I think there are positives in this game

[jkjsooner]

The defense played pretty well. I don't know about UTEP's offense but I think all in all they played well. I think our defensive backfield played a pretty good game.

Landry Jones looked the best he's looked when under pressure and facing adversity. I wouldn't say it was a great game and he did make mistakes but he didn't fold like he's done in these type of games in the past.

We've definitely had plenty of slow starts over the years when facing mediocre competition. Hopefully we'll look a lot sharper the next game.

How many games have we seen like this one where we never got it together and came out with a loss? Today's game doesn't feel great but it's infinitely better than those.

[StoopTroup]

Finding out how good Damien Williams is really takes the stress off of Whaley if he's just not ready or unable to get his explosiveness back. We have a pretty decent backfield IMO. Also seeing us use the Dozer like Tebow was a nice addition.

[jkjsooner]

Finding out how good Damien Williams is really takes the stress off of Whaley if he's just not ready or unable to get his explosiveness back. We have a pretty decent backfield IMO. Also seeing us use the Dozer like Tebow was a nice addition.

I agree. I didn't mention Williams just because I'd like to see him play a couple of games and see him do this against a team that isn't worn out. He looked good though.

I forgot to mention one thing. I feel a lot better this way than if the offense rolled and the defense played poorly.

[picasso]

I forgot to mention one thing. I feel a lot better this way than if the offense rolled and the defense played poorly.
Great point.

[StoopTroup]

I agree. I didn't mention Williams just because I'd like to see him play a couple of games and see him do this against a team that isn't worn out. He looked good though.

I forgot to mention one thing. I feel a lot better this way than if the offense rolled and the defense played poorly.

Yeah...folks got real high on Finch when he had a game or two like that. I don't blame you but I think Williams might just be the next DeMarco Murray.

[StoopTroup]

Hopefully the WRs will quit playing so tight.

[budbarrybob]

I'll take any win. Ugly or not. Defensively they were good vs the pass. Ok vs the run. A running QB might cause some problems.

[goingoneight]

I doubt that. Murray is one of the best in the NFL. He was severely underrated while at OU. Whaley was pretty good last year, but DM had that special ability to juke guys out of their own shoes. Broyles had it, too. Williams to me looked like faster Chris Brown.

[soonerloyal]

The defense played pretty well. I don't know about UTEP's offense but I think all in all they played well. I think our defensive backfield played a pretty good game.

Landry Jones looked the best he's looked when under pressure and facing adversity. I wouldn't say it was a great game and he did make mistakes but he didn't fold like he's done in these type of games in the past.

We've definitely had plenty of slow starts over the years when facing mediocre competition. Hopefully we'll look a lot sharper the next game.

How many games have we seen like this one where we never got it together and came out with a loss? Today's game doesn't feel great but it's infinitely better than those.

I must have been watching an alt-universe game, because I wanted to punch the idiot look off Jones' face and snap him out of his apparent stupor half the time. And Jesus, would someone teach him to throw to someone who's actually open rather than someone he just feels cozier connecting to.

Maybe I was just expecting much, much better and am simply overreacting. God, I hope so.

Bleccchhh. Mediocre win. EVERYTHING needs work. Lots of work.

[thecrimsoncrusader]

This game was an atrocity, but so were these:

2010 Big 12 champions despite...

31-24 over Utah St. in NORMAN

27-24 over Air Force in NORMAN

Things are never as bad or as good as they appear. Think goodness that Oklahoma plays Florida A&M next week and also has two byes in September. They are all badly needed.

[jkjsooner]

I doubt that. Murray is one of the best in the NFL. He was severely underrated while at OU. Whaley was pretty good last year, but DM had that special ability to juke guys out of their own shoes. Broyles had it, too. Williams to me looked like faster Chris Brown.

I think people knew that Murray was a great running back. He was just injured so often.

Where Murray was underrated was his power. Everyone knew he had a little poor man's Reggie Bush in him but he really could move a pile.

[soonerloyal]

I'll take any win. Ugly or not. Defensively they were good vs the pass. Ok vs the run. A running QB might cause some problems.


"Might"? :jaded:

[jkjsooner]

I must have been watching an alt-universe game, because I wanted to punch the idiot look off Jones' face and snap him out of his apparent stupor half the time. And Jesus, would someone teach him to throw to someone who's actually open rather than someone he just feels cozier connecting to.

It's hard to tell on TV but I'm guessing we didn't have a ton of guys open on most of those plays.

Without some mistakes made by others Jones would have easily had a couple of more TD's.

[StoopTroup]

This game was an atrocity, but so were these:

2010 Big 12 champions despite...

31-24 over Utah St. in NORMAN

27-24 over Air Force in NORMAN

Things are never as bad or as good as they appear. Think goodness that Oklahoma plays Florida A&M next week and also has two byes in September. They are all badly needed.

