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Texas Football: Quick Impressions of Arkansas St Game

Posted by Scipio Tex on September 1st, 2007 under Uncategorized

Right now I’m doing an impression of a pile of steaming baboon shit.

Make no mistake, had we played Appalachian State, a Division I-AA squad of actual quality, we would have lost by two touchdowns. That’s not hyperbole. It’s empirical fact. I just looked up the word complacency in Wikipedia and it had a picture of our coaching staff holding Lloyd Carr commemorative 1997 Michigan MNC mugs. If any of you come at me with a “a win is a win” I will hunt you down by your IP address and make you read Bill Little soliloquys until you take your own life.

We were outplayed by a Div I-AA football team that outgained us 397-340, demonstrated a superior running and passing game, had better coaching and headier QBing, and generally outhustled us despite their sloppy penalties and a smooth screwing by the officials on the onside kick. They botched multiple opportunities in the red zone and missed some chip shot field goals. That’s how we escaped our home field with a win.

I watched the game in a sports bar in San Francisco full of alcohol and ire, so without the benefit of TIVO, crayons, and a Strawberry Shortcake spiral, my observations will be of the 10,000 foot variety; I’ll write on a more granular level when given the opportunity though watching a replay of that pathetic effort will be trying. Every single concern that we could have had about this football team before the year has been proven absolutely valid while several concerns we didn’t have have surfaced prominently.

It’s going to be a long year, boys. Pray to Odin that another VY is in the pipeline who through sheer force of his personality can push our prolapsed uterii into place and fashion our staff a pair of makeshift gridiron clackers.

Offense

Our gameplan was gutless in only the way a Greg Davis gameplan can be, though this pecuilar variety of squeezable softness usually only surfaces in Dallas. 1st and goal. The score is 21-6. We’ve struggled, but now it’s time to ice the game. Let’s finish this thing, score again to go up 35-6 and go get better watching the film. We open in a spread set. Eh? Did I mention that it was 1st and goal? Four downs later, they have the ball. We escape with a 21-13 win, tails tucked securely over our poop hatch.

Our running game is an abomination…by design. I’m not interested in discussing push at the point of the attack, though it was lacking. I’ll be happy to explain how simple down blocking alleviates that problem, but that’s deep football knowledge, the kind of shit most of us picked up playing in high school. As with the Dark Days of Tim Nunez, I’m not interested in talking about the mosquito, I’m interested in talking about the swamp. We dwell in an environment of proscribed failure. Without a running threat at QB, our players operate at schematic disadvantage on every play because our offensive coordinator can’t be bothered to notice that the lateral running game isn’t the most efficient means of moving downhill. Rare is the time I try to drive to New York from Austin by heading West for several hundred miles first. Delayed counters don’t work against run blitzes and toss sweeps in a 3 WR set don’t go really well against a nine man front goalline defense. These are just things I’ve picked up along the way in life. Call me Paul Brown.

JC is a special runner trapped in a comically inept run scheme. When a RB has to break three tackles in the backfield to get three yards, you need to look at the system, not the players. Let me emphasize run game. JC’s blocking was horrendous throughout the game and he whiffed on blitz pickup on at least five occasions. On two of those occasions he ran past a blitzing linebacker, saw Colt get nailed, then let out a little Mack Brown clap that was captured on replay. Good stuff there.

The passing game was off throughout the game. I’ll give the wide receivers a very solid passing grade. Sweed made some tough catches and Nate Jones was hosed on at least two scoring opportunities when Colt threw passes with his left arm, apparently. Colt just looked uncomfortable. I can’t really qualify it better than that. I’m a Colt fan, but I’m not entirely sure that he’s over last year’s injury. Balls were sailing, he continuously underthrew open receivers, and he demonstrated bizarre lapses in arm strength. The interceptions were just…odd. Colt wasn’t a concern for me before this season. He is now.

Jermichael Finley was wisely hidden in our gameplan. We wouldn’t want our second most talented receiving option to get more than one catch for eight yards. It might alert others to his presence. Let’s keep that weapon hidden for Baylor.

Defense

Duane Akina wore DC training wheels for years and it might be time to put them back on. Larry MacDuff continues to uphold a decade long tradition of linebacker coaching. Our blitzes were as disguised as Donald Trump in a blonde wig and Oprah with a Sharpie moustache. On several occasions, our blitz front didn’t match our secondary coverage. The hot route is as open as a Buddhist’s mind. Screening us is laughably easy.

The back 7 is as pedestrian as anticipated – equally against the run and pass. It ran the gamut: bad technique, being physically beaten, not having an awareness of the ball in the air. Eventually, we started offering ten to twelve yard cushions, which suggests that a Texas Pom Girl could have grabbed 5 for 60 and a touch against us. I won’t call out Foster and Palmer specifically, but it’s time to go young and the time is now.

