JY’s Game Thoughts
Posted on: September 7, 2014
Image via Soonersports.com
Two games down, ten to go.
I was very pleased with our ability to run the football with our first group offensive line. I had hoped to see Samaje Perine more than we did, but Keith Ford clearly looked like the best back on the team today. Alex Ross seems to be getting run with the second group so far, and had that explosive run that really showcased his speed. Not very many backs can break that kind of run, and he’s a home run threat we haven’t had at running back in a while. We ended up with 261 yards off of 31 carries as a team at 8.4 yards a clip. Even without Ross’ big 82 yarder we came in with 179 yards on 30 carries for right at 5.96 per.
So early on, I’m really excited about the run game, but I was frustrated with the play calling against Tulsa. Spielman touched on it in during the game that as we get into conference play we’ll need to be able to do more than run the ball, so I understand wanting to get Trevor going early on in the season. Still it seemed like the extent of our passing game was Sterling go deep way too many times. What I’m afraid of is that while Sterling’s a special player, Trevor may be becoming too dependent on him much like Landry did with TFB’s own Ryan Broyles a few years ago. There are a few examples I’ll have in Trench Warfare this week where Trevor has to start looking for routes over the middle to Bell and other receivers, and while the stat line for Trevor looked good, there were a couple of passes out in the flat that against a better squad could have really hurt us. Trevor’s a film rat and has a great QB coach in Heupel, so I’m optimistic that Trevor will grow from week to week. He’ll need to do just that as we get ready to face a tough Tennessee defense next week.
Defensively I thought we played really well in the first half, much like we did last week against La. Tech. There was a bit of a drop off once Zack Sanchez got hurt, and understandably so. The guy’s an all-conference talent. Jordan Thomas did step in and play very well in his absence, and solidified himself as the 3rd corner. Like K pointed out in a tweet earlier today, Julian Wilson is really playing well. If not for a missed offensive pass interference, Julian’s size would have paid off and resulted in a pick, and how about that hit out in the flat?! The defensive line was in the backfield all day, and the pressure was very good. It was clear that Tulsa’s game plan was to get rid of it quickly and it was good that it was or there would have been multiple sacks. Geneo had consistent pressure, but there were times that Tulsa found holes in our pass defense. Good news is that our rushing defense was solid, but Evans seemed to miss some run fits. Coach Kish looked like his head was going to explode a couple of times.
In general, it wasn’t our best game from a linebacker position, and they just seemed out of sorts a little bit. That’s good, and it’s bad at the same time. It’s bad for obvious reasons, but it’s good since our linebackers are so young and it will keep them hungry and give them something to work on from week to week. Tennessee’s O doesn’t appear to be as good as Tulsa’s believe it or not, and that O line will struggle against our defense. As we get into conference play we need to clean up some run fits, get more crisp in our passing game and eliminate some silly mistakes. The drive right before the half where we had 3rd and forever offensively was pretty ugly. There are monkey turd fights at the zoo more organized than that was. While I may seem like a downer on this, I’ve got very high expectations for this squad, and there were some things that we absolutely have got to get better at as the season wears on. I’ll start bangin on the Trench Warfare tonight.
127 Comments
Agree on the shep-broyles comparison. I noticed him staring down receivers a couple of times and against better coverages like TCU it’ll bite us. How about Gastellum though? Hoped to hear more about his play because he semed to be everywhere, dare I say almost as good as Evans? …perhaps on the trench warfare?
Was great to see Frank Shannon celebrate with Gastelum after the pick… Man I wish he was inside the white lines tho…
Wish Shannon was playing too.
Agree about finding somebody other than Shepard in the passing game, but I loved that we came out throwing. Like I told my father before the game, it does OU no good to show up and physically dominate Tulsa up front, and to just run it down their throat. We know we can do that. I really wanted to see us work the 3 and 4 WR sets, and to sling it around. And we did a lot of that in the 1st half. We are going to need a strong passing game to win a couple of games this year. And I still think that is our offensive weakness. Gotta work on it when we can.
I agree with your observations JY. Have a feeling once the young receivers clean up their routes, it will result in better distribution.
Is the poor linebacking play a reason the slant was working so well for TU in second half? Those slant plays concern me because it appeared Tulsa could dial it up, and connect whenever they wanted to. Slants get you down the field in a hurry, and occasionally a player can break tackles and score from them.. Annoyingly simple, yet dangerous play if we don’t get it stopped.
