Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (About the quarterbacks... again)
- Thread starter Ketchum
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Culture of entitlement and softness; lack of talent, especially depth in trenches and at QB; inability of coaching staff to adjust mid-game; or simply an Identity Crisis where UT (football and school) do not know if they want to be Jett Rink or Sheldon Cooper...whatever the reason, this team is trying my patience as Austin continues to become the place potentially elite football coaches come to cash big checks, fail to grow and then regress to the broadcasting booth or lesser coaching roles.
What a Shit Show...Pithy comments welcomed
What a Shit Show...Pithy comments welcomed
Casey had one bad game. He played well enough to lead his team to a win against TCU. He led his team to 48 points and threw 5 TDs against Oklahoma. He didn’t play well against Oklahoma State. Period. To be fair, neither did his offensive line or receivers.
We know how and why you are so high on Casey Thompson. You didnt say "Casey Thompson" was down on Card and his being "visibly shaken". You inferred it was the team. I said THEMSELVES (which would indicate the team or a group of people not just Thompson) wasnt ready either the last two weeks, and two losses with bad second half collapses more than speak for that.
Champion your guy all you want, but the point stands.
The volleyball team is awesome. A group of outstanding young ladies. They are contenders for the national championship. Stay tuned
Most everyone on this site should comprehend its a depth problem and that go's back to talent evaluation, recruiting and development of the past 10 years. Our problems will not be fixed by a first year coach or by swapping out QBs or any other positions on this year's team. We have 4-3 talent.
And he looked good in four of them. He should be given another chance.
Ya this ain’t it at all. We won the tcu game despite Casey. We won because Bijan and defense forcing turn overs. So he’s had two good games (OU and tech) and two horrible games (TCU and okie lite).. way too inconsistent. I am not counting rice and you shouldn’t either.
Ive been saying that and been told its all on the coaching.....
You might just sleep through to the second coming.
Please explain how and why you think I’m so high on Casey Thompson?
2nd half adjustments by opposing coaches are killing us. I thought Sark would be better. Our offense looked ordinary outside of 5 or 6 plays on Saturday.
One bad game? Really? We win against tcu despite him, not because of him. Let’s be real. He was 6/14 for 45 yards and a pick in the first half. He was bad. He finished the game okay at best. We rode Bijan to that win and I don’t really see how anyone says otherwise. Casey also had multiple passes in the TCU game that had no chance of being caught by anyone other than those wearing purple.
Nice try but you'll not get a cheap ban on me that way. You know damn well why you are, in addition to all your fawning over him. You put it in print and on video.
Ill accept your unwritten apology for going straight to Thompson when you know I didnt single him out before you came running to his defense.
You are way off base.
1) Casey Thompson has a 171.9 rating, 15 TDs, 5 pics, and a 65% completion percentage year to date. He has started against 2 top 10 teams (OU, Oklahoma St) He has started 3 games at home, 1 on the road, and 1 on a neutral field against our rival.
2) Hudson Card has a 146.1 rating, 2 TDs, 0 pics, and a 61% completion percentage year to date. He has not started against any top 10 teams. He has started 1 game at home and 1 on the road.
3) Bijan never rushed for 100 yard games with Card starting at quarterback (technically he barely got over the century mark with 103 against UL, but his yards per rushing attempt are significantly lower with Card starting at quarterback)
4) Bijan has rushed over 100 yards every game that Casey has started
5) Casey has had over a 100 rating every quarter he’s played in except for 3
6) Hudson Card had 3 quarters under a 100 rating in 6 quarters of play as the starting quarterback
Objectively, that is why Casey Thompson will remain the starter. Your bias for Card blinds you to reality. Sark agrees. I’m not saying Casey is Colt McCoy, but he gives us the best chance to win right now.
Casey leads the Big 12 in passing touchdowns and efficiency after having played 2 top 10 teams in back to back weeks and your answer is to bench for Card, who posted 3/6 quarters with a quarterback efficiency below 100?
How about you swallow your love for Hudson Card and address the real problem - blowing huge double digit leads in the 4th quarter in back to back weeks against those top 10 teams.
I mean really? Benching the quarterback that leads the Big 12 in passing touchdowns and quarterback efficiency because he had a few bad moments against top 10 teams with a makeshift offensive line in favor of Card, who has had a passing efficiency below 100 in 3/6 quarters he’s started??