As usual, our top four tacklers were all in the secondary, a rather amazing accomplishment given the fact that Arkansas St ran the ball 30 times (34 minus 4 sacks), threw several screens and swing passes, and double teamed our DL on every running play. Typically, LBs will make some of those plays, but then again, I’m a boring football traditionalist. Our LBs contributed at expectation: Bobino was lost in the zone read, Derry making plays metaphysically, Killebrew drawing key personal fouls on 3rd and long, the youngsters promising and full of potential but apparently never having received a moment of mentoring in their lives. We’ve contributed a decade of non-development at this position and our standard has been upheld. I appreciate that sort of consistency and rigor.

The front four played OK, though Okam was absolutely excellent. He is finally healthy and it showed. God bless him and I hope he’s our next millionaire DT. Losing Orakpo ripped out my heart and I wish him a speedy return. Jones, Lokey, Houston and Lewis all made plays, but not at the level expected given the competition. Arkansas St clearly diagnosed who our playmakers are and they made sure they got the attention they deserved. Watching two unblocked LBs sprint past a ASU RB who simply delayed and planted to get six to ten yards was all too commonplace; all the while Lokey and the playside DE were both being double teamed like porn stars. We couldn’t get consistent pressure with four, which makes me wonder.

We have some deep fundamental issues in terms of toughness, in terms of leadership, and with a fair number of the guys wearing our headsets and drawing X’s and O’s on the whiteboards. This is heresy to write, but a home loss to a team like ASU may be required to force us into the fundamental changes we’ll need.

We may be provided that opportunity soon.

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71 Responses

  1. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    September 1st, 2007 at 9:19 pm

    “We may be provided that opportunity soon.”

    Like next week.

    I honestly didn’t give TCU much of a chance before the season. I now put that game at 50/50 at best.

    The team played like the group at the table behind us at the sports bar watched: They cheered when Trevor Garland punted (The Wife taught him in high school!) and for a replay of a Jamaal Charles run.

    I’m ready for Mack to retire. Thank God we just gave him an extension. Maybe his bewilderment at the return of pissed off Longhorn fans will hasten a petulant self-removal.

  2. ChrisApplewhite said:

    September 1st, 2007 at 9:35 pm

    Mack is too complacent, I think we can agree.

  3. diehard said:

    September 1st, 2007 at 9:38 pm

    Luckily for us, there is another VY in the pipeline. His name is John Chiles. Like I have been harping all along, we need an athletic, black QB like John Chiles to win a NC. We can’t win a NC with a white QB who locks onto his WR’s and is hesitant to run like Colt McCoy. Mix that in with the offense and OC that we have, and we have a very limited probability at success. Guys like Vince Young and John Chiles improvise and dominate.

    TCU is a huge test. I like the Frogs to cover the point spread. Those fuckers actually covered the 21 point spread against Baylor. I hope TCU beats us while Colt throws 3 INT’s so we get the Chiles era started ASAP.

  4. ChrisApplewhite said:

    September 1st, 2007 at 9:43 pm

    We could be deadly in 08 and 09 with Chiles at QB. But we all know that Colt is starting here for the next three years.

  5. SizzleChest said:

    September 1st, 2007 at 11:01 pm

    Well done, Scip. I was pleased with what Okam and Nate Jones did in particular, but everyone else, particulary our corners and LBs, didn’t earn shit tonight.

    Unfortunately, personnel changes won’t even come close to healing the cancer that I believe will reach metastasis next Saturday.

    BTW, OU looked really fucking good. Anyone wanna guess the score on that one next month? I’ll give you a hint – the difference between their score and ours could reasonbly match my diastolic after that onsides kick tonight.

  6. MrWyatt said:

    September 1st, 2007 at 11:27 pm

    Great as usual.

    1. The opener reeks worse than North Texas in 2002, but the season is taking on more the tenor of 2003. And boy did that year suck.

    2. Its not hard to imagine the OU game going the way of 2003, though you wouldn’t think it could possibly be that bad. But then again, maybe it can.

    3. Akina/MacDuff = Bobby Jack Wright. You can hire almost any bright defensive mind in the country. But why do that when you can promote the guy whose secondary was one of the worst performing in college football last year. Even better, you can hire his old buddy to pal around with him. Maybe they can even room together, and go scamming for cougars in the Warehouse District during the bye week.

  7. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    September 1st, 2007 at 11:38 pm

    SizzleChest, my immediate thought leaving the sports bar was 48-10. I don’t know why that particular score popped into my head. I have this awful feeling that our window has closed against those assholes, at least in the current era. We’re back to jockeying with the Aggies for 2nd.

  8. Musburger said:

    September 1st, 2007 at 11:52 pm

    Excellent commentary Scip. I can’t disagree with anything.

