A statistical look at Brian Schottenheimer

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Merlin

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BSchotty is an interesting study of a coach's kid who probably ascended to the coordinator level earlier than he should have. At least that is my take on the guy. I also am of the mind that he is lacking in his ability to field a top passing game. But do the numbers bear that out? Well, let's take a look at the offensive stats for every year he's been an OC (stats courtesy of NFL.com):

2006 Jets - HC Mangini, QB Pennington
Scoring 18th (316 points)
Run 20th (108 ypg, 3.5 avg)
Pass 17th (197 ypg, 6.9 avg)

2007 Jets - HC Mangini, QB Pennington
Scoring 25th (268 points)
Run 19th (106 ypg, 3.8 avg)
Pass 25th (188 ypg, 6.5 avg)

2008 Jets - HC Mangini, QB Favre
Scoring 9th (405 points)
Run 9th (125 ypg, 4.7 avg)
Pass 16th (206 ypg, 6.6 avg)

2009 Jets - HC Ryan, QB Sanchez
Scoring 17th (348 points)
Run 1st (172 ypg, 4.5 avg)
Pass 31st (148 ypg, 6.6 avg)

2010 Jets - HC Ryan, QB Sanchez
Scoring 13th (367 points)
Run 4th (148 ypg, 4.4 avg)
Pass 22nd (202 ypg, 6.5 avg)

2011 Jets - HC Ryan, QB Sanchez
Scoring 13th (377 points)
Run 22nd (105 ypg, 3.8 avg)
Pass 21st (206 ypg, 6.5 avg)

2012 Rams - HC Fisher, QB Bradford
Scoring 25th (299 points)
Run 19th (107 ypg, 4.2 avg)
Pass 18th (221 ypg, 6. avg)

2013 Rams - HC Fisher, QB Bradford
Scoring 21st (348 points)
Run 19th (109 ypg, 4.1 avg)
Pass 27th (195 ypg, 6.6 avg)

So clearly the guy has, under three head coaches, and with four different QBs to include a Hall of Famer in Favre, failed to field a top passing game. I think we have a trend, and I think we know what to expect with him from that perspective.

The running game, on the other hand, has had some very good production with 3 top ten units in yards. Looking at the averages his teams have maintained, also very respectable. We have a trend there too, a guy who truly knows how to scheme a strong running game.

Last but not least, let's look at which of those teams were serious playoff contenders. 2006 the Jets lost the wildcard, and under Mangini did not see the playoffs again despite the addition of Favre. 2009 and 2010 the Jets lost the NFC Championship under Ryan, which directly correlates to their best two defensive seasons under him. The past three seasons Ryan has had defensive units ranked well below average in the key statistics, and thus his team has struggled with losing or .500 seasons.

Translation: the Rams' 2014 season is all about the defense. If they are top 5, the Rams have a great chance to be a very, very good team. What we need to hope for from Schotty is a season with a top running game, which is doable. But the points should come from great defense and special teams feeding the offense strong field position; from there this offense should be able to mash the ball and make key throws off of the running game.
 

NJRamsFan

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Great post. Im less worried about Shotty than most. He hasnt had great qbs to work with or great WRs so its understandable that his rushing attacks did far better than his passing. When analyzing the stats you also have to take into consideration that because many of those teams were so effective running the ball they were run first offenses therefore limiting passing opportunities. Also the passing attack by nature was less aggressive because the teams played a ball control style of football.

So I dont think these numbers are reflective of Schotty's limitations more so his personnel and philosophy
 

Memphis Ram

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One thing I noticed right off is during those 3 strong years of running the football (2008-2010) averaging 4.4 yards per carry or better, his teams had a legit FB.
 

RamzFanz

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I have no problem with a strong D and power running game.

I expect a much better passing game this season though. Rams have the talent to be a dual threat now. Could be awesome. If Schotty can't be successful with this O, I'll be pretty unhappy.
 

V3

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Seeing his passing YPA over his career has me more concerned about Schotty than before. Even with a HOF QB he still struggled in the passing game. I get that Fisher wants to have a strong running game but you still have to be able to throw it downfield with a decent YPA if you want to get very far. 6.6 YPA won't win a Super Bowl. Seattle had a 7.7 passing YPA and SF had a 7.14 YPA. The Rams seem to be modeled similar to those two so that's what we should be trying to achieve if we want to win. I sure hope Schotty can evolve because I don't want to see Bradford go through another OC change.
 

Memphis Ram

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Seeing his passing YPA over his career has me more concerned about Schotty than before. Even with a HOF QB he still struggled in the passing game. I get that Fisher wants to have a strong running game but you still have to be able to throw it downfield with a decent YPA if you want to get very far. 6.6 YPA won't win a Super Bowl. Seattle had a 7.7 passing YPA and SF had a 7.14 YPA. The Rams seem to be modeled similar to those two so that's what we should be trying to achieve if we want to win. I sure hope Schotty can evolve because I don't want to see Bradford go through another OC change.

Might mean another OC either way. If he does evolve, he'd be up for head coaching jobs given his youth and name. That's another reason why I wanted the Rams to bring in Norv Turner as it's highly unlikely that he'll get another shot at a head coaching job.
 

V3

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Might mean another OC either way. If he does evolve, he'd be up for head coaching jobs given his youth and name. That's another reason why I wanted the Rams to bring in Norv Turner as it's highly unlikely that he'll get another shot at a head coaching job.

