Slowing O down to keep D off field

[Phaeded]

It was so obvious in the 2nd half vs. ISU that the commentators had to discuss it more than once. Bob had Riley burn all of the play clock to try to save Mike's job, vs the 79th ranked total O in D1:http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/21/p2

And what did this slow play net us in the second half? 2 freaking field goals.

Just love that reality in light of this ESPN article headline: "Oklahoma completes final tuneup, now begins long-shot playoff run"

We are tuning-up to face high-scoring offenses (#4, #18 and #35 total offenses), by wasting a half playing slowball? For those of you saying keeping our D off the field is a sound strategy, do you really think that the flip side of scoring 6 points in a half is going to keep us in games vs BU, UWV and oSu?

Mayfield is wound up and needs to play tempo - we are wasting him by trying save Mike.

FIRE MIKE.

 

[Oklabama]

Never even considered this observation. I don't know if that was Bob's intent, but it's possible I suppose. Regardless, I certainly agree with you that this game didn't do much to prepare the team for the meat of their schedule. Injury concerns? Good post!

It was so obvious in the 2nd half vs. ISU that the commentators had to discuss it more than once. Bob had Riley burn all of the play clock to try to save Mike's job, vs the 79th ranked total O in D1:http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/21/p2

And what did this slow play net us in the second half? 2 freaking field goals.

Just love that reality in light of this ESPN article headline: "Oklahoma completes final tuneup, now begins long-shot playoff run"

We are tuning-up to face high-scoring offenses (#4, #18 and #35 total offenses), by wasting a half playing slowball? For those of you saying keeping our D off the field is a sound strategy, do you really think that the flip side of scoring 6 points in a half is going to keep us in games vs BU, UWV and oSu?

Mayfield is wound up and needs to play tempo - we are wasting him by trying save Mike.

FIRE MIKE.

 

[dtrain87]

It was so obvious in the 2nd half vs. ISU that the commentators had to discuss it more than once. Bob had Riley burn all of the play clock to try to save Mike's job, vs the 79th ranked total O in D1:http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/21/p2

And what did this slow play net us in the second half? 2 freaking field goals.

Just love that reality in light of this ESPN article headline: "Oklahoma completes final tuneup, now begins long-shot playoff run"

We are tuning-up to face high-scoring offenses (#4, #18 and #35 total offenses), by wasting a half playing slowball? For those of you saying keeping our D off the field is a sound strategy, do you really think that the flip side of scoring 6 points in a half is going to keep us in games vs BU, UWV and oSu?

Mayfield is wound up and needs to play tempo - we are wasting him by trying save Mike.

FIRE MIKE.

Where are the starting RBs? Where are the WRs besides Westbrook, I thought this was the Air-Raid offense? When does a 6'5" 250 kid not play TE, but WR and has flip a coin hands. The dude is soft and can't be trusted to catch!!! DL has loads of injuries and so do the DBs and LBs.

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

Where are the starting RBs? Where are the WRs besides Westbrook, I thought this was the Air-Raid offense? When does a 6'5" 250 kid not play TE, but WR and has flip a coin hands. The dude is soft and can't be trusted to catch!!! DL has loads of injuries and so do the DBs and LBs.

Andrews had 2 catches, Mead had 2 catches, Basquine had 4 catches, Lewis had 6 catches... Flowers and Adams had catches... What game did you watch? Flip a coin hands? I guess I should be glad he caught that first TD pass.

Maybe he should quit flipping coins and flip you off instead???

Oh, while you're at it... How many TE's are listed on OU's roster?

 

[Schoonerman]

Considering the game was played at Iowa State and we did not have Mixon or Perrine, it seemed like a pretty good strategy at the time. However, it certainly did not produce the points OU needed to win comfortably against an inferior (statistically) 1-7 ISU squad. That strategy may not work so well against BU, WVU and OSU as those FGs need to become TDs if OU is going to win those games.

It's not so much the O that I'm worried about in this last three-game stretch, but our D's inability to stop anyone, especially teams that run and throw the ball well. Which is what we'll face down the stretch.

 

[dtrain87]

Andrews had 2 catches, Mead had 2 catches, Basquine had 4 catches, Lewis had 6 catches... Flowers and Adams had catches... What game did you watch? Flip a coin hands? I guess I should be glad he caught that first TD pass.

Maybe he should quit flipping coins and flip you off instead???

Oh, while you're at it... How many TE's are listed on OU's roster?

I'm talking about the season and the big games. Andrews is always dropping key passes.

