We'll hear this from Lebby and Gabriel and other defensive coaches this week, but it get old fast

Sorry @Josh_M

Login to view embedded media

We have a frickin defensive end starting at middle backer, a career liability at Cheetah, a 3-tech at one edge, and at the other edge a kid who fell into our lap a week before NSD because nobody else would take him.

This front 7 is a frickin disaster. It’s multi-year project. It was always going to be. It’s NOT BV’s fault. In fact BV’s the guy who’s going to fricking correct it. You people saying he should be on the hot seat are FRICKING MORONS.

I think it seems realistic that he won’t be the DC next year.

Who replaces him? Does BV take over? Has BV been grooming Brandon Hall to take over next year? Do we bring in a rising young DC from elsewhere? What do we think?

God the NFL games suck ass today. Which has me bored enough for a TLDR Sunday post.

One good question that's come up in the debate of whether the issue is coaching (Venables isn't the guy and/staff needs turnover) or players (our guys are just all low football IQ no talented JAGs who shouldn't be wearing the crimson and cream) is 'have the players improved this year?'

Between scheme, S&C, new coaches, etc, it is fair to expect players to improve as individually and as a group. One of the things I loved about the old EA Sports football game is how players would progress each year and during the season based on how they played. So I looked at the main contributors through that lens and considered what their EA NCAA rating might be coming into the year and what it would be if the season ended right now.

I tried to grade it similar to the game. Players in the 90s were difference makers. Probably every player would bitch their rating is too low. But it's not like if somebody isn't a good player, they suck and should be a 20. Similar to the ratings in Josh's report guard, it's a reflection of the type of level needed to be the program we expect to be. An 85 would be a good solid player. Realistically, unless your Bama or Georgia, you're not gonna have most players in the 90s. (Thought the 2017 and 2018 OU offense probably did).

I wanted to think about who has improved as a player this year. . One of the joys of Bob's early teams was seeing kids go from 'they flashed' to 'this guy is a dude' in a season. Under FUMS and FUAGG< a lot of defensive players flashed as freshmen...then failed to progress. I hoped BV would change that.

I also look at it from a roster building perspective. IMO, portal kids should be solid 84+ kids. If not, you should have kids with higher upside who can potentially develop into that.

This roster feels like one you'd start the 'Career' mode with and know you have your work cut out out to build a contender. And would throw the controller a lot because of the defense.

QBs

D. Gabriel - DNP 21 Anticipated Rating (91) 22 Rating - (87) - I don't think Gabriel is a bad player. I think we talked ourselves into lofty expectations based on what he did in Lebby's system at UCF. He's a good QB with no real elite traits. He can be a bit inconsistent. He's limited physically. He's probably maxed out as a player.

RBs

E. Gray - 21 Rating (78) 22 Rating - (88) - - He has improved tremendously in all facets of the game. He went from a bit of a disappointment last year to a pleasant surprise. He lacks the top end speed to be an elite back but he's maximizing everything he has right now.
J. Barnes - 21 Rating (N/A) 22 Rating (83) - He's flashed the potential to be an elite back. He's young and still figuring things out. Future is bright.
M. Major- 21 Rating (73) 22 Rating - (75) - Just hasn't been able to put it together in his career and always injured.

WRs

M. Mims - 21 Rating (90) 22 Rating (91) - Still the best receiver on the team and feels underutilized.
J. Farooq -21 Rating (73) 22 Rating (84) - Feels like he's improved this year, but not getting enough targets to reach his potential.
T. Wease - 21 Rating (75) 22 Rating (75) - He is what he is at this point. Good kid, didn't work out.
D. Stoops - 21 Rating (84) 22 Rating (85) - Chain mover, solid player. Is exactly what you want out of a #3 possession receiver.

TEs

B. Willis - 21 Rating (82) 22 Rating (93) - Has morphed into a complete TE and very good player.

OL

A.Harrison - 21 Rating (81) 22 Rating (91) - Quietly has become a rock solid LT who could become elite if he stays one more year.
M. Mattauer 21 Rating (UN) 22 Rating (79) - If your bringing in a transfer, they should be an 85 or grow into one. Otherwise take your lumps with Bryd who will likely max out higher
A. Raym - 21 Rating (80) 22 Rating (86) - Has improved steadily this year. We all got spoiled by Creed who came in game ready. He probably started a year too early, but is getting there.
C. Murray - 21 Rating (82) 22 Rating (82) - Another low ceiling transfer that has likely maxed out his ability.
W. Morris - 21 Rating (77) 22 Rating (82) - Last year we kept hearing the line would be fixed once Morris was eligible. There hadn't been that much anticipation since Gabbo was coming to Springfield. And the letdown was the same. He flashes some weeks, plays bad in others.

