Head coaches and their qbs

[1vol8]

Ok... some of you may understand what I’m about to say and others may not but I’m going to take a shot at it anyway.

Over the past year I can’t count how many posts I’ve read along the lines of “If JG is our best then the others must be horrible”. That couldn’t be farther from the truth when you think about it. Those if you that feel that way, please read this with an open mind. I’ve posted this in threads but haven’t created a thread dedicated to explaining what I’m about to say.

Every coach has his preferences. It’s human instinct. Doesn’t matter what side of the ball you coach. I’m an offensive minded coach but I prefer a 3-4 defense for example. Why? Because I understand it much more clearly. However, If I head coached a team and demanded the 3-4 be run without the personnel I’d probably fail. The same holds true for qbs. Below is the difference in qb mentalities.

As you can see there are 4 different types of qb mentalities. Each fit with a certain type of system.

Field generals are created over time in a system. ANY qb absent of fear CAN become a field general Regardless of playing style so I don’t agree that is a “style”. That’s something you “become”.

Gunslingers. We now have 3 of these on our roster in Maurer, Shrout and Bailey. These guys don’t fear ints and will throw into tight windows without hesitation. Because of this type of playing style and lack of fear, accuracy is a must and usually best suited in a spread type of offense.

Option read. I feel this is the category Salter will fall in. Bunch formations and a strong power running game seems to fit this style of play the best. Think old school Alabama or GT.

Game manager. I don’t think anyone would disagree that this is JG. This is where the argument comes from within the fan base. His stats say one thing but his accuracy isn’t par for the course beyond 10 yards. It’s not his fault. That’s how he plays the game and there’s a place for that kind of qb in the right system like the “West Coast” offense. It’s no coincidence that Pruitt takes to JGs style over the others because of where he came from. Was Pruitt not the D coordinator at Alabama when Hurts was qb1?

Defensive minded coaches tend to prefer ball security on offense. Why? Because they want to protect their defense from getting winded. A tired defense can make a defensive minded coach look incompetent in a heartbeat. Therefore the Best match for Pruitts style is JG (at his best).

Offensive minded coaches tend to prefer a defense that’s good but not great. Why? A great defense has the same effect on an offense as an ineffective ball security offense has on a defense. A 3 and out puts your offense back on the field without rest. Therefore, without quality depth at WR, you wear them out. So offensive minded coaches WANT a “bend but don’t break” defense.


What’s interesting to me is Pruitts recruiting at the position. He’s recruited Maurer and Bailey and neither are game managers. Both are gunslingers. So I’m curious what his thoughts are post JG. The types of qbs he’s going after suggest he may be planning to adapt in the future? Maybe it’s possible that he knows we have more “talented” qbs on the bench but he’s using the time he has with JG “managing” games while he builds quality depth. Which would mean the term “JG is our best chance to win” only means “At this present time”.

 

[GAVol]

Offensive minded coaches tend to prefer a defense that’s good but not great. Why? A great defense has the same effect on an offense as an ineffective ball security offense has on a defense. A 3 and out puts your offense back on the field without rest. Therefore, without quality depth at WR, you wear them out. So offensive minded coaches WANT a “bend but don’t break” defense.

That was an interesting post, but this part is bizarre logic. What coach in his right mind ever thinks "Damn . . . My defense gets the ball back for us too fast"?

Back on topic - I've always thought that Chaney was a little bit of an odd match for Pruitt in that he falls in love with the pass and wants to push it down the field. I'd think Pruitt would want more dink and run it between the tackles.

 

[1vol8]

That was an interesting post, but this part is bizarre logic. What coach in his right mind ever thinks "Damn . . . My defense gets the ball back for us too fast"?

I’m telling you it’s true. I’ve been there myself and have lost games because I didn’t have the depth at WR to stay fresh. I had to counter by putting in second stringers to extend their drives until the crossed the 50.

 

[Lane Train 4]

That was an interesting post, but this part is bizarre logic. What coach in his right mind ever thinks "Damn . . . My defense gets the ball back for us too fast"?

Back on topic - I've always thought that Chaney was a little bit of an odd match for Pruitt in that he falls in love with the pass and wants to push it down the field. I'd think Pruitt would want more dink and run it between the tackles.

