True strengths and unknowns for 2011:

[goingoneight]

Keep in mind, this is an off-season "barring no injuries/suspensions" scenario

Strengths:

Offense = set for big time success. Enter good RT play and OU will light up scoreboards 2003/4/8-style again. Way too much experience and firepower not to be VERY exciting in 2011. Look for dedication to being more physical running the football with most of the OL and all of the TEs and FBs back.

Special Teams = we can run down punts and force turnovers with the best of them. Ibiloye, Hanna and Winchester all return. Also, the Broyles/Stills A/B pick 'em for punt returns will be a great advantage.

Defense = lots of experience in the heart of the defense.

Mentality = the bulk of this team fought their way to an almost improbable five-game winning streak after aTm last year. Taking their dominant show to the road was what this program was waiting for to officially declare itself a National Title contender for 2011.

We won't call them "weaknesses," we'll call them "unknowns":

Offense = Hard to imagine many problems unless some of the less-experienced guys develop a problem with ball security, which can happen with first-year featured guys in the backfield. RT is an unknown, but there is good buzz from all sources about Aladenoye and Johnson filling in for Jones.

Defense = Can the DL progress from where it was a year ago? One dominant player (Beal) does not a great DL make. Who wants to step up and be a quality backup DT or DB? The rest looks good. Curious to see if Grissom can be the beast coaches and reporters say they thought he could be at end.

Special Teams = Kick. And. Cover. When we are gathering at midfield, we shouldn't be flipping a coin to decide how quickly we want to spot the team a score or great field position. Jimmy Stevens looks like he's finally gained confidence, but his range stops at around 45 if history tells us anything. Why is Hunnicutt on hand? Do the coaches know something they're not mentioning or is he just another name in the hat to randomly draw on a 50-yarder FTW?

Mentality = How much will Austin Box or even just the departed seniors be missed from a leadership standpoint? Does this team have enough fire in their belly to overcome fourth quarter deficits like they were faced with at Missouri and aTm a year ago? Does Bob punt the ball when he still has a chance to win this season or does he let Jones have a Heisman moment? :eek:

[SoonerofAlabama]

goingoneight you have made extremely good posts today. Thanks for the comments. :)

And I beleive our offense won't have any problems, without injury. Too much talent. Jones to Broyles, Stills, Hanna, or any one of our RBs should be able to handle most defenses along with at least decent runs from the RBs.

On special teams, the coverage teams need work. Too many special teams TDs given up in the last several years. Tress Way could be up for the Ray Guy Award later this year, IMO. And I don't have as big of an issue with Stevens as some, he will be better this year than last year for sure.

And on defense, with the addition of Fleming as CB I am no longer as worried about the secondary. We have some experience and talent at the positions and players are ready to step up. The D-line is okay, experienced guys with potential but still weak. Maybe Lewis will be ready in time for fall, I hope if he does he can make the transition with ease. The LB corps is not a problem we have one of the best in the nation, IMO. Lewis being there is huge. Nelson will find his own place to fit in. Wort was progressing last year and will be better this year.

And about the attitude of the players. I don't know how they will react to the Box tragedy. I know it will either break them down or build them up to better things. And I like to see some cockiness from the players, I love when they can back it up on the field like Torrance Marshall in 2000.

I believe Landry will break several of Sam's records this year and will earn his trip to New York. I think Finch will be the main guy of the RBs and that Brennan Clay or Jermie Calhoun will surprise this year.

And just to talk schedule. The game against Tulsa will give our guys some confidence and the bye week for FSU will be a huge help. Kansas State will offer more of a challenge than they should be able to, but we should handle them in the end. OSU will be tough, of course. Overconfidence could potentially be a killer, but Bob Stoops will not let that happen IMO. Saying that, I hope our guys don't get too nervous for the prime time games that are bound to happen, FSU, UT, OSU, Missouri, and Texas A&M. And if you are going to talk about Heisman moment, I want to talk about the NC moment. I beleive to win a national title, every year that team has to have some amount of luck. For us it was Torrance Marshall against A&M for the pick six. Last year for Auburn it was against Alabama. I don't know whether we will win the title or have a shot at it, but something special looms in the distance.

