Of Coordinators and Quarterbacks

Husker_x

Husker_x

All-American
I have two points.

#1. Taylor, if you do actually have any prima donna issues, I hope they were beaten out of you this evening. You're not good enough. You're a D- QB in a B+ runner's body. With a limp, you're a waste of time on the field. I know that's harsh, but let's not kid ourselves. Taylor didn't know which side of his pants to crap in tonight. He choked on a helping of Sooner defense––a defense, by the way, which is still straining to reach the peaks of Average. Earlier in the season I pointed out that Taylor was not a great QB, just an athlete being placed on the field in the hopes that his athleticism could blast slower competition. The experiment is over. If Taylor does not up his game about a hundred notches, I expect him to be soundly beaten by the first QB to come along with a head on his shoulders.

#2. Shawn Watson, you preformed to expectations. A couple of blown OU defensive assignments got us on the board, got us what should have been an insurmountable lead with our defense, and you then showed us exactly what you are as a coordinator. This game encapsulated a season. You coach a sloppy, inconsistent, predictable offense with atrocious pass blocking, abysmal quarterbacking, and fumbilitis unlike no other major college team in football. I don't know why you're not good enough to win championships, but you're not.

 
One of the greatest posts I've ever read on a message board. Let me add my thoughts:

First . . .

Taylor is totally overrated as a QB. He hurt his ankle against Mizzou, but to my knowledge, he hasn't had a rushing TD since . . . Kansas State. As Husker_x said, it is now painfully obvious that the coaches expected Martinez to blow over guys with his raw athleticism, but this only works against undisciplined defenses and even then only for so long. He lacks even the most fundamental things as a thrower. He does not set his feet when he throws. His stance is too narrow. He doesn't point his feet at the target, swiveling his body instead.

Most importantly, he freaks the fu*k out when his receivers are covered and he has some pressure. Instead of throwing the ball away or making a run for the sideline to move the chains, he panics and spins around. At this point, he'll either rush backward and lose yardage, or he steps forward into the line and fumbles the ball. He's been doing this all season, which leads me to only two possibilities: Either (1) none of the coaches have taught him to throw the ball away, in which case it's on Watson et al.; or (2) he's been told repeatedly to get rid of the ball, but refuses to listen, in which case he is not coachable.

Second . . .

Watson is a failed experiment. He made one great offensive call in the fourth-and-two throw to McNeil. He cannot take credit for any of the other plays. The Helu play was a blown assignment. The Burkhead TD pass actually broke down and only became something through Burkhead's improvisation. How many times did we see Helu attempt to run east-west only to be dropped for a four-yard loss? How many times did the zone-read get stuffed at the line?

But none of this even touches Watson's biggest failure: Failing to put Martinez in a position to make plays. Quick: You've got a line that cannot hold a pass rush and an athletic QB who freaks out in the pocket. What do you do? If you're Watson, you keep Martinez in the pocket and draw up passing plays that take a long-a$$ time to develop.

But how about rolling Martinez out in the bootleg where he can avoid pressure and more easily make plays with his feet when the pass isn't there? How about drawing up more quick slants and short passes? (To his credit, Watson did more of the former as the game went on.)

This, of course, doesn't even touch Watson's apparent failure to coach Martinez into a serviceable QB as discussed above.

Third . . .

I feel terrible for Burkhead. The kid is just a straight-up baller and is easily the best player we have on offense. You could tell the way he was playing at the end he was trying to win the game single-handedly. The kid needs help. If it wasn't for Burkhead, Watson would literally be the worst offensive coordinator in the country. I am so tired of Watson falling a$$ backwards into amazingly talented players who sacrifice everything to win. Without Joe Ganz and Rex Burkhead, everyone in the world would see that Watson is garbage. As it is, there are still 25% of you who haven't woken up yet.

 
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I agree with all of the above, but don't forget the exceptional work of O-Line coach Barney Cotton. Another massively embarrassing episode.

 
Ease up on Taylor. I've said it and I'll say it again. He is a FRESHMAN QB. What do you expect? A FRESHMAN QB can torch a weak defense. A FRESHMAN QB can win most games when the team has either: A) jumped to an early lead via the run game or pass game, or B) the defense is completely shutting down the opposition. In the games where neither of these happen, a FRESHMAN QB will struggle. FRESHMAN QBs have to learn what to do and what not to do in the big games. You saw this with Landry Jones last year, and Taylor Martinez and Garrett Gilbert this year. They're growing pains and both these two will be better because of it (i.e. Oklahoma) Ease off.

