OU vs. La Tech – What I’ll Be Watching
Posted on: August 28, 2014
Image via ESPN
I’m not going to insult your intelligence and waste your time with much of an intro. I think the title makes it pretty self-explanatory.
*Trevor Knight’s deep ball – With an experienced o-line averaging around 6’4″ 320 lbs and a stable of backs behind them, I’m not expecting the ground game to be an issue either Saturday night or for the 2014 season in general. However, that is somewhat contingent on Knight and his ability to stretch opposing defenses not allowing them to have that extra defender (or two) up in the box.
His ability to hit the deep pass, and do so consistently, was clearly on display in the Sugar Bowl and was one of the most important factors in OU winning that game. Outside of that night in January however, Knight was either inconsistent in his ability to connect on the deep ball and/or Josh Heupel did not dial it up for whatever reason.
It’s not rocket science to expect teams will still be skeptical of Knight beating them with his arm, so OU can expect opposing defenses — at least early in the season — to load up against the run and make TK9 prove he can consistently move the ball through the air. Obviously with Dorial Green-Beckham this would have been, in theory, much easier to do. And now that No. 11 is no longer an option, who will emerge as Knight and OU’s primary downfield threat?
Mind you, he doesn’t have to hit on ten of these every game, but in the three or four (or however many Heupel calls) chances he does get, he needs to connect. If he’s able to do that, there’s no telling what this offense could be capable of in 2014.
*Defending the run – We’re all aware of OU’s struggles defending the run last season. And while it was at least partially a result of (1) the first year in a brand new scheme and (2) undersized personnel for said new scheme, this is another area in which opposing offenses will look to test the Sooners.
La Tech is bringing in a talented running back in Kenneth Dixon, but he’ll be running behind a suspect offensive line. So if you see Dixon carving up this OU defense Saturday night, then it could be a pretty telling sign things still haven’t been sorted out in that front seven.
Now, do I expect that to happen? No, I do not. I’m just saying if it does, there could be reason to worry.
*Julian Wilson – This will obviously be our first time to see the fifth year senior following his position switch to corner, and I’d be surprised if La Tech didn’t try to test him early. As most of you who read the site know, we’ve heard many a positive report on Wilson and his progress at the new position. And I’m not necessarily here to doubt any of those people. But until you see a guy under the lights, out there on that island, in my opinion there has to be at least a little bit of trepidation.
If there is anyone on this planet whose opinion I’d trust when fielding a defensive secondary it’s Mike Stoops. And with the work Wilson put in this spring/summer with Coach Viney, I’m fully expecting him to succeed at corner. But, at the same time, I want to see it with my eyes first.
*Safety play – To me, this is the biggest question mark facing a potentially elite defense. Yeah, there’s the depth issue at ILB. But that’s something that is really beyond your control. The play of OU’s safeties will be critical, as they would in any defense, and I’d be lying if I said the inexperience here didn’t worry me.
We’ve seen guys in the past — with much more on-field experience than Ahmad Thomas, Hatari Byrd, and Steven Parker will bring into the season — get confused, or miss an assignment, and give up a huge play. How will bigger guys like Thomas & Byrd hold up in coverage? Has Q.Hayes improved upon some of the issues in his game we saw at times last year and can he be the leader this group needs?
*Jed Barnett – If you can’t stop laughing for a second, hear me out. Barnett was a guy I thought really struggled at times last year, especially at home where those Oklahoma winds seemed to give him fits. We all remember what a weapon Tress Way could be at times when he’d rip off one of those 60-yard punts and flip the field on an opponent. Saturday night I’d like to see a guy in Barnett we know can pull one of those out if needed, or drop one inside the ten yard line and let the defense go to work.
Obviously you want your punter on the field as little as possible, but when they are out there you want to know what you can expect. I didn’t think that was the case last year, so hopefully that has changed.
*Blake Bell at TE – I mean, seriously, how could you not be fascinated by this come Saturday night?
