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the_ouskull

1/5/2013, 11:04 AM

...and, unlike what those of you that still remember me may be used to, this isn't going to be one of my "break-your-f*ckin'-scroll-wheel" posts. In fact, it's going to be rather eloquent in its brevity.

I just saw this posted on another thread, and I felt like I needed to comment on it...

One game doesn't change my mind about Stoops.

It didn't change MY mind either... back in 2003. But, since losing to K-State in the B12CG that year, we have gotten stroked in almost every meaningful game in which we've played.. and I say "almost" as my last attempt at being positive, but the truth is, even in the games where we didn't get blown out (NCG against Florida, for example), I still never really felt like we were going to win that game; I always felt like we were playing from behind. The same feeling I got alllll the way back when against LSU in the Sugar Bowl. Back then, though, I was younger; more of an optimist. Now, I'm more of a realist. Football is a simple game made complex by people with too much free time on their hands. Instead of worrying about installing X,Y,Z packages, I'd prefer to see us get players in here that can successfully run the packages we already have in place against top-tier competition.

Stoops is now 7-6 in bowl games. Aside from last night's disgusting display of "coaching" acumen, that bowl record is padded by wins over teams that were ranked Nada, 25th, and 19th, respectively. (http://www.soonerstats.com/football/coaches/ou/inbowls.cfm?OUCoachID=22) In addition, browsing that same page, we can easily see that Stoops has only beaten a total of three 10-win teams in bowls, one of those winning us the 2000 championship. The other two were Pac-10 teams that, frankly, I don't much consider brag-worthy having won their conference championships in down years for their conference. (Oregon in 2005, and Washington State in 2002.)

...but his problems that started arising during the Les Miles era at OU (losing to inferior teams - some VASTLY inferior - during the regular season) are equally bad to his bowl performances.

Oregon in 2006 (although the level to which we were screwed is something that the bards still sing of), Colorado and West Virginia in 2007, Tejas in 2008 (c*cksuckers), BYU, Miami, Nebraska, and Texas Tech in 2009, Missouri and A&M in 2010, Tech again in 2011, and K-State this season...

That's 12 losses, an entire season's worth of losses, to teams that were ranked below us, or at the very least, unranked, JUST SINCE 2006!

I don't know where the problem lies anymore, frankly. I'm sick and tired of trying to analyze it. I lost my patience for that around the same time I stopped posting, I guess. But, regardless of where the problem may be, I DO know that the solution has to start with Coach Bob Stoops. Finding what the f*ck is wrong with OU Football right now is that man's job, and, frankly, he's not going to find the problem(s) if he's not looking for problems. Making him look for problems is OUR job and the job of the local media; once those two have aptly done their jobs, then it's our AD's job to follow-up on that sh*t and make sure that Bob actually IS looking for the problems, and then actively trying to "fix" them.

Bob came here preaching the "no-excuses" mantra, but I haven't heard anything BUT excuses since Mike left the first time. Well, Mike's back now, and our defense (Mike's defense; the one many, many Sooner fans have been clamoring for since he left - myself included) sh*t the bed last night like Charlie and Frank in "Always Sunny.." Now we're going into this off-season recruiting against Tejas IN Texas, Tejas A&M - who just housed us badly, and OSU who destroyed their bowl opponent IN THE SAME TOWN WE GOT WAXED IN.

Coach... stop making commercials and starting making winning football teams again. Quit counting conference championships as goals and start seeing them as what they ACTUALLY are - stepping stones to secure your place in the games that actually matter. Then, when you GET to those games that matter, F*CKING WIN THEM! No excuses, remember? ..or have we made so many for you that you've forgotten? Good news? I don't think you'll have to worry about that anymore. Bad news? I think you're about to find out just how "awake" the OU football monster can be when it's gotten pissed-off at you past the point from which only #8 will return you.

Good luck.

the_ouskull

the_ouskull

1/5/2013, 11:05 AM

This is my idea of a short post. Sh*t. Lol.

JLEW1818

1/5/2013, 11:09 AM

Fantastic post Skull. I wish Bob could read this.