    As far as inserting Chiles at QB, yes he would instantly rev up the run game, but it can be defended. You simply blitz from the side which the QB would keep on the zone read. This makes the defense vulnerable to the pass, but with a Young Chiles, it’s an acceptable defensive game plan. TT frustrated the daylights out of Vince in ‘03 as did Washington State. It wouldn’t have worked in ‘04 or ‘05 but it would work against Chiles for a year or two.

    It’s possible to have a run game from the shotgun without a QB threat, but it has to be done like Tech (i.e. wide line splits, quick hitters and draws) or by using a two-back set not unlike what the Aggies run. As Scipio pointed out, the current scheme is a joke.

  9. longhornmatt said:

    September 1st, 2007 at 11:53 pm

    Chiles can be a great player, but he is not Vince. His passing is behind where Vince was at the same stage, and we all know how raw Vince was at first.

    Vince also dominated in high school much more than Chiles. There’s a big difference between nearly taking a team like Houston Madison on an undefeated state title run and getting bounced early after a mediocre season at Mansfield. I don’t think that difference in team success was a coincidence.

    BTW, I think everyone is right about us needing a dual threat QB, but it’s still pathetic that it is patently impossible for us to win anything meaningful with a pocket passer. If it weren’t for Jeff Bowden, I could say with absolute certainty that Greg Davis has the worst running scheme in all of college coaching.

  10. spit and tears said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 5:31 am

    I’m watching the replay online as I read. I’m laughing, both at the commentary and the game itself, but it’s not out of amusement.

    Perhaps this is a function of distance (I’m not in Austin or even Texas, so I don’t get as much Texas coverage as I’d like), but I’ve thought all along this would be a rebuilding year. I never understood the high ranking. I predicted a 9-3 season, but I was being as optimistic as I could. I thought the people predicting BCS, Big Twelve title, etc, were lunatics. I still do.

    So much for optimism. 7-5 or 6-6 seems quite possible, even likely, barring some major improvements and changes in personnel.

    I’m trying to take a long, big-picture view of this whole situation. Circumstances (marriage, my employer, etc) have put me in Columbus, Ohio. I was here from 95 through 98, when John Cooper fielded some ridiculously talented teams that could pound everyone except for those ending in “ichigan” and “ichigan State.” Then came the 1999 off-season: a lot of players graduated/went professional, one-quarter of the recruiting class didn’t qualify academically, the coaching staff made some very poor personnel decisions (Steve Bellisari??? Really?), and here came a 6-6 season featuring blowouts from the likes of Illinois.

    I think the same thing might happen this season in Austin. It has seemed probable that at least one team would light up our secondary–admittedly I did not think it would be Arkansas State–and I suspected that none of the running problems were fixed. Our side-to-side offense is not nearly as effective without one of the most talented players to ever play the game at quarterback.

    As an aside, wow do certain members of our secondary, such as the starters and backups, stink. This much becomes clear from watching the replay. Tech will throw for 800 yards. OU might also.

    Anyway, that 1999 season (along with that “ichigan” problem) eventually got Cooper pushed out the door. Not saying that the same should happen in Austin, but… at least one and arguably two or three key assistants provide little to substantiate their employment and salaries at what is supposed to be a major power in Division I college football. And the head coach has been shown willing to tolerate at least one of those assistants’ shortcomings; the jury is still out on the other two, I guess.

    I think you are right about the “opportunity” to face the tough choices needed to make some fundamental changes. I think we will have several such “opportunities,” in fact. Some of our Big Twelve brethren are catching up to us. Did you see Kansas State’s defense against Auburn? If they hadn’t committed about 45 penalties, they had that game won. I’m not sure we can score against them. OU apparently has a QB, and a tailback too. Aggy has the same ground game we haven’t stopped in two years. Nebraska might finally get a regular-season win against us.

    I think we were already unmasked as pretenders last night, but a more official, regionally- or nationally-televised unmasking is not very far off, I think. I am just going to grit my teeth and try to get through it. I suggest you do the same. All we can hope is that the appropriate changes do, eventually, come about.

  11. UTexasfootball said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 7:40 am

    Scipio—fun read that is brutally honest. I thought it interesting that Akina addressed his opening act with the “they threw the ball more than we expected” rationale. Am I the last one picked at recess because I thought offenses were supposed to utilize the unexpected. It seems we also added a few new run blitzes to stuff their inside running game. Am I the dumbest to ever shit between two boots for wondering why we chose to “telegraph” the new run blitzes before the QB started the snap count?

    I guess I should be thankful for the defensive changes in coaching style but we still lack documented proof of fundamentals being taught anywhere in the back seven positions. There is still a severe lack of appreciation of skills such as angle-taking and breaking down at the point of attack from everyone not in the front four. We are still supplied with so much production from the starting LB’s that even the new coach doesn’t see the need to feed the younger ones for the future—this will assure us fans that we can count on the same quality play at this position long after this bunch takes their over-running missed tackle skills into the population work force.

    Thanks for a dose of reality.

