Football question

[Boom Soon]

I said earlier that the RB room was a twisted ankle away from being a disaster and I was right less than a full game in.

I’m still baffled that Venables, who is on the hottest seat in college football, decided to roll with Demarco and BB this year.

 

[mict085]

I think Ott will start or get the most carries on Saturday. They paid a lot for him and they’re not gonna sit him against Michigan. My opinion, Ott will be 1 with X and Barnes getting 2nd reps. I think they really wanted blaylock and Ott to be the 1-2 punch but that’s on hold for now.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I said earlier that the RB room was a twisted ankle away from being a disaster and I was right less than a full game in.

I’m still baffled that Venables, who is on the hottest seat in college football, decided to roll with Demarco and BB this year.

And as much crap as Murray deserves, the fact remains that Brent also could override him at any point. I know position coaches usually have a lot of say in playing time decisions, but Brent has seen Barnes firsthand for his entire career. How many times does he need to watch him in games to know that no matter how good he is in pass protection, he is a subpar running back?

As for Ott, given the money they spent on him and the way they have talked about him for four months, I fail to see any world in which the plan wasn’t for him to be our clear cut starter. So again, if that doesn’t turn out to be what happens, he is either hurt, nowhere close to as good as expected, or we have dumb coaches.

 

[BoulderSooner]

And as much crap as Murray deserves, the fact remains that Brent also could override him at any point. I know position coaches usually have a lot of say in playing time decisions, but Brent has seen Barnes firsthand for his entire career. How many times does he need to watch him in games to know that no matter how good he is in pass protection, he is a subpar running back?

As for Ott, given the money they spent on him and the way they have talked about him for four months, I fail to see any world in which the plan wasn’t for him to be our clear cut starter. So again, if that doesn’t turn out to be what happens, he is either hurt, nowhere close to as good as expected, or we have dumb coaches.

maybe i will eat crow ... but i would expect to see Ott get the bulk on the carries vs michigan ..

 

[hoopsaustin]

It sounds like blaylock is out for a while, which really sucks because he’s the best RB we have. I don’t know what’s worse, him being injured and unable to play or him being healthy and DM not playing him.

I think this game was a glorified scrimmage from OU coaches perspective, right or wrong. Although, playing Ott and X in the 4th quarter was strange with no upside. We will find out a lot about this team next week. If we can’t beat this Michigan team at home with their true freshman QB, then I think that is the end of BV tenure. Year 4 with this roster, it’s put up or shut up.

4-5 weeks

 

[WichitaSooner]

4-5 weeks

If any Scoop members would mind sharing, I see they did a Q&A where they discuss Ott and Eli “Neighbors” Thomas. Anything in there of note?

 

[WichitaSooner]

I’d recommend you guys listen to Teddy and Gabe’s pod. Gabe is about as much of a homer as you’ll find when it comes to BB, but he absolutely is frustrated as can be with what he saw. Called out three players by name and said they should have been out there playing. And he made clear that the issues in the run game weren’t due to using a vanilla game plan. He said it’s all about how little speed they come off the ball with, and said that’s been going on for multiple seasons now.

They also are both baffled by how Ott was handled.

One thing I’ll note: Gabe is rarely accurate when it comes to injuries. He said multiple times that he thought Blaylock is fine and wouldn’t miss time, so obviously they recorded before the news trickled in. The scary thing is that he said a couple times that we will need Blaylock against Michigan based on how much better he looked than any of our other backs.

 

[WTSooner]

Some of you all are going to have to be patient with the run game. We're back running more of a true air-raid offense. Yes, you can run the ball effectively out of such an offense. Yes, we're going to have to be able to run the ball effectively in the SEC. But Arbuckle didn't have a ton of success running the ball with RB's last year at WSU. I suspect that part of the offense will lag behind the passing game the first half of the season. And that should be fine. Not saying we won't have any success running the ball. But with a strong passing attack, Mateer's legs, and what should be a top 10 defense, we should still be fine.

Not sure why anybody expected the running game to start off strong given the offense and OC we brought in. Going to take some time to get that straightened out, though Blaylock had plenty of success when he was in the game, so anybody saying the RB wasn't playing a factor in the results is flat out wrong.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Some of you all are going to have to be patient with the run game. We're back running more of a true air-raid offense. Yes, you can run the ball effectively out of such an offense. Yes, we're going to have to be able to run the ball effectively in the SEC. But Arbuckle didn't have a ton of success running the ball with RB's last year at WSU. I suspect that part of the offense will lag behind the passing game the first half of the season. And that should be fine. Not saying we won't have any success running the ball. But with a strong passing attack, Mateer's legs, and what should be a top 10 defense, we should still be fine.

Not sure why anybody expected the running game to start off strong given the offense and OC we brought in. Going to take some time to get that straightened out, though Blaylock had plenty of success when he was in the game, so anybody saying the RB wasn't playing a factor in the results is flat out wrong.

yeah...but it was illinois state with a full line that played together last year.

And blaylock looked good but wasn't spectacular by any means

 

[WichitaSooner]

Some of you all are going to have to be patient with the run game. We're back running more of a true air-raid offense. Yes, you can run the ball effectively out of such an offense. Yes, we're going to have to be able to run the ball effectively in the SEC. But Arbuckle didn't have a ton of success running the ball with RB's last year at WSU. I suspect that part of the offense will lag behind the passing game the first half of the season. And that should be fine. Not saying we won't have any success running the ball. But with a strong passing attack, Mateer's legs, and what should be a top 10 defense, we should still be fine.

