01-01-2024, 07:01 PM
(01-01-2024, 02:38 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: I can get behind that with a qualifier. You’d have to admit the poor run game eliminates a lot of options. Joe’s preferences and his tendency for going to the wide outs and ignoring the TE’s factors. Zac was the TE coach at TAMU. He threw to TE’s as an interim OC with the Dolphins. He loves TE’s. Joe is hurt surely you don’t think the reason the TE’s are getting more targets is Jake driven? I think they’ve tried to be accommodating to the likes of Joe and his preferences. I mean you have too to for your starting QB but one like Joe definitely. Nor will I erase Zac’s negatives. He does give up on the run game too easily. The trick play on third and 1 with Tanner Hudson ridiculous. Not realizing what they had in Jake and start him early a huge miss. The slow early season starts. But also 3-3 w/o Burrow puts a big crack in the mantra Burrow completely Carrie’s him.
I think the offensive staff is the bigger reason for our lack of TE use. We seem content with bringing in whatever bargain TE we can get because they're are higher needs. I personally agree with TE being a lower priority. But I think our lack of TE targets and the run game struggles boils down to us veiwing Chase and Higgins as our explosive keys to our offense. They get a bulk of the looks because they can change a game on any given target. I think the uptick in TE use is two parts protection for Jake as well as Jake looking for the easy completion at a higher rate than Burrow would.
The coaching staff deserves credit for getting some wins with Browning. But maybe we all gave them a bit too much credit. You mentioned the trick play vs Minn but the two against Jax were terrible for so many reasons. We probably lose that game if Lawerence doesn't get hurt the 2nd said trick play being a big factor. Which no matter which way you shake it fall squarely on Taylor even before the fact that I think he designed them. Colts game was just a straight up beating we gave them. Not much negative I can say about that one but it also stands out as an outlier as we went under center almost 50% of the time. Then the Minnesota game and it seemed we really went back to the Burrow offense. Playing against almost any other QB besides Mullins and some remarkable plays by our own players we probably lose that game as well. Again not trying to be a negative Nancy as I was all on board after the Colts game and really was only starting to worry after the Vikings game. I'm just trying to look back with a truthful lense and see what we really accomplished.