Since he sat out the spring game, none of us have been given a chance to see how he’s taken to the new position. Sure, we’ve heard rumors — and if even half of them are true then look out — but there just that….rumors. Putting aside how weird it will be to see him actually line up at TE, if he’s half as good as everyone thinks he’s going to be then it could be a true game-changer for this OU offense.
The threat he would present over the middle of the field and the immediate mismatch he creates with his size would cause havoc for opposing Big 12 defenses. Whatever he may do, it will still have come against La Tech. So I’d caution you to temper any excitement for at least another week or two, but this thing has to start somewhere. And if it’s with Bell showing out Saturday night, then I’d be okay with that.
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What will you be watching for Saturday night?
96 Comments
Simple, I want to see our lines dominate on both sides of the football, and I want our receivers to look comfortable. We generally were a really good running football team last season, and I don’t see any reason why that shouldn’t continue this year. Also, if Jordan Phillips is completely healthy, our run defense will be just fine. Saturday night, we’ll see for the first time if he really has recovered from back surgery. All I hear about is how talented our receivers are. We all know about Sterling, but what about the other guys? We’ve been waiting for Durron Neal to become a huge playmaker on this offense It’s time to finally see it. KJ Young has some of the best HS film I’ve ever seen. It’s time to see it at the D1 level. Michiah Quick is supposed to be a freshman gamechanger. Let’s see it against inferior competition. I’m so ready for this season to start, boys and girls. Let’s do it.
I think Trevor Knight’s consistency is our biggest key to success in 2014. Can he routinely lead the offense down the field and finish in the red zone. All the other pieces will fall in place like clock work.
I’ll be watching similar things as you, Jordan.
1. TK’s play-action execution. It’s the most telegraphing play he runs. He completes the “fake” long before the RB even gets to him, it’s infuriating. LBs should be able to lock onto whether it’s a run play or a pass by watching TK. He’s a statue when he’s going to hand off, and he finishes the fake WAY too quickly. He comes out of those fakes with too much urgency. He did this far too often during the season and was still doing it during the Spring Game. I want to see TK fully draw out the fake and settle down.
2. I want to see how we stop the run, plain and simple.
3. Better tackling.
4. Safety play. Hayes got beat deep more than most people realize last year b/c the ball may not have ended up his direction.
5. Sanchez’s discipline vs double moves. Far too many times he got beat last year on these plays. They’re tough to defend, but I’d like to see a bit more discipline and patience.
5. How the new O-line picks up blitzes. We had an experienced line come back in 2009 but had no chemistry. See BYU game.
6. Want to see who our deep threat is. Should be fun.
2009 OL had lost Cooper, Robinson, and Loadholt from the previous year – the 2009 line was nowhere near as experienced as this one.
I was there in the endzone plaza in Jerry World. A great vantage for line play. It was horrible. The thing which gives me hope is this, Coach Stoops had maligned the O-line preparation all summer prior to the season. He had called them out and apparently for good reason. This year he says, ‘all are bigger faster, and stronger’ ‘the best fall EVAR’! I trust him. I can’t wait. Sorry, the foam is starting to gather at the corners of my mouth!
We had 2 starters returning and a TON of guys with 100s of snaps of experience. Trust me, I had a very long, detailed debate with Olin Buchanan during the pre-season that year. That OL had a ton of guys with extensive PT coming back.
I have to disagree with you about this year’s O-line. We will see.
Everyone has a prospective.
2009 had Williams with Cory Brandon as the upper classmen. Otherwise, sophomores at the start of the 2009 season- Habern, Good, Stephenson had a Freshman year and not that much playing time in for Cooper, Robinson & Loadholt.
Only Darlington this year has little PT and he has had 2 years in the system rather than just 1. Thompson, Williams, Evans, Shead, Savage are Srs, Kasatati-jr St John-jr.
And this year Bedenbaugh, 2009 Patton.
