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closetojumping

Burnt Ends
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Posts posted by closetojumping

  1. Moving a random Cincy/Nebraska discussion from the Texas/OSU thread to here.

    35 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

    Found THIS Homer breakdown on the Husker thread. Would be curious about your thoughts as it seemed like a good one to me. However, I don't know what I don't know and it was a homer.

    On paper, Cincinnati looks like they can be a decent ball club. They return their QB and a 1st team All Big 12 TE. They bring in spares from A&M at WR and Walker from OU/Wiscy at TB. They have some OLs coming back. 

    On defense, Cincy returns like 4-5 of their own guys and 3-4 starters from other backwater programs like Coastal and NMSU. They have some talent including the mobster veteran DT, Corleone, who has NFL talent. 

    The problem for Cincinnati is that Satterfield is an imbecile and should not be a P4 HC. I assume he’ll be fired after this season and they’ll try to hire Fickell back after he’s shitcanned going 4-8 at Wisconsin. 

    Nebraska, as mentioned, has a now veteran Raiola playing QB. Dane Key, as Drebin said, is a stud transfer. Emmett Johnson has played TB there for awhile. They like him plus two others and all will get carries with Holgerson calling the shots. They return two starters on the OL plus two good OL transfers that started for years at ND and Bama. 

    The defense is mostly home grown and we’re going find out if Rhule is as good of a developer as I think he is because there are a bunch of new starters in the front 7, only 2 of whom have transferred in to Lincoln. The secondary has a ton of experience as starters. 

    I just think Rhule is a good coach and Satterfield is a bad coach. I take Nebraska all day in this one. 

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  2. Thursday:

    -Boise State at USF - I think USF will be a good team this year. Give me USF over Life After Jeanty.

    -Ohio at Rutgers - Rutgers gets way too much credit for being some sort of super tough program. I give Schiano credit for turning them around again, but 7-6 on the reg doesn't mean your tough just because your school is the flagship of a shithole state. That said, the Ohio dude left for fucking Charlotte, so Rutgers rolls in an ugly one.

    -East Carolina at NC State - I am foolishly taking NCSU because I enjoy being letdown. 

    -Miami (OH) at Wiscy - Fickell is on the hot seat. I am interested in seeing just how bad Wisconsin might be and using this game as a pulse check on that.

    -Nebraska vs Cincy - I think Satterfield is a buffoon and I've always thought that Rhule was a good coach. Folks have been too hard on Raiola after playing every game as a true freshman. I like Nebraska way bigger than 6.5 tonight, I don't care who Cincinnati has coming back. 

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  3. 4 minutes ago, Tribe171 said:

    It's nothing to do with ego or stubbornness. It was February when Knowles changed jobs. There weren't great options to replace him and Ohio State retained the rest of their defensive staff. Patricia was hired to make defensive game plans and call games within the existing structure of the team rather than to be an architect of the defense. In that sense, hiring an NFL coach makes sense as NFL defenses are often determined by the personnel that the front office selected rather than the schematic preferences of the DC.

     

    Knowles never ran purely his system at Ohio State. Knowles was a 3-3-5 guy at Okie St but capitulated to using a 4-man front because Ohio State's personnel had all been recruited as such. The $2 million dollar paycheck and having 6'5" freaks at DE helped coax him into a 4-man front as well.

    Where is this notion that Patricia was brought in to be some sort of Ohio State scheme caretaker coming from? Bucknuts is talking daily about how their insiders tell them that Patricia is pushing forward "his install" and crafting up "new exotics" to confuse the Texas OL and Manning. 

  4. 4 minutes ago, Derka said:

    how do you keep getting this wrong? the post you quoted absolutely did not say that people here would not be cheering for him if he hadn’t gone to Texas, it said that they would not like him as a quarterback. 

    you are wrong. you have been wrong from the jump. you can keep arguing with air if you insist on arguing a point that i never made. come on man. 

    You are crushing it, Derka, crushing it. Keep owning this thread, bro. 

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  5. Aggies247 writer predictions for the UTSA game? Pain, brother. A whole lot of fucking pain. All 3 writers have the aggies mauling UTSA by 20+ points. 

    Spoiler

    GigEm247 staff predictions: Texas A&M vs. UTSA in Kyle Field

    Reply
     
    • Carter Karels avatar
       Carter KarelsStaff
      Posted on 29 mins, , User Since 90 months ago, User Post Count: 13731
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      It's prediction time. GigEm247 staff members Jeff Tarpley, Carter Karels and Andrew Hattersley are ready to project what they think will happen when No. 19 Texas A&M clashes with UTSA at home Saturday in Kyle Field (6 p.m. on ESPN).

      As of Thursday afternoon, BetOnline Sportsbook has the Aggies as a 24.5-point betting favorite over the Roadrunners. The over/under scoring total is at 56.5. Here is how we think the game will go, along with a score prediction. 

      Jeff Tarpley

      Texas A&M brings back most of its 2024 team while UTSA lost its entire defense but still wants to take chances on that side of the ball (which translates to more big plays and points than you would normally expect). In addition, this is a program that didn't play very well away from home.

      On the surface, this sets the contest up to be a mismatch, but it's the first game of the season, which usually leads to miscues on both sides and may enable UTSA to stay in the game for a while … but not long enough.

      Score prediction: Texas A&M 45, UTSA 20.

      Carter Karels

      Season openers can be a mirage, but I expect this game to set the tone for what to expect from the Aggies in 2025. There are plenty of reasons to feel more optimistic about their offense than their defense this fall, and it should show up vs. the Roadrunners.

      With its new-look defense, UTSA will probably struggle to contain A&M, particularly its vaunted ground game and improved wide receiver unit. But for the Aggie defense, which enters the season with a lot of questions, their showing likely will not be nearly as strong. The Roadrunners should have one of the better offenses in the American Athletic Conference, making them a challenge.

      Score prediction: Texas A&M 41, UTSA 17.

      Andrew Hattersley

      Openers are always tricky as Mike Elko outlined during his Monday media availability, especially with UTSA featuring 11 new starters on the defensive side of the ball. That could pose some challenges for A&M early on, but as the Aggies make adjustments, I expect Marcel Reed and Co. to be able to move the ball and get rolling offensively. A&M certainly went through some inconsistent play last year with new faces on the defensive side of the ball, and the Roadrunners will have to deal with this as well.

      I do expect UTSA to be able to move the ball at times, though I don't think it will be enough to keep up with A&M. Though this game could be closer than anticipated in the first half, I expect the Aggies to pull away down the stretch for a relatively comfortable win.

      Score prediction: Texas A&M 38, UTSA 14.

     

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  6. 2 minutes ago, Derka said:

    you quoted me saying that if quinn ewers went to any other school that no one here would think highly of him as a qb, and then you responded with, “oh gee, people root for guys who played at their school, who knew?” what do you want me to do with that? pretend that your response to my post had anything to do with what i said? 

    When you get off your meds and get loose from the orderlies, you really are exhausting. 

    You presented two concepts. 

    1) If player X didn't go to Texas, no one here would even be cheering for him. 

    2) Everyone cheering for him is projecting success at the next level for no reason, all of the objective stats and facts point in my arguments favor, potshots at maga and comparing those folks to posters in this thread for whatever reason, blah blah blah. 

    I addressed concept 1, which no sane person not on a manic rage-posting streak would argue against. I have no interest in further hearing you about this if you wish to challenge it because you'd be wrong on it and it is a mindnumbingly stupid take that you should have never posted in the first place.

    I ignored concept 2 because I reject the premise. You've provided no evidence to secure a genuine response that a bunch of posters here are calling for Ewers to be successful at the NFL level simply because they're Ewers fanbois.

    Note: this isn't an invite for you to go back through the more than 100 page thread and find shit people said hopefully about him in the past. I've been on the past 4-5 pages of this shitshow and I don't see much of that, if any, and it is absolutely nowhere near a consensus POV even if your amped up ass finds a needle in the haystack and you want to come back and "OH OH OMG SEE SEE!! THIS GUY DID IT!! RIGHT HERE IN THIS ONE POST IM QUOTING! THIS GUY DID IT! BOOM! MIC DROP!!" whatever perceived nugget you've managed to locate. 

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  7. 2 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

    Just going to put this here because it surprised me. PFF run grades for the Edges last year: 

    Sorrell: 72.4

    Burke: 57.6

    Moore: 57.9

    Simmons: 73.4

     

    Lies! Damned Lies! And Statistics!

    That grade for Simmons is illusory. He wasn't on the field in obvious running or potential running moments for most of the year. Day would be a buffoon to not make certain that a score like that is merited. 

  8. 1 minute ago, Derka said:

    so you don’t understand the difference in cheering for someone and predicting future success for that person? you think that rooting he does well and predicting that he will do well are the same thing. you’re too intelligent for this dumbass take.

    You're correct that I am too intelligent for that dumbass take, which is why I didn't make it. Do you really wish to get into a game of rhetorical cat & mouse with me? You've presented a false premise and you've done it so cheaply that I don't feel like dignifying with a thoughtful response. 

     

  9. 1 hour ago, Derka said:

    imagine if quinn, an objectively disappointing, underwhelming, underachieving, oft injured qb who was drafted late in the 7th round, had gone to literally any other school. there wouldn’t be a single person here who was even a fan of him as a qb, but because he wore burnt orange he’s now destined to become a starting nfl qb who sticks in the league. not because of his poise, or his accuracy, or all of the big games where he led his team to a win- literally just because he came to Texas. that’s why this board has spent years pretending he’s awesome, and projecting future success for him. he’s like this board’s dotard for magas- any perceived slight against him is taken personally by people who’ve never met him, as if it’s a personal attack on them. posting actual facts about quinn ewers’s performance as a college qb gets taken as a personal attack by countless keyboard warriors who have no relation to him. truly cult like behavior.

    Has it occurred to you that maybe you're not presenting some enlightened take on Ewers to most of us? I've only watched you post for 20 years, so the question is rhetorical. 

    It's not a revelation that people would cheer for a guy who played for their program when he gets to the next level. It's not a revelation that the majority of those same people would have no interest in cheering for that same guy at the next level if he didn't go to their school. There are very few players in the NFL or MLB, who aren't on my pro teams, that I would ever cheer for unless the player went to Texas. 

    I don't understand why you think this is some amazing point.

    3 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

    Responding to my post, nah that's not the tell. It's you continuing to returning to this thread, unprompted, where you think everyone other than BO&W is a complete fucking idiot to stir the pot with new content. I was responding to YOUR comment on the quinn ewers thread, not the other way around. You know, this one, which I quoted in my post:
     



    No one summed you here today. No one tagged you. You've been at this for years, you know you're not changing anyone's minds. So yeah, there are similarities. And I'm not sure you want to say "well, that guy has been banned X times because of his behavior." Glass houses, my man.

    You know the truth about Ewers. So why the fuck do you even come back to this thread? I sure as shit don't return to any "Thank you Mack Brown" threads to start shit obvious, mentally deficient idiots. 

    Is this a serious question? He returns again and again because you just don't get it, man, and he really, really fucking needs you to get it. He is going to tilt at this windmill for as long as it takes. 

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  10. 8 minutes ago, SL Xpress said:

    My overall point remains that there are issues at Ohio State that were not handled at the AD level. They're not going away. If the same circumstances were to occur at Texas we would not react to it in the same way the Ohio State fan base has. It's one data point among a myriad of them. Bjork is making a series of odd moves as the AD this offseason. I question whether the Ohio State athletic department is in competent hands that will keep them on their current trajectory. 

    And that's still a huge bump in salary to depart a position that you're allegedly dead set to leave in any case. It's not just more money to leave. It's a 40% pay raise to move to another program. 

    How many more replies from BO&W where he ignores your points and keeps hammering home that the move was only about the coaching room rift will it take before you realize that you’ve been wrestling a pig in a muddy pig sty who is enjoying himself as you just get filthier and filthier? I’m setting the O/U at 5.5. 

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  11. 1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

    So you're saying Arbuckle had to change Brent Venables culture? Great sign. 

    Inside the article, they talk about the offense shit-talking the defense when they're playing well also. So, no, the dude isn't changing Venables' culture across the board, he's just creating a fissure within the program.

    Idiots forgetting that fall camp is a zero-sum game and building division within their org is a new one for me. When things start to fall apart, I'm fully expecting to hear reports of Venables doing some sort of blindsided Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka maneuver in which he knocks Arbuckle into a coma via a mid-air assault. The aftermath will include the entire OU defense and its staff doing some sort of jungle dance circling Arbuckle's limp, nearly lifeless body. Mateer, in crutches on the opposing sideline, begins to slowly and quietly tear up while pining for Pullman.

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  12. 4 minutes ago, Park Gothic said:

    Yesterday I was trying to figure out if I'd missed something about Stroh - whether there was genuine reasons for optimism or if Stroh had just moved up by dint of better players being injured. Based on everything I had seen, I assumed the latter. 

    This update is welcome news though. It sounds like we hadn't heard much about Stroh because he had not gotten his shot. With Cojoe down, the coaches gave him some run and Stroh capitalized. If he's improved his feet then he may be a huge asset on the OL. 

    The odds of Stroh being legitimately good seem pretty slim. Dude just rolled out of bed one day in year 3 and started kicking maximum ass? Uh huh. Clearly, injuries along the OL have forced Flood into some uncomfortable maneuvering.

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  13. Spoilered below is a hagiographic paean written about Ben Arbuckle and his "culture of joy" that he's installed for the offense at OU. This guy hasn't called a play yet and they're celebrating him as the second coming of Lincoln Riley. They've taken to apparently wild celebrations in the end zone after each time they score in practice. I'm sure there will be plenty of that against the Salukis, but we'll see how much "joy" is rearing its head on the rest of the schedule.

    Spoiler

    Inside Oklahoma’s offensive culture shift under Ben Arbuckle: ‘We score now, and it’s a freakin’ party’

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    (Photo: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

    • Tom Green avatar
       Tom GreenStaff
      Posted on 3 hrs, V I P, User Since 71 months ago, User Post Count: 9759
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      NORMAN — Something felt off to John Mateer during his first practice at Oklahoma.

      It was the first day of spring practices back in March, and Mateer delivered a deep ball to Javonnie Gibson for a long touchdown down the right sideline inside the Everest Training Center. As Gibson glided into the end zone, Mateer raced down the field behind him, holding his index finger high in the air as he went to rejoice with his new wide receiver.

      Except Mateer was the only who met Gibson in the end zone, as the two chest-bumped mid-air to celebrate the touchdown.

      "When we got here, (celebrating like that) wasn't the norm," Mateer said this week. "And it really surprised me…. I kind of ran down there like, what's going on?"

      That's not the case anymore for Oklahoma's offense, which has made a concerted effort to celebrate its on-field wins — both big and small — as part of cultural shift under first-year offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. Since being hired in December, Arbuckle — along with Mateer, who followed him from Washington State — has instilled a culture of joy, which has helped cultivate a newfound confidence that has the Sooners' belief soaring heading into the season.

      "I always say you got to remember that football's a game, and whenever good things happen — whether big or small — they're worth celebrating," Arbuckle said. "If you don't celebrate the small victories, you're going to let the minute inconveniences during a practice really start to hamper you. So, you have to go out there — the ball finds energy; positive things find energy whenever you're out there at practice, so building that in those guys every single day and celebrating others' success, celebrating your teammates' success, that's part of our culture here."

       

       

      Arbuckle has been at the forefront of that charge, even if he's not in the huddle with his players. The 29-year-old offensive coordinator exudes energy and confidence when he's on the sideline or the practice field, and he doesn't hesitate to celebrate his players' big plays.

      There was another instance in the spring when Mateer threw a fade to the end zone for Gibson, who hauled in the pass in the back corner. Arbuckle roared from the sideline and broke out the "Zombieland" celebration — the hand-over-mouth gesture with the other arm extended forward while limply shaking that hand in the air — which started at Western Kentucky and continued at Washington State with quarterback Cam Ward in 2023 before gaining popularity with Ward at Miami last fall.

      "He brings a great energy to it, but I think it's also the players are feeding off of it, and we know we got right now, and so guys are excited," center Troy Everett said. "There's an excitement in there. Arbuckle, he comes in and he pushes us, and he'll bring that energy all the time."

      Instilling that mantra — of celebrating the victories, big and small — was a process. It didn't just happen overnight, as Arbuckle worked to reinvigorate Oklahoma's offense and rebuild the confidence of the players who endured last season's trainwreck on that side of the ball. After all, Oklahoma finished last season 97th in the country in scoring (24 points per game) and was even worse against SEC opponents (16.5 points per game) — a concerningly low number that was buoyed by four defensive touchdowns and one on special teams.

      The Sooners were also tied for 130th in the FBS in explosive plays of 20 yards or longer, with just 36 on the season (half of which came in conference play, as only four teams had fewer such plays against conference foes last year). Arbuckle's offense at Washington State, by contrast, was tied for 10th in the country with 76 plays of 20-plus yards.

       
      13247852.jpg?fit=bounds&crop=620:320,offset-y0.50&width=620&height=320

       

      "It's hard to celebrate when there's nothing to celebrate and be excited about," coach Brent Venables said regarding last year's offense. "And so again, I think when you have passionate people coaching. It's going to resonate. But you recruit passion. You recruit that too. You nurture it. You demand it. You display it as a leader again. But you also can recruit the fire, the passion, the energy. And I think they (Arbuckle and Mateer) did a great job of setting being a tempo-setter, tone-setter, if you will, from the jump.

      "And having some success obviously helps promote that and nurtures that, as well. And I think it brings out the best in everybody around you as leaders. So, super consistent that way. And you have competitive people that like to win, like to compete. You know, that's the byproduct of that."

      The celebrations have become second nature for Oklahoma's offensive players at this point, with the season opener now on the horizon. There's no hesitation about finding joy in the little things — a broken tackle, a contested catch — or the big things like an explosive play or red-zone conversion. That has been especially true in practices, as the unit has relished its successes during its preseason back-and-forth with an Oklahoma defense that's projected to be among the nation's best.

      As Everett explained, whenever Oklahoma's offense scores, they collectively "make it known that we scored on y'all." The Sooners plan to carry that attitude into the season, which begins Saturday at home against Illinois State (5 p.m. on ESPN+/SEC Network+).

      "We score now, and it's a freakin' party out there," Everett said. "And that's what it's going to be Saturday: We score, it's going to be a party in the end zone, so that's what we're excited to do, and everyone looks forward to doing that, so it's exciting."

      It's a trickle-down effect from Arbuckle and Mateer to the rest of the Sooners' offensive players that has bordered on contagious.

      "One thing that I did know whenever I did come in is these kids want someone to follow," Arbuckle said. "They want someone to lead them. Because our kids, one thing I've learned about them, if you ask them to do something, they will fly around, they will do it to the best of their ability. So, whenever they can consistently get that every day, then for me, I take it personally, because I feed off Coach Venables in that respect of I'm going to bring it every single day, because I want these kids to bring it every day. 

      "Feeding off the energy that I can bring every day, feeding off the consistency that I can bring every day, kids can sense it…. That was the thing on that side of the ball that I thought I could bring the most value to, just for them, and in terms of getting them to pull the rope in the same direction."

      The process of nurturing that culture of joy has brought a completely different vibe to Oklahoma's retooled offense, even since the start of spring. Some of that, of course, comes from players being more familiar with a new offensive system, but there has been more to it than just a better understanding of the X's and O's.

      Mateer noted this week just how much more enjoyable the preseason was compared to spring practices, when he was still getting to know his teammates and building those inroads with them, not only because he's confident in the offense's growth since then but because the players are finding delight in their successes on the field.

      Mateer is no longer the only one racing to the end zone to celebrate when someone else scores, like he was at the start of spring. Now, according to Everett, when Oklahoma is nearing the end zone, there are some light discussions in the huddle about how the offense plans to celebrate a touchdown that it wholeheartedly believes is coming — though he and Mateer made sure to emphasize that it's never something choreographed that would incur a 15-yard penalty.

      "Celebrate each other, care about each other, love for each other; I think that's so — with the turnover of the transfer portal, it's hard," Mateer said. "So, celebrating each other has been huge."

     

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