Pruitt is constantly bringing up the need for chunk plays. I disagree with your assessment. Chaney is the best OC in the country period.

 

[GAVol]

Pruitt is constantly bringing up the need for chunk plays. I disagree with your assessment. Chaney is the best OC in the country period.

Never said that Chaney wasn't good. I just think he leans toward a style that may not necessarily be Pruitt's first choice.

 

[1vol8]

That was an interesting post, but this part is bizarre logic. What coach in his right mind ever thinks "Damn . . . My defense gets the ball back for us too fast"?

Back on topic - I've always thought that Chaney was a little bit of an odd match for Pruitt in that he falls in love with the pass and wants to push it down the field. I'd think Pruitt would want more dink and run it between the tackles.

Another good point that Pruitt may be thinking of adapting in the future. He’s not stupid by any means and I know he knows the game has evolved.

 

[Eastknox865]

Pruitt plays JG because the other guys turn the ball over.

 

[beamerman]

Pruitt plays JG because the other guys turn the ball over.

And the defense is not elite yet to compensate for that. It appears to me Pruitt is trying to build Bama with Tua. Chunk plays with that strong defense that gets the ball back and chunk plays again to build blowouts. Hope so because it has been a long time since we blew out people. I would love to see Tn beat SEC teams 42 to 10 or so. It just appears Pruitt is trying to follow Saban model and that is fine with me. Here’s hoping we get a start today.

 

[Pride85]

I am confused here. For those who are saying that Chaney is pass happy, you might want to watch out for Facebook fact checkers. You need to look at the stats. In the first two games this year, there have been 84 rushing attempts as opposed to 54 pass attempts. Which style of play do you think Pruitt likes.

 

[Halph66]

I would add that a Gunslinger can be coached to be a Game Manager. But, a Gunslinger still has the ability to put the ball in there when you need it.

Brett Favre comes to mind. I lived in Wisconsin when Favre replaced Don Majkowski. The fan base went nuts. Favre's first three throws in every game were in the stands. Favre quickly learned to play within the system.

 

[GAVol]

I am confused here. For those who are saying that Chaney is pass happy, you might want to watch out for Facebook fact checkers. You need to look at the stats. In the first two games this year, there have been 84 rushing attempts as opposed to 54 pass attempts. Which style of play do you think Pruitt likes.

It's well known that he gets pass happy at times and will abandon the run. It's been the knock on him going back to his days at Purdue. Look at the SC game - 10 rushing attempts in the 1st half for 12 yards; then 60 yards rushing on the opening drive off the 2nd half. He's like an Air Raid guy, but with a conscience lol.

 

[turnuptheVOLtage]

JG will get a further test today. He plays in games like this because he doesn’t turn the ball over. The true matchup is with our defense to see if they can create short fields for our O.

LETS GOOOOOO

 

[VOLINVONORE]

That was an interesting post, but this part is bizarre logic. What coach in his right mind ever thinks "Damn . . . My defense gets the ball back for us too fast"?

Back on topic - I've always thought that Chaney was a little bit of an odd match for Pruitt in that he falls in love with the pass and wants to push it down the field. I'd think Pruitt would want more dink and run it between the tackles.

Dinks don't seem to work very well, but drop offs do. There are different ways of getting the runners to "run up the middle" RPOs should work if we can complete a couple of passes to the sidelines or slants. JG throws the deep ball very well and that can also open up the run up the middle. We will see a more wide open offense today than we have seen in the first two games. I think we have a good chance to win this game.

 

[CINCYVOL]

It's well known that he gets pass happy at times and will abandon the run. It's been the knock on him going back to his days at Purdue. Look at the SC game - 10 rushing attempts in the 1st half for 12 yards; then 60 yards rushing on the opening drive off the 2nd half. He's like an Air Raid guy, but with a conscience lol.

In the SC game they threw more when box was stacked. In the MO game they ran it no matter how many men were in the box. The O-Line was more equipped and played better in the MO game.

 

[1vol8]

I would add that a Gunslinger can be coached to be a Game Manager. But, a Gunslinger still has the ability to put the ball in there when you need it.

Brett Favre comes to mind. I lived in Wisconsin when Favre replaced Don Majkowski. The fan base went nuts. Favre's first three throws in every game were in the stands. Favre quickly learned to play within the system.

