Getting Over and Moving On
Are you there yet Longhorn fan? Or are you still in shock that we're here on December 1 and your season is over? I'm going with A here as most Texas fans (including yours truly) have been praying for this season to end for weeks now and I'm thankful it's here. I know Mack is still assessing the season, but not me, my assessment is done and I've got it here and now for you lucky readers. Where or where do I begin....
Coaching Staff
Those of you who have tuned in regularly know that I spent a good portion of October defending the coaching staff while everyone else was crapping on them. Why? Because the players continuously played like they expected teams to roll over simply because they wore the orange and white. These players played way too cocky even when they weren't delivering (which they rarely did). And this is across the board.
With that said, these coaches deserve an F across the board - there is not one single area where anyone with half a brain can say these guys coached their asses off. Not a one. The million dollar question on everyone's mind this off season is will there by changes? And let's be frank, Texas fans (who, by the way, are working overtime to take the crown for the most absurd and ridiculous fans in the country) are even more anxious to see if Greg Davis will get fired. It's comical at this point to think that Texas fans would be happy if Mack just fired Davis. Granted, the offense struggled mightily this year (understatement, I know), but I'll remind you all for the 1000th time, YOU LOST TWO OF THE BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYERS THIS SCHOOL HAS EVER SEEN AND THE BEST QB THE SCHOOL HAS EVER HAD. You think you may struggle a bit? Yeah, I think so.
Personally, I think Mack will make some coaching changes and I think they'll be significant. McQuarters absolutely has to go - the offensively line has consistently underperformed for years, we were just able to mask it pretty well. I also think Duane Akina is gone as the secondary consistently underperformed. In fact, I would argue that this was the most disappointing aspect of the team given the sheer level of talent that was back there. And I know this is going to be an unpopular thing to say, but why would you keep Applewhite at this point and what exactly would you do with him? I hear so much, "put him at offensive coordinator". Why? What is that going to get you? I'm not saying he wouldn't be great, but his performance as a player and his potential at O-coordinator are mutually exclusive. I'm sorry, but they are. And by the way, Applewhite coached the running backs - other than the aforementioned secondary, the next most disappointing aspect of the team. Mad Dog is without question gone. Has to be. Has to be.
Bottom line is this: After winning 10+ games for a decade or more, it's OK to have a "down" year. It really is. You know why? BECAUSE EVERY F'NG TEAM HAS ONE!!! Regardless of what Texas fans think/want, it's very unusual to have a run like that. With that said, this year was utterly inexcusable. And to be fair, if you were to go back and pay attention to past recruiting classes - the sophomores, juniors and seniors on this year's team were from classes that were considered "lesser" classes for the Longhorns. Nevertheless, winning one 2 home games against Wyoming and Florida Atlantic is not going to cut it. Changes will be made, I guarantee you. I'm not going to guarantee you, however, that Davis will be let go.....but I think he's gone. Just my thought. And I think changes will be made within 2 weeks.
Players
Starting the very first spring practice and continuing into two-a-days, the coaches need to preach one thing and one thing hard: each and every position will be evaluated and re-evaluated at each and every practice. Point being, no one has a starting job coming into spring or summer. Not a soul. Mack has historically been conservative in playing freshman. Not anymore. I assure you if he takes one thing away from this year it's that if players aren't performing, they'll sit down. Hell, I'd like to see him cut a few guys just to prove a point.
It's very weird - defensively I think they had (and still have) GREAT individual players. I just think they lost interest in the team and spent too much time focusing on themselves (see Blake Gideon). Honestly, I think the defense grew to completely resent the offense and as such, the sense of team fell by the way side pretty quick this season. And by the way, I think the players fed off the coaches in this sense - there was never a point when the coaches were on the same page and COACHING as a cohesive team.
Offensively, they simply sucked. And for everyone screaming about Gilbert this and Gilbert that - consider this. Name me one offensive player who was better than Gilbert this year? Just one.....you can't do it. You know why? Because he was the best offensive player this team had this year. Period. And that my friends is the sad truth about the offense this year. Look, I'm not ready to throw in the towel like the aforementioned ridiculous Texas fans, but I do have a problem with his leadership (or lack there of). That's going to be a problem if he doesn't nut up a bit more than he has. He's got to be vocal and he's got stop deferring to...I don't know who, but he has to step up and be that leader or I promise you this...Connor Wood or someone else will.
