Through 3 games (short sample, but the only one we got), the defense has been stellar and the offense has been a stinker. We keep hearing how the offense is “young.” Well the defense is also young, with 11 FR/RSF/SO on the 2-deep vs. 14 for the offense.
By far the biggest difference to me is coaching. Don Brown:
- Has effectively recruited talent for his system
- Has effectively developed that talent. Young players like Landry, Strachan, Johnson, Moore, Yiadom, Gutapfel, Milano, Schwaab and more have really developed and shown significant improvement year-to-year
- Has developed an identity as an attacking, aggressive defense (despite the youth). He has an array of blitzes, schemes, packages etc. that he doesn’t just talk about, but actually uses to constantly be the aggressor and keep opposing offenses off balance, and always having to think about what’s coming at them.
Contrast this with the offense. Who has developed, OL? receivers? anyone? Through 3 games I would tell you that Alston and Hilliman have actually regressed, and everyone else is basically the same guy. Daz (who, frankly is the OC) talks about “throwing the ball downfield” and “explosive plays” and being balanced. Then we run the ball 78% of the time on first down, 74% for the game, turtle with the ball near midfield with 1:46 to go (plus a timeout) in the half and “hope to keep it close until the 4th quarter” … where we hope to have an explosive play that has not occurred all night.
To net it out, the D has a plan, an identity, is balls-to-the-wall aggressive, and has developed talent. The offense has not.
Discuss.
By far the biggest difference to me is coaching. Don Brown:
- Has effectively recruited talent for his system
- Has effectively developed that talent. Young players like Landry, Strachan, Johnson, Moore, Yiadom, Gutapfel, Milano, Schwaab and more have really developed and shown significant improvement year-to-year
- Has developed an identity as an attacking, aggressive defense (despite the youth). He has an array of blitzes, schemes, packages etc. that he doesn’t just talk about, but actually uses to constantly be the aggressor and keep opposing offenses off balance, and always having to think about what’s coming at them.
Contrast this with the offense. Who has developed, OL? receivers? anyone? Through 3 games I would tell you that Alston and Hilliman have actually regressed, and everyone else is basically the same guy. Daz (who, frankly is the OC) talks about “throwing the ball downfield” and “explosive plays” and being balanced. Then we run the ball 78% of the time on first down, 74% for the game, turtle with the ball near midfield with 1:46 to go (plus a timeout) in the half and “hope to keep it close until the 4th quarter” … where we hope to have an explosive play that has not occurred all night.
To net it out, the D has a plan, an identity, is balls-to-the-wall aggressive, and has developed talent. The offense has not.
Discuss.
