Sooner's most indispensable player?

[8timechamps]

On Friday, ESPN's Jake Trotter wrote a piece on OU's most indispensable player (http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/84254/most-indispensable-player-oklahoma-3) (as a part of an ongoing story on all the teams in the Big XII). Totter's player was Sterling Shepard. His reasoning was based on the lack of experience within the receiving corps and the value of Shepard as a steady target for Knight.

This got me thinking about who the guys are that we really need to perform in 2014. At first I thought "nah, Knight is more important than Shepard", and that's probably true, but Trotter made some good points about why he selected Shepard. Anyway, I thought I would throw the question out here and see what everyone thought.

So, who is the one player we need to perform and can't afford to replace in 2014?

[olevetonahill]

This guy LOL

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTvg6BmwDxFYkMD65FhXAw2hJiHCF0uM FTCtFucHI1mbUFqeG75

[Eielson]

Definitely going with Sanchez. Not a whole lot of experience in that secondary, so we could ill-afford to lose him.

Shepard is probably my #2. The main advantage for Sanchez is that on offense you get to choose which plays you run. If the passing attack is weak, you can use a run-heavy offense. Defensively, the opposing offense is probably going to pick apart your weakness. I'm tempted to put Knight up there, but I don't know that he'll even be our best passer next season. We might not have beat OSU if he hadn't went down, and I think we could potentially see that scenario coming into play next season. Striker might be the best player mentioned, but we'd be fine without him for a few games, because we're loaded with pass rushers.

[BoulderSooner79]

I'd have to go with Knight given the backup situation. As we saw last season, if you have QB problems, you have problems. But many players must have outstanding seasons in order for OU to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. Shepard, Sanchez, Striker are all good choices. Darlington at central will be key.

[8timechamps]

I suck when thinking about these kinds of situations, because I can make a case for everyone mentioned so far.

Honestly, I don't think there is a single player that would put this team in a tailspin, rather a duo (or more). Take last year as an example, if we had only lost Phillips -or- Nelson, I think we would have handled Texas and been okay. Losing both really hurt.

[hawaii 5-0]

I don't think any one player on this team is so good that he's indispensable.

Shepard and Striker would be good choices if I had to choose.


5-0

[olevetonahill]

If any Single player were to be indispensible it would be TK at this point. Having gotten Most of the Playing time last year and all the Main snaps in Spring. It would take a Bunch for one of the other guys to step up.

[SoonerDomiNation]

I hope by seasons end were all saying blake bell. I hope the dude goes nuts and sets all time sooners record for tds by a te. Can u imagine a call like this...bell te around wait he steps back throws endzone touchdownnnnnnnn.

[SoonerDomiNation]

I should clarify...most td for a te in a season.

[EatLeadCommie]

Unless TK plays like he did against Alabama, I have a hard time saying he's the most indispensable. I wouldn't be surprised if he never has a game better than that one for the rest of his career. I'm guessing that our backups are pretty serviceable if Blake got pushed to TE. Therefore, I think Shepard is a pretty good choice.

[olevetonahill]

Unless TK plays like he did against Alabama, I have a hard time saying he's the most indispensable. I wouldn't be surprised if he never has a game better than that one for the rest of his career. I'm guessing that our backups are pretty serviceable if Blake got pushed to TE. Therefore, I think Shepard is a pretty good choice.

U = Idiot!

[rock on sooner]

This guy LOL

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTvg6BmwDxFYkMD65FhXAw2hJiHCF0uM FTCtFucHI1mbUFqeG75

Given the time of the calendar and stories I've seen of the fallen (This Week today)
I vote for the driver of this APC and just as soon as he gives the all clear Coach Bob
Stoops. He doesn't wear pads but if he checks out we (My Sooners) are in a world
of hurt.

Separate note, may our loving God hold all our troops in his blessed hands now and
going forward! This is from an ol' fart that probably gets ignored most of the time,
but, Dayum, our troops need to get OUT of harm's way!!! Jus' sayin'....

[olevetonahill]

Given the time of the calendar and stories I've seen of the fallen (This Week today)
I vote for the driver of this APC and just as soon as he gives the all clear Coach Bob
Stoops. He doesn't wear pads but if he checks out we (My Sooners) are in a world
of hurt.