Your obsession with Hudson Card is a lot like your obsession with Garrett Gilbert back in the day. And we all remember how that turned out…
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If Card does not play at least 50% of the snaps against Baylor, he should immediately enter the portal. If he does not play 50% of the snaps against Baylor, Sark Fvcked him by burning his redshirt for 1 play. If you made your decision on Card based on three quarters of bad play in a hostile environment on the road, and you don’t make the same decision on Thompson for just as bad a performance at home with the crowd behind you, then you are an idiot, and are prejudiced against Card for some reason other than performance.
That sounds like a question for someone who has the ability to ask sarkisian. You know anyone who could do that?
I see no harm in giving Card a chance to play. I think it would be an outstanding PC question.
I’d respect you more if you were honest about how and why you believe I support Thompson, the same QB your coach believes should start. You man enough to say what’s on your mind or just going to hide in insinuations?
This! I don't know why ppl continue to overlook this fact. The poor performance vs Arkansas was only half the story. Players know. They ultimately choose the starting QB and they did. Ketch thinks Sark something in the game film to make the switch, I honestly believe Sark also talked with the players afterward and that was the deciding factor. During the game he isolated himself and had poor body language. Right after that game multiple players said they could see he was rattled early. What players admit that publicly about their starting QB?
It's a lot easier to ride with a QB's ups and downs if he has the support of his teammates. What is Thompson's greatest strength according to the team? Unquestionably, his confidence and leadership. Card can still be great but a QB controversy in the midst of our other issues is not what we need right now. Let's say Card comes in and plays well. If you name him the starter are you going to bench him again the moment he plays poorly? He's a redshirt freshman, you'd have to expect another bad game is coming at some point. The choice has already been made this season. Ideally you get Card some game reps but only if you can, then let the battle continue in the offseason. In the meantime, Sark's focus should be on remembering the stuff that was working in the first half, easy throws (to bijan preferably) and perhaps moving the pocket.
Slow down the truck a bit. It was highly likely he didnt keep that redshirt anyway, this is too long a season with too bad of an offensive line. Youre going to need both of them. Hell youre going to potentially need three QBs if things go south.
I get why you want to see Card, but if hes the future lets not get him killed trying to learn on the job behind a horrible offensive line.
QB, QB,QB…….but not hardly a squeak about how huge the suckage factor is that permeates our f#%£ing joke of a damn defense. Wow are horrible there.
Sarkisian said Thompson wasn’t the only person to blame after the loss. If only he know something about the position to make an accurate observation 🙄
No Boy named Sue?
Hello darkness, my old friend.
Seven games deep into a season that suddenly feels lost inside the abyss that often leads to either Houston or San Antonio in late December, the Texas football program is bro-hugging uncertainty at the most important position in college football.
Perhaps winning a Big 12 title was too much to expect this season. Perhaps competing for a Big 12 Championship spot when November rolls around was expecting too much as well.
If someone wants to point out that everyone is making too big of a fuss out of the Longhorns being 4-3 in the circumstances that currently exist because this team always had some personnel limitations, I might not completely agree with you, but I certainly understand the point being made.
Sill, for all of the hedging of bets over what represents a fair set of first-year expectations, there's no getting around the fact that identifying the correct quarterback choice between Casey Thompson and Hudson Card was a non-negotiable one. It has to happen.
Heading into a two-week break before heading to Waco, I can't say that I fully know what the call should be. After Hudson Card blinked against Arkansas, the obvious call was to turn to Thompson. After Thompson has somewhat blinked in the last three weeks, I'm not sure an obvious call exists.
When it comes to Thompson, there are multiple ways of viewing his current performance.
On one hand, Thompson is currently the Big 12's leading passer in efficiency and is one game removed from posting the single-best half of football that any quarterback in the history of the program has ever had against its No. 1 rival.
