Some Stats from the OU-texas game

[stoops the eternal pimp]

first of all 5-0...thats the main stat..And to not have played a real good complete game and stand 5-0 is pretty darn impressive..or depressive however you want to take it.

Im sure a lot of you have seen these but it kind of shows why when this team gets that double digit lead, they struggle to put the competition away and it ends up closer than it should

After OU went up 21-7 midway through the 2nd quarter:

The next 8 possessions after getting that lead, the Sooners averaged 1.2 yards on first and second down. (6 punts, turnover on downs, TD on those drives)

OU averaged 1.3 yards per carry after that and was 0-2 on 1st and 2nd down passing....from the halfway point of the 2nd quarter to the end of the game, a combined 2 passes on 1st and second down..14 of 16 plays were runs on 1st and 2nd down after the 21-7 lead

OU's first 5 possessions that resulted in 3 TDs, there was 20 runs and 15 passes on 1st and 2nd down... and averaged over 5 yards per play on those downs ..results were 17 1st downs and 3 TDs..

This was all in the Oklahoman

[NormanPride]

We ditched a lot of what got us to that lead. The counter draw and the fullback run were gone, as was much of the I formation stuff we ran. The exception being the late TD which I believe was out of the I. It didn't help that 91 was in our backfield all second half because Habern was getting owned.

In the passing game, we stopped attacking the flats even though we had gotten their LBs and safeties to creep inside to stop the run, and we had some bad drops from Stills, as awesome as he was. Landry also saw some pressure, so he was throwing the ball away too quickly without letting the play develop.

We won, and we looked pretty good for a large part of the day, especially on D (though I am confused as to why we never seem to blitz anymore - Wort seems to have a knack for it). Still, there is room for improvement. Sadly, I think most of that room is upstairs rather than down on the field. Though, it seems to me that the majority of our scheme fixes come in the off week when the coaches have a bit more time to self-analyze.

[tator]

deja vu...

[oumartin]

deja vu...


x2

[stoops the eternal pimp]

The only thing that blows my mind is throwing 2 passes on 1st and 2nd down for 2 1/2 quarters...

Its hard for your quarterback to succeed when he only passes in passing situations(3rd and long)

[oumartin]

The only thing that blows my mind is throwing 2 passes on 1st and 2nd down for 2 1/2 quarters...

Its hard for your quarterback to succeed when he only passes in passing situations(3rd and long)



I've been sayin!

People wanna get onto players for not executing. It's hard to execute when you are not put in a good position to execute.

[Boomer.....]

Is this the thread where we trash the coaches?

[cccasooner2]

Bottom line, I think we have been seeing the development of the "prevent win" offence. I hope they abandon it.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Is this the thread where we trash the coaches?


NOT IN MY THREAD MISSY!

[WildBlueSooner]

Fire Wilson! Fire Stoops! Fire Vunerables!

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Seriously though, its just some numbers...figure out what they mean for yourself

[stoopified]

first of all 5-0...thats the main stat..And to not have played a real good complete game and stand 5-0 is pretty darn impressive..or depressive however you want to take it.

Im sure a lot of you have seen these but it kind of shows why when this team gets that double digit lead, they struggle to put the competition away and it ends up closer than it should

After OU went up 21-7 midway through the 2nd quarter:

The next 8 possessions after getting that lead, the Sooners averaged 1.2 yards on first and second down. (6 punts, turnover on downs, TD on those drives)

OU averaged 1.3 yards per carry after that and was 0-2 on 1st and 2nd down passing....from the halfway point of the 2nd quarter to the end of the game, a combined 2 passes on 1st and second down..14 of 16 plays were runs on 1st and 2nd down after the 21-7 lead

OU's first 5 possessions that resulted in 3 TDs, there was 20 runs and 15 passes on 1st and 2nd down... and averaged over 5 yards per play on those downs ..results were 17 1st downs and 3 TDs..

This was all in the OklahomanThe famous Bob Stoops RUN THE CLOCK offense as orchestrated by KW.

