Charlie Strong naysayers and yessayers stand up and be counted

[rabastad]

I am firmly of the belief that Ash should not play another down of tackle football at any level. At this point, the kid needs to protect his brain. I really can't fault Ash himself for wanting to play, as he has a competitors spirit, but shame on UT and his parents if they haven't counseled him against playing.

With that said, however, if Ash plays like he can't take hit, then the season is lost as long as he is the starter. To be anywhere near effective, he has to go out there and play football, not worry about an injury of any sort.

10-2 if Ash stays healthy and just plays football.

7-5 if Ash stays healthy and plays scared.

7-5 if Ash gets injured and we have another starter at QB. There won't be much difference between a raw QB trying to make plays and a scared QB trying not to get hurt.

 

[utisdabomb12]

"The common denominator in 3 of them were INTs for pick 6's. . .2 vs Oregon, 1 vs OSU and 1 vs Baylor that meant the final score was not as indicative as the game we played."

Bingo. 

 

[texasdobbs]

I am firmly of the belief that Ash should not play another down of tackle football at any level. At this point, the kid needs to protect his brain. I really can't fault Ash himself for wanting to play, as he has a competitors spirit, but shame on UT and his parents if they haven't counseled him against playing.

While I don't disagree with the Ash statement. .. I think every kid that plays the game of football has risks of long-term injury... I'm sure Texas and his parents have spoke to him as well as the Dr's. That's why I believe the risk is less than what is being said.

 

[CCausey11]

I see us winning 8-9 games. 

The challenge of our schedule is that it is very front end loaded.  It would not be a stretch to find that we are 3-3 after the first 6 games with losses to UCLA, Baylor and Okie.   Teams with a first year head coach typically take a little time to acclimate throughout the season(an exception was Auburn last year) and I expect us to be a much better team in the second half of the season. 

I really expect out O-line to be shaky early as we did lose ton's of experience there, this IMO is as delicate a situation as QB play.  I expect Wickline to make these guys better every game but it will take time.

Our 8-4 record last year could be the same record this year with a much better team on the field this year. 

We got very lucky at Iowa State and probably should not have won that game.  We also pulled off a big upset against the Sooners as much as it pains me to admit a victory over those jagoffs is an upset....it was.  So we really picked up 2 wins that we might not should have.

After the Oklahoma game we have a very good chance to run the table with K State the only potential stumbling block since the game will be up there and they tend to get better later in the season.

So yeah I'm hedging a bit but can see 9-3 or 8-4 with this team kicking some butt in a bowl game with the additional practices they will have.

 

[Sejjr]

I am thinking 9-3 is probably best case and fairly realistic. I'm basing this on a major improvement on Defense, O-line, and a healthy Ash. I expect Texas to be fiercely competitive in every game this year. Malcolm Brown will have an all-conference season as will Shipley, and if Ash stays healthy this team could contend for the conference title. If Ash goes down, all bets are off, unless we have a prodigy in Heard (which is possible) and he steps up as a true freshman. Even without Ash or Heard, the wheels will not come off as they did under Mack, and we will grind out some wins with Swoopes and the running game. We might be facing 5 losses in that scenario (still better than aggy though).

I expect Texas to have a better record this season than a$m, and flip at least 2 of their commits. The Sumlin swag starts to wear a little thin as they continue to underachieve on the field and on the defensive side of the ball. Final recruiting class ranked around 8 or 9 with maybe 2 5-stars.

Strong will make a huge difference on the field and Texas will lose the "soft" label in a big way this season. 2016 we really start to roll.

 

[ATX89]

I get what you are saying. The only way you really take away the blitz (other than a draw or some sort of delay) is to have a credible down field passing game. Blitz me and I burn you in single coverage deep. My qb may take a hit, but I score an easy 6. Texas doesn't have that option. Ash has to avoid every single hit he can. Only the quick development of Heard as a deep passer or a miracle job of coaching by Joe Wickline gives Texas a way to counter the strategy of defenses stopping the Texas run game and forcing them to pass.

