The offense did not score 41. We had 3 tds come from D & STs. But Gray was featured and Duvernay had 1 touch all game. Think about that...
Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (I attempt to explain what happened...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
The offense did not score 41. We had 3 tds come from D & STs. But Gray was featured and Duvernay had 1 touch all game. Think about that...
Fair enough. I believe that TH wants to control the the media the same way that Saban and Meyer do, but he has not even come close to earning that right. That said, will you please have someone ask TH the following questions:
1) how involved are you in play calling, schematics, in game management and personnel packages?
2) why did CW3 only get 6 carries when averaging 5+ yds/carry?
3) why did Duvernay get 1 touch all game?
4) why was Gray a focal point of the game plan?
5) what are your thoughts on clock management?
6) if you had it to do over again would you make the same 4th down decisions?
@Ketchum I have a question and I don't see it addressed anywhere else. If so, please direct me to the comment.
After what occurred on Saturday, how do you feel Coach Herman will handle this today in the presser as well as on the practice field? I know we've heard about "the pit" in the past, but is that something relevant to this loss? I'm not sure that there's anywhere to go but up.
After what occurred on Saturday, how do you feel Coach Herman will handle this today in the presser as well as on the practice field? I know we've heard about "the pit" in the past, but is that something relevant to this loss? I'm not sure that there's anywhere to go but up.
You all are a bunch of crazy people. How in the hell do you think these same players that lost to Iowa St 34-0 two years ago and lost to Kansas last year with the last three seasons of 6-7,5-7&5/7 are supposed to come out and be all Americans ?
I actually feel for TH and his coaches.
For several years Texas has missed calculated on recruiting. The current players are about the level of a Texas Tech team
These are not the Texas type players Texas once had and these guys will not win big games.
Until they are purged and we see a TH class in not going to judge him and his staff until then
Trying to take chicken shit and turn it into chicken salad is tuff
I actually feel for TH and his coaches.
For several years Texas has missed calculated on recruiting. The current players are about the level of a Texas Tech team
These are not the Texas type players Texas once had and these guys will not win big games.
Until they are purged and we see a TH class in not going to judge him and his staff until then
Trying to take chicken shit and turn it into chicken salad is tuff
No. 10 – And finally …
I just wanted to give a special shout out to @OBRob for putting together an amazing event at the Jeff Dillard tailgate, especially when you consider it all came together in the final days and hours. If you want to profile your business on the board/site moving forward, send him a PM.
Some seriously cool shit.
Honored to have gotten to know Jeff a lil bit
Thanks to all those who made an OB tailgate happen. . . .@TexPimp
@OBRob . . .etc.
Agree w/Ketch. He expressed concerns with optimism. That is balanced enough for a site dedicated to all things UT. Most if not all major sports sites predicted a UT romp. You guys with multiple subscriptions, did anybody else predict a dumpster fire? Everybody drank the Kool-Aid. Like an abused spouse, we keep hoping for little things to get better for the future, then wham!
Now, with hindsight, the finger pointers come out of the woodwork. It is unrealistic to expect Ketch to be balanced, as we wish CNN, FOX, HLN, and MSNBC would be. A persons true character is exposed when EVERYBODY is hurting.
Basically what Ketch is saying is that he was both right and wrong at the same time. He was right in that he was hearing discouraging things about Shane and the scary depth of Texas but he is also fan in the respect that a really good Texas is not only good for business $$ but also more fun to cover for any reporter. Nothing wrong with that thinking. He let the hopeful fan side and belief in Tom Herman as a coach to influence his 9-3 prediction just like most of us did although most of us did not have the inside information that he did.
I still believe that Herman will turn Texas around but it might not start showing toward the middle or end of this season to find out who the players are that will fight and who is a 5 star player with great intangibles who is going to fold when faced with adversity. Talent with no heart does not make a good player.
As far as talent, keep in mind Mack handed over a team to Charlie that was mediocre but was still managing to win and nearly won the conference in his last year. Charlie took over a ship with multiple leaks and put depth charges on it and sunk it to the bottom of the ocean for the past three seasons.
A coach like Holgerson, Leach, Gundy, Snyder can turn around teams and make them good at times (8-5, 9-4, 10-3) relative to their respective histories with good coaching and development. Remember these coaches are coaching up players who are used to being underdogs coming out of high school. Most are not highly recruited and easier to coach up and fall in line with a coaches' system and vision.
Herman is having to coach up and get highly recruited players that are conditioned to losing now (Strong culture) compared to their respective high school careers. Much harder to change that mindset than a player who is used to being an underdog. I personally believe that Herman will turn most of these players around if he is a good coach and we are going to see a lot of highly recruited players benched that just cannot be salvaged.
