From VT Scoop
"Braxton wants to be able to do anything we want him to do," Cornelsen said later in the interview. "I know he understands what's going on. I know he sees it well out there. I know he feels like he can execute anything we put in front of him. But that communication of what he feels the best about going into the week and during the games is something that is a continuous process between him and I."
I'm sorry but I have read this numerous times and I can't figure out especially the last sentence. Is it communication or execution or both?
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[I'd upleg this if I could] Additionally "he feels like he can execute anything we put in front of him." Well great. What about whatever opposing DCs put in front of him??
The grammar Nazi in me takes issue with that last sentence.
The statement doesn't mesh with the previous one and the him/I ending hurts my eyes.
I think what he is trying to say is Burmeister wants the full playbook but Corn is holding parts back from game to game.
or rather, BB is confident in his abilities but when those plays get called, he isn't executing. Corn may be saying he needs to be more realistic about his strengths and weaknesses?
edit: everything dmcross says below
Well, to be fair, there's executing a game plan in the sense of implementing it, and then there's executing a game plan in terms of butchering it.
So we need some more focus on implementing the game plan.
hahaha
Leg! Good one, Brian Kelly!
I think what he is trying to say is that Braxton communicates to Corn an equal comfort level with anything Corn gives him or calls. The reality is, Braxton is probably more comfortable executing certain things than others. But he doesn't quite have the self-awareness to tell Corn, "Hey, I'm feeling really good about X and Y, but only so-so about Z" This applies to both weekly prep and in-game communication. And it probably means, Corn isn't great at saying, "Hey, you look really comfortable with X and Y, but I'm sensing hesitation with Z".
What is sounds like to me is that Braxton wants to tell Corn that he is good to go whether it is X, Y, or Z called. So in-game, if Z is giving him trouble, but he isn't willing to tell Corn, then he keeps getting a mix of X, Y, and Z. So I think he and Corn are trying to figure out how to get on the same page, so that if Z is giving Brax trouble, in-game, Corn just bias to X and Y, forget Z, and work on Z after the game in next week's practices.
I mean, that is all a bit of speculation, but if I'm trying to make sense of the quote, then that's where my mind goes.
You hit the nail on the head.
That all sounds pretty reasonable.
But really needs to be a conversation between Corn and Burmeister. It shouldn't be obvious to us first.
Perfect summary. Corn should be better about seeing what BB has done well in practice and work with that. I speculate that he does well against the scout team but the real defenses are just faster and execute better and he is a tick behind on gameday. It causes him to hold the ball because he missed the window.
BB stares down his guy a lot too. He is watching one read and if it isn't there, he is not getting through progressions besides an immediate check down.
Corn's play calling is not doing anyone favors either and I reallllly hope they can figure something out in the bye week. We aren't going to turn into an offensive power, but we just have to be effective when it matters which we haven't been. Somehow, despite all of the disappointment so far this year, we are 3 yards from being 4-0, ranked about 13th and going into a monster game against ND. Such a strange year.
This is a great sub-thread herein. The message leading to Nick's reply above makes sense for deciphering what BC is saying (cause its damn confusing when read).
This, so much this. I've noticed on many plays BB takes too long to decide and throw the ball. Even on some great passes you can see the decision to throw is late. He's thinking too much and not reacting, which smells of distrust in some plays. BC and BB need to trust each other or ACC play will be "Not Great, Bob!".
I don't think it is BB doesn't trust the play, it is he doesn't trust what he is seeing/reading enough to cut it loose. He has to throw guys open but he waits for them to be open to throw it and at that point, it is too late because that window will close. Throw where he should be open as he breaks and you get big plays.
Thanks, that was what I was trying to say. Your wording is much better than mine.
Bb plays like a guy who has been using his feet as much as his arm throughout his career.
I give you credit on your translation of that insult to The Queen's English and think you probably are largely right on the intention of the statement.
Here is my issue.........
Braxton has been here 3 years now. His first year he couldn't participate in games due to Transfer Rules being applied in typical NCAA absurdity. The point being---you had an entire year to watch BB Practice and get a clear understanding of what he was comfortable with and have had 2 years since to only further clarify that. If Brad Cornelson and Burmeister are not on the same page by this point......when is that "breakthrough" going to occur??
