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"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality."...Karl Rove on why it is wrong to "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality."
Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (The true task that awaits Tom Herman...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality."...Karl Rove on why it is wrong to "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality."
Gotcha.
I think the situations are quite a bit different and I don't know that the same urgency needs to exist.
HOWEVER, I would have signed a second quarterback in this class and I do think Texas should look to fill that void with a body this off-season, which I think Herman and Co. will.
For once, I hope Charlie Strong was truly as bad we all like to think he was.
I think big jumps in record from one year to the next are often facilitated by big jumps in QB play. I think this would be especially true in such a QB led style of play conference as Big 12. Much will depend on Herman and Beck figuring out how to take Boo to the next level and of course our luck in keeping him healthy, because the "hurt Boo" that played the last few games doesn't win you games.
I think big jumps in record from one year to the next are often facilitated by big jumps in QB play. I think this would be especially true in such a QB led style of play conference as Big 12. Much will depend on Herman and Beck figuring out how to take Boo to the next level and of course our luck in keeping him healthy, because the "hurt Boo" that played the last few games doesn't win you games.
a) I think your opening paragraph is a must-read for Texas fans. Although they should be optimistic, the situation Herman inherited is now viewed differently, by some, because of the optimism surrounding his hire.
It's hard to teach players how to win football games.
b) Johnson's film is incredible. He truly is an elite talent. Those are the kinds of players that change programs.
c) Not surprised at your Klopp pick
, but one thing I think Spurs will have to deal with more than Liverpool - players being bought by bigger clubs. I'm already getting fearful about Real Madrid making a move for Dele Alli.
d) The 2017 NBA Draft will go down as one of the all-time great drafts. I think Allen is outside the lottery at this point, and I'm not sure what he can do to play himself in there. Unless, of course, he keeps doing what he's doing now.
Underrated aspect of his performance? The message sent to Mo Bamba - no one in the country is using a freshman big as much and like Texas is with Allen. While Marques Bolden can't even get off the bench for Duke, Allen is playing so much and getting so many touches he's physically gassed at the end of games.
It's hard to teach players how to win football games.
b) Johnson's film is incredible. He truly is an elite talent. Those are the kinds of players that change programs.
c) Not surprised at your Klopp pick
, but one thing I think Spurs will have to deal with more than Liverpool - players being bought by bigger clubs. I'm already getting fearful about Real Madrid making a move for Dele Alli. d) The 2017 NBA Draft will go down as one of the all-time great drafts. I think Allen is outside the lottery at this point, and I'm not sure what he can do to play himself in there. Unless, of course, he keeps doing what he's doing now.
Underrated aspect of his performance? The message sent to Mo Bamba - no one in the country is using a freshman big as much and like Texas is with Allen. While Marques Bolden can't even get off the bench for Duke, Allen is playing so much and getting so many touches he's physically gassed at the end of games.
At the end of the day Tottenham will always be sellers....enjoy Dele Alli while he lasts.a) I think your opening paragraph is a must-read for Texas fans. Although they should be optimistic, the situation Herman inherited is now viewed differently, by some, because of the optimism surrounding his hire.
It's hard to teach players how to win football games.
b) Johnson's film is incredible. He truly is an elite talent. Those are the kinds of players that change programs.
c) Not surprised at your Klopp pick
d) The 2017 NBA Draft will go down as one of the all-time great drafts. I think Allen is outside the lottery at this point, and I'm not sure what he can do to play himself in there. Unless, of course, he keeps doing what he's doing now.
Underrated aspect of his performance? The message sent to Mo Bamba - no one in the country is using a freshman big as much and like Texas is with Allen. While Marques Bolden can't even get off the bench for Duke, Allen is playing so much and getting so many touches he's physically gassed at the end of games.
Nice write-up Ketch. It always amazed me that after 3 losing seasons and the plethora of excuses, from the prior regime, that anyone ever believed this whole "I baked the cake bullschitt" Sitting here today I have immense hope for our future, but if you asked me what my expectations for this team are for next year, man I just don't know. I think Herman, in a way, is prepping us for next year when he repeatedly refers to the first incoming class of recruits, and their results, when a new staff takes over. Then again he could be a mad genius.
Now that's a really smart post. Good to have you in the community.
There should be a rule against "one and done" if your team had a losing record. Just kidding obviously, but the whole one and done thing has dramatically reduced my interest in college basketball. Why even bother recruiting kids that expected to stay just one year? It makes no sense to build a team around them and have to restart each year.
I always felt this way about the year KD was at UT. Really what was the point? We all watched KD ball hog and throw up a gazillion shots. And yes, when he was hot, we won a few games we shouldn't have and it felt good in those moments. But no other players developed ... you know the ones that were going to hang around the next few years trying to win. They mainly stood around watching a one man highlight reel like the rest of us. And the team was obviously going nowhere in the tournament. It just seems like we all blew off an entire year of doing a sport the right way just so we could watch some highlight reel play - kind of like watching an NBA All Star Game.
I always felt this way about the year KD was at UT. Really what was the point? We all watched KD ball hog and throw up a gazillion shots. And yes, when he was hot, we won a few games we shouldn't have and it felt good in those moments. But no other players developed ... you know the ones that were going to hang around the next few years trying to win. They mainly stood around watching a one man highlight reel like the rest of us. And the team was obviously going nowhere in the tournament. It just seems like we all blew off an entire year of doing a sport the right way just so we could watch some highlight reel play - kind of like watching an NBA All Star Game.
a. Personally, I think 8 wins is a huge step forward and would set the table in 2018 when he has a senior class worth a damn.a) I think your opening paragraph is a must-read for Texas fans. Although they should be optimistic, the situation Herman inherited is now viewed differently, by some, because of the optimism surrounding his hire.
