JW before the benching did not complete a pass longer than 20 yards. JW after the benching has more explosive plays than Joe Burrow, Tua, or Trevor Lawrence.
The one person who is responsible for how poorly the offense played was Jarren Williams. If you watched any of the practice films then you would see Jarren hitting receivers in stride like the Dee Wiggins TD passes, but none of it was translating to game play. Not until he got benched and watched Perry deep pass after deep pass.
Before Perry replaced him Jarren spent most of the time watching his OL crumble instead of his wide open receivers. After Perry, Jarren finally trusts the pocket and he is able to keep his eyes on the play regardless of the rush. Second thing he is finally doing is running away from the rush or getting rid of the ball quickly to avoid the rush. These two maturation phases have helped the OL to protect better which they have as they now rarely miss assignments. Add to that a complete back like DeeJay who is picking up blocks allowing Jarren has more time to throw dimes.
The Jarren Williams you see playing after the Pitt game is elite. If this Jarren would have arrived day one then we would be undefeated. Not counting the TD pass JT dropped, JT had at least one more touchdown against UF, but the ball was never thrown longer than 10 yards. Same thing for UNC. If we had this version of Jarren Williams then UF does not get 10 sacks and we win the game.
When I say Jarren has arrived that means one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle has been found. Dan Enos has received all the blame for the poor offense, and he does deserve a lot of the blame especially for calling play action or an RPO on obvious passing downs, rather than call crossing routes that cause defenders to run into each other. However, the playbook and play calling have not changed. You are getting more explosive plays than ever before because the QB is not watching the rush, but is watching the play and getting rid of the ball quickly and hitting receivers in stride.
We finally have the explosive offense we hoped for since Ken Dorsey graduated. Because we play complimentary football, do not expect Jarren to put up Video game number of yards. For example, name any QB in history who has thrown for 6 TD with a 68% completion rate and did not have over 300 yards. What you have is an efficient and effective offense with Jarren Williams at QB.
With all that being said...Caution.
Jarren and the offense have improved significantly, but that does not mean we are ready to take on the likes of any CFP contender this year. The problem is team execution. I do believe this team has enough talent to be in any game we play, but we have to execute at a championship level. The thing that separates good teams from elite teams is how much better they execute every play on a consistent bases. Jarren completing nearly 70% of his passes has everything to do with team execution.
Upsets happen every time because the underdog executes much better than the team heavily favoured to win. As long as we have Jarren on offense we can beat any defense, because I love all our weapons. Collectively, we have the best offensive skill players. We don't have height, but we have some serious players starting to emerge just like A. Richards did back on our 2017 run right when we needed Dee Wiggins he is stepping up. A good good problem is Osborne is too reliable for Pope to see the field, but next year a monster is born.
This year, the major caution is the rest of the team being reliable as the offense. So far the defense has executed better than the beginning of the year, but that's not saying much. I miss the halftime adjustments we had gotten spoiled by when Diaz was the DC. To me, it seems Baker has the chickens, but Diaz has the special sauce. Diaz has to be more involved in some form or another, because his defense is not playing like Hurricanes' defenses. Sure, we are getting pick offs, but that is gimmick defense when you are playing Championship level teams they will exploit our lack of execution. Our defense has not executed at a high level all year and it is mostly the DB missing assignments. Whether it is run support or coverage the DB play is extremely poor with the exception of Trajan Bandy. The game has not slowed down for them like it has for Jarren Williams and the offense.
On run plays, the entire team takes the worst angles on every run play. If we play a team that has a hard running RB that does not dance around like Cam Akers we are screwed. Our DE with the exception of Mr. Rou never set the edge. How many sacks and tackles for loss Hill and Garvin both would have if they simply don't run past the ball? All a QB has to do is step up in the pocket and shift left for more time or wide open spaces. You cannot do that against Mr. Rou, because he always keeps his eyes on the ball. The next type of run the defense cannot stop is the stretch play. To defend the stretch run play you need DB support after you set the edge with the DE. The DB and the LB have to attack the right angles to get a tackle for loss or force a turnover, but our DB are taking some of the worst angles ever possible.
The problem is simple...know your assignment as a DE, LB, and DB. They used to know their assignment under Diaz, but not this year. The edge is never set and every run play with a RB that has a quick first step always finds his way running down the sideline for big gains. It is that simple. A back like Clemson's would have a field day against our defense, because he has a quick first step and our DE never set the edge. But, if our DE can set the edge then all the DB and LB have to do is shoot their assigned gap for a disruptive play. If you can make a team one dimensional then that is when you see the best of our defense. Defense has to dominate the line of scrimmage with execution and hope for explosive plays from the DT.
