David Earl
9/11/2006, 01:21 PM
Overview
Is this Sooner squad still playing like a team? In spite of a poor first half by the defense, I’d say yes. Again, we won a game, maybe not quite as big as we should have, but we won. And the win was more convincing than last week’s performance. There is clear evidence the Sooners are making progress toward being the team we think they can be. Here’s how it breaks down.
Offense
Before I gush too much about OU’s passing game, let me say that I think UW’s secondary will get abused in the Pac 10 this year. I’m not trying to slam them; I’m just saying their secondary is not the best. I’m sure many UDUB fans would agree.
However, that does not take away too much from OU’s success throwing the ball. The WR still has to run his route and make the catch. The QB sill has to deliver the ball. And the guys up front still have to give the QB time to throw.
The Sooner offense did all these things Saturday and put together a solid game. The passing game is clearly there and if opposing defenses keep stacking the box to stop AD, Paul Thompson and the boys will keep making them pay.
QB
Wow. Paul is really playing solid. I want to tell you people something and I want you to listen. Paul is playing better right now that Big Red’s former employee of the month (heretofore designated as BRFEOTM) would have played if none of this pre-season stuff had happened. You heard me right. BRFEOTM would not be doing this well at this point in the season. He may have a lot of physical tools, but Paul’s got something special. Let me tell you about that special quality he has.
Does everybody really like to see Paul do well? Do you think fans got the same feeling when BRFEOTM did well? How do you think the team feels at Paul’s success versus when BRFEOTM had success? If you don’t know, please let me tell you. This Sooner team LOVES to see Paul have success! Therein lies the evidence for that special something Paul brings to the table. And that’s the reason the offense is playing like a team.
And I want to say a word about another OU QB, a fellow some of you might know. Josh Heupel. There’s all this talk about DB’s and whether or not BJW has had them ready to play. We’re looking at the defense wondering if BV’s really had them ready to play. No slap at a coach, we’re just talking about it. Well, Josh has had Paul ready to play! I know, it’s early season and OU’s defense tends to not play as well early in the season. Yeah... Well... It’s early in the season for Paul too. But Coach Heupel has him ready to play!
Nearly 280 yards passing. A couple of TD’s. A good percentage of completions. Yup, Paul’s been ready to play. Six weeks ago he was ready to play WR. Today he’s doing just fine at QB. Paul’s INT was not his fault. If blockers hold the pocket another half second that is a completion for huge yardage. One of the overthrows wasn’t his fault. The zebras decided to let a UDUB DB jam Kelly about a mile beyond the line of scrimmage which made a well-thrown ball look overthrown. If the coverage had been legal on that play, Paul hit’s Kelly in stride on a flag route for an eight million yard touchdown strike.
Now before we get carried away here we need to remember some things. Paul still can be streaky. He’s going to make some bad throws. He’s going to throw high and behind the WR at times. He’ll zip it in too hard sometimes. Paul’s probably going to have a bad game some day. I remember a few guys named Josh, Nate and Jason and they had some bad games occasionally. But Paul is playing well and defenses are going to pay if they keep selling out to stop the run. They’ll probably keep selling out to stop the run so I guess Paul can keep making them pay.
RB
Okay, a d-lineman grabs AD by the shoulder pads at the neck, from behind. He starts trying to go all Roy Williams on us and pull Peterson down from behind. Ain’t gonna happen to AD. AD’s gonna break that tackle and get another 10-15 yards. AD runs through arm tackles like Epsom salts through a widow woman.
AD is running in good form, but if he stays healthy he’s going to be running better after a couple more games. He’ll be making some of those cuts a little better, breaking a few more tackles, getting more yards.
AD’s pass blocking was better in this game, not that it was horrible before. He put some defenders on the ground Saturday. And he accepted Wilson’s challenge to quit boogie dancing and head up field. Enjoy watching AD while you have the chance. He’s a special player and his kind doesn’t come along very often.
WR/TE
Finley just keeps on rolling! That guy is having a great year blocking and catching passes. It’s early, but I suspect he may nab some all conference honors. Brody had a great game blocking. He subbed well at FB. Gresham didn’t have any passes thrown his way, but his time will come.
Kelly had an awesome game! He dropped a couple, but made some really nice grabs. That one deep pass where Paul threw into three defenders was a really nice catch for Kelly at a clutch time. ATTN opposing defenses: Please keep stacking to stop the run and leaving Kelly in single coverage. Thank you.
Iglesias had another decent day catching. I believe his best games at WR are yet to come. It was good to see Johnson get back into action. And how about Fred Strong?! They kept mentioning him in preseason, but I confess I wasn’t listening. The kid is having a great year.