OUNASH

1/5/2013, 11:12 AM

Skull, Great post and on the Money. Stoops needs to get pissed off and have a come to Jesus meeting with his coaches and let them know nobodys job is safe. Switzer did this in the early 80's and we won number 6 one year later.

winout

1/5/2013, 11:17 AM

Good post. T Bone may be the best thing that happened to us considering they will put pressure on us. Now if we could just get UT to pressure from the south by firing Mack.

85Sooner

1/5/2013, 11:18 AM

agreed with the original post. I gave up a couple of years ago, for the same reasons. Can't really add much, other than even in the old days when Switzer lost...OU was still exciting to watch. OU is not exciting to watch anymore.

Remember hearing this from announcers?
"OU has had 8 different receivers catch a ball in this game, they are all over the place"

or

"Adrian may be hurt but OU has a stable of running backs that would be starters at any other university"

or

Ou's defense is just ruthless in their attack

or

Bob pulled another great move out of his back of tricks.......

WELL< the receivers seem to be gone, we don't have a running back that we can count on, our defenses have been soft and slow and Bob lost his bag of tricks many years ago.

He really has no better winning record over top teams than Gary Gibbs did. Were it not for the NC 12 years ago....BS probably would have been gone 5 years ago,

I don't care what they do, I just want it to be exciting to watch.

MyT Oklahoma

1/5/2013, 11:30 AM

Great post. You've said what needed to be said.

We have problems with our program and they ain't going away.

jkjsooner

1/5/2013, 11:41 AM

I don't disagree with the overall sentiment but the umber of losses to lower ranked teams is misleading at best. We've generally been ranked high and that means almost every game is against a lower ranked team. You are going to lose some of those given the number of them played.

A top 5 team (not that we're there right now) is going to have few opportunities to beat higher ranked teams and a lot of opportunities to lose to lower ranked teams. You will find the same trend in most highly ranked teams outside of maybe Bama.

JLEW1818

1/5/2013, 11:47 AM

Breadburner

1/5/2013, 11:49 AM

Yawnnnnn....!!

aurorasooner

1/5/2013, 12:04 PM

Most people predicted that this should have been a high scoring game by both teams. Neither team had a top notch defense coming into this game. Our offense did a good job keeping the ball away from aTm in the 1st half making 1st downs with the dink and dunk but completely cheet the bed in the 2nd half with 3 and outs which put way too much pressure on our average to below-average defense.
No excuse for us not hanging close to half-a-hundred on that aggie D and certainly no excuse for scoring zero points in the 2nd half. The 3rd quarter was the worst offensive play calling that I've seen since the Blake days. Either that or the aTm 2nd half defensive adjustment was the best in the history of CFB. I wouldn't have been particularly disturbed if we'd have lost last nights game by 50 to 48 or even 63 to 59 in overtime, but for our offense to just completely go belly-up lame in the 2nd half was f(*&ing ridiculous.

Flagstaffsooner

1/5/2013, 12:12 PM

Quite eloquint for a Phi Kapp. ;)

Sooner in Tampa

1/5/2013, 12:18 PM

Spot on Skull...I have been bitching about laying eggs to inferior opponents for a few years now.

This is how I feel this morning...Another bowl game...another embarrassing effort from the Sooners. We are becoming a JOKE...LSU fans are actually saying...they have become the Oklahoma of the SEC...high number of wins and then lose in the bowl game...NICE, that's what I want our program to be noticed for...

There are so many coaches that are handing Stoops his *** year in and year out that it has become sad. Sumlin schooled him last night, Snyder and Kelly schooled him earlier this year.

I am not a sports psychologist, but my belief is that Stoops and the entire program is comfortable right where they are...they feel no pressure to strive for the mountain top. Bob knows that he wins enough games...his job is never going to be in jeopardy...

If you want to win the thing in college football in this age...you need a physical and nasty defense...and you need a decent running game with a decent QB.

