Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (6 steps to take to make the Big 12 title game...)

[Texas Diesel]

@Ketchum Great read and I agree.

Don’t let @Big Bertha read that part about Casey Thompson compared to the qb’s cause he might get upset.

I sent @Alex Dunlap an article idea that was met with silence and would like to know your opinion. Alex has his grades and the scale of what that grade means, and then will make comments how a players grade relates since he’s been grading.
His grading started after we sucked so I would think it helpful to grade players off of our 2005 team, based on his ratings, so that he can actually reference national championship level play as it compares to his scale, rather than rating based on the crap he’s seen since he started rating.

Just a thought.

 

[Ketchum]

Albert Pujols would like a word with you.

I never saw him hit in person, so he can just sit his ass down and read the fine print better next time.

 

[TexasLawnghorn]

Manning, Cook, and Owens? Holy cow.

 

[Ketchum]

Pretty solid analysis. I think people will take issue with your comment about both QBs not being at the level that Casey was pre-injury was scorching hot out of the gate. The hope is that Ewers will come close to that level of play (while also mixing in the wtf throws that are bound to happen).

Tons of RPOs in the spring game, Idk if I’ve ever seen so many. I hope that’s a precursor to the season because I vividly remember the fan base clamoring for more of them last year. Ewers is clearly money there.

Majors looks better. Angulau and Jones are who they are. Conner looked solid but idk if he’s quite strong enough for guard. Karic is a real x factor. I don’t see how Campbell doesn’t start somewhere so my 5 OL would *hypothetically* be Banks, Angulau, Majors, Campbell and Conner.

I have zero assurances about the corners but I think the safeties will be better. Thompson and cook forcing turnovers based on awareness and physicality was a good sight to see considering we didn’t see that much last year.

LB depth is TERRIFYING. However you can tell Bush is at his more natural position.

Upfront I’m excited as I think this year will be Murphy’s and Sweats coming out party. I totally agree with you that you may sacrifice some by moving Mathis to Jack but the overall unit should benefit. I like that ovie showed the ability to pulling OL his way instead of vacationing way outside basically taking himself out of the play. I like finkleys motor but idk if he is strong enough to be impactful consistently but his motor is there and may lead to him making a play here and there.

This team has freakin weapons. Baylor’s secondary has been decimated, OU is a toss up and Oklahoma state is as good as Spencer Spanders- which can be pretty decent or really bad. The question of the season is can we stop the run and will the other team be able to score with us.

Sidenote- the physique of the team looks really good. J Whitt, Roshchon, DMO Sorrell and Neyor really stood out to me.

I'm worried about Jake. His size means he;'s never quite going to be a pure bull in the middle for Texas,.

 

[Ketchum]

@Ketchum Great read and I agree.

Don’t let @Big Bertha read that part about Casey Thompson compared to the qb’s cause he might get upset.

I sent @Alex Dunlap an article idea that was met with silence and would like to know your opinion. Alex has his grades and the scale of what that grade means, and then will make comments how a players grade relates since he’s been grading.
His grading started after we sucked so I would think it helpful to grade players off of our 2005 team, based on his ratings, so that he can actually reference national championship level play as it compares to his scale, rather than rating based on the crap he’s seen since he started rating.

Just a thought.

I agree with you. I'm just not sure if the library exists for him to do it.

 

[McGavern]

I’ll be there for you is definitely better than Bad Medicine. Some Junior High dances probably ranked it #1.

 

[hookem1012]

I never saw him hit in person, so he can just sit his ass down and read the fine print better next time.

your loss

 

[MB-HORNS]

The sooner the fan base realizes this team is a multi-year project rather than getting their hopes up for the upcoming season, the happier everyone — well, many of us — will be.

Good coaches see vast improvement their 2nd year. If Sark is the guy we will too.

 

[Ketchum]

your loss

agreed

 

[Texas Diesel]

Good coaches see vast improvement their 2nd year. If Sark is the guy we will too.

