Texas Football: Spring Game Quick React
by Peter Bean on Apr 3, 2011 9:47 PM CDT
in Texas Longhorns Football
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PrintI'm still a bit under the weather so this will be, as much as anything, an open thread for you to post your own thoughts on today's Spring Game. I watched with the interest of a hungry fan eager to see some live football, while understanding that this was an exhibition for hungry fans eager to see some live football. The signal to noise ratio in a scrimmage like this is pretty low.
That said, we saw live football, featuring the players who will play for the team this fall. And while I don't have the energy to write too thoughtfully about any big picture stuff right now, here are a few of my observations from today's action, in no particular order:
* I like that we seem interested in getting the football to our playmakers. That's an awfully simple concept, but one that's been fundamentally underserved. We have specific ideas for how to use DJ Monroe. We want to get Mike Davis and other playmaking wideouts the ball in space. It's all pretty raw right now, but seeing the coaches specifically targeting that objective is a nice change.
* Also nice: routes being run down the field! Nevermind that neither Gilbert nor McCoy could get the ball there. The routes were being run. Down the field. Consistently. This is progress.
* The easy conclusion to draw is that our offensive line is a "work in progress," a "question mark." Yes, it is, and it will be. But some of the individual play that I saw was encouraging. Mason Walters had a nice afternoon. I saw some nice agility from Trey Hopkins, and several encouraging plays from Tray Allen.
* How good is Quandre Diggs? Didn't look like an early enrollee freshman to me. Beautiful coverage on the fade in the end zone, coupled with some physical play and a fine display of football instincts. Diggs looks like one of the top two players in the class. Like when Earl Thomas showed he was ready, the question is not whether he's ready to play but how long it will take him to understand the game as well as he plays it.
* Sticking with the defense, we have the personnel to have a really strong front seven, and it's conceivable that the secondary will round into a strength sooner rather than later. Vaccaro is a difference maker who needs to be on the field constantly. We all know Gideon's limitations, but if he's asked to play a role better suited to his capabilities this year he can be fine, and he looked good on one play today coming in to blow up a lane, shedding a blocker to make the play. Phillips and Byndom are inexperienced and raw, but they possess physical attributes that play. I've already mentioned Diggs, but we also saw something from AJ White and Nolan Brewster today. There are a lot of kids who will be in the mix here and I feel better about our prospects in the secondary than I did heading in, which is nice.
* Rounding out the thoughts on the defense: I'm pretty encouraged by our roster and feel good about our chances to be a good unit. We didn't see Manny Diaz do much schematically today, but I saw plenty of talent out there. Reggie Wilson is going to explode onto the scene this year, and between him and Jeffcoat and Okafor we've got some playmakers at end. As for tackle, Calvin Howell made a couple nice plays, and I saw some things to like from Dorsey in a block-eating role alongside Randall. And the linebackers are a wealth of depth and talent. Cobbs is still really raw and learning how to play, but he definitely closes fast.
* All that said, if you told me after today that you see an eight-win team I wouldn't argue, and that's because the offense still lacks an identity. I really liked seeing how Harsin attacks the field through various points of emphasis, but we're a long way from executing it well enough to take advantage. The elephant in the room being, of course, quarterback. Gilbert did not look good, and if we're ever starting Case McCoy we're in trouble. I know that he's going to be appealing to some, but there's nothing there. I don't have an answer here, and only can say that we have a quarterback problem. I thought that Wood looked promising physically, and my gut says that he and Ash should probably be given more of a shot to win the job than they will.
And with that, I'm wrapping it up and opening the floor to y'all. There were plenty of players I didn't get to touch on that deserve mention, but I'll leave that to you.
What did you see today? What made you tingle with optimism? What left you numb with rebuilding acceptance?
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early predictions anyone? 4 Ws 4 Ls and 4 Toss Ups
RICE W
BYU Toss Up
at UCLA Toss Up
at Iowa State W
vs. Oklahoma (Dallas)^ L
OKLAHOMA STATE L
at Baylor W
KANSAS W
TEXAS TECH Toss Up
at Missouri Toss Up
Nov. 19 KANSAS STATE L Just because its kansas state dammit
Nov. 26 at Texas A&M L
OU, OSU, and A&M are toss ups
and the rest are W’s.
For the limited time he played...
Fozzy looked like a game breaker – once again, the inury element always hovers.
Monroe is scary sick!
Special teams looked special!
"you can't be a great defense in a casual manner!" Manny Diaz
Fozzy
Fozzy fell once and was limping on the sideline, granted he got back out there and looked 100%, but I don’t see him making it game in game out injury free. Though that would be awesome!
I think
the OL is something you didn’t touch on and I think it will be key. The QBs did not look great, but you can win 8-10 games with a QB who is not all worldly (I know we haven’t had to do this in a while, but I remember a time when we did). But if said QB is constantly running for his life, game-over.
