Any update on Ford?

[ddub0224]

Anyone heard if he's playing Saturday? Would love to have his speed to get outside or the horns will stack the box like the frogs did.

[dwarthog]

Stoops said in his press conference he wouldn't know for sure until later this week....

[BoulderSooner79]

Which means he ain't playing. I'm sure the details of the injury are not known outside the team, but people speculating on what was reported claim it is a 6 week recovery, so that's what I'm been assuming. I'd really like to see Brooks get a few carries...

[EatLeadCommie]

We missed him last week when he was initially supposed to be back.

[BoulderSooner79]

We missed him last week when he was initially supposed to be back.

You always miss starting players, but I'm sure the coaches knew he was not available for TCU for the entire 2 weeks. Just as they already know he ain't playing this week. We should still win if we prepare properly.

[aurorasooner]

So our best shake-and-bake back is Perine.

It's just inexplicable to me that Ross has taken a couple of 80/100 yarders to the house and has zero lateral moves. I think he caught one of our few and far between passes to a RB out of the backfield last week on that last drive, had zero J Washington/Q type moves, and was Pwned one on one to the turf by a lone TCU defender.

[BoulderSooner79]

Ross did show a little something in the 2nd half of the WVU game, so I was hoping that would continue. But that was against a much less capable, and very tired run defense compared to TCU. We need more than 1 RB for the whole offense to be effective.

[blacktop]

We should still win if we prepare properly.
I would add.....and execute properly. That goes for players & coaches. We fans are doing our part.

[8timechamps]

I'm not giving up on Ross yet, as I think the problem is the commitment to using him. I don't think we've given him two consecutive carries since Tulsa (I may be wrong). Sometimes, backs need to get into a rhythm, and the guys that do need that aren't going to be able to do it with one carry every 20 plays.

I understand it's a quandary for the coaches, because with Perine you get instant impact (the kid just doesn't go backwards, even when stuffed at the line), but you have a true homerun threat with Ross. I would still like to see Perine pound the defense for the first half of a game and bring Ross off of the bench (fresh) to run against a softened line.

[SoonerMarkVA]

Which means he ain't playing. I'm sure the details of the injury are not known outside the team, but people speculating on what was reported claim it is a 6 week recovery, so that's what I'm been assuming. I'd really like to see Brooks get a few carries...

That seriously dampened my mood. We *need* Ford back.

[Eielson]

That seriously dampened my mood. We *need* Ford back.

Perine is a combination of Herschel Walker, Jerome Bettis, and Bo Jackson.

[Therealsouthsider]

Perine is a combination of Herschel Walker, Jerome Bettis, and Bo Jackson.

...Chuck Norris approves of this message


ss

[Soonerjeepman]

It

[Soonerjeepman]

It seems to me that OU always has a "stable of running backs" but ends up riding one til he can't be rode no more. I understand injuries...but it seems like if a kid makes one mistake he's done for the season. I understand that if a guy is hot or the D can't stop a certain runner then keep going in that direction (Perine should have gotten more touches last Sat..imho) but we also have guys that go weeks with not one touch after being told how well they are doing in practice or whatever by coaches. Just seems like a waste.

[BoulderSooner79]

It seems to me that OU always has a "stable of running backs" but ends up riding one til he can't be rode no more. I understand injuries...but it seems like if a kid makes one mistake he's done for the season. I understand that if a guy is hot or the D can't stop a certain runner then keep going in that direction (Perine should have gotten more touches last Sat..imho) but we also have guys that go weeks with not one touch after being told how well they are doing in practice or whatever by coaches. Just seems like a waste.

I'm been saying this for years. Our coaches seem to punish mistakes to the point it takes the natural instincts out of the equation. And everyone says that RBs in particular need moves and instincts that you can't teach. It's been refreshing that we finally have 2 young backs that the coaches actually trust to put on the field, but that may have been forced by the lack of upper classman. Now that 1 of them is hurt, we're riding 1 guy. We could have gotten Perine a few more touches Saturday, but it's not like he had a light load. I suspect those 25 carries Saturday were tougher than the 34 at WVU. He only averaged 3.5 yards/carry and it usually ended in a violent collision of guys from the front seven. Against WVU, most the late carries broke into the secondary with him being gently tackled by a 180lb DB. TCU contained him pretty well.

[dwarthog]

It's official.

Ford's out for the Texas game...

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthread.php?184639-CFT-Sooners-to-be-without-their-Ford-for-another-game

[Eielson]

...Chuck Norris approves of this message


ss

Now you're just being ridiculous!

[Widescreen]

It's official.

Ford's out for the Texas game...

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthread.php?184639-CFT-Sooners-to-be-without-their-Ford-for-another-game
Not really a surprise. At this point I really wonder when he'll be able to come back. A broken bone in the leg, even a non-weight-bearing bone, would have to be pretty painful when you're doing the types of cutting that a RB needs to do.

[dwarthog]

Not really a surprise. At this point I really wonder when he'll be able to come back. A broken bone in the leg, even a non-weight-bearing bone, would have to be pretty painful when you're doing the types of cutting that a RB needs to do.

I would imagine conditioning will be become an issue the longer he's out too.

[Therealsouthsider]

....bring back the Marcus Dupree offense for Perine and activate the Omega13

ss

[Widescreen]

....bring back the Marcus Dupree offense for Perine and activate the Omega13

ss

By Grabthars Hammer, you win the Internet.

