The King...

[prrriiide]

still the master motivator.

Y'all don't believe he really thinks our talent is bad, do you?

[zeptrey]

Who cares...I don't think the players really care what he says. If you are attributing the turn around to the King's comments in the local rag...then you need to lay off the mary jane.

[olevetonahill]

Who cares...I don't think the players really care what he says. If you are attributing the turn around to the King's comments in the local rag...then you need to lay off the mary jane.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9Z9Hsy423eg/TMX23dzA65I/AAAAAAAAAGU/P31DnEgeEcA/s1600/IMG_1375.JPG

[sooneron]

Thanks for that visual, vet!

As to the op, I don't know if it was meant as motivation or he really believed it, but I think the press' coverage of it coupled with the ksu home loss, really lit a fire under the entire team. His quotes and Boz's quotes were everywhere. We'll see how it goes when our front 4/7 go up against the ND Oline.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I don't know so much it being that he said it but someone said it that was important enough to get it in print..i don't know how that really motivates this team...Probably losing at home to KState was enough.

[badger]

I think the players aren't too young that they know exactly who Barry is and his accomplishments. They might not remember his OU days personally, but I'm sure they weren't too young for the mid-90s Dallas Cowboys stuff. Broke this young Packer fan's heart :(

Losing itself was probably a prime motivator. Teams look BAD when they lose. No exceptions (unless the team losses a lot, in which case there's BAD and not-as-BAD)

[BoulderSooner79]

I don't think this squad has had any motivation problems as they have improved with each game played. That only happens if the team is focused and working hard. If that UTEP game was the best they could do, the record would be 2-4 right now. They lost to KSU because KSU is the best team played so far and they made too many errors to win a tight game against a good team. If we played a rematch today, I'd take the Sooners and give 10 points.

[KantoSooner]

As to whether the players today know who Barry is; I would hope so. To be involved in D1 football would tend to imply a certain commitment to the sport. To not know who that sport's greatest living coach is would indicate things that I'd rather not discuss.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I think the players aren't too young that they know exactly who Barry is and his accomplishments. They might not remember his OU days personally, but I'm sure they weren't too young for the mid-90s Dallas Cowboys stuff. Broke this young Packer fan's heart :(

Losing itself was probably a prime motivator. Teams look BAD when they lose. No exceptions (unless the team losses a lot, in which case there's BAD and not-as-BAD)

It's not a matter of knowing who he is..it's a matter of really not caring probably.

[BoomerJack]

Switzer didn't say the talent was "bad"; he said it wasn't like some of the other NFL draftees of a few years ago.

I do think the article hit the bulletin board in the locker room and thereby served as motivation for the defense.

[goingoneight]

It didn't seem to work when he said it in 2005 or 2009. I think people just didn't believe Bob when he said we weren't far off from being really good after KSU. They were too busy writing articles about benching Landry and trying to figure out where the nearest bridge was to jump off of. In the first three games, if you watch them, we had issues... but we were VERY close to being really good. The missed block here, the dropped TD pass there-- that stuff adds up quickly. Then mistakes like Landry and Blake's fumbles become magnified. Instead of... "man, we almost had a touchdown there!" It was "zomg, FIRE STOOPS! NO SWAGGERMOXYMOJO! STOOPS HAS LOST HIS FAHR!!!111"

[FirstandGoal]

I don't think this squad has had any motivation problems as they have improved with each game played. That only happens if the team is focused and working hard. If that UTEP game was the best they could do, the record would be 2-4 right now. They lost to KSU because KSU is the best team played so far and they made too many errors to win a tight game against a good team. If we played a rematch today, I'd take the Sooners and give 10 points.



This.

I think a lot of people underestimated how much we needed to pull together right as the season was starting. We were rocked by all of the suspensions and injuries. Yeah, we have a helluva receiving corps now, but 2 months ago nobody except for Stills had taken a snap as a Sooner. Even with great talent, it takes a little bit to get the individual pieces working together.
Pretty much the same for Defense. My goodness, think how thin we were at the start and the fact that we had some guys not even playing their true positions on both sides of the line.

Good teams win games that they should. Great teams find a way to win games no matter what.

A month ago, we were a good team. I honestly think that now we are much closer to being a great team.

[badger]

Maybe they played tapes of Barry Switzer badmouthing the talent level during strength and conditioning sessions at the Barry Switzer Center :D

Barry: They just don't have the talent

(team suddenly collectively bench pressed 2,000 more pounds)

Barry: We're not as good as we have been.

(team simultaneously begins running wind sprints windy-er)

Barry: We don't have the Tommie Harrises or Gerald McCoys squatting down there in the middle.

(team coincidentally starts squatting twice as much weight)

Barry: When you don't sign any, when you're shut out, you really are in trouble. Because it really makes you fall off. If you can't play defense, people will beat your ***.

(Mike Stoops breaks whatever he's holding... and his defensive players start lifting faster)

Barry: Sometimes you don't want the experienced players coming back every year. I experienced that, too. Everybody's, 'Well, we got our whole team coming back.' Well, I'm not too damn sure I'd not rather have some damn sophomores. I'd rather have Lee Roy and Dewey and Lucious (Selmon) as sophomores than a bunch of five-year seniors. I'd rather have Tommie Harris as a freshman than a bunch of fifth-year seniors that are average.

