebral QB that Petersen wants running his offense rather than these QBs that rely on natural ability (athleticism, arm, etc) that Sark wanted to turn into pocket passers.
As for Mickens, he'd be much better if he were playing in the slot and using his speed as a mismatch against LBs or Ss. Against top-tier Pac-12 WRs, he's pedestrian, but unfortunately, that's the situation he's been placed in this year.
The point on Mickens is that regardless of where he lines up, you're asking him to be your top WR because you are getting nothing on the outside. If he's putting up the numbers that he's putting up in the slot as your 3rd best WR, you like your WR unit. If those are the best numbers of all the WR on the roster, then you've got a massive problem.
The point on Mickens is that regardless of where he lines up, you're asking him to be your top WR because you are getting nothing on the outside. If he's putting up the numbers that he's putting up in the slot as your 3rd best WR, you like your WR unit. If those are the best numbers of all the WR on the roster, then you've got a massive problem.
Everyone on the board knows Mickens is average and should never be a #1 receiver.
So we all know that Mickens shouldn't be a #1 WR ... good to know that we can agree on that.
For the last couple of weeks all you've done is bash Smith for the failings of the offense and since Petersen hired Smith (who you've been calling a bad hire), Petersen has questions to answer. That's been your MO.
Now, I'm not saying that Smith is great (so don't twist it by saying that I am) nor am I crowning his ass.
What I am saying, and what I have been saying, is that there are SIGNIFICANT problems with this offense that go far beyond scheme. You have QBs that can't throw anybody open. You have WRs that for the most part can't get open. Your "best" WR is a slot WR that on a good team would be the 3rd best option. You have a OL that has for the most part played the conference season without its best player (see Oregon for how much of a difference that can make - allegedly). What would appear to be your 2 best RBs - one isn't necessarily fast enough and the other isn't necessarily instinctive enough. To generate a running game you're forced to rely upon one of the best LBs in the conference and carries from a guy that has had 3 ACL surgeries (and my guess is that the reason he isn't getting more reps has more to do with physical limitations than his performance - but that's a pure guess). And on top of that, you're getting limited production from the TE position. That's pretty much the dumpster fire of offensive production.
At this point, it's not surprising that we're struggling and that we're trying to do ANYTHING that can provide any kind of spark on offense. As someone else said, there's MORE reason to be concerned with Smith/Petersen if they weren't trying to find ANY kind of spark on the offense.
The offseason will be interesting to see how the QB position plays out because it ALL STARTS THERE. I don't know if Miles regressed from one season to the next, but he certainly didn't grow. And the fact that he missed Spring practices was a massive issue in retrospect.
The offense just isn't very good and it's questionable whether it has much talent.
Injuries to Riva (has missed pretty all of the Pac-12 season so far) has hurt the offense and Charles, Washington, and Coleman missed some or most of the Oregon game and sat out the ASU game. It sounds like Coleman will play @ Colorado out of those 3 but that's probably it. Only Riva missed the Stanford game and the offense was bad though.
The offense doesn't really have an identity yet, mostly because it doesn't do anything well. It seems like the staff wants the O to be a hurry up, no-huddle physical running team but the OL can't get the job consistently done against decent defenses. So the new QBs have found themselves in 3rd and medium or long too much of the time. Compound that with an offense that has pretty pedestrian WRs and TEs and you've got a recipe for wheel spinning.
I would think the staff, especially now that Williams has experience, will run the read-option more with Miles to help move the ball at the beginning of the game. Maybe they'll try to line-up and run with Cooper and then blast away with Cooper while sprinkling in some play-actin before needing to expose Miles to more hits than necessary.
Overall, Smith needs to get into a rhythm...it's like he and the offense are thinking too hard and not playing decisively. Hopefully a bad defense will be the tonic...Vegas thinks we'll score about 31.
Again all of us overestimated the Qb's and OL for this season. The defense was our main worry and it has made some great strides. The chance of us signing three dud QB's in a row in the near future are low to none. I think we win what games we do this season off the back of the defense.
Comments
None of these QBs are the ones that Petersen wants as QB. That's why I think KJCS and Browning are likely to be the starters next year; they're the kinda cerebral QB that Petersen wants running his offense rather than these QBs that rely on natural ability (athleticism, arm, etc) that Sark wanted to turn into pocket passers.
As for Mickens, he'd be much better if he were playing in the slot and using his speed as a mismatch against LBs or Ss. Against top-tier Pac-12 WRs, he's pedestrian, but unfortunately, that's the situation he's been placed in this year.
For the last couple of weeks all you've done is bash Smith for the failings of the offense and since Petersen hired Smith (who you've been calling a bad hire), Petersen has questions to answer. That's been your MO.
Now, I'm not saying that Smith is great (so don't twist it by saying that I am) nor am I crowning his ass.
What I am saying, and what I have been saying, is that there are SIGNIFICANT problems with this offense that go far beyond scheme. You have QBs that can't throw anybody open. You have WRs that for the most part can't get open. Your "best" WR is a slot WR that on a good team would be the 3rd best option. You have a OL that has for the most part played the conference season without its best player (see Oregon for how much of a difference that can make - allegedly). What would appear to be your 2 best RBs - one isn't necessarily fast enough and the other isn't necessarily instinctive enough. To generate a running game you're forced to rely upon one of the best LBs in the conference and carries from a guy that has had 3 ACL surgeries (and my guess is that the reason he isn't getting more reps has more to do with physical limitations than his performance - but that's a pure guess). And on top of that, you're getting limited production from the TE position. That's pretty much the dumpster fire of offensive production.
At this point, it's not surprising that we're struggling and that we're trying to do ANYTHING that can provide any kind of spark on offense. As someone else said, there's MORE reason to be concerned with Smith/Petersen if they weren't trying to find ANY kind of spark on the offense.
The offseason will be interesting to see how the QB position plays out because it ALL STARTS THERE. I don't know if Miles regressed from one season to the next, but he certainly didn't grow. And the fact that he missed Spring practices was a massive issue in retrospect.
Injuries to Riva (has missed pretty all of the Pac-12 season so far) has hurt the offense and Charles, Washington, and Coleman missed some or most of the Oregon game and sat out the ASU game. It sounds like Coleman will play @ Colorado out of those 3 but that's probably it. Only Riva missed the Stanford game and the offense was bad though.
The offense doesn't really have an identity yet, mostly because it doesn't do anything well. It seems like the staff wants the O to be a hurry up, no-huddle physical running team but the OL can't get the job consistently done against decent defenses. So the new QBs have found themselves in 3rd and medium or long too much of the time. Compound that with an offense that has pretty pedestrian WRs and TEs and you've got a recipe for wheel spinning.
I would think the staff, especially now that Williams has experience, will run the read-option more with Miles to help move the ball at the beginning of the game. Maybe they'll try to line-up and run with Cooper and then blast away with Cooper while sprinkling in some play-actin before needing to expose Miles to more hits than necessary.
Overall, Smith needs to get into a rhythm...it's like he and the offense are thinking too hard and not playing decisively. Hopefully a bad defense will be the tonic...Vegas thinks we'll score about 31.