OL
The guys are still pass protecting fairly well and run blocking okay. They are ahead of where I thought they’d be at this point in the season. Walker had a better game which is a good sign and with Simmons returning we’ve got a little better depth now. The five false-start penalties are a little troubling. However, considering this group is still learning how to play as a group, it’s not too surprising. If these guys will just keep steadily improving and stay healthy, our offense will just keep cranking out points.
Defense
You people, we’ve seen this script before. Defense played poorly in the first half, played like champs in the third quarter, or some such similar saga. When there were problems, the problem was not scheme. The problem is execution.
In case you missed it, please note that two DB’s and two DL’s were subbed. With those substitutions, play improved dramatically. That doesn’t necessarily mean the guys who got benched have no future. It just means they weren’t playing well and the subs did. I appreciate the coaches made those personnel adjustments. That sends out a pretty clear message. That message is what we as fans need to take note of. I can assure you the defensive players jotted it on their memo pads.
DL
There’s not much of a way to dress it up and make it sound nice; the DT’s did not play well early. On UDUB’s first play from scrimmage it looked like they had 10 offensive linemen. Our DT’s were really blown off the ball. However, Granger and Bennett came in and played pretty well later in the game.
The DE’s had a better game than last week. Observe we are putting a DE at DT in the dime package. That certainly says the coaches are confident in our DEs’ ability to get a pass rush. Does it also say they don’t have confidence in our tackles to get pass pressure? I’m not sure.
The pass rush was there, though sporadic and sometimes misdirected. At least the guys up front are giving chase and forcing the QB to get out of the pocket.
Tackling is still a real problem, although part of the time it was better Saturday. These guys better start consistently hitting hard and wrapping up or some of our future opponents are going to feast in the run game. The yardage and points our defense has given up these first two games is not acceptable. That’s from Bob Stoops himself. Expect heads to roll if things don’t improve.
LB
We saw Baker out there a bunch. Who was he subbing for? (He knows all three LB spots.) Were they putting him in the middle on obvious passing downs? I can’t see him playing middle otherwise. They wouldn’t sub him for Rufus. I didn’t think they were using him much at SAM, which in passing situations is replaced with the nickel/LB hybrid (Harris).
DB
Has a pass been completed on Smith’s side yet this season? That guy is really making a difference on this team. Lendy came in and played really well at CB on the other side. Walker got a little PT there as well and seemed to do fine. If his shoulders will let him tackle he should get more PT, even if Lendy becomes the starter.
I’m not going to sit here and hammer Wolfe. The guy’s worked hard and has played well at CB before. I’m not sure what’s gotten into his head. Before we go ballistic on him and thrash him too much we need to remember he has a DB coach back there. Some of this is on BJW, in all fairness.
I was surprised Clayton didn’t play very well. Carter filled in well, in spite of dropping a couple of would-be INT’s. Harris had another good game, though we see signs of his youth. As the season wears on, QB’s will tremble at the sound of his name.
Special Teams
Man the special teams are so much better than last year. The return game is so strong. Smith is going to score soon. And Iglesias may take a kick to the house before it’s all over and done with. That block maneuver with Carter coming up the middle gave UDUB fits. Trey is kicking well and the punting is solid. Coverage is strong. Special teams are truly special.
Zebras
Okay guys, a DB can jam within five yards of the line of scrimmage, but they can’t jam twenty yards downfield, mmmkay? That one cost us a score.
On UDUB’s big run up the gut in the first quarter *ugh* it looked to me like a blocker had a defender by the arm and was pulling backward. I sure thought that was holding, but it probably wasn’t flagrant.
Summary
How good is this OU ball club? The offense is formidable, though not breaking records. We’re currently at about #30 in the nation in total offense and #44 in scoring offense. Not earth shattering by any means, but we’re ahead of some pretty good teams. Also, the turnover situation, which promises to get better, has cost us some points there.
But what about the defense? It’s too early to tell for certain. We’ve talked before about OU defenses under Stoops starting slow and getting better. This current defense shows signs of potentially being really good. But there are also signs for sober concern. Because we’ve seen improvement from week one to week two I’m leaning toward the idea this defense is going to be pretty good before season is done. Will it get good enough quickly enough to beat UO and UT? Good question.
The Sooners have a big tussle in front of them. Oregon has a good offense, a good QB and a good RB. These Ducks are for real. This could arguably be the toughest game of our regular season. Even if our offense can move the ball on the Duck defense, their offense is a force to be reckoned with. I suspect our offense will have to be prolific to beat the Ducks. We may have to win a shootout. The thing is our offense is good enough to do it. And with our defense showing promise of improvement our chances of getting over a very significant season hurdle look even better. If we can come out of Oregon with a “W”, the chances of having a 10-12 win regular season look much better. That, my crimson colleagues, puts a smile on my sooner face. Boomer Sooner!
