The struggling offense

[khaal53]

I'm not meaning to pile on here but I was taking a closer look on what exactly is going wrong with the Cyclone offense and kind of came to a realization. If you're interested in looking at things more in depth I'd encourage you to check this out. If not, then by all means pass on this.

Anyway, the realization isn't entirely new but it is essentially the importance of 2nd down and even though ISU is pretty bad on 1st and 3rd down, maybe the struggles on 2nd down are the most notable culprit.


Moving Down |

 

[Wesley]

My takeaways:

Offensively, we are not good on first, second or third down.
Our running plays or passing plays on first down have a good chance at zero yards.
We are two yards and a cloud of dust in the making.
We should have a ton of plays lined up to call for second and long and third and long.
Our second down may be no better than our first down.
Since third down is usually long, the mandatory blitz will be coming.
What a mess.

 

[Aclone]

In other words, our offensive line is injured every down, not just one? There's a shock!

 

[IAmNotTheMayor]

Can you segment the averages into quartiles? It would be interesting (i.e., depressing) to see which segment we best align with.

 

[Wesley]

Can you segment the averages into quartiles? It would be interesting (i.e., depressing) to see which segment we best align with.

So it looks like we are 80-120th in everything. We excel at nothing. This year we even have lots of penalties and few interceptions. One might make a case that just when Cole Netten is revved up to successfully kick we cannot move the ball downfield enough.

 

[everyyard]

Jarvis West on the returns is our only offense, so I have to disagree with your entire analysis. sorry.

 

[JUKEBOX]

In other words, our offensive line is injured every down, not just one? There's a shock!

They were really tearing up UNI....

Have you ever thought that our injury problem could be a developmental issue? The strength program is supposed to mitigate these problems.

The offense wasn't any good with NFL guys on the line either.

 

[demoncore1031]

The offense needs to be more creative AND execute better. If 90% of the fanbase knows what play is coming next, then you better believe the opposing D knows what the play will be.

 

[00clone]

My takeaways:

Offensively, we are not good on first, second or third down.
What a mess.

Kirby stops by to point out that we f'ing ROCK on 4th down....

 

[intrepid27]

It amazes me that we have 3 coaches on our staff with offensive coordinator experience and our output is so anemic. I was really excited about the Klenakis hire. I realize there has bee a lot of injuries to our O Line but they look totally lost at times.

 

[Daserop]

It amazes me that we have 3 coaches on our staff with offensive coordinator experience and our output is so anemic. I was really excited about the Klenakis hire. I realize there has bee a lot of injuries to our O Line but they look totally lost at times.

I agree that they look lost out there. I think it is due to almost all the O-lineman having to play multiple positions (due to injuries) in a new scheme and compounded by the fact that some of them are really young. It is understandable that there is some second guessing going on and miscommunication.

 

[Cyclophile1]

I agree that they look lost out there. I think it is due to almost all the O-lineman having to play multiple positions (due to injuries) in a new scheme and compounded by the fact that some of them are really young. It is understandable that there is some second guessing going on and miscommunication.

It's a new system for all of them, so some degree of execution was going to be sacrificed to learning. I'm hoping that this pays dividends next year for these young guys to be getting a lot of learning done, because it's a big investment in today's success. I don't think I've seen this level of injuries to an OL in 35+ years as a fan. I hope I never see it again for a lot of reasons, not the last of which is the long term health of these young guys. As a guy with an ACL rupture from the early 80s from football, I can tell you that it takes a toll on you.

 

[CyCy]

As bad as our offense has been, the defense has actually been worse - although not by much. On offense we rank 8th in scoring and yards per game and 9th in yards per play in the conference. On defense we rank last in scoring and yards per game and 9th in yards per play.

 

[FanatiClone]

Nice analysis and post. As one of the posters above said, we aren't good on 1st, 2nd or 3rd down. However, I understand your point. I agree, 2nd down is often overlooked. Another poster mentioned 90% of the fan base knowing what play was going to come next. It appears to me that we squander 2nd down all too often as it resembles what we did on 1st down. If first down isn't a "success", then perhaps 2nd down should take on a little more importance. Its almost like the coaching staff has pre called plays and runs them whether or not we gain good yardage on the previous down. At the rate that we gain yardage, 2nd and 8, which is what we are often faced with, should become as critical of a down in the minds of the coaching staff, as any 3rd down situation. Its all too often kind of like a give-away-down.

 

[drednot57]

As bad as our offense has been, the defense has actually been worse - although not by much. On offense we rank 8th in scoring and yards per game and 9th in yards per play in the conference. On defense we rank last in scoring and yards per game and 9th in yards per play.

Giving up 71 points will lower your defense's ranking for sure, plus giving up around 1,800 yards in three games.

 

[nhclone]

What was more concerning to me was the predictability on the few plays we did have when we had second and short. success on first down. I got tired of keeping track, but on every single play early in the game, we ran a zone read or a straight handoff up the middle. If I can call that from my couch, I have to believe Baylor saw it too. Not surprisingly, they stacked the box on several of them and they went for nothing. Second and short is the perfect time to stretch out a defense and make them spread out a little bit. We did just the opposite.

 

[Wesley]

I agree that they look lost out there. I think it is due to almost all the O-lineman having to play multiple positions (due to injuries) in a new scheme and compounded by the fact that some of them are really young. It is understandable that there is some second guessing going on and miscommunication.

How about the strength/weightlifter coach? They look like swinging gates out there.

 

[Wesley]

As bad as our offense has been, the defense has actually been worse - although not by much. On offense we rank 8th in scoring and yards per game and 9th in yards per play in the conference. On defense we rank last in scoring and yards per game and 9th in yards per play.

A while back I took a look at how the offense and defense affected each other. Basically the more yards and the more plays run by the offense helps lower the yards and plays given up by the defense. They are interconnected. When both are bad, you see problems like Baylor.

 

[CykoAGR]

A while back I took a look at how the offense and defense affected each other. Basically the more yards and the more plays run by the offense helps lower the yards and plays given up by the defense. They are interconnected. When both are bad, you see problems like Baylor.

Its funny that many posters dont see the connection. A defense that cant get off the field on third down hurts the offense by limiting possessions. An offense that cant convert third downs or has a high % of 3 and outs hurts the defense because they are on the field.

I think right now we have BOTH of these things going on. Hence the crap show that we saw in Waco

 

[isufan]

My view of the Iowa State offense:

It's like junior high basketball when your opponent isn't very well coached and can't handle the press. Even if they have some good players, it doesn't matter because they can't get the ball past halfcourt. You have the game in hand by the end of the first quarter when you are ahead 30-2.

The Iowa State offense can't take advantage of or handle the defense bringing pressure and putting extra guys in the box. The defense can do that and win the game early. This is similar to pressing the junior high basketball team that can't handle the ball.