Football Articles
Belated Arkansas thoughts
Posted by HenryJames on September 29th, 2008 under Football
The advantage of this blog is that you get viewpoints from multiple contributors of various backgrounds. Backgrounds like white, really white and ‘makes the dude from Powder look like Wesley Snipes.’ The disadvantage is that we see a lot of things the same. The last guy who posts usually isn’t breaking any new ground. So pretend this is the first time you’ve heard this shit.
We’ve found a nice consistency thus far. Last year we struggled with the likes of Arkansas State and Central Florida. This year, we’re putting opponents away midway through the second quarter. It’s not a gauntlet we’re running, but we’re doing what good teams do against poor competition. Beating the living shit out of them.
Colt McCoy is playing as well as any player in the country. He understands the offense and what he’s asked to do in it. The problem is that he’s being asked to do too much. If he plays poorly, our offense has no chance whatsoever.
John Chiles is hesitant in the running game and collapses at first contact. Not good.
Our running game is still a mess. Cody Johnson is getting a lot of fans excited, but he doesn’t have any burst so good defenses are going to get him wrapped up before he can get a head of steam going. But we’re expecting a 6’0” 255 pounder to run the same plays as a 5’9” 195 pound player. It’s crazy, but we’ve seen enough of it that we just accept it. And I’ve no clue why we pulled Jeremy Hills’ redshirt. Because we need someone to hand the ball to in garbage time?
Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby are great at what they are asked to do. What they are asked to do is catch a lot of short stuff against man defense while finding soft spots against zone. Malcolm Williams is gone, replaced by Brandon Collins and James Kirkendoll. That may be a good thing because they’re better suited for what we are doing well right now.
We’re back to pretty much every offensive line we’re had under Mack Brown. They look great pass blocking, but they’re soft in the running game.
Our defensive line is fantastic. The ends as a group are maybe the best we’ve had since the Akers years. I wish we perhaps had one more defensive tackle, but we have two very good ones. Brian Orakpo is now understanding the importance of leverage in rushing the passer. Mark a spot in the backfield, and beat the tackle to it. Use your bench press to keep the blocker from getting his hands on you rather than trying to bull rush him.
This is a hustling defense. Watch Henry Melton’s sack and forced fumble against Arkansas. He was after the ball, not the quarterback. Once the ball was out, he tossed the QB away and went after the football along with what looked like half a dozen other guys. Sergio Kindle and Eddie Jones each make at least one play a game based on hustle alone.
At times it looks like we don’t teach our corners to turn and look for the ball. We should if we’re going to start playing more man. We brought probably half a dozen blitzes using a defensive back against Arkansas. Will Muschamp is putting in more of his defense.
Now the conference starts. Boulder can be a tough place to play if we allow the Buffs to hang around. If we put them away early, that stadium will empty during the third quarter.
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Activity
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srr50 commented on the blog post March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux 9 minutes ago
Good to see that Tom Penders still believes in the weave offense. Maryland finally figured out that if you pass quickly, the middle is always open.
37-29 Maryland late in the first half.
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Luke wrote a new blog post: Previewing Jimmer and the Cougars 10 minutes ago
Kansas State is going to be under a lot of pressure tomorrow night in primetime at the Ford Center.
Not only are the Wildcats the favored #2 seed going against #7 seed BYU, but if the Wildcats lose, they may sentence hundreds of boys to nonstop harassment from all the kids who think that “Jimmer” was
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Ibas water bottle wrote a new blog post: Georgia Tech post mortem 22 minutes ago
We came up short.
Credit to Georgia Tech they worked the ball inside where they had the advantage and played great D on the perimeter. Matt Pilgrim is the most athletic big man we’ve had in years around here and he was irrelevant. When we tried to drive they collapsed like Chris Farley on a
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Phenomenal Smith commented on the blog post First Round: Clemson Tigers 58 minutes ago
Doc, the turnovers seemed to do the trick – there were great big chunks of time when Mizzou didn’t even have to get into a half court offense.
Great to see Ramsey have such a good game and pretty stifle Booker. As Euclid said during the game, even when Mizzou doesn’t play well
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dick commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 1 hour, 37 minutes ago
“Also because those other teams gave great effort almost every game. This team’s effort was questionable. Dumb and lazy, not a good combo…..”
