2008 Sooner Preview....

[OU_Sooners75]

How accurate am I and what do you think?

http://www.talkncaasports.com/index.php?q=node/20


Oklahoma Sooners
Coach: Bob Stoops (10th season, 97-22, 97-22 overall)
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Stadium: Gaylord Family- Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (82,112)

Four consecutive BCS Bowl losses linger in the minds of the Oklahoma faithful. The fans, the players, and the coaches of Oklahoma want nothing but championships. 2008 will be no different. Oklahoma is once again loaded and the talent is flowing like a raging river. The chore this year, shore up the defensive back seven.

Offense: With 8 returning starters, the offense looks to keep rolling from the 2007 season. Led by Sophomore QB Sam Bradford, the Sooners look to make a bid for their sixth Big 12 Title and eighth National Title. The rushing attack will be by committee. Look for RB Demarco Murray to lead the way. With RB Chris Brown running over the defense. The strength of this already potent offense is intact from a year ago. Their offensive line returns every starter, plus quality depth. Three potential NFL stars anchor this line, led by Duke Robinson and Phil Loadholt. Not that this is enough, OU is also fielding perhaps the best Tight End in the nation this year, Jermaine Gresham. Gresham is a soft handed touchdown magnet. When Sam needs an out, Gresham will provide it. The WR core lost Malcolm Kelly early to the NFL draft. But they did retain Bradford's go to guy, Senior WR Juaquin Iglesias. He led the team in receiving yards and in receptions in 2007. Overall, OU is loaded with weapons on offense. If Bradford has a sophomore slump, it will not be much of one.

Defense: Five defensive starters return for OU and this could be troublesome in the early games. Who will replace Big 12 Defensive POY, MLB Curtis Lofton, corner backs Reggie Smith and Marcus Walker and safety D.J. Wolfe. The good thing here is, Oklahoma has talent on the defensive side of the ball, just not proven talent. Linebackers Austin Box, Ryan Reynolds, and J.R. Bryant look to be tapped as game 1 starters. While FS Lendy Holmes and SS Nic Harris, look to provide the experience in the secondary. Dominique Franks won the right to take over for Walker thanks to a marvelous spring. Brian Jackson looks to be taking over for Reggie Smith. In August this group will be set for sure. Right now it seems to much of a crap shoot to really make any guarantees. The hammer for this unit is the D-Line. Led by Big 12 sack leader DE Auston English, this group looks to be good enough to help the back seven adjust and learn the game. All four defensive line starters return for OU, thanks in part for the return of DeMarcus Granger. Granger was sent home before the Fiesta Bowl for shoplifting and suspended for that game. Perhaps the most impressive of them all, Sophomore Gerald McCoy is getting compared to the likes of Chicago Bears DT, and former OU standout, Tommy Harris. After the first two or three games of the season, this unit may end up being a nightmare for opposing offenses.

Outlook: The offense is intact which is a very good thing for the defense. Look for OU and their new found love for the no huddle to put a lot of points on the board the first few games. OU needs to learn from last year's mistakes, that is being able to play and win on the road. If they can do this, look for OU to be playing for their 8th national championship.

Record Prediction: 11-1

[KantoSooner]

That's about it, though I think it's a bit hard on the secondary.
so, the issue comes down to intangibles. On paper, no way should we have lost to Colorado or Tech and certainly not to West Va. But we did and the reason was bad attitude.
We'll see whether the team wants to win 'em all pretty early in the season, I think.

[OUMallen]

Football analysis is good...but if you're publishing it, I'd proofread it one more time. Not being a grammarnazi, just don't want your solid analysis overshadowed by some smaller errors.

[cvsooner]

One other area you might have mentioned, frequently overlooked, is the hole left by the graduation of kicker Garrett Hartley, plus concerns about our return game.

Otherwise, I took the liberty of correcting for accuracy, clarity, grammar, punctuation and spelling:

Oklahoma Sooners
Coach: Bob Stoops (10th season, 97-22, 97-22 overall)
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Stadium: Gaylord Family- Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (82,112)

Four consecutive BCS Bowl losses linger in the minds of the Oklahoma faithful. The fans, the players, and the coaches of Oklahoma want nothing but championships. 2008 will be no different. Oklahoma is once again loaded and the talent is flowing like a raging river. The chore this year: shore up the defensive back seven.