I still believe that Herman will turn Texas around but it might not start showing toward the middle or end of this season to find out who the players are that will fight and who is a 5 star player with great intangibles who is going to fold when faced with adversity. Talent with no heart does not make a good player.
As far as talent, keep in mind Mack handed over a team to Charlie that was mediocre but was still managing to win and nearly won the conference in his last year. Charlie took over a ship with multiple leaks and put depth charges on it and sunk it to the bottom of the ocean for the past three seasons.
A coach like Holgerson, Leach, Gundy, Snyder can turn around teams and make them good at times (8-5, 9-4, 10-3) relative to their respective histories with good coaching and development. Remember these coaches are coaching up players who are used to being underdogs coming out of high school. Most are not highly recruited and easier to coach up and fall in line with a coaches' system and vision.
Herman is having to coach up and get highly recruited players that are conditioned to losing now (Strong culture) compared to their respective high school careers. Much harder to change that mindset than a player who is used to being an underdog. I personally believe that Herman will turn most of these players around if he is a good coach and we are going to see a lot of highly recruited players benched that just cannot be salvaged.
First: No "cake was baked" last year. Geez, that is a stupid expression.
Second: To Jimmy Johnson, intelligence was the "number one most important thing" in player evaluation. Could be the problem with our players. In fact, that is what I think Herman meant at his post game interview when he said the team couldn't get out of its own way. If insufficient intelligence is the problem, there's only one solution --- different players.
Second: To Jimmy Johnson, intelligence was the "number one most important thing" in player evaluation. Could be the problem with our players. In fact, that is what I think Herman meant at his post game interview when he said the team couldn't get out of its own way. If insufficient intelligence is the problem, there's only one solution --- different players.
Or, as a lawyer friend of mine told me a long time ago:
"I can take a strong moral stand on either side of that issue."
Thanks,
Hook'em
Professional writing doesn't guarantee professional content.
New Disclaimer
I didn't get to the question before the kickoff. I thought he was a little less assertive than I thought he would be.
He seemed to be still a little emotionally caught up in everything and seemed to admit that he was still processing it all.
Ketch, I'm not trying to spin doctor Saturday, and I think there were coaching mistakes, for sure.
That being said, I believe that the major problem by far is an ingrained "losing culture" in the current players, and that the biggest coaching mistake (and my mistake as a fan) was to think that it would be easy to cure.
Only a hand full of current NCAA coaches - Saban, Franklin, etc. - could come in and turn this thing around - and I will continue to believe that Herman is one of those. HookEm.
That being said, I believe that the major problem by far is an ingrained "losing culture" in the current players, and that the biggest coaching mistake (and my mistake as a fan) was to think that it would be easy to cure.
Only a hand full of current NCAA coaches - Saban, Franklin, etc. - could come in and turn this thing around - and I will continue to believe that Herman is one of those. HookEm.
It's a combination all of things, not a few things. This staff and team have to prove that it's an anomaly.
maybe not as long as your post "sounds" - but definitely longer than my koolaid feelings were at prior to Saturday.
I'd like to see Heard out there for some series and see how it goes. This offense - right now - requires a very mobile QB with some moves and some size. Just think how often in College Ball that crappy offenses can be bailed out by strong running QBs.
As soon as a play on Saturday required Shane's mobility to help us out (which was way too often), that play was pretty much dead. If we could protect Shane as a pocket passer and have success running the RBs between the tackles and our RBs could pick up blitzers without getting flagged for take downs, then Shane is clearly the best choice because he is the best pure passer. But I just don't think any of that is possible right now.
As soon as a play on Saturday required Shane's mobility to help us out (which was way too often), that play was pretty much dead. If we could protect Shane as a pocket passer and have success running the RBs between the tackles and our RBs could pick up blitzers without getting flagged for take downs, then Shane is clearly the best choice because he is the best pure passer. But I just don't think any of that is possible right now.
By the way, why wasn't the trick play double pass run with LJH run with Heard instead??? We have a prolific HS QB as a WR on the squad, so instead we ask a kid that probably never threw a pass at Southlake (I live there and went to a ton of games and never remember a pass attempt by LJH) to do it instead.
Gotcha, but let's be real they for sure are not working with chicken salad. Guess it's something in between
Regarding LJH ... did you notice how well he ran on his Wildcat Play? A lot of folks probably forgot that he was an RB at Southlake not a WR. And despite his shape/size not fitting any of the traditional RB body types, he was pretty salty as an RB in HS against top flight competition.
