As I sat lost in creative writing purgatory on Sunday afternoon, I found myself lost for a few moments while watching Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in his final tune-up before the regular season.
First, there was the intermediate ball over the middle for 19 yards. Then there was a deep out to Stefon Diggs for 22 yards. The very next play was a beautiful ball deep down the seam for a 27-yard touchdown to Kyle Rudolph.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Seven points.
When an NFL quarterback starts feeling it like that, it can be a special thing to behold, which is why NFL teams would sell souls to the devil in an effort to get one who can do these special things consistently.
Once upon a time, Bridgewater belonged to Charlie Strong and together they produced the two best seasons Strong has ever known as a head coach. For all of the amazing evaluating and development that Strong has been responsible for during his time at Louisville, his season records without Bridgewater’s two best seasons are 7-6, 7-6, 6-7 and 5-7.
Just like Mack Brown will one day be a member of the College Football Hall of Fame because he coached Vince Young, Strong is here in Austin making five million a year because Bridgewater was a special college quarterback capable of producing consistent special play.
College football is all about special quarterbacks. When you have one, anything is possible and when you don’t, you usually spend way too much time trying to convince yourself it’s not about them when you know damn well that it is. As inadequate as the Texas offensive line was in 2009 (and man, it was inadequate), that truth didn’t matter too much with Colt McCoy leading the charge.
All of this is incredibly relevant because Strong isn’t likely to have one of these double-digit win seasons until he has himself a quarterback who carries around a wallet that reads “Bad MF”.
As far as I can tell, the only coach in America that can compete for titles without that kind of quarterback is Nick Saban and his wife isn’t walking through that door to go house hunting any time soon.
Lost in the agony of the current quarterback discussion in Austin over who should start is the reality that top-shelf quarterback play won’t be available this season, which puts a glass ceiling on what is possible for this team. Period.
The single best case for throwing caution into the wind and starting Shane Buechele is that he potentially gets you a step closer towards the level needed, even if his playing in 2016 is nothing more than testing ground needed before he can take a real step forward in 2017. Otherwise, he might have to burn 2017 to learn the things he’ll need to learn before he’s of championship quality. At some point, the investment needs to be made.
Trying to win the Big 12 without high level quarterback play is like taking the stairs up 30 stories when others are taking the elevator. All of the other elements in the program just aren’t going to mean much until the quarterback question has a real answer… and we’re not there yet.
No. 2– One last plea for Buechele ...
It’s easy for me to say because it’s not my backside on the line, but Charlie Strong needs to make his quarterback decision based on the best interests of the program and not necessarily the best interests of this season because the two do not automatically go hand in hand.
What this program needs is an investment into the quarterback developing process that will speed up the ability to find the player that eventually can lead this team to something notable. What it doesn’t need is a band-aid on the position that bears no long-term advantage or gain for the overall future of the program, but potentially only lessons the amount of pain in a game one loss.
Look, I’m rooting for Tyrone Swoopes to have a monster season, so he can serve a slice of up-yours cake to almost every Longhorns fan on the planet, but he is not the future of the program.
Hell, I don’t even know that Buechele is the special player at the position that the Longhorns need, but the 2017 season has a chance to be a real launching pad for the program and it’s better to learn as many answers now as possible before having to learn them on the fly for a team that you’d like to see hit the ground running.
If you’re Strong, you’ve got one last piece of political currency and the only way you can spend it is by going with the unknown at quarterback.
Go with youth at quarterback and let the kids grow up together as one.
No. 3– If the light switch ever comes on ...
Redshirt freshman Kai Locksley is officially a wide receiver, whether he wants for it to be so or not, which means we’ve reached a crossroads in his career in Austin.
There have been rumblings behind the scenes that the coaches have been frustrated with Locksley’s commitment to each level of responsibility he owns as a Texas football player and now he’s been moved to a position where the coaches have approximately 243 players on scholarship.
It’s time to sink or swim.
As a receiver, I view Locksley as a guy with as much natural ability at the position as anyone in the program. We’re talking about a guy with Sunday upside if he puts all of it together and maximizes his potential. In a year from now, he could potentially be a game-breaker for this team.
