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KingCougSomebody posted this on another forum. I thought it was rather insightful...
Being an OC is more art than science. One can learn Xs and Os and copy schemes (or parts of schemes) from others, but there are limits to what one can "learn" while on the job. The OC has to develop a scheme, first, and then he has to have a "knack" for calling pays within that scheme. Doman has not shown he has any kind of knack or feel for play-calling. But his play calls mean nothing because he has a scheme that is doomed to fail against the quality teams.
Bronco has come upon the near-perfect defensice scheme for the players he can recruit to BYU -- kids who are 6'2", 235 lbs, and can run and hit; and big strong islanders who can play the front three and free up the LBs by taking on two OL blockers. Add a secondary that can hold its own, and the defense is in business agaisnt quality teams. The key: great LBs. But Doman just doesn't get it.
Doman's play calling won't matter if he persists in trying to establish a run game first. He can'tdo that with the kids BYU can recruit. BYU can get defensive players that can compete against quality teams' offenses in the right scheme (Bronco has shown that can be done), but they cannot get the offensive players that can dominate the line of scrimmage for a run game. BYU cannot use the run to set up the pass -- they don't have (and can't get) the horses to do that against the front seven on a quality team (the Boise State front seven controlled the BYU offense; and Boise State defense will not be as good as Notre Dames').
Failure to recognize that built-in deficiency is a monumental coaching failure. That is precisely why LaVelle is in the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. On offense, BYU could compete against and occasionally beat real good teams by playing very good defense (like Bronco is doing now) and using the passing game as the great equalizer (what Doman is not doing now). Throw over and past the opposing team's front seven; use big OL to keep them from crushing your passer; and throw the pass-play-book at the defense -- beat them on the outside with backs out of the backfield, over the middle with TEs, on crossing patterns with wide-outs who would catch the ball in traffic, and throw and throw some more and then after the LBs start dropping back to help tackle the receivers, run a draw or two to pick up first downs and keep them all honest. it is not rocket science. But anyone who thinks BYU can run the ball on quality teams to set up the pass is delusional. We can't and won't, and resistance to that reality is futile.
So, agaisnt Oregon State, Notre Dame, and GaTech (and probably Utah State, too, based on how they stopped Wisconsin's famed run game), T. Hill (or Riley if he is still playing) will get beat up running sweeps and options and keepers. Quality LBs will tee him up -- just like ours do to opposing QBs. It won't work. And our RBs will get swallowed by over-powering-D-lineman (who are not gassed from trying to sack the QB almost every play).
So, Doman can try to run all he wants and can scheme all he wants, and become a more accomplished play-caller, too, and will find success doing so againts Idaho State and San Jose State and New Mexico State, but his run-first offense won't work against the good teams. If BYU wants to be Top 15 good, the answer is quite simple: throw the ball 40 times or forget it. (By the way, if they throw it 40 times, and complete anywhere near 65%, they will have a 100 yard rusher almost every game -- nothing sets up the run like a good passing attack -- just ask Mike Leach, whose Texas Tech teams almost always had a 1,000 yard rusher to go with the team's two or three 1,000 yard receivers). Until Doman "re-discovers" the key to BYU offenseive success, we are wasting our time hoping for a Top 15 team that tries to run the ball to set up the pass. Until Doman gets this, his offense will fail against the good teams. His play-calling will be meaningless -- it is first and foremost a scheme problem. And his scheme cannot beat quality teams. And if he can't recruit and then coach-up a QB that can throw, then he needs to be let-go, and Bronco needs to mimic his coaching hero, LaVelle, and go find someone with the acument to get the passing game up and operating, with capable QBs and receivers and TEs and RBs who can run great routes and catch the ball, and big OLmen to protect the passer.
Otherwise, just run the ball three times, dont' turn it over, punt, and let the D stop the other team, and then run three plays, don't turn it over, and punt again, and hope to win 3-0 or 7-6 or 10-7. Boring. But much better than this futile effort to be something the offense can never be.
