This is who Steve Sarkisian is.

[burdine 522]

3 minutes ago, jw4381 said:

Meh.

I'd rather our best player not disappear in our biggest games due to not being used as he should.

I'm looking for never having a 3 and out. It shouldn't happen with our players. I would have also liked to have Card get some chances when our starter is shitting the bed.

And a better record than 8-4.

But maybe that's just me. And I know for a fact that y'all shouldn't listen to me. Ever.

I'm looking for our draft day to look like our recruiting rankings.

This year should be our best in a decade.

If we start consistently pipelining guys to the league then I think the wins are going to come.

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

with the talent on defense, the losses to Tech and OK State are not only deeply disappointing, unforgivable but inexplicable. 

[Dbeasy 15134]

9 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

Yeah, this. 
 

Sarkisian certainly seems to dupe a lot of players and parents into thinking he’s knows what he’s doing. 

“Dupe”? Are you retarded? He’s one of the most respected offensive minds in the country. What an idiotic comment. 

[Hookem2147 21370]

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

It sure seems like Sark's biggest strength is his ability to craft a strategy to attack an upcoming defense.  I assume this includes a lot of film work and cooperation with the offensive coaching staff.  He seems less capable of adjusting to changing conditions in the heat of the moment.

Keeping his role as a strategist but relinquishing in-game decision making doesn't seem like a huge stretch, should CDC or others put the pressure on him.  Make the case that even USC isn't quite the same as Texas, what with all the external responsibilities, and that these are the things he's going to need to do to be as successful as he wants to be.  He wouldn't be the first "CEO" who had to modify his behavior for the good of the organization.  It's the right thing to do, regardless of whether he wants to do it or not.

If you are going to force a top 5-10 playcaller in the country to give up playcalling, you damn sure better have someone who's in that same group replacing him. 

If the program continues on an upward trajectory, there continues to be stability and continuity within the staff and roster, then yes, maybe down the road he can look at taking a thing or two off his plate (Ryan Day seems to be at this point right as a head coach who calls plays). 

For the time being, I would much prefer we continue to let him do what his biggest strength is. Yes, he was slow to adjust in a few games. But for every game he was slow to adjust I can also point to games where he can completely pantsed the opposing DC from the opening whistle.

He completely took the ball out of QB's hands despite being down 3 in the 4th quarter last week, which even coming off a turnover, is tough for a playcaller to do because you get that itch to go for the kill shot. He, like many people on this board, got too giddy seeing the glimpses from Ewers early in the season and probably continued to press those buttons for a little too long. He adjusted down the stretch, we ran over Kansas and Baylor, finished with 8 wins and we will see if he's able to build up Ewers for the bowl game and carry the momentum into next year.

[Loop 1604 227]

33 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I don't know the lady, but can't things just be innocent still on stuff like this? She has a high profile husband and kids and charity work and it's a hectic time of year. Can't she just not have followed the story? I assume she's been jumped all over by now, which is, frankly, fucking dumb. She wore a shirt she liked to a basketball game. 

[immamac 43254]

Just now, Hookem2147 said:

If you are going to force a top 5-10 playcaller in the country to give up playcalling, you damn sure better have someone who's in that same group replacing him. 

If the program continues on an upward trajectory, there continues to be stability and continuity within the staff and roster, then yes, maybe down the road he can look at taking a thing or two off his plate (Ryan Day seems to be at this point right as a head coach who calls plays). 

For the time being, I would much prefer we continue to let him do what his biggest strength is. Yes, he was slow to adjust in a few games. But for every game he was slow to adjust I can also point to games where he can completely pantsed the opposing DC from the opening whistle.

He completely took the ball out of QB's hands despite being down 3 in the 4th quarter last week, which even coming off a turnover, is tough for a playcaller to do because you get that itch to go for the kill shot. He, like many people on this board, got too giddy seeing the glimpses from Ewers early in the season and probably continued to press those buttons for a little too long. He adjusted down the stretch, we ran over Kansas and Baylor, finished with 8 wins and we will see if he's able to build up Ewers for the bowl game and carry the momentum into next year.

It's almost like there is not a coach who can both do play calling and manage extremely big time games against good teams. 

There has never been a coach that I'm aware of who did both and won a NC 

[Hookem2147 21370]

4 minutes ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

with the talent on defense, the losses to Tech and OK State are not only deeply disappointing, unforgivable but inexplicable. 

