Daily Short #88, October 25th, 2017: Offensive Skill Player Breakdown
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QB Sam Ehlinger - 71 snaps
* * *
RB Chris Warren - 60 snaps
RB Toneil Carter - 7 snaps
RB Daniel Young - 3 snaps
* * *
WR Jerrod Heard - 43 snaps
WR Collin Johnson - 35 snaps
WR Dorian Leonard - 35 snaps
WR Devin Duvernay - 34 snaps
WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 27 snaps
WR Lil Jordan Humphrey - 27 snaps
WR Lorenzo Joe - 25 snaps
WR John Burt - 11 snaps
* * *
TE Cade Brewer - 43 snaps
17 split out wide, 26 at h-back
Overall thoughts
How can anyone say the terrible offense is solely due to personnel?
The Texas offense is atrocious. Anyone saying it's only because of bad luck with injuries along the offensive line, or due to starting a true freshman quarterback or any other sad-sack excuse to defend their above-reproach view of Tom Herman's staff is fooling themselves. This offensive staff is doing itself no favors, and in a culture that is supposed to breed accountability, the excuse making around its clear shortcomings just seems so ironic.
Was the offensive line awful versus Oklahoma State? Absolutely. I have not done the grading yet, but in going through and charting the skill personnel it's painfully obvious that a task awaits me for the next 8-10 hours after posting this column (when I do the OL grades) that may make my eyes bleed. Eyes that have seen quite a few bad OL performances in grading and charting each snap of each player for what is now my fifth year. It looked awful. I'm not looking forward to it one bit and it's never any fun to be the bearer of bad news around here. One of the reasons why? The Texas play-calling allowed OSU to pin its ears back and exploit Texas' biggest weaknesses as a team that can allow way too much pressure off the edges and even through the interior at times when guys like Zach Shackelford revert to their old ways.
How can this be avoided? Running the football. The lack of effort in this area versus Oklahoma State was unacceptable. Texas handed the football to a running back only three times (!!!) in the first half versus OSU and never even so much as attempted to get any semblance of a traditional running game established. Despite the horrible appearances of the Texas offensive line, I'd encourage anyone who wants to lay all the blame for Texas' struggles there to watch back the OSU offensive line and then get back to me. A banged-up one, itself. Texas is not alone in suffering losses of key personnel, believe it or not. You'll see the Pokes OL look like a steaming pile of cow dung themselves.
Not only did Breckyn Hager get made to look like Lawrence Taylor's blonde-haired, long-lost cousin, but it was also a unit absolutely manhandled by Poona Ford in the middle. The Texas defensive staff dared OSU to run over and over again by only putting 5 men in the box and when OSU took them up on their dares, even those five players (a lighter, smaller and faster pass-rushing front) would shut them down time and time again.
But guess what? The OSU staff kept running. They knew the importance of establishing a run-game. Despite a lack of immediate success and despite a terrible offensive line. They kept at it. As a result, they made their offensive line look just a little better than the beat-up mess that it, in reality, was. You see how that works?
When Tom Herman makes excuses for his offensive play-calling staff, saying that the "run wasn't working" and that's why Texas had to get away from it, it's laughable and even insulting to intelligent fans of the program. How on God's green earth do you know whether or not the run-game is working after giving the football to a running back only three times in the entire first half of a football game?
If we're basing our assumptions on sample sizes this small, we could also say that Tom Herman isn't working as Texas head coach and that Texas must abandon him and look elsewhere. Anyone would tell you that's crazy, but how is it any different? You don't just give up on things at an absurdly early period in any given process that you know needs time to develop. Herman understands that and this silly defense of a glaring issue in his staff's philosophy is troublesome to hear.
I'm taking a page out of the Texas offensive staff's book and abandoning this column.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN USAGE FROM LAST WEEK:
Daniel Young - 0 snaps vs. OU, 3 vs. OSU (that's now 8 snaps on the season - not sure why the redshirt was burned if he doesn't get more run soon)
Toneil Carter - 12 snaps vs. OU, 7 vs. OSU
Kyle Porter - 16 snaps vs. OU, 0 vs. OSU
Collin Johnson - 65 snaps vs. OU, 35 vs. OSU
Dorian Leonard - 15 snaps vs. OU, 35 vs. OSU
John Burt - 3 snaps vs. OU, 11 vs. OSU
Lorenzo Joe - 42 snaps vs. OU, 25 vs. OSU
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 40 snaps vs. OU, 27 vs. OSU
presented by the Dental Offices of Wendy Swantkowski, DDS
The Absolute BEST in family and cosmetic dentistry for the Houston-Memorial Area
Now Accepting New Patients --- 281-293-9140
QB Sam Ehlinger - 71 snaps
* * *
RB Chris Warren - 60 snaps
RB Toneil Carter - 7 snaps
RB Daniel Young - 3 snaps
* * *
WR Jerrod Heard - 43 snaps
WR Collin Johnson - 35 snaps
WR Dorian Leonard - 35 snaps
WR Devin Duvernay - 34 snaps
WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 27 snaps
WR Lil Jordan Humphrey - 27 snaps
WR Lorenzo Joe - 25 snaps
WR John Burt - 11 snaps
* * *
TE Cade Brewer - 43 snaps
17 split out wide, 26 at h-back
Overall thoughts
How can anyone say the terrible offense is solely due to personnel?
