Poll: Reasons for our offensive woes

What offensive position were you LEAST satisfied with?

  • OL

    Votes: 32 10.4%

  • WR

    Votes: 109 35.3%

  • TE

    Votes: 3 1.0%

  • QB

    Votes: 165 53.4%

  • RB

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    309
#27
#27
our play calling was not very good but was that due to the qb play or just terrible oc/head coach play calling?
 
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#28
#28
As much as I love Joe and had really high hopes for him. The WRs never knew if the ball would come toward them like a missile or a catchable ball. That created uncertainty for them, hence the drops.
 
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#29
#29
Few things..Big fan of Milton. I had hoped he was going to "turn the corner" this year. If he played every game like the Vandy game (amazing stats) "we'd" have played in Atlanta the other week. Secondly, my football IQ wears velcro shoes.

I feel the biggest issue we had this year was Miltons inability to analyze an ongoing play and use his legs to pick up yards. SO many times in so many games a first down was just a few yards away and Milton stayed in the pocket looking to throw. Bring Hooker back and he is bolting for the first down and then some. This was a key element lacking in this years offense. Teams knew UT will either run it or pass it. Milton was never considered a running threat which brings an added dimension to the offense. He did run a few times, and some of those runs were good, but they were inconsistent and plodding. By not having a good scramble ability teams basically stuck to the WR's like glue and they had trouble getting separation all year. I feel with Nico in next year we will start seeing an offense that resembles the 2022 team.
 
#30
#30
We finished 4th in the SEC in yard/game but 7th in points/game. Both are down from 2022 when we were first in both categories. The biggest difference was in QB and WR play. We lost Hyatt and Tillman to the NFL and then McCoy to injury. Those were the three best receivers on the 2022 team in terms of good hand IMO (even though Tillman missed games with an injury). And we lost Hooker. I don’t have statistics to back it up but my recollection is that we had far more drops and bad throws this year than we did in 2022.

No two QBs are the same and I think most would agree that Hooker was a better fit for Heupel’s offense. He ran the ball more than Joe and I think that reflects better decision making. He was also quicker and more elusive as a runner. He had a higher completion percentage with more TDs and fewer interceptions. Of course those aren’t all on Joe - Herndon had better receivers and Joe took fewer sacks.

When looking at our 2023 team, we can’t overlook penalties. We were the most penalized team in the SEC and only 2 other teams in the nation had more penalties. I don’t have the data for each specific penalty but it seems like we had plenty of dead ball infractions on both lines and plenty of holding calls against the OL and WRs. This year’s offense seemed less effective at sustaining drives and penalties definitely were a factor.
 
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#31
#31
FLVOL_79 said:
Few things..Big fan of Milton. I had hoped he was going to "turn the corner" this year. If he played every game like the Vandy game (amazing stats) "we'd" have played in Atlanta the other week. Secondly, my football IQ wears velcro shoes.

I feel the biggest issue we had this year was Miltons inability to analyze an ongoing play and use his legs to pick up yards. SO many times in so many games a first down was just a few yards away and Milton stayed in the pocket looking to throw. Bring Hooker back and he is bolting for the first down and then some. This was a key element lacking in this years offense. Teams knew UT will either run it or pass it. Milton was never considered a running threat which brings an added dimension to the offense. He did run a few times, and some of those runs were good, but they were inconsistent and plodding. By not having a good scramble ability teams basically stuck to the WR's like glue and they had trouble getting separation all year. I feel with Nico in next year we will start seeing an offense that resembles the 2022 team.
Click to expand...
Yea, Hooker ran the ball 104 times in 11 games (and that included 23 sacks) while Milton ran the ball 79 times in 12 games ( 16 sacks). So minus the sacks you have Hooker with 81 runs in 11 games (7.4 runs/game) vs 63 runs in 12 games (5.3).
Joe got better as the season went on at making the decision to pull the ball down and run and he may have been coached to not run - nor sure. But I’m like you, many times it looked like he could get a decent gain (especially on first or second down) but held the ball trying to complete something downfield.
 
