2020 Texas Offseason Thread: Herman's Hail Mary

[texifornia 59014]

 

[texifornia 59014]

Picking up on LSU's awesome guest-narrated hype videos

 

[Dbeasy 15594]

 

Oh great. Nothing’s changed.

[texasstrong12 4668]

Looking back Texas really failed to use Bimage correctly this year. On the edge I think Bimage has the potential to be a real plus in a 4 man front. 

Nahlin referenced this a lot last year. 

The biggest fear with moving from a 3-4 to 4-3 is depth but reality is the depth in a 3-4 wasn't great because guys like Bimage/Jones weren't a fit in how we utilized them. 

[LTtxfan 50001]

56 minutes ago, texasstrong12 said:

Looking back Texas really failed to use Bimage correctly this year. On the edge I think Bimage has the potential to be a real plus in a 4 man front. 

Nahlin referenced this a lot last year. 

The biggest fear with moving from a 3-4 to 4-3 is depth but reality is the depth in a 3-4 wasn't great because guys like Bimage/Jones weren't a fit in how we utilized them. 

DL players have to be fired up because playing time is up for grabs... Competition is Good!!

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

16 hours ago, tejas60 said:

not this shit again...

 

Check your meter.

[BigHorn'13 3494]

55 minutes ago, texasstrong12 said:

The biggest fear with moving from a 3-4 to 4-3 is depth but reality is the depth in a 3-4 wasn't great because guys like Bimage/Jones weren't a fit in how we utilized them. 

Yeah, there's that and the fact that our linebackers are nothing like what's needed for Orlando's scheme (post Malik and GJ.)

Or maybe they are. Couldn't tell you based off last season's performance. The biggest reason why I think people were "banging the tables" for the 4 man front is that not only does our personnel match up better, but the depth on DL is in another realm compared to the LB position. 

If we can just find a solid mac/ Mike/ middle/ whatever ash wants to call it linebacker, this defense looks a fuckton better. The other side of the ball, well...I won't be sipping any koolaid until we win a conference title. Just don't think Herman understands fundamentally what's needed on offense to win the big 12.

[texifornia 59014]

16 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

 If we can just find a solid mac/ Mike/ middle/ whatever ash wants to call it linebacker, this defense looks a fuckton better. The other side of the ball, well...I won't be sipping any koolaid until we win a conference title. Just don't think Herman understands fundamentally what's needed on offense to win the big 12.

Given the rankings of the two units last year that's more than a little odd.

That offense was extremely close to winning the Big XII the year before as well.

Edited January 23, 2020 by texifornia

[Burt Macklin 19230]

2 hours ago, texasstrong12 said:

Looking back Texas really failed to use Bimage correctly this year. On the edge I think Bimage has the potential to be a real plus in a 4 man front. 

Nahlin referenced this a lot last year. 

The biggest fear with moving from a 3-4 to 4-3 is depth but reality is the depth in a 3-4 wasn't great because guys like Bimage/Jones weren't a fit in how we utilized them. 

Yeah. Bimage was a really good rusher in HS and I think both he and Jones will look. A lot better as true DEs. 
 

I don’t think depth is much of a concern. At DE, you have Ossai, Bimage and Jones all ready to play, plus some guys with time in the system, like Warren, Vaughn’s, and Mpagi. On top of that, it’s possible guys like Broughton, Dorbah, or Collins if he comes here, could contribute some next year. 
 

At DT, you have Coburn, Ojomo, Sweat, and TQ as an established 2 deep. 

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by Burt Macklin

[BigHorn'13 3494]

1 hour ago, texifornia said:

Given the rankings of the two units last year that's more than a little odd.

That offense was extremely close to winning the Big XII the year before as well.

You're right. That high ranking offense was so awesome that half that staff got fired.

I get trying to be optimistic but don't be one of those "top 10 offense, dipshit!" people. The argument is too flawed for someone of your intelligence. 

[texasstrong12 4668]

40 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

Yeah. Bimage was a really good rusher in HS and I think both he and Jones will look. A lot better as true DEs. 
 

