Does Grisham get the heat for wr struggles

Letterman [271]

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Re: Does Grisham get the heat for wr struggles

Sep 6, 2022, 10:50 AM

Agree 100% WR has probably had the worst regression in any position group since the loss to LSU (and by extension, Scott departing).

It is partially on Scott, as the crop of guys he recruited before he left have not panned out well whatsoever: Ladson, Ngata, Ajou, etc. At least Ladson and Ajou left and quit taking up space.

That being said, Grisham was buoyed by one season where Rodgers and Powell balled out. One thing I will credit DJ for as a freshman - notice he put up a record for passing yards by an opposing QB at Notre Dame Stadium when he had those two to throw to - a true deep threat and a true intermediate threat. Where are the Jet Sweeps? Where are the pre snap motions and misdirection? A lot of the things from Morris' offense that we were successful with under Scelliot have gone away.

We've been blessed to have some absolute dawgs at WR, especially in that position (I call it a slot but apparently it's the "field") that does a lot of the motions, quick slants, jet sweeps, etc. Think Artavis Scott, Hunter Renfrow, Adam Humphries, and Watkins on occasion.

We don't have that anymore. Spector ain't it. I'm bummed about Stellato because I thought he could have stepped into that role. We need someone that can consistently run tight, clean routes for short to intermediate yardage. We get behind the sticks a lot, and we need a target for either the middle or short-yardage on the sidelines to get to 2nd & 3rd and short. These plays are what we need for DJ to get into a groove and start making plays. But it feels like we can't get separation on deep plays against a garbage defense, and we need those quick outs, slants, hitches, etc. to move the sticks. We got better in the second half, but I think that was more due to attrition than execution. A solid defense on a team like NC State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, or Georgia will eat us alive if we play like we did last night.

Another thing I notice, is that beyond the law firm of Collins & Collins, the wide receivers suck at blocking. That severely kneecaps our running game and doesn't allow us to throw screens either. They have to get better at maintaining their blocks on DB's or at least getting enough contact to slow down linebackers or guys on the edge. That's the biggest dropoff I've seen under Grisham. This is why you need to hire a dude from outside with actual position group coaching experience instead of one of your former players/GA's/Yes Men. I've been skeptical of the Grisham hire from the get-go, and so far, we have not shown the improvement there that we need to support DJ and the rest of the offense. DJ ain't Trevor or DW, so he's not gonna be making insane throws or anything. But he has little to no support from his receivers at the moment.