Open Post | Wednesday, October 5th
Posted on: October 5, 2022
Sunday Brunch | Slim Pickings at the Banquet
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 2, 2022
No matter how many times you brushed your teeth between yesterday’s game and this morning’s helping of brunch, chances are you just could not get that terrible taste out of your mouth.
I know I couldn’t.
The offense, the defense, the scary injuries…blech. Just nasty stuff.
Two Saturdays ago, the Sooners lost a game to Kansas State where they did everything wrong and still had a chance to make a run at tieing the game if they could come up with one 3rd and 16 stop. They didn’t get the stop and they lost the game but there were 4-5 plays you could point to and say “If they had done that differently, they likely would have won’.
Not yesterday in Fort Worth. The only time where the Sooners were ‘in the game’ yesterday came on their first offensive drive of the game and that only lasted until Marvin Mims fumbled away the ball.
From that point on, the Sooners were never close.
Sure, they could have made it interesting for a minute if Mims recovers his fumble or Jayden Gibson holds onto a ball that hit him on the hands in stride which would have cut into the lead…but still…if we are being objective, TCU was kind to stop at 55 points as they could have put up 70 plus if they wanted to.
I guess the overall point of this week’s brunch is to say…it’s not the schemes, it’s not the play calls, and it’s not the level of talent that is killing Oklahoma.
The above statement does not absolve the coaching staff from having a hand in the issues, at all, but that is more about the development of the players and bringing out the best in them.
When players are in the right gaps and fits, but they cannot win their assignments, you’re not going to have success. When players are lined up in a man coverage and choose not to cover their man, as we saw multiple times yesterday, that is not on the scheme or the play call. When players take horrific angles, that is not on the play call or scheme. When linebackers seek out blockers and stick to them like velcro, it’s not the call that got them trapped.
If a receiver cannot catch a ball that hits him on the hands in stride, that’s not about the play call or the scheme. When your quarterback couldn’t hit water when throwing the ball towards the ocean, that’s not on the play call or the scheme. You get the picture.
Would it be nice to see a four-man front on defense? I think so, but I also don’t know the level of competence that the players have to run that formation correctly. Would I like to see more runs between the tackles like Lebby called at Ole Miss employed by the Sooners? Sure, but again, you still need to be able to execute whatever play is called.
Yesterday against the Horned Frogs you saw a team that looked clueless at times on the defensive side of the ball even in presnap. You had guys being instructed by their teammates where to line up…and it wasn’t like it was ‘hey dude, slide up in coverage 3 yards’…it was more along the lines of ‘hey bro, you are lined up on the wrong side of the formation, your guy is over there, all the way across the formation!’.
You had an offense that was just flat-out off because the quarterback was having a terrible day after what looked like a good start.
You had a defense that appeared to have no confidence in any facet of the game. Tackling was horrendous, coverage was spotty at best, the pressure was largely non-existent, the edges were soft as Charmin, and there was no intensity to speak of.
My biggest concern is all the busts we saw. I mean, stuff like that shouldn’t be happening in the 5th game of the season, particularly since they didn’t happen in the first three games of the year. Even though the first 3 opponents were not at the level of the last two teams, you still would have seen signs of the busts.
You saw bad angles, some soft coverage, and instances of poor tackling during the first 3 games, but you didn’t see the busts.
That is what is most concerning because the busts, to me, indicate a lack of focus and attention to detail…something this staff preaches on a regular basis.
I don’t know what the fix is. I don’t know that there is a fix…in part because I cannot diagnose the largest issue because there are so many issues.
What I do know is that the schemes, calls, and formations are not to blame…which is a bit disconcerting in itself because those things would be easier to fix.
Right now, this is a coaching staff and player problem. It’s not one or the other, it is both of them.
As we have mentioned time and again, since the end of last year, many of these players were malnourished and starving for development. Their mental games were shattered and they lacked confidence in their play. We are right back in that same spot after 5 games of the 2022 season defensively. Offensively, the confidence is fine, the stats are nice, but the unit is not consistent at all at this point.
The team will do their best to regroup this week. That will likely be a task that is much more difficult this week as they suffered a bunch of injuries to critical members of the starting units, on both sides of the ball and we will not know what the status is of those players for a few days. Some of them will likely be questionable right up until kickoff next week.
One thing I can assure you of…as I mentioned above, TCU was kind in keeping the score at 55…Texas will not be so kind and if the Sooners do not find a fix to the defense, they will try to put as many points on the scoreboard as possible.
