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Priorities for the Offense in 2022 - how long does it take?

lUCX9

Benchwarmer
Nov 30, 2018
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1) Find/Develop a Quarterback.
2) Fix the Offensive Line to protect QB
3) Scheme receivers open, and catch both easy and contested balls.
4) Find/Develop depth at RB. No more walkons toting the rock.

Anything else?

Does he have it in him to stabilize, rehabilitate, and develop an offense so disastrous as ours was in 2021?

How long will it take? 1 year? 2?
 
In his past jobs Bell adjusted to defenses and did after half time which is what coach Allen was wanting. He also had better running plays, more formations, different motions, more screen passes, and more play action plays. I am not overwhelmed with this hire but willing to see how the offense looks like with him as OC.
 
In his past jobs Bell adjusted to defenses and did after half time which is what coach Allen was wanting. He also had better running plays, more formations, different motions, more screen passes, and more play action plays. I am not overwhelmed with this hire but willing to see how the offense looks like with him as OC.
If nothing else, experience alone, he has way more than Sheridan did, who may have been an up and comer, but his next job should have been a QB coach at a top school, not OC at IU at 33 with his thin resume at the time. (And Like Bell after UMass, hope Sheridan learns and grows from the disaster 2020 year and becomes a better coach moving forward.)
 
1) Find/Develop a Quarterback.
2) Fix the Offensive Line to protect QB
3) Scheme receivers open, and catch both easy and contested balls.
4) Find/Develop depth at RB. No more walkons toting the rock.

Anything else?

Does he have it in him to stabilize, rehabilitate, and develop an offense so disastrous as ours was in 2021?

How long will it take? 1 year? 2?
That is a tall task for anyone, but it is reality. Timeline? We must see progress year one followed by results year two.
 
The offense will improve next year. My guess is they will average around 21 pts a game which won't save Allen's job. They will score 28 a game out of conference and against the weakest teams on the schedule and score 14 a game against the good teams. If the defense gets fixed they will win three of four games next year, but I can't see Allen saving his job. The one hire he needed to get right he got wrong.
 
1) Find/Develop a Quarterback.
2) Fix the Offensive Line to protect QB
3) Scheme receivers open, and catch both easy and contested balls.
4) Find/Develop depth at RB. No more walkons toting the rock.

Anything else?

Does he have it in him to stabilize, rehabilitate, and develop an offense so disastrous as ours was in 2021?

How long will it take? 1 year? 2?

Fix the Oline and #4 doesn't matter.
 
In his past jobs Bell adjusted to defenses and did after half time which is what coach Allen was wanting. He also had better running plays, more formations, different motions, more screen passes, and more play action plays. I am not overwhelmed with this hire but willing to see how the offense looks like with him as OC.
And the hard truth is that he is our OC and it is time to get behind him....not help him fail. I was a bit shocked by the choice but I have been around IU FB long enough to know that what happens behind closed door is rarely imagined by IU fans. What dynamic was in play for this hire? A quick survey of potential candidates might have revealed a very short list. Waiting to be turned down by someone after the bowl season could de disastrous for the program...maybe. No winning OC might have been willing to risk all at IU. THAT is an old and familiar problem here. I am willing to assume that Allen got the best of the available men willing to come. Could he really risk waiting for weeks to still be put behind the 8-Ball?

We are all guessing but IU has a distinct pattern in how it operates...good or bad...and this smells of hiring we have seen before. I will give Bell a chance and will support him 100%...until he prove a failure at a historically failing program.

Isn't this fun? NOT!
 
I agree that the OL is the biggest area of concern that NEEDS to be addressed. With that said, we see every year where an OC comes in and turns around some previously stagnant offense. Whether its because of simpler reads for the QB, taking advantage of personnel, or something else. Like, there was no reason Tiller should have been able to turn Purdue into a scoring machine in year 1 with Billy Dicken at QB. Or DeBoer should have flipped IU's offense after the Debord years. Or Mike Leach (who is a genius) should be able to blow up offensive stats anywhere he goes more or less immediately. Or, on the other side of the field, that Tom Allen should have been able to completely flip the script on Indiana's defense.

I'm not saying he's going to turn the IU offense into a juggernaut in year 1, I'm just saying he wouldn't be the first person to make a good run playing the hand he's dealt. And at the end of the day, IU doesn't need 42 ppg, they need 25 with consistent ability to drive for a couple minutes of game time.
 
I agree that the OL is the biggest area of concern that NEEDS to be addressed. With that said, we see every year where an OC comes in and turns around some previously stagnant offense. Whether its because of simpler reads for the QB, taking advantage of personnel, or something else. Like, there was no reason Tiller should have been able to turn Purdue into a scoring machine in year 1 with Billy Dicken at QB. Or DeBoer should have flipped IU's offense after the Debord years. Or Mike Leach (who is a genius) should be able to blow up offensive stats anywhere he goes more or less immediately. Or, on the other side of the field, that Tom Allen should have been able to completely flip the script on Indiana's defense.

I'm not saying he's going to turn the IU offense into a juggernaut in year 1, I'm just saying he wouldn't be the first person to make a good run playing the hand he's dealt. And at the end of the day, IU doesn't need 42 ppg, they need 25 with consistent ability to drive for a couple minutes of game time.
 
Speaking of playing the hand that Coach Bell has been dealt .
Which proven Big Ten East offensive players do we have returning that he can build upon ?
 
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Speaking of playing the hand that Coach Bell has been dealt .
Which proven Big Ten East offensive players do we have returning that he can build upon ?
From the skill positions: I think Swinton (WR), Ellis (WR, I think he'll switch back), & Barner (TE) have shown the potential in limited action. Matthews (WR) as well, but it's always hard to predict how a WR will come back from an ACL injury. I like Ervin-Poindexter (RB) as a situational guy/3rd down back, but we definitely need a lead dog in that room. QB is a big question mark, but I'd say McCulley seems sturdy & fearless in the run game, so that's at least reminiscent of what Bell had some success with at Maryland. I don't really trust McCully slinging the ball and I honestly don't think he really trusts himself at this point, so that's going to be on Bell to put him in a position to succeed if he gets the nod, which I don't think is remotely a foregone conclusion at this point.

From a line perspective, I don't know what they're going to do to play to the OL strengths and hide the weaknesses. Because it's been a rough two seasons up front.
 
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