It's hard to teach players how to win football games.
b) Johnson's film is incredible. He truly is an elite talent. Those are the kinds of players that change programs.
c) Not surprised at your Klopp pick
d) The 2017 NBA Draft will go down as one of the all-time great drafts. I think Allen is outside the lottery at this point, and I'm not sure what he can do to play himself in there. Unless, of course, he keeps doing what he's doing now.
Underrated aspect of his performance? The message sent to Mo Bamba - no one in the country is using a freshman big as much and like Texas is with Allen. While Marques Bolden can't even get off the bench for Duke, Allen is playing so much and getting so many touches he's physically gassed at the end of games.
b. He makes every linebacker in the program better because of the fear of his arrival.
c. I think Klopp almost prefers to have underrated guys that will die on the pitch for him over the best talent. It's why Sturridge can't really find a role. He's got more pure talent than a guy like Firmino, but he won't run his ass ragged every match in terms of work-rate and Klopp won't stand for it.
d. I really need the Lakers to win some games. I'm not worried if that pick is in the 4-7 range.
Interesting thoughts on Bamba. Hard to believe he wasn't watching on Saturday.
I had more fun attending and watching Texas games when Durant was here than in any season since by about 10 miles.
Kawhi may not be getting much hype as a top 5 player, but he has absolutely been a top 5 player for 2 years now. In addition to placing 2nd in MVP voting last year, think about this fact... In two games this season against Golden St and Cleveland, Kawhi shared the floor with winners of 7 of the last 8 MVP trophies, and he came out of both games looking like clearly the best player on the floor.
Kawhi isn't the statistical monster or the creator on offense that Westbrook, Harden, and James are, but he seems to play his best games when the competition is the toughest, and it's hard to ignore his 10-8 career record vs. LeBron, compared to Durant's 6-17 career mark vs. LeBron.
My MVP vote at this moment of the season from 1-6 would be: Harden, Durant, Kawhi, LeBron, Westbrook, with Curry on the outside of the top 5 looking in (agreeing with you on Curry not being top 5 this year). A big reason why Harden is at the top for me is he is the only MVP candidate so far this season who has shared the floor with Kawhi and looked like the better player at the end of the night. Durant still has 3 more match-ups head-to-head with Kawhi to add his name to a list that currently only includes Harden.
Favre isn't close to Rodgers; I am referring to Starr, who won five nfl championships including the first two SB's.
Pretty small sample-size when you talk about the Durant/Leonard battle.
If you go back to the seven-game series in May between the two, Durant was clearly the best player on the floor, as evidenced by his 78 combined points in games four and six.
Hold on there a minute. I think you need to give athletes their due in consideration of the era they played in. If not, then why no just flush about 50 years of Texas sports greats? I mean, in his day Starr was the man. He was a great quarterback for Green Bay and relative to his peers at the time, he was the best in my book.
Good piece of work there Ketch; good information well delivered. To cavil just a bit, however, I would note that I am probably one who would "flinch" at the use of the term "loser" as applied to the program, and, by implication, to the kids in it. To be sure, from a W/L perspective the term is objectively accurate, but, for me, anyway, "loser" carries with it a constellation of other, more pejorative, meanings that I think transcend that limited perspective.Thus, for me, I think the program, and lads within it, can have a losing record without having to be labeled "losers." That said, your take is much appreciated.
I'm not disagreeing with you at all, and I fully expect Durant to out-play Kawhi in 2 of the last 3 match-ups between them. And yes, Durant was better than Kawhi in the playoffs last year. I was just using those two games as a justification for Kawhi's top 5 status in the league.
Notice I still had Durant ahead of Kawhi in my MVP ballot, despite the fact that Durant was outclassed by Kawhi in their one head-to-head matchup this year on opening night.
Ketch, this is one of your best 10 thoughts. The truth hurts, but Texas football IS a losing program and culture. It will not be easy to turn it around. Too many folks have the optics of a decade ago when we were winning regularly. And, yes, these players don't need friends.
Former Texas defensive backs coach Duane Akina used to have a favorite expression when discussing players who weren’t quite ready for prime-time.
“It’s not an add water, instant player,” he’d say time and time again throughout the years.
I’ve been reminded of Akina’s tried and true remarks several times the last couple of weeks whenever I’m engaged in discussion about the upside of Tom Herman’s 2017 Texas Longhorns. With calls for Herman to win nine or 10 games in year one, especially in light of Charlie Strong’s comments during the 2016 season about 2017 expectations, I find myself thinking the same thing over and over and over.
A lot of Texas fans don’t get it.
After years of steady decline that reached the basement in three consecutive losing seasons, the Texas Longhorns are not an add water, instant success kind of job.
The task that Tom Herman has been given is not an easy one, regardless of the talent Charlie Strong left him with the remains of the 2015 and 2016 recruiting classes.
Many of you reading this won’t want to hear this, but Texas is a losing program right now. It a program full of players that most of you would flinch to call losers, but they sure as hell aren’t winners at this level. Outside of Antwuan Davis, Jake Oliver and Naashon Hughes, there’s not a single Texas player that has ever experienced a winning season, which is an incredibly low bar to set when you consider where the bar for this program should be.
This program is currently a loser. The proof of that is 6-7, 5-7 and 5-7.
Oh, and the Kansas game.
The good news for Texas fans is that Herman has been in this spot before. When he took over Houston in 2014, it was a program that was a combined 13-12 in the previous two seasons and needed an internal reboot to get back to real relevance. Considering the Cougars went 8-5 in 2013 under Tony Levine, it’s not a radical thought to suggest that Herman inherits an even bigger reboot than the one that landed him this job.
So, when I hear that Herman is challenging his players and not making friends among them or their parents a chief priority, I totally get it.
I even understand his desire to push the media outside of the program’s inner workings as much as possible.