However, if his work habits remain the same and the switch that leads to his reaching his potential isn’t turned on, my guess is that he won’t be here in six months. With so many receivers fighting for reps, the coaches aren’t going to lose an ounce of sleep if he ends up in Transferland.
No. 4 – Take care of yourself, Sam ...
If you missed it over the weekend, future Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger left it all on the field in Austin Westlake’s 32-29 win over state power Katy on Friday night.
He made plays with his arm and legs, seemingly willing the Chaps to victory against a program that hadn’t lost a game since 2014, but in doing so he paid a price. At times during the game, his John Wayne style of play was symbolized by his ability to gut through a noticeable limp throughout the game.
To hear that he came out of the game with injuries to both of his knees, but still has ideas of playing as soon as possible reminded me of another former Austin-area quarterback that eventually played a few downs at the University of Texas - Garrett Gilbert.
After needing shoulder surgery following his junior season, Gilbert returned to the field for Lake Travis five months later and I’ve always felt like he never quite looked like himself during his undefeated state-title winning senior season. Maybe he really was 100 percent, but it seemed like he really labored to throw the football that year and I was always of the opinion that it was in his best long-term interests to slow his return to the field.
Eight years later, I have the same thoughts with Ehlinger as he tries to heal two separate knee injuries on the fly in the middle of his senior season. It’s a hell of a thing to tell a kid to sit on the sidelines when a state title run during your senior year in high school means so much, but Ehlinger has a future beyond this season that he needs to protect.
My instincts tell me that the kid will do everything he can to get on the field as soon as he can, like Gilbert, because he’s a competitor and a leader that wants to be there for his teammates.
I get that. You get that. I think we all get that.
That being said, I vote for cautious decision-making that leans towards the back end of any medical analysis. If the doctors tell him to take 2-4 weeks, take four weeks, maybe five. If it’s 6-8 weeks, well, I’d say take the eight. It’ll be hard as hell for him to watch his teammates play without him, but his long-term health has to rank as the most important piece of the discussions that will take place in the coming weeks.
Maybe I’m out of place on this, but I’ve been in the business long enough to have seen kids give pieces of themselves to high school football that cost them later in life and it’s hard not to think about that when we’re talking about a young man that just finished his first game of the season with two banged up knees.
Take care of yourself, Sam. It’s ok to put yourself first.
No. 5– Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
… If Charlie doesn’t name his starting quarterback on Monday, he’s just trolling all of us very well. In advance, well done, Charlie.
… Speaking of Monday, I’m curious as to how many times we’ll see “or” on the release of the first depth chart?
… As I think back, I think the worst part of this month’s camp for Texas is that not a single defensive lineman emerged as a player to watch because of his on-fire play. It feels like a rather ominous note.
… How many points will be needed to win against the Irish? I’m going to say 27. If the number goes above 30, that’s likely a big problem for Texas.
… Hello, Jaxon Shipley!
No. 6 – Buy or sell …
BUY or SELL: I'm hearing due to political pressure Texas will have no choice but to urge votes for UH into the B12, but the cost will be an extension to 2030 or 32. Buy or sell … Texas looks to its own future, resists the political pressure & either votes for BYU & UC or votes no expansion?
(Buy) There’s no way in hell Texas is expanding its grant of rights beyond 2024. It’ll join a new conference before it concedes it’s long-term future to the Big 12 at this point.
BUY or SELL: The combined Texas QB rating against ND will be over 125?
(Buy) I don’t know that it’ll be much higher, but I go with slightly higher.
BUY or SELL: Texas gets in the top 25 at any point this year? Doesn't meant they stay there, just that they break the T25 at some point....
(Sell) It might be in the receiving votes section at various stages of the season, but I’m not sure we’ll see more than that.
BUY or SELL: If the Texas season opener was against Rice or North Texas State, Buechele would be named the starter?
(Buy) Yeah, I’ll go along with that.
BUY or SELL: Kent Perkins is a legit draft prospect by season's end?
(Sell) I think he’s a legit draft prospect right now.
