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GoldAppleCorps

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Everything posted by GoldAppleCorps

  1. So we want Sark's blunt honesty and home grown Texas. Why not go with a ditty from 3 years before the players were born: Bonus points if we get to bash a printer at midfield.
  2. I'm encouraged by the reports on Jake Majors. Pre-injury Derek Kerstetter is one of our best 5 OL players, but he was miscast at Center. It's a small sample size, but I really need Majors to take that job. It's cliche, but the only person who could stop Bijan Robinson was Tom Herman. RoJo is a punishing back. He'll absolutely need to perform his special skull busting magic in order for this team to achieve, but Robinson forces a defense to line up differently. When he's on the field, a defense absolutely has to devote resources his way - thus taking them out of the play. Taking him off the field deliberately is just out-thinking yourself. Football still relies on its fundamentals. Don't run a play unless you can block it. Running the football is still safer way to play, and makes throwing it easier. Having an offensive mindset that plays within the limits of the OL will make everyone else's skills that much better.
  3. It's an extremely small sample size thus far, but I've got high hopes for Andrej Karic. He's still young, but I believe he has access to that black hearted hate filled streak that's essential to playing OL. The position is painful, miserable, and you only hear your name called when you do it wrong. To compensate, an OL has to have a borderline criminal disposition whilst wearing shoulder pads that's only temporarily calmed by slamming another human into the ground. I'm not predicting he's the starting LT, but if he isn't, then the LT is going to be very good indeed. Angry people win football games. Kasey Studdard had it. So did Connor Williams. I'm ready to see it in Karic.
  4. There's something in your eyes that says, "Maybe...." About our level:
  5. Just how good is Kyle Flood? Texas has a once in a generation player at running back. The word best describing our OL is "potential". Potential means you haven't done anything yet. Yes, we can point out the warts on just about every other "skill" player, and Casey Thompson in particular has played exactly one half of a credible game as a "starter". Now, I'm looking at that OL and imagining. Flood's abilities with the pieces he's inherited will be the difference between a nightmare and sticky sheets.
  6. Hah! The "I'm going to pretend to be a drill sergeant!" mentality. Surely if you act tough and behave like a jerk, people will respect you, right? The truth is, you just can't fake that kind of thing if that's not who you are. Urban may have gotten away with it, but that's likely who he really is. Players understood that from him because it was real. Herman sounds like he was trying to play the tough guy. Texas players have seen tough guys in their lives, and Herman wasn't it. Instead of motivating out of fear, it just fell flat. Sark seems like the enthusiastic sales guy. He's glad you're on the team! He'll smile and shake your hand. He'll show you the plan, give you everything you need to succeed, encourage you, give you tips when you're flagging, and still be smiling when he cuts you loose for not making your numbers 2 quarters in a row! If you're not getting it, there's three guys waiting for your job. He emphasizes trust = time + consistency. I believe he's consistent because he's being his true self. Playing for Texas can be fun and enjoyable. You can build camaraderie with your teammates and position coaches. Ultimately, though, it's a privilege. If you don't do the hard work and produce at a championship level, you'll be "future endeavor"ed.
  7. Until spring practice starts, the S&C coach is essentially a mouthpiece for the rest of the coaching staff. He's the only one allowed to directly interact, so the head coach's plans and demeanor often flow through him in the offseason (such as it is any more). People get motivated in different ways. Not everyone will work with the spittle flicking rager of a strength coach. A good coach is part psychologist. It's only a tired body that grows and improves, but push it too far and it breaks. Getting to know who's working their best, motivating those with work to do, while not breaking the bodies is an art. There's no wonder that, as it became more and more obvious that the previous head coaches were failing, that the S&C coach suddenly wasn't adequate either. Until on-field practice starts, they are the head coach.
  8. Your majesty is like a stream of bat's piss!
  9. How I know I'm with my crowd: Playing in Bb is no fun, but necessary to accommodate the bagpipes!
  10. "Is there anything you can't take?" "Yeah. Country music."
  11. I guess this would have been too cliche?
  12. The thing I saw that I haven't seen from a Texas RB in a while was, after handling his business shifting through the OL gap, he accelerated AWAY from the pursuing DB! Previous RBs could break tackles, get free, then get tracked down by an opposite field DB. While I don't wanna scoff at 20 yard runs, seeing a Texas back be the fastest guy on the field made my heart happy!
  13. So in an extension of the usual policy, will the cameras pan over to the cardboard cutouts waiting in line at Allen Fieldhouse in the middle of the 3rd quarter?
