Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (It's all about Sam for me... again...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
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Between 1974 and 1984, the ‘Horns beat Baylor only one time in Waco. Thus you could go back even further than the 1980s to make your point.
LB- Derrick Thomas probably is best Chiefs player all time.
Great stuff Ketch, although I have to say Ronaldo became legandary and transcendent at Madrid. Man U was a pit stop for him. Salad definitely a better EPL player but he’s playing on an all time team, much like Ronaldo played on his last 5 years at Madrid, and Madrid have the champions league win over Liverpool ....Hala Madrid 
Just brilliant cinematography and an experience that I will never forget. Few films if any have better captured the horror that was that war.
I hate Baylor with a passion, when I watched the referees screw Texas in order to give Grant his win, I started hating Baylor.
Then when I got back to my car someone had taken a big rock and bashed the driver side door.
I blamed myself because I had left a Texas hat in the back window.
You would have thought that stealing the game would have been enough but they had to vandalize my car.
I agree on Sam. Due to the injuries to the defense I think that there was so much pressure on Sam to score on every series that he and Herman got way too conservative. JMO.
Then when I got back to my car someone had taken a big rock and bashed the driver side door.
I blamed myself because I had left a Texas hat in the back window.
You would have thought that stealing the game would have been enough but they had to vandalize my car.
I agree on Sam. Due to the injuries to the defense I think that there was so much pressure on Sam to score on every series that he and Herman got way too conservative. JMO.
After I’ve gone 0/10 on ever getting any of my buy/sell questions chosen, I see the same brainless nonsense picked. Sam wins the Heisman next year in route to a perfect season. CTH gets a lifetime contract after we go 12-0 next year. We sign 9 of the top ten players in the state next year.
Our players barely scratched the All Big 12. We lose year in and year out to OU, TCU and Baylor. All American talk or any win total with two digits is fantasy land nonsense.
Just odd how rosy the Buy/Sell submittals always are relative to the overall tone of the board.
Our players barely scratched the All Big 12. We lose year in and year out to OU, TCU and Baylor. All American talk or any win total with two digits is fantasy land nonsense.
Just odd how rosy the Buy/Sell submittals always are relative to the overall tone of the board.
RE: #6, along with your confession of being a Baylor fan awhile back rally concerns me. Ain’t no effing way a real Horns fan will choose seeing a really good player in the drum if it means more miserable play and being a lower tier conference team. Sorry but that is just bullsh*t. Instead, we/you should be in favor of seeing great, winning basketball while our Horns step on other teams’ necks with a steel boot. Never been more disappointed in your opinion. Wtf?!!!
Yawn.Great stuff Ketch, although I have to say Ronaldo became legandary and transcendent at Madrid. Man U was a pit stop for him. Salad definitely a better EPL player but he’s playing on an all time team, much like Ronaldo played on his last 5 years at Madrid, and Madrid have the champions league win over Liverpool ....Hala Madrid
I hope you're right about this. Ronan is a spectacular actress and still so young, should be on track to go down as one of the greats as her career continues
Love the video if Chunk!
Part of me dreads writing this column.
Part of me knows I'll probably write some version of this column again before the start of the season.
All of me knows that I've written this column before.
Yet, as we discuss what it means to be light at linebacker or the implications of an entirely new staff or how much of an impact the 2020 recruiting class can have in its first season or any other football-centric topic as it relates to the upcoming season, the truth of the matter is that is that all of them can and will become a lot less important depending on the growth and improvement of senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
Sometimes it's as simple as that. Just ask LSU.
A year ago, I picked Texas to win the Big 12 Championship before the season started because I projected that Ehlinger would take a big step between his sophomore and junior season, the kind of step that turns very good quarterbacks into greats ones. Given that Ehlinger had played so well in the biggest games of the 2018 season, as well as his MVP performance in the Sugar Bowl, it seemed like a safe bet.