 

[runningback43]

I for one liked the slower pace on offense. It might not have produced the amount of points that the faster pace offense does, but it helped keep the defense fresh.

Jordan Evans has to start playing better if we are going to win the big games that we have left. He misses a ton of tackles.

 

[oumedstudent1989]

I'm talking about the season and the big games. Andrews is always dropping key passes.

Jeez you've got no love for Mark. Always drops key passes?

The kid leads the power 5 in TE TDs. He's 6th in the power 5 for TE yards. He's got more TDs and yards than OJ Howard, Jordan Leggit and Jake Butt, the starting big TEs for the top 3 teams in the country. Mark has 13 career touchdowns and he hasn't even finished his second season. That's 2 less than Keith Jackson and 2 more than Jalen Saunders.

And his blocking has been pretty damn good this season. But for some reason after a game where he caught the first touchdown with a guy hanging off him, you torch him?

Come on, man. Marks a Sooner, he choose to come here outta high school and he has produced 13 touchdowns in less than 2 years.

 

[CTOkie]

I for one liked the slower pace on offense. It might not have produced the amount of points that the faster pace offense does, but it helped keep the defense fresh.

Jordan Evans has to start playing better if we are going to win the big games that we have left. He misses a ton of tackles.

Only two field goals scored in second half. How terrible !
All the Sooners' offense did by running the ball and milking the clock in the second half....was win the game by doing so.

 

[toadfrog]

It was so obvious in the 2nd half vs. ISU that the commentators had to discuss it more than once. Bob had Riley burn all of the play clock to try to save Mike's job, vs the 79th ranked total O in D1:http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/21/p2

And what did this slow play net us in the second half? 2 freaking field goals.

Just love that reality in light of this ESPN article headline: "Oklahoma completes final tuneup, now begins long-shot playoff run"

We are tuning-up to face high-scoring offenses (#4, #18 and #35 total offenses), by wasting a half playing slowball? For those of you saying keeping our D off the field is a sound strategy, do you really think that the flip side of scoring 6 points in a half is going to keep us in games vs BU, UWV and oSu?

Mayfield is wound up and needs to play tempo - we are wasting him by trying save Mike.

FIRE MIKE.

 

[Ring_Man]

It was so obvious in the 2nd half vs. ISU that the commentators had to discuss it more than once. Bob had Riley burn all of the play clock to try to save Mike's job, vs the 79th ranked total O in D1:http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/21/p2

And what did this slow play net us in the second half? 2 freaking field goals.

Just love that reality in light of this ESPN article headline: "Oklahoma completes final tuneup, now begins long-shot playoff run"

We are tuning-up to face high-scoring offenses (#4, #18 and #35 total offenses), by wasting a half playing slowball? For those of you saying keeping our D off the field is a sound strategy, do you really think that the flip side of scoring 6 points in a half is going to keep us in games vs BU, UWV and oSu?

Mayfield is wound up and needs to play tempo - we are wasting him by trying save Mike.

FIRE MIKE.

I agree Phaeded. I was texting a friend of mine during the game and I said I finally see a Mike Stoops defense stop a really good offense this year. I just didn't think it would be OUr offense!

I understand the strategy but at this point in the season I hope they let the offense do their thing and score quickly because the defense is hopeless so we just got to score in droves. If we slow it down it will get us beat at least once against the rest of our schedule. IMO

 

[CTOkie]

A weak defense can only be helped by a good, ball control offense.....which after Perine and Mixon return, OU will have....in addition to the best deep threat receiver in college football.
The less time Oklahoma's defense is on the field, the better chance there is of victory. It's not "rocket science".

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

A weak defense can only be helped by a good, ball control offense.....which after Perine and Mixon return, OU will have....in addition to the best deep threat receiver in college football.
The less time Oklahoma's defense is on the field, the better chance there is of victory. It's not "rocket science".

Rockets aren't that complicated... Mike's defense is more confusing

 

[Phaeded]

A weak defense can only be helped by a good, ball control offense.....which after Perine and Mixon return, OU will have....in addition to the best deep threat receiver in college football.
The less time Oklahoma's defense is on the field, the better chance there is of victory. It's not "rocket science".

The only reason we were able to throw the switch and change our DNA mid-game to a run-first offense (with our fullback no less) is because ISU is beyond inept vs. the run - 114th. They are equally inept on offense which meant we didn't need more than fieldgoals.We have a lot of WRs who need the reps - do you really think Flowers is ever going to see more than 2 carries in a game again? Pointless, except for providing damage control for how our D is perceived.

