This of course was before Riley stripped Langsdorf of his play calling duties. I still believe that Oregon St is a really tough job obviously, and much harder to get talent in there...but I'm starting to believe the issues at Oregon St was not just Oregon St being Oregon St
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/11/oregon_state_football_you_migh.html
Wednesday, with OSU football: you think you can call the plays better than Danny Langsdorf? Well, this week, you've got to take a number because there are a lot of applicants for his position.
With the offense struggling, the star running back starving for carries and the offensive line under siege, these are trying times for the man who calls the plays at Oregon State.
OSU play-caller Danny Langsdorf doesn't apologize for "going for it'' at UCLA
Beavers’ offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf is in his third season dialing up X’s and O’s from the press box.
The job has its ups and downs.
Langsdorf looked like a genius while OSU was scoring on four straight possessions during a 35-7 romp over Cal on Oct. 30.
He even got a thumbs-up from head coach Mike Riley’s wife, Dee, who loved the double-reverse.
“Langs was feeling good,’’ said Beavers’ wide receiver Markus Wheaton.
Seven days later, after a numbing last-second 17-14 loss to UCLA in which the offense no-showed for virtually the entire second half, Langsdorf’s I.Q. had dropped a hundred points and message boards were suggesting he might be better utilized as a bagger at Safeway.
“You win a game, and everything’s great. You lose, and you’re not very smart,’’ said Langsdorf, as OSU (4-4 overall, 3-2 Pacific 10 Conference) prepared for Saturday’s Dad’s Weekend game against Washington State (1-9, 0-7).
Riley said he has no intention of re-claiming the play-calling duties he reluctantly gave up in 2008.
And Langsdorf said he doesn’t stay awake at night wondering why he didn’t give the ball to Jacquizz Rodgers on second-and-three from the OSU 9-yard-line in the last four minutes at UCLA.
“I don’t really worry about (outside criticism). I feel confident in what we’re doing,’’ said Langsdorf.
“I can sleep at night.’’
Many fans did not sleep well after watching OSU stumble around at the Rose Bowl, going three-and-out on four straight possessions in the second half.
AP photoHead coach Mike Riley turned over play-calling to Langsdorf in 2008, but he's gone through some withdrawal
The run game did not work – Rodgers had just four carries in the third and fourth quarters – the passing game was sporadic, and quarterback Ryan Katz was often dodging Bruins’ blitzers.
“People pay good money to watch us and they all have their own opinion, and that’s good,’’ said Langsdorf.
“That’s what college football is all about. But if I worried about what everyone thought about me, I would be miserable, you know?’’
Penalties, poor blocking, mental mistakes, bad decisions by the quarterback and the loss of wide receiver/kick returner James Rodgers to a season-ending injury have turned what was supposed to be a formidable offense into something Riley and Langsdorf can barely recognize at times: OSU is ninth in the Pac-10 and 91st nationally in rushing (125.75 yards per game) and No. 8 in the Pac-10 and 84th nationally in total offense (340.63).
Yet this is the same offense that overwhelmed Cal, and put enough points on the board to beat then-No. 9 Arizona on Oct. 9, the game where James Rodgers was lost for the season.
That was a game where Langsdorf’s play-calling didn’t produce angry calls and emails.
Fast-forward to this week, and every service station attendant and bartender in Corvallis thinks he could call the plays better than Langsdorf.
“It’s the game to game inconsistency that bothers me more than anything,’’ said Riley, who is alarmed that OSU has been a poor second-half team offensively and has scored just 13 fourth-quarter points in eight games.
“How do we play as well as we did against the two top-ranked defenses in our conference (wins over Cal and Arizona) and then play like that at UCLA?’’ said Riley.
“That’s baffling.’’
Fans who think Langsdorf’s play calls are occasionally baffling must take a number. The complaint desk is busy this week.
So how does this all work?
Riley said he is actively involved in formulating game plans, but he tries to leave Langsdorf alone when the offense is on the field and it’s time to call for a Quizz run, or a bubble screen to Markus Wheaton, or an over-the-middle route to Jordan Bishop.
When Riley was the offensive coordinator at USC under John Robinson, he said Robinson rarely bothered him, telling him once, “who’s to say I have a better play (in mind) than you do?’’
Not that the head coach at OSU isn’t tempted to jump in and scream “give the ball to Quizz!’’ once in awhile.
“He lets me go,’’ said an appreciative Langsdorf.
