My thoughts...

[OU4189]

As you can tell from my post count, I rarely make post. I just really enjoy reading other peoples post and opinion concerning the state of OU sports, and try to see both sides of the situation, but after the debacle last night, I really can't understand ANYONE defending the coaching staff in any form. First, I believe Stoops is a good coach, but not a "savior" that so many people think. Oklahoma football program has and always will be an elite football program. Just like certain basketball schools (i.e Kansas, NC, and UCLA) they will have some "down" years, but never fall off the national scene to long. OU had it down years whenever Blake and Snelly where coaches recently, BUT they still brought in top level talent. When Stoops first arrived you could since a young coach that wanted to prove something and had that burning desire to prove it!
Now it seems as if Stoops and the coaching staff are just to **** comfortable. There is no excuse for the performance last night(or all year). I've been reading all season long people making excuses for injuries and losing players to graduation and the NFL, and to a point, some of the excuses are valid. Losing Sam and Gresh was a HUGE lose, but it wasn't like it happened in the middle of the year. Landry has been the QB in every game except for two in gametime minutes. Whenever you have a young inexperienced QB and O-Line, to me, I would think you scrap the no-huddle and go back to conventional offense and fundamentals. What does the OU coaching staff do? They use the company line.."Who ever is in there, has to step up and keep plugging along"?! WTF?! That sounds good for a receiver, db, rb...not so good for a young QB and O-line. I would hate to think how worse this year would be without the defense performing at the level it has. Yes...they haven't had that key 3rd down stop, but I seriously doubt this offense could have gotten they plays to win the game.
I also love how some people like to defend their stance by saying..."Stoops has won X amount of B12 championships and played for X amount of MNC!!" While that is all fine and good, this is about "what have you done for me lately?!" I don't want to hear about winning the B12 championships!! It's about winning PERIOD!! It kills me when people hate the rankings system, but as soon as it pertains to a B12 team its a different story! For example...Everyone talks about OU beating TT and Mizzu during the season and B12 championship games last year when they where in the top 5, but how did those teams (specifically the B12 south) look in their bowl games? TT LOST to Ole Miss (I don't care that they beat FLA...which OU couldn't do BTW), OSU LOST Oregon, Texas beat an offensive challenged Ohio St team and of course OU LOST to Fla.....That's 1-3 folks vs their peers!! And that has happened on a yearly bases, so I hate hearing how good we are in conference. It's about perparing for teams you don't normally see and play away from the confines of your homefield!! And to that point, Stoops and company have performed well below average.
Don't get me wrong...I LOVE that Stoops challenges his team and coaching staff by scheduling tough OOC games (instead of the SEC creampuff OOC games) but something needs to change and I seriously don't know if Stoops cares to do it as long as the OU Regents gives him a pass on his job performance. I as a fan would like some answers, but unfortunately I believe I won't see any.
Sorry about the incoherent rant, but I'm wondering WTH is going on?!!!

[Blues1]

" but I'm wondering WTH is going on?!!!

ME Too ~~~ Maybe everyone is just getting a Little Too Fat and Lazy - Nice Homes - Easy Life - Big Paychecks ~ And Just Not Hungry Enough for The Success we Once enjoyed....

[rawlingsHOH]

You started becoming irrational right here....


I also love how some people like to defend their stance by saying..."Stoops has won X amount of B12 championships and played for X amount of MNC!!" While that is all fine and good, this is about "what have you done for me lately?!" I don't want to hear about winning the B12 championships!! It's about winning PERIOD!! It kills me when people hate the rankings system, but as soon as it pertains to a B12 team its a different story!

[OU4189]

You started becoming irrational right here....
Irrational? Okay...So I guess you're one of the defenders? Keep drinking the Kool-aid :pop:
And by the way...please explain HOW I'm Irrational? Because I've read on here and other fan sites that "We beat the number(whatever) team in the B12 championship game!!" or "We just destroyed TT...they where ranked #( )!!" But if it's a lesser team...say, a Boise, Cincy or TCU are in or near the top of the polls, people would say that they haven't played anyone or that their conference sucks. Or better yet..and this is the best one..."If (insert team) played in the B12, they would have X amount of losses!!" You know what?! Who cares!! I despise the BCS just as much as anyone else and OU has played for the MNC more than any other schools, BUT being 1-3 in those games and 2-5 in BCS bowl gams are complete garbage. The only one of those games that I really worried about was the USC game and we saw how that ended up!
And I love how if you question the coaching staff you're automatically "a bandwagon fan" or "should be a Aggie fan".