Whether it was the rib injury or poor coaching or bad luck or all of it mixed into one big 2019 grab bag of imperfection, Ehlinger didn't really take THE step that Vince Young took in 2004 or Colt McCoy took in 2008 or Joe Burrow took a year ago. While there were was an early stretch of play that seemed to indicate the step was being taken, the final numbers turned into something else.
2018: 146.8 efficiency rating
2019: 151.8 efficiency rating
So, here I am all over again beating the same drum. If you can tell me right now with almost zero other context that Ehlinger plays an entire 14-game season in 2020 and is able to get his season efficiency rating to spike 20 points, I'm more than 85-percent confident that the Longhorns will win double-digit games and play for a Big 12 championship.
Period.
The ironic part of this request/declaration is that it's not asking for Herculean progress here. Ehlinger doesn't need to be Burrow in order for Texas top have a successful season. It just needs Ehlinger to stay healthy and play the best football of his life in his senior season under the direction of an offensive coordinator that represents an improvement from what Ehlinger has worked with through the first three years of his career.
If Mike Yurcich can get a 170 out of Ehlinger in 2020, I'm telling you right now, things will come together in a way that leads to a successful season. When you think of the losses to Baylor, Iowa State and TCU from a year ago, we're talking about games where Ehlinger finished with game ratings of 99.5, 137.1 and 99.1, respectively. Hell, the Longhorns lost to Oklahoma by a touchdown on a day when Ehlinger posted a 114.8 efficiency rating.
In all of those games, a little more productive consistency from Ehlinger probably leads to wins, regardless of all of the other sins this program carried with it in 2019.
Don't get me wrong, it's not fair at all to put the pressure of a season on Ehlinger's shoulders, but the reality is that there's probably not a major team sport that is as dependent on a single player/position as college football is with the quarterback position. There's a reason why the Final Four in the sport last year included quarterbacks that ranked as first-, second-, third- and seventh-place finishers in the Heisman voting.
A 170-season rating won't get Texas to the playoff, but it would certainly get Texas to the cusp of it.
It really is as simple as that.
No. 2 - What would it take to make Baylor a rival?
Believe me, as a former long-time Baylor football fan, I'm fully aware of the general aloofness that all Texas fans feel towards Baylor football and athletics in general
I've been around long enough to know all of the history.
The loss in 1984, which helped trigger the slide that ended in the 1984 Freedom Bowl didn't change things. Neither did the 50-7 loss in 1989. Hell, not even the highway robbery in Grant Teaff's final game caused Texas fans enough consternation to give Baylor the respect of labeling the Bears as an actual rival. For most Texas fans, Baylor was nothing more than the team Texas used to beat by 60 points, while selling out Baylor's own stadium during its glory days of the 2000s.
Considering Texas has beaten Baylor four of the last five times it has played the Bears in football, I suppose an argument can be made that the Bears still don't warrant being discussed in "rival" terms, but I can't help but sense that there's something different about the way Texas fans respond to the word "Baylor" than they did in previous decades.
Call me crazy, but I sense something bordering on hate. Is it spurned on by what happened with the Bears under Art Briles? Of course. Do the whys in something like this matter?
If you roll in the football angst that has existed between the two schools for the last decade and include some of the dominance in other sports that the Bears have enjoyed over the Longhorns in recent years, I'd argue that enough exists to call the Bears an actual rival. No, not on the level of an Oklahoma or Texas A&M, but certainly more than Texas Tech or Oklahoma State or anyone else in the Big 12.
So, that's what I'm suggesting ... Baylor ranks as rival No. 3 for Texas athletics moving forward. Too much has happened to argue otherwise at this point from my perspective.
Yet, if I'm wrong, I suppose the question I would ask is this ... what would have to happen for Baylor to actually register as an actual "rival" moving forward?
No. 3 - About the next three days ...
Here's a few things to know about the Texas recruiting class heading into the second National Signing Day on Wednesday.
Currently, the Longhorns rank 23rd in the Rivals.com team rankings, but Tom Herman and Co. have the highest stars per recruit in the class of any program ranked between 9th-22nd.