[TMcGee86]

We ditched a lot of what got us to that lead. The counter draw and the fullback run were gone, as was much of the I formation stuff we ran. The exception being the late TD which I believe was out of the I. It didn't help that 91 was in our backfield all second half because Habern was getting owned.

In the passing game, we stopped attacking the flats even though we had gotten their LBs and safeties to creep inside to stop the run, and we had some bad drops from Stills, as awesome as he was. Landry also saw some pressure, so he was throwing the ball away too quickly without letting the play develop.

We won, and we looked pretty good for a large part of the day, especially on D (though I am confused as to why we never seem to blitz anymore - Wort seems to have a knack for it). Still, there is room for improvement. Sadly, I think most of that room is upstairs rather than down on the field. Though, it seems to me that the majority of our scheme fixes come in the off week when the coaches have a bit more time to self-analyze.

Totally agree with this.

I couldn't understand why Landry wasn't even glancing at the flats routes and the RB;s out of the backfield. We had gashed them with that in the first half, and all of the sudden Landry wouldn't even look that way. This was when we had the majority of our dropped passes and our 3 and outs.

Then in that last scoring drive we went back to it, DM caught two in a row I think and all of the sudden we were back in business.

I don't know who to blame, I would say Landry but to me it looked like he had been told not to go to that route becuase he didn't even think about looking that way. And they were open every time so I know it wasn't just him not liking the route. Maybe the coaches were just too worried about Texas jumping the routes for an easy pick six but either way it hurt us.

I'm all for running it to keep the clock running, but those routes do the same thing as long as we catch the ball, and they usually have a better shot at breaking open a big play than just a run up the mid with DM.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

btw, with 8 minutes left in the game, OU was still often snapping the ball with 15-20 seconds left on the play clock..if the object is to run down the clock, maybe let some more time tick off?...who knows...


It worked out for OU...they won the game..

[TMcGee86]

btw, with 8 minutes left in the game, OU was still often snapping the ball with 15-20 seconds left on the play clock..if the object is to run down the clock, maybe let some more time tick off?...who knows...


It worked out for OU...they won the game..

This too, even when we slowed it down at the end in obvious milk the clock territory we would snap it with 10 secs left.

This is just dumb. There is no reason to hurry the offense in that situation.

[stoopified]

I love Bob but this run the clock offense when holding a halftime lead is maddening.It is the equivilant of prevent defense which I also hate.Both IMHO contribute to games veing closer than they should be.I think if you trust your offense and defense to get you the lead in the first half,you should trust the same offense and defense in the second half. Just my two cents.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Totally agree with this.

I couldn't understand why Landry wasn't even glancing at the flats routes and the RB;s out of the backfield. We had gashed them with that in the first half, and all of the sudden Landry wouldn't even look that way. This was when we had the majority of our dropped passes and our 3 and outs.

Then in that last scoring drive we went back to it, DM caught two in a row I think and all of the sudden we were back in business.

I don't know who to blame, I would say Landry but to me it looked like he had been told not to go to that route becuase he didn't even think about looking that way. And they were open every time so I know it wasn't just him not liking the route. Maybe the coaches were just too worried about Texas jumping the routes for an easy pick six but either way it hurt us.

I'm all for running it to keep the clock running, but those routes do the same thing as long as we catch the ball, and they usually have a better shot at breaking open a big play than just a run up the mid with DM.

perhaps early in the game, those routes were there because we did some of it on 1st or 2nd down when they wasn't expecting it...

Like I said, trying to execute a pass play on 3rd and 8 is a lot different than 1 & 10..

[stoops the eternal pimp]

So far so good..nobody is overreacting...maybe the wrong people are currently on the board

[TMcGee86]

perhaps early in the game, those routes were there because we did some of it on 1st or 2nd down when they wasn't expecting it...

Like I said, trying to execute a pass play on 3rd and 8 is a lot different than 1 & 10..

yeah totally agree. I do think that even if you aren't going to go to those route Landry should glance that way to keep the DB's and LB's honest. It probably would have opened up some of those inside routes he was starting to force balls to.

This is probably asking too much I know, it's not like he has all day back there, and let's face it, he's a soph QB, there's still time to learn nuances like this, but I do think it would have helped.

[Mississippi Sooner]

I've been waiting for just the right thread to get my overreact on.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

TRY ANOTHER!

[Mississippi Sooner]

Funny how a 5-0 record, no matter how ya got there, makes people a lot more mellow.

[oumartin]

this is crazy. Our coaches are awful, They turn 5 star recruits into 2 star players. I am ready to see some coaching changes and if Bob wants to keep his job he needs to stop being so loyal to those no good assistants.
I could call the game better than that and I could be classified as a talking monkey. Defense, do we even play defense and disguise any blitz packages. My lord. My grandmother could put a better rush on oppossing qb's.
This will obviously cost us the national championship this year. good ole' bobby stoops backs his way into the national title games twice so far and lost them both and if he gets lucky to do it again he will get outcoached again. sheesh that man is awful.
Actually we will be lucky to win another game with that crappy game plan and who says they dont' make changes at halftime. They go in there and obviously make changes. Yeah, changes to suck!!!!

is that better? :D

[Boomer.....]

Snapping the ball too early in the clock was very dumb, especially if you are trying to run out the clock by running super conservative plays.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

this is crazy. Our coaches are awful, They turn 5 star recruits into 2 star players. I am ready to see some coaching changes and if Bob wants to keep his job he needs to stop being so loyal to those no good assistants.
I could call the game better than that and I could be classified as a talking monkey. Defense, do we even play defense and disguise any blitz packages. My lord. My grandmother could put a better rush on oppossing qb's.
This will obviously cost us the national championship this year. good ole' bobby stoops backs his way into the national title games twice so far and lost them both and if he gets lucky to do it again he will get outcoached again. sheesh that man is awful.
Actually we will be lucky to win another game with that crappy game plan and who says they dont' make changes at halftime. They go in there and obviously make changes. Yeah, changes to suck!!!!

is that better? :D

good work martin...always stellar:D :P

[Okie35]

Just conservative play thats all.

[BoulderSooner79]

The only thing that blows my mind is throwing 2 passes on 1st and 2nd down for 2 1/2 quarters...

Its hard for your quarterback to succeed when he only passes in passing situations(3rd and long)

I'm was totally baffled by this. The horns had no answer for the short passing game and it was opening up the run. Maybe they would have stopped it with some halftime adjustments, but we didn't even make them prove it.


Seriously though, its just some numbers...figure out what they mean for yourself

It means this *will* get us beat down the road if it's not changed. And when it happens, all the posts about "it worked, we won" will turn into "fire so-in-so". I won't join in on that - I'd rather discuss it now when everyone is civil.


The famous Bob Stoops RUN THE CLOCK offense as orchestrated by KW.

But it wasn't working. 3-and-outs is the anti-RUN THE CLOCK. Moving the chains is how you run the clock regardless of how it gets done. We had a huge advantage in time of possession and plays run (almost 2-1) in the first half.


I love Bob but this run the clock offense when holding a halftime lead is maddening.It is the equivilant of prevent defense which I also hate.Both IMHO contribute to games veing closer than they should be.I think if you trust your offense and defense to get you the lead in the first half,you should trust the same offense and defense in the second half. Just my two cents.

I'll be redundant - we failed to run the clock and the horns had many more chances with the ball. Without the bonehead PF flag, we may have not scored in the 2nd half.


perhaps early in the game, those routes were there because we did some of it on 1st or 2nd down when they wasn't expecting it...

Like I said, trying to execute a pass play on 3rd and 8 is a lot different than 1 & 10..

EXACTLY to the nth power!!! The play calling became HIGH RISK. I said pre-game that the key to the game was our passing game against their pass D. I was worried about pressure + tight coverage from their "NFL-bound" secondary. Well, we succeeded beyond my most optimistic expectation in the 1st half. The short stuff was wide open and LJs release was so quick it neutralized the pass rush. They had no answer; then they got tired and the run started working. Both the DM scores came with them tired and out of position. The 2nd half, we almost concede 1st and 2nd down and put LJ in 3rd and must-pass. Then their coverage tightened since we needed more yards and their pass rush became a factor. A pass rush getting to a QB is a very high risk situation which LJ demonstrated to us all (whew!).