You might like a little sausage in the morning with your breakfast, but there’s a reason why the sausage-makers prefer that you not see the sausage-making process. What needs to take place in the program won’t be easy or pretty, which is why Herman wants as much internal privacy as possible.
When I think about what Nick Saban or Urban Meyer would do if they were the ones taking over the Texas gig, I have no doubts that being a jerk to pretty much everyone would be part of the deal. These players don’t need friends, they need someone to completely rebuild their inner-wirings in a way that prohibits constant losing.
This program needs to be made to feel incredibly uncomfortable because constant comfort is one of the reasons why this program needs Herman in the first place.
There will be plenty of time to make friends in the future, but Herman has work to do and it requires more labor than anyone around these parts probably wants to admit.
Oh, a cake has been baked, alright. It’s just too bad that it’s the kind that will make you violently ill from the use of expired eggs and butter.
No. 2 – Gary Johnson’s commit sends a statement ...
Three things really jump out to me when I think about what happened on Friday when the Longhorns picked up a commitment from one of their top two targets remaining on the board.
a. Todd Orlando has some serious talent to work with at the linebacker position. While his boss might be telling everyone that no one on the team currently has a starting position, I have to believe deep down Orlando has every intention of putting Johnson into a position where he’s playing right away, which is understandable because Johnson might be the most ready-made impact interior linebacker prospect the Longhorns have recruited in a long time.
When you consider that the linebacker position already has as much talent as any on the team, the addition of Johnson is adding strength to strength and it’s easy to see that Orlando’s group of players might be the unit that leads this team on Saturdays in 2017.
b. Johnson’s commitment has to be a wake-up call to guys like Malik Jefferson, Jeffrey McCulloch, Anthony Wheeler, Edwin Freeman and Erick Fowler. It’s going to be survival of the fittest and if I’m in that group, I’m going to be living with Orlando in the off-season, while digesting everything that’s important to him.
c. It’s a great sign when elite-level recruits are passing up visits to the likes of USC because they are ready to jump on board after a Texas official visit. Considering this staff is behind the eight-ball in tracking so many of these players, it says quite a bit that the coaches were able to turn Johnson to Texas so quickly.
d. How about Orlando? His reputation as a recruiter is pretty non-existent, yet he’s the guy who is ultimately responsible for landing the staff’s first true impact prospect. Attaboy, Orlando. I see you working.
No. 3– Don’t look now, but ...
The Longhorns are currently ranked 34th in the Rivals.com 2017 Team Rankings with 10 days to go until National Signing Day.
From an average star ranking per prospect standpoint, The Longhorns rank 15th in the nation with an average of 3.47, which is less than a full tenth of a point behind the likes of Notre Dame, Penn State and USC.
Eight of the 15 commitments in the class are rated four-stars by Rivals and three more are high three stars.
This class still has needs that it needs to have filled, but it’s a better class than most realize and it has a chance to get in the top-20 range if it can close out strong in the final days of the 2017 window.
No. 4 – Scattershooting on the Longhorns/recruiting …
… For a guy who doesn’t say much to reporters, K’Lavon Chaisson sure loves to gush about the Longhorns online, especially with social media. If his online vibe means anything at all, he’s all Longhorn. If he chooses LSU, it’ll forever serve as a reminder that online vibes can sometimes be nothing more than someone playing the recruiting game right back at the game that tries to play them. Oddly enough, Chaisson is the only person on Twitter that I’ve ever followed that deletes his Tweets as he goes. Literally, all but one of the tweets he’s made in the last week-plus are still in existence.
… Interesting update today on four-star cornerback Chevin Calloway from the Arkansas Site in the Rivals network. While he said very nice things about his visit to Arkansas this weekend, it didn’t sound like he was overwhelmed.
"It was cool," Calloway said. "At first I thought it would be weird because we're all from different states, but we all came together and had fun and laughed. When we got down to business and talked schemes and stuff everyone knew what they were talking about. It was good to come together and communicate."
He also provided an idea of what to expect from here on out.
"I'm going to take a couple of days of just getting off the high of being here," Calloway said. "Getting all this stuff thrown at me. Then I'm going to sit down and look at the pros and cons of each school.
"If there is (a decision) before signing day, I probably won't announce it before signing day, but I will let the coach know that's the school I'm going to."
… For a guy with such a monster offer list, I’m not really sure I understand the low three-star ranking for Winter Park, Florida wide receiver Jordan Pouncey. I’m going to have to find out from one of our Rivals recruiting guys why the former Notre Dame commitment is viewed so lightly. It just doesn’t make a ton of sense.
… Westfield running back Daniel Young calling his visit this weekend “pretty dope” makes me feel like I’m not as old as the birth date suggests I am. #bringprettydopeback
… In order to finish with a top-20 class, I think they probably need to finish with Chaisson, Chevin Calloway, Stephen Zabie and a couple of three-stars to give themselves a chance. That would give the Longhorns 11 four-star commitments.
No. 5 – Buy or sell …
BUY or SELL: Texas flips a big recruit nobody is expecting right now?
(Sell) I don’t think it’s completely out of the realm of possibilities, but it’s getting to be late in the game and I don’t know that a big recruit is going to suddenly change directions in the last 10 days without an official visit. I suppose Kary Vincent might represent a possibility if we’re talking about players that the majority of people don’t believe Texas will land and not candidates from left field.
BUY or SELL: Tom Herman will pick up a transfer or Juco QB before Summer?
(Sell) I believe that the staff will look around, but these rainbow unicorns are easier to find in the imagination than they are sometimes found in reality.
BUY or SELL: The high volume of OOS offers will hurt Texas with some Texas high school coaches?
(Sell) No, Herman has already established himself inside the state and has a ton of assistants with endless connections. I don’t think we’ll so much as hear a single bad word about it moving forward from coaches around the state.
