This is who Steve Sarkisian is.

[ztejas 43420]

1 minute ago, lilMAC25 said:

To me the indefensible loss is Tech. 3rd string shit tier QB.

Meh. Lubbock is just such a fucked place to play and we had Card going. We can act like Tech isn't a rival or scary or whatever but truth is that stadium is cursed. 

[Reynolds Woodcock 4740]

1 hour ago, Valmy77 said:

We have talent in some areas and deficiencies in others. You constantly point this out moaning about slow white guys. But suddenly when it suits your narrative, you flip it around and insist we should destroy everybody with these slow white guys you hate. We have freshmen all over the offensive line. We have like one wide receiver who is a deep threat. Our defense is incredibly deficient at both line backer and DB. 

This whole thing about how we have all the best players but we just need a magical coach to swoop in suddenly we will go 12-0 is nonsense. It has always been nonsense. Our program has been mismanaged from a personnel perspective for years and years.

I reject this notion we have a massive talent advantage and I have 13 years of evidence to refer to. And I reject this notion that Big 12 teams have massive talent deficiencies compared to SEC teams. It is not like they go out of conference and get destroyed by everybody who isn't us. This is a false narrative. We have good players and coaches in this league. Kansas State was #13 in the country for a reason. This whole SECSECSEC everybody who is not SECSECSEC is garbage is infantile.

Our team has big weaknesses. Our receivers aren't great, they don't get open. We have X and Sanders and Whit and they are fine but don't strike terror into the hearts of opposing defenses. Our offensive line is young and raw and while they have potential they can be beat. Our running game is close to elite but not invincible. 

The defense can mostly stop the run but can't cover anybody. We can collapse the pocket but holy shit can we not seem to wrap up the QB, which is weird since they can do decent open field tackles on other offensive players. 

Is all that coaching? I am sure some of it is. I am sure somebody out there could get a little bit more out of those guys. But I think most of it is just recruiting and talent issues. Is it any surprise we can't hold a damn lead when our pass defense struggles with coverage? When the other team is going to be passing a ton? There is more to it than that, sure. We are also a loser bunch who knows how to lose while that predates Sark he has to overcome that and so far it isn't looking good. But analysis of Sark's previous coaching tenure doesn't show a tendency to blow leads. So saying this is all him and he just needs to call better plays I think is unfair. It might be true but let's see what happens with a little more data. 

I see you doing similar rushes to vast and frequently wrong judgements on the baseball team as well so...you know...

 

 

You can reject whatever you want, but us having more talent isn’t a “false narrative”. It’s demonstrably true based on recruiting rankings, the merits of which have been statistically proven time and time again. Maybe our talent is inexperienced and unbalanced across positions, but it is an absolute fact that we have more talent than virtually everyone we play.

[LTtxfan 49184]

1 hour ago, Valmy77 said:

We have talent in some areas and deficiencies in others. You constantly point this out moaning about slow white guys. But suddenly when it suits your narrative, you flip it around and insist we should destroy everybody with these slow white guys you hate. We have freshmen all over the offensive line. We have like one wide receiver who is a deep threat. Our defense is incredibly deficient at both line backer and DB. 

This whole thing about how we have all the best players but we just need a magical coach to swoop in suddenly we will go 12-0 is nonsense. It has always been nonsense. Our program has been mismanaged from a personnel perspective for years and years.

I reject this notion we have a massive talent advantage and I have 13 years of evidence to refer to. And I reject this notion that Big 12 teams have massive talent deficiencies compared to SEC teams. It is not like they go out of conference and get destroyed by everybody who isn't us. This is a false narrative. We have good players and coaches in this league. Kansas State was #13 in the country for a reason. This whole SECSECSEC everybody who is not SECSECSEC is garbage is infantile.

Our team has big weaknesses. Our receivers aren't great, they don't get open. We have X and Sanders and Whit and they are fine but don't strike terror into the hearts of opposing defenses. Our offensive line is young and raw and while they have potential they can be beat. Our running game is close to elite but not invincible. 

The defense can mostly stop the run but can't cover anybody. We can collapse the pocket but holy shit can we not seem to wrap up the QB, which is weird since they can do decent open field tackles on other offensive players. 

Is all that coaching? I am sure some of it is. I am sure somebody out there could get a little bit more out of those guys. But I think most of it is just recruiting and talent issues. Is it any surprise we can't hold a damn lead when our pass defense struggles with coverage? When the other team is going to be passing a ton? There is more to it than that, sure. We are also a loser bunch who knows how to lose while that predates Sark he has to overcome that and so far it isn't looking good. But analysis of Sark's previous coaching tenure doesn't show a tendency to blow leads. So saying this is all him and he just needs to call better plays I think is unfair. It might be true but let's see what happens with a little more data. 

I see you doing similar rushes to vast and frequently wrong judgements on the baseball team as well so...you know...

 

 

Valmy77 on fire 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[Had Enough 2081]

 
We are in tied for 2nd and we still have yet to play the #1 team in the BigXii. We still have to play one of the teams that is tied with us for 2nd.
 
We still have to play the #3 team on the road (where we struggle).
 
you have more confidence in Sark and this team than I do.

We are tied with BU and KSU. KState play next week at BU. KState has back to back road games. Then KU.

Bu goes KState, TCU then us in Austin. That may be as difficult a close out as anyone in the country.

OSU probably has the easiest road left and have the head to head. They may be our biggest threat. They do play OU on the road.

KU goes to Tech this weekend. Then us at home and KSU on the road.