He didn't play well, Watson's playcalling (your second point, I believe) was the most glaring disappointment in the game and in the season. Now watch him call a brilliant game against our bowl opponent so he can save his a$$

 
The Snork said:
I agree with all of the above, but don't forget the exceptional work of O-Line coach Barney Cotton. Another massively embarrassing episode.
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Wrong. Without Niles, we lack the overall athletic ability to get guys open quickly. OU knew so they mostly blitzed the hell out of us. Where were the hot routes/reads. Oh, wait, Shawn Watson is OC, he doesnt know what a hot read is. When OU did not blitz, Taylor had considerable time to throw. Yes our tackles got beat time and time again but the ends were GOING AROUND THEM, where is the presence of Taylor to step up into the open space and run it or throw it. Must not be getting coached. Make the change at OC/qb coach and wr coach before we waste the talent of Brion and Jamal and Enunwa as well.

 
I think Taylor has shown over the course of the year that he won't use the check down. Were there no hot reads this game or did Taylor not take them? I didn't notice. I did notice earlier in the year when the checkdown was frequently there but rarely used. Taylor panics pretty quickly and ducks up into his OL, as we saw so many times over the year and especially tonight.

I wonder if he's being taught to keep his eyes downfield and throw on the run after keeping plays alive. Worth getting answered I think. I highly doubt it since it should be pretty clear our coaches know he can't throw on the run. I just don't know if it's true or not that he's being taught to take off if that read isn't there. Taylor has no pocket presence which should not be a surprise and should not be pinned on our QB coach. Pocket presence is not simply given over this amount of time when he has had so many years of not having it. Taylor not having pocket presence has everything to do with Taylor. Could he develop some?.....maybe. I don't have a good feel on that situation, though I guess I wouldn't be too optimistic. I'll throw a bone for Taylor here and just add that if he does, he could be amazing. But these will take more offseasons to hone and bring out of him.

 
i am really, really in love with the joe ganz/rex burkhead line from Hujan. Im far from a watson supporter, but having that slapped across my face is even more awakening.

Some more random Watson bashing from me, because im in the mood and find it amusing...

Did you know, Shawn Watson was 11-22 as a head coach at the University of Southern Illinois?

And I somehow came across this while trying to disparage the man.

when i found it there where no signatures.

 
The assumption that Ganz made the system and not the other way around is really amusing :)

It's always interesting how we tend to blame the coaches when players do bad, but don't give them credit when players do well. And to be fair there's a bit of a gray area in each situation. It's rarely one or the other. Taylor being a headcase is Taylor, but no emerging WRs is Gilmore. When good things happen, I think equal credit is applied in most instances. Credit to the player for making the play, credit to the coaches for getting them in that position.

Husker_x said:
I have two points.

#1. Taylor, if you do actually have any prima donna issues, I hope they were beaten out of you this evening. You're not good enough. You're a D- QB in a B+ runner's body. With a limp, you're a waste of time on the field. I know that's harsh, but let's not kid ourselves. Taylor didn't know which side of his pants to crap in tonight. He choked on a helping of Sooner defense––a defense, by the way, which is still straining to reach the peaks of Average. Earlier in the season I pointed out that Taylor was not a great QB, just an athlete being placed on the field in the hopes that his athleticism could blast slower competition. The experiment is over. If Taylor does not up his game about a hundred notches, I expect him to be soundly beaten by the first QB to come along with a head on his shoulders.

#2. Shawn Watson, you preformed to expectations. A couple of blown OU defensive assignments got us on the board, got us what should have been an insurmountable lead with our defense, and you then showed us exactly what you are as a coordinator. This game encapsulated a season. You coach a sloppy, inconsistent, predictable offense with atrocious pass blocking, abysmal quarterbacking, and fumbilitis unlike no other major college team in football. I don't know why you're not good enough to win championships, but you're not.
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I agree a lot with #1 except that the experiment is over. But that's me being insanely optimistic about Taylor, which I generally am of players even when they struggle. But don't you see how related #2 is to #1? If we rode this year on a D- QB in a B+ runner's body - a very spot-on assessment in my opinion - then that is why you will get a sloppy, inconsistent season with a predictable offense. Because that D- QB does not have much variety open to him. That we are able to make some hay with everyone healthy is a credit to Watson, I think, and our 30ish ranked offense.

 
zoogies said:
The assumption that Ganz made the system and not the other way around is really amusing :)

 

It's always interesting how we tend to blame the coaches when players do bad, but don't give them credit when players do well. And to be fair there's a bit of a gray area in each situation. It's rarely one or the other. Taylor being a headcase is Taylor, but no emerging WRs is Gilmore. When good things happen, I think equal credit is applied in most instances. Credit to the player for making the play, credit to the coaches for getting them in that position.
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It's actually pretty easy to discern whether players are good due to coaching or players are good for being studs regardless.

