Decoding Bellmont after the RRS

[Matt Cotcher]

Decoding Bellmont

Texas came up short in a rivalry game against the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday. Despite losing 31-26, a lot of fans saw improvement in the team’s performance.
What about coaches, players, and the opposing team? Did they feel the same about the close-but-not-quite outcome?

Sometimes it’s hard to decipher what the team is thinking or feeling after a game. That’s why we get our truth serum out every Sunday…


Charlie Strong: “I love the way our team came out today, and loved the way we competed and how hard we played. In the first half it was the penalties, it was the kickoff return, the kicking game, the interception for the touchdown, the mistakes that we made. “

Reading between the lines – That’s Strong’s opening statement. Yes, there were positives to take away from the game, but judging from his demeanor, he wasn’t ready to consider them. This game was there for the taking and that wasn’t lost on Strong.



Charlie Strong: “It's not so much offense or defense, we just have to get better at all three phases. We have to get better offensively and have to get better defensively and with the kicking game. So all three contributed, it wasn't just the defense; we know we played well and can get better.”

Reading between the lines – Dozens of reporters have tried to get Strong to lay blame on the offense. Each time Strong rebuffs their attempt.<br>
The key takeaway is that Strong doesn’t just blame the offense or the special teams. When he says all three phases can improve, he means it. Strong can rattle off specific defensive misses and areas for improvement faster than Joe Internet can criticize playcalling.



Shawn Watson: “I see this in practice. Ty took a major step today, because, last week he wasn't satisfied and I wasn't either."

Reading between the lines – Watson elaborated, talking about how Swoopes tried too hard to be perfect against Baylor, but this is an honest summation of the last 10 days. From the observation about practice, to the comment on the Baylor game, re-read this statement because it says a lot of important things.
 

Jaxon Shipley: “We had some drops at the wide receiver position and that's not okay and doesn't help him [Tyrone Swoopes] out at all. Some key drives that were cut short, if we could have got some of those, there's no telling how it would have ended up.”

Reading between the lines – This isn’t a player that holds his position group to a standard of perfection – this is a wideout that was providing insight into what he expects from himself and the other guys at his position. Shipley knew the drops cost the team, but wasn’t so blind as to say those drops were the reason Texas lost.



Jordan Hicks: “I think you look at this game, and you say 'they fought, they believed.' We were down at the end, and what we did at the end, what the offense did – there's no quitting in this team. We're not going to quit. There's no disbelief in who we are; there's none of that. We believe in who we are, and we're going to go out and execute.”

Reading between the lines – Another loss might be viewed as a step backward by fans, but the team took Saturday’s performance as a step forward. The passion behind Hicks’ statement was genuine. The loss to Oklahoma really seemed to galvanize the players’ mentality.



Cedric Reed: “I think we have a lot of gaps to fill and we still gave up a couple of big plays, some big runs, we gave up a 60-yard drive, which is unacceptable in our defense but we're getting there.”

Reading between the lines – Reed’s mindset is a reflection on how much Strong and the defense expect from themselves. They’re not trying to be perfect, but they recognize that there are multiple opportunities for them to execute better.



Charlie Strong: “We just can't give away opportunities against a good football team.”

Reading between the lines – Savvy p.r. technique…credit your opponent, while making it clear that you feel more like your team lost, more than the other team won. More than that though, this comment is also a truthful insight into how the Texas head coach feels about this team.



John Harris: “Once you get your quarterback going, it's all about rhythm. Once you get into a rhythm as an offense, then you're clicking. There at the end we were clicking, so if we would've gotten the ball back, I think we could've finished it off. We just ran out of time.”

Reading between the lines – This isn’t “if’s and but’s”, it’s the mindset of an offensive player that had total confidence in what they were doing on the field. At no point in the first five games did anyone talk like this.



Cedric Reed: “We defeated ourselves in this game, I really believe.”

Reading between the lines – No filter on this quote, and no credit to OU. Reed wasn’t giving the Sooners a backhanded compliment as much as he was offering a look into the locker room’s feeling about the game.



Josh Heupel: “We had planned on getting him [sterling Shepard] the ball early in the ball game but we really weren't able to get him involved and using his hands.”

Reading between the lines – This is a solid glimpse into the gameplanning of both teams. OU needed to involve Shepard and Texas needed to take him out of the OU playbook. 

 

[Aaron Carrara]

Not to be cliche, but the team is progressing despite the loss.  Ced Reed said this doesn't feel like a team that is 2-4 and that mentality will most definitely help heading forward.  Jordan Hicks said it well - there's no quitting in this team.  In my opinion, THAT is what Charlie Strong instills in his players, not just as rhetoric, but as truth.  

 

[Bevostuntdouble]

IMO this is the only quote/statement that matters... "Cedric Reed: “We defeated ourselves in this game, I really believe.â€

At this point, as a semi-educated fan that has watched every single Longhorn snap of football this season, its getting really hard not to place blame on one group or another when the deficiencies are so glaring. The offensive game management has been piss poor all year long... From wasting timeouts, to several delays of game per game, to not having plays ready, to allowing his side of the ball cost the team wins with painful penalties, to poor clock management. I know nobody on the team wants to start pointing fingers and thats all fine and good but so much of the mistakes being made have to do with things that should be worked on before game time. Our special teams can't get much worse than they are now and I'm wondering how long its going to be one of the weakest in the country before changes are made. IMO Strong needs to spend some more time with the offensive side of the ball this week, they are severely lacking in discipline. 

It truly sucks to watch these boys defeat themselves each week... Love where the D is and can only hope the O catches up at some point before the end of the season. 

 

[Bevostuntdouble]

Not to be cliche, but the team is progressing despite the loss.  Ced Reed said this doesn't feel like a team that is 2-4 and that mentality will most definitely help heading forward.  Jordan Hicks said it well - there's no quitting in this team.  In my opinion, THAT is what Charlie Strong instills in his players, not just as rhetoric, but as truth.  

I am curious how long that concept will be enough... There is only one stat that matters at the end of the day and that stat is the one that will hurt/help our recruiting the most. IMO.