This is what made this season so bizarre for me. This has never been a problem for Barnes’ teams. But I actually questioned this team’s heart and desire to play together
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srr50 commented on the blog post March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux 1 hour, 51 minutes ago
Travis Ford spent the 2nd half channeling his inner Rick Barnes — lot’s of standing around on offense while one player tries to generate something off a ball screen — then taking a forced shot.
So the Big 12 goes 5-2 in Round One.
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skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 1 hour, 56 minutes ago
This is the worst coached team ever in Barnes era. Period.
Worst defense over the whole season,
Offense sucked big time and the bench coaching was horrible, ransom’s attitude was better then the coach’s overall this season.
Trips write up pre and post better then the game plan and O schemes.
Hell we could have -
srr50 commented on the blog post March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux 1 hour, 59 minutes ago
advertisers think they will probably get some deals for the additional 32 games that would be added. The feeling is that an ESPN would disount rates somewhat, since they already have a dual revenue stream — advertising dollars and subscription fees.
It’s all about content for ESPN — even mediocre content.
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dick commented on the blog post FLV March Madness First Round Bets 2 hours, 1 minute ago
a great first round of the tournament from an excitement standpoint, very mediocre from a gambling standpoint.
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srr50 commented on the blog post March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux 2 hours, 17 minutes ago
Ga. Tech — last in the ACC in free throw shooting at 64% — 13 for 13 tonight.
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srr50 commented on the blog post March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux 2 hours, 26 minutes ago
A poll of media buyers from the major agencies overhwhelmingly showed that advertisers believe that the NCAA will expand, and the tournament will join the BCS on ESPN.
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whiskey wrote a new blog post: The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour 2 hours, 29 minutes ago
In the midst of March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day, house guests, nice weather outside and a host of other distractions I still managed to come across quite a few interesting college football stories this week. Here we go.
Mike Leach and Craig James were apparently in the same room this week and nobody wrestled. Bummer. Leach
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srr50 commented on the blog post March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux 2 hours, 41 minutes ago
Anderson finds out what going to the paint is like when there is a big who knows how to defend the low block.
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srr50 wrote a new blog post: March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux 2 hours, 50 minutes ago
So far on Day Two, no buzzer beaters, but there was the obligatory #12 over #5 with Cornell thumping Temple 78-65, but the Ivy League school was everyone’s “inside” pick for an upset. Still the day hasn’t come close to generating the action that Thursday had.
Today
#5 Texas A&M 69 #12 -
Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 3 hours, 15 minutes ago
I wasn’t trying to say they quit. They just didn’t play hard a lot of the time. Lazy = lack of effort. Example, our transition defense was about 75% effort and 25% stupidity. We loafed down court a lot. The kids didn’t like to lose so they would fight back,
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 4 hours, 48 minutes ago
This the most disappointing team because our talent level is higher than those others.
The DGib/Buckman team was the least talented, barely, after the injury to LaMarcus and Tucker’s suspension.
Last year’s team was the hardest to watch. Just watching AJ Abrams, who I don’t hate as much as most, run around like a
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uthookem commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 4 hours, 55 minutes ago
Agreed on Damo being my favorite Longhorn basketball player, I wish him all the best.
This was definitely the worst, by far.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest: Post Mortem 6 hours, 8 minutes ago
Don’t have time to address each and every comment now, but I wanted to say thanks to everyone for contributing to the site this season. It’s made it a lot of fun to follow a team that’s tough to watch at times.
Also, I wanted to thank you for the kind words as
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Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day Two 6 hours, 9 minutes ago
And that’s all she wrote…relatively boring day so far. A&M out to a nice early lead.
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Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest: Post Mortem 6 hours, 12 minutes ago
Trips,
Great work all year long. Love the passion. The fact that you kept writing these (even around the birth of a child), is fantastic, shows your commitment, and is a little freaky. :-)
I think you showed great restraint in this post. It would have been easier to “go off” on Barnes.
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 6 hours, 12 minutes ago
Second awesomest thing — Magnus gets his woman to go to Hooters with him.
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Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day Two 6 hours, 19 minutes ago
Missouri going to hang on…
Sconsin clinging to a 2 point cushion
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BrickHorn commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 6 hours, 33 minutes ago
Are there any women who are not skanks at any place on 1960?
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Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day Two 6 hours, 33 minutes ago
Make that a 1 point Wofford lead with 4+ to play…
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Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day Two 6 hours, 40 minutes ago
Pitt rolling Oakland.