[rawlingsHOH]

Irrational? Okay...So I guess you're one of the defenders? Keep drinking the Kool-aid :pop:

Nope, I'm just very level-headed when it comes to expectations.

Never as good as your best game, never as bad as your worst.

[Boooom!]

Its just a screwed up season. Our offense was developed during the off season around Sam, Gresh and the rest of the receivers and RBs. It was every bit the intentions of the coaches that the O-line would come along soon enough.

Then there was the "well, maybe Sam will be back" syndrome. Do you rework the offense after game 4 or 5 once you find out Sam isnt coming back?

IMO, right now is when the coaches need to start evaluating what they need to do for next season. The heck with "winning out", and the heck with some Toilet Bowl in some obscure place in the country. Just start working on the O for next season.

I am proud of our team and our coaches. I feel badly for Stache because he got thrown in the kennel wearing milk-bone underwear. With the right practice (practice directed and revolving around Stache..and not Sam), he will do outstanding.

You cannot structure your offense around the skills and qualities of one player (Sam), and ask someone having other skills to play "like Sam". And that is whats going on with Jones.

[Collier11]

Irrational? Okay...So I guess you're one of the defenders? Keep drinking the Kool-aid :pop:
And by the way...please explain HOW I'm Irrational? Because I've read on here and other fan sites that "We beat the number(whatever) team in the B12 championship game!!" or "We just destroyed TT...they where ranked #( )!!" But if it's a lesser team...say, a Boise, Cincy or TCU are in or near the top of the polls, people would say that they haven't played anyone or that their conference sucks. Or better yet..and this is the best one..."If (insert team) played in the B12, they would have X amount of losses!!" You know what?! Who cares!! I despise the BCS just as much as anyone else and OU has played for the MNC more than any other schools, BUT being 1-3 in those games and 2-5 in BCS bowl gams are complete garbage. The only one of those games that I really worried about was the USC game and we saw how that ended up!
And I love how if you question the coaching staff you're automatically "a bandwagon fan" or "should be a Aggie fan".

Let me make this easy for you, you cant make it to the BCS or a National title game without winning your conf, you cant win a national title without first getting to the game, Stoops has done both at a better clip than any other coach in the nation. We are 2 or 3 plays from have 2 or 3 national titles under Stoops, unfortunately we didnt make the plays to win the game and that is the way it happens sometimes. I would bet that we will be right back in the top 5 next year, if we arent I would be extremely surprised

[rawlingsHOH]

I despise the BCS just as much as anyone else and OU has played for the MNC more than any other schools, BUT being 1-3 in those games and 2-5 in BCS bowl gams are complete garbage. The only one of those games that I really worried about was the USC game and we saw how that ended up!

If you weren't worried about the WVU game, you simply weren't paying attention. That was one of the easiest calls in years.


And I love how if you question the coaching staff you're automatically "a bandwagon fan" or "should be a Aggie fan"
Not even close to the truth.

I love to question and criticize a staff. But it actually has some sort of depth to it, such as, "why are we moving Reynolds to SLB against the run, when he is so good inside?".

Trying at least to be somewhat constructive instead of the IRRATIONAL... "landry sucks", "stevens sucks", "way sucks", "wilson runs too much", "wilson passes to much", "stoops can't win big games", etc.

Dig?

[KingWKB]

Get ready to be surprised... How do you expect we become a top five team next year? I would really like to hear it.

[rawlingsHOH]

Get ready to be surprised... How do you expect we become a top five team next year? I would really like to hear it.
We were 5 points from being (8-0). 3 bounces here and there is sometimes all it takes.

Stay level.