I don’t think depth is much of a concern. At DE, you have Ossai, Bimage and Jones all ready to play, plus some guys with time in the system, like Warren, Vaughn’s, and Mpagi. On top of that, it’s possible guys like Broughton, Dorbah, or Collins if he comes here, could contribute some next year. 
 

At DT, you have Coburn, Ojomo, Sweat, and TQ as an established 2 deep. 

 

1) I think there's a lot of potential inside with Coburn, Ojomo, and Sweat. TQ hasn't been anything special but still an upperclassmen with experience. 

2) DE is my only worry but I think there's enough talent to make it work if Ash is a good DC. Depends a lot on keeping Ossai healthy. After Ossai, we have nothing proven at the position. I'm not sure about fit but I kind of wonder if they try to swing one of Ojomo or TQ outside. Ojomo in particular seems like he would be capable of playing DE based on his HS film but I'm not sure where his body is at. 

 

[SydneyCarton 49489]

10 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

You're right. That high ranking offense was so awesome that half that staff got fired.

I get trying to be optimistic but don't be one of those "top 10 offense, dipshit!" people. The argument is too flawed for someone of your intelligence. 

That's a bit harsh. I have zero problems with Herman's offense, in fact, I fucking like it. Your assessment reads like you're pissing on a playbook that says "Herman's Offense." Herman's offense is fine. The playcalling and selection, the lack of motion that was utilized (but fucking exists), the poor coaching of WRs who can't get off press where the problem. We've seen when Herman had things rolling the offense is fine, and most importantly it CAN match up extremely well with Big 12 Defenses. Now, having a TE in all the time that can't block or catch? Problem. Not adjusting? Problem. No Motion? Problem. But that's not on the offense, that's on the fuckheads who just got their asses fired. 

I don't think Tex was sitting there crowing "Top 10 Offense" but if you can't look at that metric and figure out that the scheme can generate yards, well, I don't know what to tell you. Context matters. 

Edited January 23, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[texifornia 59014]

29 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

You're right. That high ranking offense was so awesome that half that staff got fired.

I get trying to be optimistic but don't be one of those "top 10 offense, dipshit!" people. The argument is too flawed for someone of your intelligence. 

Sydney pretty much covered what I was trying to say. The core offense can win a lot of games. How it was implemented last year... well we all saw how that went.

[BigHorn'13 3494]

13 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

That's a bit harsh. I have zero problems with Herman's offense, in fact, I fucking like it. Your assessment reads like you're pissing on a playbook that says "Herman's Offense." Herman's offense is fine. The playcalling and selection, the lack of motion that was utilized (but fucking exists), the poor coaching of WRs who can't get off press where the problem. We've seen when Herman had things rolling the offense is fine, and most importantly it CAN match up extremely well with Big 12 Defenses. Now, having a TE in all the time that can't block or catch? Problem. Not adjusting? Problem. No Motion? Problem. But that's not on the offense, that's on the fuckheads who just got their asses fired. 

I don't think Tex was sitting there crowing "Top 10 Offense" but if you can't look at that metric and figure out that the scheme can generate yards, well, I don't know what to tell you. Context matters. 

I was referring to the criticisms that I recieved for my offense thread, the main one being that at the time, we were a top 10 offense. I could see we were predictable as fuck with 0 imagination but was getting shouted down to the contrary. But that's old news...

As to your other point--I haven't seen Herman's ability to win this conference but that's subjective. I will say, however, all the reasons you outlined still ultimately fall on Herman. I'm not sympathetic towards morons who see something isn't working but continue to do so because of pride/arrogance. I think we're in the same boat, here. 

Ultimately this offense will not be sufficient to win the conference until Herman understands winning by 1 is a last resort, not the goal. That the irony of being "aggressive" quarters 1-3 but 4th is turtle time. That having a TE on the field, until one has emerged as a true recieving threat, shouldn't be on the field 99% of the time. And speaking of outrageous percentages, 90% shouldn't be a threshold for predictability. When was the last time you heard reports of multiple teams taunting an offense because they knew exactly what was coming?

