Lets change the subject a little

[Collier11]

We will beat Baylor at home so lets look to the game against the dick grabbers for a second.

We know alot about this team now, we know we wont have many offensive playmakers, we know that Our D better have learned some lessons from last yr, we know our D is better than theirs, yes it is by the way. We hope to God that Bradford is back, not cus Landry cant hold his own cus he is and will be a stud but Bradford will calm this team down and give us a much needed boost and we know that this game turns around the season completely if we win.

I hope to see Murray running all over them, I hope that Tennell can stretch the field and catch the ball, we can use Kenney alot like they use Shipley, and our D has a few big plays such as Franks holding onto a pick 6 or something of that nature.

If we can do those things we will have a legit shot, what say you doom n gloomers

[stoops the eternal pimp]

i would like calhoun and miller to come in earlier in the game and see what they can do....

i keep thinking dejuan miller is going to do something to see the field(he didnt even travel to miami)...but if he is in the doghouse, i dont think he will be able to do anything to get out of it..

[Collier11]

im talking about what we can do against ut to win, you want Calhoun and Miller to play against ut?

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I would like somebody in the backfield to can make a difference..somebody that can make somebody miss....break something...

Im not saying they can but why not give them a chance?

[Sasakwa]

A few things:

1. Defense. Colt needs to continue to play like he has in 09, not like he did in 08. I think he misses Cosby and the WR who is out for academics more than they thought he would. He's been good for some INTs all year, ones that stop drives are nice and help us stay in the game, ones that go for 6 the other way help us win. They do not have a run game. Need a little help from the offense in keeping this unit fresh and not sticking them with short fields.

2. Special Teams, no special teams scores for them is good, nice returns and even a score helps us win. Lets face it, we may have trouble scoring a ton of points on offense, so ST and defensive scores would be extremely helpful.

3. Offense. Got to be able to run it. Their DL is not what it was last year. Got to get yards betwen the tackles. That will open the middle and set up play action. Got to burn the blitz, you know its coming regardless of who is at QB. If they gamble on blitzes they have to get burned with screens or better yet deep balls with 1-on-1 coverage. All of this depends on the OL playing better than they have been.

[CaliBornSoonerBred]

I totally think that Bradford will have a calming effect on the offense. He will bring a sense of confidence to the offense and completely believe that the entire team will rally around him. He's a well respected leader and he will help bring everyone else up around him. Demarco, CB, and a small dose of Calhoun should be able to rack up 275+ yards. Hopefully Tennell can get some confidence because even though he's taken a ton of heat from all of us, he does give us the best ability to stretch the field. Kenney is a possession type receiver and can be a great asset. Caleb is a wild card factor who can do some great things as a 1,2, or 3 receiver. With Broyles out, will we see more of Madu in the slot? He can be a great option in the open field matched up against a lb.

On the other side of the ball, we all know this defense can be great and has multiple play makers. I truly believe we can make them one dimensional but my only concern is slowing down colt when he scrambles and takes off. I have been down like the rest of the Sooner Nation after these two losses but this season has quickly turned into a rebuilding year. We will give texass a good game and have a great shot at pulling the upset. A 7th Big 12 championship will be a tough task playing texass, nebbish in lincoln, the fighting manginos in lawrence, and the pirates down in the dirt bowl but it is still within reasonable thought and I think we will all be proud of this team if they can pull it off and win a BCS bowl game. Just because the MNC is out of reach at this point doesn't automatically mean it can't be a successful season overall. Hold on tight boys and badg, this is going to be an interesting ride the rest of the way out.
BOOMER!

[Collier11]

we think the mnc is out of reach, it probably is but we dont know just yet. 2006 wasnt that long ago that a 2 loss team made it.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

anything can happen....this team is capable of beating anybody, and losing to about anybody....I just want to see a big improvement by the end of the season

[GottaHavePride]

Consistent execution would be a good step.

[Collier11]

12-2 with a Conf title would be nice

[prrriiide]

I agree that having Bradford back will be a huge boost to the offense. Will it be enough to get yards on the ground behind our line? The good news is that DL is texass' weak spot, so I would hope that they can.