  12. HenryJames said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 8:02 am

    “Am I the dumbest to ever shit between two boots for wondering why we chose to “telegraph” the new run blitzes before the QB started the snap count?”

    It works against a Greg Davis offense so they figured it would work against anyone else.

  13. EyesOfTX said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 8:02 am

    Great stuff as always, Scip. This team was just not very good the second half of last season, and it’s just not very good now. If anything, it’s worse than it was in the Alamo Bowl on both sides of the ball.

    If we go 8-4 in the regular season, we should all drink a toast of gratitude, because that’s about as good as it looks from here right now. After last night, three of our next four games – TCU, UCF, and Kansas State – are all potential losses.

    ugh.

  14. LonghornScott said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 11:43 am

    When they kept mentioning in the pre-season about how they spent more time working of the inside running game than ever before, I couldn’t help thinking, “That’s gonna be a shitload of wasted time.” I was right. Hell… Davis is never gonna have a well-schemed running game so we may as well just go 5-wide and spend the whole practice in 2 minute drills. At least then McCoy and the receivers would have a rhythm.

  15. LonghornScott said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 11:47 am

    of course running 2 minute drill against our secondary is like living in a co-ed dorm… it’s hard not to score.

  16. srr50 said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 3:01 pm

    Well, we identified our “offensive” fullback for the rest of the year. Antwan Cobb comes in for one play – runs the wheel route for a TD – and never sees the field again.

    So future opponent DC’s now have our “blocking” FB’s (Lokey & Tiemman) and our “”offensive” FB (Cobb) easily identified.

  17. HenryJames said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 3:35 pm

    I think that when we lined up in the I with Cobb on that play, it was the first time in the game we lined up in something other than the 3 receiver set.

  18. The Texas Kid said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 6:01 pm

    “We were outplayed by a Div I-AA football team”

    Correction: Ark. St. is Div. IA (now known as FBS).

  19. Superfan said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 6:06 pm

    I’ll give you an executive summary.

    Everyone but Charles, Okam, Sweed and the kicker sucked.

    No way in hell Foster or Palmer start for ArkSt.

  20. soulglo said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 8:31 pm

    The shortest route between first down markers is a sideways run. I think we can all agree.

  21. Cali-Horn said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 8:58 pm

    Dead on, as usual. This could be bad, real bad.

  22. Vince Young said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 9:20 pm

    Everyone better relax on the Chiles as a savior. He doesn’t deserve it. There will be another Vince when we see it, not an assumption.

    Vince got away with the zone read because he could break anyone’s tackle and complete downfield passes into single coverage. Chiles might not be able to do either in D-1.

  23. ChrisApplewhite said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 9:25 pm

    “So much for optimism. 7-5 or 6-6 seems quite possible, even likely, barring some major improvements and changes in personnel.”

    Dude, come on.

  24. Same Ol’, Same Ol’ « Finding Balance said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 10:02 pm

    [...] As usual, Barking Carnival has an awesome write-up.  Some of my favorite quotes: Our gameplan was gutless in only the way a Greg Davis gameplan can [...]

  25. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 10:20 pm

    CA, we were a handful of plays – Tech and Nebraska – away last year from being 7-5. I don’t see how it’s so far-fetched for us to be worse on the field than we were last year AND have worse luck.

    The wheels would have to fly off for us to finish with 6 losses, but 5 wouldn’t shock me. I think 4 sounds about right, 3 if we can get our crap together quickly.

  26. jimmyjazz said:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 10:44 pm

    Well, ASU’s corners are actually good, so I’m not TOO concerned that ours aren’t better. OK, I’m a little concerned. But not too much.

    JC might not be a twig, but gaining weight doesn’t make one a power back by definition. It did him no good. In fact, it probably hurt him. He was sucking wind late in the first half, and it got worse from there.

    McCoy versus Chiles? Eh, I’m OK with Colt. This team won’t run the table, but we aren’t devoid of talent.

    What I fear is that we’re devoid of leadership, and dangerously low on “toughness” (however you measure that).

  27. MilkmanDan said:

    September 3rd, 2007 at 7:46 am

    The SI unit for toughness is a smiling Bob Stoops.

  28. 94Sip said:

    September 3rd, 2007 at 11:54 am

    Great stuff – I still believe that your OL analysis after the 27-0 UNT game is what got Nunez fired, although I am sure Mack and GD hate you for it. I think that article was titled “Setting up the players for failure” or something like that, and it is equally appropriate today as it was then.

  29. SizzleChest said:

    September 3rd, 2007 at 1:27 pm

    Teh media heared 2day that teh Horns coaches xpected ASU 2B teh power running team like dey wuz last season. OMG, LOL, $^%##&&^

    Teh adjustments wuz unpossible, hahahaha! Thanks, Mack!

