O-Line

[mchammer]

This how I see it:

OU decided fairly quickly in game planning that to beat Texas, they had to get to Sam otherwise CJ, DevDuv, and Eagles were going to eat them alive if Sam had time to go through his progressions. As such OU came up with a boom or bust defensive plan in pressuring the QB. I’m sure they planned on a half-dozen ways to get to Sam. If one type of rush didn’t work, they had 4-5 other ways to try. Unfortunately Texas was not prepared for this kamikaze-like attack. The run game and the passing game were ill-prepared for this. I am surprised they scored 27 points given how unprepared they were. Anyway, my question is how the Texas coaches not see this coming.

 

[Austin_Bill]

Pathetic and embarrassing "effort" today. This is 100% where the game was lost. As much praise as Herb Hand has received, he got taken to school today.
Side note, though the defensive effort was valiant, waaaaaaaaay too many missed tackles.

Leading up to this game, I didn't hear anyone from blowu saying anything, but I sure did hear a lot of smack talk coming from Texas players. Especially from our oline. Maybe it was scheme that beat us, maybe it was better coaching, but I think our disrespect for the blowu dline showed up in this game.

After this game, it is apparent that We aren't a playoff team, and I am pretty confident we have no shot at beating blowu in a rematch simply because the Big 12 refs will not allow us to.

I finally realized why blowu has so much success in the Big 12 and very little in the playoffs. They rely on an offensive line that holds and defensive backs that hold. Put them in a playoff situation where they can't get away with it and you have the playoff results you have. Go back and look at the box scores and you will see big difference in calls between Big 12 refs and refs in playoff games. Yea, I know there is a disparity between talent levels but the disparity is still there.

These MFers know they can play a cheesey non-conference schedule. get all the calls in the Big 12 and go to the playoffs looking like they deserve to be there.

I want out of this conference so badly.

 

[Austin_Bill]

I'm not worried about the talent we have on the Offensive line nor am I worried about our development. They guys have been nails all year long. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt they will turn this around when we face them again.

My biggest concern is that they disrespected the blowu dline to the media before the game and those guys kicked our asses for it.

Keep in mind it wasn't just our offensive line, it felt like the blowu defense knew what was coming during every play. Are we that predictable?

If we have another game like this, then I will call it a trend and say we have a problem. Until then I think this was more of an outlier and move on.

 

[ViperHorn]

Anyway, my question is how the Texas coaches not see this coming.

BINGO!

 

[Clean]

Zero U came out more fired up than us. They took it to us on the opening drive, while we didn't get our offense in gear until the second half. Sam threw some beautiful long balls that came to naught because of drops and/or good defensive plays.

OU's defense is much improved and was very aggressive. We should have used OU's game plan against Hurts. You have to make Hurts beat you with his arm or he'll kill you running, which is what happened. The middle of our defense was wide open all day and Hurts took full advantage of it time after time. Why didn't we at least "spy" Hurts if we weren't going to blitz him?

Holding on OU's dbs could have been called a lot more than it was. They also took cheap shots at Sam. On our next to last offensive play they targeted Sam and it wasn't even reviewed.

Now we have to own this loss, like OU did last year, and win the rest of our games and get the rematch.

 

[Run Pincher]

OU's defense is much improved and was very aggressive. We should have used OU's game plan against Hurts. You have to make Hurts beat you with his arm or he'll kill you running, which is what happened. The middle of our defense was wide open all day and Hurts took full advantage of it time after time. Why didn't we at least "spy" Hurts if we weren't going to blitz him?

I kept wondering that too. Hurts and Riley had to be laughing all way down the field. It was almost like they were thinking let's give them a couple of turnovers to give them hope and then crush them. But the tacking is too poor to make Hurts beat Texas with his arm.

 

[Chinstrap]

Leading up to this game, I didn't hear anyone from blowu saying anything, but I sure did hear a lot of smack talk coming from Texas players. Especially from our oline. Maybe it was scheme that beat us, maybe it was better coaching, but I think our disrespect for the blowu dline showed up in this game.

After this game, it is apparent that We aren't a playoff team, and I am pretty confident we have no shot at beating blowu in a rematch simply because the Big 12 refs will not allow us to.

