An apology to Shawn Watson by guest blogger BroPhog

I officially apologize to Shawn Watson. I was apprehensive to have him as the offensive coordinator based on his past performances, mostly in the Colorado days. However, he has shown an ability to improve upon those failings to become a much better offensive coordinator than he was at that time. I maintain that he was not a good offensive coordinator during much of his tenure at Colorado, however, his time since has greatly improved him in that regard. He has been a very effective offensive coordinator in the 2008 season at Nebraska, and his offense is amongst the most multi-faceted and fun to watch in a game where offenses have become increasingly homogenous.

The biggest gripe I had on him was his stubborn nature to continually try the same simple formations and plays time and again, despite the lack of success. When I first heard this season that Nebraska would be trying to run the ball more and assert the fullback, I thought: Here we go again. One of Watson's weaknesses at Colorado was to try to continually run out of power formations time and time again in a conservative effort to manage games. He did not showcase the creativity to change based on the defense, nor to force defenses to change to him. As time went on, his offenses subsequently became poorer and poorer. I thought this was a bad sign, and responded as such.

It's not as if Watson knows nothing about offensive football, it's just that he did not always showcase a willingness to use all of his tools. He is, after all, credited with his usage of the Y-Stick in West Coast terminology, and from what I understand, fairly well respected as an offensive coach. This year, however, he has done what I think many thought was impossible: marry the virtues of the "West Coast Offense" already installed, utilize the ability of the QB in the option game, and utilize the shotgun formation the way other offenses have in today's college game. This new offense he has put together defies any label. It is truly a multiple offense capable of exploiting the weaknesses of the defense.

It is not only impressive in its design, but in the playcalling. I am highly critical of many offensive playcallers in today's game because they focus far too much on situations. They have play sheets designed by down and distance, but fail to exploit formations and design. Too many offensive coordinators fail to not only exploit the weaknesses given in any defense, but to create weaknesses. To that end, many offenses stick to a narrow set of packages for use in any situation. Watson has done an admirable job of creating exploitable positions, despite not always having ideal talent at the skill positions. His game calls have both not involved pounding ones head against a wall attempting things that don't work but also creating situations that allow one to do what they want to do, even if the defense is initially focused on stopping it.

The Watson that was the OC at Colorado would slam into the line time after time with no success. The Watson we have seen in 2008 not only does not do this, but knows how to use the other tools of the offense to create situations where one can effectively still move the ball in multiple ways. He has created and executed an offense that is literally greater than the sum of its parts suggests it should be. No compliment could be bigger of a coordinator than that.