OT: Football Talk

[Sooner04]

Anderson has a hamstring that barks often. He can't shake it.
I doubt Anthony ever plays again.
Burks is making business decisions regarding his redshirt.
I'd like to see some back, any back, get 25 carries in a game. But if you're down 21-0 before the hot dog vendors fill their first cart you're sunk.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Anderson has a hamstring that barks often. He can't shake it.
I doubt Anthony ever plays again.
Burks is making business decisions regarding his redshirt.
I'd like to see some back, any back, get 25 carries in a game. But if you're down 21-0 before the hot dog vendors fill their first cart you're sunk.

Is Anthony’s injury just not responding to treatment? I know ACL injuries are nothing to laugh at, but most guys are back by this point if the rehab goes according to plan. Or is there something else going on?

The running back rotations have been awful since Gray graduated. Sawchuk and Barnes have low ceilings compared to what OU backs should look like, but I agree it would help if the coaches would let someone get in a rhythm. Tatum has the most potential but needs to learn what he is doing.

 

[daqman]

Anderson has a hamstring that barks often. He can't shake it.
I doubt Anthony ever plays again.
Burks is making business decisions regarding his redshirt.
I'd like to see some back, any back, get 25 carries in a game. But if you're down 21-0 before the hot dog vendors fill their first cart you're sunk.

Sorry but I don't need to see Barnes or Sawchuck carry 25 times to know they don't have it. You'll just have 15 more examples of why they don't have it.
Tatum has it when it comes to carrying and catching the ball but apparently not when it comes to blocking and just basically knowing what to do on any given play.
I'd love to see more of Hicks but maybe he has his issues too.
Bottom line is DM has failed to recruit great backs. Texas has been killing us for years in that dept.
Brooks was the last time we've had a quality back at OU altho some would argue for Gray.
I would take Texas' 4th string back (Wisner) over all of ours.

 

[Soonerguy06]

I hate to be a 'bad fan' but i've already written off this season and for the first time in some time i'm ready for basketball season to start. BV hasn't really proven to me that he's a great head coach. It's sad that some of the worst hiring decisions were made right before we switched over to the BEST conference in the nation, so it makes us look that much worse. Had we stayed in the Big 12 we could possibly win a few more games, but as it is Maine it is, and no bowl game for the first time in how long???

 

[SoonerDutch]

Is Anthony’s injury just not responding to treatment? I know ACL injuries are nothing to laugh at, but most guys are back by this point if the rehab goes according to plan. Or is there something else going on?

The running back rotations have been awful since Gray graduated. Sawchuk and Barnes have low ceilings compared to what OU backs should look like, but I agree it would help if the coaches would let someone get in a rhythm. Tatum has the most potential but needs to learn what he is doing.

Everything I have heard is that part of Anthony’s deal (before he had additional surgery where is out now) is mental, he was just not comfortable trusting it.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Everything I have heard is that part of Anthony’s deal (before he had additional surgery where is out now) is mental, he was just not comfortable trusting it.

Thanks for the info. And to be clear, I have been lucky to never have any serious injuries. I'm sure the mental part in some ways is tougher than the physical rehab. But with all the other WRs out, and based on what Brent told the media in August, it makes his absence all the more noticeable.

 

[Sooner04]

Sawchuck from November 2023 to the bowl game:
OSU: 13-111
WVU: 22-135
BYU: 14-107
TCU: 22-130
Zona: 15-134
Now.....all of a sudden he's garbage? That's 86 carries at over 7 yards a pop. I don't get it!

Anthony had another surgery in late August. May have been early September. Can't remember. I think this procedure was more of a scope. But there's a lot of smoke out there that his knee is a mess.

 

[BCSooners]

Sawchuck from November 2023 to the bowl game:
OSU: 13-111
WVU: 22-135
BYU: 14-107
TCU: 22-130
Zona: 15-134
Now.....all of a sudden he's garbage? That's 86 carries at over 7 yards a pop. I don't get it!

He’s a back that uses vision, a quick cut, then explodes to a whole. There aren’t any holes so his strengths can’t be utilized. From what I’ve seen though he’s by far the best blocking back.

 

[daqman]

Sawchuck from November 2023 to the bowl game:
OSU: 13-111
WVU: 22-135
BYU: 14-107
TCU: 22-130
Zona: 15-134
Now.....all of a sudden he's garbage? That's 86 carries at over 7 yards a pop. I don't get it!

Anthony had another surgery in late August. May have been early September. Can't remember. I think this procedure was more of a scope. But there's a lot of smoke out there that his knee is a mess.

If you go back and check, those defenses weren't ranked very high.
And against Arizona, one carry was 62 yds.
He needs a big hole to run thru. Those just aren't available to him this year.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Sawchuck from November 2023 to the bowl game:
OSU: 13-111
WVU: 22-135
BYU: 14-107
TCU: 22-130
Zona: 15-134
Now.....all of a sudden he's garbage? That's 86 carries at over 7 yards a pop. I don't get it!

