Can Anyone with ESPN Insider...

[SbOrOiNaEnR]

...post the complete Top 25 Intel for OU posted on ESPN.com today?


When you talk to Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson (who won the Broyles Award as America's top assistant coach last season) and defensive coordinator Brent Venables, they sound a little like a pair of politicians the day after an election. You can barely figure out who won and who lost.


Ask Venables about struggles, and he'll emphasize the experienced group he'll now be working with, one that's ready to overcome any mistakes of the past: "With our front seven returning intact we have a chance to be awfully, awfully good." Or ask Wilson about replacing key staff, and he'll note the clear leadership in place: "We know how special [QB Sam] Bradford is."


In football, as in politics, you can spin dominant victories or crushing defeats into virtually anything. OU felt both in '08. In Norman in '09, though, "Change is here!" ought to also mean "Business as usual."



Start with the Venables administration. The OU defensive coordinator went into the 2008 campaign short. "We had seven first-year starters on defense, so I think it took some adjusting. There was a growing period, there's no question," he says.


That was no way to enter the Big 12. Venables says performance has to be considered relative to the talent faced, and "I think if you look at the Big 12, I don't even think it's debatable; you look at the skill level of quarterbacks, and the precision, and even the running backs to the wide receivers and tight ends, I don't know if you'll find a better collection of skill.


To read the rest of this Top 25 Intel, you must be an ESPN Insider.

Yeah, yeah...I'm a cheap bastard. Please share the wealth!

[the_ouskull]

No, I can't. I'm too upset over the treatment of Kelvin Sampson on this board.

:D

the_ouskull

[Collier11]

Did he call you and ask you to say that???

[sooner2b09]

I got you


Top 25 Intel: No. 3 Oklahoma
The Sooners' newfound experience on defense could be just the ticket
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Insider
By Chris Sprow
ESPN The Magazine
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When you talk to Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson (who won the Broyles Award as America's top assistant coach last season) and defensive coordinator Brent Venables, they sound a little like a pair of politicians the day after an election. You can barely figure out who won and who lost.

Ask Venables about struggles, and he'll emphasize the experienced group he'll now be working with, one that's ready to overcome any mistakes of the past: "With our front seven returning intact we have a chance to be awfully, awfully good." Or ask Wilson about replacing key staff, and he'll note the clear leadership in place: "We know how special [QB Sam] Bradford is."

In football, as in politics, you can spin dominant victories or crushing defeats into virtually anything. OU felt both in '08. In Norman in '09, though, "Change is here!" ought to also mean "Business as usual."

Getty ImagesIf Gerald McCoy is getting around *Texas* OL like this in Dallas in October, the Sooners might be headed to Pasadena.

Start with the Venables administration. The OU defensive coordinator went into the 2008 campaign short. "We had seven first-year starters on defense, so I think it took some adjusting. There was a growing period, there's no question," he says.

That was no way to enter the Big 12. Venables says performance has to be considered relative to the talent faced, and "I think if you look at the Big 12, I don't even think it's debatable; you look at the skill level of quarterbacks, and the precision, and even the running backs to the wide receivers and tight ends, I don't know if you'll find a better collection of skill.

To read the rest of this Top 25 Intel, you must be an ESPN Insider. Insider

"It lends credibility to the explosiveness of offenses over the ineptness of defenses."

The skill mixed with inexperience created a double-edged sword for the Sooners defense. While Venables and head coach Bob Stoops were thrilled with how disruptive their defense was -- OU had 42 sacks and created 34 turnovers (good for fourth in the country) -- the aggressiveness occasionally backfired.

The Sooners allowed 62 plays of 20 or more yards last season. There were 98 teams in the nation that allowed fewer. Of the five Big 12 teams ranked in our preseason Top 25, the Sooners' defense allowed the most 20-plus-yard plays; *Texas*, their biggest competitor in the Big 12, was close, allowing 59 such plays.

Venables thinks experience will strengthen his defense.

For one thing, led by Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma's defensive line could be impossible to contain. "We're two-deep across the entire line," Venables says. The coach also notes that the big play can be mitigated by a solid group of linebackers. An injury to Ryan Reynolds might have been the difference in the Red River Rivalry loss to *Texas* last year, and Venables was forced to fuse together a terribly inexperienced unit. Not so this year. "It was the first year I can remember that we had no starters coming back at linebacker, and without those guys to manage the game you can really struggle at times. You can't have musical chairs at any position, let alone the center of your defense, and expect to be really good."

The key will be to keep the aggressiveness, but stay in control. (Campaign Management 101.) "You can almost be too fast and too aggressive; you have to be able to slow down sometimes. You have to be extremely aware of not putting yourself on an island."

For the defense, this also means surviving the running quarterbacks that gave them fits last year. Venables lists *Colt* McCoy, Zac Robinson, The Right Reverend Tim T. Messiah, Josh Freeman -- "it's the improvising that's tough." He'll see two of those guys at least once more.

