Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (Sark has a lot to do)

[Ketchum]

Everyone knows that…and so does the Tech coach. But to see a turnaround, we have to see their leaders plant a flag in the dirt. Yeah, Worthy and Bijon…I’m looking at you and some others too.

totally understand that point.

 

[Ketchum]

I guess the bottom line is I don't agree that it would be admitting he should have never hired him. Was it a mistake, obviously. But not making a the move makes Sark more negligent. Optics should not come into play.

I agree that they shouldn't, but in what world does optics not matter?

 

[oostexan]

Yeah…your VH picks are not good. You have to have Ain’t Talkin Bout Love as Number 1….you have to have Jamie’s Cryin in there. Also, Right Now is not even in the top 20 Ketch. Sorry dude…just completely disagree on your top 10. Also, I think that I’ll Wait is an under valued gem.

 

[Ketchum]

I just never cared for the song at all.

 

[Ketchum]

Well Kyle Flood better learn damn fast how to be an OC.

That's not really what he does.

 

[Ketchum]

Public perception notwithstanding, firing PK now is not a panic move.

Just last week people were yelling at me for even suggesting the defense could still improve.

Seven days later, fire the guy after the first game he doesn't hold a team under 20 points!

Kinda feels like panic.

 

[McGuapo]

More holes in the dyke than we have fingers to stop all the water at this point.

Yeah more than a year and a half in and it doesn’t feel like much has changed in the big picture. Not a great sign.

 

[Ketchum]

Yeah more than a year and a half in and it doesn’t feel like much has changed in the big picture. Not a great sign.

Not in the definition of insanity territory yet, but we can see it in the distance.

 

[jspirohorn]

I've always viewed that it doomed him. That move set the bar at win the Big 12 or else.

We look at the world very differently. You are thinking PR and I am thinking about winning football games, which Robinson did. Who knows, maybe Mack would have kept his job if he waltzed into the Baylor game with a 6-5 record and no chance to win the conference. Isn’t that the definition of Pyrrhic victory?

 

[tmoney121212]

if Campbell can't get on the field to replace Hutson he has to be the biggest miss of 5 star linemen in the history of rivals.

Banks was a rivals 4 star. 🙄

 

[McGuapo]

I suspect the only real change we will see this weekend would be Ewers at QB possibly. That’s kind of one of the few remaining hopes we have, no? That his presence/ability lifts all boats?

 

[jspirohorn]

Just last week people were yelling at me for even suggesting the defense could still improve.

Seven days later, fire the guy after the first game he doesn't hold a team under 20 points!

Kinda feels like panic.

PK’s defensive alignment will never work. Just last week, Alex wrote about a return to 2021 with the ends lining up too wide and rushing downfield past the passer. This reminds me so much of Diaz.

 

[Ketchum]

We look at the world very differently. You are thinking PR and I am thinking about winning football games, which Robinson did. Who knows, maybe Mack would have kept his job if he waltzed into the Baylor game with a 6-5 record and no chance to win the conference. Isn’t that the definition of Pyrrhic victory?

I try to view things through the a 360-degree view.

 

[Ketchum]

Banks was a rivals 4 star. 🙄

high four star

 

[Ketchum]

I suspect the only real change we will see this weekend would be Ewers at QB possibly. That’s kind of one of the few remaining hopes we have, no? That his presence/ability lifts all boats?

Yup.

 

[Ketchum]

PK’s defensive alignment will never work. Just last week, Alex wrote about a return to 2021 with the ends lining up too wide and rushing downfield past the passer. This reminds me so much of Diaz.

agreed

 

[McGuapo]

Not in the definition of insanity territory yet, but we can see it in the distance.

I wish they would have never made the movie Groundhog Day because then I wouldn’t see Ned in my head every year. Phil? Phil Connors?

 

[McGuapo]

Yup.

Just sick of having to have players that are so good that they overcome the coaches lack of ability.

