Originally published at: https://pistolsfiringblog.com/grades-osu-offense-struggles-again-in-close-call-vs-tulsa/
OSU gets a passing grade but it wasn’t pretty.
Offensive coaching: D-
OLine: F
QB: C-/D
WRs:B-/C
Defense: A
HC: D-/F
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“I thought he played good, but I’ll have to wait and see with some of his reads on where he’s at. I know he threw one to the other team and they ran it back for a touchdown, I wasn’t too fired up about that and neither was he. But overall I think he played good.”
Mike Gundy
Now imagine if Sanders were playing under Saban or Leach. Do you think any of them guys would say this?
How long do we have to keep cutting Sanders slack for his bad play? There’s always an excuse for why he didn’t play well, the truth is he isn’t any good, he doesn’t seem to have the IQ or accuracy to be productive and I don’t know why we keep sticking with him at QB. The only thing I can think of is after the race issue last year Gundy and the university are scared to death to bench Sanders for a white kid. I’m at a loss for words I don’t understand why we keep expecting different results.
I don’t know. I think it’s a combination of everything. I think the coaches aren’t doing a good enough job to put him in a position to succeed, but at the same time Sanders is doing the same chit that freshman quarterbacks do.
This is his 4th year on campus now, and it’s just not there. Daxx Garman had a hell of arm on him, but couldn’t read a defense to save his life. Garman was at Arizona for two years before coming here. Maybe the intelligence isn’t there? I don’t know.
It’s weird though. Towards the end of the season he actually played well, and he’s had moments where you can see his potential to be a really good quarterback. Fast forward to the next year and he’s like a deer in the headlights. Just a very Jekyl and Hyde quarterback.
I completely agree, I’m not doubting the potential his talent is obvious he has a very strong arm and runs 4.4 40. I’m just tired of the inconsistency and the fact that Gundy and Dunn trust him so little they only let him throw screens and hand the ball off. If you don’t trust him more than that let someone else get a shot because I think every QB on the roster can hand the ball off and throw WR screens.
I think he needs to be involved in the running game a little more. That’s just the type of player he is. His athletic ability is more of a Deshaun Watson type of player. He’s not going to be a strictly pure passer that’s just going to pass the ball and hand it off.
To be quite honest with the situation of the offensive line I think you have to. The problem with Gundy is he’s afraid of getting the QB hurt (like with Zac Robinson) and it’s understandable in a way, but at the same time you gotta find different ways to be more efficient on offense.
I think the bootleg toward the end of the game where they caused the defense to shift and used Sanders speed to get the first down and seal the win may have been the best play call in the game today. I feel like he needs to be smarter with the football and his decision making, but at the same time it’s almost like the coaching staff limits his capabilities.
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I do agree with that, I harp on Sanders all the time but he’s not a pocket passer. They need to adapt an offensive scheme like what Baltimore does with Lamar Jackson. Lots of designed runs and RPO’s involving the TE’s for short high percentage competitions. Then you could play action off that and your receivers are probably open enough he doesn’t have to throw dimes.
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This has to be one of the worst takes I’ve ever read on this board. Maybe, just maybe, the guy behind him isn’t any better? We all saw Illingworth struggle against Missouri St. You really think he would have been hands down, without a doubt better?
Have you watched Sanders for the last 3 years? How do you justify keeping him in the lineup? I’m not saying that is the case and I pray to God it isn’t, I’m simply stating after the body of work Sanders has presented I can’t think of a reason why you wouldn’t give someone else an opportunity especially when the back up is 6’5 and a 4 star recruit.
The same reason that Corndog started when everyone was screaming to give Sanders a chance. The alternative isn’t as good. And that’s not saying that Sanders is a world-beater, we all know he’s not. I just don’t think Illingworth is the answer either, at least not based on his in-game performances.
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My only push back to that would be with this defense the most important thing is staying on schedule and not turning the ball over. Sanders can be electric but but his Achilles heel has been turnovers. It’s just hard for me to believe that there isn’t a QB on the roster who can at least limit turnovers, even if it’s isn’t Illingsworth.
Sanders is the lesser of two evils. The QBs behind him are worse. Young Gundy is far from ready to make an appearance.
Speaking of how important good coaches are, it was great to see Jelani Woods shine today for Virginia. They know how to get him involved as a receiver.
Since we are on the topic of coaching I could believe last week when the coaches let Tay Martin back into the game after he banged up his ankle. You injure an ankle then you rest it so as not to cause further injury. But the did not happen last week and then we saw the consequences today when Tay had to leave the game because of his ankle injury.
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I definitely think with Sanders as QB we need to adapt our offense. I think we need to do what Baltimore does with Lamar Jackson, designed runs and then lots of RPO’s with the TE’s involved in the passing game. That would put him in the best situation to succeed.
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So your going to trust a HC that’s been great at making mistakes at the QB position for mostly his entire career here?
I think your wrong. What I think we need to do with Sanders is to make sure he’s stays in the pocket even though it’s not his comfort zone. Then we should force him to make screen passes for no gains.
Then instead of designing plays where he is more mobile and can use his legs for additional yardage, I think we should make him just hand the ball off behind an offensive line that can’t push forward.
He needs to stay in a collapsing pocket so his chances at fumbling the ball increase and the other team gets a higher chance of recovering it. Because it’s clear he’s not good enough in the open field to make anything happen with his legs.
Instead of developing any kind of crossing routes in the passing game where he can get a throw off to a guy that burns the defender we should keep it vertical so that way he gets to bomb it deep and throw it to a receiver covered by the corner and the safety at the same time.
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We all get it, you hate Gundy more than anyone and are so blinded by it that you can’t see anything else. It’s a dead horse, stop beating it in every. single. comment. I don’t think you’ll find anyone that thinks our offensive coaching is anywhere near up to snuff (unless they’re trolling you, which you ALWAYS fall for).
You asked if I’m gonna trust Gundy on starting QB decisions, In reference to a comment about the quality of our QB depth, right? So you think Sanders should have started over Cornelius? I don’t particularly like Gundy, but I’m also not gonna throw the baby out with the bathwater. Illingworth is not a better option than Sanders. Neither is Bullock. That leaves us with, gasp, Gunnar Gundy. Is that really who you want to run the offense?
Logan,
Your grades are a bit generous, particularly for the coaching.
Or we could try new plays designed around Sanders to make him more successful. Like Gundy just admitted because our schemes are flawed. Now does that fix the Sanders issue with turnovers and miscues? Maybe not, but it would definitely help to play to his strengths and figure out what kind of QB you have after three years.
I don’t even know why Bullock is on the team honestly. The two drives he had last year is some of the worst quarter back play I’ve seen in a long time.