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No longer offensive

Posted by ChrisApplewhite on October 23rd, 2008 under Football

If there is one overriding complaint that can be applied to any version of our perennial offense, it’s been that all that the moving parts don’t work together. A good offense is like an airplane — the engines provide the forward thrust while everything else helps it stay afloat.

In the past — 2004.5 and 2005 excepted — we’ve been a rudderless nightmare, a team with 8 engines but no wings, navigation, and maybe 3/4 of a hull. It took divine intervention to get us there under Vince Young. We had the talent, we had the coaches, but Vince literally Davis-proofed the offense to a degree that he singlehandedly provided direction for everybody else. Bad playcall? Who cares, he’d just take off for 12 yards. 6 straight zone reads? He’d make it work.

It still took a year and a half for Davis and Mack Brown to figure out how to use him. Watching our teams in 2006 and 2007, one would think we’d never figure it out for Colt. But once again the fates decided to help and gave us a mediocre run blocking OL and struck down Blaine Irby, as if God and the devil made a bet to test his faith. Job-style.

(I’m not saying Irby wasn’t good, or couldn’t have fit in to this offense. He was built for it. But his injury forced us into a new paradigm. He’ll be a monster next year.)

So what do you do when you lose your only good receiving threat at TE? My idea was to just line up in goalline the rest of the year and follow Roy Miller, to whom the label “beast” would not be satisfactory.

But, to their credit, the offensive staff stumbled upon a solution and outdid everyone’s expectations. They figured out how to use the spread. Welcome to 2003 guys!

It wouldn’t be possible without Colt, of course, who is putting up video game numbers (I hate that phrase, by the way, because whoever started using it obviously hasn’t played the last 3 versions of NCAA Football. I couldn’t put up 80% completion rates against air in those games.). But having good players is only half the battle, putting them in the right place is the other half.

Now we have an identity — the west coast passing game — and we rely on it to an appropriate degree, unlike how we’ve tried to hammer teams the last few years with our gimped zone read. That’s a tough thing to stop, a hive-minded QB and his WR, but what makes it work is not the engine this time, it’s the rest of the parts.

If you want to focus on our passing game, you probably want to stop Shipley and Quan, right? Bradon Collins may not be to their level yet, but do you trust your nickel or dime backs to stop him for an entire game? Malcolm Williams and Dan Buckner may be largely inconsistent, but how do you not keep a safety on them? Their one or two catches will be huge. How much do you focus on the running game? It’s not good enough to beat people, but play pass-first and we can slice you up 4 yards at a time. We can’t block 7 but we can sure as hell block 5. Do you try to stuff people at the line and take away our 5 yards and a cloud of dust offense? Do you really want our guys running free one on one down the field?

These questions keep us moving. Whatever the defense doesn’t do, we do. The weakness of that offense is always the same, it puts a ton of pressure on the QB do make the right decision and execute it. Thing is, there is nobody doing both of those things right now better than Colt.

He isn’t panic-scrambling and throwing blind passes down the field anymore, he moves with a purpose, dodging pressure like a Mom at a grocery store corralling her kids with one hand and browsing the pancake mix with the other. He does throw, someone is actually open, because we’ve got 4 good WR on the field and no one can cover all of them for that long.

It’s unity as it’s best. It’s fun to watch — something rare in Vinceless eras — and when you combine it with a young, aggressive defense, we become must-see football.

I don’t want to give any credit to Greg Davis specifically. He still has huge deficits to repay. So I’ll say “Great job, staff” and leave it at that.

Great job, staff.

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43 Responses

  1. Schembechler said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 10:19 am

    “I don’t want to give any credit to Greg Davis specifically.”

    If you don’t give him any credit for this year’s offense, how can you give him all the blame for lame offenses in the past? Seems like an unhealthy grudge against someone who has done you no real wrong.

  2. Scipio Tex said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 am

    I think Davis deserves credit. Just as when it’s 12-7 in Austin he gets the blame.

  3. Big Satan said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 am

    I would hardly go so far as to say he’s done me no real wrong…

  4. steven said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 am

    Seems like an unhealthy grudge against someone who has done you no real wrong.

    He lives and still breathes air, that’s enough reason for me. Why would anyone need a reason to hate aside from the above? If good and legitimate reasons were required in order to hate, geez, where the f*ck would all the hate go. Then the whole f*cking world would turn all lovey dovey, barney the pink dinosaur ghey. For the sake of all the gun toting, homophobic, backward hicks out here, please, just please, let the man hate if he wants to.