BUY or SELL: This 3-4 defense will have 4 LB on the field at the same time more the 25% of the defensive snaps?
(Buy) Oh yeah.
BUY or SELL: With the most recent addition to the Texas linebacker core, Malik Jefferson becomes the outside edge blitzer he was always destined to be?
(Buy) I fully expect Todd Orlando to be very creative in his use of Jefferson this season and that will include using him as a pressure player.
BUY or SELL: Kirk Johnson is healthy by fall two a days?
(Buy) I think so. There’s very little Kirk Johnson talk this year, especially compared to last season when his name was all the rage.
BUY or SELL: Texas loses one of its current commits between now and NSD?
(Sell) This is really a question about Temple defensive end Taquan Graham and I think he’ll be a Longhorn on National Signing Day.
BUY or SELL: Bob Stoops will continue to "look the other way" and recruit known trouble-makers and allow players who have broken laws to play? Meaning the Mixon episode will zero impact on how Stoops conducts his business in Norman.
(Buy) That old dog ain’t trying to learn new tricks. I’m guessing he’ll try and make a public example out of a guy or two for optical purposes, but we know what he’s about after all these years. There are too many examples to suggest otherwise.
BUY or SELL: Is Aaron Rodgers still the most physically gifted and accurate qb ever?
(Buy) Nothing has changed.
BUY or SELL: Jurgen Klopp wins a Premier League title before Tottenham?
(Buy) In Klopp, I trust. As he continues to fine-tune the roster and find pieces that fit his style, I believe that Liverpool will take the next step ahead of the Spurs, although the Spurs have a roster that could easily prove me wrong if it ever completely comes together.
No. 6 – The day Jarrett Allen became a star …
I think there were probably two things on the minds of at least 90 percent of the Texas fans that are still hanging with the men’s basketball team this season following Saturday’s gutsy performance in Lawrence.
“Oooooh, so this is why Jarrett Allen was rated as a five-star recruit.”
“I hope he doesn’t do what he did on Saturday too many more times this season.”
For those that missed it (and I’m guessing a lot of you did), Allen dropped 22 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks in 34 minutes of action against one of the best teams in the country on its home floor. Although it was a different kind of performance than the one Kevin Durant had in Lawrence a decade ago, it brought to mind those types of memories because of its sheer dominance in moments.
Although he’s scored in double figures in nine of his last 10 games and has averaged 16.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in his last four, Saturday truly seemed to represent a breakout moment for the freshman from Austin.
As he starts to show flashes of his upside, it’s hard not to wonder if he’s playing his way into possible lottery territory as an NBA draft pick and what that might mean if that kind of projection exists.
Don’t laugh.
In what is considered to be a fairly deep 2017 Draft, Allen is currently rated as the No. 23 prospect by DraftExpress.com in its updated rankings.
The vibe for most of the season has been that he’ll definitely return, but Saturday was the first time it really crossed my mind that his only season in Austin might be this disaster of a lost one, while everyone waits for Matt Coleman to arrive.
It changes the way we’re all going to watch the rest of this season, well … those of us that are still watching this 7-12 basketball team.
No. 7 – Words I never thought I’d write …
The New England Patriots better be careful because the Atlanta Falcons, led by former Texas wide receiver Kyle Shanahan, might be an unstoppable force of nature.
When Atlanta finished the regular season as one of the highest-scoring teams in NFL history, I think most people thought it was a cute story, but there weren’t a lot of people proclaiming that the Falcons were about to overwhelm the rest of the NFC like it was Bruce Leeroy and they were Sho Nuff.
Now?
Now, when someone shouts, “Who’s the master?”, you say, “Matty Ice!”
There’s actually a lesson in what we’re watching with Matt Ryan, who was never special in his first eight seasons in the NFL, but in his ninth season at the age of 31, he’s become a force of nature while surrounded by a monster supporting cast. The Falcons have waited and waited and waited for Ryan to be THAT guy and finally… after the entire Obama administration… he has arrived.
Personally, I think we’re getting ready to watch one of the all-time great Super Bowls.
Early prediction: Atlanta 37 New England 34 in overtime.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… Favorite Tweet of the Weekend
… Watch the hell out, NBA. The Golden State Warriors are starting to find their stride midway through the season and monstrous beatdowns of Cleveland, Oklahoma City and Houston this week while playing B+ games was quite the signal that the power of the Death Star might be quite immense by the time we get to May.
… Over the course of those three wins, Durant scored 91 points on 51 shots (34 of 51) and was +77 while on the floor.
… Speaking of Durant, after all of the pettiness we’ve seen from Russell Westbrook since July, can’t we all agree he made the right decision to get out of Oklahoma City? The more he swears that he’s not bothered by it all, the more it’s pretty obvious that he’s actually still pretty wrecked by what happened.
… Kawhi Leonard is so freaking good. It’s a crazy historic time in the league where he can’t get much run as a top five player in the game because of the presence of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Steph Curry. If we’re talking about this year and this year alone, you have to at least move Curry out of the way to get him in that grouping.
… Joel Embiid-Related Tweet of the Weekend
… What a record-breaking goal by Wayne Rooney on Saturday to steal a result when it looked like Stoke was headed for three points. It really was a break-taking moment.
… No one is catching Chelsea. The EPL race is over. Too many teams just keep giving away too many points.
… One team that has given away points in more needless fashion than anyone this year is my beloved Liverpool. For the first time this season, I thought I was watching the Brendan Rodgers’ Reds instead of Jurgen Klopp’s Reds on Saturday. In inexplicably losing to Swansea, the Reds kissed away any real chance to try and track Chelsea down. Now this season is about staying in the top four.
