Zach Smith
- Thread starter Bill Lowery
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Hey Ruder actually got in on a play last weekend. Box score showed he had 1 carry for 1 yd.
Maybe he'll transfer. If Mack is using a true FR as the starter at UNC, there is no way in hell Ruder will ever see meaningful snaps at UNC. If he looks at our QB situation, he would play the year after sitting out here.
Can you imagine Smith with better protection?
He’d be moving very slowly looking at short receivers who aren’t running routes that make any sense. Run a damn slant every once in awhile. The one time we did that last week we scored.
I agree, I wonder how many of us see this as you and I?
Have to dump the run blocking and WR splits beyond the numbers to do that. IOW, dump the offense base set
I can. At a school called Baylor. Who ran this offense. Where he couldn’t win the job, then got benched. Twice. Then transferred. He might be Kinne. He might be Green. Time will tell.
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Smith has already shown me he is a big time QB. He throws a nice catchable ball for WRs...and he also has tremendous touch on his deep throws. I would be interested in breaking down film because if he has a consistent miss it seems that he misses high a lot which could turn into a really bad thing on the middle slants. Sometimes that high throw is a result of throwing off your back foot in a hurry situation because of pressure (or perceived pressure) and not driving off the back leg back onto the front foot during the throw.
The OL 2 years ago and Smith might have been a really great combination. Heck, I think if you had one person to pull back from those OLs, you take Chandler Miller back and put him at C and maybe all the ills are cured.
What a dumb post. Why don’t you research who became head coach and what kind offense he runs? It didn’t fit Smith. Also, it’s already 100% that he’s not Cody Green. That’s just lazy and being ridiculous.
I've felt like he tends to miss high on out routes and curls. Over the middle he seems to do pretty well when he has more than 2 seconds to throw.
I'm astounded by his ability to shrug off pressure and follow through on passes. That's something I'm not sure I've in quite some time at TU. Dane would just curl up in a ball when he saw a guy straight for him. CG would hold the ball and get hit without making a throw. President / Skipper / Boomer would all try and scramble and get chased down from behind.
I rewatched the Highlights for the game. Our line has so much work to do. The right side of the line struggles in pass protection. That's C + RG + RT. our TE apparently doesn't know who he's supposed to be blocking either. Far too often we ended up triple teaming 2 guys while we let a third guy run straight at Smith. I'm not sure if that's by design, but I can't imagine why it would be. Some of it happened in 4 wide sets where there was no chance it was an RPO with the line run blocking (Like on 4th and 4) I'm starting to wish Monty went to a new OL coach. Bloesch hasn't got it done for the past two seasons as far as pass blocking goes.
I'm astounded by his ability to shrug off pressure and follow through on passes. That's something I'm not sure I've in quite some time at TU. Dane would just curl up in a ball when he saw a guy straight for him. CG would hold the ball and get hit without making a throw. President / Skipper / Boomer would all try and scramble and get chased down from behind.
I rewatched the Highlights for the game. Our line has so much work to do. The right side of the line struggles in pass protection. That's C + RG + RT. our TE apparently doesn't know who he's supposed to be blocking either. Far too often we ended up triple teaming 2 guys while we let a third guy run straight at Smith. I'm not sure if that's by design, but I can't imagine why it would be. Some of it happened in 4 wide sets where there was no chance it was an RPO with the line run blocking (Like on 4th and 4) I'm starting to wish Monty went to a new OL coach. Bloesch hasn't got it done for the past two seasons as far as pass blocking goes.
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Yeah...the blocking scheme is suspect. I believe it's a zone blocking scheme and no one has a clue which zone to cover. If a D overloads one side we're screwed. I also noticed a couple of times where Brooks would step into the pocket to pick someone up and not block anyone because no one came to the assigned gap. Nor did he release on a route...so he essentially did nothing on the play. While Smith was getting sacked.
Look at (Youtube time):
0:06: 1st and 10. 5 wide. No chance of a run play. UW rushes just 4 but they twist the right side of our line. Our RG reacts poorly to his inside DT now shifting to being an outside rusher. Both the RT and RG get beat and Smith takes a dangerous shot right as he throws.
3:01 - Smith calls for max pro on a 2nd and 11- meaning Shamari becomes a blocker. They rush 5. So it's 6 vs 5. The line should know at this point that it's a pass play. RT and LG get beat even though they know they have an extra man. Results in Smith on the ground and a wide outside incompletion.
Next play, Wyoming Rushes only 4 on 3rd and 11. Smith has plenty of time and dissects them for a first down.
5:42 - 3rd and 15. UW brings 5. C + LG double a UW DT, so our LT takes the DE.... only problem is, there's now an OLB running straight at Smith. Results in a quick throw and a short completion + FG. This mistake is preventable.
8:46 - 4th and 4. UW Puts 6 on the line but only bring 5 as Shamari runs a wheel out of the backfield. They run their OLB on an inside loop. That completely fools the left side of our line. LT basically has nothing to do. This is a really hard blitz to stop to be honest. Not too much we could do about it. They try something similar on the next 4th down from the other side. This time our Center gets a hand on the curling DE(?) and Smith has just a sliver of time to make a poor throw for Johnson's leaping catch.
