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Post by mavsman53 on Nov 24, 2020 8:38:23 GMT -6
My guess is, we will have a lot more negatives than we did positives about the season.
Things that were negatives for me
1. Lack of depth, especially at RB and LB 2. We get a lot of transfers, but few of them end of being high-impact transfers 3. Lack of a pass rush. Losing Kam Hill really hurt the team. If we can't get to the QB, that's a problem 4. Lack of transparency. I think we have learned that the depth chart put out each week is a joke. Not only does it not mean that player ________ will start or not, that player may not even be active 5. Have to find bigger WRs. Too many are under 6'0, which makes it difficult at times for QBs to see them 6. Let's limit the number of jet sweeps to 1-2 per game 7. Find a BIG RB; 225+ 8. Find a ballhawk at the safety position
Alright friends, have at it!
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Post by bogeyman on Nov 24, 2020 12:46:11 GMT -6
Thanks mavsman53. I agree with each of your points and would add these comments. 1) At the beginning of the year I thought we had ample players at LB. The main problem was that after Gibbens, the talent level was average at best. Qua' Washington would have helped immensely. RB has been confusing for me. Why we don't recruit more at a position that is prone to injury, I just don't understand. Last year we rode Tracy James to death, so why recruit if you're just going to play one back 90% of the time. Catch 22. 2) Few of our transfers become high-impact is dead on. Is it because of the lack of talent or how we use them? 3) We have DL that can "hold their ground" but don't have the size, speed, agility to defeat their opponent and get to the QB. We have to have some difference makers who can rush the QB. 4) Lack of transparency--I've said enough about this trait of our staff. Sending incorrect info to an opposing coach/program (like we did to UTEP, and continued thru the year) is unacceptable. It lacks sportsmanship and violates bedrock Christian principles about lying and deception. That's my opinion. Many other problems in this area. 5) At the beginning of the year (spring) I was almost giddy about the TALL receivers we had. Harmon, Neece, Blaylock, Devin Davis, J. Clarke, Sonnier, Smith, Hohenstein, Lutz and we end up playing Clark, Lewis, Brooks-Wess and McConnell (at 6' our tallest productive receiver). What happened: Harmon hardly saw the field (again), Blaylock played a handful of plays, Neece had trouble holding Mansell's missiles, Lutz had trouble getting open, Davis, Sonnier, Smith, J. Clarke all left the team. Kobe Clark is our "bell-cow" at this position but he needs help. Larger targets with good catching abilities is a start. 6) Jet sweeps is only part of the problem. We need better running play options. Our overall weakness in options because of our OL play and our lack of depth at RB really hurts us. The jet sweep was not successful because it was never a surprise and the wide receivers running it weren't fast enough to consistently get wide. (Yes, I know that McConnell had a couple of really great runs on this play.) 7). Of all the comments by mavsman53, I think this may be the most important. We need a big bruiser at RB with a modicum of speed. When you have that, it gives smaller backs a break from the pounding and allows more freedom to call a greater variety of plays for them. On the goal line we are stymied for lack of a big back. I thought J. Anderson was an answer but he left. We need more backs and several who are larger. 8) A ball hawk. 6 games, 1 interception (and from a LB). Bullock and Washington played well for us as run stoppers but who can play center field. Eric Huhn where are you?
An additional comment: how much of our offensive problems were caused by our OL play? I ask because I just don't know. Mansell never really seemed comfortable in the pocket--his fault or the OL? Jet sweeps, why? Could the OL not make holes for our backs? Pitch outs (someone has remarked about the limited success of this play), why? Was outside the tackles seen as our only running play option? Our 2 backs who got the majority of our rushing yds (a little over 400 in 6 games) averaged 38 per game (Dobbins) and 29 per game (White). That's not very good. Why were we so ineffective at running the ball and pocket passing (the offensive bread and butter of most college teams)? We need to seriously upgrade our OL. Are these people on our roster?
There also needs to be some serious staff evaluations? Maybe we have the best staff in the conference. I don't know. Maybe these guys are growing into D1 coaches and we just need to be patient. I wish we had a couple of Texas guys who knew Texas HS football culture and coaches to improve our recruiting of our state. Maybe we do, but this needs to be discussed at our staff level.