I'm not sure its the case that Herman drank the koolaid. I think he was trying to talk his team up. He knows that they have become used to winning and he knows they need to learn how to win. I think he was engaged in a confidence boosting exercise with his team. And I think he will continue to attempt to convince them that they can win, often using public statements of confidence that he believes in his team.
How exactly did we get here?
For the better part of Saturday night and Sunday morning, I spent a lot of time giving that question serious thought.
I mean ... in the aftermath of Tom Herman's insane-in-retrospect hyperbole, this team actually being ranked coming off of a 5-7 season, non-stop 9-3 or better predictions and discussions on the Fox pre-game show about Texas being in the playoff within three seasons ...
How did we get here? Exactly.
I have a multi-part theory on how it all happened.
Part I: The overrating of the Texas talent.
All of this is connected to a slippery slope of connected parts, but let's start with this ... the Texas running backs, tight ends and offensive line are below average parts in reality, even more below average than Tom Herman could have imagined.
The trickle down was that when Herman saw a guy like Poona Ford make a play, there was a lot of fool's gold to be found in overvaluing what making that play really meant. At every layer of the defense, it was controlling its competing counterparts consistently and a couple of options for what it meant appeared.
a. The defense is really damn good.
b. The offense is so poor that it is making the defense appear to be much better than it really is.
Herman chose to believe the first option, in part because admitting that the second option was true was essentially an admission of multiple failures on the coaching staff in its quest to develop players over the course of the last eight months.
The coaches looked at all of those pretty players in pretty uniforms and underestimated how far the disease in the Texas program has spread in the last decade. Never in a million years did they think the players would blink like they did on Saturday in an actual game. It has rendered everything the coaches thought they knew about the team moot going into week two of the season.
Part II: The Media Got Drunk
Oh yeah, we played a role.
After seven straight seasons of failed benefits of the doubt, the media went all-in in giving Herman the benefit of the doubt before he had earned it in his new job.
Myself included (see my 9-3 season prediction, despite all of my admitted reasons for pause).
Herman hit the right note so many times on so many things during the off-season that we all just assumed anyone with his profile would lift this program above what it was a season ago.
The biggest thing it did to the media is that it created a force of push-back to reporting anything that wasn't pretty. In order to believe the team was going to go 9-3 or better, there needed to be enough pieces fitting together to justify that opinion. Throughout the last two weeks of camp, I've tried to be very slick in reporting that the offense had a very poor camp by dropping little snippets without giving the appearance that I was pissing on everyone's good-feel excitement.
Instead of trying to be slick, I needed to be screaming from the mountaintops, "This offense has looked like a hot mess!" I should have been more direct, but perhaps I let the potential push-back that I knew would come from reporting the struggles of the offense/quarterback (because it was significant throughout the off-season) impact the way I tried to be unassuming when dropping some of these hints (see my column from two weeks ago). I don't know what the exact answer is, but in retrospect I should have taken the heat at the expense of loud and clear disclosure.
Every media member let his or her confirmation bias kick in. We WANT to cover a good football team. It's great for business when the team is good.
Herman can sell a ketchup Popsicle to a room full of people wearing white coats and the media wasn't nearly as jaded with the handling of his first team as it has been for much of the last five years.
Point blank.
Part III: Herman drank the Kool-Aid
There's no reason to trace back over all of his commentary from the last month because I think most can remember at least one occasion when Herman said something about this team that expressed extreme confidence.
With practices closed and Herman providing near-daily updates, everyone trusted him when he spoke about the team because we all believe that he's a straight shooter when it comes to talking about his team. He had been so low on them in the spring, so when he started creating some hyperbole, it seemed to underscore his true thoughts on the team, even if a literal interpretation of what he was saying could be taken.
I think Herman significantly believed in this team going into Saturday. Because he seemed to believe so strongly, it made believing in his believing very easy to do.
Conclusion: When you add those three things together to create a super chaos baby, that's how the events of Saturday unfolded the way they unfolded from a perception standpoint from within.
That's my theory.
No. 2 – Putting Humpty Dumpty back together again ...
Tom Herman is going to earn his paycheck this week.
If there's anything Texas fans know after all of these years is that a loss like that can impact team psyche to the point that it can impact an entire season. I have to think Texas fans actually know that more than Tom Herman would.
You guys have seen it repeatedly. He hasn't.
As soon as that game ended, Herman's chops as an elite coach became much-needed because you have to believe some confidence was shaken on Saturday inside that locker room.
There's just too much football for one loss to help create another and another, so Herman and his staff have to be at their best this week in re-drawing the starting point of what can still be a very good season with substantial improvement across the board.