Separate note, may our loving God hold all our troops in his blessed hands now and
going forward! This is from an ol' fart that probably gets ignored most of the time,
but, Dayum, our troops need to get OUT of harm's way!!! Jus' sayin'....

Is OK Bro. I been shot at, and Hit ,Shat at and hit , Stomped, stabbed, and blown up a few times . Im good tho.

[8timechamps]

Unless TK plays like he did against Alabama, I have a hard time saying he's the most indispensable. I wouldn't be surprised if he never has a game better than that one for the rest of his career. I'm guessing that our backups are pretty serviceable if Blake got pushed to TE. Therefore, I think Shepard is a pretty good choice.

I don't expect a Sugar Bowl-like performance every time he takes the field, but I'd bet the house that won't be his best performance as a Sooner. He's too talented, and it's too early for him to have peaked.

As I said, I fully expect him to have bad plays from now until he retires, but I think the more time that passes from the Sugar Bowl, the more folks are thinking "I'm still not sure, I don't know if he can repeat that performance". I will remind you that he was named starter as a redshirt freshman (over an semi-experienced junior) for a reason. Folks (the media) want to put so much on his "one time" big game performance, but they either ignore or forgot that he had some really good moments leading up to that, and that a lot of the reason things looked so good in the Sugar Bowl is because the entire team came together. I think we're over that hurdle, and I think we'll see a lot more of the Sugar Bowl Trevor Knight.

We do have some talented back-ups, but they're still a ways from being "the guy", and very inexperienced. I'm not worried though, because we do have Bell and even if we go with one of the young guys, Stoops has an outstanding track record for quality QBs. We're in good hands.

[BoulderSooner79]

The only good outcome, is to not find out who is the most indispensable player or set of players. Sort of like OUr 2000 season.

[olevetonahill]

I don't expect a Sugar Bowl-like performance every time he takes the field, but I'd bet the house that won't be his best performance as a Sooner. He's too talented, and it's too early for him to have peaked.

As I said, I fully expect him to have bad plays from now until he retires, but I think the more time that passes from the Sugar Bowl, the more folks are thinking "I'm still not sure, I don't know if he can repeat that performance". I will remind you that he was named starter as a redshirt freshman (over an semi-experienced junior) for a reason. Folks (the media) want to put so much on his "one time" big game performance, but they either ignore or forgot that he had some really good moments leading up to that, and that a lot of the reason things looked so good in the Sugar Bowl is because the entire team came together. I think we're over that hurdle, and I think we'll see a lot more of the Sugar Bowl Trevor Knight.

We do have some talented back-ups, but they're still a ways from being "the guy", and very inexperienced. I'm not worried though, because we do have Bell and even if we go with one of the young guys, Stoops has an outstanding track record for quality QBs. We're in good hands.


The only good outcome, is to not find out who is the most indispensable player or set of players. Sort of like OUr 2000 season.

I Like 79s thinkin I hope and Pray we dont Find out who it is, But I still think RIGHT now its TK he won the Sugar and H wins from now on.

[hawaii 5-0]

I recall very early in the Sugar Bowl.

OU wins the toss and defers.

'Bama takes the ball and rolls right on down the field, led by a swing pass that went 55 yards, almost scoring.

The OU player who ran that guy down wasn't a DB or a linebacker.

It was # 91.


5-0

[EatLeadCommie]

I don't expect a Sugar Bowl-like performance every time he takes the field, but I'd bet the house that won't be his best performance as a Sooner. He's too talented, and it's too early for him to have peaked.

As I said, I fully expect him to have bad plays from now until he retires, but I think the more time that passes from the Sugar Bowl, the more folks are thinking "I'm still not sure, I don't know if he can repeat that performance". I will remind you that he was named starter as a redshirt freshman (over an semi-experienced junior) for a reason. Folks (the media) want to put so much on his "one time" big game performance, but they either ignore or forgot that he had some really good moments leading up to that, and that a lot of the reason things looked so good in the Sugar Bowl is because the entire team came together. I think we're over that hurdle, and I think we'll see a lot more of the Sugar Bowl Trevor Knight.