Offense: With 8 returning starters, the offense looks to keep rolling from the 2007 season. Led by Sophomore QB Sam Bradford, the Sooners look to make a bid for their sixth Big 12 Title and eighth National Title. The rushing attack will be by committee. Look for RB Demarco Murray to lead the way, with RB Chris Brown running over the defense. The strength of this already potent offense is intact from a year ago. The offensive line returns every starter, plus quality depth. Three potential NFL stars anchor this line, led by Duke Robinson and Phil Loadholt. Not that this is enough: OU is also fielding perhaps the best Tight End in the nation this year, Jermaine Gresham. Gresham is a soft-handed touchdown magnet. When Sam needs an out, Gresham will provide it. The WR corps lost Malcolm Kelly early to the NFL draft, but they did retain Bradford's go-to guy, Senior WR Juaquin Iglesias. He led the team in receiving yards and in receptions in 2007. Overall, OU is loaded with weapons on offense. If Bradford has a sophomore slump, it should not be much of one.

Defense: Only five defensive starters return for OU and this could be troublesome in the early games. Who will replace Big 12 Defensive POY, MLB Curtis Lofton, corner backs Reggie Smith and Marcus Walker and safety D.J. Wolfe? The good thing here is, Oklahoma has talent on the defensive side of the ball, just not proven talent. Linebackers Austin Box, Ryan Reynolds, and J.R. Bryant look to be tapped as game 1 starters. FS Lendy Holmes and SS Nic Harris look to provide the experience in the secondary. Dominique Franks won the right to take over for Walker thanks to a marvelous spring. Brian Jackson looks to be taking over for Reggie Smith. In August this group will be set for sure. Right now it seems too much of a crap shoot to really make any guarantees. The hammer for this unit is the D-Line. Led by Big 12 sack leader DE Auston English, this group looks to be good enough to help the back seven adjust and learn the game. All four defensive line starters return for OU, thanks in part due to the return of DeMarcus Granger, who was sent home before the Fiesta Bowl for shoplifting and suspended for that game. Perhaps the most impressive of them all, Sophomore Gerald McCoy is favorably compared to the likes of Chicago Bears DT and former OU standout Tommie Harris. After the first two or three games of the season, this unit may end up being a nightmare for opposing offenses.

Outlook: The offense is intact which is a very good thing for the defense. Look for OU and their new found love for the no huddle to put a lot of points on the board the first few games. OU needs to learn from last year's mistakes, specifically being able to play and win on the road. If they can do this, look for OU to be playing for their 8th national championship.

Record Prediction: 11-1

[IronHorseSooner]

I wonder who he has projected as our loss.

[semperfisooner]

I honestly think that Malcolm Kelly won't be missed as much as many people are saying. The returning receiving corps is very talented plus some. I think alot of new faces will step up too this fall. Ryan Broyles def and I think Quentin Chaney will have a good year and be consistent. And of the course the tremendously talented threesome of freshman in Dejuan Miller, Josh Jarboe and Jameel Owens. Any of them could step up and be big time too. There's plenty of talent at WR. And plenty of talent on defense to replace our lost starters. Plenty of speed on defense. Our linebackers will be very fast.

[soonersn20xx]

I feel our biggest weakness will be our LBs and if our secondary has to cheat up, well-balanced offenses may be able to take advantage. I am hoping our D-line can be dominating and keep the opposing OL occupied to allow our LBs the freedom to plug any holes.

[KantoSooner]

As always, it starts with lineplay; and our d-line will be very, very good this year and capable of providing massive pressure, penetration and containment. That is likely to make our linebackers and secondary look much better than if they had to cover for a suspect line. And don't get me wrong, the LBs and DBs are not bad; it's just my guess that they will end up looking better than they are.
Me happy and waiting impatiently for the season to get here.

[VA Sooner]

LBs are the weak link but with the first two games as experience-building, should be enough to figure out who plays where and how to excel.

Curiosity... who is the one loss you predicted? Texas A&M because of venue? Texas Tech because of offensive firepower?

[IronHorseSooner]

Curiosity... who is the one loss you predicted? Texas A&M because of venue? Texas Tech because of offensive firepower?

I'm not that scared of A&M. Sherman is trying to make McGee a passing QB when he has no receivers and has been running th option for three years. Taco Tech would be, but, like others have said, return games against OU when they are at home usually don't go well for the visitors. For some reason KSTATE concerns me. They are an absolutely mystery due to all of the JUCO guys, and they laid waste to UTerus last year (while getting lambasted by the worst Neb team in 50 years).

