Offense Observations - Areas of improvement

[AtlAppMan]

On one hand I want to congratulate our team at 6-2 this season and stout defense.

On a constructive discussion I want to point out some issues and think about solutions for our guys to finish this season strong.

1. The offense is producing but not fluid.
2. We are seriously lacking on third down conversions
3. We have a very good O line but enough inconsistencies to stall drives from time to time, missed blocks, penalties.
4. Inconsistent snaps have been throwing off rhythm

We are good but could be great. Given that we are 8 games into season we should be running smoother than this but the good news is that all of these things can be cleaned up and if we can we will be a juggernaut.

[AppinATL]

Very valid points. You are being kind about the snaps. They have been horrible, and not just the obvious ones. I just rewatched last nights game and there were several times that Lamb was able to corral the snap and avoid disaster, but it resulted in broken plays. I don't know why that aspect has come off the tracks like that.

The third down conversion problem is ugly, too. It was a big problem early in the season then seemed to improve but last night was about as bad as it gets...1 or 12 or something like that? The good news is we do seem to be improving in other areas each week and Meadors has re-found his game after losing time to injuries.

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

All just means we haven't peaked, yet.

[bigdaddyg]

I wonder if our center gets too hyped up and is ready to pound people and doesn't concentrate on the snap execution? Should not be that hard at this point.

[mountaineerman]

We were in a lot of third and very longs last night also

[bigdaddyg]

We were in a lot of third and very longs last night also

Agree. I'm a numbers guy. I wonder what the distance for first down was on each 3rd conversion. I believe a few were well over 10 yards due to bad snaps and maybe a penalty.

[biggie]

There were a lot of longer 3rd downs. But a couple short ones, like the 2 yds we didn't get right before the Cox TD on 4th.

[EastHallApp]

We were in a lot of third and very longs last night also

Agree. I'm a numbers guy. I wonder what the distance for first down was on each 3rd conversion. I believe a few were well over 10 yards due to bad snaps and maybe a penalty.

I think that's the point that gets overlooked when talking about 3rd down conversion %. It probably usually points to an offense that isn't doing that well on first and second downs. In the broadcast last night they mentioned at one point that "they've been better on 4th down than 3rd down." Well of course - on 4th down, most of your attempts will be in short-yardage situations.

[AtlAppMan]

I forgot one more point. Play calling. I definitely think this falls on the shoulders of our coaches. That has been a mystery to me.

BTW, where was Letman last night? In the Idaho game he and Meadors looked strong, why not use those two downfield weapons more to force the defense back off the line more?

[App91]

Also, on the 3rd down and goal play right before the FG debacle, there was not a TE on the field, 5 wide. Couldn't believe it, that has been our bread and butter in the situation. Did we out think ourselves?

[bigdaddyg]

Seems what tends to lead to some long 3rd downs are the reverse plays that get read and snuffed out for 5 yard losses. Overall I only see us getting better. No complaints here

[Southern lady]

Give the guys a break!!!! It is easy to sit back and criticize! You should be there supporting the team regardless. These kids read this crap you write about them - nothing like supporting the players. They realize their mistakes and don't need ya'll writing about them! That is the coaches job to get on their butt not yours! Don't single out players!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Yosef84]

The lack of third down production is an issue but it is overstated I think. If we weren't sustaining drives, I would be more concerned. The fact is that we get plenty of first downs but we tend to do it on first or second down and when third downs happen, it tends to be third and long. That skews the percentages.

One big positive that I have liked about this year is that we have been able to use our second half leads to give the backups significant reps. I like that we have seen Caruso in there for more than running off the clock. He threw a beautiful TD pass towards the end of the Idaho game. We've given lots of WRs reps...lots of guys on D. This results in our margins being lower, but those guys have performed well and giving them experience now will pay HUGE dividends down the road.

It's great to be a Mountaineer!

[bigdaddyg]

The lack of third down production is an issue but it is overstated I think. If we weren't sustaining drives, I would be more concerned. The fact is that we get plenty of first downs but we tend to do it on first or second down and when third downs happen, it tends to be third and long. That skews the percentages.

Agree. It would be interesting to see this stat broken down further. What is our average yards to go on 3rd down? If we have a lower % on 3rd and less than, say 4 to go I am concerned. 6-2 record trumps all.

One big positive that I have liked about this year is that we have been able to use our second half leads to give the backups significant reps. I like that we have seen Caruso in there for more than running off the clock. He threw a beautiful TD pass towards the end of the Idaho game. We've given lots of WRs reps...lots of guys on D. This results in our margins being lower, but those guys have performed well and giving them experience now will pay HUGE dividends down the road.

It's great to be a Mountaineer!

We all want to see shutouts and keeping teams from touchdowns is awesome. I love seeing second and third string guys on the field with 6 min left in games- and seeing execution!

[EastHallApp]

Good point on playing our depth 84. Depending on the day, we've got something like 9-10 senior starters (not including special teams). That's often a precursor to a rebuilding year, unless you have experienced talent ready to replace them.

[Rekdiver]

I remember a play we ran early in the year....a toss sweep with the line zone blocking to the opposite side.
Several people asked about Letman....haven't seen any answers.
Look at play calling on 3rd and short vs 3rd and 5-10 yards and then longer than 10. I believe our tendencies are too predictable.
Taylor's arms are now longer reaching for snaps.
Our Oline has a nasty streak and I love it.
Has Tysons PT dropped?

[YesAppCan]

Give the guys a break!!!! It is easy to sit back and criticize! You should be there supporting the team regardless. These kids read this crap you write about them - nothing like supporting the players. They realize their mistakes and don't need ya'll writing about them! That is the coaches job to get on their butt not yours! Don't single out players!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a message board, not a pulpit... This is constructive. There aren't many folks in the App fan base that support our team more than the folks here. The point of the original poster, IMO, was to say yes we have some warts that need cleaning up BUT we are 6 and 2 and the ceiling is high IF/WHEN we clean these things up. By the way, the original poster has been driving to Boone for over 25 years FROM ATLANTA to each home game.

[AppAttack]

Southern lady is likely a friend or relative of one of the players, so I can see both sides.

[AtlAppMan]

Give the guys a break!!!! It is easy to sit back and criticize! You should be there supporting the team regardless. These kids read this crap you write about them - nothing like supporting the players. They realize their mistakes and don't need ya'll writing about them! That is the coaches job to get on their butt not yours! Don't single out players!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you read my original post you will see I started the thread with a compliment. I even stated this was "constructive criticism". How more delicate could I be? I guarantee you this message board is exponentially milder than most D-1 boards when it comes to team/player/coach discussions. These players decided to play D-1 ball and along with that comes the expectation that there will be fan observations and discussions both good and bad, so as long as it does not go into the toilet, they should not find that surprising or have such fragile ego's that they cannot handle the discussion. In fact, I bet you that most of them would expect it and not shy away when they do not perform at a level they personally expect. IMO, this is really preparation for the real world where real criticism does happen and you have to learn to survive in that environment.

[t4pizza]

My biggest concern for the offense continues to be the passing game. We have too many dropped passes in every game. I may be old school but I subscribe to the theory that if it hits your hands, you should make the catch. There are obvious exceptions to this rule, like when the only reason it even hit the receiver's hands is because of extraordinary effort like a lay out or high jump or something like that, but most of our drops seem to be right in the hands. TL is an efficient quarterback. He has some arm strength issues with deep balls but when he puts the ball where it needs to be, our receivers need to do their job and catch it. Currently, Meadors is the only one that is doing this consistently. If we can start to catch the ball consistently, our offense should be unstoppable with or stable of running backs firing on all cylinders.