A return to the greatest myth of college football, Weis the great offensive mind.
Maybe you just watched the Weis years prior to developing your self proclaimed "football knowledge", because Weis offenses were highly overrated and most consistently, inconsistent.
Sure, if you just look at the final stat line and see ppg and ypg it looks nice. But those with offensive knowledge who watch the performances (or lack there of) from his offenses have a hard time not throwing up a little at the thought of him returning.
First let me acknowledge this, since it was the base for this leg of the thread, yes Weis was a pretty darn good recruiter (especially considering the lack of on field success to use as a selling point).
But this garbage about his great offenses is pure nonsense. The two things most common with his offenses were: 1) complete lack of any offensive production for entire (and sometimes multiple) quarters 2) large point and yardage outburst in third or fourth quarters, normally when way behind due to no offensive production and defense being hung out to dry with 3 and out type drives piled on top of each other, for the rest of the game.
The best example of this was the 2008 USC game in which the mighty Weis offense played 45 straight minutes of football without gaining a single first down. Technically the first 1st down came at the end of the 3rd Quarter, but the last play of the third quarter was run with seconds on the clock and we gained our first 1st down when clock for 3rd quarter already went to 00.00.
Johnnie Cochran couldn't convince me a great offensive mind could coach three whole quarters without picking up a single first down.
While this is certainly the worst case and the only time his offensive hibernations lasted 3 straight quarters, it is not the only example as there were numerous times it happened for a whole quarter or two straight and some when he had three dead quarters in a game, but broken up by one explosive quarter mixed in somewhere.
When you consider the high level talent he recruited and was working with, it only amplifies his failures on the offensive side of the ball. It's true, he had some weak defenses, but it's also true he had some solid ones that were made to look bad by an offense that routinely hung them out to dry.
If you understand complimentary football AT ALL, there is no way you go back and watch Weis offenses (fuck the stat line and the highlights, watch it all)...there's no way you come away thinking yeah that's championship caliber offense right there.
I get it, there are some nice exciting big play highlights, if you only watch those it looks great...heck I was sitting in the endzone where Shark scored in final minute to save the UCLA game in '06. That play was exciting, that play was dynamic, but the offense on a whole that day would be best described as a hibernating bear sleep walking and trying to feel its way back to the cave without opening its eyes.
That is what too many of Weis' offensive performances looked like over his tenure. No F'ing Thanks...let that myth die.