My Thoughts Following The Maryland Debacle

[Hiwood]

just remember this bit of UT football history..in '68 the Horns were led by "Super Bill" Bradley..an All State bonafide blue chipper from Palestine TX.....but he wasn't the right fit for a new offense being installed....the staff  made the switch to James Street from Longview and the rest is Longhorn history and lore..what was that team's record when they made the switch, and how many wins in a row did they reel off when they made the switch ?  

 

[DMAC]

I'm satisfied with the press conference and LHN "Rewind" show. Made a few packets of Kool-aid. Ready for Saturday and following Saturday at USC. Hook'em.

I watched LHN Rewind and the Monday Presser as well.  Yea Herman came with some reasons but I wasn't buying the kool-aid.  

I mean seriously he stated in his Presser "We were ready and prepared but some of the mistakes we have not seen since Spring camp"  Who buys that bullshit?   Just a few of the most glaring mistakes which mostly includes football fundamentals.

1.  Not fitting the run.  DL & LB  (MJ, Wheeler, Hughes, Roach)

2.  Bad angles & poor tackling  (Locke, Jones)

3.  Not getting off blocks (Wheeler) or getting taken out by mediocre cut blocks (Brandon Jones)

4.  Letting receivers get behind the coverage.  (PJ Locke, Boyd, Hill)

5.  OL assignment issues.

So Herman is basically saying some these things haven't happened at all practice since Spring camp but all of a sudden reared its head in the first game.  I found it particularly hard to understand how 2 highly rated LB's in their 3rd year are all of a sudden given a "AH-HA" moment in film review.  He said the guys were trying to hard.  They looked more lost than "thinking".  I might buy that excuse if it sparingly done but it was consistently done.  If players are gambling and get beat they dont keep doing it repeatedly.

I guess I cant expect Herman to say anything negative about his staff or players but I felt like he was selling the excuses. 

 

[DMAC]

Added:  Herman did say its not time to panic its time to teach and I get that.  Im just saying Texas has had this issue since the Manny Diaz nightmare vs Taysum Hill and BYU in 2013.  When does this nightmare end?  Oh but yesterday's film review was the "AH-HA" moment (his words not mine)?  I doubt it.  Bottom line Herman is supposed to be a disciplinarian and detail oriented and he never saw this coming?  Not buying it.  Just come out say we werent ready, it was obvious.  The one thing he was on point is the team never gave up which was encouraging.

 

[okiehorn]

DMAC I do like your posting on the board but my god your being a negative Nancy, it's the first game. New head coach new defense, new offense, new REAL time action. Let's sit back and watch the next couple of weeks then go for Hermans throat if need be.  No hard feelings just saying I  understand your frustration but we have to give it a couple games hell we gave Charlie 3 LONG years. 

 

[DMAC]

DMAC I do like your posting on the board but my god your being a negative Nancy, it's the first game. New head coach new defense, new offense, new REAL time action. Let's sit back and watch the next couple of weeks then go for Hermans throat if need be.  No hard feelings just saying I  understand your frustration but we have to give it a couple games hell we gave Charlie 3 LONG years. 

Yea I am a "negative Nancy".  I am sorry I should be delighted after watching us get pushed around by Maryland on both lines, poor angles, failure to fit the run, missed assignments and much more.  Its only been a decade since we have been competitive and not rushed up the gut by every team we play.  I am overreacting because its not like my horns have lost to Iowa State or Kansas or anything.  Its not like our last bowl appearance (a long 3 years) was a total embarrassment and to top it off to the toothless pigs of all teams.  Besides we have only lost 22 games in 3+ years its not like we are bad anything.

Yea you are right lets focus on the positives and other than the fight in the team, Reggie and Lil Jordan.   The reasoning is a new head coach and new scheme?  You mean basic run fits, poor angles, poor tackling and shedding blocks those new coach things? Those are fundamentals not a Herman or Orlando specific case. 

Sorry for the sarcasm but my expectations were for big improvement on the details.  I saw more of the same.  Im sure it will improve over time but im not enabling bad football with excuses anymore.

Edit:  I will add much of my disappointment is due to my own expectations.  I predicted us to blowout the Terps.  Over zealous no doubt.  At a minimum I expected to see fundamentally sound football.  I did not see that.  Herman said we beat ourselves.  Yea he was right.  he had an entire Spring and fall camp and even extra time since classes started later to work on these fundamental details.  How are seasoned players still not filling the proper gaps, poor tackling, and poor angles (slew of those)?  That stuff is taught in pee-wee football.  So much for details.

