[CTcard]

There are multiple problems on offense:

1. Mistakes at key times. How many times has a penalty or turnover negated a big play, or even a touchdown?
2. An offensive line that has lost its identity. The OL came in with much acclaim, and I thought it would move on without a hiccup. Then when it didn't I thought it would improve over the course of the season. It didn't.
3. Running backs who aren't the kind needed for the type of offense that Stanford has had since its turnaround.
4. A kicker who has been erratic, at best.
5. A coaching staff that has been slow to change the offense to the type of players we have.

This line of discussion is much more interesting to me than trying to decide upon whom to put blame for the loss.

Of this list, #1 seems by far and away the biggest problem. Which is ironic, given that the Shaw zeitgeist is supposed to be to avoid mistakes at all costs. In fact, Utah right now is Stanford 2012 - they win lots of close games and lots of games where they seem to more or less get outplayed by the opposition for large chunks of the game. I liked it better when that was us.

There are some problems with the OLine, though all of those expecting a smooth transition to four new starters were not realistic. One of the identity problems is the coaching. For example, we ran the ball well vs Utah - though pass blocking was poor. Many of our best plays were up the gut, sometimes Power sometimes not. Even with all the sacks of Hogan we averaged 5 yds/carry in an offensively challenged game - without sacks that's 222 yds at 6.5 yds/carry. We needed to do more of this. All season that has been roughly true.

3. Running backs not the right type. Maybe true, but when we have bothered to run our run game has actually been decent. Coaches just don't trust it.

4. Yep, the kicker has been erratic.
Still, he has a brobdingnagian leg and unless you know something (bad) you have to go for that field goal near the end of regulation.

5. Coaching staff slow to change.
Here is where I disagree the most. I think we have a coaching staff who doesn't believe in what they are doing and are too quick to try any old new thing week to week. Among other things, that means that the players are not prepared properly. We saw it again vs Utah; the intent of offense was quite different from anything we had seen before this year (note McCaffrey got the most touches on the  team), but it wasn't exactly effective.

In fact we have NOT been the power running team of the past several years, and I think that itself has hurt us - not just in particular games, but from a development perspective even moreso.

Here's what I do criticize the coaching staff for:
1. Not recruiting offensive players, and particularly, running backs suited to its type of play.
2. Not bringing in new blood to replace coaches on the offensive side of the ball.

On this #1, see above. To some extent I agree, but I think our problems in the run game are more OLine, and even moreso simple lack of trust by the coaches.

On #2, I don't know if new blood is the root of the problem or not. I blame the coaches for tossing out our identity and replacing it with an amorphous mess. It may be that from the outside someone may have more clearly seen the strengths and weaknesses in our personnel and skill sets. Hard to tell.

[CTcard]

There are multiple problems on offense:

1. Mistakes at key times. How many times has a penalty or turnover negated a big play, or even a touchdown?
2. An offensive line that has lost its identity. The OL came in with much acclaim, and I thought it would move on without a hiccup. Then when it didn't I thought it would improve over the course of the season. It didn't.
3. Running backs who aren't the kind needed for the type of offense that Stanford has had since its turnaround.
4. A kicker who has been erratic, at best.
5. A coaching staff that has been slow to change the offense to the type of players we have.

This line of discussion is much more interesting to me than trying to decide upon whom to put blame for the loss.

Of this list, #1 seems by far and away the biggest problem. Which is ironic, given that the Shaw zeitgeist is supposed to be to avoid mistakes at all costs. In fact, Utah right now is Stanford 2012 - they win lots of close games and lots of games where they seem to more or less get outplayed by the opposition for large chunks of the game. I liked it better when that was us.

There are some problems with the OLine, though all of those expecting a smooth transition to four new starters were not realistic. One of the identity problems is the coaching. For example, we ran the ball well vs Utah - though pass blocking was poor. Many of our best plays were up the gut, sometimes Power sometimes not. Even with all the sacks of Hogan we averaged 5 yds/carry in an offensively challenged game - without sacks that's 222 yds at 6.5 yds/carry. We needed to do more of this. All season that has been roughly true.

3. Running backs not the right type. Maybe true, but when we have bothered to run our run game has actually been decent. Coaches just don't trust it.

4. Yep, the kicker has been erratic.
Still, he has a brobdingnagian leg and unless you know something (bad) you have to go for that field goal near the end of regulation.

5. Coaching staff slow to change.
Here is where I disagree the most. I think we have a coaching staff who doesn't believe in what they are doing and are too quick to try any old new thing week to week. Among other things, that means that the players are not prepared properly. We saw it again vs Utah; the intent of offense was quite different from anything we had seen before this year (note McCaffrey got the most touches on the  team), but it wasn't exactly effective.

In fact we have NOT been the power running team of the past several years, and I think that itself has hurt us - not just in particular games, but from a development perspective even moreso.

Here's what I do criticize the coaching staff for:
1. Not recruiting offensive players, and particularly, running backs suited to its type of play.
2. Not bringing in new blood to replace coaches on the offensive side of the ball.

On this #1, see above. To some extent I agree, but I think our problems in the run game are more OLine, and even moreso simple lack of trust by the coaches.

On #2, I don't know if new blood is the root of the problem or not. I blame the coaches for tossing out our identity and replacing it with an amorphous mess. It may be that from the outside someone may have more clearly seen the strengths and weaknesses in our personnel and skill sets. Hard to tell.