Why does the qb have to take a hit on every blitz? I feel like your view accentuates the negative and gives no consideration to Ash or the scheme Watson will run. We haven't even played a game yet, much less started summer/fall practices.

 

[texasdobbs]

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011


Cool video. ... be careful the language on the song is course. ...

 

[Lukus Alderman]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-FYGmMzwJRA&feature=kp

 

[texasdobbs]

That's funny right there...

 

[java]

I read thru the comments, if anyone mentioned that Okie Lite only gets 80% of the normally allowable practice time, I missed it.  Why, oh why, do people keep forgetting this.  It appears as if it pays to be a student, at this point in time.  Of course it will pay later in life, as well, and as Patterson told a reporter, when Texas athletes want to come back to get their diploma, we pay for that, too.

It was great to hear that from Patterson.

Hook 'em!

 

[texasdobbs]

I read thru the comments, if anyone mentioned that Okie Lite only gets 80% of the normally allowable practice time, I missed it. Why, oh why, do people keep forgetting this. It appears as if it pays to be a student, at this point in time. Of course it will pay later in life, as well, and as Patterson told a reporter, when Texas athletes want to come back to get their diploma, we pay for that, too.

It was great to hear that from Patterson.

Hook 'em!

I had heard about that and it will hurt them a little. ... unless they find a trick around it...

 

[texasdobbs]

[tweet'480452674798637057']

I think it safe to say these ladies are yessayers. ... my wife included...

 

[drgilbert]

I say we win 9-10 games next year and wind up with at top 10 recruiting class. My aggy friends think we win 10 easily because we play in the big 12.

 

[texasdobbs]

[tweet'480504031597441024']

There doing bleachers.... my wife is going to kill me..

 

[Randolph Duke]

Sorry, another of your "absolute" statements. . . .which is absolutely incoorect

And if the box is stacked,you don't always try to "burn them over the top". . .in reality a good coach/QB throws a quick slant to the hot receiver and let's him log some YAC. . . .and we have GREAT WRs to do just that. . . .or you spread the field with 4 wides to gain more single coverage for WRs and which also opens up running lanes for the backs. . . .this is also a very effective technique when you have smallish but quick/shifty RBs. . . .

BTW, if you "spy" Ash or any of our QBs, you have now 'un-stacked" the box.

TEXAS averaged right at 200 yards per game rushing last year. . ..this vs team "stacking the box". . . .one of Major's biggest shortcomings was he was in love with the deep ball. . . .he should have used the intermediate passing game (when he did it worked well) instead. . . . .perfect example is the BYU game where Major never exploited the 7-9 yard cushion the BYU DBs gave us. . .we'd have had 4-6 yards a catch easy. . .that's a 1st down every other play. . .

Whether you are real or not is largely immaterial to me. . . you are trolling for attention with "absolute" often wrong/never in doubt statements. . . ..running games are "predicated" on lining up and being able to assert your will on the other team. . . .

PS, not sure how you think we were "crushed" in 3 of our last 4 games .. . . wonder if you even watched them or understood what was happening.. .

The common denominator in 3 of them were INTs for pick 6's. . .2 vs Oregon, 1 vs OSU and 1 vs Baylor that meant the final score was not as indicative as the game we played.. . .

oregon averaged 45 points a game. . . .even with 2 Pick 6's we held them 2 TDs under their season average

Baylor game was tied at half, if we had a qb or OC, we were likely the BigXII champ

OSU, yep. . .ugly loss though again, even with a pick 6 they didn't reach their season scoring average. . .

We struggled offensively because we could not develop an intermediate passing game. . . .part of that is on Major, part on a lack of a D 1 QB. .. . .

So you think we had a team that was impressive during our last four games last year?! OSU best us in every phase of the game. Against Baylor, the weather was a factor in their passing game. That is the only reason we held them. At half time, they made adjustments, and just as in the Old Miss game, Mack got out coached and we got slapped around in the second half. Briles made us rely on our passing game and Case couldn't handle the pressure.

As for stacking the box and having a safety read the quarterback to see if he rolls out, most decent college safeties can handle reading the quarterback. It isn't a revolutionary concept. Most defensive players in major college programs can key off what the offensive players do.

