Burnt Ends (1-5)

[North Texas Golfer]

Some y'all who know it all need to tell me how to invest. 

I've always been told to buy low sell high. For some reason, it never seems to work that way for me 

 

[doc longhorn]

I believe that Heard was going to be redshirted this year, come hell or high water and I believe that the coaches made that decision from day 1.

If Heard is not ahead of Swoopes next year on the depth chart there can be only 3 reasons, none of which I believe will happen.

1. Swoopes makes the most dramatic turnaround as a player in the history of Texas football.

2. Heard is complete and total bust.

3. Heard no longer plays for the University of Texas.

If the roster is as it stands now, Heard will be the starting QB next year, no ands, ifs, or buts about it. And I think the coaches already know it.

There is no doubt the intent, from day 1, was to RS him.  We had Ash, remember?

And do you remember, in one of his press conference, where Strong said, after spring training, that he and the coaches said Uh Oh about Swoopes - no way he could be a QB?

And, do you remember, in one of Strong's PC's where he said he would play the best player - regardless of experience, seniority or the position - red shirts be damned?

I will say that Watson said, at the end of the year, that Heard was making some progress.

But, as the roster stands today, Swoopes is the starting QB - and that is just a fact.  Now, whether he is or not at the beginning of the season - who knows.  As the only game experienced QB on the roster, I would say the odds are that he will be the starter - if we don't get a transfer or a JUCO.

We don't have to like this bleak scenario, but it is the realistic expectation, IMO.

Believe me, I pray that Heard can play college ball like he played in high school.  Of course, we all said the same about Garrett Gilbert as well.

However, I think, when the season finally rolls around, we will see a QB, at the reins, that is not even on the roster today.

 

[doc longhorn]

I've always been told to buy low sell high. For some reason, it never seems to work that way for me 

It's never worked for me.  I bought Compaq at $105 a share - I sold at $11 share.  This is what got me out of the stock market forever. :angry:

 

[Sirhornsalot]

He had better make a significant jump in performance, if so.

Look, as bad as Swoopes has played, Heard has played worse.  I'm not trying to defend Swoopes with this statement, that is just the word from the coaches.

Don't you think Strong would have jerked Heards shirt in an instant if he could have shown ANY superior ability over Swoopes?  SWOOPES, for gods sake.

No, this teams needs an experienced transfer or a JUCO, IMO.

Heard is not the answer - he is not making the transition from HS to college, it appears 

Gonna disagree. Wick likes Heard, as do most of the coaches. Except there seems to be some sort of rub between Watson and Heard. I don't know why it's so but Watson was called out on it recently by Wickline.

What prompted the confrontation was the fact that during most of the season and especially in the bowl practices, Watson relegated Heard to running the scout team along with a bunch of walk-ons, being protected by walk-on OL against D1 scholarship players.

Pardon me, but no one is going to excel, learn, much less look good in that situation. Watson has just repeated the criticism enough for some around him to buy into it and those in the distance just hear it and believe it. Wick had seen enough and was independent minded enough to speak out. It was enough that it got into Charlie's ear as well.

If Heard is given a fair shot by Watson, he's gonna fly. The kid is special. 

 

[Duke C #11]

Back in the 90'S, Bill Gates predicted the internet would never have much of an economic impact. 

 

[tinman]

I was going to say the very same thing "buy low and sell high" . Right now many are feeling like we are doomed next year at the QB position ...that is understandable.... based on what we seen from swoopes .Swoopes stunk up the field when he was down especially against the better defense's and he played better against average or below average defense's. I feel based on the level of competition swoopes played against in HS (2A ball 1-9 record) he was not ready or able to keep up and make sound decisions at the college level. Heard on the other hand is a two time state champion QB. He may be a little lost on the playbook right now but I surely dont question his ability to make bigtime plays with his legs and his arm . If JH was a stock I would be buying right now . I just have a gut feeling about him when he committed...Now if he gets hurt ..at least swoopes could spell for a game or two...hope that never happens. 

 

[Bobo]

Gonna disagree. Wick likes Heard, as do most of the coaches. Except there seems to be some sort of rub between Watson and Heard. I don't know why it's so but Watson was called out on it recently by Wickline.

What prompted the confrontation was the fact that during most of the season and especially in the bowl practices, Watson relegated Heard to running the scout team along with a bunch of walk-ons, being protected by walk-on OL against D1 scholarship players.

Pardon me, but no one is going to excel, learn, much less look good in that situation. Watson has just repeated the criticism enough for some around him to buy into it and those in the distance just hear it and believe it. Wick had seen enough and was independent minded enough to speak out. It was enough that it got into Charlie's ear as well.

