Why is the Offense So Terrible?

[JohnFSilver]

Zone blocking requires exceptionally quick and agile linemen and running backs that have great vision and cutting ability. Other than Rosa who has pretty good vision and ability to pick through the occasional hole, this isn’t for us.

Oh god. That was the dumbest complaint I heard in all my years covering the team. It's not blocking scheme folks. I mean, Charlton is drawing up plays that would work if the players were stronger and more athletic. Those WR screens are excellent when you can block out wide and have talent that can take it to the house. But, UConn can't block on the perimeter, they telegraph the play, and when the WRs get the ball they don't have the explosiveness to turn it into anything.

I hate the offensive design. They play slow, they aren't dynamic, and it is predictable. But, I don't think they have the athletes at the WR or QB position to effectively run this offense. They look slow and small.

 

[giddyup]

Oh god. That was the dumbest complaint I heard in all my years covering the team. It's not blocking scheme folks. I mean, Charlton is drawing up plays that would work if the players were stronger and more athletic. Those WR screens are excellent when you can block out wide and have talent that can take it to the house. But, UConn can't block on the perimeter, they telegraph the play, and when the WRs get the ball they don't have the explosiveness to turn it into anything.

I hate the offensive design. They play slow, they aren't dynamic, and it is predictable. But, I don't think they have the athletes at the WR or QB position to effectively run this offense. They look slow and small.

Little quick on the draw. I think we just said the same thing. We are too slow for it. Our guys can’t even get out of their stance fast enough and we are asking them to find a guy to bock on the move. I watched several pulls trying to get to the edge. Utter joke.

The spread offense we run requires super fast guys that stretch the field. . We don’t have WRs that fit the bill, and even if we did our QB doesn’t trust route timing and holds the ball. The entire offense scheme needs to rebuilt to our players. Charlton read spread offense for dummies, had average success in an across the board. slower environment that doesn’t translate to our slow team in a FBS speedy defensive environment. Why he is still here is beyond me.

 

[Guru13]

Zone blocking requires exceptionally quick and agile linemen and running backs that have great vision and cutting ability. Other than Rosa who has pretty good vision and ability to pick through the occasional hole, this isn’t for us.

Rosa does not have pretty good vision... he runs into our o-line a lot. Carter had good vision to hit other open holes, Rosa does not

 

[Guru13]

Oh god. That was the dumbest complaint I heard in all my years covering the team. It's not blocking scheme folks. I mean, Charlton is drawing up plays that would work if the players were stronger and more athletic. Those WR screens are excellent when you can block out wide and have talent that can take it to the house. But, UConn can't block on the perimeter, they telegraph the play, and when the WRs get the ball they don't have the explosiveness to turn it into anything.

I hate the offensive design. They play slow, they aren't dynamic, and it is predictable. But, I don't think they have the athletes at the WR or QB position to effectively run this offense. They look slow and small.

Watching the game again... Roberson has the worst vision I have seen besides JF, there are open lanes from him to scramble right down the middle, but he does not take it and rather bounces outside the pocket...

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Charlton is giving me DeLeone flashbacks with the zone blocking. Pull a TJ Weist and go man. Maybe they’ll be better at it.

I knew once Ambrose was mentioned, Weist wasn't far behind.

 

[UConnJim]

Oh god. That was the dumbest complaint I heard in all my years covering the team. It's not blocking scheme folks. I mean, Charlton is drawing up plays that would work if the players were stronger and more athletic. Those WR screens are excellent when you can block out wide and have talent that can take it to the house. But, UConn can't block on the perimeter, they telegraph the play, and when the WRs get the ball they don't have the explosiveness to turn it into anything.

I hate the offensive design. They play slow, they aren't dynamic, and it is predictable. But, I don't think they have the athletes at the WR or QB position to effectively run this offense. They look slow and small.

I disagree with your analysis. The problem is not strength and athleticism it's scheme and predictability. When we do a WR screen, the other team has 3 DBs defending and we have 1 or 2 blockers. That doesn't work for any team. That is scheme. And, our QB does not run AT ALL. So, the defense doesn't have to use a spy for the QB or defend for his running. Plus, we do not throw vertically, so the safeties can cheat close to the line. Imagine defending our offense when there are no deep passes, no QB runs or scrambles,... If you can't shut down the way our offense is currently designed and executed, you are a terrible defense.

I was watching the Pats/Jets this weekend and the announcers said the Pats lack playmakers so they have to use schemes to get the WRs open. UConn has to do the same thing.

 

[ZooCougar]

We’re one more bad game away from a non troll post about bring Edsall back.

I knew once Ambrose was mentioned, Weist wasn't far behind.

 

[ZooCougar]

Oh god. That was the dumbest complaint I heard in all my years covering the team. It's not blocking scheme folks. I mean, Charlton is drawing up plays that would work if the players were stronger and more athletic. Those WR screens are excellent when you can block out wide and have talent that can take it to the house. But, UConn can't block on the perimeter, they telegraph the play, and when the WRs get the ball they don't have the explosiveness to turn it into anything.