Next year, I will worry right along with you.
I want to see Alex Ross break an 80 yarder to the house.
Knight being consistent with his throws. Not just the deep balls, but all of them. More often then not last year, he was inconsistent, and it and it hurt the offense. He needs to throw the ball like he did in those last couple of games.
I’d like to see the running backs get off to a good start, and HOLD ONTO THE FOOTBALL. Worse thing that could happen would be Ford/Ross putting the ball on the ground a couple of times. Bad for confidence, if nothing else.
Consistency from the WR’s. We all know Shepard is going to bring it, but will Neal? Will the young guys we haven’t seen on the field during games before?
Tackling from the D, and no big missed assignments. Big plays on D have killed us in the recent past. We are good enough, and talented enough, if we just make the other team have to go the length of the field, 1st down by 1st down, we aren’t going to give up a lot of points. But if we miss tackles and assignments, and give up big plays, teams can still put up points, not matter how talented we are. This is probably especially true with our safeties.
Special teams. We have a lot of new guys in terms of returners. Ball security and getting the big play when it is there.
Tackling from the D is #1 to me. Watching the Sugar Bowl again, I noticed over and over terrible tackling by Shannon, Sanchez and Hayes, and Gabe at times. With two of those no longer an issue, the other two need to be better. I feel pretty confident in Dom Alexander and Jordan Evans being better tacklers than Shannon was.
My focus is really on what the coaches show in this game. Hueple, will he be conservative or attaching. Will he really use the TE? How much of the offense will he show to other teams. Same with M Stoops, what type of blitzes will he show if any.
I think the days of holding the cards should be over. Show it all, crush the inferior foe. Let the tougher opponents know and fear what’s coming. Why wait and ‘spring’ something on a future opponent. Their not going to be surprised if they have any coaching at all. It is imperative to be impressive every week!
I don’t think vanilla ball is an option here. There is too much inexperience at the skill positions. RB, WR, and now TE all need reps, and coaches need opportunities to evaluate how well these guys execute in various schemes. I doubt he’ll pull out the trick plays or do anything fancy, but a lot of the troops are just too green to play ultra conservative.
I expect the offense to be up-tempo, but vanilla. I think Heupel will dial up some play action deep balls, but I doubt we see a lot of creativity in this game. Heupel has the ability to be creative (Sugar Bowl), but I doubt we see anything really good until the Tennessee game. I think with our O-line experience and talent at RB that we won’t have to be effective in the passing game to win the first 2 games.
Without a doubt we won’t show everything. Absolutely no doubt. That’s why these early games with lessor teams can get nerve-racking. We definitely save things up for UT, Baylor, OSU, KSU, probably Tenn b/c they are SEC. Mike Stoops always, for example, shows these teams he has not shown on film before. It gives you a competitive advantage. We definitely won’t throw the kitchen sink at LA Tech or show some routes in passing game.
We’ve got to quit worrying so much about future opponents and let the offense develop some swagger as early in the season as possible. Let them get some experience and confidence in the deep out/flags/and double-move routes, rather than wait until they have to have them in a tight game. It’s time to use the downfield passing strategy that Heuple & Jason White were so good at when they were playing.
As simple as it may sound, I’d like to see us kick some ass. I mean dominate.
I’d be okay w/ that.
And no injuries.
Yes! No injuries.
Precisely.
Spot on. It is simple. In the age of the playoff it is imperative to impress the committee every week. Play clean, play sharp, dominate when you should. No sympathy. I think the days of saying, if we win out, we go, are over.
All I want to see is all of our players stay healthy! *knocks on wood*
All your points and the posters’ are worth checking. I have one more. I want to see Sanchez tackle for no YAC. Last year he was in position, but missed too many tackles. If not for a TD saving tackle by Colvin, Bama is up 14 and not 10 early in the SB.
Zack was a terrible tackler last year. Over and over again. Same with Hayes. These guys need to be fundamental and not trying to always rip the ball lose or land a big hit. F’ING TACKLE THE GUY.