All these things fall on Herman and the only thing he's shown me is the propensity for stubbornness and immaturity. I'd love to be wrong and watch us go 15 nil. I just don't have the faith and nothing since the end of the season has changed my mind. 

[SydneyCarton 49489]

2 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

I was referring to the criticisms that I recieved for my offense thread, the main one being that at the time, we were a top 10 offense. I could see we were predictable as fuck with 0 imagination but was getting shouted down to the contrary. But that's old news...

As to your other point--I haven't seen Herman's ability to win this conference but that's subjective. I will say, however, all the reasons you outlined still ultimately fall on Herman. I'm not sympathetic towards morons who see something isn't working but continue to do so because of pride/arrogance. I think we're in the same boat, here. 

Ultimately this offense will not be sufficient to win the conference until Herman understands winning by 1 is a last resort, not the goal. That the irony of being "aggressive" quarters 1-3 but 4th is turtle time. That having a TE on the field, until one has emerged as a true recieving threat, shouldn't be on the field 99% of the time. And speaking of outrageous percentages, 90% shouldn't be a threshold for predictability. When was the last time you heard reports of multiple teams taunting an offense because they knew exactly what was coming?

All these things fall on Herman and the only thing he's shown me is the propensity for stubbornness and immaturity. I'd love to be wrong and watch us go 15 nil. I just don't have the faith and nothing since the end of the season has changed my mind. 

You've seen me post on this site for years. I don't think you believe I'm someone who will suffer someone being inimaginative/arrogant/stubborn, so yes, we're in the same boat. Does it fall on Herman? Sure. He fired the guys doing the day to day gameplanning when he didn't do it (or it wasn't done at all). Do I think he should have fired them earlier? Sure. Do I think he should have been able to identify the issues and adjust mid-season? Yes. Does that mean that hiring a full time OC to gameplan and call plays that isn't inept doesn't solve these issues anyway? I hope so. 

I can hate Tom Herman and still reasonably look at an offense that has a versatile and flexible TE and can change formation and tempo without changing personnel and think that's a good way to attack the Big 12. Even if the guy running it is a fucking turd. You're talking about turlting, and shit like that, but that's not the "offense." That's the fuck head in charge. Now that may not be able to win the conference, but the offensive scheme is fine. At this point, we're arguing different things and you're just conflating it all with Herman is a cunt. Well, sure.

You just got finished bashing one egotistical narcissist. Not an offense. OUR offense in 2019, maybe. But there's a reasonable chance that changes with a real play-calling OC. 

But I like the power spread offense a lot. I just happen to like it when it's being maximized to its potential, and not just thrown out there lazily with no motion, incorrect personnel, stubborn refusal to adjust tactics, etc. But I'd hate any fucking offense that looked like that.  

[BigHorn'13 3494]

3 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

You've seen me post on this site for years. I don't think you believe I'm someone who will suffer someone being inimaginative/arrogant/stubborn, so yes, we're in the same boat. Does it fall on Herman? Sure. He fired the guys doing the day to day gameplanning when he didn't do it (or it wasn't done at all). Do I think he should have fired them earlier? Sure. Do I think he should have been able to identify the issues and adjust mid-season? Yes. Does that mean that hiring a full time OC to gameplan and call plays that isn't inept doesn't solve these issues anyway? I hope so. 

I can hate Tom Herman and still reasonably look at an offense that has a versatile and flexible TE and can change formation and tempo without changing personnel and think that's a good way to attack the Big 12. Even if the guy running it is a fucking turd. You're talking about turlting, and shit like that, but that's not the "offense." That's the fuck head in charge. Now that may not be able to win the conference, but the offensive scheme is fine. At this point, we're arguing different things and you're just conflating it all with Herman is a cunt. Well, sure.

You just got finished bashing one egotistical narcissist. Not an offense. OUR offense in 2019, maybe. But there's a reasonable chance that changes with a real play-calling OC. 

But I like the power spread offense a lot. I just happen to like it when it's being maximized to its potential, and not just thrown out there lazily with no motion, incorrect personnel, stubborn refusal to adjust tactics, etc. But I'd hate any fucking offense that looked like that.  

