Adding Mike back getting overlooked?

[JLEW1818]

Look what one guy did to the Houston Texans Defense last year. Took the D from like last to 2nd in the league...... NFL... I know

Mike Stoops and Wade Phillips are horrible Head Coaches.... But phenomenal Coordinators.

I'm not saying we are going to have a top 10 defense in the league. But a huge improved defense is almost guaranteed.

[CowboyMRW]

Look what one guy did to the Houston Texans Defense last year. Took the D from like last to 2nd in the league...... NFL... I know

Mike Stoops and Wade Phillips are horrible Head Coaches.... But phenomenal Coordinators.

I'm not saying we are going to have a top 10 defense in the league. But a huge improved defense is almost guaranteed.

I hope that you have a top 10 defense in the league next year :playful::tennis:

[Blue]

I won your league and didn't even get an invite back....

What are we talking about? O yeah. Mike will have us hopefully playing D again.

[ouwasp]

I hope that you have a top 10 defense in the league next year :playful::tennis:

Good one! Yes, the Sooners are guaranteed to have a top 10 D in the Big XII.

From my perspective, the D has to improve... if only by default. It was embarassing at times last yr!

[StoopTroup]

It has to be better. JLEW Guaranteed it.

There is nothing more guaranteed that a pre-season comment offering guarantees.

Even a Week 6 Statement in Mid Season can't hold up to a Pre-Season Guarantee. :D

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-10-10/big-12-power-rankings-sooners-defense-steps-up

[TahoeSOONER]

^ Noooooooooo

[LASooner]

If Oklahoma's defense were a redneck's truck, Mike is the truck nuts OU was sorely lacking last year.

[BoulderSooner79]

I just count Mike as an unknown right now - he hasn't been DC for 8 years. Maybe it will be like old times or maybe it will prove that you can't go back home because it's never the same.

[Curly Bill]

I don't know how well having Mike back will work out, but it's gotta be an improvement over what we had.

[LVSOONER15]

Not only an improvement from what we had, but also a different mentality of the players.

[swardboy]

I think the different mentality will lead to an improvement from what we had.

Where can I find Sooner ringtones?

[Mississippi Sooner]

Have we fired Vulnerables yet?

[Curly Bill]

Have we fired Vulnerables yet?

I say we hire him again, just so that we can fire him again!

...and yeah I know we didn't "technically" fire him.

[StoopTroup]

Hiring back a guy you **** on?

Not the kind of move that makes much sense.

I wish Brent well and I wish he would have stayed but he couldn't stay at OU and take a backseat to Mike. You can't pay your equal 1.9 miland pay Brent half that. It causes problems and IMO if the Team failed to put a good Defense (and really - a Defense that would be one of OU's Best since 2008) on the field next year, Brent would have taken a step back career wise. I think it was Smart for Brent.

Now was it smart for Mike to come back?

Two schools of thought. If you comeback and put together a top ten defense with Brent's recruits, then Brent just looks like he had a defensive scheme that was flawed and he just wasn't as good a defensive Coach as Mike.

The other, if Mike has a bad year, It was Brent's recruits and we just need to give him a couple of season's to recruit the players he thinks he can work with.

Now me personally? I think the difference between Mike and Brent is like splitting hairs. They are both great guys and we are lucky to have had both of them at OU.

[ashley]

Don't tell anyone but offenses have changed in the Big 12.

[Curly Bill]

Don't tell anyone but offenses have changed in the Big 12.

The hell you say! Everyone's not still running the veer or the wishbone?

[JLEW1818]

So now is the perfect time to switch back to it!

[EatLeadCommie]

Well we can't be worse than we were last year, and I like Mike's ability to simplify things. However, the game has changed a lot since he left, so I'm not expecting much.

[8timechamps]

Bring back the wishbone!!!

[Jason White's Third Knee]

Single wing! No one expects the single wing!

[CobraKai]

Don't tell anyone but offenses have changed in the Big 12.

Some have. Mike Leach was running some pretty crazy stuff in the Big 12 when MStoops last coached here. I wouldn't say they have changed, just that there are many more doing it. If memory serves me correctly MStoops had little trouble with Leach's high flying spread offense.

[MichiganSooner]

[QUOTE=JLEW

I'm not saying we are going to have a top 10 defense in the league. But a huge improved defense is almost guaranteed.[/QUOTE]

Top 10 in league? A typo, I hope. LOL. Assume you meant, top 10 in nation.

[BoulderSooner79]

I don't think top 10 defense is possible (measured by yards/points) as long as our offense has a goal of running 90 plays/game. But a top 20 in that situation would be as effective as a top 10 with a more traditional offense.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I think the different mentality will lead to an improvement from what we had.

