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Texas Football: The Kansas State Post-Mortem
Posted by Scipio Tex on October 1st, 2007 under Uncategorized
First, congratulations to Ron Prince and Kansas State. He watched film and he’s thoroughly competent. We were thoroughly seal-clubbed in every phase of the game. He ran the gameplan that every team we’ll play will be running for the rest of the year if their coach boasts an IQ north of 85. The only thing that will change is the level of opposing athlete executing the plan and the reliable bell curve of statistical variation.
From my KSU preview:
Special teams continue to be a Kansas State strength, particularly in the punt game. The punter averages 44.6 per kick, the FG kicker is 6 for 6 on the year and the punt return team averages an excellent 23.6 per return while allowing only 9.9. Kickoffs are net wash for them. This should be an area of focus and interest for us as it’s clear that Kansas St has the ability to manufacture points and give your offense a long field. This might be the most neglected area for analysis in this matchup; it’s worth noting – so note it
Wildcat special teams play was the most crucial aspect of the game. The kick off return TD put them up 21-14 after we’d tied the game with a 8 play, 84 yard TD drive. We’d swung momentum to our side and brought the crowd back into the game. Then Boom Goes The Dynamite. James Johnson did a fine job, but the two key elements that created the score had nothing to do with him. For one, he caught it at the 15 yard line on a line drive. Two, Kansas St had set up a hash return which our guys played with no lane discipline at all – we were scouted and that set-up was by design. The second backbreaker was Jordy Nelson’s 89 yard punt return which staked them a 34-21 lead. Our effort there was…fascinating. The way our offense was playing, this was effectively ballgame.
Less dramatic, but still impactful: the K-State punter averaged 46.4 per kick; we averaged 35.0 per kick – losing a net 11 yards each time we exhanged punts.
another piece from my preview:
Texas best manifests a downfield passing game when other teams bring the house. But drop everyone back and we’ll explore the directions of east and west in our passing game. We become manageable. The game will get uncomfortably tight and could allow a special teams play to swing it.
A little more soothsaying there. Kansas St didn’t blitz us much at all and we went East/West early. Every meaningful play we made was off of a broken play. Ponder that. We run an offense in which our best chance at a positive play is midwifed by the failure of our designed play. On the vast majority of our plays, they brought four, played two deep at all times, and had linebacker drops that featured backpedaling that would do justice to a senator from Idaho. They brought pressure without blindly bringing bodies. When they did bring a LB, he often came on a delay. You see that on the play when Charlie Tanner doubles the nose with Dallas Griffin, forgetting to check the LB after he initially doesn’t show blitz, which he then does, giving Colt a handy concussion.
The Kansas St defensive gameplan was fairly simple and devastatingly effective: concede a short reception, tackle well, ignore our running game, puts hits on Colt, pass rushers stress push with hands up rather than penetration, put us in third and long. They did all of those things. Get used to it. Their pass rushers made a concerted effort to get a little push and then settle, putting their hands up while reading the QB’s eyes. It was beach volleyball. People blame Colt for batted balls just as they blamed Chris Simms – at some point the ignorant need to understand that five yard routes don’t create an arc on the ball, and, further, reasonable scouting tells you the preferred vector and timing for 75% of our pass plays. Go to a likely spot, put your hands up, and wait. It’s not as if any our OL have the nastiness required to punch an extended defender in his exposed liver. Kasey Studdard is long gone. And God forbid we throw down the field, put in a half roll, or bootleg. Batting a pass is the DL equivalent of a DB jumping a route – when you know where the ball will go, it’s a simple game of geometry and anticipation.
Yes, we do hate Pythagoras
KSU did several clever things on offense, primarily to limit risk and place the onus for playmaking on our least capable players. Well, Prince was not that clever really, but I’ve been watching Texas coaching for so long that if an opposing coach doesn’t masturbate himself on his laminated playcards, I regard him as some kind of John Nash polymath. In a game of simple equations, Prince wanted to play 6 on our best 4, 5 on our worst 7. On special teams, a well-coached 11 vs a Longhorn rabble of 11.