[Collier11]

Same way we do pretty much every year, we Landry will have a bunch of starts under his belt, our O-line should be better, we will return 7-8 Def starters, our WRs will be better,we will have Dmurray back, etc. etc. etc.

[OU4189]

If you weren't worried about the WVU game, you simply weren't paying attention. That was one of the easiest calls in years.


Not even close to the truth.

I love to question and criticize a staff. But it actually has some sort of depth to it, such as, "why are we moving Reynolds to SLB against the run, when he is so good inside?".

Trying at least to be somewhat constructive instead of the IRRATIONAL... "landry sucks", "stevens sucks", "way sucks", "wilson runs too much", "wilson passes to much", "stoops can't win big games", etc.

Dig?

Rawlings...First of all I never once said I wasn't worried about the WVU game..In fact I worry about just about EVERY game OU plays!! But you can't honestly say you thought WV would handle OU the way they did? How many players on that WVU team do you think OU recruited? But that has little to do with the core issue of having your team ready to play on a consistent level...and that my friend falls on the coaches. And even though I don't get on message boards and rip into the players (You don't see me ripping the players in any fashion), the coaches are fair game to question. Anyone with any fundamental football knowledge can see we have MAJOR recruiting or player development problems and that falls directly on the coaching staff.

[BoulderSooner79]

You're assertion that OU is an elite program and always will return to that status is a stretch. Stoops really is the reason OU has been elite for most of this decade. Michigan and ND are the 2 programs that probably have more history than OU and they have major problems right now with no guarantee to get back to national status. Credit where credit is due and as long as Stoops stays, we will recruit well and run a good organization. You can certainly question the specifics and having what it takes to win it all, but he will make sure OU is in the conversation.

No doubt this year blows and is unique to other Stoops teams in all respects. The changes that are made will be interesting to watch and I'm sure there will be changes. But as far as the overall performance last night, most parts of the team played ok. The only really bad play was by the QB followed by the kicker. Unfortunately, those are the 2 areas that have to play well to win a defensive battle. The O-line was beaten by the NU D-line, but that was fully expected. But they gave Jones time to throw on enough plays to be effective and the running games worked well enough to keep them honest. Jones just looked like he was throwing the ball randomly around the field most the time. Even with that, we moved the ball pretty easily between the 30s and could have won the game on FGs alone if we had any prayer of hitting in the 40-45 range.

[oksoonerdave]

OU will be better next year. The O-line will undergo more strength conditioning during the off season and have a year of experience. I only see improvement with them.

Although we will lose some of the defense, we will just reload at those positions.

This year is a bust. I didn't like some of the offensive game calling and the no huddle and many others have stated the same. However, OU will be back and ready to shoot for the crystal ball. Maybe not next year but they will be back.

[Charla]

yeah we were only one play from winning that game last night. That play would be a touchdown and we could not do that no way playing a team that has lost to Iowa st. WE SUCK and have been getting out coached for awhile, If you liked what you saw and are content then yes keep drinking the Kool-Aid

[OU4189]

You're assertion that OU is an elite program and always will return to that status is a stretch. Stoops really is the reason OU has been elite for most of this decade. Michigan and ND are the 2 programs that probably have more history than OU and they have major problems right now with no guarantee to get back to national status. Credit where credit is due and as long as Stoops stays, we will recruit well and run a good organization. You can certainly question the specifics and having what it takes to win it all, but he will make sure OU is in the conversation.

No doubt this year blows and is unique to other Stoops teams in all respects. The changes that are made will be interesting to watch and I'm sure there will be changes. But as far as the overall performance last night, most parts of the team played ok. The only really bad play was by the QB followed by the kicker. Unfortunately, those are the 2 areas that have to play well to win a defensive battle. The O-line was beaten by the NU D-line, but that was fully expected. But they gave Jones time to throw on enough plays to be effective and the running games worked well enough to keep them honest. Jones just looked like he was throwing the ball randomly around the field most the time. Even with that, we moved the ball pretty easily between the 30s and could have won the game on FGs alone if we had any prayer of hitting in the 40-45 range.

