Football question

Not happy with our RB room, but this is not even close to true.
He sucks. Brings in highly regarded guys and they are all average at best, and our playing time decisions are ridiculous. The only good decision he (and the rest of the staff) have made in years was not playing the quitter Barnes on Friday.
 
IMHO only JFF needs to be gone

He definitely needs to go. He did a decent job calling plays at the end of the year considering he had both hands tied behind his back, which I think is why he was retained, but the TE room simply isn't where it needs to be, even if the production we got from a converted LB was near-miraculous. We're literally talking about a LB that the greatest LB coach of this century gave up on. We need 2-3 TEs for this offense, and it's been hard enough to even get one.

BB is the only one definitely safe. I was ready to move on from him, but we got excellent production considering the youth and opponents. Fasusi and the guys we have coming in for 2027 are on a completely different level than guys like Sexton and Taylor that tapered off.

Demarco would be somebody to consider moving on from, but he's an excellent recruiter, and none of these guys like Sawchuk have gone on and taken their game to another level. Barnes likely won't either. He got excellent production from guys like Eric Gray in Lebby's system.

Haven't been thrilled with our WRs, but not sure we can fully blame our WRs coach. It was almost entirely injury related last year. This year we had great production from Sategna. Burks' issues I think were predominantly from our QB playing through a broken thumb. Likely not a coincidence he went over 100 yards in both big games where our QB wasn't wearing a brace (Alabama, Michigan). Make or break year for Emmett Jones.
 
He sucks. Brings in highly regarded guys and they are all average at best, and our playing time decisions are ridiculous. The only good decision he (and the rest of the staff) have made in years was not playing the quitter Barnes on Friday.

Based on what?

He came in 2020 and got excellent production from Rhamondre.

In 2021, we squeezed every ounce out of Kennedy Brooks.

In 2022, Eric Gray showed out of this world progression. One of the most impressive things I've seen coaching-wise at OU.

In 2023, we got 6.2 YPC out of Sawchuk, who went down to 4.5 at FSU.

The last two years have been poor overall, but why look at 2 years of data when you have 6? This year would have looked much different if X were healthy. I have plenty of gripes, but it's not like we are seeing our RBs leave and thrive under other coaches.
 
Based on what?

He came in 2020 and got excellent production from Rhamondre.

In 2021, we squeezed every ounce out of Kennedy Brooks.

In 2022, Eric Gray showed out of this world progression. One of the most impressive things I've seen coaching-wise at OU.

In 2023, we got 6.2 YPC out of Sawchuk, who went down to 4.5 at FSU.

The last two years have been poor overall, but why look at 2 years of data when you have 6? This year would have looked much different if X were healthy. I have plenty of gripes, but it's not like we are seeing our RBs leave and thrive under other coaches.
I don’t give him much credit for what happened under Riley. Say what you will about Lincoln, but he is the guy responsible for the offensive production on teams he coaches, and it is always excellent.

I look at the four years since, and yes, Gray was a success story. Can’t give him too many pats on the back for Sawchuk since he also had him behind Barnes for a lot of his time here, even though Barnes was never a good runner. He had the issue with Walker, which hurt us that season (benching him for the first quarter in Lawrence).

And saying that about X is pure speculation. Part of being a good back is being available and being able to produce through injuries. But even without him, we had two other highly recruited backs on the roster. We have gotten nothing from Tatum in two years. Whether that is because Tatum doesn’t love football, isn’t focused, doesn’t know the play book, whatever … Murray is the guy who recruited and coaches him. Part of his job is to find a way to get the most out of guys. And Ott … I can’t put too much of that on Murray since Brent and Nagy are the two guys who bear responsibility for bringing him in, but it still continues a trend of us having disgruntled backs over the past three seasons.

It’s been pointed out many times, but take away two or three runs by X this season, and we have had a total lack of explosive runs. Yes, our line hasn’t been good for the most part, but even on the rare occasions when a play is blocked well, our backs just don’t make guys miss in space. If a play is blocked for 10 yards, that’s what our guys get. They don’t turn it into a 25 or 30 yard play by making a guy miss. Since Gray graduated, our running back room has resided near the bottom of whichever league we are in.
 
I don’t give him much credit for what happened under Riley. Say what you will about Lincoln, but he is the guy responsible for the offensive production on teams he coaches, and it is always excellent.

I look at the four years since, and yes, Gray was a success story. Can’t give him too many pats on the back for Sawchuk since he also had him behind Barnes for a lot of his time here, even though Barnes was never a good runner. He had the issue with Walker, which hurt us that season (benching him for the first quarter in Lawrence).

And saying that about X is pure speculation. Part of being a good back is being available and being able to produce through injuries. But even without him, we had two other highly recruited backs on the roster. We have gotten nothing from Tatum in two years. Whether that is because Tatum doesn’t love football, isn’t focused, doesn’t know the play book, whatever … Murray is the guy who recruited and coaches him. Part of his job is to find a way to get the most out of guys. And Ott … I can’t put too much of that on Murray since Brent and Nagy are the two guys who bear responsibility for bringing him in, but it still continues a trend of us having disgruntled backs over the past three seasons.

It’s been pointed out many times, but take away two or three runs by X this season, and we have had a total lack of explosive runs. Yes, our line hasn’t been good for the most part, but even on the rare occasions when a play is blocked well, our backs just don’t make guys miss in space. If a play is blocked for 10 yards, that’s what our guys get. They don’t turn it into a 25 or 30 yard play by making a guy miss. Since Gray graduated, our running back room has resided near the bottom of whichever league we are in.

Riley is an excellent playcaller, but Eric Gray had by far his worst season under him. Was much better under Heupel and went to a completely different level under Lebby.

