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I didn't like Edsall's style of football at all. Did not like it. There are many ways to win - and the winning part of it - I liked - I'd just prefer a different style of game.
So what's happened? in just under two years? 22 months?
Edsall left, and we've transitioned to a completely different style of play, in defense and offense and special teams.
Looking at some numbers. The defense (aside from the most recent effort) has shown significant improvement over where we were at any point in the Edsall years - before the 40 point debacle to Syracuse - which still shocks me - we were holding teams to just over 16 points a game through 2012, improved by more than a TD, from about 22 points a game in 2011. With the Cuse game included, we are currently holding teams to 19pts a game allowed - which equals our best performances in the Edsall era - division 1-A years. (this does not account for opponent scores of turnovers, those points are included in the over points allowed) . Even with that, we are still at least equal our best opponents scoring we've been as a division 1-A program in 12 years. We'll see how the rest of the season turns out on D - was the cuse game an aberration? Or a trend? We'll see.
What I do know, looking at numbers, is that our D is as least as good, and a good argument to be made better, than it was before, and it's more exciting to watch, and it's completely different.
As for offense? as with D, we've compeltely changed the offense as well, and the initial publicity about what we were supposed to be on O, was everything I hoped to see on offense, but the reality on teh field is that we are worse than ever. We are scoring 17 points a game - that's almost 50% less than than the 31 pts a game we were getting in 2009. There are two coaching staffs that share the blame here, but the current one, has only made the decreasing scoring trend worse, and fixed nothing there.
I look at offensive possessions, drive charts...I looked at 2012 so far yesterday - as long as I did my accounting correctly, we've had a total of 108 offensive possesions/drives so far in 2012, and we've averaged 24 yards of field position on those drives. 24 yards per offensive possesion average, on 13.5 possessions average a game.
THe highest probability of scoring points, as we all know, occurs in the red zone. For us to have a decent chance to reach the red zone, based on average stats through 2012, our average starting field position needs to be mid-field on offense. If we get the ball deep in our own territory, we essentially have very, very little chance of scoring points.
So - I went to look at the same thing for 2010 today.
2010, Interesting results.
After compiling all the drives off the drive charts in teh box scores...(not including fiesta) of the 12 regular season games....turns out that we averaged 13 possessions of the ball on per game, and average yardage per possession? 23 yards.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised, to have found that - as we won games in 2010, and made it to the fiesta bowl, with strong defense and strong field position kicking game, and a running offense with no passing offense to really consider. As seems to be the case in 2012, based on teh numbers, it seems that in 2010, if we didn't get the ball at midfield, we didn't have much chance of scoring points.
On offense, we've completely changed our approach to the game, and at the same time, quite literally changed nothing about our offensive production on the field, except we score nearly half the points per game now, that we did in 2009. What's reversed - is as the pass game was virtually a non-threat in 2010, so is our run threat now. THe difference then, is that we could count on our run game to continue to drive over the goal line and put points up in the past, and we have no reliability right now at all, to cross that goal line regularly through the air.
Our special teams have changed - kicker and coverage schemes - mostly because of rule changes in teh game, but our kicking games haven't really changed that much. We've still gotten scores out of the return game, and good field position, and until that Temple game, had essentially no drop off in field goal point production.
This is important, as I go through all this, I think - that in the absence of signifcant change in our offense improvement next year as far as scoring, however they do it run/pass/shadow blocking, whatever....without the increased point production on offens?
The loss of Nick Williams to graduation, adn the ability to replace him, is going to be the key factor in our ability to win any games at all next year.
Because as these numbers are showing, is without that field position gain in both defense and special teams that we've been able to count on for hte past few years - regardless of system......in those two phases, our offense now - has much less likelihood of being in a decent place to score points.....and that's scary. We only average 17 a game now.
Imagine where we'd be if we can't return kicks beyond the 20 yard line. Uggh.
Just building a case against Deleone here.
So what's happened? in just under two years? 22 months?
Edsall left, and we've transitioned to a completely different style of play, in defense and offense and special teams.
Looking at some numbers. The defense (aside from the most recent effort) has shown significant improvement over where we were at any point in the Edsall years - before the 40 point debacle to Syracuse - which still shocks me - we were holding teams to just over 16 points a game through 2012, improved by more than a TD, from about 22 points a game in 2011. With the Cuse game included, we are currently holding teams to 19pts a game allowed - which equals our best performances in the Edsall era - division 1-A years. (this does not account for opponent scores of turnovers, those points are included in the over points allowed) . Even with that, we are still at least equal our best opponents scoring we've been as a division 1-A program in 12 years. We'll see how the rest of the season turns out on D - was the cuse game an aberration? Or a trend? We'll see.
What I do know, looking at numbers, is that our D is as least as good, and a good argument to be made better, than it was before, and it's more exciting to watch, and it's completely different.
As for offense? as with D, we've compeltely changed the offense as well, and the initial publicity about what we were supposed to be on O, was everything I hoped to see on offense, but the reality on teh field is that we are worse than ever. We are scoring 17 points a game - that's almost 50% less than than the 31 pts a game we were getting in 2009. There are two coaching staffs that share the blame here, but the current one, has only made the decreasing scoring trend worse, and fixed nothing there.
I look at offensive possessions, drive charts...I looked at 2012 so far yesterday - as long as I did my accounting correctly, we've had a total of 108 offensive possesions/drives so far in 2012, and we've averaged 24 yards of field position on those drives. 24 yards per offensive possesion average, on 13.5 possessions average a game.
THe highest probability of scoring points, as we all know, occurs in the red zone. For us to have a decent chance to reach the red zone, based on average stats through 2012, our average starting field position needs to be mid-field on offense. If we get the ball deep in our own territory, we essentially have very, very little chance of scoring points.
So - I went to look at the same thing for 2010 today.
2010, Interesting results.
After compiling all the drives off the drive charts in teh box scores...(not including fiesta) of the 12 regular season games....turns out that we averaged 13 possessions of the ball on per game, and average yardage per possession? 23 yards.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised, to have found that - as we won games in 2010, and made it to the fiesta bowl, with strong defense and strong field position kicking game, and a running offense with no passing offense to really consider. As seems to be the case in 2012, based on teh numbers, it seems that in 2010, if we didn't get the ball at midfield, we didn't have much chance of scoring points.
On offense, we've completely changed our approach to the game, and at the same time, quite literally changed nothing about our offensive production on the field, except we score nearly half the points per game now, that we did in 2009. What's reversed - is as the pass game was virtually a non-threat in 2010, so is our run threat now. THe difference then, is that we could count on our run game to continue to drive over the goal line and put points up in the past, and we have no reliability right now at all, to cross that goal line regularly through the air.
Our special teams have changed - kicker and coverage schemes - mostly because of rule changes in teh game, but our kicking games haven't really changed that much. We've still gotten scores out of the return game, and good field position, and until that Temple game, had essentially no drop off in field goal point production.
This is important, as I go through all this, I think - that in the absence of signifcant change in our offense improvement next year as far as scoring, however they do it run/pass/shadow blocking, whatever....without the increased point production on offens?
The loss of Nick Williams to graduation, adn the ability to replace him, is going to be the key factor in our ability to win any games at all next year.
Because as these numbers are showing, is without that field position gain in both defense and special teams that we've been able to count on for hte past few years - regardless of system......in those two phases, our offense now - has much less likelihood of being in a decent place to score points.....and that's scary. We only average 17 a game now.
Imagine where we'd be if we can't return kicks beyond the 20 yard line. Uggh.
Just building a case against Deleone here.