    What proud hetero ever heard of such thing as needing a good reason to hate? We’d just as soon blow the brains out of any ghey ass, fart head who dared to think such shat. You get the message, unprovoked hate is part of the fabric of and good for Americana. I be hating all time in the good ‘ole U.S. of A., and I still got me a big ‘ole smile on my face.

  5. JP said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 10:55 am

    What about Chip Brown’s report that Mack had finally allowed GD to take control of the offense this year? I’ll try to dig it up, but Mack’s remarks indicated he had overruled Davis often, and this was the first year he planned on truly handing the keys over to Davis.

  6. JP said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 10:58 am

    Found it:
    http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=840638

  7. Texas_Dawg said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 am

    Pffft. Mack Brown can’t win the big game without Vince Young or Colt McCoy.

  8. Uncle Rico said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 11:22 am

    i have been known to absolutely hate GD to the point where i considered stabbing him in the neck with a fork. that said, i have zero to complain about and the OU game is one of the best games i’ve seen called in a long, long time. the offense has been just incredible this year and it isn’t all on the players. coaches deserve mucho kudos so my hat is off to him.

  9. Hippie Killer said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 11:49 am

    I don’t mean to hijack this thread but, hands up motherfuckers!!!!

    ESPN was reporting that Colt McCoy is projected as a Top 5 pick for the NFL draft after this season. Discuss.

  10. Calhorn said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 11:52 am

    I find it interesting that Greg Davis’ renaissance as an offensive coordinator this year coincides with the arrival of his former pupil, Major Applewhite. Although I have no inside information (come on Chris, ask your brother about this), I believe that Major has made an impact on Greg’s game preparation and play calling. After all, isn’t he on the headphones with GD and signalling in the plays to Colt? Whatever works, works. Please continue the offensive game planning and game day tactics!! We are going to need it this weekend as Okie State is bound to put up some serious points.

  11. VoiceOfInsanity said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    Anyone that tells me this isnt Major Applewhites doing is a rogue liar.

  12. Bushy Moustache said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 12:20 pm

    From the Chip Brown article:

    For going on 11 years at Texas, offensive coordinator Greg Davis has been viewed in the same light as allergies, stalled 401Ks and flat tires. He’s the evil force Mack Brown has been blindly loyal to

    Greg Davis is an evil force that Mack Brown has been blindly loyal to. Just like allergies and flat tires!

  13. Kafka said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm

    Great writeup. I agree with everything you wrote except for a couple of minor quibbles (so I’ll focus on the minor quibbles ad nauseum).

    I’ve always felt like GD got too much blame for the offensive strategy because I figured:
    * Mack most likely determines the running game strategy and I had more problems with the running game design than the passing game design
    * Mack probably interfered in other ways as well (since used to be an OC before becoming the HC)

    The one thing I never understood, was why didn’t UT develop a short passing game (West Coast offense, for example) so that they could move the ball downfield even when the opposition was able to pressure our QB. The OL as a Maginot Line never made sense to me.

    Now that UT is passing short efficiently, I am a happy camper. I have actually been advocating this for years. Just one more weapon that you can use in the toughest games, right and a great way to distort a defense in any game.

    I thought UT should have realized the necessity of going to 4 wide after the Arkansas game (that’s when I figured it out). But a one week delay in recognizing the inevitable ain’t bad (thank you, Peter Ullman, for simplifying this decision).

    I don’t see where Buckner and Malcolm are erratic. How can you tell, the ball is seldom thrown their way. You throw them the ball and I’m guessing they catch at least 4 out of 5 that they are supposed to catch.

    That catch that Malcolm made for a TD vs Mizzou was acknowledged as a great catch nation wide. He has good enough hands and running ability that Mack uses him as a substitute kick returner.

    On the O plays where Malcolm is not the target, Malcolm will block better than any other UT WR. He is the only UT WR (that plays) who can block LBs 1 on 1 and chip block DEs. He can be a devastating blocker in the 2 WR screen.

    The opportunity that Malcolm gets reminds me of the old joke about the only coach who could stop Michael Jordan (Dean Smith, of course).