There’s a decent chance if we only lose to TCU we still make the championship.

[Thatguy 8692]

2 minutes ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

You can reject whatever you want, but us having more talent isn’t a “false narrative”. It’s demonstrably true based on recruiting rankings, the merits of which have been statistically proven time and time again. Maybe our talent is inexperienced and unbalanced across positions, but it is an absolute fact that we have more talent than virtually everyone we play.

   Talent only matters if they know what they are doing. My daughter's vball team wipes the floor with all the inner city vball teams like 25-6. Why? They are all seasoned club vets. Training and experience matter. However, you give the same training and experience to that 6-2 inner city athlete and they are getting recruited by Texas. 

[DanTheHorn 4922]

The hardest thing to understand about Sark is he finds plays that work great like the screen last night but called it twice. Could be wrong but everyone has seen examples for almost two seasons now. Twice in introductory press conferences Sark says he knows he is a pretty good play caller. I would love to ask him if he sees himself the same way in the second half once the opposing team has made adjustments 

[TXpride 544]

He has a major second half/adjustment problem, and he doesn't know how to fix it. Anyone denying that at this point has their head in the sand. He's also nearly 50 years old with 20+ years of coaching experience. There's no light bulb waiting to come on. Our only hope is that he can accumulate enough talent to cover up his deficiencies, and I'm not sure that's even possible.

[linux 1660]

17 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

  You guys are hilarious. Last game OSU loaded the box. We threw it and dropped it. You guys were all over the coach about not running the damn ball even though they had the box loaded. Fast forward and the coach runs the damn ball, just like you asked, and you are now pissed because he didn't throw it. So basically if he makes a call and it doesn't work it was a bad call according to you folks. Just blows my mind. 

  Now let's talk about the play. You have 8 in the box and your idea is to throw a slant into the teeth of that with a freshman QB and a 160lb receiver? You saw the hit and subsequent fumble earlier in the game on Worthy right? And that's if he even tries to catch it. Let's get into the play call. The picture you put up doesn't show the whole deal. We have 6 blockers to the boundary. You can't see Sanders but he is over there. If blocked correctly you get Bijan in space against a DB who is just as far off the LOS as he is. The middle to left side of their defense doesn't matter. This is pin and pull. You set the edge and pull blockers out in front of Bijan. Everyone behind the play has no chance and the toss ensures that. If we block it right its a great call and could potentially get housed. However, no one accounts for the blitzing DB and he and he alone blows up the play. I am not sure who was at fault, but it wasn't blocked well. Chalk that up to an inexperienced line. There are rules for what people are supposed to do if they are covered vs uncovered in pin and pull. Once the DB spun down and became the new edge the blocking rules changed......but our line didn't recognize it and adjust. Everything that isn't executed well looks like a bad play call. Welcome to 2022. 

Yeah people are being too emotional, the Kstate player just made an amazing play. Whining about one specific playcall is almost always so amateurish, the best I can accept are playcall patterns, they are not great in the second half but having an experienced team is the way to fix the puckering up.

[OU Sucks 8816]

28 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

  You guys are hilarious. Last game OSU loaded the box. We threw it and dropped it. You guys were all over the coach about not running the damn ball even though they had the box loaded. Fast forward and the coach runs the damn ball, just like you asked, and you are now pissed because he didn't throw it. So basically if he makes a call and it doesn't work it was a bad call according to you folks. Just blows my mind. 

  Now let's talk about the play. You have 8 in the box and your idea is to throw a slant into the teeth of that with a freshman QB and a 160lb receiver? You saw the hit and subsequent fumble earlier in the game on Worthy right? And that's if he even tries to catch it. Let's get into the play call. The picture you put up doesn't show the whole deal. We have 6 blockers to the boundary. You can't see Sanders but he is over there. If blocked correctly you get Bijan in space against a DB who is just as far off the LOS as he is. The middle to left side of their defense doesn't matter. This is pin and pull. You set the edge and pull blockers out in front of Bijan. Everyone behind the play has no chance and the toss ensures that. If we block it right its a great call and could potentially get housed. However, no one accounts for the blitzing DB and he and he alone blows up the play. I am not sure who was at fault, but it wasn't blocked well. Chalk that up to an inexperienced line. There are rules for what people are supposed to do if they are covered vs uncovered in pin and pull. Once the DB spun down and became the new edge the blocking rules changed......but our line didn't recognize it and adjust. Everything that isn't executed well looks like a bad play call. Welcome to 2022. 

Wat?  First of all, when did I say we didn't run it enough last game?  I said the running plays last game were very predictable in the second half, with little to no misdirection or pre-snap movement...and shocking, it was the same exact thing against KSU.

Quote

You have 8 in the box and your idea is to throw a slant into the teeth of that with a freshman QB and a 160lb receiver?

This is "into the teeth" of the defense?  Slant would've been wide open because KSU sold out on Bijan both plays.

And even if Jones doesn't miss the block on third down, KSU has a third of their defenders on that side between Bijan and the first down if he was able to get around the corner.

Edited November 6, 2022 by OU Sucks

[HtownHorn 14678]

2 hours ago, Hank Chinaski said:

Is it? We’re starting 2 true freshmen on the OL, a freshman QB, and we have holes all over the defense (i.e., players who aren’t close to “wildly good”).

From a skill position a standpoint, I agree. But as an overall roster? Nah, this isn’t anything close to Mack’s rosters in the 00s. 

Have a walk-on playing 80% of the snaps at safety, one consistent LB, and no consistent pass rushers.

