Dotson jumps to the top of this week's depth chart.
- Thread starter 1000_OaksLion
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Glad to see staff finally wised up and taught him how to play outside, so he could get on field more and not play at the expense of Hamler. Why this took so long, I have no idea.
Maybe he was a frosh, but I know the folks on this board would have had him ready to go from play 1 and would be perfect as coaches.
Maybe because he wasn’t ready....I know, it’s a novel concept that coaches who are actually at practice every day know more than Internet posters that don’t watch a minute of practice.
Now you're being ridiculous.
Go to GOPSUSPORTS, choose Football, look at the Team Info drop down and you'll see Depth Chart.
Here's a direct link for this weeks chart.
https://gopsusports.com/documents/2018/8/28/8_28_FB_Depth_Chart.pdf
Wasn't ready for what? To learn how to play outside WR instead of slot? All the WRs should know multiple positions, this isnt going from WR to LB or CB. Cmon.
I guess Barkley wasnt ready to play against Temple in his freshman year either but was ready to play the next week.
I've coached camps with Allen Robinson at my alma mater. All WRs in HS know how to play inside or out, its really not that hard. In the NFL 95% of them line up at both spots on the field at some point of the game. Did Dotson only run his high school routes out of the slot? I know Hamler didnt considering he went to the same HS as myself and A-Rob.
You have all of camp, scout team and countless other opportunities during the season to use these WRs at multiple positions. Handcuffing them to just the slot or just outside is ridiculous. Glad we used the worthless Polk all year though instead of Dotson.
Franklin made the comment just two weeks ago Dotson is a playmaker and will play WR to spell Hamler? Then a week later it seems he could play outside. To my point, thats how long it takes to get a WR to learn to play outside instead of inside, a few days.
I guess Barkley wasnt ready to play against Temple in his freshman year either but was ready to play the next week.
I've coached camps with Allen Robinson at my alma mater. All WRs in HS know how to play inside or out, its really not that hard. In the NFL 95% of them line up at both spots on the field at some point of the game. Did Dotson only run his high school routes out of the slot? I know Hamler didnt considering he went to the same HS as myself and A-Rob.
You have all of camp, scout team and countless other opportunities during the season to use these WRs at multiple positions. Handcuffing them to just the slot or just outside is ridiculous. Glad we used the worthless Polk all year though instead of Dotson.
Franklin made the comment just two weeks ago Dotson is a playmaker and will play WR to spell Hamler? Then a week later it seems he could play outside. To my point, thats how long it takes to get a WR to learn to play outside instead of inside, a few days.
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Another good reason to be patient about bringing Dotson along, and pairing him with Hamler, is that gives us two WRs who go about 175# each, not usually ideal for blocking purposes.
I mean this respectfully, and I do appreciate his contributions to the program, but I do hope the act of moving Dotson to the top of the depth chart is the beginning of the end for Brandon Polk on the football team. I have followed Polk's 3 year career and he has either consistently dropped passes, been non-existent, or had mixed results in his swing running plays (he was his best at this when he was a Freshman two years ago). I have never been a fan of awarding loyalty while restricting the development of younger talent on a team. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomore wide receiver talent on the team, so it is time to develop them and allow them to step up and be contributors in games. If we want to compete with the big boys (i.e. be an elite team), we have to process certain players who we know are not going to be contributors.
He may not be a great blocker yet, we dont know. But the fact he is 175 does not mean he isnt. Ive seen 250 pound tight ends and 300 pound lineman that cant block. Dotson isnt blocking 280 pound lineman either, usually corners the same size. Blocking as a WR is like rebounding, its a desire and want to get after it, its why the tallest guy in hoops isnt always the best rebounder. Technique and desire.
Can you speak to your 1a coaching experience and how quickly you had your frosh WR's up to speed? At least give a point of reference to your genius and explain why you still aren't on the sidelines at a major college. To act as if there is no adjustment and compare high school ball to college is a bit naive IMO. There is also a point where you can overwhelm some of the younger guys. So now you're upset he made the adjustments and got the kid on the field, but it wasn't on your pretend HS timeline.
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Coaches would be so much better if they just had our insight. Left to their own designs they get worse and worse. They so need the fans to keep them honest. Look at the list of ranked teams/coaches that forget how to coach since last year:
Wisky
PSU
TCU
Auburn
So. Cal.