I hate the offensive design. They play slow, they aren't dynamic, and it is predictable. But, I don't think they have the athletes at the WR or QB position to effectively run this offense. They look slow and small.

I disagree. Everything we have develops behind the line of scrimmage. And it’s slow in developing.

Given the players we have we have to push the action beyond the line of scrimmage and run uptempo.

 

[JMick]

I disagree with your analysis. The problem is not strength and athleticism it's scheme and predictability. When we do a WR screen, the other team has 3 DBs defending and we have 1 or 2 blockers. That doesn't work for any team. That is scheme. And, our QB does not run AT ALL. So, the defense doesn't have to use a spy for the QB or defend for his running. Plus, we do not throw vertically, so the safeties can cheat close to the line. Imagine defending our offense when there are no deep passes, no QB runs or scrambles,... If you can't shut down the way our offense is currently designed and executed, you are a terrible defense.

I was watching the Pats/Jets this weekend and the announcers said the Pats lack playmakers so they have to use schemes to get the WRs open. UConn has to do the same thing.

Pretty much every competent offense from HS to the NFL schemes guys wide open nowadays. For whatever reason we're incapable of that.

 

[Slick]

Oh god. That was the dumbest complaint I heard in all my years covering the team. It's not blocking scheme folks. I mean, Charlton is drawing up plays that would work if the players were stronger and more athletic. Those WR screens are excellent when you can block out wide and have talent that can take it to the house. But, UConn can't block on the perimeter, they telegraph the play, and when the WRs get the ball they don't have the explosiveness to turn it into anything.

I hate the offensive design. They play slow, they aren't dynamic, and it is predictable. But, I don't think they have the athletes at the WR or QB position to effectively run this offense. They look slow and small.

Mr Silver,Kylish Hicks had a tremendous camp. Cam Edwards had a tremendous camp. Some of the freshman wide recievers supposedly have a lot of talent. Its time to give them a chance to play and I think you will see a diffference.We also have to throw the ball over the middle and open up the offense so everyone will not load the box and hammer the running game. I think the play calling has been awful so far and we also can't forget that our starting QB has not played in a full game in FOUR YEARS!

 

[Hoophound]

I knew once Ambrose was mentioned, Weist wasn't far behind.

We’re one more bad game away from a non troll post about bring Edsall back.

We are right back where we were with DeLeone and PP running things. The big difference is, we had substantially more talent then. When Weist took over he immediately scrapped zone blocking and went man. He was very open about saying that zone blocking asked far too much of our personnel. So, as fun as some people find it to mistreat people that reference past coaches fondly on certain subjects (Weist and Mazzone are two big ones), its accurate. Those two guys took no time at all to disassemble hell on earth and put it back together as a semi-functioning offense. No one is begging to bring back TJ Weist, we're begging to bring in someone, anyone that might have a similar attitude toward using our players correctly. Past coaches, are certainly fair game.

 

[RedStickHusky]

You can, maybe, give your Jimmies and Joes a better chance of success with superior X's and O's... and better athletes might overcome a weakness in scheme... but if you're calling bad plays for lesser talent you get what we've been seeing.

 

[JohnFSilver]

I disagree. Everything we have develops behind the line of scrimmage. And it’s slow in developing.

Given the players we have we have to push the action beyond the line of scrimmage and run uptempo.

I agree. They don’t have playmakers to make people miss and can’t block for crap in the perimeter.

They are also small at WR.

 

[JohnFSilver]

You can, maybe, give your Jimmies and Joes a better chance of success with superior X's and O's... and better athletes might overcome a weakness in scheme... but if you're calling bad plays for lesser talent you get what we've been seeing.

We are right back where we were with DeLeone and PP running things. The big difference is, we had substantially more talent then. When Weist took over he immediately scrapped zone blocking and went man. He was very open about saying that zone blocking asked far too much of our personnel. So, as fun as some people find it to mistreat people that reference past coaches fondly on certain subjects (Weist and Mazzone are two big ones), its accurate. Those two guys took no time at all to disassemble hell on earth and put it back together as a semi-functioning offense. No one is begging to bring back TJ Weist, we're begging to bring in someone, anyone that might have a similar attitude toward using our players correctly. Past coaches, are certainly fair game.

I can’t on this dumb zone blocking thing. It is not a thing. Players gotta play better.

You can zone block at Maine but not at UConn? Give me a break. This was also 12 years ago. We gotta move on from Edsall, PP, Deleone (who is sadly passed on) and such.

 

[ZooCougar]

I agree. They don’t have playmakers to make people miss and can’t block for crap in the perimeter.

They are also small at WR.

Mike Leach at Texas Tech used to wreak havoc with a bunch of undersized two star WRs and QBs.

