The offense is a conglomeration of issues. The OL being banged up, and not great to begin with even when the starters are healthy, is an issue.
We’re spending nearly $24M in cap space on two TEs that have given us a total of 2 TDs so far this season. None of our wideouts put the fear of God into the defense. Nobody is moving that other safety deep consistently to account for a game-breaker. I liked the fact that Jones saw time on offense last night and they drafted Thornton for his speed before simplifying the offense. So the latter’s lack of use, even if it’s just a shovel pass to get him the ball in space, is kind-boggling.
Mac hasn’t proven to be anything more than a mid starter in this league, either. It APPEARS as if he’s mentally soft still. Visibly pouts when something doesn’t go his way, runs way too hot, etc. But now, I’m also thinking he is physically soft. I was willing to give the slide before the first down marker last week a pass, but he did it again last night when the team could have used a tough leadership play. Lower your shoulder and fight. He’s also visibly skittish when the pocket begins to collapse, which was one of the big knocks on him at Bolles when he played here, locally. That’s why he was only a 3* recruit. But one could also blame that on his frame… previously.
Now we get to Fat Matt. He’s not an OC. That’s about as simple as I can make it. The offense did not need to change a lick from what has worked for two decades. Even given what I just said about Mac, he was a fit in the more traditional version of the E-P we were running. Patricia, as is often the case with “geniuses” out-thought himself and, for some reason, Bill listened. The offense is simplified and, because of that, it’s highly predictable. Is there any doubt that the ball is going to Meyers on a slant or a crosser, or to Rham on an out in key passing situations? I’ve already mentioned the lack of creativity with Thornton. His issues are exacerbated by what he has to work with as a play caller.
The only consistent bright spot on that side of the ball is Rham. Fat Matt has been bad. A fish out of water. But it’s unfair to put it all on him. This just isn’t a good offense. Look back to last year under McDaniels. Aside from a 50-point output against the the worst team in the league, the highest point total in the last quarter of the season was 24 points. After the Titans game, Mac and the offense got figured out based on what they put on tape, and we’ve seen more of the same this season unless we’re playing a bad pass defense.