There is often a point in a team’s season that you can point to and say ‘That right there…that’s the cliff…either slam on the brakes and slow this trainwreck down, or this whole damn thing is going right over the cliff’.
I don’t think it is too early to say, this is a massive week for Brent Venables’s young head coaching career.
If OU heads to the Red River Shootout with someone other than Dillon Gabriel set to take the field at quarterback, it will be all the more imperative that the defense finds some sort of resiliency and ups their game. If they don’t, things could go completely off the rails for the team and program as a whole.
I will be the first to say this is one trainwreck I did not see coming. I never thought the OU defense would be a unit that got progressively worse as the season went on with Brent Venables as their head coach.
But here we are.
Now, it’s Sunday. You only get one Sunday a week. Let the state of the team go for a couple of hours. Let’s all try to brush our teeth one more time, throw some scope in the mouth and swish it around, try to get that taste out of our mouths, and go out there and enjoy the rest of the day with those we love!
This Isn’t how the Story is Supposed to End
– Super K – Posted on: October 3, 2022
You know that scene in The Goonies where Andy is playing the bone constructed organ and she’s down to the last note before the whole floor falls out from under them?
And Mikey says to her, “if you hit the wrong note, we’ll all be flat.”
I remember watching that movie back in 1985 and like every great movie, your hero would find himself surrounded on all sides with all hope dwindling but you knew somehow the hero would emerge triumphant.
And it was the moments of great desperation that made the victory so satisfying.
But does that happen in real life?
You like to hope it does.
And who is a better hero than Brent Venables? And what is a better story, this year, than Oklahoma’s?
A small state program that’s never had the resources of a Texas or a Florida or a USC but they work and they toil in the red dirt and they win and they win a lot. Take your Sooner fandom out of it, what’s not to love about seeing the guy with less overcome the misfortune of his circumstances and defeat the guy who was handed everything?
And Brent embodies that spirit. A boy raised without a father, growing up in poverty, taking the hard road and continuing to overcome the circumstances handed to him with faith and hard work.
Years ago it appeared Venables career was starting to take a downturn. Circumstances being what they were, he left Oklahoma for Clemson. And to many folks’ surprise, he became the invigorating force at Clemson. In his story, he not only helped Clemson win two national championships but twice, he beat the Sooners.
Fast forward to last year and the coach who was handed the keys to the kingdom at OU, leaves in the middle of the night. So, down and out, the Sooners call on a man who has stared at down and out numerous times and emerged the victorious hero.
He brought the program an infusion of all the things that make a program great – hard work, organization, passion, attention to detail and love.
But the hero’s efforts have not yet been made manifest.
College football coaching tenures are like movies now, they’re two hours long. It takes players to win and you can’t get players without winning.
I love heroes. The modern world hates them. The modern world is cynical and loves nothing more than to see heroes fall.
Oklahoma has run the Big 12 for so long and for some it’s so satisfying to see Brent Venables and the Sooners fall.
Left by their flashy quarterback coach for a big rich state and now led by a defensive coordinator who took the long road, the Sooners are the character whose fate is supposed to end as gravity would appear to dictate – poorly and to the thunderous laughter of the laity.
But does it have to?
I know this isn’t a movie but I like Brent Venables and I know his players do, as well. In fact, his players love him.
When I was young my father would always tell me, “love is commitment.”
Uttering words of love are easy but the commitment is hard because it requires something of you. Like I learned growing up boxing, there’s a difference between dancing around on the outside throwing jabs acting like you’re going to hit someone and actually hitting someone. The former requires no commitment. The latter requires you to commit to being a position where you can hit the other man knowing full well that when you close that gap, you’ve opened yourself up to the possibility of being hit.
That’s the difference between winning and acting like you want to win or loving and acting like you want to love.
Brent gave these players something to believe in when they were at their lowest – when they’d been abandoned. If they love him back then there needs to be a commitment. If they love him, they can prove that by doing their job – just doing what he’s asked them to do.
If you’re the end man on the line whose assignment is contain, don’t chase inside. It doesn’t take talent to do that. It just takes commitment.
If you’re the cornerback with flat responsibilities, stay outside in your run fit. It doesn’t take talent to do that. It just takes commitment.
If you’re the quarterback and you’re asked to make a routine throw, don’t overthrow it. And if you overthrow it once, don’t do it twice. And if you do it twice, don’t do it three times.
If you’re the wide receiver who has been charged with catching the ball, catch it.
It’s simple things. And, in that is both the happiest and scariest reality of the Sooners current plight.
It’s scary in that, how do you fix guys simply not following their man in man to man coverage? Or a quarterback overthrowing over and over on basic routes? Or a cornerback fitting inside the blocker?
