It’s certainly a bit of a guess because I’m not privy to the inner-workings of what’s going on with the team on a day-to-day basis, but it definitely looked to me about as expected.
I thought there was an emphasis on getting the ball to players in space quickly and letting them get more easy yards than his predecessor. I thought between the 20’s his game plan was solid and married what the roster does well.
Inside the red zone I felt like he was too reliant on that 3x1 set and looking for that fade backside, or trying to hit slant when things were condensed. There needs to be creativity in those situations in my view.
I felt like the run game was a bit basic and hope to see more explosive elements incorporated.
Additionally, I didn’t always love the plan of attack. I felt like there were games the opponent had weaknesses that weren’t exposed as they could’ve been. It felt like opponent adjustments took away first options and then the offense struggled to find a counter at times.
Keep in mind, the opponents are getting paid to coach as well and it’s not going to be perfect.
Overall, I felt like Dawson did a really nice job having a QB get hurt, then the tips, then having a true freshman QB that wasn’t ready. He still ended with a top-40 offense and if some of the red zone woes get rectified, he is a very solid OC.
Last year, I give him a B, which is a good grade. Not many A’s out there.