I like our offense schematically. Thought we looked good there, however, the evaluations are going on right now of the players and the only position on offense that you can be optimistic about right now is WR. Mike Davis, Darius White, DJ Monroe (dropped pass aside) all looked pretty good and I even saw some, wait for it, down field blocking!
I don’t really know why I am so optimistic about this season given this reality on offense. Maybe its Harsin, maybe Malcolm Brown, I don’t know but I feel like by the fall we will be rollin a little better.
As for QB, I liked Wood, and I think you do whatever you can to keep Ash from leaving. If McCoy leaves, that sucks, but I just don’t think he has the arm.
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
Its hard to get too excited when we won't play our 1st team offense vs the 1st team defense.
The 1st team offense was playing against what will mostly be a 3rd team defense come fall. The 1st team defense was playing against a really thin 2nd team offensive line to put it lightly. I understand its hard to do a 180 in 15 practices. I saw the same problems that we exhibited last year. Just about every position on offense should still be open for the taking. I expect Malcolm Brown and Jaxon Shipley to be licking their chops for early playing time. GG still hasn’t learned anything from all the playing time he received last year. Looking like another long season at this point.
8-4 that could slide to 7-5
I think Urban Meyer hit it on the head – “Texas must return to winning its home games” If so, they must take BYU, Kansas, Tech and KSU at home. The one I question is Oklahoma State because right now, I have OU, OSU and A&M the top 3 in the Big 12 with us fighting for 4.
That being said, if we win those games at home along with Rice that is 5 wins out of 6 home games with only loss to OSU and I would be pleased with that after last year. It comes down to:
at UCLA – W
at Iowa State – W
OU in Dallas – L
at Baylor – W
at Missouri – L
at A&M – L
We would have to win 3 of those 5 games to go 8-4 and with probable losses at OU and A&M.
I just cannot be confident about this team after last year and the uncertainties. Texas has the talent and maybe the combination of Brown in the backfield will do wonders for this team. However, I am not ready to bank on anything until this team gets tough and shows it will not quit in games (like UCLA and KSU last year)
Is this a little doom and gloom towards Texas
or do you think UCLA will actually be kind of good?
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 3, 2011 11:02 PM CDT up reply actions
UCLA only won 4 games last year and probably won't be much better this year.
Didn’t get a good recruiting class and has QB problems. Neuheisel’s fourth year doesn’t look promising. I also read where they lost their good OT to a recent injury which he probably won’t recover from by the Texas game.
The game is ours for the taking.
That's kinda what I thought
I figured they might sneak into a bowl at 6-6 7-5 tops
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 3, 2011 11:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Losing six of the last seven killed that.
So we sorta had parallel tracks. They beat Houston, us, Oregon St. and Washington St. The real difference was we beat Nebraska.
I meant for the upcoming year
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 3, 2011 11:48 PM CDT up reply actions
Then you're estimate might work.
Neuheisel is against the wall. Favorite son returns, nothing happens…now in his fourth year, it’s all his…time to produce or feel the hot seat starting to steam. Desperation is usually a good motivator…if you got the horses.
Exactly, enough for improvement
not enough to save him.
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 12:14 AM CDT up reply actions
We would like to welcome you to
the Dexter Lake Club
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 12:29 AM CDT up reply actions
Otis day and the Knights?
Animal House? What is the BON relevance of Shamalama ding dong?
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 12:49 AM CDT up reply actions
Animal House is a favorite pop reference.
We relive our classic period through it. I do anyway. And Shamalama ding dong is just for the harmony.
Was not sure where I was for a minute
I have seen that movie shall we say
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 12:55 AM CDT up reply actions
a few times
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 12:56 AM CDT up reply actions
Long before the movie came out
I had a cassette of the Isley brothers, so if you saw a ’72 Ford pick-up (actually just like the one in Varsity Blues) sashaying all over those dirt back roads, it was me loving on that music. Great, great stuff.
Ok you sound like the type/generation
that encouraged me to see this a million times starting at about 8. I wont say a ton great about my former step father, but he had his moments
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 1:03 AM CDT up reply actions
Duh. As soon as I hit post, I realized I'd forgotten
the name of the club on the road trip.
When I was in school there was a band in Austin called Oedipus and the Mothers that played Shout and Shamalama Ding Dong. We’d all gator to Shout. They were much like Otis Day and the Nights except the lead singer was much shorter. Great times.
oh ok
thought i had stumbled into something else!
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 12:54 AM CDT up reply actions
Perhaps we should have a double rock n rye
and seven carlings and discuss!
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 12:58 AM CDT up reply actions
Definitely. Had to go to youtube and hear it again just now.
