echeese
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View from the Cheap Seats-Okie Lite
Squandered
Not much else you can say, TEXAS and CTH squandered what might have been the finest defensive effort since the 2009 season. And this time the View was from REALLY good seats. Thank you my friend. JP, your support over the years means the world. Once again, TEXAS' defense shows up huge. Outside of one drive, Coach Orlando and crew had things figured out. Taking a page out of TCU's play book, they played 2 Safeties deep and man under which completely frustrated 1st round draft pick Mason Rudolph.CTH was the 3rd leg in setting a TEXAS record for futility. Never in our history has another program come into our house and won 5 games in a row. Not anymore, new record is established with 3 on Mack, 1 on Chicken fried steak and now one on CTH, we have a new record for failing to protect our house. Oh and this was also a conference title game elimination match. OK, it was mathematically possible but no longer. Now the concern is can we score enough points against some combination of 2 out of 3 vs WVU TT and Baylor to gain the 3 more wins needed to be bowl eligible. After OU, we would have said no problem. After OSU .. . . . . not so fast my friend. Not sure which year is was but TEXAS had one of the finest defenses in the nation matched with a questionable at best offense, this feels like that year.
Tale of the Tape-Defense
Before we go too far into lambasting the offensive game plan, let's open with the positive. And there was LOTS of positives on the D side + our Aussie punter who was magnificent. We saw without question the best performance by our back 5 since the days some All Pro/Potential NFL Hall of Famer named Earl Thomas roamed the secondary. Much maligned Kris Boyd had by far his best day as a Horn, Holton Hill was a tackling machine. There were a couple big plays given up but this was the #1 offense in the nation that came in averaging 400+ a game passing (held under 300) and 48 points a game scoring, (held them to 13). And the Cowboys were no slouch rushing, they came in averaging almost 6 ypc and 220 yards per game, they would leave with a sub 3 ypc average and only 146 yards. More importantly, they were averaging just under 60% on 3rd down.. . . .Not today Mullet Head (good lord Gundy's mullet looks stupid), 5-18 on 3rd downswas all they could muster including 2 VERY IMPRESSIVE stops not just in the red zone but inside the 10. 5 OSU drives of 5 plays or less and punt to go with 7 plays where the D forced punts.Front 7 was not to be left out of the accolades either. Malik Jefferson with a great game, lead the team in tackles and was very disruptive. Poona Ford is going to be really missed next year, he really wrecked havoc on their OL and recorded 3 TFLs. Bricklyn Hager had 2 sacks and a key QB hurry on 3rd down ending another OSU drive. At times he made the OSU Left Tackle look stupid.Fully expected to see OSU make some adjustments at half time but once again, Coach Orlando won the battle of adjustments, schemes and matchups. 2 weeks in a row, TEXAS' Defense has faced the #1 offense in the nation. 2 weeks in a row, our D has been our opponents worst day so far this year. The turn around by the defense since Maryland is simply GREAT coaching.Play of the Day, Poona Ford stripping the ball from their RB inside the red zone, DeShaun "Mr Turnover" Elliott with the recovery snuffing out an OSU drive to keep the game from going 14-0. Poona gets Defensive Player of the game but this easily could go to 3 or 4 players starting with Malik.
Aussie magnificence
Young man simple deserves his own praise. While the TEXAS offense was inept, Michael Dickson flipped field position time after time after time. He pinned OSU at the 9, the 4, 12, 8 and 14 while averaging 51 yards per punt and only allowing 3 returns for a total of 14 yards. Our Aussie's play was critical given TEXAS had 7 drives of 5 plays or less and lost the Time of Possession battle. On his way to an All American season and likely TEXAS' MVP.And before we go off on the off-ense, props to John Burt for a 90 yard TD reception which was pretty much the sole offensive highlight of the game. Gee Coach, look what happens when you get the ball in playmakers hands. GREAT job tight roping the sideline.