How bout that Keevan Lucas. Dude was/is a stud.
A little more Gastelum will fix that.
We have had problems with that in the past 2 years. Mostly, playing Texas Tech.
They killed us with those slants in 2011.
I think Bob needs to get in the ref’s ear before the game (ala Baylor game last year) about the pick plays. They can call it a rub or cross routes, but it’s still a pick and illegal. I think lighting up a receiver now and then would solve that issue as well.
As for keying on Sterling, I’m going to give Trevor the benefit of the doubt for now, mainly because Sterling had a step on the db’s almost every time against TU. It would be hard not to keep throwing his way when he has that advantage, plus, it appeared working on the deep ball was a primary focus for heup this week… There will be games soon where Shep is better covered, and I think Knight will go to other receivers (he’ll have to).
How about that QB draw!! They way they lulled Tulsa to sleep with 5-6 passes in a row, then BAM! Even I almost forgot Trevor could run! lol Glad they showed that.
To be fair, I’ve noticed that Flowers has also been targeted quite a bit by Knight. Even in the Spring Game they seemed to be working on that connection. Also, Neal finally showed up, and K.J. Young did okay as well.
But I know you were referring to the fact that it seemed our only deep threat was/is Shep. This is a bit troubling, but I think that as long as we can keep the run game working like it is and involve the TE’s more, the deep threat may help sort itself out. Still, I would have liked to have seen what some of the other WR’s could have done on deep routes as well.
I agree about it being a bit troubling Toats. This is where DGB would have turned OUs offense from being good to scarey good.
i kept noticing how solid and great the plays looked when they went to Flowers.
Can we get some clarity on his situation? he’s been in full uniform and I guess technically he can play based on the ruling from the district judge.
Neal has solidified his position opposite Shep. Physically they are very similar, fast and strong.
Would like to see the slots get some plays. Really surprised Woods hasn’t been more of a factor.
Glad to see Bell finally get his first catch and TD, he is a weapon to be exploited.
Game plan and experience will become much more important this coming weekend, as OU won’t be facing a team with an obvious talent disadvantage.
I agree I like Neal and I think Trevor is getting more comfortable with him. I didn’t think kj young played well he didn’t seem to do well creating space and running after the catch maybe he should move to the outside and have Neal move inside. Also I was surprised we didn’t seem them try to build the rapport with smallwood and mead. It worries me a little but I think they will have to use one or both next week and it will give them a chance to show what they can do against a real d1 team.
“Woods more of a factor…” Hope the silly penalty during the “penalty fest” portion of the game doesn’t hurt his chances…
I think the deep ball will improve, I think this offense has another gear and they’re saving it. We recruited tons of big receivers for a reason and that was the deep pass so I think the coaches felt they could get away with not using those bigger receivers yesterday.
I’m stealing this line JY, “There are monkey turd fights at the zoo more organized than that was.”
Go ahead, since JY stole it from a movie . LOL.
Guess I feel like everybody else. There will plenty of things for the coaches to talk about next week despite the score
I thought overall we did pretty well. I still thought we still played vanilla a little bit. The one thing that I like is that we have a 3 very good backs that we can rotate and keep fresh. We are seeing flashes of them playing really well throughout the season. It looks like the coaches are keeping a lot of packages under wraps until that game we will need it. Tennessee has to be guessing what we are going to do next. I wonder what they are thinking when they see our game film.
What about putting Ross in the slot from time to time? You gonna cover him with a LB or safety? Good luck with that. Ross has a gear not many can match. He’s got good hands and he’s tough in the open field.
I was thinking about that same thing…weird…
We’ll probably see that in a closer game I’m guessing.
Was thinking that after the first game. He has great hands, made most of his yards on stretch plays, wheel routes. Would be tough across across the middle.
Not a bad idea. I was expecting to see D. Todd step in yesterday if not Mead for someone to stretch the field. We need a more dependable deep threat, otherwise I’m afraid higher scoring teams will play us to stop our run. I don’t necessarily see us as being able to take it to the air-at least we haven’t shown it yet with this group of receivers. That plus better use of the TE would be lethal. Neal is good in there, but I’m not so sure he’s a deep threat.
