Scapegoat wanted!

[TUSooner]

I can see it now......


With the announcement that Brent Venables is vacating his position as OU's defensive coordinator to take the same position at Clemson, bewildered SF.com posters say there's no time to waste in finding a new scapegoat coach. Venables was frequently blamed for OU's spotty defensive performances and was often criticized for not being named Mike Stoops. Said one anonymous SF.com source: "I think we need to play it safe and assume that the defense will not improve dramatically next year, which will leave a glaring vacancy in the staff for a scapegoat guy. We have to plan ahead, or we'll have nobody to rant about the next time we give up 35 points." The source ruled out Mike Stoops: "He's just got here, you know? So he's not really ready for the scapegoat job. Of course, he might turn out to be an excellent guy to blame, but we'll just have to wait and see. Of course, the defense might actually play well, in which case we'll have to look for someplace else to throw our blame, but that's just a worst-case scenario." Said another: "BV will be hard to replace, no doubt. We had Kevin Wilson for awhile to blame offensive stuff on, but once he left it was all up to Brent, and he did a great job of filling in." There was speculation that OU might bring in a scapegoat specialist for at least one season until Mike Stoops is ready or someone else already on the staff steps up. Mark Mangino, Gary Gibbs, and Turner Gill were among those mentioned, but none could be reached for comment.

[UberSooner]

Nailed it, in a great way.

[47straight]

Bobby Proctor. He didn't share nearly enough blame in the 80's for losing 2 MNC's for us.

[Curly Bill]

LOL...I like that.

[Mississippi Sooner]

+1 Good stuff.

[SoonerAtKU]

Oh, it'll be Heupel, no question. Hell, it started last year as soon as injuries piled up and Bell was put in to run the goalline offense. People were already saying he's "in over his head" and "can't make adjustments".

If there are any struggles this year, it's too soon for people to blame Mike, so it'll be the second most visible co-ordinator, which is Heupel.

[85sooners]

I will blame the fans

[LVSOONER15]

I blame the other teams offense.

[Curly Bill]

Ima blame John Blake.

[thecrimsoncrusader]

Let's face the facts here; it will either be the tricky wind or the opposing offense and defense not lining up correctly for Oklahoma's offense and defense to be successful.

[Curly Bill]

We can always blame ESPN or the officials.

[BigTip]

Fire the special teams coach!


Oh, wait.....

[SoonerTerry]

this thread just gave me retinal encephalitus

[dwarthog]

Easy call on the scapegoat IMO.

Smitty!

Already on staff and has a past history of culpability.

It's Smitty's fault!

[Fraggle145]

Norvell and Patton. I blame them.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

I still blame Chuck (3rd and) Long for everything.

[goingoneight]

Injuries? All Scmiddy's fault.
Special Teams? Fire Bob Stoops!
Offense? Bring in Blake Bell!
Defense? Stupid refs!

Any questions?

[Curly Bill]

Easy call on the scapegoat IMO.

Smitty!

Already on staff and has a past history of culpability.

It's Smitty's fault!

Good answer, can't believe I overlooked him.

[delhalew]

I'm gonna blame Curly. I heard he strangles puppies in his spare time.

[Curly Bill]

Never strangled a puppy, but I've been wanting BV gone for a while now. So, yeah...I'll take that blame. :)

[delhalew]

Never strangled a puppy, but I've been wanting BV gone for a while now. So, yeah...I'll take that blame. :)
Broad shoulders.

[Curly Bill]

Broad shoulders.

Ehhh, more that I just didn't see any improvement in BV's ability to coordinate a defense worthy of OU, and haven't been shy in saying so.

[landrun]

I can see it now......

I'm glad BV is gone. And I'm glad it happened the way it did.
He landed on his feet without even having to fall - so to speak. Good for him. I wish him the very best.

Having said that, he wasn't a scapegoat. His defenses were consistently bad and never played up to their talent level in my opinion.

OU needed a change.

I don't care if the new DC's name is Stoops, Saban or whoever. It doesn't matter. Change is good for our defense!