On the other hand, take a look at this quarter-by-quarter breakdown of the last 12 quarters of football that Thompson has played:
1st quarter vs. OSU - 7 of 11 for 119 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 154.0 rating
2nd quarter vs. OSU - 4 of 8 for 34 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 104.1 rating
3rd quarter vs. OSU - 3 of 7 for 26 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 75.3 rating
4th quarter vs. OSU - 1 of 2 for 0 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 50.0 rating
1st quarter vs. OU - 6 of 8 for 176 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 383.6 rating
2nd quarter vs. OU - 4 of 8 for 68 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 162.7 rating
3rd quarter vs. OU - 4 of 6 for 30 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 108.7 rating
4th quarter vs. OU - 6 of 12 for 114 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 155.9 rating
1st quarter vs. TCU - 4 of 7 for 36 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 100.3 rating
2nd quarter vs. TCU - 2 of 7 for 9 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 10.8 rating
3rd quarter vs. TCU - 3 of 4 for 57 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 194.7 rating
4th quarter vs. TCU - 3 of 4 for 40 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 241.5 rating
When you dig into the numbers just a little bit, you'll find that ...
a. His completion percentage from the first four games (77.7%) has dropped by more than 20 points (56.7%) since the end of the Texas Tech game.
b. There's too much inconsistency. In six of the 12 quarters of football, Thompson has posted a quarterback efficiency below 110, which represents awfulness. Three of his quarters featured ratings of better than 194.7. Three others were in the rock-solid territory.
c. He's played at least one half of football in each game that ranged from beyond terrible vs. OSU in the second half to not really all that good vs. Oklahoma in the second half and back to pretty awful in the first half against TCU.
The purpose of this column isn't to make a public cry for Thompson to be replaced. As I stated directly following the game, I'd stick with Thompson going into Baylor. Instead, the purpose of this piece of the column is to simply address one of many elephants in the room with regards to this football team.
We're kind of back into the territory where folks are going to wonder if the right quarterback is starting, which isn't where you want to be eight weeks into the season.
As for Card, I haven't heard a lot of loud whispers about discontent from Lakeway since he got the hook in the third quarter against Arkansas. He's kept his head down and seemingly been a pretty good soldier. Still, if I'm Card I'd personally have some questions about the following:
a. When Thompson had a statistically worse half of football vs. TCU than Card had in the first half against Arkansas, Card didn't sniff the field, which would have been an eye-opener for a player likely being told that he needs to prepare like he's a starter because you'll never know when he might be needed ... except apparently really poor play by Thompson isn't when he's needed.
b. Why was Sarkisian so vocally supportive of Thompson when he named Card the starter at quarterback, even to the extent of mostly talking Thompson up and publicly selling him on staying (and not transferring) instead of talking about Card on the day Card actually won the job, but hasn't done the same for Card since the job switched hands?
Right or wrong, I would absolutely feel like I'm in the process of being treated wildly different than Thompson was when the shoe was on the other foot. It would put me in a position where I'd be wondering if I truly have a future in Austin playing football.
So, here we are.
You've got one quarterback that is having an awful quarter of football once out of every two quarters in the last 12 quarters of football and another quarterback that likely wonders why he never had a chance to have 12 quarters.
Whatever happens from here on out through December, the Texas quarterback position can't look like this when we get there.
No. 2 - Improving the offensive line for the 2022 season ...
I think everyone has come to grips with the fact that the Texas offensive line is going to be a group that this program just kind of gets by with what it can from week to week.
There's no magic potion or a genie that can fix what ails this group with five games to go in the season.
On some level, the attention turns to 2022 when this group loses Derek Kerstetter (maybe the team's most important offensive lineman because of his versatility), along with guards Denzel Okafor and Tope Imade.
It leaves a core group of Christian Jones and Andrej Karic at tackle, Junior Angilau and Hayden Conner at guards and Jake Majors at center. I'm not sure there's a single player behind them that remains on the roster that looks like a major contributor for a good offensive line ... ever.
While recruiting is currently slated to add Connor Robertson and Cole Hutson from the 2022 recruiting class, neither should be expected to contribute immediately, especially for a staff that has seemed hesitant to play young players over older players up-front on offense. Even if the Longhorns find a way to land five-star lineman Devon Campbell to top off the 2022 class, the reality is that the Longhorns won't have enough up-front on paper going into the season with this group.
Texas has to achieve some level of success in the transfer portal this off-season. Simple as that. Even if it's just to improve the depth like it did at linebacker this season through the portal, the program can't afford to drop down to the level of current reserves when an injury or two demands on a next man showing up.
In fact, I'd argue that it's so important to find improvement this off-season through transfers that Steve Sarkisian can't afford to sit back and wait for whatever falls from the transfer tree. He needs to shake the tree.
The Longhorns need to have a team of analysts dedicated to the transfer market and part of their daily tasks needs to be following the success and failure of every prospect from the state of Texas that doesn't sign with the Longhorns. If there's a kid playing for UTSA, Utah, USC ... you name it .... and he hails from the Lone Star State, the Longhorns need to be letting people behind the scenes connected to those players know that they have a home if they enter the portal.
