Why I am nonplusses by the WVU offense, one of the best in the land
- Thread starter Cuyahoga Falls Eers
- Start date
If David Long makes a good form tackle on the 4th and 9 play along the sidelines instead of just throwing a shoulder the game never even would have been in doubt.
WVU offense in 2nd half. 25 total plays out of 5 drives. That's a 5 play drive average. 4 punts 1 missed FG. I would say you can blame the offense for this one as they did not work.
Or if #3 had made the tackle for a sack on that play instead of whiffing with a tackle attempt there would have been a loss and not a 40 yard gain.
If I was down 6 or up 6 with 5 minutes left and the ball I am not picking WV's offense.
Maybe if I was down by 20
I would because the offense has big play potential.
Moving the ball down the field and using the clock it is not as great.
One of the reasons is Will Grier's accuracy.
He has a pretty long ball but something over the middle or in the flat I am going with a more accurate QB.
Not to mention Grier is not a dual threat. He can move but if I need 5 yards on third down I am not running Will Grier.
Best offense in the country is a stretch.
It is like using a Ferrari to go to work every day.
You can't use a Ferrari every day like you can't use WV's offense in critical situations
Maybe if I was down by 20
I would because the offense has big play potential.
Moving the ball down the field and using the clock it is not as great.
One of the reasons is Will Grier's accuracy.
He has a pretty long ball but something over the middle or in the flat I am going with a more accurate QB.
Not to mention Grier is not a dual threat. He can move but if I need 5 yards on third down I am not running Will Grier.
Best offense in the country is a stretch.
It is like using a Ferrari to go to work every day.
You can't use a Ferrari every day like you can't use WV's offense in critical situations
I agree somewhat with your current diatribe. The offense needed to continue moving the chains in the second half of the game and take the pressure off the worn down defense. I like coach Gibson but I don't like the 3-3-5 that much and wish the "bend don't break" style of Mountaineer D would quietly go away.
When was the last time The Mountaineer defense was ranked in top 20 for overall defense?
This year's offense is supposed to be a cornerstone of strength. If it is the identity of this team it can't let up at any time even if it means running up the score.
The defense is average and at times brilliant but it can't carry this team on its back like years past.
I agree The Mountaineers are capable of making it too the Big XII Championship Game. Just need the offense to stay hot and the defense to keep getting better.
Kansas game will be very telling about the mental makeup of this team. Will we see the "big game hangover" similar to what we seen after the Tennessee game? hopefully not.
You go me to thinking, which can be dangerous since I am an investigative nut about statistics and seeking answers in sports (15 years as a sportswriter did that to me along with my 43-year newspaper career overall).
The 1988 team was successful because of Major Harris’ unpredictability and a weak schedule that included only TWO teams with winning records. Even Nehlen didn’t know what The Major was going to do, scrambling long before it became popular in the Big 12. I keep having nightmare flashbacks about The Major’s dislocated shoulder against Notre Dame every time I see Will Grier get smacked because the 2018 fortunes rest on Grier’s Golden Arm.
Rich’s 2007 team lived on the spectacular offense of Pat White and Steve Slaton. The Pitt loss remains a mystery to this day, even if you factor in White’s injury that kept him out of too much of the game.
Rich’s 2005 team also relied on White and Slaton. Georgia never knew what hit them till the score was 28-0. Then WVU held on to take the Sugar Bowl.
Nehlen’s 1993 team, if I remember correctly, had Daryll Talley on defense. I doubt there’s ever been a better defender for WVU.
The 2011 team, with Geno Smith, proved that a superb offense, much like the 2018 team, isn’t enough. The 5-0 disintegrated because the defense did, too.
To be fair, rules designed to protect players from injuries have hampered the defense immensely. Bone-jarring tackles with helmet-to-helmet collisions results in ejections. Norwood was ejected ONLY because he left his feet. That wouldn’t have been illegal a few years ago.
As for Gibby’s defensive coordinator credentials: He has replaced EIGHT starters a year for the past two years. The 2017 defense was #16 nationally in 3rd down defense, a critical time to get it right. That’s not chopped liver.
In 2016 he was Big 12 Defensive Coordinator of the Year. That’s an achievement in the QB/offense-happy Big 12.
In 2015 Gibby’s defense was #2 nationally in interceptions, #5 in turnovers gained, #8 in most 3-and-outs, a really valuable trait, #11 in 3rd down defense and #15 in turnover margin. And #1 in the Big 12 in rushing defense, interceptions and first down defense and #2 in scoring defense, total defense and opponent 3rd down defense.
In 2018, Gibby’s job against Kansas State, admittedly not Bill Snyder’s best team ever, holding K-State to NO touchdowns was a genius at work.