  14. LonghornScott said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    Kafka,

    Being consistent as a WR is about a lot more than just catching the ball (although catching the ball is pretty damn important). The reason Colt looks to Quan and Jordan so much is that he knows those guys are on the same page as him… they are all reacting to the defense together. You are starting to see the young guys get involved now and gain some rhythm with McCoy (that’s what ultimately makes the difference). Obviously he trusts Malcolm’s ability to make a play on the ball or he never even throws that ball.

  15. Kafka said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 12:51 pm

    Longhorn Scott:
    “Being consistent as a WR is about a lot more than just catching the ball”

    Specifically, how is Malcolm not consistent? Is he getting flagged? Is he dropping passes? Is he not running the right routes? Is he not blocking right?

    What have you observed in his play that is not consistent?

    Quan and Shipley are great receivers but that has nothing to do with Malcolm being inconsistent.

  16. LonghornScott said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 1:03 pm

    Kafka,

    impossible for me to know what Malcolm’s route adjustments are supposed to be against different defensive looks. The coaches have repeatedly commented on some of the younger guys lacking consistency but making progress. One would have to assume that they are not always making the right route adjusts and/or not running the routes with the accuracy that is expected. That’s not a bad thing… it’s where they should be at this stage. It’s obvious that Colt is going through his progressions. It’s not as if these younger guys are running free and Colt’s not hitting them. Colt, Quan, and Jordan have a ton of reps together and a great feel for each other. You don’t complete 80% of the passes without the QB, OL, and WRs all executing at an extremely high level.

  17. Hippie Killer said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm

    I think we’ve thrown to Malcolm like 3 times this year. Once at OU, Once at Missouri and probably sometime against FAU or UTEP.

  18. Kafka said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm

    I can understand that there are only so many passes thrown per game and that Malcolm is 5th in line behind Quan, Ship, Ogbonnaya, and Collins. So be it.

    What I don’t get is specifically how Malcolm is inconsistent. Maybe one of the guys who attends Mack’s pressers could ask Mack this question.

    BTW, does anyone know where you can find out how many snaps each horn played in a specific game?

  19. PatronSaint said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    Off topic for my own humor:
    Does the handle “Big Satan” come from that comic in the Daily Texan back in the day… maybe Irritability? If so, that’s pretty solid.

  20. LonghornScott said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    “What I don’t get is specifically how Malcolm is inconsistent.”

    One would have to assume that they are not always making the right route adjusts and/or not running the routes with the accuracy that is expected.

  21. Mysterious Package said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    Im not as confident as you are if they stop Shipley and Quan.

  22. BiggUggly said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 3:27 pm

    I have criticized Greg Davis in many and varied ways. My friend eindiet and I have oft wondered if Greg was somehow being held down by Mack.

    Perhaps he was. What I have seen this year makes me think echeese is smarter than the rest of us. Nah!

  23. Yassir Sanchez said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 4:08 pm

    If you look at the statistics and per game average Greg Davis offenses have been among the most prolific in the history of the program.

    I find it very ironical that someone who could not tell you if the defense was in a nose shade five’s and nines playing cover four can wax eloquent about the play calling.

    Being the OC of any school is the easiest job in the world, every friday night everytime a play goes bad I hear two hundred suggestions what would have worked. It is easy to become a coach. All you have to do is get a teachers certificate and work your way up the ranks.

    Being the Offensive Coordinator at the The University of Texas is in the top 1% of coaching jobs in the world. I wonder how many people that rip Greg Davis have achieved that level in their field.

    In conclusion I like Major Applewhite as much as anyone but as OC at Alabama he did not set too many records. I find it really ludicrous to believe that by some miracle his coming here woke up a “moribund” UT offense.

    Get off Greg Davis’ back.

  24. dasmithjones said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 pm

    This is good statistical info on the last 5 MNC Teams compared to 2008 Texas from a posted link over on BON:

    http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=866048

  25. dasmithjones said:

    October 23rd, 2008 at 7:01 pm

    Err… uhh.., Schlabach:

    I got ‘ur SEC defense right ‘cher:

    Auburn 17, West Virginia 34!!!

    That will be all.

  26. Yassir Sanchez said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 5:11 am

    Another thing that comes to mind is that I have also seen multiple aggy make the point that we had nothing but Vince in 05. They promptly get shouted down every time they try to make that point.

    It is a bit disconcerning to see the same claim as aggy on a supposed UT site.

    Maybe all we did was zone read with Vince, so the hell what? Someone had to put the scheme on and call it. But the moral of the story around here is that when our offense has success it is no way reflective of our coaching staff.

