Greg Frey to Michigan question...

[Bobsnotbucks]

I think the real point is Freys worst line this year was...average, which I agree with. Many reasons went into those results but...

Weve gone decades with lines far worse than average. Seems we may be a bit spoiled, even after so short of a success record.

What Frey and Wilson did here with the oline was historic...yes, historic. Weve become used to line excellence very quickly. Its the key to everything else. No RB can excell without a good one...but a good line can make an average back look great.

What those 2 coaches brought to our program has no modern parallel in IU history. Seeing both gone and expecting things to just continue as if they were here is very short sighted. Not saying it cant happen, but if there was a better oline coach than Frey available, Harbaug would have hired him instead of Frey dont you think?

Seems logical anyone we hire will be less desirerable than the one we had. Thats just football, I wish him luck, but his departure will be felt, like it or not. We will recover, but how much is TBD.

You should've seen the Bill Mallory lines in the mid to late 80's and early 90's. They were every bit the equal of the last few years. Big (for their time), technically sound, and very physical. And they didn't benefit from a spread offense with wide splits and quick passes that kept the D line on its heels. Everyone knew they were going to pound the ball, yet they were still very effective.

Frey is a good coach, but he's hardly irreplaceable.

 

[IUcolorado]

You should've seen the Bill Mallory lines in the mid to late 80's and early 90's. They were every bit the equal of the last few years. Big (for their time), technically sound, and very physical. And they didn't benefit from a spread offense with wide splits and quick passes that kept the D line on its heels. Everyone knew they were going to pound the ball, yet they were still very effective.

Frey is a good coach, but he's hardly irreplaceable.

Dude, I was in the stands for almost every home game during the Mallory era...and no it wasnt...not even close.

 

[Bobsnotbucks]

Dude, I was in the stands for almost every home game during the Mallory era...and no it wasnt...not even close.

It was every bit as good, if not better, and that's no knock on what Frey has been able to do. Go look at the results and you'll see. He's a very good O line coach, but there are plenty of guys out there.

 

[Cougar1]

Doubled his salary, does a lot for the mind.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Dude, I was in the stands for almost every home game during the Mallory era...and no it wasnt...not even close.

Beat me to it. I was there as well from '87 on.

 

[Flooded Timber]

Beat me to it. I was there as well from '87 on.

I was there as well during the Mallory years. Some of the OLs during that period were good , but in my opinion, they did not match what we had in 2014 and 2015, Not even close. I also think the spread does not necessarily benefit an OL. If you ask me, spread requires more athleticism from the entire line. A heavy run game out of a traditional I lets you focus 70% of the time on run blocking and maybe one or two guys pulling. If balanced between run and pass, spread requires equal focus on pass blocking and run blocking. Zone pick-up also requires more athleticism in spread since there are fewer backs to help out. Zone read out of the spread requires a lot more lateral movement from all lineman not just the one or two that might pull in an I formation sweep or trap. Just my thoughts.

 

[Bobsnotbucks]

I was there as well during the Mallory years. Some of the OLs during that period were good , but in my opinion, they did not match what we had in 2014 and 2015, Not even close. I also think the spread does not necessarily benefit an OL. If you ask me, spread requires more athleticism from the entire line. A heavy run game out of a traditional I lets you focus 70% of the time on run blocking and maybe one or two guys pulling. If balanced between run and pass, spread requires equal focus on pass blocking and run blocking. Zone pick-up also requires more athleticism in spread since there are fewer backs to help out. Zone read out of the spread requires a lot more lateral movement from all lineman not just the one or two that might pull in an I formation sweep or trap. Just my thoughts.

Wilson always ran his version of the spread as a run first option designed to make the running game the primary focus of the offense. Not sure how that made it harder on the O linemen, especially since there were typically fewer defenders in the box compared with the I formation, ISO offenses Mal ran. All imo, too.

 

[Flooded Timber]

Wilson always ran his version of the spread as a run first option designed to make the running game the primary focus of the offense. Not sure how that made it harder on the O linemen, especially since there were typically fewer defenders in the box compared with the I formation, ISO offenses Mal ran. All imo, too.

We can disagree, no problem with that. I have rewatched some Mallory year games (or segments thereof) and some games from 2014 or 2015 and the movement required by OL in the speead, as a whole, is just amazing. I don't know which line would be stronger but I know which I believe has to be more athletic.

 

[Bobsnotbucks]

We can disagree, no problem with that. I have rewatched some Mallory year games (or segments thereof) and some games from 2014 or 2015 and the movement required by OL in the speead, as a whole, is just amazing. I don't know which line would be stronger but I know which I believe has to be more athletic.

No right answers but the comparisons are fun. Mal certainly ran a different offense that included a pounding fullback, and much more of the snaps were taken under center rather than the shotgun, which had an impact, too.

Frey was obviously a very good coach whose greatest value was probably recruiting. Hopefully his replacement is strong there.

 

[IUcolorado]

How anyone could say Frey was a better recruiter than coach lacks a fundamental understanding of what Coach Frey did...geeesh after his results, you have to nit pick pretty hard to find a flaw. He was a fantastic coach who squad played at a top 10 level. Sounds like sour grapes to me...vbg.

 

[Bobsnotbucks]

How anyone could say Frey was a better recruiter than coach lacks a fundamental understanding of what Coach Frey did...geeesh after his results, you have to nit pick pretty hard to find a flaw. He was a fantastic coach who squad played at a top 10 level. Sounds like sour grapes to me...vbg.

No one's nit picking Frey's contributions as a coach, though some are touting him as if they know more about his talents and contributions than they really do, and their panic at his departure kind of underscores that. Lol If Allen is as good as advertised, he'll find a suitable replacement.