Glass half empty section
Had you told the Cheap Seats TEXAS would have held OSU to 13 points, we'd have bet the house. . .seriously. OSU's D is athletic and their best in some time but they aren't USC good, KSU good or OU good. We're quite sure Tim Beck is being blasted and by no means is this a defense of some frankly clueless play calling. But before you hang Beck in effigy, don't forget this is 100% Coach Tom Herman's offense and it's indicative of so many coaches these days. They develop "their offense" and try to force feed it everywhere. Great coaches put their talent in a position to make plays, TEXAS is failing to do that. Cry about Beck all you wish, this is on CTH, it is his offense. He's decided Cade Brewer is his TE of the future and plays him by taking Lil Jordan Humphrey off the field. And the Cheap Seats understands the value of practicing hard but you don't start effectively your 2nd team WR crew (less Heard) at the most critical time of the game.Yes, the offensive line is a patchwork group. So why are we constantly in 4 and 5 wide without either TE or RB blocking help. Yes, we would line up with a RB but frequently they would immediately take off into the pattern leaving said patchwork OLs to fend off the rush. It has been suggested here and elsewhere, given the talent on the team, taking a page from the past and using the 2008 TEXAS offense's scheme where the short passing game became the running game. Since our running game didn't seem to do anything till the 4th quarter. But that would require some flexibility from the staff. They seem to have none whether it's failures to adjust at the half or the failure to adjust over the course of the season. Watching the OU/KSU game, noticed that Lincoln Riley has seriously adapted his East Carolina "Air Raid" approach and frequently kept a RB and/or TE to provide extra pass pro. He's working with the best OL in the Big XII.Let's talk about the running game. Why would you start Toniel Carter, try to throw one pass to him then replace him? He would finish with 1 carry. Chris Warren was largely ineffective till the 4th quarter where he would rip off a 10 yard run then on the next drive a 16 yard run. Both carries dives between the tackles, it was clear OSU's D was wearing down. The 16 yarder called back due to penalty, something that is coming back to haunt the Horns. But it showed that running north and south more effective than running east and west.TEXAS' running game has been Sam Ehlinger. In three games he's toted the rock 20 times, 22 times and 16 times. This to go with 19 carries vs USC. We're going to get the kid broken. And we do this while refusing to allow our most explosive back (Carter) to carry the ball. Daniel Young might be even more explosive but his redshirt year has been burned in mop up duty vs San Jose State though we thought we spotted him on the field once yesterday so no idea what he can bring to the table.
Overtime
For the 3rd time this season, TEXAS is playing in overtime. As inept as our offense was all day, our defense was up to the task and forced a field goal. Biggest coaching failure of the day. We line up our 2nd team WR group with Dorian Lenard and Lorenzo Joe with Cade Brewer at TE and Heard in the slot. Who is not on the field? 6'6" Collin Johnson who has shown all year he can pull down 50/50 balls, Lil Jordan Humphrey, 6'4" and a mis-match nightmare, John Burt 6'3" who had TEXAS' biggest offensive play of the day. WHY? Why do you not have your best players on the field? Reggie Mapps was hurt, we get that one. The others, simply do not understand.2nd down, Sam rolls left and throws a pass we have not seen from him all year, a soft floater to the corner of the end zone where no TEXAS players were hanging. Easy INT and for the 2nd time this year, OT ends in a loss with a Sam turnover. Damn shame, staff did not put him in the best position to succeed. Kid played his heart out but this staff is putting the game on a true freshman's shoulders.Kick in the balls. That sums up the feeling. We've now lost 3 games we should have won, certainly could have won. 2 of them in overtime.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result
Will we see anything different from our offensive staff this year or are we going to continue the same thing? Who knows.
Ranking the Big XII
#1 TCU. .. .they are hoping for a playoff berth but will have to survive a BigXII title re-match with a team they have already played. Who thought of this stupidity????? BigXII's chances of a 1 loss playoff team has gotten better the past 2 weeks as the Pac's likely options have horrid schedules. Bowl eligible, Sugar or CFP (if they win out)#2 OU. . . .Their game vs TCU will either put them in the BigXII title or eliminate them. Sugar if TCU goes CFP or Alamo#3 OSU. . .Need to win out to get to the BigXII title game. Russell AthleticThe next 5 teams are basically in the 2nd tier, upper tier already bowl eligible#4 WVU . . . .eeked by Baylor, still in the BigXII playoff hunt, Liberty#5 ISU. . . .Took TT to the wood shed, don't look not but they are 5-2/3-1 and they win out, they play for the conference title. Cactus Bowl#6 TEXAS .. . Can we win 3 of Baylor, TCU, KU WVU and TT.. . . . Advocare Bowl (Houston)#7 KSU Needs 3 from KU, TT, WVU, OSU and ISU. #8 TT . .. . starting to slide, 4-3, need to win 2 of OU, Baylor, KSU, TCU and TEXAS to get to a bowl. They likely play TEXAS for a bowl bid. Projecting no bowl#9 Baylor. . ..F Baylor#10 Kansas . . . .basketball season is hereFYI, BigXII has a contractual tie to the Armed Forces Bowl in Ft Worth but has informed their committee they don't want a BigXII team playing before Christmas (23 Dec game). If BigXII does not make the playoffs, don't be surprised if Cotton Bowl extends an invite.