I too was really impressed by Kenney the other night. I think he can be our Shipley if Wilson can find it within himself to emulate Greg Davis a bit. If we can get Kenney across the middle some, maybe get Mossis out in the flat a few times, and Pooh can step up and do what we all know he is capable of doing, that will go a long way to getting CB & DM some yards on the ground.

I am confident that our has learned much since last year. I'm just not sure our DC has. But I have addressed that elsewhere.

In my mind, there is only ONE WAY we can beat texass: man up on their receivers, Buckner and Shipley, and use RR as a spy on Pony Boy. If we run our standard soft cushion zone, we are dead before the coin toss. Our corners and safties are athletic enough to cover their receivers long enough for Beal, McCoy, Taylor, English, and Reynolds to get to Pony Boy. If we run our standard zone, Buckner and Shipley will become higher draft prospects off of this one game.

Unfortunately, UM provided a blueprint for run blocking our DL. Let's hope that some twists are thrown in for texass. I don't like the thought of Cody Johnson getting loose in our secondary. At 5-11 and 250 it'll take both safties and a corner to drag him down once he gets up a head of steam.

We can beat texass. It will require our OL to play WAY over their heads, and our DC to put his ego in the closet and change some things up. But we can beat texass.

[sooner59]

12-2 with a Conf title would be nice

If we could go 12-2 with a 7th Big 12 title and BCS bowl win, I would be the happiest that I have been since Jan. 3, 2001.

Not only would it help get the monkey off our back, it helps confidence, shuts people up, and gives recruiting a boost.

[Gresho Murford]

wait, aren't we the dick grabbers? oh wait, we are the sack grabbers

[rawlingsHOH]

If we could go 12-2 with a 7th Big 12 title and BCS bowl win, I would be the happiest that I have been since Jan. 3, 2001.

Not only would it help get the monkey off our back, it helps confidence, shuts people up, and gives recruiting a boost.

Kinda hard to predict what influences kids' decisions.

[soonervegas]

#1 Win the turnover battle by more than 1

#2 Make a special teams play or two that either directly lead to 7 or gives us a field position advantage for a good portion of the game

#3 Bradford play against Baylor to work out the kinks

If those three things can happen.....we have a shot.

[westbrooke]

If we can do those things we will have a legit shot, what say you doom n gloomers

Does responding to this thread mean that I admit to being a doom n gloomer?

I think most of us can agree the single biggest thing we can do to help ourselves is improve the offensive line play. Clean snaps. Pass protection. A running lane here or there. That will open up a lot of other possibilities. Murray running wild becomes a matter of play execution instead of wishful thinking.

Stretching the field with Tennell and Kenney would also help the running game, and that can only happen if Bradford has time to let the routes develop. A little success early would go a long way to shoring up the team's confidence.

Defensively, I think there's no question that we have to change up our schemes. BYU and Miami have been exploiting us in exactly the same way that Texas did last year, and Davis/McCoy/Shipley have to be licking their chops at the opportunity to do the same.

Reynolds puts us in an interesting position because I think his leadership and runstopping make him too valuable to take off the field but his mobility makes him a liability in those passing situations. If we can find some creative ways to move him around and use him on the pass rush or scramble containment instead of coverage, that would help tremendously. I think prrriiide's suggestion of using Reynolds as a spy on Colt is a good one; he's still their best runner and Reynolds could possibly take that away.

And we absolutely have to stop conceding the catch to their receivers. Franks and Jackson need to play up on Shipley, Buckner, and whoever else they throw at us. I don't like getting beat deep, but I'd feel better about that happening once or twice with Franks or Jackson a step behind in man coverage than watching them eat away at our soft zone all day. Like ripping off a bandaid.

Unlike last year where I thought the game could have gone down in any permutation of winner and score, I don't think it's possible for us to win in a blowout. But we can win a close game. We'll need Bradford in the lineup to convince our team that winning a slugfest is possible.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

wait, aren't we the dick grabbers? oh wait, we are the sack grabbers

Actually, I thought aTm was the dick grabbers. I'm confused.

[S008NER]

I can't say why, but I really feel like we will be ready and will dominate them this year.

[mehip]

We can win if we block and tackle.

[IslandSooner]

Running the table for our 7th Big 12 title would be great, but kicking the sh*t out Boise State in a BCS Bowl game is going to be awesome. BOOMER!!!!!!!