Why do people dismiss the challenges we currently have in the trenches with a HORRIBLE OL and a not good DL, and blindly state what you are stating?

Yes, there are many good/great coaches who have made vast improvements in their second year, but why does that somehow define Sark as good/great or not, especially with the challenges we have up front?

We have some incredible skill position players that I think Sark will make better for the NFL, but until the trenches are half as good as the skill positions, we are going to struggle and the trenches take more than 1 year to resolve, when they have been as bad as ours.

If you are going to ask why we haven’t been more active in the portal at those positions, I’m going to guess that the talent/interest level he sought wasn’t there, but ultimately none of us know.

Throwing out the year 2 improvement blanket is really short sighted IMO.

 

[MB-HORNS]

Why do people dismiss the challenges we currently have in the trenches with a HORRIBLE OL and a not good DL, and blindly state what you are stating?

Yes, there are many good/great coaches who have made vast improvements in their second year, but why does that somehow define Sark as good/great or not, especially with the challenges we have up front?

We have some incredible skill position players that I think Sark will make better for the NFL, but until the trenches are half as good as the skill positions, we are going to struggle and the trenches take more than 1 year to resolve, when they have been as bad as ours.

If you are going to ask why we haven’t been more active in the portal at those positions, I’m going to guess that the talent/interest level he sought wasn’t there, but ultimately none of us know.

Throwing out the year 2 improvement blanket is really short sighted IMO.

If Sark can't win 8-9 games this year he ain't the guy.

 

[Coach_Bass]

I'm worried about Jake. His size means he;'s never quite going to be a pure bull in the middle for Texas,.

Astute observation. He did well in the “game” but I haven’t been privy to any practices or sourced reports. Plus, if he’s basically the same guy after all this time physically then he’s probably tapped. I’ll have to go look how many mountain strong nose players we’re to play against in the big 12 to set a proper level of concern.

 

[MB-HORNS]

Coaching matters a lot.

People here seem to forget that Aranda won the Big 12 in year 2 at Baylor.

 

[BurntEnds]

Look, I think there's some fool's gold in Thompson's pre-injury numbers, but he had a 187+ quarterback rating and posted the single greatest quarterback performance for Texas in the history of the OU game.

Neither of those other dude's is ready for that yet, hence "zenith of his healthy" play.

It helps when X takes a pass at the line of scrimmage for an 75-yard TD

 

[qwanseeker]

It feels like a typical 8-4 season with a bowl win. But all these talented freshmen coming in are the X factor. We have no idea how many are going to show up and make a difference from the jump. Banks, Campbell and Brown could very well be studs for us this season at key positions.

 

[TexasSwagger]

Under 8.5

 

[tlcdownunder2]

Protecting the ball is a strength for Card.

Because he never let’s go of the damn thing. Obviously that’s not only a strength.

Great column. Really enjoyed it.

 

[jrsaustin]

Good coaches see vast improvement their 2nd year.

I believe that most fans would agree. To me it’s almost fact.

 

[Russhorn]

If Sark can't win 8-9 games this year he ain't the guy.

Well then he probably isn’t. The guy who takes over is going to be super lucky because unlike Sark he will have actual OL and edge players.

If Sark is the luckiest man alive he gets winning play out of his super green QB and a fish OL that makes a big difference. I think we will be improved on D unless we have literally any injuries.

 

[Russhorn]

I believe that most fans would agree. To me it’s almost fact.

Good news. 7-5/8-4 is improvement

 

[HappyMikeWatkins]

I would’ve included:
Always
Who Says You Can’t Go Home
Thank You For Loving Me

 

[Dog from Duck Hunt]

Good news. 7-5/8-4 is improvement

Not relative to the record of the program he inherited. Do you really get credit for improvement when you were the guy responsible for tanking the Year 1 record?

I guess improvement is improvement on some level.

