Open Post | Wednesday, October 12th
Posted on: October 12, 2022
What I Didn’t Account For…
– Super K – Posted on: October 8, 2022
Lunacy.
***It’s usually a pretty simple formula. You have some good players. You have players that are dedicated. You have players that work hard. You have a brilliant defensive coach who has coached under a lot of good coaches. You have an OC who had success in the toughest defensive conference in the country.
And you inherit a team who was a play or two away from yet another trip back to the Big 12 championship.
You enter a conference where multiple teams have new coaches. And the teams that don’t have new coaches are breaking in new quarterbacks or is Kansas.
***So could you be somewhat off and see the team being less of a 11-1 team and more of a 9-3 or 8-4 team, sure.
***But to get blown out by TCU who, as a I write this is in a dog fight with Kansas. TCU, mind you, has a new coach.
***To get blown out by a Texas team that lost to Texas Tech who also has a new coach?
***So, what’s happening here?
***All I can say is it looks like bad decisions or lunacy.
***So, when you decide to play a quarterback, what do you base that decision on? Well, I would think that the very first consideration is whether said quarterback can pass and if he can’t pass then can he run?
***But what happens when you decide to play a QB who can do neither? I mean, you don’t even trust the guy to throw it. How many actual plays were called for him to throw? If you’re conceding in the game plan that you don’t trust him to throw and you know he can’t run, what purpose is he playing out there?
***You have a couple running quarterbacks on your roster. You might say, well they can’t pass. Effectively, the young man you’re playing can’t either.
***And even when you find something that works in the run game, you decide, let’s call some end arounds (and not use your most athletic WR).
***I mean you’re only option was to physically beat them down. There’s no point in the trickery. In the end, it’s going to come down to winning one on one.
***And why would you ever let Beville run the ball when something else in the run game was working?
***And why would you have the shortest guy throw the pop pass? How can he even see the player he’s trying to pass to? And why would you do that when Willis is available?
***Again, these are just objectively bad decisions that are not giving your team any chance and I’m sure it’s zapping the team of any confidence in your ability to put them in a good position.
***Defensively, you’re giving up plays in the pass. You’re giving up plays in the run. I get you’re trying to prevent the big play so you want more speed and flexibility on the field. But you’re not stopping anything…
***So, why not go big up front? In the end you started giving up bigger and bigger plays in the run game anyway. It’s 7 points whether it’s Bijan or Worthy. At least with a pass, there is a chance, Quinn could miss it.
***I mean, one of the most perplexing decisions I saw, was the timeout at the end of the half. I get you’re trying to tell your guys that you’re playing to win. But you’ve had a chance to see what they’re doing. Their offense is off script. You get the ball back. Worst case scenario, you go into the half 21-0 and regroup. Try to come out and score.
***The Sooners have no identity on either side of the ball.
***I have to wonder what Gundy’s presence in the room would have done.
***I really like Brent and what he represents. What I like is seeing someone bring the best out of young men. But that off the field message will not resonate if you can’t give these players a reason to believe they can be successful on the field.
***I wanted Brent to be that guy but unless he can suddenly figure out how to make better decisions, he’s done some serious damage to Oklahoma. I’ll be the first to admit, I did not expect this. Again, are you going to be off a little – sure. But this is so bad it’s just perplexing.
***You feel bad for the kids and the fans. Brent has no excuse here. New coach? There are plenty of new coaches. The difference is, he inherited a good team – or at least a team better than this.
***Unless something drastically changes, OU admin and the boosters need to dig deep and figure out what’s going and whether this is salvageable.
***What you’d like to see is for them to get their QB back and start to just show some improvement me week in and week out. Because right now, every part of their game is getting worse. And these players deserve better.
***I think the challenging part here is this – the game planning and some of the game-day decisions are just bad.
***I would normally say it’s way too early to question a DC like Brent or an OC like Lebby but the facts are the facts. You’re not stopping anyone on defense. And you aren’t scoring at all.
***This wasn’t Rocky and the Russian. This wasn’t even Creed and the Russian. This is like Chunk vs the Russian.
***Here is the good news. OU admin and boosters are vicious. They aren’t going to stand for this long. So either Brent will get it figured out (very soon) or someone else will (very soon).