[StoopTroup]

I think we knew we were returning a decent Team in 2009 and had put the loss to the gayturds behind us and then we just had the worst luck any Team could have and just when we thought we were going to get at least Sam back...he got hammered again.

After the Gresham and the Bradford Injuries...I just thought we would have players leaving the first opportunity they could get after that, but I think the taste of being Number 1 going into the road game against Missouri and the way we finished the regular season, came back against the Huskers, controlled the Huskies and put a BCS Trophy in our Trophy Case....we got some guys that could have left for the NFL back for this year. Maybe the NFL's problems looming in the air helped as well but I think we have a legitimate shot. There's no Big XII CG so winning out is as important as ever if we are to make eight.

[BoomerJ]

Goingoneight, when we win it all this year are you going to change your name?

[StoopTroup]

heh.

[PLaw]

DT and MIKE play, along with special teams, will make or break this season. Should we have the good fortune of winning out and a SEC team is the opponent in the SB, it will come to how well we adapt on defense to an SEC-style offense standing in our way to #8.

BOOMER

[OUInformant]

I have to agree with pretty much everything you said.

Strengths:

1. Landry Jones. Arguably the best quarterback in the conference and one of the best in the nation.

2. Offense. From top-to-bottom, it will be the nation's best.

3. Depth on defense. I'm going out on a limb here, but we have a lot of play-makers at every spot on the field on defense. No obvious weaknesses. Impressed at the Spring game.

4. Returning kicks.

Concerns:

1. FG kicking.

2. Inexperience on defense. From what I saw from the spring game, we really have some great athletes, but many of them lack game experience.

3. Offense coordinator. Don't get me wrong, Heupel is an amazing coach and will do very well, but it may take some time for him to get his bearings. He'll ultimately be a strength.

Interesting players to watch:

On Offense,

1. Roy Finch
2. The offensive line (How good are Lane Johnson & Josh Aladenoye?)
3. Jarvis Jones (Does he come back from injury ready to go?)
4. James Hanna (Is TE a big weapon for us again?)

On defense,

1. The "Hammer"
2. Tom Wort (with the very sad loss of Austin Box)
3. The secondary as a unit
4. Jamarcus McFarland (Does he finally live up to the hype? I'm hoping he can carry on the torch of being a dominant tackle. Ditto for RJ Washington.)

[Big D Sooner]

I am a little nervous that the Hammer will the ineligible. From what I hear he struggles in the classroom.

[ouwasp]

Good thread. Here are a few of my thoughts...


Jones/Receivers... their chemistry should only become better. An unknown would be how the newcomers fit into the picture. Also, will Bell oo Allen get any meaningful time?

OL experience. This is one of those "mundane" areas that drives some fans crazy; my Dad just expects the OL to do their job whether they're first yr players or 5th yr seniors. I like the experience. A concern is if the running game will become more consistent, esp in goal line/short yardage situations.

RB... Lots of questions, imo. Finch looks to be the real deal. What about his durability? Clay/Calhoun, who knows? Will they be difference makers? Is B. Williams really ready for the big-time? The RB-by-committee approach doesn't seem very appealing. (sudden thought: back in the wishbone days the committee was all on the field at the same time ;) ) Who else might step up? Will this position be as productive after Demarco?

Special teams. KO coverage is exasperating. Hopefully some yr soon I'll feel comfortable watching it again.

DL. Seems like experience and depth are good to go. Is the talent level there to truly disrupt the opposing O? What about when OU faces an opponent determined to run the ball? We shall see.

LB. Lewis, Wort, and the others are bound to be better from last yrs experience.

Secondary. Bob said he wasn't worried when I heard him speak at the Tulsa Caravan. I'll take him at his word.

Schedule. It is a Strong schedule. If OU opens against Tulsa like they did Utah St, the Sooners lose. There is no room for error this season; "off games" will derail any hopes for #8.