We can all bitch about how much we are sick of hearing of the SEC dominance, but until our program...or ANY program smacks them in the mouth in a BIG game...it doesn't matter, they will continue to win. Just look at Louisville...Charlie Strong is building a monster over there...physical defense, decent running game and damn nice QB. They schooled an overrated Gators team

Stoops needs to recognize that his teams are SOFT as ****...if they get down by 10 or more...turn out the lights the partys over...this organization needs a mean streak...and they need it fast or we are going to continue to fall behind. aTm is going to a force to be reckoned with when it comes to recruiting in Texas...if we don't quit ****ing around, we are going to be a distant third in getting kids out of that state...Mack always beats our *** to recruits and now Sumlin is going to start taking us to task...

I am sick of feeling like this after almost every damn bowl game!!!

the_ouskull

1/5/2013, 12:19 PM

Yawnnnnn....!!

You tired from doing all of that reading, sh*t-for-brains, or would you like to try to add some of your ignorance to this conversation and get b*tch-slapped back into 2012 to reconsider whose thread you're trying to taint with your lack of humor and wit?

the_ouskull

Sooner in Tampa

1/5/2013, 12:20 PM

You tired from doing all of that reading, sh*t-for-brains, or would you like to try to add some of your ignorance to this conversation and get b*tch-slapped back into 2012 to reconsider whose thread you're trying to taint with your lack of humor and wit?

the_ouskull

Some fans just refuse to remove their heads from the sand...

Everything will be GREAT next year...

Mac94

1/5/2013, 12:25 PM

I'm going to post this as a Sooner fan but also use my Aggie fan experience as examples.

The issue, it seems to me, with the Sooners is not so much talent or scheme but something that has been missing inside the program for a long time ... attitude. The OP is right in that something changed at the end of 2003 and things haven't been the same since. One key theme in college football is that coaching matters and the kids tend to take on the attitude of their coaches. When Bob was first hired he came in with a staff with a huge chip on their sholders and that translated down to the team. One classic example was 1999 when my Aggies, the defending Big-12 champs, went into Norman and Stoops and company came out with fire to deliver a message that OU was back ... 60 minutes and 51 points later ... message sent. Those early Sooner teams, while not filled with blue chip recruits played with heart and passion for 60 minutes each week.

I know the loss last night hurts but I will use this Aggie squad as another example. This Aggie defense is not a great defense ... and coming into the season the very real fear was that this crew was going to get smashed ... embarrased ... week in and week out. We were considered undersized on the d-line with little depth, the secondary had a history of being torched ... we all know about the blown leads last season and how the defense collapsed over and over. This years defense wasn;t infused with a ton of new talent .... but the new staff ... Sumlin ... Snyder ... etc instilled an attitude in these kids and they played with a passion and it showed. It's not a great unit ... but they played above their talent level because they had an attitude and passion we hadn;t seen in a long time.

That's what needs to be recaptured at OU ... that fire from the early years when the Sooners were hungry and played with a chip on their sholders. While recruiting could be better and we can talk about schemes ... what missing is something on the inside beyond the x's and the o's.

I don;t know how that is recaptured ... but that is the issue. At least IMHO.

Therealsouthsider

1/5/2013, 01:00 PM

....I laughed when you typed in 'brevity'. Other than that I concur whole heartedly

SS

Sabanball

1/5/2013, 01:06 PM

CatfishSooner

1/5/2013, 01:15 PM

**** you sabanball

JLEW1818

1/5/2013, 01:26 PM

Was sup catfish ?

JLEW1818

1/5/2013, 01:30 PM

@Jake_Trotter: Also, last night's loss probably cost Bob Stoops $27,500, since OU is unlikely now to finish in the Top 10.

CatfishSooner

1/5/2013, 01:31 PM

Was sup catfish ?

SMB jlew

tanjou

1/5/2013, 01:38 PM

That's. .0078% of his yearly income. I don't think he's gonna miss it.

SoonerMachine

1/5/2013, 01:42 PM

Great post Skull... Well, all I can do is vote with my pocketbook. I don't what to lose my season tickets, but starting this year I'm only giving the minimum.