But the very premise that running the ball will somehow improve our D and keep us out of shootouts has already been shown as completely false via the Tech game: we ran it for 309 yards and still needed at least 60 points. BU, WVU and oSu are good on offense and much better than Tech on defense....so , yes, we need Riley to serve up some serious rocket science. There isn't a damn thing we can do to salvage this year's D except replace the bozo running it and hope new schemes improve it next year.

 

[Medic007]

I'm certain I've been teleported to an alternate universe. The offense scoring too quickly and keeping the defense on the field longer is bad. Slowing the offense down to keep the defense off the field is bad.

I'm just going to throw the ol out there.

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

But the very premise that running the ball will somehow improve our D and keep us out of shootouts has already been shown as completely false via the Tech game: we ran it for 309 yards and still needed at least 60 points.

5 of Mixon's touches equalled 202 yards and resulted in touchdowns... 56, 46, 43, 15, and 42... Sure, only two were runs... OU lost the TOP by 1:46...

Ball control running games vs tempo running games...

Longest drive vs TT was 4:15 in the first quarter... OU punted

Longest drive vs ISU was 7:44 in the third... Made FG

OU won TOP vs ISU by 13:58... They could've scored late to win by 17 and given ISU 2 or so minutes to play...

 

[bcsoonerfan]

I'm certain I've been teleported to an alternate universe. The offense scoring too quickly and keeping the defense on the field longer is bad. Slowing the offense down to keep the defense off the field is bad.

I'm just going to throw the ol out there.

For some reason this reminds me of the scene in Austin Powers where the General is giving orders for his absence and the actions are being played out on screen. He tells his secretary to feed his goldfish and it shows a hand pouring fish food into the bowl. He then says "but not to much", and the hand then scoops out the food with a net.

These are the inner workings of my mind.

 

[CTOkie]

Ball control is not just about the running game. It includes short passes of 5-15 yards, and OU has the receivers and backs to do this.
Ball control is about resting the defense and keeping opposing offenses on the sidelines to avoid such things as missed assignments and especially missed tackles: two things that have plagued OU this year.
Mike Stoops' deficiencies are not the only problem. The talent and experience levels are down this year and injuries and suspensions have added more problems. OU lost 5 good linebackers from a year ago, then lost Dimon, Walker, Overton and Romar on the defensive line, Tay Evans at LB and Okoronkwo missed a few games.
Why would the coaches want to expose such a weak and injury-plagued defense to more time on the field ? In OU's case, the best defense can be the offense.

 

[Phaeded]

Next thing I'll hear here is that whenever a running play or bubble screen breaks free the ball runner needs to take a slide in bounds even with a free path to the end zone...you know, for the defense.

Does our offense work best at uptempo or not? It wasn't just play selection, it was bleeding the playclock each down vs ISU, early in the 3rd.

If I'm picking between pulling out all the stops on offense versus the self-administered poison of emphasizing short-gain plays, I'll take pull out the stops and pull the trigger on Mike already.

Uptempo Mayfield-led offense is now hitting on all cylinders - slowball Offense produces fieldgoals versus a crap team. So to save the irredeemable D we are going to hamstring the O as well? What are you people smoking?

 

[dtrain87]

Jeez you've got no love for Mark. Always drops key passes?

The kid leads the power 5 in TE TDs. He's 6th in the power 5 for TE yards. He's got more TDs and yards than OJ Howard, Jordan Leggit and Jake Butt, the starting big TEs for the top 3 teams in the country. Mark has 13 career touchdowns and he hasn't even finished his second season. That's 2 less than Keith Jackson and 2 more than Jalen Saunders.

And his blocking has been pretty damn good this season. But for some reason after a game where he caught the first touchdown with a guy hanging off him, you torch him?

Come on, man. Marks a Sooner, he choose to come here outta high school and he has produced 13 touchdowns in less than 2 years.

He can't block and he drops passes.

 

[CTOkie]

Next thing I'll hear here is that whenever a running play or bubble screen breaks free the ball runner needs to take a slide in bounds even with a free path to the end zone...you know, for the defense.

Does our offense work best at uptempo or not? It wasn't just play selection, it was bleeding the playclock each down vs ISU, early in the 3rd.

If I'm picking between pulling out all the stops on offense versus the self-administered poison of emphasizing short-gain plays, I'll take pull out the stops and pull the trigger on Mike already.

Uptempo Mayfield-led offense is now hitting on all cylinders - slowball Offense produces fieldgoals versus a crap team. What are you people smoking?

