Following the first season, he's had 6 chances to improve a unit (3 offense, 3 defense), and he's succeeded in 5 of 6 opportunities. Unfortunately the offense was a complete trainwreck last year. Some on here say we'll never be good on offense under Venables, which doesn't compute given that we were top 5 in scoring offense in Lebby's final season.
I've said it since day 1, I'm not convinced Arbuckle or Mateer are stars, but I also think we could be a top 25 offense next year with a few key additions. Something as simple as a TE that can block and catch slightly above average would go a long way. He's working with three freshmen OL and is used to having 2-3 TEs that can do what none of our current room can.
I think Mateer has been a bigger issue than Arbuckle this year, but all last year we said "if we just had a mediocre QB that could take care of the ball." Well we've got it, and it's resulted in as many added wins as we'd hoped. Some on here keep trying to say he's careless with the ball despite just one turnover in the last 5 games. That's not something to be taken for granted. QBR certainly doesn't take that for granted, which is why his QBR will once again be higher than his opponents'.