Very good points about watching TK’s deep passes and Jed Barnett’s kicking. Like others have pointed out no injuries and hopefully some on the field experience for 2nd and 3rd teamers. In all sincerity who will be OU’s first real challenge going by what we have on paper and avaliable at this time? Yes, I am a win ’em won game at a time type person. The 1st 3 games are basically home games(I’m a Tulsa fan after OU). Will it be at W. Virg., at TCU, or at the RRS with Texas?
I think the TCU game will be the first real test. Gary Patterson at TCU knows defense and if our offense is struggling it could be tough.
I’d like to see the team come out with intensity. It’s easy to do, when you’re being under estimated, and written off. But will they act like they have something to prove against LA Tech?
Samaje Perine – I want to see his lateral quickness, as well as overall speed. At 250 lbs. I know he will be difficult to tackle. If the information coming from the coaches and players regarding his speed is true, he will be a special player.
I’m seriously looking for a shutout. After reading some about LATECH and there offense. We should completely dominate them defensively. Supposively defense being there strong suit. I would like to see how easily we move the ball and more importantly run against them.
can we pronounce TK9 TEC-9? I’m excited about Samaje and the safeties. I hope Ahmad and/or Parker know how to hit some people.
Only if you’re from KC 😉
I’ll be watching the Grand Teton mountain range while listening to the streaming radio broadcast of the game. However, there are aspects of the game I am curious about to see if we have improved. One would be middle of our D run defense. I’m not curious about how fast we can get to the edges – I know that part. But how do we hold up when they run it up the gut? The old basics of football. Not being able to hold our ground the last few years has really dismayed me. I don’t like that at all. Another area of concern is TK9 and his ability to make read progressions and not to hurry the play. Another poster somewhere said he rushes the hand-off fake too much also. I hadn’t watched for that, but I think opposing defenses will key off of this if it is true. I want to see TK9 take his time and at least make two reads if guys aren’t open before doing anything. Taking off and running all the time will only get us so far. He has to be able to get the ball downfield to get pressure off of our offense. Critical to the success of the team IMHO. And lastly, this team needs to stop reading the pre-season press clippings and play hungry all season. Play with an attitude that you will NOT be denied. Never, ever, ever take a play off. It is a long season and many things will challenge the run to the Final Four. We will need all the breaks we can get, plus we must manufacture a few along the way. I for one cannot wait until season begins!
I’d like to see Durron Neal (or somebody at WR) pull a Jalen Saunders and catch a 50 yard bomb for a score…..just to know we actually have the weapons to pull it off.
And I’d like to see our D pitch a shutout
Stat of the Day: Stoop’s Sooners have pitched a shutout in 3 openers:
– ’99 49-0 Indiana St.
– ’02 37-0 Tulsa
– ’13 34-0 ULM
In 1999, we opened with a shutout – in 2000, we played in the national title game.
In 2002, we opened with a shutout – in 2003, we played in the national title game.
In 2013, we opened with a shutout – in 2014 … you know the rest!
..I am expecting nothing short of dominant play in every aspect of the game
believe it or not this is a tell all game….Bell at Tight end. Ford Ross Perine
Backers..secondary they are all under the microscope….at the same time young guys need to get some repetitions…
with Oklahoma’s talent to D they must score a 500 on hold proponent to under 16 points
Great post Jordan, and great comments from everyone. My excitement continues to build!
I’m looking for 40-point win, similar to the 55-14 opener victory over UTEP in 2000! And enough mistakes(each week) to go back to practice hungry to correct them.
My primary concern is our secondary. I know it’s early in the season but with a decided advantage on the line, the secondary shouldn’t have to cover for very long.
My excitement player to watch is Perine. I’m hoping he comes out like Henry for Bama in the Sugar Bowl.