If Burmeister is a T-Fr. and there are issues like this, I can understand it, but this far in, its not a valid excuse anymore.
I think comment above makes a good point about practice performance and performance against scout team. The real games are just moving a little too fast for Burmeister. The game still needs to slow down a little for him.
I don't think he is comfortable in the pocket yet. I think he has one eye on the pocket and one eye on the receivers. And his timing is just a bit off getting the ball out to the right receiver when they are open.
With the pocket awareness, there have been multiple times where he had time to wait and see if his receivers could come open or work back, but he panics and takes off.
All that said, I give him credit for not forcing things just to force and instead protect the ball and try to make the most out of each play.
I also, at this point, believe Fuente when he says Burmeister has another level. But CornFu needs to help him get there fast. Because, I do get the sense that he understands the calls, what is supposed to be happening, but that it is still just a bit fast for him and he doesn't trust the pocket yet. So if it can slow down that extra beat for him, then maybe that is all it takes for him to get to that next level Fuente mentioned.
I'm trying to be optimistic here.
I think the fact that KK got a turn shows that there is something missing at the QB spot. KK was put in at a terrible time and made a bad decision but I wouldn't hate him getting another shot with better field position to sling it some.
What first time starting college quarterback is openly telling their OC, I can't do that or I don't feel comfortable doing that play. Every college player thinks they can do everything better than they probably can - its on the coaches to understand their players and building a game plan that gives them the best chance to succeed.
maybe I should've used that 'failure to communicate' gif here....
I think this is the correct interpretation as well. Here's the obvious follow-up question:
"So given that you say you understand he is not comfortable with some of your offense, what part about being the QB coach or fucking OC is getting in your way to adjust to the very thing you say is the issue?"
For fuck sake, take some ownership. you can't coach. just accept it.
Yes, it is very clear what's happening this season. All the usual excuses of last 5 years are off the table and out the window. The defense is performing well enough. BB has been in the system long enough as have the WRs and TEs and most of OL. Only having to overcome the injury to Dzansi and Mitchell right now. Hoffman and Tenuta have not played well. BB has been okay, but definitely underperforming expectations and underperforming relative to what CornFu had said leading up to the season. 4 games in and we have a clear baseline performance for OL and QB. Excuses out the window. So let's see how much improvement CornFu and Vice can coach into and out of these players over the next 8 games. If it is the same story all season long...Yikes! Hopefully they coach 'em up, we see improvement, and we win the dang ACC! CornFu can't hide behind any excuses this year. So I am watching very closely.
People don't want to hear this, but Brock has been the worst day 1 starter on the OL, and it's not particularly close.
I really had hope that this staff could put a big time offense on the field. What I mean by that is the inverse of Bud Foster. Regardless the talent, or execution, put something out there that works. Corn can't seem to do that. It's a root canal, much like Stiney's days.
I also had hope for them. The biggest reason I don't have any faith in them is because we're as bad as we've ever been in year 6. If this were year 2 I'd be upset but willing to wait for the coaches to install their system and get "their guys". They just haven't shown any measurable progress in any aspect of the offense and that is a pretty significant indicator that things are not going to get better. If they were "punching above their weight" in recruiting I'd be more willing to give them some leeway because when they have super talented players the scheme and play calling doesn't really matter that much (Evans, Herbert). The problem is, when they're working with regular players their results are poop. And they're not recruiting all-stars to make up for their coaching deficiencies.
Agree. It's hard to listen to excuses when these coaches have recruited signed:
RB's- Tajh Gary; Cole Beck, Caleb Steward, Marco Lee, Jordan Brunson, Jared Cole; Jalen Hampton; Weatley
WR's- Pippleton; Darryle Simmons, Dejaun Ellis, Pickney, Bowick, Ward; Saunders; Rudolph; hodge, fairs..
That is a lot of skill position players that did not/have not contributed. Neither recruiting nor development strong there apparently. This staff made this bed that they are trying to sleep in. Coach them up or take responsibility
Fuente needs to let Corn and Jafar go, plain and simple.