They have to be tougher, they have to score TDs in the red zone and they have to, have to, have to perform better in the trenches (both lines). These kids have to stop going Gen-Y and stop acting like cocky punks, but the coaches have to force that and if that means you go Mike Leach and take one or two out to the shed, then so be it.
And that's all I have to say about that...
Other College Football News
"Well....we shot a lot of people together. It's been great. But today, I retire, so if I do any shooting now, it'll have to be in the confines of my own home. Hopefully, an intruder, and not an in-law, like at my bachelor party."
- Lt. Frank Drebin
Dr. Alan Rumack: "What was it we had for dinner tonight?"
Elaine Dickenson: "Well, we had a choice: steak or fish."
Dr. Alan Rumack: "Yes, yes, I remember, I had lasagna."
"Protecting the queen's safety is a task that is gladly accepted by Police Squad. No matter how silly the idea of having a queen might be to us, Americans, we must be gracious and considerate hosts."
- Lt. Frank Drebin
Update:
At the time of writing this blog, the rumors of Greg Davis' dismissal/firing/resignation/or whatever had not yet broken. But, I'll just add this....for all of you Longhorn fans let me ask you this: if I were to tell you that the next O-coordinator were to have the 17th or better ranked offense in the country for the next 10 years including a national title, a runner-up and one win away from 2 other national championship games, would you take it??? As we all know in life, the grass ain't always greener. Let's hope it is in this case.
Coaching Staff
Those of you who have tuned in regularly know that I spent a good portion of October defending the coaching staff while everyone else was crapping on them. Why? Because the players continuously played like they expected teams to roll over simply because they wore the orange and white. These players played way too cocky even when they weren't delivering (which they rarely did). And this is across the board.
With that said, these coaches deserve an F across the board - there is not one single area where anyone with half a brain can say these guys coached their asses off. Not a one. The million dollar question on everyone's mind this off season is will there by changes? And let's be frank, Texas fans (who, by the way, are working overtime to take the crown for the most absurd and ridiculous fans in the country) are even more anxious to see if Greg Davis will get fired. It's comical at this point to think that Texas fans would be happy if Mack just fired Davis. Granted, the offense struggled mightily this year (understatement, I know), but I'll remind you all for the 1000th time, YOU LOST TWO OF THE BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYERS THIS SCHOOL HAS EVER SEEN AND THE BEST QB THE SCHOOL HAS EVER HAD. You think you may struggle a bit? Yeah, I think so.
Personally, I think Mack will make some coaching changes and I think they'll be significant. McQuarters absolutely has to go - the offensively line has consistently underperformed for years, we were just able to mask it pretty well. I also think Duane Akina is gone as the secondary consistently underperformed. In fact, I would argue that this was the most disappointing aspect of the team given the sheer level of talent that was back there. And I know this is going to be an unpopular thing to say, but why would you keep Applewhite at this point and what exactly would you do with him? I hear so much, "put him at offensive coordinator". Why? What is that going to get you? I'm not saying he wouldn't be great, but his performance as a player and his potential at O-coordinator are mutually exclusive. I'm sorry, but they are. And by the way, Applewhite coached the running backs - other than the aforementioned secondary, the next most disappointing aspect of the team. Mad Dog is without question gone. Has to be. Has to be.
Bottom line is this: After winning 10+ games for a decade or more, it's OK to have a "down" year. It really is. You know why? BECAUSE EVERY F'NG TEAM HAS ONE!!! Regardless of what Texas fans think/want, it's very unusual to have a run like that. With that said, this year was utterly inexcusable. And to be fair, if you were to go back and pay attention to past recruiting classes - the sophomores, juniors and seniors on this year's team were from classes that were considered "lesser" classes for the Longhorns. Nevertheless, winning one 2 home games against Wyoming and Florida Atlantic is not going to cut it. Changes will be made, I guarantee you. I'm not going to guarantee you, however, that Davis will be let go.....but I think he's gone. Just my thought. And I think changes will be made within 2 weeks.
Players
Starting the very first spring practice and continuing into two-a-days, the coaches need to preach one thing and one thing hard: each and every position will be evaluated and re-evaluated at each and every practice. Point being, no one has a starting job coming into spring or summer. Not a soul. Mack has historically been conservative in playing freshman. Not anymore. I assure you if he takes one thing away from this year it's that if players aren't performing, they'll sit down. Hell, I'd like to see him cut a few guys just to prove a point.
