Football question

[mict085]

It should be:
1. Ott
2. Robinson
3. Who cares

With 1 and 2 getting 80% of the carries..

but we'll prolly make it like 20% each among 5 backs and never get a solid starter that can breakout

There’s a lot of talk about blaylock. He might be elite. I’d be ok with giving the most carries to Ott and Robinson. Although I’d like to see more carries going to Barnes and Tatum when we play temple, Illinois at, and Kent st to keep the real starters rested and free of injury.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I have no inside sources so I have no idea what the truth is on those hirings, but Seth/Finley were disasters, and that was obvious even without the benefit of hindsight. And in general, I think the offensive staff has been bad since Brent was hired. I mean, I love DeMarco from his playing days, but think he has done a bad job coaching the RBs. Hell, most the time he doesn't even play the right guy. I am very interested to see how he handles the playing time this year. Barnes has been a below average back for three years. The next time he makes a defender miss or gets the extra yards that great backs get will be the first. Yet if history is a guide, Demarco will probably have him as the main backup to Ott to start the season mainly because he likes his pass blocking and/or doesn't trust the younger, more talented guys. That whole position is a mystery to me. Teddy and Gabe love Blaylock -- but they also loved Hicks for two summers and that guy barely got more snaps than I did in his OU career. And I rarely hear Robinson, let alone Tatum, mentioned. Tatum was supposed to be the next great back and at this rate, he will have more fumbles and blown assignments than highlights in his OU career. And Ott -- let's just say that I will only believe that he is fully healthy if he is in the starting lineup and getting the lion's share of the carries in the first half of the opener.

Agree on demarco. If we have another lackluster rb room, he needs to go

 

[BoulderSooner]

And in general, I think the offensive staff has been bad since Brent was hired.

OU had an elite offense with Lebby

 

[WichitaSooner]

OU had an elite offense with Lebby

I think that word is tossed around too casually. It was good but not elite. We saw lots of examples of elite offenses under Riley. The 2023 offense wasn’t on that level. They struggled for long stretches offensively in four or five games that season, including the two losses where they had the ball with the lead in the fourth quarter and couldn’t finish.

I know what the rankings say, but a lot of those numbers are inflated by putting up tons of yards and points in three games. Like I said, it was a very good offense but we lacked a stud running back and for some reason Lebby and Brent got spooked and called the most conservative game I’ve ever seen in Lawrence after Gabriel threw a pick six to start the game.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I'd take Lebby's offense again in a heartbeat and I know the metrics are really good...but he did some really odd things and I remember some grumblings about his offense and I wouldn't call it elite by any stretch

 

[hoopsaustin]

I'd take Lebby's offense again in a heartbeat and I know the metrics are really good...but he did some really odd things and I remember some grumblings about his offense and I wouldn't call it elite by any stretch

Remember when lebby tried to get osu to win by NOT RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK and instead running HNH.. dude is an idiot and may already get fired after his team sucks again this year (he'll prolly get 1 more year tho)..

 

[SoonerDutch]

I think that word is tossed around too casually. It was good but not elite. We saw lots of examples of elite offenses under Riley. The 2023 offense wasn’t on that level. They struggled for long stretches offensively in four or five games that season, including the two losses where they had the ball with the lead in the fourth quarter and couldn’t finish.

I know what the rankings say, but a lot of those numbers are inflated by putting up tons of yards and points in three games. Like I said, it was a very good offense but we lacked a stud running back and for some reason Lebby and Brent got spooked and called the most conservative game I’ve ever seen in Lawrence after Gabriel threw a pick six to start the game.

To be fair, you used the word “bad” to describe OU’s offense under Brent in this thread.

OU’s offense in 22 & 23 was top 10 SP+. I’m not going to get into what qualifies as “elite,” as that’s semantics and you can decide what what that means to you, and I would agree it was not generational like the 2016-2018 teams were and that Lebs is not a top top offensive mind.

 

[SoonerDutch]

Remember when lebby tried to get osu to win by NOT RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK and instead running HNH.. dude is an idiot and may already get fired after his team sucks again this year (he'll prolly get 1 more year tho)..

Yeah, the whole philosophy was predicated on pace. No ability or nuance to adjust at times…

 

[WichitaSooner]

To be fair, you used the word “bad” to describe OU’s offense under Brent in this thread.

OU’s offense in 22 & 23 was top 10 SP+. I’m not going to get into what qualifies as “elite,” as that’s semantics and you can decide what what that means to you, and I would agree it was not generational like the 2016-2018 teams were and that Lebs is not a top top offensive mind.

I said the offensive STAFF has been bad. Seth, Finley, Murray . . . I will stand by that.