How to get 6 on 4? The Wildcats played a majority of their downs from the two TE set. Their TE’s are mediocrities, by the way, but that’s besides the point. What they allowed Prince to do was play a man and half to our one. It also protected his weak OTs. This effectively negated our defensive strength – our DL had no impact on the game because they couldn’t. Both ends are chipped by TEs (if not outright doubled) on pass plays and the interior DL is 3 on 2 with Freeman taking a short drop and quick release. We’re not getting there. Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor will not get there. Akina’s initial solution was to play off the KSU WRs while blitzing their max protect. Yes, Akina. That’s what you do when a team chooses to put only two men into a route. You blitz them and play off of their WRs. Akina, when frustrated, blitzes dumbly and blindly, disguising it as well as John Holmes’ cock wearing Grouch Marx glasses. 7-0 KSU with Freeman 5 of 5 on the opening drive. Brilliant. We can hire any defensive coordinator in college football and half of the NFL and we settle for a comfort hire.
Blitzing incognito
On running plays, playside DL were doubled. Our LBs were ignored. KSU OL went to the next level as an afterthought. Why worry about the 2nd level when the opposing team is going to run blitz the MLB out of the play, the playside LB is going to misdiagnose (and can be juked in the open field when he has the drop on a 6′6″ 250 pound QB) and the backside LB runs a 4.8 and probably won’t make it? When we played our youngsters it was a different story, but same book, different chapter there.
I was thinking later, you could kiss me on the veranda….Umm..the lips would be fine
Once we decided to match our secondary coverages to our fronts, we tightened up. Prince shrugged. He already understood that he was going to win the game. Running the KSU offense was simply a matter of not turning the ball over and getting off a good punt while their special teams and defense anally fist us and give them back the ball with a short field. He clearly picked up some tricks from Tommy Tuberville during the Auburn game. People who laud our defensive performance in this game are in for some rude awakenings down the road when teams start playing not to punt.
Aside from the usual culprits and suspects, I found a few images telling.
Mack Brown runs off of the field at halftime. We’re down 24-14 and he looks completely bewildered. He stresses that the difference in the game is “only three plays” or “we’d have the lead.” The subtext is: we just caught some bad breaks. I turn to the friend watching the game with me and say,”Game over.”
Schrödinger’s Cat is no match for Mack Brown Cat
When Colt McCoy was planted like a rose bush by the KSU LB and received his concussion, he was on his knees in distress, clearly in real pain. His entire offense ran off of the field, not a single player checking his condition, offering a hand, or expressing a “Hey, you OK, man?” You see a couple glance back as they jog off, suggesting a reaction of “Hmm, Colt down. Hey, look – water bottle!” If you played contact team sports of any kind, sirens should be going off right now.
Colt down. Ho hum.
In the 4th quarter, game well in hand, I saw Ron Prince chewing Freeman’s ass. Freeman made a dumb throw missing an open man in the flat and Prince was telling him about it. In some areas, that’s known as coaching. A standard of play is enforced irrespective of the score. A concept totally unknown to us.
The upshot of all of this is that Mack Brown continued to play Colt despite his injury history and the fact that he walked off of the field like a mariner on shore leave after six weeks at sea. Later, we learn that he was only removed when he began puking uncontrollably in the 4th quarter. And we add yet another concussion to his tally.
This staff is lost. And I’m not just talking about football.
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Activity
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 2 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 minutes ago
Sam Houston State with a triangle and two to stifle Baylor. I’m going to vomit
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 2 minutes ago
Sam Houston State is like Tom Penders’ wet dream.
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Art Vandelay commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 4 minutes ago
MMOD is beating me down with the Ivan brothers.
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness open thread 4 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.
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post March Madness open thread 5 minutes ago
Man, I can’t believe that Florida game. Their team actually appears to be DUMBER than ours.
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Vasherized commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 7 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 10 minutes ago
Dollar $igns!
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Art Vandelay commented on the blog post March Madness open thread 13 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.
