Why do the coaches have to simplify the offensive playbook at UK?

[JCatfan77_rivals30675]

http://www.kentucky.com/sports/coll...k-football/article102328742.html#navlink=Lead

I have heard this often with UK in the past few years. UK is recruiting decent talent, with most having played high level competition in high school. I remember Randy Sanders' and maybe Rick Minter's schemes being too complex for the players to execute and now we have Gran simplifying the play calls for the current offense. I don't hear other SEC teams with that complaint, why at UK?

 

[Xception]

Third offensive coordinator in as many years , young players . Defensively there is no excuse because we've had continuity , young but still shouldn't be overwhelmed . At this point it doesn't matter why , we just need to do it and hope it helps .

 

[Poetax]

http://www.kentucky.com/sports/coll...k-football/article102328742.html#navlink=Lead

I have heard this often with UK in the past few years. UK is recruiting decent talent, with most having played high level competition in high school. I remember Randy Sanders' and maybe Rick Minter's schemes being too complex for the players to execute and now we have Gran simplifying the play calls for the current offense. I don't hear other SEC teams with that complaint, why at UK?

It seem to be aimed at Drew and the freshmen wide receivers but he also has a true OT freshman that will probably start tomorrow. You hope that they absorb and understand but it doesn't always work.

 

[dallasg23]

What did Denzel Washington say in remember the titans? "Well I run 6 plays, split veers. Like novacaine. Give it time it always works." No reason to have 40 plays when only 20 have been useful

 

[JC CATS]

This is a valid question. Did the Coaching staff know before the season started that this is their 3rd OC? Did they know they were inexperienced and some injuries could make them inexperienced even more? I think the Op is asking, why wasn't the offense simplified beforehand,?

 

[LadyCaytIL]

Either they are calling their players idiots or they are treating the fans like idiots. You aren't fooling me... Dawson wasnt here long enough and Gran now also has not been here long enough to change the playbook up that drastically. Coaches will slowly implement some of their own plays but mostly go with what the last year did before they got there. Notice USM and how Shannon Dawson said he was and will mostly use last year's plays until they get they hang of the new playbook.

If they cant grasp your plays in 3-4 years... its all on the coaches.

 

[etowncatfan]

So I guess Southern Miss simplified their playbook at half time because they had a new offensive coordinator this year. Or maybe their 2 star players were just smarter than our 3-4 star players!!

 

[dorkmeister]

This is another way they can say they fixed the team since we will win with ease today. Now they look like geniuses. Same thing as Stoops saying he is taking over more of the defense.

 

[BlueRaider22]

Every program does this as needed. You can't replicate a game scenario completely in practice.....so, some things just don't work well when you use it games. And sometimes things improve and you are things. So, the playbook changes.

When you are struggling it often is a good idea to hit the reset button and regroup. It's a very common tactic.

Right now Barker is beyond rattled. He hasn't been the same since he fumbled the ball in the reds one against USM. Going back to the basic, bread/butter plays can make a difference. Same for the rest of the team.

As far as the defense, I think simplifying the front 7 is needed. I just recently talked to a couple DL that played for UK recently. He said that Elliott uses too much 2-gap schemes on his DL and we just don't have the veteran/deep talent to do that. Not to mention that our LBs aren't experienced enough to read the gaps to seal. Simplifying the front to a 1-gap system would enable the entire front 7 to know where they're supposed to go faster. It allows them to be more aggressive.

 

[BlueRaider22]

^Like Coach Kilmer said in Varsity Blues. "You're trying to run the oopty-oop. You dummy-o's can't run a simple draw.....oopty-oop give me a break..."

 

[shutzhund]

http://www.kentucky.com/sports/coll...k-football/article102328742.html#navlink=Lead

I have heard this often with UK in the past few years. UK is recruiting decent talent, with most having played high level competition in high school. I remember Randy Sanders' and maybe Rick Minter's schemes being too complex for the players to execute and now we have Gran simplifying the play calls for the current offense. I don't hear other SEC teams with that complaint, why at UK?

Really, you have to ask?

 

[Deeeefense]

I've always been a firm believer in the KISS approach to college defenses. When college kids are asked to execute multiple schemes with complex pre and post snap reads it achieves one things - it slooows them down. When you have a simple scheme with easy binary reads guys can fire off at the snap and execute.

Pro teams with unlimited time to practice and prepare can install and execute complex defenses but college just doesn't afford that opportunity.

I don't really have an opinion on offenses but I do recall the Mumme AirRiad was an extremely simply offense. They ran like 8 basic plays but each play had some routes with choice options depending on what the defense did. It was simple in its structure but it was difficult to defend because of it's flexibility.

 

[Cawood86_rivals]

It's just coach speak to seem as though they know the problem and this will fix it. It's a move to entice fans to come back out to the game.
What it really means is that they are desperate to save their overpaid jobs.

 

[BARBQGRILLER]

^Like Coach Kilmer said in Varsity Blues. "You're trying to run the oopty-oop. You dummy-o's can't run a simple draw.....oopty-oop give me a break..."

Post of the Year !

 

[BlueEmpire]

This is another way they can say they fixed the team since we will win with ease today. Now they look like geniuses. Same thing as Stoops saying he is taking over more of the defense.

This is EXACTLY the outcome of this 'offensive simplification': "See we simplified the offense, we're improving, no reason to panic yet!"

Following week: "We just have to get better, work harder."