The big issue to me is that we are calling plays that we can't execute consistently.
I remember Cutcliffe was critiquing our offensive struggles after a game in 2005. At the goal line, our OL shifted and audibled...just before a false start killed the drive. His solution was to break the huddle, go to the line and snap on 1. You only need a foot!
Then we bring in Clawson and well, ya know how that turned out.
Chaney made reads easy for Bray by balancing the formation. He put 2 receivers on each side and Bray read the safeties. If they ran zone, we had a route combo on one side to exploit zone coverage. If they ran man, the throw would go t the other side. The 4 patterns were designed to beat either type of defense.
Now, we have an offense that requires reading the DL (in the running game) as well as the entire back 7. The bunch formations are staples of the spread, but our QB is not accurate enough and our line does not allow enough time for these bunch packages to sort out.
i would rather see more 1 receiver routes where Worley throws the ball away if it's not there. How does the spread work when the QB never keeps and there are no deep passes?
What you are describing is pretty common to what a great deal of teams have been doing for years. It has sort of evolved to the point where you have plays that have run/pass options built in. Hell, some run plays nowadays have the keeper, pitch, or a pass designed to the boundary. Holgorsen has made a living off a read from a backer to either draw or throw a stick route.
Simplifying and tailoring an offense to your assets is what separates the good from the great. Greg Davis did a great job with Young at Texas. He didn't package zone or man beaters to either side like you suggest, but rather gave young a simple A or B read for one defender to a side that was pre-determined before the play even began. Now this wasn't rocket science and Young isn't the brightest, but this made the game a whole lot easier. for Young and Texas. This in multitude of ways is why many NFL coaches have failed so terribly at the collegiate level. Week to week alterations are nearly impossible in college, so if you don't implement the correct things early, you are in a world of trouble as the season progresses. If these concepts are intrinsically complex, you're going to be in a world of hurt unless you're QB happens to be Andrew Luck.
Air Raid teams perhaps do this better than anyone. You know what formations are coming, you know the personnel, yet you can't do anything. (Hint, Kentucky isn't only beating bad teams, Neal Brown is incredibly talented at what he does). Why? The sheer amount of repetitions they have are incredible. Neal Brown is a more modernized approach than say, Mike Leach, meaning more formations and variety, but this doesn't change the point. They have very few drills, rarely huddle, have insanely easy terminology, run the same plays hundreds of times per year.
When Jones came here I was adamant that he would be of a similar like. An offense that was fast, easy to learn, and modern. Yet, I have only seem glimmers of this. He simply doesn't have the players with the skillsets. I think he has completely abandoned the vertically stemmed pass game which he inherited from Brian Kelly. Of course, Legaux and Collaros both could run which helped open the vertically stemmed passing game that happened perfect answer for the pattern reading that you see with every defense. Additionally, with Worley you have little speed nor intent to run, hence the ridiculous amount of blitzing and packing the box. This automatically should in most cases, shut down the run considering your QB has used the keeper maybe once all year. The routes you have made a living from can't develop because the line is in complete disarray to start with, so the only option you have is to release more and get the ball out as soon as possible or bring extra blockers in the backfield. On a side note, I think the latter is fine if you do the Belichick approach and make an extra linemen eligible as a tight end, but there is clearly no depth for that.
I don't think Bajakian or Jones are inherently bad or even doing poorly this year. On the contrary, they've been incredibly pragmatic in both prior coaching stops. But there is no line to work with which has eradicated much of what they have done in years prior. Ideally they want a scrambling quarterback, wide splits, quick tempo and a ton of vertically stemmed routes. We don't have any of the that at the moment. For Hurd to have done what he has done is simply amazing and speaks volumes to his talent. You have a QB taking hits all game, a reluctance to throw any semblance of a ball down the field because the pressure cannot be contained in origin, and the defense knows who the ball is going to with every run play.
For the present, I wouldn't even build in the zone and man beater packages. I believe this would do very little because 90% of the time Worley will be throwing to the man side regardless. Much of what we have done is one theoretical answer for the woes. Screens, stick routes, a rare quick fade/9 route, etc. i.e. dump the ball out as soon as possible. But none of this solves the problem at the core, the line sucks and the QB can't run. If one or the other exists, you have great potential, if you have both, you're going to score a ton of points. It takes time. If a fan base is going completely bonkers after game 5 of season 2, good luck. I wouldn't take the job either.
If Jones gets what he needs over time, the offense should be the least of the worries. And yes, for all those wanting to crucify Bajakian, this is as much Jones' baby as it is Bajakian. I would only stress patience. A line, a mobile quarterback, repetitions, it can work. It has been proven to work. It will work.