I can’t wait to see Phillips spilt the line in two and to see Evans and Doms hit their gaps and make the tackle
-Tackling is No. 1 to me. All day. Tackling was atrocious at times last year. Gotta be better.
– Jordan Phillips health – he is, IMO, the most important player on our D.
– Who are the top guys at the skills positions on offense? We have a lot to choose from, but who’s gonna get it done come gametime?
– TKs consistency. If he’s good and doesn’t turn it over much, we should make the playoff. Period. If he’s like he was most of last year, we’re gonna have to rely a lot on our D and run game.
– Offensive gameplan – I don’t expect Heupel to open the playbook too far, but I want to see a play or two that will leave future opposing DCs scratching their heads wondering what else may come their way.
– Versatility – Have we ever had a more versatile team? TKs legs & arm. Bells abilities at TE, coupled with the Belldozer and he can throw the ball still. Dmitri Flowers may not exactly be Millard 2.0, but his skill set is very wide ranged. Sterling receiving or running reverses. How many guys on D can play multiple positions well, and will Mike make that a part of his gameplan?
Why in the playoff system we have now would a coach not open the playbook. Isn’t it imperative to impress them every week?
Yeah, they need to try to impress every week, but against LT and Tulsa, how deep do they really need to dig? And would you do it at the expense of the ability to put something out there later that somebody won’t see coming. I won’t be surprised if we don’t see a single “trick play” of any sort, including a simple reverse.
Throughout Stoops tenure we have kept the first game VERY basic. I do not see anything changing due to the playoffs for the first two games this year. Their will be very few miss-directions, double moves etc on offense and very few blitzes schemes or disguising coverages on defense. The more you hold these out until a game they’re needed the less opposing coaches can game-plan for them in advance.
I’ll be excited to see all the new guys or familiar guys at new positions that we’ve been hearing about.
defensively it will be interesting to see how cohesive the play is, are they all on the same page, and how well do they tackle a talented running back.
offensively, same kind of thing, primarily whether TK and the receivers seem to have chemistry and be on the same page. If there’s inconsistency there, I imagine it will be difficult to tell whether it’s the thrower or the route runner who’s at fault in many instances, but we should at least get a good idea of how together they all are.
Also, looking to see if the new receivers and backs hang on to the easy tosses early and have properly received and processed he message about ball security.
On the less analytical side, I’ll be looking for Bell to make a catch and totally crush some defenders probably on his way to the end zone; Trevor to make one of those plays where the defense ends up looking really embarrassed and foolish; Ford and Ross (and Perine) shedding would be tacklers left and right as they ramble through huge holes created by the O-line; and the defense rattling the qb, making deep sacks, and picking off several passes.
Can’t Wait!!!
Good teams are fundamentally sound. That’s what I want to see. Good blocking, good tackling, being in position, everyone knowing their assignments, just good fundamental football. The talent will take care of itself.
Well said bud…if we do that consistently thru the year we might celebrate christmas late this year
I look for Bell to split the seam deep for a big play or three and Flowers on a couple of wheel routes. Will be the first time I’ve missed a home opener in over 30 yrs but I’ll be ready to go when TN comes to town!
I think for the first three games I’m looking at 1) Rushing D; 2) passing completion %; and 3) scoring D
anyone heard yet if Directv is carrying the game?
yes, they just finalized it with Fox
thx!
to clarify, this is what i read so make sure i’m right/wrong.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/dish-reaches-agreement-with-fox-sports-1-to-carry-college-football-games-145408951.html
That is Fox Sports 1 (rivals espnformer speed channel) not the PPV but maybe that will make the option to purchase the game on another channel..FS1 has a contract with the Pac and B12 so you will see some b12 games on that network thru out the season…Baylor and Iowa State games look to be on there the opening week
Are they showing game or PPV showing on direct TV?
Just found out a few hours ago that TW in Dallas will offer the ppv for $34.95. Got it ordered up already.