Is this Sooner squad still playing like a team? In spite of a poor first half by the defense, I’d say yes. Again, we won a game, maybe not quite as big as we should have, but we won. And the win was more convincing than last week’s performance. There is clear evidence the Sooners are making progress toward being the team we think they can be. Here’s how it breaks down.
Offense
Before I gush too much about OU’s passing game, let me say that I think UW’s secondary will get abused in the Pac 10 this year. I’m not trying to slam them; I’m just saying their secondary is not the best. I’m sure many UDUB fans would agree.
However, that does not take away too much from OU’s success throwing the ball. The WR still has to run his route and make the catch. The QB sill has to deliver the ball. And the guys up front still have to give the QB time to throw.
The Sooner offense did all these things Saturday and put together a solid game. The passing game is clearly there and if opposing defenses keep stacking the box to stop AD, Paul Thompson and the boys will keep making them pay.
QB
Wow. Paul is really playing solid. I want to tell you people something and I want you to listen. Paul is playing better right now that Big Red’s former employee of the month (heretofore designated as BRFEOTM) would have played if none of this pre-season stuff had happened. You heard me right. BRFEOTM would not be doing this well at this point in the season. He may have a lot of physical tools, but Paul’s got something special. Let me tell you about that special quality he has.
Does everybody really like to see Paul do well? Do you think fans got the same feeling when BRFEOTM did well? How do you think the team feels at Paul’s success versus when BRFEOTM had success? If you don’t know, please let me tell you. This Sooner team LOVES to see Paul have success! Therein lies the evidence for that special something Paul brings to the table. And that’s the reason the offense is playing like a team.
And I want to say a word about another OU QB, a fellow some of you might know. Josh Heupel. There’s all this talk about DB’s and whether or not BJW has had them ready to play. We’re looking at the defense wondering if BV’s really had them ready to play. No slap at a coach, we’re just talking about it. Well, Josh has had Paul ready to play! I know, it’s early season and OU’s defense tends to not play as well early in the season. Yeah... Well... It’s early in the season for Paul too. But Coach Heupel has him ready to play!
Nearly 280 yards passing. A couple of TD’s. A good percentage of completions. Yup, Paul’s been ready to play. Six weeks ago he was ready to play WR. Today he’s doing just fine at QB. Paul’s INT was not his fault. If blockers hold the pocket another half second that is a completion for huge yardage. One of the overthrows wasn’t his fault. The zebras decided to let a UDUB DB jam Kelly about a mile beyond the line of scrimmage which made a well-thrown ball look overthrown. If the coverage had been legal on that play, Paul hit’s Kelly in stride on a flag route for an eight million yard touchdown strike.
Now before we get carried away here we need to remember some things. Paul still can be streaky. He’s going to make some bad throws. He’s going to throw high and behind the WR at times. He’ll zip it in too hard sometimes. Paul’s probably going to have a bad game some day. I remember a few guys named Josh, Nate and Jason and they had some bad games occasionally. But Paul is playing well and defenses are going to pay if they keep selling out to stop the run. They’ll probably keep selling out to stop the run so I guess Paul can keep making them pay.
RB
Okay, a d-lineman grabs AD by the shoulder pads at the neck, from behind. He starts trying to go all Roy Williams on us and pull Peterson down from behind. Ain’t gonna happen to AD. AD’s gonna break that tackle and get another 10-15 yards. AD runs through arm tackles like Epsom salts through a widow woman.
AD is running in good form, but if he stays healthy he’s going to be running better after a couple more games. He’ll be making some of those cuts a little better, breaking a few more tackles, getting more yards.
AD’s pass blocking was better in this game, not that it was horrible before. He put some defenders on the ground Saturday. And he accepted Wilson’s challenge to quit boogie dancing and head up field. Enjoy watching AD while you have the chance. He’s a special player and his kind doesn’t come along very often.
WR/TE
Finley just keeps on rolling! That guy is having a great year blocking and catching passes. It’s early, but I suspect he may nab some all conference honors. Brody had a great game blocking. He subbed well at FB. Gresham didn’t have any passes thrown his way, but his time will come.
Kelly had an awesome game! He dropped a couple, but made some really nice grabs. That one deep pass where Paul threw into three defenders was a really nice catch for Kelly at a clutch time. ATTN opposing defenses: Please keep stacking to stop the run and leaving Kelly in single coverage. Thank you.
Iglesias had another decent day catching. I believe his best games at WR are yet to come. It was good to see Johnson get back into action. And how about Fred Strong?! They kept mentioning him in preseason, but I confess I wasn’t listening. The kid is having a great year.
