Even though this is OUr rebuilding year . . .

[Jacie]

. . . it seems any analysis of the 2010 season leads to the conclusion that Oklahoma will go 12-0 or 11-1, with that 1 from some team other than sa*et. Okay, as Sooners with Bob Stoops at the helm, we have come to expect to be in contention for a conference title every year. Is that a realistic goal for 2010? Looking at the conference teams on OUr schedule, it would be but for one little concern . . .

Having read about the whorns on another thread, I am now convinced their defense is going to be as good or better than the 2009 group. With Landry Jones pressed into service OUr offense was almost enough to beat them so that is not the issue.

What I foresee happening, however, is this will be the season the sa*et rushing offense returns in a big way. They will rely more on the RB's this year than they have in any of the last three seasons. We saw the beginnings of this in 2009 and the trend will continue because they must protect Gilby. I also think they took notice that they were beaten by a team that could run the ball better in the MNC. Until their O-line proves it can give the QB time he needs in the pocket, I think their playbook will read run first to stop or slow the LB's and DE's from blitzing, which is how most teams approach defending against an opponent with a new QB. We may not see the gaudy passing stats we are used to from Ponyboy destroying the nonconference competition this year, because they will be working on that rushing attack. As we know what happens in the RRS (most rushing yards = winner) this is my biggest concern for OUr team.

[JLEW1818]

i don't think this is really a rebuilding year

i can see between 9 and 13 wins

like i've said. we will not lose a home game.

so pick me guaranteed losses

[Collier11]

This isnt a rebuilding year, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Due to all the injuries last year and all the young guys who got to play alot, last year was our rebuilding year

[JLEW1818]

texas
@mizzou (we own them)
@tamu (scary if JJ can run and pass)

@ Pokes.... hell i know what happened in 02, but this could be a 5 win team this year too. No dominant qb

@Cincy.... no gilyard, no Pike, no head coach, no chance.

@ Baylor??? I'lll be there for sure, so umm no... if they do beat us, we hold Sic'em hostage... and crap in his toilet, and not flush

[Collier11]

Cincy, A&M, Mizzou are the 3 scary ones to me, in that order

[MR2-Sooner86]

Why does everybody seem to leave out FSU? They seemed pretty good at the end of the year. I worry about them.

[Collier11]

FSU will be better IMO, it is a home game though and I have a ton of confidence at home

[OUster]

Respectfully, I disagree with the Texas analysis for one reason...with a new, drop back passer the helm, Davis is back to calling the plays. VY and Ponyboy were able to win against us, and other good defenses because they were able to call plays against defensive weaknesses from the field. Gilby doesn't yet have that ability and does not appear to have the dual threat ability Vy or Ponyboy did. With Texas back to it's traditional offense, they'll stomp inferior teams with talent alone and crumble when plan A doesn't work against a strong defense. Heck, my wife called Davis' first 8 plays after Ponyboy went down in the MNC game. I'll put money on a solid OU win this year. Texas defense will keep them in it for a while.

[JLEW1818]

we beat Florida State. Beal destroys Ponder... then i punch him after the game as well..... and take the 500 dollar fine

win win, in my book

[IronHorseSooner]

*'s rushing game comes back? They haven't had one since Ced the Pothead was there. They replace the majority of their OL, and have no "go-to" RB. Heck, their best RB was Colt, and he's not there. Their other WRs did their best Adron Tennell impersonations when pressed into making plays. Their D also lost their best 2 DLs, best LB, and their best DB in 10 years. And that is with no experience. I just don't get all this sunshine pumping up *'s arse. They are us last year, almost down to the player.

[TexasLidig8r]

Respectfully, I disagree with the Texas analysis for one reason...with a new, drop back passer the helm, Davis is back to calling the plays. VY and Ponyboy were able to win against us, and other good defenses because they were able to call plays against defensive weaknesses from the field. Gilby doesn't yet have that ability and does not appear to have the dual threat ability Vy or Ponyboy did. With Texas back to it's traditional offense, they'll stomp inferior teams with talent alone and crumble when plan A doesn't work against a strong defense. Heck, my wife called Davis' first 8 plays after Ponyboy went down in the MNC game. I'll put money on a solid OU win this year. Texas defense will keep them in it for a while.

There's a lot of misconceptions in that post.

Like him or not, Greg Davis does a very good job of (1). developing quarterbacks (how many on here said VY would NEVER be a good college quarterback... how many on here bashed Colt his first 2 years) and (2). adapting the offense to fit the personnel.

We are going to a more traditional, pro style offense to fit the skills not only of the quarterback, but the linemen and wide receivers as well.

First, Gilbert has a stronger arm than Colt. He is able to make longer downfield throws., the longer seam routes. Colt's short and intermediate range and accuracy was uncanny.

The offensive linemen coming up are more athletic than the 3 we lost... there's more footspeed. From reports I have read, their run blocking ability is stronger than Tanner, Hall and Ulitowski.

