This is who Steve Sarkisian is.

[TwiceHorn 31,536]

4 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Kirby smart is a mouth breathing moron who couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag. He’s the guy you should hold up as evidence that Sark can win big here. Georgia has consistently run an incredibly dirty program and stacked insane recruiting classes one on top of the other, until the talent became so good even Kirby Smart couldn’t fuck it up. 
this post has some hyperbole in it, but more truthful than not. 

So, Kirby Dumb, amirite?

[markstanco 12,611]

5-7 with what Herman left to 8-4. I know the board wants 15-0 every year but I’m good with this start.

[Massive Horn 41]

Pretty sure my toddler's first full sentence will be "Just run the ball you stupid fucking pussy". The fact it took this shitsniffer two years to figure it out should scare everyone. 

[markstanco 12,611]

Why? So run the ball means wins? Holy shit I should coach. Don’t be such a simpleton.

[Matagorda 118]

5 hours ago, Massive Horn said:

Pretty sure my toddler's first full sentence will be "Just run the ball you stupid fucking pussy". The fact it took this shitsniffer two years to figure it out should scare everyone. 

This is actually true.  The last game could have been the blue print all season long.  

[WBT 20,669]

If we had just stuck with that 2.5 ypc vs tcu we would have mudholed them

[HenryJames 66,171]

7 hours ago, SKA the boss said:

Christian Jones should be the poster boy for this team. In 2021, people were frothing every week while he was blocking air, diving at the turf, calling him "turn stile", and no one even noticed him this year. He's not the only one who got remarkably better. 

 

[Herpa Derpa 6,131]

13 hours ago, Massive Horn said:

Pretty sure my toddler's first full sentence will be "Just run the ball you stupid fucking pussy". The fact it took this shitsniffer two years to figure it out should scare everyone. 

Your toddler sounds like a dick.

Edited November 26, 2022 by Herpa Derpa

[lilMAC25 3,818]

11 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Good lord.  Do your homework.  Sark took over for a 0-12 UDub team and got them to 5-7 in year 1.  Finished up at 8-4.  Not mind-blowing, but by definition a "good job".  He was 10-4 at USC and then got fired at 3-2 for being a drunk.  He rebuilt himself and got the gold standard rec from Nick Saban.  

To equate him to John Fucking Mackovic at this point is asinine.  For starters, he's not a prick, which leads him to be able to run circles around Mackovic, who could never fit in with HS coaches in this state.

Do your own damn homework. Steve Sarkisian has never won 10 games as a HC. He’s only won 9 games 1x. 
 

let’s hope he gets a chance to increase both of those by 1 this season.

Edited November 26, 2022 by lilMAC25

[Thatguy 8,860]

52 minutes ago, lilMAC25 said:

Do your own damn homework. Steve Sarkisian has never won 10 games as a HC. He’s only won 9 games 1x. 
 

let’s hope he gets a chance to increase both of those by 1 this season.

He didn't coach the bowl game for his 9 win Washington team because he took the USC job. Quit being an asshole. Lol. 

[Thatguy 8,860]

  I bet every store around the Austin area is sold out of tampons. 

[gmr548 16,616]

Apparently you aren't.

Oh? What am I missing here?

 

I missed the RoJo hurdle live because I was focused on Jones just destroying his man. To their credit, player development is not a foreign concept under this staff, which is refreshing. Definitely a positive data point.

[Fondren & Main 6,742]

Sarkwinsian

[mdmost 43,050]

I'm not sold Sark is the guy but it would be foolish to say there wasn't tangible growth this season. There are things Sark did that drove me crazy such as going away from what works in multiple games, not benching Ewers to give him a reset, and constantly forcing Ewers to throw when he didn't have it. But we still won 8 games with a freshman QB, a fairly freshman OL, and multiple games where our players did really stupid things that killed drives and put us in the hole. Yesterday, we overcame most of that. I'm hopeful that with an entire offseason, Sark can get Quinn's head right. My only fear is not finding the answer at RB. I don't want to just rely on Quinn next season. But I trust he'll do that. There's nothing wrong with a little optimism. It sure as hell beats what I've been feeling since 2013.  