Head Scratcher | Part 1
– Super K – Posted on: October 8, 2022
So this might end up being multiple parts but among the many head-scratchers…
And I asked this in the previous post but why was Beville in the game?
You clearly don’t trust him to throw and he can’t run. I mean, I’m trying to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt by saying, ok, the other quarterbacks are worse.
But, again, at least the possibility of them being able to run is there.
The other thing, was there even an attempt to move the pocket and give Beville some options?
Was there any attempt to try to get Beville in a rhythm – if that’s even possible?
I get the coaches were handed a bad hand but it’s how they reacted to it that makes so little sense to me.
If you think Beville gives you the best chance of running your offense, then you know the only reason that would be the case is he gives you the best chance in the pass game. So, find ways to get him some easy passes and if he misses them, then either stick with it and find a way to maybe move him a little to make his read easier or pull him.
Your plan might not work but it has to at least have some cohesiveness to it – some logic.
You want to play Beville because he can pass the best but you wouldn’t let him get passes in the first three games and you wouldn’t be patient with him passing the ball in this game.
And if you wanted to run the ball then why is Beville even on the field as a decoy? I mean, at that point is it really that important for the other team not to be able to substitute?
Really confused by the coherence of the plan.
Head Scratcher | Part 2
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 8, 2022
Adding the next of many head-scratcher moments from today’s game following Super K’s earlier piece…I’ll stay with the QB theme.
Couple of them in here.
Start with the Dillon Gabriel warm-up situation prior to the game. Following the game, Brent Venables said they knew mid week that Gabriel would not be playing. Okay. That’s fine, and I actually believe that because someone in our community who has brought solid information to the table for us, actually reached out to me and said Gabriel would be out. I could just not vet it completely to run it, so I am not taking claim to the information, but I can believe Brent knew midweek that he wasn’t playing.
Fine.
Put out the little video which slipped Gabriel in as a tease. Fine. Have pictures of him suited up in his travel outfit and getting on and off the bus. Great. Show pictures of his uniform pregame. Fine. Don’t tip your hand to your opponent before Saturday as to who will be playing. Cool, love it. Have the kid go through normal warmups to keep the deceit going… an absolute juvenile look that the University of Oklahoma should probably be embarrassed about, but chances are it is forgotten as they have more reason to be embarrassed by their play on the field.
Y’all may disagree with me on that, but I thought that looked pretty much like amateur hour.
Now let’s talk about Nick Evers, shall we?
I was actually angry that the Sooners brought Evers in with 4 minutes left in the game.
I was on the phone with Super K and I was talking like a sailor.
The audacity to bring a kid in to that game at that point was just ridiculous. If you wanted to get his feet wet, if you wanted to let him get a taste of the big game environment, bring him in at the point where you already knew Beville wasn’t going to move the ball at all (1st quarter) and give him a chance to catch magic in a bottle and perhaps bring something…ANYTHING…to the table that may work better than what you had in Beville.
What really got my goat was the fact that they brought him in with 4 minutes left in the game and then…they didn’t even let him run offense!
Yo..THAT IS EXACTLY HOW WE GOT WHERE WE ARE WITH BEVILLE!
You brought Beville in during the first 3 blowouts on the season only to allow him to hand the ball off and run clock. OU anointed him as the backup and then didn’t allow him to run offense during the closing quarters of the first three games and they were literally watching how that played out for them in real-time as Beville looked completely lost and out of sync.
So you choose to go that route again…but this time with Evers?
When he came into the game, I said to K, ‘man they are not going to let him run offense’, And they didn’t.
What would have been the harm in letting him run the two-minute offense? Scared to lose 56-0 instead of 49-0? If you recall, it was the two-minute drill against Kent State that got Gabriel moving that game. Perhaps Evers could have found some easy throws as Texas likely would have just played soft zone at that point. The worst-case scenario is he throws a pick-six…SO WHAT?
That had me scratching my head as it doesn’t appear as if anyone at OU learned anything from the lack of using their backup QB earlier in the year…which contributed to what unfolded in front of them on the field in the Cotton Bowl.
Find an Identity – Fast
– Super K – Posted on: October 9, 2022
Even the biggest Brent Venables doubters didn’t see this catastrophic meltdown.
