Does Watson get the importance of...

[#99HUGHgreen]

playing to a player’s strength?

It seems quite clear that some very talented players on last year’s team have not been used properly at times, particularly on offense.

Just look at how perfectly Canada used Q Henderson two years ago and how poorly Waton used him last year. I get that Aston was out last year (which played a roll in some of his runs), but Watson didn’t really work hard enough at finding ways to play to Henderson’s strengths.

Whitehead was also used quite poorly at times and not used at all at times when he should have been. Imagine how much better the offense could have been if Waton used him more often in ways that took advantage of his quickness and agility.

I can’t help but think what sealed the deal for Q and Whitehead both declaring for the draft was their lack of confidence that the staff would find enough ways to use them to their strengths to help them shine and help the team win.

Both Whitehead and Q Henderson should have been All ACC last year. No one can honestly say they were not at that level talent-wise. Yet, neither of them were used nearly as well last year as they were the year before.

 

[jivecat]

playing to a player’s strength?

It seems quite clear that some very talented players on last year’s team have not been used properly at times particularly on offense.

Just look at how perfectly Canada used Q Henderson two years ago and how poorly Waton used him last year. I get that Aston was out last year which played a roll in some of his runs, but Watson didn’t really find enough ways to play Henderson’s strengths.

Whitehead was also used quite poorly at times and not used at all at times he should have been. Imagine much better the offense could have been if Waton used him more often in ways that took advantage of his quickness and agility.

I can’t help but think what sealed the deal for Q and Whitehead both declaring for the draft was their lack of confidence that the staff would find enough ways to use them to their strengths to help them shine and help the team win.

Both Whitehead and Q Henderson should have been All ACC last year. No one can honestly say they were not at that level talent-wise. Yet, neither of them were used nearly as well last year as they were the year before.

I have never been a Watson fan....he is a very bad recruiter and has personally cost us some quality recruits. I think his offensive production speaks for itself.

 

[dieselmilk]

Overall development just seems rough.

 

[President Stache]

That seems... elementary my dear.

Although, if you honestly think Whitehead and Henderson turned pro for that reason then, I would think I cant reason with you.

 

[Farnox]

Proof is in the pudding. I'm not seeing much from him.

 

[thebadby2]

playing to a player’s strength?

It seems quite clear that some very talented players on last year’s team have not been used properly at times, particularly on offense.

Just look at how perfectly Canada used Q Henderson two years ago and how poorly Waton used him last year. I get that Aston was out last year (which played a roll in some of his runs), but Watson didn’t really work hard enough at finding ways to play to Henderson’s strengths.

Whitehead was also used quite poorly at times and not used at all at times when he should have been. Imagine how much better the offense could have been if Waton used him more often in ways that took advantage of his quickness and agility.

I can’t help but think what sealed the deal for Q and Whitehead both declaring for the draft was their lack of confidence that the staff would find enough ways to use them to their strengths to help them shine and help the team win.

Both Whitehead and Q Henderson should have been All ACC last year. No one can honestly say they were not at that level talent-wise. Yet, neither of them were used nearly as well last year as they were the year before.

Canada even found a way to weaponize an athletic offensive tackle. But of course according to one regular poster in a thread below, our unprecedented offensive success that year--with scoring and yardage about double the what it had been under Chaney the year before-- had nothing to do with Canada--he was just babysitting all of those future NFL studs he had that year. That's why the 2016 offense averaged almost 100 ypg more than the 2015 offense, scored 24 more TDs on the season, and had a far higher red zone TD scoring rate than 2015. Or why guys like Weah, Henderson and Aston, who were basically bench warmers in 2015, became hugely productive from 2015 to 2016. Or why Peterman, a jorneyman with a subpar arm and no legs, and who was the very definition of pedestrian, became a NFL draft pick.

Nah, Canada had nothing to do with it. Obviously he couldn't possibly have, because he never had that kind of success at his other stops on the road (which isn't exactly true either).

That certain poster apparently isn't knowledgeable enough to ascertain the differences in the 2016 offense's alignments, blocking schemes, pre-snap motion and shifts, the merging of spread principles into power running sets, the mixture of tempos and formations, the offensive rhythm created by the playcalling, the plays designed to utilize the individual skill sets and talents of the player, or any of the other other things Pitt fans had never seen before or after the 2016 season.

Nah, it was just all those high level NFL players he had to work with for one year (2 of which are actually on NFL rosters this season). He just got lucky at Pitt.

 

[thebadby2]

That seems... elementary my dear.

Although, if you honestly think Whitehead and Henderson turned pro for that reason then, I would think I cant reason with you.

Maybe you don't remember this interview with Q after he decided to leave. From All-American to nobody in one off season:

Why did you opt to declare for the NFL draft?

It was pretty much the last game and I started thinking and I wasn’t really touching the ball as much as I want my sophomore year. My production numbers are down I didn’t want to run that risk again next year. So I just decided to test the waters and enter into the draft

 

[#99HUGHgreen]

That seems... elementary my dear.

Although, if you honestly think Whitehead and Henderson turned pro for that reason then, I would think I cant reason with you.

Sorry you feel that way, but I honestly do believe it was definitely part of the equation.

Q Henderson went from being an All American as a returner two years ago to being 2nd team All ACC last year. Whitehead went from ACC rookie of the year to 2nd team ACC two years ago, to not even making 3rd team All ACC last year. There stock dropped quite a bit due to issues with coaching/coachinf decisions and teammates around them.

There is no question that those two would have considered staying another year had they thought there was a very good chance they could push their NFL draft stock back up significantly for the following year.

Unfortunately, with the uncertainty that the same OC returning and with uncertainty about players around them (and even new DC), it’s likely people were telling them, “You can’t afford another year like last year where the coaches aren’t putting you in position to shine the way the coaches did the precious year. You need to get the hell out of there before you ruin any chance you have of getting to the next level.. think how much less interested NFL teams will be, if you have another mediocre year!”

If you don’t think that was at least part of the reason for those two players leaving, then I guess it’s I who can’t reason with you.