We've seen improvement with the starters BB recruited. I get bringing in transfers for depth. But BB recruited a lot of guys the last 3 years who aren't seeing the field. And it's not like any of the transfers are Ben Powers...who went from JUCO kid to a NFL draft pick.

DL

R. Grimes - 21 Rating (73) 22 Rating (74) - We thought an IT like leap was coming after the first 3 games. He's completely disappeared since.
E. Downs - 21 Rating (70) 22 Rating (71)
J. Redmond - 21 Rating (80) 22 Rating (80) - Another guy we expected to get a leap. to impact player He's essentially the same guy and his best football was flashing as a freshmen.
J. Kelly/I. Coe 21 - Rinse and repeat. Both are and were 78-81 players who have not improved
J. Johnson/J. Laulu - Two transfers that should be 85 players that are in the 70s

BV had defensive lines where every player would be in the 90s with depth that had potential to get there and played in the 80s. This unit is a fiasco. No notable improvement from anybody in the 2-deep.

LB

D. Ugwoegbu - 21 Rating (78), 22 Rating (78) - A few flash plays are washed out by frequent busts, slow recognition and inconsistency from the key role in a BV defense.
D. Stutsman 21 Rating (75), 22 Rating (81) - Has improved slightly, but not nearly the jump we expected.
D. White 21 Rating (77) 22 Rating (88) - Is playing really good football. Likely maxed out for what he is, but the one pleasant success story in the front 7.

The lack of depth and no improvement from the MLB and WLB have been a disappointment.

DBs

W. Washington - 21 Rating (89) 22 Rating (91) - Outside of the TCU game, Woodi has been solid. And versatile. He did a good job at safety. He's also played through some injuries this year.
J. Davis 22 Rating (76) 22 Rating (85) - It was a shock when he was named a started when everybody assumed it would Graham's job. Solid in the run game, gets to play enough zone to mask his physical limitations.
B. Bowman - 21 Rating (N/A) 22 Rating (92) - Future is so bright for him. Will be a shock if he's not our best defensive player next year.
K. Lawrence 21 Rating (79) 22 Rating (82) - He's tough to evaluate. He was dinged up early the year. It seems like he's playing better, then takes a step back. Good if he's your weakest link in the secondary. But we don't have that luxury.
J. Broiles - 21 Rating (72) 22 Rating (77) - Good kid. Should be a special teams player at OU.

With the exception of the indestructible Justin Broiles, this whole group has been banged up this year. What's been concerning is there hasn't been a lot of development or flash from the guys behind them. Coldon and Walker are transfers that couldn't win a starting job. Jennings and Williams are just too young right now to count on. They are probably the best unit on defense...which is scary.

I believe in BV in the long term. He' an elite defensive coach when the roster is talented. I dont' think his strength is maximizing the result of lesser talented roster. Squeezing the most of less talent and playing complimintary football is with FUAG was hired to do. I'd rather go the route of a guy who can bring in recruit talent and maximize what that can do. We will experience some harsh growing pains until that talent arrives.

Glad I have it but this is the perfect example of why OU is getting out of this shit conference. ESPN plus game.

Sorry but that shit just bugs me. You get a chance on national TV spotlight to maybe highlight your school, and it's "Easy Money University". WTF does that even mean?

5-0 win -
To go up three games to none -
No roof in the Bronx -
Nobody beating on a trash can -

Face it, the Houston Astros are just a very, very good baseball team.

That is all.

I'll embed the video when Brent gets here. I'm monitoring it now from the studio.

Login to view embedded media

Guys, I screwed up my post. I copied it into a word doc to use Grammarly and I freaking erased it. I am a complete idiot. Took me forever to write. FML. I will have to redo it. At least a few of you got to read it. Ugh.

The good and the bad from OU's 38-35 loss to Baylor.

*Rush D
*Gabriel's INTs
*Baylor final drive
*Eric Gray best player on team
*Mims bounces back
*DB injuries

Story:

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media

Going with 34-27 Mountaineers.

Team 128 - Anything that can go wrong will go wrong

That’s the rumor going around. I’m guessing the are like Nebraska and not going to take the chance on him beating this crappy OU team.

Make sure everyone is out for bedlam. Will be free car wash, car bash, hot dog eating contest, and DL tryouts

Any notes to pass along???

I know the defense played like crap.

Well, I got beaten to the punch in asking about DaShaun White, so I had to pivot. And I switched to what turned out to be the longest answer from Brent Venables this week.

Seven minutes, 10 seconds, 999 words. FWIW, White story is gonna be really good Friday

Brent, when you have on-field issues like you guys did in the last month, what's the recruiting message? Does it change? We're still a ways away from signing day, but has it been tough to maintain what you guys worked so hard to get?

There’s no different message. When you are selling yourself and have no track record, you are trying to sell what you’ve accomplished in the past. When you have some sort of track record – good or bad, whether it’s coaching a position or a unit, being a part of experiences – you continue to nurture that. The biggest thing is you build relationships. At the end of the day, in the recruiting world, it never stops when a guy commits. People are still going to try to recruit people and sometimes guys change their minds. That’s their right. That’s part of the process.

