Coach - as always, love your perspective. There is some dialogue that the marriage between Longo and Fick is on thin ice, interpreting press conference comments, etc. I'm beginning to believe that Longo is doing exactly what Fick wants, because the HC is defensive minded, has a DL bias, and recognizes that with JTJ going down he only has 2-4 serviceable DL and is asking his OC to adapt to that reality, and that "winning" is the most important goal, which it should be. That means, likely, that TOP, keeping the defense off the field, getting the DL rest, is one of the most important objectives for the offense this year. If that is the case, IMO, Longo has delivered on that objective. 60+ plays in 37 minutes of football vs WMU, a 17 play drive and two 10 play drives vs UA. Although it looks a bit like Chryst offenses of the past in terms of grinding things out, and not ideally what we want the Dairy Raid to look like, could Longo be taking some shrapnel for doing exactly what his boss wants and what puts the team in the best position to win this year? Maybe that relationship isn't as fractured as it may appear as there is a mutual understanding of what is best for the team this year, albeit not want we want from a fan perspective with this offense?
Coach - as always, love your perspective. There is some dialogue that the marriage between Longo and Fick is on thin ice, interpreting press conference comments, etc. I'm beginning to believe that Longo is doing exactly what Fick wants, because the HC is defensive minded, has a DL bias, and recognizes that with JTJ going down he only has 2-4 serviceable DL and is asking his OC to adapt to that reality, and that "winning" is the most important goal, which it should be. That means, likely, that TOP, keeping the defense off the field, getting the DL rest, is one of the most important objectives for the offense this year. If that is the case, IMO, Longo has delivered on that objective. 60+ plays in 37 minutes of football vs WMU, a 17 play drive and two 10 play drives vs UA. Although it looks a bit like Chryst offenses of the past in terms of grinding things out, and not ideally what we want the Dairy Raid to look like, could Longo be taking some shrapnel for doing exactly what his boss wants and what puts the team in the best position to win this year? Maybe that relationship isn't as fractured as it may appear as there is a mutual understanding of what is best for the team this year, albeit not want we want from a fan perspective with this offense?