Those aren’t just simple. They’re basic and they’re making all the difference in the world right now.
But how does the hero fix something that basic? How do you fix the easy things?
The happiest part of it is, if tomorrow these players wake up and decide to relax, have fun and do the simple things right, the hero has a chance to emerge victorious.
Right now the story of the hero looks bleak.
The funny thing is that in the first few weeks, the offensive line was the target of ridicule and criticism. But we knew there was more to the story and we knew that this offensive line could and should be the strength of this team.
There wasn’t a lot to praise for OU this past weekend. But, I spoke to a friend on the TCU staff and in a movie like turn of events, the offensive line, so maligned previously, was now the target of his praise. He raved about them and OU’s ability to run the ball.
But that’s nothing but a moral victory if the rest of OU’s units won’t start doing their job. They can learn from the offensive line. You can become what you’re meant to become. The mockers laughter doesn’t dictate the outcome.
Everyone has to do their job. At this point, it’s not even about doing your job well. At the very least show up where you’re supposed to be and make an effort. If ten guys do their job, and one doesn’t even show up, you’re a one legged man in an ass kicking contest.
You cannot win.
While Andy is playing the bones and she hits the wrong bone almost causing Brand to fall, Mikey says to her, “Goonies always make mistakes, just don’t make anymore.”
That’s where the hero is now. He’s surrounded by the horde, the peasants are laughing and deriding him and in true story book fashion, he’s about to face the privileged enemy – the foe born into affluence and advantage.
I like what Brent stands for. He’s certainly down right now but there’s still another scene left for him and his legionnaires to turn the tide.
He doesn’t have to climb out of the pit all at once. He doesn’t have to knock the Russian out. He just needs to hit the one in the middle. He needs to cut him and start to fight round after round. But he needs to do it now.
Great stories are great because the hero overcomes imminent peril. But they’re scary for that same reason – the hero has found himself in imminent peril.
If he loses, the circumstance makes it that much more painful but if he wins, the circumstance makes it that much more satisfying.
This next weekend is an epic scene in Brent’s journey and though it’s early, in this era of CFB it might have great consequences both against him and potentially for him.
The stage is set for the hero. “What are we waiting for?”
Sourced | Concussion Protocol
– Super K – Posted on: October 3, 2022
In trying to determine whether there is a possibility of Dillon Gabriel returning this weekend, I asked a couple of coaching buddies about the concussion protocol.
I’ll say first that I was told by a source that DG actually wanted to go back in to the TCU game but was not permitted.
In terms of the concussion protocol and whether it’s even possible for DG to return, I’m told there is no predetermined amount of time he has to sit. I was told that everything is symptom based and much of that hinges on how he answers questions and how doctors interpret his answers.
So, they’ll ask him things like, are you feeling any symptoms? Or, what did you have from breakfast yesterday?
If the doctors are satisfied with DG’s answers he will be eased into activities like school and practice.
Again, I was told there isn’t really a set timeline. If there are no symptoms and the doctors are satisfied with DG’s responses, then, I’m told he could be back throwing (no contact) early in the week. Was told they’d continue monitoring him and ease him into full contact by the end of the week.
That is not a statement about what will or won’t happen. I’m simply passing along that I’m told that there is a possibility of him returning. It’s contingent on whether Dillon is showing any symptoms and how he answers the doctor’s questions and how they interpret those answers.
