Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Tom Herman's big 2018)

[Dugg]

It's a problem if you look at the situation with Hader and you're instinct is to care less about the actions and more abut some anti-media movement.

The optics of that situation were awful. Imagine it from the perspective of the people he spoke hatefully about.

It is a given that the media will rally around each other when attacked in the slightest. Don't know Hader and quite honestly don't care about some old tweets. It does feel like someone is always digging up something in an effort to drum up faux outrage.

I think most people are not fans of skeletons being dug up as most everyone has something that would look bad.

 

[CoachBobbyFinstock]

I don't get what's positive about pulling up something from a long time ago and tossing it in their face anyway.

Are they still that way? Do you know the person?

People change and people make mistakes.

Tossing stones at people you don't know from something they did in the past and have moved on from is hypocritical. He who doesn't sin cast the first stone. Those who seek to put others on blast are the ones that usually have issues in their own life.

Forgiveness and moving on can do a lot of positive things.

Grading sin and wrong is a dangerous area to trend in.

 

[jspirohorn]

You are judging Herman too harshly IMO. Even elite coaches can’t overcome uneven QB play without an above average offensive line and running game. The issue is compounded by Herman’s QB centric offense. Not saying that QB play won’t be improved but I am not sold that Ehlinger is a guy to build a championship team around. I think your initial call of 8-4 and Thompson appearing in November to make off schedule plays is the most likely.

 

[UTblood63]

I think the real question is, once games start can Sam KEEP the job. I mean, let's not pretend he didn't lose it after the Tech game. Barring injury, Sam is going to start against Maryland. Everyone knows that. The question is, doe he hold onto the job.

He’s not a freshman number 1... he’s had a full year in the system number 2 and every position group on the offense is better than last year most importantly the o-line. I think he’ll be fine

 

[65HornInTacoma]

@Ketchum BWAHAHAHA!!! That was the best storytime tale so far. haha! It reminds me when I just finished college, I went back to Corpus to visit a buddy. He told us to meet at a bar called the Bair's Den because a mutual friend just got a job as a bartender there and she would hook us up with drinks. Well, we got there and the place was was mostly empty except for two tables next to each other in the back with 50-60 somethings in cowboy boots/hats. They stared at us a bit, we said hi, they returned, so we walked on in and got quarters for the jukebox and the pool table since our friend's shift hadn't started yet.

Apparently my buddy found the lone non-country CD in the player so as we grab our pool cues, Jungle Boogie from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack starts blasting. I am not sure why he thought that was a good idea, but he did. So, instinctively my buddy I and start dancing around the table, spinning the cues, jousting it kung fu style, pimp caning it, a long with some great "stepping" in between shots. With the song almost over I think to look over at the couple of populated tables and am pretty much met with this look- one guy, I am not sure if he was standing or sitting, just kind of frozen in a half crouch over his chair in disbelief.

Fortunately, right then our friend came in (tall redhead, big boobs) and gave us a hug and introduced us to the owner. I am pretty sure she saved us. Our disco dancing proclivities aside, we were accepted as full members of the bar. We didn't play the Pulp fiction Soundtrack any more though. haha!


Epilogue: We later found out the Pulp Fiction CD was our friend's and it took her days to convince the owner to put it in there. Of course we were the first ones to ever play it.

 

[coopdog]

Another example of hiding behind a keyboard saying things to someone that you would never say to their face...

Right!!!!!


When you pay for a product and you feel like it’s not what it was you are allowed.

I don’t buy from any other outlets. I have had brand loyalty to Orangebloods for close to 18 yrs.

 

[RLong68]

He’s not a freshman number 1... he’s had a full year in the system number 2 and every position group on the offense is better than last year most importantly the o-line. I think he’ll be fine

That's fine. But the reality is that entails an appreciable amount of blind faith.

 

[Ketchum]

It is a given that the media will rally around each other when attacked in the slightest. Don't know Hader and quite honestly don't care about some old tweets. It does feel like someone is always digging up something in an effort to drum up faux outrage.

