David Earl
9/17/2007, 09:46 AM
Sorry I missed reviewing the Miamuh beat down. I was on the road and very busy. I may mix in a few Cane comments with this discussion.
It was reasonable to expect the Sooners to be a little flat against Utah State. The guys may have been a little uninspired, but not drastically so. To me, that’s a sign that points to a disciplined team.
When have we seen a Stoops team do so well so early? It’s always seemed to me like Stoops teams tend to peak in mid or late season. I’m not saying the 07 Sooners have peaked yet. I’m saying if the pattern continues the best is yet to come. There is certainly room for improvement and I expect we’ll see that as the season moves along.
Wilson again showed his willingness to open things up a little. We’ve gone from a simple end around to a reverse, to a double reverse, to a reverse pass. Add to that a good mix in the passing game and we’re seeing more playbook now than we sometimes see in midseason. Be sure that Wilson is not showing all his cards.
Another difference in offensive philosophy is the amount of time backup QBs are getting. I know the Sooners are rolling right now, but we’ve had routes before that saw little action for #2, much less #3. I believe this is a good move.
Speaking of QB, Sam continues to impress. I’ve tried to really watch and see how far he’s going into his progressions. Stoops says he’s consistently going to his second and third read. There are a few plays he appears to lock onto his guy, but we often see him going to the second or third man.
Sam is showing potential to be cool under pressure. Though pass protection has been good, Miami did get to him a little bit, yet he consistently played cool. He doesn’t appear to have great speed, but he can run a little. I wonder if we’ll start seeing some zone read runs soon?
Our stable of running backs continue to impress. They are rotating just the way the coaches said they would. Is it Zaslaw that had the TD catch? Which ever FB is in there seems to be blocking pretty well.
The TE passing game is there every week. We’ve been yearning for that and it’s good to see it in the game plan. Kelly and JI both continue to amaze. JI has great YAC abilities. Kelly’s hands have some sort of ninja vacuum type characteristics. His fingertips secret gorilla glue. The gravitational pull of his palms exceeds that of the sun.
The o-line’s pass blocking remains solid. I’ve got to see that I was VERY impressed with the job they did against the Canes. The run blocking appears to be getting a little better, thought USU didn’t test that a great deal. If Sasquatch keeps playing this well he may get an Outland trophy before he’s done.
It’s really hard to nitpick the defense, at least for me. Miami wasn’t as good as some we’ll face later in the season, but they have a respectable running game. USU runs some complicated schemes, though without the stellar athletes we’ll see down the road. The D hasn’t been fully tested yet, but they are looking good so far.
The D-line has played a little better than I’ve expected thus far. DT’s have gotten push and pressure. The ends have been especially good. Those of us who said English would be a stud this year get props.
Lofton and Reynolds have lit it up at LB. Lofton has really been amazing, very sound. Reynolds is finding his feet and will only get better. Reed hasn’t seen much action. I’ve asked some if perhaps he could be a DE. We might could use him there next year. He’s athletic so you hate to see him not contribute.
The DB play has been solid. Walker covers WR’s like the plague covered Europe. Does anybody ever even throw toward Smith? Say what you will about Holms, but he tackles really well. Harris is still on fire and Baker has come into his own. I guess Baker is really a LB, but they put him in coverage quite a bit.
Special teams have been good except for a couple of problems. There was the bad snap, a few penalties, stuff like that. Punting is good, what little we’ve seen of the punter. Coverage has been solid and the KO/FG game is great.
Where can this team improve? Penalties, turnovers and perhaps a little on the punt return blocking are the areas that come to mind. I guess we could nitpick and ask for a little more push from the DL on run plays. I don’t know; that’s pretty picky. Run blocking will need to better in short yardage situations. I fully expect to see improvement in every one of these areas. If this team improves as expected, maintains intensity and avoids major injuries, a serious run at glory is looking more possible with each passing week. That, my crimson colleagues, makes me a happy fan. Boomer Sooner!
It was reasonable to expect the Sooners to be a little flat against Utah State. The guys may have been a little uninspired, but not drastically so. To me, that’s a sign that points to a disciplined team.
When have we seen a Stoops team do so well so early? It’s always seemed to me like Stoops teams tend to peak in mid or late season. I’m not saying the 07 Sooners have peaked yet. I’m saying if the pattern continues the best is yet to come. There is certainly room for improvement and I expect we’ll see that as the season moves along.
Wilson again showed his willingness to open things up a little. We’ve gone from a simple end around to a reverse, to a double reverse, to a reverse pass. Add to that a good mix in the passing game and we’re seeing more playbook now than we sometimes see in midseason. Be sure that Wilson is not showing all his cards.
Another difference in offensive philosophy is the amount of time backup QBs are getting. I know the Sooners are rolling right now, but we’ve had routes before that saw little action for #2, much less #3. I believe this is a good move.
Speaking of QB, Sam continues to impress. I’ve tried to really watch and see how far he’s going into his progressions. Stoops says he’s consistently going to his second and third read. There are a few plays he appears to lock onto his guy, but we often see him going to the second or third man.
Sam is showing potential to be cool under pressure. Though pass protection has been good, Miami did get to him a little bit, yet he consistently played cool. He doesn’t appear to have great speed, but he can run a little. I wonder if we’ll start seeing some zone read runs soon?
Our stable of running backs continue to impress. They are rotating just the way the coaches said they would. Is it Zaslaw that had the TD catch? Which ever FB is in there seems to be blocking pretty well.
The TE passing game is there every week. We’ve been yearning for that and it’s good to see it in the game plan. Kelly and JI both continue to amaze. JI has great YAC abilities. Kelly’s hands have some sort of ninja vacuum type characteristics. His fingertips secret gorilla glue. The gravitational pull of his palms exceeds that of the sun.
The o-line’s pass blocking remains solid. I’ve got to see that I was VERY impressed with the job they did against the Canes. The run blocking appears to be getting a little better, thought USU didn’t test that a great deal. If Sasquatch keeps playing this well he may get an Outland trophy before he’s done.
It’s really hard to nitpick the defense, at least for me. Miami wasn’t as good as some we’ll face later in the season, but they have a respectable running game. USU runs some complicated schemes, though without the stellar athletes we’ll see down the road. The D hasn’t been fully tested yet, but they are looking good so far.
The D-line has played a little better than I’ve expected thus far. DT’s have gotten push and pressure. The ends have been especially good. Those of us who said English would be a stud this year get props.
Lofton and Reynolds have lit it up at LB. Lofton has really been amazing, very sound. Reynolds is finding his feet and will only get better. Reed hasn’t seen much action. I’ve asked some if perhaps he could be a DE. We might could use him there next year. He’s athletic so you hate to see him not contribute.
The DB play has been solid. Walker covers WR’s like the plague covered Europe. Does anybody ever even throw toward Smith? Say what you will about Holms, but he tackles really well. Harris is still on fire and Baker has come into his own. I guess Baker is really a LB, but they put him in coverage quite a bit.
Special teams have been good except for a couple of problems. There was the bad snap, a few penalties, stuff like that. Punting is good, what little we’ve seen of the punter. Coverage has been solid and the KO/FG game is great.
Where can this team improve? Penalties, turnovers and perhaps a little on the punt return blocking are the areas that come to mind. I guess we could nitpick and ask for a little more push from the DL on run plays. I don’t know; that’s pretty picky. Run blocking will need to better in short yardage situations. I fully expect to see improvement in every one of these areas. If this team improves as expected, maintains intensity and avoids major injuries, a serious run at glory is looking more possible with each passing week. That, my crimson colleagues, makes me a happy fan. Boomer Sooner!