The fact is that it is totally illogical to think OUr defenses would suddenly start playing championship defense under BV. He's had years to have such a defense and we've seen the exact same problems under him year after year. There is no evidence to suggest doing the same things with the same guy will produce a different result. That's what they call insanity - remember?? So all you BV apologists really don't have a leg to stand on. You whine about those of us who wanted him to go. But at least our opinions are based in the fact that the D has sucked under him and the fact there is no evidence it would ever change. You guys on the other hand, are just being homers. - Much like the Blake supports in the 90's. You thump your chest like that makes you a better person - or a better Sooner fan. It doesn't.
It just makes you a homer. :)

And suggesting that because the new DC's name is Mike Stoops is what makes us all so giddy, is wrong. I wouldn't care if the new DC was someone I'd never heard of. Because I honestly think that the worst they could do is to perform like BV has done over the last few years. I'm not excited about Stoops. I'm excited that change has finally come and with that is a least the HOPE of improvement on the defensive side of the ball. With BV, all hope was gone. Seriously, I had totally given up on the guy and I think more and more Sooner fans were getting there too. All we had was an acceptance of OU giving up 40 points a game to the Techs of the world - and for some inexplicable reason to me - many OU fans being perfectly fine with it! :miserable:

But now, it's all good.
It's good for OU.
It's good for BV.
... and its good for ME! :excitement:

[Curly Bill]

I'm glad BV is gone. And I'm glad it happened the way it did.
He landed on his feet without even having to fall - so to speak. Good for him. I wish him the very best.

Having said that, he wasn't a scapegoat. His defenses were consistently bad and never played up to their talent level in my opinion.

OU needed a change.

I don't care if the new DC's name is Stoops, Saban or whoever. It doesn't matter. Change is good for our defense!

The fact is that it is totally illogical to think OUr defenses would suddenly start playing championship defense under BV. He's had years to have such a defense and we've seen the exact same problems under him year after year. There is no evidence to suggest doing the same things with the same guy will produce a different result. That's what they call insanity - remember?? So all you BV apologists really don't have a leg to stand on. You whine about those of us who wanted him to go. But at least our opinions are based in the fact that the D has sucked under him and the fact there is no evidence it would ever change. You guys on the other hand, are just being homers. - Much like the Blake supports in the 90's. You thump your chest like that makes you a better person - or a better Sooner fan. It doesn't.
It just makes you a homer. :)

And suggesting that because the new DC's name is Mike Stoops is what makes us all so giddy, is wrong. I wouldn't care if the new DC was someone I'd never heard of. Because I honestly think that the worst they could do is to perform like BV has done over the last few years. I'm not excited about Stoops. I'm excited that change has finally come and with that is a least the HOPE of improvement on the defensive side of the ball. With BV, all hope was gone. Seriously, I had totally given up on the guy and I think more and more Sooner fans were getting there too. All we had was an acceptance of OU giving up 40 points a game to the Techs of the world - and for some inexplicable reason to me - many OU fans being perfectly fine with it! :miserable:

But now, it's all good.
It's good for OU.
It's good for BV.
... and its good for ME! :excitement:

Well said! SPEK

[SoonerAtKU]

Ehhh, more that I just didn't see any improvement in BV's ability to coordinate a defense worthy of OU, and haven't been shy in saying so.

Not to pick at an open wound, but what happened in 2009? If I recall, that defense was fairly stout, and held 9 teams under 16 points, and pitched a few shutouts.

[Curly Bill]

Not to pick at an open wound, but what happened in 2009? If I recall, that defense was fairly stout, and held 9 teams under 16 points, and pitched a few shutouts.

I'm not picking out one year, I'm talking about long term trends in our style of play and constantly having the same issues that weren't being addressed. Picking out one year where we where better than usual doesn't change that.

[badger]

http://i44.tinypic.com/2yukftl.jpg

[StoopTroup]

I lIke how some folks are picking out which part of your collage of rants we have all heard the last 7 years to hold onto like it was their very own.

I'm guessing they'll have their grandma knit them a pillow out of it.

[sooneredaco]

I blame kicker!
Eff the effin kicker

[badger]

I blame kicker!
Eff the effin kicker
1- Hire Uwe.
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/474/240/UweVonSchamannLG_display_image.jpg

2- Start billions of threads for him to be fired anytime kicking is not perfect.

3- Raise tOSU's roof before kicking game winner.