I would say that Gibby has done one helluva job, despite the excessive turnover in talent from year to year.
See, I told you not to get me thinking and revved up. That kicks in my investigative gear, which is what “the enemy of the people” does all over this country on newspapers, despite what the guy in the Oval Office says.
Sorry about the politics ending, but my investigation of Trump riles me up, too. I’m an equal opportunity investigator, just like the New York Times and Washington Post.
M agnificent Grier passes shredded Tennessee, 40-14
O verhelmed drenched Youngstown, 52-17
U nable to play North Carolina State because of
Hurricane Florence
N asty defense against Kansas State, 35-6
T errific, then timid on offense against Texas Tech,
42-34
A nnihilate Kansas
I ncinerate Iowa State
N ail Baylor
E rectile dysfunction Texas
E lectrify TCU
R eam Oklahoma State
S laughter Oklahoma
D. Talley had been with the Buffalo Bills ten years by 1993. Maybe you should stop giving your resumé every other post.
Notice how the red font didn’t remotely attempt to do this?
Just more excuses for Gibson, cause awe shucks, he’s a WV boy!
1. What does "go me to thinking" mean? Is this just a demonstration of poor proofreading skills once again?
2. So you "seek answers" through statistics? Maybe if you had ever played a sport you would be able to find those answers without using a calculator.
3. Only 43 years in newspapers and you are in your late 80s? Were you then in your 40s before you moved out of your Mom's basement? Just wonderin'.
4. Only 15 years as a sports writer? Wait a minute....thought you had a lifetime of following sports. Guess your timeline is subject to constant revision.
Do agree with the "nut" part however.
"In 2018, Gibby’s job against Kansas State, admittedly not Bill Snyder’s best team ever, holding K-State to NO touchdowns was a genius at work. "
this statement shows the hyper-partisan nature of the OP................. KSU is averaging 10pts a game against P5 competition so far.
this is the worst KSU team in the Bill Snyder era since his first season in 1989.
this statement shows the hyper-partisan nature of the OP................. KSU is averaging 10pts a game against P5 competition so far.
this is the worst KSU team in the Bill Snyder era since his first season in 1989.
If this defense is as bad as you think, would K. State not of scored more than 6? I think so.
I don’t
TTU showed that our defense is average on a good day
This is a 12-win team on offense, but our defense will keep us in the 9/10 win range
I still don't understand why you are giving the offense a pass for managing only one score over 3 quarters against a defense worse than the WVU defense you are maligning. I agree the defense is not great, but that was expected going in. The offense was expected to be the strength of this team and I don't see a good excuse for getting shut down for more than half the game. Even if the offense played vanilla in the second half, why couldn't they turn it back on when Tech pulled within 2 scores and then again when they were within one? Had WVU lost to TTU, it would have been on the "12 win offense" more than the defense since that is supposed to be the veteran, mature side of the ball. Again, I'll grant the defense was not good against a back up QB. However that same defense gave the offense good field position and 4 more possessions in that 1st quarter so they had at least a little to do with that big lead at half.
Flattery will get you nowhere.
3. 43 years in the newspaper PROFESSION. Retired for 22 years. We didn't have a basement in our Monongah, WV home, unless you count the canning room that was only under half of the kitchen.
4. Well, it you count from the time I was 8 years old and my father took me to old Mountaineer Field, and I was hooked on WVU and followed every game from that moment on, that would be 78 years of being a fan.
Quit nitpicking an ol' man whose IQ squelches yours (don't make me destroy your ego by comparing IQs). Get off my lawn! Isn't that what your stereotype of someone over 50 is?
As for the "nut" part, that would be any Ohio State, who admit that they are buckeyes, which is some kind of a nut.
Now, let's concentrate on beating Kansas, and not pissing matches between posters, which no one cares about who has an IQ above 80 (far below mine, in case you're thinking of another insult).
I have accomplished things you haven't even dreamed of. But that's for a different forum.
M agnificent Grier passes shredded Tennessee, 40-14
O verhelmed drenched Youngstown, 52-17
U nable to play North Carolina State because of Hurricane Florence
N asty defense against Kansas State, 35-6
T errific, then timid on offense against Texas Tech, 42-34
A nnihilate Kansas
I ncinerate Iowa State
N ail Baylor
E rectile dysfunction Texas
E lectrify TCU
R eam Oklahoma State
S laughter Oklahoma
EVERY intelligent fans knows that keeping a Power 5 team from scoring a touchdown is a tremendous achievement. But it you don't want to be in champ intelligent camp, then you must have gotten your education at Pitt.
You have my sympathy.
