View from the Cheap Seats-Baylor

[echeese]

One word summation: E-X-E-C-U-T-I-O-N

First let's start with some accolades. . . beginning with. . .. Greg Robinson and his defense. . . .had you told me the D would only give up 23 . ..that only 3 would be scored in the 1st half . . .I'd have lost a great deal of money betting. But GR's unit executed. . .they largely shut down Baylor's O. . .yeah, I get it. .it was cold. ..same for both teams.

Malcom Brown. . . .great effort young man. . .simply a great effort. . .you tried to put the team on your back. 25 carries 131 yards 5.2 per .. . outstanding . . . . OL. . pretty impressive yourselves . ..that includes Mr Swaim who has been a quiet but solid performer all year.

Key stat of the game .. ...17-0. . . .that was the 3rd quarter scoring by Baylor. . . .TEXAS would go 3 and out, 3 and out and 4 and out in the 3rd. Too big a hill to climb for this offense. This is also the quarter where Baylor would put up more than half their passing yardage.

TEXAS would open the 4th with a long TD drive to make the score 17-10. . .Baylor FG 20-10. . .still a ball game. . .and Baylor makes a HUGE mistake muffing a punt at the 3. . . .2 TEXAS players on top of it. . .ball rolls out of bounds.. .. .

This was the story of the game. . . . TEXAS had it's chances. . . they blew it.. . they failed to execute .. . big punt return. . . .holding. . ..Baylor fumbles . ..Santos tries to pick it up instead of falling on the ball .. . . .muffed punt .. . 2 players right their . ..neither secures is at the 2.

At the end of the day. . ..Baylor's players made plays. . .TEXAS players didn't. It was really pretty simple.

Case is Case. . . .he played his heart out but it just wasn't enough and can we be honest. . .he's a back up QB at best. When our WRs were open, he misfired.. . ..2 of those (maybe 3) would have been TDs . . now not all on him. . ..3 of our WRs dropped passes we needed to extend drives. . .QBR rating 4. ..not sure I've ever seen a single digit QBR.

But in all fairness. ..he did lead the team to the BigXII title game. . .so from that stand point. . .will always appreciate what he did to win games.. . .and he'll always be 27-25.

Baylor. . . .Petty's really good. . .maybe the best QB in the BigXII. . . .but his WRs came up with tough catches for him.

Again. . .difference in the game was E-X-E-C-U-T-I-O-N They had it, we didn't.

Greg Robinson vs Art Briles? TEXAS won that coaching battle

Phil Bennett vs Major Applewhite? TEXAS lost that one. ... . .Daje Johnson is your best weapon. ..you handed him the ball up the middle once . ..you ran 2 toss sweeps. . .and he logged another carry. . .that's it. . .your best weapon touched the ball 4 times. Keep in mind. . .we lost Joe Bergeron in the 2nd (1st?) to an ankle injury

All season long the area inside the hash marks has been a toxic wasteland. . .really weird since Phil sold out to stop the run often going Zero coverage (no safety over the top). Do you know who our WRs are? Marcus Johnson. . .Kendall Sanders . .Jaxson shipley. . .Mike Davis. . .John Harris. ..not a smurf in the bunch . ..this creates a natural mismatch in our favor. .we failed to exploit said advantage. . . .nothing new. . .been that way all year.

Some will hate this but had you told me pre-season we would not have Ash after game 2.. . I'd have told you 6-6/7-5 at best. . .playing for the BigXII title was some great coaching. . .of course a huge part of that was bringing in Greg Robinson who I firmly believe is the best DC of the Mack era. It is also a testament to our players who dug deep and didn't quit on each other. How much better would we have been if we'd have made the GR switch after last year? 10-2/9-3. . .we still lose OSU and Baylor... we still don't win the BigXII.

Sadly this loss and the BigXII title slipping away is on the O. More specifically. . ..mistakes we've made at QB dating back to betting on Chiles over GJ Kinne. . .I have zero doubt Kinne could have replaced Colt in the Rose Bowl and won the title in 2009. . . .2008. . .no QB taken .. .I don't blame Mack for taking the #2 QB in the nation. . .I do blame him for having to play him as a true freshman. . .same with Ash. . same with Simms. . .fast forward to this spring. . .Swoopes over Brewer????

Going forward. . .CFB is largely a QB driven game. . . .iced in. ..I watched football from 8 PM on Friday till past midnight. last night. .what did I see. . ..GOOD QB play from all the winning teams and most of the losing teams (sorry Case. . .you were easily the weakest link of the day)

The future of the Longhorns is with a QB centric offense. . .at least is Major is still here. He and Harsin had some GREAT RBs and used them poorly. Bitch about GD all you wish. . .his RBs? Heisman's Doak Walker's

Final Big XII standings

#1 Baylor

#2-#4 TEXAS OSU all with 2 conf losses. . .each beat crap out of each other

#5 KSU

#6 Texas Tech. . .largely only because they are going bowling.

