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The QB School - What is the RPO Slow Mesh?

w84it

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Started watching J.T. O'Sullivan's The QB School a few months before the NFL Draft - he was a three year starter at UC-Davis and spent 10 years in the NFL as a backup, so he knows his concepts and his film breakdowns were one of the reasons that I was horrified when the Miami Dolphins were rumored to favor Herbert over Tua. Anyway, he's breaking down some of the top rated QBs in college football going into next season as well as various offensive concepts, so I was excited when today's video highlighted Wake Forest and Clawson's RPO Slow Mesh Offense. Thought you guys would also enjoy.
 
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The most painful offensive system to watch in college football for an entire season

I'd rather we ran the triple option
 
The most painful offensive system to watch in college football for an entire season

I'd rather we ran the triple option

Man, your football takes are bad. When the QB is making quick reads and the OL is holding blocks, it's one of the most fun offensive systems to watch in college football. The problem is, those things haven't happened consistently against stronger competition.
 
Man, your football takes are bad. When the QB is making quick reads and the OL is holding blocks, it's one of the most fun offensive systems to watch in college football. The problem is, those things haven't happened consistently against stronger competition.

Exactly and it is why the Clawfence's ceiling will always be 8 wins. We have no chance against teams with superior talent. I can excuse the usage of it during his first couple of seasons when we were really bad and needed a gimmick to beat mediocre teams, but we need to be transitioning away from it if we every want to take the next step.
 
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I love the slow mesh RPO, but as the video states, it does risk the QB to hits, and does puts lots of stress on the OL. On the other hand, it does expose the defense to explosive plays deep down field (particularly with WF play making receivers). The RPO is going to be a key part of the WF offense for as long as Clawson is here. The staff needs to come up with an alternative when teams start crashing the interior of the line plugging up the typical running lanes and passing lanes with the QB so close to the line.
 
Exactly and it is why the Clawfence's ceiling will always be 8 wins. We have no chance against teams with superior talent. I can excuse the usage of it during his first couple of seasons when we were really bad and needed a gimmick to beat mediocre teams, but we need to be transitioning away from it if we every want to take the next step.

Some of us old dogs remember when we’d be begging for 8-win seasons as a norm.
 
Some of us old dogs remember when we’d be begging for 8-win seasons as a norm.

I grew up going to games during the Caldwell days, so to a certain point I understand. And to be fair an 8-win season today is equivalent to a 6 or 7 win season in the "old days".
 
I mean I'm glad we are back to beating Duke most years, but I'd also like to have a chance to keep it with in 40 points of Clemson. The tempo and slow mesh of our current offense make the latter impossible.
 
I mean I'm glad we are back to beating Duke most years, but I'd also like to have a chance to keep it with in 40 points of Clemson. The tempo and slow mesh of our current offense make the latter impossible.

Clemson is having one of the most dominant runs in college football history - I legitimately cannot think of a single offensive system that Wake Forest could run that would guarantee us staying with 40 points of them these last few years.
 
Clemson is having one of the most dominant runs in college football history - I legitimately cannot think of a single offensive system that Wake Forest could run that would guarantee us staying with 40 points of them these last few years.

An offense that runs some clock and gives our defense a chance to breath would be helpful. Our shitty defense is largely due to our offensive scheme, we don't recruit the defensive depth needed to keep up.
 
I'm cool with the continual dominance of the state of NC. So whatever offense allows for that, I don't really care. The RPO has pros and cons just like every offense.
 
An offense that runs some clock and gives our defense a chance to breath would be helpful. Our shitty defense is largely due to our offensive scheme, we don't recruit the defensive depth needed to keep up.

So you're saying the slow mesh is too fast? ;)
 
Also we won't be keeping any top tier QB's around going forward if we keep getting them hit 20+ times a game. I wasn't surprised at all that Newman left, dude took a beating so that Wake could play in the Pinstripe Bowl.
 
One thing that stood out to me was the continuing comment on the QB "Butt blocking" on numerous plays when the read was RB run.

Another was that the guy doing the analysis could not figure out which defender(s) the QB was reading. If this guy with a clicker and all day can't figure it out, maybe opposing defensive coaches are having trouble doing that too.

A few times he pointed out what some on here mentioned about Jamie late in the season: he would keep the ball and run, when various passes seemed open. The suspicion that Newman's injured shoulder kept him from throwing effectively in the latter part of the season grows. Yes, I know that it was his non-throwing shoulder that was injured, but the throwing motion does involve the non-throwing shoulder.
 
I think the other speculation was that Jamie didn't trust Sage's replacements.
 
Newman will be a senior next year and Sage will be back. He played four games last year without Sage.
 
Exactly and it is why the Clawfence's ceiling will always be 8 wins. We have no chance against teams with superior talent. I can excuse the usage of it during his first couple of seasons when we were really bad and needed a gimmick to beat mediocre teams, but we need to be transitioning away from it if we every want to take the next step.

You must have also been on the bandwagon to get rid of cut-blocking scenes under Grobe. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and our running game never recovered.
 
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Newman will be a senior next year and Sage will be back. He played four games last year without Sage.

The speculation was regarding why Newman ran the ball so much instead of throwing it to open receivers late in the year (after Sage and Newman were hurt). Not speculating on why he left.
 
Nice post OP. There have been tons of people analyzing Wake's offense since the middle of last season. Ruggiero is a genius, invents, and has everyone else playing catchup. Our offense is great, and you can look at the offensive production the last 4 seasons to see the evidence. Best 4-year stretch of offense in Wake Forest history. Those that don't appreciate the slow mesh, must also not appreciate the huge amount of explosive plays it allowed for last season. If you talk old school triple option or orbit motion offense with Clawson and Ruggiero they will laugh about it, they are so far ahead of that. Wake outperforms under Clawson & Co. because they are smarter and better coaches who can out-scheme the opponent.
 
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