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Being an OC is more art than science. One can learn Xs and Os and copy schemes (or parts of schemes) from others, but there are limits to what one can "learn" while on the job. The OC has to develop a scheme, first, and then he has to have a "knack" for calling pays within that scheme. Doman has not shown he has any kind of knack or feel for play-calling. But his play calls mean nothing because he has a scheme that is doomed to fail against the quality teams.
Bronco has come upon the near-perfect defensice scheme for the players he can recruit to BYU -- kids who are 6'2", 235 lbs, and can run and hit; and big strong islanders who can play the front three and free up the LBs by taking on two OL blockers. Add a secondary that can hold its own, and the defense is in business agaisnt quality teams. The key: great LBs. But Doman just doesn't get it.
Doman's play calling won't matter if he persists in trying to establish a run game first. He can'tdo that with the kids BYU can recruit. BYU can get defensive players that can compete against quality teams' offenses in the right scheme (Bronco has shown that can be done), but they cannot get the offensive players that can dominate the line of scrimmage for a run game. BYU cannot use the run to set up the pass -- they don't have (and can't get) the horses to do that against the front seven on a quality team (the Boise State front seven controlled the BYU offense; and Boise State defense will not be as good as Notre Dames').
Failure to recognize that built-in deficiency is a monumental coaching failure. That is precisely why LaVelle is in the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. On offense, BYU could compete against and occasionally beat real good teams by playing very good defense (like Bronco is doing now) and using the passing game as the great equalizer (what Doman is not doing now). Throw over and past the opposing team's front seven; use big OL to keep them from crushing your passer; and throw the pass-play-book at the defense -- beat them on the outside with backs out of the backfield, over the middle with TEs, on crossing patterns with wide-outs who would catch the ball in traffic, and throw and throw some more and then after the LBs start dropping back to help tackle the receivers, run a draw or two to pick up first downs and keep them all honest. it is not rocket science. But anyone who thinks BYU can run the ball on quality teams to set up the pass is delusional. We can't and won't, and resistance to that reality is futile.
So, agaisnt Oregon State, Notre Dame, and GaTech (and probably Utah State, too, based on how they stopped Wisconsin's famed run game), T. Hill (or Riley if he is still playing) will get beat up running sweeps and options and keepers. Quality LBs will tee him up -- just like ours do to opposing QBs. It won't work. And our RBs will get swallowed by over-powering-D-lineman (who are not gassed from trying to sack the QB almost every play).
So, Doman can try to run all he wants and can scheme all he wants, and become a more accomplished play-caller, too, and will find success doing so againts Idaho State and San Jose State and New Mexico State, but his run-first offense won't work against the good teams. If BYU wants to be Top 15 good, the answer is quite simple: throw the ball 40 times or forget it. (By the way, if they throw it 40 times, and complete anywhere near 65%, they will have a 100 yard rusher almost every game -- nothing sets up the run like a good passing attack -- just ask Mike Leach, whose Texas Tech teams almost always had a 1,000 yard rusher to go with the team's two or three 1,000 yard receivers). Until Doman "re-discovers" the key to BYU offenseive success, we are wasting our time hoping for a Top 15 team that tries to run the ball to set up the pass. Until Doman gets this, his offense will fail against the good teams. His play-calling will be meaningless -- it is first and foremost a scheme problem. And his scheme cannot beat quality teams. And if he can't recruit and then coach-up a QB that can throw, then he needs to be let-go, and Bronco needs to mimic his coaching hero, LaVelle, and go find someone with the acument to get the passing game up and operating, with capable QBs and receivers and TEs and RBs who can run great routes and catch the ball, and big OLmen to protect the passer.
Otherwise, just run the ball three times, dont' turn it over, punt, and let the D stop the other team, and then run three plays, don't turn it over, and punt again, and hope to win 3-0 or 7-6 or 10-7. Boring. But much better than this futile effort to be something the offense can never be.