You're right that I'm conflating Herman and his offense. Not sure how to separate the 2 since he's the one running it. Now I'll say the pro spread offense itself, without fuckface behind the wheel, is probably the best scheme to run in this conference, and makes us more competitive in OOC games. But nothing I've seen from Herman gives me the impression that will be different. Especially because he ultimately will still have a hand in it and has declared as much. 

 

TLDR-- We're thinking the same things I'm just missing the hope. 

[SydneyCarton 49489]

1 minute ago, BigHorn'13 said:

You're right that I'm conflating Herman and his offense. Not sure how to separate the 2 since he's the one running it. Now I'll say the pro spread offense itself, without fuckface behind the wheel, is probably the best scheme to run in this conference, and makes us more competitive in OOC games. But nothing I've seen from Herman gives me the impression that will be different. Especially because he ultimately will still have a hand in it and has declared as much. 

 

TLDR-- We're thinking the same things I'm just missing the hope. 

Yeah, we are. I mean. What else am I going to do? I wouldn't say I'm confident, but going through the entire off-season and dismissing the season before it's played just isn't how I want to be as a fan. I'm not Hollywood Colt. 

[Burt Macklin 19230]

The only thing i’d say on the offense is that it really seemed like Herman gave the reins back to Beck in 2019 to a much greater extent than 2018. Herman only took over the O in 2018 because it was in crisis and I think he got (more) arrogant after the Sugar Bowl and returned the bulk of the game planning and play calling back to his OC, like he always wanted it. 
 

I don’t have anything to prove this other than watching the offense this year, it really seemed much more like a Beck offense (notable lack of creativity, horrible situational play calling, etc.). I do think Herman really does want to leave most of that to the OC and now that we have Yurcich, we actually have an OC qualified to perform those duties, but obviously none of us will really know until we see the offense next year. 

I think it’ll be pretty obvious quickly though, because one of Yurcich’s best traits was individual game plans attacking the weakness of the opponent week to week, including new formations and personnel packages. So, even though his offense is similar to Herman’s, the wrinkles added if Yurcich has full control should be evident. 

[SwanderedTalent 5761]

8 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I wouldn't say I'm confident

Me neither, and I am left wondering how much of that is simple prudence in evaluating how successful all these changes will be, and how much is my pessimism over anything really working out to our favor given my track record from say 1997 through about 2018 (which can be summed up as, "I am in favor of this change and believe it will lead to great success on the field/court/diamond!"). 

In other words, it is fine and logical to have some reservations about proclaiming a change has solved a problem before we see the evidence, but in my case, even if it was a key fitting into a lock, I'd be predisposed to doubt because I have been overly credulous so often in the past. I thought hiring Charlie Strong was a good thing, for fuck's sake. 

[BurntOrange&White 41857]

#Pray4Urban

[ousux 5638]

 

Just watched, i'm not seeing how we lose a game next year..

[Hank Chinaski 6357]

I've little faith in Herman. 

But...if he can (a) learn to kick FGs when appropriate early in games, (b) refrain from running Sam into the middle of the line on every single 4th and short that he does go for, (c) start correcting obvious strategic deficiencies within his team in a timely manner (such as the entire philosophy his defense is based on and employing a WR coach who not only sucked at his job but also whom everyone seemed to loathe), and (d) stop trying to protect marginal leads so early in games...

...if he can do those things, and the OC and DC are competent, I think Herman can be a successful coach at Texas. And by "successful" I mean somewhere in the Mack Brown neighborhood. That seems like his absolute ceiling and he has a long way to go to even get there. 

[NoName 17148]

3 hours ago, BigHorn'13 said:

Just don't think Herman understands fundamentally what's needed on offense to win the big 12.

Texas OFEI rankings the last 3 years:

• 2017: 109 
• 2018: 25 (OU was #1, OSU was #12, WVU was #13)
• 2019: 13 (OU was #4)

I mean, I think they have had issues in the last 2 years but generally their offense hasn't been it. I included which B12 teams were ahead of them in OFEI and those teams finished as follows: OU (1st in conf), OSU (9th in conf), WVU (t-3rd in conf)

Fundamentally, his offense is pretty damn sound. We can all complain about the play calls, decisions to go for it late, etc but the offense scheme as a whole isn't problematic. 