  30. SizzleChest said:

    September 3rd, 2007 at 1:30 pm

    94Sip -
    The lure of young, hefty lads browsing the internet for cool shit is what prompted Nunez to leave, not Scipio.

    http://www.o-lineiscool.com/

  31. Macanudo said:

    September 3rd, 2007 at 2:49 pm

    Holy crap, that link is real.

  32. SamXXX said:

    September 3rd, 2007 at 7:08 pm

    I am still mad about Saturday’s game.

    These so called expert who get paid millions of dollars to coach are for the most part a fraud. Bob Stoop excluded.

    Last year’s team was done in because of the lack of a power running game. We lost against both KSU and A & M because our O line could not gain one yard. Now, 9 months later we have the same fu*@ing problem.

    If Anyone in here was told to fix a specific and recognizable problem at work and after 9 months didn’t, that person would be fired in three seconds. But in college football you get more money.

    9 months ago we sucked at LB play, 9 months later we still suck at LB play. Why cant we just go out of state and recruit some f*#king big, ugly, and fast LB from Pennsylvania and or Ohio.

    Why cant we go to Pittsburgh have a conversation with Dick LeBeau and ask him to recommend a young and hungry coordinator who knows how to really run a defense. Why cant Mac3 pick up the f*&%ing phone and call Mac1 and ask him how to stop the option. Mac1 was the master at stopping the option.

    Is that to much to ask of coaches making millions of dollars?

  33. J.R.69 said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 8:37 am

    I can’t believe that some of you are surprised at the play of the ‘Horns. It’s exactly the same way it’s been for the first six of the last 9 years, and last year. The only time it was different was after the Missouri game in ‘04 when MB got smart and ordered GD to LEAVE VINCE THE HELL ALONE! The rest of ‘04 and all of ‘05 provided a vision of what could be. Regrettably, it was all too soon forgotten.

    I gave up on MB shortly before halftime of the ‘02 RRS. Although my faith was almost restored by the above-named action, I accept now that, as long as MB is at UT, what you saw Saturday is what you’ll get.

    It’s like wiping your ass with a wagon wheel–there’s no end to it.

  34. crash_davis said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:22 am

    i love mack. i have no problems admitting that. i love him as a father figure, preacher like person to lead our young men into life.

    but i dislike him as a football coach drawing x’s and o’s. and i dislike him as person not being able to see past a friendship to know that his friend absolutely sucks at his job and needs to be kicked to the curb.

    in early 05, i sat next to a man who played in royal’s early 70s championship team. i asked him about vince and being a grumpy old fashioned man, he said that vince can not lead texas to a nc. he said that word is that the staff had to keep it simple for vince.

    he couldn’t have been more wrong.

    the correct answer is that this staff can not win a nc UNLESS we have a player like vince. keep it simple should be the mantra and let him improvise w/ his god like athletic abilities. vince could make betty crocker seem like the greatest football coach ever.

    i love mack, but he needs to change. he needs to hire someone to do his hiring and firing for him.

  35. vvn8bs said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 10:29 am

    Scip, where were you? I was watching MU/ILL in a sports bar in Cow Hollow.

  36. kurtosis_skew said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 10:36 am

    “The next stop is TCU. This is the last stop on the VY, and all passengers must leave the train. Please look around you for any personal items. The Bellmont Hall Transit Authority thanks you for riding the VY.”

  37. mileslong said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 12:12 pm

    im reminded of the time a soviet activist who was arrested in red square for shouting “comrade brezhnev is brain-dead”. he was promptly given 21 years hard labor in siberia for his comment.
    1 year for slander, and 20 years for revealing a state secret.

    i got banned from hornfans about 50 times for pointing out these deficiency’s in our coaching staff and personnel decisions, they just didn’t want to hear the truth and i keep getting proved right time after time.

    I should just change my name to freaking nostradamus since i have called this exact scenario 5-6 years ago with the problems in this coaching staff. everything from the needed firing of nunez and our former canine nicknamed DC to the fact that VY alone made GD’s offense look good and that the minute he was gone we would go back the the mediocrity we had before VY.

    i also pointed out the ridiculous pinballing linebacker tactic with reed boyd and bryan boitano who used to play center for us who could skate backward faster than eric heiden. i said until all of the following happend we would never contend for a national championship and the only thing that didnt happen was the firing of GD.

    i couldn’t even foretell the greatness of VY and how he could overcome the most overrated OC in the history of mankind.

    well george bush is no john f kennedy (whether thats good or bad i dont know) and colt mccoy is no vince young. so prepare yourself horn nation for mediocraty this year because while greg davis is no norm chow i AM nostradamos so with that i will leave you with a quatrain.

    chiles arrived too late, the act has been done,
    the wind against them, footballs intercepted on their way;
    the conspirators were eleven of a party:
    by stoops shall these enterprises be undertaken.

    au revoir à vous tout

  38. Salt Lake Aggie said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 12:21 pm

    Tremendous read. I cry for the state of football in the land of chicken fried steaks and shiner bock. Pedestrian player development is running rampart at PUF facilities.