Honestly, if I was Fuente, I would reach out to Holmon Wiggins and offer him OC/WR. Then I would offer QB coach to someone like Quincy Avery who has a proven track record of developing quarterbacks at an elite level (Avery would be the football equivalent of hiring Mike Jones).
Two young, energetic coaches with proven track records, know the recruiting footprint well and are guys players can relate to.
I think a very likely scenario- unless we win the ACC- is that Whit gives him a clean house or you are gone type deal.
We don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Some of the offensive guys should probably stay after a new OC is installed.
Agree- Keep Vice and Shibest on offense. Everyone else can go, IMHO. I'm fine with the whole defensive staff staying on at this point.
I'd give Lechtenburg strong consideration. He is one of the better recruiters on the team and his coaching is probably average although it's hard to tell from the outside. His replacement would have to be a highly regarded recruiter.
Hopefully not the entire house, Hamilton looks like he might turn out to be pretty good. Smith is recruiting well. The amount t of time Dorian and Keonte have played in the last two years speaks highly the DB coaches. JC price has been an excellent recruiter and coach for Marshall. So there are some id like to keep.
I bet it would be the offensive staff that would have to go. Defense has made huge improvements since last year and is full of Aulmns.
might have to give Holmon AHC/OC or something. He's currently listed as "assistant head coach of offense/ wide receivers" for Bama.
Saban is smart. That's why he wins championships. He saw how talented Wiggins is, and made it happen.
My biggest hope was that we would play fast. But we run the slowest no huddle I've seen and most of our plays are little dinks and dunks that should be quick hitting but we take forever to set them up
We looked fast first series vs unc. It was beautiful.
By the way, I'd love for some tech guru to measure the actual game speed at which individual players are moving during a game. I'm convinced that it's possible just using game tape and doing some physics. Calculate player speed on every play, do an average, and show those numbers. That kind of data could really show a team and its players the truth about their performance - would also be an interesting metric to check for a correlation with wins and losses.
Maybe this technology already exists?
It does
Me reading anything Corn says at this point:
What I don't have confidence in is Braxton seeing wide open receivers on a regular basis. Maybe that's what Corn is trying to say but won't.
"As a unit, we need to work on making the right reads and finding open receivers".
Done. It acknowledges the problem without being specific or throwing anyone under the bus.
I'm so tired of listening to the coaches tell us about how great these kids can be. Why have we not been able to bring that potential out of them while they are here? Why do we seem to always have a starting QB where we're constantly trying to work with them on their confidence and decision making. Is it so hard to have one guy who fits whatever scheme that we are trying to run and who is fully bought into said scheme? Isn't this what recruiting is for?
It's also up to the coaches to design the offense in such a way as to maximize the skillset of the players they have. In other words, put them in the best position to succeed. Has Cornelson proven he can do that? Jury's still out, in my opinion.
EDIT: The last sentence is supposed to mean that it doesn't look like Cornelson knows what he's doing
he hasn't proven that he can do that. 5.3 years in, do we have enough evidence to say that there is evidence he can't do that? How much more evidence do we need?
Actually the numbers aren't all bad. Per HokieSports (https://hokiesports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/brad-cornelsen/2516):
"Under his direction, the Hokies have produced three of Tech's top four seasons for total offense over the past 25 years. Only the 1999 campaign (451.8 ypg) tops the 2016 (444.4), 2020 (440.7) and 2018 seasons (428.7)."
There are some other good numbers in there. Obviously its intended to prop him up, and you could probably find some not so good stats somewhere about production inside the red zone, points after turnovers, etc.
My point is, the offense under Cornelsen has been statistically productive, its just that situationally it has come up short in a number of important and painful to remember moments. His tenure has also corresponded to some of Techs worst defenses in the last 20 years.
Im not saying we should stick with the staff, Ws are all that matter. But I am saying as fans we always focus laser vision hatred on the OC, when in reality there is plenty of blame to go around. Its also worth noting a change up could easily result in someone less productive at OC (see Loeffler and Stinespring).
yards aren't everything. I haven't looked at it myself so I have no idea if this is the case but I wonder if the yards per game stat is propped up by having more drives per game as a result of teams in the current era playing faster. More possessions means more yards. Is there any credence to a theory like this? If so, there's a chance the inflated ypg stats for our offense in the last 6 years are a function of having more possessions rather than improved coaching.