 

 

 

[texifornia 59014]

27 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

I've little faith in Herman. 

But...if he can (a) learn to kick FGs when appropriate early in games, (b) refrain from running Sam into the middle of the line on every single 4th and short that he does go for, (c) start correcting obvious strategic deficiencies within his team in a timely manner (such as the entire philosophy his defense is based on and employing a WR coach who not only sucked at his job but also whom everyone seemed to loathe), and (d) stop trying to protect marginal leads so early in games...

...if he can do those things, and the OC and DC are competent, I think Herman can be a successful coach at Texas. And by "successful" I mean somewhere in the Mack Brown neighborhood. That seems like his absolute ceiling and he has a long way to go to even get there. 

I like his aggression on 4th down tbh. He just busted the numbers on that by running the same obvious play, which didn't maximize our personnel, every time.

[NoName 17148]

6 minutes ago, texifornia said:

I like his aggression on 4th down tbh. He just busted the numbers on that by running the same obvious play, which didn't maximize our personnel, every time.

agreed, being aggressive on 4th down almost always makes sense but you have to call plays that make sense - like the Ingram pass vs LSU! 

great play call, great situation, ran perfectly but the dude just dropped it. 

can't run QB power to the right every time and hope it works. 

[BurntOrange&White 41857]

I like being aggressive on 4th but not when you can manufacture points and the game is a 1 score game or less. Also as pointed out just above the play calls were shit.

[texifornia 59014]

5 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

I like being aggressive on 4th but not when you can manufacture points and the game is a 1 score game or less. Also as pointed out just above the play calls were shit.

"Manufacturing points" is dumb NFL conservatism. Except in some late game situations it's usually smarter to be aggressive on 4th.

Edited January 23, 2020 by texifornia

[texifornia 59014]

 

[pacman 7507]

I would hope we all feel optimistic regarding the offense.

Subtracting the deadweight on staff, at positions that have long suffered, getting our TEs/OLs another offseason, and adding Bijan/Whittington to the mix are quite a lot of positives.

If the coaches can pull their end into even the smallest level of competence, we have the players to be an elite offense.

I am also hopeful the leadership RoJo exhibits, from whatever position he chooses, begins to rub off on others and we continue to see players with the mindset to win at all costs. The celebrity of being a Texas football player can lead to complacency real quick. It seems to take special players like VY and Colt to get us over that hurdle. RoJo seems to have it but I hope more players will take on that responsibility with him.

Edited January 23, 2020 by pacman

[USNALonghorn 5185]

4 hours ago, BigHorn'13 said:

If we can just find a solid mac/ Mike/ middle/ whatever ash wants to call it linebacker, this defense looks a fuckton better. The other side of the ball, well...I won't be sipping any koolaid until we win a conference title. Just don't think Herman understands fundamentally what's needed on offense to win the big 12.

He's shown that he fundamentally understands how to beat Alabama and win a national championship with a third string QB. His understanding was never the issue. His staff management and head coaching ability on the other hand, is absolutely the issue.

[BigHorn'13 3494]

22 minutes ago, NoName said:

Fundamentally, his offense is pretty damn sound. We can all complain about the play calls, decisions to go for it late, etc but the offense scheme as a whole isn't problematic. 

 

 

 

Except the underlying philosophy doesn't mesh with this conference--Herman wants to control the clock and win by 1. Should he ditch that idea and have the goal to be as explosive as possible, be aggressive when appropriate and smart when it's not, and adapt his scheme to personnel, we could win. A lot. 

24 minutes ago, texifornia said:

I like his aggression on 4th down tbh. He just busted the numbers on that by running the same obvious play, which didn't maximize our personnel, every time.

Right here with you. I just don't agree with literally the opposite happening in the 4th quarter. It's like he's trying to scheme the perfect slow death instead of just capping the guy (team.) 

