The bottom line is we have the same problem we had under CRS for the past decade.
The OL blocks about as good as intramural rules. Can’t run when you need to run except for the QB who is doing all the running. For his life that is when it’s a pass play.
This is not an indictment on DM. It’s a reality of how bad a shape the OL was with poor recruiting, zero development over the past few years of returning players, and decimation from the damn portal.
This does not tell us what DMs tenure is going to be like but it gives us a really good preview of how much this team is going to struggle in ‘24.
DM has two choices. One is to stick with his philosophy to instill what he wants it to be going forward even if it means 1-11. Or two try to win as many games as you can this year with what he has. And that second option is going to mean he’s going to have to modify philosophy to fit the roster that he has. In my opinion the best coaches do the latter because you’re not always going to have all the exact pieces of the puzzle you want in each year.
What this means offensively is it’s going to need to look a lot like it looked under the Stockstill tenure with spread formation, WR screens, bubbles screens, quick hitters on the hashes, and throwing to the RB out of the backfield. If he tries to establish the run game between the tackles every week this team is going to get destroyed more often than not this season. The short passing game is going to have to compliment what little we run the ball.
On defense it’s going to have to be soft in the secondary, bend and don’t break and hopefully shorten the games. This is the only way we get close to .500 this year. Or like I said he can try to instill Derek ball now, win one or two games, and hope that decision pays off in the out years.
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