The Football Brainiacs

Image via Soonersports.com

I must admit, going into the game, there were a lot of question marks, and a few of those remain unanswered.  As I dive into the season’s first edition of Trench Warfare today, I wanted to post my initial thoughts:

Things I Liked

1. The run game was solid from start to finish.  Whether first teamers were in the game on the O-line or it was backups at the end, the run game was there.  We haven’t been able to say that in years past, particularly in early season games.

2. Baker was calm and sharp.  19 of 20?  Seriously?  Not much else to say on that.

3. Kyler Murray was just as efficient.  10 of 11.  I’d be interested to see if the starter and backup in any game have ever done that.

4. RB’s looked good.  Abdul Adams was explosive.  I think the guys were running too hard if that’s possible.  As they get more comfortable, I think there were some cutback lanes that could have been exploited for house plays, but those will come.

5. The Sooners didn’t get stuffed on goal line or in short yardage situations.  During the Patton era, we saw some highly ranked Sooner Squads not be able to run the ball in short yardage against either patsy teams or good ones.  That was definitely not the case yesterday.

6. The defense adjusted and shut UTEP down after that scoring drive.  I was thinking “same ol’ same,” but the D responded and gave up just 89 yards for the rest of the game.

7. Stephen Parker’s physicality and leadership is phenomenal.  We haven’t seen a really great openfield tackler, along with a physical presence, since, well… Roy Williams

8. I loved the expanded role of Mark Andrews.  He’s bigger, faster, and stronger.  Dude could have had 200 yds receiving.  Barring any injury this year, we may have a Mackey Award winner on our hands.

9. Every receiver stepped up.  No drops from anybody.  Everyone looked calm, smooth, and focused. I don’t know if practices are different, but it feels like everyone believes they’re going to play.  That lights a fire under the starters to prove their spot.

10. CeeDee Lamb looked the part.  Big, physical, and the real deal.  I expect him to be a solid #2 target behind Andrews for Baker.

11. No turnovers.  Ball security was great.

12. No garbage touchdowns.  Seemed like every year Stoops’ teams would end a game like this 56-25 or something like that.  It seemed like the reserves were better prepared.  It goes back to point 9: seems like guys want to be prepared because they legitimately think they’ll play if they are.

13. Calcaterra is a legit big skilled receiving target.

14. Liked seeing the big set with Flowers at RB.

15. We actually return punts!

Things I Didn’t Like

1. Defense came out relatively flat and the LB’s couldn’t fit to save their lives.  This has to get fixed in a hurry or it’ll be a long night in Columbus.

2. Too many stupid penalties.  Roughing the passer, unneccessary roughness, etc.  Against UTEP, these don’t matter; however, giving good teams extra chances is a recipe for disaster.

3. DL didn’t come out attacking like they talked about doing all year.  Not sure if it was a vanilla “we don’t wanna show anything for next week,” but, although the DL play was solid, I had hoped to see more.

4. No picks.  Was hoping to see with Jordan Thomas and Steven Parker a couple of picks.

Things I Want To See Next Week

1. Offensive line dominance.  If the Sooners can run the ball at will against the Buckeyes, the sky is the limit for this team.

2. No turnovers

3. Baker not forcing issues and playing within himself.

4. The defense needs to be able to hold up against the inside run game.  LB’s and DT’s need a huge game.

5. An attacking defense along the lines of 2000-2003 Mike Stoops defenses.  D line didn’t have any marquee names in 2000, but the D was nasty.

6. Piss and Vinegar.  This team needs to come out and have that s%it in ’em and say “to hell with everything else, we’re gonna win this game.”

7. A win.