Riley really wanted Barnes and Tatum, so if that's a recruiting miss, then it also would have been under Riley as well. I'd be shocked if Barnes went on to have great success for a different program. If it's truly terrible development, these guys should succeed at other programs, which we haven't seen. Everybody misses on some RBs, including guys like Wheaton, which was such a big recruiting miss that it played a role in Boulware's firing.

As for X, being on the field is certainly crucial for how good he is as a player, but I fail to see how injuries have anything to do with Murray as a coach. He's not a physical freak by any means, so the production we get with him on the field speaks favorably to coaching. Felt similar about Kennedy Brooks, who unsurprisingly was abandoned quickly by the NFL.

Sawchuk is another guy that had trouble with injuries, which again, I don't see how that's a coaching issue. He went on to FSU and his YPC dropped from 6.2 to 4.5.

I wouldn't be sad if he took a different job, but saying he's the worst in the country is obvious hyperbole.
 
I was at the game...first time looking at this thread since the game.

I'll just add that we had wide open guys all night that mateer never even looked at. I was in the north endzone and every drive we had atleast 1 play with a wide open guy deep.

And also, the missed false start was insane and RMT was held virutally on every play
 
I was at the game...first time looking at this thread since the game.

I'll just add that we had wide open guys all night that mateer never even looked at. I was in the north endzone and every drive we had atleast 1 play with a wide open guy deep.

And also, the missed false start was insane and RMT was held virutally on every play
if X catches the ball OU goes into the half up 20-7 at worst (likely 24-7) are wins the game IMHO
 
i don't necessarily have an issue with that play. Obviously in hindsight you run it.

In hindsight, I would rather X just catch it. I'll take my chances every time with the open guy for a touchdown. Over the course of the game/season, you come out WAY ahead.

Who is to say he Mateer wouldn't trip, break his leg, or fumble?
 
I was at the game...first time looking at this thread since the game.

I'll just add that we had wide open guys all night that mateer never even looked at. I was in the north endzone and every drive we had atleast 1 play with a wide open guy deep.

And also, the missed false start was insane and RMT was held virutally on every play

haven't seen anyone mention it...but there was a missed delay of game also
 
In hindsight, I would rather X just catch it. I'll take my chances every time with the open guy for a touchdown. Over the course of the game/season, you come out WAY ahead.

Who is to say he Mateer wouldn't trip, break his leg, or fumble?
those are some dumb hypotheticals.

and in hindsight, maybe not relying on an injured running back to make that catch is the right move

Im fine with the decision. But knowing what he know, i wish he wouldhave just run it
 
haven't seen anyone mention it...but there was a missed delay of game also
You’re not wrong but for whatever reason, that is how that play is officiated at both the pro and college level. The offense always gets a little grace period once the play clock hits zero. On the play you are mentioning, it was maybe a bit more of a grace period than usual, but not totally beyond what I’ve seen in other games. I think they need to revisit that rule and apply it more strictly, but I doubt they will.

I am listening to the Oklahoma Breakdown and it’s so discouraging hearing another postgame where they discuss how many times Mateer either didn’t see open guys or simply refused to give his best playmakers a chance in one-on-one situations. That, and more talk about how bad the pad level and technique is from our linemen. I mentioned last week in that I heard a national analyst comment recently about how sloppy our linemen are. And that’s been the case for years, and it is true for both the young guys and the vets. I don’t care if Bill was a good coach years ago. That doesn’t buy him several years of bad coaching.
 
On the assistants, I am OK with BV keeping whoever he wants and trusts. But personally and although I loved the guy as a player, I haven't thought much of Demarco as a coach. He has recruited OK, but don't think he has coached all that well. This opinion isn't based on statistics, but watching the development of kids in his room. He doesn't coach kids to set up their blocks and he coaches kids to run with so much body lean that if they get touched, they lose their balance and fall down. Defenders in the pro ranks rarely if ever miss a tackle, and so you want a lot of body lean so that you can dig out 4-5 yards instead of 2-3. Always falling forward is important. The college game is different, you need kids to stay balanced so they can drop their hips, make a sudden cuts and make people miss.

And, his rotations during the season have been nothing short of bizarre and random. So, I am OK if BV keeps Demarco, but it won't hurt my feelings if he decides to find other job opportunities.
 
I think any thing that could have gone wrong after the 1st quarter pretty much did. That game was a disaster, and it felt like Bama was tougher and wanted it more. Maybe we were just happy to be in the playoff, idk.

Mateer has to be much better next season. If he's the same we really won't be any better. There's only so good your team can be if your offense is this bad. I guess it was an improvement from last season, and hopefully we're headed in the right direction.
 
You’re not wrong but for whatever reason, that is how that play is officiated at both the pro and college level. The offense always gets a little grace period once the play clock hits zero. On the play you are mentioning, it was maybe a bit more of a grace period than usual, but not totally beyond what I’ve seen in other games. I think they need to revisit that rule and apply it more strictly, but I doubt they will.

I am listening to the Oklahoma Breakdown and it’s so discouraging hearing another postgame where they discuss how many times Mateer either didn’t see open guys or simply refused to give his best playmakers a chance in one-on-one situations. That, and more talk about how bad the pad level and technique is from our linemen. I mentioned last week in that I heard a national analyst comment recently about how sloppy our linemen are. And that’s been the case for years, and it is true for both the young guys and the vets. I don’t care if Bill was a good coach years ago. That doesn’t buy him several years of bad coaching.
he threw for over 300 yards ... qb's on every team miss guys in every game on the season ..

do you think he should throw for 450 a game .. ?
 
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