If the Longhorns can close with Alfred Collins, Princely Umanmielen and Kelvontay Dixon in the next few days, expect the Longhorns to shoot up the team ranking considerably, probably right at the cusp of a top-10 class ranking.
No. 4 - I promise, I promise, I promise ...
The final LSR of 2020 will come out on Tuesday. I've taken my time with it, but the final revision will be out before NSD.
No. 5 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) I'm not sure it's even close. Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier, Len Dawson and Buck Buchanon are probably the top four.
(Sell) He might lead in touchdowns, though.
(Sell) I need to see more production from him before I give that kind of insane benefit of the doubt.
(Sell) I'm going to go three for four.
(Sell) It's not out of the realm of possibilities, I suppose.
(Buy) Texas fans are ready for change.
(Buy) Tom Herman has been very good in the grad transfer department, so yeah, I think there's a decent chance we some sort of addition.
(Buy) It's Sam's senior season and year number four under Herman.
(Sell) No way I'm ready to say anything like that.
No. 6 - Can I make one single hoops confession ...
As someone that didn't watch a minute of UT's win over Iowa State this weekend, I can certifiably admit to being a part of the "Shaka Smart has killed my taste for Texas basketball" Club.
Yet, if I'm being completely honest ... I have to pass along a thought that I had this weekend.
I want to see Greg Brown play basketball for the Longhorns to such an extent that I'd probably trade another season of Shaka if it meant that I got to see Brown's freak show for a single season in person.
There ... I said it. I don't like myself for saying it, but I've said it.
No. 7 - Seven Super Bowl thoughts ...
a. I wouldn't call Super Bowl 54 a great game, but it was an entertaining fourth quarter. It kind of reminded me of Super Bowl XXIII in that the end of the game kind of made up for so much of what happened early on.
b. Patrick Mahomes played the worst game of his career through three quarters and came alive in the fourth quarter to win the game. With his first ring under his belt, we might be in the early staged of an all-time career. I'm a fan.
c. At the end of the day, Jimmy Garoppolo can bus drive a team to the Super Bowl, but even his coach knows that he can't totally be trusted.
d. Good for Andy Reid. It's hard not to like him. On the other hand, I'm bummed for Kyle Shanahan. Here's hoping he gets another chance at one of these.
e. Good for Kansas City. Fifty years is a long time.
f. The Groundhog Day commercial was on a different level than the rest of the commercial pack.
g. I don't exactly know what to say about the halftime show, but Shakira and J-Lo were certainly energetic, which counts for something. I'll give it a B-
No. 8 - Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind ...
... I can't say that I had a real problem with any of the five players that were named over the weekend in the 2020 NFL Hall of Fame class, but I don't really understand Steve Atwater getting in ahead of Darren Woodson, who has twice as many first-team All-Pro honors and was a revolutionary player at his position. Troy Polamalu was basically Darren Woodson 2.0.
... The Raiders are apparently going after Tom Brady. Lulz. Good luck with that.
... Man, I might not even fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket this year. Why bother?
... I know some of you guys get triggered by LeBron James, but I thought he touched all the right notes in Friday night's tribute to Kobe Bryant. It feels like Friday night was officially the moment he became a Laker.
... Who could have ever thought when Pete Sampras retired in 2003 that he wouldn't even be in the list of the three best men' tennis players that ever lived by 2020?
... Kudos to Novak Djokovic. Because of him there still hasn't been any major winners on the men's side in tennis that were born in the 1990s or later.
... Last three seasons of Mo Salah at Liverpool vs. last three seasons of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United
No. 9 - The List: Updated Oscars rankings ...
I've almost seen them all. I need to knock out Bombshell, Jojo Rabbit, Pain and Glory, and Richard Jewell, but that's it.
Of the most recent watches, I'd say that Marriage Story might stand out from the pack more than any other, mostly because that movie absolutely rocked my soul in all the ways that ensure I'll never go out of my way to watch it again. As much as I loved Adam Driver in it, I don't know that I need to see the performance again.
Anyway, the journey is almost complete.
* indicates that the movie/performance hasn't been seen yet.