We do have some talented back-ups, but they're still a ways from being "the guy", and very inexperienced. I'm not worried though, because we do have Bell and even if we go with one of the young guys, Stoops has an outstanding track record for quality QBs. We're in good hands.

A lot of things went right offensively in the Sugar Bowl, and enough against a great defense to give us hope for the future. But I can't help but be cautious. TK has had more experience playing bad than good, so who knows whether he turned a corner or whether everything just suddenly clicked. The importance of a great gameplan cannot be understated. Heupel also called the game of his life, and I don't expect that he is suddenly going to become an awesome playcaller based on one game. We basically revamped our entire offensive gameplan for one game. We know TK seemed to have success with it. Now do we go with that style this season or do we go back to what our offense seemed to struggle with so mightily for most of last season? We are going to find out, and my guess is we will find out pretty early in the season.

[hawaii 5-0]

Good point about the play calling during the Sugar Bowl. There was lots of stuff we had been saving.

I hope we continue to be unpredictable, game to game, even half to half. Never let the opposing defensive coordinators foretell what we're gonna throw at them.

I got so tired of us having 3rd and 3, us lining up in the 'I' with KeJuan Jones, knowing exactly what was coming. And us not converting. I hope those days are long gone.


5-0

[BoulderSooner79]

The KeJuan Jones days pretty much ended when AD arrived in '04, so that seems pretty long gone to me.

I'll take the fans perception of play calling with a grain of salt. If it's predictable as all heck and it's working, the fans call it creative. If the OC is using a random number generator to pick plays, but it's not working, he gets called out for calling "that stupid play in that situation". I see a very strong correlation between effective QB play and the fans loving the game plan and/or play calling. But with our inconsistent QB play for much of last year, all of a sudden JH is a moron. I do agree JH had better games than others, but he got too much flack for what were inherent limitations in the team.

I will agree JH drew up an excellent plan in the Sugar Bowl. He went pass-first and trusted TK to be able to pass well and our WR ability to get open. I don't think Bama expected that - I know I didn't expect that. I thought we would use the QB run option read heavily and I thought it would be a big FAIL. I figured Bama's run D could control it and there would be good odds that TK wouldn't last the entire game. I was delighted to be wrong. But even with that game plan, the Bama defense did adjust well at half time and OUr offense only scored 1 TD in the second half. But they did execute a gutsy drive at the end that drained the clock and put Bama in difficult field position at the end. Credit to both JH and the players for that one.

[8timechamps]

A lot of things went right offensively in the Sugar Bowl, and enough against a great defense to give us hope for the future. But I can't help but be cautious. TK has had more experience playing bad than good, so who knows whether he turned a corner or whether everything just suddenly clicked. The importance of a great gameplan cannot be understated. Heupel also called the game of his life, and I don't expect that he is suddenly going to become an awesome playcaller based on one game. We basically revamped our entire offensive gameplan for one game. We know TK seemed to have success with it. Now do we go with that style this season or do we go back to what our offense seemed to struggle with so mightily for most of last season? We are going to find out, and my guess is we will find out pretty early in the season.

I remember a post on TK here about three quarters of the way through last season. In doing some research for my comments in that post, I went back and re-watched all of his play to that point. I made a comment about how close the offense was to coming together even though it didn't seem like it at the time. TK certainly had some bad moments/series, but I started to notice receivers not running their routes correctly, missed blocks and several other things that made me realize TK wasn't the issue, or at least not the main issue. Looking back, I think we saw something we hadn't seen around here in a while...a new QB learning on the fly. Will it carry over? I believe so, but we really won't know until the season kicks off.

I was never on the JH is a bad playcaller bandwagon. I did get frustrated with the gameplan for the Texas game, but overall, I didn't see a lot of horrible calls...I saw a lot of plays where the players weren't executing. That also started to get cleaned up as the season rolled on, and again, I believe we are over that hump.

[BoulderSooner79]

I was never on the JH is a bad playcaller bandwagon. I did get frustrated with the gameplan for the Texas game, but overall, I didn't see a lot of horrible calls...I saw a lot of plays where the players weren't executing. That also started to get cleaned up as the season rolled on, and again, I believe we are over that hump.