Anthony had another surgery in late August. May have been early September. Can't remember. I think this procedure was more of a scope. But there's a lot of smoke out there that his knee is a mess.

I thought he was way better than Barnes last year and have no clue why Barnes got the critical fourth quarter touches in Lawrence. (Well, bad coaching is the reason.) I was worried when the reports leading up to the opener were that Barnes may be even, or ahead of him, on the depth chart. If Barnes is your primary back, you’re in trouble. As they frequently say on the podcast, Barnes never gets more than what is there. He rarely even tries to make a guy miss when he is one-on-one with a defender. In any event, it appears that Murray and Brent have more or less given up on Sawchuk and Hicks, so I’d guess those two will be in the portal by season’s end.

 

[cbertus6]

Thanks for the info. And to be clear, I have been lucky to never have any serious injuries. I'm sure the mental part in some ways is tougher than the physical rehab. But with all the other WRs out, and based on what Brent told the media in August, it makes his absence all the more noticeable.

Believe I saw somewhere that he had a cleanup surgery done a few weeks ago due to some aggravation. That may be playing into him not playing as well

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Sawchuck from November 2023 to the bowl game:
OSU: 13-111
WVU: 22-135
BYU: 14-107
TCU: 22-130
Zona: 15-134
Now.....all of a sudden he's garbage? That's 86 carries at over 7 yards a pop. I don't get it!

Anthony had another surgery in late August. May have been early September. Can't remember. I think this procedure was more of a scope. But there's a lot of smoke out there that his knee is a mess.

He was garbage before that stretch.
He’s slow. Isn’t elusive. Not a good combination with a bad oline

Part of the problem is BB has always sucked about picking the right combinations until Galway through the season

 

[mict085]

Nic Anderson tore a quad muscle and that takes months to heal. If he heals properly, he should be good to go next season.

Andrel Anthony, idk. Maybe he’s close to 100% by next season. There were rumors he and his family weren’t happy with OU training staff and rehab was a disaster. He had another clean out procedure on the knee earlier this season. I think it’s a good sign that he wants to return so maybe he’s feeling better now. He’d have to be approved for a medical RS.

Sawchuk isn’t playing because his coach is a dickhead that plays favorites and once you’re on his bad side it’s hard to get out of the doghouse. We need DM to move on so we can hire a better RB coach that is a professional and not a baby.

If we can get Anthony, Anderson, and Gibson back 100% healthy, that would really help this offense next season.

 

[mict085]

He was garbage before that stretch.
He’s slow. Isn’t elusive. Not a good combination with a bad oline

Part of the problem is BB has always sucked about picking the right combinations until Galway through the season

He was injured before that stretch. He’s a very good RB. The RB coach has completely mismanaged the position by being petty and stupid. He recruits on his name and OU brand. He can’t coach or manage people worth a ****.

 

[WichitaSooner]

He was injured before that stretch. He’s a very good RB. The RB coach has completely mismanaged the position by being petty and stupid. He recruits on his name and OU brand. He can’t coach or manage people worth a ****.

Murray and Brent have mismanaged it but saying he is very good is a massive stretch. Again, I’d ask when you have seen him make guys miss and get a bunch of extra yards the way elite backs do. He had the long run in Bedlam and in the bowl game. But turn on any ranked team any given week and you’ll likely see better backs on both teams. That should not be the case for OU.

 

[mict085]

Seth out and they make Finley the play caller. I’m sure that’ll lead to an offensive explosion lol. Venables’ seat better be more than warm. Needs to be white hot. He handpicks a guy who is so historically bad that he only lasts 7 games. What a massive failure Brent has been when it comes to just about every big decision he has had to make thus far.

I think JJF was selected as the playcaller because he knows the lebby offense front and back. This is only temporary until the seasons over. We will hire a new OC at seasons end and there will very likely be more staff changes.

Like it or not, Brent will be the OU coach for 1-2 more seasons because the AD gave him an extension and he’s owed $44 million. Right or wrong, firing the OC and cleaning house on offensive staff will likely buy him 2 more seasons unless we remain in the basement. We’d still need a BMD to step up pay the buyout should we fire him before then and I don’t see that happening. They can take half that buyout amount and buy the players we need to win.

 

[mict085]

Murray and Brent have mismanaged it but saying he is very good is a massive stretch. Again, I’d ask when you have seen him make guys miss and get a bunch of extra yards the way elite backs do. He had the long run in Bedlam and in the bowl game. But turn on any ranked team any given week and you’ll likely see better backs on both teams. That should not be the case for OU.

I don’t disagree but he’s good. I think if it were managed properly, we would be getting more production out of the RBs. DM doesn’t know how to utilize his players and he plays favorites. I also hope we will be replacing him and JJF at the end of the season.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I don’t disagree but he’s good. I think if it were managed properly, we would be getting more production out of the RBs. DM doesn’t know how to utilize his players and he plays favorites. I also hope we will be replacing him and JJF at the end of the season.

He’s not good. He’s adequate with a good line.