You'll recall that last season began with a thud and a sinking feeling. The Davis game was meaningless and flat, followed by the USC nightmare that suggested we hadn't learned much from recent debacles related to predictable and hyper-conservative play-calling. Much of the season seemed to play out the same dispiriting pattern-- close-to-the-vest games in which we seemed to be playing not to lose, so in some cases (SC, ND and Utah) we did at the end. We seemed to be locked into one way of playing and unable to take a different tack when the opponent was thwarting it. (Of course, this was substantially a function of having no serious running threat when Mac was off the field, which was most of the time.) Then the UCLA game exploded like the 4th of July. It wasn't just that Hogan played so much better (which he of course did)-- we were on the attack and weren't predictable. This pattern persisted through the Cal and Maryland games, which was great, but still left a too-little, too-late aftertaste. For the season, defense was great, offense was overall poor if you judge by points scored. ST was a mixed bag but placekicking affected offensive options and outcomes negatively.
With the new season upon us, the promise of a more potent ground game, so many weapons in the passing game, strong O-line, expectation of improved QB play, and a much less experienced defense, I'm hoping that there is some resolve on the part of Shaw and Bloomgren to be more aggressive about offensive play-calling and personnel deployment. Also hoping that we will be able to respond with effective alternatives if/when ground and pound isn't working. I'm very interested in your thoughts about all this. Not expecting Shaw to "change his spots" (in leopard-speak), just wondering whether you think the combination of available weapons and lessons learned will likely result in a substantially more aggressive and varied offensive approach this season.
With the new season upon us, the promise of a more potent ground game, so many weapons in the passing game, strong O-line, expectation of improved QB play, and a much less experienced defense, I'm hoping that there is some resolve on the part of Shaw and Bloomgren to be more aggressive about offensive play-calling and personnel deployment. Also hoping that we will be able to respond with effective alternatives if/when ground and pound isn't working. I'm very interested in your thoughts about all this. Not expecting Shaw to "change his spots" (in leopard-speak), just wondering whether you think the combination of available weapons and lessons learned will likely result in a substantially more aggressive and varied offensive approach this season.