Just conservative play thats all.

Redundant again, but it wasn't conservative - it was unimaginative and high risk due to the situation that resulted.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I was waiting for a thread like this where is wasn't swamp with posts like "stop you're bitching, we won". I fully acknowledge that as did STEP. It's down the road that concerns me - future teams will be better than UT was and some will be true road games. In summary, I saw a game plan that was imaginative, fit our talent, SAFE and was extremely effective in the first half. We were actually dominant. I cannot see at all what was to be accomplished by the change in the 2nd half.

What am I missing?

[Salt City Sooner]

I'm looking at the box score right now (on SoonerSports.com) & I have NO idea where they got those stats, because they're not correct at all. After OU went up 21-7:

1st possession:

One pass from Landry on the 2nd 2nd down of the drive (incomplete)

2nd possession:

One pass on the 2nd 1st down of the drive (last possession before halftime)


1st possession, 3rd quarter:

1st 1st down of the drive was an incompletion
2nd 2nd down of the drive, he hits Stills for 20 & a 1st.
3rd 1st down of the drive, he hits Miller for 4.

2nd poss. 3rd quarter:

1st down, incompletion.

Last possession, 3rd quarter (this poss. ends w/ Demarco's TD in the 4th)

1st down, LJ hits Millard for a gain of 3.
2nd 2nd down, FWIW, LJ is sacked attempting to pass
3rd 2nd down of the drive, LJ hits Murray for 19. Murray's 2nd TD is the next play.

2nd possession of the 4th quarter, up 28-10. (THIS is where we went conservative w/ the playcalling, & ended it w/ the fake FG) :

1 pass, & it was the 32 yarder to Stills on 3rd down.

3rd possession of the 4th quarter:

3 & out, only pass was on 3rd & 6.

Last possession of the game:

2nd down: Landry's fumble. Stoops later said on his show that the actual playcall was the same play that LJ hit Miller on that long deep drag route across the field earlier in the game. Hard to call that conservative, IMO.

I'm counting 9 pass plays called on either 1st or 2nd down between 21-7 & 28-10.

EDIT (linkage) : http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2010-2011/05_ut.html

[aero]

I've thought about this and have a theory. Of course, it's just a theory and I could be totally full of horse shat. I think what is happening is that we are running the hurry up offense early which is working quite effectively on our opponents. It's also effecting our big guys on the line. As the game gets into the later part of the first half and especially in the 2nd half our line has gassed a bit and the blocking is not as good, therefore LJ has a little less time and the backs a little less room. More 3 and outs. Less scoring. Opponent has opportunity to come back to us a bit. May even help explain why they don't take more time later in game when snapping the ball. Hard to adjust from the up tempo to a slower, clock killing tempo. Regardless, the team is still good enough to hold on for the win.

[Boomer.....]

I'm looking at the box score right now (on SoonerSports.com) & I have NO idea where they got those stats, because they're not correct at all.

I'm counting 9 pass plays called on either 1st or 2nd down between 21-7 & 28-10.

Are you calling STEP a liar?

[Scott D]

Clearly Mike Lupica is in Bob's head.

[Salt City Sooner]

Are you calling STEP a liar?

http://backseatcuddler.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/mr-miyagi.jpg

No call no one nothing.......

[OU_Sooners75]

If this is true, then why does the box score play by play show 5 passes on 1st and 2nd down to start the 3rd quarter?