The game has certainly changed a lot, in the last decade, in favor of offenses. Offenses these days seem to be much more productive than they were 15 years ago. Why is that? I also think it's notable that we had our third highest ypg offense in the last 21 years in a season where we lost 6 games. I think a more telling stat might be points per game across those seasons.
That makes sense, but more possessions doesn't necessarily translate to more yards - you could go 3 and out a lot more often. You could also not score on some percentage of drives. I would think the single most telling number would be average scoring differential. Scoring doesn't necessarily tell you if you won if the other team scored more, but in a differential - losing would give a negative. Blowouts obviously give you a big positive. You could take raw numbers, but also weight it for out-of-conference games or fcs opponents. We had some long drives with Logan Thomas only to turn it over near the end zone (or at the start of drives near our own end zone). This also doesn't account for points scored through pick-6s, field goals, and glorious blocked field goals returned for scores! (In terms of determining offensive strength/capability)
Also, if your D is really good (as it often was under Beamer), and you control field position, your O generally has a much shorter starting distance to get to the end zone.
So basically, comparing any one stat probably isn't going to give you a good idea of how strong one offense was compared to another - especially since it assumes opponents of equal strength and I think most people would agree the old ACC was stronger (granted some teams are stronger now, like Duke, but on average).
these are all great points. Hard to compare apples to apples in football. One thing that I did look at a while back was margin of victory/defeat between Fuente's teams and Beamer's teams. I don't have the exact numbers immediately available to me but the general take away was that Fuente's teams are hotter or colder than Beamer's. When Fuente wins, he usually wins by larger margins than Beamer's teams did. On the flip side, when Fuente loses, he typically loses by larger margins than Beamer's teams did. Beamer had more close games, win or lose, than Fuente. That in and of itself is interesting to analyze. I would argue that Beamer's teams were more consistent. Fuente is more boom-or-bust.
Valid points all around. This was obviously not communicated in my GIF, but my frustration is not only with BC. Fuente has failed to execute his plan for 6 years and in any other profession he'd be canned. The only stat that matters is W/L in Power 5 football. I know you've only copied and pasted the "feel good" stats that the athletic dept has put on a website, but IMO comparing our current stats to the 1999 team isn't really fair. The game is so different from 20 years ago.
Yup all great points here and above about the game changing and ypg being only one statistic. Fully agree. Here's ppg since 2004 (which is also not the end all be all of stats, I know):
I think this probably broadly indicates that trend about the game changing and offenses becoming more productive. It also vividly demonstrates that our point differential is significantly worse than it was in the 10-win era (even in 2008 despite not being able to move the ball that well). I think its a fair critique that as a team we have not found a way to maintain that competitive edge as the game has evolved. But I think this shows our defense has been at least as big of a part of the problem as our offense.
your source image isn't showing up for me. can you share in another format?
hmmm. Does this work?
https://i.ibb.co/rcdCNgk/VT-Football.png
blocked by my org. Maybe later I'll try it on my personal computer
Our defense WAS as big a part of our problem, but that has apparently been improved. It's probably not valid to project Bud's 2018 season (health issues) thru the Covid-ridden 2020 season under a new DC to anything we are facing now, which is the fact that our Offense has undergone no such coaching changes (unfortunately) and has regressed. By the eye test through 4 games (admittedly that is a limited lens), it appears our D is back on track.
Agree, there are really good reasons for the defensive woes. And I think JHams doing a good job and that side does show improvement. I just think the whole narrative around this staff would be different if the defense had been better the last 3 seasons. The offense has not historically been good enough to win outright, and and it hasn't been inspiring through 4 games this season. But its not historically bad either.
I've reflected on why folks are so bent out of shape about this offense (I'm including myself here) when it isn't the worst we've seen in Blacksburg. This is kind of what I've come up with: Fans are upset because they feel like the cloak was pulled over their eyes a bit. We were sold on the transition from Beamer to Fuente, in part, on the promise that he would be bringing a high-octane offense to Blacksburg. Sure, the offense has improved but, relative to the expectation that was set at the beginning, it's been pretty disappointing. That's the catch.