Somehow it always aligns my spirit in the right place. Back when that song came out (I know, ancient times) Shama lama ding dong baby was just an expression we used, especially if we were somewhat less than sober.
At 29 now
missed out on that. The soundtrack was one of the first 5 cd’s I ever owned.
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 1:04 AM CDT up reply actions
No matter what anyone says, you have good taste in music.
Shout came out around 1959. A wonderful mix of doo-wop, one of my favorite genre’s, R&B, religious call and response and that new thing then called rock’n’roll. It set our ears on fire.
This video is probably from the Ed Sullivan show, the short radio version. Back then most everything on radio was under three minutes. They can’t even keep them in the picture.
i remember now had a cheap combo
tape player tuner 3 cd changer with originally 3 cds (not counting loans or thefts from dad and step dad) Animal house, tom petty full moon fever and warren g regulate. how i turned out abnormal is beyond me wonderful world twistin the night away and tossin and turning ended up being my favs
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 1:24 AM CDT up reply actions
Do you mean this
Tossing and Turning by Bobby Lewis? Great sax. And it was the #1 song in 1961 despite Quarter to Three and New Orleans which also had great saxophones and out of control drums (before shielding) and a live in-studio group. Good music survives.
thanks for the fun
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Apr 4, 2011 1:43 AM CDT up reply actions
UCLA
is saying Texas only won 5 games last year!
my pick was 8-4 and someone posted that this is doom and gloom
No, doom and gloom was last year. 8-4 will be good with this team and the schedule.
My pick had us winning at Waco against Robert Griffin and that could be a question mark and at UCLA? So to go 9-3, we probably need to beat Missouri on the road.
So you want 10-2, we must beat either beat OU in Dallas, OSU at home or the Aglets in Sheepsville. Of those, I will take the OSU game at home.
I tried to be realistic of the schedule and the makeup of team. I will take 8-4 or 9-3 but cannot stomach us giving up in games like UCLA and KSU last year. Of all the years of going to Texas games as a season ticket holder, the UCLA game last year was really bad because I saw the defense give up late in the game with arm tackles and just going through the motion.
I am hopeful that the coaching shakeup and commitment to toughness will return to Texas and the sky is the limit!
UCLA isn't a good team
and they lost their two best players
Missouri won;y beat Texas
they have a new QB and their defense isn’t that good.
I liked the fact that I couldn't always tell where the ball was going
I was surprised on quite a few plays, which is new.
The offense definitely looked rough around the edges, but pretty much everything that bugged us about Davis is completely gone. There’s misdirection, motion, reading the defense, and the plays run north/south. And holy shit, I actually saw some blocks.
I also noticed us targeting our playmakers, which is refreshing. The QB contest looked closer than last year.
Hopefully Diaz can make the defense a solid unit.
It looked kind of sloppy out there, but hey, at least the offense is back to playing football.
Adding to that, I think the playcalling and motion had a purpose
in that we were setting up the defense. For example, we sent DJ and Hills in motion a couple times out of the backfield and into the slot for bubble screens, but we countered that later by faking the bubble screen to the motioning man, and going to a screen on the other side. Also, we set up the trick play with the earlier toss plays. Those are just 2 examples, but basically, I was encouraged by the thought process behind the playcalling.
I was just a little un-nerved by the number of drops I saw today...
Can they still not catch GG’s fastballs? That may be a reason to try out McCoy if that really is still the case.
Im very concerned about about QB and CB.
GG just isn’t a Texas level player. What more does he have to do to prove this? He doesn’t have “it” and you can’t teach “it”. I actually felt bad for the young man when he threw that horrendous INT. I wish him the best but it’s time to move on at QB. On the other hand Colt2 appears to have “it” but his arm isn’t close to adequate. His poor mechanics made the lack of arm strength even more evident. Ash should redshirt and be kept in the program at all cost. IMO I say we go with Wood, he has a major league arm and what appeared to be at least decent mobility. He made a few nice plays out there. He is just totally raw. If we are going to rebuild why not just start over at QB. His physical skills are obvious, experience is only gained through well………experience. Throw him in there, run the damn ball a lot with MB and let’s see what happens. I’ll take 8-4 and a decent bowl. Im really excited about next year, its gonna be a bumpy ride but very exciting.
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Unknown
I agree!
Gilbert lacks confidence and should with his inaccurate throw/s. Man, I just don’t know. Maybe he really wasn’t as good at LT as everyone (including myself) thought. They’re still winning state titles over there and he’s long gone. I do know one thing, he’s very emotional. Seeing him run off the field following the int. holding his helmet looked just like the Rose Bowl. Nothing’s changed.
Agreed
I think if harsin gave more reps to woods and ash, we would like what we see there instead of GG and McCoy….