[Soonerjeepman]

I suspect those 25 carries Saturday were tougher than the 34 at WVU. He only averaged 3.5 yards/carry and it usually ended in a violent collision of guys from the front seven. Against WVU, most the late carries broke into the secondary with him being gently tackled by a 180lb DB. TCU contained him pretty well.

true...guess I didn't think he had that many. Maybe more spread out? lol. I don't know....OU didn't use Ross much or the other 2 guys. Course I had a issue with play calling as well...but tcu's d was outstanding which effected it all as well.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

It

To.

[Soonerjeepman]

To.

lol..a little premature posting...crappy problem to have. Thank goodness it only happens once in awhile~

[JLMSOONER]

Any word on Ford? I didn't see anything posted this past week.

[BoulderSooner79]

Any word on Ford? I didn't see anything posted this past week.

The only thing posted last week was not for the KSU game. I've been predicting the Baylor game since it happened and I'm sticking with it.

[dwarthog]

In Stoop's presser yesterday, he indicated they may have him back at practice the end of this week.

[olevetonahill]

In Stoop's presser yesterday, he indicated they may have him back at practice the end of this week.

Yup.

[8timechamps]

Any word on Ford? I didn't see anything posted this past week.

As mentioned above, Stoops sounded like he expected him back at practice sometime this week. That doesn't mean he'll be ready for ISU, as he'll need some time to get back to speed...and quite honestly, we shouldn't need him to beat ISU. I would have no problem if they gave him an extra week to get back in the grove, and have him at 100% when Baylor comes to town.

[cvsooner]

It's got to help. Things seemed to be going pretty well before he went out, we squeezed by WVU without him and have struggled a bit since. Guess he's just the single best option at running back right now, or the best mix of speed, strength and savvy. Perrine isn't there yet on the savvy and Ross...though he is improving...is not the best option right now. That still doesn't address Mike Stoops' terror of running QBs, but that's another topic altogether.

Funny...I was thinking about the 2007 squad the other day laying an egg in Boulder that year, and that game struck me as a bit like this one. Just a play here, a play there, with a different outcome on that play and a different result as well. It also reminded me of how badly we looked in Ames that year. Just awful. I hope we don't have a replay of that. Rhoads is good for one big surprise every year. I don't want to be this year's.

[8timechamps]

It's got to help. Things seemed to be going pretty well before he went out, we squeezed by WVU without him and have struggled a bit since. Guess he's just the single best option at running back right now, or the best mix of speed, strength and savvy. Perrine isn't there yet on the savvy and Ross...though he is improving...is not the best option right now. That still doesn't address Mike Stoops' terror of running QBs, but that's another topic altogether.

Funny...I was thinking about the 2007 squad the other day laying an egg in Boulder that year, and that game struck me as a bit like this one. Just a play here, a play there, with a different outcome on that play and a different result as well. It also reminded me of how badly we looked in Ames that year. Just awful. I hope we don't have a replay of that. Rhoads is good for one big surprise every year. I don't want to be this year's.

I think it's as simple as Ford being the best of the three backs. He's a blend of Ross and Perine, and like Perine, he's a punishing back...that always helps to wear down the defensive front. We are a better team when he's playing, so it will be nice to get him back into the rotation.

Rhoades is a good coach, and he does seem to get his squad up for one big win a year, but I don't think it's OU. There are some teams that just play OU good (KSU with Snyder is the biggest/most obvious). It doesn't matter if it's in Norman or Manhattan, the Cats are going to play the Sooners tough. Iowa State is on the exact opposite side, they almost never play us tough and it's almost always a lopsided win...in Norman or in Ames.

The last time the Sooners lost to the Cyclones was 24 years ago in 1990. The Sooners were entering the down era, and lost 33-31. In the Stoops era, the closest ISU came to beating OU was in 2007 (in Ames), the final was 17-7. The average score in this game, under Stoops, is 38-8. The Cyclones aren't as bad as they have been in some years, but they're not very good either. Considering this game is coming off of a bye week, with Stoops undefeated regular season record in games after a loss, this one will get ugly for ISU.

[BoulderSooner79]

As mentioned above, Stoops sounded like he expected him back at practice sometime this week. That doesn't mean he'll be ready for ISU, as he'll need some time to get back to speed...and quite honestly, we shouldn't need him to beat ISU. I would have no problem if they gave him an extra week to get back in the grove, and have him at 100% when Baylor comes to town.

This is what I'm hoping for. I was thinking ISU was this week and the bye was next week, so no hope for Ford against ISU. Maybe he can get a few reps against ISU after the bye, but I just hope he's 100% against BU. EDIT: I thought Ross made some nice runs in the KSU game - saved our butts on the series that TK was out.

[8timechamps]

This is what I'm hoping for. I was thinking ISU was this week and the bye was next week, so no hope for Ford against ISU. Maybe he can get a few reps against ISU after the bye, but I just hope he's 100% against BU. EDIT: I thought Ross made some nice runs in the KSU game - saved our butts on the series that TK was out.

Ross definitely had his best game at RB. He didn't have a long TD run, and it wasn't his best game from a statistics standpoint...but, I thought he just looked better overall. Ran hard, didn't dance around, showed he does have some vision. Just a solid day for Ross.