[burdine 522]

Some positive things:

• several older players are playing at a much higher, talent development is happening
• the O-line while not great is showing to be pretty good even with 2 true freshmen starting
• overall, we have prioritized and improved the OL in both coaching and recruiting in ways we have all dreamed of
• we have a pretty strong recruiting narrative going, especially on offense
• the Big 12 is actually pretty good this year, if we can go 6-3 or better in it then that is solid evidence of positive trajectory
• game preparation seems top notch
• all this while being an objectively young team - 67 of 85 schollies are frosh or soph.
• no blowout losses

Some negative things:

• we aren't getting a lightning in a bottle reboot Tennessee style
• 2nd half underperformance continues
• the Defense is frustratingly bad at getting off the field quickly while not being objectively terrible at the same time
• while having some dominant stretches of play, we only have one dominant overall win (ou).
• all 3 losses were very winnable which calls into question decision-making

I am still in the camp that Sark is a reasonable but unproven bet as a Head Coach.  This is a loaded but young team in a program that has underperformed for more than a decade.  I have a hard time teasing out culpability.  Also, the opportunity cost of another coaching staff reboot is not small.

I don't know if he is the guy or if he is not the guy.  I know some feel they have seen enough and I get it.  I have just been following CFB a long time and I have seen many fan bases overreact to losses and seasons.  Look at the K-State screenshots yesterday ripping Kliemann as not the guy.

My vote is for humility in knowing what I don't know and to try and enjoy the process of the season.

The  chips will fall where they fall, I just don't think they have fallen either way yet.

[Had Enough 2081]

  You guys are hilarious. Last game OSU loaded the box. We threw it and dropped it. You guys were all over the coach about not running the damn ball even though they had the box loaded. Fast forward and the coach runs the damn ball, just like you asked, and you are now pissed because he didn't throw it. So basically if he makes a call and it doesn't work it was a bad call according to you folks. Just blows my mind. 
  Now let's talk about the play. You have 8 in the box and your idea is to throw a slant into the teeth of that with a freshman QB and a 160lb receiver? You saw the hit and subsequent fumble earlier in the game on Worthy right? And that's if he even tries to catch it. Let's get into the play call. The picture you put up doesn't show the whole deal. We have 6 blockers to the boundary. You can't see Sanders but he is over there. If blocked correctly you get Bijan in space against a DB who is just as far off the LOS as he is. The middle to left side of their defense doesn't matter. This is pin and pull. You set the edge and pull blockers out in front of Bijan. Everyone behind the play has no chance and the toss ensures that. If we block it right its a great call and could potentially get housed. However, no one accounts for the blitzing DB and he and he alone blows up the play. I am not sure who was at fault, but it wasn't blocked well. Chalk that up to an inexperienced line. There are rules for what people are supposed to do if they are covered vs uncovered in pin and pull. Once the DB spun down and became the new edge the blocking rules changed......but our line didn't recognize it and adjust. Everything that isn't executed well looks like a bad play call. Welcome to 2022. 

Yeah the screenshots don’t match up.

But this is coaching stubbornness and stupidity 101. They had 4 defenders to our 3 blockers. Majors is covered. It’s also horrendous situational awareness on the play call. Why? Because it’s do or die for KState. They need the ball and need it now. They’re less concerned about a 5 or a 25 yard gain. So they’ll attack. If that outside KState defender sees Bijan go outside, he’s upfield now. There’s probably not a Tackle alive that makes the block clean. Even if he does, there’s a free defender. There’s no other run threat. There’s no QB run threat. Wherever Bijan goes, you go.

If you’ve got a play with that formation on 3rd down that Bijan takes a false step to the right then goes left off tackle, you’ve got a winner.

Congratulations on earning your degree from whatever football school gave you the certificate. But there’s a practical application that many football guys miss.

[Had Enough 2081]

Yeah people are being too emotional, the Kstate player just made an amazing play. Whining about one specific playcall is almost always so amateurish, the best I can accept are playcall patterns, they are not great in the second half but having an experienced team is the way to fix the puckering up.

The 3rd down play call is part of the problem because the 2nd down play call didn’t provide the solution. All 11 defenders within 5-6 yards of the ball. Do the math.

Then the 4th down call was terrible because they had numbers. And situationally it was a perfect call to allow the defense to succeed. Same shit on the Bama 3rd down play call. The Tech 4th down wildcat. The OSU series after the muffed punt.

And it’s the same shit in every game we lose for the past two years. Different play calls, similar mentality.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

58 minutes ago, ztejas said:

This is all good stuff. I still think we aren't very well coached and should have blown that game open but you're right in that it's difficult to judge Sark until he gets another couple of recruiting cycles in. I mean, is Tennessee really any better than Texas? They have a 5th year QB and scraped past Bama at home and got fucked on in Athens. I feel like we give UGA a better game than them. Or USC who just let Cal hang 35 on them? We would be favored against them on a neutral field. 

I think we're a little bit better than our record. Some of that is on coaching, some of that is on the players. We should have never lost in Stillwater - that was fucking embarrassing and 100% on Sark. The other 2 losses are understandable - and both pretty flukey. 

In terms of getting things going in the right direction - our defense has won multiple games for us this season - regardless of how much we want to bitch about them. It's been awhile since we've seen that. 

A lot of garbage in that post, but suggesting that lost to Tech was understandable was the hottest.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

47 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

   Talent only matters if they know what they are doing.

You keep doing a really bad job of defending our coaching.

But yea, I remember playing really poorly coached all-black (sorry, inner city) teams and thinking the same thing:

These guys would kick our ass if they knew what they were doing.