Well if that talented defense could have just saved their own lives on one of those SIX 4th down conversions Tech had.

[Dbeasy 15134]

11 minutes ago, jw4381 said:

I'm looking for never having a 3 and out. It shouldn't happen with our players. 

But maybe that's just me. And I know for a fact that y'all shouldn't listen to me. Ever.

Just when I thought there couldn’t be an even dumber comment on this thread. 

But at least you got one thing right about never listening to you. You don’t have to worry about that at all. 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

2 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

“Dupe”? Are you retarded? He’s one of the most respected offensive minds in the country. What an idiotic comment. 

Not sure if serious, so this is risky. 
 

 

[Hookem2147 21370]

3 minutes ago, immamac said:

There has never been a coach that I'm aware of who did both and won a NC 

 

(I get what you are saying. I will say almost half the national championships in the last 15 years have been won by 2 coaches so they are hogging much of the glory. Head coaches calling their own plays is a relatively new trend you didn't see talked about as much 20+ years ago).

Edited December 2, 2022 by Hookem2147

[burdine 522]

2 minutes ago, immamac said:

It's almost like there is not a coach who can both do play calling and manage extremely big time games against good teams. 

There has never been a coach that I'm aware of who did both and won a NC 

Plenty have won multiple conference championships doing that.

We have 2 conference championships in the last 25 years.

If we hit that ceiling, things will have become quite a bit better.

[jw4381 3105]

3 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Just when I thought there couldn’t be an even dumber comment on this thread. 

But at least you got one thing right about never listening to you. You don’t have to worry about that at all. 

Yes. The touchdown play every time. What's the matter with you?

[jimmyjazz 46293]

14 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

If you are going to force a top 5-10 playcaller in the country to give up playcalling, you damn sure better have someone who's in that same group replacing him. 

Well, I'm kinda contesting the idea that he's a top 5-10 playcaller.  That implies a 60 minute tactician.  I think he's a strategist, and then he tends to flounder a bit once our opponents adjust to his strategy.

Not every game, not all the time, but I don't think he's elite in that regard.  I hope I'm wrong.  I like the guy and I like the trajectory.

[Pam Cummings 9686]

14 minutes ago, immamac said:

It's almost like there is not a coach who can both do play calling and manage extremely big time games against good teams. 

There has never been a coach that I'm aware of who did both and won a NC 

This is really disingenuous. Lincoln Riley calls his own plays and is considered the best young coach in college football and is going to make the playoffs.

[gmr548 16617]

I don't know the lady, but can't things just be innocent still on stuff like this? She has a high profile husband and kids and charity work and it's a hectic time of year. Can't she just not have followed the story? I assume she's been jumped all over by now, which is, frankly, fucking dumb. She wore a shirt she liked to a basketball game. 

Half the posters here didn’t even notice it or know why it would matter (I am barely aware of the story myself), but it course, this can’t be so. Let’s invent an Edith Royal standard and run with her going out of her way for… reasons?

If Texas was 10-2 and prepping for TCU would this even get brought up here? We all know the answer to that question. The fixation on the fashion is just an outlet of frustration, just like Sark’s pregame suit before TCU (or whatever loss it was).

[40acredropout 2908]

47 minutes ago, jw4381 said:

I'm looking for never having a 3 and out. It shouldn't happen with our players.

This is how we know you have unrealistic expectations. 

USC is best offense this season in terms of % of drives that result in at least one first down.  They go 3 and out 14% of the time.  

2019 LSU is probably the best offense in recent memory.  They went 3 and out 19% of the time.

[jw4381 3105]

Now do us.

[40acredropout 2908]

1 minute ago, jw4381 said:

Now do us.

27% which ranks 54th out of FBS teams.  Nobody is saying that's good or acceptable.  

[jw4381 3105]

So, how do we get to say 30th out of FBS teams? Just small adjustments to overall in-game play-calling? That would get us to 10-2 this year, I'd bet.

 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

Just now, jw4381 said:

So, how do we get to say 30th out of FBS teams? Just small adjustments to overall in-game play-calling? That would get us to 10-2 this year, I'd bet.

 

Just spitballing, but I think getting two true freshmen on the OL to sophomores and the sophomore to a junior would go a long way, just by itself. 