 

[SoonerDutch]

I said the offensive STAFF has been bad. Seth, Finley, Murray . . . I will stand by that.

Ok, does staff include Bedenbaugh, Lebs, Jones?

IMO, SL is the clearest red mark against Brent. A generational disaster, could easily set the program back half a decade. OU should never be that bad on one side of the ball. Finley is similar but TE is a smaller concern.

The others? I’m not sure I’d say bad but my opinion for sure.

Murray - Decent recruiter, inconsistent lineup choices as you & others note. If Ott & Robinson aren’t getting majority of carries and the room isn’t productive, more clarity there.
Jones - Some recruiting success, limited on field success but injuries.
Lebs - Not a top guy but serviceable, although glad he’s gone personally. I want a guy who puts the program above his extended family lol and agree, could not deviate from core “hurry up” mentality.
Bill - Definitely not bad although last year was compounded by his recruiting failures.

Glad Wilson is on the staff too. I think Arbuckle will be serviceable, guy seems motivated. Top 20 SP+ seems doable which hopefully gets OU to 8/9 wins. Big year for sure if Brent wants to show proof of concept.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Ok, does staff include Bedenbaugh, Lebs, Jones?

IMO, SL is the clearest red mark against Brent. A generational disaster, could easily set the program back half a decade. OU should never be that bad on one side of the ball. Finley is similar but TE is a smaller concern.

The others? I’m not sure I’d say bad but my opinion for sure.

Murray - Decent recruiter, inconsistent lineup choices as you & others note. If Ott & Robinson aren’t getting majority of carries and the room isn’t productive, more clarity there.
Jones - Some recruiting success, limited on field success but injuries.
Lebs - Not a top guy but serviceable, although glad he’s gone personally. I want a guy who puts the program above his extended family lol and agree, could not deviate from core “hurry up” mentality.
Bill - Definitely not bad although last year was compounded by his recruiting failures.

Glad Wilson is on the staff too. I think Arbuckle will be serviceable, guy seems motivated. Top 20 SP+ seems doable which hopefully gets OU to 8/9 wins. Big year for sure if Brent wants to show proof of concept.

I think this is a huge year for BB. Two years ago was not his finest work. Last year, the injuries were obviously a factor but that line would have struggled to even be average even if they were fully healthy. All the talk right now is that they have lots of good options this year, so if they struggle, I hope people don't fall back on "oh, so-and-so missed time in camp, so it isn't Bill's fault."

Jones, I want to see how this group pans out. Again, they have hyped a lot of these guys up, and they seem to have a legit QB. So, they need to produce.

 

[SoonerDutch]

I think this is a huge year for BB. Two years ago was not his finest work. Last year, the injuries were obviously a factor but that line would have struggled to even be average even if they were fully healthy. All the talk right now is that they have lots of good options this year, so if they struggle, I hope people don't fall back on "oh, so-and-so missed time in camp, so it isn't Bill's fault."

Jones, I want to see how this group pans out. Again, they have hyped a lot of these guys up, and they seem to have a legit QB. So, they need to produce.

No disagreement from me in those specifics. If the OL struggles as badly as last year, the team is doomed and there will be a full reset.

I just would not characterize the offensive staff as “bad.” Littrell was a generational mistake (worse than Mike IMO) and JJF is stealing money. But rest of guys are serviceable, 22/23 offenses were more than fine in the grand scheme of things is where we disagree.

 

[BoulderSooner]

IMO, SL is the clearest red mark against Brent. A generational disaster, could easily set the program back half a decade. OU should never be that bad on one side of the ball.

while I agree with this in general ..

it also discount just how bad the injuries were for OU on that side of the ball last season ..

by game 2 OU was starting its 4th string C (who was not ready (what 4th string C would be) and was already down a starting guard
by game 3 they were then missing the starting RT (it didn't get better) ..

and the WR room was somehow even worse off ...

 

[SoonerDutch]

while I agree with this in general ..

it also discount just how bad the injuries were for OU on that side of the ball last season ..

by game 2 OU was starting its 4th string C (who was not ready (what 4th string C would be) and was already down a starting guard
by game 3 they were then missing the starting RT (it didn't get better) ..

and the WR room was somehow even worse off ...

Oh for sure, I can’t imagine anything worse than Q1 against South Carolina but injuries definitely played a huge role in the season overall.

But majority of the issue was SL in my mind, he did nothing to adjust to reality of roster or the on-field situation (a Brent staple for the offense).

 

[hoopsaustin]

Ok, does staff include Bedenbaugh, Lebs, Jones?

