Lack of Talent: Players/Coaching

[Carl Spackler]

When an OC tries to teach a pro scheme to college kids who never had a whiff of said scheme in high school you bet the OL is going to look bad.

NFL players are the best of the best and it takes them plenty of practice time to just be average in some cases.

GDL's biggest mistake was to go full bore with his zone crap right out of the gate and sent the entire offense into a "who the **** is this clown" mode.

I'd love to know if any other college uses this blocking scheme with any success.

Rutgers, Cincinnati are doing pretty well with it this past season. That's just close to home. Ohio State, although not post season eligible, has done a good a very good job with the system this year. Brian Kelly has done a pretty good job of getting it installed at Notre Dame too, after having gone through an ugly learning curve.

Yes - there are many, many college programs that use the basics of the inside zone, and outside zone stretch plays. Lots of high schools use it too, and lower division college programs too, use the simple principles of it successfully.

 

[Carl Spackler]

http://smartfootball.com/run-game/fantastic-inside-zone-and-pin-and-pull-outside-zone-cut-ups

It's not anything new either. Watch the clips. For the outside runs you need OL's that aren't planted into the ground like trees, and can get out and move, and you need split ends on the formation that are going to maintain their blocks.

on the inside zones, you need players that are able to communicate up and down the line as to what they're going to do when they are covered or uncovered (a guy is line up across from them or if they've got only a LB set back from scrimmage across of them, and what shoulders they are lined up on.

We took our lumps this year on the OL, and it better pay off next year with the players that make the opening day starting lineup on the OL.

 

[huskymedic]

Rutgers, Cincinnati are doing pretty well with it this past season. That's just close to home. Ohio State, although not post season eligible, has done a good a very good job with the system this year. Brian Kelly has done a pretty good job of getting it installed at Notre Dame too, after having gone through an ugly learning curve.

Yes - there are many, many college programs that use the basics of the inside zone, and outside zone stretch plays. Lots of high schools use it too, and lower division college programs too, use the simple principles of it successfully.

We've been there... http://the-boneyard.com/threads/pro-level-skills-for-college-level-kids.26671/page-2

 

[HuskyHawk]

http://smartfootball.com/run-game/fantastic-inside-zone-and-pin-and-pull-outside-zone-cut-ups

It's not anything new either. Watch the clips. For the outside runs you need OL's that aren't planted into the ground like trees, and can get out and move, and you need split ends on the formation that are going to maintain their blocks.

on the inside zones, you need players that are able to communicate up and down the line as to what they're going to do when they are covered or uncovered (a guy is line up across from them or if they've got only a LB set back from scrimmage across of them, and what shoulders they are lined up on.

We took our lumps this year on the OL, and it better pay off next year with the players that make the opening day starting lineup on the OL.

Banking on this. 1. understanding of the system will be better all around, especially the OL 2. Whitmer should develop some 3. the WR can't be any worse 4. GDL will either not call the plays or will adapt and 5. turnover margin should come back to at least normal, if not where it was in 2010.

The offense will be better, almost by default. The question is how much worse the defense will be.

 

[coachRD]

I dont fully understand how the blame is on not having the best football players. Isn't that what coaches are for? To "coach" the players and make them better?

It doesnt take a million dollar per year coach to win with a stable of prime time studs.

someone please give me some more insight. I played a lot of sports growing up in HS and a little in college and after college. I'm having a hard time understanding this.
We lost to WMU and Temple for Christs sake.

It sounds like you get it completely....the fact that GDL is making only slightly veiled knocks on the talent level is a disappointing demonstration of someone covering up their own incompetence at the public expense of 18-22 year olds. I would want him fired ASAP if he produced these offensive results and at least owned the problem. Since he has produced these offensive results and has NOT taken ownership of the problem, I want him fired ASAP and I also want to be there when he packs up his belongings so I can shake my head in a scolding manner at him.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

did you just say "smarmy"? wtf does that mean and who the uses it?

Pick up a dictionary. Look up Calipari & the definition will be smarmy. Look up smarmy & you'll see a picture of the squid.

 

[ZooCougar]

It sounds like you get it completely....the fact that GDL is making only slightly veiled knocks on the talent level is a disappointing demonstration of someone covering up their own incompetence at the public expense of 18-22 year olds. I would want him fired ASAP if he produced these offensive results and at least owned the problem. Since he has produced these offensive results and has NOT taken ownership of the problem, I want him fired ASAP and I also want to be there when he packs up his belongings so I can shake my head in a scolding manner at him.

This.

Zone blocking may be a prefectly sound system. But it's clear to everyone that he has not been effective at coaching it. My uneducated guess is that it shouldn't take this long to teach players to be moderately effective at this.