Something to pass the time

[Lake City Hog]

An interesting poll on hiring an OC

http://www.arkansasfight.com/2015/1/16/7554179/now-hiring-arkansas-offensive-coordinator

I am kinda surprised at the results right now!

[WBOBO]

I'm not.  We need an X's and O's guy who makes halftime adjustments. And he needs to be someone young with energy.  Look at Chaney's points he scored in the second half in the SEC games this year and also last year.  It's terrible!!!!

[Smokehouse]

Not a good design in writing their questions. Two answers have negatives in them ("average play caller," "not highly successful in the past"), though the hard-nosed response balances it out by mentioning two more successful, well known coaches. Of the remaining two answers the first response is neutral while the X's and O's response has two positives in it.

I could have told you the poll would get about those results before any responses were given.

[deedster84]

Those choices given aren't the best.

[jgphillips3]

There have been plenty of teams in the past that played great defense, ran the ball down your throat and could pass too.  We need a play caller who has that "feel" for the game and can recruit.  Why could Petrino run his offense and none of his assistants could...feel for the game.  Knowing the right play to call at the right moment.  Most coaches know their X & O's or they wouldn't have a job.  We just need our offensive guy with that "it" factor that Robb Smith gave the defense and who can convince playmakers to play for him.

[Lake City Hog]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
That "it" factor is what we need. A guy that can dial up not just a pass, but the right pass when we need it.

A guy that understands the difference in running an offense and running plays.

[tophawg19]

CBP was always 2 plays ahead in his mind and was quick at adjustments in his head when something did go wrong with a play. that kind of mind is what we need . someone who understand offensive percentages and knows how to force defenses into doing what they don't want to do. someone who knows how to create mismatches

[elksnort]

There have been plenty of teams in the past that played great defense, ran the ball down your throat and could pass too.  We need a play caller who has that "feel" for the game and can recruit.  Why could Petrino run his offense and none of his assistants could...feel for the game.  Knowing the right play to call at the right moment.  Most coaches know their X & O's or they wouldn't have a job.  We just need our offensive guy with that "it" factor that Robb Smith gave the defense and who can convince playmakers to play for him.

exactly,I never would've thought that a different defensive coordinator  could've made that much difference due to the talent but it did

[pfrg999]

I'm not.  We need an X's and O's guy who makes halftime adjustments. And he needs to be someone young with energy.  Look at Chaney's points he scored in the second half in the SEC games this year and also last year.  It's terrible!!!!

In-game adjustments were none existent or didn't work for the last 2 years.. I wasn't surprised by these results either ..
We need that X'x & O's guy, great adjustments, above average recruiter, energetic, Run First Pro Style, Tx, Fl or Cali ties would be nice....IMHO

[pfrg999]

someone who understand offensive percentages and knows how to force defenses into doing what they don't want to do. someone who knows how to create mismatches

and This ^^^^^^  :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback:

[longpig]

Not a good design in writing their questions. Two answers have negatives in them ("average play caller," "not highly successful in the past"), though the hard-nosed response balances it out by mentioning two more successful, well known coaches. Of the remaining two answers the first response is neutral while the X's and O's response has two positives in it.

I could have told you the poll would get about those results before any responses were given.

I'd say the "new system" component of the x's and o's guy answer is a negative.  Who wants to sit through another season of sluggishness, mistakes, and lack of exotic installs as the season progresses because the offense is still learning the fundamentals of a new system in November?

[MuskogeeHogFan]

CBP was always 2 plays ahead in his mind and was quick at adjustments in his head when something did go wrong with a play. that kind of mind is what we need . someone who understand offensive percentages and knows how to force defenses into doing what they don't want to do. someone who knows how to create mismatches

Most good OC's are thinking more than 2 plays ahead. They may run the same play 2-3 times in one half to set the defense up for the same look and anticipation of what is going to occur, to only run something slightly different that produces a big play later. It's like setting a trap, but it requires recognizing an opponents weakness and tendencies/reaction to sets and thinking further ahead than 2 plays.

[Smokehouse]

I'd say the "new system" component of the x's and o's guy answer is a negative.  Who wants to sit through another season of sluggishness, mistakes, and lack of exotic installs as the season progresses because the offense is still learning the fundamentals of a new system in November?

It's not inherently negative, though. It's subjective. If you really hated the last system then a new one is another plus for you.