We are accustomed to excellent defense and special teams paired with, at best, a serviceable offense. For the better part of two decades that's what VT football's identity was and fans pined for an offense that could complement Bud's defense (how many "what ifs" have Hokies fans entertained over the years?). To finally feel like our offense is going to be upgraded to the 21st century, after a couple decades of wishing for it, was extremely exciting. Bonus that we get to keep Bud as well!!! And then, fair or not, the offense that these coaches have trotted out onto the field fell way short of the (perhaps unreasonable) expectations we had as fans. And nobody likes feeling like they were lied to. It feels like a bait and switch. We expected a big improvement on offense and we've gotten a modest one. It feels like more of the same. That's why we're upset. But, maybe it's not these coaches at all. Maybe Blacksburg is just where offenses come to die. Maybe Blacksburg is allergic to offense. Maybe we're never going to have a high-powered offense in Blacksburg and instead of trying to force something unnatural we should just stick to our identity. Hard-nosed no-nonsense football. Smack the opponent in the mouth. Play stifling, suffocating defense, make huge plays on Special Teams and do just enough on offense to keep you in the game.
I think the difference is that in years past when we had not so great offenses, we still had big playmakers, usually in the QB and RB positions. So there was a combination of talent and flash that hid the deficiencies of the offense.
This 100%. Also this offense may not to be terrible relative to other VT offenses, but that's not saying a lot considering that's always been our weaker side of the ball. Our offense has had some outlier good seasons, but mostly was average to bad most seasons. That's what Fuente was supposed to bring to the table that Beamer couldn't. So I don't know what exactly the fan expectations were for the new offense, but at minimum "better than the old offense" seems like a very reasonable expectation, and one that has not been met.
And this is why I love TKP! I had a suspicion and RocketCityHokie provided the data. Cheers all around!
And you're exactly right. The point differential tells a clear picture. I'm hopeful our defense will continue to improve, but we'll need more than just the defense to improve to be consistently competitive.
What is the end of year S&P ranking of the offenses? YPG is not a good indicator as they style of football has changed dramatically in the past 20+ years.
How are we doing relative to peers. I bet it is worse now than it was under Beamers OCs
^^ This. Raw data doesn't mean nearly as much versus two decades ago; what really matters is where do we stand versus the rest of the ACC now.
Ranked efficiency from ESPN was the quickest I could find for recent seasons. I don't know the nuts and bolts of how this is calculated, but I presume S&P ranking would yield similar conclusions.
Per ESPN: Ranked "based on offense (or defense) contribution to scoring margin on per-play basis, adjusted for strength of opposing defenses (offenses) faced."
Last year was a decent offense, but we're definitely off to a rough start this year. On average both sides of the ball have been between bad and "meh" for the last 3 or 4 seasons.
Relative contribution is missing here. Comparing statistics from different eras isn't really that helpful. Today's offenses get more yards and score more points. My question would be where is our offense relative to the competition of that era/year amd how productive is it then?
Feel free to pull it together!
At this point people are so down on the coaches they get mad every time a coach opens their mouth. We need a new thread every time so we can restate our grievances. It's ridiculous.
you don't have to participate if you don't want to. You're not required to read every thread.
Well, the OP was a good discussion point and there have been constructive discussions in this thread. There are also the same people who only chime in to bash the same dead horse on every thread and usually multiple times per thread. It is tiresome. Every person knows we are not happy with BC and Fu as a fanbase but some of us wish to move past what we cannot change right now to discuss things that could change in a week or 2. It creates a toxic environment and will literally drive traffic away from TKP.
Agree, there are multiple threads by the title I know will go down the same rabbithole. Those I ignore. And now even the ones I do read, I skip certain comments because I know it is the same negative comment.
French and now the basketball are what keep me here.
I've recently seen a few comments similar to yours. With the current state of our program, what should we be discussing? The discussions might be negative, but they are relevant based on the state of our program. If we were having the same discussions in 2016, your comments would be fair. I feel more pessimistic about the state of our program than I have since I became really engaged as a fan (1996). Until the program gives us something different to talk about, I suspect you'll continue to be disappointed with TKP.
Edit: not meant to be an attack on anyone. I'm genuinely curious about you'd rather see us be talking about given our current reality.