The secret was making sure those guys could run for days, catch the ball and testing EVERY area of field.

They actually measured their effectiveness not on yards but by how well they spread the ball around.

It was also a very simple offense. Running the same plays just with different formations.

So I just think we need a better OC that knows how to get some production with less rated players because it’s been done many times at a very high level.

 

[CL82]

It isn’t just Nick Charlton.

No, it's not just the Charlton.

 

[Hoophound]

I can’t on this dumb zone blocking thing. It is not a thing. Players gotta play better.

You can zone block at Maine but not at UConn? Give me a break. This was also 12 years ago. We gotta move on from Edsall, PP, Deleone (who is sadly passed on) and such.

Zone blocking is more complicated, requires more skill, more speed and a better ability to recognize what the defense is doing. The whole reason for its development was as an alternative to man blocking, which is simple and static in nature.

"ZBS requires a specific type of offensive lineman to work. You can't just be big, you can't just be tall, and you can't just be fat either. Can your center immediately recognize what front the defense is in? How good is your right guard in terms of cut blocking? Does your left tackle have enough athleticism to swing around and get the correct angle on the defensive lineman? All these questions are ones that a coach needs to ask before even trying to implement the scheme. If there aren't any concerns, then it is time to move on teaching them the proper skills."

Regardless, what we are doing sucks, so there's that.

 

[RedStickHusky]

We could probably zone block against Maine's schedule... If our problem was any one thing, we'd be on it. Everything might take a little longer...

 

[huskysupporter]

Glad someone mentioned zone blocking - it is not an easy scheme to master as an O Linemen at all. It’s almost like a feel blocking scheme - you are blocking to an area and this can be difficult as heck.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Zone blocking is more complicated, requires more skill, more speed and a better ability to recognize what the defense is doing. The whole reason for its development was as an alternative to man blocking, which is simple and static in nature.

"ZBS requires a specific type of offensive lineman to work. You can't just be big, you can't just be tall, and you can't just be fat either. Can your center immediately recognize what front the defense is in? How good is your right guard in terms of cut blocking? Does your left tackle have enough athleticism to swing around and get the correct angle on the defensive lineman? All these questions are ones that a coach needs to ask before even trying to implement the scheme. If there aren't any concerns, then it is time to move on teaching them the proper skills."

Regardless, what we are doing sucks, so there's that.

Everyone zone blocks at college level unless you run triple option .

I can’t believe we are having this discussion. Let’s forget about it. Zone blocking scheme is our issue when the WRs can’t catch a ball, QBs can’t throw, and no one breaks a play other than Rosa .

 

[JohnFSilver]

Mike Leach at Texas Tech used to wreak havoc with a bunch of undersized two star WRs and QBs.

The secret was making sure those guys could run for days, catch the ball and testing EVERY area of field.

They actually measured their effectiveness not on yards but by how well they spread the ball around.

It was also a very simple offense. Running the same plays just with different formations.

So I just think we need a better OC that knows how to get some production with less rated players because it’s been done many times at a very high level.

He also had QBs who can throw it, and Leach had WRs who can catch and run for days.

They do not have the WR to adequately throw the ball at this level. Not primed and ready to play. I just don’t see it.

You need maybe 15 WRs to play his style. I am all for it, but you better have an accurate qb.

 

[Hoophound]

He also had QBs who can throw it, and Leach had WRs who can catch and run for days.

They do not have the WR to adequately throw the ball at this level. Not primed and ready to play. I just don’t see it.

You need maybe 15 WRs to play his style. I am all for it, but you better have an accurate qb.

Zion was hesitant to throw sometimes, but he seemed reasonably accurate and he was a better runner than Roberson. I'm really not sure why Mora isn't jumping at the chance to try Zion. Its kind of weird at this point.

 

[ZooCougar]

He also had QBs who can throw it, and Leach had WRs who can catch and run for days.

They do not have the WR to adequately throw the ball at this level. Not primed and ready to play. I just don’t see it.

You need maybe 15 WRs to play his style. I am all for it, but you better have an accurate qb.

Stop it John. You’re out of your depth here. They made those guys. They ran barefoot in sand pits and fired tennis balls at them to teach them how run and catch better. The QBs also weren’t exactly highly rated.

You can do more with less. Lots more.

We are doing less with less.

 

[uconnric]

I knew once Ambrose was mentioned, Weist wasn't far behind.

Skippy anyone?

 

[Bubba1957]

I’m a fan of zone blocking. It’s a fundamental skill that can be used regardless of what your offense is and, more importantly, regardless of what the D does. In theory, you don’t have to game plan for every possible blitz combo. Just master the rules for looking in and out and functioning as a unit.
Theoretically, you can game plan for every opponent without having to change your blocking rules/assignments. It should be easier to master, than dealing with different looks, slants, blitz’s, etc. it has teachable rules.