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Is Greg Davis both a mediocre and excellent OC?

  • I am trying not to be too negative, so hopefully I can bring some objective (and hard) thoughts to the table.

    Greg Davis and Mack Brown have consistently stated that they adapt their offensive philosophy to best utilize their personnel (ie, QB). They have made good on this promise:

    Vince Young. Texas went to a zone read offense that took advantage of VY's obvious skills that don't need to be rehashed here.

    Colt McCoy. Texas went to a spread offense that utilized Colt's accuracy on shorter range passes and his scrambling ability.

    Lets stop the discussion right here and take a step back. Texas was forced to adapt its offensive philosophy and the results were nothing short of fabulous. It is easy to say 'well we won because of VY and Colt' and thats partly true. But I truly believe Greg Davis has to be given a lot of credit because while he did have good players at the helm, its hard to argue that he did not get the maximum amount out of those guys. What could he do better than get the most out of those guys? Said another way, when Texas has run the spread, the case can be made that no team did it better than Texas and Greg Davis deserves a lot of credit for that.

    Now to the second group of QB's. Chris Simms, Major Applewhite, and Garrett Gilbert. Given their skill sets, Texas basically implemented the same offense with all 3 guys. That being, Texas has tried to make itself into a more pro-style team. The problem is that time and again, Texas has continually been mediocre to woeful under this offensive scheme.

    I understand the logic of adopting your offense to your personnel, but I think there is equal logic in recruiting the personnel that best fits what your coaches excel at. The obvious problem is that Texas has made a concerted effort in recruiting (at least at the QB position), to bring in players (Gilbert, Wood, McCoy, Ash), who are all more suited to run a pro-style offense...something that potentially Greg Davis is mediocre at running.

    Maybe this is an over-reaction...but I honestly don't believe VY/McCoy completely overshadowed Greg Davis' faults as an OC. I think he is simply a very good coordinator when he gets to run a spread based offense. The results were beating OU almost every year and continually being in BCS games. On the other hand, his resume with the 3 pro-style QB's has been one that has resulted in Texas losing to OU almost every year going to the Holiday Bowl or Cotton bowl.

    Thoughts?

    MBarnett

  • I think GD is excellent at recognizing QB talent and then developing that talent. Look at his record..........Major, Simms, VY,Colt.............as a play caller and devising an offensive system he is average at best...........IMHO

    "Leadership is wisdom, courage and great carelessness of self"

    austinr

  • Solid post.

    I think that the truth is that we come up lacking in scheme and commitment to the running game that is a crucial component of the pro-style scheme.

    LonghornScott

  • LonghornScott said...

    Solid post.

    I think that the truth is that we come up lacking in scheme and commitment to the running game that is a crucial component of the pro-style scheme.

    A lack of true commitment to the running game today was obvious IMO.

    Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BobbyBurton247

    BobbyBurton

  • I understand the logic of adopting your offense to your personnel, but I think there is equal logic in recruiting the personnel that best fits what your coaches excel at. The obvious problem is that Texas has made a concerted effort in recruiting (at least at the QB position), to bring in players (Gilbert, Wood, McCoy, Ash), who are all more suited to run a pro-style offense...something that potentially Greg Davis is mediocre at running.

    Why do you think Wood and McCoy are pro style qb's? They both can run pretty well.

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    jmftexas

  • I'm not a football coach. During the course of a Texas football game I can tell you what play Texas is going to run with remarkable accuracy. Do you think opposing defensive coordinators have it figured out as well?

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    GetHooked

  • BobbyBurton said...

    A lack of true commitment to the running game today was obvious IMO.

    It sounds like we committed to improving it in the off-season and fall workouts, and we forced the running game in the first two games of the year. It's not commitment that's missing. It's a sound scheme, good execution, and blocking fundamentals. We've committed to the run at the expense of sacrificing what we did well last year.

    Sessamoid

  • We get elite recruits on the d-line, and they all get drafted in the first 3 rounds. The same can be said for our elite DB recruits. Yet, our elite o-line recruits look soft and ineffective. Something is terribly wrong with how these players are being handled and coached.......

    As for GD, his fetish for throwing short routes to stationary WRs is nothing new. I remember in Orlando, sitting in UCF's new stadium, and it was one short pass to a stationary WR after another. Fortunately, we had an elite RB and a much better run blocking o-line to salvage that day with some big runs. This ponderous offensive scheme, which succeeded only when piloted by a transcendent QB like Colt or VY, isn't going anywhere. GD thinks it is sublime and Mack will never make a change in this area. We just need a very mobile QB to run it........

    Dr Drunkenstein

  • This is an excellent post.

    You need a rb with a pro style offense. Major did alright with Ricky. Simms did alright with benson. Gg has no one.

    Sancho

  • I agree with the premise. But I'm not sure what Simms accomplished with Benson (Cotton and Holiday Bowls) would cut it around the 40 these days.

    Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BobbyBurton247

    BobbyBurton

  • BobbyBurton said...

    I agree with the premise. But I'm not sure what Simms accomplished with Benson (Cotton and Holiday Bowls) would cut it around the 40 these days.

    Is it going to cut it this year?

    MBarnett