Thanks. The opinions stated are my own and I own them, but I'd rather instead of taking shots at me you'd state your own opinions (and why) and invite discussion and not criticism of this messenger.
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Post by Cap'n Cattitude on Nov 24, 2020 13:26:05 GMT -6
I think we all agree with the transparency issue. When Brooks-Wess is called Harmon in the media all year when the real Harmon was inactive all year. I partially blame the coaches, they seem to not care about any of that. But why isn’t the Ass’t AD for media relations more proactive? Just go ask the OC and DC who is on the 2-deep. It’s not that hard. Send an intern. When I used to go by (prepandemic) the depth chart was on their white boards for all to see most of the time. There is no excuse for laziness. It’s not fair to us fans.
I also think there is still some weakness in culture. For sure there has been a turnaround in academics but too many student athletes abruptly leave - particularly freshmen. It seems to be a combination of breaking school rules, academic problems and conflicts with coaches.
I don’t see a big problem with transfer recruiting except to agree that they rarely offer immediate impact. I think they reached for JUCO linemen and hardly any of them are productive. There is enough depth now that HS linemen can be recruited and developed. The transfers we get are good but inexperienced. I actually think that this last group of drop- downs will be very good
We must - emphasize must - sign a couple of impact defenders. Safety, linebacker, defensive line.
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Post by mavsman53 on Nov 24, 2020 13:43:15 GMT -6
The real joke is when they post the starters on the video board for home games. This is all a sponsored deal, so they need the information by Tuesday. Problem is, the staff doesn't fully know who will be starting on Tuesday. So the video board has all kinds of wrong information. For instance, Stapp was listed as a starter for our lone home game. He didn't even play! Same with K. Clark!
When our own guys on the radio don't realize that Harmon isn't playing and Brooks-Wess is, that's ridiculous. Somewhere, the ball is getting dropped and it's not okay. I don't think AD Ward would approve of this if he knew about it. If we are trying to trick other teams, shame on us! if the information isn't getting to the correct people, then let's fix it. This staff doesn't have to be fully transparent; no coach is. But to, what appears to be blatantly lie, is a BIG problem.
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Post by mavsman53 on Nov 24, 2020 18:01:10 GMT -6
Not good news- This board is about to blow up when I say this, but Jack Gibbens is transferring
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Post by mavsman53 on Nov 24, 2020 18:07:08 GMT -6
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Post by mavsman53 on Nov 24, 2020 18:07:43 GMT -6
Texas Tech and Kansas St are already interested
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Post by bogeyman on Nov 24, 2020 18:30:31 GMT -6
Not surprising.
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Post by WildCatToothDoc on Nov 24, 2020 18:31:39 GMT -6
Sounds about right.
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Post by Cap'n Cattitude on Nov 24, 2020 19:17:40 GMT -6
Jack has played his heart out for 4 years. Thanks to COVID, he gets an extra year to play at the highest level. If he has pro aspirations, this is a smart move. I wish him well.
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Post by bogeyman on Nov 24, 2020 19:35:12 GMT -6
Could this year get any worse? I think, yes. Jack staying was a long shot at best. I wish him nothing but the best. Losing a promising freshman or sophomore would be telling.
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Post by SportsWizard15 on Nov 24, 2020 19:39:24 GMT -6
Jack has played his heart out for 4 years. Thanks to COVID, he gets an extra year to play at the highest level. If he has pro aspirations, this is a smart move. I wish him well. Doesn’t surprise me he would transfer since NFL is his dream, he would probably do so well at Tech
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Post by jaminthebody on Nov 24, 2020 19:44:51 GMT -6
Looking at Twitter, Gibbens’ girlfriend runs track at OU, so maybe that’s where he wants to play. He would definitely get looks from the NFL than most other places. Of course, academically, he could transfer anywhere in the country.
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Post by wildcatter on Nov 24, 2020 20:06:28 GMT -6
Jack is really good, but I would be shocked if he saw lots of reps at a school like OU.
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Post by mavsman53 on Nov 24, 2020 20:08:08 GMT -6
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