Best Picture:
1. Parasite
2. Marriage Story
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. Little Women
5. 1917
6. The Irishman
7. Joker
8 Ford vs. Ferrari
9. * Jojo Rabbnit
Lead Actor:
1. Adam Driver, "Marriage Story"
2. Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
3. Jonathan Pryce, "The Two Popes"
4. Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
5. * Antonio Banderas, "Pain and Glory"
Lead Actress:
1. Saoirse Ronan, "Little Women"
2. Scarlett Johansson, "Marriage Story"
3. Cynthia Erivo, "Harriet"
4. Renee Zellweger (Judy)
5. * Charlize Theron, "Bombshell"
Supporting Actor:
1. Brad Pitt “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
3. Al Pacino, "The Irishman"
3. Joe Pesci, "The Irishman"
4. Tom Hanks, “It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
5. Anthony Hopkins, "The Two Popes"
Supporting Actress:
1. Laura Dern, "Marriage Story"
2. Florence Pugh, "Little Women"
3. * Kathy Bates, "Richard Jewell"
4. * Scarlett Johansson, "Jojo Rabbit"
5. * Margot Robbie, "Bombshell"
Director:
1. Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
2. Joon-HoBong, "Parasite"
3. Sam Mendes, "1917"
4. Martin Scorsese, "The Irishman"
5. Todd Phillips, "Joker"
No.10 - And finally...
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Chunk. If this doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.
(Sell) I'm not sure it's even close. Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier, Len Dawson and Buck Buchanon are probably the top four.
While I agree with you those guys are in the top five, you omitted the greatest KC player: Otis Taylor.
While I agree with you those guys are in the top five, you omitted the greatest KC player: Otis Taylor.
It's so much more than Sam. It's Herman, the play calling, the play design, the OL, the running game, the defense and the off season strength and conditioning.
It needs to not be mostly Sam. That's what is wrong. It was wrong several years ago when he was the only functioning part of the offense vs ok st and in critical times Sam was asked to do everything.
It's really unfair and a disservice to your readers who will take the burrogh and LSU comments and think that's attainable. Texas doesn't have that coach nor so they have that culture and they aren't close in talent.
This is where after all these years Ketch you just don't get it. The reality of this program with it's bad conference and marginal coaching and just now becoming better than mediocre facilities is that it is average in almost every facet of a football program.
Average is 8 or 9 wins. And at this point most Texas fans would take that. I would hope at some point CDC won't and aspire to national relevance again but NOTHING about this program leads you to believe it is or will soon be at the level of Clemson, Alabama, OSU.
And that just plain SUCKS!
It needs to not be mostly Sam. That's what is wrong. It was wrong several years ago when he was the only functioning part of the offense vs ok st and in critical times Sam was asked to do everything.
It's really unfair and a disservice to your readers who will take the burrogh and LSU comments and think that's attainable. Texas doesn't have that coach nor so they have that culture and they aren't close in talent.
This is where after all these years Ketch you just don't get it. The reality of this program with it's bad conference and marginal coaching and just now becoming better than mediocre facilities is that it is average in almost every facet of a football program.
Average is 8 or 9 wins. And at this point most Texas fans would take that. I would hope at some point CDC won't and aspire to national relevance again but NOTHING about this program leads you to believe it is or will soon be at the level of Clemson, Alabama, OSU.
And that just plain SUCKS!
