Still have Harrell

J4SC75

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I am all for the changes that have happened to SC football and very enthusiastic about Bohn's ability to bring in the right next head coach. Bohn has done a great job upgrading SC's recruiting ability, putting us on par with elite teams. Just need a great head coach. That being said, our offense is dysfunctional and Harrell and his Air Raid are still here. What are thoughts on what changes can be made by Donte working with Harrell to make us more competitive? Can Harrell change his stripes?
 

TrojanGiftHorse

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Eeks2284

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Most of the current offensive staff is from the air raid tree so I don't expect the team to run anything else this season. I did see Slovis under center for a successful play, so that was encouraging. Doubt Bohn will let Donte make huge staff changes (e.g. dismissing Harrell) when he's just the interim and there isn't a sensible replacement already on staff. Maybe if Donte thought CTO was making bad calls, he could take that over, but that's about it.
 

SouthernCAlabama

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lol!
The offense we run( which isn’t air raid) is the least of our issues.
The talent we have is perfectly suited for what Mike Leach runs for example. Our issue is coaching and development, or lack of.
We have ZERO OL players that are on any draft board. In fact, on drafttek, we have one prospect in the Top 100. Drake London at 43.

That’s why we aren’t winning FB games.
SC did manage to put two offensive lineman out in the first rd if the past two NFL drafts. Both in Harrells hybrid air raid offense. I don’t believe Helton had anything to do with the play calling. But I also don’t think the play calling is the issue. Graham Harrells version of the air raid is very predictable and one dimensional. It may have looked good year 1, but defenses figured it out quick. No QB under center has killed the run game teams are just dropping 8. Leaving short passes and stalled drives. Also didn’t care for Harrell throwing the players under the bus rather than adapting his offense or taking some accountability.

Really hoping for a solid hire at HC and a new OC. That gives SC their identity back on the offensive side of the ball. And puts us in position to get commits from the Raleek Browns and offensive lineman SC used to get under our traditional offense. The talent is their the right system is not but that’s jmho. GH needs to be the next to go
 

GoSC27!

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Well Donte is going to get the first opportunity to see if Harrell was handcuffed by Helton. He even admitted in his presser the offensive side of the ball is new to him. At practices he was just watching his Corners perform and when and if they got beat he would coach them. Now he has to watch the Offensive side and if his corners are beat he has to cheer on the offense. Essentially Harrell has free run of the offense, so if he was held in check by Helton then this is his opportunity to make it happen! Harrell make me a believer and the real test will be against our 2 rivals. Use your time wisely against WSU and OSU!
Fight On!
 

MongoSlade

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Wait! So now we’re saying that Harrell’s issues are all a result of Helton handcuffing him? Please tell me this is a for real for real joke. Harrell us proven, to date, to be an arrogant, stubborn, average OC with no ability to make adjustments or demonstrate the slightest hint of innovation. Please prove me wrong, GH. I really want the team to win out.
 

J4SC75

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Again, we aren’t running Air Raid….not even close. This offense has Gomer’s fingerprints all over it. The regression at QB the longer he stays in the system has been a common theme since Dough got here.
Harrell is scapegoat here. Im not saying he should get the HC gig or or be retrained, my only point, laying the offensive woes at the feet of Graham Harrell is shallow. He ran what he told to run.
Let's not get into semantics, Harrell runs the variation of the Air Raid he learned at North Texas. I really don't think Helton had much effect; Harrell is calling the plays and he has trouble making the offense flow with his choices. It will be interesting to see how Harrell calls plays with Donte as HC, but I am not expecting a lot of improvement. Hopefully, the team plays with more discipline and that nets us some points.
 

MongoSlade

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Some of us said Gomer was involved from the get go.
Just like he was with Tee Martin.

Let me ask you something, do you really see any difference between Tee’s and GH’s offenses? I’m not talking schematically or formation wise. But rather the predictable play calling, situational plays/players, lack of flow/rhythm, inability to gain yards on 3 and short as well as the red zone.
It seems like all of the recent ones have been predictable as hell. Went from Chow to bubble screen bubble screen and it’s been down hill ever since.
 

J4SC75

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Again, we aren’t running Air Raid….not even close. This offense has Gomer’s fingerprints all over it. The regression at QB the longer he stays in the system has been a common theme since Dough got here.
Harrell is scapegoat here. Im not saying he should get the HC gig or or be retrained, my only point, laying the offensive woes at the feet of Graham Harrell is shallow. He ran what he told to run.
Not sure I see what you are saying - Harrell scripts the first 20 or so plays, makes the calls later on. Even the TV broadcasters wonder what is going on with play calling, no rhythm or identity to the offense whatsoever. It was pretty clear Clay was not making those calls. Perhaps you're right and we'll see a special offense now that Helton is gone. We'll see.
 