I think most people are not fans of skeletons being dug up as most everyone has something that would look bad.

I don't think people that don't say those types of things feel that way. I don't have any skeletons like that.

 

[longhornms]

Hand is to smart a guy to feed Sam to the wolves this year. We'll be able to run the ball up the gut which will open up WR screens and play action passing to the TE. We could not run last year to establish any continuity. This offense will be hugely improved if Sam can just manage the game. We'll know a lot after the Maryland game.

 

[Ketchum]

Right!!!!!


When you pay for a product and you feel like it’s not what it was you are allowed.

I don’t buy from any other outlets. I have had brand loyalty to Orangebloods for close to 18 yrs.

This is a pretty popular column. It's quite different than just about anything you're going to get anywhere else.

Also, I can assure you this wasn't mailed in. I've done mailed in before and this wasn't it.

 

[podo87]

agreed.

So basically you don’t think he will do anything special this year. Hope you are wrong as usual about this team and Herman specifically. I know you know a lot more about the Elliott situation than you would ever type out so he must truley be an asshole behind the scenes which is concerning.

 

[o5prey]

@Ketchum - Fonda San Miguel should be #1 ;-)

 

[lightthetower0510]

Hoffbrau... have no idea how that place is still open. Threadgill's should probably be on that list if Hoffbrau gets a nod.

 

[Dualthreat]

He's not the wild outlier that I believe you make him to be.

I cited Elliot's BEHAVIOR, he made himself the outlier, he got ZERO help from me in that department. I see no current teammates behaving publicly as he does.

Contrast that with Breckyn Hager telling Coach Tom Herman during a game last season, "I love you man!", or words to that effect. He's still on the team.

Contrary to alleging you are naive, I'm going by the objective evidence at hand.

 

[liturgical orange]

Wrong.

It amazes me that you can pass judgement on a people's and an event from 1400 miles away that you have no 1st hand experience or practical knowledge of. You are tops on your field partly because of the standards you hold yourself to as a journalist. You are falling to use them here.

 

[clarence simmons]

Great information as always. You and the team at Orangebloods don't receive enough credit from those on this board. I love the story time with Uncle Ketch feature and hope it continues.

 

[jah4550]

College cake at a wedding? Weird.

My wedding cake was made to look like my HP calculator. My engineering friends argued about who would get what key. Me, I never got a piece of my cake. It had been served and eaten by the time my wife and I made it over there.

So, yeah, I get a college themed cake. Not as nerdy as a calculator....

 

[Jim DeLoach]

Re #10, we know who's going to run that house. Good for her.

 

[txfight]

Great write up, although I'm still a little puzzled at how a 9-3 record in his last season at UH with wins over top 10 teams (OU & L-Ville) is classified as a disappointing season. 9 wins at Houston, even after a 13 win season has never been known to be a disappointment.

Its all about perspective. Here we are so starved for a 9 win season it's seems ludicrous to call it disappointing. But after a 13 win season, to lose to Navy, SMU and Memphis in the same year was disappointing to Houston fans.

 

[txfight]

Agreed.

Who's weirder or maybe more deranged? His putting Alabama on the icing of their wedding cake or her putting LSU colors in their wedding cake mix?

What is it what people in the Southeast?!?

Not that weird for a groom's cake. There's a big difference between groom's cake and the wedding cake.

 

[txfight]

We were playing soccer. Simmons was in goal for the other team. He was huge, but a very agile athlete. I am playing on the O end. A ball gets free and is bounding toward goal. I am in pursuit to get the shot. Simmons comes out of goal to grab the ball. He bends down to catch the ball. Simultaneously, my foot swings up to kick the ball. The bottom of my foot slid straight up the front of his face. At this point, I have no idea where the ball went, but Simmons and I are standing there face to face and eye to eye. I’m thinking what the hell is this monster going to do to me. My eyes must have been big as saucers. Simmons takes one of is paws and wipes his face to check for blood. He smiles at me, pats me on the back and we play on. I breath a huge sigh of relief and gain an enormous amount of respect for Bob Simmons.