… The officiating in the EPL seems to get worse each week and each of the two biggest games of the last two weeks have been decided by poor officiating decisions.
… As a pretty big UFC fan, am I allowed to admit that none of the upcoming cards really do anything for me?
… The only thing even remotely interesting about the Australian Open is the prospect of a Williams sisters making the final, whether it is Serena, Venus or both.
No. 9 – This and That ...
Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday and after knocking Hacksaw Ridge and Lion off my “need to watch list” this week, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all of the films that will earn Best Picture nominations.
Unless Nocturnal Animals makes the cut.
Of the top 11 favorites in the incredibly historically accurate AwardsCircuit.com, I’ve knocked out 10 of the top 11 favorites out of the way with more than a month to go until Oscars Night.
Personally, I think it’s been a pretty exceptional year of movies. In fact, it’s been such a good year that when it comes to Best Picture, I’m kind of torn between four or five different films and since walking out of Lion this weekend, I’m more confused than ever about the order of the top films.
Therefore, before I give my updated rankings, here’s what’s been floating around in my head for the last few days (without giving away spoilers).
a. Lion completely knocked me over, head over heels. I don’t know that this has ever happened to me while watching a movie, but I pretty much had tears rolling down my cheeks for two straight hours. Maybe it connected with me to such a degree because I’m a parent to two young children, but at one point I could hear what seemed like a dozen people around me who were audibly impacted. Yes, I could hear people crying in the movie. It’s just a beautiful piece of cinema in almost every way.
b. There’s a part of me that wonders if we’ve all overrated La-la Land because we’re completely in love with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as an on-screen couple. It’s a wonderfully fun movie that made me feel happy while watching it, there’s so much to like, but I find myself torn over the question of whether it’s a special movie. As someone who is married to a woman that has spent her life obsessing over Gene Kelly movies, I’ve seen enough of them to know that the performance levels in the truly all-time great musicals surpasses what Gosling and Stone are capable of.
c. I’m going to get some pushback on this, but I just didn’t love Moonlight. Don’t get me wrong, it has some incredibly special qualities and the first ⅔ of the movie is the stuff of an Oscars winner, but I just didn’t feel like the movie closes the show in a way that holds up the same quality of the first two segments. There’s such a drastic jump in the final section of the movie and there was just too much unexplained about a main character that I feel like the audience is completely invested in. I just had so many questions (in a distracting way) when the movie was over and none were answered.
d. Although Manchester by the Sea is one of the most depressing movies of all-time, Casey Affleck’s performance is hauntingly awesome, so much so that I volunteered for a second viewing so that my wife could see it, in part because I was so wowed by all of the little moments inside his performance that impacted me as a viewer. I got into a mini-debate about the movie with a couple this weekend and I found myself rattling off about 10 scenes that stood out to me as “moments” throughout the movie.
e. Andrew Garfield isn’t going to win, but you can make the case that he should be nominated in the Best Actor category twice.
f. The most underrated performance of the year is Jessica Chastain in Miss Sloane.
g. Dev Patel should win Best Supporting Actor and it’s not even close. Same with Viola Davis in Best Supporting Actress.
Ok, here’s my updated list based on movies that I have seen.
(Still need to see: 20th Century Woman, Captain Fantastic, Elle, Loving, Jackie and Nocturnal Animals
Best Picture
1. Lion
2. Manchester by the Sea
3. Arrival
4. Silence
5. La-la Land
6. Moonlight
7. Hacksaw Ridge
8. Fences
9. Hidden Figures
10. Hell or High Water
Best Actor
1. Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
2. Denzel Washington (Fences)
3. Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
4. Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
5. Andrew Garfield (Silence)
Best Actress
1. Jessica Chastain (Miss Sloane)
2. Emma Stone (La La Land))
3. Amy Adams (Arrival)
4. Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures)
5. Marion Cotillard (Allied)
Best Supporting Actor
1. Dev Patel (Lion)
2. Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
3. Issey Ogata (Silence)
4. Andre Holland (Moonlight)
5. Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Best Supporting Actress
1. Viola Davis (Fences)
2. Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)
3. Naomi Harris (Moonlight)
4. Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures))
5. Lupita Nyong’o (Queen of Katwe)
Best Director
1. Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
2. Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)
3. Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
4. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
5. Garth Davis (Lion)
No. 10 - And finally …
God bless this wonderful country of ours.
With all that took place over the weekend, I couldn't help but think of words once spoken by Ronald Reagan.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."
The Reagan quote is spot on.
He just played on the best team, surrounded by nothing but hall-of-famers.
It's not losing in one season that would make me use that word or term, but rather the three seasons in a row.
However, I understand where you're coming from.
The man said they are not winners. I am sure they are off the field but they aren't on it. Think Kansas.
Can this team coming off a 5-7 season win less than 8 games? Sure!! My point is that in the Big 12 conference Texas has 6-3 talent. Counting USC as a loss, a better than average coach with a year to prepare should be able to take the talent Texas has and win 8 games. The Texas situation Herman has stepped into is at least as attractive as UH's. Herman won more than 9 each year at UH. I don't think an 8 win floor is crazy talk.
We're on the same page. He is freakishly good. The NBA has a crazy amount of Elite talent in it right now.
Former Texas defensive backs coach Duane Akina used to have a favorite expression when discussing players who weren’t quite ready for prime-time.
“It’s not an add water, instant player,” he’d say time and time again throughout the years.
I’ve been reminded of Akina’s tried and true remarks several times the last couple of weeks whenever I’m engaged in discussion about the upside of Tom Herman’s 2017 Texas Longhorns. With calls for Herman to win nine or 10 games in year one, especially in light of Charlie Strong’s comments during the 2016 season about 2017 expectations, I find myself thinking the same thing over and over and over.
A lot of Texas fans don’t get it.