  39. The_Other_Diehard said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 12:55 pm

    Two years removed from the promise land and every self proclaimed football expert in the state wants to burn the house down and start from scratch….. There is definitely cause for concern however. Mack Brown is great at his job, which is providing his assistant coaches with the best talent in the region. Being the most infrequently assembled words in sports, I will reiterate that Mack Brown is great at his job. That being said, he is responsible for the revolving door of DC’s that has promptly made it around to bite us in the ass. Our defensive preperation from the press box to the field was horrific. Okam, Jones, and Beasely, (yes Beasely) were the only shining lights in a nicely renovated DKR (its going to be awesome when its done). On the other side of the ball, Greg Davis isn’t the retard at the bus stop that everyone says he is, but he’s also not as good as the Longhorns deserve. Keep an eye out for Major Applewhite with the new and improved Crimson Tide. His talent and relationship with Mack could be enough to put Davis on social security, which looks ironically as shaky as our offensive line.

  40. BigSatan said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 1:09 pm

    Everyone with half a brain was crying for Davis’ head BEFORE Vince Young took the reins. This is a consistent issue, both in regards to coaching strategy as well as coaching retention. Why would major come here? He grew up an Alabama fan, he might very well be happier coaching there for Saban than here at UT. You never know.

  41. NBMisha said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 2:24 pm

    In so many ways, this thread is a bad-dream like reminder of those pre VY days. Same shit on the field and on the sidelines, same characters with the same truthful diagnosis.

    Back to glass half empty here. I also was at 9-3 before but now see 7-5 or 8-4. And hear the laughing.

  42. Harold Eavenson said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 2:32 pm

    I agree with you totally on Greg Davis. It seems that a significant amount of people who have watched and studied football some for 40+ years can see what Mack and Davis cannot. The offensive scheme we are trying to run will not work. It is as plain as lye soap. It is totally predictable. The linebackers completely disregard the running threat of the QB. They are running down hill licking their chops just before they crush Jamal who in some instances is still standing still. We threw to our tight end over the middle one time against Arkansas State. I watched the post game interview and Mack and Greg wanted to talk about how good our running game looked. Who do they think they are kidding. Greg Davis is a mediocre OC and has been exposed again for what he is just like pre Vince Young. The person responsible for fixing this problem is Mack Brown. Why is he blindly loyal to Greg Davis to the detriment of the team? We won a NC because of maybe the most incredible athlete to ever play college football. It certainly did not have anything to do with Greg Davis. This could be a very long and frustrating year. OU, Nebraska, A&M, Texas Tech and yes even OSU and KSU have to be licking their chops. I am not at all sure we can beat TCU.

  43. Texoz said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 2:47 pm

    Nothing wrong with our offense that a Canadian football field couldn’t fix.

  44. Darrell Royal said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 3:21 pm

    You are dead on in your analysis of the game. Until Mack learns that his team need to do more than sho up, he will have problems. Someone(Mack, or the Coordinators) needs to earn their fat paychecks, look at the film and actually develop a game plan. The team cannot succeed on reputation.

  45. Macanudo said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 3:50 pm

    “The team cannot succeed on reputation.”

    Sure they can. It’s just that the reputation is from 1998-2003.

  46. Devil's River said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 6:57 pm

    We have had three different Defensive coordinators and the D has still made the same mistakes. Our linebackers have been out of position, we rank near the bottom in pass defense, and trick plays (and even just slightly deceptive plays) seem to work against us better than against anybody else (four halfback passes for touchdowns). If all these different coordinators have failed, when is it logical to blame Mack himself for not coming up with a defense. We already know we’re stuck with Davis on offense so it looks like we’re screwed.

  47. LittleVic said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 7:11 pm

    Great stuff.

    I’m no football genius, I could use to know,

    “What would you propose they do to fix it”?

    I’m not trying to patronize. I’m really curious.

    I don’t know much about x’s and o’s… I can visualize everything you wrote about and in most cases, I was already picturing the very things you described. However, where was the breakdown do we have the talent on the 2 deep to fix it?

    I could tell that our linebacking coverage was abysmal and they were almost never in position to prevent the screen but, what were the defense doing so incorrectly that made them so vulnerable.

    Thanks for making it make some sense. Now though, if you could climb into Coach Brown and take over his brain, what would you do first and fast, in the way of potential fixes? Please share.

    I’ve yet to hear anybody really sum that part of it up.

  48. LittleVic said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 7:13 pm

    Excuse my pathetic post… some day I’ll learn how to edit before clicking “submit”.

  49. exuLt said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 7:52 pm

    Assclowns are yukking it up with the little sportsfan mutt, VY is busting the moon skying cow, and the emperor has no clothes.

  50. mjrod said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:00 pm

    Sorry about the poor performance, but you could be Michigan. You’ll definitely lose to KSU and Josh Freeman. Josh has a cannon and I like to watch him sling it around.

