Where to begin? Offense or Defense?

[Techastrophe]

CGC initially spoke of making special teams the foundation for both the offense and the defense. There have a been a few flashes of greatness despite losing Harvin to the draft and the kickers who quit. It's not necessarily a bad concept. I agree that there is no replacement for displacement on the line of scrimmage, and a well-coached defense will go a long way in recruiting offensive talent. But special teams can't be overlooked. Besides having many of the most pivotal plays, the discipline and commitment can set the tone for the whole team. So to answer the OP question I might actually look at special teams before offense or defense. Again, CGC seems to have come in with that idea and I don't know how strictly he has stuck with it.

 

[Techastrophe]

CGC initially spoke of making special teams the foundation for both the offense and the defense. There have a been a few flashes of greatness despite losing Harvin to the draft and the kickers who quit. It's not necessarily a bad concept. I agree that there is no replacement for displacement on the line of scrimmage, and a well-coached defense will go a long way in recruiting offensive talent. But special teams can't be overlooked. Besides having many of the most pivotal plays, the discipline and commitment can set the tone for the whole team. So to answer the OP question I might actually look at special teams before offense or defense. Again, CGC seems to have come in with that idea and I don't know how strictly he has stuck with it.

Harrison Butker got famous at GT. Percy Harvin III got famous at GT. Some of 2021 season's sparks were back-to-back onside kicks recovered against Virginia, another to get within a possession against Clemson. Make the best kicker, best punter, best open-field tacklers, best runners, best hands in the country want to be on that GT highlight reel. Use the conversion squad team-within-a-team in the red zone and short yardage. It could be fun.

 

[JacketFan137]

our offense is bad to average. our defense was about as effective as traffic cones in most games.

both have got to improve but our defense was record setting bad lol

 

[Dottie1145]

I would evaluate our recruiting potential, realize it will never compete with the top programs in the country, and develop a scheme that would separate us from everyone else. How can we expect to compete with inferior talent, while running similar offenses to what the factories run? The answer is you simply can’t.

 

[Techastrophe]

I would evaluate our recruiting potential, realize it will never compete with the top programs in the country, and develop a scheme that would separate us from everyone else. How can we expect to compete with inferior talent, while running similar offenses to what the factories run? The answer is you simply can’t.

It will be interesting to see what develops in the area of scheme gimmicks with the transfer portal situation. Athletes looking at a program with too unusual of a scheme will wonder if they would be at a disadvantage transferring out.

 

[7979]

I would evaluate our recruiting potential, realize it will never compete with the top programs in the country, and develop a scheme that would separate us from everyone else. How can we expect to compete with inferior talent, while running similar offenses to what the factories run? The answer is you simply can’t.

"...while running similar offenses defenses to what the factories run?..."
We are not Alabama...
Joe Lee Dunn died in Columbus, GA this past Oct...
“The people that win the championships throw the ball, so if you want to win, you’ve got to stop that,” Dunn said once in an interview on ESPN.com...."
We need to bring 6 on every play...unless we bring 7...or 8....like Joe Lee did at Miss State around 1990...
But, gee whiz, we might give up a big play....
And your point is...?

 

[Boaty1]

I would evaluate our recruiting potential, realize it will never compete with the top programs in the country, and develop a scheme that would separate us from everyone else. How can we expect to compete with inferior talent, while running similar offenses to what the factories run? The answer is you simply can’t.

What is Baylor doing that is so unique? Pitt? Michigan State?

All 3 have similar recruiting abilities to us and are in the top 12 while running things that most other teams run.

And by the way, our recruiting ceiling is easily top half of the conference. Maybe top third. To make it sound like we are Duke or BC is just ridiculous.

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

It will be interesting to see what develops in the area of scheme gimmicks with the transfer portal situation. Athletes looking at a program with too unusual of a scheme will wonder if they would be at a disadvantage transferring out.

I dont think he is suggesting unusual, you just assumed that. You can still run a bit more traditional schemes on O and D and still provide advantages.
It is not full blown 3O for the Offense or nothing. There are a fun 50 shades of gray in between.

 

[YJMD]

If I were starting from scratch, I'd look for a guy who runs a different/wrinkled offense that appeals to HS recruits. From where we are at, we need to fix the defense to have all our players on the same page and have some hope of limiting the QB. If I were at a place like UGA or Bama, I would put more emphasis on defense. Not necessarily ahead of the offense, but given their greater talent pool and resources in general, the aims are higher and could not be reached by neglecting the defense; moreover, the talent advantage somewhat buffers a more conservative offense. That said, I'd still want a dynamic and non-generic offensive scheme.

 

[JacketOff]

I would evaluate our recruiting potential, realize it will never compete with the top programs in the country, and develop a scheme that would separate us from everyone else. How can we expect to compete with inferior talent, while running similar offenses to what the factories run? The answer is you simply can’t.