But as I’ve said, if you talked to folks inside the program – especially folks who had been under the previous staff – who saw the way Brent worked and the kind of buy in and transformations they saw in the kids, they would tell you Brent is going to win and win big.
So, the fact that they not only haven’t done that but have fielded some of the worst OU teams in history, is such a massive departure from that, it’s shocking.
I think OU fans can stomach some early losses – maybe even quite a few.
That’s not the issue right now.
The issue is the Sooners are basically putting up zero resistance. It’s really hard to find much to hang your hat on.
Defensively, if they were stopping the run but getting beat in the pass, you’d say, ok well Brent is bringing in more speed on the back end. Or if they were missing some tackles but when they hit you, the whole stadium would hear it, you’d say ok, love the aggression, just need control.
Offensively, it’s a little tougher to judge because we all knew how bad it could get without QB1 and the running game does seem to be clicking. But, zero points? And let’s be candid, the last image we all have of DG before the unfortunate hit was missing wide open passes.
But where is the cohesiveness of the plan?
Decisions that may or may not be made at the end of year shouldn’t be about time or date. They should be about whether Brent shows some reason to believe that there is something redeeming about the team that he can maximize and that the flaws on the team can be fixed in the off-season AND that through that he can prove to be a championship coach.
It’s as simple as that. It’s not about, give him a five years or give the OC two years or no years. Numbers are arbitrary in either direction without purpose.
Brent has to find some kind of identity starting next week and he needs to accentuate that in the coming weeks and make his case as to why whatever weaknesses the team has can be resolved in the off-season.
By the end of the season, this team should look like a team ready to win a Big 12 championship even though they won’t have the chance to do so.
And if they don’t then there needs to be a plan in place to ensure that they will next year. Otherwise, the program is wasting it’s time and resources.
Remember what we’ve always said – even when Lincoln was the coach – the standard is championships. If that’s the case, you need to evaluate things not based on some reduced standard but on that.
Do you believe this guy is a championship coach? If he wins 10 games or 1 that question needs to be answered.
And what championship coaches have is a clear identity and a plan to fix whatever is broken.
I’d suggest making absolute top priority next week, stopping the run even if it costs you some flexibility or protection on the back end. You cannot give up 300 yards on the ground in three straight games and think you have a future at OU in any capacity.
I’d also suggest showing some of the aggression we heard so much about in the off-season.
Sourced | The Defensive Issue | What’s Going on
– Super K – Posted on: October 9, 2022
I spoke with a source who was among the many people close to the program who was very optimistic about the season given what they saw leading up the season.
Here is essentially what this person’s opinion is about the defensive issues:
***Brent is game planning extremely well. Everything that the kids are being told they will see, they do see.
***But there are far far too many busts. Was told that the TCU game were more obvious busts but there were a ton of a busts in yesterday’s game, it’s just that they weren’t as obvious to the public. Guys fitting wrong, guys playing in the zone coverage incorrectly, etc.
***I asked if it’s possible that Brent is overcomplicating things. Was told that some of the stuff is pretty basic but said source admitted that Brent may have not realized just how low the football IQ of some of these guys are…
***Let me explain that a bit. Was told that basically Grinch’s defense was so simple compared to any other defense a team would have run that anything feels complicated to some of these guys. And it isn’t that there are constant busts in practice but it’s sort of that thing where, when the pressure of the game hits and the other team makes slight – even if not substantive changes – there is a discombobulation.
***In other words, this source said, it’s not that the defense is too complicated, it’s that the previous staffs defense was 0 on a 1-10 scale of complexity (with 1 being the simplest). So, anything feels complicated.
***What I was told you may begin to see is a return to the first three weeks base calls and an attempt to try to ease more variation is. The problem of course is that as you play these better teams, base calls over and over are going to get you killed. But I think when you’re getting killed anyway, you’re trying to find away to bring things along in the right amount.
***And it’s hard because I think the coaches feel like some of this stuff is just basic math that they should know by now.
***I’ll make a simple back end illustration for you. If I ask any of you how a corner plays a cover three when he’s got a post and a wheel route, you’d say he matches the post and then leaves it and then picks up the wheel route.