Take three of these and post again tomorrow.

http://www.fratfury.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Mercy-Hangover-Remedy.jpg

;)

[pappy]

It's hard to tell on TV but I'm guessing we didn't have a ton of guys open on most of those plays.

Without some mistakes made by others Jones would have easily had a couple of more TD's.

There were a few plays where Jones held onto the ball too long and the announcers kept saying so and so was wide open but Jones doesn't trust him yet. And the last sack Metoyer was wide open on an out route and then Stills comes wide open over the middle but by then Jones had stopped looking down field and was just staring at the defender about to hit him.

[hawaii 5-0]

I'd love to see some play action and let Motoyer get deep one on one.

That one he caught late in the 1st half with a foot on the sideline looked like a winner.

Get him on an island and let him beat the DB on a jump ball.

5-0

[Salt City Sooner]

I think people knew that Murray was a great running back. He was just injured so often.

Where Murray was underrated was his power. Everyone knew he had a little poor man's Reggie Bush in him but he really could move a pile.
Not to get off topic, but DM missed 5 games in his OU career (OU played 55 in his time in Norman), & 3 of those were in his freshman year. It was the cruddy timing of his injuries (i.e. missing the NC game) that make the myth that he was always injured bigger than it really was. Did he have some bumps & bruises along the way? Sure, but he played through them a whole lot more often than not.

[MamaMia]

Finding out how good Damien Williams is really takes the stress off of Whaley if he's just not ready or unable to get his explosiveness back. We have a pretty decent backfield IMO. Also seeing us use the Dozer like Tebow was a nice addition.

Absolutely. I do hope that Whaley is fully recovered and capable of getting back to the Whaley we all knew before the injury. Maybe with some confidence building playing time during this next game, he'll get back to that place. :)

[SanDiegoSoonerGal]

Watching the game on TV, I only saw a horsepig once.
(Sorry, still hate 'em.)

[MyT Oklahoma]

Watching the game on TV, I only saw a horsepig once.
(Sorry, still hate 'em.)

Thank God I didn't even see them once and that is always a plus.

[marfacowboy]

I thought our defense was very average. They ran for over 200 yards on us and one reason is our LB's play too soft.

[cleller]

I thought our defense was very average. They ran for over 200 yards on us and one reason is our LB's play too soft.

I have hope for the D, but we could sure use a Torrance, Rocky, Roger Steffen-type lineup back there.

I had predicted the fact that we only had one guy who had caught a pass at WR would make for a pretty big challenge. I don't begrudge their suspensions at all, but Jaz and Franks would have had a smoother opener, I think. Brown and Metoyer will surely improve rapidly, though. Its just a matter of time, and timing.

[boomersooner28]

Ok, now that I have sobered up and slept on it...maybe I was over-reacting last night due to the Alabama-Michigan game. Alabama comes out with eleven-teen new starters and punches Meatchicken right in the mouth from the first snap and looks like the damn 49ers playing the Beaver Dusters. We come out and look like we never had an offseason practice and a 4th grader runs our offense....all the while playing with no fire and showing 0 emotion.

Maybe we will get a lot better. We have too...or we will get embarassed a few times this year. Alabama would have beat us by 130 last night.

[Breadburner]

We were lucky the guy that was gashing us left the game.....

[BoulderSooner79]

...
Maybe we will get a lot better. We have too...or we will get embarassed a few times this year. Alabama would have beat us by 130 last night.

Not just 'Bama - I saw a bunch of teams that would have taken us to the woodshed yesterday. With all the question marks we had coming into the season, I couldn't believe all the polls were putting us in the top 5. Then I started thinking maybe it was just me with all the doubts. But even I expected a stronger start than what I saw. The defense looked pretty good and I expected some breakdowns considering a change of DC and schemes. They should get better, but I don't see the talent to become elite on D. I expected a lot more from the offense. I figured we would miss some big passing plays by a small margin due to new receivers and it would leave us excited for the future. Instead I felt like we need lots of work and not a lot of time to get it done. Now I'm glad we have an easy home game and a bye coming before we get serious.

[GameWarden]

Ok, now that I have sobered up and slept on it...maybe I was over-reacting last night due to the Alabama-Michigan game. Alabama comes out with eleven-teen new starters and punches Meatchicken right in the mouth from the first snap and looks like the damn 49ers playing the Beaver Dusters. We come out and look like we never had an offseason practice and a 4th grader runs our offense....all the while playing with no fire and showing 0 emotion.

Maybe we will get a lot better. We have too...or we will get embarassed a few times this year. Alabama would have beat us by 130 last night.

Most Bob Stoops teams make far too many stupid mistakes.
Special teams last nite almost gave up a couple of TD's.
And if UTEP had a field goal kicker that game would have likely been loss.
I can live with not winning a NC every year but I getting way tired of so many dumb errors. How many fumbles did we have last nite??? How lucky were we that almost ALL of them went out of bounds.
OL played poorly as well but that's to be expected to a certain extent- Losing two starters in Aug. Landry is Landry. Looks like he's going to be a repeat of last year.