I hope the Horns do great next year. I hope Shawn Watson surprises the hell out of me. The Horns have a major problem in that we don't have a balanced offense because we have to protect the quarterback at all costs. If Ash even feels mild pressure, he has to get rid of the ball or risk a career ending injury. Anyone who thinks Stoops won't exchange an early 15 yards on a late hit to force us to go to our backup qb is naive.

If Ask can take abuse all season, we have a good shot at 9-3. If Wickline can work magic with the line and Watson can scheme the season of his career to protect Ash we are in great shape. Until Ash makes it through the OU game in good shape, I'm worried about the season.

 

[drgilbert]

Didn't Watson coach up a freshman QB at ok or okie lite? It seems like he did a good job with His QB last year. Why don't you think that won't transfer to our QB?

 

[MBHORNSFAN]

This is a very tough question to answer but I am going to go out on a limb and say 10-2 if Ash can stay healthy. Far as 2015 recruiting class I think we will finish in the top 20. However If this teams has a few injuries I could also see 6 & 6 or worse. It should be fun to see it play out. 

 

[Randolph Duke]

Didn't Watson coach up a freshman QB at ok or okie lite? It seems like he did a good job with His QB last year. Why don't you think that won't transfer to our QB?

Which qb? If you are talking about Ash, he doesn't need to be coached up. If anything, he needs to learn the new system. The issue with Ash is we don't want to find out how much punishment he can take, so he has to avoid hits at all cost. That means quick throws unless Wickline coaches pass protection and gets perfect execution every play, we have problems. I think it was Bradford's junior year at OU we knocked him out when OU was in the same situation we are in now with a fragile qb. Don't think for a minute Stoops has forgotten that.
What remains to be seen is who takes 2nd string reps at qb in August. Do they go with Heard? Does Swoopes stay at qb or switch positions? Overstreet? In my mind, that is the first real question of the season.

If Ash is qb, we have a different set of problems than if Heard is qb. Different plays, different blocking schemes.

In my mind, the first big question is the initial two deep on offense. It will be interesting to see what it is.

 

[chilly52]

Looking at the schedule, I'd say with Ash as QB we go 8-4. If we find a tough QB in the bunch, we could go 9-3...even 10-2 with luck. We're gonna have a lot of close games and in them I give Charlie the edge because of the toughness he instills, but that has to trickle down to the QB.

 

[monarch]

10 - 2!​

 ​

may we please allow for all of the ongoing critical ambiguity regarding david ashe, to be resolved as per his coaches.  should QB coach shaun watson somehow discover that his junior quarterback​

has become a bit GUN SHY (or so to speak) due to his myriad of adverse gridiron circumstances, then mr. ashe should be sidelined with a clipboard in hand.  this new coaching staff, along with this particular group of players​

shall undoubtably have a lot to prove this forthcoming season.  the very last thing that they shall have encounter, should be a quarterback at the helm, that does not have the utmost confidence to lead this team.  i for one, cannot help​

but find it absolutely amazing, that many of the players are now coalescing around new freshmen quarterback heard.  this shall be in lieu of his amazing skills vs poise during his ongoing 7on7 drills.  if i have said it once, i shall say​

it a thousand times... i think that david ashe is the consummate football player.  ashe, is a sparkling monument to what a quarterback should be on paper.  a beautiful young man with presumably a heart of gold, along with glowing ethics.​

however, upon my own personal standpoint, after viewing his on the field contributions as per the last couple of seasons... i do not view david ashe, as an athlete that an institution such as TEXAS should have at the helm as per it's football team.  ​

upon my very own personal view, i find that david ashe is a bit too soft at times, and that he CONTRIBUTES as per many of his on the field adverse circumstances, due to his total lack of REAL ATHLETIC ABILITY.  ​

therefore, instead of going hereafter with so many ambiguous queries regarding mr. ashe's latest physical vs mental conditions... i have become resolved to relegating these concerns to his coaching staff.​

for i am most certain, that they shall be just as concerned as we are.   ​

 ​