OK eveything is now in place, all the coaches are in the barn, the recruits are on the books, the fans will have nothing to worry about for about 4 weeks until spring practice starts. The only things to talk about football wise for the next few weeks will be the QB battle, over and over again, the guessing on who will step up and win a job, the polls that people will post on best rivalry, uniforms, stadiums, fans, conferences, etc. and the guessing of what Miles will change on our offense and what he and Pelini will change on defense. So I question is, do they change all of the terminolgy to their own or do they keep much of it the same? When do they hand out playbooks? Will Miles meet with all 115(?) players individually and have a good one on one or will the DC and OC do that or just the position coaches? Man I wish I could get a job in the football program. How long will it take for Fisher and Miles to hammer out their basic philosophy as well as Pelini and Miles?
There are two reasons I can think of for some change to plays (all else will stay the same. Why change calls and signs if your OC is the same?) 1. Maturation of JaMarcus and Matt at QB--Saban has to dial back the gameplanning by season's end since he was running the ball so much, thanks in part to his inconsistent QB play. With JR and MF progressing as redshirt sophs, you can expand the offense a bit. However... 2. Set RP offensive plays--You can't run your full offense when Ryan Perrilloux enters the game. I'd expect some basic run and run/pass option plays for RP, stuff he can use to get used to the speed and size of players on this level and, maybe towards the end of the season, add a bit to his plate from a playcalling standpoint. Defense is all on the new coaches on that side of the ball. I'd expect some changes, but like with the NFL, these guys all call the same stuff basically and just use different terminology. They'll be okay.
What's probably happening as we speak(type) is that the coaches are looking over the rosters and attempting to analyze the potential & to see which schemes best fit our personnel. This will be further developed of course in spring practice, with final refinements in the fall practice. For instance are our defensive linemen truly tackles or ends? Do we play a 3-4 or a 4-3 or a mix? I worry if our linebackers will be ok this year. Do we have lock down corners, hard hitting safeties or do we play zone, etc, etc. I know we have talent, but are they quick studies, thinkers or just reactors. I always worry about the defense. Having said that I also traditionally concern myself with the offensive line. I was dreading the day that Ben Wilkerson graduated, but the line we had at the end of the year, without Ben, clicked better than the one we started the year with. Trust me this staff is already hard at work. I sure wish that we had a spring game, though. Some players, just plain perform better in game situations.
I agree. Offensively, if we have the same OC, then it makes more sense to keep the terminology the same. Our players already know it. Defensively, I'd imagine the terminology will change as Pellini will certainly want to operate with things familiar to him. So, if I were to guess, I would say that it's better if only HALF of our players (defensive players) have to learn new terminology than all of them (both sides of the ball). .....Uniform wise: Bring back the black cleats! :thumb: Sorry....could resist. That above statement is ok to make now since the season's over, right???