BUY or SELL: By the middle of the season, the Longhorns will have pulled off at least one upset and turn into the "oh crap, not them!" ballsack-punting, heart-breaking, soul-eating team that, win or lose, no one wants to deal with?
(Buy) Yeah, I’ll go along with that.
BUY or SELL: When he leaves UT, Malik Jefferson will have had a better collegiate career than Derrick Johnson?
(Sell) How do you have a better college career than Derrick Johnson?
BUY or SELL: Tyrone Swoopes ends up with more rushing yards than Kirk Johnson?
(Buy) This one made me think for a few minutes.
BUY or SELL: Notre Dame's front 7 is able to get the better of Texas' OL and stymie the Texas run game much like it did in 2015?
(Buy) This group has done nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt yet and it hasn’t played as much together in the pre-season as you’d like.
BUY or SELL: The Sooners are overrated once again this preseason, just like every preseason?
(Sell) I think the Sooners are ranked about right.
BUY or SELL: Nick Saban would have a record better than 11-14 if he was hired instead of Charlie?
(Buy) We’re talking about the greatest college football coach of all time.
BUY or SELL: The Aggies beat UCLA and win two out of four from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Ole Miss. Maybe three out of four?
(Sell) Kevin Sumlin will not survive this season, a prediction I made three years ago.
No. 7 – The end of an era, the beginning of a new one?
You know that thing I wrote about Sam Ehlinger a few sections ago?
Well, I pretty much think the same thing about Tony Romo in the aftermath of him breaking a bone in his back on the third play of a preseason game against Seattle last Thursday night.
As much as I’m a fan of Romo and would love for him to have another five peak years with the Cowboys, the truth of the matter is that he’s 36 years old and I’m starting to worry about him. His body was never meant to last 10+ seasons as a quarterback in the NFL and we’re watching it break down in front of our very eyes.
Romo has two sons under the age of five and I want him to be walking straight when they’re teenagers. It’s as simple as that. I want him to get out of the game before it permanently breaks him. I don’t want to see Dallas win so badly that I need to watch him broken in half in the process.
My guess is that Romo won’t be able to give the game up as easily as I’ve given it up for him. The thirst for a Super Bowl and a chance to reframe his legacy is such that we’re likely not done with watching the physical breakdown take place.
Considering the low expectations going into this season, knowing that Romo would never last 16 games, I find myself in a position of being more interested in watching a season with Dak Prescott at quarterback, knowing that he won’t perform as well as a healthy Romo, but potentially allowing us a peek into the window of a different kind of future.
I don’t know if this is the beginning of the Prescott era, but it does feel like the end of the Romo era, and if that means Romo can lead a normal life in 20 years because of it, I’m completely ok with that.
No. 8 – Confessions of a confused fantasy football owner …
Draft night is two nights away and I still can’t decide which direction to go in with the No. 5 pick in a 12-team standard league.
If Julio Jones or Odell Beckham make it that far, it’s a slam-dunk decision, right?
Have I fallen too in love with Zeke Elliott after that performance against Seattle?
If the first four picks are Antonio Brown, Todd Gurley, Beckham and Jones, do I have to go running back at that point?
Do I trust my gut that says DeAndre Hopkins is going to have the best fantasy season of any receiver in fantasy this season?
Why am I overthinking this?
No. 9 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… I have to be feeling pretty good if I’m a Houston Texans fan after that destruction of the Cardinals on Sunday. I can’t wait to see what Brock Osweiler has up his sleeves.
… Hello, Melvin Gordon! You’re becoming a more tasty fantasy option by the second.
… So, where does Dak Prescott go in a 17-round keeper league? He could be an interesting guy to take a flyer on late.
... I believe in the Rally Mantis in Kansas City.
… Nice job, New York Little League baseball. Way to bring it home.
… Paige Van Zant landed one of the top knockouts of the year in the UFC this weekend.
… Man City is having the same start to its season this year that it had a year ago, a year when I was taught just how long the EPL seasons are. There’s no reason to overreact to anything after three games. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
… If I’m Manchester United, Marcus Rashford has to be on the pitch every game. Let’s not make this rocket science, Jose.
… One last tweet. I love Joel Embiid.