From just a linguistic question writing standpoint, that response will get the largest response for any population you give it to. I say that as someone who evaluates polls nearly every day in my field.

(not that blogs need to worry about expertly crafted polls, the purpose on blogs is just to drive traffic and create comments, just this one struck me as particularly loaded with the questions).

[MuskogeeHogFan]

It's not inherently negative, though. It's subjective. If you really hated the last system then a new one is another plus for you.

Of course, this isn't known yet. Probably the best course, that lends itself to a shorter learning curve, is hiring someone with a similar, even if slightly different, offensive philosophy even if the terminology changes a bit.

I'm not sure if, given the field of candidates that Bielema wants to interview and who would be interested in the position, how much of that can be achieved.

It is my hope that Bielema can find someone who can come in and adjust the offense to such a degree that we find some level of improvement, even if not as drastic of an improvement as we saw when Robb Smith took over the defense.

We'll see if Bret can step up to the plate and hit another homerun similar to the hire of Smith.

[Inhogswetrust]

Those choices given aren't the best.

Correct! There is some blatant things wrong with that. First off is there truly a one most important? Why is a whole new system needed for example just to get a coach that can make adjustments?

[jseinfeld50]

An X's and O's guy with the other attributes would be good but "Huge" downside is 1st year with players learning new system and plays and the probable increase in turnovers and missed assignments. If new system is radically different, you can magnify two fold or three fold turnovers and missed assignments. We do have more experience in year 3 that might help in the going thru the transition process.

[mr_v8horsepower]

Give me Weinke and Lunney in charge of offense and quarterbacks! Some good ole play calling since we are quarterback-U

[Lake City Hog]

With the NCAA limitations on practice time we don't need a true "Pro Style" offense. So many of the pro pass routes require the WR and the QB to "read" the defense and decide which variation of the route to actually run. This requires tons of practice and years to develop that "sync" between the QB and the WR.

We need some very simple routes that take advantage of the inherent defiencies in any coverage to exploit the "soft" spots or to set-up match-ups that favor us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJhJ3O2zUcA

Look at the 2:10 mark on the pass to Hatcher, simple read with 2 options. If Hunter get single coverage go to him, if the DB gets rubbed as the WR cuts behind the TE then another simple read. First time I remember seeing that route all year! How many times could we have run that play on a critical 3rd and less than 6???

Think about how many successful plays we saw all year that we only saw 1 time.

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

With the NCAA limitations on practice time we don't need a true "Pro Style" offense. So many of the pro pass routes require the WR and the QB to "read" the defense and decide which variation of the route to actually run. This requires tons of practice and years to develop that "sync" between the QB and the WR.

We need some very simple routes that take advantage of the inherent defiencies in any coverage to exploit the "soft" spots or to set-up match-ups that favor us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJhJ3O2zUcA

Look at the 2:10 mark on the pass to Hatcher, simple read with 2 options. If Hunter get single coverage go to him, if the DB gets rubbed as the WR cuts behind the TE then another simple read. First time I remember seeing that route all year! How many times could we have run that play on a critical 3rd and less than 6???

Think about how many successful plays we saw all year that we only saw 1 time.

We were 4th in the SEC and 15th in the nation in 3rd down percent. IMO our biggest problem lack of explosive plays.

http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/699

[Smokehouse]

Of course, this isn't known yet. Probably the best course, that lends itself to a shorter learning curve, is hiring someone with a similar, even if slightly different, offensive philosophy even if the terminology changes a bit.

I'm not sure if, given the field of candidates that Bielema wants to interview and who would be interested in the position, how much of that can be achieved.

It is my hope that Bielema can find someone who can come in and adjust the offense to such a degree that we find some level of improvement, even if not as drastic of an improvement as we saw when Robb Smith took over the defense.

We'll see if Bret can step up to the plate and hit another homerun similar to the hire of Smith.

I agree with that. I think the best option is to not undergo a drastic change to the system. The offense doesn't have as much improvement to make as the defense did, and personnel additions should cure some of those ills.

We have a lot stacking up for us next year. Allen being a 5th year senior, J-Will coming back, consistency on the o-line, good defensive talent returning even losing the big three, and a lot of SEC opponents on the schedule will be undergoing a QB transition. We scrap some of those advantages if we have to install a new system on offense.

I have no evidence to back this up, but anecdotally is seems to me that a new DC can make an immediate impact by simplifying some schemes and honing fundamentals, but it takes a new OC a bit longer to shift an offense.