SoonerorLater

1/5/2013, 01:53 PM

Actually I'm glad to see people get mad about OU losing. At least when folks are mad they're still engaged. What concerns me more is fan apathy which is what I see happening more and more as we continue lay an egg on the big stage. We haven't had an impressive bowl win since the 2000 NC. People at some point just distance themselves from disappointment.

rainiersooner

1/5/2013, 01:54 PM

The 3rd quarter was the worst offensive play calling that I've seen since the Blake days. Either that or the aTm 2nd half defensive adjustment was the best in the history of CFB. I wouldn't have been particularly disturbed if we'd have lost last nights game by 50 to 48 or even 63 to 59 in overtime, but for our offense to just completely go belly-up lame in the 2nd half was f(*&ing ridiculous.

Yeah, I've never been so disappointed in Heuple...same plays over and over

SoonerMachine

1/5/2013, 01:59 PM

Yeah, I've never been so disappointed in Heuple...same plays over and over

So what happened to Heuple (the QB) who would audible 2 out of 3 plays and could analyse the D in seconds? Are his current calls overruled, shared or under to much influence during the week of practice? It's just not want I expected...

picasso

1/5/2013, 02:13 PM

Good post. T Bone may be the best thing that happened to us considering they will put pressure on us. Now if we could just get UT to pressure from the south by firing Mack.
T Boone? I think Stoops played a hand in his getting involved too. It's a strange revolving door this internet bull**** eh?

looch

1/5/2013, 02:30 PM

There isn't much to say when you post something so agreeable.

I'd also like to add that I'm embarassed by players having record games against this defense.

aurorasooner

1/5/2013, 02:30 PM

So what happened to Heuple (the QB) who would audible 2 out of 3 plays and could analyse the D in seconds? Are his current calls overruled, shared or under to much influence during the week of practice? It's just not want I expected... Excellent questions, imo. Also some others. Didn't Bob tell Heupel at the beginning of the year to get Millard at least 10 to 20 touches a game.
I think Landry has done a pretty good job over the last 4 years, but his inability to bring the ball down and run it especially in 3rd and short is beyond me. I saw Landry run the ball on bootlegs in his 1st couple of years and he wasn't that bad. That 4th down quick pass in the 3rd quarter (or the 4th, the 2nd half is all a blur) while being blitzed was pitiful. Now it seems he's just flat scared to bring the ball down the field with his feet, and he's just horrified to take a hit in the pocket.
While Heupel was more of a passing QB, he used to run quite a bit when the play broke down, and even ran the option to Q a lot. After Sammy going down the 2nd time against BYU it makes me wonder if the word from the top to Heupel "under no cicumstances is Landry to run the ball"'
Over the years of watching CFB I've noticed that good OCs are like good QBs, they either have it or they don't, and it's more of an art than science and no amount of pre-game prep computerized studying can make up for the art part (if you don't have it). IMO, there's no question that Heupel is an excellent QB coach, but I'm not sure he's got ""it as a game-day play caller/OC, unless his hands are being tied from the top.

agoo758

1/5/2013, 02:36 PM

It was heartbreaking to watch us punt the ball on fourth and 1 at the beginning of the second half, especially when I recall the great fake punt fourth down conversions against alabama and kansas state. No way in hell would this version of Bob Stoops ever do that. These days our damned coaching staff doesn't even let our QB run anymore, even with the whole field in front of him.

This and a million other things, but I'm going to a gig.... not all of us can make millions a year for not trying.

8timechamps

1/5/2013, 03:41 PM

Okay, I'm probably the boards biggest sunshine pumper, but I agree almost 100% with the Skull on this.

I love Stoops, and I want him to be the OU coach for as long as he wants to coach. However, he has to want to win as part of the deal. I'm not upset by this season's outcome, but that's because I didn't expect a whole lot out of this year's team. Mike has been on the job less than a year, so I'm going to give it at least another year or so before I pass judgement on his defense.

Overall, I just want to get back to that place in OU football where they (the team) plays with an attitude (primarily on defense). I don't know if it was the internal shake-up over the past couple of years that caused all of this, or what it is, but I really hope Stoops spends the off-season really looking at what is broken. In my (pretty much worthless) opinion, there needs to be some changes to the coaching staff. Not the coordinators necessarily, but some of the position coaches need to move on. We'll see how this all plays out, but last night was just a meltdown, and there should always be some accountability after one of those.

