Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (About the quarterbacks... Part III)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
which part specifically was too dramatic?
Can you copy and paste it here?
I just want to understand.
The problem is we lost some close games.
It sucks. I had high expectations and hopes for the team
I have accepted the reality that we are 4-4.
I’m going to focus on the positives, and be patient while the team rebuilds.
Honestly, is this a surprise? Who on this roster looked like a guy who would get more than 2 sacks through 8 games of the season? We all knew going into the season that this team had no pass rushers anywhere on the roster.
We rank 101st in FBS in sacks per game and 7th in the Big 12. If anything, I'm surprised we rank that high.
Either of the QBs can win if they had at least an average experienced O-Line. To make this about the QBs is down right silly.
This season isn’t good based on what we think Texas can be because of everything that does not include results on the field. We think Texas should contend for the conference title every year because of the money at its disposal, its highly ranked recruiting classes, etc.
But if we were to base what we think Texas can be solely on what has happened on the field in the last decade? The numbers clearly show that 2018 was the exception, not the rule. On the field, this team is exactly who it has been for the last two years, and on the whole, the last decade.
It lost to OU. That’s generally what Texas teams have done for the past decade.
It has a losing record against ranked opponents. No different than what Texas did the last two seasons, and what Texas has generally done for the past decade.
It lost on the road to a Power 5 non conference opponent. That has happened every time since 2012.
Here r some examples of u being too dramatic:
“His defense is one of the worst in school history.” (maybe in the 2nd half of the last 3-4 games while our offense didn’t do jack to give them some rest time. Overall for the entire game, they r OK/decent.)
“Recruiting momentum has stalled.” (until we get a bunch of decommits, then it’s fine for now)
“If you eliminate the first quarter against Oklahoma's Big 12-worst pass efficiency defense (kind of an unfair thing to do), Thompson has posted an abysmal 127 rating in his last 15 quarters of football, which is only narrowly better than what Tyrone Swoopes posted in his first season as a starter in 2014 under Charlie Strong.”
(These quarter-by-quarter stats r OK/decent and NOT “abysmal” (especially if u r judging quarter-by-quarter. If u r judging by overall play after the Blow U 1st half, then definitely decent or mediocre but still NOT “abysmal.” Swoopes in the Arkie Bowl and other games and CARD in the Arkie game (61 TOTAL passing yards) were good examples of “abysmal.”):
1st quarter vs. Baylor - 5 of 5 for 101 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 401.7 rating
2nd quarter vs. Baylor - 7 of 11 for 55 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 69.3 rating
3rd quarter vs. Baylor - 4 of 8 for 54 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 106.7 rating
4th quarter vs. Baylor - 7 of 14 for 70 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 90.0 rating
1st quarter vs. OSU - 7 of 11 for 119 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 154.0 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
4th quarter vs. OU - 6 of 12 for 114 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 155.9 rating
3rd quarter vs. TCU - 3 of 4 for 57 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 194.7 rating).
This team is good enough to take the leads going into third quarters of almost every game it has played.
It's own coach has admitted that his own change in coaching has been part of the problem (see last week's PC)
We can't say that the team doesn't have talent to win these games, but then ignore that they HAVE had the talent to lead by double digits in the last three games it has lost.
This team has been outscored 55-10 in the last three fourth quarters it has played.
I feel like we're entering a weird enabling stage, all in the name of self-preservation, I suppose.
"Very good" team? Huh? Raise your hand if you thought the 2020 Longhorns were a very good team.
Steve Sarkisian has a quarterback problem.
Oh, don't get it flipped, Sarkisian has a lot of problems with this 4-4 Texas Longhorns team that has lost three straight games. His defense is one of the worst in school history. His offensive line is constructed with Band-Aids. His healthy receivers outside of Xavier Worthy are just as likely to drop a ball as they are to catch it. Recruiting momentum has stalled. The heads of his pets are falling off.
Believe me, there are a lot of problems in play right now and none of them are mutually exclusive from each other. On the contrary, all of them are co-existing together in a universe of disappointment and confusion.
Mixed inside of these problems, somewhere in between the worst problem he's currently dealing with and the brilliance of true freshman Xavier Worthy is what's happening at the quarterback position.
