So what is wrong with the offense?

Is it TommyRees?

Tommy issues.

He has a history of calling a wasted play early in drives. Those wasted plays put you behind the sticks. We cannot afford to throw away downs with the inconsistent play at so any spots.

Tommy has basically 4 running plays. Inside zone. Outside zone. Pin & Pull (double lead counter). Duo.

Zone blocking requires the OL and RB to have absolute trust in eachother. The RB has to know the line will block the play the same way every time. Every OL has to trust the players next to him to always do what they are supposed to do.

Inside Zone - each OL takes a 30 degree step toward the playside guard/center gap then blocks forward shoulder to shoulder. If there is a slant or twist, they pass off assignments and keep pushing forward. This is power running. The RB has to be able to "Press the Hole". Set the 2nd lever players up then jump cut to the other side of the blocker at the last second. RB has to trust the line that the hole will be there and then hit that hole when it opens.

Outside Zone - Initial run target is playside guard/tackle gap. OL blocks the guy that "covers" him or reaches towrd the target gap. The uncovered OL has to make sure his partner gets a reach by helping before he moves on to the second level. RB hits the hole and bends to the backside, or bounces outside.

Pin & Pull - OL blocks down (away from play). Offside guard and HB pull to playside. Guard takes the first person he sees and drives them outside. HB hits hole off guards but nd clears second level player. RB short counter step then follows the HB. Cuts off the HB block.

Duo - Playside double team at point of attack. Rest of the OL slide steps toward hole (playside guard's butt) and move forward cleaning up whatever shows up in front of them. RB has to "Press the hole and cut to whatever opens late.

All 4 run plays require perfect teamwork and absolute trust (OL and RB).

Pass Protection - OL trust required. Pass of DL/LB between the OL as they show up. If the LT has to slide out, the guard has to help cover his weak spot to the inside gap. if the LT stays tight the guard slide to help the center. Picking up slants, twists and blitz packages require those guys up front move together (mirror the steps of the guy next to you).

Is it the OL play? - See above!

Is it WR blocking? And routes?

The QB and WR's are not truely on the same page. WR's do not expect the QB to progress past the 1st read so their routes get lazy. This is improving a little each week.

WR's blocking down field are what breaks long runs for the RB's. That blocking is very hit & miss still.

The QB is limited in his ability to read the defense.

The OL has a fricking turnstile at LT.

The whole group is undisciplined and gets too many penalties.

The QB has shitty footwork so his passes are inconsisent.

I didnt see any glaring issues with WR blocking today. But it was apparent that our young horses at RB are not great pass blockers. This offense needs some dynamic playmakers. Miller and Haynes are sitting there with probably as much game breaking potential as anybody on offense.

We ran the ball good today. The biggest thing holding us back was Jalen Milroe thinking he was Joe Montana or whatever the hell he was thinking.

Most QBs do much better when they have time to throw.
Milroe is no exception. In fact, it's probably even more so with him.

So, my answer is OL is our biggest concern.
However, I would like to point out that blocking and protecting by the RB in the backfield has been sub par, too.
At least once I saw an RB just roll right past a blitzing end or CB, never noticing

Honest answer, they're just not that good!
I don't think one player on offense would qualify as elite!
Lack of coaching doesn't help either.

Milroe could do a better job avoiding sacks but overall the O line is the issue. We counted on that unit being a strength and if they were a strength we’d be rollling. Jalen is playing well enough. With elite O line play we’d be a different offense.

Seems like our offense and defense will be competing all year long to see which unit can accumulate the most sacks…

Rees hasn’t been great either. Play calling lacks creativity. He’s responsible for the offense at the end of the day. It’s not a great offense.

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Honest answer, they're just not that good! I don't think one player on offense would qualify as elite!

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Booker
Latham
Niblack
Bonds

All four of those guys are as good as they come.

The problem is we are bound and determined due to our limitations at QB a to be a run based team and the OL cannot get consistent push and we cannot pass block at LT without TE help.

I don’t want to be unfair to any coaches because we left easy conversions that were drive killers all over the field in the 2nd half. Tough to blame Rees for our issues when Jalen is missing wide open guys.

That said I never got a sense that we were doing anything that surprised the defense or stressed them out, Arkansas just had major talent deficiencies much like A&M that we were able to exploit in the first half.

But let’s be clear: we weren’t ever really sustaining drives, we were just hitting them for huge explosive plays in the passing game early that made people think everything was ok.

I think Milroe was something like 9/12 for 218 in the first half? That’s what 18 YPA? It papers over a whole bunch of issues when you are going for almost 20 yards per attempt. But our run avg only temporarily looked proficient when they were on the ropes from the passing game.

Unfortunately whatever their scheme adjustments were Milroe just imploded and I’m concerned they showed the league what the recipe is for locking up Milroe from a field awareness standpoint like a rookie in the majors getting exposed for not being able to handle an offspeed pitch.

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Our speedy Qb, whose suppposed best asset is his running,

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I can’t agree with that being a true asset at this point because he doesn’t use it decisively.

By the time he processes the situation to a point where he decides to run he’s allowing the defense to get too close for him to escape so he’s taking sacks where he could be getting positive yardage.

He left 4 or 5 first downs on the field in the 2nd half by waiting for someone to get open when he had running lanes open and exacerbates the problem by not utilizing the pocket effectively meaning he usually takes a sack from someone beating our LT on a speed rush.

The game is just too fast right now for him, another year (assuming proper coaching for his footwork and reads) would’ve made him look like a completely different QB much like Hurts did by the time he hit Philly.

i think its mainly the ol and milroe. that combination together is like oil and water. the ol struggles with any semblance of consistency. they have good moments then terrible, its a head scratcher. then there's miroe. milroe's accuracy is more akin to a scatter gun rather than a rifle. he still forces the wr's to make circus catches, if the ball is even catchable, way to often. although, i was actually glad for bond that milroe whiffed on the one pass. bond was about to be crushed had he caught the ball.