#7-#10 Kansas ISU . . .. .sucked

National title prediction:

FSU 41 Auburn 38

Think it's a great game. ..just think FSU is a better team.

 

[Topstarr]

One word summation: E-X-E-C-U-T-I-O-N


First let's start with some accolades. . . beginning with. . .. Greg Robinson and his defense. . . .had you told me the D would only give up 23 . ..that only 3 would be scored in the 1st half . . .I'd have lost a great deal of money betting. But GR's unit executed. . .they largely shut down Baylor's O. . .yeah, I get it. .it was cold. ..same for both teams.

Malcom Brown. . . .great effort young man. . .simply a great effort. . .you tried to put the team on your back. 25 carries 131 yards 5.2 per .. . outstanding . . . . OL. . pretty impressive yourselves . ..that includes Mr Swaim who has been a quiet but solid performer all year.

Key stat of the game .. ...17-0. . . .that was the 3rd quarter scoring by Baylor. . . .TEXAS would go 3 and out, 3 and out and 4 and out in the 3rd. Too big a hill to climb for this offense. This is also the quarter where Baylor would put up more than half their passing yardage.

TEXAS would open the 4th with a long TD drive to make the score 17-10. . .Baylor FG 20-10. . .still a ball game. . .and Baylor makes a HUGE mistake muffing a punt at the 3. . . .2 TEXAS players on top of it. . .ball rolls out of bounds.. .. .

This was the story of the game. . . . TEXAS had it's chances. . . they blew it.. . they failed to execute .. . big punt return. . . .holding. . ..Baylor fumbles . ..Santos tries to pick it up instead of falling on the ball .. . . .muffed punt .. . 2 players right their . ..neither secures is at the 2.

At the end of the day. . ..Baylor's players made plays. . .TEXAS players didn't. It was really pretty simple.

Case is Case. . . .he played his heart out but it just wasn't enough and can we be honest. . .he's a back up QB at best. When our WRs were open, he misfired.. . ..2 of those (maybe 3) would have been TDs . . now not all on him. . ..3 of our WRs dropped passes we needed to extend drives. . .QBR rating 4. ..not sure I've ever seen a single digit QBR.

But in all fairness. ..he did lead the team to the BigXII title game. . .so from that stand point. . .will always appreciate what he did to win games.. . .and he'll always be 27-25.

Baylor. . . .Petty's really good. . .maybe the best QB in the BigXII. . . .but his WRs came up with tough catches for him.

Again. . .difference in the game was E-X-E-C-U-T-I-O-N They had it, we didn't.

Greg Robinson vs Art Briles? TEXAS won that coaching battle

Phil Bennett vs Major Applewhite? TEXAS lost that one. ... . .Daje Johnson is your best weapon. ..you handed him the ball up the middle once . ..you ran 2 toss sweeps. . .and he logged another carry. . .that's it. . .your best weapon touched the ball 4 times. Keep in mind. . .we lost Joe Bergeron in the 2nd (1st?) to an ankle injury

All season long the area inside the hash marks has been a toxic wasteland. . .really weird since Phil sold out to stop the run often going Zero coverage (no safety over the top). Do you know who our WRs are? Marcus Johnson. . .Kendall Sanders . .Jaxson shipley. . .Mike Davis. . .John Harris. ..not a smurf in the bunch . ..this creates a natural mismatch in our favor. .we failed to exploit said advantage. . . .nothing new. . .been that way all year.

Some will hate this but had you told me pre-season we would not have Ash after game 2.. . I'd have told you 6-6/7-5 at best. . .playing for the BigXII title was some great coaching. . .of course a huge part of that was bringing in Greg Robinson who I firmly believe is the best DC of the Mack era. It is also a testament to our players who dug deep and didn't quit on each other. How much better would we have been if we'd have made the GR switch after last year? 10-2/9-3. . .we still lose OSU and Baylor... we still don't win the BigXII.

Sadly this loss and the BigXII title slipping away is on the O. More specifically. . ..mistakes we've made at QB dating back to betting on Chiles over GJ Kinne. . .I have zero doubt Kinne could have replaced Colt in the Rose Bowl and won the title in 2009. . . .2008. . .no QB taken .. .I don't blame Mack for taking the #2 QB in the nation. . .I do blame him for having to play him as a true freshman. . .same with Ash. . same with Simms. . .fast forward to this spring. . .Swoopes over Brewer????

Going forward. . .CFB is largely a QB driven game. . . .iced in. ..I watched football from 8 PM on Friday till past midnight. last night. .what did I see. . ..GOOD QB play from all the winning teams and most of the losing teams (sorry Case. . .you were easily the weakest link of the day)

The future of the Longhorns is with a QB centric offense. . .at least is Major is still here. He and Harsin had some GREAT RBs and used them poorly. Bitch about GD all you wish. . .his RBs? Heisman's Doak Walker's

Final Big XII standings

#1 Baylor

#2-#4 TEXAS OSU all with 2 conf losses. . .each beat crap out of each other

#5 KSU

#6 Texas Tech. . .largely only because they are going bowling.

