03-03-2024, 02:15 AM
I love Zac as a coach and think he has some intangible qualities that help precipitate chemistry and morale among the locker room . I was advocating for he and Lou both on here after the first 2 seasons here when they were pretty hated amongst most fans. But, Regarding play calling, I gave him a pass a few years ago bc of the personel he had to work with, but for the past 2 seasons, I absolutely agree with the play calling criticisms, and feel like the team's OL group has not been nearly as bad as the common narrative (especially last season's). I also feel like it has gotten Burrow hit way more than necessary. It's appeared as if it has taken the "guessing element" out of the equation for the opposing defensive coordinator, and allowing them to disregard the threat of the running game. I keep hearing about how the OL played better or run-blocked better towards the end of the season when the running game was producing, but IMO it was simply a result of the altering of the offensive scheme. To establish a running game, it takes commitment to do so (volume), and to not abandon it just because you get stuffed a bit early on. As you start creating chinks in armor of the defense and wear them down, shot plays open up in the passing game and playaction becomes much more effective. During that aforementioned stretch towards the end of the season with Browning under center, I kept envisioning how hard that version of the offense would be to defend with Burrow at QB.
