I think a lot of us aren't seeing the whole picture here. I think that a lot of us understand learning new offense to mean "Anae's offense has plays A, B, and C, while Detmer's offense has plays D, E, and F." I'm seeing a lot of "8 games should be enough to understand the offense" and "these guys have been playing football all their lives, why can't they get this" type comments. I think that our guys understand the offense, but we're still learning how it works.

Anae's offense was "on this play, you run post, this guy runs a curl, and this guy runs a slant." In Detmer's, it's a lot more of "this receiver has option A, B, and C, depending on what the defense gives us, and this receiver has options A, B, and C as well." Anae's offense was way more "cookie cutter," while Detmer's is more fluid. So not only do we have to have our timing and chemistry, but our QB/WR's have to be on the same page with their reads as well. We've had lots of plays where Taysom throws inside while the WR goes outside, and that's because they're not making the same reads. This also explains why Taysom either holds on to the ball too long or doesn't go throw his progressions as well as he should. We're not at the point where we can go out and just "play football," we're (the whole offense) still has to think. The offense is much more complicated, but as we learn it and master it, it will be extremely hard to stop.

This is why I think Taysom is still in. He's had more experience reading college defenses. He's an incredible leader, and very smart. He's one of those guys that can really direct traffic and make sure guys are doing the right things. Tanner may be the better QB, but I don't think it's insane to say that Taysom has a better grasp of the offense. Not only that, but Taysom has his running ability to improvise and make up for plays where we make mistakes. Meanwhile, Tanner is talking through every play with Detmer on the sideline. As much as Taysom has struggled this year, I really think that his efforts and the role he's playing this year will pay off HUGE dividends for us in the future.

I guess my point in all of this is that it's much, much more than "throw the ball here." There will be growing pains, but it'll pay off big time for us.