***But that wasn’t how Grinch did it, cover 3 for them was basically just in name only after a certain point because it would turn into man after a certain point. So, that corner would actually cross out of his zone and cover the post and someone else would have the wheel responsibility.
***How many times did OU get beat in that concept yesterday? Multiple times.
***And again, it isn’t complicated but when you’re coming from the previous defense, everything is complicated.
***I know some folks may feel like Brent is being hands off, forget sources, Brent has admitted that he’s in the weeds here.
***These aren’t call issues, they are execution issues at every level.
***I think Brent’s best bet now is to take a full season approach so that he has something very close to the defensive execution he wants by the end the season.
***That obviously can’t mean that he simply sticks with base calls the entire way, otherwise these guys will never learn the basic arithmetic necessary to be a great defense. But he also may need to start running two base calls and one modified call on each three downs.
***So, perhaps you could make the call you believe – if executed correctly – would give the best chance on first down and then depending on how that goes decide how to call the next two plays.
***For example, in 3rd and 7, Brent wants to bring pressure. He can bring with man coverage on the back end or he can bring with a type of a split coverage. Now if played correctly that split coverage is obviously more likely to yield him a pick or something. But if one of your front guys mis fits because he has a pass responsible to consider or someone in the secondary busts then you give that up.
***You can certainly give it up in man coverage, as well. And again, the kids are going to have learn some football beyond the absolute basics but they might just need to consider that what Brent inherited are players that aren’t even at grade level in terms of the football IQ. So, what seems simple, isn’t to them.
***Having said all that, I came away from that conversation feeling a bit more optimistic in that, if Brent can bring them along step by step, he may be able to actually show us a really nice defense by the end of the season. And, that’s all I think most people are hoping for right now. And more importantly, the recruits can see that.
***You just want to know that Brent can build a championship defense. If he can convince everyone by season’s end that he’s doing that, there’s a ton of offensive coordinators (not implying Lebby won’t get it fixed – just saying, in case) and OU’s a trigger man on the way.
***I know some of you may not feel great, but like I said, for whatever it’s worth, I felt quite a bit more optimistic after speaking to said source.
***Again, just hoping that Brent can bring the guys along so that it’s obvious by the season’s end, where the defense is going.
Sourced Notes | Thoughts on OU From Others
– Super K – Posted on: October 10, 2022
***I have a few good sources over at TCU, one is a friend who has been inside the program in various capacities for years. He’s very familiar with OU having played against them for years. We had a fairly long chat yesterday as I wanted to get his sense on what he saw from Oklahoma and just how bad did it look from their perspective.
***He said, I have never in my life seen a less physical OU football team and it just wasn’t something you’d expect. He added, I mean we had like seven of their guys in the tent (injured) and they just wouldn’t hit back.
***As I talked to him and knowing how much he’s long respected OU, there was almost like a stunned vibe coming from him. It’s not just that it was such a massive fall for OU and it’s not even that it was so fast, it was that everything you associate with BV and everything they’d also heard over there in the off-season was toughness and physicality.
***When he talked about how shocked he was that they were hitting OU and OU refused to hit back he added, “that’s just not Brent.”
***I’m struck by how many people, even Texas folks, who are scratching their head here. I’m obviously in the same boat. I mean, up until twenty minutes ago I was waiting for the second round of Rocky vs the Russian (and maybe deep down I’m still thinking that could happen) but as we’ve said, there’s really no response other than bewilderment.
***TCU source did say that the OU team did appear “tired.” And, I know Brent kind of alluded to that as something they may need to look at.
***I asked a source about that and was told, that might be some of it but source I spoke to this morning firmly believes that the kids are just reacting to everything so slow and if you’re not triggering immediately and hitting the other guy then it always looks like you’re the one getting hit. I think that’s probably the direction I’d lean.
***TCU source said, they probably just need to re-strip it down to the basics and get the kids tackling and running to the ball even if that all seems too simple.
***I also asked the source about Lebby and some of what I feel are very perplexing personnel decisions. Source said, Lebby comes from that Briles system and he knows it well but the problem is that this is the first time he’s ventured out on his own without oversight and “he might be getting exposed a little.” Added, it doesn’t help when you lose your quarterback (then went into how they took out their second quarterback this past week).