[TwiceHorn 31,536]

On 11/25/2022 at 1:06 PM, Dbeasy said:

I don’t want to offend anyone by accident, but it would be interesting to hear from a Surly ex-alcoholic to understand whether an inability to focus and manage is a common trait of some alcoholics. 

Ability to focus might be an issue in early sobriety, first year probably max.  

I'll tell you what would be very challenging for a recovering/ed alcoholic as a HFC.  One of the central problems of alcoholics is control:  the urgent desire and need to control people, places, and things and outcomes, most of which one has little or no control over.

So, anyone in a management position that is responsible for the actions of other people and the outcomes of their work will struggle a bit with that.  The alcoholic must learn to "sweep his side of the street," that is, take care of what s/he can actually control, mostly by doing the honest, right, and high-integrity thing and let the rest take care of itself.  Figuring out where your responsibility ends and others' begins can be quite a challenge.

This is probably why people find Sark very likeable.

Football coaches are often described as "control freaks" and that's why a lot of them are fringey personalities.  An alcoholic cannot be a control freak at peril of sobriety and life or death.

So, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Sark was struggling a bit with player motivation and discipline, as well as perhaps dealing with assistant coaches, figuring out where an acceptable and beneficial line lies between howling shit fits over the uncontrollable and productive leadership to achieve a desirable outcome.

The above is probably a perfect explanation why he seems somewhat stuck in playcalling and doing those things he knows he's good at.

But, if and when the alcoholic figures that out, s/he usually becomes an excellent leader.  Most recovered alcoholics, that stay recovered and "work a good program" figure that out and became excellent at their chosen professions.  Early in recovery, alkies often wonder if they can stay with their high-stress or high-powered jobs and whether they are compatible with recovery.  The answer is usually yes and recovery principles applied in that job make them excel.

Edited November 26, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[Dbeasy 15,092]

I don’t think people realize how much having two exceptional RB’s made the offense go. 

[lilMAC25 3,818]

1 hour ago, Thatguy said:

He didn't coach the bowl game for his 9 win Washington team because he took the USC job. Quit being an asshole. Lol. 

Exactly, he didnt get 9 wins that season. There is no way around it.

 

Sark wasn’t the head coach of Washington for the game, so he DOES NOT GET CREDIT.

 

 

No one of any authority or any regard or merit gives him credit for the win. Not media, not the schools, not the NCAA, not the various organizations that track stats. No one.

Edited November 26, 2022 by lilMAC25

[closetojumping 62,870]

4 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

I don’t think people realize how much having two exceptional RB’s made the offense go. 

Texas will have an excellent stable of backs next year, provided that Baxter signs and Brooks and Blue return. Word is that KRob was clear and honest about moving on with the coaches a while back, RJ is gone and only a hail mary and vision from God could retain Bijan. I’m also deeply skeptical about Wisner getting LOI papers. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they go for a big back in the portal, after Baxter is on campus. 

[bigcigar 1,165]

6 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

I don’t think people realize how much having two exceptional RB’s made the offense go. 

Yep. The oline didn’t really start to run block at an acceptable level until the last month or so. Even then, it wasn’t consistent. Hell, KR was also a plus back this season.

While I don’t think he’s close to bijan level, Brooks is going to be an above average back for sure. I’ve loved everything I’ve seen from him. I think he could be Rojo level and that’s pretty damn good.

[lilMAC25 3,818]

7 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Texas will have an excellent stable of backs next year, provided that Baxter signs and Brooks and Blue return. Word is that KRob was clear and honest about moving on with the coaches a while back, RJ is gone and only a hail mary and vision from God could retain Bijan. I’m also deeply skeptical about Wisner getting LOI papers. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they go for a big back in the portal, after Baxter is on campus. 