[SydneyCarton 49489]

3 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

Except the underlying philosophy doesn't mesh with this conference--Herman wants to control the clock and win by 1. Should he ditch that idea and have the goal to be as explosive as possible, be aggressive when appropriate and smart when it's not, and adapt his scheme to personnel, we could win. A lot. 

Right here with you. I just don't agree with literally the opposite happening in the 4th quarter. It's like he's trying to scheme the perfect slow death instead of just capping the guy (team.) 

Again, you're quibbling about his personality and blaming it on the offensive scheme. 

 

[BurntOrange&White 41857]

"Manufacturing points" is dumb NFL conservatism. Except in some late game situations it's usually smarter to be aggressive on 4th.

Yeah let’s get stuffed on 4th and 2 while down 10-7 with our shit defense only to go down 17-7 in the 1st or 2nd quarter

[texifornia 59014]

5 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

Yeah let’s get stuffed on 4th and 2 while down 10-7 with our shit defense only to go down 17-7 in the 1st or 2nd quarter

I think you don't understand how statistics work

[NoName 17148]

3 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

Except the underlying philosophy doesn't mesh with this conference--Herman wants to control the clock and win by 1. Should he ditch that idea and have the goal to be as explosive as possible, be aggressive when appropriate and smart when it's not, and adapt his scheme to personnel, we could win. A lot. 

oh COME ON...

in Offensive Points per Drive, Texas finished 2019 at #18, 2018 at #29 - lets not act like they have issues scoring points generally. 

They basically had the 3rd best Offensive Success Rate, by 0.3% in the league (Success Rate: The terms of success in college football: 50 percent of necessary yardage on first down, 70 percent on second down, and 100 percent on third and fourth down.) They had the 2nd most offensive points per drive.

Were they perfect? no. Can he improve it? yes. But acting like they don't have the offense good enough to win the B12 isn't right. Having an oFEI team that is #13 overall in the country is enough to win, explosiveness or no. 

 

 

[futureman 22698]

3 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

At DE, you have Ossai, Bimage and Jones all ready to play, plus some guys with time in the system, like Warren, Vaughn’s, and Mpagi.  

by the end of the 2020 I think myron warren will be very well known to longhorn fans.  

[SydneyCarton 49489]

9 minutes ago, texifornia said:

I think you don't understand how statistics work

If you haven't been paying attention the last couple weeks, I'm not sure he understands how tying shoes works. 

[BurntOrange&White 41857]

I think you don't understand how statistics work

I don’t think analytics in football are as good as they are baseball in situational scenarios. Does analytics account for player emotion and momentum of the game?

[NoName 17148]

11 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

Yeah let’s get stuffed on 4th and 2 while down 10-7 with our shit defense only to go down 17-7 in the 1st or 2nd quarter

FFS, Texas converted 80% of their 4th downs in 2018 (12/15)

in 2019 they were 7/19 and down at 36.8%

in 2017 they were 14/30 at 46.6%

They have issues but going for it on 4th isn't the problem, the play calling decisions in 2019 were certainly.

here is a FSH article: https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2017/9/14/16300604/college-football-fourth-down-conversions

 

 

Quote

 

What surprises me is that inside the 25 or so, it's always more valuable to kick the field goal, unless its fourth-and-goal from the 1. This really went against my initial intuition.

Also surprising is that it's more valuable to go for field goals of more than 47 yards than go for it on 4th-and-short. This happens for a couple reasons. The disparity in college kicking skill is huge, and you're only attempting a 47-yard field goal if your kicker can get it there (a lot can't).

When they do attempt those long field goals of more than 45 or so yards, the success rate is about 35-50%. If your kicker can only hit from 42 yards and in, change all those "FG" boxes after the 25 yard line to "GO."

There is a large disparity in my go-for-it chart versus The Upshot’s, and I think I can explain most of that with the fact that NFL offenses are much more likely to convert on fourth-and-short. In the NFL analysis, it's recommended to go for it on fourth-and-1 from anywhere on the field, while this NCAA analysis says anywhere near midfield and closer.

