Coordinators in press box vs at field level
Among us and our rivals, are we the only ones with both coordinators on the field during the games? At MSU they have Narduzzi in the press box, and I believe Bollman too. And last year we had Borges up there, and since, our offense has really regressed, so am wondering, with the hoopla about Nussmeier being on the field, if this isn't hurting the offense, not having a bird's eye view... Somebody with real knowledge please chime in here.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:22 PM ^
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Our offense has REGRESSED since last year? Overall, I think it's pretty much stayed the same.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:44 PM ^
Last year at this time we'd scored 41 against ND, 42 against Minnesota, and 34 in regulation at Penn State.
This year the most we've scored on a Power 5 opponent is 24 at Rutgers. ND, Utah, and Minnesota held us to 14 points or less.
This offense is significantly worse, because we lost Lewan, Schofield, and Gallon and replaced them with Hoke recruits who aren't very good.
October 9th, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^
Aha. I was wondering how you were going to sneak in a RR defense there. I was really starting to worry when I finished the second paragraph and hadn't seen it yet.
P.S. I like RR a lot too and wish we would have given him a fourth year. But you don't have to sneak the snark into every single post.
October 9th, 2014 at 2:16 PM ^
Just pointing out that this team lost some really good players on offense. People seemed to want to ignore/dismiss that in the offseason or pretend that guys like Darboh and Chesson were soon-to-be-studs. There was a lot of odd logic surrounding the offense that continues still (people saying we've improved or that they saw positives in getting totally shut down by Utah, Minnesota, and ND).
The simple fact is that this offense isn't nearly as talented as the one we had last year, and that one still had major issues at times. Hence the results we've seen recently.
October 9th, 2014 at 4:43 PM ^
are positives, and there are improvements from just last year. We are moving the ball on the ground for the first time since 2007 with the exception of Denard getting the snap and playing keep-a-way. Nussmeier has a scheme, he is forcing players to learn the scheme and to play within in. There is reason and a certain consistency to what he is doing and the offense is progressing. Borges did not have an offense as much as he had "offense salad" where he threw a bunch of different ingredients into a mixing bowl and just tried to pull out the right ones each week. I actually think the offense is ahead of the defense right now. That is one scary thought, huh?
October 9th, 2014 at 6:33 PM ^
There may be positives and things that are different, but there are a lot more negatives (pass protection is worse, receivers are a huge dropoff, Devin is making fewer plays with his legs, turnovers still out of control, etc.). Overall this offense is not as good. The results are there on the scoreboard every week.
Last year's offense scored a lot of points against a number of teams. This team has yet to do that and has shown no sign they are capable of doing it going forward. Last year we scored 34+ points against half our B1G schedule and ND. 24 against Rutgers is the highlight of this season. ND shut us out. The offense put up 3 points against Utah and 14 against Minnesota. What happens when this group runs into MSU?
Coherence is great, but it isn't leading to better results because the talent is just not as good.
October 9th, 2014 at 7:35 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^
exchanges with our qbs inasmuch as he serves in that role as well, QBs coach. I think the assistants upstairs are more than capable of finding attack areas in the defense and Nuss should be able to get a feel for the game as to who is causing him problems and how to counter such problems that one can only gain on the sidelines.
However, these are logical assumptions and MI has been defying logic for 9/10ths of a decade now.October 9th, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^
We need all the hand clapping support we can get, so no.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:27 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 1:28 PM ^
Do you really think that the location of our coordinators during a game is one of the biggest factors in how this team is performing? That's the secret? That's the thing that if we just change that will quite possibly right the ship?? Really???
October 9th, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^
I swear, I had Borges' phone number here somewhere...
October 9th, 2014 at 1:31 PM ^
I noticed it too. I figured it was a personal preference. It is worth noting that Nussmeier was in the box for Alabama last season. He is on the sideline this year to be closes to the players. Perhaps he realized how terrible the coaching was and doesn't trust any of the offensive assistants to relay plays in or manage personell groupings.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^
I think there is a huge advantage calling plays from the press box.. a huge one.. .so F off to the sarcastic pricks here..... being on the field and one cannot see the Y axis depth properly. Sitting way up high and one can actually see it. Id like to see Nussmeier call a game from upstairs, and see if the head gets out of the proverbial ass.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:45 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 4:21 PM ^
He has indicated that he wants to go back up to the pressbox, but this year with a new offense he felt he needed to be on the field with the players.