Well we were discussing the conversation and how we interpret the situation higher up the page. The Alum had to chime in purely to bitch more on the same stuff that is bitched about in every other forum post on this site now. It is the same people saying the same complaints. It's getting to be trolling and adds no value to the discussions.
Yeah, that's Alum being Alum, but you didn't answer my question. What do you think we should be talking about in regards to the football team? By most metrics we are not tending in the right direction. The conversation matches the tone of the program.
dmcross contributed to conversation. alum just posted noise. It's not that difficult.
And it's not difficult to answer a simple question. I was very much just trying to understand a different opinion. Two different people have posted snark without answering my genuine question. Now who's making noise?
Maybe they didn't really want to talk about anything else, they just wanted to complain about all the people complaining lol
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Jmecca asked what else we should be discussing. All you said was "we were discussing the conversation and how we interpret the situation"
an argument can certainly be made that Alum's post was in reference to the same conversation you were discussing. He was sharing his interpretation of the situation. Just because you didn't like it doesn't mean it wasn't relevant. Jmecca just wanted to know what else we could discuss. You didn't really offer anything different.
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Alum's reputation precedes him I suppose. His post didn't say that what Corn said doesn't matter. His post didn't say "fire everyone". But in any case, his post has resulted in a pretty useless subthread. I propose that the Mods lock it down from here.
Probably a good idea. The intent of my original question was to learn more about other's opinions. Instead my reading comprehension got called out. 🙁
It only devolved because some pissbabies got their panties in a bunch because they don't like the fact that there is a general sense of negativity around the fanbase right now, and the usual suspects love blaming me for it.
I'll keep this short
If you don't like my complaints... Well, I don't give a fuck. You don't like it, don't read it. Not everything is gonna be sunshine and roses, and if you don't like that, well then maybe you should look to avoid internet discussion forums about Virginia Tech football going forward, because angst is the one constant right now.
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I literally answer your question in my first sentence above. Work on that comprehension and less on defending the trolls.
I asked a very innocent question:
It was not answered and I really am curious. I rephrased the question:
Please re-read your posts and tell me where your answered my question. You told me what others did wrong in your opinion, but you did not tell me what you'd rather be discussing. My reading comprehension is just fine thank you. I was trying to have a good conversation and you decided to be nasty. It's Friday, man and it's a bye week. Crack open a beer in a few hours and lighten up. As stated in my OP, this was not an attack.
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this might make sense if Alum was actually bitching about the staff in the comment that this thread is about. But he wasn't. You need to cool down. I'm begging the mods, please lock this thread down.
Won't matter if this one gets locked down. This isn't the first time a completely unnecessary subthread devolved like this. Nick likes to follow my comments around like a yappy anklebiter dog whining that my posts aren't up to his standards and that somehow I'm the sole reason that people aren't happy with the coaching staff right now. Lock this one down, it'll pop up elsewhere.
I wish I had that kind of sway with the fanbase. Shit, I wish I had that kind of sway in here. Fact of the matter is, people are just frustrated en masse right now and its playing out in pretty much every discussion across all of VT football's community online.
You literally call yourself and similar characters out here for derailing threads with the same dead horse...
Anywho, I took out the other crap from above, done with the discussion and hope everyone has a nice fall weekend.
I have no problem with the discussions/threads that are started. It's the immediate negative reaction to everything football that is depressing and to me not worth reading. I get it that the program is nowhere near where everybody wants it to be and that includes me. But the complete negative vibe stinks and it gets tedious to read, so I just skip it because I already know what will be said.
Example: The recruiting thread should cover what's happening in recruiting not the constant negative that recruiting sucks. I'm looking for recruiting news, not the same 'everything sucks' comments. We get a 4-star RB commit and still almost nobody is happy and immediately continues the diatribe that all stinks. Any newbie reading most of these threads would likely go "man they stink, I'm outa here".
For what it's worth, people like you attempting to police how fans should interact on this website is why I pulled my membership and stepped away. There was a larger amount of your type for a few years, but your numbers have started to dwindle as more and more people get tired of the product Fuente puts on the field. The inability to use quick keys to navigate comments (reduced functionality) has continued to mostly keep me away, but that's not the point of this comment.
