Coach Heupel and Coach Norvell

[kevpks]

Great play calling last night. I'll admit I was down on him for trying to force the run, but it's hard to argue when Damian breaks a big one. We got our receivers in space and we allowed Stills to abuse his corner all night. Also, there is no question that Jay Norvell is the best position coach in college football.

[Widescreen]

Also, there is no question that Jay Norvell is the best position coach in college football.
There's no question? There are a LOT of position coaches out there. Frankly, I'd take the OSU OL guy and punt Norvell today if I could (and I like Norvell).

[cleller]

Great play calling last night. I'll admit I was down on him for trying to force the run, but it's hard to argue when Damian breaks a big one. We got our receivers in space and we allowed Stills to abuse his corner all night. Also, there is no question that Jay Norvell is the best position coach in college football.

Some of the runs were frustrating, but I realize you gotta try, at least. The real frustration is the injuries to the O line, and the resultant difficulty getting any run game established.
We needed to burn some clock somehow, to keep the Tavon off the field. Too bad that was such a factor, I think Landry was up to the challenge.

[kevpks]

Was OL supposed to be a weakness for OSU this year? The OSU OL coach is good and it's hard to compare WRs and linemen. However, I'd put Norvell's recruiting, player development and schemes up against anyone.

[achiro]

Great play calling last night. I'll admit I was down on him for trying to force the run, but it's hard to argue when Damian breaks a big one. We got our receivers in space and we allowed Stills to abuse his corner all night. Also, there is no question that Jay Norvell is the best position coach in college football.

Williams big run was up the middle the play after the WV nose tackle went out with an injury. If they hadn't run it that play I would have been pissed. Other than that they were ridiculous with all the first down run attempts.

[FaninAma]

I just hate it when he call runs straight into the line or simple handoffs from the shotgun. I have been screaming for 6 years for this coaching staff to diversify the running game with some misdirection or counter type plays. Defenses can sell out to pursue to the ball carrier and not worry about overpursuing because OU never uses misdirection.

I'm not saying to run these type of plays every time but do it enough to cause some hesitation in the defense.

[Whet]

It seems on the 1st play of a series, 90% of the time, it is run off left tackle....

[MichiganSooner]

Need to tweak the Belldozer plays. Too predictable. Use Bell as an occasional running back with Landry in the game. The ball could be hiked to either. Bell and Millard with Jones would be a short yardage package; the ball could be given to either guy with the other blocking or thrown by Landry.

[FaninAma]

Need to tweak the Belldozer plays. Too predictable. Use Bell as an occasional running back with Landry in the game. The ball could be hiked to either. Bell and Millard with Jones would be a short yardage package; the ball could be given to either guy with the other blocking or thrown by Landry.

Just let him pass or hand the ball off. This coaching staff's greatest weakness is that they become too predictable.

[OUTrumpet]

I think a lot of people could have looked good calling plays against that defense. WVU is god awful defensively.

[BoulderSooner79]

Credit where credit is due. The WVU staff prepared very well for our run game - especially the Belldozer package. The Belldozer is predictable, but it works because most teams have not been able to crack the blocking scheme, not because of any deception. WVU blitzed faster guys from the off side and got behind the blocking and we didn't adjust. Actually, we did adjust - we left LJ and the regular offense on the field and it worked just fine.

[goingoneight]

Tavon Austin should've been playing RB all year. He'd be a Heisman candidate if he did.

[hvhurricane]

JH is an awful play caller and he showed it again last night. Just like when Chuck Long was here, the reason we are so good on third down is because of our **** poor play calling on first and second downs. We also do a pitiful job of establishing a tempo. Make up your mind. Are you an up tempo team or not? With good play calling, and good tempo, we easily score 70 on them last night.

[kevpks]

JH is an awful play caller and he showed it again last night. Just like when Chuck Long was here, the reason we are so good on third down is because of our **** poor play calling on first and second downs. We also do a pitiful job of establishing a tempo. Make up your mind. Are you an up tempo team or not? With good play calling, and good tempo, we easily score 70 on them last night.

