I definitely agree there were moments when Colt was not firing on all cylinders, however, I am having trouble placing most of the blame on him directly - this year we had a young, shallow offensive line that allowed very little time (consistently) on pass plays. Colt had to run around to throw SOOO MUCH.  That wasn't something he had to do his first year under center. Put into a situation like that, odds/chances of mistakes are increased, bottom line. The kid showed WAY too much moxy and intelligence his first year...but he had TIME to do it.  And I don't know the actual number, but I'm guessing, and this might actually be generous, that half of the interceptions charged to him were not passes he made to the other team or a direct result of the throw - many if not most were deflections off our receivers and other bizarre bounces.  With a proper O-line next year (hopefully) I'll streak the 40 acres if he throws 18 INT's again.

Making excuses/reasons/explanations for his disappointing season, you are already recognizing the fact that it was disappointing.  

While there were many factors that went into it, Colt's season was disappointing for different reasons and to varying degrees.

I don't believe we can lay all the blame on Colt himself, Yeah this season sucked compared to last years for Colt, but he had time to crochet a damn scarf back there last year. I am as proud of Dallas Griffin as anybody but I think the line only got better when he was out. If we can get the line from the holiday bowl to improve on that good performance, and a new deep threat reciever, then I believe Colt will return to form. I did like this year when he ran though, he's a pretty scrappy runner, but maybe he needs to talk to Earl Campbell about fumbling problems. I don't believe anybody had as high expectations for Colt and Limas as I did but unfortunately none of it came to pass. Im keeping my head high for next year though.

Too many of Colt's interceptions this season we due to either poor decisions or balls getting batted down.  Both can be corrected if Colt learns to tuck the ball away unless he's got either a clear shot at a receiver or he's in danger and needs to throw it away and he needs to recognize the passing lanes.  A more seasoned o-line can mitigate both of these issues as well.

....under-recruited and missed some assessments on the O-Line recruitment for quite awhile now. It really showed this season. Then, as I predicted prior to season's start, some O-Line injuries came into play as our lack of depth affected our ability to platoon on the O-Line.

Colt rarely had the luxury of resting easy in the pocket. Early on, the pressure administered by the staff to "show leadership" caused him to make some poor decisions.

Our lack of experienced depth will continue to be a problem this season. We have some strong players with good initial talent, but they're lacking seasoning and may be too early for them to form a strong unit. 2009 is still my target year.

his 2006 KSU stinger injury, in addition to all the above mentioned team weaknesses, especially the 2007 OL's inability to maintain and protect a pocket for him to operate in. And all our opposing Ds seem to have adopted the aggy strategy: level Colt early and often, even if it costs you 15 yards. There were many comments during the 2007 season from people in the stands that Colt frequently appeared dazed after some of those hits. You can spend all the time you want bulking up in the weight room but when it really hurts to throw that deep ball, or whatever the particular movement is that sends that shooting pain through your body, you can't blame the kid. IMO, he's been playing hurt since the 2006 KSU game.

With all due respect Lawdog, you sound as if you "truly believe" that you posess some superior knowledge of what McCoy's ceiling as a QB really is. Football is a team sport Lawdog, and I will take this opportunity to remind you that supermen like #10 are very rare indeed. Just because Chiles can run a little certainly does not mean that he should start over a guy that is on track to own every passing record in Texas history. Simply put Lawdog, there is a reason that Chiles has not thrown yet.  While we can all questions gameplans, I am quite certain that GD knows just a tad about the passing game.

We all know that last year was a troubling effort Lawdog, but to lay the blame at the feet of a second year QB playing behind a mostly freshman O-line, is absurd at best. The fact is, your opinion of McCoy is obviously tainted by your admitted desire to see Chiles start.  I don't mean to offend or mock your opinions Lawdog, but taking all of our offensive issues into account (including coaching to hide and protect an inexperienced O-Line) is sorely missing in your breakdown of the season. McCoy was not the issue this year. Frankly, this year McCoy showed me that he has the physical ability, and the mental moxy to "lead" this team to a NC. Did you see some issue with putting points on the board Lawdog? Need I remind you of our historical defensive weakness?

Last year McCoy was blessed with an outstanding O-line that gave him time to do what he can do, and just like with any other QB, his success depended upon an O-line that routinely performed it's job at a high level, a running back that rarely missed his assignments in blitz pickup (Selvin Young), and receivers that rarely dropped or tipped balls into the hands of the opponent. Even our beloved superman required all these things to get it done. The game of football always starts up front.  Cheers to an older and wiser O-line next year!