No. 10 - And finally …
We did it, America. The last weekend without a full slate of football is over. Breathe easy.
First, there was the intermediate ball over the middle for 19 yards. Then there was a deep out to Stefon Diggs for 22 yards. The very next play was a beautiful ball deep down the seam for a 27-yard touchdown to Kyle Rudolph.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Seven points.
When an NFL quarterback starts feeling it like that, it can be a special thing to behold, which is why NFL teams would sell souls to the devil in an effort to get one who can do these special things consistently.
Once upon a time, Bridgewater belonged to Charlie Strong and together they produced the two best seasons Strong has ever known as a head coach. For all of the amazing evaluating and development that Strong has been responsible for during his time at Louisville, his season records without Bridgewater’s two best seasons are 7-6, 7-6, 6-7 and 5-7.
Just like Mack Brown will one day be a member of the College Football Hall of Fame because he coached Vince Young, Strong is here in Austin making five million a year because Bridgewater was a special college quarterback capable of producing consistent special play.
College football is all about special quarterbacks. When you have one, anything is possible and when you don’t, you usually spend way too much time trying to convince yourself it’s not about them when you know damn well that it is. As inadequate as the Texas offensive line was in 2009 (and man, it was inadequate), that truth didn’t matter too much with Colt McCoy leading the charge.
All of this is incredibly relevant because Strong isn’t likely to have one of these double-digit win seasons until he has himself a quarterback who carries around a wallet that reads “Bad MF”.
As far as I can tell, the only coach in America that can compete for titles without that kind of quarterback is Nick Saban and his wife isn’t walking through that door to go house hunting any time soon.
Lost in the agony of the current quarterback discussion in Austin over who should start is the reality that top-shelf quarterback play won’t be available this season, which puts a glass ceiling on what is possible for this team. Period.
The single best case for throwing caution into the wind and starting Shane Buechele is that he potentially gets you a step closer towards the level needed, even if his playing in 2016 is nothing more than testing ground needed before he can take a real step forward in 2017. Otherwise, he might have to burn 2017 to learn the things he’ll need to learn before he’s of championship quality. At some point, the investment needs to be made.
Trying to win the Big 12 without high level quarterback play is like taking the stairs up 30 stories when others are taking the elevator. All of the other elements in the program just aren’t going to mean much until the quarterback question has a real answer… and we’re not there yet.
No. 2– One last plea for Buechele ...
It’s easy for me to say because it’s not my backside on the line, but Charlie Strong needs to make his quarterback decision based on the best interests of the program and not necessarily the best interests of this season because the two do not automatically go hand in hand.
What this program needs is an investment into the quarterback developing process that will speed up the ability to find the player that eventually can lead this team to something notable. What it doesn’t need is a band-aid on the position that bears no long-term advantage or gain for the overall future of the program, but potentially only lessons the amount of pain in a game one loss.
Look, I’m rooting for Tyrone Swoopes to have a monster season, so he can serve a slice of up-yours cake to almost every Longhorns fan on the planet, but he is not the future of the program.
Hell, I don’t even know that Buechele is the special player at the position that the Longhorns need, but the 2017 season has a chance to be a real launching pad for the program and it’s better to learn as many answers now as possible before having to learn them on the fly for a team that you’d like to see hit the ground running.
If you’re Strong, you’ve got one last piece of political currency and the only way you can spend it is by going with the unknown at quarterback.
Go with youth at quarterback and let the kids grow up together as one.
No. 3– If the light switch ever comes on ...
Redshirt freshman Kai Locksley is officially a wide receiver, whether he wants for it to be so or not, which means we’ve reached a crossroads in his career in Austin.
There have been rumblings behind the scenes that the coaches have been frustrated with Locksley’s commitment to each level of responsibility he owns as a Texas football player and now he’s been moved to a position where the coaches have approximately 243 players on scholarship.
It’s time to sink or swim.
As a receiver, I view Locksley as a guy with as much natural ability at the position as anyone in the program. We’re talking about a guy with Sunday upside if he puts all of it together and maximizes his potential. In a year from now, he could potentially be a game-breaker for this team.
