Zorn not using Wildcat next year

I don't know about that, as I agree with 44ever.. Although I think u might do have a point regarding run-first offense.. Teams figured out in middle of the season that we rely on Portis heavily to carry us.. AND that was when our O-line started to fall apart.. In order to have good O-line, the players need to play together lot to know each other's weakness, therefore they could help each other to prevent the exposure of those weaknesses.. Also you are right about our back-ups BUT we did not have capable back-ups to step up (we thought we did).. Which is why we are hearing buzzes about drafting one of OT or C studs.. Zorn and FO know that we need to do something about our O-line (starting and back-ups).. How in the world do you expect J. Campbell to be able to throw balls all day right when he usually have only 2-3 seconds to read defense and throw ball? That puts Zorn in binds as he could not be aggressive because he knows that Campbell would not have enough time..
Not to discount the validity of this, although it's become an all encompassing excuse (the reason the US is in a recession is because we have an old OL) but that really starts to speak to the lack of innovation in Zorn's playcalling.. When you have to compensate for OL deficiencies then you have to be more creative with more shotgun and moving the pocket/rolling out. He didn't do any of that later in the season. One of the questions/criticisms of Zorn when he was hired from those who knew him in Seattle were his stubbornness and ability to deal with adversity. He's confident in his abilities and ideas but had a tendency to be rather rigid in his beliefs. It'd be nice to see some adaptability to things that may make the offense more effective.

Not to discount the validity of this, although it's become an all encompassing excuse (the reason the US is in a recession is because we have an old OL) but that really starts to speak to the lack of innovation in Zorn's playcalling.. When you have to compensate for OL deficiencies then you have to be more creative with more shotgun and moving the pocket/rolling out. He didn't do any of that later in the season. One of the questions/criticisms of Zorn when he was hired from those who knew him in Seattle were his stubbornness and ability to deal with adversity. He's confident in his abilities and ideas but had a tendency to be rather rigid in his beliefs. It'd be nice to see some adaptability to things that may make the offense more effective.

You have a good point, I was thinking about shotgun part myself as well a while ago.. But all I'm trying to say that it's not all Zorn's fault, like DirtyLandry appears to be claiming so.. O-line factor does play in this role..

I don't know about this wildcat formation stuff? With Randal El in there and a few other gadget guys I don't know why we don't have more wildcat stuff? Maybe we'll see some more things later. We do use them every once in awhile.
It's probably too soon to have a lot of gadgets when we don't have the WCO down pact right now. My only hope is that we can solidify the WCO and have a gadget here and there before Z gets the boot. It just seems like a waste of time and money to restructure the offense every other year.

Not to discount the validity of this, although it's become an all encompassing excuse (the reason the US is in a recession is because we have an old OL) but that really starts to speak to the lack of innovation in Zorn's playcalling.. When you have to compensate for OL deficiencies then you have to be more creative with more shotgun and moving the pocket/rolling out. He didn't do any of that later in the season. One of the questions/criticisms of Zorn when he was hired from those who knew him in Seattle were his stubbornness and ability to deal with adversity. He's confident in his abilities and ideas but had a tendency to be rather rigid in his beliefs. It'd be nice to see some adaptability to things that may make the offense more effective.

True Paintrain but the debate is still out if that has to do more with Zorns playcall, Campbells ability or Zorns confidence in Campbell.

I also expect to see more creativity in the offensive scheme and we should in 09'. We still have to keep in mind that Zorn played his rookie year last year.

Point is we went 6-2 with Zorn and a healthy team. We went 8-8 with Zorn and a unhealthy team and not much depth. I certainly agree Zorn needs to step up his playcall and adaptability, and of course some of the blame is his. But not all of it. As was stated earlier.

But its way to early to say that Zorn lacks the ability. IMO

How 'bout we get the regular offensive plays down before we start doing trick plays? I don't know why people are making such a fuss about this.

True Paintrain but the debate is still out if that has to do more with Zorns playcall, Campbells ability or Zorns confidence in Campbell.

I also expect to see more creativity in the offensive scheme and we should in 09'. We still have to keep in mind that Zorn played his rookie year last year.

Point is we went 6-2 with Zorn and a healthy team. We went 8-8 with Zorn and a unhealthy team and not much depth. I certainly agree Zorn needs to step up his playcall and adaptability, and of course some of the blame is his. But not all of it. As was stated earlier.

But its way to early to say that Zorn lacks the ability. IMO

Agreed, we don't know all the factors and limitations at play. It is just kind of frustrating to see other teams facing some of the same challenges (new offense, new coaches, shaky OL) doing the necessary things to get the ball into the end zone and we stubbornly stuck to what wasn't really working anymore.

How 'bout we get the regular offensive plays down before we start doing trick plays? I don't know why people are making such a fuss about this.

Exactly. Plus, as dmek said, why tip anyone off that we may use it? I'm sure Randle El could run some wildcat for us, but why announce it?

Exactly. Plus, as dmek said, why tip anyone off that we may use it? I'm sure Randle El could run some wildcat for us, but why announce it?

What, you didn't catch Tony Sparano's press conference last offseason telling the league that they were going to run the wildcat? LOL.

OK. What ever you say. Tell that to Samuels, Jansen, Geisinger,Thomas and Portis to name a few. Not getting into the Zorn thing again. You have your opinion I have mine. If you believe injuries and fatigue didnt play into our late season losses then your looking at things narrowly and putting the blame on Zorn completly. I dont make excuses for Zorn. I really doubt it took 8 games for the NFL to figure out our "Hybrid" vanilla-run first offense. And Zorns statement means we probably will be using the wildcat. IMO

I take it straight from the players mouths. Portis said that halfway through the season the coaches started to tell him how to hit the hole, how to fall and thus their offensive production went way down. Portis was extremely vocal and upset about the fact that he was expected to be the workhorse and was constantly "running into a bunch of jerseys". The NFL has evolved. Archaic coaching does not work anymore. You can't just call 50-gut on every other first down and expect your guys to simply "execute" it. This might have worked 30 years ago, not now. While our O lines' age and injuries could be partly to blame, I still maintain that stubborn coaching and dated philosophies are the death of a lot of potential talent in the NFL. This has been a problem for a while now...coaches not willing to relinquish control or to adapt with the times.

Agreed, we don't know all the factors and limitations at play. It is just kind of frustrating to see other teams facing some of the same challenges (new offense, new coaches, shaky OL) doing the necessary things to get the ball into the end zone and we stubbornly stuck to what wasn't really working anymore.

I hear ya Paintrain, But unfortunatly we faced all three challenges. And I agree it is definatly frustating.