[cccasooner2]

My lord. My grandmother could put a better rush on oppossing qb's. :D

Wow, Betty White is your grandmother? Ask her if she would like to take some refresher courses and try out as a walk on for DT. :D

[Okie35]

Redundant again, but it wasn't conservative - it was unimaginative and high risk due to the situation that resulted.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I was waiting for a thread like this where is wasn't swamp with posts like "stop you're bitching, we won". I fully acknowledge that as did STEP. It's down the road that concerns me - future teams will be better than UT was and some will be true road games. In summary, I saw a game plan that was imaginative, fit our talent, SAFE and was extremely effective in the first half. We were actually dominant. I cannot see at all what was to be accomplished by the change in the 2nd half.

What am I missing?

It wasn't redundant because isn't wasn't like he was snapping the ball w/ a high clock. I honestly think if we wanted to hang more than 28 on them we could've.

[josh09]

The whole 2nd half, I was screaming for passes on 1st down. It just got so obvious what Kevin Wilson was going to do, it was ridiculous!

[Okie35]

The whole 2nd half, I was screaming for passes on 1st down. It just got so obvious what Kevin Wilson was going to do, it was ridiculous!

Everyone wanted more passes but KW is stubborn he really wants balance. I kind of agree w/ his logic because the more balanced teams fare better in games.

[TahoeSOONER]

KW wanted to lean on them and their D had been on the field allot. It's a mindset thing with him and I'd rather have a coach believe he can run on a team than not, like last year.

I think the Oline and the running game is what's going to keep us undefeated.

We'll need them both against the high powered offenses on the road.

[mightysooner]

What I don't understand about KW is his obvious disbelief in using play action to freeze backers and corners on 1st or 2nd down pass plays just long enough to allow the WR's or TE's to get a step of separation. Play action is very effective, especially when you have somebody like Murray in your backfield and the defense is obviously keyed on stopping HIM.

As far as playing "prevent offense", I've noticed that it typically happens when we're playing a good opponent, with good coaches and good players. I'm not sure if he's trying to run clock with a lead, or if he just has no answer once an opposing De-co makes effective adjustments to what he's been doing offensively during the game. He's never struck me as being very imaginative at countering good defensive adjustments.

[BoulderSooner79]

KW wanted to lean on them and their D had been on the field allot. It's a mindset thing with him and I'd rather have a coach believe he can run on a team than not, like last year.

I think the Oline and the running game is what's going to keep us undefeated.

We'll need them both against the high powered offenses on the road.

Again, in the 1st half, the run was working because it was set up by the pass. We were running more than passing. But the run was working because their D was gassed from moving the chains a few times first. Running right at them when they had fresh legs wasn't working at all. I am totally behind leanin' on them and sticking with the run - in the situation that it works. But if you don't move the chains, you are not leaning on them. I think if we had 1 more 12+ play drive in the 3rd quarter it would have been game over. We wouldn't have even needed more points because the fatigue from running 57 plays in the 1st half would have put them over the edge. I like the goal as you state it, but approach was flawed. If KW (or Bob) is saying we have more hair on our chest and we're going to do it that way, that's just dumb. Other elite programs have just as much chest hair. It's the bigger brain that will win.

[BoulderSooner79]

ONe other point I meant to mention. The 2nd half approach barely used the best player on our team: Ryan Broyles. I knew he wouldn't have huge numbers in this game because the horns would double cover him. But he had a huge impact in the 1st half by forcing single coverage on everyone else and opening the middle for Hanna. I didn't see the Broyles advantage much after halftime; can't even remember if we threw to a TE again.

[MojoRisen]

I think Bob and Team are holding back the playbook - survive and advance.

[mightysooner]

Why would they be holding back the playbook midway through the season?

[MojoRisen]

They had Texas beat, they held back for this game as always. Practicing the other stuff although dangerous makes us better all around. KW probably thought we could score again if need be... I am a fan of 3 TD lead being maintained though.

[cccasooner2]

Why would they be holding back the playbook midway through the season?

To quote Bill Clinton: "Because I could."

[mightysooner]

21-7 in the middle of the second quarter, much less against a good team, isn't "having somebody beat". I sure hope they're not that stupid.

[ashley]

I love coaching on the internet. Easy and fun. None of that messy stuff of going to practice and working all week to prepare.