That's probably all I'm going to say about all of this, but I remember when OU_skull was a regular, and thought he deserved my response (because I'm special like that).

iknowyoudidnt

1/5/2013, 04:50 PM

We only win games against teams with unimaginative coaches AND inferior talent. And while that currently gets us to around a 10 win season, it sure isn't very much fun to watch or be a part of.

the_ouskull

1/5/2013, 05:23 PM

I remember when OU_skull was a regular, and thought he deserved my response (because I'm special like that).

I feel like Harry Potter's house elf buddy, Dobby, being given a sock right now.

"Someone called me regular?" (single tear rolls down cheek)

Good to see some old(er) faces around, though. Personally, I feel like deserve solemnity and scorn more than a response, but they're all appreciated. Well, almost all of them, but I tend to make any displeasures I have fairly clear. Wordy? Yes. Ambiguous? Never.

OU_Sooners75

1/5/2013, 05:27 PM

Oh great, what rock did OU_Skull crawl out from under?

That said, great post!

Stoops needs to either overhual his staff or be gone.

I would much rather have him stick around though.

the_ouskull

1/5/2013, 06:44 PM

75, you know me... I don't have to crawl out from under strange rocks... I bring my own rock with me.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/sichuevos/MeAtLastCall2007.jpg

the_ouskull

MI Sooner

1/5/2013, 07:08 PM

...and, unlike what those of you that still remember me may be used to, this isn't going to be one of my "break-your-f*ckin'-scroll-wheel" posts. In fact, it's going to be rather eloquent in its brevity.

I just saw this posted on another thread, and I felt like I needed to comment on it...

It didn't change MY mind either... back in 2003. But, since losing to K-State in the B12CG that year, we have gotten stroked in almost every meaningful game in which we've played.. and I say "almost" as my last attempt at being positive, but the truth is, even in the games where we didn't get blown out (NCG against Florida, for example), I still never really felt like we were going to win that game; I always felt like we were playing from behind. The same feeling I got alllll the way back when against LSU in the Sugar Bowl. Back then, though, I was younger; more of an optimist. Now, I'm more of a realist. Football is a simple game made complex by people with too much free time on their hands. Instead of worrying about installing X,Y,Z packages, I'd prefer to see us get players in here that can successfully run the packages we already have in place against top-tier competition.

Stoops is now 7-6 in bowl games. Aside from last night's disgusting display of "coaching" acumen, that bowl record is padded by wins over teams that were ranked Nada, 25th, and 19th, respectively. (http://www.soonerstats.com/football/coaches/ou/inbowls.cfm?OUCoachID=22) In addition, browsing that same page, we can easily see that Stoops has only beaten a total of three 10-win teams in bowls, one of those winning us the 2000 championship. The other two were Pac-10 teams that, frankly, I don't much consider brag-worthy having won their conference championships in down years for their conference. (Oregon in 2005, and Washington State in 2002.)

...but his problems that started arising during the Les Miles era at OU (losing to inferior teams - some VASTLY inferior - during the regular season) are equally bad to his bowl performances.

Oregon in 2006 (although the level to which we were screwed is something that the bards still sing of), Colorado and West Virginia in 2007, Tejas in 2008 (c*cksuckers), BYU, Miami, Nebraska, and Texas Tech in 2009, Missouri and A&M in 2010, Tech again in 2011, and K-State this season...

That's 12 losses, an entire season's worth of losses, to teams that were ranked below us, or at the very least, unranked, JUST SINCE 2006!

I don't know where the problem lies anymore, frankly. I'm sick and tired of trying to analyze it. I lost my patience for that around the same time I stopped posting, I guess. But, regardless of where the problem may be, I DO know that the solution has to start with Coach Bob Stoops. Finding what the f*ck is wrong with OU Football right now is that man's job, and, frankly, he's not going to find the problem(s) if he's not looking for problems. Making him look for problems is OUR job and the job of the local media; once those two have aptly done their jobs, then it's our AD's job to follow-up on that sh*t and make sure that Bob actually IS looking for the problems, and then actively trying to "fix" them.

