wagon

I figured the look was different....you mentioned the play calling was very similar (or something of that nature) to Henning's. I didn't feel like I was watching a Henning style offense very much on Sunday. Are you saying the plays were similar or the timing at which they were called was similar.

 

Both.

We had smokes, stops, streaks, curls, sweeps, dives, etc, and even a couple of 3rd and long draws. A lot of that is basic to any offense, but the gameplan looked a lot like what we did last season. I think part of it is Davidson wanting the players to be comfortable.

 

or how many times did he move around? He rarely went in motion or lined up in different spots on the field.
That's kinda big.

 

had the ball 34 minutes, scored 27 offensive points and left 10 more on the field...

and who thinks this offense resembles Hennings?

wtf?

 

that's kinda what I was getting at. I don't buy the argument that this offense looks similar to Henning's. Personnel yes, but the variety of looks, and the timing of the play calls (as Collin pointed out the pair of 3rd and long draw plays, as opposed to the what, half-dozen we used to see based on the number of 3rd & longs faced), makes me thing there are far more changes to this offense than meets the eye.

 

we played the same team a year ago the same overall way, which is generally true. Nothing on the first drive looked anything like anything Henning used, the zone scheme is completely different, and I guess it depends on what happens from here on as to whether we're going to keep using the TE (I hope so), but things like real audibles matter, and they seemed to make a bit of a difference. Enough that players keep mentioning it.

 

Henning never scored 27 points, while Davidson is poised to do it every week.

 

Do you even pay attention before posting? Actually that's a rhetorical question, because it's obvious that you don't. We had more total yards, more rushing yards, and more time of possession last year against the Rams. It was basically the same game over again.

To be blunt, that's because you don't know what you're looking at. The type of passing plays were largely the same, the type of running plays were more different but still mostly similar, the personnel packages were the same, and the frequencies were pretty similar. Hoover was still in there, as opposed to going with the 2 TE set that many had expected of Davidson. The formations were all pretty much the same, and as magnus noted, he even used Henning's philly formation. We still ran the "magnus left" smoke routes. We still ran sweeps and had pulling linemen in front of the backs on the edge.

Like I said, I get why people want to believe that everything was different and that we're so much better off now. It's natural, but it's all in your head. Maybe we are better off with Davidson, and I was certainly impressed with his performance, but what he ran in Week 1 was pretty much Henning's offense. If you don't even think it was similar, then you really don't have any idea what you're looking at. And as I noted, it was probably so similar because Davidson is trying to get the players comfortable and it might be a very different offense by the end of the season, but it isn't at this point.

I forgot the exact number and can't find the post now, but I looked it up after the season and aside from when we were running out the clock, we only ran the ball on third and more than 5 about fifteen times last season. That's less than once per game.

 

Now, I am not looking at getting into a thread "smackdown", so keep that in mind as you read this.

It appeared to me that the fact that the looks were different was enough to have the Rams guessing, and yes, considering they blanked St. Louis a year ago, it could be said that they knew what worked. But of the 15 points scored, it was 62 yd TD pass to Smith, and a pair FG's--1 from 40, and 1 from 34. It's not like they marched it up and down the field and piled up TD's....that's an inability to finish drives, a virus on last year's team. Yes, Carolina RAN for 242 yards, but put up just 13 offensive points a year ago. The Panthers left 10 points on the field in Davidson's first shot out of the box Sunday, with virtually the same personnel--biggest difference in the 2 games, obviously, the O-Line.

Something is different, and it comes from the OC, in my opinion. It may not be the plays, the play calling, the game plan....it may be something as simple as faith in the guy in the booth. Honestly, I don't know. That offense we saw on Saturday was, in my opinion, completely different than the one that played for Henning--again, it may something intangible--but it is different.

As for the 3rd and longs under Henning--I don't know the number either, but it just felt like the bread & butter play of draw in that spot over the course of his tenure. I could easily beleive your number of 15 (of less than 1 a game), but it was the predictable call more often than not under DH.

 

I know you aren't, and I'm not either. I'm trying to delicately (for me) point out that there is a difference in awareness here. For instance, maybe your experience in broadcasting could allow you to more easily see influences in an anchor's performance, or an art critic differentiating between Monet and Rembrandt.

I can't recall them being fooled on any plays, we just lined up and beat them.

One '06 TD got called back by a penalty, two of Jake's passes were intercepted inside the Rams' ten yard line, and Hoover fumbled at their two yard line.

It isn't the plays, it isn't the play-calling, it isn't the game plan, and it isn't the personnel packages, but you may be right about the team feeling jazzed about a new guy in the booth. It certainly seems like Henning rubbed some players the wrong way.

Eventually, probably, but it wasn't much difference against St. Louis. It may feel different to you, but it was not substantially different in reality. As I said, I think that was to help the players be comfortable in Week 1, and I expect it to be more different by Week 17. But against St. Louis, it was a case of deja vu.