  51. hornboy said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:09 pm

    if i were mack brown (with balls), i would change the coaching staff. i’d reduce my salary and make sure i get the best damn offensive and defensive co-ordinators money can buy…cause i know i cant coach worth a damn, i’m a recruiter and motivator.

    macduff? i dont know where they dug that guy up. and maybe there was a reason akina was never offered a big time position despite his succeses. and GD…seems like a great coach (based on comments), but horrible co-ordinator. seems to be the case with akina too. we’re texas and we should be able to pull in the best (meaning they can develop talent and call plays – not just one or the other).

  52. MrWyatt said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:16 pm

    Yeah I ran into Josh at Jack-in-the-Box tonight. He told me that his homeless cousin sometimes likes to log-on at the public library to plead Josh’s case to a bunch of Longhorn fans.

  53. SizzleChest said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:24 pm

    Let’s see if this works. No edit function. If not go over to EDSBS.

  54. SizzleChest said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:24 pm

    Nope.

  55. SizzleChest said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:25 pm

    copy ‘n paste or click if you’re special.

    Flickr Pickr

  56. ChrisApplewhite said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:31 pm

    I love the internet.

  57. Utfan said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:34 pm

    Nice to see find a website where folks can truly voice their opinions. I pray daily that Mack Brown come to his senses and do something about Greg Davis. Anything as long as it doesn’t involve coaching my beloved Longhorns.

    Hook’em

  58. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 9:52 pm

    SizzleChest, I don’t know if you saw it, but the the best Michigan blog out there – http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/ – saw a true and terrifying representation of madness and despair on Saturday and Sunday.

    Their entire content was temporarily subsumed into a pink background scheme and pictures of kittens. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a vivid expression of psychic breakdown on a blog before, outside of The Huffington Post, of course.

    It made me shudder to think how our various Horn blogs would have fared with a loss to Arkie State.

    I think it’s safe to say that clicking on HornFans in such an event would have caused our monitors to flash a ghostly image of Samara crawling out of the well and then … well, you know.

  59. Utfan said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 10:11 pm

    If ArkieSt. beat us, HornFans would’ve been shut til we win another game. And then only the sunshine pumpers can post. Boy, I really hope last weekend was just a fluke.

    Hook’em

  60. ChrisApplewhite said:

    September 4th, 2007 at 10:32 pm

    It was a fluke, but it’s not like we’re hiding our 2005 team anywhere. We’re better than we showed but who knows how good we’ll perform when we need to?

  61. Levander Williams said:

    September 5th, 2007 at 6:50 am

    Good to see the old names around here and a forum for critical discussion.

    Any shred of doubt that I had that Mack & Greg had seen the light after 2005 is gone now. It’s the same host of problems that we’ve always had (except when guys named Ricky or Vince didn’t play in our backfield). It reminds me of 1999 and 2003, though for different reasons.

    We’re not alone – even Greg’s hometown (or the nearest equivalent) newspaper is banging on him for his inability to structure a running game with any identity.

    Fishwrap

    If we lose to TCU this weekend, which I believe is a real possibility, things will get really ugly in a hurry. Mack will revert to siege mentality in an effort to protect his guys, and I think we’ll see a major rift form up between the program and those elements of the fan base who demand accountability and change.

  62. BigSatan said:

    September 5th, 2007 at 8:58 am

    Is Texas one of the 5 worst-coached programs in Division I-A? I’m tempted to say Yes.

  63. Lowery said:

    September 5th, 2007 at 8:58 am

    Welcome to 2003.

  64. Utfan said:

    September 5th, 2007 at 9:23 am

    We’re dooooommmeed! Wait, thats not so funny or sarcastic anymore. I really miss VY.

    We got the talent to beat TCU handily and it can be done. Somebody just needs to step up and take charge. Here is hoping the coaches step up as well.

    Hook’em

  65. Back on the Hotseat said:

    September 5th, 2007 at 9:32 am

    Mack is a loss to TCU and an asswhipping from OU away from being in the EXACT same position he was in before 2004.

    I personally don’t think he could handle that level of heat again.

    The interesting question is whether those losses would be GOOD for the program in the long term.

  66. BigSatan said:

    September 5th, 2007 at 9:40 am

    Lets say Mack can’t take that kind of heat for long, and moves onto AD…sooner rather than later. Does his softness then become a detriment in filling his former position with a good replacement? Gary Barnett finally comes to UT.

  67. SMcIlhon said:

    September 6th, 2007 at 10:27 am

    Prediction: Colt either a)sucks it up or b) gets injured. Chiles will be playing full-time at some point this season before it is all over.

  68. turk 182 said:

    September 6th, 2007 at 10:28 am

    –officials admit to blowing call on onside kick.

    Link

    wow.