I was frustrated about the Texas game, but only because the way it played out. I really didn't see big changes that JH could have made to make things worked that much better. If Bell and the passing games could have burned them on medium depth and longer passes, they would have been forced to back off. But the WR couldn't get open quick enough and Bell was already looking at the rush instead of downfield by the time they did get open. They took away the run game and short passing game and we couldn't counter with Bell at QB. I was hoping they would insert TK in the 2nd half. His health might have been in question, but he showed good wheels against ND when called upon (and it was a knee injury). I didn't think it would salvage the game at that point, but it would have put TK in a good situation. No big expectations to win, but he would have been a hero had he just staged a bit of a comeback to make the game closer.

[SoonerorLater]

As far as the most indispensable I'll go with Eric Striker, at least right now. His presence requires additional game planning for every team we play against. when he is on the field the opposing offense is constantly concerned where he may be coming from.

That being said TK could become the best QB in OU history or certainly in the conversation. When TK is accurate with his passing he is a serious weapon. I guess the question is whether TK will become the next Bradford / White or the next Eric Moore.

[hawaii 5-0]

We're still predictable in that when we get a nice gain for a 1st down around midfield or so we're gonna heave one up deep.


5-0

[olevetonahill]

We're still predictable in that when we get a nice gain for a 1st down around midfield or so we're gonna heave one up deep.


5-0

as will a 119 out of the 120 schools LOL

[8timechamps]

As far as the most indispensable I'll go with Eric Striker, at least right now. His presence requires additional game planning for every team we play against. when he is on the field the opposing offense is constantly concerned where he may be coming from.

That being said TK could become the best QB in OU history or certainly in the conversation. When TK is accurate with his passing he is a serious weapon. I guess the question is whether TK will become the next Bradford / White or the next Eric Moore.

Going into the Texas game, we had the blueprint right in front of us (the BYU game. the Ole Miss game, the K-State game, and even the Iowa State game). In all of those games, the Texas defense struggled to contain a mobile QB. When we open the game throwing the ball, I just scratched my head. I truly believe if we had rushed for 100 yards in the first quarter, it would have broken the Longhorns will, and the game would be over. We just didn't go that direction.

Otherwise, I didn't have an issue with game-planning for any other game.

[BoulderSooner79]

Going into the Texas game, we had the blueprint right in front of us (the BYU game. the Ole Miss game, the K-State game, and even the Iowa State game). In all of those games, the Texas defense struggled to contain a mobile QB. When we open the game throwing the ball, I just scratched my head. I truly believe if we had rushed for 100 yards in the first quarter, it would have broken the Longhorns will, and the game would be over. We just didn't go that direction.

Otherwise, I didn't have an issue with game-planning for any other game.

With TK, yes. Will Bell, no way - he was too slow. And they had swapped out Diaz for Davis at DC and the horns D was playing much better. That BYU game was a total coaching botch and didn't reflect the horns capability. It took them a couple of games to adjust to Davis, but they were respectable the rest of the year until the OSU game. Then it was clear Brown and staff were out and they threw in the towel. The real blueprint was the one TCU used against us the week before. The horns played it almost the same way, but they had much more talent on offense to put up points.

[PrideMom]

Striker!

[King Crimson]

general responses: Knight played pretty well from the KSU game onward imo. I think Knight is the answer, really assuming he keeps taking steps forward and it's his offense JH is running. but Shep and Sanchez are good choices....especially realizing all that Jalen Saunders did for us. total player.

in defense of Kejuan Jones....he was a pretty good running back and had LSU on their heels in the Sugar Bowl in the 4th Q. Then, in some flash of wisdom, in the RZ or almost....Chuck Long started calling all pass plays while LSU's D front was sucking air. drive stalled. he did call the TD play that would have been, screen over the middle (to Kejuan I believe)....that (injured) JW made a bad throw....and we are going for two and the W in a game for some reason the now conventional national wisdom is we got blown out (sort of like the Boise game was one of the great Sooner teams of all-time instead of one that hovered around 15-20 in the polls most of the season).....even though LSU did not score a single offensive point in the 2nd half.