[TwiceHorn 31457]

4 hours ago, BurntOrange&White said:

This is what gets me. There is ALWAYS excuses from our fans. 

What always gets me is, absent a perfect season, there is always severe criticism from our fans. 

[linux 1660]

17 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

What always gets me is, absent a perfect season, there is always severe criticism from our fans. 

I will always enjoy the 05 season more than the gutter trash I was constantly telling to shut the fuck up on hornfans.

The were literally willing to blow up the team on the first win of 20+ straight.

[burdine 522]

On the plus side, I really like that we have a modern, attractive offensive identity and I really like what I see on the OL.

On the negative, we have lost 2 very winnable games and we definitely seem to struggle with malaise in the 2nd half.

Your view of Sark and the program probably depends on which you think is more predictive of our future.

I am believer in the possibility of change, and by getting sober Sark has proved he can learn and change for the better.

Yet there is a timeline that it has to happen in.

[Skipper 6135]

1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

What always gets me is, absent a perfect season, there is always severe criticism from our fans. 

I have no doubt you go back to hornfans in 2005 and you have people losing their mind at times wanting to fire everyone.  Almost certainly the first half of the OSU game that year. 

[Thatguy 8692]

2 hours ago, Had Enough said:

Yeah the screenshots don’t match up.

But this is coaching stubbornness and stupidity 101. They had 4 defenders to our 3 blockers. Majors is covered. It’s also horrendous situational awareness on the play call. Why? Because it’s do or die for KState. They need the ball and need it now. They’re less concerned about a 5 or a 25 yard gain. So they’ll attack. If that outside KState defender sees Bijan go outside, he’s upfield now. There’s probably not a Tackle alive that makes the block clean. Even if he does, there’s a free defender. There’s no other run threat. There’s no QB run threat. Wherever Bijan goes, you go.

If you’ve got a play with that formation on 3rd down that Bijan takes a false step to the right then goes left off tackle, you’ve got a winner.

Congratulations on earning your degree from whatever football school gave you the certificate. But there’s a practical application that many football guys miss.

  Your counting is off.  Hutson, Jones, Whitt, Sanders, and Worthy are all blocking that side. Once they set the edge the rest don't matter. If Sanders blocks that inside and then you can see Whitt is blocking down as well, the two pulling linemen are going to create enough muck to give Bijan an alley. The reason it all goes to shit is because they didn't recognize the DB as the new edge. Get his outside shoulder and Bijan is picking up the first. Simple as that. Everyone else is just chasing, and not going to get there before Bijan gets 4. 

   If you are a playcaller in THAT situation with THESE players you cannot drop back and throw it. Ewers is going to go for all the marbles. He is a gambler and loves the big play like a lot of young guys do. Who do you trust to make a play? Sanders and Worthy have dropped game winning balls on you before. Whitt is a gamble on getting open. Even so they are coming pass or run, and you won't have a lot of time to wait for something to develop. Your surest bet is to get the ball as safely as you can in your best player's hands with your best blockers blocking. So you draw up a play with Sanders and Whitt as the key blockers that would isolate your best player in space. You say it was a dumb call because it didn't work, but then again all of you have said every call that didn't work was a dumb playcall as I stated. Sark is coming out and throwing the sink at teams but then once they've seen everything and adjusted its about player execution. That's where we faulter. 

   

[Thatguy 8692]

2 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

You keep doing a really bad job of defending our coaching.

But yea, I remember playing really poorly coached all-black (sorry, inner city) teams and thinking the same thing:

These guys would kick our ass if they knew what they were doing.

  Bad job of defending our coaching? If you guys think a true freshman is supposed to come in here and contribute at a high level then I have some ocean front property in........

[Thatguy 8692]

2 hours ago, OU Sucks said:

Wat?  First of all, when did I say we didn't run it enough last game?  I said the running plays last game were very predictable in the second half, with little to no misdirection or pre-snap movement...and shocking, it was the same exact thing against KSU.

This is "into the teeth" of the defense?  Slant would've been wide open because KSU sold out on Bijan both plays.

And even if Jones doesn't miss the block on third down, KSU has a third of their defenders on that side between Bijan and the first down if he was able to get around the corner.

My guy, that is after the toss,  so people are already flying to the ball. Now I want you to look at the action pic and tell me what the backside DE would do if it was pass? He is either going to destroy Ewers, deflect the pass attempt, or at the very least alter the pass. 

  But on to the play. As I said, if Sanders recognizes the DB is the new edge and gets him turned inside then Jones and Hutson are coming around the corner free to punish the defenders scraping over top. Whitt is already pinning the outside linebacker inside. However, because they didn't handle the edge the pulling linemen got stacked up inside. Simple case of bad execution, something we've done late in games no matter the call. 

[deech 2275]

I go back and forth on Sark.  Which I think is justified based on his performance.  I think I can see a progression.  I see an improvement in many players as the year progresses.  We have a very young team and a thin team in a few places.  The hope/goal is that we continue to recruit well, fill those holes with talented youngsters and/or solid portals and the young team gets another year of experience.  I do think a good percentage of the second-half struggle is our offensive play-calling.  It seems evident over and over that defensive coaches adjust to Sark's first half game plan and Sark struggles to counter-punch. Maybe that is because with a freshman QB with no audibles and maybe a thinner playbook as a result - that we don't have as thick a playbook as others.  I have no clue why it's happening over and over.  