IMO, SL is the clearest red mark against Brent. A generational disaster, could easily set the program back half a decade. OU should never be that bad on one side of the ball. Finley is similar but TE is a smaller concern.

The others? I’m not sure I’d say bad but my opinion for sure.

Murray - Decent recruiter, inconsistent lineup choices as you & others note. If Ott & Robinson aren’t getting majority of carries and the room isn’t productive, more clarity there.
Jones - Some recruiting success, limited on field success but injuries.
Lebs - Not a top guy but serviceable, although glad he’s gone personally. I want a guy who puts the program above his extended family lol and agree, could not deviate from core “hurry up” mentality.
Bill - Definitely not bad although last year was compounded by his recruiting failures.

Glad Wilson is on the staff too. I think Arbuckle will be serviceable, guy seems motivated. Top 20 SP+ seems doable which hopefully gets OU to 8/9 wins. Big year for sure if Brent wants to show proof of concept.

Mine is closing JA over DG and I wasn't a DG guy.. JA looks like a certified bust thus far and likely to continue

 

[mict085]

I'd take Lebby's offense again in a heartbeat and I know the metrics are really good...but he did some really odd things and I remember some grumblings about his offense and I wouldn't call it elite by any stretch

I absolutely don’t want Lebby’s offense ever again. It was a lot of stats against weaker teams and failed against good teams. Plus he was a bipolar playcaller. I would rather have Riley’s 2017 offense, not Riley’s Caleb offense. I have heard good things about this new guy. Hopefully, he’s the real deal and our offense gets back to being more like what we’re accustomed to being.

 

[mict085]

I think this is a huge year for BB. Two years ago was not his finest work. Last year, the injuries were obviously a factor but that line would have struggled to even be average even if they were fully healthy. All the talk right now is that they have lots of good options this year, so if they struggle, I hope people don't fall back on "oh, so-and-so missed time in camp, so it isn't Bill's fault."

Jones, I want to see how this group pans out. Again, they have hyped a lot of these guys up, and they seem to have a legit QB. So, they need to produce.

I still believe in BB. He’s been so good for so long but the last few years haven’t been good. Not all of that is his fault either. I think some limitations on recruiting have hurt him and his group and those issues appear to have been resolved. Also, the Cayden green fiasco hurt the OL as well and it took some time to overcome that. Having Kevin Wilson on staff to help with OL is also a big help.

The jury is still out on Jones.

 

[WichitaSooner]

With game week here, maybe it would be worth doing a season W/L prediction? I'd set the O/U at 7.5 wins, which is (I think) where most books currently have it. Since I think that is spot on, I won't be putting any money on it this season because I don't have a strong feel.

I think I will have a much better feel after Michigan. If we win that game and look really good doing it, I may allow myself to get somewhat optimistic. But if we struggle at home against a good-but-not-great team starting a true freshman QB in his first road game, that will be a bad sign.

I think we have upgraded our offense from last year, mainly at QB, OC, and RB1 if Ott stays healthy and DeMarco doesn't mess things up. But I think our overall roster is still not nearly as stacked as some people think. I heard some of the OU pods label it a top-10 roster last week. Then you see that draft experts at ESPN and The Athletic only have one Sooner in their top 100 for next season's draft, and it makes it pretty clear that we still have a long way to go.

 

[soonertrash77]

With game week here, maybe it would be worth doing a season W/L prediction? I'd set the O/U at 7.5 wins, which is (I think) where most books currently have it. Since I think that is spot on, I won't be putting any money on it this season because I don't have a strong feel.

I think I will have a much better feel after Michigan. If we win that game and look really good doing it, I may allow myself to get somewhat optimistic. But if we struggle at home against a good-but-not-great team starting a true freshman QB in his first road game, that will be a bad sign.

I think we have upgraded our offense from last year, mainly at QB, OC, and RB1 if Ott stays healthy and DeMarco doesn't mess things up. But I think our overall roster is still not nearly as stacked as some people think. I heard some of the OU pods label it a top-10 roster last week. Then you see that draft experts at ESPN and The Athletic only have one Sooner in their top 100 for next season's draft, and it makes it pretty clear that we still have a long way to go.

FWIW I have 7 wins. Feel confident in our defense and more confident in our offense, with same ? as you. If offense is better then it should make the defense even better.

Regarding roster strength: agree with your assessment. I don’t remember us ever signing so many 3 stars. My friends close to the fball team tell me it’s the new GM and how he wants to bring them in and develop them. With the portal I thought those days were over.

 

[SoonerDutch]

I’d take the over at 7.5 pretty easily, just because the team won 6 games last season with a generationally incompetent OC and some regression with injury luck.