Can you expound on why you don’t think Wisner will be getting LOI papers? Grades? He’ll sign elsewhere? Something else?

 

thanks

 

Im personally pretty high on Brooks. Kid can tote the rock. Not sure about pass blocking or blitz pickup.

Edited November 26, 2022 by lilMAC25

[closetojumping 62,870]

2 minutes ago, lilMAC25 said:

Can you expound on why you don’t think Wisner will be getting LOI papers? Grades? He’ll sign elsewhere? Something else?

 

thanks

 

Im personally pretty high on Brooks. Kid can play.

He’s no longer the starter on his high school team. He’s probably the most likely trap door candidate in the 2023 class. 

I was skeptical that Blue would be a part of the 2022 cycle. I mocked the premise. So take my view on how we’ll close at TB with a grain of salt. 

[Acropora 856]

2 minutes ago, lilMAC25 said:

Can you expound on why you don’t think Wisner will be getting LOI papers? Grades? He’ll sign elsewhere? Something else?

 

thanks

 

Im personally pretty high on Brooks. Kid can play.

My guess would be because he's not starting on his high school team and is playing some wide receiver.  Probably a guy who peaked a little early

[ClubWhatever 12,158]

20 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

I don’t think people realize how much having two exceptional RB’s made the offense go. 

Those people are blind or stupid.  Every fan with eyes and a brain could see that. 

Edited November 26, 2022 by ClubWhatever

[victory88 5,669]

We still have a chance to play for the conference championship.  My hope for this season was that we would compete for it.  We have 4 losses, all of them 1 score losses.  Bijan fumbles in OT vs tech…. Not sure how that is Sark’s fault.  We all thought we would get waxed by Bama.  Whatta coulda shoulda but if Ryan Watts makes that sack, we win.  Not sure Sark can force our best DB to finish an easy tackle.  The osu and tcu losses are on Sark.  
 

This season has been frustrating be we had opportunities but we ended it on a 6-2 run to finish the season and we got a lot of demons off our backs like giving up leads, not being able to adjust at half time, and not being able to win on the road.  
 

If what CTJ is saying is true about Sark having a war chest in the portal, I’m excited for next season.  Quinn will be a year in this system, the OL will have another year of S&C.  We should have more WR depth.  If the defense can continue this level of play or close to it, we will win 10+ games next season.

 Lots of bitching in this thread by select posters when there’s a chance we play for the conference title next week.

[lilMAC25 3,818]

3 minutes ago, victory88 said:

We still have a chance to play for the conference championship.  My hope for this season was that we would compete for it.  We have 4 losses, all of them 1 score losses.  Bijan fumbles in OT vs tech…. Not sure how that is Sark’s fault.  We all thought we would get waxed by Bama.  Whatta coulda shoulda but if Ryan Watts makes that sack, we win.  Not sure Sark can force our best DB to finish an easy tackle.  The osu and tcu losses are on Sark.  
 

This season has been frustrating be we had opportunities but we ended it on a 6-2 run to finish the season and we got a lot of demons off our backs like giving up leads, not being able to adjust at half time, and not being able to win on the road.  
 

If what CTJ is saying is true about Sark having a war chest in the portal, I’m excited for next season.  Quinn will be a year in this system, the OL will have another year of S&C.  We should have more WR depth.  If the defense can continue this level of play or close to it, we will win 10+ games next season.

 Lots of bitching in this thread by select posters when there’s a chance we play for the conference title next week.

You’re not sure how the Tech loss is on the coaches?

[DFW Horn 6,207]

17 minutes ago, bigcigar said:

While I don’t think he’s close to bijan level, Brooks is going to be an above average back for sure. I’ve loved everything I’ve seen from him. I think he could be Rojo level and that’s pretty damn good.

Love Rojo, but I think Brooks has more wiggle and will prove to be better with more carries.

