If you were to compile a list of adjectives to describe last year's UNM football team, chances are you wouldn't use words like "balanced" or "high-scoring."
More than likely, you'd describe them as a smash-mouth, lull-you-to-sleep-then-catch-you-snoozing team.
The thing is, UNM never caught anybody napping because it was one-dimensional. And all of that had to do with play-calling. Last year, the Lobos missed a bowl game for the first time since 2001, not because they couldn't stop anybody defensively, but because former offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin had no faith in his players, members of the team said.
"Last year, we had a new group of receivers that I don't think really had the trust of coach Baldwin," quarterback Donovan Porterie said. "Coach Baldwin was taking the slow approach: run the ball, chip away here and there, nickel and dime down the field."
That approach resulted in less than a nickel's worth of wins and almost a dime's worth of losses - 4-8.
A lot of people attribute that to losing Porterie four games into the season. But even that's a circular argument, because the Lobos' predictable offensive game plan directly contributed to the Port Arthur, Texas, native's season-ending injury. The fact that the Lobos ran far more often then they passed made it easier for teams to become blitz-happy, meaning if Porterie did drop back to pass he'd be harassed by several defenders.
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It should come as no surprise that, at times, Porterie looked less than comfortable in the pocket. He was always in imminent danger, Chris Hernandez said.
"It was pretty easy for defenses to know when to rush and bring pressure on him," he said. "A lot of that wasn't on him. It was a lot of factors out of his control."
Translation: It wasn't Porterie's fault. It was the coaching staff's.
For the Lobos' offense, opposing defensive lines probably looked as fortified as Normandy Beach. Why shouldn't D-coordinators sell out on the run?
"Basically, the only times we were going to pass was on third and longs and third downs," Hernandez said. "We didn't have very many opportunities to go make plays. We ran the ball pretty much 80 percent of the game."
Well, not exactly. Try 65 percent of the time. Out of 829 total plays last year, 540 of those were handoffs to the running backs or some other kind of pound-the-ground tactics. And even when they did throw, UNM averaged nearly the same amount of yards per run (4.6) as it did per pass (4.9).
Tate Smith said the receivers were used as decoys last year.
"That's something I didn't like at all," he said. "That's the difference between Baldwin and coach Mike Locksley. That was his mentality. 'We're going to run the ball, run the ball, run the ball and hopefully get third and three.' They took the plays out of our hands."
And when you take the play out of a quarterback's hands, it can never fall into a receiver's.
In looking at Marcus Smith and Travis Brown's numbers from the Lobos' 2007 campaign, there is no comparison to what last year's receiving corps did.
Smith and Brown combined for 167 receptions, 2,156 yards and 10 touchdowns. UNM's top four receivers from last year didn't even combine for as many receptions as the duo, falling 50 short of Smith and Brown's 167 grabs.
In fairness, Smith and Brown produced those numbers under Baldwin's regime. So, what happened? It goes back to that five-letter word mentioned earlier: Trust.
It doesn't look like that component is lacking this spring.
In three scrimmages, the Lobos have thrown for only 665 fewer yards than it did all of last year (UNM racked up 911 yards). The Lobos' receivers and tight ends have caught more touchdowns in scrimmages (5), than they had all of last season. The Lobos had four last year, and one of those was hauled in by Porterie on a trick play.
"After I got hurt, (Baldwin) really didn't throw it that much," Porterie said. "Brad (Gruner) made plays in the passing game, but he ran the ball really good at the quarterback position, and we had Rodney (Ferguson) back there."
Ferguson and Paul Baker supplemented UNM's offense and did a nice job even though defenses didn't need a psychic to predict what the Lobos would do. Over the course of the season, UNM averaged more than 200 yards a game on the ground. But more often than not, UNM trailed by the end of the first quarter. The scoring breakdown favored UNM's opponents 88-69 in opening quarters. It's hard enough to mount comebacks in the first place, and it's even harder when the only option you feel comfortable resorting to is running.
"It was pretty frustrating last year not getting the opportunities that you want, knowing that you could potentially help the team in a lot of ways but not being able to," Hernandez said.
But that was last year. Now, the Lobos' receivers won't have to hope Locksley's system will incorporate them better.
This year, they know it will.
Hernandez said Locksley and new offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey's no-huddle offense means the offense will average more plays. More plays means more opportunities, and more opportunities means more chances for catches for Hernandez. He already has three touchdowns just in spring practice.
How did those balls get to him? Quarterbacks threw them. Imagine that.
If it's true what coaches say about teamwork, then the Lobo offense didn't pull its weight last year, Smith said. Then again, it wasn't allowed to.
"Coach Baldwin was real laid-back," Smith said. "He didn't want to force anything. These guys are a little more gutsy than coach Baldwin."