After years of steady decline that reached the basement in three consecutive losing seasons, the Texas Longhorns are not an add water, instant success kind of job.
The task that Tom Herman has been given is not an easy one, regardless of the talent Charlie Strong left him with the remains of the 2015 and 2016 recruiting classes.
Many of you reading this won’t want to hear this, but Texas is a losing program right now. It a program full of players that most of you would flinch to call losers, but they sure as hell aren’t winners at this level. Outside of Antwuan Davis, Jake Oliver and Naashon Hughes, there’s not a single Texas player that has ever experienced a winning season, which is an incredibly low bar to set when you consider where the bar for this program should be.
This program is currently a loser. The proof of that is 6-7, 5-7 and 5-7.
Oh, and the Kansas game.
The good news for Texas fans is that Herman has been in this spot before. When he took over Houston in 2014, it was a program that was a combined 13-12 in the previous two seasons and needed an internal reboot to get back to real relevance. Considering the Cougars went 8-5 in 2013 under Tony Levine, it’s not a radical thought to suggest that Herman inherits an even bigger reboot than the one that landed him this job.
So, when I hear that Herman is challenging his players and not making friends among them or their parents a chief priority, I totally get it.
I even understand his desire to push the media outside of the program’s inner workings as much as possible.
You might like a little sausage in the morning with your breakfast, but there’s a reason why the sausage-makers prefer that you not see the sausage-making process. What needs to take place in the program won’t be easy or pretty, which is why Herman wants as much internal privacy as possible.
When I think about what Nick Saban or Urban Meyer would do if they were the ones taking over the Texas gig, I have no doubts that being a jerk to pretty much everyone would be part of the deal. These players don’t need friends, they need someone to completely rebuild their inner-wirings in a way that prohibits constant losing.
This program needs to be made to feel incredibly uncomfortable because constant comfort is one of the reasons why this program needs Herman in the first place.
There will be plenty of time to make friends in the future, but Herman has work to do and it requires more labor than anyone around these parts probably wants to admit.
Oh, a cake has been baked, alright. It’s just too bad that it’s the kind that will make you violently ill from the use of expired eggs and butter.
No. 2 – Gary Johnson’s commit sends a statement ...
Three things really jump out to me when I think about what happened on Friday when the Longhorns picked up a commitment from one of their top two targets remaining on the board.
a. Todd Orlando has some serious talent to work with at the linebacker position. While his boss might be telling everyone that no one on the team currently has a starting position, I have to believe deep down Orlando has every intention of putting Johnson into a position where he’s playing right away, which is understandable because Johnson might be the most ready-made impact interior linebacker prospect the Longhorns have recruited in a long time.
When you consider that the linebacker position already has as much talent as any on the team, the addition of Johnson is adding strength to strength and it’s easy to see that Orlando’s group of players might be the unit that leads this team on Saturdays in 2017.
b. Johnson’s commitment has to be a wake-up call to guys like Malik Jefferson, Jeffrey McCulloch, Anthony Wheeler, Edwin Freeman and Erick Fowler. It’s going to be survival of the fittest and if I’m in that group, I’m going to be living with Orlando in the off-season, while digesting everything that’s important to him.
c. It’s a great sign when elite-level recruits are passing up visits to the likes of USC because they are ready to jump on board after a Texas official visit. Considering this staff is behind the eight-ball in tracking so many of these players, it says quite a bit that the coaches were able to turn Johnson to Texas so quickly.
d. How about Orlando? His reputation as a recruiter is pretty non-existent, yet he’s the guy who is ultimately responsible for landing the staff’s first true impact prospect. Attaboy, Orlando. I see you working.
No. 3– Don’t look now, but ...
The Longhorns are currently ranked 34th in the Rivals.com 2017 Team Rankings with 10 days to go until National Signing Day.
From an average star ranking per prospect standpoint, The Longhorns rank 15th in the nation with an average of 3.47, which is less than a full tenth of a point behind the likes of Notre Dame, Penn State and USC.
Eight of the 15 commitments in the class are rated four-stars by Rivals and three more are high three stars.
This class still has needs that it needs to have filled, but it’s a better class than most realize and it has a chance to get in the top-20 range if it can close out strong in the final days of the 2017 window.
No. 4 – Scattershooting on the Longhorns/recruiting …
… For a guy who doesn’t say much to reporters, K’Lavon Chaisson sure loves to gush about the Longhorns online, especially with social media. If his online vibe means anything at all, he’s all Longhorn. If he chooses LSU, it’ll forever serve as a reminder that online vibes can sometimes be nothing more than someone playing the recruiting game right back at the game that tries to play them. Oddly enough, Chaisson is the only person on Twitter that I’ve ever followed that deletes his Tweets as he goes. Literally, all but one of the tweets he’s made in the last week-plus are still in existence.
… Interesting update today on four-star cornerback Chevin Calloway from the Arkansas Site in the Rivals network. While he said very nice things about his visit to Arkansas this weekend, it didn’t sound like he was overwhelmed.
"It was cool," Calloway said. "At first I thought it would be weird because we're all from different states, but we all came together and had fun and laughed. When we got down to business and talked schemes and stuff everyone knew what they were talking about. It was good to come together and communicate."
He also provided an idea of what to expect from here on out.
"I'm going to take a couple of days of just getting off the high of being here," Calloway said. "Getting all this stuff thrown at me. Then I'm going to sit down and look at the pros and cons of each school.
"If there is (a decision) before signing day, I probably won't announce it before signing day, but I will let the coach know that's the school I'm going to."
… For a guy with such a monster offer list, I’m not really sure I understand the low three-star ranking for Winter Park, Florida wide receiver Jordan Pouncey. I’m going to have to find out from one of our Rivals recruiting guys why the former Notre Dame commitment is viewed so lightly. It just doesn’t make a ton of sense.