By The Numbers | TCU | Game 5 of 2022
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 4, 2022
Let’s take a look at some of the PFF numbers from the Sooners loss to TCU…
Offensive Snap Counts: 82 Total Offensive Snaps
1 Andrew Raym #73 – 80
1 McKade Mettauer #72 – 80
1 Chris Murray #56 – 80
4 Jalil Farooq #3 – 70
5 Anton Harrison #71 – 62
6 Tyler Guyton #60 – 60
7 Marvin Mims #17 – 57
8 Davis Beville #11 – 48
9 Brayden Willis #9 – 44
10 Daniel Parker Jr. #22 – 35
11 Dillon Gabriel #8 – 34
12 Jovantae Barnes #2 – 33
13 Eric Gray #0 – 32
14 Theo Wease #10 – 30
15 Jayden Gibson #1 – 29
16 Drake Stoops #12 – 26
17 Wanya Morris #64 – 22
18 Jacob Sexton #76 – 20
19 LV Bunkley-Shelton #6 – 19
20 Tawee Walker #29 – 13
21 Nic Anderson #4 – 9
22 Gavin Freeman #82 – 4
23 Jason Llewellyn #87 – 3
23 Savion Byrd #59 – 3
23 Trevon West #81 – 3
26 Gavin Sawchuk #27 – 2
26 Jake Taylor #79 – 2
26 Nate Anderson #69 – 2
Top 5 PFF Offensive Grades:
1 Brayden Willis – 68.3
2 Jovantae Barnes – 67.4
3 Dillon Gabriel – 66
4 Anton Harrison – 65.5
5 Jacob Sexton – 64.7
Bottom 5 PFF Offensive Grades:
1 Davis Beville – 51.6
2 Marvin Mims – 52.3
3 Theo Wease – 52.4
4 Daniel Parker Jr. – 52.5
5 LV Bunkley-Shelton – 53.3
Surprised me:
You cannot take anything away from any of the offensive stats in this one as the Quarterbacking was so bad. Was anyone particularly good? I thought the offensive line did a good job for the most part as they were still able to run the ball as the TCU defense knew Beville had no passing game whatsoever, but other than that…there were no standouts. Brayden Willis had a nice play. Jayden Gibson disappointed with that drop which would have momentarily changed the complexion of the game but for all intents and purposes, the game was over when it became clear that Gabriel could not hit simple passes and Beville was not ready to play in the game at all.
Defensive Snap Counts: 78 Total Defensive Snaps
1 Danny Stutsman #28 – 74
2 Justin Harrington #37 – 71
3 David Ugwoegbu #2 – 68
4 DaShaun White #23 – 59
5 Woodi Washington #0 – 50
6 Justin Broiles #25 – 46
7 Jonah Laulu #8 – 44
8 Trey Morrison #6 – 43
9 Reggie Grimes #14 – 42
10 Ethan Downs #40 – 36
10 Damond Harmon #17 – 36
10 Jaden Davis #4 – 36
13 Jalen Redmond #31 – 30
14 D.J. Graham #9 – 29
15 Key Lawrence #12 – 23
16 Kani Walker #26 – 21
17 Gracen Halton #56 – 20
18 Jaren Kanak #7 – 19
19 Clayton Smith #20 – 14
20 Isaiah Coe #94 – 11
21 Gentry Williams #24 – 10
21 Kelvin Gilliam #44 – 10
21 Jake McCoy #41 – 10
21 Jeffery Johnson #77 – 10
25 Robert Spears-Jennings #3 – 9
25 Josh Ellison #90 – 9
25 Jordan Kelley #88 – 9
28 Billy Bowman #5 – 5
28 Jayden Rowe #27 – 5
28 Kendall Dennis #21 – 5
31 Shane Whitter #1 – 4
Top 5 PFF Defensive Grades:
1 Jake McCoy – 90
2 Josh Ellison – 72.9
3 Justin Harrington – 71.6
4 Trey Morrison – 68.8
5 Gracen Halton – 68.1
Bottom 5 PFF Defensive Grades:
1 Shane Whitter – 26.2
2 Jordan Kelley – 43.7
3 Key Lawrence – 50.5
4 Reggie Grimes – 51
5 D.J. Graham – 52.7
Surprised me:
Justin Harrington being anywhere near the top graded guys out of the weekend surprised me…and shed additional light on reasons why to take PFF grading with a large grain of salt. They were all bad.
PFF listed 20 missed tackles: Harmon 3, Walker, 2, Ugwoegbu 2, White 2, Broiles 2, Williams 1, Kanak 1, Stutsman 1, Lawrence 1, Harrington 1, Graham 1, McCoy 1, Washington 1, Morrison 1. There were more, PFF was kind to the players in my opinion.
The only players with a ‘Pressure’ rating over 60 were Trey Morrison (74.9), Jaden Davis (73.5), and DaShaun White (65.9)…not great.
Position Group Progress Report | 2022 Game 5: TCU
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 4, 2022
Checking out how the position groups performed in the Sooners loss to TCU. Coming into the game, OU was a 5.5 point favorite over the Horned Frogs and they wound up getting blown out by a score of 55-24.
This will be the fifth progress report of the season and I will be including the prior games ranking for each position in their header.
Let’s see how things shook out against TCU.
Quick definition help:
A NEBULA is an enormous cloud of dust and gas occupying the space between stars and acting as a nursery for new stars. The roots of the word come from Latin nebula, which means a “mist, vapor, fog, smoke, exhalation.” Nebulae are made up of dust, basic elements such as hydrogen and other ionized gases.
Nebula: A nebula is a region where a new star is beginning to form.
QB: Nebula* (Last week: Low 4*)
Dillon Gabriel was bad, Davis Beville was worse.
