I see the same thing and I believe that the biggest mistake he makes accounts for what you and I've both witnessed. He is still in the frame of mind that just like in high school, he can be a productive back by fighting for daylight before getting to that downfield next level. Against college competition the possibility is no longer there for him to out athlete box defenders for huge pickups and touchdowns on every carry. He's going down with nothing 99% of the time with that approach. I'm sure his coaches are telling him the same thing and realizing that only comes with experience. When his natural instinct becomes to either hit the hole in a sprint or to beat defenders to the corner he'll be very dangerous.
At this point he’s getting stuffed on 90% of plays and getting a solid gain on 10% because he’s a hell of an athlete but has no vision. Kinda agree with you, 3-5 touches, especially if we can try to scheme him touches in space. He is not an every down back right now but he could become one. We need Evans back badly.
It would be nuts if he didn’t try Milton…he’s a physical freak and he has 3 years. If he popped he could start recruiting off of him yesterday. It was worth a try, and the loss in the meantime is meaningless. Now…if somehow Bailey wins it convincingly, then JH might have some splaining to do. I’m just going to be happy we have an SEC qb, but the reds are going to lose their shit.
Ssmif alluded to questions on his intelligence and for right now I’m believing that because from what we’ve seen from him it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t be better than Milton/Hooker. Heupel may want a runner but it’s not like Milton really gives you much more other than being sturdier.
No. Offenses can't be cut down like that anymore. Kiffin took away half the field, for the most part from Crompton. It was play action bootlegs or easy reads underneath. Now, with RPOs and read options, your qb has 3 or 4 reads at the snap. You didn't ask QBs to do that in 2009, for the most part. Plus, Crompton wasn't inaccurate, he didn't see defenders. Milton isn't making bad decisions, he just can't place the ball where he wants it to go.
I thought Ekeler was either going to get booted or penalized. Heupel didn't appear to raise hell, but he had a few conversations with the refs
I get why you try Milton...in warm ups he's perfect and he's huge. He also flicks the ball effortlessly 50 yards I do think, from what Bailey showed last year, he would be pretty good in this offense
This offense has several built in reads that work similarly to that and I don't think they trust Milton with throwing one of the two options anymore strictly based on his poor accuracy. The quick combos that they like to use when they feel like they've got a defense disjointed seemed to be different from BG to Pitt. I don't think he was given the option to go to the hitch on their cover 3 beater combo after what they saw against BG. I could be wrong but I believe his read became to hit the fly or run it.
My thought is this, was coach Heuple just that wrong about Milton in his ability, or did he just start him because he felt he owed him for showing up, or made him promises in private about starting. Either way, it doesn’t seem logical an experienced head coach could seem this lost.
I think Milton looks like a Greek god, throws a football like a jugs machine, has pretty good wheels if not a great runner, and any coach would probably want to give a guy with that much physical ability a chance. also none of the other options really blow you away
I'm trying to figure out why suddenly folks are questioning Heupel's abilities after the result was better than most predicted. How many around here picked us to win? I feel like I was on the positive extreme for that game by thinking we had a good chance to win. and by my estimation we did end up having a good chance to win despite many key injuries/absences on a thin team. We are fighting for .500. The floor is well below grade. Why does that get forgotten as soon as the season actually starts? There is no guarantee that there is a serviceable quarterback on this roster, by the way. I think there are, but this program has been hollowed out in ways that defy the imagination of fans who watched games in the 90's. Every time we fire a coach, we start over. doesn't make it the wrong call to do so, but it is still a fact. We are absolutely not a great brand anymore. it is going to take some real work to get back. The last guy ignored this and tried to do it the blue blood way, and got us under investigation. the only way out is steady full classes of recruits, retaining them, and generating stability with a solid system. We played a 6th year quarterback behind over 1500 lbs of o line, with our 2 first year transfer qbs. it is what it is.
THIS. Running the offense fast against non top 25 teams makes some sense. Running it fast against the Florida's and Bama's of the world is going to lead to 70-0 losses, and our defense dead by mid 3rd quarter.
Because I am a fan. It really is as simple as that, for me. And when we went up 10-0 and left two TDs on the board, it cemented in me the idea we are really better than we are. And I am tired of being shitty, so the disbelief comes in fast when we do well.
Honestly, if Milton can hit the open deep ball 33% of the time, I might like him at QB better than Hooker. I just don't have much confidence he can get there, based on what I've seen these 2 games. He misses every single time. Still wonder about Bailey.
The problem is what you see is what you get with hooker, while Milton has a super high ceiling and 3 years to play. Bailey is apparently behind both of them, which probably relates to how fast he can run the offense. We are in a situation where it pains me to admit gambling on Milton clicking in is probably the best chance at turning this around. Hooker will be gone. Not sure what to make of Bailey. I'd have to assume that Heupel is an idiot if Bailey is the best option yet #3, and if so then we are pretty doomed.
The amount of guys we had running wide open makes me feel good about the scheme. But damn. Hit one of them.
I’ll say it again, I just don’t know that Bailey fits right now. Questionable pass protection and I think the QB needs to be a running threat to balance the run game
