I don't remember your posts before the season, but it's now clear to me that you're 100% right. Tanner has made some incredible throws during his time and can put it in a tight window at times, but it's now clear to me that he struggles to survey the field like you said. He's locked in on read 1 or 2 and missed way too many open receivers this year to believe any different. RPO/whatever KC wants to call it was the simplest read ever: LB or S bites, throw that slant even if it's the tightest man coverage you've ever seen. They don't bite, hand it off. When Tanner has been successful this year it's mostly been one read plays like this, long play action, or half-field stuff with two routes.
On August 22, I wrote:
"The Gophers' prospects come down to either one of two things happening:
(1) The WR position group improving sufficiently so that Tanner can succeed utilizing the limited skill set required in 2019; or
(2) Tanner (or another QB) expanding his skill set so as to be able to succeed with the WR group he has.
That's it. That's basically the season right there. The defense will be sufficient to win games. And the O-line and RB position are each more than solid.
But there's a catch: o-line can nullify an offense, but it cannot make an offense. Time and again it has been shown in the NFL that you are best off to spend your money so as to have a mediocre o-line and dominant skill position players. In other words, you want an o-line good enough to not nullify your offense, and that's it. if you acquire an o-line better than that, you misspent your money (but it must be at least mediocre - so it's a tricky balance).
The best part of the Gophers' offense is a positional group that, by definition, cannot "make" the offense - it can only hinder it or not hinder it. To make an offense really run, it needs skill players that can work together to take whatever the defense is giving (and it is giving something on every down).
In 2019, all Tanner had to do was count the box and see if we had numbers. If we did, then we ran. If not, we passed. And we passed to whichever one of TJ or RB was not double-covered, unless it was a "designed" tunnel screen to CrAB. That's why Tanner "locked into" WR's. He could. He knew exactly where the ball was going prior to the snap. Now it's 2021. Can Tanner go through progressions? Can he go through progressions that have him surveying the whole field? Or can he only progress through levels of receivers pre-arranged to exist in the same small sector of the field (which is what he did last year).
If Wright and CrAB/DJ are, together, good enough the let Tanner know where the ball is going prior to the snap, then it is 2019 all over again. Period. If not, we'll see if Tanner has come into possession of additional QB skills - that's possible too."
I wrote several other posts in the same thread expanding on this. Basically, I say that Tanner is accurate, has great touch, has above-average pocket presence, can read a defense pre-snap, understands the offense, and does just enough with his legs to keep a defense honest. In short, he is the best Gopher QB in my lifetime, and you can win with him. ...But, he is short, lacks a strong arm, and does not go through progressions well. SO YOU NEED TO CONSTRUCT AN OFFENSE AROUND HIS WEAKNESSES. We didn't quite get there this year, in terms of constructing an offense for Tanner. That's the whole story, as it relates to explaining the disappointment.
It's not the whole story in terms of the competence of the coaching staff. They understood what they needed to do in terms of bringing in a WR, and did their best to get that done. They understood what needed to be done on D in terms of strengthening the front 7, and they did that. This staff has clarity of vision, acts purposefully, and has a strong philosophy. It's a winning staff. Rome was not built in a day.
Seems like a waste.