#7-#10 Kansas ISU . . .. .sucked

National title prediction:

FSU 41 Auburn 38

Think it's a great game. ..just think FSU is a better team.

It was hard to do the read for what is all going on @ the 40 acers

 

[marathon]

Phil Bennett vs Major Applewhite? TEXAS lost that one. ... . .Daje Johnson is your best weapon. ..you handed him the ball up the middle once . ..you ran 2 toss sweeps. . .and he logged another carry. . .that's it. . .your best weapon touched the ball 4 times. Keep in mind. . .we lost Joe Bergeron in the 2nd (1st?) to an ankle injury

All season long the area inside the hash marks has been a toxic wasteland. . .really weird since Phil sold out to stop the run often going Zero coverage (no safety over the top). Do you know who our WRs are? Marcus Johnson. . .Kendall Sanders . .Jaxson shipley. . .Mike Davis. . .John Harris. ..not a smurf in the bunch . ..this creates a natural mismatch in our favor. .we failed to exploit said advantage. . . .nothing new. . .been that way all year.

I am still trying to figure out what happened to the "up tempo, get the ball to your best playmakers" offense that Major promised. Case doesn't have the arm strength to attack the sidelines. That is an int waiting to happen. Has any team in history had 2 screen passes intercepted & returned for TD's in a season (against OU and BU).

Hell, the opposing defenses probably had more total yards from our screens than we did the entire season.

 

[marathon]

I didn't even include the bubble screen that OSU returned for a TD. They almost int 2 or 3 more.

 

[bcherry168]

Agree with you echeese. Good post. Our downfall this season (and the two before) was lack of a decent quarterback. Having to depend upon Case is a sad commentary about our quarterback recruiting the last few years. Case did his best, but he just doesn't have the necessary tools to get the job done. I was proud of the team in the first half for its effort, but the 3rd quarter put it out of reach. Our performance yesterday was more about recruiting than coaching. Baylor just had better athletes that we did.

 

[DougNTexas]

But but but but Mack Brown is known as Coach February! Mack has spent way to much time recruiting QB projects. He should not have been promising QB's that he would only take one QB.

 

[marathon]

Our performance yesterday was more about recruiting than coaching. Baylor just had better athletes that we did.

You are so right but it's hard to comprehend nonetheless. I have been a huge MB supporter and thankful he turned the program around in 1998 but if we can't put better players on the field than BU it's time for someone who can. Our QB play has been horrible and Texas high schools produce several top QB's each year and yet none are on our team.

 

[alonghorn72]

Agree with you echeese. Good post. Our downfall this season (and the two before) was lack of a decent quarterback. Having to depend upon Case is a sad commentary about our quarterback recruiting the last few years. Case did his best, but he just doesn't have the necessary tools to get the job done. I was proud of the team in the first half for its effort, but the 3rd quarter put it out of reach. Our performance yesterday was more about recruiting than coaching. Baylor just had better athletes that we did.

I think it's more about Mack's loyalty to the seniors and legacy players rather that actually putting the best players on the field and developing the players we recruit. I'm sure Conner Wood and Conner Brewer would have given us a better chance to beat Baylor if the time and effort was put into developing them instead of awarding the backup job to the McCoy family. Mack is loyal to a fault and has proven time and time again that he is unwilling to change in this regard.

We need to hire a coach that will develop and install a system and recruit the players for that system. Mack has shown that he will flip flop depending on the players we recruit and that is why Texas doesn't have an identity.

 

[echeese]

I think it's more about Mack's loyalty to the seniors and legacy players rather that actually putting the best players on the field and developing the players we recruit. I'm sure Conner Wood and Conner Brewer would have given us a better chance to beat Baylor if the time and effort was put into developing them instead of awarding the backup job to the McCoy family. Mack is loyal to a fault and has proven time and time again that he is unwilling to change in this regard.
We need to hire a coach that will develop and install a system and recruit the players for that system. Mack has shown that he will flip flop depending on the players we recruit and that is why Texas doesn't have an identity.

Not sure that old myth hasn't long been proven false.

There isn't anyone on the bench I'd put in over the players out there. . . now I'd have used them differently (see Daje) Sanders and Marcus start at WR over John Harris. . .maybe Evans over Mikkele but both are juniors.

Wood? he wasn't very good but Brewer left because an even younger player passed him on the depth chart. . .but I agree. . .letting him get away. . .letting GJ Kinne get away. . .those were misses.

Evaluation and development has been Mack's Achilles heel. Too many topped out 4 and 5 stars. . .to many underwear champions. . .too few football players.

 

[o5prey]

Surely at the QB position, and if the evaluation is that what we saw yesterday can't be improved on then there is no way you can pull the redshirt off Swoopes.