Miami
Stanford
Virginia Tech
Michigan State
The coaches of these teams have seen their rankings plummet......I don't understand why they can't see what we do. Do they self assess?Do they assign staff to read their respective message boards to get coaching help?
They make things sooooo difficult and we know how simple winning coaching can be.
Wisky
PSU
TCU
Auburn
So. Cal.
Miami
Stanford
Virginia Tech
Michigan State
The coaches of these teams have seen their rankings plummet......I don't understand why they can't see what we do. Do they self assess?Do they assign staff to read their respective message boards to get coaching help?
They make things sooooo difficult and we know how simple winning coaching can be.
Cant make this any more clear to you about our dear Coach Franklin. He is going to play guys who aren't as talented or as good over others because of experience and he "owes" it to the players. That is why Akeel Lynch played over Barkley against Temple and PSU when they got beat down like a pulp. It is why Koa Farmer continues to start games and has to get pulled off the field after getting absolutely destroyed in the run game for Parsons. It is why Brandon Polk and Tompkins have played over more talented WRs this year.
It goes back to James Franklin making a statement just two weeks ago that Dotson is a play maker and needs to get on the field and they will relieve Hamler (our best player who should never leave the field unless injured) for Dotson because both are slot WRs which is downright asinine. So then a week later (thankfully) he's playing outside WR, what an amazing practice week at outside WR he must have had and then he executed it almost flawlessly in the game.
I could go further back when every player and coach in August was saying how great Dotson looked and how he lead camp in WR Tds. But now that its too late we burn his RS late in the year.
Its not rocket science. I go back and run football camps at my HS alma mater with guys who you draft in fantasy football, I played elite HS football with many many college and NFL players, including myself (college). I won state championships with these guys and with the current D line coach of the Buffalo Bills. I know the Linehans well. I don't pretend that I coach D1 but I do know football fairly well from a player/coach perspective simply by experience and the circle I have relationships with and I know its not hard at all to take a talented WR and move him from slot WR to outside WR, a position he has played all of his life. It may even be more natural for him to play outside and the learning curve was from having to play the inside.
I'll always respect the coaching staff as they work with these kids more than any of us, it doesn't make their decisions right. If that was the case then John Donovan and John Butler would still be our coordinators.
This is a discussion forum, heaven for bid anyone criticized the greatest coach in the history of college football. Polk and Thomkins forever!!!
DISCLAIMER *I do not believe James Franklin or any coaches this year should be fired. So that won't work. This team will have 9 or 10 wins with a young team with seniors outside of a couple who just aren't very talented. So lets not say I'm saying that.
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I guess loyalty to players is more imprtant then winning games. They weren't ready bla bla b.s.
Doesn't seem fair to rest of the team.
Doesn't seem fair to rest of the team.
So since Barkley didn’t start week 1 as a frosh, but was in there from there on out you think you're making a point. You realize Lynch still HAD TO play on passing downs most of that year as Barkley was not a good blocker early on which is totally NORMAL. This DUMB myth every frosh is ready to play early on as a frosh is hysterical. Some are ready mentally but need to get stronger. Others are ready physically but the game is too fast for them. Then you have the ones who can handle it right away.
Franklin has shown over and over again if you are ready you will play. You talk about Dotson catching the TD’s, but how good was his blocking early on? You never ONCE mentioned that, why? Are you going to sit there and say he had a better grasp of the playbook in August and September than guys there for 4 years? Really? Answer those questions for me. You want a realistic conversation about this, well then you need to bring it all to the table.
How is it Pat F jumped in as a starter quicker? Oh yeah you forgot about him too. You’re right it’s not rocket science and FANS always talk out their arse with about 2% of the information the actual staff has.
Nick Saban must be some stupid SOB for not starting Tua earlier last year as a true frosh. He could use people like you on his staff as he was lost too. He must hate winning. This isn’t high school football and there is a learning curve at this level believe it or not. If someone told you otherwise, you were lied to. You can blow smoke up other people’s arses all day long, but not mine. This isn’t just a Franklin thing either. EVERY set of fans THINK they know better from the outside as to who needs to start, but they are in the stands or typing on a message board for a reason. Their idea of player development is looking at the stars besides a kids bame or a video game ranking. If the starter misses a block or has a bad game, start a frosh in September will fix everything. God forbid a staff bring a kid along who wasn’t an EE and get him up to speed prior to starting. Woe is PSU under JF. Such victims We Are!!!!