Anybody know what Cox in Tulsa is charging? For some reason, I’d heard $50. That seems high.
I think it’s 54.99
I’m showing Cox selling it in HD for 39.95…..I’m in Bixby
https://twitter.com/SoonerSportsTV/status/505078962645504000
First off, who will be at the game? I am on the east side. So hope to see some Brainiacs around.
Second. Amazing right up. I got asked the question “What am I most excited to see Saturday?” and my answer was Samaje Perine. He may only get a few carries but the kid looks like a senior and has every physical tool to be great, I just want to see how he is going to handle the speed of the game and mental aspect.
I’m on the north side, in Striker’s section, 8 rows up, and I CANNOT WAIT FOR SATURDAY NIGHT!!
I want to see Keith Ford truck some poor defender
wife is getting induced at 530 AM on friday with our 2nd girl. I told her she needs to pop the kid out within 12 hours, do the 24 hour recovery thing, 30 minute drive home from owasso, and we are home in time for kickoff =)
Then i got the evil eye, and a couple chores added to the honey-do list, but hey, I think i made my point =)
I want to see what these RB’s can do, think thats what im looking forward to the most.
DVR – the performances will be just as fine Sunday if you have to miss it.
My DVR has been set since sunday =) Ive got dish, and a laptop(thank god for dish anywhere). Ill just wait till she falls asleep and watch it in the hospital room if need be haha.
It will probably be the quietest ive been for an OU game in years lol.
Congratulations! My wife had our 2nd (a son) DURING the Nebraska game 1987 and while OU was lining up to kick the winning field goal. That was a great day for me!
Much appreciated! We are very excited, already got the girls matching OU cheerleader outfits(onesie version for the baby).
Hopefully our daughter brings the sooners as much luck as your son did!
2 Days Till Football Time in Oklahoma!! Boomer Sooners!!
Today is one of the best CBs to play for the Sooners and a personal favorite of mine!
One of my all time favorite Sooners!
Derek Strait, a gifted athlete and great Sooner.
There were times he seemed more like a safety than a CB.
Such an exciting player to watch, every offense feared him because he seemed to be everywhere on the field. He would break up the deep throw then next play sack the QB for a loss. He was a master of the game.
What I’m looking for:
1. Jordan Evans taking a big step up to be an enforcer in the run game.
2. How much Jordan Phillips is going to be played.
3. Jeffery Mead/Smallwood taking over the role of being a deep threat.
4. McNamara/Bell on the field together.
5. Hatari Byrd/Ahmad Thomas being physical against La. Tech’s run game.
6. Which RB is going to be the premier back in the committee.
7. Dominant win.
TFB guys – Do you have any info on red-shirting for Mead? Without DGB, his height seems great for red zone plays. But, I understood that his lack of weight might make the coaches lean to RS. Info would be great, conjecture from you guys still beats nothing. Thanks.
Camera shots of attractive coeds after numerous touchdowns.
I hope they get the green light to score as much as they want, being the 1st playoff year and all. Running teams up may have to become the trend that get’s us there.
That’s a really good assessment of what to watch for Saturday. I think the running game, plus the fact that Trevor can run like a deer himself, and the TE option which was unavailable last year, will help the deep ball, but he MUST do it.
I always think 30% of completions on deep balls is a good percentage. I’ve never been sorely disappointed in an incomplete deep pass if it had an option to succeed b/c psychologically it does something to loosen up a defense, IMO. Obviously, the percentages go down with the deep pass, with everyone (the best college or pro passer). But the THREAT. That helps everything else (run game, short pass game, everything). In fact, after the Tulsa game last yr, and then the ND game (where they spotted us two TDs and adulterated that game plan for both teams, IMO), I was worried about Bell’s deep pass and worried that UT would see that he couldn’t throw deep. Sure enough, they did and everyone after that did, and we had more 3 and outs of any OU team probably in the history of OU football. All b/c there was no threat to throw deep. Trevor can throw deep (he’s proved it), plus he can run the run-option. Some can be very successful QBs at doing just one of those two; he does both, but if he reads the run option correctly AND can hit 30% of deep passes (and we don’t turn the ball over, of course), this will be a tremendous team. Yes, team. Because, if our defense didn’t get one bit better than last year, if we just keep possession of the ball longer (limit 3 and outs), our defense will improve in every statistic. BUT, I think they are markedly better, too.