Now in theory more depth and at the right positions (like the secondary) makes it seem likely that as the team tires, it can get fresh legs on the field and can do better.  Further, I have faith in Sark to develop Ewers.  That may open up his ability to read the game and give him more authority to make audibles to get out of some of those second half calls.  Regardless, my gut feeling is that Sark does fine this year (we lose at least another game before the bowl) and next year does OK again (8-9 wins), but just can't get over the hump.  I want to be wrong on that though and as we've seen with Mack = sometimes elite talent can overcome good (but not great) coaching.

Fingers crossed the NIL machine rolls on and we can out-talent teams enough or that I am wrong and Sark finally gets it right here.

Edited November 6, 2022 by deech

[Thatguy 8692]

32 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

  Your counting is off.  Hutson, Jones, Whitt, Sanders, and Worthy are all blocking that side. Once they set the edge the rest don't matter. If Sanders blocks that inside and then you can see Whitt is blocking down as well, the two pulling linemen are going to create enough muck to give Bijan an alley. The reason it all goes to shit is because they didn't recognize the DB as the new edge. Get his outside shoulder and Bijan is picking up the first. Simple as that. Everyone else is just chasing, and not going to get there before Bijan gets 4. 

   If you are a playcaller in THAT situation with THESE players you cannot drop back and throw it. Ewers is going to go for all the marbles. He is a gambler and loves the big play like a lot of young guys do. Who do you trust to make a play? Sanders and Worthy have dropped game winning balls on you before. Whitt is a gamble on getting open. Even so they are coming pass or run, and you won't have a lot of time to wait for something to develop. Your surest bet is to get the ball as safely as you can in your best player's hands with your best blockers blocking. So you draw up a play with Sanders and Whitt as the key blockers that would isolate your best player in space. You say it was a dumb call because it didn't work, but then again all of you have said every call that didn't work was a dumb playcall as I stated. Sark is coming out and throwing the sink at teams but then once they've seen everything and adjusted its about player execution. That's where we faulter. 

   

Not sure why I said Worthy. My bad. I need sleep. lol

[6th Street 6392]

There is a chance we get a Gene Chizik type year out of Sark at some point, but as of now our defensive recruiting is not good enough. We have glaring issues at LB and edge that are being ignored. 

[OU Sucks 8816]

16 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

My guy, that is after the toss,  so people are already flying to the ball. Now I want you to look at the action pic and tell me what the backside DE would do if it was pass? He is either going to destroy Ewers, deflect the pass attempt, or at the very least alter the pass. 

  But on to the play. As I said, if Sanders recognizes the DB is the new edge and gets him turned inside then Jones and Hutson are coming around the corner free to punish the defenders scraping over top. Whitt is already pinning the outside linebacker inside. However, because they didn't handle the edge the pulling linemen got stacked up inside. Simple case of bad execution, something we've done late in games no matter the call. 

A fake toss would have had the same effect, and secondly, they were already crashing the LOS well before the toss was made.  Same exact thing with second down.  KSU knew it would be a running play to Bijan both times and Sark played right into it.  If it makes you happier, here's a cap with ball still in Ewers' hands.  There's not a single defender beyond the marker and they were fully committed to stopping the run so all their momentum is headed toward the line, despite the cap making them look like they could backpedal to defend a pass.  They wouldn't be able to.  But it's all moot because Sark decided to run Bijan three times in a row with no window dressing, misdirection, or anything.  It resulted in a quick 3 and out, which, other than a turnover, was the second biggest failure possible.

[Surly Bevo 24908]

4 hours ago, lilMAC25 said:

To me the indefensible loss is Tech. 3rd string shit tier QB.

Yep, losing to a still pretty full power Ok State with Gundy on the other sideline is way more defensible than losing to a Tech team with a backup QB coached by a dipshit High School coach with a gambling addiction (that we put on a heater that has since crashed and he can't step away from)

[6th Street 6392]

1 minute ago, OU Sucks said:

A fake toss would have had the same effect, and secondly, they were already crashing the LOS well before the toss was made.  Same exact thing with second down.  KSU knew it would be a running play to Bijan both times and Sark played right into it.  If it makes you happier, here's a cap with ball still in Ewers' hands.  There's not a single defender beyond the marker and they were fully committed to stopping the run so all their momentum is headed toward the line, despite the cap making them look like they could backpedal to defend a pass.  They wouldn't be able to.  But it's all moot because Sark decided to run Bijan three times in a row with no window dressing, misdirection, or anything.  It resulted in a quick 3 and out, which, other than a turnover, was the second biggest failure possible.

Reminds me of the 09 Fiesta Bowl when Colt saw a similar look and threw an easy slant to Quan for the game winning TD.

[tbone_ 14118]

There is a chance we get a Gene Chizik type year out of Sark at some point, but as of now our defensive recruiting is not good enough. We have glaring issues at LB and edge that are being ignored. 

We’ve had glaring issues at LB since Britt Hager left. With really only Derrick Johnson as the exception.

[Thatguy 8692]

3 hours ago, OU Sucks said:

A fake toss would have had the same effect, and secondly, they were already crashing the LOS well before the toss was made.  Same exact thing with second down.  KSU knew it would be a running play to Bijan both times and Sark played right into it.  If it makes you happier, here's a cap with ball still in Ewers' hands.  There's not a single defender beyond the marker and they were fully committed to stopping the run so all their momentum is headed toward the line, despite the cap making them look like they could backpedal to defend a pass.  They wouldn't be able to.  But it's all moot because Sark decided to run Bijan three times in a row with no window dressing, misdirection, or anything.  It resulted in a quick 3 and out, which, other than a turnover, was the second biggest failure possible.