I mean GG throwing that pick in a spring against a scrimmage defense… really are you kidding me?? How in the world is he our best option right now?
My vote is go with Wood as 1 and GG as 2 heading into fall. Mccoy is a close 3 and could easily over take GG bc at least he wont turn it over.
by jtdoes on Apr 5, 2011 1:07 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
QB decision should be easy for MB
WHO PROTECTS THE BALL MOST should be paramount. I don’t give a flip about the long bomb if the QB’s throwing into double coverage and/or recievers ankles with short balls. This boils down to good decision making along with being cool in the pocket.
I saw we get at least one win that we wouldn't have gotten last year...
just because of improved punt return handling.
"The only sport that should be cried over is tee ball."
- don't remember who said it, but I like it.
Just for the heck of it
For all the people ready to give up on GG, I went and tried to find comments following our 2008 spring game. Here are some interesting quotes:
I’m skeptical about the offense. McCoy is a perfectly acceptable quarterback. For SMU. He’s merely adequate at Texas. As you’ve undoubtedly heard, Chiles still looks bad as a passer. His footwork is better, but he can’t put the ball where he wants to. When McCoy’s quarterbacking, the big question is where the big plays will come from. The offense lacks play makers, and as cheesy as the ‘explosives’ statistic often sounds, it’s a concern for me heading into the year. I like McGee and Foz, but I need to see more before I’m able to get excited about this unit as a whole. This team needs someone to step up and be for it what Jeremy Maclin was for Missouri last year. Without it, we’re not going to be too difficult for elite defenses to contain.
So where does that leave Texas at the QB position? With Colt you either get a QB who turns the ball over, because he’s trying play outside his abilities or you get a rock steady Doug Flutie who will have one or two big throws a season.
If not Colt….who?
Chiles can’t throw and Sherrod only gets to play against walk-ons (apparently looking like James Brown in the process).
Until somebody steps up Texas will win and lose on Colt’s level of play
I don’t know that Chiles or Harris is the answer, but Colt certainly is not. Texas will not compete for a Big XII or MNC with Colt as the starter. This idea of 2009 being some sort of culmination of talent and experience just isn’t going to turn out like we want it to unless Colt is pulled out, this year. If he still starts in 09, then clearly we have no chance. If the decision to replace him isn’t made until 09, then we will have a QB with little or no experience, meaning we will have little/no chance.
Sorry, Colt McCoy will never be as good as Chad Pennington. He’s just as fragile and nowhere near as accurate or the same type of gamer that Chad is.
So, I’m not sure that he’s worthy of being QB at Texas in the post VY era.
Colt has peaked. He is not taking this team anywhere, and someone else needs to get experience leading the Horns. Maybe then we will be able to compete for titles. I’m happy that you are content with mediocrity from this team (which is all we will get from Colt), but I am not. I think it was said best in the original post that Colt would be fine for SMU. We need more here at Texas.
Harris: he’s the best option we’ve got right now.
I don’t bring these up to embarrass anyone; we’ve all made assessments that turned out wrong. I bring these up to show that it’s a little much to conclude a lot on a young quarterback, particularly off of one spring game. Gilbert was certainly worse than Colt in 2007, but he also had far inferior teammates and a staff that didn’t seem to be trying as hard. I think it’s jumping the gun to claim that Gilbert has reached his peak already.
by TheElusiveShadow on Apr 3, 2011 10:41 PM CDT reply actions 4 recs
I love this
I am still a GG believer!
Hook 'em
by blazzinken on Apr 3, 2011 11:09 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
GG is NO Colt
The criticism of Colt was a little off center to begin with. The guy tied a freshmen record for TD passes and had us in the hunt for another title until he got hurt on what was, in my opinion, a cheap shot. In 07, the whole team struggled and Colt was trying to carry the entire team on his shoulders with no real playmakers at WR and he was STILL far better GG. I’m sure Gilbert’s a good kid and I wish him well, but other than a pair of nice throws against Bama, he’s never shown anything. Last year, he lit up the spring game and then stunk all year. If he stinks in the spring game, what the hell can we expect when it counts. I expect him to start, I just hope Mack has the hook ready that he didn’t have last year.
by amarillotxhornfan on Apr 3, 2011 11:24 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
These arguments are easily turned around
That was Colt’s second year starting, not his first, and he also had far better offensive teammates than GG did last year. Charles was better than any RB that we had, he actually had a tight end (Finley), and while we lost Sweed early in the year, Nate Jones and Cosby were more reliable than the uneven play we got last year from the WR’s.
Let me put it this way: If first year starter Colt McCoy was dumped in that offense last year, how does it look? Not much better at all. We may win one more game because Colt is more able to turn something out of nothing, but that’s about it. Does GG have what it takes? I don’t know yet. But I’m not willing to give up on him because of a bad season where he was set up to fail and one spring game.
by TheElusiveShadow on Apr 3, 2011 11:33 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
So what will it take?
