Why dont we have wheel routes to the RBs? Thats a great play to run once a game or so. For that matter...why can every other SEC team run quick slants except for us?? The extra wide splits we use make that play more effective...not less. The WR just has to get inside leverage on the DB and get his head around for the pass. One of the simplest plays in football and yet nearly impossible to stop if executed correctly. Squirrel/Staley cant catch a slant? Until this year our defense has been absolutely haunted by slant passes. Killed us. For decades. Why don't we use them? Everyone else does, college and pro.
The biggest problem besides our WRs being in the worst 10 statistically in FBS in both dropped passes AND actually getting separation from DBs was a lack of patience. How many first half drives did we have where we are moving down the field, good gains on the ground and short to intermediate passes going well....and then 4 or 5 plays into the drive we sling the ball 50 yards downfield? Got behind the sticks then...2nd and 10 or 3rd and long...and killed the drive. We did it so many times that even Hubbs has mentioned it at least 3 times over the season on VQ youtube. Total lack of patience. I understand those huge plays are great when they work...but when Nico overthrew nearly all of them by 5 yards for 3 or 4 games, and when he didnt guys like Nimrod, Brazzell, and even Squirrel just flat dropped them. We should have beaten Arkansas by 3TDs. If only Nimrod caught the sure thing, wide open TD passes to him we would have had 14 more points.
We knew that Ark loss was huge when it happened. A couple plays in that game cost us a win, an 11-1 season...and likely a home playoff win vs SMU or somebody. This is a game of inches, talent, and especially execution. We will have to improve before we can take that next step. I am very thankful for how far we have come though.
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