Purdue holds on against Siena…I missed it in my bracket, but I’m actually happy for them.
Missouri pulling away from Clemson (68-60) with 7 to play…knew I should have never bet on Oliver Purnell, even if it was against this Missouri team.
Amazingly, game of the day so far might be Wisco/Wofford – 2
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 6 hours, 43 minutes ago
I ain’t talking about the girls Brick.
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BrickHorn commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 6 hours, 46 minutes ago
The girls don’t wear jorts at Hooters. They dress like Richard Simmons.
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 6 hours, 48 minutes ago
That, by the way, was the best thing that’s come out of this basketball season. Knowledge of Magnus’ intimate familiarity with the service and cut-off threshold at Hooter’s as compared to BWW3. Hooter’s — worse food at a higher price than a titty bar, served with jean shorts, cheaper beer, and more stretch
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Blake Stansbery commented on the blog post Arkansas Razorback Football Spring Practice Preview: Running Backs 7 hours, 13 minutes ago
Who thinks that one back could step up and be the go to this year?
I still think it is going to be a by committee approach, but someone could separate themselves this spring. You just never know.
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Nickel Rover wrote a new blog post: Barnes worst team 8 hours, 8 minutes ago
Basketball:
Texas lost to Wake Forest in the first round last night. Trips Right somehow found the inner strength to do a final post-mortem where he also prescribes a month of defensive drills for baby 2010-11 Texas basketball in order to foster its development into a team that can at least dribble towards the basket.
PeterBean was
8straight said:
September 29th, 2008 at 4:44 am
Add Sam Acho to that list of someone who seems to make plays. I’m not sure Collins and Kirkendoll will be any different that Malcolm. Malcolm is open more often than not. Colt, as a lot of QBs do, has his favorites and they get the ball.
You can’t give a 255 lb. back the ball standing still and expect him to be be successful. ‘Bama knows how to smack you in the mouth in the running game. I wish we could do like wise.
BrickHorn said:
September 29th, 2008 at 5:11 am
At times it looks like we don’t teach our corners to turn and look for the ball.
This.
RolloTamasi said:
September 29th, 2008 at 5:35 am
I’m not sure I accept that Cody Johnson can’t be successful running shotgun-plays. Just because we don’t see it that often, doesn’t mean it can’t work.
He gets behind his blockers quickly and finds the holes. I recall Javorskie Lane having some success running out of the shotgun the last few years. I don’t think he’s an every down back right now but I would love to soften teams up running him 10 times or so per game. People have complained about his rise to 255 lbs. but I suspect he put on weight because they were playing him at fullback until now. Hopefully he drops back down by 15 or more pounds.
In a related note, the Q package triple-option play I had been excited about in the preseason has been very unspectacular. I don’t think we practice it enough to execute it properly. You can’t bring out a play like the triple-option every now and then and expect big things. West Virginia and A&M would finely hone those plays to learn the reads.
Jeff said:
September 29th, 2008 at 6:52 am
The walkon Ford turns and looks for the ball. Maybe he learned that in high school.
Horncasting said:
September 29th, 2008 at 6:53 am
This is a hustling defense. Watch Henry HJ – Melton’s sack and forced fumble against Arkansas. He was after the ball, not the quarterback. Once the ball was out, he tossed the QB away and went after the football along with what looked like half a dozen other guys.
You know it is a hustling defense when Ben Alexander is beating guys to the loose ball along the sidelines.
dedfischer said:
September 29th, 2008 at 6:57 am
Texas issue this season is not necessarily your team, but more your schedule. If you think about it, your next 5 games are probably the toughest 5-game stretch in the history of college football. Combined record of 15-1 and the #1/#4/#7/#21 ranked teams ahead. Colorado is no slouch for being the only unranked team and that game’s in the always bizarre Boulder. I’m not sure there’s been many teams that would make it through that stretch unscathed. You’ll go 3-2, win out, and could still be one of the 5 best teams in the country.
Kafka said:
September 29th, 2008 at 7:10 am
I agree with everything that HJ said plus everything the posters ahead of me said (that is a first).
One thing nobody has mentioned is that the horns were in a pistol formation for at least one of cody’s runs. Reminder: pistol formation is a modified shotgun formation where the QB actually is positioned ahead of the running back. Been wondering when we would see the pistol formation. Good step forward by GD/Mack (no pun intended).
