Liking What I see From the Skill Players

I’m not sure I agree with the lack of speed in the WR room since Dixon, which is only two seasons. I feel like the style of offense, which emphasized downfield blocking over playmaking receivers, and reliance on short to intermediate throws gave the impression that Utah’s receivers were slower than they actually were. Heck, even with Dixon and Covey, the bulk of their routes were within 7 yards of the LOS and in traffic.

At game speed both Money and Singer were as fast as they needed to be to create separation but were utilized as possession receivers. Mikey Matthews (who we’ll see in two weeks) had plenty of speed but was shoehorned into being a short pass guy only. Tao Johnson, who may be the fastest guy on the team, was moved to defense so that a plodder like Calderella could be an extra TE on the field.

Utah’s offense under Ludwig was not designed to get receivers into space and maximize their speed. Instead, their route trees were designed to keep them close to the defenders so they would be in position to block. Add in the overuse of Stick or Stop routes and everyone looks slower than the competition. If Beck will just call High-Low concepts that allow the receivers to find space instead of looking for contact, the WR room will look 100% better almost immediately.

Last year I started just watching the WRs because we couldn’t complete a pass and Wilson would hold the ball too long. I rarely saw any separation with Singer Parks and the other WRs. There was a lot of contact early sometimes 5-10 yrds downfield. Arizona game every play was like the infamous holding call against BYU. Our receivers were small and not strong enough to get open early through contact. Hopefully we have more motion and move guys around to keep the defenders from jamming them at the line of scrimmage. The passing scheme was a big part of the problem.