[lilMAC25 3,818]

Shamelessly stolen from Umlang’s IG (hope I didn’t Butcher his name too badly)

 

[Wulaw Horn 19,152]

49 minutes ago, mdmost said:

I'm not sold Sark is the guy but it would be foolish to say there wasn't tangible growth this season. There are things Sark did that drove me crazy such as going away from what works in multiple games, not benching Ewers to give him a reset, and constantly forcing Ewers to throw when he didn't have it. But we still won 8 games with a freshman QB, a fairly freshman OL, and multiple games where our players did really stupid things that killed drives and put us in the hole. Yesterday, we overcame most of that. I'm hopeful that with an entire offseason, Sark can get Quinn's head right. My only fear is not finding the answer at RB. I don't want to just rely on Quinn next season. But I trust he'll do that. There's nothing wrong with a little optimism. It sure as hell beats what I've been feeling since 2013.  

Don’t sweat the RB room. Brooks is at worst an average P5 running back and Baxter is, by all accounts, a top 3 RB recruit in the country. RB is probably the easiest position to break a freshman in at on the offense (slight argument for WR I guess). 
We will be fine at RB as long as we are fine elsewhere on offense. We need 2 good receivers in the portal along with keeping Neyor and Worthy. The WR room was pretty shitty again for the 15th year in a row or whatever it is, which sucks because we were probably only a healthy Neyor away from being pretty good there. 

Edited November 26, 2022 by Wulaw Horn

[Brothahorn 10,087]

I've been very critical of Sark only because I think that coaching still matters no matter how many stars you have on the field. I realize that he has a team of young guys and not so great old guys. Which means he has to put the players in the best position to minimize their mistakes. It won't fix everything but it will definitely help. Now that may not always be the offense he wants to run, but that may be what is best for the team. And I don't feel like he always did that this year. It's also troubling to me how the same players making the same mistakes takes forever to get addressed. That's why I criticize him first. Also, he was straight up outcoached in 2 of the 4 losses.

 

That being said what he did with Ewers and Worthy yesterday was nice. Now it may not have been award winning or ESPN highlight worthy, but it was exactly what this team needed. Why it took 12 games into his 2nd season for a 3x HC to make some changes? IDK. But, it was 10x better than some of the earlier game plans. And kudos to him for getting the team back from 9 down early. Forget last year, 2-3 weeks ago, I'm not sure they would have came back.

 

So an opportunity to go 9-4(not even going to trick myself into the 10 win scenario) is definitely an improvement over last year. He just needs to win the damn bowl game and I will forgive him for the OSU game. Tech is unforgiveable.

[BurntOrange&White 40,009]

19 hours ago, SarkAfterDark said:

Most of you didn’t think this team could win 7 games. We win 8 and now y’all are complaining we didn’t win 10. Please remember this team was 5-7 last season. Take the 3 game improvement and stfu.

For the record I’ve been complaining we should have won 10 after the Oklahoma state and Tech loss. 

[Pam Cummings 9,662]

11 minutes ago, lilMAC25 said:

Shamelessly stolen from Umlang’s IG (hope I didn’t Butcher his name too badly)

 

Rock chalk motherfuckers.

[hobbes2702 13,073]

3 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:

I've been very critical of Sark only because I think that coaching still matters no matter how many stars you have on the field. I realize that he has a team of young guys and not so great old guys. Which means he has to put the players in the best position to minimize their mistakes. It won't fix everything but it will definitely help. Now that may not always be the offense he wants to run, but that may be what is best for the team. And I don't feel like he always did that this year. It's also troubling to me how the same players making the same mistakes takes forever to get addressed. That's why I criticize him first. Also, he was straight up outcoached in 2 of the 4 losses.

 

That being said what he did with Ewers and Worthy yesterday was nice. Now it may not have been award winning or ESPN highlight worthy, but it was exactly what this team needed. Why it took 12 games into his 2nd season for a 3x HC to make some changes? IDK. But, it was 10x better than some of the earlier game plans. And kudos to him for getting the team back from 9 down early. Forget last year, 2-3 weeks ago, I'm not sure they would have came back.