Henry Melton looked like he was made of flubber on that play, the way he instantly bounced off the ground. Amazingly quick for a big man.
I don’t know if Collins, Kirkendoll, and Buckner are ready for Big 12 hits. They are pretty slight. Malcolm is at least big and strong enough to take a big 12 hit and can also deliver a Big 12 block. With the loss of Irby, the horns desperately need some big, fast receivers who can go over the middle. Oh well.
Another advantage of cody is he makes it more difficult for the opposition DC to replace an LB with a safety (because Cody is so big and strong it is difficult for most safeties to tackle him). This makes it tougher for DCs to zone blitz the horns.
In defense of Chiles, he is getting coaching as a TB, a QB, and WR. that is a lot of coaching to absorb. He was already behind the curve because he had only 1 year experience as a starting QB in high school (and his father wasn’t a high school coach or ex QB).
My guess is that Chiles is not getting that much running back coaching and that Major may not be the ideal guy (because of lack of actual physical running back experience) to teach the mechanics of running.
Prediction: Chiles eventually sovles his problems running the ball and eventually turns into a serious threat as a runner. I don’t actually have any idea when this is going to happen.
Rollo: you are probably right about Cody’s weight gain but doesn’t it strike you as idiotic for the coaches to encourage a 225 pound back who can run a 4.4 40 to eat himself out of his quickness? Mack does not seem to understand the value that a big fast back brings to an offense.
8straight said:
September 29th, 2008 at 7:53 am
It is not if Cody can run in a certain offense. It is what offense he and Vondrell are best suited. Running side ways is not using either at their best.
Dude said:
September 29th, 2008 at 7:54 am
One glaring negative:
We still have trouble defending screens. Granted the long screen Ark ran was into the teeth of the blitz. Every team remaining on our schedule screens well except maybe baylor and A&M.
RolloTamasi said:
September 29th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Kafka: I was mostly just speculating to the reason for his weight gain and you don’t need a FB to run a 4.4 (although it doesn’t hurt anything).
8straight: Cody doesn’t run sideways very often. He cuts up field behind blockers as quickly as he can and he can do that in the zone play and the other plays out of the shotgun. If you see one of our RB’s running sideways that often means that he hasn’t found a crease and he’s buying time. It’s not necessarily the design of the play.
It may not suit McGee or Cody best to run the shotgun but it doesn’t suit our team best to run the I or ace sets.
carkev said:
September 29th, 2008 at 10:59 am
“People have complained about his rise to 255 lbs. but I suspect he put on weight because they were playing him at fullback until now.”
It was my impression that Cody reported very out of shape–that this has been an issue since his senior season. I generally enjoy blaming Mad Dog and our coaching staff for inappropriate weight gains, but I think Cody needs to look in a mirror on this one.
8straight said:
September 29th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Rollo- Since my limited offensive knowledge only goes as far as the wing and wishbone,
I did not mean that Cody doesn’t do a good job of reading his cuts and taking them. There are no zone read/shotgun formations that allows a back to get the ball moving forward with a little depth from the line of scrimmage? If the zone read does not suit Cody and Vondrell then there is something wrong with an offense that does not take advantage of both the QB’s and RB’s talents. As long as there is no Fozzy then we are misusing those guys in the zone read.
DBH said:
September 29th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
“Prediction: Chiles eventually sovles his problems running the ball and eventually turns into a serious threat as a runner. I don’t actually have any idea when this is going to happen.”
Don’t look for it to happen anytime soon. Mack has proclaimed the vaunted Q package unnecessary, so I doubt we’ll be seeing much of Chiles.
Ransom Stoddard said:
September 29th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
The Q package is dead because Chiles is overrated and Greg Davis couldn’t figure out what to do with him. Four games into the season, we are exactly what most people thought we would be this year: a team that will probably be 8-4 when its all over.
RolloTamasi said:
September 29th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I would disagree that the shotgun offense doesn’t utililize Colt’s strengths. He has been particularly proficient passing from the ‘gun and seems to have mastered the zone-read part at last.
I think for Colt, the receivers we have, the lack of tight ends, and the teams familiarity with it, the shotgun is the best way for us to go. I’m not arguing that CoJo is best suited for the shotgun plays, I’m wondering if he can be effective in the shotgun since I believe it’s our best formation.
I think everyone would agree that seeing what we can get from Fozzy will be the best thing for the team.
