As I stated in my previous posts, I think Indiana is more of a one-off than a repeatable plan for success for other schools. By and large, you need the top recruits in order to be a contender. If you don't have that, you've got to coach/develop your butt off and even that might not be enough.
I pick (E) All of the above.
Saying we have a ceiling that will keep us from ever being a title contender again is a defeatist attitude. Indeed, if our coach said that about the team, I would say he should be fired immediately.
1961 HC Bill Jennings: "You can't feed the ego of the state of Nebraska with the football team"
Interesting since you are the prime moderator using a nickname. Let’s stop being the guy pumping all sunshine and add some objectivity. The best moderators are…….. moderate.
No 5 star can do better with what surrounded him.
Actually, there were more concerns after the spring game with their starters pocket presence after he was sacked multiple times in the spring game. Raiola had the best spring game stats.
I don't think it is defeatist, I think it is realistic. I'm not saying we can't become a title contender, but there are significant hurdles, and in some cases barricades, that prevent us from becoming one of the elite programs. We've seen that unless someone walks in with a bottomless checkbook, we are probably going to have a ceiling. It doesn't mean we can't have one off seasons of significant success, but sustained success in today's college football requires a lot more than a really good head coach. That is certainly a start, but the factors are much bigger than that.
DR held the ball too long. But his other problem was he chose poorly when leaving the pocket. Even in normal scenarios where the heat was on, he had better awareness than his decision making in how to leave the pocket.
There is no one reason. There were specific examples of awful line play. I detailed some of those in threads over the course of the season. There were lots of times where DR got sacked because of missed assignments or the line's inability to establish a pocket. Why those happened is also complex and includes coaching, injuries, experience, scheming, etc. Play calling and receiver separation is also a factor.
DR similarly doesn't get a pass. While there are plenty of examples of the things mentioned above, there were also plays where pass blocking was adequate and he simply held onto the ball for too long or didn't get out of the pocket. There were times where it seemed like he wanted to wait for a wide open receiver, rather than ask his receivers to make a play.
Line play has been a problem for a long time now. Adrian Martinez ran for his life for four years. Casey Thompson got teed off on until he broke down. It's not like things were amazing in pass protection prior to DR and he made it stink.
The one point I made (D) doesn’t get enough discussion IMO.
There is no one reason. There were specific examples of awful line play. I detailed some of those in threads over the course of the season. There were lots of times where DR got sacked because of missed assignments or the line's inability to establish a pocket. Why those happened is also complex and includes coaching, injuries, experience, scheming, etc. Play calling and receiver separation is also a factor.
DR similarly doesn't get a pass. While there are plenty of examples of the things mentioned above, there were also plays where pass blocking was adequate and he simply held onto the ball for too long or didn't get out of the pocket. There were times where it seemed like he wanted to wait for a wide open receiver, rather than ask his receivers to make a play.
Line play has been a problem for a long time now. Adrian Martinez ran for his life for four years. Casey Thompson got teed off on until he broke down. It's not like things were amazing in pass protection prior to DR and he made it stink.
I don't disagree. If defense is going to sellout for pressure, receivers need to be able to get a step and burn them for it. One could argue that our receivers probably face more press coverages because the OL struggles to block. You can get away with gambling on playing guys tight when you know the QB is going to face pressure early. Kind of a chicken and the egg scenario. I don't think the play of either position group did itself favors.
Agreed. I think he made some progress on his pocket movement prior to the injury. One thing we've seen over the last decade is guys start leaving the pocket early when they are used to the pocket not holding up for them. Adrian Martinez was one of the worst about it. His 2nd and 3rd seasons especially, you'd see him run when he didn't necessarily have to (this also led to a bunch of holding penalties). His 4th season he settled in a bit more and it improved his passing, I thought.
Regarding waiting for a WR to get open instead of throwing it and letting the WR make a play………one of the biggest initiatives the staff tried to undertake between his freshman and sophomore years was a reduction in turnovers. He did exactly what he was taught.
There is no one reason. There were specific examples of awful line play. I detailed some of those in threads over the course of the season. There were lots of times where DR got sacked because of missed assignments or the line's inability to establish a pocket. Why those happened is also complex and includes coaching, injuries, experience, scheming, etc. Play calling and receiver separation is also a factor.
DR similarly doesn't get a pass. While there are plenty of examples of the things mentioned above, there were also plays where pass blocking was adequate and he simply held onto the ball for too long or didn't get out of the pocket. There were times where it seemed like he wanted to wait for a wide open receiver, rather than ask his receivers to make a play.
Line play has been a problem for a long time now. Adrian Martinez ran for his life for four years. Casey Thompson got teed off on until he broke down. It's not like things were amazing in pass protection prior to DR and he made it stink.