Today's Playoff Vote
#1 Bama#2 Penn State#3 TCU#4 ClemsonWildest scenario, Dawgs beat Bama in the SEC title game, could see bama still invited.Chomping at the bit:GeorgiatOSUOU (sucks to type)NDWhiskyUDub (SOS sucks even if they win out)Va TechNCStOkie LiteAny of these teams win out, they are likely in
Squandered
Not much else you can say, TEXAS and CTH squandered what might have been the finest defensive effort since the 2009 season. And this time the View was from REALLY good seats. Thank you my friend. JP, your support over the years means the world. Once again, TEXAS' defense shows up huge. Outside of one drive, Coach Orlando and crew had things figured out. Taking a page out of TCU's play book, they played 2 Safeties deep and man under which completely frustrated 1st round draft pick Mason Rudolph.CTH was the 3rd leg in setting a TEXAS record for futility. Never in our history has another program come into our house and won 5 games in a row. Not anymore, new record is established with 3 on Mack, 1 on Chicken fried steak and now one on CTH, we have a new record for failing to protect our house. Oh and this was also a conference title game elimination match. OK, it was mathematically possible but no longer. Now the concern is can we score enough points against some combination of 2 out of 3 vs WVU TT and Baylor to gain the 3 more wins needed to be bowl eligible. After OU, we would have said no problem. After OSU .. . . . . not so fast my friend. Not sure which year is was but TEXAS had one of the finest defenses in the nation matched with a questionable at best offense, this feels like that year.
Tale of the Tape-Defense
Before we go too far into lambasting the offensive game plan, let's open with the positive. And there was LOTS of positives on the D side + our Aussie punter who was magnificent. We saw without question the best performance by our back 5 since the days some All Pro/Potential NFL Hall of Famer named Earl Thomas roamed the secondary. Much maligned Kris Boyd had by far his best day as a Horn, Holton Hill was a tackling machine. There were a couple big plays given up but this was the #1 offense in the nation that came in averaging 400+ a game passing (held under 300) and 48 points a game scoring, (held them to 13). And the Cowboys were no slouch rushing, they came in averaging almost 6 ypc and 220 yards per game, they would leave with a sub 3 ypc average and only 146 yards. More importantly, they were averaging just under 60% on 3rd down.. . . .Not today Mullet Head (good lord Gundy's mullet looks stupid), 5-18 on 3rd downswas all they could muster including 2 VERY IMPRESSIVE stops not just in the red zone but inside the 10. 5 OSU drives of 5 plays or less and punt to go with 7 plays where the D forced punts.Front 7 was not to be left out of the accolades either. Malik Jefferson with a great game, lead the team in tackles and was very disruptive. Poona Ford is going to be really missed next year, he really wrecked havoc on their OL and recorded 3 TFLs. Bricklyn Hager had 2 sacks and a key QB hurry on 3rd down ending another OSU drive. At times he made the OSU Left Tackle look stupid.Fully expected to see OSU make some adjustments at half time but once again, Coach Orlando won the battle of adjustments, schemes and matchups. 2 weeks in a row, TEXAS' Defense has faced the #1 offense in the nation. 2 weeks in a row, our D has been our opponents worst day so far this year. The turn around by the defense since Maryland is simply GREAT coaching.Play of the Day, Poona Ford stripping the ball from their RB inside the red zone, DeShaun "Mr Turnover" Elliott with the recovery snuffing out an OSU drive to keep the game from going 14-0. Poona gets Defensive Player of the game but this easily could go to 3 or 4 players starting with Malik.
Aussie magnificence
Young man simple deserves his own praise. While the TEXAS offense was inept, Michael Dickson flipped field position time after time after time. He pinned OSU at the 9, the 4, 12, 8 and 14 while averaging 51 yards per punt and only allowing 3 returns for a total of 14 yards. Our Aussie's play was critical given TEXAS had 7 drives of 5 plays or less and lost the Time of Possession battle. On his way to an All American season and likely TEXAS' MVP.And before we go off on the off-ense, props to John Burt for a 90 yard TD reception which was pretty much the sole offensive highlight of the game. Gee Coach, look what happens when you get the ball in playmakers hands. GREAT job tight roping the sideline.
Glass half empty section
Had you told the Cheap Seats TEXAS would have held OSU to 13 points, we'd have bet the house. . .seriously. OSU's D is athletic and their best in some time but they aren't USC good, KSU good or OU good. We're quite sure Tim Beck is being blasted and by no means is this a defense of some frankly clueless play calling. But before you hang Beck in effigy, don't forget this is 100% Coach Tom Herman's offense and it's indicative of so many coaches these days. They develop "their offense" and try to force feed it everywhere. Great coaches put their talent in a position to make plays, TEXAS is failing to do that. Cry about Beck all you wish, this is on CTH, it is his offense. He's decided Cade Brewer is his TE of the future and plays him by taking Lil Jordan Humphrey off the field. And the Cheap Seats understands the value of practicing hard but you don't start effectively your 2nd team WR crew (less Heard) at the most critical time of the game.Yes, the offensive line is a patchwork group. So why are we constantly in 4 and 5 wide without either TE or RB blocking help. Yes, we would line up with a RB but frequently they would immediately take off into the pattern leaving said patchwork OLs to fend off the rush. It has been suggested here and elsewhere, given the talent on the team, taking a page from the past and using the 2008 TEXAS offense's scheme where the short passing game became the running game. Since our running game didn't seem to do anything till the 4th quarter. But that would require some flexibility from the staff. They seem to have none whether it's failures to adjust at the half or the failure to adjust over the course of the season. Watching the OU/KSU game, noticed that Lincoln Riley has seriously adapted his East Carolina "Air Raid" approach and frequently kept a RB and/or TE to provide extra pass pro. He's working with the best OL in the Big XII.Let's talk about the running game. Why would you start Toniel Carter, try to throw one pass to him then replace him? He would finish with 1 carry. Chris Warren was largely ineffective till the 4th quarter where he would rip off a 10 yard run then on the next drive a 16 yard run. Both carries dives between the tackles, it was clear OSU's D was wearing down. The 16 yarder called back due to penalty, something that is coming back to haunt the Horns. But it showed that running north and south more effective than running east and west.TEXAS' running game has been Sam Ehlinger. In three games he's toted the rock 20 times, 22 times and 16 times. This to go with 19 carries vs USC. We're going to get the kid broken. And we do this while refusing to allow our most explosive back (Carter) to carry the ball. Daniel Young might be even more explosive but his redshirt year has been burned in mop up duty vs San Jose State though we thought we spotted him on the field once yesterday so no idea what he can bring to the table.
Overtime
For the 3rd time this season, TEXAS is playing in overtime. As inept as our offense was all day, our defense was up to the task and forced a field goal. Biggest coaching failure of the day. We line up our 2nd team WR group with Dorian Lenard and Lorenzo Joe with Cade Brewer at TE and Heard in the slot. Who is not on the field? 6'6" Collin Johnson who has shown all year he can pull down 50/50 balls, Lil Jordan Humphrey, 6'4" and a mis-match nightmare, John Burt 6'3" who had TEXAS' biggest offensive play of the day. WHY? Why do you not have your best players on the field? Reggie Mapps was hurt, we get that one. The others, simply do not understand.2nd down, Sam rolls left and throws a pass we have not seen from him all year, a soft floater to the corner of the end zone where no TEXAS players were hanging. Easy INT and for the 2nd time this year, OT ends in a loss with a Sam turnover. Damn shame, staff did not put him in the best position to succeed. Kid played his heart out but this staff is putting the game on a true freshman's shoulders.Kick in the balls. That sums up the feeling. We've now lost 3 games we should have won, certainly could have won. 2 of them in overtime.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result
Will we see anything different from our offensive staff this year or are we going to continue the same thing? Who knows.
Ranking the Big XII
#1 TCU. .. .they are hoping for a playoff berth but will have to survive a BigXII title re-match with a team they have already played. Who thought of this stupidity????? BigXII's chances of a 1 loss playoff team has gotten better the past 2 weeks as the Pac's likely options have horrid schedules. Bowl eligible, Sugar or CFP (if they win out)#2 OU. . . .Their game vs TCU will either put them in the BigXII title or eliminate them. Sugar if TCU goes CFP or Alamo#3 OSU. . .Need to win out to get to the BigXII title game. Russell AthleticThe next 5 teams are basically in the 2nd tier, upper tier already bowl eligible#4 WVU . . . .eeked by Baylor, still in the BigXII playoff hunt, Liberty#5 ISU. . . .Took TT to the wood shed, don't look not but they are 5-2/3-1 and they win out, they play for the conference title. Cactus Bowl#6 TEXAS .. . Can we win 3 of Baylor, TCU, KU WVU and TT.. . . . Advocare Bowl (Houston)#7 KSU Needs 3 from KU, TT, WVU, OSU and ISU. #8 TT . .. . starting to slide, 4-3, need to win 2 of OU, Baylor, KSU, TCU and TEXAS to get to a bowl. They likely play TEXAS for a bowl bid. Projecting no bowl#9 Baylor. . ..F Baylor#10 Kansas . . . .basketball season is hereFYI, BigXII has a contractual tie to the Armed Forces Bowl in Ft Worth but has informed their committee they don't want a BigXII team playing before Christmas (23 Dec game). If BigXII does not make the playoffs, don't be surprised if Cotton Bowl extends an invite.
Today's Playoff Vote
#1 Bama#2 Penn State#3 TCU#4 ClemsonWildest scenario, Dawgs beat Bama in the SEC title game, could see bama still invited.Chomping at the bit:GeorgiatOSUOU (sucks to type)NDWhiskyUDub (SOS sucks even if they win out)Va TechNCStOkie LiteAny of these teams win out, they are likely in