Boulder...I guess you and everyone else don't see MY point. I'm a realist. I understand OU can't go undefeated or play for the MNC every year, but I also know when a team is undisciplined and not prepared to play. How hard is it to take your raw unproven QB and O-line and stick them in a huddle? I mean, it ain't like OU is running a true hurry up spread offense anyway. Tell me this...During the BYU game on the 4th and goal, don't you think it may have been a good idea to put the team in a huddle and make sure everyone knew their assignment? Nope....instead the coaches let LJ look like a deer in headlights and NOONE on the coaching staff had enough sense to realize that the play clock was running down to zero!! And I know that is only one example...but my point is...time and time again, coaching decisions and lack of player readiness has to be called into question.

[soonerhubs]

Not to be jumping to next season, but I'm hoping OU's pre-season rank is 23 or even lower.

[SoonerFaninAZ]

Anyone with any fundamental football knowledge can see we have MAJOR recruiting or player development problems and that falls directly on the coaching staff.

When did these recruiting and player development problems manifest themselves?

The University of Oklahoma has been doing a lot right for a long time under Bob Stoops. We fans always see what's wrong with our teams with much more detail than we do with other teams. We always remember what doesn't work or the games we didn't win.

The fact is, there are about 116 or 117 FBS teams that would love to be where the OU program is right now.

I completely get the "what have you done for me lately" argument. And one season ago, this team played for the MNC. In 2005, the Sooners lost four games, then lost their QB. Stoops and his staff and the players seemed to bounce back quite nicely.

As for the record in BCS games (or any bowl game), I submit that those games are glorified exhibitions. Rip Stoops and Co. for the losses to LSU and USC. That's fine. But really, other than the MNC game, the other games are meaningless. A loss in the regular season could affect the chances of appearing in the MNC game. A loss in conference could affect the chances of winning the Big 12. A loss in a bowl game effects...what? Recruiting? Maybe, but I really don't think losing a Fiesta Bowl carries much weight with a kid being recruited by OU. What other sport plays a game at any point in their season, that has zero effect on any kind of championship at all? Would it be nice to win those games? Sure. Is this my way of rationalizing 0-5 in BCS games? Maybe. But, the fact is those games (outside of the LSU and USC games) mean absolutely nothing in terms of titles.

Criticism of the staff is certainly fair game. But, as rawlings stated, let's try to remove our built in bias (both positive and negative), and look at the big picture with reason.

[dongill]

The offensive coordinator, KW, is the problem!

[Leroy Lizard]

But not last year, right?

[Leroy Lizard]

As you can tell from my post count, I rarely make post. I just really enjoy reading other peoples post and opinion concerning the state of OU sports, and try to see both sides of the situation, but after the debacle last night, I really can't understand ANYONE defending the coaching staff in any form. First, I believe Stoops is a good coach, but not a "savior" that so many people think. Oklahoma football program has and always will be an elite football program. Just like certain basketball schools (i.e Kansas, NC, and UCLA) they will have some "down" years, but never fall off the national scene to long. OU had it down years whenever Blake and Snelly where coaches recently, BUT they still brought in top level talent. When Stoops first arrived you could since a young coach that wanted to prove something and had that burning desire to prove it!
Now it seems as if Stoops and the coaching staff are just to **** comfortable. There is no excuse for the performance last night(or all year). I've been reading all season long people making excuses for injuries and losing players to graduation and the NFL, and to a point, some of the excuses are valid. Losing Sam and Gresh was a HUGE lose, but it wasn't like it happened in the middle of the year. Landry has been the QB in every game except for two in gametime minutes. Whenever you have a young inexperienced QB and O-Line, to me, I would think you scrap the no-huddle and go back to conventional offense and fundamentals. What does the OU coaching staff do? They use the company line.."Who ever is in there, has to step up and keep plugging along"?! WTF?! That sounds good for a receiver, db, rb...not so good for a young QB and O-line. I would hate to think how worse this year would be without the defense performing at the level it has. Yes...they haven't had that key 3rd down stop, but I seriously doubt this offense could have gotten they plays to win the game.
I also love how some people like to defend their stance by saying..."Stoops has won X amount of B12 championships and played for X amount of MNC!!" While that is all fine and good, this is about "what have you done for me lately?!" I don't want to hear about winning the B12 championships!! It's about winning PERIOD!! It kills me when people hate the rankings system, but as soon as it pertains to a B12 team its a different story! For example...Everyone talks about OU beating TT and Mizzu during the season and B12 championship games last year when they where in the top 5, but how did those teams (specifically the B12 south) look in their bowl games? TT LOST to Ole Miss (I don't care that they beat FLA...which OU couldn't do BTW), OSU LOST Oregon, Texas beat an offensive challenged Ohio St team and of course OU LOST to Fla.....That's 1-3 folks vs their peers!! And that has happened on a yearly bases, so I hate hearing how good we are in conference. It's about perparing for teams you don't normally see and play away from the confines of your homefield!! And to that point, Stoops and company have performed well below average.
Don't get me wrong...I LOVE that Stoops challenges his team and coaching staff by scheduling tough OOC games (instead of the SEC creampuff OOC games) but something needs to change and I seriously don't know if Stoops cares to do it as long as the OU Regents gives him a pass on his job performance. I as a fan would like some answers, but unfortunately I believe I won't see any.
Sorry about the incoherent rant, but I'm wondering WTH is going on?!!!