Before this season began, I was quite vocal in stating that the evolution of the quarterback position on the current roster was the most important single development of the entire 2021 season. Regardless of anything else, it was imperative that Sarkisian finish this season in a place where this non-championship outfit could potentially springboard into championship conversation in Sarkisian's second season behind the brilliance of Bijan Robinson in his final season and a quarterback position that could emerge as a team strength after a year of development under UT's quarterback coaching wizard.
It's not happening.
Before I go any further, don't confuse this as a cry from the president of the Hudson Card Fan Club for a change at quarterback. Believe me, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I definitively know what the right answer is, but I can do the easy part and identify a major looming issue.
Since posting video game numbers in his first two games as a starter against Rice and Texas Tech, an achievement that everyone agreed in real-time would have been possible for Card had he also been able to cut it loose on the two worst teams on the Texas schedule at this point, Thompson has been regressing to the mean at an incredibly concerning rate.
Consider the following ...
* Thompson is 1-3 in his last four starts against TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor with a very average 144 passing efficiency.
* If you eliminate the first quarter against Oklahoma's Big 12-worst pass efficiency defense (kind of an unfair thing to do), Thompson has posted an abysmal 127 rating in his last 15 quarters of football, which is only narrowly better than what Tyrone Swoopes posted in his first season as a starter in 2014 under Charlie Strong.
* After losing the starting job to Hudson Card in the pre-season, in part because of a tendency to turn the ball over too much, Thompson is set to enter November with the worst interception percentage (3.43) in the entire conference outside of KU's Jason Bean (3.46).
* In the last four games, Thompson has played at least one completely brutal half of football in three of them and only a fourth-quarter bomb to Worthy in the Oklahoma game saved him from a perfect four for four in this department.
* In the fourth quarters of the last three games, all of which came down to plays made or not made in the final 15 minutes of those games, Thompson has a 109.8 efficiency rating.
* In true road games, Thompson has posted a 126.7 efficiency rating.
Thompson is far, far away from being the worst problem that Sarkisian is dealing with, but he is not playing good football and hasn't been playing good football for the last month or so.
When this season ends, regardless of this team's record, the quarterback position simply cannot be a question mark going into the 2022 season, but it feels unavoidable at this point.
What is Thompson as a quarterback through six starts? An above average player? Average? Below average?
What does it mean that he's been below average in more games than he's played well and looks like a player that needs to be replaced from a statistical standpoint if you take games against Rice and Texas Tech out of the equation?
What is his upside as a player? Is he a guy that you're putting all of your eggs into going into the 2022 season?
All of these are questions that I don't completely have answers to and it's beyond a worrying issue with four games to go because even if he performs very well against the likes of Kansas, West Virginia and Kansas State down the stretch, what are we supposed to make out of improved performances in games that barely matter?
Again, I don't have an answer.
The elephant in the room is Sarkisian's decision to bench a younger, more talented Card after a dismal performance against Arkansas, only to never really give him another shot through eight games, all in the name of hitching his wagon to a player that may or may not be someone he can invest the 2022 season with. It's hard to argue that Texas would be worse than 4-4 at this point in the season with Card as its quarterback, which means the switch to a more turnover-prone quarterback who has struggled significantly in almost every late-game situations he's played in feels like a potential mistake.
If you were going to have a 4-4 season, where should the investment at the most important position on the field have been made? With a guy that two different staffs have agreed has serious NFL upside or the guy that two different staffs weren't sure about after extended off-season evaluations?
Would the program have been better off going into the 2022 season by letting Card grow up on the job? The need to be good immediately is what forced Sarkisian to give up on his starter after 2 1/2 quarters, but with the team currently at 4-4 and struggling to become bowl eligible under another struggling quarterback, at what cost has the hasty decision come with?
One way or another, Sarkisian has to come out of this season with good answers to all of the questions posed above. Not us ... HIM.
Eight games into the season, that's not happening.
So, yeah. Inside of all the other issues he's juggling in season one, the quarterback position remains one as well, whether he cares to admit it or not.
No. 2 - Casey's last four games ...
There are some worrying trends inside of these numbers.