Not sure how well that's working.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^
I'm of the opinion that the HC is on the sidelines and the OC/DC should be in the booth. But you kind of need a HC that is actively involved in play calling on one side of the ball or the other to do something like that.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^
I don't think coordinator location matters, but as you point out, having a set of eyes in the booth is almost certainly helpful. On defense, I would guess Hoke is second in command strategically but both he and Mattison are on the sideline. Who is in the booth? On offense I don't know who the 2nd in command would even be.
I am guessing MSU's defense benefits having Dantonio on the sideline and Narduzzi in the booth. RichRod's offense had Magee in the booth. I'm not sure who we have up there on either side of the ball or whether they have much input/impact.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:34 PM ^
should be over there.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:40 PM ^
This is just further evidence of how fickle fanbases are, and how losing makes it nearly impossible for coaches to do anything right. Last year, it was hurting the offense that Borges wasn't on the field during games, because he couldn't react to things happening in real time or get a true feel for the flow of the game. Now that we have an OC who's on the field, he's hurting the team because he doesn't have a birds eye view! I guarantee you, if Hoke started wearing a headset all game every game, and we still kept losing, someone would make a post saying that Hoke is wearing his headset too much, and it's distracting him from focusing on the game.
YOU'RE FOCUSING ON THE WRONG THINGS
October 9th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
Don't know why you were negged, this is spot on. We made fun of Borges for staying up in the press box where Devin would have to pick up a phone to reach him instead of talking to him face to face. Even earlier this season before our problems, posters praised Nuss for being on the field because apparently being able to talk to your QB face to face is more advantageous than on the phone even if it means giving up the bird's eye view. My first thought reading this was "Oh fuck off, this can't be serious. We were just praising him for this."
October 9th, 2014 at 6:56 PM ^
There are many ways of doing any complex thing and to do it well.
What matters isn't who is up or down, and who is wearing what. What shows up on the field is what we should be concerned about: Highly rated prospects out of high schools are not being developed, taught and trained.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:56 PM ^
and then comes down to the field at some point in the second half. I'm sure the obvious answer is you get a better view of what's happening on the field from the booth, and a better feel for how your team is doing on the sideline. The answer to this apparent conundrum is simple: the coordinator should be wherever he'll get the most information to help him make the right calls.
October 9th, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^
Pat Hayden has the same routine...
October 9th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
They have Brandon up in the booth. That frees up the coordinators to be on the field with the troops. No wonder Hoke doesn't wear headphones.
October 9th, 2014 at 2:42 PM ^
He's too busy selling hot dogs and pizza to the reporters.
October 9th, 2014 at 2:13 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^
why wouldn't Nuss just try it upstairs? I posted this thread concept before the Rutgers game - but received similar responses. So if you "scout" a team on film using an overhead view, why would you not use the same view if you were a coordinator?
Go Blue!
October 9th, 2014 at 4:07 PM ^
i prefer the coordinators upstairs so they can see the whole field. nuss could still communicate with QBs using a headset; like most teams.
considering the volume of players that mattison uses during games, i can see him being on the sidelines, though, so he can coach them up while the offense is on the field.
either way, not that big of a deal to me. i would like to think they know the way in which they are the most effective.
October 9th, 2014 at 4:46 PM ^
...as long as the nerdy neurologist stays as far away from the action as possible.
Too soon?
October 9th, 2014 at 7:50 PM ^
He might jump if he has to see the disaster from high above. I bet he didn't foresee this when he decided to leave Alabama. I wonder if he has regrets taking the job.
October 9th, 2014 at 10:40 PM ^
October 10th, 2014 at 8:13 AM ^
I thought I heard somewhere it was because he was so concerned about coaching the quarterbacks so wanted to be down there