Offensive Culture

[Red Rhino]

I have been on this board for many years and have enjoyed the various perspectives, but this is my first time posting.

I love the run first, pound it down your throat, smothering defense football that Utah has established, but the level of conservative play calling we saw on Saturday is dangerous for a program. Whether we like the entertainment as fans or not, the conservative style of play may certainly affect a recruit’s impression of the team culture. Setting up this level of conservativism is dangerous because, if I am a 4 star quarterback visiting the Utah v UCLA game I would think, “why would I want to come here so I can hand the ball off 90% of the time”. Receivers might say, “why would I come here so I can block every play.” I am very grateful we have Whittingham, but sometimes Whit is a little too good at taking “one game at a time”. Sometimes, as a coach you must look past the next game so you can invest in the future of your current and future players. Beyond the fumbles, what has Nate Johnson done to warrant the lack of trust? He has been fairly accurate and has not thrown an interception yet. How can he improve if he doesn’t get an opportunity? How can he play loose and to his full potential with such tight reigns? What message does that send to future quarterbacks?

I shouldn’t complain. I have a been a true fan since the 80’s when we were terrible. We have come so far since then and Whittingham deserves a lot of credit for that. I’m just so frustrated that our wins are so unsatisfying sometimes.

[The Miami Ute]

Welcome…I really like your handle.

[UrbanLiar]

Welcome to the Board! I understand your concern but keep in mind we’re now down our RB1A (Bernard), RB1B (Jackson), RB3 (Curry for whatever reason), and we’re down to essentially RB4 that might not yet be up to the task of pass protection, so defenses stack the box and send heat every play, never giving Johnson the chance to show his speed and playmaking abilities.

[Tony (admin)]

It is an unfortunate situation when the box is stacked, causing Johnson to not be able to showcase his abilities.

[Red Rhino]

I understand that defenses are stacking the box. That’s exactly why we need to be less conservative. We need to keep the defense honest so they won’t be able to put so much pressure on Nate. Even, if we ran a few more play action deep plays each game,we would force the db’s and safties to drop back into coverage and we may even connect on a few. If nate throws an interception, consider it a punt.

[bopahull]

Passing down the field is good, I think running a few running plays that are right up the middle would be a good idea.

[RedRocks]

This is the way. The only way to beat a stacked box is to run it up the middle every play 😉.

[UtahMan17]

We’re 4-0 and just locked in our best recruiting class of all time. I think they’re doing fine.

[Central Coast Ute]

Its a different time now. What would happen if a passing team comes at Mikey Matthew’s with some NIL?

[ORute]

We’re not doing fine offensively but grateful to be 4-0 with our stellar D–but this trend wont sustain wins. The O issues are multiple but seems like a lot comes from Ludwig. He seems to have a hard time adjusting and his game plans stem around Cam only. We know Nate’s playbook is half of Cams, and Im guessing its the running/conservative half. Nate is not a pocket passer, he needs to get outside the pocket, Brock H mentioned this a few times on the broadcast. Its clear NJ is best when rolling out. My frustration was not only conservative calls, but calls that really don’t utilize NJ’s strengths and/or not trusting him enough. I actually think NJ has a lot of potential but isn’t being used to maximize his strengths. Feels like he’s seen as a caretaker for Cam as opposed to a QB we want to develop for the future. fwiw, he was also a WR in HS and think he’d fit well there. We need to loosen up the play calling, get NJ out of the pocket–this also keeps the option open and the D honest. Stop playing not to lose but playing to win, we need a productive O if nothing but to give our D a rest.

[tgi56slc]

Keep posting Red Rhino.

I agree with most all these comments. I think it was a perfect storm of events.

Utah defense dominating a freshman QB. Our freshman QB accidentally fumbling the ball causing Whitt to get conservative.

I was okay with the idea to “run more” but damn, does it always have to be run right up the middle?

Wished Johnson would fake a hand off up the middle and run it around the end. Go Utes !

[DataUte]

UCLA had speed so getting around the edge was hard, but what if, what if, we actually pulled a guard or tackle to block on an outside run?! Or throw a screen if the defense is over-pursuing?!

[RoboUte]

Our QB, WR, and OC troubles will never be fixed under Whitt. Dude’s a legend for what hes done. He’s even more of a legend for doing it his way even after it’s been shown that there’s probably a better way in modern football (ie the forward pass). But this is just our reality.

[ReconUte]

I’m with you 100% on the message it sends as it pertains to WR and QB recruiting efforts. If I was a top recruit of either position I’d definitely consider Utah but I’m not sure I’d end up going there if another top school that throws the ball a lot we’re to offer.
Our Offense can be boring at times I think we can all agree on that. It is effective enough though as long as we have a stout defense like we do now. The frustrating part of it all is we seldom have both a strong offense and defense at the same time but when we do it’s damn fun to watch!
The other frustrating part of the offense has been the inability to develop quarterbacks. It’s been that way for as long as I’ve been a fan. Not sure where the hiccup is there but it has to fall on Whitts shoulders. This is especially apparent this year since the coaching staff seems to have put all of their eggs in one basket with Cam and apparently didn’t look or go after a transfer QB as insurance. But then again it goes back to the beginning of my statement as to would a top QB recruit or transfer pick Utah….?
Friday at Oregon State should tell us where we really are offensively and what we can expect the rest of the season…that’s with or without Cam.
Go Utes!

[EagleMountainUte]

I am fairly satisfied.
Great first post! Post more you have a great perspective.

[CityCreekUte]

It’s a weird time because as much as it sounds good to have our best recruiting class ever it’s also the least important recruiting class ever given the portal and that NIL is the one that rules them all.

A stellar QB will come to Utah if he’s paid enough the team is far too good overall for that not to happen.