Bob came here preaching the "no-excuses" mantra, but I haven't heard anything BUT excuses since Mike left the first time. Well, Mike's back now, and our defense (Mike's defense; the one many, many Sooner fans have been clamoring for since he left - myself included) sh*t the bed last night like Charlie and Frank in "Always Sunny.." Now we're going into this off-season recruiting against Tejas IN Texas, Tejas A&M - who just housed us badly, and OSU who destroyed their bowl opponent IN THE SAME TOWN WE GOT WAXED IN.

Coach... stop making commercials and starting making winning football teams again. Quit counting conference championships as goals and start seeing them as what they ACTUALLY are - stepping stones to secure your place in the games that actually matter. Then, when you GET to those games that matter, F*CKING WIN THEM! No excuses, remember? ..or have we made so many for you that you've forgotten? Good news? I don't think you'll have to worry about that anymore. Bad news? I think you're about to find out just how "awake" the OU football monster can be when it's gotten pissed-off at you past the point from which only #8 will return you.

Good luck.

the_ouskull

I agree with a lot of what you said, but I'll focus on the things I disagree with. First, these are the big games (at the time) that we've won: all our Texas wins, TTU and OkSt in 08, all our big 12 CCG wins, the 05 Holiday Bowl. The other win over Missou in 07 was big in retrospect, too. I also wouldn't diminish Oregon or Wazzu as bowl opponents, although Oregon was probably disappointed to be there. Frankly, the biggest difference between the last two years and he early 2000s is our schedule. It's among the toughest in the country now, and wasn't that hard, on average, during our five year run. Look at where we've finished in the computers, and it hasn't changed that much.

Edit: FSU in 2011 was big at the time too.

StoopTroup

1/5/2013, 07:34 PM

Yet....every Home Game (86,000+) is sold out and many of you have given up. People bitch about ticket prices, QBs, Coaches, you name it....

And the Stadium is sold out and there is a waiting list for Season Tickets.

Until the Stands are empty and people quit watching games on TV...all that is really happening is burnt out fans have come and gone but the Greatness that is The University of Oklahoma Sooners continues and for every burnt out fan with a short post (LMAO) there are 10 more that have grown up watching Bob and the Sooners win a heck of a bunch of games.

Curly Bill

1/5/2013, 07:40 PM

I give this thread 5-stars.

StoopTroup

1/5/2013, 07:43 PM

And money > stars

OU_Sooners75

1/5/2013, 08:27 PM

Greg, please quit dumbing down an otherwise good thread.

Indy Sooner

1/5/2013, 08:32 PM

Skull- you've managed to provoke some of Stoops' staunchest defenders who, heretofore, have never uttered a negative word about Bob to do just that. Kudos to your insight.

the_ouskull

1/6/2013, 02:01 PM

Much obliged, sir.

You see.. I read a lot, and I'm a huge TV fan. My latest merger in this department has been the Song of Ice and Fire series that HBO's "Game of Thrones" is based on. One of the particularly "capable" characters on that show is Varys.

I'm a huge OU fan, and I've been a huge fan of Stoops for a long time... almost as long as his shine has started to fade now. From 1999 to 2005/6, depending on how drunk I am when you ask me, Stoops could do little to no wrong. But, since then, he's done little (comparatively) right.

When asked where his loyalties lie, implying that Varys may be working his ministrations to benefit a particular individual or group of individuals,

Tell me something, Varys. Who do you truly serve?

Varys' response, while not entirely truthful, is an eloquent one...

The realm, my Lord. Someone must.

These are dark times in Sooner football, and there are groups of fans who have been sunshine pumpers for ages, just now starting to see the storm clouds gather that have been forming for going on seven seasons now. I'm not here to bash anybody in particular. I'm not here to propose answers, because I truly don't have any. I am simply here to serve the Soonerfans realm by getting what I think needs to be discussed out in the open in as unbiased a way as possible. If the pumpers are opening their eyes, then maybe I'm doing some good. If they're not, the information is still out there for when they're ready for it. You know, the whole lead-a-horse-to-water thing...

But, while I do appreciate the compliment, Bob is just as responsible as I am for provoking their commentary. I'm just providing the table for them to lay the meal on.