***I got back to wondering if the loss of Gundy really hurt Lebby more than anyone because Gundy could have been that little bit of oversight he needed until he could manage on his own.
*** I liken it to baking grandmas cookies. You can do everything right and then in a moment you reach for the salt and she looks up and says, that’s the salt, you need the sugar. You respond, oh whoops! And you add the sugar. The cookies come out great and you get credit for baking the cookies, as you should. You did everything right but that one little mistake you were about to make, isn’t enough to credit grandma with making the cookies but it would have been enough to ruin the batch.
***And you somewhat see that with Lebby’s offense right now. Everything will be right except for one thing and that one seemingly small thing will be the difference between points and no points.
***Lincoln had the luxury of oversight from Bob and then, to his credit, Lincoln brought in Ruffin and leaned on Cale. Brent doesn’t have that. And no, Brent’s lack of success right now doesn’t change my thoughts on Lincoln and my feeling that he isn’t ultimately a championship coach.
***I spoke to another long time source and friend who is at another Big 12 school and he too was stunned by what he’s seen from OU. “That sh*t was horrible. Worst performance I have ever seen.”
***I’ll continue to drop notes on what I’m hearing from various sources on various topics related to OU. We definitely want to continue to gauge the locker room situation and other things that are obviously relevant.
***I did ask TCU source if he thinks OU can beat Kansas, “not with the way their playing right now. Kansas is good. If they can be a different team than they’ve been these last three weeks, sure. Maybe get the quarterback and score some points.”
***Basically he said, if they play anywhere close to what we’ve seen, beating Kansas will be tough. But I think we all know that. I think we know that we need to see a reinvigorated Oklahoma team.
***Oh, one additional thing. I did ask TCU source how much talent plays into this – as he has seen OU at varying phases of talent. Basically said what I think we all know, that talent can be a factor but not to this degree. Talent can cost you the game but not complete and utter depantsing.
By The Numbers | Texas | Game 6 of 2022
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 10, 2022
Let’s take a look at some of the PFF numbers from the Sooners loss to Texas…
Offensive Snap Counts | 58 Total Offensive Snaps
1 Andrew Raym #73 – 52
1 Anton Harrison #71 – 52
1 Davis Beville #11 – 52
1 Wanya Morris #64 – 52
1 Chris Murray #56 – 52
6 Marvin Mims #17 – 49
6 Brayden Willis #9 – 49
8 McKade Mettauer #72 – 43
9 Jalil Farooq #3 – 38
10 Drake Stoops #12 – 34
11 Daniel Parker Jr. #22 – 25
12 Eric Gray #0 – 22
13 Jovantae Barnes #2 – 21
14 LV Bunkley-Shelton #6 – 19
15 Marcus Major #24 – 15
16 Robert Congel #66 – 12
17 Jason Llewellyn #87 – 6
17 Jake Taylor #79 – 6
17 Nick Evers #7 – 6
17 Jacob Sexton #76 – 6
17 Gavin Freeman #82 – 6
17 Savion Byrd #59 – 6
17 Tyler Guyton #60 – 6
17 Trevon West #81 – 6
25 Nate Anderson #69 – 3
Top 5 PFF Offensive Grades
1 Eric Gray – 70.6
2 Savion Byrd – 66.4
3 Jalil Farooq – 66
4 Brayden Willis – 65
5 Jovantae Barnes – 63.7
Bottom 5 PFF Offensive Grades
1 Nick Evers – 45.8
2 Jason Llewellyn – 48.2
3 LV Bunkley-Shelton – 49.9
4 Chris Murray – 50.8
5 Tyler Guyton – 51.3
Surprised me:
Davis Beville played 52 snaps of football for the Oklahoma Sooners…I don’t care who you are, that was a major surprise to everyone particularly with how bad he looked on most of those snaps. McKade Mettauer was the highest rated regular OL at 60.3. While I thought he was OK, I thought both Harrison (56.1) and Wanya (59.3) were actually good on the day. Snap count wise, kind of surprised Wease and Gibson got no run, but Wease did get hurt last week even though he was suited, so maybe something there, and Gibson has been a mystery all year. Sexton and Taylor lose their redshirts…not a surprise, just pointing that out.
