In the spirit of more discussion about the play on the field, I offer my very amateur, haven't-really-strapped-it-on analysis from game 1. In particular, I want to talk about why I felt a little better about the offense after watching that game.
It starts with the first play on offense. I love calling an aggressive, down-the-field pass play on play #1. Wright drops back and hits Bryce Kirtz on a deep out for a great gain to start the season. The exciting things about that play included the incredibly clean pocket Wright had for a significant amount of time which allowed Kirtz to get wide open down the field. The throw was strong and on target. While it seems like a simple play, it was play that was a struggle for the last several NU QBs not named Ben Bryant - either because the QB didn't have the arm or because the QB had happy feet watching the pass rush collapse. Wright hit similar passes like that a few times on Saturday, which is very encouraging.
Wright looks like he can play the part this year. He missed some throws, including those fade routes where I felt like he just didn't get enough touch on the ball. Someone on here commented that he lacked arm strength, but I thought just the opposite. I thought he threw bullets on every pass, even when a softer touch would have been better. I don't think arm strength will be the problem. Consistency may be the problem as he would hit one throw and then miss the next. But overall, I think he has the ability to lead a productive passing game. On top of that, he is a weapon running the ball, which we saw a little, but I expect we'll see even more as the competition gets tougher.
Also exciting was seeing the way Cam Porter was running the ball. He was his old, violent-running self making some nice cuts running inside and then crashing into defenders at the end. His run inside the 10 yard line on that ill-fated first half drive was some powerful inside running that this team could really use this year. I was somewhat disappointed in the other two backs. I don't think they really displayed anything. But it is early. One 75-yard screen pass to Himon is probably coming at some point soon!
Overall, the 13 points doesn't look so great on the scoreboard, but this was a game I felt like we should have easily scored 23-30 points. In the first half, the offense couldn't quite get out of it's own way. We made some nice plays and started a drive, but then had a mistake play that threw us off schedule. On the first drive, it was the botched snap, shovel pass to Covey that led to a big loss, killing a drive near mid-field. Then there was another drive that was promising ending with the first fumbled snap. Then a penalty slowed another drive. Then we finally got our act together only to see that crushing goal line fumble. I know they won't be perfect, but if they can clean some of those mistakes up, I think they will score points this year.
Finally, I'm still blindly believing that Lujan is an offensive wunderkind until I've seen enough to dissuade me of that fantasy. The playcalling, while not revolutionary, also didn't seem stagnant and predictable, which it had become under the last two OCs. We'll see how that looks going to game #2.