I finally realized why blowu has so much success in the Big 12 and very little in the playoffs. They rely on an offensive line that holds and defensive backs that hold. Put them in a playoff situation where they can't get away with it and you have the playoff results you have. Go back and look at the box scores and you will see big difference in calls between Big 12 refs and refs in playoff games. Yea, I know there is a disparity between talent levels but the disparity is still there.

These MFers know they can play a cheesey non-conference schedule. get all the calls in the Big 12 and go to the playoffs looking like they deserve to be there.

I want out of this conference so badly.

All very true. This is not an elite team. I have felt that way for some time, but I also have felt that it was just a matter of time for Tom to get them to that level. Sat. was a bit of a setback in my confidence in this coaching staff.

All of the talk about the “O” line, “QB” and other players performance is justified, maybe, to a limited extent. But with this many breakdowns, the buck stops at the CEO and his staff. The team was not ready for this game and gametime adjustments were not evident. When players start running their mouth prior to a game with a rival, coaches need to muzzle them immediately and recognize that it is a sign of bigger attitude problems.

As to the non-calls, OU did not start their holds with this game. The game announcer said thet the OU DC told him that he had told his DB’s that if they did not get several penalties a game for holding they were not doing their job. Well Hello! Did Texas not study the OU game films? All sacks are not on the offensive line. Many are coverage sacks and receivers cannot get open when they are held. Texas missed a touchdown on the left side because the receiver’s right arm was held and many of our fans blamed the receiver. You are correct on the post season success of OU. They lose their B XII officials and cheerleader Bowlsby cover. Where is Conte and other ADs? I don’t know how all of this works.

The Texas boys fight hard to the bitter end and do not get blown out. These kids get a lot of respect from me for that. The DB’s are not studs and the failure at open field tackling is pathetic. OU had that problem last year and they fixed it....coaching, and recruiting! As to the offense, it has improved, a lot, but it is so predictable that when the other side of the ball has equal or better talent, the edge goes to them. OU coaches had the playbook and stuffed Tom and Beck’s predictable schemes. Tom is a good head coach on all things basic to football but when it comes to offense, Beck apoears to be baggage (I don’t know if Jesse Tom or Jesse Beck are robbing this train) and the Mensa resides in Oklahoma. And now “O” Mensa has fixed the problems at “D”, and maybe leapfrogged Tom here as well. Texas does pretty good on “D” with what they have to work with and I hope recruiting helps. Some of the vulnerability in schemes comes from covering for position weaknesses, don’t you think?

I am still a Coach “T” fan. Keep the faith my Malt Mates!

 

[Statalyzer]

More like 3.5 to 4 seconds, excellent blocking. Plenty of time to find a receiver.

Pretty sure if Lincoln Riley had been running our offense, we would have had WRs wide open on many of those plays.

 

[caryhorn]

As to the offense, it has improved, a lot, but it is so predictable that when the other side of the ball has equal or better talent, the edge goes to them. OU coaches had the playbook and stuffed Tom and Beck’s predictable schemes.

Yep. I have to admit I was yelling something very similar to this at my TV all game long.

 

[dukesteer]

Thank goodness for Hornfans and the cathartic messages! Because of them I no longer need to kick the dog (actually I don’t have a dog, and I do love dogs) or punch holes in the wall. (Fixing those can be a pain in the A**.)

Great takes above...

I don’t really think that OU has better players than we do. And actually while I like Hurts — certainly compared to his character challenged predecessors — I don’t see him as deserving Heisman consideration. In fact, l believe that the best player on the field Saturday was wearing burnt orange. Under massive duress and with no help from his coaches, Ehlinger somehow kept us in the game. Amazing.

To move forward, TH in particular and his staff in general need to be contrite, and humble. They — the staff — was totally embarrassed by the opposing staff Saturday.

The first step to recovery is acknowledgment of the problem. Guess we’ll see.