[Crucifax Autumn]

News Flash: We won.

[NormanPride]

Yeah, and that's why I'm not mad. :D These kind of tendencies are usually what the coaches work on during the off week. I only get on them because this has happened in almost every game so far, and it's a tendency that we can fix simply through play calling.

That aside, anyone know why we don't blitz as much? It seems like our guys are good at it. Are we giving our young corners time to develop before we put that kind of pressure on them?

[King Barry's Back]

I love Bob but this run the clock offense when holding a halftime lead is maddening.It is the equivilant of prevent defense which I also hate.Both IMHO contribute to games veing closer than they should be.I think if you trust your offense and defense to get you the lead in the first half,you should trust the same offense and defense in the second half. Just my two cents.

I think that it is buried deep, deep in Bob Stoops' bones -- and probably those of his brothers -- that we should let the defense win the game.

If the O builds up a big lead, then we should run the clock and trust the D to shut down our opponents.

This has been a pretty good recipe through the years, but the 2010 defense seems to lose its intensity after we go into a more conservative mode.

Not sure what the answer is...

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

21-7 in the middle of the second quarter, much less against a good team, isn't "having somebody beat". I sure hope they're not that stupid.

i think they felt against that offense that 21 points would beat them. guess what? they were right.

[BoulderSooner79]

i think they felt against that offense that 21 points would beat them. guess what? they were right.

Yes, they knew LJ's fumble would roll out of bounds.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Yes, they knew LJ's fumble would roll out of bounds.

there are always a set of unknowns in any game. there is a legitimate complaint about stoops not using his timeouts to avoid catastrophe. even so, it took a perfect storm of screwups to net that fumble. in general, football coaches tend to be a cautious lot (mike leach excluded), so in their mind they go with the least risky strategy that will get them a win.

in that game, there was much more risk of a turnover changing the game than there was of the texas offense moving the ball enough to win it. so as such, they chose the route of burning clock and forcing the texas offense to beat us.

in the second half,

us uberly conservative = 7 points
them wide open = 13 points

[mightysooner]

i think they felt against that offense that 21 points would beat them. guess what? they were right.


With the 97th ranked defense in the nation and the 11th ranked defense in the Big XII I don't believe that for a minute.

[BoulderSooner79]

Several folks have suggested reasons the play calling changed in the 2nd half last week and they all sound like the standard stuff.

- run the clock
- reduce risk
- avoid the big mistake
- wear 'em down

Unfortunately, the plan was a failure on all those fronts. I was hoping there was some secret insight into something UT was doing we were trying to exploit, but didn't get any suggestions there. The odd part was that the first half plan did all of those things and more (i.e. put up points), so it was non-obvious what the reasoning was. It could be they saw something UT changed and were trying to react or it could be the plan didn't really change,but a few failed plays got us out of sync and we didn't have the ball enough to do much and that gave the horns more chances. Water under the bridge, but I hope we find some 2nd half success pretty soon because I know there will be games where we need to do more than hang on or rely on a timely punt muff by the other guy. Even in the FSU game we didn't do much in the 2nd half, but at least in that one we *did* have the game won, so it wasn't a problem. I didn't notice the Huskers letting up last night until they were up by 30+ with less than 10min to play.

[NormanPride]

It's hard to keep the clock going even when you run the ball if you snap the ball with 25 seconds left in the play clock. Would it hurt to practice slow drives every once in awhile? I mean, just huddle, call the play, break the huddle, line up, run the play. Like they did in the ancient times before Wilson.

[BoulderSooner79]

It's hard to keep the clock going even when you run the ball if you snap the ball with 25 seconds left in the play clock. Would it hurt to practice slow drives every once in awhile? I mean, just huddle, call the play, break the huddle, line up, run the play. Like they did in the ancient times before Wilson.

I should have mentioned that one as that seemed to counter the argument that the goal was to run the clock. But even if a team uses most the play clock every snap, it doesn't run much clock with a 3-and-out. Moving the sticks a few times every possession is a must. Here's to a fresh start after the bye week and a great 2nd half in the ISU game!!