Finally, the wide receivers we have have more speed... but less quickness than Cosby and Shipley. Were you surprised when Ship and Cosby each ran in the 4.66 range? Not me. They don't have the straight ahead speed. What they did have is quickness, the ability to make quick cuts and adjust their routes. The current crop we have has more straight ahead speed.. more conducive to longer routes.

How you can say Texas will crumble against strong defenses right now, is hope and wishful thinking. We simply don't know how we will do since it has not been run ever with the current set of players.

As for Ou having a solid win,.. maybe.. maybe not. You have to discover a consistent offensive line first. And whereas the jury is still out on Gilbert.. that is equally so as to Landry Jones.

[pweitkem]

There's a lot of misconceptions in that post.

Like him or not, Greg Davis does a very good job of (1). developing quarterbacks (how many on here said VY would NEVER be a good college quarterback... how many on here bashed Colt his first 2 years) and (2). adapting the offense to fit the personnel.

I think everyone was pretty high on VY from the beginning, I remember saying to a UT fan after his freshman year game in Dallas that we were going to hate the guy.

We are going to a more traditional, pro style offense to fit the skills not only of the quarterback, but the linemen and wide receivers as well.

First, Gilbert has a stronger arm than Colt. He is able to make longer downfield throws., the longer seam routes. Colt's short and intermediate range and accuracy was uncanny.

Colt threw short because he couldn't throw long.... got it. Gilbert can throw the ball far... got it.

The offensive linemen coming up are more athletic than the 3 we lost... there's more footspeed. From reports I have read, their run blocking ability is stronger than Tanner, Hall and Ulitowski.

Screw experience, these boys can dance... check.

Finally, the wide receivers we have have more speed... but less quickness than Cosby and Shipley. Were you surprised when Ship and Cosby each ran in the 4.66 range? Not me. They don't have the straight ahead speed. What they did have is quickness, the ability to make quick cuts and adjust their routes. The current crop we have has more straight ahead speed.. more conducive to longer routes.

Not quick, but can run fly patterns like a motha... that's badass.

How you can say Texas will crumble against strong defenses right now, is hope and wishful thinking. We simply don't know how we will do since it has not been run ever with the current set of players.

As for Ou having a solid win,.. maybe.. maybe not. You have to discover a consistent offensive line first. And whereas the jury is still out on Gilbert.. that is equally so as to Landry Jones.

Not equally so... Landy has a year, your boy has 3/4 of a game. Not equally so in the least.

[OUmillenium]

Respectfully, I disagree with the Texas analysis for one reason...with a new, drop back passer the helm, Davis is back to calling the plays. VY and Ponyboy were able to win against us, and other good defenses because they were able to call plays against defensive weaknesses from the field. Gilby doesn't yet have that ability and does not appear to have the dual threat ability Vy or Ponyboy did. With Texas back to it's traditional offense, they'll stomp inferior teams with talent alone and crumble when plan A doesn't work against a strong defense. Heck, my wife called Davis' first 8 plays after Ponyboy went down in the MNC game. I'll put money on a solid OU win this year. Texas defense will keep them in it for a while.

I agree. This gives me some serious confidence v UTerus that I haven't had lateley. 1-4 in our last 5.

[KantoSooner]

Lid, I would not argue overmuch with your analysis, we haven't seen even the start of summer conditioning, much less fall camp as of yet. Lots we don't know about either team.
To compare Gilbert, with less than 4 quarters of experience to Jones' 12 full games or so is ridiculous. Gilbert is no doubt a fine athlete (you aren't No. 2 on UT's depth chart without being a fine athlete), but he's untried as of yet. Landry may not be Sam, but he's got a full year under his belt.

Otherwise, it comes down to this: if you guys don't discover a very strong running game, you're going to have a long season. If we don't see the offensive line from the bowl game, or better, ours will be equally frustrating.

I give us the edge in the RRS, and we might thump you; but we might also lose. As per normal, the game will probably hinge on a couple of big plays that either pull it out for one or the other....or perhaps crush hearts and momentum leading to a big day.

[Jello Biafra]

Like him or not, Greg Davis does a very good job of (1). developing quarterbacks (how many on here said VY would NEVER be a good college quarterback... how many on here bashed Colt his first 2 years) and (2). adapting the offense to fit the personnel.


REeEALHHHLLLYYYY?!?!?!? VY a good college QB?? did you watch the same cat we did? what exactly did he do your excellency? ill tell you. he ran for a bajillion yards and when you sold out to stop him, he somehow MIRACULOUSLY hit a wide open receiver. when you covered all his recivers, he ran with it. THAT, my good sir, is not developing qbs, that is allowing the running qb to take the game into his hands and make things happen. if i remember correctly, the "texas option" was born in VYs sophmore year? and it took that long for young to even resemble a qb to that point. colt was a decent qb not good. his strong suit was the fact that he had wheels and a STRONG oline to keep him upright.