It starts in practice this week. This was the part of the job that Mack Brown did better than anyone else in the history of college football. It'll be fascinating to see how much Herman has learned from the old hound that never used to lose the follow-up to the Oklahoma game no matter what the circumstances were.
No. 3 - Three for three: Let's not forget the few positives ...
It wasn't all terrible on Saturday. Here are a few guys that deserve shout outs:
1. Reggie Hemphill-Mapps: Suchomel's lust over his favorite player could have only increased on Saturday, as he flashed all over the field throughout the game. The Texas punt return game was dreadful all year in 2016 and he changed that note in 2017 right away.
2. Collin Johnson: 7 for 125 and a touchdown. Get used to stat lines like this one.
3. Charles Omenihu: He's the one defensive player that deserves some love. He's turning into an impact player.
No. 4 – Stop me if you've heard this before ...
The four guys that Texas named as season-long captains a week ago were Connor Williams, P.J. Locke, Poona Ford and Naashon Hughes.
Each of those guys will have better moments ahead, but how many played at a high-enough level to warrant anyone caring about what they think from a leadership department?
Exactly.
No. 5 – Buy or Sell …
BUY or SELL: We are dramatically overreacting?
(Sell) I don't know that I have seen overreactions. I think what I've seen is a fan-base snapped quickly back to reality. Personally, I've seen tons of meltdowns over the years that were unwarranted. That is not what happened yesterday.
BUY or SELL: We will finish 5-7 again this year?
(Sell) I'm going top preach caution at this point. Let's see a little more football before we go there. I've said all along that this team'sbest football won't be played in September.
BUY or SELL: Gary Johnson plays at least 20 plays next game?
(Sell) He doesn't do any of the things well that the Texas linebackers didn't do on Saturday. He has problems getting off blocks, taking on blockers and avoiding critical run-game errors, just like everyone else.
BUY or SELL: More than 2 assistants are changed at year end?
(Sell) More so than Charlie Strong, Herman comprised this staff with his b-o-y-s. More so than Strong, Herman seems like a ride-or-die guy with his boys.
BUY or SELL: Herman inherited a more talented roster at UH than at Texas?
(Sell) I simply do not believe that.
BUY or SELL: The staff gives J.Heard more reps at QB since the offensive scheme seems better tailored to a true dualthreat QB?
(Buy) It might not happen in game settings yet, but I think Heard takes more reps in practice this week.
BUY or SELL: Outside of the new lockers, weight room, and social media, CTH is much more like CFS than any of us wanted to admit. Both had success at mid-major schools. Both had confidence in how they construct a winning team. Both brought in comfort hires to implement that vision rather than utilizing Texas money to bring in the top coaches in college football.
(Sell) I need a larger sample-size before completely changing what I thought about Herman a week ago. I'd tell you not to go too far.
No. 6 – Texas Football Tweet of the Weekend...
A few days later...
No. 7 – Marcus Johnson in Philly...
I think karma is about to bite me in the ass.
As someone who famously dismissed him as a college prospect following his junior season, it has occurred to me while watching his role in Philly grow that payback might be coming in the form of the most painful kind of payback .... scoring touchdowns against the Cowboys.
I'm bracing myself.
No. 8 – Five more sports things ...
a. My goodness, Alabama. The Tide didn't just beat on a very, very good Florida State team, it physically imposed its will in a way that will change the entire FSU season. Yes, Bama has my attention.
b. Michigan pretty much did a poor man's version of what Bama did to FSU in its game against Florida.
b. Just like Maryland beating Texas wasn't an accident, Liberty beating Baylor wasn't an accident.
c. Holy, smokes! Texas A&M... I see you. Wow. Well done (Edited: Never mind.)
d. Attaboy, Howard.
e. It felt like Costa Rica absolutely exposed the US men's national team on Friday night. Time to rally the troops on Monday night.
No. 9 – Game of Thrones Review: Season 7 (The Season Finale)...
With season seven in the books, I thought I would walk through what I think next season's opener might look like after processing last week's season-finale.
So, let's do this. My guesses for the first episode sometime in the next 18 months or so.
*SPOILER ALERT!*
*SPOILER ALERT!*
*SPOILER ALERT!*
... The episode begins with a shot of Tormund and Beric. Both are burried under ice and snow, but they are alive. As they emerge from the mess, they look over to the right and it looks like something out of a disaster movie. Within five feet of them is the edge of the Wall and beyond those five feet is nothing but air, as the rest of the wall has fallen to ground. Below them is an army of dead walking through.