However, if his work habits remain the same and the switch that leads to his reaching his potential isn’t turned on, my guess is that he won’t be here in six months. With so many receivers fighting for reps, the coaches aren’t going to lose an ounce of sleep if he ends up in Transferland.
No. 4 – Take care of yourself, Sam ...
If you missed it over the weekend, future Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger left it all on the field in Austin Westlake’s 32-29 win over state power Katy on Friday night.
He made plays with his arm and legs, seemingly willing the Chaps to victory against a program that hadn’t lost a game since 2014, but in doing so he paid a price. At times during the game, his John Wayne style of play was symbolized by his ability to gut through a noticeable limp throughout the game.
To hear that he came out of the game with injuries to both of his knees, but still has ideas of playing as soon as possible reminded me of another former Austin-area quarterback that eventually played a few downs at the University of Texas - Garrett Gilbert.
After needing shoulder surgery following his junior season, Gilbert returned to the field for Lake Travis five months later and I’ve always felt like he never quite looked like himself during his undefeated state-title winning senior season. Maybe he really was 100 percent, but it seemed like he really labored to throw the football that year and I was always of the opinion that it was in his best long-term interests to slow his return to the field.
Eight years later, I have the same thoughts with Ehlinger as he tries to heal two separate knee injuries on the fly in the middle of his senior season. It’s a hell of a thing to tell a kid to sit on the sidelines when a state title run during your senior year in high school means so much, but Ehlinger has a future beyond this season that he needs to protect.
My instincts tell me that the kid will do everything he can to get on the field as soon as he can, like Gilbert, because he’s a competitor and a leader that wants to be there for his teammates.
I get that. You get that. I think we all get that.
That being said, I vote for cautious decision-making that leans towards the back end of any medical analysis. If the doctors tell him to take 2-4 weeks, take four weeks, maybe five. If it’s 6-8 weeks, well, I’d say take the eight. It’ll be hard as hell for him to watch his teammates play without him, but his long-term health has to rank as the most important piece of the discussions that will take place in the coming weeks.
Maybe I’m out of place on this, but I’ve been in the business long enough to have seen kids give pieces of themselves to high school football that cost them later in life and it’s hard not to think about that when we’re talking about a young man that just finished his first game of the season with two banged up knees.
Take care of yourself, Sam. It’s ok to put yourself first.
No. 5– Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
… If Charlie doesn’t name his starting quarterback on Monday, he’s just trolling all of us very well. In advance, well done, Charlie.
… Speaking of Monday, I’m curious as to how many times we’ll see “or” on the release of the first depth chart?
… As I think back, I think the worst part of this month’s camp for Texas is that not a single defensive lineman emerged as a player to watch because of his on-fire play. It feels like a rather ominous note.
… How many points will be needed to win against the Irish? I’m going to say 27. If the number goes above 30, that’s likely a big problem for Texas.
… Hello, Jaxon Shipley!
No. 6 – Buy or sell …
BUY or SELL: I'm hearing due to political pressure Texas will have no choice but to urge votes for UH into the B12, but the cost will be an extension to 2030 or 32. Buy or sell … Texas looks to its own future, resists the political pressure & either votes for BYU & UC or votes no expansion?
(Buy) There’s no way in hell Texas is expanding its grant of rights beyond 2024. It’ll join a new conference before it concedes it’s long-term future to the Big 12 at this point.
BUY or SELL: The combined Texas QB rating against ND will be over 125?
(Buy) I don’t know that it’ll be much higher, but I go with slightly higher.
BUY or SELL: Texas gets in the top 25 at any point this year? Doesn't meant they stay there, just that they break the T25 at some point....
(Sell) It might be in the receiving votes section at various stages of the season, but I’m not sure we’ll see more than that.
BUY or SELL: If the Texas season opener was against Rice or North Texas State, Buechele would be named the starter?
(Buy) Yeah, I’ll go along with that.
BUY or SELL: Kent Perkins is a legit draft prospect by season's end?
(Sell) I think he’s a legit draft prospect right now.
BUY or SELL: By the middle of the season, the Longhorns will have pulled off at least one upset and turn into the "oh crap, not them!" ballsack-punting, heart-breaking, soul-eating team that, win or lose, no one wants to deal with?