Are u ready to throw away another season with GG at QB? He has shown zero improvement all of last season through the off season and now to the 2011 spring game. I wish the young man no ill will, but whats the breaking point for the GG supporters, how much more bad QB play do you need to see? We cant blame it on GD this year. He was the same GG today that he was all of last season. New coach, new offense, same inconsistent inaccurate GG.
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Unknown
by PineypointG on Apr 3, 2011 11:42 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'm not willing to throw away anything
I think throwing the kid under the bus already would be in fact throwing away a lot of potential. By no means am I saying he should simply stay a starter this next season if he plays poorly. I’m not even saying that he should keep the starting job before the season starts if someone clearly eclipses him. I’m saying that it is going way too far evaluating too much from the spring game, where he didn’t play THAT badly.
He was the same GG today that he was all of last season.
This is exactly my point. The spring game, being only the spring game, gave Colt doubters no reason to change their minds. I’m just glad our coaching staff wasn’t as eager to ax him as they were.
It’s not just GG; our offensive talent has clearly slipped compared to the years prior, except perhaps at wide receiver. Who does GG have that is as good as JC? No one, unless Malcolm Brown turns it on early. Who does he have who is as good as Shipley, Cosby, and Sweed? Mike Davis, Jaxon, and White may get there, but we don’t know yet. Is this O-line anywhere near what Colt enjoyed his freshmen year in 2006? Nope. That abomination last year was a total systems failure from top to bottom, and GG was as much a victim as a participant. Give him a credible offensive philosophy and see what he does with it, and then I’ll be ready to ax him if he plays poorly.
by TheElusiveShadow on Apr 3, 2011 11:54 PM CDT up reply actions
Point taken
This is a classic chicken v. egg argument. Was it his supporting cast and OC that led him to fail or was it GG’s poor play that caused everything around him to fail. IMO it was more GG than anything. Although we tend to have short memories, GD was a fairly accomplished OC, not to say he hadn’t lost a few mph off the fastball. But, he didn’t forget how to coach overnight. I would agree that no one played well enough to take the job from him today but he didn’t play well enough to end the conversation either.
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Unknown
What are you talking about?
It’s obvious from your previous comments that you’ve already given up on him. Now you’re acting like you haven’t? I know you guys get tired of hearing it, but Garrett Gilbert won 2 state titles in high school. He threw something like 50 touchdowns one year. He didn’t forget how to play football overnight. Something went wrong last year. Maybe a lot of things went wrong. I know high school football is not the same as college, but GG wasn’t a five star blue chip recruit for no reason. I think we have to give him another chance in a new system. That’s if somebody doesn’t outperform him, of course. His backups aren’t exactly unheralded recruits themselves, of course.
"Hey, don't y'all think that's beautiful right there? That crystal is SO beautiful. And it's coming home to Texas." - Vince Young
My philosophy
has always been that we fully support whoever the coaches start in the Fall. I’m pulling for GG because of potential but none of the choices would make me angry.
Proud Bandwagoner of the Binghamton Bearcats!
Tentative First Member of the Disciples of Terry - We're Gonna Terryfy you
And its still obvious
Yes I have given up on him, that’s no secret. Not sure how u thought otherwise. GG hasn’t performed well in college. Trey Allen, Eddie Jones, Chris Simms, etc… I’m sure there are many more. Being a 5 star recruit doesn’t guarantee college success. We are witnessing that first hand right now.
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Unknown
Being a great HS player
is not a prerequisite to becomming a great college player, nor does it cause one to be a great college player. Correlated, yes. Greater likelihood, maybe. I’m sure Gilbert will get one last crack at this with the full arsenal (if we can even call it that at this point) in August. But so far, the proof is in the pudding — Gilbert just does not look comfortable in his role and doesn’t seem ready to take his game to the next level.
Those are hilarious.
I don’t know who it makes me think twice about more; Garrett or Case.
"Hey, don't y'all think that's beautiful right there? That crystal is SO beautiful. And it's coming home to Texas." - Vince Young
I havent watched the entire game yet, but
case would be my starter if I had to pick a guy to start this Saturday. It pains me to say it because I was such a believer in GG a year ago. But compare the stats and the fact that case wa going up against the first teamers with a bunch of second teamers vs GG. GG had the deck stacked in his favor and he still didn’t lead a TD drive.
Elusive, I realize a lot of folks were wrong about colt, but that doesn’t mean we are wrong about GG. People were wrong about colt even while coaches raved that the ball never hit the field in practice. This year, the coaches sound less convinced about GG than ever.
