Negative thoughts creeping in after Wyoming game
I have some concerns about the team and coaching staff that are making me concerned about our next few games. I was watching the game somewhat haphazardly yesterday so I am sure some of these are incorrect or irrational. Let me know what you think.
1) I think our Punt Returners are going to lose 3+ more fumbles this year and cost us a game. Aaron Williams does not appear to be a natural punt returner and doesn't seem to deserve time at that position. He has already cost us one big turnover against Rice and he never really looks comfortable fielding the punt. Even after he catches the ball, he doesn't seem to have great return skills despite above average speed. Based on productivity and apparent comfort fielding punts, I think Curtis Brown should be the guy ...even though he doesn't appear completely natural returning punts either.
The coaching staff should have prepared Desean Hales or DJ Monroe or some other fast, shifty role player to be THE Punt Returner for this year. Major fail to have our star CBs fielding punts (despite mediocre return skills), risking injury and potentially causing turnovers. I was OK with Shipley returning punts last year because he was an elite talent at the postion...so the risk of injury was tolerable given the upside.
2) I think our coaching staff has done a poor job of evaluating and recruiting Running Backs in the last 3 years or so. This probably surprises no one. I actually love our guys, but I'm absolutely jealous of about 100 other backs I see in other programs. Any coach who thought Chris Whaley had a high probability of being be an elite talent at RB was just ignoring all the data. There are only a handful of backs in history with Whaley's leg length and mediocre speed who have been succesful at RB. What a waste of a scholly (no offense Chris) and what a high opportunity cost since we had to pass on other Rbs to get him.
Now we're stuck with guys who should be role players...Newton and Cojo..and one small dynamic back who should be a 3rd down specialist...Fozzy.
3) I think there is a large contingency of fans here on BON who ignore point #2 below when they say confidently Malcolm Brown is going to be the starter and savior at RB next year. Let's set aside OL and scheme issues for a second.
First, in any situation it is highly unlikely for a freshman RB to start and/or dominate. 2nd, look at our track record over the past 3 years in terms of RB recruiting and freshman RBs earning playing time. There is a high probability that Malcolm Brown will not start as a freshman and will not outperform an upperclassman even if he gets some carries. I'm just hoping some BON'ers will start to think more rationally about Malcolm Brown and his potential contributions as a freshman.
Ahhh...that felt good to write out.
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Disagree about the PR
They have consistently picked up big returns (15+ yards avg). They’ll be fine. And the RB situation…maybe you’re new here but I am SICK of hearing about it. We all know the deal. It’s been rehashed sooo many times. We all know these problems exist with no short term solutions….
As of right now, Malcolm Brown starts from day 1.
I can easily see him backing up Tre Newton to start the season though if Tre remains our #1 back and has a good season.
"Football's so important in Texas. On the West Coast, it's a social. On the East Coast, it's a culture. Here, it's a religion."
-- Major Applewhite
Do you really believe
Mack gives him the starting job right away? We’ll have Cody and Tre going into their 4th season in the program and Fozzy his 5th. Have a hard time seeing Mack doing that knowing his track record. My guess is we’ll see him take over full time in the Iowa State game.
Sports is man's joke on God, You see, God says to man, 'I've created a universe where it seems like everything matters, where you'll have to grapple with life and death and in the end you'll die anyway, and it won't really matter.' So man says to God, 'Oh, yeah? Within your universe we're going to create a sub-universe called sports, one that absolutely doesn't matter, and we'll follow everything that happens in it as if it were life and death.'" - Sam Kellerman
It might depend on when he gets to campus, but...
he’s the #1 RB in the nation. Maybe he won’t start game 1, but it’ll happen fast.
"Football's so important in Texas. On the West Coast, it's a social. On the East Coast, it's a culture. Here, it's a religion."
-- Major Applewhite
agree on punt return
lots of risky decisions being made. i have convinced myself that they are hiding the real punt returners until OU. i m worried about turnovers and have little hope for TDs. why not use our speedsters?
agree with the original post as well
What happened to Monroe? Wasn’t he a good punt returner last year, and quick like a cat? I hope you’re right, we bust him and/or another secret weapon out for the big games
by longhorn_dan on Sep 12, 2010 9:48 PM CDT up reply actions
I thought Ship did all the PR duties.
Monroe is ridiculous fast, but I only remember him returning kickoffs.
we have played 2 games guys. Not gonna show everything in the first 2 games. Gotta save stuff for Tech and UCLA then the 2 really really tough games after UCLA. I understand concerns with the running game. But a lot of people start worrying over the first couple games against Rice and Wyoming. I thought the play was much better in the Wyoming game. Deffense looks great. Just relax a bit and I wouldnt criticize the coaching staff. We are lucky we have an outstanding program. Hook’ Em
by HookEmHorns512 on Sep 12, 2010 10:13 PM CDT reply actions
I hope you are right
I agree with the original post that A Williams looked out of place trying to navigate traffic and shouldn’t be the PR guy.
Texas got off to slow starts most of last year (in games and in the overall season—ie, WY last year). But, I always knew that Colt and Ship were about to explode. I’m not as confident this year, but I’m slowly getting there.
I wonder if WY was a tough game for our offense to really fire up and show some swagger and personality because of the gloomy pre-game respect given to both WY and 9/11. Everyone seemed a bit reserved, which was understandable.
GG seems just like Colt—he needs a good scramble and 15 yrd run to get his competitve juices flowing. He seemed like a much more energetic leader after he made that first down on the long scramble.
Understand the negative thoughts...
I have my worries about the offense. However, I can’t help but wonder what playing a quality opponent will do motivationally. When they went down 7-6 it was like they flipped a switch and decided that they needed to start playing. Offense scored twice in 90 seconds and Justin Tucker started kicking the ball 7 yds deep into the endzone. I don’t really know what to expect out of this team on Saturday. I hope they will play with the same enthusiasm that we saw , after they fell behind. I will be in the stands praying that we don’t lose this one… I can already hear them talking about it for the next 15 yrs.
by LonghorninRaiderland on Sep 13, 2010 2:10 PM CDT reply actions

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