(seniors see what underclassman are lifting and double-check weights to make sure they are lifting more)

And yes, those are the Barry Switzer quotes. You are read more of em and the article here. (http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/OU/article.aspx?subjectid=92&articleid=20120925_29_B1_NORMAN429202)

[zeptrey]

I don't know so much it being that he said it but someone said it that was important enough to get it in print..i don't know how that really motivates this team...Probably losing at home to KState was enough.

I think this is more of what I was eluding too. I still love the King and all, but I think the loss and how we loss was motivation enough.

[BoulderSooner79]

I think this is more of what I was eluding too. I still love the King and all, but I think the loss and how we loss was motivation enough.

The desire to win is motivation enough. Again, I don't get where people see any motivation problems with this team. It's a bummer that the schedule worked out such that we played our best opposition in the first conference game, but that's the luck of the draw. Given the receivers' inexperience, OL injuries and new DC, this team was bound to start slowly.

[PalmBeachSooner]

still the master motivator.

Y'all don't believe he really thinks our talent is bad, do you?

When I read that I thought Barry was full of schmidt. If talent wins games then that's saying KSU has more talent than OU has and I do not believe that at all. You don't have to have a first round draft pick at every position to win.

[Mjcpr]

I think he meant exactly what he said.

[jk the sooner fan]

Maybe they played tapes of Barry Switzer badmouthing the talent level during strength and conditioning sessions at the Barry Switzer Center :D

Barry: They just don't have the talent

(team suddenly collectively bench pressed 2,000 more pounds)

Barry: We're not as good as we have been.

(team simultaneously begins running wind sprints windy-er)

Barry: We don't have the Tommie Harrises or Gerald McCoys squatting down there in the middle.

(team coincidentally starts squatting twice as much weight)

Barry: When you don't sign any, when you're shut out, you really are in trouble. Because it really makes you fall off. If you can't play defense, people will beat your ***.

(Mike Stoops breaks whatever he's holding... and his defensive players start lifting faster)

Barry: Sometimes you don't want the experienced players coming back every year. I experienced that, too. Everybody's, 'Well, we got our whole team coming back.' Well, I'm not too damn sure I'd not rather have some damn sophomores. I'd rather have Lee Roy and Dewey and Lucious (Selmon) as sophomores than a bunch of five-year seniors. I'd rather have Tommie Harris as a freshman than a bunch of fifth-year seniors that are average.

(seniors see what underclassman are lifting and double-check weights to make sure they are lifting more)

And yes, those are the Barry Switzer quotes. You are read more of em and the article here. (http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/OU/article.aspx?subjectid=92&articleid=20120925_29_B1_NORMAN429202)

you are really weird....just sayin

[jk the sooner fan]

i dont know if the players know who Barry is - or if they care/dont care who he is

they'd have to have their heads buried in the sand/*** to not know the weight that he carries in that program

when Barry talks - OU people listen

[tator]

I think he meant exactly what he said.

This, right?!

[HateTheWhorns]

This.

I think a lot of people underestimated how much we needed to pull together right as the season was starting. We were rocked by all of the suspensions and injuries. Yeah, we have a helluva receiving corps now, but 2 months ago nobody except for Stills had taken a snap as a Sooner. Even with great talent, it takes a little bit to get the individual pieces working together.
Pretty much the same for Defense. My goodness, think how thin we were at the start and the fact that we had some guys not even playing their true positions on both sides of the line.

Good teams win games that they should. Great teams find a way to win games no matter what.

A month ago, we were a good team. I honestly think that now we are much closer to being a great team.

Don't forget the suspensions of Casey Walker and Stacey McGee. That forced David King into a position that he is not accustomed to playing. Casey's performances have made a HUGE difference in our front line and the ship has been righted. It should only get better this week with McGee back.

[BoulderSooner79]

Don't forget the suspensions of Casey Walker and Stacey McGee. That forced David King into a position that he is not accustomed to playing. Casey's performances have made a HUGE difference in our front line and the ship has been righted. It should only get better this week with McGee back.

We were never informed the reason that Walker missed the first 2 games other than "personal issues". But it was never stated he was suspended. Doesn't change your point that he was missing from the line-up; I just didn't want to see him tagged with being suspended.

[StoopTroup]

I thought this thread was gonna be about Landry Jones. :D ;)

[sooneron]

Holy **** a Pat sighting!!

[VA Sooner]

He said what he meant to say.

[MamaMia]

First off, Barry didn't say our team was bad. He simply made a comparison of the team we saw against UTEP and KSU to some other OU teams who would not have let that happen.

Secondly...Of course they know who Barry Switzer is. They would have to be brain dead not to know. I don't care what team you play for. If you are a football player, you damn sure as hell know who Barry Switzer is.

Did what he say "motivate" the team? If they heard about it, I'm sure it took them aback. They needed a little taking aback. I'm sure they got a lot of motivation from various sources.