You don’t like it when you’re not on the right side of it. But you are always checking the temperature of the water. All right, this guy, I’m not sure. You’re really doing that from the get-go. This guy committed, but I’m not sure. For whatever reason – maybe it’s where they are located, family support or not, sometimes you get a parent who is looking at it more than an agent role as opposed as someone who will take the baton from us and help take their son from boyhood to manhood. Some people look at it from a business standpoint. Some like at it as growth and maturation and a football opportunity too.

A lot goes into it. Recruiting is tough and demanding and challenging. You are dealing with real emotions and real life opportunities. Hopefully you do things right. You’ve had success. You have people who are effective communicators, relationship-driven and hard-working. You will be on the strong side of it. Every once in a while, things won’t go your way. I don’t lose sleep over somebody that we never had, that was supposedly lost. If they come here in this program and they go on that field for us and they leave, that’s somebody that we lost. There’s a bunch of great players. We’ve identified a handful of them, I challenged the staff a couple of weeks ago … some of the best players who played here or our previous stops were guys who were under the radar going into their senior year. With diligence and that kind of mindset, you find some great players who were undervalued.

I think, more now than ever, there will be more and more players who are overlooked for a lot of reasons. No. 1, it’s because everybody is in such a hurry to get to the next class – the 24 class, the 25 class, now the 26 class. Some schools are in the 27s. You only have so much time in a day. What about that 23 guy that just had his first four games or his last four games. You saw him six months ago and he was 6-1. Now he’s 6-3½ but you don’t know because you stopped recruiting him and he didn’t meet the measureables. What have you, there are a million different things.

Some schools are like we didn’t identify anybody in the 23 class. The last time we offered people was in the summer and we’re not watching anyone in the fall – I’m not saying this is the game plan but it’s a byproduct. Now they are trying to identify who might be in the transfer portal or who will be and we’re going to save these five spots for portal guys. We’re moving onto the 24 class. And when the portal names get in there, we have to get a tackle, a receiver and they’re not looking for those seniors who are developing – Jeremy Beal, Isaiah Simmons, K’von Wallace, a bunch of great players that you didn’t offer until late. Mark Clayton. Mark was pretty good. There’s countless others. But guys that they just come on out of nowhere. It’s a developmental game. A guy’s senior year is where you have to be careful. We challenged the state – let’s look at guys at under-recruited states that may have had FBS offers in the last month. That’s one way to try to cut to the chase and find a shortcut to find guys and go from there. Just watching and evaluating and don’t worry about the popularity contest. Find out if these guys can play and find out about the intangibles.

"I love that. I think that’s exciting. I think that’s not real quote-unquote “sexy”, but I think that a portion of your team every year needs to be built from that. We’ve got to be mindful and I’ve got to do a good job protecting that part of our program. Instead of chasing a guy that’s been committed to three schools since August that has a commitment issue, obviously. He’ll have that same commitment issue when he comes and things don’t happen easy or quick for himself.

“There’s a lot of that that goes into it. It’s not foolproof, but that’s our philosophy when it comes to a lot of that. And again, recruiting is always tough. If you’re Alabama, they’ll say — everybody’s got their own pitch to recruit against Alabama, believe it or not. I don’t think its, ‘Why would you want to go there because they win all the time?’ I don’t think that’s it. Maybe it’s, ‘Hey man, we need you to play today.’ You might have to wait, but if I’m Alabama, the way we want to be is you want to be so good when you get to that practice field every day that you have no other option but to improve. And you practice this game a lot more than you actually play it.

“So you go to practice every day, you’re going to improve and get better. You’re going against the best of the best. That makes you get better. You can’t run and hide and get into bad habits. You’ll be exposed every single day. I want to create a practice field that systematically does that, and then the good-on-good does that for you. That’s how you exponentially develop players to buy into that.”

Hope you are ready to come in and be the starter next year. You will win the job. Caleb Williams (as a freshman) > Dillon Gabriel and J Arnold is that good and could do wonders for our O.

With some MASSIVE improvement in our DL, we might be more competitive in 2023.

first half:
6 yards passing
23 yards rushing
0 first downs. 1 first down from penalty.
6 yard scramble longest play

Was lined up 6 yards deep when it is a 3rd and 4 on the last drive of the game? What does that accomplish?

A ton of our own fans like to say “why aren’t we doing what team X, Y, and Z are doing with a head coach and transfers.” The easy answer is we aren’t those teams and we don’t have the talent that most of those teams have. Most people over estimated our talent, especially after our first three games.

O/U 64.5

Login to view embedded media

Have we addressed this option yet? Proven winner in the SEC
Also won’t be afraid to get dirty in the recruiting side of things like the other teams