    Give me a freaking break.

  27. Dr.Venkman said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 5:14 am

    Look, having Major Applewhite makes a huge difference. Having someone who willingly puts in 16 hour days, 7 days a week, and makes each of those hours hugely productive always helps any organization. It’s just that simple. It wouldn’t matter if he was in software, telecoms, finance, or any other pursuit, working like he does, Major would make a huge impact on any team and make any manager (short of an absolute disaster) look like a freaking champ.

    Doesn’t make the manager, in this case Davis, incompetent, but it does make him look better than he did last year.

  28. ChrisApplewhite said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 5:40 am

    I said I don’t want to give Davis any credit. I didn’t say he doesn’t deserve any. I just hate the guy.

  29. ChrisApplewhite said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 5:43 am

    . . . and because it’s impossible to know the multipliers of the product we’re seeing. Every year it seems to be different. Mack’s helped the last 3 years, now Major is here . . . it’s jsut tought to know for sure.

    I do know that the passing game we’re seeing fits in with what Davis came here with in ‘98. I think it’s his west coast personality with the helping hand of Mack and Applewhite. And Colt, for that matter.

  30. ChrisApplewhite said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 5:47 am

    “In conclusion I like Major Applewhite as much as anyone but as OC at Alabama he did not set too many records. I find it really ludicrous to believe that by some miracle his coming here woke up a “moribund” UT offense.”

    Is it really so hard to believe? It’s not like some complicated issue has been holding us back. Our problems are big and fairly obvious. I asked for the exact offense you’re seeing two years ago. I’m no genius, I just have eyes.

    Major’s been getting rave reviews privately, so I don’t find it so impossible that he came in and gave us a better direction. I also don’t find it impossible that Davis took that advice and has run with it mostly on his own.

    Like I said, we ran a similar offense in 98, just not out of the shotgun. There precedent is there with Major and Davis. Of course if history follows suit, the second meeting of Heupel and Major will result in an epic ass kicking, so . . .

  31. steven said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 5:55 am

    “Look, having Major Applewhite makes a huge difference.”

    What kind of crock of bull is this. Is the irrational hate so strong that you all can’t give the man credit where credit is due. So far from the looks of it, if Major needs to do anything, it’s to just go and concentrate on what his title is. If there is one disappointment with the O this year, it is the RB’s performance. He seems to be having enough trouble just being a decent RB coach. Given that, why on earth would anyone believe that he deserves credit for the entire O?

    I said this a few months ago and I will say it again, it is obvious as day that GD has been and is the brains of the Horn O. GD is the brains and the man responsible for making it go. Mack probably has less influence on the O than most people think. He is the so called CEO coach and his ass is lucky he has GD doing the nitty gritty and all the intellectual work for him.

  32. Callkevin said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 6:49 am

    steven, you make this site far less interesting. That’s a shame.

  33. steven said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 6:51 am

    In what way, care to elaborate, if you can.

  34. Kafka said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 10:10 am

    LonghornScott:
    “One would have to assume that they are not always making the right route adjusts and/or not running the routes with the accuracy that is expected.”

    I don’t why one would have to assume that, it could actually be a bunch of other things (eg: he doesn’t work hard enough in practise, has just an average relationship with the coaches or Colt, tends to draw flags, whatever). Who knows?

    For the sake of argument, let’s discuss the idea Malcolm is not making the right route adjustments. If that is true, then why would they run Malcolm on these long, across the field routes (like they did for his TD against Mizzou)?

    If that is true, why not simplify his routes? Tell him to run a specific route (eg: 10 and out). If a new QB can not handle the complexity of an offense, the OC quite frequently will simplify the offense for the new QB.

    Malcolm is a major league talent. Down the road he will be playing on Sundays. Malcolm is the only big, physical receiver the horns have. GD needs to figure out how to get Malcolm on the field (even if Malcolm is mostly just blocking).

  35. Dan Buckner said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 10:13 am

    “Malcolm is the only big, physical receiver the horns have.”

    Excuse me?

  36. steven said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 10:30 am

    Don’t think that you could call Malcolm physical just yet, although he is tall. It could be that it just takes WR’s a long time to get up to speed, especially the ones that are physically bigger, but one has to say that Malcolm has so far been sort of a disappointment. He is the most underutilized of all our receivers. Don’t know about the speed or the quickness department, but Buckner seems as if he could beat Malcolm out, if he fails to improve whatever it is he needs in order to make himself more effective. Seems like Buckner is even more imposing and is already blessed with better body control.