Where can I find Sooner ringtones?Ding Ding! Winnah!(IMHO)

[budbarrybob]

"Certainly", we will be hearing alot more "Yah Know" during. post. game interviews. "Clearly"

[StoopTroup]

If you are gonna go back to a Wishbone Offense....you won't see guys like Stills, Jaz or Metoyer lining up to play here and if you expect to use the backs we have to run it....

I'm just gonna put my tickets on EBAY right now as it's gonna get ugly in Norman even if they put Barry up in the Press Box and having him send down plays.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

If you are gonna go back to a Wishbone Offense....you won't see guys like Stills, Jaz or Metoyer lining up to play here and if you expect to use the backs we have to run it....

I'm just gonna put my tickets on EBAY right now as it's gonna get ugly in Norman even if they put Barry up in the Press Box and having him send down plays.Not to worry! In '13, Blake Bell will carry the ball on EVERY play.

[oumartin]

Swagger!

[ashley]

Some have. Mike Leach was running some pretty crazy stuff in the Big 12 when MStoops last coached here. I wouldn't say they have changed, just that there are many more doing it. If memory serves me correctly MStoops had little trouble with Leach's high flying spread offense.

I wouldn't say that they have changed, just that there are many more doing it. What?

[CobraKai]

I wouldn't say that they have changed, just that there are many more doing it. What?

You said offenses have changed. I presumed your comment to mean that the Big 12 has transformed into a wide open spread passing league since Mike Stoops last coached here. If that was your point I was simply saying Mike had success against that style of offense before, and that teams ran that style of offense when he last coached here (although not as many).

[8timechamps]

Bring back the wishbone!

[Bourbon St Sooner]

As the zen master once said: We'll see.

[StoopTroup]

Not to worry! In '13, Blake Bell will carry the ball on EVERY play.

I bet he doesn't. Matter of fact I think he might still be doing Goal Line Stands.

http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/thompson_kendal00.html

[pphilfran]

Somebody will light em up and then the fan base will go ballistic...again....

Beginning of last year...

Josh is our Savior! Josh will get us out of our rut...

End of last year...

No imagination...I know the play before it is run....bubble screen, bubble screen, bubble screen....

[cccasooner2]

Somebody will light em up and then the fan base will go ballistic...again....

Beginning of last year...

Josh is our Savior! Josh will get us out of our rut...

End of last year...

No imagination...I know the play before it is run....bubble screen, bubble screen, bubble screen....

Worked for TT. :(

[OU_Sooners75]

I find it funny that some think that the offenses in the Big 12 cannot be stopped or slowed down.

The first step in making sure you can defend a 5 WR set is not matching 2 or 3 LBs against slots and WRs and even some tight ends. It is making sure that there are DBs in there that can cover the wideouts and receivers.

This does create other issues, such as a smaller lineup to stop the run, but how many in the Big 12 play smash mouth? KSU? Now TCU? That is about it.

The rest, the team will have to sacrifice size to stop the run with more speed and better route defenders to stop the pass.

That said, what the coaches need to make sure of is the players know what they are to do. Make sure they are not confused on the field.

The players need to be great tacklers on defense. No more arm tackling in the open field. And finally we will need a DL that pins their ears back and goes after it, instead of the read and react DL play we have been seeing the last 5 or so years by our DL.

The key to shutting down any offense, no matter if it is a spread or a wishbone offense, is to play sound disciplined defense. It is to make sure your players know what and where they are suppose to be. Not looking down at wrist bands wondering what the hell they are suppose to be doing.

So much of football is instinct and discipline. If a player is having to think about what they are suppose to do, they are going to be out of position. They are going to make more mistakes. And that has been evident lately in the OU defense.

With all that said, taking the complexity out of the defense will only make it better. Watch any good NFL defense. They are complex compared to most colleges, but they are still rather basic and fundamental in their schemes.

The biggest problem with Brent Venables was not his ability to coach. It was that he always tried to outwit the offense. And in doing so he created a defense that was waiting for the offense to do whatever they were doing before reacting and playing.

Mike Stoops brings a sound defense. A less complex defense. He was a master of hiding blitzes and coverages when he was here the first time. His defenses in the PAC also created problems for the other teams in that conference, he just couldnt get great talent compared to Oregon or USC to stay consistent.

With Mike Stoops, we should be seeing a less complex defense. We should be seeing no more wrist bands with plays and audibles. We should be witnessing a defense that gets after it and has an attitude, and the play to back that attitude up. We should also be witnessing a defense that is a lot more disciplined than we have been in the recent past.

Will it always work? No...no defense always works. But will it be good enough to compete once again at a defensive level that rivals that of LSU and Bama? Yes.

