a couple of things from the mizzou game

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

how refreshing was it

to see a team that mentally couldn't handle playing us?

to see a unit (TE) perform poorly one week and then come back as gang busters the next week?

to see dbs be in a position to make a play on the ball instead of to make a tackle after a catch?

to see cutback lanes?

to see us force the action instead of passively try to stop a team?

to see a goal line stand?

how worried are you

that our gameplan seems to be to have a running back carry the ball 35 times a game?

that kelly has virtually disappeared?

[mrowl]

Has Paul lost all confidence to throw the ball down the field to Kelly?

Or is it the gameplan?

[fwsooner22]

Agree with all of that.............I felt my confidence in this group soar during that game..............Hope it is warranted and I think it is..............

The 35 plus carries..........I think we are taking what is given us. Kelly is drawing doubles........at least that is what I was seeing.........

[BermudaSooner]

I would like to see Kelly get the ball 10 times a game.

BTW, our O-line isn't the disaster that was predicted at the beginning of the season. We can win when the game plan is to get the RB the ball 35 times a game, even when the RB isn't the most talented football player in college.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

my worry is that you can't expect guys to stay healthy over 300 carries a year...

[Mjcpr]

I believe Kelly lost his grandfather recently; I'm sure that hasn't helped him on the field.

[jk the sooner fan]

i wondered about the number of carries, and wondered why we didnt see chris brown

if you've got a run defense as porous as Mizzou's seemed to be and you want to keep their offense off the field, then i think you run it ad nauseum until they can stop you

[toast]

i'm assuming that kelly is getting a lot of the attention from the defense and that it's opening up other parts of the offense. i'm also concerned about the number of carries. i'm also wondering if we burned brown's redshirt for 4 plays in the CU game?

[MiccoMacey]

i wondered about the number of carries, and wondered why we didnt see chris brown

I agree on CB. If you pull a redshirt off someone, it needs to be for a meaningful reason. Not just a few carries at the end of one game in the middle of the season.

I'm all for letting freshmen play, and not worried about redshirting people. But there needs to be a reason to un-redshirt someone other than last week.

He needs to play more.

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

What happened to Madu?

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

un redshirting seems to come back and bite us (see griffin, Q)

[IronSooner]

I'm betting we don't see Madu this season. I'm wondering about Brown though..all I could find on it was Wilson saying it was up to Gundy. I hope we get some mileage out of the kid this year though. Hopefully the others can keep their shirts.

[colleyvillesooner]

I agree on CB. If you pull a redshirt off someone, it needs to be for a meaningful reason. Not just a few carries at the end of one game in the middle of the season.

I'm all for letting freshmen play, and not worried about redshirting people. But there needs to be a reason to un-redshirt someone other than last week.

He needs to play more.

Well, there were 3 freshmen in that class, and they seemed hell bent on separating one from the other two, and that was Brown

[starrca23]

Glad to see Q Chaney be productive. I like to see local guys do good. Hopefully he will see more time in 3 reciever sets his size is an asset especially if Kelly continues to draw lots of attention.

[Mjcpr]

un redshirting seems to come back and bite us (see griffin, Q)

Who would we have used instead of Q? I don't remember the options...it's been a while.

[RacerX]

..all I could find on it was Wilson saying it was up to Gundy.

That's comforting.

[RacerX]

Who would we have used instead of Q? I don't remember the options...it's been a while.

Buster Kuhn!!!!!

[RacerX]

from our friend at Soonerstats.com (http://www.soonerstats.com/fb/players/roster.cfm?SeasonID=1999)

Quentin Griffin
Buster Kuhn
Dwight McKissic
Jay Hunt
Jamar Mozee
Josh Norman
Stanley Peters
Reggie Skinner
Johnnie Balous
Brandon Daniels

I left off Seth since he was the FB.

[Mjcpr]

That's a lot of RBs.

[RacerX]

Mozee did squat.

You see several converts to WR there, Brandon and Josh.

Skinner had some yards against I-State. Seems like Jay Disappeared. Balous showed a flash here and there.

[The_Red_Patriot]

I saw a couple times where we should have thrown the ball but when they cant stop 5 yard runs, keep doing it. Grind the clock, control the game, tire out the defense and it prevents INTs.

I liked what KW did.

and our defense---Goal line stand

nuff said about that

[Rhino]

Skinner and Balous were the only valid options.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

its our most oft used example. it was the correct move in 99, but we traded 5 games of a 7-5 season for a legit running back threat in 2003...

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

hunt was out with an ACL

[OklahomaTuba]

All I know is this,

If we go down to College Station and beat A&M with our back-up QB and back-up RBs, then this is one of BS's best coaching jobs ever.

Once we get the next trigger man on campus this spring, next year won't be so horrible I hope.

[jk the sooner fan]

is this weekend the annual "maroon out" game for the faggies?

