Mullen has strayed too far from his bread and butter offense
Dan Mullen, or Dan Mullen via Les Koenning, struggles with whatever it is you call our offense this season. Has he ever attempted a scheme similar to what we have seen this year? Even the offense that was tweaked for Chris Leak looks quite a bit different than what we are attempting to do this season. Leak's perception was pro-style QB, and I won't argue that wasn't his strength, but he at least was athletic enough to execute the option and pick up junk yards when plays broke down. Take a look at Florida highlights from that era. Lots of big plays using the option, or the threat of the option. It wasn't a Tebow offense, but the core principles were still there. Much different use of the speedier slot type guys and their running backs.
Tyler doesn't have the athletic ability to be an option threat. That's not a knock on Tyler - he's got a golden arm, reads defenses well, and can excel in the right type of offense. I just don't think Dan Mullen knows how to put together an offense that doesn't rely on a mobile QB to get advantages over the defense. The scheme may even be a good one in theory, but we need better talent on the OL and WR to execute. We don't have that. We need an offense that makes the defense think more. It's how success was created at Bowling Green and Utah. Instead, we have shifted to an offense that requires us to dominate the LOS for it to work. It can work against lesser opponents, but come to a grinding halt when the talent gap is closed. Unless we plan in closing the talent gap over night, Mullen needs to fall back on how he built his success.