WTH is going on??? I teach him about the need for coherence and paragraphs, and he goes out and stinks up the joint with a rambling, incoherent diatribe. He was a three-star student coming in, but then posts as if he doesn't even care. Someone needs to light a fire under his butt.

Signed,

An English Teacher

[MyT Oklahoma]

This thread started out with a good, well thought out post and was followed by other good posts. Thanks to everyone for adding their thoughts. That is the main reason I come here, to hear what others are thinking.

As for some of what has happened the last few years in BCS bowl games not counting everyone seems to have forgotton the 4 out of the last 5 game losses to you know who. That alone sucks in that we could and should have won 3 of those 4 losses.

P.S. That is it.. I had to say it. Our Coaches are becoming UT's b*****s.

[badger]

My thoughts...

Just got back from the big road trip, and I have no complaints about that. However, for autograph seekers out there, please keep in mind that Sam Bradford is right-handed. His right arm is still (quite visibly, I might add) in a sling. People, stop asking Sammie for his autograph. He told people over and over at the hotel that he wasn't allowed to sign. He cannot move his right arm because it's in a sling. His doctors aren't letting him sign your ball, even if that would make it worth hundreds in a matter of seconds. He's trying to heal from surgery. Thus, he can't sign his name. Please, stop asking until the sling is gone. You're going to get turned down.

Best line from an autograph seeker holding a football: "Aww, all I got was Jimmy Stevens!"

[rawlingsHOH]

But you can't honestly say you thought WV would handle OU the way they did? How many players on that WVU team do you think OU recruited?
I predicted WVU would win by 3 scores. Pretty good (lucky) call. Regardless, I called it. Achived on OUInsider, somewhere.

OU was without about 7 key players. It was slamdunk city.

[rainiersooner]

I wonder what our expectations would have been for this season if Gresham and Bradford had declared for the draft. Because if anyone thought we would challenge for the NC under those circumstances, in my humble opinion, they would have been kool-aid drinkers. The nature of college football is that you have down years after you peak and play for a national championship. LSU lost 5 games last year after winning the NC. Florida will be breaking in a new defense and QB next year. How has USC done this year after it lost so many players to graduation?

This year has been particularly grating for OU, to be sure. But we lost 3 out of 5 linemen to the NFL last year; we lost a Heisman QB and AA tight end. We lost two wide receivers to the NFL. I would love for there to have been no drop off on the offense. I did not expect it to be this severe. But, I do not think this has anything to do with Bob Stoops and the coaches being fat, lazy, or stupid.

[westbrooke]

I purposefully stayed away from the board for a while because I knew what kind of ****storm would be brewing here. I'm glad to see that cooler heads are (mostly) prevailing.

Do we really think the difference between this team being 5-4 and being undefeated is a huddle? No, the difference is standing on the sidelines in a sling and on crutches in the form of two future NFL first-rounders around whom we planned our whole offense for this year. Even with them playing, I'm not convinced we'd look that great, much like every other team this year.