Locker-room leadership is a must. But it would be nice to see an on-the-field guy that could raise his arms and inspire 85,000 to roar. I remember seeing Boz do that...

I had another thought, but my wife is trying to engage me in conversation now. so I'll let my post end here. :)

[BoulderSooner79]

The biggest graduation loss will be DeMarco. No slight to Beal or Carter or the rest, but DM's versatility was unique. I don't see any back replacing his role, so the question becomes how does Josh/Jay change the scheme.

I don't see the offense approaching the '08 level, but it should still put up lots of points. Improvement in TD conversion percentage in the redzone will be a key stat to watch. Part of it is running effectiveness, but a big part is LJ being more confident down their. Really need Hanna/TE or a bigger WR to step it up too.

[OUInformant]

I agree, Demarco will be the toughest guy to replace. His abilities were so unique.

Jeremy Beal was a good player for us, very disruptive at times. However, I think we'll be really good at DE as we have some major athletes.

Ditto for Quinton Carter and Jonathan Nelson. They could both definitely play, but I think we have some amazing athletes in the secondary. We may miss Quinton's hitting ability and just their overall experience; Q just scared people. Javon Harris looked good when I saw him, and some of the younger secondary guys appear to be really athletic.

[silverwheels]

Gotta be more than just athletic, though.

[OUInformant]

Gotta be more than just athletic, though.

Secondary positions are typically the easiest for younger guys to have an impact, so I don't expect to have many issues. However, losing both safeties may affect us a bit.

We have pretty much everybody returning on the DL, so I think we will be better. Beal was good, but not Gerald McCoy / Tommy Harris good, as far as line talent is concerned.

[Fraggle145]

Is everyone forgetting that we have flat out sucked at kick coverage for the last 3 years? And especially the last 2. I think we have given more special teams returns for TDs than just about anyone in fbs in the last 2 years. :confused: We are definitely near the top.

Anyone got a good stats link to some of that data?

My other concern is MLB and RB.

[Fraggle145]

Is everyone forgetting that we have flat out sucked at kick coverage for the last 3 years? And especially the last 2. I think we have given more special teams returns for TDs than just about anyone in fbs in the last 2 years. :confused: We are definitely near the top.

Anyone got a good stats link to some of that data?

My other concern is MLB and RB.

In fact in '08 and '10 we gave up the most kickoff returns for TDs. with 4 on the season. And it wasnt just because we had a lot of returns in our games because we scored so much. Other teams had more returns agains them while giving up way fewer TDs. We were the worst.

http://www.cfbstats.com/2010/leader/national/team/defense/split01/category05/sort04.html

[BoulderSooner79]

I know I'm a sadist, but I enjoyed a few of those KRs. I enjoyed both the ones we gave up to the pokes in '08 and last year. In both cases, it worked the home fans into a frenzy by giving them hope. And in both cases, we crushed that hope on the next possession. I also know there is something wrong with me :D

[Fraggle145]

I know I'm a sadist, but I enjoyed a few of those KRs. I enjoyed both the ones we gave up to the pokes in '08 and last year. In both cases, it worked the home fans into a frenzy by giving them hope. And in both cases, we crushed that hope on the next possession. I also know there is something wrong with me :D

Misery and aTm say hi. :mad:

[BoulderSooner79]

Misery and aTm say hi. :mad:

Didn't say I liked all of them. But introspect, I enjoyed those 2 osu games more because of the KRs then I would have w/o them. They are exciting plays, even if the the other guy does it. It similar to how I pull for a 77-0 game as I'm watching, but when it all over, it's much more satisfying to have watched a nail biter victory.

[Mazeppa]

[QUOTE=OUInformant;3285888]I have to agree with pretty much everything you said.

Strengths:

1. Landry Jones. Arguably the best quarterback in the conference and one of the best in the nation.





That is if he can improve in the red zone, which was a weakness last year,
we settled for too many field goals.