 

[Russhorn]

Not relative to the record of the program he inherited. Do you really get credit for improvement when you were the guy responsible for tanking the Year 1 record?

I guess improvement is improvement on some level.

I was being a bit sarcastic. Obviously not what Texas fans expect or think is “good”. I just don’t see it being any better than that. Guess we fire another coach soon. So well run we are…

 

[HornHammer]

Last saw Bon Jovi in '05. They were better.

Of course they had Sambora & he was a greatly underrated harmony singer in that band.

Phil X was great the concert was good.

I was not impressed by the acoustics at Moody. At all.

 

[fshanks]

Unfortunately OL and DL will be our downfall for the second year in a row.

And that is so freaking sad.

 

[TheAngryHammer]

Why do people dismiss the challenges we currently have in the trenches with a HORRIBLE OL and a not good DL, and blindly state what you are stating?

Yes, there are many good/great coaches who have made vast improvements in their second year, but why does that somehow define Sark as good/great or not, especially with the challenges we have up front?

We have some incredible skill position players that I think Sark will make better for the NFL, but until the trenches are half as good as the skill positions, we are going to struggle and the trenches take more than 1 year to resolve, when they have been as bad as ours.

If you are going to ask why we haven’t been more active in the portal at those positions, I’m going to guess that the talent/interest level he sought wasn’t there, but ultimately none of us know.

Throwing out the year 2 improvement blanket is really short sighted IMO.

Shane Beamer at South Carolina took a 2 win team (4 the year before) to a 7 win team in his year 1 and would have sold his mother for Texas’ QB situation, much less for any of the skill, OL or DL situations Texas went into the season with.

Coaching and discipline matter.

 

[MB-HORNS]

if Sarkisian's team is going to better the best regular-season record (8-4) Sarkisian has recorded in his seven seasons as a head coach.

 

[RLong68]

Jon Bon Jovi has utterly and completely lost it. Check out all the TikTok videos of his current performances. Really sad actually.

Bon Jovi has never sounded good live. Hell, I saw them in ‘89 and they sounded mediocre

 

[RLong68]

Anyone who watched the spring game is lying to themself if they believe that was anything better than an 8-4 team

 

[Dwminear]

Baseball team showing life. Get tough. Get mean. Take care of business. Let TCU, Tech, OSU, beat each other up. Win consistently and we shall see what happens

 

[Dwminear]

When does softball really challenge Oklahoma and OSU?

 

[Ketchum]

Why do people dismiss the challenges we currently have in the trenches with a HORRIBLE OL and a not good DL, and blindly state what you are stating?

Yes, there are many good/great coaches who have made vast improvements in their second year, but why does that somehow define Sark as good/great or not, especially with the challenges we have up front?

We have some incredible skill position players that I think Sark will make better for the NFL, but until the trenches are half as good as the skill positions, we are going to struggle and the trenches take more than 1 year to resolve, when they have been as bad as ours.

If you are going to ask why we haven’t been more active in the portal at those positions, I’m going to guess that the talent/interest level he sought wasn’t there, but ultimately none of us know.

Throwing out the year 2 improvement blanket is really short sighted IMO.

Dave Aranda does not agree.

 

[Ketchum]

Astute observation. He did well in the “game” but I haven’t been privy to any practices or sourced reports. Plus, if he’s basically the same guy after all this time physically then he’s probably tapped. I’ll have to go look how many mountain strong nose players we’re to play against in the big 12 to set a proper level of concern.

He's a solid player and the quarterback of the line, but I just wonder what his ceiling is.

 

[Ketchum]

People here seem to forget that Aranda won the Big 12 in year 2 at Baylor.

Last season has caused a lot of people to reprogram their brains as to what is acceptable and what isn't.

 

[Ketchum]

It helps when X takes a pass at the line of scrimmage for an 75-yard TD

Yes.

Signed,
Every quarterback who ever played.