[StoopTroup]

1- Hire Uwe.
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/474/240/UweVonSchamannLG_display_image.jpg

2- Start billions of threads for him to be fired anytime kicking is not perfect.


3- Raise tOSU's roof before kicking game winner.

My right thumb is still messed up from a kick he put up against Rice in Norman. I forget which year that was but I was sitting in Bleachers in the South EZ.

That Bastage owes me and he owes me big! :D :)

[OUinFLA]

badger nails it.

We haven't been the same since we introduced the horsepigs.

hitch them up to a wagon and head away.

[badger]

badger nails it.

We haven't been the same since we introduced the horsepigs.

hitch them up to a wagon and head away.

Will they be leading the wagon, or drug behind it? :P

[BigTip]

My right thumb is still messed up from a kick he put up against Rice in Norman. I forget which year that was but I was sitting in Bleachers in the South EZ.

That Bastages owes me and he owes me big! :D :)

This is a fine example of finding a scapegoat. Most excellent work. lol

[Edmond Sooner]

Not to pick at an open wound, but what happened in 2009? If I recall, that defense was fairly stout, and held 9 teams under 16 points, and pitched a few shutouts.

Don't confuse them with facts.

[Jacie]

This isn't the first nor will it be the last time we will search for a scapegoat.

Larry Lacewell was Oklahoma's DC under The King. The first three years, everything came up rosy for LL. Then 1976 happened. For the first half of the season, everything was fine. There was that tie to the whorns but OU was undefeated. No one suspected that little brother would be the team that could outscore the Sooners. OUr defense had no answer for RB Terry Miller, being touted (at least by people out of Stillwater) for the Heisman. They beat OU that day 31-24. Next up was the puffs in Boulder, a town where OU has often had problems playing. The Sooner offense would score 31 points that day, a season high up to that point, but Colorado moved at will against OUr D (for 42 points and remember, this was when offenses ran the ball much more than they threw it).

Lacewell tells what happened. "Barry got on the phone to the pressbox. He had never done that before. 'Can we stop them?' he asked. I said 'No.' He just goes, 'Oh!'

Thankfully, Lacewell kept his job, the Sooners would finish 1976 on a 5-game winning streak and more greatness was to come but it is always those exceptions that nag at us when we let them, those losses like these two among others . . .

[TUSooner]

...Lacewell tells what happened. "Barry got on the phone to the pressbox. He had never done that before. 'Can we stop them?' he asked. I said 'No.' He just goes, 'Oh!'...

That made me laugh.

[picasso]

What makes me sad is how bad our D was in '08. Oh what could have been...

[BB37]

I'll step up and take one for the team. Pay me 50 percent of Brent V's salary and I'll gladly be the scapegoat.

[goingoneight]

Hell, pay me half and I'll be the scapegoat. Then fire me and pay me the severence pay. :cool:

[Salt City Sooner]

What makes me sad is how bad our D was in '08. Oh what could have been...
I hold our special teams every bit, if not more culpable than the D that year. See my post from a while back:

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthread.php?130942-Coaching-Grade-(A)-in-2008&p=2610500&viewfull=1#post2610500

[toast]

If the history of OU football has proven anything it's that OU fans will find someone on the staff to focus upon. There will never be a shortage of spoiled fans bitching about a coach or two.

[SoonerAtKU]

If only it was just OU. There's a guy at work here who was happy that the Cardinals, fresh off of the second World Series win in 5 years, lost Pujols, LaRussa, and legendary pitching coach Dave Duncan. These three are arguably the central reason that the Cardinals have been relevant in the 21st century, but to hear this guy talk, not a one of them knows anything about baseball.

[Soonerjeepman]

most coaches don't know squat about their sport...why we pay them so much money is beyond me....honestly...most of the general public knows more about sports than the coaches and players...it's very frustrating...:very_drunk:

[SoonerAtKU]

For that matter, I don't know why we let these so-called "players" play the game. Lord knows that I've never dropped a key pass in my life.


Of course, I've never been thrown a key pass, but that's beside the point, yes?

[NWOSURanger]

I still blame Galen Hall for not calling enough passing plays during the wishbone days, and for that loss to Arkie in the Orange Bowl.