[Rock Hard Corn Frog]

We also learned/were reminded that we still own MU. The same way that a US Embassey overseas is US Territory, the MU campus is technically part of the State of Oklahoma.

[FormerSoonerProf]

Sooner coaches are coaching better and team players are playing better now because the complacency of having a star player like Adrian Peterson is over. Remember our NC team? There were no superstars... they played as a team and the coaches worked that much harder... So, maybe losing AD was good overall for the Sooners... I know I will be negged for saying this... but I got a thick skin.

[Scott D]

Who would we have used instead of Q? I don't remember the options...it's been a while.

Ideally some guy named Parker that decided to go pro instead of staying for his senior year.

[colleyvillesooner]

is this weekend the annual "maroon out" game for the faggies?

No, it's the nebraska game.

[Mjcpr]

Ideally some guy named Parker that decided to go pro instead of staying for his senior year.

Yeah, that was a great move by DP.

[Scott D]

not to mention if a team is going to run the ball on 67% of it's plays on offense, you'd like to see them keep multiple backs relatively fresh to wear on the defense.

[IronSooner]

not to mention if a team is going to run the ball on 67% of it's plays on offense, you'd like to see them keep multiple backs relatively fresh to wear on the defense.

This is what I've expected the last couple weeks. AP will get the lion's share of the carries, but they'd spell him with Gute or Brown. I like that they worked Gute in against MU but was surprised Brown never got any carries. I'm sure they just didn't want to take out AP when he was running so well, but at the same time, he needs to stay healthy and as close to 100% as possible.

[tulsaoilerfan]

OU has made a habit of playing some true freshmen that would have been better off sitting out and redshirting instead of wasting a full year on a handful of plays; names that come to mind immediately include Brandon Jones, Rankins, T.Wilson and Tennell and Chris Brown this season; i sure hope Brown gets more than mop up duty against Colorado or this will be another of those WTF? decisions IMO

[Widescreen]

Jason White came out of redshirt and played a few snaps his freshman year and then developed a mystery "back ailment" to get the redshirt back.

[Rhino]

OU has made a habit of playing some true freshmen that would have been better off sitting out and redshirting instead of wasting a full year on a handful of plays; names that come to mind immediately include Brandon Jones, Rankins, T.Wilson and Tennell and Chris Brown this season; i sure hope Brown gets more than mop up duty against Colorado or this will be another of those WTF? decisions IMO I can't even begin to understand this staff's decisions in regards to redshirts over the last couple years.

Brandon Jones was a different beast, because -at the time- we didn't know if/when he might bolt for the MLB.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Jason White came out of redshirt and played a few snaps his freshman year and then developed a mystery "back ailment" to get the redshirt back.

which works the first 3 games, but it doesn't apply after that. i'm okay with that strategy early, but late in the season its a waste.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

I can't even begin to understand this staff's decisions in regards to redshirts over the last couple years.

Brandon Jones was a different beast, because -at the time- we didn't know if/when he might bolt for the MLB.

typically there are from 3-5 guys per class that fall into the "who knows how long we'll have them" category. typically they come into a thin position and need to play immediately. where i get confused is when we opt not to redshirt at a stacked position. using WR as an example, was it really necessary to play both rankins AND wilson as true freshman? especially since we had 3 sophs and 2 seniors at the position? i know rankins refused to redshirt, but couldn't you have talked some sense into wilson? that decimated our WR corps because there was no stability after we lost the clayton class. it just seems it you would be better off looking at some kids that have potential, but need to redshirt (and are willing too) between these big classes.

[ultimatesooner1]

I think the 85 scholly limit has a huge impact on who gets to redshirt and who doesn't

[Doged]

Don't they have to be in for a minimum number of plays before they lose their redshirt? Or is that the "first three games" that jkm posted about?

[NormanPride]

I really hope AP's 60 carries these past two games have been because of the gameplan. Vs Colorado, we needed to run to keep the ball out of the air - and thus the wind. Vs Mizzou, their run D was so atrocious that we couldn't help but run on them. If OSU's is worse, we could see the same gameplan against them. A&M will be a true test, as I don't think their run D is bad enough to let us just run when we want to. Paul will have to make some plays.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

I think the 85 scholly limit has a huge impact on who gets to redshirt and who doesn't

even with 85, you still can almost have 4 full classes of players on campus. where it becomes a limiting factor is when you have recruiting mistakes.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Don't they have to be in for a minimum number of plays before they lose their redshirt? Or is that the "first three games" that jkm posted about?

1 play = no redshirt. if you are hurt, you can qualify for a medical redshirt as long as you have only played in the first 25% of scheduled games.

[bixby28]

I would like to see Kelly get the ball 10 times a game.

BTW, our O-line isn't the disaster that was predicted at the beginning of the season. We can win when the game plan is to get the RB the ball 35 times a game, even when the RB isn't the most talented football player in college.