 

[tmoney121212]

high four star

I suspect you’re trolling. I’m coming after the lead recruiter for rivals who bases players entire profile on one camp/game. Then ignores the camps for other guys like Arch. I like your rankings, but lost all respect when he recently double downed on his decision.

 

[oostexan]

This was a difficult, but one of your TTFTW pieces yet, Ketch.

I think in the best interest of maintaining some form of continuity, we all want to see Sark and PK succeed. And on the positive side of a negative result, I don't think we're as far away as some think.

While I might be in the minority, I do think our Big 12 opponents have developed a script they follow to influence 4th quarter collapses... and it's based on dominating time of possession and running more plays. The Tech coach even suggested as much in his post game pep talk to his team. At some point, the defense will break.. and that's all that really needs to be said in coaching circles.

You combat that by making excellent in-game adjustments... and that is true on both offense and defense. And obviously, we're really seeing neither. One successful, time-consuming 2nd half drive out of 6 won't cut it on offense. And 13 late down conversions and red zone failures won't cut it on defense.

Probably the most disturbing sign I saw yesterday was in Sark's post game comments about the offense and their "lack of execution". It reminded me of the Lynn Amadee days, where he would use the same old explanation running a simple tired unchanging offensive scheme.

If you're Sark, and your idea of "in game adjustment" is consistently running inside zone plays through an interior OL that is being dominated at the point of attack... you need to take a very close look in the mirror and avoid the "we couldn't execute" mantra. Nobody cares. Put your players in a better position to win. If you're losing the battle between the tackles... stretch the defense horizontally and put your best players in space. Quit calling plays inside a phone booth while leaving your defense out there to collapse.

Unfortunately, I still think Sark is in denial about his own shortcomings. And I sure hope to hell he snaps out of it.

This is really, really well said.

 

[Ketchum]

I wish they would have never made the movie Groundhog Day because then I wouldn’t see Ned in my head every year. Phil? Phil Connors?

 

[Ketchum]

I suspect you’re trolling. I’m coming after the lead recruiter for rivals who bases players entire profile on one camp/game. Then ignores the camps for other guys like Arch. I like your rankings, but lost all respect when he recently double downed on his decision.

A high four star is a super blue chip.

A regular run of the mill four star is not.

Banks was the former.

 

[Baconbeard]

Ketch, coaching deficiencies aside, would you say this is possibly the least talented defense we have fielded since the early Mackovic days, at least in terms of top end talent?

The freshmen remain to be seen, but I’m struggling to find a single guy on this defense who is anything more than a fringe NFL pick.

 

[Let em Hang]

I agree that they shouldn't, but in what world does optics not matter?

Unfortunately, there probably isn't one. But you have to know doing nothing and allowing the same things to continue will be the death nail.

 

[Eagle Fang]

agreed

Why is it that the outside viewers can see these type of details clear as day but the internal staffers don’t or do and refuse to adapt???

 

[McGuapo]

Exactly. Just edit it to Phil being a fan and Ned being any coach for the past decade plus.

 

[Ketchum]

Ketch, coaching deficiencies aside, would you say this is possibly the least talented defense we have fielded since the early Mackovic days, at least in terms of top end talent?

The freshmen remain to be seen, but I’m struggling to find a single guy on this defense who is anything more than a fringe NFL pick.

I dunno. We've seen some meh defenses.

 

[SR60]

With the talent that’s coming in…10 wins minimum next year should be reasonable expectations…

maybe. but this year's top 5 class will be sophomores and next year's class if we hold them will be true freshmen including Arch. so how much do we expect them to contribute? it might take by year 3 of the Sark era for that to happen.

Sark running on the field Saturday

Sark collecting his trophy for leading us to that big "toilet bowl" win.

I sure hope that Worthy is ready for the game Saturday. Everyone has been thinking that Ewers will go pro after next season. If he ends up staying an additional year it's going to be an interesting situation.

any talk about Ewers going pro at all is on hold until he actually does something.