Good points on both. I also wanted the Rams to look at Turner, and if not him, perhaps Chudzinski. It still worries me about all the new systems Bradford's had to learn which is why I was asking at the time if it was possible for a new OC to try and adapt their verbiage to what Bradford and the other players already know. I've heard conflicting answers on that.
 

…..

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I didnt really need statistics to know the Schott's statistics were pedestrian.

However, with our young offense, primarily the skilled positions, its probably best we stick with him.

With a defensive led team, the most we can hope for is good game managment on offense, with an occasional flash of brilliance mixed in. Our hope is that Bradford and Schott manage the game to score just enough for us to win. Flashy and high powered passing we will not be, with or without Schottenheimer.
 

LumberTubs

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Schottenheimer, in my view, has benefited from the fact that Bradford had experienced so many changes in his OC before Schotty came along. Bradford and the rest of the offense needed some stability there so sacking Schotty was maybe not an option where other head coaches under different circumstances may have pulled the trigger.

However that makes it sound like I'm disappointed he's still here when, actually, I'm not. He's done a good enough job as far as I'm concerned and, more importantly, he seemed to learn as last season went on and he improved. Fisher may have had a hand in that but, ultimately, Schotty was the one calling plays on game day and he was creative at times (see Tavon's reverse against the Bears and Bailey's end around against the Bucs). Whether this would have happened if Sam had stayed healthy I don't know but the change to a power running game was made before Sam went down if I remember rightly.

Looking at the stats posted by Merlin, this offense looks as if it suits him which can only be a good thing.
 

CGI_Ram

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8 seasons... never better than 16th with the pass.

Yes, an offensive coordinator is to be evaluated across all offensive categories; but 8 seasons isn't a statistical outlier.

Schottenheimer deserves the criticism he gets. Want it to go away? Get better results! I want this team to win and those results aren't good enough.
 

den-the-coach

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Might mean another OC either way. If he does evolve, he'd be up for head coaching jobs given his youth and name. That's another reason why I wanted the Rams to bring in Norv Turner as it's highly unlikely that he'll get another shot at a head coaching job.

True about Turner, however, I see Schottenheimer getting a gig at the collegiate level, however, the Rams will have to enter post season for that to transpire and IMO they will most likely promote Frank Cignetti to OC in order to keep things cohesive.

As to Schottenheimer having a legit FB, IMO, Cory Harkey will be that guy. More of a hybrid, however, stout at the point of attack and has the ability to catch the football too.
 

rdlkgliders

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His offense has been in the top half of the league in passing only once. YIKES.......
 

Memphis Ram

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Both Bradford and the WRs need to up their games, but Schottenheimer has simply got to do a better job of helping his young WRs out.

I've been re-watching several games lately and I've noticed that Bruce Arians routinely has his WRs lined tightly in sets of 2 or 3 making it almost impossible to press these guys. Rams do that some, but not nearly as often as Arizona does.

Tavon Austin would or should be almost impossible to cover going in motion at the snap. Let's see more of that in 2014.

Most are probably tired of hearing it, but he needs to take advantage of Bradford's accuracy with more back shoulder passes for goodness sakes. Austin Pettis could make a living on those and they are almost impossible to defend.

Hopefully, Tre Mason helps here (even though I still believe Pead could excel), but let's get the RBs more involved in the passing game which should help open things up some more for the others.

Finally, he needs to convince Jeff Fisher to allow him to go with a no-huddle attack from time to time. Doesn't have to be every game or more than one time in a game. And they don't even have to hurry up. Just line up to keep the opposing team from substituting. Keep defenses honest. Give them something else to think about.
 

V3

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I didnt really need statistics to know the Schott's statistics were pedestrian.

However, with our young offense, primarily the skilled positions, its probably best we stick with him.

With a defensive led team, the most we can hope for is good game managment on offense, with an occasional flash of brilliance mixed in. Our hope is that Bradford and Schott manage the game to score just enough for us to win. Flashy and high powered passing we will not be, with or without Schottenheimer.

6.6 YPA is not managing the offense, IMO. You need a much higher YPA if you expect to win in the NFL. YPA is one of the most important stats for the offense, IMO.

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2013/7/8/4501716/nfl-statistics-yards-per-attempt

Just go back and look at the recent SB winners. All of them have QB's that were at or very near the top of YPA. Flacco might be considered an exception but if you look at his YPA passing during the playoffs, you'll find it shoots up to 9.05. Roethlisberger was similar in 2008. His YPA in the regular season was okay but it shot up in the playoffs when it mattered most.

A YPA in the 6's won't cut it- not if you want to do more than just make a playoff game and then lose. So you'd better hope our offense is quite a bit more "flashy and high powered" if you want to ever win the SB. Just running it with a good defense isn't enough. You still have to have the relatively high YPA passing game.
 

MrMotes

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Where are his success stories? Who has he ever developed into a star? Where are his diamonds in the rough?

Luckily we have Greg Williams and the potential for a great defense this year because i figure we're probably have another mediocre (at best) year on offense...
 

F. Mulder

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I see BS as a middle of the road OC. Nothing flashy and nothing sucky. I always want the DC and OC (as well as the HC obviously) to have the ability to be elite in their fields. I think Fisher and Williams have the ability to be viewed as such but had much higher hopes for our OC than what we have received and who is running the show there.
 

RamsAndEwe

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You said it! Might I add, that it will be difficult to determine Sam Bradford's worth under weight of a sluggish Schottenheimer snail paced passing game.