I like the idea as long as we temper our expectations. Ross has got a 6th gear only NFL-caliber RB’s have, but his initial acceleration is just above average. In the slot, that initial burst is far more valuable (look at Shep, Broyles, or Mark Clayton for examples). He’ll be useful as a 4th or 5th receiver to stretch and test the limits of nickel backs and LB’s in coverage, but I wouldn’t expect him to be as lethal as Demarco Murray was downfield. Ross is a RB who can handle some of the load of a WR; Murray actually could’ve been a WR if he so decided.
What are the odds Shep ends up back in the slot before season is over? It’s like Young wasn’t even out there yesterday. I agree Knight needs to get the ball to other guys than just Shep. Security blankets are for babies. Knight is starting to worry me a little bit. I really thought he’d come out polished, poised, and smooth but that’s not what I see.
Two of the deep balls to Shep would have been TD’s if not for great plays by the Tulsa DBs. Neal was targeted more and successfully. The passes to Ross & Ford that were so successful against LaTech weren’t shown here so I’m guessing they are picking different things to work on.
The team seems to lose focus a bit once the game is in hand.
“balls to Shep would have been Td’s” As well as a couple of others that were just barely too long…
Those great plays for their DB’s on Shep were both blatant pass interference missed calls. The first he actually got smacked/covered face mask before ball got there. My $ has Shep catching both without the PI’s
Reading through I was looking for this viewpoint. It seemed to me after 6 quarters of being untested the team kind of fell into a funk. Sort of lets see what it feels like to be driven on. I know its a stretch but hey, I was kinda feelin the same way. Wonder what it would look like to be challenged. I think in the Tennessee game it won’t happen because of the brighter lights from the countries view point. Having said that, I realize they could face adversity from the mighty SEC SEC SEC! and their speed!
I’m still not convinced that playing Tulsa is a good thing, for us, for them, or for the State.
i can see it both ways. game at tulsa allows people a cheaper chance at seeing an ou game every now and then. its a chance for the boys to learn lessons without losing. at the same time, how much good does it do you. no offense, but there is a reason those kids are at tulsa. its definitely an interesting discussion
Well except Tulsa charged $90 for tickets
well never mind then. holy smokes
Playing Tulsa is ok. Normally they are a little better than that. I think it’s better than playing Missouri State (or some other FCS school) and it’s a road game that’s really not a road game.
It’s not a bad thing, but I always feel for some of those Tulsa players that were hoping for an OU offer. Now they have to play against OU and there’s a high liklihood of getting freight-trained by OU. Eh, but what the hey…same applies to Ostate..lol.
Well, we’ve got three slots for OOC games and need to fill them with somebody. Seems like we have come up with a recipe of:
1. Cup cake.
2. ‘Nother cup cake a little better
3. Some Marquis-ish team with name appeal.
It gives us tune ups and something to point to regarding SOS. Tulsa falls into that #2 slot and is close, travel is cheap, it’s kind of a stealth home game and gives them a name opponent which creates some buzz for in-state high schoolers.
I’m sure there are others we could schedule, but Tulsa is far from the worst.
This is our OOC scheduling concept in a nutshell. Memorize this and you’ll never be shocked by OU’s first 3 games.
Been saying since preseason, we need to find someone other than number 3 to throw to. Hopefully TK can improve his vision and accuracy, while a WR or two step up.
I have to agree London seen a lot of balls thrown by Trevor that would have been Int’s if we were in conference play. Felt like 3rd Q was very ugly and just mailed in. That was worrisome. I was hoping to see Smallwood,Woods,Mead get more action then they did. Seen a lot of backup’s that looked hungry in the 4th
For me, it’s the difference between winning 8-10 games and competing for a final four slot.
We won 52-7 and the sky is falling. Hilarious. ManI am going to enjoy the ride and not nitpick, trying to find negatives.
cool. thanks
Who steps in for Charles Walker next week? I was hoping to get to see him go up against Tennessee. I’m not worried about losing much on the D line since were deep and talented just wondering who you guys think will fill in for him.
Probably peterson and maybe wade if his issue was only this game. I’m not sure why he was held out and didn’t dress but he has a shot to play IMO.
Hopefully wade will be back. Hope Charles gets healthy fast so he can get back out there. This year is crucial for him so he can be our starter for next year when Phillips goes to the NFL
As long as Phillips stays healthy he will probably go to the NFL. If not he will probably need to come back.