I gotta disagree with the notion that Brett Favre was ever a game manager. He did learn to play within the system but He’s actually the alpha gunslinger and I wouldn’t be surprised if I ever learned that his style of play is what originally coined the label. Also, I’m not sure that a qb can be changed from one style to another because their playing style reflects their mental make up. A gunslinger has a killer mentality and they are trying to hang 50 on everyone they play. A game manager takes a “death by paper cut” approach.

 

[a vol n tears]

My problem with the game manager type is they cannot score TDs in the Orange Zone unless the offense has an over powering run gaame. Hence, Tenn’s offense struggles to put up points against the big 3 they have to play every year. Need 7 pts consistently instead of 3pts. inside the 10 with a first down should give a good offense a TD 75 - 80% of the time. Tenn has attempted way too many Orange Zone FGs over the past several years.

 

[walkenvol]

That was an interesting post, but this part is bizarre logic. What coach in his right mind ever thinks "Damn . . . My defense gets the ball back for us too fast"?

Back on topic - I've always thought that Chaney was a little bit of an odd match for Pruitt in that he falls in love with the pass and wants to push it down the field. I'd think Pruitt would want more dink and run it between the tackles.

CJP regularly states in interviews that we need to throw the ball down the field to create more explosive offensive plays. He clearly thinks it’s difficult to string together 12-15 play drives without mistakes.

 

[1vol8]

CJP regularly states in interviews that we need to throw the ball down the field to create more explosive offensive plays. He clearly thinks it’s difficult to string together 12-15 play drives without mistakes.

Given the type of players he’s recruiting along with Chaney, the more I think about it the more I believe he’s preparing to go to some kind of spread in the future. He’s just trying to win as many as he can while he has JG there to manage games while he builds depth.

 

[butchna]

I’m telling you it’s true. I’ve been there myself and have lost games because I didn’t have the depth at WR to stay fresh. I had to counter by putting in second stringers to extend their drives until the crossed the 50.

What level of football are we talking?

 

[Ten_Titans]

That was an interesting post, but this part is bizarre logic. What coach in his right mind ever thinks "Damn . . . My defense gets the ball back for us too fast"?

Back on topic - I've always thought that Chaney was a little bit of an odd match for Pruitt in that he falls in love with the pass and wants to push it down the field. I'd think Pruitt would want more dink and run it between the tackles.

Pruitt has said multiple he enjoys an offense that makes explosive plays and goes for the deep ball often.

Not the "defensive coach" MO, but he has been consistent in that regard.

 

[butchna]

I gotta disagree with the notion that Brett Favre was ever a game manager. He did learn to play within the system but He’s actually the alpha gunslinger and I wouldn’t be surprised if I ever learned that his style of play is what originally coined the label. Also, I’m not sure that a qb can be changed from one style to another because their playing style reflects their mental make up. A gunslinger has a killer mentality and they are trying to hang 50 on everyone they play. A game manager takes a “death by paper cut” approach.

Your parents even exist when Daryle Lamonica was plying his craft? At least acknowledge Dan Marino existed!

 

[1vol8]

What level of football are we talking?

That particular year I was referring to was hs. When I started losing games I consulted with coaches from higher levels to run the idea by them of a second string D on our own side of the 50 and switching to 1s on the opposing side. It didn’t always work but it helped.

 

[1vol8]

Your parents even exist when Daryle Lamonica was plying his craft? At least acknowledge Dan Marino existed!

I never cared for Dan Marino to watch tbh. Never been a dolphins fan and I didn’t like how the media made it out like he never had good receivers. Back then I was younger so I didn’t keep up like I do now. I do remember being a huge Montana fan though.

 

[butchna]

I never cared for Dan Marino to watch tbh. Never been a dolphins fan and I didn’t like how the media made it out like he never had good receivers. Back then I was younger so I didn’t keep up like I do now. I do remember being a huge Montana fan though.

He made his receivers even better. But as to your “gunslinger” aspect? He fits the classic mode...unlike Montana.

 

[1vol8]

He made his receivers even better. But as to your “gunslinger” aspect? He fits the classic mode...unlike Montana.

I agree. He was definitely a gunslinger. Montana was a game manager and field general. I believe that’s where the “West Coast” offense was born wasn’t it?