OUr offensive line hasn't been run blocking very well, until the Colorado game. Their pass blocking has been good enough, but their run blocking has been a disaster.

These offensive lineman have improved a lot, but they have looked very bad at times this year.

[Sooner_Bob]

Lindy Holmes definitely showed up on Saturday . . . here's hopin' he keeps it going.

[bixby28]

I'm betting we don't see Madu this season. I'm wondering about Brown though..all I could find on it was Wilson saying it was up to Gundy. I hope we get some mileage out of the kid this year though. Hopefully the others can keep their shirts.

The move with Chris Brown was a bad decision. I don't know what good reason Gundy had in pulling his red-shirt for a 4 carry, 1 touchdown performance, especially with Gutierrez and Patrick healthy. Gundy owes Brown an apology for wasting a year of eligibility on Colorado, at HOME!!:confused:

[StoopTroup]

Lindy Holmes definitely showed up on Saturday . . . here's hopin' he keeps it going.
It almost looks like he's put some muscle and bulk on in the last month.

I think he may have found his calling on Defense.

[oilmud]

The kind of running back we want will not be here for a redshirt to pay off. I say play'em and try to recruit over'em.

[TripleOption14]

I really hope AP's 60 carries these past two games have been because of the gameplan. Vs Colorado, we needed to run to keep the ball out of the air - and thus the wind. Vs Mizzou, their run D was so atrocious that we couldn't help but run on them. If OSU's is worse, we could see the same gameplan against them. A&M will be a true test, as I don't think their run D is bad enough to let us just run when we want to. Paul will have to make some plays.

Seems like to me OU's gameplan has been to play keep away. Which is fine if you are playing a team that doesn't score real fast. But i'm afraid eventually its gonna backfire and this team is gonna be forced to play a fast paced game. Mizzou already proved that OU can't keep up when they pressed.

As long as OU has to ball and can grind out the clock and FINISH the drive w/ TD's the "keep away" strategy works. But if drives stall and the opposition gets up i fear that this team will not be able to score points in a hurry.

[usmc-sooner]

I don't like the whole get up by a few points and try to milk the clock for almost the entire quarter.

When I watch the games the TE's are wide open a lot, and we can't expect to run every play and then expect Paul to be as accurate if he never throws.

[jk the sooner fan]

gundy pulled his redshirt?

wow, i didnt realize he was the head coach nowadays......

[TripleOption14]

I don't like the whole get up by a few points and try to milk the clock for almost the entire quarter.

Someone else saw what i saw as well. :D The conservative approach is just a recipe for disaster. Its been proven time and time again this year. i'm no D-1 coach but it seems to me like one needs to just continue to play the game/ finish the game the exact same way.

[goingoneight]

I agree on CB. If you pull a redshirt off someone, it needs to be for a meaningful reason. Not just a few carries at the end of one game in the middle of the season.

I'm all for letting freshmen play, and not worried about redshirting people. But there needs to be a reason to un-redshirt someone other than last week.

He needs to play more.

It was in the books to get the best n00b out there this season, we just hadn't really iced any opponents yet with AD and AP at spot #1 and spot #2. Had we spanked UAB and Oregon, since OUr O played well enough to do so... I'll bet we'd have seen them earlier. Besides, have you seen OU's TB depth chart as of late? I think putting Halzle in for a few snaps wouldn't hurt if we beat up on someone again. IF... that is.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Don't they have to be in for a minimum number of plays before they lose their redshirt? Or is that the "first three games" that jkm posted about?
Once you play a single snap, it's done, unless again you suffer some sort of injury that ends your season, then you can apply to get that extra year back after your senior year i believe; JW and someone else benefited from that, but i can't remember who it was(Thibodeaux?) .

[tulsaoilerfan]

even with 85, you still can almost have 4 full classes of players on campus. where it becomes a limiting factor is when you have recruiting mistakes.
You mean like 02 and 03? Unfortunately those 2 years are almost a total waste

[picasso]

methinks Bixby's a troll.

[stoopified]

Seems Hunt was always hurt in the fall after great spring.Preettty sure he was hurt that fall.When McKissic did play it was at FB,Balous overweight,overrrated; Peters appears to have been a legacy recruit(much like LB Tony Peters jr) who never panned out.So no there really were not any options.Reggie Skinner, bwahshahahahahahaha

[Salt City Sooner]

"Reggie Skinner, bwahshahahahahahaha"
I'll take Who was the only OU back to break 100 yards in a game twice in '99 for $500 Alex. Was he a gamebreaker? Nope. Was he a decent back who didn't quite fit the mold (short & shifty) of a Leach (read Q, Thornton, the other Ricky Williams, Henderson, Woods) back, & thusly got lost in the shuffle? Absolutely.

[toast]

After watching the replay show, Alonzo Dotson showed up prominently in the goal line stand.