[40acredropout 2908]

1 minute ago, jw4381 said:

So, how do we get to say 30th out of FBS teams? Just small adjustments to overall in-game play-calling? That would get us to 10-2 this year, I'd bet.

 

My guess is maturing from a unit featuring two true freshman O-lineman and a freshman QB will move the needle the most.  I don't have the numbers but I'd be willing to bet a significant chunk of those 3-and-outs came on series where a false start off the bat put us 1st and 15.

The playcalling was absolutely a part of it.  I wanted to stab my eyes out watching us try (and fail) deep passes on first down, get stuffed on predictable 2nd down run between the tackles, then of course failing on third and long with whatever we tried to dial up.

[Gil Bang 26057]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

I don't know the lady, but can't things just be innocent still on stuff like this? She has a high profile husband and kids and charity work and it's a hectic time of year. Can't she just not have followed the story? I assume she's been jumped all over by now, which is, frankly, fucking dumb. She wore a shirt she liked to a basketball game. 

And very few people watching the game knew what brand of shirt she was wearing.   Fewer still give a fuck,

[40acredropout 2908]

6 minutes ago, jw4381 said:

So, how do we get to say 30th out of FBS teams? Just small adjustments to overall in-game play-calling? That would get us to 10-2 this year, I'd bet.

 

Also FYI-  last season we went 3-and-out 36% of the time which ranked 105th in the country.  So as bad as it felt at times, we actually took a pretty big step this year.  I expect us to take another big step next year and more sustained drives helps us out as a team in a lot of ways.

[immamac 43254]

1 hour ago, burdine said:

Plenty have won multiple conference championships doing that.

We have 2 conference championships in the last 25 years.

If we hit that ceiling, things will have become quite a bit better.

Ryan Day and Lincoln Riley are the only 2 others worth a shit that do this and both have yet to actually show that in a CFP game scenario against other very very good coaches that it's not a disadvantage. 

50 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

This is really disingenuous. Lincoln Riley calls his own plays and is considered the best young coach in college football and is going to make the playoffs.

Lincoln Riley has never won a CFP game and has gone to the CFP and lost basically every bowl that mattered against great teams. 

[Pig Bellmont 8742]

6 minutes ago, immamac said:

Ryan Day and Lincoln Riley are the only 2 others worth a shit that do this and both have yet to actually show that in a CFP game scenario against other very very good coaches that it's not a disadvantage. 

Lincoln Riley has never won a CFP game and has gone to the CFP and lost basically every bowl that mattered against great teams. 

Doesn’t Andy Reid do this? I know that’s NFL but it’s not impossible for someone to call plays and be successful as HC

[immamac 43254]

14 minutes ago, Pig Bellmont said:

Doesn’t Andy Reid do this? I know that’s NFL but it’s not impossible for someone to call plays and be successful as HC

So every coach can call plays. Even be the primary play caller, but sometimes games demand them to take a step back and manage the overall team and when they are doing that they hand over calling to someone else. This is how the top NFL guys do it. There is a real OC and play caller but they may just not call every single play. They also help and are the primary game planner for the offense. 

It's stupid to argue you can be as good as the best head coaches out there and as good as their likely incredible OC as well. It doesn't exist for a reason, because it's stupid to do both in the biggest of games because they are 2 completely and equally demanding functions. 

[gmr548 16617]

This is how we know you have unrealistic expectations. 
USC is best offense this season in terms of % of drives that result in at least one first down.  They go 3 and out 14% of the time.  
2019 LSU is probably the best offense in recent memory.  They went 3 and out 19% of the time.

“We should never go three and out” is up there with the folks expecting to average 50 ppg with a straight face in the preseason

[Pam Cummings 9686]

40 minutes ago, immamac said:

Ryan Day and Lincoln Riley are the only 2 others worth a shit that do this and both have yet to actually show that in a CFP game scenario against other very very good coaches that it's not a disadvantage. 

Lincoln Riley has never won a CFP game and has gone to the CFP and lost basically every bowl that mattered against great teams. 

He loses in the college football playoffs to loaded ass teams, which is a lot more important than who the play caller is in college football. I have a sneaking suspicion that once he has the loaded team, he will be the one doing the winning.