Defensive Snap Counts: 82 Total Defensive Snaps
1 Danny Stutsman #28 – 79
1 David Ugwoegbu #2 – 79
1 Trey Morrison #6 – 79
4 DaShaun White #23 – 67
5 Woodi Washington #0 – 64
6 Jaden Davis #4 – 62
7 Ethan Downs #40 – 47
8 Justin Broiles #25 – 46
9 Reggie Grimes #14 – 41
10 D.J. Graham #9 – 40
11 C.J. Coldon #22 – 34
12 R Mason Thomas #32 – 33
13 Jalen Redmond #31 – 32
14 Jonah Laulu #8 – 29
15 Key Lawrence #12 – 26
16 Jordan Kelley #88 – 18
17 Isaiah Coe #94 – 17
17 Jeffery Johnson #77 – 17
19 Jaren Kanak #7 – 16
20 Kelvin Gilliam #44 – 14
21 Marcus Stripling #33 – 12
22 Gentry Williams #24 – 10
22 Robert Spears-Jennings #3 – 10
22 Kendall Dennis #21 – 10
25 Jayden Rowe #27 – 6
26 Jamarrien Burt #16 – 3
26 Kip Lewis #10 – 3
26 Jake McCoy #41 – 3
29 Josh Ellison #90 – 2
29 Gracen Halton #56 – 2
31 Justin Harrington #37 – 1
Top 5 PFF Defensive Grades:
1 Kip Lewis – 76
2 Jake McCoy – 75.5
3 C.J. Coldon – 70.5
4 Gentry Williams – 70.3
5 Jeffery Johnson – 68.6
Bottom 5 PFF Defensive Grades:
1 Justin Broiles – 45.7
2 Key Lawrence – 49.2
3 Josh Ellison – 49.5
4 D.J. Graham – 50.2
5 Woodi Washington – 53.2
Surprised me:
No surprise here in regard to Kip Lewis…he was on the field for all of 3 plays and he looked like the best defender throughout the game for OU…wild how that happens. Justin Harrington getting 1 snap in favor of Woodi Washington at safety is…something. No real shocker on the bottom 5 ranked guys, but let’s be serious, any of the 11 guys who started that game could have made the bottom 5 group.
Locker Room | Sourced
– Super K – Posted on: October 10, 2022
I know all that matters right now is what we see on the field the next few weeks but for those of you who have been asking about the locker room vibe…
I did ask this morning and was told things are good on that front. Was told, as of today, no issues and the guys are close – they just want to play better for their coaches.
I think the reason you feel so bad for the players and the coaches is in part because they’ve fostered such a great environment inside the locker room and you’d like to see that payoff on the field.
Position Group Progress Report | 2022 Game 6: Texas
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 11, 2022
Checking out how the position groups performed in the Sooners loss to Texas. Coming into the game, OU was the underdog and they took it on the chin in a 49-0 beatdown.
This will be the sixth 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 Texas.
There was no progress to be had.
Tight end Brayden Willis, wide receiver Jalil Farooq, running back Eric Gray and linebacker Kip Lewis, who played all of 3 defensive snaps, were the standouts.
Thats it.
QB: Nebula (last week: Nebula) – No words
RB: 3* (last week 4*) – Gray and Barnes did their jobs and if they had any help in the pass game they likely could have had rather big days.
WR/TE: 4* (last week low *) – Nobody did anything receiving wise, but have to tip the cap to Willis and Farooq for their performance. So yeah, 38 yards receiving on the day earns a 4*? No idea how I got there, but I guess I was just so impressed with Willis and Farooq.
OL: 3* (last week low 4*) – Did about as well as you could when you had literally no passing game.
DL: Nebula (last week 1*) – Non existent. Threw up in my mouth a little when I saw R Mason Thomas get in a 4 point stance.
LB: Nebula (last week Nebula) – Completely lost. I thought Stutsman was gonna be OK for a minute, but he got worn down and wore out.
Cheetah: Nebula (last week 1*) – A complete void non-contributor position on the day.
DBs: 2* (last week Nebula) – Jaden Davis was decent, Trey Morrison was solid, Woodi tried at safety, Key was terrible and CJ Colden may have earned himself some more reps.
ST: 2* (last week 2*)