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uthookem commented on the blog post March Madness open thread 14 minutes ago
I think Sam Houston has taken more charges in the first ten minutes than Texas took all season.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 16 minutes ago
Morris goes down.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 19 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 19 minutes ago
Dude hit the easy layup.
/facepalm
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Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 21 minutes ago
Morris down 3 with 29
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Vasherized commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 21 minutes ago
UDOH SWAT GAME ON!
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Triston27 commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One 22 minutes ago
1-point game with just 30 seconds left
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Triston27 commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One 22 minutes ago
1-point game with just 3 seconds left
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Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 23 minutes ago
Morris down one even after getting hosed on a jump ball call. 35 to go
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Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 27 minutes ago
Morris down six with a minute left. They’re done.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 28 minutes ago
Baylor looks like a final four team
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gingerballs commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One 32 minutes ago
Fredette is kind of a big deal
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gingerballs commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One 39 minutes ago
And now Rob Morris vs. Nova to OT….wowzers
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gingerballs commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One 43 minutes ago
Channeling Hampton….come on Bob Morris
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Ag_in_TX commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 44 minutes ago
Could y’all keep me updated on the Nova game? CBS sucks.
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Vasherized commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 51 minutes ago
Boynton thought he had Lebron in the paint to throw down the reverse alley-oop from six feet out.
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gingerballs commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One 51 minutes ago
Double OT for UF vs BYU!!!! Madness
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gingerballs commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One 1 hour, 3 minutes ago
‘Nova going down would fuck my bracket raw….
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Ag_in_TX commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 1 hour, 3 minutes ago
South region is clearing up nicely for A&M.
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gingerballs commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day One 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
Those are cute emoticons hiphop…wordpress automatically makes a smiley face for 8s followed by a ). Some great games early on…the iphone app is paying dividends already at work.
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Vasherized commented on the blog post March Madness Open thread 1 hour, 10 minutes ago
Time to celebrate with a 40 of Old English.
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bighornfan32 said:
October 1st, 2007 at 8:20 pm
God Help Us.
Uttuck said:
October 1st, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Ummm… can we pay you the 25k we now pay for internet monitering to tell the coaches what you put on the internet? It is like monitering, but also with football acumen. I’d put my 2 cents in,
hook’em
Mack Tripper said:
October 1st, 2007 at 8:43 pm
For the love of Reed Boyd, make it stop.
Woody Bombay said:
October 1st, 2007 at 8:46 pm
I can’t wait for you to completely nail how OU is going to lubricate their cocks with our tears before the reaming.
CrazyJoeDavola said:
October 1st, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Our team has the AI of a late-’90s first-person shooter. Our defense especially looks like the zombified soldiers in Doom.
Crown & Coke said:
October 1st, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Insightful read as always…sad and oh so painfully true.
Utfan said:
October 1st, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Great stuff. Please send this to somebody with power.
Hook’em
Traffic said:
October 1st, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Are you trying to get somebody fired?
Macanudo said:
October 1st, 2007 at 10:46 pm
“Please send this to somebody with power.”
Unfortunately, anyone working for Texas is too stupid to understand it.
mileslong said:
October 1st, 2007 at 11:54 pm
my father in law, who is a physicist who worked on the cruise missile project once gave me a copy of a book on schrodinger’s cat for a christmas present. he then began explaining that if you punched a pin hole in the side of a box and shown light through it it would make two light holes on the inside of the box thus demonstrating the possibility of a parallel universe or something like that. all i wanted was another freakin’ piece of turkey and i got quantum physics instead.
all i know is that if there is a parallel universe, i want to go into it and impersonate my “parallel” self, which i understand wears a black patch over one eye and sports a goatee, and hunt down greg davis’ parents and make sure they never meet…
Gooba said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:48 am
“In a game of simple equations, Prince wanted to play 6 on our best 4, 5 on our worst 7.”
I was thinking the same thing when they ran their WR screens. Negate our DL by letting them through the gate, then see if our undersized DB’s and undertough LB’s can fight through the blocks and/or know where to go.