 

3 hours ago, 6th Street said:

Reminds me of the 09 Fiesta Bowl when Colt saw a similar look and threw an easy slant to Quan for the game winning TD.

  Come on guys. As soon as the ball comes up  these guys will retreat looking for the passing lane. To throw this slant you have to wait for the break inside and throw it inside of the free rushing DE. The lane you think is there may not be there 10 steps from now. Nor might Ewers even be able to get it off in time before the DE is on him. It's a dangerous throw. Over a lot of athletic people.  

[Surly Bevo 24908]

3 hours ago, tbone_ said:

We’ve had glaring issues at LB since Britt Hager left. With really only Derrick Johnson as the exception.

Brian Jones and DD Lewis were aight.

[OU Sucks 8816]

23 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

 

  Come on guys. As soon as the ball comes up  these guys will retreat looking for the passing lane. To throw this slant you have to wait for the break inside and throw it inside of the free rushing DE. The lane you think is there may not be there 10 steps from now. Nor might Ewers even be able to get it off in time before the DE is on him. It's a dangerous throw. Over a lot of athletic people.  

Jesus man, now you're acting like a slant to Worthy -- when there's zero defenders beyond the sticks and he is 1-on-1 with 5 yard cushion -- is some improbable feat.  It's not an open "lane"....it's the whole fucking open field past the 35 yard line.  And like I said, all of those defenders are running up to the line and focused on Ewers/Bijan.  They can't just stop on a dime and run back to defend Worthy when he is already running in that direction and has a 5-8 yard head start.  Worthy would get to the spot in a little over 1 second.  I give up.  There's just no getting you to concede there might have been better options than the shit we ran, which is pretty much exactly like the shit we ran in the second half against OSU...predictable, vanilla play-calling which played right into their defense.  The misdirection and movement worked in the first half of both games....why not even attempt it when the game is on the line?  Every team isn't coming up with magical defensive adjustments to completely shut us down in the second half...a lot of it is Sark being conservative and extremely predictable on key drives.

Edited November 7, 2022 by OU Sucks

[Thatguy 8692]

9 minutes ago, OU Sucks said:

Jesus man, now you're acting like a slant to Worthy -- when there's zero defenders beyond the sticks and he is 1-on-1 with 5 yard cushion -- is some improbable feat.  It's not an open "lane"....it's the whole fucking open field past the 35 yard line.  And like I said, all of those defenders are running up to the line and focused on Ewers/Bijan.  They can't just stop on a dime and run back to defend Worthy when he is already running in that direction and has a 5-8 yard head start.  Worthy would get to the spot in a little over 1 second.  I give up.  There's just no getting you to concede there might have been better options than the shit we ran, which is pretty much exactly like the shit we ran in the second half against OSU...predictable, vanilla play-calling which played right into their defense.  The misdirection and movement worked in the first half of both games....why not even attempt it when the game is on the line?  Every team isn't coming up with magical defensive adjustments to completely shut us down in the second half...a lot of it is Sark being conservative and extremely predictable on key drives.

  You can't just turn and throw. Jesus. You have to turn. Identify your keys. Then throw. Those keys are where the DB/LB is and then you need a throwing lane. I know it seems wide open to you sitting in your God chair, but these are 6'5 guys you are throwing over, not middle school kids. You have to throw around people. You especially have to throw around the free rushing DE. Usually when you are running a rpo you belly the ball WHILE looking for those keys and decide whether to pull it and throw the slant based on what they do. He had his back to the defense, so he has to turn, identify, then throw. 

 

  I get it. Was it the perfect play call? No. But I also understand why he ran it. He ran it to that side because those guys are the best at running those kinds of plays. He had his two best blockers over there to cave in the pursuit. 

  We call a lot of different shit in the second half and it doesn't work because WE can't execute. We drew up a wide open X and he dropped it vs OSU. We hit Sanders over the middle on a well drawn up play and he let the ball go through his hands and get picked. We have a ton of second half penalties killing drives. We fumble. We allow free rushers when we have a man wide open on rail routes. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot no matter what Sark draws up. That's how I see it. People here simply complain about the call no matter what. 

[OU Sucks 8816]

1 minute ago, Thatguy said:

  You can't just turn and throw. Jesus. You have to turn. Identify your keys. Then throw. Those keys are where the DB/LB is and then you need a throwing lane. I know it seems wide open to you sitting in your God chair, but these are 6'5 guys you are throwing over, not middle school kids. You have to throw around people. You especially have to throw around the free rushing DE. Usually when you are running a rpo you belly the ball WHILE looking for those keys and decide whether to pull it and throw the slant based on what they do. He had his back to the defense, so he has to turn, identify, then throw.

My gosh, you have to turn and identify to make the throw over super-athletic trees?  The horror.  College teams can throw slants all day against much tougher defensive alignments, and convert them.  What better situation would you want than a soft man coverage with no defenders past the sticks?  Anyway, this was just an example of a play that could be more successful, but you have proven without a shadow of a doubt that it would have nearly impossible to pull off, and the 5 yard loss we had was a much better outcome.

[Had Enough 2081]

 
 
 We allow free rushers when we have a man wide open on rail routes.

You know they brought 6 so we had 5 to block right? So yeah a free rusher. It happened at least twice. We had guys open quick twice that potentially could have scored.

And I was going to respond to your previous post in response to me.