 

[nashhorn]

I completely agree with the gratitude for HF! After watching my DVR I have to say it gives me a different perspective, can't say why, maybe the electricity in person is different but whatever it feels different. The much maligned defense, and my opinion of our tackling being atrocious doesn't change, but I do now believe the Defense was good enough to give us plenty of chances to win. I also give kudos to Sam for a valiant, but not his superman, effort we've come to expect.
The much addressed lack of penalty calls is so obvious but the one that stands out to me, that I cannot get out of my head, is the face mask on Eagles I mentioned earlier. Defender #6, whomever that is literally just grabs and pulls, this is after the play is done. It is such an intimidating gesture (and so obvious I cannot believe it wasn't seen and called) I have to wonder what went through Eagles head. The fact that he did not take some retaliatory action makes me wonder if he just has that much control or if the intimidation aspect worked.
Oh well, I anxiously await for next year and another Fletchers!

 

[caryhorn]

This board is turning into a circular firing squad. Please don’t go all Tex Ags now! Sam had an off day I believe his rib injury is a bigger problem than the general public knows. It makes his long throws short, probably makes him hold the ball and not run as well. He threw for 211 against WV and 210 against OU. He’s not running well either. The poor guy is playing hurt and imho he is at 60%-80%. The offense runs through Sam. As he goes we go. Maybe, perhaps they could play Casey Thompson against KS. I’m no Dr or Coach but I think our offense will keep sputtering until we get Sam close to 90%.

I agree with ^^^ except where you suggest that Sam's rib injury (which I did not know he had btw) "probably makes him hold the ball ." QB's typically dump the ball quickly when dealing with rib injury, trying to avoid the hit. Rib injuries can be really painful when they get hit or smashed into the ground.
If Sam's ribs are impacting his game significantly, then yes rest would help a lot. On the other side, taking hits to already injured ribs may do more damage.

Has an injury report/update been released from the ou game yet?

 

[SabreHorn]

my question is how the Texas coaches not see this coming.

Even if they didn't see it coming, how did they not make adjustments to stop it?

 

[Paul S. Nichols]

4 Observations from Saturday:

1 Why did we not do what OU did and put a spy on Hurt? Sam was wearing OU #9 like a Jersey all day long.

2 Terrible officiating...this same crew almost always spells problems for Texas...the horse collar on Devin D. was 10 X worse and more dangerous than the so called targeting called against Malcolm Roach. And OU should have had a targeting call
a few plays later on one of our WR that wasn't called.

3-We completely abandoned the run game after mid to late 3rd quarter. The two times we really moved the ball the running game was the catalyst.

4-We did not however abandon our East-West passing game...I know we ran those plays at least 8-9 times and I would bet we didn't average 1 yard per play.

Other than that I know how frustrated our players were...it showed in the jawboning mentioned above regarding Ingram & Ehlinger as well as the general physical body language of the team in general.

I think a lot of what went wrong for us Saturday can be fixed by the coaches and by rethinking our scheming for the OU offense...we will get another shot at them in the championship game if I am any judge of our leadership on the field.

I do not think criticizing the players individually brings anything positive to the team going forward...they all played hard on Saturday, I just think we got out coached and
out schemed.

Hook'Em

 

[dukesteer]

On the rib injury, does anyone have more insight? I’m not doubting — and we all know what a tough kid Sam is. Some are suggesting that his injury was a factor Saturday and indeed it may have been. I personally didn’t notice anything in watching the game (on TV) that gave any indication. Usually when a QB is playing with a rib injury it is noticeable in his body language and with facial grimaces. Certainly if it had been obvious, Klatt — arguably the best color guy on television* — would have made a point of it.

*Homer Herbie isn’t even on page 1 of that list. Blackledge is though.

 

[wadster]

Make no mistake we got out hustled too. They hit us in the mouth and we didn't respond until the 2nd half. That's on the players as well as the coaches. The RRR is almost always won on emotion. One team comes to play and the other doesn't. Last year it was us. This year it was them. Hopefully this year we reverse the thing and kick their *** in the CCG game. I think we'll be better prepared both coaches and players.

 

[AustinHorn24]

In fact, l believe that the best player on the field Saturday was wearing burnt orange. Under massive duress and with no help from his coaches, Ehlinger somehow kept us in the game. Amazing.

Ehlinger is certainly better than Hurts but you didnt see the same game I did -- CD Lamb was far and away the best player in the game. He's going high first round in the NFL. Ehlinger is a 2nd rounder at best.

