Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Not even The Rona changes expectations for Herman...)

[HuffTex]

You are correct.

Eagles beats him in YPC by 3+ yards, though.

Eagles definitely has BEAST potrntial. If he can stay locked in, I agree he will really put up some totals.

 

[Ketchum]

@Ketchum
Look forward to this column every week and as usual no disappointment. Thank you! Feel like you missed something in the movie sequels category though.
The MCU changed the game. A top ten list of movie sequels could probably be ONLY MCU movies and still be a good list, but this for sure needs to be addressed. Also, Rocky II > than Rocky IV ('cause other than his kid being born, that was the greatest day of his life).

10) The Avengers
9) Rocky II
8) Star Trek II Wrath of Khan
7) CPT America Civil War
6) Black Panther
5) Thor Ragnarok
4) Avengers Endgame
3) The Empire Strikes Back
2) Avengers Infinity War
1) Godfather II

Rocky II is incredibly slow.

Rocky IV is like a music video.

As a kid of the 80s, I love the montages.

 

[Ketchum]

It's not that the Longhorns haven't tried. Texas actually had a commitment from Hall before he flipped to Texas A&M. The Longhorns offered LSU freshman running back Kevontre Bradford last year and missed. Same with Omar Manning in 2017.

During the same time frame, Oklahoma has signed four players from Lancaster High, while Baylor has signed six.

Ketch,
You’re probably tired of this point by me but I’m not sure Texas has ever recovered from Fred (hey-diddle-diddle-let’s-run-up-the-middle) Akers complete ceding of the DFW Metroplex when he stated that East Texas and Houston could provide all Texas would need. There are still coaches who talk about that in McKinney, Plano, Arlington and other places in and around DFW that will take a call or open a door first for the okies or ags and still feel Texas has to prove that they’re there to stay. In isolated cases, the Horns have “dropped in” when there is a highly touted recruit they want to vie for but the okies and ags are there every year, keeping those relationships and lines of communication with players and coaches.

I’m not sure if TH can fix that but it, like the facilities at UT when Mack was hired, are in “dire need of repair”.

Thoughts?

Hook’em!

I've never heard the people of South Dallas mention Akers.

I have heard a lot of people from South Dallas in the last 25 years mention UT's problematic history with race, but not nearly as much as the talk existed before Mack Brown arrived.

Mack changed the way multiple generations of people talked about UT football.

 

[Ketchum]

Beverly Hills Cop 2 needs to be on this list.

That's fair.

 

[utsaappt802]

I don't think Texas would win the game and losing it has too much downside.

Play the Big 12 schedule.... manage it... you're golden.

Totally agree with this but why don’t you think we win? Surely the 2020 Longhorns are a better team on paper than a completely retooled LSU team no? plus the addition of COVID which will drastically reduce their home field crowd advantage making it almost a moot point?

 

[BigSkyHorn]

Yeah... you know UT's recent OOC record on the road, right? OOC record in the last 10 years?

That game is supposed to be a month away.

Texas hasn't even held a full pads practice in 2020.

Let's not be naive because our pride gets in the way.

Best returning QB we’ve had in 10 years. Best OC/DC, OL, DL, DBs we’ve had in several years. Their returning QB hasn’t been tested so I will take our full pad ready over LSU. Yes, I am proud to be a Horn fan but comparing this team with its experience (especially at QB) to the ones over the past 10 years is disingenuous as well. Would college football be shocked if we lost a close game to LSU in Death Valley? No. Would it be if we ran over them like the bowls against GA and Utah? Yes. Upside is greater than downside.

 

[Ketchum]

Totally agree with this but why don’t you think we win? Surely the 2020 Longhorns are a better team on paper than a completely retooled LSU team no? plus the addition of COVID which will drastically reduce their home field crowd advantage making it almost a moot point?

No, I don't assume that at all.

I think that's the kind of delusion a fan buys into. The reality is that this team has been awful in OOC in the last decade, especially against teams with a pulse.

 

[Ketchum]

Best returning QB we’ve had in 10 years. Best OC/DC, OL, DL, DBs we’ve had in several years. Their returning QB hasn’t been tested so I will take our full pad ready over LSU. Yes, I am proud to be a Horn fan but comparing this team with its experience (especially at QB) to the ones over the past 10 years is disingenuous as well. Would college football be shocked if we lost a close game to LSU in Death Valley? No. Would it be if we ran over them like the bowls against GA and Utah? Yes. Upside is greater than downside.

Has this team practiced in pads?

Have these new coaches had a full pads practice with their new players?

Did this team just a year ago perform so poorly in terms of consistency that the head coach needed to fire seven coaches and you could argue it needed to be more?

I mean... come on. Put the confirmation bias aside and look at thuis realistically.

 

[Ketchum]

I might need to take make some revisions to my top 10 after discussion in this thread.