Not sure why anybody expected the running game to start off strong given the offense and OC we brought in. Going to take some time to get that straightened out, though Blaylock had plenty of success when he was in the game, so anybody saying the RB wasn't playing a factor in the results is flat out wrong.

Scheme has zero to do with whether your offensive line can generate movement, especially against what should be an overmatched opponent. And all the things Gabe discussed are things that have been an issue for three seasons, regardless of scheme.

 

[WTSooner]

yeah...but it was illinois state with a full line that played together last year.

And blaylock looked good but wasn't spectacular by any means

How was it a full line that played together last year?

It was missing 3 of the top 4 OT's after the first series.

The guy that played RG all last year and all camp moved to LG, because the starting LG was out. The new RG was a true freshman. The guy that took most of the snaps at LT wasn't with OU last year. Howland and Everett were.

Pass protection was fantastic save Fodje's one big gaffe. I agree they didn't get a big push in the run game, but there were lanes for Blaylock to average almost 7 ypc.

 

[WTSooner]

Scheme has zero to do with whether your offensive line can generate movement, especially against what should be an overmatched opponent. And all the things Gabe discussed are things that have been an issue for three seasons, regardless of scheme.

It's not that simple. I'd argue they literally did nothing to try and get movement. Wasn't what the game plan was.

How does OU improve as a team by pushing around Illinois State and playing bully ball? They don't. You could tell what they wanted to do and work on, and it wasn't the running game (except maybe some down by the goalline).

Just my opinion. Let's at least wait and see how they look this week with a couple of starters back and an actual game plan.

If you want to fire BB, who you going to hire?

 

[WichitaSooner]

It's not that simple. I'd argue they literally did nothing to try and get movement. Wasn't what the game plan was.

How does OU improve as a team by pushing around Illinois State and playing bully ball? They don't. You could tell what they wanted to do and work on, and it wasn't the running game (except maybe some down by the goalline).

Just my opinion. Let's at least wait and see how they look this week with a couple of starters back and an actual game plan.

If you want to fire BB, who you going to hire?

That would be like a basketball team going 10 for 20 from the FT line and saying the plan wasn't to make FTs. You always want to generate movement.

And again, the missing starters issue can't be used as an excuse when all indications are that every one of those guys could and should have played. If you really think the team needs time to work on things in a new system, then their best players need to play. I can already envision the excuses if things don't go well Saturday. "Well, it was the first game for Fasusi and a couple other lineman, and the first time Ott did anything other than stand on the field and watch kickoffs land."

As far as how you benefit by bullying Illinois State -- guys could learn how to come off the ball with speed and power in a game with 80,000 people in the stands rather than in camp. Again, listen to to the pod. I have mixed feelings on Gabe but he clearly knows offensive line play. He breaks down the issues with their technique and overall approach. Those are things that should be consistent regardless of who you are playing. When OU's basketball team plays weak noncon opponents, would you argue that it's ok to have sloppy footwork on defense?

 

[SoonerBounce13]

How was it a full line that played together last year?

Because they have all played together?
The excuses for the oline over the last few years is just astonishing.

Sexton played 8 games last year (i know he got injured again very early)
EPL has a year under his belt
Everette is a vet
Nwaiwu started every game last year and is a RS senior
Howland started half the games last year and played in everyone

There is enough experience on the line that we should be able to perform better against an FCS opponent. Especially considering it is still the same coach

 

[SoonerBounce13]

It's not that simple. I'd argue they literally did nothing to try and get movement. Wasn't what the game plan was.

How does OU improve as a team by pushing around Illinois State and playing bully ball? They don't. You could tell what they wanted to do and work on, and it wasn't the running game (except maybe some down by the goalline).

Just my opinion. Let's at least wait and see how they look this week with a couple of starters back and an actual game plan.

If you want to fire BB, who you going to hire?

Man this is an odd take

 

[hoopsaustin]

It's not that simple. I'd argue they literally did nothing to try and get movement. Wasn't what the game plan was.

How does OU improve as a team by pushing around Illinois State and playing bully ball? They don't. You could tell what they wanted to do and work on, and it wasn't the running game (except maybe some down by the goalline).

Just my opinion. Let's at least wait and see how they look this week with a couple of starters back and an actual game plan.

If you want to fire BB, who you going to hire?

"Were gonna get out there and not pound and destroy Illinois state! We want to finesse them all game. Don't fire off the ball, ease it baby ease it. Then, next week will turn it up a notch."

 

[Sooner04]

I'm biased. I love the run. I love scoring drives that chew clock. I love not sweating every 3rd and 1. But I'll give them the Michigan game.
How ANYBODY can tolerate listening to Gabe Ikard is beyond me. Our radio broadcast, with five or six guys having a live mic, is an abomination to the medium.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Gabe does a great job. I think we have a great radio team

 

[WichitaSooner]

Gabe does a great job. I think we have a great radio team

He is my least favorite on the crew. I think he knows football but talks too much about himself and seems a bit too worried with being liked. But my comments regarding him were with regard to the pod, not the game broadcast. I like Teddy during the games but I generally listen to the TV broadcast because I think hearing objective commentary is generally a good thing rather than just hearing the pro-OU talk.

And again, if Saturday were a one-off, I wouldn't be worried about the line or RBs. But it's been 40 games now. Saturday was just the most recent installment.

 

[BoulderSooner]

If any Scoop members would mind sharing, I see they did a Q&A where they discuss Ott and Eli “Neighbors” Thomas. Anything in there of note?

expectation is that Ott will be playing a big role this weekend ..