If Heard is given a fair shot by Watson, he's gonna fly. The kid is special.

 

[Bobo]

Sirhornsalot would love to hear more about the above. I hope Strong took notice - this makes me not trust or care for Watson even more. Do you think Heard has complained about Watsons system? Also, wonder what you know about Murray.

 

[swaha]

Gonna disagree. Wick likes Heard, as do most of the coaches. Except there seems to be some sort of rub between Watson and Heard. I don't know why it's so but Watson was called out on it recently by Wickline.

What prompted the confrontation was the fact that during most of the season and especially in the bowl practices, Watson relegated Heard to running the scout team along with a bunch of walk-ons, being protected by walk-on OL against D1 scholarship players.

Pardon me, but no one is going to excel, learn, much less look good in that situation. Watson has just repeated the criticism enough for some around him to buy into it and those in the distance just hear it and believe it. Wick had seen enough and was independent minded enough to speak out. It was enough that it got into Charlie's ear as well.

If Heard is given a fair shot by Watson, he's gonna fly. The kid is special. 

I have not totally bought in to Watson.  I know he gets a lot of credit for the development of Bridgewater. However, its not like Bridgewater was chopped liver coming out of HS.  He was a 4* QB that had skills and was offered by Miami as well as Florida.

Good coaches learn to adapt their offense to the skill of their players.

 

[doc longhorn]

Gonna disagree. Wick likes Heard, as do most of the coaches. Except there seems to be some sort of rub between Watson and Heard. I don't know why it's so but Watson was called out on it recently by Wickline.

What prompted the confrontation was the fact that during most of the season and especially in the bowl practices, Watson relegated Heard to running the scout team along with a bunch of walk-ons, being protected by walk-on OL against D1 scholarship players.

Pardon me, but no one is going to excel, learn, much less look good in that situation. Watson has just repeated the criticism enough for some around him to buy into it and those in the distance just hear it and believe it. Wick had seen enough and was independent minded enough to speak out. It was enough that it got into Charlie's ear as well.

If Heard is given a fair shot by Watson, he's gonna fly. The kid is special. 

I know where your info comes from, but you know I have a little inside as well.  First of all, Heard was never going to play in the bowl game anyway, so we can discount him having to play on the scout team as academic.

During the season is a different story. 

I admit my info is 4th hand, but yours is pretty close as well - don't you agree?

Regardless, I think it is pretty well understood that neither Swoopes nor Heard are the answer - at least not today.

Also, I submit that Peyton Manning could not have done much better behind our OL and with the receivers we had.  We simply weren't that talented and there were zero game breakers.

Even Case McCoy looked good at times - behind a better OL and with Marquis as a game breaker.

We all seem to overlook this for some reason.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Sirhornsalot would love to hear more about the above. I hope Strong took notice - this makes me not trust or care for Watson even more. Do you think Heard has complained about Watsons system? Also, wonder what you know about Murray.

It irked Wick that Heard ran a scout team throughout the bowl practices while a walk-on got 2nd team (and some 1st team) snaps during that period.

It wasn't a combative confrontation, but it was indeed a call out. More or less a "this guy is going to run our offense next year and he can't even get snaps during bowl practices?"

Last I heard re: Murray is that if he does not go to aggy, he would likely end up at OU as OU is recruiting him hard. Dad's relationship with aggy coaching staff is abrasive, at best, right now. Kyler's not a fan of Texas.

 

[odell327]

I think our offense underachieved mainly because of our qb play. Yes I agree our offensive line was decimated by injuries and lack of quality depth. This, IMO, led to sub par play (based on expectations) of

our rbs.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

I know where your info comes from, but you know I have a little inside as well.  First of all, Heard was never going to play in the bowl game anyway, so we can discount him having to play on the scout team as academic.

During the season is a different story. 

I admit my info is 4th hand, but yours is pretty close as well - don't you agree?

Regardless, I think it is pretty well understood that neither Swoopes nor Heard are the answer - at least not today.

Also, I submit that Peyton Manning could not have done much better behind our OL and with the receivers we had.  We simply weren't that talented and there were zero game breakers.

Even Case McCoy looked good at times - behind a better OL and with Marquis as a game breaker.

We all seem to overlook this for some reason.

Gonna disagree, again.

This is the time when your future quarterback gets meaningful snaps with the 1st team. It's part of the advantage of having bowl practices - not just to win a bottom tier bowl game.

So, no, IMO it's not academic. It's out of the ordinary to do what Watson did. And that's why Wick spoke up.