 

[bbussell1]

There should be zero assumptions on any of the new coaches as “automatic” upgrades

Yep, this is a hope and nothing more until they prove it on the field. Hell, we all thought Orlando was going to the CFB Hall of Fame after his first year as DC and two years later he can't even make it to the bowl game before being fired.

 

[EG-man]

Kinda scary that people say of all the OU qbs Rattler has the most talent.

They just reload. SMH.

 

[BigSkyHorn]

Has this team practiced in pads?

Have these new coaches had a full pads practice with their new players?

Did this team just a year ago perform so poorly in terms of consistency that the head coach needed to fire seven coaches and you could argue it needed to be more?

I mean... come on. Put the confirmation bias aside and look at thuis realistically.

LSU has not practiced in pads as well. They will replace arguably their most important offensive coach and the QB who had one of the best all time seasons as a QB. We have been reading (in OB I think) about how Sam’s injury had a real impact on the team - he will be healthy.

One can actually look at the situation and say we would have had a decent shot at winning that game and the upside of winning would have been greater than the downside of a loss. I notice you don’t address those points - you merely get into name calling like saying “pride gets in the way” or “confirmation bias” when someone has a different perspective. Ketch is going to Ketch....

 

[Ketchum]

Yep, this is a hope and nothing more until they prove it on the field. Hell, we all thought Orlando was going to the CFB Hall of Fame after his first year as DC and two years later he can't even make it to the bowl game before being fired.

Ok, but one guy has a national title as an DC and the other guy is Todd Orlando.

If John Harbaugh took the job in 2021, would we need to hold back in saying he's better than Herman just because he hasn't succeeded at Texas?

 

[Ketchum]

LSU has not practiced in pads as well. They will replace arguably their most important offensive coach and the QB who had one of the best all time seasons as a QB. We have been reading (in OB I think) about how Sam’s injury had a real impact on the team - he will be healthy.

One can actually look at the situation and say we would have had a decent shot at winning that game and the upside of winning would have been greater than the downside of a loss. I notice you don’t address those points - you merely get into name calling like saying “pride gets in the way” or “confirmation bias” when someone has a different perspective. Ketch is going to Ketch....

Texas fans are gonna Texas fans, I suppose.

This program hasn't proven it can walk and chew gum at the same time in the last 10 years and after a season in which it needed to fire 70-percent of the staff....

Texas walks in with no practices, a ton of unproven players all over the field and wins at a place almost no team ever wins... just because "we're Texas"

My strong contention is that playing in Baton Rouge in the second game of the season isn't good business right now. If that game were in week 10.... hey... go play it. I find it naive to be so confident about this team right now. I don't mean to sound like an ass, but this is a middle of the pack program with fans pretending it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as LSU based on one performance early from last season that proved to be a rare exception of quality.

Those teams play 10 times in 2019... and LSU beats Texas by 20 in 7 of them.

 

[o5prey]

@Ketchum

ok you didn't ask me but around the coordinator improvements....

The exact thing you just cited on Ash is why OC isn't an auto upgrade

Our last OC wasn't Beck - it was Herman / who was an OC for a National Title....but still can't figure out how stupid his RB alignment and play tipping is / can't even acknowledge it afterwards.

Is the new OC really running the show? remains to be seen. does the new OC control RB substitution? remains to be seen. Does the new OC control RB alignment? remains to be seen.

If the new OC was SOOOOO amazing - why wasn't he an OC last year?

I'm hopeful....but counting them as upgrades is the kind of moronic logic that fans do ----- THAT YOU JUST REFERENCED IN THIS THREAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ketchum]

@Ketchum

ok you didn't ask me but around the coordinator improvements....

The exact thing you just cited on Ash is why OC isn't an auto upgrade

Our last OC wasn't Beck - it was Herman / who was an OC for a National Title....but still can't figure out how stupid his RB alignment and play tipping is / can't even acknowledge it afterwards.

Is the new OC really running the show? remains to be seen. does the new OC control RB substitution? remains to be seen. Does the new OC control RB alignment? remains to be seen.

If the new OC was SOOOOO amazing - why wasn't he an OC last year?

I'm hopeful....but counting them as upgrades is the kind of moronic logic that fans do ----- THAT YOU JUST REFERENCED IN THIS THREAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a. That's fine.

b. Sometimes the devil you know is all that matters. My thoughts on these coaches being upgrades are based on some common sense and some confirmation bias against those I just watched.

Tom Herman isn't great at game management, but I didn't need to see him in action to know he would be a better game manager than Charlie Strong, who never proved he could count in intervals of 40 seconds.

 

[o5prey]

Same reasoning around the DC

I'm hopeful he's better but......

All his great results thus far seem to be in the Big 10 / and going back a few years rather than immediately.....