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#33
#33
keenobserver said:
Discussing this topic with another poster, I wanted to make sure I wasn't the one who has lost his mind.

Setting aside the fact that we know playing bad defense can almost always be a reason for bad offense, I wanted to see which position groups on offense volnation was most/least satisfied with.

I'll assume those with the least amount of votes are the ones fans were most satisfied with.
Click to expand...
I voted WR. Had the WRs caught the balls they should have, as they did with Hooker, Joe would have posted well over 3K yards this year. However, I cant think of any games we lost because of WRs. We were dominated in the trenches by a few teams on both sides of the ball, so I wish I could change my vote.
 
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#35
#35
VOLS INC. said:
It starts with Joe. I like Joe. I’m not angry with him or anything. He managed the offense. Hooker ran the offense. Big difference.
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It was mostly receivers. You guys want to talk about inconsistency yet there were a lot of drops and routes run wr. Go back and look at Hookers games last y. He overthrew many receivers and had some late throws Hyatt and crew hauled in.
 
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#37
#37
An argument can be made for both QB and WR, but looking back, there were so many passes that were perfectly thrown and not caught, I have to say WR. Milton made some ugly throws a few times, but the thing that stood out most to me, the wide receivers had a hard time getting separation, causing Milton to have to throw the ball away or try to scramble. Admittedly, Joe ain't a great scrambler.
 
#38
#38
keenobserver said:
Discussing this topic with another poster, I wanted to make sure I wasn't the one who has lost his mind.

Setting aside the fact that we know playing bad defense can almost always be a reason for bad offense, I wanted to see which position groups on offense volnation was most/least satisfied with.

I'll assume those with the least amount of votes are the ones fans were most satisfied with.
Click to expand...

Hazle needs to be reassigned. We need a big-time, experienced OC.
 
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#40
#40
If I’m being honest I thought the WR position took a much bigger step back than the QB position. Oline also wasn’t as good as last year. Rb I think was the only position that was better this year.
 
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#41
#41
Volteacher said:
NONE of the above. I think it is a combination of OC that left. I really think Golesh was a really good play caller tabled that with Hooker and you had a dream offensive season that I don't think they will ever re create...IMO
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It was hard to call the wrong play with hooker at helm. That’s what great QBs afford you. We didn’t have that this year. Milton was awful but he can’t carry a team either. You need a QB that can change the game in the SEC. People can hide their heads in the sand all they want but Milton limits our offense. Not all him. WR didn’t help him much.
 
#42
#42
Volteacher said:
NONE of the above. I think it is a combination of OC that left. I really think Golesh was a really good play caller tabled that with Hooker and you had a dream offensive season that I don't think they will ever re create...IMO
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Time will prove that it has nothing to do with the OC leaving. This is heupels offend…not goloush’s or hazle’s. Hypo has put up spectacular offenses for 15 straight years really until this season. And it wasn’t terrible this year. Just wasn’t up to his standard. It’s begins and ends with qb. If you go back and watch the games, the plays were there over and over again that would’ve made a difference. of course, it’s obvious when you see Milton overthrow wide open receivers. But there are other times that he locked onto a particular target when other guys were coming open that he never saw. Also, Hooker was so good at seeing a running seam and immediately exploiting it for big plays. Milton doesn’t have that skill set. The few times he had success running this year we designed/schemed run place for him. He doesn’t have the ability to improvise and make something happen on his own.

Over the next couple of years I believe we’ll see it has nothing to do with Hazel or goulash. Getting the right quarterback that is capable of making something happen on his own and throwing consistent/catchable passes most of the time we get off right back on track.
 
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#43
#43
chattavol420 said:
Time will prove that it has nothing to do with the OC leaving. This is heupels offend…not goloush’s or hazle’s. Hypo has put up spectacular offenses for 15 straight years really until this season. And it wasn’t terrible this year. Just wasn’t up to his standard. It’s begins and ends with qb. If you go back and watch the games, the plays were there over and over again that would’ve made a difference. of course, it’s obvious when you see Milton overthrow wide open receivers. But there are other times that he locked onto a particular target when other guys were coming open that he never saw. Also, Hooker was so good at seeing a running seam and immediately exploiting it for big plays. Milton doesn’t have that skill set. The few times he had success running this year we designed/schemed run place for him. He doesn’t have the ability to improvise and make something happen on his own.