Great post as always JY. Could you maybe explain why we are much better at stopping the run around edges than stuffing runs up the gut? I think there were a few short distance situations that Tulsa won and I was surprised given a healthy Phillips etc. We won’t be great on D until we are stingier in the red zone and on short distance, right?
Nah, say you came in 40 – 60 down and that’s OK. Little constructive critique amounst friends is a good thing…
I agree with what is being said, but I’m not too worried. Sure Trevor wasn’t spreading the ball around like we would have liked, but we cannot disagree on how open Sterling was getting and the lack of ingenuitive play calling to get the ball to the others. This was tulsa and we did what was needed to get through the game without playing all of our cards. I think Heup took a big step in the right direction with his bama play calling and I expect more of the same against higher caliber teams. I also expect more involvement from the receiving corps. KJ Young is my biggest concern, might have great hands but I don’t think the light has turned on all the way.
Not sure I agree that we haven’t had a home run threat in a while. Damien Williams was a huge home run threat while he was at OU.
> he’s a home run threat we haven’t had at running back in a while
Roy Finch says, dude, what the hell?
Well to your guy and Clint who said Damien, but ross does have more potential than those 2. I liked finch a lot but we didn’t use him enough and that must have been because of pass protection.
Finch was quick, but he didn’t have “long speed” like Ross does. He could accelerate quickly though the hole, but DeMarco and AD had 100m speed and so does Ross.
not a fan of em but i hope the steelers beat the absolute crap outta the browns. any team with johnny d bag on it needs to be pummeled
hey maybe he can trademark that one too
Good points on all fronts. I felt like we had a checklist they were going to accomplish offensively without deviating. kind of like when my wife sends me to get groceries.
1) stay vanilla on offense and defense (except the fleaflicker which I think was meant to be incentive for Tennessee to stay honest this week when we keep pounding the ball)
2) continue to dominate with inside runs following the meat upfront.
3) at least get someone involved deep.
4) break the seal on tightends getting touchdowns
5) get more receivers involved.
Getting more receivers into is the only thing I don’t think we could really check off, though Flowers is a great option.
Good checklist. The 8 yard flea flicker will strike terror in the hearts of D coords all around the country, I’m sure…heh, heh….
They certainly narrowed the number of receivers he targeted this week, only 8 different guys as opposed to 12 guys who got a shot week one. But to me the most encouraging thing was that Neal got 10 balls thrown his way this week for 6 catches over only 4 and 2 the week before. That has to be a good thing.
Ross has such straight line speed, seems we could line him up in the slot against a LB, and just send him on the fly up the seam every play. He would have to outrun the defenders over 50% of time.. throw one of those belly fakes, and Boom! long bomb to someone other than Shep!
Whoops, looks like someone said this below already! my bad..
I think they did something like that with Ford in game one, wouldn’t be to much of a shock to see Ross there as well.
I know Ross has elite speed, but does he have elite football speed? Shep kept up with him on his TD, and an LaTech guy outran him on his KO return last week (it wasn’t just angle). He’s very fast, but he doesn’t seem to me to be significantly faster than everybody else.
I don’t think the La Tech guy outran him last week. I’ll look again, but what I saw was two La Tech guys with a great angle, and Ross going much faster than they were, but running out of room on the boundary. I noticed Shep running with him, but I think that speaks more to how fast Shep really is, than saying anything about Ross’s speed.
Stoops the other day listed both Ross and Shep as among the fastest on the team.
and phillips?
Don’t forget Genoe … he would have put that one in the endzone lickity-split if he hadn’t stopped to dis the QB.
I just remember in the Sugar Bowl, Tapper ran down that Alabama receiver and saved the touchdown.
Btw, I also noticed that whenever a reporter mentions Ross’s breakaway speed, Stoops tends to throw in something like “Ford can do that too…”
Believe it or not but Ford has been timed faster than Ross. I’m a fan of both so they are both fast.
Let me try to state this in a sensible way: Ross’s top end speed may not be faster than the few fastest guys on any team, but he hits that top end speed sooner than most do. If you watch the replay from that long run he had both feet planted at shoulder width a few yards past the line of scrimmage to let some trash clear by then BOOM he was up field. He later got tripped up and then a few steps later was at full speed again and pulled away. Damien Williams had that kind of speed too.