So 70 is the new 50? Got it. I'm just trying to figure out how many points are needed for people to not bitch about coordinators or acknowledge good work.

[Collier11]

Heupels playcalling lastnight was anything but great...I would say average at best. Hell, Landry checked out of a low % fade on the last play of the game

[Collier11]

So 70 is the new 50? Got it. I'm just trying to figure out how many points are needed for people to not bitch about coordinators or acknowledge good work.

Its not about points, its about having a feel for the game and adjusting accordingly. The middle of the field was wide open all night, they couldnt cover Stills, we couldnt run at all outside of 1 play.

[kevpks]

Heupels playcalling lastnight was anything but great...I would say average at best. Hell, Landry checked out of a low % fade on the last play of the game

The fade to Stills in the endzone was a 100% play for us last night. He was abusing that guy. It's probably Stills' best route (FSU, Texas, etc.)

[kevpks]

Its not about points, its about having a feel for the game and adjusting accordingly. The middle of the field was wide open all night, they couldnt cover Stills, we couldnt run at all outside of 1 play.

I thought football was about points. My mistake.

[JLMSOONER]

Need to tweak the Belldozer plays. Too predictable. Use Bell as an occasional running back with Landry in the game. The ball could be hiked to either. Bell and Millard with Jones would be a short yardage package; the ball could be given to either guy with the other blocking or thrown by Landry.

Hell, we can't even hike it to the QB half the time. If he had a choice of who he was going to hike it to we would be f*kd.

[rock on sooner]

Maybe the freshman center should get more snaps. Ikard seems to be
having some difficulty with the snap and the play calls. Plus, I'd like to see
toss sweeps with Millard leading the way and Williams/Whaley riding
his tail, either direction with tight ends/one wr blocking down....used
to call that student body left/right and I don't remember it EVER having
lost yardage. AND, play action pass off that to the opposite side, very
quick strike and the receiver is in the second level with one guy to beat.
Jus sayin...

[SoonerNomad]

Tavon Austin should've been playing RB all year. He'd be a Heisman candidate if he did.

Only if he played every week against the defense that didn't show up last night.

[Collier11]

I thought football was about points. My mistake.

Way to take my quote out of context, I was talking about the game that Heupel had and his playcalling. He had no feel in his playcalling, we made their D look good way too many times because of play calls

[hvhurricane]

WV was averaging allowing 51 ppg in Big 12 games. We scored 50 with the best offensive talent in the league. As the previous poster stated, JH has absolutely no feel for the game at all. I don't know how many drives he has killed this year by simply not being able to get his audible in on time, which in turn completely throws off the tempo. No matter how much Bob wants it to be a Big 10 game, especially when we go on the road, it isn't. Our best option is to be a pass first team with about an 80/20 split. They couldn't cover anyone last night. We should have torched them with the pass all night long. We obviously were not going to make any adjustments on defense to stop them, so there was no reason to worry about getting them rest. Take what the defense gives you, which was the pass all night long. And don't get me started on them trying to give the game away on the last drive by bringing in Bell. That shows his lack of feel better than any other call of the night.

[Widescreen]

I've noticed that a lot of teams actually go faster than we do. It was true Saturday night as well. I suspect the reason is that Heupel is so slow looking at the defensive alignment and getting the call in. So we have 2 speeds - scripted and normal.

[stoopified]

Hell, we can't even hike it to the QB half the time. If he had a choice of who he was going to hike it to we would be f*kd.True dat . :)

[kevpks]

No feel for the game at all? We're 11th in the country in total offense with a new receiving corp and a patchwork offensive line. I love how Kevin Wilson is some sort of God to many now. I've even heard positive comments about Chuck Long. Offensive coordinator at OU is the most thankless job on Earth.

[picasso]

Yeah, I thought we did torch them with the pass.

[rock on sooner]

No feel for the game at all? We're 11th in the country in total offense with a new receiving corp and a patchwork offensive line. I love how Kevin Wilson is some sort of God to many now. I've even heard positive comments about Chuck Long. Offensive coordinator at OU is the most thankless job on Earth.

