The Jaguars were lucky to get a win today, and that is due in large part to very poor play selection by the offensive coordinator. Dirk Koetter refuses to break tendencies enough, and he's a pass-happy collegiate coach who does what he wants, not what matches the team's strengths.
Dirk has already been called out by Torry Holt and MJD this year. Torry isn't happy with the route designs for the WRs, which speaks volumes to me because he came from arguably one of the most prolific passing offenses in history. If Torry says he isn't happy with the designs, then I would assume they may be lacking in some way. MJD called out Dirk for abandoning the running game, which Dirk has done in the past. He loves to pass the ball, and he should be forced to call more runs.
Dirk Makes Poor Play Selections
Blame the pick six David threw on horrific play calling by Koetter. The ball shouldn't have been in the air on that play, it should've been on the ground. Too many times we shied away from the run when we should have kept going there. Dirk Koetter gets too cute for his own good, and it hurts the team. Run blocking is much simpler for linemen to do from a technique perspective, and since both of our tackles are rookies, we should be running more than we are. I don't care about the totals in carries or yards, run the ball no matter what. The WR screen pass that Dirk seems to love, is almost always a wasted play. Dillard is the only player who has had success with that play. You are paying your RB top dollar, feed him the rock, don't get cute and try to pass out to a WR. Too much risk, too little reward.
Dirk is a Pass-First Coordinator on a Run-First Team
With under five minutes to play and holding the lead, we shouldn't be passing the ball on screens to Greg Jones on 2nd and short. When it's 2nd down and short, run the ball... don't pass it, or at least run a play action and take a shot down-field. Too many things can go wrong; a sack, fumble, interception, or penalty takes away your easy first down. We saw this happen on more than one occasion to the Jaguars due to Dirk Koetter's pass-happy selections.
How many times did we throw for 7-9 yards on first down, and then instead of running the ball, we went to the pass again, resulting in a sack, leading us to third and long. Which forces us to HAVE to pass again. Many times we had 3 straight pass plays when your weakness is pass-protection. Idiotic. We got lucky on one drive where we had two gimme pass interference calls, but without those, we wouldn't have done anything that drive. We went to pass, and lost enough yardage to put ourselves out of field goal range on one occasion, again due to the poor play selection.
Dirk Doesn't Grasp the Concept of "Tendencies"
Please, Dirk, break tendencies every once in a while. We didn't run the ball out of a single back set the entire game. When we went into a single back line-up, we passed the ball. On the pick-six play, Greg Jones was the single back in the play (2nd and short). It was after a substantial run by MJD, and rather than run a play-action pass, we run a flare to Greg Jones, which is intercepted because Leonard Little didn't even play the run on that play. He saw a single-back set, and Greg Jones (who rarely gets the ball), and he played Greg for the pass the whole way, which led to his interception and subsequent TD return.
Breaking tendencies doesn't just mean running on passing downs or vice versa. It means not running the same types of plays out of the same formations all the time. When we line up with Greg Jones alone in the back-field, he either pass blocks or runs a flare pattern. He's the highest paid FB in the league, and he should get the ball at least a few times a game. His raw power and size is the perfect compliment to MJD. Break tendencies, Dirk.
Dirk is Infatuated With the Shotgun
What kind of "run-first" team lines up in the shotgun on third and short. I can't tell you how many times the team lined up in that horrendous shotgun formation. FYI, the benefit to lining up in the traditional under-center set is that the QB doesn't have to take his eyes off the defense to recieve the ball (as he has to do in the shotgun formation). The shotgun's only benefit is that it provides extra protection due to a built in cushion. That benefit isn't of importance when you're running short to intermediate routes because you get the ball out before the defese could get to you anyway. However, Dirk continues to use the shotgun it situations where it hinders more than helps. We don't have to be in the shotgun every single third-down. It also eliminates any real threat the play-action can pose. No defense is fooled by a fake hand-off out of the shotgun.
Dirk Doesn't Know What Yard Line the Team is On
Dirk loves to pass so much, that when the Jaguars were in field goal range, on 2nd and short, Dirk calls a pass and Britton misses his man altogether (as rookies will do occasionally when pass-blocking), leading to a sack, which pushed us out of field goal range. Dirk, RUN THE BALL!!! I mean, c'mon man. I just can't grasp what Koetter is thinking when he's calling these plays.
Give the ball to MJD more, or anyone for that matter, just run it. If you try to say he got it to much, I defer to his huge contract, and the huge contract his FB has, and say to you, "Two players who's contracts total nearly 100million, should be on the field and getting the ball more... PERIOD."
The Jaguar's got lucky today, but if their Offensive Coordinator doesn't improve and learn these simple things, then he'll hold us back from ever excelling (until we get the offensive line and WR's to run his pass-happy scheme).
-Collin Streetman