Hypothetical

[TU_BLA]

Does anyone think Dave Rader would have had a little more success at TU in the later years had he adapted to a spread offense?

In reading about Redford Jones signing with the Bears, it got me thinking about guys that went to the NFL or pro-football from TU since I’ve been following TU football. Rader had a bunch of really talented players when he was the coach. Our issue was depth or the matchups weren’t quite as good.

 

[TULOYAL]

I absolutely think he would have done well with the current facilities, academic offerings, improved schedule with a conference, and budget. He would have had to evolve as an OC since his stint at Alabama didn't turn out so well. I think he was a superb evaluator of talent and could find ways to beat teams when he was the decided underdog.

 

[Lumpuckeroo]

I absolutely think he would have done well with the current facilities, academic offerings, improved schedule with a conference, and budget. He would have had to evolve as an OC since his stint at Alabama didn't turn out so well. I think he was a superb evaluator of talent and could find ways to beat teams when he was the decided underdog.

Coach Rader had the academic rug pulled out from his athletes after the 91 season by the administrative brainiacs who hated TU athletics . TU has always been reluctant financially except when donors have stepped up to sweeten the pot to keep coaches like Richardson or Self.

 

[TU1NNJ]

I absolutely think he would have done well with the current facilities, academic offerings, improved schedule with a conference, and budget. He would have had to evolve as an OC since his stint at Alabama didn't turn out so well. I think he was a superb evaluator of talent and could find ways to beat teams when he was the decided underdog.

At Alabama Shula called the plays and was the OC except in name. Dave really never had a chance to stamp his print on the offense.

 

[TU_BLA]

I absolutely think he would have done well with the current facilities, academic offerings, improved schedule with a conference, and budget. He would have had to evolve as an OC since his stint at Alabama didn't turn out so well. I think he was a superb evaluator of talent and could find ways to beat teams when he was the decided underdog.

Coach Rader had the academic rug pulled out from his athletes after the 91 season by the administrative brainiacs who hated TU athletics . TU has always been reluctant financially except when donors have stepped up to sweeten the pot to keep coaches like Richardson or Self.

I do know this did play a big part in Coach Rader’s ability to recruit JUCOs and transfers. Removing the HPER program really hurt him.

I am wondering why he never got a shot as a pro OC. His game plans and approach were very pro-style oriented. And a lot of his QBs had stints in the pros at some level (Rubley, Frerotte, Fitzgerald, and even Blankenship). The biggest issue was always having enough quality OL to hold off superior DLs OR having enough quality defensive players to contain superior offensive teams. The spread has been the great equalizer across college football.

 

[quincy101]

There is some irony here. During those David Rader(St.Senator R-Tulsa) years our first 11 could often play with anyone, anywhere and we had great QB's-but never much depth. Now, I really like our depth on both sides of the ball, but our QB's.....................??

 

[noble cane]

I don’t think we ever had the depth to run it like it is now..

Dave ran a lot of spread concepts.. empty backfield, 4 and 5 wide receiver sets, TE play,

He believed that control of the ball was the big equalizer when it comes to playing bigger schools. For good or bad that left people with the impression that his offense was dull and plodding when in reality if you paid attention to it there was a lot of crap going on

 

[shon46]

I don’t think we ever had the depth to run it like it is now..

Dave ran a lot of spread concepts.. empty backfield, 4 and 5 wide receiver sets, TE play,

He believed that control of the ball was the big equalizer when it comes to playing bigger schools. For good or bad that left people with the impression that his offense was dull and plodding when in reality if you paid attention to it there was a lot of crap going on

Dave was ahead of his time with the offensive schemes he ran. He was one of the few people I have met in my life with a photographic memory and just a really smart guy. IMHO Dave was a great coordinator but poor leader. We never had the depth bc many of Dave’s assistant coaches were horrible coaches in terms of development and or horrible people which led to many kids transferring or getting kicked out. It’s hard to come together and consistently win as a team when you have your OL coach affectionately calling the OL AWOL (all white offense line). There wasn’t a day that passed by where we didn’t fight! Lots of guys came in, saw that, and quickly said thanks but no thanks!

 

[canefansincerhome]

Dave was ahead of his time with the offensive schemes he ran. He was one of the few people I have met in my life with a photographic memory and just a really smart guy. IMHO Dave was a great coordinator but poor leader. We never had the depth bc many of Dave’s assistant coaches were horrible coaches in terms of development and or horrible people which led to many kids transferring or getting kicked out. It’s hard to come together and consistently win as a team when you have your OL coach affectionately calling the OL AWOL (all white offense line). There wasn’t a day that passed by where we didn’t fight! Lots of guys came in, saw that, and quickly said thanks but no thanks!

Sorry to hear about the turmoil

 

[Rjjackson4]

Coach Radar, offense was similar to Kansas City Chiefs zone read offense. The OL just take the DL where they want to go. The RB read the flow of the OL. The hole was where ever a crack in the defense occurred. What gave the defense a hard time was the TE and a good slot wide receiver. Once the defense dropped the SS into the box play action and bootleg was a killer. In our offense, the run set up the defense for big plays.

 

[TU1NNJ]

I still have great memories of TJ Rubley reversing out under center and tossing to the TB (Hughley and R Jackson) going right, the Texas A&M defenders over pursuing and the o-line sealing them off as the TB cuts back left for big gains. That second half may be my favorite TU game to watch.

 

[TU_BLA]

Coach Radar, offense was similar to Kansas City Chiefs zone read offense. The OL just take the DL where they want to go. The RB read the flow of the OL. The hole was where ever a crack in the defense occurred. What gave the defense a hard time was the TE and a good slot wide receiver. Once the defense dropped the SS into the box play action and bootleg was a killer. In our offense, the run set up the defense for big plays.

Today’s comparison might be the Patriots where everything is an option based on where the D lines up. Seems simple enough but the QB and OL and RBs and WRs all need to be on the same page and reading the same thing. Not sure Dave ever got that complex but it did sound as though there were plenty of reads going on. Did Dave ever let the QBs call audibles on their own based on what they were seeing? Gus didn’t come across as the brightest guy when you first met him, but you had to have some IQ to last 14 years in the NFL as a QB and be the coveted back-up QB (much like Josh McCown has been the last 3-4 yrs).

 

[Rjjackson4]

Today’s comparison might be the Patriots where everything is an option based on where the D lines up. Seems simple enough but the QB and OL and RBs and WRs all need to be on the same page and reading the same thing. Not sure Dave ever got that complex but it did sound as though there were plenty of reads going on. Did Dave ever let the QBs call audibles on their own based on what they were seeing? Gus didn’t come across as the brightest guy when you first met him, but you had to have some IQ to last 14 years in the NFL as a QB and be the coveted back-up QB (much like Josh McCown has been the last 3-4 yrs).

Maybe the Patriots, offense now because we had check with me on the line. We were told formation and TJ Rubley would check into a run or pass based on the defense. On passing down we get the route combination in the huddle. The offense clicked when we're getting positive yardage. Our 3rd down percentage was pretty good because we were in 3rd and short most of the time.

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

Today’s comparison might be the Patriots .

Just when I was starting to like you.