***The Official Texas vs. KSU Game Thread***

[drgilbert]

If we are going to stick with Swoopes then Watson needs to figure out what this kid is good at. Then he needs to tailor the offense around what he is good at. Right now this read option is not something he is good at. Why didn't we run more of the diamond formation the announcers were talking about ?

 

[primal defense]

I don't know how Heard would do going out there just as well as Strong doesn't because he has yet to be given that shot. It is not arrogant to question what a coach does. If we said "all is well, the coaches always know best" all day long there would be no need for a discussion. Having a sub-300 yard performance for the 3rd or 4th time in 8 games should be disconcerting and deserves questions just as the past 4 games at A&M do. Does this discussion mean much in the grand scheme of what Strong does, no. However, complacency is part of what got Texas into this mess according to the "insiders", falling back into that philosophy under the guise of "rebuilding" does not seem like a fruitful venture. I'm probably partially blinded by my belief that Swoopes was overrated in HS, and thought that Heard didn't get the hype he deserved in comparison, but I'm not impressed with Swoopes thus far and he hasn't done anything to capture the job. I guess we shall see how things pan out.

I understand where your coming from. If I were an aggie, I would want UT to play Heard for the last four games. If he were great, then I'm glad he used one year of eligibility for four games to get Texas to an Alamo type of Bowl. If he's terrible because he's not ready, then my aggie coaches can tell  recruits on offense that Texas doesn't have any quarterbacks on their roster that's any good. Why would you want to go there and again Heard would lose a year of eligibility.

 You said you are critical of Sumlin, I haven't noticed any threads or posting anything about Sumlin on this board. If I missed it please send a link to where you criticized your coaches on this board. You weren't shy to post right after Texas worst loss of the season about our coaches.  I think most members on this board would appreciate you posting about Sumlin and his coaches. I would have love for you to have started a thread about the aggie coaches on this board after your 59 point loss to Alabama.

 

[Agmaniacmike]

I don't think posting about A&M in general on a Longhorn board is very pertinent, however I'll normally give a short overview when people bring it up every time I post here. I get the argument about not breaking a shirt with 4 games left, but my "opinion" is that you lose a team when you don't replace those that are performing poorly even if you have doubts that the next guy is better. Confidence in a coaching staff and recruiting allure far outweight one player's extra year of eligibility for a program IMO. Also, keep in mind, Heard and Allen are similar in that they were told they would be competing for playing time and the guys in front of them have not performed well throughout the course of the season. Should they have confidence in a coach long term if they feel they have earned PT and their respective coaching staffs choose to roll with one that hasn't relished the opportunity to take the job? The reason I posted on this thread was to show my confidant on this board that we are in agreement about the Swoopes/Heard issue, although I guess it is fun to believe that it is to troll. We may have a differing of opinions, but it isn't because of what school we are fans of, it is much more about coaching philosophy.

 

[drgilbert]

I understand the anger towards mike because he graduated from and roots for aggy. I have known and worked with him for years and we have had countless discussions about our favorite football teams. We are both open and critical of what we think our teams need to do to get better. He is not a troll nor an agenda. He loves talking football. He just happens to root for another school

 

[doc longhorn]

The whole "coaches know best" argument is lazy. I work with drgilbert and he can attest to how critical I have been with the coaching across the board for the Aggies since the Arkansas game. There are so many issues involved with that team right now that I couldn't fit them into a 5-page essay. I'm a film junkie when it comes to analyzing A&M and I have found about 3 plays on either side of the ball where everybody did their job correctly in the last 4 games. Back to this situation, as someone interested in the direction of the Longhorn program, I would find it tough to take a coach seriously who prides himself on accountability but continues to let a player make mistake after mistake without giving the other guy a chance. Some people play better with the lights on, but you won't find out until you give them a chance. Where would Mississippi State be this year if they didn't elect to hold Tyler Russell out last year despite him being cleared to play. Dak Prescott was given a shot and seized the job, gained valuable experience last year and is now considered a Heisman frontrunner. Also, somebody running 2nd string for 5/6 of the season should never be redshirted IMHO, they should be getting reps given they are one play from taking the job.

Ah, there you are.  Long time no see - especially after that destruction from Bama. 

Did you really criticize Strong because he wasn't playing Heard?  And because you are a football film junkie, you consider yourself to be more expert than your coaches about the aggie football team?

You seriously feel like you are in a better position to decide what players need to play on TAMU's team - not to mention ours?

I have a news flash for you - you are nothing but an arm chair amateur.  Your film watching can't make a patch on the million miles of film these highly paid and trained football professionals watch in a month.

It's beyond ignorant to even suggest you know better than they.  Their purposes of playing and not playing players are constructed by hours, days, weeks, months and years of making decisions that are best for their teams and programs.  From personal, up front and hands on coaching and teaching the very players  that you think you know more about then they do.

Actually, I will give you enough credit to believe you cannot be this clueless.

I think your comment is nothing more than you feeling you have an opportunity to take some kind of magnanimous position, with your hated enemy, because they just lost a football game.

But let me be clear - we may have lost 23-0, but your team was annihilated 59-0 and you know it wasn't really even that close.  By the middle of the 3rd qtr., Bama was playing their scout team and their walk on's or they might have surpassed the 77-0 shellacking that OU put on you.

I know why you are on this board today and you know why. 

 

[streettopeschel]

Gilbert, I don't hate mike. But when 'I watch a lot of film guy' starts touting his expertise over coaches it is kinda funny don't ya think?

 

[Agmaniacmike]

Coaches may know more in terminology and disguising a play. However, what I have seen on the field of both our schools (especially A&M) reeks of poor coaching. Watch play by play at each position group and you can see exactly what I'm talking about. For instance, hand placement of OL, Cover 3/2 positioning of DBs, scheming without weaknesses in mind, LB first step, WR blocking. These are all basic things that all position coaches should know how to teach and get their players to execute, but when every player in the position group is doing it wrong then I point towards the coaches, not the players. These are the issues that turn a team in a talent gap of A&M and Alabama into a 100-0 style romp instead of teams like Kentucky that are obviously outmanned but stay competitive for at least a half with teams like LSU and Miss. State. If it isn't coaching then they need to make changes to the personnel to get different results, which also isn't happening. 

 

[Sirhornsalot]

let me state loudly and clearly before you, God and everybody. i do not think swoopes is comparable in ability to VY. better? can we get off of that?

you stated swoopes doesn't have it. maybe, maybe not. there WERE people wanting to move VY to WR because he was so erratic early on. i KNOW you remember that. declarations on 19-year olds is risky.

does swoopes have it? no idea. burning heard's RS at this point is shortsighted and foolish and guarantees nothing other than burning a year of eligilbility for 4 games in a lost season.it certainly doesn't guarantee a win in lubbock. that's sillyness. THAT'S my main point.

it's fine for fans to be shortsighted and foolish. hopefully we hired a coach smarter than the average fan. 

STP, if you ever even get the hint that any UT coach is listening to my advice, it's time to fire that coach.

You did compare the two and everyone, and I am including you and TaylorDuck, know it.

Fans can still have opinions despite the existence of coaches.