How many spread teams has he faced? I don't care how he's going to do against Michigan or Wisconsins run game / I care about how he's going to do against Oklahoma How were his defenses doing the last few years at Rutgers?

Counting upgrades before we see things is dumb. You're talking in absolutes

 

[o5prey]

That's the same thing you're chastising fans in this thread for doing.....The defense has to be better this year / last years was terrible.

 

[Ketchum]

Same reasoning around the DC

I'm hopeful he's better but......

All his great results thus far seem to be in the Big 10 / and going back a few years rather than immediately.....

How many spread teams has he faced? I don't care how he's going to do against Michigan or Wisconsins run game / I care about how he's going to do against Oklahoma How were his defenses doing the last few years at Rutgers?

Counting upgrades before we see things is dumb. You're talking in absolutes

Is Bill Walsh in his prime better than Tom Herman?

I mean... you can say yes... but how do you KNOW?

He only did it in the NFL.

 

[o5prey]

Is Bill Walsh in his prime better than Tom Herman?

I mean... you can say yes... but how do you KNOW?

He only did it in the NFL.

Then tell me exactly how Yurcich's resume as an OC is better than Herman's

 

[Ketchum]

Then tell me exactly how Yurcich's resume as an OC is better than Herman's

You're framing this wrong.

Yurcich/Herman > Beck/Herman

I don't need to see Yurcich in Austin for a year to make this statement IMO. I have Yurcich's resume and accomplishments to lean on, as well as three years of watching Tim Beck's weaknesses up-close to have the basis for a strong opinion.

 

[o5prey]

You're framing this wrong.

Yurcich/Herman > Beck/Herman

I don't need to see Yurcich in Austin for a year to make this statement IMO. I have Yurcich's resume and accomplishments to lean on, as well as three years of watching Tim Beck's weaknesses up-close to have the basis for a strong opinion.

I'm hopeful that is true....but it certainly hasn't been proven

Will Yurcich and Herman mesh well? Peterson and Brown didn't and I myself was sure that was a huge upgrade as an OC hire..... will Herman really give up control? How much control did Yurcich have at Oklahoma State? what is this offense even going to look like? the RB alignment issues? who controls that exactly last year / will it even be addresses this year? Herman didn't seem to think it was even an issue in our OB sit down......

If Yurcich is so amazing why didn't he have an OC job when he left Oklahoma State?

I'm hopeful - but it sure is not a given.

 

[Ketchum]

I'm hopeful that is true....but it certainly hasn't been proven

Will Yurcich and Herman mesh well? Peterson and Brown didn't and I myself was sure that was a huge upgrade as an OC hire..... will Herman really give up control? How much control did Yurcich have at Oklahoma State? what is this offense even going to look like? the RB alignment issues? who controls that exactly last year / will it even be addresses this year? Herman didn't seem to think it was even an issue in our OB sit down......

If Yurcich is so amazing why didn't he have an OC job when he left Oklahoma State?

I'm hopeful - but it sure is not a given.

a. He did have an OC job upon leaving Oklahoma State. he just took a job with a head coach that renders the OC mostly without power. That's why he departed.

b. Again, my opinions have more to do with the awful set of skills Beck brought to the table as much as anything else.

 

[o5prey]

Also just to be clear - if you're wanting to say its Herman and Yurcich vs Herman and Beck / that's a better argument than literally every single time you've said its Yurcich vs Beck / which imo is ridiculous

 

[Ketchum]

Then tell me exactly how Yurcich's resume as an OC is better than Herman's

Also, you didn't answer the question.

Was Bill Walsh better than Tom Herman?

 

[o5prey]

@Ketchum

I'm hoping you're right.....but what does that say about our Head Coach's ability to identify good coaches....and what they bring to the table? and why should I trust then these new hires?

 

[o5prey]

Also, you didn't answer the question.

Was Bill Walsh better than Tom Herman?

yes absolutely of course he was

 

[Ketchum]

Also just to be clear - if you're wanting to say its Herman and Yurcich vs Herman and Beck / that's a better argument than literally every single time you've said its Yurcich vs Beck / which imo is ridiculous

YOU are the one comparing Herman as an OC to Yurcich as an OC, thus bypassing Beck altogether.

I had to correct you.

There's a reason why you are fighting this fight alone.

 

[Ketchum]

yes absolutely of course he was

How do you know?

Is it because his resume is both better and because you've seen enough with Herman to know he's not better than Bill Walsh?

 

[o5prey]

How do you know?

Is it because his resume is both better and because you've seen enough with Herman to know he's not better than Bill Walsh?

Easily both - plus common sense.

How can I be certain that Ehlinger's development from a Freshman QB to the improvement we've seen isn't due to Beck? I honestly can't answer that....

Who was the moron in charge of RB alignment? I don't know - was it Beck? I sure hope so..... otherwise the culprit could be Herman or Drayton - and they could potentially still be in charge of that for this upcoming season.