I've never forgiven Long for his play calling in the Sugar Bowl.
With an injured QB and a gassed defense from our running the
ball at them for that last drive and Long calls four straight passes.

[PrideMom]

OU won, what more do you want? That game was a trap game with WV coming off 4 losses. Now we know why Venables is gone if most of the defensive players was recruited by him....

I hope the production of the Jumbo Tron at Owen Field will be loud and jumping for the OSU game. I have been disappointed this year in the energy in the stadium.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Heupels playcalling lastnight was anything but great...I would say average at best. Hell, Landry checked out of a low % fade on the last play of the game

Yeah why the hell would you call a fade on 4th down? Those plays work maybe 10% of the time, if that

[tulsaoilerfan]

Hell the Browns called one yesterday on 4th down and Weeden threw it out of bounds; very high risk play

[hvhurricane]

No feel for the game at all? We're 11th in the country in total offense with a new receiving corp and a patchwork offensive line. I love how Kevin Wilson is some sort of God to many now. I've even heard positive comments about Chuck Long. Offensive coordinator at OU is the most thankless job on Earth.

I wasnt the biggest Kevin Wilson fan in the world, but he was ten times better than JH. JH manages the game a lot like Chuck Long used to. Play conservative on first and second down and then open it up on third down. I am sure a lot of it goes back to how much influence Bob has over the offense. He thinks we need to control the ball more with the running game. We are not built that way, though. We are built to get our receivers in space and use the pass to set up the run. We shouldn't be trying to force the run as much as we do.

[EatLeadCommie]

I understand that you have to call the run sometimes just to keep defenses honest. But yes, yet again, we were calling runs a bit too much and we still can't run the damn football. At what point do we start to examine our inability to get any push on the offensive line and think that maybe, just maybe, Patton hasn't been getting the job done. EVER.

Sure, we may break a long one on occasion, but that's just playing the odds. We rarely have a game where we get consistent push from our line and it has been that way for multiple seasons now. It is baffling to me that we are so consistently soft. There is only one reasonable explanation for it and it isn't our scheme or playcalling. It is either the players or (more likely since it has been consistently this way over multiple seasons and multiple players) or the coaching. I guess that's two explanations, but it's pretty obvious what I think the problem is.

[ddub0224]

Maybe the freshman center should get more snaps. Ikard seems to be
having some difficulty with the snap and the play calls. Plus, I'd like to see
toss sweeps with Millard leading the way and Williams/Whaley riding
his tail, either direction with tight ends/one wr blocking down....used
to call that student body left/right and I don't remember it EVER having
lost yardage. AND, play action pass off that to the opposite side, very
quick strike and the receiver is in the second level with one guy to beat.
Jus sayin...

I've been waiting for the toss sweep for years! Especially since our WRs seem to block pretty decently.

[cvsooner]

All four winning teams in the Big 12 this weekend scored 50 or more points. So Heupel and Norvell did okay, in my book. And Jones threw for 554 yards. If not for our terrible defensive performance, we'd all be oohing and aahing over the nearly 700 yards OU put up. Sheesh.

[StoopTroup]

Was OL supposed to be a weakness for OSU this year? The OSU OL coach is good and it's hard to compare WRs and linemen. However, I'd put Norvell's recruiting, player development and schemes up against anyone.

My biggest beef is having to make him a CO-OC just to keep him for Recruiting. Player Development? Meh. Schemes? Is there any proof he's ever even come up with one?

I've been around the Coaches post game and Josh is usually handling the duties of OC. Jay? I guess he must be in the locker room making sure the WRs get their bags packed and put on the Truck.

[OU_Sooners75]

Heupels playcalling lastnight was anything but great...I would say average at best. Hell, Landry checked out of a low % fade on the last play of the game

And it was very high percentage vs WVU. Threw two of them and caught two of them.

However, by accounts of Heupel and Stills, the play was not originally called to go to stills at all. But was originally called to go to the other side of the field away from stills.

So not sure where everyone is getting this audible was called checking away from a fade to Stills.

[OU_Sooners75]

To those of you bitching about Heupel....

You would probably bitch about being the only person winning a $315 million lottery. Sighting it was not enough money!