As I write this I am reminded of the next phase of our defense that is really missing. The emergence of a dominant DT rotation. Nesta Ford and Bethel have been unmovable in the middle which is why offenses have to get creative. However, if they can take the next step and become disruptive...no run play will work. Do the math. Nesta is flashing a lot and I think a few OL have been injured trying to block Ford on run plays, and it's not like Ford is playing dirty when these kids are getting injured. These kids are getting injured because Ford and Nesta are starting to play like grown men amongst boys. They both have another gear or two and once they find it we will be unstoppable.
I don't know about you, has let me down but it has also given me hope. I wish we could play Clemson, but that requires a miracle. We have a few more tweaks than question marks and that is a fact, Jack. Are we elite? We have a lot of the pieces to compete with the elites if we execute at an elite level. I would take this offense and team with improved DT play that rivals our DE play any day. Only problem is our DT play isn't there yet, and our scheme to set the edge is underdeveloped. So reality check says don't bet your money on a Win until we see disruption and execution from our DL. We can score points against anyone, because we have so many weapons and a point guard to get them the ball without turning the ball over. It's been proven when we played against UF and left a few wide open passes that he would complete if it were today. Only problem is our DE do not set the edge and our DT play has been subpar for a Diaz defense. Only Mr. Rou does his assignment right all the time. His hand play in the interior line is the funniest blooper reel you will see on any OL. If Nesta and Ford could disrupt the line of scrimmage like Mr. Rou no one could score on us.
We are this close from being perfect. If Nest and Ford emerge as a force in these last two games then I am sorry not sorry, but I will be making Kool-Aid all year long especially if we don't lose Bandy, Garvin, Thomas, or Harley to the NFL. These next three games and Lord Willing 4 games both Nesta and Ford need to play bigger than they have been playing. They have to find that first step that is so explosive and unstoppable effort into the backfield type of play you saw from Miami Hurricane DT. When they can bring that type of play consistently to the defensive line play then this team will be going places. Our DBs only get beat from perfect throws and recover well to swipe the ball out of the receivers hands for an incompletion. It works. Elite development would be to turn your head at the right time to intercept the ball like Michael Jackson used to do for us. So far, it appears that Ivey is becoming more elite. Blades is more physical and would benefit most from a DE that sets the edge for him to play in the backfield or make a clean break on a screen pass. If you don't set the edge with the DE then Blades is never going to be properly utilized. His physicality and range is a nightmare for any Coordinator trying to use quick shallow throws or run to the edge.
The one person who is responsible for how poorly the offense played was Jarren Williams. If you watched any of the practice films then you would see Jarren hitting receivers in stride like the Dee Wiggins TD passes, but none of it was translating to game play. Not until he got benched and watched Perry deep pass after deep pass.
Before Perry replaced him Jarren spent most of the time watching his OL crumble instead of his wide open receivers. After Perry, Jarren finally trusts the pocket and he is able to keep his eyes on the play regardless of the rush. Second thing he is finally doing is running away from the rush or getting rid of the ball quickly to avoid the rush. These two maturation phases have helped the OL to protect better which they have as they now rarely miss assignments. Add to that a complete back like DeeJay who is picking up blocks allowing Jarren has more time to throw dimes.
The Jarren Williams you see playing after the Pitt game is elite. If this Jarren would have arrived day one then we would be undefeated. Not counting the TD pass JT dropped, JT had at least one more touchdown against UF, but the ball was never thrown longer than 10 yards. Same thing for UNC. If we had this version of Jarren Williams then UF does not get 10 sacks and we win the game.
When I say Jarren has arrived that means one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle has been found. Dan Enos has received all the blame for the poor offense, and he does deserve a lot of the blame especially for calling play action or an RPO on obvious passing downs, rather than call crossing routes that cause defenders to run into each other. However, the playbook and play calling have not changed. You are getting more explosive plays than ever before because the QB is not watching the rush, but is watching the play and getting rid of the ball quickly and hitting receivers in stride.
We finally have the explosive offense we hoped for since Ken Dorsey graduated. Because we play complimentary football, do not expect Jarren to put up Video game number of yards. For example, name any QB in history who has thrown for 6 TD with a 68% completion rate and did not have over 300 yards. What you have is an efficient and effective offense with Jarren Williams at QB.
With all that being said...Caution.
Jarren and the offense have improved significantly, but that does not mean we are ready to take on the likes of any CFP contender this year. The problem is team execution. I do believe this team has enough talent to be in any game we play, but we have to execute at a championship level. The thing that separates good teams from elite teams is how much better they execute every play on a consistent bases. Jarren completing nearly 70% of his passes has everything to do with team execution.