So far I think Ford’s best quality is his balance, he had several yards after contact.
Shepherd is one of the fastest guys on the team, running w/o carrying a ball in his hands, too. When Stoops was asked who the fastest guy on the team was, at first he mentioned both Ross and shepherd, then settled on Brooks. But Ross is VERY fast, yes.
Ross was getting tripped up twice while Shepherd was running free. Not apples to apples.
I love Trevor Knight. Great player and even greater person. However, I think with Trevor Knight, It is what it is. He is just not an accurate QB. He can make the incredible play but also can make the easy throw be difficult. I was hoping that his accuracy and his consistency would improve but if you look at his stats from high school and now college, he has never been above the 50th percentile in completions. I just don’t think he will ever be that QB that consistently completes 65-70% of his throws. Yesterday, he did not go through his progressions. Tenn. and in conference against better athletes, players will be jumping on those routes when he locks in on receivers.
High School STATS
Games Rushing Passing
Year Att Yds Avg TD PA PC Pct Yds TD Int
2011 (Sr.) 138 943 6.8 15 129 238 54.0 2,092 27 3
2010 (Jr.) 164 1,050 6.4 22 248 123 49.6 1,629 11 8
2009 (So.)117 627 – 2 175 93 53.1 1,246 9 9
You could be right, but I suspect your judgement is premature. We’ll see. On the other hand, if his completion pct. was 49.6 as a hs jr, 54 as a senior; and 59 first year in college, he is moving in the right direction, yes? At that rate, he’ll be throwing well over 70% as senior. 🙂 Just kidding, of course. I agree he has room for improvement, but don’t throw in the towel just yet.
I bow to your expertise on the run game BUT I counted 24 running plays 13 of which earned 3 yards or less. What is an acceptable stat in this regard?
“Sterling go deep way too many times…”
The misfires on the long ball to Shep may have made it seem like they were calling that play too much, but I don’t think so. We know we’re gonna need a serious deep threat and this was the game to work on it. I suspect the part of the game plan was, If he’s open, let er rip. And he was open. I think continued confidence in Trevor and Shep’s ability to perfect that play was warranted and wise.
Yes, he needs to not be too dependent upon his best receiver, but clearly this was the game to get as many reps on the deep ball in as possible, and I think that was a good call. Especially loved the confidence to call it from the one yard line.
I haven’t seen too many folks discussing the weather conditions; yeah, it wasn’t windy, but the wet ball and wet grip couldn’t have made it all that easy passing.
and a lot of guys losing their footing.
very good point
I don’t see any problem on the number of long pass plays to Shep; but I do see a problem in it only being him running those routes. Shep is going to get bracketed real soon. While that may open things up for other WRs that won’t mean anything of they don’t that timing down with the QB. My big knock on knight thus far is he still doesn’t seem to look off the defender and gets locked on to one guy. I will have to say he is getting very good at extending the play by slipping the rush and finding someone downfield.
“only him..” Totally agree. I think the drops and route running issues the previous week (and who knows, maybe in practice) with Mead and Smallwood, et al, may have contributed to a “let’s just get it done with the guy who can do it, first, attitude.” If you’re trying to develop confidence, eliminating some of the questionable variables is probably the way to go.
“getting very good at extending plays…” That’s always been one of his best features, especially when he extends it down field for a td pass, or even a just a 30 yard scamper …:-).
Lol… I am with you, I’ll take 30 yard TD play extensions every possession. I am now starting to better understand the push to get DGB eligible. It wasn’t just that he is a gifted talent but the WR pool is still very raw.
Of 24 completions, Shep had 1/3 at 8, Neal gets 6. 4 receivers other than TE/FB/Hback, caught balls. 1 to Smallwood and none to Mead. Need to get someone else involved outside. Good time for someone to step up.
I agree. I am surprised that person hasn’t been Woods.
I find it somewhat humorous that we’re critical of all of the deep pass plays, when last year the deep pass was extremely lacking until the Sugar Bowl. I’m in the camp that’s glad we’re willing and able to take deep shots.
I think it sends a message to future teams who will be watching the film. I’ve always liked a long pass attempt, even when it is incomplete, b/c a long pass attempt will many times loosen up a defense, especially if you connect on occasion. Obviously, the QB’s percentage will go down b/c of long passes. Highest percentage (backfield passes), lower % (short passes), lowest % (long passes). So, I didn’t mind the long passes b/c future teams are going to remember those and it could loosen up a future defense w/o ever throwing a long bomb. I think it’s worth it against a Tulsa.