Regardless, a defense that was second in the Big 12 is determined to overtake *Texas*, and they might have the experienced majority to do it.

Bradford, by the numbers (literally)

Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford's passing stats, broken into plays of 15 yards or less -- and more.
Statistic Less than 15 yards More than 15 yards
Comp/Att 258-348 44-94
Comp Pct. 74.1 46.8
Pass Yards 3,105 1,359
TD-INT 33-2 15-4
Att per TD 10.5 6.3

On the offensive side, leadership and continuity are the keys -- with all due respect to the power of slogans, change is not something to believe in.

That's because last year, Wilson oversaw a passing offense that made Sam Bradford a Heisman winner as he tossed for 4,720 yards and 50 TDs, and had two running backs that went over 1,000 yards in Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray. All three return. The coach has never seen anything like it.

Perhaps most impossible is this: What might have been the greatest offense in college football history (the team scored 99 TDs total) lost fumbles only twice. And while the Sooners lost a couple of great receivers in Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson, Wilson says "The talent we have back is better, if not more consistent."

Nothing against the 2008 unit, Wilson insists. He just believes people might undervalue what remains: good receivers, a great tight end … a decent QB. Bradford's only true weakness was downfield throwing, but it's not like the guy doesn't have a Heisman.

Up front, Wilson is excited about the prospects. "I think what we have here is a group where people don't know them as well, but you're talking about several four- and five-year college players," he says. "And Trent Williams -- I've coached great ones and he has the chance to be the best, an Outland Trophy guy."

Wilson says the biggest key will be to gain a level of consistency. Get these guys voting together, if you will. The offense was fantastic in the spring, but the coaches say there were too many home runs, followed by bad plays. If consistency can underlie the general explosiveness, things should be fantastic in Norman.

The YAC Attack

The wide receivers here (Gresham is a TE) have departed, but their ridiculous YAC numbers speak to Bradford's timing as a QB.
Name REC Yards YAC PCT of YAC
Juaquin Iglesias 69 1,092 420 38.5
Manuel Johnson 38 685 367 53.6
Team totals 324 4,635 2,528 54.5

While the receivers above are departed, the YAC stat speaks to Bradford's stellar timing. When the receiver never even has to slow down, every offense is a YAC attack.

In the end, the two politicians are like any we often see: at once at odds, excited, humble and hopeful. Venables wonders if the numbers really mean anything. "We ought to do more in just measuring the total stops per possession. The offenses are so efficient."

And there's Wilson, who, despite his campaign success from last year, still shrugs like a senator who couldn't get his signature bill passed. "After it all, we're still an offense that couldn't win two big games," he says. "But it's not negativity. Just a lack of fulfillment. We just want to do more." The two should campaign together.

[fadada1]

The Sooners allowed 62 plays of 20 or more yards last season. There were 98 teams in the nation that allowed fewer. Of the five Big 12 teams ranked in our preseason Top 25, the Sooners' defense allowed the most 20-plus-yard plays; **Texas**, their biggest competitor in the Big 12, was close, allowing 59 such plays.

good lord, don't tell the horns about this.

[rainiersooner]

that was a joke about the "decent" QB, right?

[sooner94]

that was a joke about the "decent" QB, right?

What about this statement: "Bradford's only true weakness was downfield throwing"

Seriously?

[BoulderSooner79]

What about this statement: "Bradford's only true weakness was downfield throwing"

Seriously?

Must have been referencing the below %50 completion rate on >15yd attempts. I don't know how to judge that stat, since I've never seen it broken down like that before. I do know that Sam improved tremendously from fresh->soph years on longer throws. Malcolm Kelly made some incredible catches on deep throws because he had to. Sam rarely hit him in stride on the deep route. Last year, Sam had much more arm strength and could get the ball out there with a flick of the wrist. I think Sam's completion % on longer throws would have been higher if he still had a big target like MK who could go up and get the ball. We will have some big guys this season if they earn some playing time.

[badger]

that was a joke about the "decent" QB, right?

A Kolt McCoy, a Tim Tivo and a "decent" QB walk into a bar...

[Eielson]

For the defense, this also means surviving the running quarterbacks that gave them fits last year. Venables lists *Colt* McCoy, Zac Robinson, The Right Reverend Tim T. Messiah, Josh Freeman -- "it's the improvising that's tough." He'll see two of those guys at least once more.

He calls him that too!

[allenrayx]

that was a joke about the "decent" QB, right?

no kidding............he only out threw and out scored every other QB and took home the heisman

[GottaHavePride]

He calls him that too!

Um, that's a filter in the board software. You can't type The Right Reverend Tim T. Messiah without it being replaced by The Right Reverend Tim T. Messiah.

And the crack about a "decent" QB was understatement for humorous effect.