Good read:
So, the natural question: If it’s so simple, why doesn’t everyone do it? Which is where Cignetti, the QB whisperer, comes in. There’s a coaching art to identifying a quarterback who can accentuate the offense and vice versa; Cignetti has turned that symbiosis into a science.
Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
POTFB
Great article on CCC.
I don't think they had any reason to throw in the passive-aggressive reference to jerks accusing us of sign stealing. Cloaking it as a compliment. 'It was because they're so good!'.
I thought the simple but run so well, which they say a few times, may be showing up this year. Coordinators are catching on to Shanahan, and there's been plenty of fooling of Hoover with safeties crowding the box then dropping back, or rushing up at the last minute.
So, not seeing as many open guys for back shoulder or slants, and I doubt it's because of just Hoover making the reads instead of Mendoza. They say Hoover likes to prepare too. So I think part of it is that it is not complex, so DCs have a bunch of tape now to prepare from without needing to review so many different plays or formations.
But, Shanahan has won every game. So, I'll let him worry about it... Every time I think OCs have gained on Haines, he pulls ahead again. Hopefully will be the same way for Shanahan. But Big Ten coordinators, and rich schools like Ohio State, have better tools to use and higher quality coaches eyeballs to make plans against him, then most JMU opponents. And the talent edge is probably less also. Big time pro players in the big ten should be able to handle more complex schemes than Elon or JMU players.
But despite my reservations at times, Shanahan's and Cig's way absolutely gets the job done. One advantage of simple is staying clean, winning the mistakes battle.