It's very weird - defensively I think they had (and still have) GREAT individual players. I just think they lost interest in the team and spent too much time focusing on themselves (see Blake Gideon). Honestly, I think the defense grew to completely resent the offense and as such, the sense of team fell by the way side pretty quick this season. And by the way, I think the players fed off the coaches in this sense - there was never a point when the coaches were on the same page and COACHING as a cohesive team.
Offensively, they simply sucked. And for everyone screaming about Gilbert this and Gilbert that - consider this. Name me one offensive player who was better than Gilbert this year? Just one.....you can't do it. You know why? Because he was the best offensive player this team had this year. Period. And that my friends is the sad truth about the offense this year. Look, I'm not ready to throw in the towel like the aforementioned ridiculous Texas fans, but I do have a problem with his leadership (or lack there of). That's going to be a problem if he doesn't nut up a bit more than he has. He's got to be vocal and he's got stop deferring to...I don't know who, but he has to step up and be that leader or I promise you this...Connor Wood or someone else will.
They have to be tougher, they have to score TDs in the red zone and they have to, have to, have to perform better in the trenches (both lines). These kids have to stop going Gen-Y and stop acting like cocky punks, but the coaches have to force that and if that means you go Mike Leach and take one or two out to the shed, then so be it.
And that's all I have to say about that...
Other College Football News
- Bra-Vo NCAA....Bravo. The handling of this Cam Newton thing has been a disaster over the last couple of weeks, but none more than the last 24 hours when Auburn questioned the eligibility only to have NCAA come out and say he did nothing wrong, but his father did. Hmmm.....anyone remember Reggie Bush? Yet another stellar endorsement for this great organization. You think this has anything to do with the fact that Auburn is oh-so-close to a national title birth, or that Cam Newton is the front runner, by a mile, for the heisman trophy?
- PS Texas fans - I'll bet you a coke that Case McCoy follows in the footsteps of Jevan Snead - transfer to another school because you're not getting your shot only to prove that you weren't actually that good anyway.
- Bummer about Boise State - those of you who know me know that I've been a big fan of the Broncos for some time. And I'll say that I would still take them against any team in the country on a neutral field. The biggest travesty? That loss dropped them from a sure BCS game to the f'ng Humanitarian Bowl on their own field. How'd you like to be their opponent in that game? They'll win by 50 points. Yet another stellar endorsement for the BCS and NCAA.
- I'll ask again - how do you lose that game Nick Saban?
- Interesting (and smart) move by TCU joining the Big East. Don't let your limited knowledge of geography fool you, it isn't as bad as it seems from a travel perspective. And, it guarantees that TCU won't have to wait and hope for others to lose to see if they get a chance to make it. And for the Big East, it certainly adds legitimacy to their conference. Smart move. Oh yeah, and the money is TREMENDOUSLY better. Had Boise won against Nevada, TCU would not have been guaranteed a BCS bowl berth. Now? They could lose 3-4 games and would likely win the conference (at least based on this year's results in the Big East).
- Quick educational moment for dip sh*t of the year, Ohio State's Athletic Director - Boise's and TCU's strength of schedule was ranked harder than yours. I'm just saying...and another thing, both Boise and TCU would wipe the field with your ass if they played the Buckeyes on a neutral field on any day of the week.
- In the interest of wanting to see the Big 12 get back to 12 teams, here's what I'd like to see: Boise State and Nevada get the invite. Both would go to the north, both are quality teams, and both would benefit in so much as they would like sustain their quality-ness. Won't happen. The "Big 12" won't ever change until the power conference move finally happens (5 years-ish or so). More money. Less teams.
- Do any of you have any doubt in your mind about the fact that college football has everything to do with money and absolutely nothing to do with the student athletes? I mean, can we all at least agree on that?
- Broken record moment: this is a GREAT NFL season. Everything about this season is awesome. Except....
- The fact that "the league" just lost about 40% of it's remaining credibility. How you ask? James Harrison clearly being targeted by the league and fined $125K so far this year for "illegal" hits while Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnigan were fined $25K each and NOT suspended for what could be the greatest NFL fight I've ever seen. If you didn't see it - YouTube it because it's great. Short, sweet, but great. BUT, seriously Goodell, that's crazy.