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Not to mention there are off the field requirements/adjustments before seeing playing time. Like going to class, getting homework done, getting into a daily routine, learning the playbook, film study, etc. None of us here know how quickly Dotson developed off the field, despite his on field talent. For some reason, this continually gets overlooked. Perhaps the coaches weren't looking to throw this young guy into a sink or swim situation and overwhelm him.
EE's have a much easier transition as they have a semester or two (summer) in the books and have seen the speed of play in the spring. Guys that get there late are behind in every way, but still have time to get on the field when they earn it. This staff has shown time and time again it will go with the younger guy if the player is ready and better. We have had a true frosh DT running second team all year long. 1st team true frosh TE. Parsons has been on the field all year long and was learning a whole new position.
Yet we're upset that a WR didn't start earlier in the season. This WR may weigh 170 pounds and we have no idea when he really had a firm grasp of the playbook or how well he could block. Frosh skill players on offense tend to struggle with those 2 things the most. Nobody here knows where he was at in September versus now with his overall game. People get upset by losses and think of reasons to b!tch and that will never change.
Despite your so very impressive background you and the rest of the fans have no idea what is going on with the team. There could be academic adjustments, injuries, behavior issues, etc I know one thing for sure, Franklin wants to win more than you or me
Do you think that Franklin is the only one who has this approach? I don't think it's a good thing for programs to be benching upperclassmen who have been productive and good soldiers for people who are more talented, but that their experience might hinder them. As a general maxim, it's a good approach. Of course there are going to be exceptions to the rule, such as barkley vs. lynch (though do you really think barkley would have made a difference in that game?). I mean, bama fans were probably wondering why tua didn't play vs. auburn.
I'll address the crazies in one thread:
Saban admitted Tua should have played more as did the OC who left for the Bills. Funny I know because my buddy is Dline coach for Bills. Saban was torn because Hurts won a natty and had lost what, one game in his career. Anyway, comparing Bama situation to this or Tua/Hurts to Brandon Polk/Dotson is comparing the pope to a pimp.
Saban admitted Tua should have played more as did the OC who left for the Bills. Funny I know because my buddy is Dline coach for Bills. Saban was torn because Hurts won a natty and had lost what, one game in his career. Anyway, comparing Bama situation to this or Tua/Hurts to Brandon Polk/Dotson is comparing the pope to a pimp.
Perhaps. Perhaps they aren't ready to overwhelm Parsons by stating him over Farmer.
Never said every frosh is ready to play from the jump. Special talents often are especially when your guys ahead are playing like absolute slugs.
Actually acknowledged respect for coaching staff. Your post reads like a Freeh report.
Why are we comparing tight end position to WR now and topic at hand, which is slot WR to outside WR.
Odd main article today is Hamler moving outside more, which he says he's more than happy with and comfortable. This would go back to my point of it takes longer to learn inside than outside because all of these kids played outside in HS. Staff stuck Dotson inside so perhaps that's why he wasn't ready I guess but if left outside it's natural and get him on field with KJ quicker. Clearly his talent was on display this summer, but Polk.
I'll ask KJ this summer and report back. He's still adored at OLSM even though he left for IMG.
Hurts did not win a title (think Blake Sims was the qb one year prior when they won). Clemson beat Hurts in his first title attempt.
You are missing the point. EVERY coach struggles with this idea of when to pull a shirt on kids that are almost ready but need to work on a thing or two. The no-brainer decisions are the easiest to make, but very few fall into that spot. This notion that Franklin won't play frosh is ridiculous, but keep going with it.
Why are we comparing the two? Well for one, TE has many more pass blocking responsibilities and is crucial in run blocking....so it's a bigger impact on the playing field in terms of the run game and pass protection. So why is it that JF trusted one and not the other earlier? You are the one blowing the smoke out there, so tell eveyone just why Pat F started ahead of Dotson earlier in the year?
What is your make pretend reason why one frosh was playing over the other? Just give a valid reason this time.....anything? I'm still waiting for one good reason why Pat Freirmuth was able to see the field quicker and start, but somehow JF who doesn't play frosh and did lift the shirt off of Dotson won't play frosh. Even though every single year since he has arrived he has done so. When you finally come to realize that, you can stop with the whole senioritis route and realize your FOS about this.
JT has had a couple impressive runs in his time here. he actually looks like a guy who could help in 3rd and short situations. also has had a great attitude.
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