Not that we expected anything else which is why fans asking for the OC’s head on a platter is utterly pointless and the media even asking the question is equally pointless. Nevertheless this is the dance we must dance so here it is for the record.
“I think John’s bright, he’s smart,” Davis said. “I don’t think he needs defending.”
–
Davis said he encountered a similar scenario when he was head coach at Miami. He said then-coordinator Larry Coker was criticized by the fan base early in his tenure.
“Then unbelievably when we got Reggie Wayne got there and Kellen Winslow got there and Andre Johnson got there and Clinton Portis got there and we started averaging 40 points, all of the sudden Larry Coker looked like a genius,” Davis said.
“All it was, was growth in your program, experience and depth,” Davis said. “I think our offensive coaching staff is working extremely hard.”
Okay, am I the only one who is slightly disturbed by this statement? Isn’t Davis basically saying UNC will get better on offense when the talent gets better not because the coaching will get better? And by extension isn’t he sort of tossing the current crop of players under the bus by implying the talent is not already there to make Shoop’s job easier? From where I sit this does not inspire much confidence especially since I am not convinced the kind of talent Miami had is going to show up in Chapel Hill anytime soon.
As for the here and now, Davis points to the offensive line as the root cause.
It speaks volumes that the third-year UNC head coach points to front identification as a basic key that the current offensive line has yet to nail down.
“We’ve been beleaguered for two straight weeks where we have turned guys absolutely loose in the hole,” Davis said. “Whether it’s been on runs or even on passes, where the guy was misidentified and instantly he was right in the quarterback’s face or he was right in the backfield and at the point of attack… Getting our offensive line all on the same page with the right identification – I think that’s one thing that hopefully is fixable.”
When the problems are that fundamental along the offensive line, it prevents new and creative packages from being rolled out to help aid Yates and the skill players. For example, A.J. Blue’s “Diesel” package may be put on the shelf until the blocking schemes can be executed properly.
“Here’s another 10 or 11 plays that are totally different than everything else you’re doing – how much practice time can you devote to the stuff when T.J.’s the quarterback to when A.J.’s the quarterback?” Davis said. “That’s just more things. They’ve got to learn more blocking schemes, they’ve got to learn more protections [and] it’s new runs. So sometimes that compounds the problem more than it helps the problem.”
Translation? The offensive line is not even capable of doing very basic things correctly much less handle a variety of plays with greater degrees of complexity. In all honestly I am not sure what you do with that other than recruit more offensive linemen and that will be of no help in 2009. At this point Shoop will no choice but to stick to very basic offensive plays which probably won’t work either since that robs the Heels of the ability to throw an offense off-balance with misdirection or different looks. It is clear that UNC will be an easy team to scout on the offensive side of the ball given they cannot really dig deep into the playbook since the inexperience of the OL precludes doing more.
In short, there are no real answers available. Hopefully the players themselves get better and whatever tweaks the coaches come up with are enough to get the Heels moving in the right direction.
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I don’t think BD could throw Shoop under the bus publicly. I’m not entirely comfortable with the statement about how Coker became a genious once he got some “real” talent. In a way, he is throwing his own players under the bus.
Obviously, the OL has serious issues, but that doesn’t excuse what we saw Saturday. Kyle Jolly, Cam Holland, Allen Pelc, Mike Ingersoll and Greg Elleby have been in the program for at least 3 years. Come on, they’re not that bad, which leads me back to coaching. You mean to tell me these guys don’t know to how to read a blitz. Elleby is new to the OL, but he was a defensive lineman for 3 years….
Simplify? Well…….. Here’s what I saw Saturday.
1st down- Draughn between the tackles
2nd down- Some sort of swing pass or Draughn between the tackles
3rd down- Sack or incompletion
4th down- Punt
Are we being asked to believe that VIRGINIA has better athletes than we do? If so, we have a recruiting (coaching) problem. If not, and the problem really is the inability to get “our offensive line all on the same page with the right identification,” well, that sounds like a coaching deficiency, too. But then, I probably don’t know how to grill a steak, either.
I also need to mention that recruiting O-lineman now might be dicey.
On one hand, the staff can certainly promise an opportunity to play right away. On the other hand, if I were say, oh, Tom Obrien, I might question the ability of the UNC coaching staff to develop O-linemen.
i disagree totally with the notion that Yates is running for his life each and every pass play. that doesnt explain missing guys that are open by 5 yards. that doesnt expain making Little reach back beyond his back shoulder on a 2-second, no-step drop, slant pass with Little 6 yards away.
and i am with HP. how in the WORLD can the playcalling be any simpler? it has as much imagination as an episode of According to Jim. even the “Wildcat” is simple. i hate the Wildcat. if you have an exceptional athlete, maybe it can work somewhat, but i dont see essentially eliminating the threat of a skilled passer. unless “simpler” means “block someone”, i am baffled.
and when is someone going to ask Butch why Houston, a guy that can blast his own way to 3 or 4 yards, only carried 3 times?
Adam Gold has been talking about the need to move Yates around and give him more time by rolling him out but I am concerned with Yates’ throwing accuracy in those situations. I get that you can control where he goes if the play is designed for him to roll out but at the same time his ability to hit a receiver on the move is questionable IMO.
^since he can’t hit a guy 6 yards away on a no-step drop, i’d hate to think where the ball would end up when he’s on the move. he’s been on the move before, going to the release option of the guy in the flat, and missed badly. if he’s hurt, they need to get Renner in or whoever.
and if the rush is coming through, dont be afraid to find a screen pass out of someone else’s playbook, since Shoop apparently doesnt have one in his.
^I’m more worried about the receivers than the offensive line. Think about it, UNC still has a vastly inexperienced corps of WR’s even with Little as a starter. Little was used primarily as the running back for the first few games last season, then saw fairly little time as a WR when you have guys like Nicks, Tate, and Foster in the lineup. Little is only less green than Highsmith and the rest of the freshmen, and can’t really be counted on as the “go to guy” yet.
I see the offense move the ball more effectively with Ryan Houston running the ball. Defenders have a heck of a time trying to bring him down, and he gets amped up after he knocks some heads around, and the rest of the offense gets amped up from him knocking people around. Plus, Shoop’s offense can’t really work without an effective running game since his bread and butter is the play action pass. It’s time for Draughn to be used only to spell another back from here on out.
Of course, if Butch is as stubborn as he’s sounding, then none of what we think will ever happen, and UNC will still be stuck in the rut they’re in.
Isn’t Davis basically saying UNC will get better on offense when the talent gets better not because the coaching will get better?
Not exactly. I interpreted it (in the context of the Coker reference) to mean that Coker was probably coaching the same way early in his Miami tenure as he was when he had NFL talent. It’s just the results were better because Coker had NFL talent, not that he magically became a better coach.
And by extension isn’t he sort of tossing the current crop of players under the bus by implying the talent is not already there to make Shoop’s job easier?
Maybe, but UNC’s O-line was already a huge question mark and the injuries have made a bad situation worse. Really, when you get down to 3rd-teamers at an already weak position, how much can you expect?
Now, I will argue that it Shoop’s and Butch’s job to figure this thing out and fix as much as they can. I will also argue that there is deserved criticism for being plain out-coached by (shudder) Al Groh. But my old coach used to say that “you can’t win the Kentucky Derby riding a mule.” Time to see if Butch & Co. can earn the multi-millions paid to them.