1st quarter vs. Baylor - 5 of 5 for 101 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 401.7 rating
2nd quarter vs. Baylor - 7 of 11 for 55 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 69.3 rating
3rd quarter vs. Baylor - 4 of 8 for 54 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 106.7 rating
4th quarter vs. Baylor - 7 of 14 for 70 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 90.0 rating
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
No. 3 - Sark's path to future success ...
Part of the reason that Sarkisian was hired was out of the hope that his ability to recruit at an elite level with an all-star recruiting staff combined with his reputation as an offensive wizard would lead the program into the rest of the decade with a perfect blend of coaching and elite talent.
With all due respect to a recruiting class that currently ranks 5th in the Rivals recruiting team rankings for the 2022 recruiting year, but only features two borderline elite recruits at the top of the commitment list, it's likely that the ability to bring in prospects like Xavier Worthy by the bucketloads isn't going to happen.
Standing at 4-4 through eight games at a time when every remaining elite prospect has said he wants to wait to see Texas show something on the field before daring to consider a commitment to the Longhorns, it's time to acknowledge that it's going to be hard for Texas to climb out of the bridesmaid position in the chase to marry the very best prospects in the country.
Not impossible, but definitely hard.
When Arch Manning and the rest of the big-time 2023 prospects make their decisions in the next 8-9 months, they will do so with the only football they've ever seen from Sarkisian in the head coaching position at Texas being the football played in the 2021 season. Frankly, it's an ominous recruiting truth.
From my perspective, it means that very few of the current problems facing the program are going to be solved with the kind of recruiting that makes Kirby Smart orgasm in delight.
You can make a case that the future of Sarkisian's tenure at Texas now ultimately depends on two things:
a. This staff's ability to develop talent (and ability to do it quickly)
b. This staff's decision-making in team-building with the portal
Kyle Flood is going to have to develop his ass off with the group of guys he currently has to work with. Pete Kwiatkowski is going to have to develop a pass rusher or two, along with some linebackers. The secondary is going to need to be completely rebuilt. Some of the 100 scholarship receivers on campus other than Worthy need to be trusted to catch a pass.
Immediate answers to these riddles won't be found in recruiting. Maybe a couple of answers will immediately come from the 2022 class, but the majority are going to need to be found via the current roster.
Or the Portal.
With that group of players, a coaching staff that ranks among the highest paid in all of college football will need to create some water out of wine. If the Longhorns can do that, maybe the five-star level prospects will finally arrive in large numbers at the end of the 2023 class or the beginning of the 2024 class. In my estimation, it's slightly naive to believe otherwise based on what we've seen in recruiting since Sarkisian arrived.
UT's decision-makers believe that Sarkisian and his staff represent a significant upgrade to the staff they replaced.
They will need to be right if this thing is ever truly going to get off the ground.
No. 4 - Rejecting a growing narrative ...
Give me a break with this notion that Sarkisian took over a program that needed to go through a massive culture change because the roster was full of losers.
That's horse poop.
Sarkisian inherited a program that averaged 8.33 wins per season, which includes a short-season in 2020, and finished ranked as high as 9th, 25th and 19th in the last three seasons. All of last season's losses were of the one-score variety.
Texas made a change at the head coaching position, partly because Sarkisian was seen as an upgrade over Herman, which might have been the big difference in a sport decided by fine margins. The objective of his hire was to take the program from very good to great, while boosting recruiting (which had significantly sagged).
There might have been an issue with finishing close games under Herman, which has remained under Sarkisian, but this notion that some have invented that he's having to replace Charlie Strong levels of a created losing culture is simply wrong.
No one was saying this during the summer when dreams of competing for the Big 12 title existed and I won't tolerate it being said in front of me now simply because it would somewhat absolve Sarkisian's 4-4 record if it were true.
No. 5 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
... Pop-quiz: Which player leads the secondary in pass breakups (see below)?
... Bijan Robinson's yards per carry dropped to 5.9 after the Baylor game, which ranks 11th in the Big 12.
... D'Shawn Jamison leads the Big 12 in punt return average after the weekend.
... After struggling against the Big 12's top two pass defenses in terms of pass efficiency defense, Casey Thompson will play the Big 12's No. 3 pass defense efficiency unit in Ames.
... At the end of the day, the Longhorns still rank 2nd in the Big 12 in scoring offense and 7th in scoring defense.