 

[NLeininger]

DMAC I do like your posting on the board but my god your being a negative Nancy, it's the first game. New head coach new defense, new offense, new REAL time action. Let's sit back and watch the next couple of weeks then go for Hermans throat if need be.  No hard feelings just saying I  understand your frustration but we have to give it a couple games hell we gave Charlie 3 LONG years. 

$5M per year, 9 months of coaching and training, and that was what it looked like. It looked like Strong was still the coach. The worst part was the bungled coaching decisions in the 2nd half that went against basic football logic.

 

[okiehorn]

$5M per year, 9 months of coaching and training, and that was what it looked like. It looked like Strong was still the coach. The worst part was the bungled coaching decisions in the 2nd half that went against basic football logic.

Yes but if he turns the program around you'll be the first to say PAY HIM MORE, he is better than Saban etc etc.  can't be such wishy washy fans. I'm as disappointed as anyone but it's the first game against a decent Maryland team. It wasn't Kansas. All I'm saying is give him a chance, we all wrote off Charlie early to and that's what Texas and the big money donors are known for across the nation. Won't let the coach have a chance. It's a damn shame. If we have a losing season again then yes we should be pissed but most of whom I spoke to on here hoped for 8 wins and that's still very achievable. All the rest of folks pissed just had unrealistic dreams which yes where fed from Hermans ego. He is also a promoter of Texas. 

 

[DMAC]

 All the rest of folks pissed just had unrealistic dreams which yes where fed from Hermans ego. He is also a promoter of Texas. 

I understand okie.  I agree my own expectations of a blowout were unrealistic.  I knew that when i made my prediction of a blow out in favor of Texas.  One of the main issues I have when it comes to our football program is how we have lowered expectations from the first game til the end of the season.  First it was let the coach get his players in and lack of talent to new coordinators to culture and whatever else.  I am not saying Fire Herman by any stretch.  I was his main fanboy the last 2 years.  

That said call it what it is.  A new coach has nothing to do with FUNDAMENTAL FOOTBALL.  There is a reason they call it fundamentals.  Its not coach specific.  Maybe its bad habits formed by previous coaching staffs or maybe its just players refusing to learn.  If its the former then Herman let us all down including the team.  If its the latter and it CONTINUES then Herman needs to give others a chance.

I am still a fan of Herman and I am sure he has his reasons for some questionable things but thats why he is paid big money and I am not.  I am just tired of our team being the butt end of jokes.  I was not expecting to see farie dust sprinkled on this team but I sure the hell wasnt expecting consistently bad fundamental football.

 

[primal defense]

Yes but if he turns the program around you'll be the first to say PAY HIM MORE, he is better than Saban etc etc.  can't be such wishy washy fans. I'm as disappointed as anyone but it's the first game against a decent Maryland team. It wasn't Kansas. All I'm saying is give him a chance, we all wrote off Charlie early to and that's what Texas and the big money donors are known for across the nation. Won't let the coach have a chance. It's a damn shame. If we have a losing season again then yes we should be pissed but most of whom I spoke to on here hoped for 8 wins and that's still very achievable. All the rest of folks pissed just had unrealistic dreams which yes where fed from Hermans ego. He is also a promoter of Texas. 

Where did you get that Maryland is a decent team? They were 3-7 in the weak Big10 East last year and lost their bowl game. Maryland  has finished 45th, 51, 45, and 25 the last four years in the recruiting ratings. Maryland has done nothing in football in the 50 years of college football that I have watched. The only thing I can remember about Maryland football is Boomer Esiason and Frank Reich. Losing to Maryland is not as bad as losing to Kansas, but it's close as far as I'm concerned.

I don't know where your getting that no one is giving Herman a chance after that horrible coaching performance on Saturday. For the last 9 months Herman has talked about  toughness for the team.  A team usually has it's toughness from it's defense and offensive line. Our defense and OL looked paper tissue tough.  Todd Orlando's defense looked about the same as a Manny Diaz, and Vance Bedford defense.

He hired a OC that was about to get fired from Ohio State and their terrible offensive performance in the college football playoffs, so Tim Beck is the one coach on the staff we can't say was successful with Herman at Houston and JT Barrett did not show much improvement under his coaching.

 I didn't expect Herman to sprinkle fairy dust and everything to be fixed, however I did expect a better coached team a toughness that Herman has been talking about and not the same performance that we were getting from Charlie Strong. I don't know if Herman didn't give them enough runny eggs and burnt toast or if he didn't give enough love and kisses.