- By the way Cortland (what the hell kind of name is that?), are you insane? Look, Andre Johnson is a cool guy, works hard and all of that, but he's from the U. Not only that, he grew up on the streets of Miami (not South Beach...Miami). You may not want to f'k with that guy.
- Did you see what the Chargers did to the Colts on Sunday night? Write this down - they're going to the playoffs. And stop me if you've heard this before - Chargers start slow, fade away from the spotlight, win like 9 straight games to win their crappy division, make the playoffs and lose in the first round.
- If you haven't been paying attention to the schedule this weekend check out the Sunday night and Monday night games. I may need to get a hall pass for these 2 nights.
- I've always kind of liked Jeff Fisher, but I don't think he's the man of the year. BUT, how people can so vehemently defend Vince Young's behavior is beyond me. I hate the thought that Bud Adams is going to shelter VY and likely dump Fisher.....unless you're a Cowboys fan because Fisher is EXACTLY what the Cowboys need.
- Oh yeah....Randy Moss is on the Titans isn't he? Huh.
- If Atlanta keeps pace and secures home field throughout the playoffs it's going to be hard to keep them out of the Super Bowl - they are unstoppable at home right now.
- Has there been a more under appreciated player in the last 15 years than Donovan McNabb?
- I'm second to last in my fantasy league. Damn.
- Well, not much of an update - still 60+ games left, but the Lakers have now lost 4 straight games.
- You think the tarnish is fading from the enigma we call Lebron? There have been folks (very few) who have preached the fact that he isn't the golden boy that most think and I think that may just be coming to light. Did you see his childish little shoulder bump on his coach last week? Punk-ass move if I've ever seen one. Couple that with the fact that he completely and utterly mailed it in during game 5 last year when things got tough and in doing so utterly buried his coach. My point is this - perhaps he's not the great white hope we all thought he was. And I know this (yes, as a Laker fan) he sure as hell ain't no Kobe, MJ, Bird or Magic....and I get the feeling he never will be.
- With that said, he got the last laugh in Cleveland didn't he?
- This just in....Blake Griffin is a super star in the making. Bona fide super star.
- Celtics and Spurs - two teams starting very hot right now (especially the Spurs - my word they are hot), but that have a lot of age - they'll fade. Both are playoff teams and both are tough outs in the playoffs, but both will fade from this current white-hot start.
- Over/under on number of games Yao plays this year: 40. What are you taking?
- You know how much I love Simmons - great, great, great article. As a dude with an awesome, beautiful daughter this article resonated, and maybe almost puke laughing (thanks Hoos): http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/101201&sportCat=nba
- I'm sorry, but unless we're trying to kill as many of these bad guys as we can, we are wasting our time and money in Afghanistan - has nothing to do with our military and everything to do with the fact that we are pissing money away in that place. I vote for bi-monthly massive bombings from about 3 miles high in order to destroy terrorist infrastructure and poppy fields. The corruption that exits will never end. Not in this lifetime.
- Great Ella story number 153: we had a bird "stuck" in our garage and couldn't get out and Ella brilliantly uttered, "I have an idea". She runs and grabs this stuffed cardinal that makes a bird sound when you squeeze it. She places it on the ground right outside our garage, squeezes it and then runs and hides....the stupid bird flies out of the garage. Ella utters: "he thinks it's his family". Brilliant, cute as sh*t kid...
"Well....we shot a lot of people together. It's been great. But today, I retire, so if I do any shooting now, it'll have to be in the confines of my own home. Hopefully, an intruder, and not an in-law, like at my bachelor party."
- Lt. Frank Drebin
Dr. Alan Rumack: "What was it we had for dinner tonight?"
Elaine Dickenson: "Well, we had a choice: steak or fish."
Dr. Alan Rumack: "Yes, yes, I remember, I had lasagna."
"Protecting the queen's safety is a task that is gladly accepted by Police Squad. No matter how silly the idea of having a queen might be to us, Americans, we must be gracious and considerate hosts."
- Lt. Frank Drebin
Update:
At the time of writing this blog, the rumors of Greg Davis' dismissal/firing/resignation/or whatever had not yet broken. But, I'll just add this....for all of you Longhorn fans let me ask you this: if I were to tell you that the next O-coordinator were to have the 17th or better ranked offense in the country for the next 10 years including a national title, a runner-up and one win away from 2 other national championship games, would you take it??? As we all know in life, the grass ain't always greener. Let's hope it is in this case.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 10:17 PM
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