... Baylor's run defense was so good against Bijan Robinson on Saturday that UT's average rushing yards per game dropped nearly 20 yards in the aftermath.
... I still don't understand why involving Keilan Robinson in the running game, especially when it struggles, has proven to be so difficult, especially if Stan Drayton and Steve Sarkisian are two of the best in the sport at what they do. Maybe that 7.3 yards per carry and all that speed is just a mirage.
... Speaking of Keilan Robinson, he received one carry in four games in the month of October, despite averaging 7.3 yards per carry.
... Iowa State running back Breece Hall leads the Big 12 in rushing and all-purpose yards. That feels incredibly ominous.
... My brain can hardly process the fact that the co-leaders on the team in sacks are Ovie Oghoufo and Alfred Collins, both of whom have two in eight games.
... B.J. Foster leads the Longhorns in pass break-ups with four.
No. 6 - Saying the quiet part out loud ...
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Buy) Yes, but that's a very low bar to aiming for.
(Sell) First of all, when Bijan is the best running back the school has seen in at least 14 years, Worthy is the best young receiver the school has ever had and Overshown might be one of the best defensive talents the school has produced in the last decade ... that's a hell of a three-player disclaimer. Texas has been much worse at quarterback in the last decade. Much, much worse. On top of that, Mack's final team had no players drafted from it, while the 2016 team had only D'Onta Foreman, who isn't as good as Bijan Robinson. I'll even go so far as to say that 5-6 pros will come from the current starting defense.
(Sell) It's a huuuuge factor, but so is finding guys that can get to the quarterback and make plays on defense so that you're not among the worst units on that side of the ball in the history of the school.
(Buy) I believed that before the season started.
(Sell) There are no biggest games of the season left on the schedule.
(Sell) It's not a guarantee, but it would be a monster-sized warning sign.
(Sell) He has three. This program can't go into the SEC in a floundering state any more than it could go into a new basketball arena with Shaka Smart.
(Buy) This hasn't become a problem yet, but eventually the best players from average programs are going to normalize upgrading programs in the off-season.
(Buy) As Duane Thomas said in the locker room to Tom Brookshire following Super Bowl VI, "Evidently."
(Sell) It has crossed my mind, though.
(Sell) The 2017 season had Trsitan Nickelson, Terrell Cuney, a young Denzel Okafor and a young Zach Shackelford on it.
(Buy) In hindsight, Arch is more of a sure thing at this point because he isn't coming off of a major surgery from his junior season that he wasn't fully recovered from when he arrived at Texas.
(Buy) There are numerous reasons to judge Sarkisian more harshly than Aranda after year one, the fact that he took over a program during a pandemic among them.
(Sell) 2023 IMO.
(Sell) R.E.M. is much-less remembered in 2021 than Cheers. I was literally comparing one of the plots inside of Ted Lasso to Cheers a few weeks ago. I can't remember the last time I listened to Losing My Religion on purpose.
No. 8 - Scattershooting on the sports weekend ...
... Mel Tucker is doing a hell of a job at Michigan State. He took 20 players in the Portal this year, including five from non-FBS programs. Don't let anyone tell you that roster management through the Portal is a waste of time.
... Georgia's defense has more interceptions through eight games than touchdowns allowed.
... Caleb Williams remains a problem.
... Keaontay Ingram rushed for 204 yards in a win over Arizona on Saturday night, giving him 100 yard efforts in three of his last four games. His 6.1 YPC is actually better than Bijan Robinson's this season. Good for him.
... If you had any part of this, just give up gambling forever.
... I'm not even going to comment on the World Series. I'm not happy about it. You're not happy about it. Let's just move along.
... Speaking of things I have zero desire to talk about this week, I give you the Premier League. Bah, humbug.
... Is James Harden done as a superstar?
... Remember when we were all talking about Austin FC?
... Wait, Glover Teixeira is the new light heavyweight champion in the UFC? Serious props to him, even if I find that pretty terrible for the company.
... I bet KD watched this at least 50 times this weekend and I wouldn't blame him. This is the hooper's hoop.
No. 9 - Top 10 TV Apps ...
Someone posed the following question to me last week - if I was forced to choose one app to watch for the next 5 years, which app would I choose to go with?