Upsets happen every time because the underdog executes much better than the team heavily favoured to win. As long as we have Jarren on offense we can beat any defense, because I love all our weapons. Collectively, we have the best offensive skill players. We don't have height, but we have some serious players starting to emerge just like A. Richards did back on our 2017 run right when we needed Dee Wiggins he is stepping up. A good good problem is Osborne is too reliable for Pope to see the field, but next year a monster is born.
This year, the major caution is the rest of the team being reliable as the offense. So far the defense has executed better than the beginning of the year, but that's not saying much. I miss the halftime adjustments we had gotten spoiled by when Diaz was the DC. To me, it seems Baker has the chickens, but Diaz has the special sauce. Diaz has to be more involved in some form or another, because his defense is not playing like Hurricanes' defenses. Sure, we are getting pick offs, but that is gimmick defense when you are playing Championship level teams they will exploit our lack of execution. Our defense has not executed at a high level all year and it is mostly the DB missing assignments. Whether it is run support or coverage the DB play is extremely poor with the exception of Trajan Bandy. The game has not slowed down for them like it has for Jarren Williams and the offense.
On run plays, the entire team takes the worst angles on every run play. If we play a team that has a hard running RB that does not dance around like Cam Akers we are screwed. Our DE with the exception of Mr. Rou never set the edge. How many sacks and tackles for loss Hill and Garvin both would have if they simply don't run past the ball? All a QB has to do is step up in the pocket and shift left for more time or wide open spaces. You cannot do that against Mr. Rou, because he always keeps his eyes on the ball. The next type of run the defense cannot stop is the stretch play. To defend the stretch run play you need DB support after you set the edge with the DE. The DB and the LB have to attack the right angles to get a tackle for loss or force a turnover, but our DB are taking some of the worst angles ever possible.
The problem is simple...know your assignment as a DE, LB, and DB. They used to know their assignment under Diaz, but not this year. The edge is never set and every run play with a RB that has a quick first step always finds his way running down the sideline for big gains. It is that simple. A back like Clemson's would have a field day against our defense, because he has a quick first step and our DE never set the edge. But, if our DE can set the edge then all the DB and LB have to do is shoot their assigned gap for a disruptive play. If you can make a team one dimensional then that is when you see the best of our defense. Defense has to dominate the line of scrimmage with execution and hope for explosive plays from the DT.
As I write this I am reminded of the next phase of our defense that is really missing. The emergence of a dominant DT rotation. Nesta Ford and Bethel have been unmovable in the middle which is why offenses have to get creative. However, if they can take the next step and become disruptive...no run play will work. Do the math. Nesta is flashing a lot and I think a few OL have been injured trying to block Ford on run plays, and it's not like Ford is playing dirty when these kids are getting injured. These kids are getting injured because Ford and Nesta are starting to play like grown men amongst boys. They both have another gear or two and once they find it we will be unstoppable.
I don't know about you, has let me down but it has also given me hope. I wish we could play Clemson, but that requires a miracle. We have a few more tweaks than question marks and that is a fact, Jack. Are we elite? We have a lot of the pieces to compete with the elites if we execute at an elite level. I would take this offense and team with improved DT play that rivals our DE play any day. Only problem is our DT play isn't there yet, and our scheme to set the edge is underdeveloped. So reality check says don't bet your money on a Win until we see disruption and execution from our DL. We can score points against anyone, because we have so many weapons and a point guard to get them the ball without turning the ball over. It's been proven when we played against UF and left a few wide open passes that he would complete if it were today. Only problem is our DE do not set the edge and our DT play has been subpar for a Diaz defense. Only Mr. Rou does his assignment right all the time. His hand play in the interior line is the funniest blooper reel you will see on any OL. If Nesta and Ford could disrupt the line of scrimmage like Mr. Rou no one could score on us.
We are this close from being perfect. If Nest and Ford emerge as a force in these last two games then I am sorry not sorry, but I will be making Kool-Aid all year long especially if we don't lose Bandy, Garvin, Thomas, or Harley to the NFL. These next three games and Lord Willing 4 games both Nesta and Ford need to play bigger than they have been playing. They have to find that first step that is so explosive and unstoppable effort into the backfield type of play you saw from Miami Hurricane DT. When they can bring that type of play consistently to the defensive line play then this team will be going places. Our DBs only get beat from perfect throws and recover well to swipe the ball out of the receivers hands for an incompletion. It works. Elite development would be to turn your head at the right time to intercept the ball like Michael Jackson used to do for us. So far, it appears that Ivey is becoming more elite. Blades is more physical and would benefit most from a DE that sets the edge for him to play in the backfield or make a clean break on a screen pass. If you don't set the edge with the DE then Blades is never going to be properly utilized. His physicality and range is a nightmare for any Coordinator trying to use quick shallow throws or run to the edge.