 

So an opportunity to go 9-4(not even going to trick myself into the 10 win scenario) is definitely an improvement over last year. He just needs to win the damn bowl game and I will forgive him for the OSU game. Tech is unforgiveable.

[6th Street 6,508]

I would be careful about pushing Tre Wisner out - his high school supposedly produces a ton of D1 talent 

[closetojumping 62,870]

1 minute ago, 6th Street said:

I would be careful about pushing Tre Wisner out - his high school supposedly produces a ton of D1 talent 

It’s Desoto, sure. They have a history of sending the iron pyrite in UT’s direction and the solid gold elsewhere. Fuck Claude Mathis. 

Nonetheless, the dude is riding pine behind a sophomore. He may be the next Adrian Peterson for all I know, but if you’re looking for Texas to have a title-contending roster, taking HS back-ups isn’t probably the way to get there. 

[Monahorns 34]

Leaving the idea of "7 win Sark" aside, I think part of the issue with fan expectations was the 9.95ers.  I don't think anyone really expected much more than a 8-4 season until Boyd and others started proclaiming how excellent the Texas passing game was going to be.  Losing Neyor for the year hurt but that wasn't the biggest issue.  The biggest issue was the way over estimation of how good Ewers was going to be as first year starter.  At a base level, QB play didn't get significantly better in 2022 compared to 2021.  Even the last game of each season was reminiscent.  Sark had to put the whole game on the shoulders of the OL and RBs.  It worked both years.

There is a good chance that next year is the year that Texas gets a big upgrade in QB play.  Either Ewers will improve with an added year or hopefully Cark sticks around and continues his improvement curve.  It was obvious 2021 to 2022.

 

The point though is don't listen to talking heads.  They make money by getting fans excited about the next season.  We see the improvement curve now with 5-7 to 8-4 and recruiting well.  Sark either builds on these results and makes something of himself or we stay around an 8-4 level and Texas starts looking for another coach in 3-4 years.

[victory88 5,669]

Lmao, desoto themselves have processed him to the bench.

[6th Street 6,508]

Damn the services got that one way wrong. Maybe he can be a special teams star here like Beau Trahan

Edited November 26, 2022 by 6th Street

[closetojumping 62,870]

11 minutes ago, Monahorns said:

Leaving the idea of "7 win Sark" aside, I think part of the issue with fan expectations was the 9.95ers.  I don't think anyone really expected much more than a 8-4 season until Boyd and others started proclaiming how excellent the Texas passing game was going to be.  Losing Neyor for the year hurt but that wasn't the biggest issue.  The biggest issue was the way over estimation of how good Ewers was going to be as first year starter.  At a base level, QB play didn't get significantly better in 2022 compared to 2021.  Even the last game of each season was reminiscent.  Sark had to put the whole game on the shoulders of the OL and RBs.  It worked both years.

There is a good chance that next year is the year that Texas gets a big upgrade in QB play.  Either Ewers will improve with an added year or hopefully Cark sticks around and continues his improvement curve.  It was obvious 2021 to 2022.

 

The point though is don't listen to talking heads.  They make money by getting fans excited about the next season.  We see the improvement curve now with 5-7 to 8-4 and recruiting well.  Sark either builds on these results and makes something of himself or we stay around an 8-4 level and Texas starts looking for another coach in 3-4 years.

Hey man, if you’re taking your cues on how to feel about the team from a proven imbecile like Ian Boyd, that’s on you. Don’t go putting that nonsensical evil on the rest of us, though. 

Edited November 26, 2022 by closetojumping

[Bevo14 8,378]

8 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

I would be careful about pushing Tre Wisner out - his high school supposedly produces a ton of D1 talent 

They should push anyone out that won't contribute. Not saying that's him though. I don't know.

[Monahorns 34]

Just now, closetojumping said:

Hey man, if you’re taking your cues on how to feel about the team from a proven imbecile like Ian Boyd, that’s on you. Don’t go putting that nonsensical even on the rest of us, though. 