All of the schools that sign players from Texas and achieve levels of success with those players need to be treated as farm system prospects. Few states can generate hundreds of developmental prospects like the state of Texas can and the Longhorns have to be ready to take advantage of it. If that means slightly stretching the rules of the grey area into the greeeeeeey area, so be it.
Failure in the transfer market might doom the 2022 season before it ever lifts off if the offensive line issues remain unsolved.
If luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation, then the Longhorns need to start preparing right now to make their luck.
No. 3 - The Bottom Line with Arch Manning ...
Texas is in great shape for the nation's No. 1 (or No. 2) prospect in the 2023 recruiting class.
Steve Sarkisian is going to the wedding, it's just a matter of whether he's going to say vows at the wedding or stand by as a bridesmaid holding flowers. In fact, there continues to be a lot of buzz that this recruitment is turning into a Texas/Georgia battle.
One of those teams is currently ranked No. 1 and has finished the last four seasons prior to this one ranked 7th, 4th, 7th and 2nd.
The other team is Texas.
From my vantage point, this entire recruitment is going to come down to Sarkisian's ability to paint a picture for Manning that doesn't involve Texas looking like a much riskier pick than Georgia. As much as the Mannings respect Sarkisian and feel at home in Austin, a business decision will eventually be made and good business decisions often come down to minimizing risks.
Part of what has to happen in these final five games includes the Longhorns finishing the season not looking like they are absolute light years behind Georgia on the national level. I've said for months that I believe the Longhorns will land Manning if they make the Big 12 championship game and just show signs of progress in year one as part of a process headed for big things. Anything less than that makes it hard to believe that Texas will finish as anything more than the maid of honor.
No. 4 - Move over Michael Dickson?
In 2017, Michael Dickson won the Ray Guy Award as the nation's best punter and in the process, he cemented his status as perhaps the best player the program has had in the entire decade of the 2010s.
He averaged 47.4 yards per punt, a 50+ yard punt on 42.9% of his punts and had punts downed inside of the 20 yard line on 50 percent of his kicks.
Four years later, take a look at Cameron Dicker, who is averaging 49.6 yards per punt and 50% of his kicks going 50+ yards.
The only area that trickles below Dickson's numbers is Dicker's rate of punts being downed inside the 20 yard line, which currently stands at 18.1%.
Still, who could have believed that we'd fairly be mentioning Dicker's punting exploits in the same sentence with Dickson when this season began?
He's quietly been one of the best players on the team.
No. 5 - More randomness with a day to chew on things ...
... I'd guess that DeMarvion Overshown is questionable next week coming off of a "head injury" of some variety in Saturday's game. When he does return to the line-up, I'd contend the Longhorns will be better off of if he's teamed with Jaylan Ford at linebacker instead of Luke Brockrmeyer. Teams have figured out that they can get a lot of success in running to the outside on Brockermeyer's side of the field. Whether he's not seeing plays or getting off blocks or making athletic enough plays to close down those runs at the first or second line of the defense, something is happening that is causing teams to almost go out of their way to challenge that area of the defense.
... Shout out to Ray Thornton, who had the best day of his career with three tackles for loss on Saturday. Tackles for loss have been so consistently hard to find inside this defense that Thornton suddenly ranks second on the team with 4.5 after one really nice performance.
... Speaking of solid performances, Ovie Oghoufo was even better on the rewatch than he was when I watched him live.
... Alfred Collins is now a co-leader on the team in sacks with 2.0.
... Casey Thompson is tied with three other players with the most interceptions (five) in the Big 12.
... Of players with more than 18 carries this season in the Big 12, only TCU's Zach Evans (7.9) averages more per carry than Baylor's Abram Smith (7.5). He'll be a handful in two weeks.
... Whatever we think of Oklahoma State's offense and UT's defensive performance on Saturday, much better offensive opponents await, including the league's No. 3 (West Virginia), No. 4 (Iowa State) and No. 5 (Baylor) teams in total offense.
No. 6 - Acknowledging queens on campus ...
The No. 1-ranked Texas volleyball team moved to 15-0 on the season and 6-0 in conference play this weekend with a sweep of TCU.
Maybe we are all focused on the wrong sport?
If nothing else, make sure you are following the Texas Volleyball account on Twitter. No sport on campus does it better.