OL
The guys are still pass protecting fairly well and run blocking okay. They are ahead of where I thought they’d be at this point in the season. Walker had a better game which is a good sign and with Simmons returning we’ve got a little better depth now. The five false-start penalties are a little troubling. However, considering this group is still learning how to play as a group, it’s not too surprising. If these guys will just keep steadily improving and stay healthy, our offense will just keep cranking out points.
Defense
You people, we’ve seen this script before. Defense played poorly in the first half, played like champs in the third quarter, or some such similar saga. When there were problems, the problem was not scheme. The problem is execution.
In case you missed it, please note that two DB’s and two DL’s were subbed. With those substitutions, play improved dramatically. That doesn’t necessarily mean the guys who got benched have no future. It just means they weren’t playing well and the subs did. I appreciate the coaches made those personnel adjustments. That sends out a pretty clear message. That message is what we as fans need to take note of. I can assure you the defensive players jotted it on their memo pads.
DL
There’s not much of a way to dress it up and make it sound nice; the DT’s did not play well early. On UDUB’s first play from scrimmage it looked like they had 10 offensive linemen. Our DT’s were really blown off the ball. However, Granger and Bennett came in and played pretty well later in the game.
The DE’s had a better game than last week. Observe we are putting a DE at DT in the dime package. That certainly says the coaches are confident in our DEs’ ability to get a pass rush. Does it also say they don’t have confidence in our tackles to get pass pressure? I’m not sure.
The pass rush was there, though sporadic and sometimes misdirected. At least the guys up front are giving chase and forcing the QB to get out of the pocket.
Tackling is still a real problem, although part of the time it was better Saturday. These guys better start consistently hitting hard and wrapping up or some of our future opponents are going to feast in the run game. The yardage and points our defense has given up these first two games is not acceptable. That’s from Bob Stoops himself. Expect heads to roll if things don’t improve.
LB
We saw Baker out there a bunch. Who was he subbing for? (He knows all three LB spots.) Were they putting him in the middle on obvious passing downs? I can’t see him playing middle otherwise. They wouldn’t sub him for Rufus. I didn’t think they were using him much at SAM, which in passing situations is replaced with the nickel/LB hybrid (Harris).
DB
Has a pass been completed on Smith’s side yet this season? That guy is really making a difference on this team. Lendy came in and played really well at CB on the other side. Walker got a little PT there as well and seemed to do fine. If his shoulders will let him tackle he should get more PT, even if Lendy becomes the starter.
I’m not going to sit here and hammer Wolfe. The guy’s worked hard and has played well at CB before. I’m not sure what’s gotten into his head. Before we go ballistic on him and thrash him too much we need to remember he has a DB coach back there. Some of this is on BJW, in all fairness.
I was surprised Clayton didn’t play very well. Carter filled in well, in spite of dropping a couple of would-be INT’s. Harris had another good game, though we see signs of his youth. As the season wears on, QB’s will tremble at the sound of his name.
Special Teams
Man the special teams are so much better than last year. The return game is so strong. Smith is going to score soon. And Iglesias may take a kick to the house before it’s all over and done with. That block maneuver with Carter coming up the middle gave UDUB fits. Trey is kicking well and the punting is solid. Coverage is strong. Special teams are truly special.
Zebras
Okay guys, a DB can jam within five yards of the line of scrimmage, but they can’t jam twenty yards downfield, mmmkay? That one cost us a score.
On UDUB’s big run up the gut in the first quarter *ugh* it looked to me like a blocker had a defender by the arm and was pulling backward. I sure thought that was holding, but it probably wasn’t flagrant.
Summary
How good is this OU ball club? The offense is formidable, though not breaking records. We’re currently at about #30 in the nation in total offense and #44 in scoring offense. Not earth shattering by any means, but we’re ahead of some pretty good teams. Also, the turnover situation, which promises to get better, has cost us some points there.
But what about the defense? It’s too early to tell for certain. We’ve talked before about OU defenses under Stoops starting slow and getting better. This current defense shows signs of potentially being really good. But there are also signs for sober concern. Because we’ve seen improvement from week one to week two I’m leaning toward the idea this defense is going to be pretty good before season is done. Will it get good enough quickly enough to beat UO and UT? Good question.
The Sooners have a big tussle in front of them. Oregon has a good offense, a good QB and a good RB. These Ducks are for real. This could arguably be the toughest game of our regular season. Even if our offense can move the ball on the Duck defense, their offense is a force to be reckoned with. I suspect our offense will have to be prolific to beat the Ducks. We may have to win a shootout. The thing is our offense is good enough to do it. And with our defense showing promise of improvement our chances of getting over a very significant season hurdle look even better. If we can come out of Oregon with a “W”, the chances of having a 10-12 win regular season look much better. That, my crimson colleagues, puts a smile on my sooner face. Boomer Sooner!