If Knight dont stop floating those deep balls so much Sterlings gonna have a tough time staying healthy when going up for jump balls all year…didnt like the way he was coming down & did ding ’em self that one play
JY, I hear you about the flat pass. Trevor threw at least three “under” out routes (two to KJ) that against a more capable team might have been game changers. That was the one thing I remember most that needed work.
“Monkey turd fights at the zoo more organized than that was…” Let em have it, JY! I was conversing with my dad all throughout the game and we got to calling that sequence “The Lost Possession”.
Long time and avid reader, first time poster.
Looked to me like we were running at will. Offensive line and run blocking looks awesome and so improved from 2-3 years ago.
I know a lot of talk is centering on who is the best RB, but I just think we are damn lucky to have those 3 guys splitting reps. Each is a beast in his own way, and the fact that we have 3 guys like that means all the RB’s legs will be that much fresher at the end of games: when our O-line has worn down the D we will still be handing off to a hungry guy who has gotten 10 handoffs instead of 30 in the game so far.
I haven’t re-watched the highlights, but as I was watching (I thought this during the last game too) my biggest concern was I still felt like a lot of Knight’s short passes were either low or behind the receiver, or just generally not in a spot where the guy could catch it in stride. What gets lost in the passing statistics is I feel like a lot of times our receivers dig, slow down, turn, or somehow otherwise make great plays – but what I’d like to see is the ball put in the spot where the guy is catching it perfectly in stride. Especially when our short pass game seems geared towards getting guys in space, it kind of takes the firepower out of a play if the guy has to slow up or reach way down or otherwise put himself in a vulnerable position as he’s catching. I think we need to clean that up (which is totally possible) in order to take it to the next level this year.
As for the large number of deep balls to Shepard, I guess I actually don’t mind it – as long as the game is not on the line why not keep taking shots until Knight and Shepard really get their timing down (at game speed). I felt like I saw one or two throws that were 2 yards too long and at least one where Shepard had to slow up because it floated a little (I think he made the play anyways)… I’m content to use a blow-out game as their laboratory until they have it on lock.. if they dial that timing/speed in, it will be a great weapon.
Not a brainiac by any means myself but those were my thoughts! 9AM game for us on the west coast meant an extra early beer thirty! Thanks for all the great content you guys!!
On Knight’s accuracy, you should still account for the rain. Players were slipping all over the place, and soft-hands Sheperd even dropped a couple balls. If someone as good as Shep is struggling with the weather, I’m sure Knight was too.
I hear ya on the early beer thirty! A couple of summers ago I painted my house. My friend shows up with a cooler full of beer. The following is a dramatization of what actually transpired:
Friend: Do you want a beer?
Me: Dude, it’s 8 in the morning…of course I want a beer…
The End.
Which one of you said “hey, watch this” before The End?
For some reason, after we started drinking, things are a little fuzzy…
The fact that we’ve seen Flowers getting targeted so much has eased my mind about the TE’s and seeing Bell catch a couple sealed it. We look very balanced and have given everyone very little to look at but a lot to think about. We’ll only get better.
Durron Neal looked a lot better this week, and I think Knight will work out some of his early issues. The atmosphere against Tennessee should be pretty awesome, so hopefully that will help.
Home cooking always brings out the best in people.
I think part of the problem on offense is a lack of production at the slot receiver position. Through the first two games, Young is averaging three catches a game and the slot receiver is first read in this offense and has been for years. If Young can’t do better than three catches a game against inferior competition, that’s a problem.
the thing i love, reading these comments, is that we have a bunch of stuff we can work on. that, to me, leaves complacency out of the equation. there’s just a bunch of little things that, if not corrected, can add up to big things. if the boys stay hungry, and work like the coaches are gonna work em, then i think little slip ups, like texas last year, don’t happen.
i grew up in memphis, so to me, it starts this week. i loathe tennessee and that flavor of orange(the burnt flavor is #1 on that list after all these years). and now with all the u of sec crap that has been built up over the last decade, 77-0 sounds beautiful and would not hurt my feelings whatsoever
Stoops just said on his coaches show that the Sanchez injury was the “Stinger” type and hoped it was something he would be able to play through.
