So, the chatter on this site has been pretty hard and heavy of late. That's a good thing. A great thing, really. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times I've been nodding in agreement and thinking to myself, "Excellent point."
But... (You knew there would be a but, right?)
I also don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times I've let out an audible groan after hearing some of the things people are saying - both here on the site, and elsewhere.
Let's spend a few moments together bursting a few of the more toxic bubbles that are still floating out there.
1. Texas would not have won a national championship without Vince Young.
Both my father and older brother managed to utter these words this weekend, to my dismay. It's one of the most useless utterances a college football fan can make. Was Vince Young the biggest reason we were the best, instead of just elite? Of course. But all too often that line is - unbelievably, if you ask me - used as a weapon against Mack Brown or Greg Davis or the Texas football program in general.
Folks, one last time: you cannot divorce Vince Young's success from the coaches. Further, pointing out that Texas "only won because of Vince Young" is like saying "USC only won the 2004 national title because of Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart." Or, "The Miami Heat only won the NBA title because of Dwayne Wade." Teams that win national titles generally do so because they have transcendent players. And, because transcendent players don't grow on trees, teams don't often win series of national titles.
Ideally, you want your program to be among the elite every year, then wait for that season when everything comes together. More likely than not, when it does it will be because your team has a player that has something just a little bit extra. If Ohio State wins it all this year, we won't be surprised, as Troy Smith is putting on a Vince Young-like show. That's how it works.
Quit cheapening the Texas national championship and Texas football program by acting like Vince Young was an accidental blip on an otherwise depressing radar.
2. Greg Davis should have been running a completely different offense this year and should be fired for his ineptitude.
Wouldn't it be lovely to just overhaul your offense at the snap of your fingers? Wouldn't it be terrific to just decide that your redshirt freshman quarterback needed to learn an entirely new offense right away, rather than the one he'd been ingesting all year as a redshirt behind Vince Young? Wouldn't it have been delightful to know that Vince Young was going to turn pro after last season?
Ah... pie in the sky. Our favorite kind.
Look, the coaches honestly thought Vince would come back for his senior season. When he didn't (an understandable, and correct, decision), Texas was put in an awkward situation. Colt McCoy had learned the Vince Young offense. Most of the weapons from the 2005 offense were returning. Do you: A) revamp the entire offense for your redshirt freshman? Or B) see if you can simply tweak it to allow McCoy to plug right in, and then start to transition the offense as the season goes on?
The smart answer is (B), and that's what Greg Davis did. And once McCoy got going, it was working awfully well. Prior to Colt's injury, the Texas offense, mediocre running game and all, was well above average. In the end, things came apart with Colt's injury, but it doesn't negate the sound logic behind the initial decision.
It's just not helpful to say that Greg Davis should have been a miracle worker. All things considered, he's done a terrific job with McCoy, and gave the offense a pretty good shot this season. Do we need to make changes this offseason? Certainly. Are we in a better position to do that now than we were at the end of last season? Clearly.
Greg Davis isn't going anywhere. And the power running game that we all crave will be here next season. Count on it.
3. Jevan Snead has proven he can be as good as Colt McCoy.
Unbelievably, some folks are already calling for Snead to be next season's starter. It's as though Colt's first 10 games of the season never happened. Or as if Snead had turned in something more than a B+ effort so far.
It's one thing to say, "Let's be sure we give Snead every opportunity to prove he's better than McCoy in an open competition for next season." It's quite another to not acknowledge that he's not got a lot of ground to make up before he's there. Can Snead be better than Colt McCoy? It's certainly possible. Have we seen him play a game like McCoy's best games? Not even close.
I think Snead should be given the chance to come out and displace Colt McCoy as next year's starter. With this injury, there's no telling how long it will take for Colt to recover, or even if he ever will. I have a friend who's -still- bothered by a stinger he suffered in a high school football game. Still, let's all be calm about this. But Snead's got to earn the job. And as of now, he's not shown anything like what McCoy delivered this season. He may yet, but let's all hold off until we see more. A lot more.
--PB--