M agnificent Grier passes shredded Tennessee, 40-14
O verhelmed drenched Youngstown, 52-17
U nable to play North Carolina State because of Hurricane Florence
N asty defense against Kansas State, 35-6
T errific, then timid on offense against Texas Tech, 42-34
A nnihilate Kansas
I ncinerate Iowa State
N ail Baylor
E rectile dysfunction Texas
E lectrify TCU
R eam Oklahoma State
S laughter Oklahoma
Folks beware of the village idiot,CFE, who constantly feels the need to tell everyone how intelligent and important he is. Cuyahoga....the more you post the more juvenile and shallow you appear. In fact, you just don't make sense lol.
Thank you for this common sense point. Unfortunately, it is lost on the keyboard kiddies.
Texas reminds me of the old Big East days when Rutgers was the perennial "team on the rise". The only difference is that Texas gets much better recruits than Rutgers did, but does less with them.
CFE still wearing his Killiary for Pres 2016 shirt ... maybe you can take a sharpie and draw a 2020 on it LOL. Oh, my bad, didn’t mean to get political.
Seriously ..... How could you defend the D in the 2nd half .. D just sucked. They ran all over us. We didn't get penetration up front. They ran thru us. They passed over us. Had it not been for the poor accuracy of their 3RD STRING QB, we would have been on the other end of this W. Gibby was responsible for the bend and break at will D he put up in the 2nd half. Forget about the O not scoring. We just couldn't get off the field enough when we needed to.
I agree with your hits against the defense, but strongly disagree with your statement to forget about the offense not scoring. That should be the focus. The defense was expected to be suspect coming into the season while the offense was to be the strength given the talent, maturity, and cohesion on that side of the ball. This is not to excuse the defense, but rather illustrate the perspective that the supposedly far superior offense of WVU being shut down for the better part of 3 quarters by a below average defense is more concerning.
You mean the D that had twice as many snaps in the 2nd half as in the 1st half which might explain why it was gassed? And the O that scored NO points in the 2nd half is guilt-free? Even Grier admitted that. The D that saved the W for WVU with a 51-yard pick-6, the ONLY Mountaineer score in the 2nd half? Shame on that D and Gibby. What's up with them?
THANK YOU. GLAD TO SEE YOU HAVE SURRENDERED AND USE RED FONT. IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY.
MAYBE I'LL LEAVE YOU A TIP NEXT TIME WE MEET. YOU ARE THE PARKING LOT ATTENDANT, RIGHT? OR IS IT BELLHOP?
M agnificent Grier passes shredded Tennessee, 40-14
O verhelmed drenched Youngstown, 52-17
U nable to play North Carolina State because of Hurricane Florence
N asty defense against Kansas State, 35-6
T errific, then timid on offense against Texas Tech, 42-34
A nnihilate Kansas
I ncinerate Iowa State
N ail Baylor
E rectile dysfunction Texas
E lectrify TCU
R eam Oklahoma State
S laughter Oklahoma
Didn't mean to insinuate that the O was any better. It wasn't. After the 1st Q it was just as horrible as the D. That was meant to just focus on how bad the D really was. No f'n excuse for the D we saw last week. No excuse. Gibby better get his crap together or we'll not nave a whiff of a B12 Championship game.
Obviously haven't been to a decent hotel in a major city. Or maybe you just can't afford anything but Tom Bodett's digs.
Maybe the bigger issue at hand is the playcalling.
You are missing the point.
WV gets the ball and goes three and out or picks up one first down.
That takes like 2 minutes of the clock but it gives the defense a few minutes to rest.
Tech gets the ball and moves down the field.
Touchdown.
So what should DH and Jake Spavital do.
Run the clock. They don't. They call low percentage plays and run another minute of the clock
The tired D gets thrown back out on the field.
Misses tackles. Doesn't tackle as a team.
Another TD.
On offense one guy run with the ball while others block
On D 11 guys have to chase the ball.
If you ever played or coach football. You will remembed gang tackling drills.
Why did they run those drills.
Because Defenses tackle as a team
I can give you the best 11 defensive players but if your offense is not moving the ball
I can expose your D and tire them out eventually.
It is not Tony Gibson. He is coaching his ass off.
It is DH who wants to play flag football with no depth.
Any team with a great D will expose West Virginia unless Dana starts attempting to maintain possession and sustain long drives
Maybe Spav should stop playing board games and start coaching the offense.
Just pointing out an example of the flak that was getting thrown when posters like me were saying the awful 2.5 quarters at TTU and the entire KU game were concerning for the future. Apparently we were wrong because it was the defense's fault. And don't get me wrong, the defense has not played well. However, I stupidly thought the high powered offense that is supposed to be the strength of this team should be held more accountable for how vastly it underperformed.
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