The Outsiders Edge – July 31, 2013

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Welcome back to another edition of The Outsiders Edge. If you are new to Horn Sports, the Outsiders Edge is my weekly spin on Texas, sports, and the world in general. Without further adieu, lets get crackin’.

Thank God Football Is Back: I played on the offensive line in high school at the Class 2A level, so my fan experience consisted of my parents pushing me to be better, a bunch of old farmers yelling at us to “block” (like their old asses could do any better, right?), and after mom unfortunately passed on before my senior year, all the other moms being there with my father at every game to make sure we knew we were not alone. That my friends is football in Texas, and it’s just some of the many reasons why the ball in this State is better than anyone else’s then, now, and forever. The passion drives fans crazy, and sometimes they do go too far (we will touch on that later), but at the end of the day we all just want our teams to win. It’s been too long football, and I for one am glad you’ve come back.

My Favorite Texas OL: Rami Hammad (@RammiHammad67UT) has become the guy I’m watching. He could have gone a ton of places, but chose a true challenge and became a Longhorn. He takes time to interact with fans, does not hide his faith, and has already proven in just a few short months how driven and dedicated he is. Before it’s all said and done, this guy will tear someone’s head off on live television, hopefully a Sooner.  Which brings me to the next point…..

What a difference a couple years makes: 2010/2011, the Offensive Line was there, but it was far from dominant. Flash forward just a couple years and look at what is walking around on campus now. The guys up front are fast becoming monsters, the guys behind them are close to being monsters, and the next two classes coming in are already huge.  It has been a long time since we had mean, nasty guys up there who would collect defenders souls. We have that now.  Big hits are great, but nothing beats a pulling lineman destroying a defender. Thank you Coach Searels and Coach Wylie.

The Manziel Family: I’ve read the article, heard the fathers comments, and seen the photos and video from the weekend. I’ve been critical at times of “Johnny Football”, but I’ll admit the Wright Thompson article on ESPN and some research has changed some of my perceptions. I will violate “Longhorn Code” this time and admit in some instances, I was totally wrong, and though they’d never see it, I appologize.  That’ll probably get me burned at the stake, but I like to think we are bigger people around here.  I will address this latest issue in segments.

First off,  I had no idea the guy’s own father had been banned from TexAgs  for defending his son. I’m a parent, many of us are, and we’d all do the same for our children.  Mr. Manziel has a right to speak freely and address anyone he chooses. I applaud Mr. Manziel for not pulling any punches and pointing out how Texas A&M is exploiting his son for every dime they could get, as it is a perfect snap-shot of the reasons why a Division 4 needs to happen.  I have played devil’s advocate on both sides to stoke an argument now and again, but seriously…they’re going to milk his Heisman for years to come, and he can’t get a taste of the profits because some old guy in Indianapolis says it’s against a bunch of archaic rules? Come on…..

Do I think Johnny Manziel should have been jet setting the way he has? Looking at the big picture, probably not given the spot light and the NCAA constantly trolling to get something on someone big, and hoping that would wipe a little of the egg off their face from the Oregon incident. Now that said, I don’t have Manziel family money, I never will, and if I had the chance to do some of the things he’s done…. or provide the opportunity to my kid, I’d do it.  I understand being in the public eye to an extent, and the scrutiny which comes with it, but I’m also over 30 years old. Johnny Manziel is still a kid, still growing, still trying to become whatever it is he will grow up to be.  We all had the right to grow up. Why doesn’t he? I have not found anything which specifically quotes Manziel as wanting to be the face of the program. He just did his job and things happened.

So, it’s well known Manziel is friends with many guys on the Texas roster. He’s came up here, they’ve gone down there. Do I think that is appropriate? No, because look what happens when they get together and the public on both sides naturally interjects itself. That said, kids have the right to be friends with whomever they choose, and who are we to judge? Many of us chastise the Aggies for various reasons, one being the cult like rules their fan base has in place, like no being friends with any of us. Manziel chooses to follow his own rules, win them games, and still be human. If their fan base wants to fault him for that, they’ve got much worse going on than we realized.

No one here has spent the summer asking David Ash to be a saint. They just ask him to win games. Seems pretty simple doesn’t it?

It’s not like a house magically got built for his parents or there was a bidding war for his services coming out of junior college…….

Good luck to the family. I hope after this season he goes on to the NFL and gets a shot at a much more normal life. How odd is it for the NFL to be viewed as a potential “escape”.

Brewer to Arizona: Came as no shocker at all. I’m not 100% sure he fits Rich Rod’s system completely without a little tweak, but the kid has all the tools to prosper out there with a bit of tuning to the offense. He is fully capable of taking the Wildcats to a Rose Bowl. Good luck out there Mr. Brewer.

Best RB Tandem in the NFL: I’d vote Adrian Peterson and Adrian Peterson, but I’ve heard the case for Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Can’t go wrong there either I supposed. What do you folks think? Clearly the RB position is not what it used to be.

The Closer: I thought the Seahawks would give the 49ers a run for their money in the NFC West, but with Percy Harvin basically out for the majority of the year, and Sidney Rice out of the country getting “treatments”, the downfield passing game is currently in the hands of Golden Tate. That’s not winning you a division.

Until next time…..Hook Em!