It's sad that another thread which could have been simply an appreciation for a former coach triggered some to spout nonsense. It still boggles my mind why people who got the coaching change they wanted can't be satisfied and positive for the future without crapping on our past.
Some football basics which apparently need repeating:
1) For the millionth time, it's a team sport. W-L is a measure of team not offense. So citing W-L by itself says nothing about the quality of the offense and offends reason.
2) The faster defenses etc arguments against the offense were made when CPJ brought it to the power5 conference and disproved. Repeating them for the NFL is a speculative faith move and offends reason.
3) I can't think of any other situation where a down year in offensive efficiency has been blamed on the scheme. Like any offensive scheme in football, the spread-option still requires players to make plays, and it is still susceptible to inefficiencies especially when the QB is inconsistent. So, any suggestion that defenses were catching up to the scheme simply from a year or two's data when there were other factors which were likely involved offends reason.
4) As said above, cut-blocking is not the same as chop-blocking which is illegal. Throughout the tenure of CPJ at GT, cut blocking was only legal for players who were inside the tackle box at the snap (OL and Backs in the flexbone). Rule changes about where cut-blocking by these players could take place changed and likely affected the offense some. From a safety standpoint, I fail to see how cut blocking downfield was more dangerous than tackling below the waist by a cornerback. Cut blocking within the tackle box is still legal, even in the NFL, and a common way running backs block in passing plays and OL block in rushing plays.
Fwiw, I am really enjoying the Collins Culture. I love the tweets with strength and conditioning clips. I love Waffle House Wednesday. I love the branding and the excitement on the recruiting trail. While I am not as optimistic as some, I am hopeful.
So, I'm not somebody who is jumping into every pro-Collins thread trying to throw cold water on the optimism. I've really enjoyed this forum, but I recognize that my time as a very active contributor is over. I was one of the first persons to join and stayed active even when one of the moderators was trying to push me away. Still, for those who complain about people who you perceive as trying to throw cold-water on Collins-optimism, I ask that you model that desire when it comes to threads about CPJ, especially when you don't know what you're talking about.