 

I didn't.  If you didn't then good on you too.  But that type of thing does have an effect.  It became the narrative that only Ewers could "unlock" Sark's offense.  Maybe he can maybe he can't.  But when I pointed that out a couple of weeks ago the fine people of Surly reacted the way you would expect if you had drunk the koolaid.

[Atticus 3,991]

Let's also not forget that we couldn't run the ball with consistency against ULM at home. End of the year, we're pushing Kansas and Baylor around and running it down their throats. If just 2 of our freshmen OL take the big leap from 1st to 2nd year player, we'll have plenty enough of a run game for next year even if Ewers doesn't make a huge leap as a downfield passer

[Horn80 6,131]

Based on Ewers performance this season, he really made a very good call coming to Texas because he would have got pulled or never seen the field this season if he was still at Ohio St.  However, I think he will be much improved next season and will win many games.

[hobbes2702 13,073]

9 minutes ago, Atticus said:

Let's also not forget that we couldn't run the ball with consistency against ULM at home. End of the year, we're pushing Kansas and Baylor around and running it down their throats. If just 2 of our freshmen OL take the big leap from 1st to 2nd year player, we'll have plenty enough of a run game for next year even if Ewers doesn't make a huge leap as a downfield passer

Bijan averaged 7 yds a carry against ULM and RoJo averaged over 6. We only gave them the ball a combined 15 times because that wasn’t a real game.

If you take away QB sacks we ran 26 for 155. 
 

Our running issues this year were almost always because we abandoned the run early in the game instead of wearing out defenses with our horses

[Atticus 3,991]

Wrong. Go back and watch the games if you need to, but our run blocking was a solid concern at the beginning of the year.

Edited November 26, 2022 by Atticus

[hobbes2702 13,073]

6 minutes ago, Atticus said:

Wrong. Go back and watch the games if you need to, but our run blocking was a solid concern at the beginning of the year.

No one said it wasn’t. What you said still wasn’t true. We ran the ball plenty consistently against ULM. We still ran the ball effectively all year because we had two studs despite our oline not being great early in the year. Our losses are almost entirely down to becoming too QB dependent. Even in games where we finally ran the ball enough with Bijan we still threw 50 times and left RoJo on the bench.

Rojo had 5 touches for 73 yards against OkSt and we still had Quinn throwing 19/49. 

Edited November 26, 2022 by hobbes2702

[lilMAC25 3,818]

4 minutes ago, Atticus said:

Wrong. Go back and watch the games if you need to, but our run blocking was a solid concern at the beginning of the year.

We also got away from it too quickly.

[Atticus 3,991]

You're still wrong. If you think Bijan needing to evade defenders in the backfield to gain yards against ULM is effective running, idk what to tell you. But do your thing man

[hobbes2702 13,073]

1 minute ago, Atticus said:

You're still wrong. If you think Bijan needing to evade defenders in the backfield to gain yards against ULM is effective running, idk what to tell you. But do your thing man

I think 7 yards per carry is effective. What the fuck are you talking about?

Bijan has lead the nation in yards after contact the last two seasons. Give him the ball

Edited November 26, 2022 by hobbes2702

[lilMAC25 3,818]

ULM Was about 148 on 26 Carries (removing the sacks).

 

We didn’t exactly go run heavy that game.

Edited November 26, 2022 by lilMAC25

[WBT 20,669]

6 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

No one said it wasn’t. What you said still wasn’t true. We ran the ball plenty consistently against ULM. We still ran the ball effectively all year because we had two studs despite our oline not being great early in the year. Our losses are almost entirely down to becoming too QB dependent. Even in games where we finally ran the ball enough with Bijan we still threw 50 times and left RoJo on the bench.

Rojo had 5 touches for 73 yards against OkSt and we still had Quinn throwing 19/49. 

OSU sure.  TCU we couldn't run the ball for shit.