This board gets almost unreadable at times, and we are in one of those times. I appreciate this thread with a more even-handed outlook.
We are all disappointed and frustrated. I share that too. And I agree that Scott has made some mistakes. He’s talked too much about needing to get different players immediately after the transition. He has a tendency to abandon “we” talk and say things like, “they” need to understand X or “they” need to do Y when the team has had a bad outcome.
He has made some strategic choices that may or may not be mistakes. He sees Jurgens as a potentially elite player at center. But he’s had better snappers back him up while Cam has single-handedly neutered the offense for stretches by killing the QBs timing or contributing to turnovers. Will we see a polished end product to justify this? If so, Frost‘s decision there may be vindicated.
He’s stuck with a more finesse style offense that is potentially harder for Big 10 defenses to deal with if its manned by speedy athlete’s with sharp quick-thinking QB play. But he’s lacked sufficient skills players with enough knowledge of the system to make it work, and this appears to have slowed some guys from getting on the field, when a simpler scheme might have brought talented young guys on the field in positions to succeed sooner. Will we see a full offensive first team who master the scheme, with enough skill and speed to victimize Big 10 defenses, or will he never get the ”right guys”?
I‘m disappointed we haven’t turned the corner sooner, but I do think this team looks better this year. The record is the record, but the lines on both sides of the ball look more solid than last year. They’re not losing the line of scrimmage as easily as last season. There is more work to do, but the trajectory is better and the starting roster is pretty young. There are strong reasons to expect further improvement.
The linebacker play is improving, and those guys are VERY young. My personal belief is that ILB is the most important position in this defense. I see growth in the defensive scheme where, if I compare it to last year it’s a step forward.
I‘m not as convinced about the play-calling. I wonder if Frost might quietly let Lubick call plays for a couple games. He’s played under great head coaches who decided to delegate that responsibility (to HIM even) so in some ways it’s just another place he can follow that example. How great would it be if he could hire the next Scott Frost type of assistant to serve under him as QB coach or OC? Let a young phenom who can focus on that aspect shine, freeing Frost to demand more precision in the details that seem to be escaping his attention. I think that would be the most effective way to decrease penalties, avoid delay of game penalties or need for timeouts, or mistakes in special teams. There is no substitute for the head coach to have his full attention on the details in a way the players feel the demand for excellence. Frank Beamer used to coach special teams, and Virginia Tech had excellent special teams.
My main thought with all this is that I see youth and growth in this team. They have fight in them, and won’t be on the wrong side of these close games forever. I also have confidence that Frost will make tweaks and adjustments where he needs to. He’s too competitive to lose out of stubborn commitment to mistakes, to keep throwing bad money after good. His willingness to make the change and then the change back at QB shows that he’ll make uncomfortable adjustments.