  69. AugieSpiers said:

    September 6th, 2007 at 9:15 pm

    Good thing we have diehard here to tell us that every athletic black QB is another VY. Next he will instruct us on how to pick up girls without getting his friends bombarded by said girls asking them to tell him to go away.

    That said, I agree with his premise to the extent that, with Davis at OC, we need the implicit second threat that great mobility provides. We also need to accept that certain plays will always be drawn up for certain players and no one else. So if a little-used player enters who, say, runs reverses or somesuch, you can call the play from the stands. Tony Jeffrey anyone?

    Colt is good and his head-scratchers can be chalked up to youth and injuries. But can GD win with the guy? I am beginning to question.

    I am proud to admit I skipped this game. I guarantee I had more fun than everyone who didn’t. Haha, suckers!

  70. Bobby said:

    September 7th, 2007 at 5:52 am

    Fear and loathing in Austin.

  71. il Cattivo said:

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:14 am

    Bang. Dead on. I envy individuals that so easily put into words, the rage that boils within me with no articulate means of escape.

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  • D W commented on the blog post March Madness open thread   1 hour, 16 minutes ago

    Now Baylor talking trash to the #14 seed players. Seriously?

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   1 hour, 19 minutes ago

    If Sam Houston State wins then Rick Barnes will have trick-fucked me in a completely unexpected way. I figured if Baylor beat us like a drum three time then should be able to ease past Sam Houston State. I did not know about the Rec Specs.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • gingerballs commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One   1 hour, 22 minutes ago

    Sam Houston attempting to one up Murray St.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • gingerballs commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One   1 hour, 24 minutes ago

    WOW, way to shit the bed Stallings….again

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Triston27 commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One   1 hour, 26 minutes ago

    Wow. Fortunately I had Vandy losing Saturday anyway.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • gingerballs commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One   1 hour, 31 minutes ago

    Murray….present!

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • CloseToJumping commented on the blog post March Madness open thread   1 hour, 38 minutes ago

    If Baylor fails, my grand scheme of Purdue playing for it all will immediately begin to take shape.

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Beat the Barkers NCAA Tourney Bracket   1 hour, 42 minutes ago

    Freaking BYU.

    Otherwise, I’m 2-1.

  • CloseToJumping commented on the blog post Beat the Barkers NCAA Tourney Bracket   1 hour, 49 minutes ago

    Yeah, that Purdue pick was awesome. It seems like I heard something about them having injuries, but it slipped my mind when making picks. I’ve literally not seen them play for one second this season. Not a highlight, nothing. Good work.

    1-2 to start things off, I think it’s clear I’m going to own this thing.

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 27 minutes ago

    Man, Sam Houston State is playing Baylor perfectly. Rec Specs is running the paint. And I always love teams with short guys who jack threes.

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  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 40 minutes ago

    And they have a dude with rec specs.

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  • Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 40 minutes ago

    Sam Houston State with a triangle and two to stifle Baylor. I’m going to vomit

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 40 minutes ago

    Sam Houston State is like Tom Penders’ wet dream.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Art Vandelay commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 42 minutes ago

    MMOD is beating me down with the Ivan brothers.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness open thread   2 hours, 42 minutes ago

    ND proved that the old tried and true, anti-Duke theory about how teams that rely on unathletic white dudes who have to get to the foul line and/or make a alot of really ugly right-handed layups never win in the tourney.

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness open thread   2 hours, 43 minutes ago

    Man, I can’t believe that Florida game. Their team actually appears to be DUMBER than ours.

  • Vasherized commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 45 minutes ago

    We need to send our guys to Baylor’s School of Hard Dunks.

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  • Triston27 commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One   2 hours, 48 minutes ago

    Dollar $igns!

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Art Vandelay commented on the blog post March Madness open thread   2 hours, 51 minutes ago

    Great start to the tourney. Two OT games and a one point ND loss.

    Yeah – a bunch of half ass bowl games is a much better idea.

  • uthookem commented on the blog post March Madness open thread   2 hours, 51 minutes ago

    I think Sam Houston has taken more charges in the first ten minutes than Texas took all season.

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 53 minutes ago

    Morris goes down.

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  • Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 57 minutes ago

    Big 3 by morris down 1 with 8 seconds

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  • Vasherized commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 57 minutes ago

    Dude hit the easy layup.

    /facepalm

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  • Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 58 minutes ago

    Morris down 3 with 29

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  • Vasherized commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   2 hours, 59 minutes ago

    UDOH SWAT GAME ON!

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  • Triston27 commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One   3 hours ago

    1-point game with just 30 seconds left

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  • Triston27 commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One   3 hours ago

    1-point game with just 3 seconds left

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  • Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   3 hours, 1 minute ago

    Morris down one even after getting hosed on a jump ball call. 35 to go

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   3 hours, 5 minutes ago

    Morris down six with a minute left. They’re done.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread   3 hours, 6 minutes ago

    Baylor looks like a final four team

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