I agree a 1,000%, safeties mustn’t get fooled (not worried about LA Tech, but Baylor, OSU, UT mainly). Complete the long ball consistently in those games, don’t turn ball over and safeties don’t get fooled, and I think we are undefeated this season. If the safeties don’t get fooled, D could be really nice. Good assessment. Agree completely.
I’m not laughing at all Jordon! I definitely think Barnett is one to watch. As I was saying about Hunnicut in the Staff Picks post, the awesome feeling that a coach has when he knows he can count on his kicker can never be understated! A great Punter is basically the first line of defense, because he can flip the field, pin another team deep, or basically just bail you out of a horrible offensive possession. If Kickers are being talked about it is usually a bad thing so I’m hoping for a good season from Barnett without much fanfare because that should mean a solid season!!! I like your Bell and defending the Run picks as well!
I’ll preface this with an admission of my ignorance on the subject but will continue on with my idea (in the form of a question to all) on why some QB’s seem so ON/OFF when it comes to being on target:
Is the crown in the field the same on all fields? I can see where a more gradual crown would be much easier to gauge than ones more abrupt. I know that when standing on the sidelines and looking across the field to the opposing sideline, people often appear to be cut off at the knees- that’s a pretty severe crown to adapt to when passing IMO. So, I guess I’m saying that a QB could take a while to adjust to different crowns if they are indeed different and not standard.
Thoughts?
In today’s passing game most teams don’t have a crown on their field. If there is a crown, it’s more for drainage. Crown’s were used for option teams to help with speed to the outside. Those days are gone so unless I’m totally off base, crowns aren’t an issue.
I thought crowns were always for drainage and not to aid a teams offensive style. Granted, you could certainly take advantage of the ability to run “downhill” but that’s to be expected.
I’d like to see complete domination by both of our lines- if that’s there, then the sky is the limit.
Pretty good read Jordan…………….Thanks!!! My only comment is I think the only way to cover Blake is to mirror him with another big TE. Since that isn’t gonna happen, I foresee him A. Catching passes and running the heck over a bunch of smaller D backs…..or
B. Opposing DC’s trying to cover him with a OLB leaving the running game or play action wide open. Either way, I think Blake is gonna make a huge impact at TE.
Yep we all got spoiled on Tress Way. Barnett will get his chance to shine. A good punter is like adding an offensive specialist. He can flip a field and keep an opposing offense buried in their own end of the field. Ray Guy was just that person. How many times did that guy demoralize opponents looking at 80 to 90 yards from the end zone? Nice read Jordan:-)
A little off topic for the week but one thing in this world is a solid fact: the safety at TCU is definitelynot looking forward to covering Bell hahaha
at least not tackling him…that’s when the pain comes
So much for sec defenses.
I wasn’t able to watch the SC-AM game, so can anyone explain to me what happened? Was the AM offense just that good? Or was SC really sloppy? Or both.
TAMU offense is legit
This is true, but SC was also pretty sloppy.
I didn’t get to see any of the game. But by looking at the stats it looks like hill is just as good as JFF. And tamu has recruited very well, looks like it’s paying off. I want to see them against lsu or bama first before I say they’re better than 6-6 (still holding out hope)
ATM will do well because no SEC school understands how to handle the up tempo passing attack except for Mizzou. That is why our old Big 12 teams have done so well in the SEC. Curious to see how the rest of the leagues adapts.
Strait and The RRWilliams in the same backfield. Whooowa
Well heck – let’s do this thing then! 😉