That’s some good news but the best news of the weekend was gastelum getting a scholly
Absolutely, sounds like he’s gonna see the field a lot this year. I loved the reaction in the locker room when it was given to him.
Ray, tfb keeps growing and growing. Per twitter there’s a new member of the team. I’m sure they will introduce him this week.
Yeah, didn’t K say something a few days ago about a new writer coming on board soon? I can remember when there were more brainiac contributors than posters HAHA, not that it was that long ago. This place has blown up over the past year and turned into the best information site on the interwebs!
I lurked for many months before overcoming my objection to disqus.
I can remember you and others having a bad time with that. I never had problems but it did take me a while to warm up to the format.
My problem wasn’t in getting signed in, it was my reticence in signing up with disqus. I had read some disconcerting things about the service.
you’re right I probably missed that. I’ve got a bad memory, I didn’t start posting until February but I was reading this stuff back in November yet I can’t recall why it took me so long to start posting.
I didn’t start posting right away either. Sometimes it’s better to get a feel before jumping in.
Thanks for the write up. One little correction. One down TWELVE to go!
I think in general it is tough to really critique these two games. You want to see them go out and do what they need to do against lower competition. They did that, left the game healthy and with some things to work on but I think that is key too to keep the intensity up. The offense hasn’t shown any wrinkles yet and I really look forward to seeing what Heupel has in store against Tennessee and if the Bama game was a sign of things to come from him and his maturity as a play caller in the future.
But at the end of the day we have looked pretty good and left both games healthy. That is huge. I don’t think I am too much of a homer saying that we have shown far fewer things to be worried about than almost every other team in the county.
We left the first game healthy but we left Tulsa with three players injured.
The XRays on Sanchez were negative and although we all believe Charles Walker is a super star soon he is still a backup and should be fine in a couple weeks. Who else was there?
Evans got rolled up and had to leave the game. I know they will all eventually be fine but I call healthy everyone staying on the field and not having to spend time with trainers or take x-rays.
Well shep got banged up but came back and was fine. You never know if that flares up though when the adrenaline is gone.
Yeah I forgot about Shep being carried over to the bench by training staff.
Just wonder if TFB will have a visitors list up this week?
There already is one up in the Original Posters thread.
Thanks Ray! I should have known huh. Getting lazy in my old age lol
JY you would probably get called a Debbie downer on other boards, but honest and frank commentary is what makes TFB the absolute best Sooner site, period. Great analysis and I couldn’t agree more. It seems like Heupel will get stuck in a rut for 2-3 series every game.
I tweeted out at half that was as underwhelming a performance as you could have up 31-0. Trevor made poor decisions and poor throws and was staring down one receiver far too often. I think I’m much like JY and many Sooner fans in having very high expectations for this team. Not every game is going to be pretty and its hard to say winning 52-7 is ugly but it was certainly not a crisp, efficient performance. I do think field conditions, desire to keep things simple and not show much, and a football field full of youth are the biggest culprits and the best news is all of that can and will change.
Lurker…..First time posting… I loved seeing the deep ball thrown…Hopefully as the season moves along, TK timing will be better. I think it will improve. I also noticed OU was having some problems defending the pass in the middle of the field at linebacker depth. This was in the 2nd half and might of been #2 or #3 on defense at this time. Not concerned about it yet. They kept everything in front of them….
In my opinion, it looked like they weren’t as “fired” up during the 2nd half. I don’t see this being a problem as they face tougher teams….I’m very excited this year and the next few years to come. I think TK has looked good so far. His accuracy will improve as he gets more experience under his belt. After seeing the way he played against Bama, i think he showed us he can make the throws consistently. I’ve watched that game several times….His feet work was flawless also. Hopefully he will continue to get better each game. I’m ready for the Tennessee game.
I saw the game 14 rows back of the OU bench at the 40, then watched the DVR version. TK still needs to improve on timing with the receivers. He throws behind them too often. That said, he is very very good.
The QB draw was great and a great call. The future opponents will have to consider not following the RB with the middle LB, which will give TK an easy swing pass to a couple of homerun threat RBs (or an unstoppable truck that will flatten any DB).
Bowing to your expertise BUT we had about 13 runs of 3 yards or less out of about 25-26. Is this a good ratio?