Red River War

As a casual observer of our spring game it appeared we had speed back there for the 1st time in quite some time.
We had our hands on several passes & picked off 4 I believe that day whereas that hasn't been the norm for OU as of late.
I think the secondary will be pretty good come conference play.
LB will be a concern as it would be w/ any team replacing an AA type of guy in Lofton but, we seem to keep on keeping on when it comes to LB.s
Every year you hear "how are you going to replace (___) & that guy generally does every bit as good if not better than the last guy.
We were w/out several people in the spring so it was hard to tell but, the secondary looked much improved vs. this time last year.
I do look for a more explosive O. in every facet of our game.
Biggest concern for me is LB & place kicking.
Place kicking looked horrible, imo.
 
No doubt UT's losses will affect them as well....as OU's losses will affect them. I give UT a slight QB advantage and OU a slight OL advantage. Both teams have losses at RB and WR as aforementioned that will affect them.....that is why I say let's give it a push until proven otherwise.
 
UT's line is going to be slightly behind OU's when you had a grand total of 2 guys start at the same position twice during the entire course of the year while OU returns every single guy who played every single game at the same position the past 2/3 years?
Hell, I'm not even that big of homer. Keep your mouth shut, OUE!
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OU led the nation last year in touchdowns behind a dominate junior OL & every one of those guys are back & you're predicting Texas is going to be almost as good behind a line that almost got Colt killed?
 
Much of Colt's running had to do with the style of offensive play calling and his own 'happy feet'. I am hopeful that UT's line improves with 3 true frosh getting plenty of playing time last year and at least 2 of them now starting, as well as Chris Hall's emergence and versatility and gained experience. Injuries at OT position last year caused some problems with pass protection and I am hoping that this is much better this year. Hoping that Colt sees the field better this year and doesn't need as much time to make decisions which will help make OL look better as well. Hoping John Chiles gets more playing time and we have seen the difference in McGee when Chiles is in there. Yes that is alot of hoping and on paper OU's OL with experience and depth right now is better...no doubt. Hoping that OU's OL can step up as mentioned above so that the gap closes between the lines of the two units.

UT's OL really is 1 to 2 years out from being a very strong unit and I do think we will see improvement each year. This year they have 1 senior in Dock, 3 juniors in Hall, Tanner, and Adam, and 9 guys that are either soph or younger. Unit that has some good experience in upperclassman and tons of talent in underclass right now. Should continue to gain experience and depth in 08, 09, 10 in the very least.
 
Texas has plenty of talent in the OL. It just isn't experienced talent. Losing OT-Hills and WR-Sweed really hurt our O last year and McCoy's production. I think the game this year may be decided on who ends up playing the best D. OU has great front 4 and Texas has talent again like on O, but not a lot of experience. I think Texas will finally have a LB core for a change. Secondary will be talented, but scary because of lack of playing time. Should be a wild one again. OU, as of now anyway, will be at least a 7 point favorite.
 
its all about your dtackle play, thats where it starts on defense. Ou will easily have the best dline in the big 12(all 4 starters return) and one of the top 3 in the country.They are also two and three deep(dline) injuries wont be an issue. Texas loses both starting tackles in an already terribliy thin dtackle rotation. (should have went juco). they will have to plug in and spin down dends, our oline with all 5 returning starters will be likcing their chops. The game(just like 99 percent of games) will be won in the tenches and ou has a big advantage on both sides of the ball. Qb play, dtackles, and oline basicly decide colleg football games. If you are great in all those areas then you are going to win alot of games. And ou has a advantage in all three positions.Texas will be good, but ou will be better. Plugging in wrs, cbs, lbs, and safeties for boths teams wont be a problem becuase both have talented skill players who can run, its those bigs that you just cant go out and recruit. Dtackle play for texas this year could easily cost them a couple of games, they are thin already, injuries could have huge huge effects. Texas isnt going anywhere, i think 09 they could make a great run , ou will lose alot, but this will be ou's year in the big 12.
 