The Texas offense is atrocious. Anyone saying it's only because of bad luck with injuries along the offensive line, or due to starting a true freshman quarterback or any other sad-sack excuse to defend their above-reproach view of Tom Herman's staff is fooling themselves. This offensive staff is doing itself no favors, and in a culture that is supposed to breed accountability, the excuse making around its clear shortcomings just seems so ironic.
Was the offensive line awful versus Oklahoma State? Absolutely. I have not done the grading yet, but in going through and charting the skill personnel it's painfully obvious that a task awaits me for the next 8-10 hours after posting this column (when I do the OL grades) that may make my eyes bleed. Eyes that have seen quite a few bad OL performances in grading and charting each snap of each player for what is now my fifth year. It looked awful. I'm not looking forward to it one bit and it's never any fun to be the bearer of bad news around here. One of the reasons why? The Texas play-calling allowed OSU to pin its ears back and exploit Texas' biggest weaknesses as a team that can allow way too much pressure off the edges and even through the interior at times when guys like Zach Shackelford revert to their old ways.
How can this be avoided? Running the football. The lack of effort in this area versus Oklahoma State was unacceptable. Texas handed the football to a running back only three times (!!!) in the first half versus OSU and never even so much as attempted to get any semblance of a traditional running game established. Despite the horrible appearances of the Texas offensive line, I'd encourage anyone who wants to lay all the blame for Texas' struggles there to watch back the OSU offensive line and then get back to me. A banged-up one, itself. Texas is not alone in suffering losses of key personnel, believe it or not. You'll see the Pokes OL look like a steaming pile of cow dung themselves.
Not only did Breckyn Hager get made to look like Lawrence Taylor's blonde-haired, long-lost cousin, but it was also a unit absolutely manhandled by Poona Ford in the middle. The Texas defensive staff dared OSU to run over and over again by only putting 5 men in the box and when OSU took them up on their dares, even those five players (a lighter, smaller and faster pass-rushing front) would shut them down time and time again.
But guess what? The OSU staff kept running. They knew the importance of establishing a run-game. Despite a lack of immediate success and despite a terrible offensive line. They kept at it. As a result, they made their offensive line look just a little better than the beat-up mess that it, in reality, was. You see how that works?
When Tom Herman makes excuses for his offensive play-calling staff, saying that the "run wasn't working" and that's why Texas had to get away from it, it's laughable and even insulting to intelligent fans of the program. How on God's green earth do you know whether or not the run-game is working after giving the football to a running back only three times in the entire first half of a football game?
If we're basing our assumptions on sample sizes this small, we could also say that Tom Herman isn't working as Texas head coach and that Texas must abandon him and look elsewhere. Anyone would tell you that's crazy, but how is it any different? You don't just give up on things at an absurdly early period in any given process that you know needs time to develop. Herman understands that and this silly defense of a glaring issue in his staff's philosophy is troublesome to hear.
I'm taking a page out of the Texas offensive staff's book and abandoning this column.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN USAGE FROM LAST WEEK:
Daniel Young - 0 snaps vs. OU, 3 vs. OSU (that's now 8 snaps on the season - not sure why the redshirt was burned if he doesn't get more run soon)
Toneil Carter - 12 snaps vs. OU, 7 vs. OSU
Kyle Porter - 16 snaps vs. OU, 0 vs. OSU
Collin Johnson - 65 snaps vs. OU, 35 vs. OSU
Dorian Leonard - 15 snaps vs. OU, 35 vs. OSU
John Burt - 3 snaps vs. OU, 11 vs. OSU
Lorenzo Joe - 42 snaps vs. OU, 25 vs. OSU
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps - 40 snaps vs. OU, 27 vs. OSU