Now, I have said it before, especially after the loss to KSU, that JH isn't the best choice. And if I was Stoops, I would replace him. But he has been good enough since losing to ND.

The players wanted to win. They executed on offense. They weren't going to be denied the win.

IMO, it was a very big step towards becoming a championship program once again. Why? Well, when was the last time OU was in a dog fight, a close game, to actually pull out the win thanks to scoring on their last possession?


WVU hit OU in the mouth! And OU responded by winning! You cannot ask for more than that!

[kevpks]

Jay? I guess he must be in the locker room making sure the WRs get their bags packed and put on the Truck.

Yes, I'm sure that is all he does. Dogging the position coach whose group is the most consistent on the team regardless of personnel is astounding. Who gives a rip what his title is? You do I guess, but how does that impact you or the team?

[OU_Sooners75]

Yes, I'm sure that is all he does.

You have to forgive him.

[kevpks]

You have to forgive him.

All I know is that I am never making another thread praising assistant coaches. The standard is impossible to reach. This thread reveals a lot of unrealistic bunk in the fanbase. It's truly maddening. I've heard that points don't matter and stats don't matter. Only feel (whatever the hell that is) matters. What is the definition of a good or heaven forbid great performance? 70 points? 100 points? 1000 yards? No punts at all?

Those geniuses at Oregon didn't look so great against Stanford. Losses happen. Bad games happen. Overall, that was a great performance by everyone involved with the offense. Heupel has deserved criticism at times this season but I'm sure every team in the country would take "mediocre" performances like that. Anyone calling that performance average needs to look that word up in a dictionary.

[Collier11]

And it was very high percentage vs WVU. Threw two of them and caught two of them.

However, by accounts of Heupel and Stills, the play was not originally called to go to stills at all. But was originally called to go to the other side of the field away from stills.

So not sure where everyone is getting this audible was called checking away from a fade to Stills.


I dont care if it worked 2 times earlier in the game, it is a low percentage play. Its like a team down by 1 in a hoops game but shooting a 3 to win it just because they shot well from 3 in the game. And I never said it was a call to Stills I dont think, I simply said he checked out of it


To those of you bitching about Heupel....

You would probably bitch about being the only person winning a $315 million lottery. Sighting it was not enough money!

Now, I have said it before, especially after the loss to KSU, that JH isn't the best choice. And if I was Stoops, I would replace him. But he has been good enough since losing to ND.

The players wanted to win. They executed on offense. They weren't going to be denied the win.

IMO, it was a very big step towards becoming a championship program once again. Why? Well, when was the last time OU was in a dog fight, a close game, to actually pull out the win thanks to scoring on their last possession?


WVU hit OU in the mouth! And OU responded by winning! You cannot ask for more than that!


Tim cmon man, you know I dont just blindly bash coaches. And im not bashing Heupel, I love Heup and think he will be a great one eventually, he just isnt yet. He stuck with the run too long against ND and did it again against WVU. His feel for the game will get better, but he isnt great at it yet

[OU_Sooners75]

Not really talkin about you scott.

[hvhurricane]

If you don't understand that when a team averages giving up 51ppg in Big 12 games and you score 50, then that equals an average performance, then I don't know what to tell you. I really don't have time to explain the new math system being used today.

[hvhurricane]

I believe JH showed his lack of feel for the game again today. His play calling was atrocious. Thank god the players were able to overcome his miscues and win the game.

[kevpks]

When you evaluate someone on a subjective criterion like "feel" there really is no way to argue this. All I know is that Josh blew it calling the Belldozer early but nailed every damn call on that last drive and overtime. The players did not overcome coaching miscues. They exectued the f'ing gameplan. Once again, we score over 50 (despite two boneheaded turnovers and a missed FG) and someone wants to bitch about play calling. Amazing.

[kevpks]

Oh and this was the first time we had 3 receivers over 100 yards. It's a good thing Norvell had their lockers arranged properly because I know by reading SF posts that his coaching doesn't matter.