 

I mean, hell, Joe Burrow made Joe Brady one of the hottest coaching names in all of football. I don't think LSU was winning because ol' Joey Boy was dialing up perfect plays every time. I think it had more to do with LSU being loaded as absolute fuck.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Pam Cummings

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

11 minutes ago, immamac said:

So every coach can call plays. Even be the primary play caller, but sometimes games demand them to take a step back and manage the overall team and when they are doing that they hand over calling to someone else. This is how the top NFL guys do it. There is a real OC and play caller but they may just not call every single play. They also help and are the primary game planner for the offense. 

It's stupid to argue you can be as good as the best head coaches out there and as good as their likely incredible OC as well. It doesn't exist for a reason, because it's stupid to do both in the biggest of games because they are 2 completely and equally demanding functions. 

What game day tasks of a head coach would you say are equally as demanding as adjusting the offense and defense and calling those plays?

[immamac 43254]

9 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

What game day tasks of a head coach would you say are equally as demanding as adjusting the offense and defense and calling those plays?

Personnel management. Clock management. Game flow management. Officiating management. Meeting with the other members of the staff to make sure that adjustments are being made. Talking to key contributors on the team who are not on the field. 

I mean being a head coach? You think Saban just fucking chills all game? 

[jw4381 3105]

18 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

“We should never go three and out” is up there with the folks expecting to average 50 ppg with a straight face in the preseason

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

1 minute ago, immamac said:

Personnel management. Clock management. Game flow management. Officiating management. Meeting with the other members of the staff to make sure that adjustments are being made. Talking to key contributors on the team who are not on the field. 

I mean being a head coach? You think Saban just fucking chills all game? 

I don’t think he chills. I don’t think all of those together are remotely as demanding as trying to move, or stop, the ball on a play-by-play basis, though. Opinions will vary, I suppose. 

[Tex Long 4462]

Never going 3-and-out is not the issue, don't try to ride that pony.

The issue there is about going 3-and-out over and over and over, with little to no change at all. Change players, change playsets, change something. Put away that sheet you keep staring at - you know, the one that says "What would Lavell do?" at the top.

 

[hobbes2702 13082]

2 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

 

If playing Bijan and Roschon like DJ Monroe results in a player leading the country in all-purpose yards and another rushing for over 500 yards, where do I sign up for that each year?

There’s multiple games this season where we abandoned the run game. It’s literally the reason we aren’t playing in the CCG.

[hobbes2702 13082]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Well, I'm kinda contesting the idea that he's a top 5-10 playcaller.  That implies a 60 minute tactician.  I think he's a strategist, and then he tends to flounder a bit once our opponents adjust to his strategy.

Not every game, not all the time, but I don't think he's elite in that regard.  I hope I'm wrong.  I like the guy and I like the trajectory.

Ding ding ding

[Eskimohorn 5644]

Well, I'm kinda contesting the idea that he's a top 5-10 playcaller.  That implies a 60 minute tactician.  I think he's a strategist, and then he tends to flounder a bit once our opponents adjust to his strategy.
Not every game, not all the time, but I don't think he's elite in that regard.  I hope I'm wrong.  I like the guy and I like the trajectory.

I think this is fair. The conservative playcalling with 2nd half leads has been inexplicable. Less motion, less diversity in plays. The scoring droughts.

His ability as an offensive mind reminds me of Russian chessmasters who can destroy less experienced opponents who dont know what they’re trying to do. But when things breakdown, are less dominant as they improvise.

[Pam Cummings 9686]

10 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

There’s multiple games this season where we abandoned the run game. It’s literally the reason we aren’t playing in the CCG.

Well that and the fact that our savior QB played like a shit ass freshman in some really important games. I'm willing to allow a year for growth in that dept. I tend to agree that the run game should have been used more, though.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Pam Cummings

[bschoolprof 6273]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Well, I'm kinda contesting the idea that he's a top 5-10 playcaller.  That implies a 60 minute tactician.  I think he's a strategist, and then he tends to flounder a bit once our opponents adjust to his strategy.

Not every game, not all the time, but I don't think he's elite in that regard.  I hope I'm wrong.  I like the guy and I like the trajectory.

I think he's a top 5-10 play designer.  He puts lots of great eye candy out there and has some really cool concepts as well as play sequences that build on one another.  This is all on the whiteboard though.  In terms of play calling during the game, and how to adjust on the fly, I agree with you.  I think he's just OK in this regard.  

