Anyone with a comment on new OC?
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- BrentVU
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
It remains to be seen, but my presumption is the offense will probably look a lot like last season. Lynch called the plays last year, and it stands to reason he will again. David Raih supposedly had a lot of influence on the "design" of the offense last year and collaborated with Lynch on that, but that should all fall to Lynch now.
Bailey is another guy in that 35-40 age range... Coach Lea continues to seem to favor guys in that age range on his staff.
Bailey is another guy in that 35-40 age range... Coach Lea continues to seem to favor guys in that age range on his staff.
- Nashmann
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
Not overwhelmed...
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- shelbz75
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
While it is not a flash hire, I am ok with that decision and here is why...
The offense did improve as the season went on & honestly I am not so sure this is exactly what Lynch or Lea have in mind as far as what they are shooting for in the long run. I think a lot of things they did offensively (slowing the game down, not much tempo) was built off of the lack of talent on both sides of the ball and honestly the offense did a good job down the stretch (Ole Miss & Tennessee) of eating clock. What we didn't do a great job of is cashing in in the red zone at times which has to improve. Again I am not proclaiming Lynch as the answer but I don't think elevating him is the worst thing either, the team will have similar terminology on that side of the ball and can probably grow the scheme. Recruiting is the biggest thing we need and we are doing that, WR play has to be better as well and hopefully this new hire and the lack of drama from last year helps. Just my view, take it for what its worth which isn't much...
The offense did improve as the season went on & honestly I am not so sure this is exactly what Lynch or Lea have in mind as far as what they are shooting for in the long run. I think a lot of things they did offensively (slowing the game down, not much tempo) was built off of the lack of talent on both sides of the ball and honestly the offense did a good job down the stretch (Ole Miss & Tennessee) of eating clock. What we didn't do a great job of is cashing in in the red zone at times which has to improve. Again I am not proclaiming Lynch as the answer but I don't think elevating him is the worst thing either, the team will have similar terminology on that side of the ball and can probably grow the scheme. Recruiting is the biggest thing we need and we are doing that, WR play has to be better as well and hopefully this new hire and the lack of drama from last year helps. Just my view, take it for what its worth which isn't much...
- Doreknox
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
By all means we should retain this offensive staff. They led us to last place finishes in all seven SEC team offensive categories.
Last edited by Doreknox on Fri Jan 14, 2022 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- FayetteDore
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
As far as I know, you're one of the few (if not the only) active fb coaches on the board -- and a VU grad to boot -- so I always take your comments seriously.shelbz75 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:53 am While it is not a flash hire, I am ok with that decision and here is why...
The offense did improve as the season went on & honestly I am not so sure this is exactly what Lynch or Lea have in mind as far as what they are shooting for in the long run. I think a lot of things they did offensively (slowing the game down, not much tempo) was built off of the lack of talent on both sides of the ball and honestly the offense did a good job down the stretch (Ole Miss & Tennessee) of eating clock. What we didn't do a great job of is cashing in in the red zone at times which has to improve. Again I am not proclaiming Lynch as the answer but I don't think elevating him is the worst thing either, the team will have similar terminology on that side of the ball and can probably grow the scheme. Recruiting is the biggest thing we need and we are doing that, WR play has to be better as well and hopefully this new hire and the lack of drama from last year helps. Just my view, take it for what its worth which isn't much...
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
I was actually hoping there would be an outside chance of David Cully being added to the staff. Seems like a good culture guy. He was basically brought in to clean up the funk around the team for the next guy. Also they made Davis Mills look like the second best rookie QB in a draft that was supposedly full of great QB prospects.
- shelbz75
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
A VU grad I am not but I have been a fan most of my life & held season tickets for a long time (now I get coaching ticket). My word is far from gospel but I get the thought process by Coach Lea.FayetteDore wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:13 pmAs far as I know, you're one of the few (if not the only) active fb coaches on the board -- and a VU grad to boot -- so I always take your comments seriously.shelbz75 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:53 am While it is not a flash hire, I am ok with that decision and here is why...
The offense did improve as the season went on & honestly I am not so sure this is exactly what Lynch or Lea have in mind as far as what they are shooting for in the long run. I think a lot of things they did offensively (slowing the game down, not much tempo) was built off of the lack of talent on both sides of the ball and honestly the offense did a good job down the stretch (Ole Miss & Tennessee) of eating clock. What we didn't do a great job of is cashing in in the red zone at times which has to improve. Again I am not proclaiming Lynch as the answer but I don't think elevating him is the worst thing either, the team will have similar terminology on that side of the ball and can probably grow the scheme. Recruiting is the biggest thing we need and we are doing that, WR play has to be better as well and hopefully this new hire and the lack of drama from last year helps. Just my view, take it for what its worth which isn't much...