 

[Chop]

IMHO, we got outcoached on Saturday.

Fortunately, I don't think Herman is too stubborn to make some necessary changes.

Largely due to good recruiting, very good S&C, and good individual technique coaching, Hand and Beck have gotten used to situations where our OL outmatches the opposing DL (or at least equally matches them--LSU). There was at least one noticeable mismatch against us up front on Saturday (#90 Gallimore vs. Shack). I'm not down on Shack. He's done very well for the most part, and this may be the only opponent he faces all year that's a mismatch against him. Hand and Beck have to scheme around that--our guys aren't Supermen and nobody has 5 All Americans up front. There will be the occasional DT who is flat out better than our guys. Try some traps, double teams, cross-blocking for advantageous angles, quick hitters, etc. There are things that can be done against a stud DT, and it needs to be recognized very early in the game, and adjustments must be made.

 

[MajesticII]

IMHO, we got outcoached on Saturday.

Fortunately, I don't think Herman is too stubborn to make some necessary changes.

Largely due to good recruiting, very good S&C, and good individual technique coaching, Hand and Beck have gotten used to situations where our OL outmatches the opposing DL (or at least equally matches them--LSU). There was at least one noticeable mismatch against us up front on Saturday (#90 Gallimore vs. Shack). I'm not down on Shack. He's done very well for the most part, and this may be the only opponent he faces all year that's a mismatch against him. Hand and Beck have to scheme around that--our guys aren't Supermen and nobody has 5 All Americans up front. There will be the occasional DT who is flat out better than our guys. Try some traps, double teams, cross-blocking for advantageous angles, quick hitters, etc. There are things that can be done against a stud DT, and it needs to be recognized very early in the game, and adjustments must be made.

We do what we do and we do not change...Words of Tom Herman.....

 

[Chop]

Just play our game and we'll win. That may be a good base philosophy, but when you're faced with a mismatch that's preventing you from playing your game, in-game adaptations must be made and quickly. I suspect I'm preaching to the choir on these boards.

How about a military history analogy or two--Consider the battlefield general: this is our plan, it was well-developed by some really smart guys, and we're sticking to it regardless of how the battle actually unfolds on the field. That's Burnside at Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg. That's France's mighty Maginot Line. Military (and sports) history is littered with such examples.

The real world includes some fluidity. You've got to think on your feet.

Despite all this, I'm still glad we have Herman as our head coach.

 

[zuckercanyon]

I don’t really think that OU has better players than we do. And actually while I like Hurts — certainly compared to his character challenged predecessors — I don’t see him as deserving Heisman consideration. In fact, l believe that the best player on the field Saturday was wearing burnt orange. Under massive duress and with no help from his coaches, Ehlinger somehow kept us in the game. Amazing.

I think OU as a whole has better players than we do. Last year we escaped after Murray went crazy. For sure, RIGHT NOW, OU has a better TEAM than Texas because they've been winning double digit games for the last 4 seasons and have that focus/continuity. Texas doesn't have that yet, because of lack of quality recruiting leading up to Herman's full recruiting year. Next year will be closer to an actual picture for what Herman and co are bringing to Austin. If Lincoln Riley had our team and Herman had the other, people would be saying how Riley got outcoached, injuries/youth don't matter, Herman'll always be better, hopefully the Cowboys will woo Herman away to the NFL, blah, blah, blah.....

 

[Austin_Bill]

Tom is a good head coach on all things basic to football but when it comes to offense, Beck apoears to be baggage (I don’t know if Jesse Tom or Jesse Beck are robbing this train)

Completely disagree.

Beck is probably our best recruiter. Second, he is a incredible QB coach. Finally, we have the best offense Texas has had, well ever. I'm not talking about personnel but rather schemes. He has done a heck of a lot more than Texas ever did with Mack as a coach or Machovic or any other coach we've had.

Pretty sure if Lincoln Riley had been running our offense, we would have had WRs wide open on many of those plays.

Pretty sure you can say the same about the pirate. Riley might be the best offensive mind I've seen in a very long time. It's only a matter of time before he gets called up to the big boys game.