“He’s not out there barking about anything.’’
Riley doesn’t bark, but he occasionally suffers from play-calling withdrawal.
“It’s a part of the game I really liked,’’ he said. “I sat down once and figured out that I’d called something like 10,000 plays. … I’ve been tempted (to over-rule a play) but I know better. I’ve held myself back a couple times.’’
Langsdorf, in his eighth season at Oregon State, was an offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in the Canadian Football League and assistant wide receivers coach with the NFL New Orleans Saints before coming to Corvallis.
“Danny got to the point where I felt like he was ready,’’ said Riley of the play-calling switch.
“I also understood that he has a lot more time to really get ready to play call with the verbiage and his work with the quarterbacks and the extra meeting time he has with them. … so even though it was hard for me to give up, I thought this was the best thing to do for our team.’’
Oregon State players seem to recognize the Beavers’ problems on offense have little to do with the plays being called and everything to do with the players trying to execute those plays.
“We stink at finishing games,’’ said Jacquizz Rodgers, the Pac-10’s No. 2 rusher. “We’ve got to start minimizing our mistakes. Different players are making mistakes at the end of games. It takes all eleven guys to make things work. Everybody has to do their job.’’
Katz, the first-year starting quarterback, said OSU’s second-half swoons and fourth-quarter meltdowns, “are something we have to fix. If we want to win games, we’ve got to score points in the fourth quarter. The play calling we leave up to the coaches. They’re going to put us in the best position to win.’’
Quizz also stands behind Langsdorf’s play selection.
“I wouldn’t question coach Langsdorf because he’s a mastermind at this and he gets paid to do it,’’ said Rodgers. “He has more knowledge than all of the fans. … us as players, we have to take it upon ourselves to do better on the field.’’
The Beavers only ran 20 offensive plays (not counting punts) in the second half of the UCLA game.
Fans griped about OSU passing when it appeared sticking with Quizz and the run game was the best strategy, but Langsdorf and Riley do not apologize for being aggressive late in the game with the score tied 14-14.
“We were trying to win,’’ said Riley.
“We were going after it,’’ agreed Langsdorf.
Riley said the dying seconds of the UCLA game would have been a
terrible time to over-rule his play-caller.
He knows how stressful the job can be.
“You’ve got to know the situation, you’ve got to get the formation right, you’ve got to get the play call out. You don’t ever want to stutter or stumble. You don’t want to get in the way of that as the head coach.’’
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/11/oregon_state_football_you_migh.html
Wednesday, with OSU football: you think you can call the plays better than Danny Langsdorf? Well, this week, you've got to take a number because there are a lot of applicants for his position.
With the offense struggling, the star running back starving for carries and the offensive line under siege, these are trying times for the man who calls the plays at Oregon State.
Beavers’ offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf is in his third season dialing up X’s and O’s from the press box.
The job has its ups and downs.
Langsdorf looked like a genius while OSU was scoring on four straight possessions during a 35-7 romp over Cal on Oct. 30.
He even got a thumbs-up from head coach Mike Riley’s wife, Dee, who loved the double-reverse.
“Langs was feeling good,’’ said Beavers’ wide receiver Markus Wheaton.
Seven days later, after a numbing last-second 17-14 loss to UCLA in which the offense no-showed for virtually the entire second half, Langsdorf’s I.Q. had dropped a hundred points and message boards were suggesting he might be better utilized as a bagger at Safeway.
“You win a game, and everything’s great. You lose, and you’re not very smart,’’ said Langsdorf, as OSU (4-4 overall, 3-2 Pacific 10 Conference) prepared for Saturday’s Dad’s Weekend game against Washington State (1-9, 0-7).
Riley said he has no intention of re-claiming the play-calling duties he reluctantly gave up in 2008.
And Langsdorf said he doesn’t stay awake at night wondering why he didn’t give the ball to Jacquizz Rodgers on second-and-three from the OSU 9-yard-line in the last four minutes at UCLA.
“I don’t really worry about (outside criticism). I feel confident in what we’re doing,’’ said Langsdorf.
“I can sleep at night.’’
Many fans did not sleep well after watching OSU stumble around at the Rose Bowl, going three-and-out on four straight possessions in the second half.
The run game did not work – Rodgers had just four carries in the third and fourth quarters – the passing game was sporadic, and quarterback Ryan Katz was often dodging Bruins’ blitzers.