Some of this stuff was just good play by Wyoming, but some of it is preventable. Some I'm not even sure how you combat it. I'm not sure how you could prevent a sack on that 4th and 4. It might just have to be a different play design. I'm not sure how Smith is at throwing on the move, but maybe putting the QB in motion on a rollout or something might have helped. IDK. They don't pay me for this stuff.
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Our offense is entirely zone blocking. I feel things might be a little different with an experienced C who can take a look and make a call on the blocking assignments. This is something Monty and Bloesch praised for 3 years about Miller.
And you are right, some blitz schemes and looks are just going to beat you. I think the majority of us are concerned that the, as you point out, the right side of our OL routinely gets bested by simply over lap stunts (which are pretty basic and run at all levels of football) where the C, RG, and RT aren't keen enough to know and communicate to switch assignments. It's sort of like running a screen in basketball where you have to trade off defenders. And as we've pointed out before, we've got big, slow guards playing on the outside at tackle spots and that leaves us susceptible to the speed rushing DEs. I feel like Trevis Gipson might get 4-5 sacks if he played in a game against our OL.
As we started trying to throw on the slants more or take the WR screens or the little flat passes to the RB releasing wide, Wyoming started opening their DE splits wider and pressing their DBs. I could usually pick out the blitzer in every situation based on the coverages they showed and where they rolled the safety down a bit. If I can see it sitting in the end zone from field level, shouldn't Monty and Smith be able to make a quick adjustment. This is where I think Monty micromanages the game too much and we end up with delay of game penalties.
Number of games with 200+ yards, at least 1 TD, and 0 INTs:
Cody Green: 2 in 21 starts at Tulsa
Zach Smith: 3 in 4 starts at Tulsa
Still can’t believe anyone could say he could be Cody Green. This board makes my head hurt sometimes.
Green wasn't asked to do much his Jr year other than not turn the ball over. There were so many weapons on that team. And remember, he lost his favorite WR halfway through the opener at Iowa State. had Burnham not gotten hurt, I think Green's numbers may have been a little better. Green, however, was not the type of QB you could give 2 minutes to and ask him to go win a game. He just wasn't that type of player...but let's be honest, not every QB is that type of player.
Smith had 334 yds on 25/50 on Saturday. When was the last time we had a QB with 50 passing attempts in a game?
Green is the only Tulsa QB in the modern era who has won a conference championship and finished in the Top 25 in the same year. Something you jokers seem to think is a possibility with this offense. If not an entitlement at Tulsa regardless of who is coaching.
He had the success he enjoyed because the staff was able to tailor the talent around him to cover for his shortcomings, which were exposed the following year. Smith, like Green, and all other QBs at any other school, has weaknesses. Smith has B- accuracy and can’t run. Under pressure, he will take a hit. He has many strengths. But those strengths matter less when you put all the physical and mental pressure on your QB rather than spread it around. The key to stopping the offense becomes detecting QB weakness and exploiting it.
It’s an open question whether this staff is capable of tailoring this offense to fit that player or if we are just going to continue mindlessly running the base package and hope we guess right on defensive tension for big plays. He could be Green. Good Green or bad Green. And he was two different players.
Kinne was another much heralded Texas high school transfer. He had a big arm. We put the whole team on his back .... but he couldn’t get protection and the OC was an arrogant ass and he went 5-7 absorbing punishing hits. He could be Kinne.
BTW BLA’s right on most of the zone blocking points. Any team with an experienced FS and good range can shut us down. A lot of the success against SJSU was forcing their FS into bad choices and iso in the running game.
He had the success he enjoyed because the staff was able to tailor the talent around him to cover for his shortcomings, which were exposed the following year. Smith, like Green, and all other QBs at any other school, has weaknesses. Smith has B- accuracy and can’t run. Under pressure, he will take a hit. He has many strengths. But those strengths matter less when you put all the physical and mental pressure on your QB rather than spread it around. The key to stopping the offense becomes detecting QB weakness and exploiting it.
It’s an open question whether this staff is capable of tailoring this offense to fit that player or if we are just going to continue mindlessly running the base package and hope we guess right on defensive tension for big plays. He could be Green. Good Green or bad Green. And he was two different players.
Kinne was another much heralded Texas high school transfer. He had a big arm. We put the whole team on his back .... but he couldn’t get protection and the OC was an arrogant ass and he went 5-7 absorbing punishing hits. He could be Kinne.
BTW BLA’s right on most of the zone blocking points. Any team with an experienced FS and good range can shut us down. A lot of the success against SJSU was forcing their FS into bad choices and iso in the running game.
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I think you're wrong on several points. The talent on the 2012 team wasn't built around Green. It was built for GJ and it just so happened a lot of those guys were back the next year. Green had basically the same cast of characters back the next season on offense and we couldn't do anything on offense.
I've been very impressed with Smith's accuracy. I saw one truly bad throw yesterday. Where he had enough time to make a throw and just made a bad decision and it was a near interception. He also fit some balls into windows that no Tulsa QB in the past 10 years (including Evans) has been able to. I will say that Evans had more ability to make back shoulder throws than Smith does, but some of Smith's passes over the middle have been through extremely tight windows.