Both QBs went 7-16, Gabriel had 126 yards to his credit, most of that thanks to Brayden Willis and Beville was credited with 50 yards.
Neither threw a TD and both had a completion percentage of 44.
Things could have been different, a little bit perhaps if Mims doesn’t fumble and Jayden Gibson holds onto a ball that hit his hands early which may have gone for a score.
But overall, as I said in the postgame, Gabriel didn’t appear as though he could hit water if he was standing on the beach and throwing the ball toward the ocean.
Beville…that dude never had a chance as he never got to even run offense in the three opening blowouts for the Sooners.
RB: 4* (Last week: High 4*)
Jovantae Barnes had his first hundred yard game as a Sooner. He played well, ran hard, and was OK in pass protection. He also pulled in both passes that were thrown to him. He finished with 18 carries for 100 yards (5.6 YPC average) and 2 touchdowns.
Prior to his injury, Eric Gray played well also as he had 13 carries for 66 yards (4.6 YPC average) and a touchdown.
With the TCU defense able to key on them, particularly when Beville was in the game, they still performed admirably.
WR/TE: Low 2* (Last week: High 4*)
Brayden Willis’ long reception is the only thing that kept this group out of the 1* range.
Mims had a fumble, Gibson dropped a ball that hit him in the hands in stride which would have gone a long way, and nobody else really did anything of note.
Gibson cannot continue to have those drops in games…that’s his 3rd or 4th drop of the year and now we can see why he is struggling to get more targets after all the buzz about him coming out of practice. Apparently the lights are still a bit too bright for him.
After 5 games, I do have to wonder where Drake Stoops has been. Surprised OU has not found him more often and last week when they did find him, they overthrew him.
Not a performance the group will be proud of.
OL Low 4* (Last week: High 3*)
The group got beat up with Wanya showing up in a sling in the second half, Anton Harrison being face down on the turf multiple times, and Andrew Raym hobbling off at one point.
But they still put in a solid performance against a defense that knew OU was one dimensional for basically 2 and a half quarters.
If Beville is the QB against Texas, they will once again have a much more difficult task in front of them this week.
DL: 1* (Last week: Low 3*)
Pretty much non-existent in regard to making plays.
True Freshman Gracen Halton with one tackle for loss was the bright spot for this group. His tackle for loss was the only tackle for loss for the defensive line for the entire day.
Downs and Reggie Grimes were a complete non-factor.
The interior guys were invisible for the most part which is concerning, particularly when running a 3 man front. Jeffrey Johnson and Isaiah Coe got a combined 21 snaps, due in part to Redmond playing in the middle for part of his 30 snaps.
None of it makes sense with this personnel, but it is what it is right now.
LB: Nebula (Last week: 1*)
David Ugwoegbu had a bad day but Danny Stutsman was even worse.
That is no way to go through life as a linebacker under Brent Venables.
The number of times I saw Stutsman get sucked in instead of fitting his keys was just mind-numbing.
Ugwoegbu was not much better, but he did appear to be playing his assignments a bit more functionally.
Neither of them played with any sort of confidence or awareness.
Was just brutal to watch.
Cheetah: 1* (Last week 3*)
I don’t know why I even gave White a star…probably just because I thought he was a bit better than the two groups that got Nebulas on defense.
Was bad. Was just a shade better than the linebackers and the DBs.
DB: Nebula (Last week: High 2*)
Jaden Davis, who got abused on the first touchdown of the game by the taller TCU wide receiver, probably had the best day of all the DBs once Billy Bowman left the game.
That statement above is how the game went.
Woodi, bad. DJ Graham, bad. Justin Broiles, bad. Damond Harmon before injury, bad. Justin Harrington, bad. Key Lawrence, bad.
They looked like the group we have seen for the last 3 years. They were just a mess mentally and physically.
Bad, bad, bad.
ST: 2* (Last week 3*)
Even Turk struggled.
Thought Farooq looked good on kick return.
I have no issue with Bowman getting hurt at kick return. He’s a football player and a dangerous weapon. I have been among the crowd calling for the special teams to be more aggressive and Bowman was close to breaking one at times this season. Injuries suck, but they happen.
Thats about all I have to say about that.
TFB Sooner Radio Ep. 8 | Onto the Red River Showdown
– CJ Vogel – Posted on: October 5, 2022
It is Texas hate week. Despite the start to conference play, it is time for the Sooners to come alive this weekend!
But first…the post-mortem on TCU.
Ryan and Charlie are back on the mic to bring you Ep. 8 of TFB Sooner Radio!
