This year the offense hasn't been good. A huge portion of the production has been against big leads and soft defenses.
I agree there has been disappointing individual player play all over the place.
We also have a large veteran offensive line. Yet we don't see them dominating the line of scrimmage with run blocking or keeping the QB all that clean. Do we miss Garrison that much?
The defense isn't doing the offense any favors. No arguments there. But this offense isn't keeping pace when we do force a 3 and out. It has been the worst offense in the past 3 years and that's with really good skill position players and a veteran line. Predictability is a factor.
You are correct. The offense hasn't been great.
The regression on the offensive line is troubling. Garrison factor? I don't know, by all accounts Justice is a solid O-Line coach.
I just don't think predictability is the issue. I think it's an execution issue.
I'll use the Arkansas State game as an example.
UNLV had a pretty fair mix run/pass. I believe there were 4 drops in that game. Armani missed at least 4 guys that were open that he didn't even give a chance to catch the ball. Let's assume the best. Let's say he converts all those passes. He would have been 13-24 not 5-24. Still not ideal, but how many of those misses/drops might have been first downs, or put us in 2nd and 2 where the playbook is wide open, instead of 2nd and 10 which limits the playbook some.
I'm not saying Cotton is without fault. He owns the results on offense. I just don't think its predictability.
Take Oregon under Kelly. It was not uncommon for Oregon to run the same exact play 2-3 times in a row. But pace, execution and talent allowed it. People think that offense was super diverse, it wasn't. It was fast and he had talented dudes that fit it. It was zone read, zone read, zone read, bubble screen, shot downfield. Rinse repeat.
I don't know. Offense has been above average in terms of scoring and yardage during his tenure. While not perfect, it's been enough to win games with any semblance of defense.
Of the three phases Offense/Defense/Special Teams. The offense has been the most consistent of an inconsistent bunch.
I think we both agree the offense isn't perfect, just disagree on the root cause of the problem.
For what it's worth, I wouldn't be surprised if there were further shake ups to the staff after this year, Cotton being one of them. Coaches on the hot seat tend to make changes, and Cotton is essentially the last guy left. (Cormier obviously, but not sure what firing a WR coach would accomplish)