  14. I've never understood betting these kinds of lines. You're at the mercy of how long a coach wants to play the starters, or how keyed up the 2nd string is. You're up 30 going into the 4th quarter. The game's over. Does Casey Thompson stretch his legs and gallop for 2 TDs before letting Hudson Card throw bombs? Conversely, does whomever draws backup RB duty goof it up, fumble, and give up a cheap TD? You're basically betting on how successful the backups are going to be at wasting time. And yes, I'm wondering out loud. I'm by no means stating that Texas coasting up 30 in the 4th is a given. I've seen Vince step out of an ankle tackle on 4th down, Case coast a pass with 0:12 left, and Dicker hit with 0:00 left. The struggle is real.
  15. Baylor is very worried about Charlie Brewer's next hit. They want to minimize (eliminate) his QB running. That's a problem, because their OL is, well, not adequate. If ever Texas wanted to mount a pass rush, Saturday would be ideal. Brewer hasn't changed. If you give him time, a receiver will get open (that is, jog to the middle of the field). If he's pressured, he'll flee the pocket and chuck it.
  16. Those 7 new positives come from all sport testing at Baylor. Right now, their official position is that they expect to have sufficient numbers cleared to play by Wednesday to at least meet Big 12 minimum guidelines. I have no special insight, so I dunno if that means "exceed" or "barely there" or what another positive test would mean. Reportedly, those disqualified by positive tests or contact quarantines were receiving Zoom based coaching during the 11 days previous that Baylor shut down the program. Those with sufficient negative tests to meet had in-person conditioning and group practice. Putting those statements together sounds like some Baylor position groups might arrive in Austin to play with only 3 days max to install the game plan.
  17. If I ever hit myself in the back of my head with my own arse, I'll immediately be spoken of in past tense. His position coach can't wait to find out he's Ok - so he can run him till he pukes for trying to leap over a defender and fumbling!
  18. We played about 15 minutes worth of competent football that entire game. Everyone remembers the Crabtree catch and the heartbreaking end, but forgets that we were behind 22-6 at half, and continued bumbling well into the 3rd quarter - Ship's punt return for a TD notwithstanding.
  19. It should be obvious by now that one of the main principles of this offense is that every play, starting from the players who report between the numbers to alignment to pre-snap motion to post-snap reads, has multiple places the ball can go. It's designed to create one on one match ups before the play, and then to exploit those where the offense player wins his match up. A given formation and a route might look and go one direction in the 1st quarter, but then go a different direction in the 3rd or 4th. It's a ridiculous amount to keep up with. I'm grateful that the head coach ceded authority to a dedicated assistant. One thing I always admired oSu for that I hope Texas replicates is the willingness to let their best athletes play. By that, I mean they may only have one dominant receiver, and he may have drawn tight coverage, but the Cowboy offense still would throw the ball over and let him out-battle the defense. I've seen either Sam's or Yurcich's quote to that effect. Another feature of this offense is that it's tough to turtle. Even with a lead, you can only run it in mathematically favorable conditions. If you send a "run first" group on the field, and the defense loads the box to stop it, you still are basically obligated to make the easy pass. The backups only know this scheme, too, so they don't really stop the onslaught when they enter. I'd also be remiss if I didn't point out that the receivers coach is evidently doing something in practice besides saying, "Uh, get open!". Our big bodies and speedy guys are now differentiating themselves to the defenders.
  20. I didn't spend much time looking at the Tech/HBU "highlights", but it looked to me like the Tech safeties just weren't playing their position, to put it bluntly. HBU didn't drive methodically. Rather, they scored on uncontested pitch and catch type passes where it looked like the safeties just stood deep in "Cover-2" position and sort of didn't cover their side of the field. The receivers would be released deep by the CBs. The safeties were uninterested in the results until the receivers trotted by them with the ball. Don't know if that's something you can correct in practice in a week.
  21. Johan Cruyff's "total football"!
  22. Hear, hear! UTEP obviously aren't world beaters, but I was impressed by their QB. His receivers victimized him a couple of times on some easy drops (a couple which would have meant points). However, he knew where the ball should go, and he put it in the best spot for success. Too many times over the last few seasons, the Texas defense gave up cheap points on a brain fart that let a receiver (or RB) sprint untouched to the end zone. For this game, they all knew their roles and executed. The defense's job in this game wasn't to embarrass the opponent. What they did, they largely had to do without exotic shifts and stunts. The issue was decided early, and there was no reason to put a lot of the tricky stuff on tape. While the pass rush could have been better, this QB was making quick decision and there was no reason to risk a bust for the sake of a big hit. You can't really win accolades against a team like UTEP, but you can sure lose them.
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