[Hookem2147 21370]

10 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

I think he's a top 5-10 play designer.  He puts lots of great eye candy out there and has some really cool concepts as well as play sequences that build on one another.  This is all on the whiteboard though.  In terms of play calling during the game, and how to adjust on the fly, I agree with you.  I think he's just OK in this regard.  

I won't argue with that. I think that is fair. In my opinion, the hope should be that as we continue to build stability and continuity with the staff and roster, he won't be burdened with some of the stuff he was in the early years as we were getting things in place.

He was rightfully very concerned about the defense heading into the season and even said he spent extra times in defensive meetings. As PK earns his trusts, maybe he gets to take a small step back and that opens up his ability to improve in other areas or focus on other tasks within the program.

Yes, he had some bad moments in the second half this year, but the overall good still outweighs the bad by a pretty far margin in my eyes in terms of playcalling. His biggest value add is as a playcaller and it is why he was hired. If he tries to hand off that responsibility to someone else, we better be damn confident there is not going to be any sort of dropoff. Because bringing in (or promoting from within) a new playcaller carries risk. If he has to yank back control or the offense regresses, it is not going to be pretty.

If we are in year 3, 4 or 5 and seeing the same failures repeated over and over, I would definitely be open to changing my opinion. As long as the arrow is pointed in a positive direction, I won't be concerned. 

[Jkwellborn 6750]

Personnel management. Clock management. Game flow management. Officiating management. Meeting with the other members of the staff to make sure that adjustments are being made. Talking to key contributors on the team who are not on the field. 
I mean being a head coach? You think Saban just fucking chills all game? 

I don’t get the feeling the head dictates who’s in the game.

I’ll agree with most of the rest of it.

[jw4381 3105]

[jw4381 3105]

1 hour ago, Tex Long said:

Never going 3-and-out is not the issue, don't try to ride that pony.

The issue there is about going 3-and-out over and over and over, with little to no change at all. Change players, change playsets, change something. Put away that sheet you keep staring at - you know, the one that says "What would Lavell do?" at the top.

 

[hook me 2113]

2 hours ago, Pig Bellmont said:

Doesn’t Andy Reid do this? I know that’s NFL but it’s not impossible for someone to call plays and be successful as HC

Pederson, Reid, & McVay. 3 of the last 5 SB have been won by HC who called offensive plays. Sean Peyton, Mike McCarthy (I think he was calling plays at this point. maybe not?) in recent history as well. It's still new, but certainly becoming more common. We'll see if it remains that way or if it's just a flash in the pan. It should be noted, NFL teams are allowed more coaches so that certainly helps. I think the biggest downfall of a HC who calls plays is that they tend to inadvertently torpedo the other unit on their team. Riley @ OU is the perfect example for this. Great offensive mind whose defenses were mostly awful.

That said, if our ceiling with Sark is dominating the conference we're in and being a top 4 team in the CFP, I'd prefer we bang our head on that ceiling a few times before deciding we need to move on in search of a true CEO type coach or forcing him to hire someone to run his offense.

[Jkwellborn 6750]

Do any HC call the defense?

[Wulaw Horn 19153]

4 hours ago, Longhornlove said:

That's what I'm saying, that is what I think, that is what I hope.

I know nothing about fashion- and no idea whose shirt she is wearing… whose is it and what’s wrong with it?  

[jimmyjazz 46293]

5 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I know nothing about fashion- and no idea whose shirt she is wearing… whose is it and what’s wrong with it?  

Some fashion house that's under fire for ads that apparently exploit children.

[Longhornlove 4899]

7 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I know nothing about fashion- and no idea whose shirt she is wearing… whose is it and what’s wrong with it?  

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/style/balenciaga-campaign-controversy.html

I am no fan of NYT but this article has everything you are looking for.

[closetohumping 17484]

40 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

Do any HC call the defense?

Venables?

[Loop 1604 227]

6 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Some fashion house that's under fire for ads that apparently exploit children.

Apparently?

[Longhornlove 4899]

12 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I know nothing about fashion- and no idea whose shirt she is wearing… whose is it and what’s wrong with it?  

Just now, Loop 1604 said:

Apparently?

When they admit they are wrong is is still apparently?