This was the quickest honeymoon that I've ever had with a UT coach. Hopefully, we can improve, so this season won't be lost and we won't lose some of our excellent recruiting class so far.

 

[okiehorn]

Has to be a decent team to average 200 yards a game last year. I was shocked at a loss but I remembered our run defense last year so my prediction was someone close. Oh and they went to a bowl game, means decent. As we did not.... yes we should have stomped them but plain and simple we didn't. i agree with the people that say 4 more days we will see adjustments and that'll show us what these coaches are about or if we have the same ole shit. 

 

[TXHorns99]

I think my biggest frustration is that Tommy was preaching this teams success would be measured by average joe non- Texas fan turning on the tv & saying " that's the most physical, hardest playing, most disciplined team...I've seen" so it set that as the expectation.  We obviously didn't see that this past weekend.  He probably should have said those things would be measured after every game and throughout the season.  It gave all of us as fans the impression we would see those changes immediately.  Over promise, under produce, makes the outcome seem much worse than reality.  Here's to Tommy turning this ship around sooner than later!  Hook 'em!

 

[primal defense]

Has to be a decent team to average 200 yards a game last year. I was shocked at a loss but I remembered our run defense last year so my prediction was someone close. Oh and they went to a bowl game, means decent. As we did not.... yes we should have stomped them but plain and simple we didn't. i agree with the people that say 4 more days we will see adjustments and that'll show us what these coaches are about or if we have the same ole shit. 

So Maryland was a decent team last year because they averaged 200 yards a game, LOL. They finished 95th in team offensive production last year and 99th in team defense.  I wouldn't call that decent. They beat 3 powder puffs and then went 3-6 in the weak Big 10 east. That may your definition of decent it's sure not mine.

 

[okiehorn]

See how they end up at the end of this year then we will continue this argument. That is all. hope they win a lot of games so this one doesn't embarrass us to bad. Maryland wasn't a push over school like most of the big 12 played. And if you don't see that then I can't help ya. Yes we sucked. But they came ready 

 

[primal defense]

See how they end up at the end of this year then we will continue this argument. That is all. hope they win a lot of games so this one doesn't embarrass us to bad. Maryland wasn't a push over school like most of the big 12 played. And if you don't see that then I can't help ya. Yes we sucked. But they came ready 

You went from they are a decent team because they averaged 200 yards a game last year to they weren't as awful as other teams that the Big 12 played.  Were suppose to feel better because one of the worst team in the Big 10 came ready. I'm sure Kansas came ready last year, but that didn't save CS's job. and it shouldn't be an excuse for the bad performance including the coaching staff from last Saturday.

Phil Steele had Maryland ranked this year at the bottom of the Big 10.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/big-ten/2017/07/24/steele-picks-um-third-msu-fifth-big-ten-east/103958800/

 

[okiehorn]

You want me to bring up articles a

of where people had us???? Lol good discussion it was fun. I respect your opinion but what I watched Maryland looked decent. Especially with there starter QB. But maybe UT just made em look lot better than they are. 

 

[okiehorn]

As for the big 12 comment, you act as if it was a push over team and I believe others in our conference would have struggled as well. But then again Big 12 isn't something to brag about. 

 

[primal defense]

You want me to bring up articles a

of where people had us???? Lol good discussion it was fun. I respect your opinion but what I watched Maryland looked decent. Especially with there starter QB. But maybe UT just made em look lot better than they are. 

You want me to bring up articles a

of where people had us???? Lol good discussion it was fun. I respect your opinion but what I watched Maryland looked decent. Especially with there starter QB. But maybe UT just made em look lot better than they are. 

This part I can agree with.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

So Maryland was a decent team last year because they averaged 200 yards a game, LOL. They finished 95th in team offensive production last year and 99th in team defense.  I wouldn't call that decent. They beat 3 powder puffs and then went 3-6 in the weak Big 10 east. That may your definition of decent it's sure not mine.

The B1G East is actually the better of their two divisions with Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State, but yeah. Maryland was a bottom-feeder. 

We single-handedly added "Piggy" to the Heisman watch list.

 

[NLeininger]

The B1G East is actually the better of their two divisions with Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State, but yeah. Maryland was a bottom-feeder. 

We single-handedly added "Piggy" to the Heisman watch list.

Going to be hard for him though, he tore his ACL, out for the season.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Going to be hard for him though, he tore his ACL, out for the season.

Really? That's too bad. He played his ass off for UMD.