Or maybe we can hire Lincoln Riley to be our next OC. Thoughts?

 

[Chop]

Perhaps this year's OU is sort of the flip side of LSU. Let me explain:

LSU--traditionally a strong defense with a pedestrian offense. Now they have a good OC and QB and they're lighting it up. An all-around very good team.

OU--traditionally a strong offense with a sorry defense. Now they have a good defense (against us at least) to go with their top notch offense. An all-around very good team. I can't stand these guys (OU) either, but objectively they're looking pretty darn solid so far...

Jerry, do your adopted State a big favor and hire Riley off to the pros.

 

[Chinstrap]

Completely disagree.

Beck is probably our best recruiter. Second, he is a incredible QB coach. Finally, we have the best offense Texas has had, well ever. I'm not talking about personnel but rather schemes. He has done a heck of a lot more than Texas ever did with Mack as a coach or Machovic or any other coach we've had.



Pretty sure you can say the same about the pirate. Riley might be the best offensive mind I've seen in a very long time. It's only a matter of time before he gets called up to the big boys game.

Or maybe we can hire Lincoln Riley to be our next OC. Thoughts?

Easy Billy. Best offense Texas has ever had ......a bit of a stretch. How long u been watching?

 

[wadster]

Just play our game and we'll win. That may be a good base philosophy, but when you're faced with a mismatch that's preventing you from playing your game, in-game adaptations must be made and quickly. I suspect I'm preaching to the choir on these boards.

How about a military history analogy or two--Consider the battlefield general: this is our plan, it was well-developed by some really smart guys, and we're sticking to it regardless of how the battle actually unfolds on the field. That's Burnside at Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg. That's France's mighty Maginot Line. Military (and sports) history is littered with such examples.

The real world includes some fluidity. You've got to think on your feet.

Despite all this, I'm still glad we have Herman as our head coach.

Herman hasn't proven he's as good as Riley. That's just fact. Doesn't mean Herman isn't good. Let's get through this season and next and then I think you can make a better determination. Bijon will change the O. Sam will be a Sr. OLine will have more depth. We haven't had a truly stud RB in 12 years. I still think we have a chance to win the conference. It's far from over. We can still drop a game and make the CCG. Just have to play better, make less mistakes, and realize there are only 2 guys on that team that are going to beat you. Get our DBs back and I think we'll be very competitive.

 

[nashhorn]

“just have to play better”, hmmm, think I’ve heard that somewhere else Wadster.

 

[Pomspoms]

Herman hasn't proven he's as good as Riley. That's just fact. Doesn't mean Herman isn't good. Let's get through this season and next and then I think you can make a better determination. Bijon will change the O. Sam will be a Sr. OLine will have more depth. We haven't had a truly stud RB in 12 years. I still think we have a chance to win the conference. It's far from over. We can still drop a game and make the CCG. Just have to play better, make less mistakes, and realize there are only 2 guys on that team that are going to beat you. Get our DBs back and I think we'll be very competitive.

Do you have to be so practical?(ok it's not a bad idea) we are still wallowing and crying tears in our beers

 

[Detective Shilala]

Easy Billy. Best offense Texas has ever had ......a bit of a stretch. How long u been watching?

Agreed. We are only 5 games in to this season, and we have had 4 good showings on O and one very bad one so its a bit premature to say this offense is great, much less best we ever had.

Granted, it feels like a long time, but it has been only 10 years since we had a better offense. The 2009 Offense was explosive, super efficient, and consistent. I would argue that the 2008 offense was even better than the 2009 edition.

Also I am not convinced that Tim Beck is any better than Greg Davis when it comes to game day adjustments. All that may be true about his effectiveness as QB coach and recruiter. This system may be super-effective to a point. But so far in Tim Beck's time here we have had many games in which the defense "had our number" and we could never get it out of first gear.

 

[zuckercanyon]

Herman is perfect for this program. Unless you’re willing to go get urban Meyer.....

 

[SabreHorn]

Unless you’re willing to go get urban Meyer.....

Nothing about Urban Myth "fits" The University of Texas. While some members of our administration are lying, self-serving, narcissistic low rent pieces of **** with whom Myth would fit right in, let's please not give the dumbasses any ideas.