Like a very good fantasy football trade, I can't make a decision without wincing at what I'm forced to give up.
Here's my Top 10 ranked in order:
10. Hulu - I just don't find myself using this app a ton. Letterkenny is probably the last thing I would have watched and that was at least six months ago. I think I'm keeping it for the ER catalog.
9. Youtube Premium - This one shoots up the list if I'm not allowed to use this on my laptop.
8. Apple TV - Ted Lasso alone might make this an underrated slot. Off the top of my head, it's literally the only thing I've ever watched on Apple TV.
7. Amazon Prime - This is a surprising ranking, but the reality is that is that I really only use this when there are Oscars-bait movies available. The last thing I watched on Amazon Prime was Manhunter a few months ago when it popped up on The Rewatchables Podcast.
6. Paramount+ - The home of all the Champions League football that I watch.
5. ESPN+ - ESPN FC is literally the only show that I watch every single day.
4. Disney+ - I wouldn't say that I'm constantly using this app, but between the original programming and the deep library, it's always got a little something for me on a boring day. This might be too low if my kids get a vote.
3. Netflix - This feels underrated, partially because I just don't watch all of the original content available on the service, but there's no question that it's absolutely loaded.
2. Peacock - If I'm stranded on a deserted island and have no other way of watching Premier League soccer, it probably moves into the No. 1 slot.
1. HBO Max - The champ as far as I'm concerned. In the last few weeks alone, I've watched Succession, Band of Brothers, Gomorrah and Ghosts. This does not include The Departed, episodes of The Closer, The Many Saints of Newark or Sergeant York. I'm telling you, this is easily my No. 1.
No. 10 - And Finally...
This was probably my favorite 51 seconds of the weekend.
And who thought we were competing for a Big 12 championship before the season started?
a. This is one of the worst defenses in school history. That's a historical fact.
b. Saying recruiting momentum has stalled is being dramatic?
I have to be honest... it basically sounds like you just want me to be quiet.
c. Again, I'm not sure it's my fault that the data on Thompson is dramatic.
It’s not an enabling stage, it’s just the reality of what Texas is when you’re analyzing on-the-field results for the past decade. Like I said, we think Texas can be more than what it is and has been for the last decade because of everything that does not include results on the field.
Until it proves it otherwise on the field, Texas is a team that is:
More likely to lose to OU than beat it.
More likely to lose to a ranked opponent than beat it.
More likely to lose to its Power 5 non conference opponent on the road than beat it.
More likely to be out of the conference title race before the final week of the season than be in it.
Those are hard pills to swallow. But that’s what Texas is right now on the field.
Will people stop trotting out that tired old stat, like its some be-all-end-all barometer of present & future success!? Sark was drinking alcoholically at the time, for crying out loud! He's sober now. Two different Sarks. Get it?
Well since he has blown 3 halftime leads this year and lost the game he trailed at the half I’d say it isnt a different Sark. Get it?
IF they were arrogant before they got here they sure as hell shouldn't be anymore! I am not sure what the hell Flood saw in the OL in the spring to think he could make it work but he has quickly learned he was mistaken.
Most people complain when coaches makes mistakes. I believe it's a apart of life. To me, the biggest sign will be how they respond in the offseason. We know they have schemes that can kick ass. A little humble pie ain't never hurt nobody.
Some of that is on the players & you know that. We obviously lack good, key players & depth on both D & O-line. So lets not be disingenuous shall we? What I am saying its hardly fair to use his past performance without crucial context, and its premature to say---"oh look, here we go again" given he's newly sober & just got here. Maybe he will repeat old pattern, maybe he won't.
My issues with Sark right now are:
1. did not use the portal for O-linemen when it was obvious that was needed.
2. benching Card {prematurely} and
3. I fear Sark is too easy going & won't breathe out the fire & brimstone that this & future teams need!
NONE as lacking in inspiration as Hudson’s outing against Arkansas.
You really limit your ability to learn genuine knowledge about the game of football by clinging to your beloved passer rating. James Street’s passer ratings were awful at Texas and he went 20-0. Natty. VY’s passer ratings often sucked and he’s arguably the greatest CFB QB ever. Went 30-2. Natty.