(Buy) Yeah, I’ll go along with that.
BUY or SELL: When he leaves UT, Malik Jefferson will have had a better collegiate career than Derrick Johnson?
(Sell) How do you have a better college career than Derrick Johnson?
BUY or SELL: Tyrone Swoopes ends up with more rushing yards than Kirk Johnson?
(Buy) This one made me think for a few minutes.
BUY or SELL: Notre Dame's front 7 is able to get the better of Texas' OL and stymie the Texas run game much like it did in 2015?
(Buy) This group has done nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt yet and it hasn’t played as much together in the pre-season as you’d like.
BUY or SELL: The Sooners are overrated once again this preseason, just like every preseason?
(Sell) I think the Sooners are ranked about right.
BUY or SELL: Nick Saban would have a record better than 11-14 if he was hired instead of Charlie?
(Buy) We’re talking about the greatest college football coach of all time.
BUY or SELL: The Aggies beat UCLA and win two out of four from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Ole Miss. Maybe three out of four?
(Sell) Kevin Sumlin will not survive this season, a prediction I made three years ago.
No. 7 – The end of an era, the beginning of a new one?
You know that thing I wrote about Sam Ehlinger a few sections ago?
Well, I pretty much think the same thing about Tony Romo in the aftermath of him breaking a bone in his back on the third play of a preseason game against Seattle last Thursday night.
As much as I’m a fan of Romo and would love for him to have another five peak years with the Cowboys, the truth of the matter is that he’s 36 years old and I’m starting to worry about him. His body was never meant to last 10+ seasons as a quarterback in the NFL and we’re watching it break down in front of our very eyes.
Romo has two sons under the age of five and I want him to be walking straight when they’re teenagers. It’s as simple as that. I want him to get out of the game before it permanently breaks him. I don’t want to see Dallas win so badly that I need to watch him broken in half in the process.
My guess is that Romo won’t be able to give the game up as easily as I’ve given it up for him. The thirst for a Super Bowl and a chance to reframe his legacy is such that we’re likely not done with watching the physical breakdown take place.
Considering the low expectations going into this season, knowing that Romo would never last 16 games, I find myself in a position of being more interested in watching a season with Dak Prescott at quarterback, knowing that he won’t perform as well as a healthy Romo, but potentially allowing us a peek into the window of a different kind of future.
I don’t know if this is the beginning of the Prescott era, but it does feel like the end of the Romo era, and if that means Romo can lead a normal life in 20 years because of it, I’m completely ok with that.
No. 8 – Confessions of a confused fantasy football owner …
Draft night is two nights away and I still can’t decide which direction to go in with the No. 5 pick in a 12-team standard league.
If Julio Jones or Odell Beckham make it that far, it’s a slam-dunk decision, right?
Have I fallen too in love with Zeke Elliott after that performance against Seattle?
If the first four picks are Antonio Brown, Todd Gurley, Beckham and Jones, do I have to go running back at that point?
Do I trust my gut that says DeAndre Hopkins is going to have the best fantasy season of any receiver in fantasy this season?
Why am I overthinking this?
No. 9 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… I have to be feeling pretty good if I’m a Houston Texans fan after that destruction of the Cardinals on Sunday. I can’t wait to see what Brock Osweiler has up his sleeves.
… Hello, Melvin Gordon! You’re becoming a more tasty fantasy option by the second.
… So, where does Dak Prescott go in a 17-round keeper league? He could be an interesting guy to take a flyer on late.
... I believe in the Rally Mantis in Kansas City.
… Nice job, New York Little League baseball. Way to bring it home.
… Paige Van Zant landed one of the top knockouts of the year in the UFC this weekend.
… Man City is having the same start to its season this year that it had a year ago, a year when I was taught just how long the EPL seasons are. There’s no reason to overreact to anything after three games. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
… If I’m Manchester United, Marcus Rashford has to be on the pitch every game. Let’s not make this rocket science, Jose.
… One last tweet. I love Joel Embiid.
No. 10 - And finally …
We did it, America. The last weekend without a full slate of football is over. Breathe easy.