… Westfield running back Daniel Young calling his visit this weekend “pretty dope” makes me feel like I’m not as old as the birth date suggests I am. #bringprettydopeback
… In order to finish with a top-20 class, I think they probably need to finish with Chaisson, Chevin Calloway, Stephen Zabie and a couple of three-stars to give themselves a chance. That would give the Longhorns 11 four-star commitments.
No. 5 – Buy or sell …
BUY or SELL: Texas flips a big recruit nobody is expecting right now?
(Sell) I don’t think it’s completely out of the realm of possibilities, but it’s getting to be late in the game and I don’t know that a big recruit is going to suddenly change directions in the last 10 days without an official visit. I suppose Kary Vincent might represent a possibility if we’re talking about players that the majority of people don’t believe Texas will land and not candidates from left field.
BUY or SELL: Tom Herman will pick up a transfer or Juco QB before Summer?
(Sell) I believe that the staff will look around, but these rainbow unicorns are easier to find in the imagination than they are sometimes found in reality.
BUY or SELL: The high volume of OOS offers will hurt Texas with some Texas high school coaches?
(Sell) No, Herman has already established himself inside the state and has a ton of assistants with endless connections. I don’t think we’ll so much as hear a single bad word about it moving forward from coaches around the state.
BUY or SELL: This 3-4 defense will have 4 LB on the field at the same time more the 25% of the defensive snaps?
(Buy) Oh yeah.
BUY or SELL: With the most recent addition to the Texas linebacker core, Malik Jefferson becomes the outside edge blitzer he was always destined to be?
(Buy) I fully expect Todd Orlando to be very creative in his use of Jefferson this season and that will include using him as a pressure player.
BUY or SELL: Kirk Johnson is healthy by fall two a days?
(Buy) I think so. There’s very little Kirk Johnson talk this year, especially compared to last season when his name was all the rage.
BUY or SELL: Texas loses one of its current commits between now and NSD?
(Sell) This is really a question about Temple defensive end Taquan Graham and I think he’ll be a Longhorn on National Signing Day.
BUY or SELL: Bob Stoops will continue to "look the other way" and recruit known trouble-makers and allow players who have broken laws to play? Meaning the Mixon episode will zero impact on how Stoops conducts his business in Norman.
(Buy) That old dog ain’t trying to learn new tricks. I’m guessing he’ll try and make a public example out of a guy or two for optical purposes, but we know what he’s about after all these years. There are too many examples to suggest otherwise.
BUY or SELL: Is Aaron Rodgers still the most physically gifted and accurate qb ever?
(Buy) Nothing has changed.
BUY or SELL: Jurgen Klopp wins a Premier League title before Tottenham?
(Buy) In Klopp, I trust. As he continues to fine-tune the roster and find pieces that fit his style, I believe that Liverpool will take the next step ahead of the Spurs, although the Spurs have a roster that could easily prove me wrong if it ever completely comes together.
No. 6 – The day Jarrett Allen became a star …
I think there were probably two things on the minds of at least 90 percent of the Texas fans that are still hanging with the men’s basketball team this season following Saturday’s gutsy performance in Lawrence.
“Oooooh, so this is why Jarrett Allen was rated as a five-star recruit.”
“I hope he doesn’t do what he did on Saturday too many more times this season.”
For those that missed it (and I’m guessing a lot of you did), Allen dropped 22 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks in 34 minutes of action against one of the best teams in the country on its home floor. Although it was a different kind of performance than the one Kevin Durant had in Lawrence a decade ago, it brought to mind those types of memories because of its sheer dominance in moments.
Although he’s scored in double figures in nine of his last 10 games and has averaged 16.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in his last four, Saturday truly seemed to represent a breakout moment for the freshman from Austin.
As he starts to show flashes of his upside, it’s hard not to wonder if he’s playing his way into possible lottery territory as an NBA draft pick and what that might mean if that kind of projection exists.
Don’t laugh.
In what is considered to be a fairly deep 2017 Draft, Allen is currently rated as the No. 23 prospect by DraftExpress.com in its updated rankings.
The vibe for most of the season has been that he’ll definitely return, but Saturday was the first time it really crossed my mind that his only season in Austin might be this disaster of a lost one, while everyone waits for Matt Coleman to arrive.
It changes the way we’re all going to watch the rest of this season, well … those of us that are still watching this 7-12 basketball team.
No. 7 – Words I never thought I’d write …
The New England Patriots better be careful because the Atlanta Falcons, led by former Texas wide receiver Kyle Shanahan, might be an unstoppable force of nature.
When Atlanta finished the regular season as one of the highest-scoring teams in NFL history, I think most people thought it was a cute story, but there weren’t a lot of people proclaiming that the Falcons were about to overwhelm the rest of the NFC like it was Bruce Leeroy and they were Sho Nuff.
Now?
Now, when someone shouts, “Who’s the master?”, you say, “Matty Ice!”
There’s actually a lesson in what we’re watching with Matt Ryan, who was never special in his first eight seasons in the NFL, but in his ninth season at the age of 31, he’s become a force of nature while surrounded by a monster supporting cast. The Falcons have waited and waited and waited for Ryan to be THAT guy and finally… after the entire Obama administration… he has arrived.
Personally, I think we’re getting ready to watch one of the all-time great Super Bowls.
Early prediction: Atlanta 37 New England 34 in overtime.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… Favorite Tweet of the Weekend
… Watch the hell out, NBA. The Golden State Warriors are starting to find their stride midway through the season and monstrous beatdowns of Cleveland, Oklahoma City and Houston this week while playing B+ games was quite the signal that the power of the Death Star might be quite immense by the time we get to May.
… Over the course of those three wins, Durant scored 91 points on 51 shots (34 of 51) and was +77 while on the floor.