Iowa, Kentucky, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Utah, Pitt, Cincinnati, and many otherswould disagree. You don’t need to recruit in the top 10 to be successful, and just because you’re not recruiting in the top 10 doesn’t mean you need to run some obscure scheme to be successful.

 

[Dottie1145]

Iowa, Kentucky, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Utah, Pitt, Cincinnati, and many otherswould disagree. You don’t need to recruit in the top 10 to be successful, and just because you’re not recruiting in the top 10 doesn’t mean you need to run some obscure scheme to be successful.

So you just need a coach that hasn’t lost the team?

 

[danny daniel]

I know a coach who won 70% of his games over 25 years. Of the D type players available he put the best at the positions that fit his scheme. He coached his scheme, kept it simple, and stayed with it because he knew it worked if properly coached. . He evaluated the rest of the talent and developed an O scheme that best took advantage of the strengths of the players available. Translating to the college level I think you recruit to your D scheme and coach it to work. On O you recruit the best available talent, evaluate the strengths, and create an O scheme best suited to your talent (this could change continually and certainly each year). Forcing a scheme that does not make the best use of available talent can result in 3 win seasons.

 

[link3945]

I dont think he is suggesting unusual, you just assumed that. You can still run a bit more traditional schemes on O and D and still provide advantages.
It is not full blown 3O for the Offense or nothing. There are a fun 50 shades of gray in between.

Jamey Chadwell at Coastal Carolina. Might need to get him to shave the mullet off, but that's a fantastic coach that runs a very unique and fun offense.

 

[danny daniel]

I know a coach who won 70% of his games over 25 years. Of the D type players available he put the best at the positions that fit his scheme. He coached his scheme, kept it simple, and stayed with it because he knew it worked if properly coached. . He evaluated the rest of the talent and developed an O scheme that best took advantage of the strengths of the players available. Translating to the college level I think you recruit to your D scheme and coach it to work. On O you recruit the best available talent, evaluate the strengths, and create an O scheme best suited to your talent (this could change continually and certainly each year). Forcing a scheme that does not make the best use of available talent can result in 3 win seasons.

Paul Johnson did this in reverse. He knew he could recruit players to fit his O scheme which he knew would work and he knew how to coach. Certainly The OL, BB, and ABs were uniquely recruited to his scheme. Unfortunately for various reasons he was not able to recruit enough elite talent to have consistently good Ds.

 

[jacketup]

Some of the comments in this thread are humorous.

The problem on offense is twofold and simple: Our offense line needs to get better and we need more depth. We need a QB who has enough experience to spot what the defense is giving him and react accordingly. Both of these things have been missing.

On defense, well, everything. The older guys have experience but less talent. The younger guys are more talented but lack experience, which is critical on defense. Get old, stay old. Coaching--putting players in position to succeed--has not been good. Increased experience alone will start to show next year, but when the defense is ranked in the 100's in FBS in almost every category, there is nowhere to go but up.

 

[g0lftime]

Jamey Chadwell at Coastal Carolina. Might need to get him to shave the mullet off, but that's a fantastic coach that runs a very unique and fun offense.

Ran some 3O very effectively in the bowl game out of the shotgun. I know one went for a TD. Very varied in his offense.

 

[slugboy]

While you can’t neglect two phases of the game, where you hire coaches is a signal. We’ve hired an OC in Long—otherwise, we seem to be hiring assistants. We seem to be putting emphasis on developing the offensive phase of the game.

 

[alagold]

"...while running similar offenses defenses to what the factories run?..."
We are not Alabama...
Joe Lee Dunn died in Columbus, GA this past Oct...
“The people that win the championships throw the ball, so if you want to win, you’ve got to stop that,” Dunn said once in an interview on ESPN.com...."
We need to bring 6 on every play...unless we bring 7...or 8....like Joe Lee did at Miss State around 1990...
But, gee whiz, we might give up a big play....
And your point is...?

I was in same backfield with Joe at Columbus.Hellava player at 5-8 150 lbs. btw--he was just "Joe" in hi school.

 

[iceeater1969]

What is Baylor doing that is so unique? Pitt? Michigan State?

All 3 have similar recruiting abilities to us and are in the top 12 while running things that most other teams run.

And by the way, our recruiting ceiling is easily top half of the conference. Maybe top third. To make it sound like we are Duke or BC is just ridiculous.

Baylor coach from LSU championship team. That costs money. He fired entire under performing staff on one side of balll . That costs money. Baylor has strong academics if you want them. Baylor has easy academics if you want them. Waco is an arm pit compared to ATL. When we start spending money , we will win. After Collins we need to go all in.

 

[Boaty1]

Baylor coach from LSU championship team. That costs money. He fired entire under performing staff on one side of balll . That costs money. Baylor has strong academics if you want them. Baylor has easy academics if you want them. Waco is an arm pit compared to ATL. When we start spending money , we will win. After Collins we need to go all in.

I mean, we flipped a 4 star qb from them this year when we are coming off our 3rd straight 3 win season and they won the BIG 12. GT’s ceiling is higher than Baylor’s.