 

This article touches a lot on it and the things about Texas going for it on 4th and what those play calls have in common. 

https://247sports.com/college/texas/LongFormArticle/Texas-Longhorns-football-Baylor-Bears-game-preview-fourth-down-offense-Tom-Herman-Sam-Ehlinger-Tim-Beck-139033821/#139033821_9

 

 

Spoiler

 

A quarterback run by Ehlinger was called five times on fourth down in 2018 and it moved the sticks four times, including twice in the Sugar Bowl win over Georgia. What was once a staple of the playbook has only been called twice on fourth down in 2019, failing in the Iowa State game and in the team’s Sept. 7 loss to LSU on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the first quarter where the Tigers played it like they knew what was coming.

 

The reasons why the Longhorns aren’t as sharp in short-yardage situations include being unable to replace an elite lead blocker in Andrew Beck, who made the 53-man roster for the Denver Broncos on opening day because he’s such a tremendous asset in the run game. The offensive line also hasn’t been as sharp in those situations according to Football Outsiders with the Longhorns going from No. 39 in the country last season in power success rate (percentage of runs on third and fourth down with two or fewer yards to go that resulted in a first down or a touchdown) to No. 80 in 2019.

 

Throwing out two fourth-down tries from the TCU game (one was a successful fake punt and the other was an Ehlinger interception late in the game with the Longhorns down by 10 points), there’s not a whole lot the other 13 attempts have in common.

 

 

[Fozzz 152]

19 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

Yeah let’s get stuffed on 4th and 2 while down 10-7 with our shit defense only to go down 17-7 in the 1st or 2nd quarter

If your defense sucks, wouldn't you be even more inclined to roll the dice and see if you can avoid having to put your defense on the field?

[NoName 17148]

2 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

I don’t think analytics in football are as good as they are baseball in situational scenarios. Does analytics account for player emotion and momentum of the game?

[XYZ 2154]

I also like going for it on 4th-and-short, it’s the play call and execution that sucked. If Herman wants an offense that pounds the other team into submission, great. But they need to have a few 4th-and-short plays memorized and ready to go. When you end up in 4th down, you go right back to the line and run the play. You don’t give the defense time to regroup. The Texas offense looked clueless last season on some 4th down calls.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18963]

Quote

 

-workouts are harder than theyve ever been
-lots of vocal leadership
-new scheme allows players to play faster/more instinctive
-players feel momentum and a sense of urgency going into 2020
-everyone has put on good weight
-new coaches are yelling a lot and bringing new energy

This is your yearly reminder to disregard any and all Spring and Summer reports unless they involve injury or suspension/transfer. Everything else is utter and complete bullshit. I almost threw up a little in my mouth reading that. And yet, I will fall for the banana in the tailpipe every fucking time.

A few critical items that were left out of this "report":

• best spring we've had since we've been here
• ___% of players graded out as champions, the highest percentage since we've been here
• culture of program platitude du jour, players leading players vs. coaches leading players, etc.
• new coaches, breath of fresh air/players getting clean slate and a chance to impress and move up depth chart
• freshmen taking leap after full year with Yancy
• early enrollee freshmen first shocked by difficulty of workouts, then fitting right in and competing with upperclassmen, and then exceeding all expectations; ultimately resulting in a general assessment that they are the "most ready" group of early enrollee freshmen ever
• competition at every position; all jobs are open
• finally have depth to compete across board
• random position switch taking to new role like fish in water (I'm going with Epps to TE with Boyce at WR as the darkhorse)
• Nobody can guard ________ or nobody can do anything when covered by _______ in 7 on 7

[TexTexTex 104]

28 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

This is your yearly reminder to disregard any and all Spring and Summer reports unless they involve injury or suspension/transfer. Everything else is utter and complete bullshit. I almost threw up a little in my mouth reading that. And yet, I will fall for the banana in the tailpipe every fucking time.

