I agree with this. But it’s also missing the big picture that you can also convert first downs on 1st and 2nd down too, which is something we were close to the bottom in across the nation under Tommy Rees. He seemed inherently against trying to actually convert first and second downs, which made our offense incredibly predictable and put a lot of unnecessary pressure on 3rd down conversion rates.
This. First down is the free down. After that, depending on the results, it's time to get down to business. Circumstances vary and you should play to your strengths. Comparative stats can be telling, but can also be misleading. Basically, football isn't played in a vacuum. Good thing, too, as our recent QB would have gotten sucked up into the tube.
There were games, Syracuse and Clemson come to mind, where they knew what was coming and couldn't stop it. Hell, we were converting third and long with the run game in those games. When it's working, predictability is OK. Problem is you can pick different games and the stats will tell a different story. There were games where he should have mixed it up, sure. But in games such those mentioned above, it would have been crazy to. They all go into the cumulative stats, so it's hard to say he was right or wrong big picture. I was honestly more frustrated when the running game was damned near unstoppable then they'd get down inside the 10 and start passing, seemingly to be less predictable. Like WTF? Punch it in!
Is that actually what happened though? Teams weren't sending light boxes at us on 2nd and 8 or 9 because they knew Rees had a tendency to run to try to set up 3rd and manageable. Oftentimes the BEST chance to convert / throw was on 2nd and 8 when the defense still respected that we could get 3-4 yards with Estime and we could have protected Pyne by using the uncertainty to give him another down to convert. Instead, teams knew we were running it at absurd rates on 2nd and long and weren't surprised. I don't have the stats on our 2nd and long effectiveness running, vs. other down effectiveness, but I remember a lot more of Logan Diggs getting two yards on 2nd and 9 to set up 3rd and 7 then Estime scampering for 7 yards on 2nd and 9 to set up 3rd and 1 Georgia had one of the worst third down offenses in the country. Why? Because they got first downs on second down at an absurd rate. If you're getting 8 YPA, have Michael Mayer, and are trying to help your QB with uncertainty, try to get a first down on second down instead of backing him into 3rd and 5. If anything having Drew Pyne means you want the BENEFIT of throwing earlier
I mean, one can argue we've been a better passing team than rushing team for five years now and the reliance on getting balance from Rees, et. al., has held us back
I'm curious how it plays out. Freeman wants to dominate clock and be a lineman driven program One affects the other. These stats don't take into account what you see on defense and why, RPOs, etc.
Limited experience as an OC but definitely did some nice things with two different type of QBs last year
I’m not sure how realistic it is because I don’t think he’s a pussy-ass bitch who would leave his alma mater for the same role at another school
only 1 full year as OC but what he did was pretty impressive. Adaptable, we had two completely different offenses this year with Martinez and Howard. Will use tempo and slow down depending on situation. What he did with will Howard was pretty incredible. I don’t see him leaving, annoyingly churchy, wife is a Kstate grad whose dad played and is in the ring of honor etc, doesn’t ever show an ego, and just brought in Avery Johnson as qb. He’s really only been at Kstate. Left for a year or two to be qb coach at like northern Iowa and then came back. People that cover Kstate think that he has IT though as a play caller/schemer/teacher
lol, he is EMAW Rees. Our search has been really quiet so his name popping up is interesting. Sounds like a good candidate but I have assumed MF would want more experience.
Oddly, I caught more of them this year than usual. Deuce was clearly their playmaker, but we'd have won 10 games this year with their QB play.
Luckily we have God on our side too. It’s just debatable whether he/she/it cares about the success of football teams. But that’s neither here nor there.
Freeman converted. We can work on Colin. He’ll have to repent for 2012, but that’s part of the process
Klein is an emaw legend married to the daughter of an emaw legend and they own a business in Manhattan. he’s also about to have Avery Johnson and has earned a lot of autonomy over our offense he may leave for a blue blood like ND but I think he’s probably crazy enough not to
Howard only started half the season. But if you projected his numbers for the entire year he’s likely a heisman candidate or at least in the conversation. He was incredible and this came off of showing absolutely nothing the previous two years and in those years he started multiple big 12 games. When Martinez got hurt we thought the season was absolutely over. everyone credits Colin with his development and Skylar Thompson’s development
not really. Klein/Klieman improved Will Howard by about 500% in a year from a guy who was a turnover machine to an all big 12 caliber qb. our WR play was generally lacking, but going into next year we have a better WR corps and Howard returning with the entire OL
I think I might prefer Klein to Moorhead for QB reasons, but Moorhead's OC track record is obviously stronger.
He's high for me, too. I think his style would best translate to our OL and RB, plus the physicality that Marcus seems to value.
Agree that Ludwig would be best for coaching QBs and calling plays, but very skeptical about his ability to recruit
Why? I don't believe any of the candidates are seen as hot shot recruiters. Also, calling plays has to be #1 for a coordinator. Position coaches and Marcus can help with recruiting.
I know he was essentially our beat's best source for a half decade, but it pisses me off that the general beat reaction has been Foo Fighters "there goes my hero / watch him as he goes" in thinking about Rees ("oh boy were we lucky to have him!") and not about how shitty this is. I hope the vitrol grows over the next few months! His resume: -Nepo babies his way into the QB coach job as a Kelly yes man on the offensive staff -Another example of Kelly promoting his own guys when Long leaves; offense doesn't take any demonstrable step forward post-Long -Years of mismanagement at QB position and recruiting, culminating in a year of Drew Pyne -Atrocious off-season management leads to poor 2021 offensive line, but despite that we try to Run The Damn Ball and fail -Atrocious performances calling plays against Marshall and Stanford lead to underperformance; wilted in the second half in OSU against their new OC -Upset he either didn't get HC or they brought in a flashy young coach, he flirts with the NFL and Miami all off-season last year -After finally starting to get the QB position on track, he leaves a week after Sam Hartman and Kenny Minchey start school for a lateral job