FWIW, I watch all the GNFP and Gators Gamedays breakdowns, so I'm not sticking my head in the sand. I'm still a newbie who probably couldn't name the actual play call. But I bet 95% of the folks here couldn't either. GNFP is bullish on our run offense and super-frustrated with passing. But James is now happier with the high-to-low reading but wishes Lagway would learn to hit the check downs when they are wide open. I agree there are consistent dry spots and places where we obviously get a play call sequence confused. That said, I don't think it is the catastrophe some make it out to be. As GNFP pointed out, Billy was a D- for end-of-first-half but Lane was an F.
Maybe I should re-think/restate this... Upon further review, I must admit that everyone, including me, are fixated and Napier saving his offense. But what if we need a complete upgrade that keeps most of his best concepts... enough so that Lagway will not have to start allover in a completely new offense. Maybe... to get to the nest level... to get to SOS and Saban level of greatness... Maybe Napier should consider hiring a great new OC with several new, additional concepts.
Agree about time mgt. On the side of a can of Head Ball Coach 1966 Premium Lager is the disclaimer: “Drink Like I Managed the Clock, Responsibly.” lol. Tried to upload picture but wouldn’t take …
just like Dan Mullen here as OC with Tebow and Percy. Calls were verrry predictable, yet no one could stop our jes s/joe.
@Gatorrick22 I'm on board with an OC that lets Billy be CEO, keeps the foundation, and adds stuff for what Lagway brings.
Great coaches will teach their players to be their best, no matter the system they run. What I am wondering is if Napier will take that next huge step in his coaching evolution, or will he be a prisoner of his own mind... with no ability to lean more than what he now knows. All the great coaches evolve in profound and noticeable better ways when it comes to football concepts. Will Billy Napier be one of the great ones, or will just be one of the many that decided to play it safe?
Saban won with Sark as OC. Saban won w/ Kiffin as OC. Saban won with frickin' McElwain as OC. And Saban allowed his O to change. Its changed drastically over the years. it went from a totally run-centric O when Bama first began dominating the SEC in 2009, then featured downfield passing when they got the Julio Jones and the Jerry Jeudy's, and they featured running QBs when they had skilled runners at QB. We've gone from AR-15 to Graham Mertz to DJ Lagway, 3 totally different QBs, but we're still running basically the same O, its just that some players can execute different parts of it better, like DJ with the long throws or AR with the QB runs, most of which weren't even designed runs.
Lagway isn’t going to leave if Billy brings in an OC. Conceivably, he could languish if Billy doesn’t.
I said equal or inferior, and yes, those teams all had equal or inferior talent. You can go look at the 247 Talent composite as one measure of overall talent. https://247sports.com/season/2024-football/collegeteamtalentcomposite/ Actually, LSU is 8th, and UF 12th, so I guess we beat a more talented LSU team this year. But UT and Ole Miss are less talented, as are Kentucky, Missouri, Arky and Utah. Our record against these less talented teams: 4-9. Our record against the programs with more talent (UGA, Texas, LSU): 1-6. Our record v teams with just about equal talent (Miami, FSU, TAMU): 2-4. Bottom line, we lose about 3/4s of ALL OF OUR GAMES v any teams with top 30 talent.
Exactly. And while I agree about all this, and I know all about it before you posted it, there are two thoughts I have eon this. On one hand, I think Napier can get by with a now OC running Napier's concepts. On the other hand, Napier could take a next level step in coaching if he embraced a better, more modern offense with a new OC. Keeping his general concepts of run first might even be in the cards. So, we have two district wants that we can debate... two different ways would like for Napier to evolve as a coach. Does he rely on himself for his play-calling... that has been predictable and stale? That much is zero change... same old story, same old outcome. But the other two are: He could a real dedicated OC and make slight changes and evolve the offense a bit? Or, does he evolve like SOS, or Saban more recently, and totally change into the best, most exciting offense he can find.
yes, but then you need to be recruiting the top 1st or 2nd or 3rd class in the nation every year, like Urban Meyer did. We are not recruiting like that under CBN, not even close.
This isn't even a debate... we definitely need a offensive coordinator. We needed one after Billy's first season.. the running part's of his scheme are actually good when he calls them in the right situations but the passing concepts are very pedestrian.... and he doesn't have a feel for calling plays... we need to put our receivers in better situations to make plays. Billy is holding our offense back from its true potential... especially now with DJ starting at quarterback
Last night was a great example of the current offense not being good enough...we technically had one sustained drive for a score. We were given multiple short fields for points due to FSU incompetence and we broke one long run with a gaping hole where FSU botched the defense. This offense does not have the ability to consistently drive 75 yards for points against quality defenses...maybe it is the system, the play calling, the players...or a combination of everything but something needs to change. Going into next year with the same plan will not put us into the playoffs.
Yep I totally agree.. we have more than enough evidence that Billy isn't a great playcaller... he's doing basically everything else as head coach correct right now... now he needs to stop being stubborn and hire a real offensive coordinator
He is a run first coach and based off the last few weeks it has worked pretty well. Just develop DJ passing skills in the 10 to 20 yards range with consistency and we will look better on offense. DJ really struggles with these passes right now. I also think we are running RPO, but the threat of DJ is not there because of the hamstring, that hopefully will change next season. I am willing to give BN one more year without a OC to see howa more mature DJ this will work. If we are still stagnant on offense, then let's go get someone.
You are right, for a minute there I thought we had a coach that expected that sort of thing... like a Saban. Sana himself didn't figure it out overnight... he had several years to do that. Unfortunately, in today's coaching environment, time is a luxury that most coaches no longer have. There should be a stated goal of winning the National Championship of College Football.