I think it IS the offense
I read this board daily. I have been so impressed with you guys and the high quality, interesting and intelligent posts you make that I have been intimidated about putting in my two cents worth.
HOWEVER, reading this thread I feel compelled to jump in. I DO feel that there is something about Whiz's offense that is giving trouble to our QB's, and possibly the WR's, too.
This is not the kind of theory that can be proved or disproved with numbers. By the numbers, our offense is on pace to match last year (#17 now, finished last year #18). But many of this year's yards and points were accumulated while running the no huddle offense.
There are a bunch of interesting circumstances that lend credence to the theory that it is difficulty with Whiz's base offense that is causing our players to struggle.
Whiz in Pittsburgh: Ben R. was successful in Pittsburgh in Whiz's first year, BUT the offense was simplified. Ben's second year, he struggled mightily; partly due to injury and appendicitis, but maybe his diffulties could also be partially attributed to problems with Whisenhunt's offense. This year, with Whiz gone, Ben is having a much better year.
Whiz in AZ: As much as people like to denigrate Leinart's success in college, if you ever watched him play, there is no doubt he is capable of reading defenses, calling audibles at the line, and throwing the ball downfield. He did have some AWFUL games last year, most young QB's do while getting accustomed to the speed of the NFL, along with other rookie issues.
What can Leinart's struggles be attributed to this year? According to Whiz, he was at all the off-season training programs, after the SF game he was coming in at 5:30 to look at film, and was doing everything they asked of him. So why was he struggling so badly? Some say they were seeing improvement, like the last drive in the Pittsburgh game, but he still did not look like he had confidence in what he was doing. While Leinart may not be the most mature 24-year old in the NFL, hopefully he is not so stupid as to jeopardize his incentives and endorsements by failing to prepare for games.
Now, take Kurt. Wow, he was hot on the no-huddle offense, night and day from Leinart in the base O. Calling the plays himself, for the most part. AND calling running plays, not just passing plays, some really good runs for Edge, as in the Baltimore game.
Then Leinart is hurt, Warner is in on base offense. 21 yards on 2 passing plays, then Fitz fumbles, Elton Brown misses a block, and Warner is out, too. Not so much success with Warner in the base offense.
As posters above noted, Whiz has made significant impact on this team, changing the culture, teaching good work ethics and better technique, not giving up until the game is over.
But to me it seems that there is something counter-intuitive to his offense that makes it difficult for quarterbacks to learn, witness the continuous checking of wristbands. It seems like our wide receivors have been having a hard time getting open, and that Leinart was going to his checkdowns a lot, short inside passes to Edge and Bienemann or Pope. This could be because Leinart at times was not seeing the open receivor, but it could also be because Whiz has crafted an offense based on a tight end's point of view.
As far as our WR's - why are they having so much trouble getting open? Not because every team we've played has had shut-down corners. Why is Fitz fumbling - three times this year, I think??? Could it be possible that the routes our WR's are being asked to run are counter-intuitive for them as well, making it more difficult to get open and to catch the ball? (Blaming Fitz's fumbles on Whiz's O is a stretch, but I haven't heard too many other explanations)
If it is indeed a fact that our QB's, WR's, and O-line are struggling, hopefully Whiz would make the necessary changes. I think it would be a great idea if Whiz would re-consider calling the plays on a routine basis. He would still have control of the game plan, and could keep the option open of sticking in his signature "trick" plays when needed, but leave the routine play-calling to Haley. IMO Whiz needs to take another look at "his" offense, bring in Kurt, Matt, Edge, Q and Fitz (maybe now Tim) to see what it is that is stopping up our offense. A football team is not a democracy, but a coach who ignores the fact that his offense is struggling is missing the boat. Whiz may have tons of confidence in his offence, but his QB's, RB's, and WR's need to share that confidence or they will continue to struggle on the field.