We are going to a more traditional, pro style offense to fit the skills not only of the quarterback, but the linemen and wide receivers as well.

i am reading, "our runningbacks suck at this point. our oline is brand new. our WRs lack experience. and our QB is unproven. lets run a pro set offense so it will throw off the competition and make them think we are throwing then we sneak in a draw...when they get confused we'll hit them in the mouth with a 40 yards sidelines route.

First, Gilbert has a stronger arm than Colt. He is able to make longer downfield throws., the longer seam routes. Colt's short and intermediate range and accuracy was uncanny.

is that against air or your second team D? i wathced the spring game dude. there are high schools in this state that could score 50 on that D/

The offensive linemen coming up are more athletic than the 3 we lost... there's more footspeed. From reports I have read, their run blocking ability is stronger than Tanner, Hall and Ulitowski.

roflmao....ok. typical. i cant say much of anything other than, im glad that those three are gone. im going to have to see those guys play a few games before i crown them college football hall of fame players.

Finally, the wide receivers we have have more speed... but less quickness than Cosby and Shipley. Were you surprised when Ship and Cosby each ran in the 4.66 range? Not me. They don't have the straight ahead speed. What they did have is quickness, the ability to make quick cuts and adjust their routes. The current crop we have has more straight ahead speed.. more conducive to longer routes.



As for Ou having a solid win,.. maybe.. maybe not. You have to discover a consistent offensive line first. And whereas the jury is still out on Gilbert.. that is equally so as to Landry Jones.

consistant oline you say? well, we went through our growing pains last year and still managed to make it out of the season strong. i will say this about the solid win statement...you guys have to score before you can be considered a winner in the game. regardless of what you try and convince us of here, your team is weak, young and STILL.....looks like a bucket full of dikks...

[MojoRisen]

FSU is going to be good this year, maybe a surprise. They have Talent and Top 10-15 recruiting classes that are now sophmores/Juniors.

Cinci's backup QB was better than Pike - not sure if you guys know that, and he played a lot. This will be a tough game.

We should beat everyone else.

[KantoSooner]

i've got Cincy down as a key game, but more because it's away than anything else. New QB, new coach, no Marty. A laugher if in Norman. On the road....well at best, it will be an opportunity to show we can win on the road.

[MojoRisen]

I agree, we should beat Cinci, but they are a physical team and it is on the road. They will not loose much at QB if at all.


Individual Statistics

PASSING Cmp Att Pct Yds Yd/A TD Int Rating
Tony Pike 211 338 62.4 2,520 7.5 29 6 149.8
Zach Collaros 93 124 75.0 1,434 11.6 10 2 195.5

Collaros -hasn't lost a game in 3-4 starts and had a 75% completion ratio and a 10-2 TD ratio. People were surprised that Pike got his job back after the big wins that Collaros put together.

[NormanPride]

How is Greg good at developing QBs again? Applewhite was good, but he was obviously one of the smartest QBs to come out of college football in a long time (Like Heupel). Simms... well... yeah. Vince and Chance? Chance sucked, and Vince was only good when the coaches stopped coaching him. They admitted as much. I'd give Davis props for Colt, but we all know Colt was special and his love for Shipley's rear had as much to do with his success as Greg's great tutelage did.

No, what I'll give you is that Greg was much more comfortable planning in the spread with a mobile QB. Without that, he's never proven able to adapt or create a really great gameplan. The running game was good when you guys ran downhill, but quickly disappeared when the RB was next to the QB. The OL coach (MacWhorter?) is the best on your team, and that has as much to do with your recent success as anything else.

[Jello Biafra]

I agree, we should beat Cinci, but they are a physical team and it is on the road. They will not loose much at QB if at all.


Individual Statistics

PASSING Cmp Att Pct Yds Yd/A TD Int Rating
Tony Pike 211 338 62.4 2,520 7.5 29 6 149.8
Zach Collaros 93 124 75.0 1,434 11.6 10 2 195.5

Collaros -hasn't lost a game in 3-4 starts and had a 75% completion ratio and a 10-2 TD ratio. People were surprised that Pike got his job back after the big wins that Collaros put together.

those are pretty nice stats however, the schedule doesn't really scare me....semo?miami (oh)?syracuse? conn?

[badger]

Coaches look a lot more competent when they get to deal with players that have had the top (football) instructors in the nation since birth, which are readily available across the state of Texas.

When smart kids land in Harvard and go on to become president, Supreme Court justices or 20-something billionaires with Facebook, is it because of Harvard instructors, or because the kids were smart to begin with?

Colt is their only success story at QB. There's a whole lot of fail before that (VY only succeeding when they stopped trying to coach the dummy, Chance being a top QB prospect that didn't do jack in college, the same for Chrissy, the coaches benching Major despite fans loving him and his success... the list goes on)

But Josh Heupel... he could probably even develop me into a QB with all the success he's had getting the best out of our guys under center.