So let's start with the obvious: Landry didn't have a very good game last night. Might that have something to do with Nebraska's biggest strength (one All American and one All Conference DTs) lining up opposite our biggest weakness (the porous O-line that has been victimized in every loss this year)? Suh and Crick were in Landry's face all night. The game was in one of the hardest stadiums to pull out a road win, ever. He didn't handle it well. Neither did anyone else on our offense, with the possible exception of Broyles. I expected to win, and I'm disappointed we didn't. I'm not going to mount anyone's head on a pike as a consequence.

The dude's a freshman being held to a Heisman standard. I expect Landry to play better, and as a fan, I demand it. I happen to think that he will.

By all means, open up the quarterback competition next year. But don't be surprised when Landry wins it.

[OU4189]

WTH is going on??? I teach him about the need for coherence and paragraphs, and he goes out and stinks up the joint with a rambling, incoherent diatribe. He was a three-star student coming in, but then posts as if he doesn't even care. Someone needs to light a fire under his butt.

Signed,

An English Teacher

Thanks for the English lesson...it was my worst subject. And to think I was just on a message board to express my opinion... Excuse my "incoherent diatribe"..my bad!! :P

Signed,

Underachieving Student

[OU4189]

I purposefully stayed away from the board for a while because I knew what kind of ****storm would be brewing here. I'm glad to see that cooler heads are (mostly) prevailing.

Do we really think the difference between this team being 5-4 and being undefeated is a huddle? No, the difference is standing on the sidelines in a sling and on crutches in the form of two future NFL first-rounders around whom we planned our whole offense for this year. Even with them playing, I'm not convinced we'd look that great, much like every other team this year.

So let's start with the obvious: Landry didn't have a very good game last night. Might that have something to do with Nebraska's biggest strength (one All American and one All Conference DTs) lining up opposite our biggest weakness (the porous O-line that has been victimized in every loss this year)? Suh and Crick were in Landry's face all night. The game was in one of the hardest stadiums to pull out a road win, ever. He didn't handle it well. Neither did anyone else on our offense, with the possible exception of Broyles. I expected to win, and I'm disappointed we didn't. I'm not going to mount anyone's head on a pike as a consequence.

The dude's a freshman being held to a Heisman standard. I expect Landry to play better, and as a fan, I demand it. I happen to think that he will.

By all means, open up the quarterback competition next year. But don't be surprised when Landry wins it.

Yes I do think getting in a huddle would solve plenty of problems. I would rather have a 4th and goal than a 4th and 6..and that goes to the core of my whole "rant" earlier that some of you guys miss.The team nearly uses the whole play clock anyway, so why not get everyone on the same page, snap count..etc? I never expected OU to be undefeated after Sam and Gresh went down. I also figured the o-line would struggle early..but anyone that thought going into 10th game we would be 5-4(and still not bowl eligible), they would've probably been banned from the site!! And yeah...I understand all the "if's" that some people are saying, BUT, as someone told me once... If "if" was a fifth of gin...we all could get drunk!! jk.

[sooner59]

My thoughts...

Just got back from the big road trip, and I have no complaints about that. However, for autograph seekers out there, please keep in mind that Sam Bradford is right-handed. His right arm is still (quite visibly, I might add) in a sling. People, stop asking Sammie for his autograph. He told people over and over at the hotel that he wasn't allowed to sign. He cannot move his right arm because it's in a sling. His doctors aren't letting him sign your ball, even if that would make it worth hundreds in a matter of seconds. He's trying to heal from surgery. Thus, he can't sign his name. Please, stop asking until the sling is gone. You're going to get turned down.

Best line from an autograph seeker holding a football: "Aww, all I got was Jimmy Stevens!"

Haha....Jimmy Stevens had a few decent kickoff returns last night. Since you were in the stadium like me, did you hear the announcer say Franks and Stevens are back deep for Oklahoma? LOL. Apparently he didn't realize that Stevens and Madu have the same number. Its tough though, because they look like identical twins, right? :D

[Leroy Lizard]

Thanks for the English lesson...it was my worst subject.

Criticism sucks, doesn't it?