Exactly eight years ago, Billy and I launched Punt John Punt. As we said at the time, our mission was to fill a gap in IU Football coverage in the realm of advanced stats and in-depth analysis. Over the years, I think we have pretty well accomplished what we set out to do. We admittedly aren’t for everyone (Tom Allen, for example, isn’t a fan! He blocked us on Twitter during his first season as head coach presumably due to our Mike DeBord criticism), but we’ve developed something of a devoted following among likeminded IU football fans (read: those with an unhealthy obsession with a mediocre-at-best football program). First and foremost, we want to thank those of you who have read our stuff, played the O/U game, interacted with us on Twitter, and generally supported our efforts. It’s been incredibly rewarding to discover that there are other IU Football fans who see the game and this program the way we do and have a genuine interest in what we could add to the conversation.
One Firing Isn’t Enough
On Sunday, Tom Allen took the necessary step of firing offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. Whatever you thought of the decision to hire Sheridan after Kalen DeBoer left, it became painfully clear this season that Sheridan had to go. I call it a “necessary” step because while the firing of Sheridan was needed to get IU back on the right track after a disastrous (to put it mildly) 2021 season, that firing alone is not sufficient. Put differently, the staffing moves IU needs to make to better compete in 2022 and beyond may start with Sheridan’s firing but they cannot end there. There are clear shortcomings in this program that cannot be remedied by bringing in a new offensive coordinator. Indeed, at least one of those shortcomings – the one we will discuss today – may even complicate the effort to hire the right OC.
Offense in the Allen Era — A Tale of Three Coordinators
We wrote early in the season about the decline of the Indiana offense. It’s somehow gotten worse.
Box Score Review – Michigan
We’re back for more football talk, mainly because the season is still going on and we have pretty sizable and ironclad contracts that require us to continue to fulfill content.
Beyond The Box Score – Maryland
We’re trying out a new format this week, with a graphic designed to look similar to our Advanced Box Score that will contain all the info gleaned from our film review of a given game – stats that don’t show up in a normal or advanced box score. We’ll call it Beyond The Box Score. The contents of the graphic should be familiar to those of you who have checked out our Film Review posts in the past.
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