Gooba said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:52 am
Also, very interesting that one can only get valuable, penetrating analysis from amateurs that have no access to the team. The pros that do have access generate only the coachspeak dressed up with journalistic cliche. TGFTI – thank goodness for the internet.
Lowery said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:03 am
Damn, mileslong beat me to it.
TaylorTRoom said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 5:01 am
We’ve seen this before, you know. Pockets of talent mixed with high-rep mediocrity, players out of position, divisive cliques, off-field issues, coaching schemes that can’t match tactics to strategy, bizarre decisions.
The 2007 Longhorns are the rebirth of the John Blake Sooners.
bartoncreek said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 5:08 am
“It’s Groucho Marx dumbass. I told you he doesn’t know nothing about football.” Hornfans Poster.
Why do I feel like that seal in the picture when I watch this team play? It is just like that, in fact. The guy is standing over me with the club, but he is frozen. I have to keep watching, but I really just want the club to come down on my head and make it all go away.
Who is the Solution said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:26 am
Only the Youth in Asia can salvage this program
utstudboy said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:08 am
Good stuff
TLR said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:16 am
you say KSU didn’t blitz much at all but then you say they brought 4 on most plays. you know they play a 3-4 right? how exactly do you think they rush 4 on most plays and not blitz on most plays? maybe you’re not as smart as you think.
Gus McCrea said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:21 am
I wish I could argue against it but I can’t. Now, I am even more depresssed.
BrickHorn said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:22 am
“When they did bring a LB, he often came on a delay.”
rpongett sez: “You’re not a linebackers coach, so you can’t possibly hope to know whether the Kansas State linebackers were coming on a delay or just really slow.”
BigSatan said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:45 am
“you say KSU didn’t blitz much at all but then you say they brought 4 on most plays. you know they play a 3-4 right? how exactly do you think they rush 4 on most plays and not blitz on most plays? maybe you’re not as smart as you think.”
Torbush.
kevwun said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:57 am
You should read up on the 3-4. There are still 4 pass rushers on just about every play. They just don’t always come from the same spot. It’s not a blitz unless the defense sends more pass rushers than the offensive line can account for.
Utfan said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:11 am
As far as getting somebody fired, I’m all for it if it benefits the program in the long run. If the current coaches and staff are lost, somebody needs to show them the light so they can figure things out and fast.
I really don’t like what I’m seeing on and off the field lately and a shakeup might be in order. This writeup seem so insightful and many caring fans and alums like myself agree with this observation so I hope somebody with power can do something about it. As always, I’ll support the individual kids who are trying their best to be the best student athletes. I can’t go to the games as much as I want since moving up to Montana but the athletic dept. has never had any problem cashing my check. I just want things to be better.
Hook’em
Macanudo said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:14 am
I think TLR coaches for UT.
kevwun said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:20 am
Mack Brown on a mobile: “We didn’t know you were allowed to blitz in bowl games.”
crash_davis said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:22 am
TLR, is that you Greg Davis?
McLovin said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:32 am
TLR taught Greg Davis everything he knows about opposing defenses.
“Washington State is blitzing? WTF? They never did that in the tapes!”
Uncle Rico said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:45 am
TLR, I’m surprised you quit clapping to make that post.
The Clapper said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:53 am
four claps for the analysis
tropheus said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 am
this morning, my son flashed the hook ‘em sign (both hands) and said “go horns!” I smiled, then wondered if I was training him to accept mediocrity.
ouch.
utstudboy said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:06 am
Good analysis.
Time for me to go. I have to go play with my doppleganger.
Brushpile Bill said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Gooba,
For an extra $1,200 per year you can get an email update from the coach each week…….
flozmojo said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
this is too depressing. sadly we may not see a change for a long time. looks like another long run of ou wins over texas, and us losing one or two other games a year we shouldn’t.
Bill Walker said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:41 pm
I think that we will lose at least 4 games this year, and that we have 3 more years of this to look forward to until MB resigns. MB is a good person , but he is not willing to make the changes required for the team to get better. That is selfishness defined!