Over the next couple of years I believe we’ll see it has nothing to do with Hazel or goulash. Getting the right quarterback that is capable of making something happen on his own and throwing consistent/catchable passes most of the time we get off right back on track.
Click to expand...
🙌
 
#44
#44
FLVOL_79 said:
Few things..Big fan of Milton. I had hoped he was going to "turn the corner" this year. If he played every game like the Vandy game (amazing stats) "we'd" have played in Atlanta the other week. Secondly, my football IQ wears velcro shoes.

I feel the biggest issue we had this year was Miltons inability to analyze an ongoing play and use his legs to pick up yards. SO many times in so many games a first down was just a few yards away and Milton stayed in the pocket looking to throw. Bring Hooker back and he is bolting for the first down and then some. This was a key element lacking in this years offense. Teams knew UT will either run it or pass it. Milton was never considered a running threat which brings an added dimension to the offense. He did run a few times, and some of those runs were good, but they were inconsistent and plodding. By not having a good scramble ability teams basically stuck to the WR's like glue and they had trouble getting separation all year. I feel with Nico in next year we will start seeing an offense that resembles the 2022 team.
Click to expand...
To your analyze point, how many times did Joe run but run out of bounds or slide down just a yard or two short of 1st down marker. It seemed like a lot, maybe in reality it was only a few but shows to me he wasn’t aware of the situation.
 
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#45
#45
Dadof2Vols said:
To your analyze point, how many times did Joe run but run out of bounds or slide down just a yard or two short of 1st down marker. It seemed like a lot, maybe in reality it was only a few but shows to me he wasn’t aware of the situation.
Click to expand...
Joe had a lot going on in his head. Not getting injured was towards the top unfortunately. With Tillman and Hyatt this team would’ve been interesting to see how far they make it, I know Tillman was gone most of the year for hooker as well.
 
#46
#46
I think it's all of the above. We beat all the teams we were supposed to except UF and one could argue their roster has a higher star value than ours. I think we're lacking in overall talent but especially speed. We have precious few playmakers and zero depth at most spots. Can't remember the year, but I think it was the '21 year that was almost completely lost due to the Pruitt scandal. That left a gaping flesh wound in our roster/depth. Gonna need a successful class for the next couple of years plus a good number of hits in the portal. Just part of the process of rebuilding a program that was laid waste to by Pruitt and the NCAA. I think we'll look a lot more like a legit force in the new SEC come Nico's second season as a starter.
 
#48
#48
All of the above excluding RB and TE.

They did what they were supposed to this year.

But the O line wasn't good at times.

And WR dropped a lot of passes...especially early in the season. And didn't make near the plays last years group did when they did catch it.

And the QB left a lot of plays on the field with bad passes and not running when he had the chance.
 
#49
#49
People seem to be overvaluing the overall effect of the OC—as if OCs somehow make average players great. An OC has to work within the skill set of the players he has, and maximize every play. That’s why you saw so many WR screens this year. That, unfortunately was Milton’s best play with the most potential to gain yards.

This offense needs a better QB than Milton. He was a serviceable QB, but this offense needs, at very least, a good QB. Hopefully Nico can deliver that. Milton was indecisive, often inaccurate, and too apprehensive to take off and run. An effective QB in this offensive system needs to be the exact opposite of all those things.
 
#50
#50
Remy said:
You left one off, our Offensive Coordinator/OC. Our play calling this year was putrid horse crap more frequently than not.
Click to expand...
I really think the play calling was because of our qb. We won't really know until next year. We hardly threw any in the middle of the field, it was mostly screens and wide outs, not near as much downfield passes as last year. If the play calling goes back to more like Hookers last year, it was the qb, if it stays the same it is the oc
 
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