PK MUST go NOW!

Sark is about to go down in flames w the defense playing like it is, horrendous

firing PK now isn't a good look. on the program for hiring Sark or Sark for picking him. his body of work at Boise St. and UW under Petersen is solid. what the issue is, isn't easily known. it could be his schemes just aren't working. there seems to be enough talent at this point, not world class but talent nonetheless.

most in this forum won't like it but the best thing for Texas is to stay the course for this season on PK and see what happens.

He'd be too old IMO. Is 64 too old?

yeah. he is. i've always been a big fan of Patty and what he did at little private TCU but his best days as a coach are behind him. one of the selling points for Strong, Herman and Sark was they were young enough to coach Texas long term.

now maybe if we'd gone after Patty instead of Strong .... i was in favor of it.

and at least part of the reason TCU jetted him after all he's certainly done for TCU (and spurned offers from bigger schools to stay at TCU) is i think they thought Patty was getting "long in the tooth" and wanted a younger more offensive minded coach. we'll see how that works out with Sonny Dykes.

Sark clearly is the great coordinator, poor head coach type. His poor head coaching record speaks for itself. So his best shot (and maybe only shot) at big time success IMO is to surround himself without enough elite talent, both players and assistant coaches, that he can’t screw it up. Ed O’s 2019 LSU team is the perfect example.

and if he can recruit "Alabama talent" then maybe he'll work out. he's managed to pull one top 5 class with potentially another coming in.

This isn't a young defense.

no. and in year two you'd expect a good scheme to show better results than we've seen to date.

 

[horns2409]

This loss changed your mind? Whatever. We have three freshman playing on the OL. Eighteen year olds have a bad day sometimes. It's not easy winning in Lubbock. As we game planned for Bama, they spent their offseason planning for us. They went For it on fourth down almost everytime and they got most of them. It took every ounce and every bounce for them to beat us. If you could just look at the positive, you would see a team that didn't get smoked or depantsed. We are close. We will get there.

Thank you! This team will be different when Quinn comes back, he’s that good. We will be able to open the playbook up so much more with Quinn. He’s the highest rated recruit in 20 years at the most important position in sports. Also, no other team has been snake bitten with injuries like we have, hell we lost one of our top transfers before the year even started. I understand the concerns we as fans have for this team, but for our fans to want Sark fired is asinine! Give him a chance to go out and the proper hire at DC because we all know PK won’t make it to next year. Back off the ledge.

 

[Ketchum]

maybe. but this year's top 5 class will be sophomores and next year's class if we hold them will be true freshmen including Arch. so how much do we expect them to contribute? it might take by year 3 of the Sark era for that to happen.



Sark collecting his trophy for leading us to that big "toilet bowl" win.



any talk about Ewers going pro at all is on hold until he actually does something.



firing PK now isn't a good look. on the program for hiring Sark or Sark for picking him. his body of work at Boise St. and UW under Petersen is solid. what the issue is, isn't easily known. it could be his schemes just aren't working. there seems to be enough talent at this point, not world class but talent nonetheless.

most in this forum won't like it but the best thing for Texas is to stay the course for this season on PK and see what happens.



yeah. he is. i've always been a big fan of Patty and what he did at little private TCU but his best days as a coach are behind him. one of the selling points for Strong, Herman and Sark was they were young enough to coach Texas long term.

now maybe if we'd gone after Patty instead of Strong .... i was in favor of it.

and at least part of the reason TCU jetted him after all he's certainly done for TCU (and spurned offers from bigger schools to stay at TCU) is i think they thought Patty was getting "long in the tooth" and wanted a younger more offensive minded coach. we'll see how that works out with Sonny Dykes.



and if he can recruit "Alabama talent" then maybe he'll work out. he's managed to pull one top 5 class with potentially another coming in.




no. and in year two you'd expect a good scheme to show better results than we've seen to date.

good stuff