[OU_Sooners75]

One other area you might have mentioned, frequently overlooked, is the hole left by the graduation of kicker Garrett Hartley, plus concerns about our return game.

Otherwise, I took the liberty of correcting for accuracy, clarity, grammar, punctuation and spelling:

Oklahoma Sooners
Coach: Bob Stoops (10th season, 97-22, 97-22 overall)
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Stadium: Gaylord Family- Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (82,112)

Four consecutive BCS Bowl losses linger in the minds of the Oklahoma faithful. The fans, the players, and the coaches of Oklahoma want nothing but championships. 2008 will be no different. Oklahoma is once again loaded and the talent is flowing like a raging river. The chore this year: shore up the defensive back seven.

Offense: With 8 returning starters, the offense looks to keep rolling from the 2007 season. Led by Sophomore QB Sam Bradford, the Sooners look to make a bid for their sixth Big 12 Title and eighth National Title. The rushing attack will be by committee. Look for RB Demarco Murray to lead the way, with RB Chris Brown running over the defense. The strength of this already potent offense is intact from a year ago. The offensive line returns every starter, plus quality depth. Three potential NFL stars anchor this line, led by Duke Robinson and Phil Loadholt. Not that this is enough: OU is also fielding perhaps the best Tight End in the nation this year, Jermaine Gresham. Gresham is a soft-handed touchdown magnet. When Sam needs an out, Gresham will provide it. The WR corps lost Malcolm Kelly early to the NFL draft, but they did retain Bradford's go-to guy, Senior WR Juaquin Iglesias. He led the team in receiving yards and in receptions in 2007. Overall, OU is loaded with weapons on offense. If Bradford has a sophomore slump, it should not be much of one.

Defense: Only five defensive starters return for OU and this could be troublesome in the early games. Who will replace Big 12 Defensive POY, MLB Curtis Lofton, corner backs Reggie Smith and Marcus Walker and safety D.J. Wolfe? The good thing here is, Oklahoma has talent on the defensive side of the ball, just not proven talent. Linebackers Austin Box, Ryan Reynolds, and J.R. Bryant look to be tapped as game 1 starters. FS Lendy Holmes and SS Nic Harris look to provide the experience in the secondary. Dominique Franks won the right to take over for Walker thanks to a marvelous spring. Brian Jackson looks to be taking over for Reggie Smith. In August this group will be set for sure. Right now it seems too much of a crap shoot to really make any guarantees. The hammer for this unit is the D-Line. Led by Big 12 sack leader DE Auston English, this group looks to be good enough to help the back seven adjust and learn the game. All four defensive line starters return for OU, thanks in part due to the return of DeMarcus Granger, who was sent home before the Fiesta Bowl for shoplifting and suspended for that game. Perhaps the most impressive of them all, Sophomore Gerald McCoy is favorably compared to the likes of Chicago Bears DT and former OU standout Tommie Harris. After the first two or three games of the season, this unit may end up being a nightmare for opposing offenses.

Outlook: The offense is intact which is a very good thing for the defense. Look for OU and their new found love for the no huddle to put a lot of points on the board the first few games. OU needs to learn from last year's mistakes, specifically being able to play and win on the road. If they can do this, look for OU to be playing for their 8th national championship.

Record Prediction: 11-1

Thanks. God knows me and grammar are not good friends.

[OU_Sooners75]

To answer everyones, "Who is our one loss," questions.

I am not sure to be honest. I can see this team going undefeated. But airing on the side of caution and conservatism, I went with a 1 loss prediction.

[OU_Sooners75]

Bump for everyones enjoyment.

[JLEW1818]

yayaya, we lost our last 4 BCS games... lets try to win one this year? NO ****

[OU_Sooners75]

yayaya, we lost our last 4 BCS games... lets try to win one this year? NO ****

Something crawl up your @$$ this morning?

Or do facts just ruin your day?

[StoopTroup]

Something crawl up your @$$ this morning?

Or do facts just ruin your day?

:pop:

[soonersn20xx]

I think the Coach and these players should change their no.1 goal, that being to win the conference championship. To, win their bowl game. Winning the conf championship is no longer a goal as it more like just expected now.:pop: