The Football Brainiacs

I finally had a chance to re-watch the Oklahoma vs. Houston game yesterday. Here are a few thoughts…

Secondary

– The story of the secondary was the cornerback position. Austin was out-athleted. Oklahoma wanted to press in order to take away the easy throws but to do so you need to have played some press-technique (it also helps to have size). The technique just isn’t there. Cobb doesn’t have the technique either but it’s excusable because he’s young. Additionally, Cobb is much faster than Austin so even if he opens the gate early, he can make up for it to some degree. Having said that, Cobb was stacked on multiple occasions as well.

– I liked Cobb’s personal foul. I would’ve told him to play smart but I like the aggression. He’s young, he’s going to make those mistakes. It’s obvious he’s got some dog in him.

– Austin’s second PI call was legit. He was grabbing in the spring game and unfortunately they weren’t calling it so perhaps he thought it was ok. The first one didn’t look like much was there but you could argue it was an arm bar.

– What I’d do? Rotate them till you find a competent cornerback. I know there are only so many reps to go around but you need someone that can, to some degree, competently defend the deep ball. Oklahoma did not remotely face the best WRs they’ll face this year. Based on what I saw Sunday night, if they don’t shore that spot up, Texas WR John Burt is going to eat someone alive.

– Defending the deep ball is partly about speed and partly about technique. Jordan Thomas doesn’t have the best speed at that position on the team. However, you’ll notice he does a good job of “catching” receivers and/or staying square as long as possible when he’s aligned tight and widening the WR.

– Dakota took some heat on the post where he appeared to be beaten (ball was poorly thrown but would’ve been a TD). I believe that was on Ahmad Thomas though. Austin should’ve had inside help.

– The cornerback position really tied Mike Stoops’ hands. People were upset when he only brought three on third down but let me break down the issue so everyone will understand he didn’t have much choice.

Third and long, Mike brings three…Ward eventually finds someone open.

Third and long, Mike brings three again but changes the coverage…again, Ward eventually finds someone open.

Next third and long, Mike brings five and drops a spy…Ward throws the ball instantly and the db is beat for a conversion.

Next third and long, Mike compromises and brings four and drops a spy…Ward throws the ball instantly and the db is beat for a conversion.

Not much more you can ask from Mike. I think the defensive plan was sound. The cornerback spot is just going to have to be shored up. Again, I’d rotate everyone till I found someone who can play it. That rotation would include a look at Will Johnson. I know there are people who believe he would be the best outside CB and he’s played the position. Unfortunately he’s added some weight which I suspect will slow him down.

Quarterback/Wide Receivers

– It’s difficult to see the routes on the television but I have a hard time believing that OU couldn’t throw slants/stop routes against Houston’s off looks. My guess is those routes were there and Baker didn’t take them.

– Did anyone see a deep ball thrown on the outside? Wide receivers don’t normally get huge separation in college. If you’re waiting for a wide receiver to blow by a receiver or be wide open, you’re going to wait a while. Mayfield has to throw the ball and let those guys run under it or go up and make a play. When he was desperate he did exactly that with Mark Andrews. Andrews was covered but Mayfield put the ball out there for him and Mark made the play for him. You’re not going to develop WRs if you don’t let them compete on the field.

– Everyone I speak to that attends practice believes AD Miller is a monster. I don’t know if he is but I’m interested in finding out. Put him on the field and throw him the ball.

– Dede Westbrook is scary sudden. Gotta find more and more ways to get him in space.

– I have a hard time believing that if OU gets AD Miller, Dahu Green (did not travel dude to concussion protocol), Dede Westbrook and Mark Andrews on the field at the same time they won’t be able to mess some teams up.

Run Game/Offensive Plan

– JY and I spoke about this quite a bit. Oklahoma didn’t run downhill much. What little running they did was primarily lateral. You didn’t see a lot of power, etc.

– As I went back and watched, it’s pretty clear that the staff believed that this was a good way to attack Houston’s downhill attacking style defense. In theory it certainly made sense. However, I think it’s probably overthinking it a bit. Again, I get the thinking of trying to slow their attack by making them defend the lateral run game and making their secondary hit Joe and Samaje (one of them hit Samaje like a boss). But you’re also asking your offensive line to be more athletic than they are. Let the big boys lean on someone.

– Mixon is a straight dog.