[ChickenStrips!]

This article has some quotes from KW for further insight into their thinking during the game.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jYLiYJTICImWEGvG91yi_sHyepVQD9ILQ7V80?docId= D9ILQ7V80


Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said his unit also needs to do a better job of protecting — and extending — late leads. After going up 28-10 on Texas, Oklahoma totaled just one first down on its next two drives while trying to put the game away.

"The bottom line is we're not a tough-enough, pounding-it running team where we can totally just ram it against a really outstanding defense, which they had" Wilson said. "We ran the ball well, but we ran it when we had good balance."
The Sooners were also at their best when using their hurry-up offense, not exactly their best weapon when trying to drain the clock. Yet Wilson said he still plans to operate at a slower pace late in games.

"If we go fast and don't execute, then we look like buffoons. And if we slow down, we get out of rhythm," Wilson said. "So, it's a hard deal."

[soonervegas]

I think that it is buried deep, deep in Bob Stoops' bones -- and probably those of his brothers -- that we should let the defense win the game.

If the O builds up a big lead, then we should run the clock and trust the D to shut down our opponents.

This has been a pretty good recipe through the years, but the 2010 defense seems to lose its intensity after we go into a more conservative mode.

Not sure what the answer is...

Youth? That was my guess late Saturday. Prevent D/Clock Burn doesn't work when you give up a TD in 1:30.

[OUmillenium]

Wilson's last statement is a copout. ugh


Happy we won but all I ask is that our coaches put the pedal to the metal offensively and defensively. Training your team to go full bore all the time pays big dividends. Not asking for crazy trick plays that could lead to turnovers and change the momentum, just no more coasting...its pathetic and championship teams do not do it at the times the Sooners have been doing it.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

It's hard to keep the clock going even when you run the ball if you snap the ball with 25 seconds left in the play clock. Would it hurt to practice slow drives every once in awhile? I mean, just huddle, call the play, break the huddle, line up, run the play. Like they did in the ancient times before Wilson.

these are our second half drives. notice the only times we didn't burn a ton of clock per snap was when we were in the hurry up (TD and the fake field goal)

13 plays, 71 yards, TOP 05:24 (3 clock stoppages)
3 plays, 5 yards, TOP 01:40 (1 clock stoppage)
8 plays, 54 yards, TOP 02:53 (0 clock stoppages - TD)
9 plays, 76 yards, TOP 02:58 (0 clock stoppages)
3 plays, minus 9 yards, TOP 02:01 (1 clock stoppage)
5 plays, 42 yards, TOP 00:58 (3 clock stoppages)

we pretty much moved the ball at will in the hurry up, but it burned zilch point nothing clock, forcing our defense back onto the field. this team is young on defense, so its going to get better over the course of the year. this team is young on offense so they have to learn how to gut out a long drive. i don't think trying to teach your team that against a pretty good D is a bad thing.

[NormanPride]

So you're saying Wilson was using the Texas game as a learning experience on how to milk the clock? They didn't do very well...

And I'd say we should at least run the hurry up offense until we get our of our own goalpost's shadow. Then at least if we bomb trying to slow things down, we can flip field position on them.

[BoulderSooner79]

"The bottom line is we're not a tough-enough, pounding-it running team where we can totally just ram it against a really outstanding defense, which they had" Wilson said. "We ran the ball well, but we ran it when we had good balance."

I'm really happy to see this from KW. We do have a talented team that can run the ball in the context of a balanced attack; we just can't line up and say "here we come, try to stop us". That's 'Bama, not us. I'm looking forward to see if this results in a better 2nd half from here out.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

So you're saying Wilson was using the Texas game as a learning experience on how to milk the clock? They didn't do very well...

And I'd say we should at least run the hurry up offense until we get our of our own goalpost's shadow. Then at least if we bomb trying to slow things down, we can flip field position on them.

kevin wilson has always been an odd motivator. time and time again, he'll try to do something in a game and then go on the radio and say comments like "we aren't good enough to do that yet". this in theory motivates the players to get better.

in this situation, i think it will work. it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to see that we've been the team in skirts since 2005. doing things like we did in the second half is 100x better for the team's psyche than going finesse and running up the score.