Good Coaching: Lots of good players that seem to come out of the woodwork and have inexplicably good depth behind them. The loss of a few sensational players, either due to injury or graduation, does not destroy the unit and they have good consistency from game to game and year to year. It is difficult to point to any one player on that unit that is clearly head-and-shoulders above all others. Unit makes adjustments between games and at the half. Examples include Oregon's offense, Boise State's offense, or our own defense under Pelini.

Bad Coaching: A couple good players that must single-handedly win games. The loss of key players to injury or graduation, or the failure of key players to execute on a particular occasion, absolutely destroys the unit. Horrible consistency from game to game or year to year. It is easy to point to individual players that are clearly head-and-shoulders better than everyone around them. Unit fails to make meaningful adjustments between games and at the half. Examples include our offense under Watson.

In summary, if you think we are being unfair in denying Watson praise for Ganz and Burkhead, you must also heap a ton of disappointing play on Watson's shoulders from all the other players who blow a$$. And under Watson, "quality player" is the exception rather than the rule.

 
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Offensive coaching staff needs almost a complete revamp, they just aren't getting it done. We have to have a dual-thread QB in there. We can't run this zone read-crap without an arm to offset it when the defense starts to key on the zone-read. Martinez isn't the answer right now, hopefully he develops his passing abilities as we go forward. If Watson's here he'll have the kid on the field.

 
Why was Ganz good?

Because he paid his dues and knew this offense. Inside and out. Years of being coached up and brought up in the system.

Yeah, some players, like Burkhead, are just ballers. Swift or Peterson too could go in that category. Ganz doesn't. He had little in the way of physical skills, and was maximized far beyond any realistic dreams, by the offense. Same story with Zac Taylor, but without quite as unworldy stats. And the light came on for Zac quicker. Ganz didn't really emerge until his later years.

If you don't give Watson, and Callahan credit for bringing along Zac Taylor and Joe Ganz, I think you just don't want to. (Watson with Ganz and Callahan with both).

Really, Burkhead has nothing to do with Watson anyway. The coach being denied credit there would be Tim Beck.

 
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zoogies said:
Why was Ganz good?

Because he paid his dues and knew this offense. Inside and out. Years of being coached up and brought up in the system.

Yeah, some players, like Burkhead, are just ballers. Swift or Peterson too could go in that category. Ganz doesn't. He had little in the way of physical skills, and was maximized far beyond any realistic dreams, by the offense. Same story with Zac Taylor, but without quite as unworldy stats. And the light came on for Zac quicker. Ganz didn't really emerge until his later years.

If you don't give Watson, and Callahan credit for bringing along Zac Taylor and Joe Ganz, I think you just don't want to. (Watson with Ganz and Callahan with both).

Really, Burkhead has nothing to do with Watson anyway. The coach being denied credit there would be Tim Beck.
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The problem is that you're failing to ignore the most important traits of both Zac Taylor and Joe Ganz. It wasn't their knowledge of the offense, ability to check down, etc. It was there moxy. Their gall. Their leadership. Their toughness. The way that Zac Taylor took pounding after pounding and just refused to go down. You felt like, if there was a way to win, Zac Taylor was going to find it. Same deal with Joe Ganz. He was tough as nails and a competitor. And it's the same thing with Rex Burkhead.

It's the intangibles that you're overlooking. Think of the things we praise Burkhead for. It's not his stats. Unlike Marlon Lucky, Rex doesn't even have 1,000 yards rushing and yet we talk like he walks on water. It's because of who he is as a man, not a football player.

If you can't see this, then you honestly only know the game of football in the most superficial way.

My point is that Watson's offenses are being propped up by men who refuse to go down without a fight and we know that Watson can't take credit for it because that fight-to-the-death attitude cannot be taught.

 
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