I went and counted guys on the 3rd down play call. We had 4 to block 5. Short side of the field. Hard to justify any run into that being acceptable. The walked up safety was 3 yards deep before Bijan even secured the ball. He didn’t even read the play just went upfield at the snap. Yeah, we didn’t execute. Go figure.

Incidentally in the 3rd we had 3rd and 2. All KStaters within 5 yards of the ball. We ran into a wall. Uh, we didn’t make it.

[Eskimohorn 5635]

What about the toss sweep to the short side of the field on 3rd and long late in the 4th quarter? 

Dont exactly know where you’re going with this, but had that been the first time we ran that and we had identified KState following blockers and not Bijan, that would have been genius.

With a more experienced team, I’m convinced Sark will wreck shop here because he’ll have more plays to use. But, this is college football. You’re gonna have to play a lot of newcomers some years. Need some flexibility and it helps to have mobile QBs.

[Gut Wagon 8065]

Does our early offensive success perhaps come mainly from the "scripting" Sark and Flood do in game prep? I can't help but wonder. We nearly always have less success as the game wears on, so maybe there's a correlation. 

[Da Fino 2781]

Finally got to watch the game. The issue is PK. Out guys are always out of position. It’s horrible.

[TotallyLegit 3053]

12 hours ago, Thatguy said:

  You guys are hilarious. Last game OSU loaded the box. We threw it and dropped it. You guys were all over the coach about not running the damn ball even though they had the box loaded. Fast forward and the coach runs the damn ball, just like you asked, and you are now pissed because he didn't throw it. So basically if he makes a call and it doesn't work it was a bad call according to you folks. Just blows my mind. 

  Now let's talk about the play. You have 8 in the box and your idea is to throw a slant into the teeth of that with a freshman QB and a 160lb receiver? You saw the hit and subsequent fumble earlier in the game on Worthy right? And that's if he even tries to catch it. Let's get into the play call. The picture you put up doesn't show the whole deal. We have 6 blockers to the boundary. You can't see Sanders but he is over there. If blocked correctly you get Bijan in space against a DB who is just as far off the LOS as he is. The middle to left side of their defense doesn't matter. This is pin and pull. You set the edge and pull blockers out in front of Bijan. Everyone behind the play has no chance and the toss ensures that. If we block it right its a great call and could potentially get housed. However, no one accounts for the blitzing DB and he and he alone blows up the play. I am not sure who was at fault, but it wasn't blocked well. Chalk that up to an inexperienced line. There are rules for what people are supposed to do if they are covered vs uncovered in pin and pull. Once the DB spun down and became the new edge the blocking rules changed......but our line didn't recognize it and adjust. Everything that isn't executed well looks like a bad play call. Welcome to 2022. 

This is actually crack toss sweep, not pin and pull, so the blocking is slightly different.

In hindsight, Sanders probably should have cracked #2 instead of the 5-tech once he became the end man on the line of scrimmage, but I don't know how the 5-tech would have then been handled. It's also interesting that it looks like Whittington initially tried to get to #2. This was also the play Bijan got his longest run of the game on, but mirrored on the other hash, and Sanders aligned wider after his short motion, which allowed him to get a better block.

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by TotallyLegit

[HornsofBevo 122]

8 hours ago, Da Fino said:

Finally got to watch the game. The issue is PK. Out guys are always out of position. It’s horrible.

This is the answer. The offense isn’t perfect but it’s very explosive with all the talented players we have. While the defense has definitely improved this year, the giving up 3rd and fourth down plays so consistently is hurting the flow of the offense. Tech is an easy win if we don’t give up 50 4th down conversions. Same with OSU. People keep finding a soft spot in the middle of our zone coverage every third down and that is on the coaches. Make adjustments or move on and let’s get someone in here who is capable of stopping a 3rd down. We could be so much better changing out one coach

[bigcigar 1164]

I’d like to see a dominant class addressing defensive holes similar to last year’s oline class. If the defensive staff doesn’t recruit at an elite level, they aren’t going to fix this shit ever and Sark needs to make real changes. 2023 class isn’t inspiring much confidence.

[Skipper 6135]

46 minutes ago, HornsofBevo said:

This is the answer. The offense isn’t perfect but it’s very explosive with all the talented players we have. While the defense has definitely improved this year, the giving up 3rd and fourth down plays so consistently is hurting the flow of the offense. Tech is an easy win if we don’t give up 50 4th down conversions. Same with OSU. People keep finding a soft spot in the middle of our zone coverage every third down and that is on the coaches. Make adjustments or move on and let’s get someone in here who is capable of stopping a 3rd down. We could be so much better changing out one coach

I don't think the D played that bad Saturday.  To me the most frustrating part of the game was the Worthy fumble. KSU gets the ball to start the second half and our D forces a 3 and out.  Our O then converts a 3rd down around the 35 and instead Worthy fumbles and it rolls 10 yards the wrong direction.  KSU is set up for a 24 yard TD drive.   If we score on that possession (or even end up punting around mid-field) the game may not have ever gotten close.  I just think our defense is what it is but if we can put a 4 quarter game together on offense (really just eliminating mistakes like pre-snap penalties and turnovers) we'll beat anyone on our schedule.  We just haven't done that on offense outside of OU.

[6th Street 6392]

It's difficult to win games when you only score 3 points in a half.

[Wulaw Horn 19069]

14 minutes ago, bigcigar said:

I’d like to see a dominant class addressing defensive holes similar to last year’s oline class. If the defensive staff doesn’t recruit at an elite level, they aren’t going to fix this shit ever and Sark needs to make real changes. 2023 class isn’t inspiring much confidence.