AMLTrojan

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Chow ran bubble screens to Mike Williams because it was an unstoppable play as BMW could drag 3 guys for 6-7 yards.
Kiffin and Sark thought running it to anyone would work. That’s the difference between a play caller and someone who calls plays.
Bubble screens to Lee, Woods, and JuJu worked. I'd love to see some WR screens to London.
 

SouthernCAlabama

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Chow ran bubble screens to Mike Williams because it was an unstoppable play as BMW could drag 3 guys for 6-7 yards.
Kiffin and Sark thought running it to anyone would work. That’s the difference between a play caller and someone who calls plays.
Chow also played Palmer and Leinart under center. Kiffin and Sark also ran the QB under center. All three have run bubble screens with success. The difference is GH doesn’t have the balance of ability to adapt the offense. I would love to see him make adjustments but I don’t think he wants to get out of the shotgun it’s what he knows. I don’t see anything changing as long as he continues running the same predictable sets but that jmho
 
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DaFireMedic

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Chow ran bubble screens to Mike Williams because it was an unstoppable play as BMW could drag 3 guys for 6-7 yards.
Kiffin and Sark thought running it to anyone would work. That’s the difference between a play caller and someone who calls plays.
The bubble screen is a legit play and can be effective, but Kiffen and Sark ran it so much it was predictable.
 

JayBird23

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When the coaches watch the replay of the Stanford game they should feel pretty stupid. I feel stupid for them. Very little worked. It was embarrassing and frustrating. The question is can they identify why they failed and can they come up with an alternative plan for Saturday’s game? The program is a mess though Helton had eight years to recruit offensive linemen and pick up some good ones in free agency. There are many gaps in our lineup.
 

eftzoons

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Harrell is a lost youngster who mumbles incoherently. IMHO he has zero chance of being on staff next year. He takes up a full week of "sophisticated" game planning, which in the end boils down to this -- there is only London. Toss the rock to London. Nothing else.
 

JayBird23

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Harrell is a lost youngster who mumbles incoherently. IMHO he has zero chance of being on staff next year. He takes up a full week of "sophisticated" game planning, which in the end boils down to this -- there is only London. Toss the rock to London. Nothing else.
No! I was hoping he went with Clay on Monday. The only good thing you could say about him is he insured Clay would be out by Monday.
 

usc88

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It seems that the other teams Have learnt to defend Harrells
air raid In past two years.
Now is when Harrell has to learn to adjust and make them pay.
It is whether he learns to adjust or not that will
define his future as a great OC or not.
 
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HoustonTrojan

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The current system is definitely not an air raid. It's back to gumbo offense. Gomer seemed to always be trying to please everyone, not
understanding that not having a true system is in fact what is hurting the team. The Stanford beatdown was a perfect example. One receiver
was primarily targeted throughout quarters 1-3. Slovis finally threw the ball to many other receivers during the last minutes of the fourth quarter,
and although it was garbage time, everyone saw the unused talent perform. Gomer is to blame for that, as he allowed that to happen. A good HC
would never allow his assistant coaches, or players to run the team.

I believe that our offensive issues may also be due to the ineffective performance of Slovis. He is hanging on to the ball much to long,
as his primary target always seems to be Drake. No other receivers are getting targeted, and they I have been WIDE open on a number of occasions. Maybe
it's a development issue, maybe it's a mental one, but one thing is for sure, he is not getting the job done. Hopefully he gets out of his funk,
and gets back on track, otherwise the change will not matter.
 
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SouthernCAlabama

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You don’t need to be under center to run the ball effectively.
Urban Mayer proved that.
And Oregon
Oklahoma is as balanced as you can be, never go under center.
The problem with this is you’re comparing several different offensive systems. Chow ran the QB’s under center and was much more balanced. He did actually like ball control and pushing the ball deep.

The other systems you are listing are spreads that ran a lot of counter QB option. Whether it be Barrett,Fields, Mayfirld, Murray, Hurts, Thomas, Mariota etc…Where they utilized dual threat counter quarterbacks with a lot of counter motion with QB options to open their running games Allowing play action to be effective in their passing games.

GH’s system and personnel does not fit those offenses. I get GH likes to say it’s not a Mike Leach Air Raid. Which I’m not fond of this isn’t Wazzu, TT or Miss State. But it is a variation of the Leach offense. With a bit of the west coast offense short passing game twist.

Like I said I would like to see GH make adjustments and we will see as the season progresses. But I don’t see him making adjustments it’s what he knows, what he played in and GH has a bit more of an ego than I prefer. I prefer what’s best for the team. Offense is far to easy to gameplan against ,read, and stall I am overjoyed we moved on from Helton but I don’t think that effects Harrell. Hoping he proves me wrong it, but I just don’t see GH budging on his stagnant offense.

I don’t see GH choosing to correct the problems and make serious changes with his offense. In my opinion Harrell needs to go either before or after the new coach comes in.
 
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