[Collier11]

Great game, there were some times early in the game that I was critical of Heupels playcalling but there isnt much to gripe about offensively. Hopefully some of you appreciate Landry a lot more, he is the difference right now between us having a shot at a Big 12 Title and BCS game and us going 8-4

[StoopTroup]

Yes, I'm sure that is all he does. Dogging the position coach whose group is the most consistent on the team regardless of personnel is astounding. Who gives a rip what his title is? You do I guess, but how does that impact you or the team?

It matters. It's about time he put a decent WR Corp on the field. The thing is....if it weren't for Penn St and the NCAA allowing Jalen to finally play...none of it would have happened. You all are giving jay way to much credit. I'd have let him go two years ago.

We have a O-Line that everyone thought would give us fits...yet even with the injuries, our QB is alive and is amounting stats that just might make him the All Big XII QB for 2012. We should have fired the Line Coach....LMAO. Whoever said that has his head up his ***. I'm not talking about you Scott....lol

[Collier11]

Our run blocking is still not good Stoop but our pass blocking is out of this world most of the time

[StoopTroup]

Our run blocking is still not good Stoop but our pass blocking is out of this world most of the time

I understand the run block needs help but only if we start Blake Bell. With Landry and four WR's that can catch nearly everything you throw at them....we are a force to be reckoned with and we can put a hurt on Teams that have even a decent Pass Defense.

And....even though your point is well taken by me....Brendan Clay took it up the middle for the win last night and the guys we hoped would be Studs at RB have failed to show us anything the last half of the Season and Millard and Clay have bailed out the run game that we do have. It wasn't Whaley, Finch or Damian....it was Clay. I will give Damian his due as I think he's learned a lot this year and will be even better next year as we have seemingly been able to keep him healthy.

[Collier11]

Damien has been hurt, he left the game lastnight. I will say this, I thought Clay was a bust going into this year and through about half of the season and even though he will likely never be a superstar, he has proven himself and made a bunch of big plays this season

[kevpks]

It matters. It's about time he put a decent WR Corp on the field. The thing is....if it weren't for Penn St and the NCAA allowing Jalen to finally play...none of it would have happened. You all are giving jay way to much credit. I'd have let him go two years ago.

We have a O-Line that everyone thought would give us fits...yet even with the injuries, our QB is alive and is amounting stats that just might make him the All Big XII QB for 2012. We should have fired the Line Coach....LMAO. Whoever said that has his head up his ***. I'm not talking about you Scott....lol

So these transfers just magically knew what to do in our system? Jaz Reynolds made great strides last year. It's not Norvell's fault he is a knucklehead. Yes the offense stalled after Broyles went down. Broyles was pretty good. His recruiting has been solid. Shepard and Neal look promising, particularly Shepard. I don't get the Norvell hate. I really don't. Let him go? And replace him with whom that would do better?

[Collier11]

Kev, I have no issues with Norvell other than this, I have heard before from people that I consider credible that he plays favorites and doesnt always get the best guys on the field. Take it for what it is worth. I think he has done a masterful job this season with our WRs...if he can develop Metoyer and Stills comes back, next year we are loaded again which will help Bell

[Collier11]

and FWIW, the only coach that I think needs to go is Patton. We have never been a tough run blocking team under him.

[kevpks]

Kev, I have no issues with Norvell other than this, I have heard before from people that I consider credible that he plays favorites and doesnt always get the best guys on the field. Take it for what it is worth. I think he has done a masterful job this season with our WRs...if he can develop Metoyer and Stills comes back, next year we are loaded again which will help Bell

Yeah. I'm glad Saunders is junior. He could be an all-conference player next year. I love having a return game again.

[picasso]

44 first downs, one off the NCAA record but what the hell was Heupel thinking anyway?

[Jason White's Third Knee]

I got tired of here in the drunk behind me yelling "Great play calling Huepel! Another run up the middle!". Then his idiot GF would chime in. I wish our fans would cheer for the team instead of ripping them

A different idiot behind me. "He missed from 35! Why would you put him in now from the 42?!". Retarded. Truly. Yes. Hunnicut is awful. Nice assessment.

The final two plays? Runs up the middle. OU wins.