Comments on: Football: Oregon State reflections

By: Big D

Big D — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:51:47 +0000

How about mixing in some option plays every so often. 6-8 per game. Keep the defense off kilter. Maybe even a few with Longshore in. Who would ever see that coming?

By: 87 Bear Fan

87 Bear Fan — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:58:51 +0000

I still don’t understand why they don’t try the no huddle. Riley seems to thrive on it. Not sure why the coaches are not leveraging Riley’s strengths more. Let’s face it; they are not the same QB so why have a similar game plan?

Frustrated……….

By: JB

JB — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:31:19 +0000

Allowing Riley to scramble, and calling an occasional quarterback draw, might create an extra threat that could neutralize some of the pass rush. Unfortunately, Kevin took that head shot against Oregon and my hunch is the coaches aren’t too keen on letting him go. Too bad, though,because at times he’s really looked like a good open-field runner.

By: chuck garcia

chuck garcia — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:01:13 +0000

it’s worth more of a mention that our special teams weren’t too special…the big kickoff return and punt return (for td) were just bad…Anger had his worst punting effort that I can recall…Georgio couldn’t get the ball past the 15 yard line—ok, maybe the 10 but it doesn’t help…and lastly, the tackling wasn’t there…combine that with bad o-line play and it equals a loss…can’t afford any more of those! what’s up with recruiting this year? we only have 4 or 5 recruits so far and are ranked 66th in the country…

By: Go Bears82

Go Bears82 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:19:54 +0000

You’ll recall they did some roll-outs against SC and they provided enough time. The other things opposing defenses are doing is putting a spy on Jahvid Best. They stack the box, implement a spy and blitz on third and long. Which suggests that they need someone else to get some production. Quick passes will help if the receivers will stop dropping the ball. OSU was able to get into second and short situations much better than Cal. A 5 yard slant or out will help set up 2nd and third down much more effectively.

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:34:18 +0000

Amen Corsair, Amen!!!

By: corsair

corsair — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:12:52 +0000

“The Bears could do some things differently schematically — keep a back in to block or use more quick passes…”

They’ve been keeping a back-in to block for 3-seasons…his name is Will Ta’ofu’ou! He barely see’s 10-touches a season because Tedford has eliminated the FB from the playbook, ergo, only 5-eligible players can touch the ball rather, than the normal 6. USE THE FULLBACK.

Quick passes…imagine that. The coaches know their o-line is decimated, short on experience and have given more sacks this season than, the past 3 combined, YET the OSU-game plan had Riley taking 5 & 7-step drops against the best pass defense in the Pac-10. The OSU game was 1/3-players, 2/3-coaches. Coaches know better, that’s what they’re paid for.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:15:15 +0000

Texas Tech’s offense is geared to make quick throws early. Once that it is established, then they start looking deep because the safeties and linebackers cheat.

Unless one disrupts the timing, the TT offense is effectively unstoppable. Because of the wide blocking schemes, it is virtually impossible to pressure the QB unless one does all-out blitzes (or lucks into a blindside corner/safety blitz). The QB does tend to move around in the pocket – watch the Texas game in the second half- but rarely gets any pressure. So how does on disrupt the TT timing? One, jam the receivers at the line (which, when facing a Crabtree, is very difficult). Two, KEEP THE TT OFFENSE OFF THE FIELD. Texas lost because it scored too quickly at the end. We lost in the 2004 Holiday Bowl because we passed way too much early on when we should have been punding away. We had JJ Arrington, and rarely used him. Instead, we passed early and often even though our receivers were decimated by injuries. Tedford admitted he should have run more. That failure has been a harbinger – it has damned us every season since then. We did it yesterday – we quit on the inside running, and it cost us.

By the way, Mike Leach is a visionary offensive coach, and easily deserves to be coach of the year. When he finally got a defense (this year), he was able to get over the hump. Absent weird turnovers or poor officiating, TT will beat Oklahoma because OU’s defense – already weakened by injuries – will not stop TT’s offense.

By: BearFan1

BearFan1 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:54:18 +0000

The first thing they teach you when you are forced to roll out is never throw back across the field. Anyone who’s played ball knows that is a sure fire way to get picked off. You can have him roll out a few times a game but it limits your options and makes it difficult to get the same kind of accuracy that you have when planting in the pocket.

By: Teff EdFord (also from Concord)

Teff EdFord (also from Concord) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:46:47 +0000

Isn’t it a little late to implement something totally different like rolling out the QB or an option scheme? If the O-line can improve just a little, we should be able to win the next two games with the same game plan. It doesn’ appear that Stanford/U-Wub have anywhere near the secondary that USC and OSU have, although it seems like our receivers have a tough time getting open, unlike last year. No matter what the QB does, the receivers need to be able to get open, and quickly.

Oh yeah…the “Beaver Believers” were quite hospitable; very cool fans, unlike at some other Pac-10 schools…total strangers we met walking to the stadium invited us to tailgate with them as well.

USC wins a game by seven points and the fans there act like they won by sixty. Oregon fans aren’t quite that bad, they just hound you with those damned duck whistles after they win.