We all already knew that the offensive line corps was inexperienced and not comprised of the top talent available from the high school ranks. Also, you can spend all day picking at specific mistakes that were made during that game. The thing is--individual decisions/issues could be quickly corrected with some tweaks, but systematic issues require much more serious remediation. First, you have to admit that there is an issue.
It's high time for Lincoln Riley to decide whether he wants to be an offensive coordinator or a head coach when he grows up. Lincoln has the potential to still become a top head coach (he has some of the prerequisites), but he's still clinging on to what earned him his early success--his ability to command highly productive offenses. This insistence has put Riley in a situation where he's doing neither well--he doesn't manage the roster and the games well, and he's half-assing his game preparations.
Like many of you have pointed out--he spent two weeks doing WHAT??? How do two weeks of prep yield the complete lack of preparation and creativity that we witnessed in that contest? What--you didn't know that the Michigan defensive line was going to be tough? And your plan all along was to run straight at them? Joel Klatt had already made the observation that even Texas ran sideways to avoid the teeth of the Michigan defense and to gas them out. You needed to wait until the second half to realize that you needed to shift the pocket to protect Miller Moss? You had no play packages planned for Maiava where he could give Michigan something else to think about? You thought you could motion the tight end and then throw to him running sideways and that Michigan wouldn't key on that?
The fact is that we are lacking manpower with offensive game planning. Riley is juggling being GM, game manager, offensive coordinator, play caller, etc. Henson is supposedly juggling offensive line coaching and coordinating the offense, but he doesn't have experience coordinating the offense. We are down a crucial role. That's why that offensive game planning for the Michigan contest seemed completely half-assed. Even with two quarterbacks who could not throw the ball, Michigan's OC seemed to do greater due diligence in planning for the game than did Lincoln Riley.
Meanwhile, Riley continues to blow the game and clock management.
There are some coaches out there who seem to be able to manage both roles successfully (Sean McVay seems to be one of these), but Lincoln is not hacking it. It's time to decide. Your indecision is hurting the team.
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