And if there is not much change, if we do not witness what I think we should be, then we (or I) will come to the conclusion that the problem wasn't the coordinator, but what the head coach wanted in a defense.

[OU_Sooners75]

I bet he doesn't. Matter of fact I think he might still be doing Goal Line Stands.

http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/thompson_kendal00.html

LMFAO


Is your sacarsm meter broken?

[OU_Sooners75]

Somebody will light em up and then the fan base will go ballistic...again....

Beginning of last year...

Josh is our Savior! Josh will get us out of our rut...

End of last year...

No imagination...I know the play before it is run....bubble screen, bubble screen, bubble screen....

Who said Josh would be our Savior? We were hoping to have a more balanced attack, and we did until Whaley went down.

And after he went down, the imagination of the offense went out the window. And even more so when Broyles went down.

I think Josh did a fine job last year. Not perfect, and plenty room from improvement. But I do not rag on him since it was his first year as a coordinator. He will get better and he will start finding his offense that he wants to run...and I think our offensive recruiting is showing that.

Bigger backs and WRs. From the looks of it, Josh H. is gearing our offense up to change to a more pro set offense.

Of course I could be wrong on that.

[htownsooner7]

Okay, as a huge follower of both the Sooners and Texans, I'll bite. Wade Phillips gets a lot of credit, but that was a completely different defense for the Texans in 2011 versus 2010. And I don't mean the scheme, although that was different, I mean the players. Of the 11 starters on defense in 2011, 7 of them were not starting at the end of 2010. JJ Watt was the best defensive rookie in the NFL (at least arguably), Jonathan Joseph was a pro bowl corner, and steroids Brian Cushing came back to be one of the best linebackers in the league ( I personally think he was THE best last year but doesn't get the recognition). Connor Barwin didn't play in 2010 but had 11 sacks in 2011. Danieal Manning was on the Bears NFC North champs in 2010 and 5th in tackles for the Texans in 2011. Glover Quinn was a below average corner in 2010 but an above average safety in 2011. Brooks Reed was also a rookie in 2011 and started the last 11 games. Demeco Ryans missed the last 11 games of 2010. All of this added up to a gigantic personnel difference. TO his credit, Wade Phillips did an excellent job with this new defense but to say he took the 2010 defense and improved them is completely misleading. It just wasn't the same guys.

All of this begs the question, from a Johnnys and Joes perspective, where does this Sooners defense get better in 2012? I try to be an optimist but I don't see it.

[JLEW1818]

Okay, as a huge follower of both the Sooners and Texans, I'll bite. Wade Phillips gets a lot of credit, but that was a completely different defense for the Texans in 2011 versus 2010. And I don't mean the scheme, although that was different, I mean the players. Of the 11 starters on defense in 2011, 7 of them were not starting at the end of 2010. JJ Watt was the best defensive rookie in the NFL (at least arguably), Jonathan Joseph was a pro bowl corner, and steroids Brian Cushing came back to be one of the best linebackers in the league ( I personally think he was THE best last year but doesn't get the recognition). Connor Barwin didn't play in 2010 but had 11 sacks in 2011. Danieal Manning was on the Bears NFC North champs in 2010 and 5th in tackles for the Texans in 2011. Glover Quinn was a below average corner in 2010 but an above average safety in 2011. Brooks Reed was also a rookie in 2011 and started the last 11 games. Demeco Ryans missed the last 11 games of 2010. All of this added up to a gigantic personnel difference. TO his credit, Wade Phillips did an excellent job with this new defense but to say he took the 2010 defense and improved them is completely misleading. It just wasn't the same guys.

All of this begs the question, from a Johnnys and Joes perspective, where does this Sooners defense get better in 2012? I try to be an optimist but I don't see it.

Who is to say Wade didn't hand pick JJ Watt in the draft? I think he did.

What we know....

Houston defense sucked in 2010
Houston defense was amazing in 2011 with Wade
The games Wade was out in 2011, Houston lost both of those game.

Wade is more valuable to Houston, than any player or Coach. this was proven. We won without Mario, Andre, Foster, and Schaub, in many situations.

[StoopTroup]

So you are a Texan now?

[JLEW1818]

So you are a Texan now?

lol..

I'm a Houstonian, who hates everything between OK and Houston.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

lol..

I'm a Houstonian, who hates everything between OK and Houston.Lotsa great restaurants in Houston! My fave bumper sticker: There's nothing going on in Houston...so, I'm going to Seguin!

[agoo758]

lol..

I'm a Houstonian, who hates everything between OK and Houston.

Houston's the only place in Texas I can tolerate. I did enjoy looking at the Moray Eel in their children's museum!