Comments

Wow, so Coach Grobe regrets not going back to the option once all the QBs became healthy.  What’s the definition of insanity?  “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.  I’m not calling our head coach insane, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jim Grobe, but if he really thinks the result would have been different he’s sadly mistaken. 

This is not an option team with Tanner Price at QB.  Tanner has a lot of the same qualities that Riley brought to the offense, strong arm, pocket mobility, accuracy and intelligence.  In Texas Price made his name passing the ball not running it.  If Ted would have remained healthy then you’d have an arguement for the option offense but that wasn’t the case.  Once they made the decision to go with Price the option offense should have no longer been an option.

What a lot of fans seem to be missing here is that the strength of the offense for the past few seasons has been the receivers.  As a unit they’ve probably been the most talented and productive in the ACC.  Plus this season we could rotate six receivers into the game without a dropoff in talent.  Williams, Brown, Givens, Davis, Dembry, Campanaro are all playmakers. 

That being said next year we should go the power running game (complimented with a contolled passing game) because that better suits our offensive line and Josh Harris.  Harris is the prototypical “I Back” and has the body and mentality to carry it 25 times a game.

Finally for those who think we have a small offensive line the average size of our starting linemen this season is 6’5” 309 lbs.  Not exactly small.  The problem isn’t size.  The problem is their ability to play the game and the coaches ability to teach technique and instill toughness.

Let’s hope that happens next season and let’s hope the defense learns how to apply pressure or it will be more of the same.

Happy Thanksgiving and GO DEACS!

Deac Fan on 11/25/2010 (9:42 am)

I’m really more concerned with the defense at this point. We have a lot of young talented skill guys, big playmakers on the offense. But our calling card over the years has always been the defense.

Hold the ball, don’t make any mistakes, then get the big play. We’ve never really had a tremendous amount of firepower. We had maybe more potential this year than is seasons past.

But we always had defense. The defense front was always able to stuff the ground game and create 3rd and long. That gave the LBs and DBs chances to make plays and they did. But this year, I hate to say it because we played FR most of the time, but our poor guys couldn’t cover air.

Georgia Tech and Navy should never be able to pass their way down the field and beat you, but both did. We’re desperate for some cover corners. Hope Coach Grobe is looking.

JoeyD on 11/25/2010 (12:10 am)

Dan -
First, wow!  It’s good to hear Grobe address the size of the lines since so many commenters have written about it on this blog so often this season. 
Second - I’m just really curious about the QB situation.  Part of me feels (and I don’t know since I don’t know the first thing about coaching college FB) that beginning the season with 4 QBs (indeed, playing 4 in the first game before injuries) was just setting us up to have a difficult year.  It seems obvious (and perhaps rightly - again, I don’t know) that Price is the QB from here on out.  Any insight on how the other 3 are taking this?  Is Skylar considering changing positions again for next year.  Are Stachitas and Cross entertaining transfers?  And are the coaches still as high on Price’s future as they were at the beginning of the year after seeing him throughout an entire season now?

Michael on 11/24/2010 (5:16 pm)

I swear I do believe Grobe knows what is wrong. Maybe he relies too much on others to fix it but I do not believe “strategic planning” is outside his or the staff’s ability. I think somehow the process just got short-circuted. His comments as reported by you were very telling. Maybe to make it to the next level he recruited quickness hoping to build bulk because the football program really was trying to get to the next level… as in being year in and out a threat to win the division. Now he sees that hey,,,give me the big guy that I inherited from Caldwell and maybe I can make them quicker which was the earlier formula for success. I do remember they changed the conditioning program dramatically when he got to Wake. Anyway that was probably one of the most insightful articles I have read. Thanks Dan.

pensive1 on 11/24/2010 (9:47 am)

After 10 years, Grobe has decided to recruit bigger linemen?  I think the staff is not on the same wave length as to what they want to do philosophically.  I hope Grobe looks closely at his OC as well as his DC.  I personally think a change is needed in those top two guys.

Jim on 11/24/2010 (7:49 am)

I’m wondering how coach Grobe will handle the obvious post season staff evaluations. As bad as the offense was, the defense was no better.The “we’re young” explanation is gone and going from one offense to another to another reminds me of the saying,” jack of all trades, good at none”. I trust the Deacs can rebound from this disaster but from here on in I think it will be more of a we’ll see approach. Heaven knows it can’t get much worse…....can it?

GCF on 11/23/2010 (8:56 pm)