Musburger said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Thank you. That was great.
Gifford said:
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Scipio,
Very entertaining commentary. I’m not a Longhorn fan, but I read all of the “State of the Union” pieces that were posted on this site and now I have somehow slipped into following the travails of Texas football. You make your points so well that it is hard to disagree, but man, to hear you guys tell it, Texas is worse off than Duke. Are things really that awful bad? Also, I noticed that you modified HuskerH8ter’s instant analysis of the USC-Nebraska game. Was that your inspiration? It’s funny either way.
DizzG (Sii) said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:42 am
Scipio doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about.
Mack Brown is awesome (definitely one of the top 3 coaches in the country) and these problems are all temporary until the youth matures.
We won the MNC two years ago and people are criticizing the coach? LOL. It is just dumb.
ChrisApplewhite said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:58 am
No offense Dizz, but until you take even on negative stance on a Longhorn related issue, nobody is going to take you seriously.
We have problems, and nobody wants to hear a pumper right now.
DizzG (Sii) said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:16 am
Why should I take a negative stance?
If Colt didn’t get hurt against K. State, we are playing Ohio State for another national title w/o Vince.
We are just young on the OL and we will be fine once those guys get a bit more experience. I expect the team to rebound in a big way on Saturday. We won’t give up big returns again and the defense actually looked pretty good against K. State after the first drive.
The Big 12 is still very much up for grabs.
HenryJames said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:51 am
That’s not DizzG, but it is a good impersonation.
BigSatan said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:56 am
“Scipio doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about.”
-Yes. That is exactly the first thing that came to my mind after reading his breakdown. He’s obviously writing these posts between breaks between finger painting and stealing HenryJames’ Barbies.
“We are just young on the OL and we will be fine once those guys get a bit more experience. I expect the team to rebound in a big way on Saturday. We won’t give up big returns again and the defense actually looked pretty good against K. State after the first drive.”
-Clearly you missed the paragraph discussing teams that will be playing not to punt. Go back to Hornfans, where your myopia is supported by posting guidelines.
de1916 said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:19 am
DizzG,
Even with Colt McCoy, Texas still loses to KSU last year. Go back and watch that game again. This time, pull your head out. Texas put up 43 points. You CAN NOT blame that loss on the offense or on losing Colt McCoy. If you score 43 points, you should win the game, period. Unfortunately, KSU scored 45 points. Oops. The KSU loss was a defensive meltdown. Now, against the crew-cut, crotch-grabbing cadets, that loss was on the offense.
“We won’t give up big returns again”
What an astonishing insight. And you know this how?
“Why should I take a negative stance?”
Because the entire nation expected UT to lose a game like this. Apparently, you watched the first 4 games thinking: “I don’t care how we win, just win baby!”
“I expect the team to rebound in a big way on Saturday.”
Why? Colorado beat OU with a combination of good gameplanning, OU mistakes, and a ball control offense. Texas traditionally doesn’t have the first of those, they’re not guaranteed to get the second, and they certainly don’t have the last.
SizzleChest said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:47 am
I guess people WANT to believe it’s Dizz.
MrWyatt said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:47 am
I love the people who are predicting a big rebound win on Saturday. As if there is even a scintilla of evidence to suggest that will happen.
Henry James' Barbies said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 7:27 am
There is no evidence to support it (a big rebound win) but that never stops people like the Democratic party from claiming that there was massive vote fraud and that they really won the Presidency.
It might happen but I don’t beleive so. The main reason is that I have watched all the games and see nothing that shows we are a good team or a good coaching staff.
Utfan said:
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:43 am
DizzG,
I’m anticipating a massacre on Saturday and I can just hope to be wrong. The way we’ve played this season doesn’t show much hope. We’ve got lots of problem with this team. We got to admit theres a problem so it can be fixed. That’s all.
Hook’em
goosehorn said:
October 4th, 2007 at 12:23 am
The two back-up linemen we lost this summer hurt us more that anything that else this past offseason. No depth = starters playing too many snaps = colt being pressured = everything being bad.