Morning Coffee

by Peter Bean on Oct 5, 2007 8:20 AM CDT in Quick Hits Comment 9 comments

It's Friday, which means another Q&A from Chip Brown at the Dallas Morning News. As usual, I think Chip touches nicely on a lot of the key points for this week:

*If there's any doubt about McCoy's health, he shouldn't play. Concussions are serious business. (Chip notes that if John Chiles were to start, it could be 1994 all over again. Remember that year? Shea Morenz is on the sidelines with a concussion and freshman James Brown leads Texas to an improbable 17-10 win?)

*Beat the dead horse: play Norton and Muck. Period.

*"Let it all out" on offense. Davis is talking about wanting to 'simplify' the overall package, but there's no question the way to beat OU is to soften them up with big plays in the passing game.

*Justin Moore has replaced Trevor Gerland as the punter on the team. On the year, Texas is 115th nationally in net punting average. Chip's right: it's been a disaster.

Here's a bit of good news: there are no players listed on the week's injury report. If accurate, that means Orakpo and Kindle are back, Ulatoski is available, and, presumably, Colt is totally ready to go. I have to admit - I'm nervous for the kid. Here's to hoping the offensive line gives him time to work.

Not fired up about the game yet? This should help.

Kirk Bohls tries the Stoops-Brown comparison column, which is a bit of a tired angle. They're different, but the story's never quite black and white enough to make for a great column. It'd take a lot more than 800 words to adequately describe each coach's strengths and weaknesses. As always, beware of snapshot comparisons; they rarely tell the whole story.

Listeners in the Brownsville region can catch me on 96.9 FM news radio this evening at 6:30 p.m. as I preview the Red River Shootout. I also offered my thoughts on this week's game for this week's CFB Weekly radio program (13:30 mark of the podcast).

I'll have Friday Four Questions up here shortly. As always, keep your eye on SMQ for the weekend preview of all of CFB's biggest games.

If you're driving to Dallas today or tomorrw - be safe, friends.

--PB--

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You missed the biggest bomb..

Mack has dropped since admitting he wasn't ready for OU in 2001. It was in that Statesman article.

I've never seen Mack take a shot at someone like that, ever.

Is Larry Mac Duff getting the job done in coaching linebackers and special teams? ("Larry's a great coach. Our linebacker play has been better than perceived," Brown said. "We were mad at Gene Chizik for not coaching well right before he left. We're pretty hard on coaches." He also noted that Mac Duff isn't in charge of special teams; he's one of several coaches with special-teams duties.)

Cats and dogs sleeping together.

by EYESofBEVO on Oct 5, 2007 8:40 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Never mind

Apparently this was said in jest.

So much for Mack finding his inner prick. I'd like to see that side of him, just once.

Cats and dogs sleeping together.

by EYESofBEVO on Oct 5, 2007 8:59 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think we saw some of that with the Sims

interview, where his aggressive, overly-protective words to the press covered up Mack's own judgment on the field. In other words, he was protecting himself as much as his QB.

by whills on Oct 5, 2007 12:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd settle

for Chiles being the next James Brown, if for some reason he can't be the next VY.

Of course, somebody on the defense would have to step up to be the next Stonie Clark...

So take that.

by Kahuna on Oct 5, 2007 9:13 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

KaBoooooooooooom.

Drumroll and goal line smack down.

Those two gave us some great OU moments. The LB play to turn in the little reverse so Stony could apply the coup de grace was just beautiful. And James Brown dancing into the end zone was so smooth and graceful - and. in that respect, Chiles does remind me of JB. His TD in the Spring OW Game had those bloodlines.

I thought Mackovic kept trying to box JB into his system instead of just letting him do what he did best. The Nebraska game was super, and the finale of the SW Conference against the Aggies, where JB hobbled around on two bad wheels, was truly heroic. I still watch that tape: it was a fitting end to an era.

Nice connection, Kahuna.

by whills on Oct 5, 2007 12:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like Orakpo....,

but I have to wonder if sitting Lamaar Houston is a net positive for the defense.

-- Lamaar has 18 solo tackles (#5 on team) and 23 total tackles.

-- His 6 TFLs is #2 on the team and the 45 lost yards is the team leader!

-- His 10 QB hurries leads the team!

-- Lamaar's 2 sacks for 35 yards of loss is #2 on team.

-- Lamaar Houston is the real deal and has wrecked havoc on our opponents!

--- All roads to the Big-XII Championships run through OU and the RRS. It's not just "another game." ---

by HornChamps on Oct 5, 2007 12:26 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Agree

Houston has been quite the pleasant surprise this season...

So take that.

by Kahuna on Oct 5, 2007 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Texas Swarm

Interesting bit from the Chip Brown link:

On defense, Texas has to use stuff it hasn't shown all season. A three-man line with Orakpo as a stand-up linebacker, basically a page out of the Desert Swarm textbook. That would include a three man line (Frank Okam, Derek Lokey and Aaron Lewis) with Orakpo, Jared Norton and Rod Muckelroy playing linebacker and five defensive backs (Drew Kelson, Erick Jackson and Marcus Griffin at three DB positions and Brandon Foster and Ryan Palmer at the corners).
Provide bracket help over the top anytime Kelson is lined up on a slot receiver with more speed than him and go after Bradford like crazy with unconventional blitzes.

Regarding the last section, I think if Kelson can keep up with Reggie Bush, he can keep up with any of OU's receivers.

What do you guys think about the 3-3-5 he's talking about? Would Orakpo have better success getting to the QB/RB if he has more freedom to move around?

by SelimSivad on Oct 5, 2007 12:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs