Texas Spring Football Thread

[billfromlaketravis 11407]

I don't Collin Johnson will play hard until he's in his contract year in The League. Kidding, not really kidding.

[ClubWhatever 12105]

No results found for "Drew Mehringer is not a fucking assclown".
Results for Drew Mehringer is not a fucking assclown (without quotes):

[PatSolitanojr 518]

18 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I default to the premise that Drew Mehringer is a fucking assclown until I see evidence to the contrary, so I can’t go there with you. 

Why do you say this?

[Bobby_Batronic 1994]

23 minutes ago, Machinator said:

What does the staff need to do to get Collin Johnson to shape up? It's irksome that things haven't "clicked" for him yet, given that the entire country saw what he is capable of in the Coliseum last fall.

They could start by getting him on the field during game deciding snaps and maybe bother to find ways to keep him from being doubled by shear alignment. That’s some next level shit slightly more difficult than deciding to use the prototype V/S slot WR in V/S ways. 

Edited April 10, 2018 by Bobby_Batronic

[6th Street 6357]

1 minute ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

They could start by getting him on the field during game deciding snaps and maybe bother to find ways to keep him from being double by shear alignment. That’s some next level shit slightly more difficult than deciding to use the prototype V/S slot WR in V/S ways. 

They gave those snaps to Lorenzo Joe instead. Craziness

[Sleepygrad 1029]

CTJ's report was the first positive comment I remember reading about Roach. Really looking forward to seeing how he puts it together next season.

[Machinator 32098]

2 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

They gave those snaps to Lorenzo Joe instead. Craziness

I thought it was Dorian Leonard. Not that it makes it any better.

[Machinator 32098]

25 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I default to the premise that Drew Mehringer is a fucking assclown until I see evidence to the contrary, so I can’t go there with you. 

Well, sure. But guys like LJH managed to succeed (relative to the rest of our disappointment of a WR corps) in spite of Mehringer. As with Duvernay, I think some of the accountability still rests with the player.

[PatSolitanojr 518]

Why is Mehringer bad? Honestly I’m curious. 

[Bobby_Batronic 1994]

6 minutes ago, PatSolitanojr said:

Why is Mehringer bad? Honestly I’m curious. 

Which of our WR’s seemed to improve over the course of the season? Also, the Greek travesty we pretend is a WR rotation is likely his work too. 

Edited April 10, 2018 by Bobby_Batronic

[Machinator 32098]

2 minutes ago, PatSolitanojr said:

Why is Mehringer bad? Honestly I’m curious. 

closetojumping has his own reasons, I know. But as for me, as a non-insider, it's hard not to notice how our most talented position group looked anything but for much of the season. Poor route running, complete absence of execution in the scramble drill, nonsensical rotations, stagnant player develpoment and regression of players like CJ. Oh, and that godforsaken offensive pass interference play we ran two or three weeks in a row.  I said this on the other board, but there was maybe one regular season game against quality opposition where we saw a good consensus performance, and that was Kansas State (perhaps not coincidentally, one of the best offensive performances we put up).

Oh, and for being the Passing Game Coordinator, there was a remarkable lack of coordination.

[selvahorn 12]

Why is Mehringer bad? Honestly I’m curious. 

At least from the sample size I’ve seen with this team: he took our most talented position on the team (on paper) going into last year and their performance.. let’s just say they left something to be desired.
Other than that how has he done in other places? Doesn’t Herman have a man crush on him or something?

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

3 minutes ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

Which of our WR’s seemed to improve over the course of the season? 

As the year wore on, the WRs who were still in high school started to seem better and better, so there's that.

[PatSolitanojr 518]

1 minute ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

Which of our WR’s seemed to improve over the course of the season? Also, the Greek travesty we pretend is a WR rotation is likely his work too. 

I assumed the idiotic benching of CJ was to prove a point about effort. It still seems like this is a problem from spring reports. Who on our team seemed to improve over the season? It was a shitshow from start to finish. Too much youth on offense.

[Vertigo 20274]

29 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

They gave those snaps to Lorenzo Joe instead. Craziness

I cannot tell you how many times I threw something watching Lojoe run deep in game altering situations.

[Machinator 32098]

The Mehringer and Warehime hires seem to be a product of Herman's cronyist tendencies (see also Horny, Casey). I can't really explain Beck. Hopefully Chris Del Conte or someone that Herman respects / listens to knocked some sense into him over the offseason, because this is the one thing that could prevent him from taking Texas back to the national elite conversation.

[Rick Blaine 30]

40 minutes ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

They could start by getting him on the field during game deciding snaps and maybe bother to find ways to keep him from being doubled by shear alignment. That’s some next level shit slightly more difficult than deciding to use the prototype V/S slot WR in V/S ways. 

1

That cuts both ways you know.

[billfromlaketravis 11407]

Herman has praised Warehime's recruiting abilities. 

I don't think Mehringer has a redeeming quality. I get the feeling he's an ass kisser and knows how to navigate staff politics. We've all worked with somebody like this and marveled at how they've kept their jobs for so long. 

[Majorcholas 508]

Maybe, just maybe our wrs weren’t very impressive because our qbs were a mash unit of young uns. Or maybe because said qbs were afraid for their life behind our o line which ABSOLUTELY influences progression and confidence to get the ball out.

whens the last time we had a set of ballin ass wrs? (Quan and ship?) Let’s not act like this is a new thing.

but never mind me...back to the coaching bash.

 

[Rick Blaine 30]

1 minute ago, Majorcholas said:

Maybe, just maybe our wrs weren’t very impressive because our qbs were a mash unit of young uns. Or maybe because said qbs were afraid for their life behind our o line which ABSOLUTELY influences progression and confidence to get the ball out.

whens the last time we had a set of ballin ass wrs? (Quan and ship?) Let’s not act like this is a new thing.

but never mind me...back to the coaching bash.

 

Decide who to bash, then everybody pile on--it's the Surly way. It was the Shag way. It was ever thus and ever shall it be.

[Dbeasy 15012]

Herman has praised Warehime's recruiting abilities. 
I don't think Mehringer has a redeeming quality. I get the feeling he's an ass kisser and knows how to navigate staff politics. We've all worked with somebody like this and marveled at how they've kept their jobs for so long. 

Sometimes really smart people don’t hire great talent because they think they have all the answers and just need warm bodies to execute their plans. Hope that isn’t the case here. Obviously Orlando is an incredible hire.

[SKA the boss 729]

Legit question.

Who is responsible deciding on personnel grouping on each play? Is it the person calling the plays? Is it position coaches?

This seemed to be a huge handicap for consistency last year, and might be contributing to the whole perception of which players/coaches are ass due to the weird rotations at times.

[rickyspub 801]

35 minutes ago, Machinator said:

The Mehringer and Warehime hires seem to be a product of Herman's cronyist tendencies (see also Horny, Casey). I can't really explain Beck. Hopefully Chris Del Conte or someone that Herman respects / listens to knocked some sense into him over the offseason, because this is the one thing that could prevent him from taking Texas back to the national elite conversation.

Still have fears that Herman ends up being Mack Brown. Thinks that you only need talent to win trophies, strategy and tactics be damned. The guys taking home trophies generally have some ability to innovate or scheme their way over equally-talent teams, guys like Mack rack up wins but don't actually bring home the real hardware unless by luck or by recruiting a Vince Young. Outside of Orlando this staff seems designed mostly as a recruiting staff rather than an Xs and Os staff.

I hope this is a ploy to get the players up-front and then shift some of the coaching staff towards guys who might bring some Xs and Os skills, especially on O. Otherwise, Herman might be able to win big if Orlando decides to pick up the bottle and become the next Bud Foster.

Edited April 10, 2018 by rickyspub

[Machinator 32098]

9 minutes ago, SKA the boss said:

Legit question.

Who is responsible deciding on personnel grouping on each play? Is it the person calling the plays? Is it position coaches?

This seemed to be a huge handicap for consistency last year, and might be contributing to the whole perception of which players/coaches are ass due to the weird rotations at times.

The personnel rotations at pretty much every position group on offense were questionable at some point or the other.

Hell, you could even argue that suboptimal decisions were made on defense as well, what with waiting too long to unleash Gary, wasting time with Hager at Mac, believing that 2017 was finally the year for Naashon Hughes to make an impact, etc.

We like to blame the position coaches and coordinators for a lot of things, but at some point you have to look at the guy in charge when there are systematic failures.

The difference is that some position groups saw adjustments and improvement, while others stayed the same.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Machinator

[Machinator 32098]

10 minutes ago, rickyspub said:

I hope this is a ploy to get the players up-front and then shift some of the coaching staff towards guys who might bring some Xs and Os skills, especially on O. Otherwise, Herman might be able to win big if Orlando decides to pick up the bottle and become the next Bud Foster.

I think Washington, Giles, and Orlando have legit coaching chops. Drayton as well, though he was almost certainly brought in for his recruiting skins on the wall. We'll see with Hand. I tend towards being a believer in Naivar, but I'd like to see Brandon Jones make a significant leap this year.

The offensive staff besides Drayton and Hand don't seem to have much of a resume when it comes to coaching at the college or professional level. Meekins gets a pass because he had almost nothing to work with in 2017, but I'm pessimistic about Mehringer, Beck, and Warehime. I really wish that the Major could have done us a solid and hired Mehringer as an OC.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Machinator

[PatSolitanojr 518]

21 minutes ago, rickyspub said:

Still have fears that Herman ends up being Mack Brown. Thinks that you only need talent to win trophies, strategy and tactics be damned. The guys taking home trophies generally have some ability to innovate or scheme their way over equally-talent teams, guys like Mack rack up wins but don't actually bring home the real hardware unless by luck or by recruiting a Vince Young. Outside of Orlando this staff seems designed mostly as a recruiting staff rather than an Xs and Os staff.

I hope this is a ploy to get the players up-front and then shift some of the coaching staff towards guys who might bring some Xs and Os skills, especially on O. Otherwise, Herman might be able to win big if Orlando decides to pick up the bottle and become the next Bud Foster.

If Herman thought only talant was needed to win he never would have made it out of Houston.

[Bevo 13534]

14 minutes ago, Machinator said:

The offensive staff besides Drayton and Hand don't seem to have much of a resume when it comes to coaching at the college or professional level. Meekins gets a pass because he had almost nothing to work with in 2017, but I'm pessimistic about Mehringer, Beck, and Warehime.

I think you are looking at things incorrectly. WR coach and TE coach and RB coach are all minor position coaches. You can win with bad coaches at one or 2 of those positions as long as everyone is aligned. You cannot win with a bad OC, though. And you cannot win with a bad OL coach. Bringing in Hand will make a huge difference but it won't be enough. Beck absolutely should not be calling plays. If Herman wants to keep him, he needs a different role. Everyone else on the offensive coaching staff besides OC, HC and OLC is easily replaceable.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Bevo

[PhillyD 1257]

I disagree with WR's being a minor position coach in this day and age but I get the point of the post.  You can still hire a weak coach/great recruiter for RB's.

[SKA the boss 729]

24 minutes ago, Machinator said:

The difference is that some position groups saw adjustments and improvement, while others stayed the same.

That's a fair point. It's also worth noting that it's difficult to see that improvement in real game situations when your 6'4" stud is on the bench during your 3 plays inside your opponent's 10 yard line instead of going for corner jump balls. Just an example of strange personnel calls that influence our perceptions.

Some of our WRs seemed to really regress. Others seem to be making progress. So how much of this is legitimate and how much is perception influenced on what we're getting to see on the field?

[torre 1285]

10 hours ago, PatSolitanojr said:

Is there any indication that Kyler "Garden Gnome" Murray will be a serviceable QB? 

 

Kyler is having an excellent baseball season thus far (.298/5HRs/.529slg%/.409ob%).

Not positive, but as a redshirt junior,  pretty sure he is draft eligible in June.    Scouts have to love his speed which kept Drew Stubbs in the league for a long time.

[billfromlaketravis 11407]

Murray is draft eligible.

The MLB Draft is June 4th-6th. Regardless, Riley will have plenty of time to figure it out. 

[Vertigo 20274]

3 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Murray is draft eligible.

The MLB Draft is June 4th-6th. Regardless, Riley will have plenty of time to figure it out. 

I doubt Kyler bolts unless he is a high draft pick. He probably makes more as OUs QB than what he would in the minors without a big signing bonis.

[billfromlaketravis 11407]

2 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

I doubt Kyler bolts unless he is a high draft pick. He probably makes more as OUs QB than what he would in the minors without a big signing bonis.

I agree in principle. I think Kyler is determined to give it a go in football. 

A lot has changed with signing bonus slotting, but the more clever teams seem to find work arounds. It'll depend on the round and the team. 

Let's say Murray goes in the second to Boston. Things could get interesting.

[rickyspub 801]

44 minutes ago, PatSolitanojr said:

If Herman thought only talant was needed to win he never would have made it out of Houston.

Charlie Strong made it out of Louisville...

[Rick Blaine 30]

The League is clearly not in the midget's future. How many successful 5'5" QBs have there been since Eddie Lebaron?

The Show? Well, that may be a different story.

[Sejjr 3246]

Hard to fairly judge the job of the WR coach when wide open receivers are not being seen downfield by young QBs who can't see the whole fucking field.

[6th Street 6357]

We have roughly $1.5M of salary tied up to Beck, Mehringer, and Warehime. Some of the shittiest offensive minds in the nation. 

[Rick Blaine 30]

2 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

We have roughly $1.5M of salary tied up to Beck, Mehringer, and Warehime. Some of the shittiest offensive minds in the nation. 

Don't forget Shawn Watson.

[billfromlaketravis 11407]

1 minute ago, Rick Blaine said:

The League is clearly not in the midget's future. How many successful 5'5" QBs have there been since Eddie Lebaron?

The Show? Well, that may be a different story.

It's a really strange dynamic given the family history. 

Kyler's father Kevin stuck with football and had a cup of coffee in the NFL. He's a QB Coach now. 

Kyler's uncle Calvin was a first round draft pick and is cashing a MLB pension check twice a month. 

[Goodman 3273]

1 minute ago, 6th Street said:

We have roughly $1.5M of salary tied up to Beck, Mehringer, and Warehime. Some of the shittiest offensive minds in the nation. 

I think it's Herm has Urbans 2 year philosophy in which he commits/asks for coaches to commit 2 years to his staff. He tried to dump Drew & Derek but not even uh would take them. If they are on staff next year it is because we had a great season.

[billfromlaketravis 11407]

6 minutes ago, Goodman said:

I think it's Herm has Urbans 2 year philosophy in which he commits/asks for coaches to commit 2 years to his staff. He tried to dump Drew & Derek but not even uh would take them. If they are on staff next year it is because we had a great season.

You're on to something Saul. 

Edited April 10, 2018 by billfromlaketravis

[rickyspub 801]

1 hour ago, Machinator said:

I think Washington, Giles, and Orlando have legit coaching chops. Drayton as well, though he was almost certainly brought in for his recruiting skins on the wall. We'll see with Hand. I tend towards being a believer in Naivar, but I'd like to see Brandon Jones make a significant leap this year.

The offensive staff besides Drayton and Hand don't seem to have much of a resume when it comes to coaching at the college or professional level. Meekins gets a pass because he had almost nothing to work with in 2017, but I'm pessimistic about Mehringer, Beck, and Warehime. I really wish that the Major could have done us a solid and hired Mehringer as an OC.

It's hard to knock any of the defensive guys on the field. Hopefully we won't have to figure out anytime soon if they are actually plus technical coaches or if Orlando is the true ace. Beck screwed the offensive guys, but there we so many pieces moving in the wrong direction, like the maddening personnel decisions and effort issues, that it is hard to give any of the O coaches a pass for the on-the-field product.

That said, if the D is as good as last year's and we have no Maryland let-down, a slightly above average offense should improve on our win total easily and could have us fighting for the conference. Beck has earned his criticism, but remember he lost only 3 games while at OSU, the same number that Herman lost in the 2 years prior. If the talent is just good enough to cover up for unimaginative playcalling, we could and should win a lot of games next season.

[Vertigo 20274]

6 minutes ago, rickyspub said:

It's hard to knock any of the defensive guys on the field. Hopefully we won't have to figure out anytime soon if they are actually plus technical coaches or if Orlando is the true ace. Beck screwed the offensive guys, but there we so many pieces moving in the wrong direction, like the maddening personnel decisions and effort issues, that it is hard to give any of the O coaches a pass for the on-the-field product.

That said, if the D is as good as last year's and we have no Maryland let-down, a slightly above average offense should improve on our win total easily and could have us fighting for the conference. Beck has earned his criticism, but remember he lost only 3 games while at OSU, the same number that Herman lost in the 2 years prior. If the talent is just good enough to cover up for unimaginative playcalling, we could and should win a lot of games next season.

This is where I am at. Better kicking and moderately improved offense would have won us a minimum of 3 more games last year. Now we get practically the whole league next year turning over the QB position. Things are set up nicely next season for a big improvement if we simply meet expectations. 

Edited April 10, 2018 by Vertigo

[Machinator 32098]

7 minutes ago, rickyspub said:

It's hard to knock any of the defensive guys on the field. Hopefully we won't have to figure out anytime soon if they are actually plus technical coaches or if Orlando is the true ace. Beck screwed the offensive guys, but there we so many pieces moving in the wrong direction, like the maddening personnel decisions and effort issues, that it is hard to give any of the O coaches a pass for the on-the-field product.

That said, if the D is as good as last year's and we have no Maryland let-down, a slightly above average offense should improve on our win total easily and could have us fighting for the conference. Beck has earned his criticism, but remember he lost only 3 games while at OSU, the same number that Herman lost in the 2 years prior. If the talent is just good enough to cover up for unimaginative playcalling, we could and should win a lot of games next season.

I think we're at a point where if we just have a decent (~9 wins) season, the talent will flood in like we haven't seen in more than a decade and we'll be able to mostly overcome the limitations of the staff going forward, to an extent (see 2016 Ohio State). But if we have another season with bad injury luck that's compounded by substandard offensive coaching and rocky special teams, things could get very tricky for Tom going into 2019.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Machinator

[Daichee Bell 2925]

31 minutes ago, Rick Blaine said:

Don't forget Shawn Watson.

He said "some of the shittiest."  I think you are referring to "most of the shitty."

[PhillyD 1257]

51 minutes ago, Sejjr said:

Hard to fairly judge the job of the WR coach when wide open receivers are not being seen downfield by young QBs who can't see the whole fucking field.

It's fair to judge on their regression in ability to block though.  They took a definite step backward.

[RowdyVic 106]

Blocking and route running is probably the best way to judge a WR coach. Being double teamed or dealing with 8 man coverage is just something that the athlete will have to deal with and adapt to. Catching the ball pretty much relies on the athlete. Concentration, focus, etc..

[bschoolprof 6246]

Godammnit, I thought I was a negative Nancy. You guys are depressing the fuck out of even me. 

But I agree with most of what's being said. 

What's more troublesome than having a fuckstick offensive staff is that Herman hired these fucksticks in the first place and continues to employ them. During the Mack years, I used to delude myself into thinking "if we just dumped assistant coach x and hired super duper assistant y, we'd be set."  But the last decade of being kicked around as fan has taught me that it always, always starts at the top. If you have shitty assistants, it means you have a poor decision maker at the top. If you have a poor decision maker at the top, well then you likely have a shit program, recruiting be damned. See Strong, Charlie. 

But I don't really want to think about this all too much because it takes me to a dark place. 

[PatSolitanojr 518]

Everyone calm the fuck down. We're gonna play in the big 12 championship. 

[closetojumping 62301]

13 hours ago, Vertigo said:

I doubt Kyler bolts unless he is a high draft pick. He probably makes more as OUs QB than what he would in the minors without a big signing bonis.

 

13 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

It's a really strange dynamic given the family history. 

Kyler's father Kevin stuck with football and had a cup of coffee in the NFL. He's a QB Coach now. 

Kyler's uncle Calvin was a first round draft pick and is cashing a MLB pension check twice a month. 

 

I have a main board post about the OU QB situation coming, replete with incendiary taunts and mockery, but Murray is drawing legitimate interest for the MLB draft right now and there is nothing OU can do about it. More on Calvin Murray's influence later, which is key here. 

Edited April 10, 2018 by closetojumping