UT did lose both start DT's. However Okam had 11 TFL and 5 sacks last season while Lokey had 9 and 1. Miller had 8 and 1 with 40 tackles....he was basically a co-starter even though he didn't get the minutes. I think you can plug in Miller into a starting role and not see a drop off in production. Yes you don't have as talented a backup behind YET but as a starter he is just as good or better.

At the other spot the coaches are looking at moving Houston over from DE to DT. Houston was 2nd string DE last season but he was a starter when Orakpo went out. Yes there a loss in production but Orakpo is a big 12 first team guy that you just can't replace. That being said Houston was basically a co-starter at DE similar to Milller being a co-starter at DT. Houston will add quickness over what Okam provided and I think him spinning down will add something to the DL.

The 2 starting DE's last year are both back in Orakpo and Lewis. Both are seniors and are ready to have big seasons. They return as starters for the 2nd straight year after backing up Crowder and Robison for 2 years. These guys are 2 leaders on the defense on a defense that is made up of leaders including Miller.

Behind the DE's you bring back Jones and Melton who played last year. Jones is a very talented young DE and will be a starter in 09 if healthy. Acho was the freshman DE that stood out last season and he could be the other starter at DE in 09 and he is 3rd string this year....that shows you how much depth there is at that position now even with Houston moving over.

Really only question is how backups will be at DT position, how they will play, how long starters will need to play due to depth issues at DT, and how injuries will affect things.

Depth chart now at DL:
DE Orakpo / Jones / Carter (true frosh)
DT Houston / Alexander / Humphrey (true frosh)
DT Miller / Ellis / Wilcoxon / Randall (true frosh)
DE Lewis / Melton / Acho / Howard (converted TE)

3 talented true frosh should come in as 3rd stringers initially and be available if injuries should occur and build experience for 09 when they will either start or be primary backups. I see a very talented experienced group coming back and just don't see the big drop off at DL that some may predict. It is a different, smaller, quicker unit and I like that. And in a very talented and deeper and LB unit to the mix and that could help the DL as well.
 
Hmmmm. I think the OU game will be a toss-up. I expect quite a few losses to a bunch of other teams on the schedule though. Buckle up for a rough year.

Texas Tech may very well win the south this year, if they can manage to figure out how to play defense.
 
Since73 and other sooners on here.. I am curious as to your thoughts on your spring game. First, I am one of those who believe you shouldn't read too much into any spring game (unlike our sheep humping little bros in Collie Station who count it as a win).... but, in terms of the interceptions, for the most part, were they the result of outstanding defensive plays.. or the OU quarterbacks timing being off with the receiving crew?

On the one hand, you can say it was outstanding defensive plays.. but did the majority of the pics happen against the 2nd and 3rd team?.. or did Bradford have difficulties with the strength of the wind?.. or did receivers simply not run correct routes?

It can be a double edged sword.
 
Wow great link. I see Bradford looking like Simms on that first pass. OL look some wide splits there and I would have loved to see a blitzing LB there, but even without the pressure he threw it right into coverage.

Oh my was that a second Int there on a tipped ball. It looked like he was running for his life there and just threw it to get rid of it before it was tippped.

HOly crap who threw that 3rd INT and 2nd pick six? Was that Bradford again.

Oh my, was that a 4th INT for Bradford on that ball he tried to cram in between 3 defenders? Dude doesn't looked poised at all.

Halze looked worse than Bradford and held on to the ball way too long....better hope he doesn't get many snaps.

Man overall the QB's were just harrassed and had no time in the pocket. Bradford looked more comfortable in shotgun but that will hurt your running game.

There were some issues with the shotgun snapping as well. Many times the ball nearly went over or past the QB.

New QB in, Nichols. Not any better than Halze. LB's not overly impressive and overplaying the pass.

I would not be too happy with those highlights. Defense wasn't really making the offense look bad....the offense was just bad. OU has a ton to work on on the offensive side of the ball and to think they will have an edge there against UT has to go down a notch.
 
Yeah well, we're going against the best defense we'll probably see all year.
OU lost 1 WR & 1 TE returns intact the the unit that scored the most TD in the entire nation but hey, we have issues.
 
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