Fuente has maintained a consistently closed-off relationship with the media and the fans since his arrival.
What little output we do get from coaches is largely non-speak----"ironing out minutia", "putting the players in best positions," recurrent references to "execution." And then whatever this statement was supposed to mean.
If you are going to do that as a Football coach, you are not going to build up any level of trust with the Fanbase.
What you are left to be judged on is purely the results on the field. In 2016, that system worked fine, and in 2017 Fuente still had maintained benefit of the doubt. Since 2018, though, the returns are diminishing....what else would be expected at this point???
....you won't enjoy your bye week very much if you spend it on here, Coach
I would think the role of the offensive coordinator is to watch the tape on the opposing defenses, scheme up some plays/variations to the base that should attack the weakness of said defense, and evaluate how well they worked through the first quarter. If the plays are covered up or the defense has come out in a different look, you adjust the plays. If the plays are looking good from the booth, you get on the phone and coach up your QB (or get the position coaches to pull thier guys aside). If the QB is not looking good with a play, the OC shouldn't need to wait for him to say so, he should be able to recognize it from the booth and correct or adjust the playcalls. This feels like the same line about execution but with a coat of paint on it this time.
You are pretty dead on with what he should be able to do. Problem is he doesn't know how to watch/diagnose a defense on film.
Who's the coach here? Isn't it the coaches job to game plan and call the plays that his players are executing? If he sees something isn't clicking with Brax then fix it or change it. It shouldn't matter if BB tells him he's good
I have read that statement multiple times now and I think he said a lot of nothing and did it on purpose. His football IQ isn't the only problem it sounds like.
Too much yuck.
This goes back to a leadership problem.
I posted a quote from Fuente about "not knowing" when Kadum would go into the game. There have been plenty of comments and I digested them. The one that really summed up the problem was the recognition that the plan was the plan, and Kadum was going in no matter what. That speaks volumes. No adjustments, no recognition of situation.
This is not what young players need. Most of them are too smart to even accept this (Quincy Patterson, for example). This staff is paradoxical with suggestions of being accommodating, and actions that are stringent. That doesn't make sense! "We're all about how you feel about your position and the situations in the game". Contrasted with: "Okay Knox, get out there are take one of your first snaps at our six yard line." Totally doesn't make sense.
That's like saying:
Me: "I'm aware of my surroundings when I drive. I've set my cruise control at 70 MPH".
Situation: 50 care pile-up in front of you.
Me: "The plan is the plan"
Situation: 51+ car pile-up.
Is this not what we are seeing?
I'm going to offer an alternate take on when Kadum went in.
After the previous offensive series coach told KK that he was going in on the next series so he could get warmed up/ready. We get the ball deep in our territory. If coach now says to KK that BB is going in, it destroys KK confidence.
And it shouldn't matter where on the field you are. If BB is hurts KK has to play from everywhere. KK made a bad decision with the football. It cost us 6 points.
Or maybe if our offense could have put up more than 7 points in the first 20 minutes of the game against an FCS team, it wouldn't have mattered what Kadum did.
This. You promised your backup that he'd get some playing time. Makes sense. You're playing an FCS team in a game that, outside of perception, really doesn't matter. You expect your team to be able to handle them easily and be up by 3 or 4 scores before halftime. Even the odds makers had VT winning by 39 (which, interestingly, we didn't just fail to cover the spread, we didn't even score enough points, combined, to match the spread). So on one hand I appreciate the coaches at least keeping their promise that KK would get in, assuming they made the promise. Two major coaching failures happened though. One, the team wasn't prepared enough to go out and execute a game plan against a far inferior opponent to build a comfortable lead. Two, the coaches failed to understand the situation they were putting KK in. He was doomed to fail there. A smarter coach would have said something like "Keep yourself warmed up, we're going to get you into the game when the right situation arises" instead of "Go warm up, you're going in next series" to allow for some wiggle room incase the next series happens to be a terrible spot to put a fledgling QB. Rookie mistake. And these coaches are too far along in their careers to be making these kinds of mistakes against FCS teams.
I was thinking almost the same thing.
The decision had been made that KK was going in on the next series. We get the ball on the 6 yard line and it doesn't matter. The decision had been made. Forest for the trees?