– The right guard struggled quite a bit. The other guys played well but it seemed like there was always someone making an error at a critical time. Bowser slipping inside on Orlando Brown to cause the fumble comes to mind…though Brown seemed to play well in general, that error was costly.

Defense Line

– I thought the defensive line played very well. Walker is of course the star. But you can’t discount Romar’s motor. He isn’t the most talented guy but he plays with a lot of heart and makes things difficult for the OL on the inside.

– Dimon looked better than I’ve seen him look.

– Again, this was the strength of OUs defense. Kudos to Thibs. I’ll be interested in seeing how they do when they face better and better offensive line talent.

– I like that they’ve got a nice rotation going in there.

– I hope OU finds a way to get the most out of Overton and eventually Lampkin. It’s unfortunate that a guy like Lampkin, who looks physically better than any other DL on the team, hasn’t gotten things figured out just yet. It’s also unfortunate that the most sudden NG the Sooners have can’t find his way on the field.

Linebackers

– It’s pretty clear in my estimation that Obo was pulled too early last year. Obo is physically more gifted than both Striker and Bond. Everyone seemed upset about his errors in the first half but his ability more than made up for it in my opinion. If Oklahoma would’ve let him play more last year, he would’ve gotten over the mental errors. And if he didn’t then at least you’d know. I know the coaches see these guys in practice everyday but at certain point people are going to start wondering where all the dogs are…

– I’d starve Jordan Evans a bit. Emmanuel Beal came in one play and read it so fast it looked like a run blitz (it wasn’t). You want a vicious dog, starve him a little. I’m not saying Beal should replace Evans based on one play. Evans should remain the guy. But nothing wrong with giving Beal a snack. If nothing else, it’ll light a fire under Evans. Right now, Evans just looks like a decent LB out there. I remember him as a young LB, flying around…really thought he would’ve developed into an all conference LB by now…and a vicious one at that. I have to believe all the weight they put on him doesn’t help.

– I’m hoping we get to see some Caleb Kelly and Kapri Doucet soon. Again, it’s not so much about Will Johnson but more about trying to make sure you’re having these guys compete and stay hungry. And also building depth.

– Don’t think I saw Bolton on the field at all.

General Rotation Thoughts

As a general note, Oklahoma is a 3-4 defense. Your linebackers needs to be extremely violent and athletic. No amount of weight is going to make your LB the same size as a lineman. The notion of piling weight on these guys just don’t register with me.

In general, I think the staff is going to have to relook at their desire to ensure that everyone is “ready” before they get on the field and figure out how to get some guys some snaps to get a little more competition going. We watched Zack Sanchez, for years, get eaten alive at times but the staff didn’t take him out because he “made plays”. Let some guys rotate in a little…let them take their lumps and everyone will start making more plays. OU didn’t lose because of Obo’s first half mental errors. The game was pretty much tied at half. But by keeping him in you got plays out of him in the second half that led to the defense getting off the field.

Last year when Tulsa native, Joshua Jacobs signed with Alabama I saw Sooner fans saying, “he’ll get buried on the depth chart”…”he’ll never see the field”. Well the irony is, he took snaps as a true freshman at Alabama, a place whose starting RB hasn’t gone lower than the 3rd round since Saban got there. Meanwhile, OU’s star freshman running back, who happens to be very very similar to Jacobs, still “isn’t quite ready”. In boxing we say, “a coach teaches you to box but you learn to fight in the ring”. So I’m not questioning what the coaches are seeing in practice. They see it everyday. And I’m not saying you take some of these young guys or backups and make them starters or even heavy contributors. I’m saying, aren’t there a few more guys that can take a few snaps? To…1) develop depth 2) keep the starters hungry and feeling that sense of competition 3) to keep more and more players engaged…etc.

Final Note

This team is definitely better than what they showed on Saturday. And they’re definitely better than Houston. A lot of things went wrong. But I think you’ll see things get better…

I think you’ll see Oklahoma commit to a downhill running attack more. I think you’ll see Mayfield distribute the ball. I think the emergence of Obo will give the Sooners two difference makers (Charles Walker being the other) on the front. They’re going to keep searching for a competent cornerback. They’ll need to find that soon. I think you’ll see the receiving threats emerge.

OU may have been overrated going into the season but I think they’re being severely underrated after the loss to Houston. This is still a good team if they want to be.