There is no dominant defensive class coming this year and last years D recruits were good, not great. 
The only way out on this is the portal. We are going to need an impact player at interior DL, Edge, LB and secondary.  So/ that’s 4 above average starters we are going to have to pull from the portal- 2 of which are probably the hardest position to find other than OL. 
That’s on top of holding on to Worthy and Neyor, plus probably needing one more impact War from the portal as well. That’s $ for retaining our current guys that need to be paid plus opening up the checkbook for 5 FA additions. That’s a lot of cash- I wonder if we have that kind of payroll room. Rumor is we do. If there was ever a time

to spend it then that time would be now. Add those 5 spots and this team is likely big 12 champs on the way out the door and should be a CFPB team headed into Arch Mannings first year and the SEC (and expanded playoffs).  
But yeah- the defense is going to be pretty untalented next year unless a lot changes between now and next September on the roster and those guys don’t look like the are currently on campus or checking in as freshmen next year. 

[BurntOrange&White 39931]

This sequence pissed me off so much. 
 

 

[Reynolds Woodcock 4740]

1 hour ago, bigcigar said:

I’d like to see a dominant class addressing defensive holes similar to last year’s oline class. If the defensive staff doesn’t recruit at an elite level, they aren’t going to fix this shit ever and Sark needs to make real changes. 2023 class isn’t inspiring much confidence.

 

49 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

There is no dominant defensive class coming this year and last years D recruits were good, not great. 
The only way out on this is the portal. We are going to need an impact player at interior DL, Edge, LB and secondary.  So/ that’s 4 above average starters we are going to have to pull from the portal- 2 of which are probably the hardest position to find other than OL. 
That’s on top of holding on to Worthy and Neyor, plus probably needing one more impact War from the portal as well. That’s $ for retaining our current guys that need to be paid plus opening up the checkbook for 5 FA additions. That’s a lot of cash- I wonder if we have that kind of payroll room. Rumor is we do. If there was ever a time

to spend it then that time would be now. Add those 5 spots and this team is likely big 12 champs on the way out the door and should be a CFPB team headed into Arch Mannings first year and the SEC (and expanded playoffs).  
But yeah- the defense is going to be pretty untalented next year unless a lot changes between now and next September on the roster and those guys don’t look like the are currently on campus or checking in as freshmen next year. 

We aren’t going to have an elite defense as long as PK is in charge. He is not a good recruiter (see a million examples, but Drew Sanders being Exhibit A), and clearly not elite at scheme/play calling. We can hope to match an elite offense with an average to above average defense, which I would certainly take. 

Edited November 7, 2022 by Reynolds Woodcock

[6th Street 6392]

We might pull in Colton Vasek which would be a huge win at Edge. Potential day 1 starter. But LB recruiting has been awful. 

[satyanash 14484]

20 hours ago, Thatguy said:

Let's get into the play call. The picture you put up doesn't show the whole deal. We have 6 blockers to the boundary. You can't see Sanders but he is over there. If blocked correctly you get Bijan in space against a DB who is just as far off the LOS as he is. The middle to left side of their defense doesn't matter. This is pin and pull. You set the edge and pull blockers out in front of Bijan. Everyone behind the play has no chance and the toss ensures that. If we block it right its a great call and could potentially get housed. However, no one accounts for the blitzing DB and he and he alone blows up the play. I am not sure who was at fault, but it wasn't blocked well. Chalk that up to an inexperienced line. There are rules for what people are supposed to do if they are covered vs uncovered in pin and pull. Once the DB spun down and became the new edge the blocking rules changed......but our line didn't recognize it and adjust. Everything that isn't executed well looks like a bad play call. Welcome to 2022.

If you're seriously blaming Christian Jones for failing to get around on a safety sprinting straight up the bloody field while trying to reach block, you don't understand basic physics. Spin it however you want, against a nine-man box with safeties up that play is doomed to fail every time. It's not comparable at all to the first time we ran the play, the defensive alignment is completely different. It was a very bad play call in a game full of them.

[Longhornlove 4818]

33 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

We might pull in Colton Vasek which would be a huge win at Edge. Potential day 1 starter. But LB recruiting has been awful. 

The history of poor LB recruiting is LOOOONG. Herman and Orlando screwed the pooch on that one and it way before their arrival either. Anyone remember walk on linebackers starting and or getting significant playing time? You don't have to look very hard.

[bigcigar 1164]

1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

There is no dominant defensive class coming this year and last years D recruits were good, not great. 
The only way out on this is the portal. We are going to need an impact player at interior DL, Edge, LB and secondary.  So/ that’s 4 above average starters we are going to have to pull from the portal- 2 of which are probably the hardest position to find other than OL. 
That’s on top of holding on to Worthy and Neyor, plus probably needing one more impact War from the portal as well. That’s $ for retaining our current guys that need to be paid plus opening up the checkbook for 5 FA additions. That’s a lot of cash- I wonder if we have that kind of payroll room. Rumor is we do. If there was ever a time

to spend it then that time would be now. Add those 5 spots and this team is likely big 12 champs on the way out the door and should be a CFPB team headed into Arch Mannings first year and the SEC (and expanded playoffs).  
But yeah- the defense is going to be pretty untalented next year unless a lot changes between now and next September on the roster and those guys don’t look like the are currently on campus or checking in as freshmen next year. 

Sark needs to get coach boom. I thought I saw his contract let’s him out if he gets play calling duties…can’t be worse than PK at recruiting and is certainly a more capable coach.