- AuricGoldfinger
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
While the decision to make Lynch the permanent OC may be underwhelming, I am willing to give him a full off-season, spring, and pre-season camp before rendering a decision. He was basically thrust into the position at the last possible moment.
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
My two cents:
This may be the best decision for the short term (2022 season). It allows consistency in the offense terminology. This will be the first time Wright and Seals will not be learning a new scheme and the first time since Ludwig that the OC will have film of VU players running his system. I was also a little encouraged that the offense evolved as the year went on and adapted to the personnel.
Long term … if VU’s offense is still a train wreck after next season then this was just delaying the inevitable and cost a year of getting an established system.
Lastly, I am not sure how desirable the OC position at VU is so while there were several names mentioned I don’t know if there was any mutual interest.
This may be the best decision for the short term (2022 season). It allows consistency in the offense terminology. This will be the first time Wright and Seals will not be learning a new scheme and the first time since Ludwig that the OC will have film of VU players running his system. I was also a little encouraged that the offense evolved as the year went on and adapted to the personnel.
Long term … if VU’s offense is still a train wreck after next season then this was just delaying the inevitable and cost a year of getting an established system.
Lastly, I am not sure how desirable the OC position at VU is so while there were several names mentioned I don’t know if there was any mutual interest.
- BILTMORE
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
Thinking back to when Lea assembled his offensive staff, we were all confused as to whether or not Lea had named the wrong guy the OC. There was Raih who had no OC experience placed atop the org chart, and Lynch as qb coach/pass coordinator who had decent experience as OC at two or more programs.
We were right to be confused. I'm not sure how Lea ended up in that predicament. Perhaps he saw great value in having Raih on the staff for his diverse offensive knowledge ,recruiting prowess, and expertise with wide receivers. Maybe the only way to lure him into the fold was to give him a big step up in his career. Apparently it was quickly obvious to our young new coach that it wouldn't work out.
As to what happens now... I don't hate promoting Lynch at all. I agree with Doreknox that changes need to be made to a staff that finished last all over the place, but I don't agree that total house cleaning is in anyone's best interest at this point. We knew last year could be ugly. It was. But our talent deficiencies make it impossible (for me anyway) to say that the problems can be fixed by a new guy with different plays on a dry erase board.
Our offensive coaches have good resumes and bona fides. Specifically regarding Lynch, I too saw flashes of things I liked in our offense: there were some interesting wrinkles added for each game. Some worked out pretty well in spurts: the addition of the option for Wright that resulted in some chunk plays comes to mind.
I'm willing to give Lynch a pass for some of the obstacles he had to overcome: 1) being thrust into a role he was not hired to do 2) having to work with an offense that he contributed to but was not TOTALLY his. Keep in mind, he still had his "co-OC" still up in the booth and also directing the wr personnel. That couldn't have been easy. 3) Two young qbs who were constantly fighting injuries or completely out for games 4) near total depletion at running back 5) lack of SEC depth 6) a young head coach who had his own share of miscues 7) a new defense with the same personnel and injury issues that was often putting the offense in tough holes to fight out of.
My questions/concerns about Lynch: when Riley Neal announced his transfer to VU, I remember checking out cutups on Youtube of Neal at Ball State where Lynch was his OC. What I saw was an offense that could rack up cheap yardage but did not seem to have a killer vertical mentality. There were lots of empty carbs being consumed. Easy check down throws, short outside or underneath dink and dunk plays that would get some easy first downs and then stall. Not sure if that was a biproduct of Neal's limitations or the play caller's, but that's what I'll be looking at next season. I confess that, other than one Neal season at Ball State and one season as "co-oc" at Vandy, I am not the expert evaluator of all things Joey Lynch
One thing that really disappointed me last year was the offensive line. We had lots of bodies last year. In fact, we had lots of bodies with considerable SEC starting experience. Right from the get-go, I questioned whether or not we had the best guys on the field. I don't know... maybe some of those returning covid opt outs, were undedicated and out of shape. They sure as heck didn't show up better than before. Furthermore, while it can be argued that the offense as a whole showed gradual improvement, I'm not sure I saw that in the offensive line as a unit. It seemed like many of Lynch's wrinkles and adjustment were made to hide and compensate for the weakness up front. With graduations and transfers hitting this unit hard, I'm worried we won't see improvement in this foundational area. Lea seems bullish on his OL coach, so for now, I am too (but hmmmmmmm). This seems like a great area to pick up some guys in the portal.