Obviously we don’t play another game for a while, which means GG still can improve (and I hope he does). But color me pessimistic and start prepping plans B and C.
by BMG on Apr 4, 2011 8:31 AM CDT up reply actions
I'm not saying people are wrong
I’m saying that it’s jumping the gun a little to judge so much off of the spring game. Who knows; maybe by the fall, Wood or McCoy show the coaches that they have passed GG. If that happens, that’s fine with me. But I’m not going to make such pronouncements based on a scrimmage.
by TheElusiveShadow on Apr 4, 2011 1:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Not that it's as important as QB
But did you see our punting today? We can’t run CoJo for 3 yds and a cloud of dust (our only realistic offense against good teams this yr even with Harsinwhite at the helm) if we are only picking up 20 yds on punts. Yikes.
Oline was horrendous...
I know we had some squad player filling in the gaps that some of the true freshman may help out with…BUT if very hard to accurately judge GG when he has less than 2 seconds to take the snap find his target set his feet and throw.
I have the game recorded and will watch it in more depth later but from what I saw live I think OL has the most work to do. The only players that I think secured their spots were Allen, Snow, and Walters. I know this was a scrimmage but the Oline looked defeated before the ball was ever snapped and the Dline owned them all day.
PB gave the glass half full synopsis I see it more as empty knowing how bad both lines were last year and I dread that the D is not as dominate as they appeared and that our offense will not be able to run the ball again if we can’t find some solid blockers. My best guess is that Flowers and Greenlea will play as true freshman and possibly even start, especially if the Oline doesn’t show us more than what we saw today.
The walkon had a lot of catches.
It also shows we really need Jaxon and a few more WRs.
I think we have more than enough.
Goodwin is still out for track season. I have doubts about Jaxon’s ability to step in an play this year. From the sound of it, it’s a really complicated offense and he’ll be behind. That said, Jordan Shipley really made Garrett Gilbert look good in the national championship game. Maybe his little brother can do the same.
"Hey, don't y'all think that's beautiful right there? That crystal is SO beautiful. And it's coming home to Texas." - Vince Young
You're right about Goodwin.
I was speaking more to our overall developed depth. We will have some real speed that can be used if we can get them into space and hit them there.
We seem to still have difficulty hitting Davis and White for the big strike. Goodwin and DJ should help setting those situations up and vice versa. Jaxon will have some time to catch up. I’m sure he has the playbook and will be there this summer…although he will go through the freshman adjustment just like anyone else. We have a lot of promise but obviously there’s still many things to pull together to make this an effective and dangerous team.
I left and came back. Now I must go.
McNamara
Never heard of him before but I thought he was one of the top players I saw (along with Diggs)! He was giving the QB a target consitently… and held on to some tough catches. I think he earned a spot, but time will tell.
Not a good year for us to have continuing QB problems
It may come down to going with Wood and letting him learn the position. I do not think we will improve on 5-7 with Gilbert.
But its gonna be hard for Mack to go in that direction,…maybe impossible.
I may expand on this later
but i much rather have a crappy spring game than one that masks the real problems.
I suspect that this season will be one of continuing improvement: that Texas in September will be one team, Texas by mid October will be another and, finally, if things haven’t flamed out for whatever reason, a much more polished and mature team by November. With a new offense and defense and obviously a much-needed infusion of recruited talent, the first four or five games are going to be problematic with or without the QB situation.
If the defense can stabilize quickly, the team will have solid footing. The new Texas offense doesn’t have to overpower people then…just score points. With motion, deception, trick plays and some play makers, which they do have, they will not be the predictable Texas team of the recent past. That, to me, is a big difference. At some point they will arrive.
For the wishbone, it really took four games, with the last being the comeback victory over OU. Not a great OU team, but one that required effective play. Remember, they only changed the offense for ‘68…the defense was not affected. So this year’s squad is dealing with both sides of the ball, which could take a little longer to stabilize.
Last, turnover touchdowns. In Mack’s first year, 1998, Texas had zero TDs from turnovers, the worst of his tenure. Last year was the second lowest, with two. The best year was 11 in 2009. The average is nearly six, so that particular variable can help…such touchdowns are game changers for a team that will probably will have serious need for them. What has been said about special teams is that they will be filled with top players which hasn’t been the case much in prior years.
All this makes this year’s Horn squad very hard to project. If I were to err, it would be on the optimistic side…this team has great motivation.
That they improve throughout the year and are solid-to-scary
by year’s end is my hope for this season.
Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis.
Elusive Shadow ftw
I was a doubter in Colt’s ceiling after the 2007 season, which was stupid because during the season I thought he frequently did what he could with what was available including running the zone-read halfway through the season and almost defeating OU with an inferior team.
As far as identity for this team, the strengths are clear enough. Interior OL, depth of running backs, MikeD/Monroe in space.