[BoulderSooner79]

I'm hoping the admission by KW means we won't try to line up and power run in predictable situations. If we can't do it against Cincy or FSU, there's no we in hell we can do it against aTm and (hopefully) NU. And I don't really believe we are a finesse team. It's still a very physical sport and if we are moving the chains and scoring, there is some real blocking/hitting going on. It's just a different mix of skill/power than lining up and coming right at someone. I was very pleased with our running game in the first half and hope to see more of that.

[Spray]

Well, I only scanned this thread, but I don't see any mention of possible adjustments by Muschamp that would take away certain play calling tendancies. It's easy to forget that two teams were playing and two coaching staffs playing chess, but it seems to me that the obvious reason we don't do the same things for 4 straight quarters is that the other side adjusts.

It's why we're all on the internet debating it and not making 3 Mil each.

[starclassic tama]

If we can't do it against Cincy or FSU, there's no we in hell we can do it against aTm and (hopefully) NU.

nebraska belongs in this sentence, but aTm doesn't. they haven't had a good defense in what, 8 years?

[mightysooner]

"The bottom line is we're not a tough-enough, pounding-it running team where we can totally just ram it against a really outstanding defense, which they had" Wilson said. "We ran the ball well, but we ran it when we had good balance."

Just reads like more of KW throwing the players under a bus again for not being able to execute his faulty gameplan of squatting on early 14 point leads. "It's their fault my predictably conservative gameplans don't work once we get a lead and the other team makes adjustments I can't counter. They just won't execute!"

[goingoneight]

I think if we "got aggressive" and gave Texas a pick 6, we'd have a reason to be angry with the offensive coaches and players. Instead, it was yet another stale fourth quarter defensive performance.

When you let teams put together big drives, it stalls momentum offensively as well. I think the more the defense grows, with the addition of a few guys back from injury to shore up the overall depth. Having a defense that can bring it for four quarters is a critical piece of the championship puzzle. We're tiring out late in games because we are inexperienced and don't have a lot of guys to offer our starters a relief snap or two. Box, Fleming, Taylor, Alexander and Nelson are all said to be ready to roll next week. They've all been dealing with nagging injuries or slowly rehabbing in some cases.

[goingoneight]

"The bottom line is we're not a tough-enough, pounding-it running team where we can totally just ram it against a really outstanding defense, which they had" Wilson said. "We ran the ball well, but we ran it when we had good balance."

Just reads like more of KW throwing the players under a bus again for not being able to execute his faulty gameplan of squatting on early 14 point leads. "It's their fault my predictably conservative gameplans don't work once we get a lead and the other team makes adjustments I can't counter. They just won't execute!"

Funny, but that sounds exactly like what Barry Switzer said and what Nick Saban expects out of his team. I guess those guys don't know what they're talking about.

If OUr "predictable" offense lined up and demoralized Texas on the ground late in the game, we're not nagging about playcalling. Just sayin. I'd rather a coach "throw his guys under the bus" when he's telling the truth and pushing them to execute better. We're not perfect right now, but KW's offense doing their thing (building early leads with up-tempo) is the reason we're not 2-3 right now. The team has just got to get better and bring it four quarters altogether to turn a early 4th-quarter 18-point lead into a late fourth quarter blowout.

[mightysooner]

Switzer's teams were nothing BUT running so of course he thinks that. Sabans Tide is pretty much nothing BUT running of course he expects that out of his team.
Teams have identities. Our identity is not lining up and playing Big10 smash mouth football while squatting on a meager 14 point lead early in the game with a slightly above average O-line, the 97th ranked defense in the country, and 11th ranked defense in the Big XII. He's gotten lucky that he's had two muffed punts by the opponent which we recovered in back to back games at the end while only leading by a score or less with time left on the clock because he was forced to punt the ball back after no offensive production. That's what has saved his butt.