Having a pocket QB who can dissect the opponent isn't a weakness as long as you have a line that can protect them. I think most smart folks would take Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, or Tom Brady to Cam Newton, Michael Vick, or Kordell Stewart if they're all put behind a good offensive line.
I'm not sure who on here thinks that.
Thus far I've been pleased with Smith and what he's been able to do despite this offense and the poor OL play.
He did not have substantially better performances in the games he appeared in running the Briles offense under direction and play calling of Kendal Briles. You need to research that.
And please stop posting dumb stuff like Monty needs to call more running and scrambling plays for a QB with nobody else on the roster and who has a career long of 10 yards from scrimmage through 23 games.
He’s played the hand dealt much better than I thought, that’s for sure.
I didn't trash Green...he was just asked to do something different than other QBs at Tulsa were asked to do. And he did win. And I loved every minute of that season and those players.
What if the weakness of the QB is not his to own at all and lies elsewhere? Everyone knows where I am going with this.
BTW, this team is still 0-0 and can still win a conference championship.
You can’t run the Briles offense without the midrange boundary shoulder throw you are talking about. When you can’t make that, it takes away the choice theory concepts of the WRs, especially the deep skinny post because the CB can scrape in towards the hash.
Smith made that throw on Saturday. WR (Santana I think) never turned around for the ball and prob. misread what he was supposed to do.
I saw that too. I just think Evans had a real knack for it... and he had Keyarris Garrett out there who could shield off his man and haul those in. I'll never forget having a chance to play some pickup games against the Tulsa wideouts in the offseason. Garrett was an athletic monster. Seriously. He was basically the offensive version of Trevis Gibson. He came in with a long skinny frame and he was able to add a ton of muscle. I'd love to see us get another one or two of those guys, but they're not easy to come by.
Hell I was just happy to have a QB who looked like he belonged on a D1 roster.
Who's not easy to come by? 6'5" WRs who can run like the freaking wind and outjump half the NBA?
We don't have anyone on the roster like that right now but our WRs are a hell of a lot more athletic and capable than I saw at any point last year. Same damn guys. At some point the HC/OC has to just put faith in his players and say "go make a play". Johnson, Stokes, Crawford have all gone out and made crazy good plays so far this year. The 2 long catches in the Michigan State game should have been proof enough to Monty to let his QB put the ball out there and have the WRs make a play. I''ll be the 1st to admit that trashing the WRs and the WR coach for not being good route runners and not making plays was seriously misguided. Those 3 can flat out catch the ball without the speed and size other guys we've had here. Santana is going to be a good one. Hell Monty's kid runs some great routes and has really good hands. Trust them to make plays.
And he's only pulled in two catches in four games.(kid Monty) .5 catches/game is hardly quality enough to qualify you as the #5 or 6 receiver.
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He's not out there a ton either though, maybe 5-6 snaps a game.
I left of Josh Johnson. Kid has a ton of talent, but he is tiny. I fear for his well-being at some of the over the middle routes he is running right now.
He’s always out there in the whiskey set (5 WR) which was probably 20 to 25 snaps last game. Which could get interesting if we have a couple of people miss time due to injury or suspension and WR#6 or WR#7 come off the bench with a clearly better performance.
Exit question: do we lose a game this season on a bad kick as time expires because the snap was spotty again and our holder got hurt running not so compelling decoy routes as a WR earlier in the game?
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Demaris was fine on the drags, he will be fine too. Ain’t nobody hitting him that isn’t also hitting Shamari
OK, the jury is still out on Monty, Jr's pass catching ability. However, the 2 or 3 passes to him during OSU game were simply uncatchable......by anyone. So, let's give him a chance.
Hell, he's open on 90% of the pass plays. Not sure why he would be out there if he isn't a viable option.
One thing I've noticed with our 2 deep is it is really rigid. You won't see a slot WR move outside to take the #1 role outside. I think Josh Stewart is the #2 behind Keenen Johnson...well, he's not getting into the game. I think Cannon is #2 behind Stokes and may get in on 5 WR plays. The combinations have been weird, IMO. One thing is Monty's kid has a pretty decent football IQ and has good hands. He runs a lot of shallow crosses and slants.I don't think he possesses the speed to run a streak or post. If he's truly the next best option out there in those situations, fine. But I know we have a ton of WRs on the bench right now too (Imiee Cooksey is one).
I've been impressed with our WR play so far this season. I would love to see us work Santana in a bit more. I think he could be a difference maker.
If you're going to throw for 300+ yards every game, I don't care who you're throwing to as long as there aren't a ton of drops. It doesn't seem like there have been all that many drops. Wyoming receivers couldnt seem to catch a ball until the 4th quarter last week.... we had maybe 2 or 3 passes that guys tried to catch with their bodies but 2 or 3 out of 50 isn't a bad ratio.
Chambers was trying to get the Wyoming WRs killed. He was consistently high on his throws. And the WR dropped the one really nice out he threw in the 2Q. Chambers has a big arm, he's just all over the place.
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