We need a game manager at quarterback to hit what’s available and take care of the ball. Mostly though, I foresee us pounding the ball with all our backs, screening blitzers and taking our shots when we can.
I look at it this way
We went through a HUGE overhaul on our coaching staff. The whole team, from top to bottm, is learning a new way of doing things and new schemes. But I think it all comes down to our O-Line. cant run if you cant open holes and cant pass if you’re running for your life. Im still in the corner of GG, beacuase its not TOTALLY his fault if WR drop passes and the O-Line lets blitzers in his face 2 seconds after the ball is snapped. Everyone is learning new things, so Ill save my judgement for the Rice game because we should dominate them. And if we dont then Ill admit we have a problem.
by fanoflosingteams on Apr 4, 2011 12:51 AM CDT reply actions
Looking back
I’m a little bit sad that the mediocre QB play obscured the fact that Texas finally ran the Pistol formation for the first time ever on Sunday. Welcome to the new era of offensive football, Longhorn fans!
Follow me on Twitter: @GhostofBigRoy
www.burntorangenation.com
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Apr 4, 2011 1:06 AM CDT reply actions
Haha I noticed that too!
I was hoping we’d bust out some veer or something.
If nothing else, next season will answer one question -
Q: How much does scheme matter?
A: One more win over the course of a season.
Texas goes 6-6 next year.
I missed the interception. I was in the bathroom.
Apparently it was Bryant Jackson who got it? Not that it was a very difficult play to make, of course. But I just don’t really have an opinion on it since I didn’t see it during the flow of the game. I think we’ll clean a lot of these things up by the time the season starts, especially with Harsin coaching the quarterbacks.
It may not be a popular thing to say, but maybe Texas fans should give Case McCoy a chance. We’re treating him like we treated his brother. They’re working class, West Coast offense kinds of guys, but maybe that’s what we need after feeling so much entitlement. Just like Colt, he was getting it done out there. Was he not? 9 of 11 passing with one touchdown? We should also keep in mind that they were stopping plays as soon as the quarterbacks would run. So who knows what would have happened on those plays? I think Case probably has the best legs of all the QB’s. That’s one thing he has going for him. He’s got the legs and he can, apparently, play small ball.
That said, I’m still a Garrett Gilbert guy. And a Connor Wood guy. And I’m quickly becoming a David Ash guy. I think they could all start for us. I’ll be happy with whoever gets the starting job.
What stuck out to me was how well the freshmen played. Chet Moss got a sack and Quandre Diggs might have looked the best out of all players; very confident. I think his swagger coupled with Manny Diaz’s swagger could eventually be on par with the Will Muschamp/Earl Thomas combo.
No offense to Mike Davis, but Darius White looked like the best receiver out there, though I may be being swayed by his explosiveness on special teams. I’m still not sold on Mike Davis being the next A.J. Green. He’s quick and talented, but he’s awfully skinny and sometimes it looks like he tries to do too much. Maybe he’s just still a little raw.
They said not to make too much of this game, so I’m not, but I think it’s safe to make some judgments about individual players. I think when we hit the field, we’ll be a finely-tuned machine. We will be hard to keep contained for 60 minutes.
"Hey, don't y'all think that's beautiful right there? That crystal is SO beautiful. And it's coming home to Texas." - Vince Young
Finely tuned by game 1?
Think you are expecting too much. It will be a development throughout the year!
Mike Davis – he might not of had the stand out performance I was looking for, but he looked good. He continued to fight after contact… something that last year not many rcvrs did. Yards after catch is huge and he gets those.
Quandre Diggs is fast and furious. I’m really looking forward to seeing him play!
The QB issues have been adressed enough.
Wonder how the boys on the sidelines felt?
I’m talking about our target recruits – PARTICULARLY Gray? He must have loved our run efforts (tongue in cheek!)
"you can't be a great defense in a casual manner!" Manny Diaz
Am I the only person who thinks that Connor Wood looked pretty impressive? I don’t think there is a great deal you can take away from this, in respect to the QB position. Plays were blown dead when QBs were getting pressured, but I saw a lot of instances where Wood would step into the pocket, felt the pressure nicely, and had great mobility escaping out of the pocket.
All of our QBs lack refinement, but if it was up to me, Wood would be my guy.
No, I thought so too
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Unknown
I like Wood as the starter..
He the most athletic QB Texas has (except for Ash but he’s a true freshman) and his athleticism can extend plays behind a struggling OL. He looked comfortable in the pocket as well.
Wood looked the most natural
I think GG does everything very well right up to the part where ball leaves hand. GG looks over-coached, like someone told him to do A, B, C and D so he goes out and does A, B, C and D. Then waits for the next command. It just looks robotic. But maybe that’s because we watched Vince and Colt for 7 years.
"Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try."