I’d like to see Greg Brown play in Austin. I am pretty much done with Shaka as a coach but I still like the man. He’s shown that he’s not the guy for Texas. I’d rather have Shaka for another 10 years than Scott Drew. Baylor is not playing by the same rules as everyone else. My stepfather, who died a couple of years ago, was a Baylor (played baseball there) alum and booster. It was not abnormal to have Baylor coaches over for dinner. Also frequently Baylor athletes showed up to get paid. I saw envelopes of cash and once even a new car change hands. This continued over several decades and only ended just my stepfather’s death. I am not naive enough to think that every D1 university doesn’t have their own boosters paying players but this seemed to be extremely far-reaching and organized. My stepfather was in charge of a certain geographic area. He paid potential recruits and current players for about a 50 mile radius or so around our hometown. Current athletes often showed up during holidays and breaks from school when they were back home. I never saw any cash come from the coaches. Some of it came from my stepfather but certainly not all. He was fairly well off but not wealthy. There were extensive schedules as well. This wasn’t limited to football but the majority of was. I remember a couple of baseball players and one basketball player. No female athletes ever that I recall. He and my mother were married when I was 18 and heading off to college so I wasn’t around their house on a daily basis but he and I mainly talked sports when I was there and he liked to tell me about players and coaches that had visited. Before he retired, and when I was still living in the area, I occasionally met players at the house and would hand over envelopes packages to them when he wasn’t available. This happened maybe 4 or 5 times. As he got older he was a lot more forthcoming and showed me schedules and calendars, often with names I was familiar with. My mother often told me about visits by coaches and athletes. I think she thought of it as his hobby. I will not name any recruits, players or coaches but many of you would know their names. Not all went to Baylor though. The whole thing seemed extremely well-organized. I imagine my stepfather was only a tiny part of it. This was far beyond the classic “hundred dollar handshake”. These athletes were on payroll and knew exactly how much to expect. They didn’t have fake jobs at car dealerships or anywhere else as far as I know. I became aware of this in the 70s and it continued into the 2010s. Again I realize that this goes on everywhere but I wasn’t exposed to any other university’s “system” so I don’t know what they look like. This was, and likely still is, SMU level stuff.
Texas won the game, but you wouldn't know it by reading this thread. There is no shortage of opportunities in which to to criticize Shaka and the team. Doing so after a win is in poor taste.
Having said that, with upcoming games with top 3 teams, Kay U, Bee U, and last year's NCAA runner-up, Sand Aggy, Texas' 14-7 record is sure to take a hit. But after that 3 tame stretch, their strength of schedule should reflect an increase.
For starters, we’d have to change our name to TCU.
It is true what they say regarding the identity of any team is that of its Coach. ....it's more like ass scratching, if you ask me....sorry to put it like that.
Baylor is punching above its weight class right now due to its central location and fortuitous coaching hires, but UT fans/grads will probably never consider small private schools to be rivals.
Baylor, TCU, SMU and Rice are pretty much lumped together as schools we believe we should always beat, so getting fired up for them is hard.
Maybe if we suck for another decade and post a poor record of ass beatings by Baylor that will change. But if that’s the case, just shoot me now.
Baylor, TCU, SMU and Rice are pretty much lumped together as schools we believe we should always beat, so getting fired up for them is hard.
Maybe if we suck for another decade and post a poor record of ass beatings by Baylor that will change. But if that’s the case, just shoot me now.
The Irishman was boring and with bad CGI...it will get nominated and win some awards because of the names associated with it....but not on its own merits...
I completely agree with your premise that next season’s success largely revolves around Sam’s efficiency rating. However, your belief that that is an unfair expectation to put on one player is not warranted. That’s because his efficiency rating is entirely dependent upon the efforts of others; good O-line play and he’s not constantly under pressure? His rating WILL go up; a legitimate running game that makes play action a thing to be respected by the defense? His rating WILL go up; receivers that can find space, hold onto the ball, maybe even a—dare I say it?—a TIGHT END as a viable receiving threat? His rating WILL go up. Efficiency rating is, like most stats, at its core a team metric
It’s not lost on me that Sam had highly rated games when the line also graded well. Once the line reverted to typical Texas o-line from the past 10 years, his rating went down.
To say it’s all about Sam completely ignores a decade-plus long problem that has never allowed our run game or QB play to generally be well below average.
This season about giving Sam the opportunity to be what he has shown he can be.
To say it’s all about Sam completely ignores a decade-plus long problem that has never allowed our run game or QB play to generally be well below average.
This season about giving Sam the opportunity to be what he has shown he can be.
I’m just glad someone else recalls how Grant Teaff was gifted a win over Texas in his final season. There were some blatant calls in that one.
