When 4 of your last 7 QB recruits are no longer with the program, 2 of the remaining 3 are hurt, and the only guy left had recently been converted to TE before having to come back to the position because there was literally no one else who could do it...
When your top 2 running backs are true freshman and are both hurt...
When your top 2 wide receivers are both hurt...
When you are starting 4 true freshmen on the offensive line because those are the best linemen you have...
Your offense is going to suck.
People do understand that this is an array of circumstances unlikely to repeat themselves in the next couple years, right?
You're certainly right but just to play devil's advocate....
Not to be one of those, but Kramer is a Redshirt Freshman, not a True Freshman, and has been one of the few surprising bright spots on the offensive side of the ball. He was also a grey shirt who is a legacy so that makes his play this year all the more surprising. The play from the OL has really been at its best with him at Center. This is an example of a player you can point to and say that the staff has done a good job of developing him and would give us hope for the future.
However, I'm just not seeing many other players outplaying expectations on the offensive side. I give Trenard Davis credit for stepping up and at least making the rotation at WR after being moved to a 3rd position in 3 years. However, a surprise like this is offset by the disappointment in realizing that Sam Mays has 0 receptions this year.
I'm fine with Boyd and Palczewski starting but I doubt that Lowe is better than DiLauro. DiLauro has been injured at times this year but there are also times when he's been used as a 6th Offensive Lineman, been used at other spots besides LT or has been benched. Lowe was injured during training camp and missed most of September due to an injury and the staff decides to start him at one of the most important positions on the OL after the Nebraska game? He really should have been Red Shirted and given time to learn the offense but all I can hope right now as a fan is that the repetitions he got this year are going to pay off in the future. Allegretti has played up to expectations but is obviously at his best as a Guard as opposed to Center.
We also have the problem where Megginson, who was one of the highest rated players Illinois has had this decade (right around where Avery is at), has not been very good. His play at LT against Ball State was just dreadful. Is this a coaching problem or was he just very overrated? He had a lot of great offers so I'm hesitant to blame the last staff for his failure to develop. I will say our lack of depth at OL is frighteningly bad and not this staff's fault. I would love to see a massive turnover from the OL who are behind Freshmen on the depth chart.
I would argue that Foster is one of the top 2 RBs on the roster and that the staff gave up on him too quickly. He was the MVP of the offense last year (as named by this staff!!) and he was essentially out of the rotation after the Ball St. game. Yes, Epstein is obviously better but I don't know about Bonner.
This goes back to a point where this staff gives up on some of these Seniors (like Foster and DiLauro) a little too quickly in favor of just playing Freshmen. Are we going to continue seeing this? I would hope we don't see this at OL because even 5 star players struggle as true freshmen. Will we see Slaughter playing at LT over Lowe next year? It may be necessary and that's a scary thought since he, like Palczewski is young for his class (turns 18 in August of 2018).
I don't know if players are injured or how injured certain players are but benching guys like Foster and DiLauro just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
Also at QB, they could have done a better job of trying to bring in a graduate transfer as opposed to hoping that Crouch could maintain what we saw against Purdue last year for an entire season. I can see why the staff loves Thomas so much but Lawson not showing up here was a massive failure on the staff's part.
TE has been a disaster for the most part this season. Dorsey is an impact player but he's a project who can't block at all. I can see why he got offers from schools like LSU as a Sophomore in HS, but they were offering him as a WR, not a TE. We're now at the point where a walk on (Blackwell) is getting a lot of snaps at TE. I don't blame the staff for this since a lot of guys listed at TE should not be on scholarship and have been moved from a number of other positions. However, I hope a guy like Barker is a better all around prospect at TE since I don't see Dorsey gaining that much strength in 9 months. Right now I'd honestly rather see him out of the slot as a taller WR than see him line up at TE. I've only seen a bit of tape of Barker but that was from last year and I didn't see him blocking at all in that clip. He was lining up in the slot most of the time from what I could see.
The staff is looking at a graduate transfer at WR for next year. I would not mind seeing the staff go after a graduate transfer at LT and/or QB as well, especially if Crouch transfers as well as a number of OL. If not, we could be looking at true Freshmen starting at these spots next year, and I honestly don't want to see that. This would also help class balance since we're looking at another year where there will be a low number of Seniors and the Class of 2019 could be very small. A graduate transfer over a reach at certain positions wouldn't necessarily hinder the rebuild.
All of your points are valid but the above is why I'm still somewhat concerned about the offense going forward and whether this current staff is the answer.
I don't think it's asking too much for improvement next year from this offense. Honestly, how could they be much worse? How many meaningful touchdowns have they scored in conference play? I would be surprised if it's over a handful. The question is how much are they going to improve? I have no problem with being patient but we have to get better. The defense is getting to the point of being average in the Big Ten but I have a hard time seeing this offense being anything but the worst next yearwithout drastic improvements.