Let's not get silly Phaeded. Your first sentence is ridiculous, and you know it.
OU has the elements to run any offense: 3 good running backs, a great FB/HB, decent possession type receivers and an elite deep threat in Westbrook to keep defenses "honest".
This season I have seen OU's defense on the field too much. Maybe in past seasons OU's defense has logged more time on the field and yet contained the opponents' offenses better...but as already stated, a lower level of talent combined with key injuries have been a problem. My point is that OU's defense could play better with less time on the field.
As long as OU plays this brand of arena football, in which defense is just an afterthought, championships will be a thing of the past.

 

[Phaeded]

CT,
Hell, I've been questioning why Mixon got so few touches the first 3 games - and running plays are fine with me. More than the play selection my gripe is burning down the play clock, allowing the D to get set and no doubt making Mayfield go haywire (a sideline reporter quoted him on the sideline talking to the OL during the ISU saying "temp tempo tempo").

The bottom line is this O has spent the spring, 7 on 7 and fall camp drilled to run uptempo. Going at a deliberate pace is not what this O has been drilled to do nor what Mayfield does best.

And if we get down two scores vs BU, UWV or oSu this is all academic anyway.

 

[Ring_Man]

The offense job is to score. Let them score. I don't care if it is in 2 minutes or 8 minutes. Score as much as possible. If I'm Lincoln Riley I say to Mike Stoops he better get his butt in gear with the defense because you can't pull back our high powered offense just so he doesn't look so bad.

Can't run a Ferrari in 1st gear all the time. It is bad for the engine and you may not can fix it later. Just sayin

 

[CTOkie]

I do not disagree with you about OU's offense allowing the defense to get into position by running down the play clock throughout the game.
Wilkinson's teams ran a hurry-up running attack that was deadly, leaving opposing defenses gassed by the 4th quarter.
Why not now ?

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

Next thing I'll hear here is that whenever a running play or bubble screen breaks free the ball runner needs to take a slide in bounds even with a free path to the end zone...you know, for the defense.

Not from me. Score. All the time. Fix the defense. Quit giving up

854 YARDS AND 59 POINTS...

That better?

 

[Medic007]

I guess my knowledge of the simplicity of football strategy has been shredded in this alternate universe. Here's what I thought I knew about football strategy...

Job of the offense:
1. Score points
2. Keep the other team's offense off the field when the offense has accomplished enough of #1 to seal the victory.

Job of the defense:
1. Prevent the opposing offense from scoring points.
2. Get your offense back on the field so they can continue offense jobs 1 and 2.

It really looked like those jobs were mostly done with a fair enough efficiency to win the game, but now I'm reading that offensive job #2 should be (have been) disregarded. This is weird to me since the other team has limited opportunities to score when their offense is not on the field.

It's weird to think that continuing to attempt to score quickly, when you could control the clock after building a lead, and allowing the other team's offense time to do their job is a desired outcome. But I guess that's what this alternate universe brings. I hope the OU coaches stay in the regular universe.

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

Job of the offense:
1. Score points
2. Keep the other team's offense off the field when the offense has accomplished enough of #1 to seal the victory.

How many of number 1 does OU need to allow for number 2 in your opinion?

 

[ESPiam]

Score quickly and get off the field. Points on the board is what determines the winner. All we need is a occasional stop if no one can stop us from going 80 yards in 2 minutes. Rotate the defensive youngsters in...the starters arent stopping anyone any way. Slow play just breaks our rhythm and gives the opponents def time to catch their breath. Mike you are such a genius...

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

The offense job is to score. Let them score. I don't care if it is in 2 minutes or 8 minutes. Score as much as possible. If I'm Lincoln Riley I say to Mike Stoops he better get his butt in gear with the defense because you can't pull back our high powered offense just so he doesn't look so bad.

Can't run a Ferrari in 1st gear all the time. It is bad for the engine and you may not can fix it later. Just sayin

But for the price of one year of Mike Stoops, I can buy a nice Ferrari, probably two...

 

[Oklabama]

But for the price of one year of Mike Stoops, I can buy a nice Ferrari, probably two...

Or ten really nice Hyundai Azeras. Sweet vehicles.

 

[Medic007]

How many of number 1 does OU need to allow for number 2 in your opinion?

Really? How many points more than the opponent wins a game? One? 20? 50?

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

Really? How many points more than the opponent wins a game? One? 20? 50?

Well, in that case we need a FG and a stop, or a safety, get the ball and run out the clock for the half, so a 25 minute drive... I could go to Waco to the store, and then stop in on the KLBJ tailgate party in Austin for the beer I'm owed and not miss a thing... Brilliant!