I think a guy like KK is smart enough and mature enough to understand that in that situation, sending the guy with the most experience is the wisest move. His confidence isn't destroyed. He may be disappointed, but he knows he's going in later.
If you insist on putting KK in to play in that situation, you have to call plays that fit the situation. I'm really surprised we didn't see a run into the line, a read option and a jet sweep, given FU's aversion to risk. Instead the high risk roll-out pass leads to a pick and 6 points. No matter what you think of the decision to put KK in in that situation, the play calling was bad coaching.
This was my thought also.
And an INT doesn't? BB is literally scared to throw to prevent an INT. His confidence has been destroyed. All he can talk about is how he protected the ball. I appreciate that. But let's not fool ourselves into thinking keeping KK on the sidelines vs. having him throw an INT is the confidence killer. QB's are not permitted to throw INTs and stay in good standing. This is exactly the opposite of what Fuente preaches about not putting his players in bad situations. You can't have it both ways. It's either "the plan is the plan" or "I don't put my players in bad situations".
JHam didn't have a problem pulling a linebacker in favor of a db when the situation warranted it. It doesn't seem like anyone on the defense has had their confidence destroyed. It looks like the opposite.
The contrast is stark.
Defense: Down 24-7 at half time? No problem, we've got this.
Offense: Inside the 10 yard line. Oops. Execution.
The cynic in me loves this take
An INT might affect confidence, but it's because of something the player did. A coach changing his mind because of game situation hurts it more. Its not mutually exclusive.
I don't necessarily agree here but a smarter coach doesn't promise his young, backup QB that he's going in next series, no matter what. A smarter coach tells his QB that he'll have his number called at the appropriate time and to keep himself warmed up. A smarter coach waits to see what the situation is before sending his guy out there.
From my limited viewpoint outside the inner workings of the Football program, I'm now pretty sure that all of this is a result of an extremely top-down authoritarian culture based on transactional relationships and compliance. There is just too much evidence to support this, and honestly unless the top leaders (Fuente) have some sort of paradigm shift in his awareness and decides to really change himself first, I'm not sure it will get better with him at the helm. Yeah, this worked back in the days when things were simpler, or if you have best of the best talent, but now days without creating an environment where everyone can contribute and feel open/empowered you can get left behind pretty quick. Just where my head is at right now.
Very good point. The world and sports have evolved and the coaching styles of the past won't always work. A perfect example is Bobby Knight. He is a legend of a coach, but the way he ran his programs from the 70s to the 90s would not work in today's game.
And if Knight hadn't been a coach with a HOF record, his style would not have been tolerated for that long.
This is the verbal version of what happens when the offense takes the field
Coach speak gonna coach speak. You'd have better luck getting Salvador Dali to tell you exactly what he was thinking on one of his paintings than getting a concrete takeaway from a coach.
Cornelson is describing something that all OCs do with their QBs. None of the quote is coach speak.
I do agree. I meant it more for anyone trying to find something to be more angry with Cornelsen about, they could listen to any coach in the country and hear the same things
Relatively minor point, but I don't have anything else substantial to add:
Pretty sure it should be "between him and me." It's in the object of the sentence. Between is just a preposition. You wouldn't say "This is a continuous process for I." Granted I'm not the best grammarian in the world, but I think that's wrong.
Usually I don't care about people's grammar online, but it's been 3 years since Corn should have been fired, and I've run out of other new ways to criticize his performance.
lol, classic. Grammar is hard for me. I would have just said "between the two of us" because I'm not sure I would have gotten it right otherwise.
I'm usually in the "if I understood it, it's good enough" camp. Just feel like being a bit petty after watching the last 4 weeks of football.
The rule of thumb is to separate the different parts grouped together by "and" and see if they make sense on their own.
breaks into
and
He should have said "me."
I changed the preposition because my head didn't like using between with only one object, but that's the rule of thumb I was using as well.
If you want to get on coaches for their grammar and vocabulary, just count how many unnecessary times they all say "obviously"
It might also be fun to track how many times they use "execute" and other similar terms to skirt around the issue that they are in over their heads.
Don't worry, we had the best and brightest working on giving us a superb offense this Bye Week.