… Speaking of Durant, after all of the pettiness we’ve seen from Russell Westbrook since July, can’t we all agree he made the right decision to get out of Oklahoma City? The more he swears that he’s not bothered by it all, the more it’s pretty obvious that he’s actually still pretty wrecked by what happened.
… Kawhi Leonard is so freaking good. It’s a crazy historic time in the league where he can’t get much run as a top five player in the game because of the presence of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Steph Curry. If we’re talking about this year and this year alone, you have to at least move Curry out of the way to get him in that grouping.
… Joel Embiid-Related Tweet of the Weekend
… What a record-breaking goal by Wayne Rooney on Saturday to steal a result when it looked like Stoke was headed for three points. It really was a break-taking moment.
… No one is catching Chelsea. The EPL race is over. Too many teams just keep giving away too many points.
… One team that has given away points in more needless fashion than anyone this year is my beloved Liverpool. For the first time this season, I thought I was watching the Brendan Rodgers’ Reds instead of Jurgen Klopp’s Reds on Saturday. In inexplicably losing to Swansea, the Reds kissed away any real chance to try and track Chelsea down. Now this season is about staying in the top four.
… The officiating in the EPL seems to get worse each week and each of the two biggest games of the last two weeks have been decided by poor officiating decisions.
… As a pretty big UFC fan, am I allowed to admit that none of the upcoming cards really do anything for me?
… The only thing even remotely interesting about the Australian Open is the prospect of a Williams sisters making the final, whether it is Serena, Venus or both.
No. 9 – This and That ...
Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday and after knocking Hacksaw Ridge and Lion off my “need to watch list” this week, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all of the films that will earn Best Picture nominations.
Unless Nocturnal Animals makes the cut.
Of the top 11 favorites in the incredibly historically accurate AwardsCircuit.com, I’ve knocked out 10 of the top 11 favorites out of the way with more than a month to go until Oscars Night.
Personally, I think it’s been a pretty exceptional year of movies. In fact, it’s been such a good year that when it comes to Best Picture, I’m kind of torn between four or five different films and since walking out of Lion this weekend, I’m more confused than ever about the order of the top films.
Therefore, before I give my updated rankings, here’s what’s been floating around in my head for the last few days (without giving away spoilers).
a. Lion completely knocked me over, head over heels. I don’t know that this has ever happened to me while watching a movie, but I pretty much had tears rolling down my cheeks for two straight hours. Maybe it connected with me to such a degree because I’m a parent to two young children, but at one point I could hear what seemed like a dozen people around me who were audibly impacted. Yes, I could hear people crying in the movie. It’s just a beautiful piece of cinema in almost every way.
b. There’s a part of me that wonders if we’ve all overrated La-la Land because we’re completely in love with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as an on-screen couple. It’s a wonderfully fun movie that made me feel happy while watching it, there’s so much to like, but I find myself torn over the question of whether it’s a special movie. As someone who is married to a woman that has spent her life obsessing over Gene Kelly movies, I’ve seen enough of them to know that the performance levels in the truly all-time great musicals surpasses what Gosling and Stone are capable of.
c. I’m going to get some pushback on this, but I just didn’t love Moonlight. Don’t get me wrong, it has some incredibly special qualities and the first ⅔ of the movie is the stuff of an Oscars winner, but I just didn’t feel like the movie closes the show in a way that holds up the same quality of the first two segments. There’s such a drastic jump in the final section of the movie and there was just too much unexplained about a main character that I feel like the audience is completely invested in. I just had so many questions (in a distracting way) when the movie was over and none were answered.
d. Although Manchester by the Sea is one of the most depressing movies of all-time, Casey Affleck’s performance is hauntingly awesome, so much so that I volunteered for a second viewing so that my wife could see it, in part because I was so wowed by all of the little moments inside his performance that impacted me as a viewer. I got into a mini-debate about the movie with a couple this weekend and I found myself rattling off about 10 scenes that stood out to me as “moments” throughout the movie.
e. Andrew Garfield isn’t going to win, but you can make the case that he should be nominated in the Best Actor category twice.
f. The most underrated performance of the year is Jessica Chastain in Miss Sloane.
g. Dev Patel should win Best Supporting Actor and it’s not even close. Same with Viola Davis in Best Supporting Actress.
Ok, here’s my updated list based on movies that I have seen.
(Still need to see: 20th Century Woman, Captain Fantastic, Elle, Loving, Jackie and Nocturnal Animals
Best Picture
1. Lion
2. Manchester by the Sea
3. Arrival
4. Silence
5. La-la Land
6. Moonlight
7. Hacksaw Ridge
8. Fences
9. Hidden Figures
10. Hell or High Water
Best Actor
1. Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
2. Denzel Washington (Fences)
3. Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
4. Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
5. Andrew Garfield (Silence)
Best Actress
1. Jessica Chastain (Miss Sloane)
2. Emma Stone (La La Land))
3. Amy Adams (Arrival)
4. Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures)
5. Marion Cotillard (Allied)
Best Supporting Actor
1. Dev Patel (Lion)
2. Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
3. Issey Ogata (Silence)
4. Andre Holland (Moonlight)
5. Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Best Supporting Actress
1. Viola Davis (Fences)
2. Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)
3. Naomi Harris (Moonlight)
4. Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures))
5. Lupita Nyong’o (Queen of Katwe)
Best Director
1. Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
2. Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)
3. Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
4. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
5. Garth Davis (Lion)
No. 10 - And finally …
God bless this wonderful country of ours.
With all that took place over the weekend, I couldn't help but think of words once spoken by Ronald Reagan.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."
My "most depressing movie ever" has to be The Hours. Starts off with a suicide and goes downhill from there. Of course, that doesn't mean it was a bad movie. I have found myself thinking about it years later which means that maybe it was very good movie though not uplifting...
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