[jkjsooner]

I thought our defense was very average. They ran for over 200 yards on us and one reason is our LB's play too soft.

We used to say that a lot in the early 2000's as well but Stoops always pointed out that it's about keeping the opposition off the scoreboard and they did as good as you can do in that respect. I'd like better run defense but we didn't have any big busts in the backfield and we got just enough pressure (not great pressure) so that the defensive backs could remain in coverage. UTEP did drop some passes but most of them were in tight coverage.

[marfacowboy]

We used to say that a lot in the early 2000's as well but Stoops always pointed out that it's about keeping the opposition off the scoreboard and they did as good as you can do in that respect. I'd like better run defense but we didn't have any big busts in the backfield and we got just enough pressure (not great pressure) so that the defensive backs could remain in coverage. UTEP did drop some passes but most of them were in tight coverage.

That works against UTEP and Kansas, but if you're saying your goal is a National Title, you have to stuff the run. Your DL and LB's have to blow up plays. We had one guy consistently doing that last night, David King.
But as others have noted, the widespread epidemic of fundamental mistakes makes you wonder what the hell is going on? Are our kids not coachable or are the coaches not coaching? So many mental errors.

[cccasooner2]

The shotbone formation with D. Williams, Bird, and Millard was very effective. Bird and Millard shifted into a dozer formation on the DW 65 yd TD.

[CatfishSooner]

neither of our lines are any good :(

[jkjsooner]

That works against UTEP and Kansas, but if you're saying your goal is a National Title, you have to stuff the run. Your DL and LB's have to blow up plays. We had one guy consistently doing that last night, David King.
But as others have noted, the widespread epidemic of fundamental mistakes makes you wonder what the hell is going on? Are our kids not coachable or are the coaches not coaching? So many mental errors.

I wasn't sold that we were a national title contender to start with so maybe that's why it's easier for me to view the positives.

[VMG]

Jeez folks, this was UTEP. Not looking to crucify anyone, but this is an offense with a 5th yr senior QB, and experienced OL, and some talent and experience at WR and RB. C'mon man...

It was an ugly performance by the offense -- absolutely dismal.

Which Landry is gonna show up next week? Wonder if we'll ever take another snap from under center? Wonder if we'll ever do some things with formations and motion to enhance our ability to get receivers open against cover 2? Is Kenny Stills the only guy that gets open or is he the automatic default option?

[marfacowboy]

I wasn't sold that we were a national title contender to start with so maybe that's why it's easier for me to view the positives.

I was reluctant. Tried to stay positive, but I'm going to be a realist from here on out. We'll have to fight and claw to beat Texas and TCU, will probably lose at WV.

[SoonerinSouthlake]

I forgot to mention one thing. I feel a lot better this way than if the offense rolled and the defense played poorly.

thats and I agree.

how good did the D really play though until their star RB had to go to the sidelines for mustard rubs?

[Soonermagik]

It was the first game and our defense shut them out!! My primary concern lies with the offensive line who let too many guys through. I thought Landry had a lot of increased mobility and handled the pressure well for the most part.

Just remember that it was the first game and our D pitched a shutout and we won by 17 points. I think the offense will get back to the no huddle and start gashing defenses again.

[vtsooner21]

IMHO, the defense although playing a halfway decent game, needs to contain the running game. I can't agree more with the fact that if the Sooners played any team with a mobile QB, or even one that could throw, they would have lost this game. As far as the offensive line goes, when UTEP sends 3 on a rush, ans still pressures Landry, there's some big learning ahead for the Big Eaters. And what's going on with the play-calling? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that if the Sooners got outside of the tackle box, there would be huge chunks picked up on the ground. Pitch the ball and use your speed... With all of the speed OU possesses, and depth from top to bottom, it should have been a track meet out there when UTEP started to suck wind after halftime. Hope this game served as a wake up call especially for Coach Heupel. Very thankful for the opponent scheduled for next game.
Boomer

[tulsaoilerfan]

Jeez folks, this was UTEP. Not looking to crucify anyone, but this is an offense with a 5th yr senior QB, and experienced OL, and some talent and experience at WR and RB. C'mon man...

It was an ugly performance by the offense -- absolutely dismal.

Which Landry is gonna show up next week? Wonder if we'll ever take another snap from under center? Wonder if we'll ever do some things with formations and motion to enhance our ability to get receivers open against cover 2? Is Kenny Stills the only guy that gets open or is he the automatic default option?

Well Stills has moved to Broyles old position so does that answer your question? LOL

[tulsaoilerfan]

The only positives i saw last night was the coverage by the DB's and the play of David King at DT; everything else needs a lot of work