Tormund mentions to Beric that this is the second time they deserved to die at the hands of the army of the dead and he's not sure why they are still around.
"This must mean that I am meant to be with the giant woman," Tormund jokes.
... We shift directions to a scene with Dany and Missandei.
Dany: "I think I'm in love. He did things I have never experienced."
Missandei."Did he do the thing with his tongue that Grey Worm does?"
Dany: "What tongue thing?"
Missandei leans and whispers into Dany's ear, causing a blush.
Dany: "You know nothing, Jon Snow."
... The next scene involves Jon and The Onion Knight. Jon isn't pouting. wait, is that a smile? He's totally giving away that he got laid and the Onion Knight remarks, "You know every man that has made love to her is dead with the exception of you. I would have targeted Melisandre."
At that moment, Sam and Bran show up on a boat... because... why the hell not? Time Travel is possible these days it seems based on season seven.
... Cersei is drinking in the next scene. Jamie asks in the presence of Bronn if she should be doing that since she;'s prego. She tells him, "Shut up, your traitor bitch."
As they walk away, Bronn tells Jamie, "I know you lost a hand, but I didn't know you also lost your balls."
... Hey, there's the ice dragon. He's just flying around destroying stuff, while the Night King rides him like he's Gene Wilder in Stir Crazy.
... We go back to Jon, Sam and Bran. Before Sam can delicately tell Jon that he;s related to his girlfriend, Bron snaps, "You slept with your Aunt! BTW, I'm the Three-Eyed Raven."
Jon: "What is he talking about?"
Sam: "Don't worry, he says that a lot. He's a different kind of dude, Jon. He's hell to take a long-distance trip with. That being said, I have good news and bad news.
Jon: "What's the bad news?"
Sam: "You are related to your girlfriend and your dad isn't who you thought it was.
Jon: "What's the good news?"
Sam: "You can probably ride a dragon."
Bran: "I have to go find a tree. I'll be back."
... Final scene of the episode. Beric and Tormund are surrounded and it looks bad for them. They start fighting there way out of the army when they find themselves standing in front of the Night King.
At that moment, both men wield weapons and prepare for the fight. Just then, all of the members of the army of the dead drop their weapons and an opening presents itself for both men to escape through. Confused, both men begin to run through the path created and they eventually leave the army of the dead behind them, while the Night King watches on, having allowed it all to happen.
As the camera zooms into his face and into his eyes, it zooms back out quickly and you see Bran's face. He is the Night King.
*END OF SPOILER ALERT!*
*END OF SPOILER ALERT!*
*END OF SPOILER ALERT!*
No. 10 – And finally …
I just wanted to give a special shout out to @OBRob for putting together an amazing event at the Jeff Dillard tailgate, especially when you consider it all came together in the final days and hours. If you want to profile your business on the board/site moving forward, send him a PM.
Do you get the impression that he feels like he knows which areas of the game he needs to specifically target prior to Saturday?
Losing is hard, but losing your first game as the head coach at home after all the hype certainly appears to have taken its toll on him. I watched portions of the presser and he looked mentally exhausted.
Texas and Baylor are now rated fighting for last place in the Big 12. Playing at Baylor has to favor the bears. Another sad disappointing season.
The offense had a terrible camp??? What in the *uck did our defense look like?
They knew his size when they signed him and what do you mean by raw? The linebackers we are playing now aren't getting it done and look pretty raw.
Why does everybody blame the last coach that was last here for the lousy job the coaches have done? I mean look at Jim Harbaugh in less than two years he has taken Michigan from a 2-9 team to national contender. Harbaugh also turned around Stanford and the San Francisco Forty Niners. Saban did the same for Alabama. Jimmy Johnson took the 1-15 Dallas Cowboys on to win two SuperBowls less than four years later. I could could on and on with more examples. The bottom line is that it all starts at the top. If the coaches do their job and train their players properly, they will do their jobs too. Stop blaming Charlie Strong. Put their blame where it belongs and that is with the coaches for not having their players better coached and better prepared to play than they did last Saturday. This is on Thom Herman, plain and simple. We pay Thom in excess of 5 million dollars a year to coach this team and for 5 million dollars a year he had better put out a much better product on the field that he put out there to play last Saturday in Austin. When you come to Texas you gotta be able to strap it on and produce that is the bottom line. It really doesn't matter if you are a coach, a player, a faculty member, a support staff employee of the University or a UT Austin student, either get it done and produce or you are gone. It is just that simple. That's the standard of excellence that we have at UT and if you can't meet the standards, you are going to be gone pretty fast.
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