Sam never played a single game like a deer in the headlights. He was a fearless warrior from Day 1. As DKR used to say, “if a dog’s gonna bite, he’ll bite you as a pup.”
Sam took the field as a pure freshman biting like a ferocious dog. Mistake-prone as a freshman? YES. But he was playing his ass off from Day 1 and his aggressive play rubbed off on his teammates. And Sam never relented for all 4 seasons. The courageous young man saved Texas’ ass, literally willed the Longhorns into producing winning seasons and those 3 ranked seasons you allude to.
Isn't is also more likely to have a double-digit lead in the third quarter against a rank teamed than not?
I'm not sure what it is with new coaches across multiple staffs that couldn't see obvious things that fans were able to see.
lol.
You just brought up James Street from 50 years ago to dispute a non-biased stat based on modern times?
a. Historical fact in terms of what? Yardage? Points?
b. Recruiting momentum has stalled. OK. How many decommits so far?
c. "Abysmal" QB play in the last 4 games? Maybe in the 2nd half of those games but not the entire game. Card's stats in the entire Arkie game was the definition of abysmal.
Flood is the one i don't understand.. Heck, he knows what good offensive linemen look like. I would like to know what he thought he saw because you watch games and it is depressing just how bad they are. Maybe just because he saw them against our DL in the spring?
Is it just me or did anyone think that Casey was faster than he really is? Even the announcer McElroy said something about it on one of his scrambles. Thought he was more athletic.
You watch the game on Sat and you see all the open receivers and all the points left on the board and just drives you crazy. Between the fumble and dropped pass and the pass out of bounds.. My wife who is an OSU fan just left the house after the dropped TD and said i will be back later!
Sure. It’s done that the last five times it played ranked teams, including last year against Iowa State at home. That’s 1-4 in the last five games when Texas has played a ranked team and led by double digits in the second half.
Every objective measure I’ve given you has dispelled the myth that Sark inherited a good team. The on the field results of the last two seasons when the games mattered (before they were out of the conference title race), and the last decade on the whole do not lie. They are hard truths, and it’s really sad that this is the reality of this program.
You need to go back and look at that intercepted pass. Yes, Moore got a hand on it, but it was thrown behind him...not an easy catch to make. Much of that is on Casey. And, despite all of the Horns' other issues, QB is still what makes the machine run or stall. No matter who you feel is the better option (Thompson or Card), we are now 4-4, with nothing much to play for except building for next year. So it's time to give the other guy a chance. For whatever reason, Casey's not getting it done. Card had one inefficient game after winning the starting role and has not seen the field since, except for one insignificant snap. I would think you would want to see if Card is the answer or not, before he transfers (which he will do if left riding the pine for the remainder of the season).
@Ketchum How much of an upgrade would those 2 Baylor starters be for us? I can only imagine we would kill for those 2 guys right now.
I’m coming to the conclusion Sark’s ability to manage the portal will determine whether he has enough time for his recruiting classes to develop. I wonder how much the Defensive scheme gave Sark an overly optimistic view of his lines coming out of the Spring. I have a hard time believing Bo Davis forgot how to coach the dline. If the oline is fighting to a draw, with a dline you believe is talented, then you don’t prioritize the oline portal players. You prioritize the lb players that you believed were exposed in the Spring. The truth was the dline scheme was ineffective, and it failed to give him an accurate assessment of his oline. The season is salvageable but the Defensive scheme needs a major overhaul to utilize the talent available.
Your response to my comment is not on point. I have tried to be very polite and took a long time to explain my points because I think they are being highly confused in all these comments.
- Explain to me how the team Sark inherited was Good given the lack of QB, Edge Rusher and LT that were identified as problems pre-season to which answers were not forthcoming on the roster he inherited.
- Telling me I thought they might have been 8-4 or 9-3 preseason or others on OB thought that does not explain to me why it was a Good Team. It explains to me how people drank the Kool-Aid once again.
- Explain to me the available Transfer Portal OL that still had not committed a reasonable time after Sark was hired and Flood was in place, that have done well at where they landed, that Sark had a probable shot at and the back story as to why Sark did not pursue them.
- And using Sark's comments that they did not need the OL help is not an explanation, but is likely his knowing there was nothing out there and his trying to give confidence to his OL.