 

[roygbell]

There are always fans who will look at every game and find something to bitch about. The OU defense played without seven kids who were starters, players who have missed the last 3 - 4 games with injuries. Our RB corp is so deleted that we played a true freshman and a FB/TE at RB. We win a game on the road on a short week. The day before the game we lose the last starting RB to a suspension and are forced to tinker with the offense at the moment to bolster that part of the game up.

In the 4th quarter, OU on two damn drives took 12 minutes off of the clock and all some of you want to do is bitch and complain.

I get it that fans get frustrated, but for heavens sake get a grip on reality.

 

[Medic007]

Well, in that case we need a FG and a stop, or a safety, get the ball and run out the clock for the half, so a 25 minute drive... I could go to Waco to the store, and then stop in on the KLBJ tailgate party in Austin for the beer I'm owed and not miss a thing... Brilliant!

Sounds like a plan.

 

[RightFieldHomie]

It was so obvious in the 2nd half vs. ISU that the commentators had to discuss it more than once. Bob had Riley burn all of the play clock to try to save Mike's job, vs the 79th ranked total O in D1:http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/21/p2

And what did this slow play net us in the second half? 2 freaking field goals.

Just love that reality in light of this ESPN article headline: "Oklahoma completes final tuneup, now begins long-shot playoff run"

We are tuning-up to face high-scoring offenses (#4, #18 and #35 total offenses), by wasting a half playing slowball? For those of you saying keeping our D off the field is a sound strategy, do you really think that the flip side of scoring 6 points in a half is going to keep us in games vs BU, UWV and oSu?

Mayfield is wound up and needs to play tempo - we are wasting him by trying save Mike.

FIRE MIKE.

This was exactly my thought as well. By us playing slow ball we almost let isu get right back in it, by only scoring 6 measly points.

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

There are always fans who will look at every game and find something to bitch about. The OU defense played without seven kids who were starters, players who have missed the last 3 - 4 games with injuries. Our RB corp is so deleted that we played a true freshman and a FB/TE at RB. We win a game on the road on a short week. The day before the game we lose the last starting RB to a suspension and are forced to tinker with the offense at the moment to bolster that part of the game up.

In the 4th quarter, OU on two damn drives took 12 minutes off of the clock and all some of you want to do is bitch and complain.

I get it that fans get frustrated, but for heavens sake get a grip on reality.

Ok. Reality. Mixon suspension was announced two days before the game, and with Perine out, Adams and Flowers were already getting plenty of reps at RB in practice. Flowers and Adams combined for 169 yards on 30 carries. 5.6 ypc.

OU had the ball for 11:01 in the 4th quarter, not 12 minutes, and only scored 3 points. That is REALITY.

Played without seven players who were starters... On defense? Which ones? Should we REALITY CHECK that?

Pos ## Defense
DE 87 Ward, DJ
DT 93 Wade, Jordan
DE 95 Roberts, Austin
LB 14 Beal, Emmanuel
LB 26 Evans, Jordan
OLB 31 Okoronkwo, O.
OLB 19 Kelly, Caleb
CB 7 Thomas, Jordan
SS 10 Parker, Steven
FS 13 Thomas, Ahmad
CB 9 Parker, Jordan

That is the starting defense against ISU. This is the starting defense against Houston.

Pos ## Defense
DE 97 Walker, Charles
DT 93 Wade, Jordan
DE 94 Dimon, Matt
OLB 31 Okoronkwo, O.
ILB 26 Evans, Jordan
ILB 9 Evans, Tay
OLB 12 Johnson, W.
CB 7 Thomas, Jordan
FS 13 Thomas, Ahmad
SS 10 Parker, Steven
CB 27 Austin, Dakota

Dakota Austin played against ISU, his first shot at DB since losing his spot during the Houston game. OU was never "without" him. Will Johnson also played against ISU, another who OU was not "without."

Your REALITY is fantasyland... The OU offense has had as many or more changes from the start of the season as the defense. The difference? This defense still sucks, while the offense doesn't.

 

[humblesooner]

. Rotate the defensive youngsters in...the starters aren't stopping anyone any way. .

Unfortunately, this is a truth and needs to be a reality.

 

[Sparx1]

JOrdan has to play better regardless of the speed of the offense. Main bad point about slowdown is for the first time in my life in an OU football game, I practically went to sleep.

I for one liked the slower pace on offense. It might not have produced the amount of points that the faster pace offense does, but it helped keep the defense fresh.

Jordan Evans has to start playing better if we are going to win the big games that we have left. He misses a ton of tackles.