- Yoda
What about
Cody Johnson. had a few pretty impressive runs where he just hit the hole without any dancing in the backfield. I loved seeing that because I dont remember any runs last year when any of our RB’s hit a hole with power.
From the outside looking in...
Good stuff, Peter. A few thoughts:
-For lack of a better word, Gilbert is still headfucked over 2010. Watching him yesterday, I have doubts about whether or not he’ll ever get past it. Now that he’s trying to learn a new system under Harsin, I can’t imagine that’s helping anything.
-I’d have the QB depth chart: Gilbert, Wood, McCoy (RS: Ash). From what I saw, Case doesn’t have much in common with his brother aside from the last name. Gilbert probably won’t ever get where people had hoped, but he’s good enough to get 7-8 wins. Put Ash in there this year, and he’s liable to look like Gilbert does now next spring.
-Any health issues on the o-line will be bad news.
-Defensive ends are flat-out filthy. Not looking forward to watching OU’s new RT try to handle whoever is on the other side among Okafor, Jeffcoat, Wilson.
-I know it’s a spring game, but the tackling looked kinda shoddy. I always wonder if those kinds of details get lost in the shuffle when you have the kind of transition on defense that Texas is attempting. Seems like Muschamp was so good when it came to the little things like that.
-Mack looked more like chairman of the board out there yesterday than head coach. He still just seems so detached from what’s actually happening on the ground. Would’ve been really interesting to see what Muschamp would’ve been like as the head coach there and how it might have affected the program’s culture.
by Blatant Homerism on Apr 4, 2011 1:57 PM CDT reply actions
I don’t know of very many board chairmen that stand on the field while live action is going on and chestbump with their employees after they make good, plays, not to mention scolding the underperforming upperclassmen.
Sometimes talking points are just that.
That description sounds more like an enthusiastic parent watching their kids play than a coach.
I think it’s still fair to wonder if he truly is more involved in the day to day stuff than last year. When you’ve hired coordinators to overhaul both sides of the ball, is there much you can do besides watch and try to get up to speed yourself?
Being a more hands off-type has worked in the past for Mack. I’m just interested to see how things have changed. I kinda think Muschamp’s personality might have been better suited to this kind of undertaking, but that doesn’t mean Mack can’t pull it off.
by Blatant Homerism on Apr 4, 2011 4:36 PM CDT up reply actions
This I like
Coach Diaz said, ‘See what happens when you listen to me?’"
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=6286240
Still a Blaine Irby fan
Another outsider looking in; I watched the MB interview with Meyer on ESPN...
and remember something about a lot more trick plays will be used compared to last year or previous years—I could not find the quote, but found this link
Brown said the Longhorns should have better run-pass balance and utilize more trick plays and deep passes. And the pressure-based defense will attack from multiple fronts. Brown said some player attrition might result from the program’s off-season overhaul, but he expects it to be minimal.
I did not know the OC was at Boise last year—if anything, the offense should be fun to watch once the players and coaches get it down. I assume Mack would want to pound it some with Brown like the days he had Benson.
"When a hurricane damaged my father's house, my brother rushed over with a gas grill, three coolers of beer, and an enormous F**k-It Bucket - a plastic pail filled with jawbreakers and bite-size candy bars. ("When s**t brings you down, just say 'f**k it,' and eat yourself some motherf*****g candy.")"
— David Sedaris
my view
OL looked very poor which was to be expected
Most surprising aspect was first team O struggling to move the ball on 2nd string D, and 1st string D struggling to stop second string O
Secondary looked very poor. Injuries there, or just youth?
McCoy’s mechanics are horrible but he gets the ball in the right place most of the time.
Gilbert looks shell shocked. Looks like he has no confidence
Offense reminded me a lot of last year except for the double screen, and double pass.
OL and QB need to improve by quantum leaps between now and the fall or you may be worse than last year.
Malcolm Brown may be the best RB in the nation, but it will not matter if he cannot get out of the backfield.
Big positive is that these coaches seem to understand that Monroe has to touch the ball.
Everything that could go wrong last year went wrong. Should not have as much bad luck this year. If you assume the QB and OL improve and you don’t commit as many turnovers then 7-8 wins are possible. If no improvement on the OL, then you are looking at 6 losses right in the face. Will have to wait till the fall to see if you took a big step down at DC or not.
QB for a Harsin Offense
Will be the guy who gets it and can run it. Its really simple. Give your coaches credit – they will figure it out and pick the guy or guys. With athletic ability being pretty close, it may end up being the smartest of the 4.
No comments
On the game. I’ll wait for the real season to start & then try to assess.
I just wanted to say, after the game, I switched the channel to CBS & was ecstatic to see Mr. Peter Bean on CBS Dunks of the Year! :)
by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on Apr 6, 2011 1:34 PM CDT reply actions
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