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) The Longhorns will likely sign three in the 2022 class and I'm not sure this staff brings in four through the portal.
(Buy) See my first section of the column.
(Buy) I don't believe he's in immediate danger.
(Sell) I'm thinking they lose one of the next two and win the final three to make for an 8-4 season.
(Buy) I looked at 1993, 1997 and a host of teams from the last decade. I can't find one.
(Sell) That feels like a bridge too far, but it's concerning to see the lack of adjustments with that 0-19 stat when losing at halftime hanging in the backdrop.
(Sell) I thought Texas would be 5-2 and positioned to compete for a spot in the Big 12 title game at this point.
(Buy) This particular Rome won't be built in a year or two.
(Sell) I wouldn't be shocked if he brings everyone back.
(Sell) It's a million things and not just one or two. It's all of those things and more. This isn't an uncomplicated rebuild.
(Sell) He was hired because the feeling is that he represented an immediate upgrade over Tom Herman and that is not what the win-loss record indicates.
(Buy) I don't think they'll have any other choice.
(Sell) This team would be 4-3 and he'd have a sub 160 rating if he was the quarterback based on all of the things we witnessed over four years.
(Buy) This is a real that exists in my head when I think about someone like Devon Campbell.
No. 8 - Scattershooting on the sports weekend ...
... It feels like Texas is responsible for Oklahoma unleashing a Godzilla in Caleb Williams.
... It's going to be fascinating to see what LSU does in replacing Ed Orgeron. Is there a wow hire out there for them to make?
... Iowa rising to No. 2 in the polls and then getting dump-trucked by Purdue at home felt very predictable.
... You'll have to forgive me for being indifferent about Cincinnati as the new No. 2 team in the polls.
... Stay classy, Tennessee fans.
... So, Arkansas is just an ok football team, huh?
... I was impressed with Baylor's performance against BYU.
... That was one hell of a satisfying win for the Cowboys. Ceedee caught the game-winning touchdown and waved with the grin like the cat that ate the canary at the defensive back that shoved him in the end zone. Inject that into my veins!
... I feel for Texans fans. This team can't be easy to watch for three hours each week.
... Nice job, DeShon.
... Come on Miami, Urban was supposed to stay winless.
... This Astros/Red Sox series feels like it has a chance to be one for the ages. As a neutral observer, here's hoping for seven games of absolute bonkers.
... Bring on the NBA regular season. I'm down.
... Premier League Thoughts From The Weekend Because I'm Trying To Force Soccer Down Your Throat: Mo Salah! Mo Salah! Mo Salah! Running down the wing! Salaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, The Egyptian king! Leicester City seems to be putting it together. That dude must stay forever. Ho-hum, Chelsea won ugly. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want Newcastle relegated. Brighton in 4th place through eight games is worthy of a tip of the cap.
.... Am I crazy in thinking that if a pro athlete in an American pro sports league captained his opponent in fantasy that there would be a slew of hot takes on First Take?
No. 9 - Top 10 Johnny Cash Songs ...
With everyone on tilt following a second straight loss, I figured I might as take on the impossible and just cause a riot in the OB streets.
YOLO!
10. Mean Eyed Cat
9. One
8. Cry, Cry, Cry
7. Jackson (with June Carter)
6. Cocaine Blues
5. Ring of Fire
4. Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down
3. Hurt
2. Folsom Prison Blues
1. I Walk The Line
No. 10 - And Finally...
Rest in peace, Mr. Derrick Foreman. My heart goes out to Armanti, D'Onte and everyone that loved him.
The Orangebloods family mourns your loss.
I don’t think we know whether Sark will play HC. It makes no sense to me that there are so many who don’t want to see which QB is better. I’m not biased toward HC, I just know he hasn’t played enough for me to know how good he is or isn’t.
Neither of us needs or wants the others respect, but props for that swing. It wont work.
Where in this thread did I say I think Sark is wrong in starting him? This whole thing went south because I said the team wasnt ready the last two games like Hudson wasnt ready in the Arkansas game and you flew off the handle with it being some kind of attack on Casey Thompson.
Im one of the few on here who doesnt think we have a coaching problem. Taking me down a road to question Sark isnt the right path because I think they all know what they are doing, but they damn sure dont have the players to do it.
Where in any of my posts did you get that I’m saying Casey is the only person to blame? What? Also, what do you expect him to say? When’s the last time a coach said the game was lost because of one guy?