I don't want to see Swoopes take another snap. Seriously. I have seen Heard play in person a couple of times while he was at Guyer and know that I wasn't watching an aberration. He didn't drive through the Austin city limit sign and suddenly become an inferior player. Not buying it at all. But that's what Watson has been selling to anyone who would listen.

I see Heard starting next year . . . and I think we'll see a dramatic improvement at QB. There are things that Heard does that couldn't be coached into Swoopes.

That said, I know if Heard goes down we are back to square one so I do feel there needs to be at least a serviceable QB added to this class.

The story I shared re Watson was something I heard from several sources, which made me more confident. 

 

[Bobo]

It irked Wick that Heard ran a scout team throughout the bowl practices while a walk-on got 2nd team (and some 1st team) snaps during that period.

It wasn't a combative confrontation, but it was indeed a call out. More or less a "this guy is going to run our offense next year and he can't even get snaps during bowl practices?"

Last I heard re: Murray is that if he does not go to aggy, he would likely end up at OU as OU is recruiting him hard. Dad's relationship with aggy coaching staff is abrasive, at best, right now. Kyler's not a fan of Texas.

 

[Bobo]

Sirhornsalot -what does Kyler not like about Texas?

 

[odell327]

To add to that... I strongly feel that the talent was there to produce a much better season. Swoopes is not the answer. We need a guy that comprehends the offense enough to make reads, get us in the right play, and has the ability to make accurate throws. Plus, my feeling is Swoopes is his own worst enemy. Qbs have to have a short memory. Ash and Swoopes both seemed to let one mistake turn into others. Additionally, Swoopes wore his emotions for all to see. His body language didn't portray confidence. You don't think the guys in the huddle/on the sideline didn't see that? I know great qbs are few and far between,however, with average qb play we win 3-4 more games this year. I have no proof of that statement...just a hunch

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Sirhornsalot -what does Kyler not like about Texas?

Have no idea. Think thats just what he's got in his head. I don't think he dislikes Texas, just don't think we appeal to him.

 

[doc longhorn]

Gonna disagree, again.

This is the time when your future quarterback gets meaningful snaps with the 1st team. It's part of the advantage of having bowl practices - not just to win a bottom tier bowl game.

So, no, IMO it's not academic. It's out of the ordinary to do what Watson did. And that's why Wick spoke up.

I don't want to see Swoopes take another snap. Seriously. I have seen Heard play in person a couple of times while he was at Guyer and know that I wasn't watching an aberration. He didn't drive through the Austin city limit sign and suddenly become an inferior player. Not buying it at all. But that's what Watson has been selling to anyone who would listen.

I see Heard starting next year . . . and I think we'll see a dramatic improvement at QB. There are things that Heard does that couldn't be coached into Swoopes.

That said, I know if Heard goes down we are back to square one so I do feel there needs to be at least a serviceable QB added to this class.

The story I shared re Watson was something I heard from several sources, which made me more confident. 

I understand being enamored with Heard, because of his high school exploits - they were awesome.  But there is a world of difference between HS and D-1 college - where you are playing against talented and full grown men instead of high school boys. 

As I have said, I would love to see Heard be able to perform in college like he did in HS - that's good for my beloved horns, and my disposition.   But he can't make chicken salad out of chicken poo - poo, no matter how good he is.  And that is what our OL and receivers are.

Also, if you say he performed badly because he was going against the first team defense with walk on's- what the hell do you think he would have done against TCU or K-State with the OL and receivers we had?

I can pretty well assure you, like Swoopes, he would have been running for his life and because he weighs a buck 85, he would probably wind up being killed.  And it still can't be discounted that he was a true freshman.

So, the question remains, what miraculous change will now cause him to be able to successfully take over the reins next year?  And what makes you think he will be successful even if he does?

At Guyer he had a loaded team, an awesome OL and  wr's - that had played together for 3 years. 

I hope you are right, SHL, but I have been told that Heard is simply not ready.  And I have been told this the entire season. 

And you know better than to lay all the blame on Watson - he is not coaching in a vacuum.

Finally, if you truly believe that Heard should have started, then you have to believe our coaches suck for not playing him.  And I think you are smart enough to know that isn't realistic.

 

[doc longhorn]

Have no idea. Think thats just what he's got in his head. I don't think he dislikes Texas, just don't think we appeal to him.

He dislikes Texas because he grew up in an anti-Texas environment.  His daddy was an aggy.  And he has been pounded with anti-Texas propaganda since he committed to TAMU.

He probably thinks UT is evil.

 

[odell327]

Our O line should be drastically better next year. As for Heard playing on a great team...no doubt you're correct. However, the dame argument could be made that without Heard, that team doesn't win it all. Its a team sport however which single player is more important on the offensive side of the ball than the guy that touches it every play?