GREAT. F'ING. STORY

 

[txfight]

The Spurs Championship window? I'm not a big NBA guy but if LeBron went to San Antonio and Leonard stayed they still wouldn't beat the Rockets or the Warriors would they?

As for CTH, he's just like ranking LJH and CJ as Championship caliber players. We THINK they are good enough, but until we get a QB and O-Line that's even serviceable, we won't know.

Herman does and says almost all the right things and has recruited well so far but until he gets a proven QB and O-Line in place, he is nothing but potential.

His tenure at Houston was too short and his first year at Texas was too lackluster to call him proven or elite.

I think he's the right guy just like I think CJ and LJH can be All-Americans if there were a way to get the ball in their hands.

 

[BattleshipTexas]

It's a problem if you look at the situation with Hader and you're instinct is to care less about the actions and more abut some anti-media movement.

The optics of that situation were awful. Imagine it from the perspective of the people he spoke hatefully about.

From the perspective of the people he wrote hatefully about, I expect only a few dozen saw his posts those years ago. So this journalist who dredged all this up from long ago, spread the hatred among millions of new people who were hurt by it and reopened the old wounds of the few who saw it originally. That's on the journalist if you are really worried about the feelings of those who would be hurt by it, instead of lusting for punishment of the baseball player. Most people in the public sensibly see that the actions of the journalist here are not a good thing, not for society, not for those who would be injured by the words, nor really anyone but the journalist who gets credit for breaking what other journalists see as a big story.

 

[jttexas05]

We can't haz national titlez?

 

[golfpr3145]

In order to fully judge Herman you have to wait until he has his players and not a mix. Even Saban had the same problem. I think now that he has the right OL coach we will see quite an improvement on the offensive side of the ball. Plus the fact that the guys aren't learning a new system makes a big difference.

 

[jah4550]

Dans is definitely the best old school burger in town, love me some Top Notch too for that flame grilled taste.

For those of you that knew GM Steakhouse on the Drag, how does that compare? Don't think I have ever had a burger that compared to GM's burger regardless of whether you got the cheeseburger or the cheese burger no cheese (for an extra fee).

 

[Tx Tailgator]

Ketch - I usually don't feel this way , but it seems to me that you teed up some very interesting topics and IMHO didn't develop them. The in depth analysis seemed lacking and felt kind of like a drive by effort especially topics 1 & 2.

BTW - Normally love the column my man.

 

[MadDogKC]

Real question for you Ketch. Do you truly think Shane could beat out Sam and start the season, and then keep the starting job until conference play?

I don't think anyone does, so I think most people have already penciled in Sam to be the guy. It doesn't really feel like a QB competition to me. It just feels like trying to get Sam ready for his 2nd season.

Neither will take us to a NC

 

[MadDogKC]

I love that you’re already off the bandwagon 13 games into the Herman era. This will be shoved so far up your ass when you’re wrong. And no backtracking. Herman won’t win a national title at Texas is your position. Noted.

Not in 3 yrs,it’s gonna take some time to put this OL and QB positions on track.

 

[Mars512]

It's a problem if you look at the situation with Hader and you're instinct is to care less about the actions and more abut some anti-media movement.

The optics of that situation were awful. Imagine it from the perspective of the people he spoke hatefully about.

I don't think you can view this in a vacuum. Did you not say stupid or irresponsibly immature things as teenager? Have you changed mentally since high school?

When I was a kid, living in east Austin next to Reagan, I used the N-word, hated gays, called girls hoes, etc. Most boys go through that phase. I don't use those words anymore.

My strongest relationship while in the Navy were my two black supervisors. During deployment we had very deep, real talks about race. I told them what I wrote here, and they didn't hold it against me. One of them felt the same for white people. We intuitively knew that who one is as a teenage isn't who we are as adults.

People change, their perceptions change as dictated by experience.

If we are going to talk about the totally of the person behind the statements, then we also must consider who that person is today, and what those around him feel about that person.