Spread can work. Pro style can work. West Coast and anything in between can work.
Illinois will have some form of talent disadvantage in all of those systems. I just want Lovie to have a system in place that can utilize the talent that has already been recruited. The only way to rise in the rankings is to pick a system and stick with it. Trust your coaching and recruits, redshirt as much as you can, and lean on upperclassmen to execute.
I agree that any system can be successful with the right people. When you say you want Lovie to utilize the talent he has, which system do you think is best suited to the athletes Lovie inherited? How exactly could Lovie and Co better utilized this pool of athletic ability? I think the three and out system suited them pretty well.
It's not JUST a matter of matching a system to the players. We could run but couldn't pass. And for a couple games that worked just fine. Once exposed however, it's not just a matter of running what you're good at. We lacked balance, the defense stacked the box, played run first, dared us to throw and we could not. Pressure the QB, get us in third and long, and max your odds for a turnover. It wasn't hard to game us. When it became obvious Chase was exposed we turned to hope and prayer (neither of which panned out but it didn't hurt to try).
You could run whatever system you wanted last year, and the result is the same. You could run a ridiculous up-temp offense, their D still stacks the box, plays run first, no need to swap personnel if we don't, and you just get to third and long that much faster.
Our team just needs balance. We need to maintain time of possession and give our D a rest. We need to be able to throw so that we can run. We need to get our opponents on their heels and keep them there instead of our opponents dictating the terms of the engagement.
Last fall I remember going to a lot of the open practices before the season started and you'd see Chase throw 3-4 int's every day. The reads were okay but the balls were all over the place. I was hoping one of the youngsters would have a better grasp of the offense in year two, but it looks like we're back to year one with the O.
When the season opened last year I bought into Robert's idea of it being a 24 game season with the second half of the season (year two) looking up. Now I wonder if it isn't going to be the latter third of a 36 game season. I'm not sure spring ball will show us anything (if we could field enough players to have a scrimmage that would be a good sign though). I am looking forward to fall practices and HOPEFULLY seeing some youngster in command of the offense making throws and able to run when needed. I'm less concerned about the system than the students at each position.