We were right to be confused. I'm not sure how Lea ended up in that predicament. Perhaps he saw great value in having Raih on the staff for his diverse offensive knowledge ,recruiting prowess, and expertise with wide receivers. Maybe the only way to lure him into the fold was to give him a big step up in his career. Apparently it was quickly obvious to our young new coach that it wouldn't work out.
As to what happens now... I don't hate promoting Lynch at all. I agree with Doreknox that changes need to be made to a staff that finished last all over the place, but I don't agree that total house cleaning is in anyone's best interest at this point. We knew last year could be ugly. It was. But our talent deficiencies make it impossible (for me anyway) to say that the problems can be fixed by a new guy with different plays on a dry erase board.
Our offensive coaches have good resumes and bona fides. Specifically regarding Lynch, I too saw flashes of things I liked in our offense: there were some interesting wrinkles added for each game. Some worked out pretty well in spurts: the addition of the option for Wright that resulted in some chunk plays comes to mind.
I'm willing to give Lynch a pass for some of the obstacles he had to overcome: 1) being thrust into a role he was not hired to do 2) having to work with an offense that he contributed to but was not TOTALLY his. Keep in mind, he still had his "co-OC" still up in the booth and also directing the wr personnel. That couldn't have been easy. 3) Two young qbs who were constantly fighting injuries or completely out for games 4) near total depletion at running back 5) lack of SEC depth 6) a young head coach who had his own share of miscues 7) a new defense with the same personnel and injury issues that was often putting the offense in tough holes to fight out of.
My questions/concerns about Lynch: when Riley Neal announced his transfer to VU, I remember checking out cutups on Youtube of Neal at Ball State where Lynch was his OC. What I saw was an offense that could rack up cheap yardage but did not seem to have a killer vertical mentality. There were lots of empty carbs being consumed. Easy check down throws, short outside or underneath dink and dunk plays that would get some easy first downs and then stall. Not sure if that was a biproduct of Neal's limitations or the play caller's, but that's what I'll be looking at next season. I confess that, other than one Neal season at Ball State and one season as "co-oc" at Vandy, I am not the expert evaluator of all things Joey Lynch
One thing that really disappointed me last year was the offensive line. We had lots of bodies last year. In fact, we had lots of bodies with considerable SEC starting experience. Right from the get-go, I questioned whether or not we had the best guys on the field. I don't know... maybe some of those returning covid opt outs, were undedicated and out of shape. They sure as heck didn't show up better than before. Furthermore, while it can be argued that the offense as a whole showed gradual improvement, I'm not sure I saw that in the offensive line as a unit. It seemed like many of Lynch's wrinkles and adjustment were made to hide and compensate for the weakness up front. With graduations and transfers hitting this unit hard, I'm worried we won't see improvement in this foundational area. Lea seems bullish on his OL coach, so for now, I am too (but hmmmmmmm). This seems like a great area to pick up some guys in the portal.
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
according to Ryan Seymour, the new coaching staff changed the blocking scheme for the OL, switched to zone blocking?. Might take another season to get that down. Most of the two deep back, might see improvement in CCL second season
- Nashmann
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
Buckle up, gents...I think next year will be rough. 3 wins and another 0-8 in SEC is not out of the question I'm afraid. Too many players have left from an already weak squad. Can't depend on incoming freshmen to pick up the slack. Will take a few recruiting years to show much improvement.
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
This is my position. We just gutted a gutted roster. We need horses. We were playing our best ball at the end of the year. If we can do that next season, then we should be happy. In the second half of year three, the young talent will start to make a difference. Hopefully, the staff can bring in some older guys to help out, but I haven't heard much.Nashmann wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:14 pm Buckle up, gents...I think next year will be rough. 3 wins and another 0-8 in SEC is not out of the question I'm afraid. Too many players have left from an already weak squad. Can't depend on incoming freshmen to pick up the slack. Will take a few recruiting years to show much improvement.
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Re: Anyone with a comment on new OC?
Bruno Reagan said the same thing. Thought zone blocking was right for Vanderbilt, but the OL players were screwing up their assignments a lot.