  37. Kafka said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 11:14 am

    I look at Buckner and I see a pretty gangly guy. This is to be expected since his a true freshman.

    The coaches have raved about Malcolm’s strength many times but maybe they are wrong, maybe you are right, Steven.

    I completely disagree with you but would just as soon not debate it with you because I consider it a waste of time. You are entitled to your opinion.

  38. steven said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 11:43 am

    Not trying to debate, but I would bet that Buckner already outweighs Malcolm. Watch and if there is a chance, if you put them side by side, Buckner will probably come across as heavier and more imposing. Have you seen the foot size of Buckner. He has really big feet. That means he probably has a big penis, and I would like to touch it.

    Like I said, I don’t know about the speed and quickness part, but Buckner already seems to have better body control and agility in small spaces than Malcolm. Just watch Dez Bryant coming up. For a WR, that body control and agility in tight spaces is important to be dominant big WR.

  39. ChrisApplewhite said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 11:55 am

    Buckner is still lost, mentally, on some of the snaps. Williams at least has been here a year.

    Give them another offseason and we’re looking at a really tough duo to stop. That last piece to come will be the experienced, dependability that Shipley and Quan give us, and that’s the part you don’t ever know will come.

    If they become even Limas Sweed from that standpoint, they can both be better than him. They have more talent. If they slip into the Quan realm . . . lookout.

  40. Tom Brady said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 11:56 am

    Great job, staph.

  41. steven said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 12:12 pm

    Sorry guys, no matter how much you guys want me to, I’m afraid I don’t particularly care to join your little group nor do I care to go through your fuggly initiation rites, although you all have seemingly been going to some amazing lengths to convince me otherwise. And there’s nothing I like more than amazing lengths. I am very sorry, but I just do not seem to have those EYES OF TEXAS to do such things and stop trying to convince me otherwise. As everyone knows, it takes very, chm, special and unique qualities to have those EYES OF TEXAS.

  42. steven said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 12:43 pm

    EYES why don’t you just attempt to prove me wrong. It should be easy if it is true as you say and I am that dumb and fooball ignorant. If it is so easy, why do you have to haunt my own personal, ghey ass fantasies?

  43. EyesOfTX said:

    October 24th, 2008 at 12:48 pm

    This is a first – I’m being called out on a Chris Applewhite thread.

    I love this shit.

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    To leave or stay?

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   8 hours, 15 minutes ago

    KSU moving on led by a hot shooting Pullen. BTW, White Mormons can shoot FTs. 22 for 25, I think. Imagine if we could shoot like that.

    Wake’s coming back on Kentucky. They’re within 25 right now…..

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Bid Dance: Day Three   8 hours, 33 minutes ago

    Just wanted to say I feel for you guys. As a Texas fan I know how this feels even if it’s from a football perspective.

    I still think you’re the best basketball team in the country, and unfortunately you ran into a team that packed a Villanova circa 1985 type game today. Meaning they

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  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   8 hours, 42 minutes ago

    Wow. Wake won’t break 50. Not surprising really — we should have beaten Wake and they are not a very good team.

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   8 hours, 48 minutes ago

    Kentucky doing their best to beat Wake by half hundred. Close call….

  • RRR wrote a new blog post: Survive and Advance   8 hours, 52 minutes ago

    We really struggled in the first half, but battled through it to get a tough win against Jacksonville.  On to Oxford!

     Forget what conference they play in, Jacksonville is a very good basketball team, and they got to Lubbock not because of a crazy bank shot at the buzzer in Phoenix, but by playing aggressive, intense defense for

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  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   9 hours, 9 minutes ago

    The shamrock is on his left shoulder. The Griffin looking thing is on his right.

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   9 hours, 18 minutes ago

    Everytime I see a Gumbel brother I think of “Gumbel to Gumbel”

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   9 hours, 31 minutes ago

    Kentucky starting to pile on Wake. That would have been our fate…..

    KSU just killing the Mormons on the glass…

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   9 hours, 58 minutes ago

    10 point lead for the Mormons again…

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition   10 hours, 13 minutes ago

    This is the first-time Frank Martin has ever met a Mormon who wasn’t on a bicycle.