Bob in Houston said:
September 29th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
RS: 4-4 in the league? Really?
DBH said:
September 29th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
“The Q package is dead because Chiles is overrated and Greg Davis couldn’t figure out what to do with him.”
Of course. But then, most of the guys on this blog knew that before the season started. What Davis can’t figure out boggles the mind.
Scipio Tex said:
September 29th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
RansomStoddard makes hardened cynical Barking Carnival writers look like Shirley Temple.
We’re not going 4-4 in the Big 12 unless we have major injury problems.
LonghornGuy said:
September 29th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
You can’t blame Malcolm completely for his “disappearance” Quan and Shipley are Colt’s favorite targets and have been open more often than not.
Kafka said:
September 30th, 2008 at 4:01 am
Rollo:
“…you don’t need a FB to run a 4.4″.
No, but if you do have a FB who can run a 4.4, you want to preserve that speed or even enhance it. Especially if that back is also your short yardage runner. You have to have at least one power back on the team. Ideally a power back is short, powerful and fast. Cody, at 5′10″, 225, and 4.4 was ideal for the power back spot.
Either encouraging or permitting him to eat himself up to 255 pounds (at the cost of his speed) made no sense. Earlier this season Mack seemed fine with the fact that Cody was 255 pounds. Now that Cody has surprised nearly everybody by how well he runs, Mack is finally talking about Cody needing to lose 15 pounds.
UT has not had a good power back since Cedric in 2004. I was elated when Mack signed Cody but amazed and alarmed when I heard that Cody had ballooned to 255.
“He (Colt) has been particularly proficient passing from the ‘gun and seems to have mastered the zone-read part at last.”
Colt actually has been running very little zone read runs. What he is running are:
* QB draws (both ad hoc and called by GD)
* rollouts
* options (where he keeps the ball instead of pitching to the TB).
Colt has been running well on QB draws and rollouts for at least a year. Running fewer zone reads has increased his effectiveness as a runner.
The pistol formation might be an obvious compromise formation. It is still a shotgun so it will probably be comfortable for Colt but permits the TB to get a running start before he gets the ball. the horns actually ran out of the pistol for at least one play vs. Arkansas.
Ransom Stoddard said:
September 30th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Bob: OU, Mizzou, Tech and one we shouldn’t lose, likely OSU.
Kafka said:
September 30th, 2008 at 4:32 am
DBH
“Don’t look for it (i.e. Chiles to turn into a serious running threat) to happen anytime soon…I doubt we’ll be seeing much of Chiles.”
If Colt gets hurt, we’ll be seeing a lot of Chiles. He will need to be able to run effectively so it is still an issue.
Ransom Stoddard:
“…Chiles is overrated…”.
The jury is still out. He had one year as a starting QB in HS so it is no wonder that it takes a while for him to get up to speed (especially when he has had to split his time between QB, TB, and WR). He has improved his passing tremendously in the last year. His running will come around.
“…we are exactly what most people thought we would be this year: a team that will probably be 8-4 when its all over.”
Aspects of UT football that are better than expected:
* Defense
* Special teams
* Colt’s passing and running
* number of turnovers
* Power running (Cody provides a reliable power back)
* Ranking (#5 in the country).
Barring any more injuries, the horns should not lose more than 3 games in the regular season. If they lose 3 games, then they go to a mediocre bowl (at best Holiday) and probably win comfortably.
jc25 said:
September 30th, 2008 at 6:15 am
“So pretend this is the first time you’ve heard this shit.”
It helps to have been away from the Internets since Friday, so this is the first I’m reading on BC of this supposed Arkie “game.”
So you’ve got that going for you, which is nice.
DougNTexas said:
September 30th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Rollo, every damn running back we have used this year has run side ways more then I want to see.
Machine that Goes Ding said:
October 1st, 2008 at 4:07 pm
“John Chiles is hesitant in the running game and collapses at first contact.”
Nope. Take a look at the play that begins with 5:00 minutes left in the second quarter, when Chiles rolls right and runs for 12 yards. He literally carries 3-4 Arkansas defenders with him for the last 4 or 5 yards.
DBH said:
October 1st, 2008 at 4:16 pm
“If Colt gets hurt, we’ll be seeing a lot of Chiles. He will need to be able to run effectively so it is still an issue.”
Kafka,
If Colt gets hurt, we’re screwed because we don’t have a backup QB ready to play. Again. (Knocking on wood…)