“People pay good money to watch us and they all have their own opinion, and that’s good,’’ said Langsdorf.
“That’s what college football is all about. But if I worried about what everyone thought about me, I would be miserable, you know?’’
Penalties, poor blocking, mental mistakes, bad decisions by the quarterback and the loss of wide receiver/kick returner James Rodgers to a season-ending injury have turned what was supposed to be a formidable offense into something Riley and Langsdorf can barely recognize at times: OSU is ninth in the Pac-10 and 91st nationally in rushing (125.75 yards per game) and No. 8 in the Pac-10 and 84th nationally in total offense (340.63).
Yet this is the same offense that overwhelmed Cal, and put enough points on the board to beat then-No. 9 Arizona on Oct. 9, the game where James Rodgers was lost for the season.
That was a game where Langsdorf’s play-calling didn’t produce angry calls and emails.
Fast-forward to this week, and every service station attendant and bartender in Corvallis thinks he could call the plays better than Langsdorf.
“It’s the game to game inconsistency that bothers me more than anything,’’ said Riley, who is alarmed that OSU has been a poor second-half team offensively and has scored just 13 fourth-quarter points in eight games.
“How do we play as well as we did against the two top-ranked defenses in our conference (wins over Cal and Arizona) and then play like that at UCLA?’’ said Riley.
“That’s baffling.’’
Fans who think Langsdorf’s play calls are occasionally baffling must take a number. The complaint desk is busy this week.
So how does this all work?
Riley said he is actively involved in formulating game plans, but he tries to leave Langsdorf alone when the offense is on the field and it’s time to call for a Quizz run, or a bubble screen to Markus Wheaton, or an over-the-middle route to Jordan Bishop.
When Riley was the offensive coordinator at USC under John Robinson, he said Robinson rarely bothered him, telling him once, “who’s to say I have a better play (in mind) than you do?’’
Not that the head coach at OSU isn’t tempted to jump in and scream “give the ball to Quizz!’’ once in awhile.
“He lets me go,’’ said an appreciative Langsdorf.
“He’s not out there barking about anything.’’
Riley doesn’t bark, but he occasionally suffers from play-calling withdrawal.
“It’s a part of the game I really liked,’’ he said. “I sat down once and figured out that I’d called something like 10,000 plays. … I’ve been tempted (to over-rule a play) but I know better. I’ve held myself back a couple times.’’
Langsdorf, in his eighth season at Oregon State, was an offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in the Canadian Football League and assistant wide receivers coach with the NFL New Orleans Saints before coming to Corvallis.
“Danny got to the point where I felt like he was ready,’’ said Riley of the play-calling switch.
“I also understood that he has a lot more time to really get ready to play call with the verbiage and his work with the quarterbacks and the extra meeting time he has with them. … so even though it was hard for me to give up, I thought this was the best thing to do for our team.’’
Oregon State players seem to recognize the Beavers’ problems on offense have little to do with the plays being called and everything to do with the players trying to execute those plays.
“We stink at finishing games,’’ said Jacquizz Rodgers, the Pac-10’s No. 2 rusher. “We’ve got to start minimizing our mistakes. Different players are making mistakes at the end of games. It takes all eleven guys to make things work. Everybody has to do their job.’’
Katz, the first-year starting quarterback, said OSU’s second-half swoons and fourth-quarter meltdowns, “are something we have to fix. If we want to win games, we’ve got to score points in the fourth quarter. The play calling we leave up to the coaches. They’re going to put us in the best position to win.’’
Quizz also stands behind Langsdorf’s play selection.
“I wouldn’t question coach Langsdorf because he’s a mastermind at this and he gets paid to do it,’’ said Rodgers. “He has more knowledge than all of the fans. … us as players, we have to take it upon ourselves to do better on the field.’’
The Beavers only ran 20 offensive plays (not counting punts) in the second half of the UCLA game.
Fans griped about OSU passing when it appeared sticking with Quizz and the run game was the best strategy, but Langsdorf and Riley do not apologize for being aggressive late in the game with the score tied 14-14.
“We were trying to win,’’ said Riley.
“We were going after it,’’ agreed Langsdorf.
Riley said the dying seconds of the UCLA game would have been a
terrible time to over-rule his play-caller.
He knows how stressful the job can be.
“You’ve got to know the situation, you’ve got to get the formation right, you’ve got to get the play call out. You don’t ever want to stutter or stumble. You don’t want to get in the way of that as the head coach.’’