A few critical items that were left out of this "report":

• best spring we've had since we've been here
• ___% of players graded out as champions, the highest percentage since we've been here
• culture of program platitude du jour, players leading players vs. coaches leading players, etc.
• new coaches, breath of fresh air/players getting clean slate and a chance to impress and move up depth chart
• freshmen taking leap after full year with Yancy
• early enrollee freshmen first shocked by difficulty of workouts, then fitting right in and competing with upperclassmen, and then exceeding all expectations; ultimately resulting in a general assessment that they are the "most ready" group of early enrollee freshmen ever
• competition at every position; all jobs are open
• finally have depth to compete across board
• random position switch taking to new role like fish in water (I'm going with Epps to TE with Boyce at WR as the darkhorse)
• Nobody can guard ________ or nobody can do anything when covered by _______ in 7 on 7

Also can't wait to hear the loss of bad weight and gain of good weight in lbs.  As much as you can worn us Mitch, I'm excited for the reports and happy to hear the team is looking good from your fictitious report.

[Burt Macklin 19230]

1 hour ago, BigHorn'13 said:

Except the underlying philosophy doesn't mesh with this conference--Herman wants to control the clock and win by 1. Should he ditch that idea and have the goal to be as explosive as possible, be aggressive when appropriate and smart when it's not, and adapt his scheme to personnel, we could win. A lot. 

Right here with you. I just don't agree with literally the opposite happening in the 4th quarter. It's like he's trying to scheme the perfect slow death instead of just capping the guy (team.) 

The Big 12 isn’t that much of an offensive league anymore. There are three clearly good offenses in the league next year: Oklahoma, OSU, and Texas. ISU’s will probably be good, but this isn’t the Big 12 of 2015 where half the league is in the top 15 nation wide and all the games are shootouts. This league is much lore balanced now and there’s nothing wrong with Herman’a offense as it relates to our conference. 

You also kept making comments and starting threads about how the offense sucked in 2019 and just patted yourself on the back about it this morning, despite still being wrong.  Our offense was good last year. There were a lot of infuriating failures by the coaching staff that kept it from being elite, but everything you keep mentioning are tweaks to the offense that will help make the jump from good to elite, not evidence of a fundamentally failed offense. Tl;dr: the baseline of the offense is good, not that it sucks. 

If you want to look for areas of improvement and things that will cause Herman to win the conference next year, the biggest improvements will come on defense where we were flat out bad last year. Going from 60th to 25th in defense would be a massive improvement and cause a way bigger jump in win total than the things you’ve listed so far about the offense, which hasn’t been the primary reason we’ve lost most of our games the last two years. 

1 hour ago, Bevo VIII said:

Yeah let’s get stuffed on 4th and 2 while down 10-7 with our shit defense only to go down 17-7 in the 1st or 2nd quarter

JFC. The idea of letting the opportunity to tie the game in the 2nd quarter dictate your decision on 4th down instead of which play call would have the highest odds of us winning the game is just astounding. 

Edited January 23, 2020 by Burt Macklin

[Hank Chinaski 6357]

I accidentally set off the "4th and short" derailment...I wasn't trying to say he shouldn't go for it ever, or that he shouldn't ever run the QB in those situations...all of these things should be dictated by the game and its circumstances. I agree that the main problem has been the playcalling in those situations, where they often rush to the line and then try to pound Sam between the tackles. It wasn't effective in '19 but that didn't deter Herman from calling it all year long. 

[Bodacious Bevo 3691]

19 hours ago, texifornia said:

 

Who is this that's featured? Thought it was Kirko for a second.

[Katfid54 9005]

1 minute ago, Bodacious Bevo said:

Who is this that's featured? Thought it was Kirko for a second.

Can you not tell black people apart?  Unfathomably racist. 

That's Taquon Graham.

[Bodacious Bevo 3691]

Just now, Katfid54 said:

Can you not tell black people apart?  Unfathomably racist. 

That's Taquon Graham.

Thanks

Lots of new faces in the narrated version that I need to learn in order to properly stalk the team this offseason

[SydneyCarton 49489]

31 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Can you not tell black people apart?  Unfathomably racist. 

That's Taquon Graham.

Nice try, buddy. There will be no shifting of Board Racist at this time.