I don't know about you, but I'm getting awfully tired of turning on the news or opening my newspaper and seeing Blake Gideon's interview speak. He always seems to have something to say...To me there comes a time when you need to do less talkin', and more doin'... Instead, I would love to see him quietly lead by his amazing play and bone jarring hits...Watching him chase after the running back that just burned him up the gut or bite on a one-on-one deep ball really makes me tune out when he has something to say to the media. I still can't believe that he's the best we've got at that position. Our former players at that position (currently in the NFL) must cringe when they watch our games. If he is the starter next year, I hope he plays more, talks less. Just sayin'...
I think he wants to lay the wood more than he wants to make a sound play, and therefore frequently runs himself out of position - with no wood being laid, and no play being made. That's a little poem right there.
With Aaron Williams likely bound for NFL, Gideon is the most experienced and I guess best one coming back next year in the secondary. Ouch, next year could be even more painful
I completely agree! With safeties of the recent past those 80 and 50 yard runs that we saw last Thursday are only 10 yard runs. It's unacceptable.
Um, what games were some of you above wathcing? Williams got abused in the last few games when he became the full time starter at CB. Our CB play was terrible this year. Gideon (an honorable mention all conference last year) was by all (knowledgeable) accounts our most consistant player in the secondary this year, and the only enforcer we really had. Unlike most of the other DBs, he did not routinely get toasted in coverage, and with a few notable exceptions, made a lot more tackles than the others (he did miss a few big ones, but that is going to happen when you are relying on your FS to make 12+ tackles per game on busted plays up the middle). Lets look at the other DBs: Scott was pretty spotty this year and was both poor in tackling angles and poor in coverage this year, Vaccarro had some big plays coupled with some bad ones and lots of poor coverage, Williams was off and on (mostly off down the stretch after his concussion) and poor in the return game, Curtis Brown was even worse in the retrun game and generally mediocre in coverage, and Chykie had one of the worst seasons a UT CB has had in the past decade before he got hurt. So, while nobody covered themselves in glory this year (except perhaps Sam Acho and Justin Tucker), Gideon would be the last of the DBs you would single out for criticism based on his actual play on the field. So why does he always seem to get these sly comments about being replaced from posters that otherwise have zero analysis? Well, there is one thing that makes him different than these others guys, and I guess some people just can't get past that. Warren Moon had the same problem as I recall.
People just notice Gideon more because he's usually the only DB we have in the vicinity of the play. The rest of them are just running around like idiots most of the time. Gideon would be a fine safety if he had any help.
I was thinking the same thing Thursday while watching Gideon yap at the A&M sideline following the opening kick off. He seems to be one of those "tough guys" that's more interested in the big hit (occasionally the targeting hit) than making a good play. I also found his comments following Tre Newton's reitrement distasteful. I don't remember them exactly, but something along the lines of he'd worry about the effects of concussions 10 years down the road rather than now. I may be taking those comments out of context, but I recall thinking he was questioning Newton's decision at the time I read the comments. Maybe I'm just tired of the guy.
Gideon chased a lot of guys into the end zone all year. That doesn't smack of great safety performance. Either he's too slow or takes ****** angles. I like the guy but I don't think he's that good. Having said that, he might be our best (because we sure suck).
Zona, Blake was a part of the problem and quite frankly it's pretty apparent that ET covered for him and allowed him to freelance. He and Scott both took themselves out of way too many plays over committing and I can only remember one pic all year. I don't have time to look it up so maybe he had more. He had 2 targeting calls early on and just plays dumb more then anything. I remember taking the wrong guy against Baylor completely vacating the middle of the field and there were more. I thought he was so-so as a frosh, played well last year, and played below average this year. Compared to Scott, he looks good, but so does my 11 year old.
If he wants to lay the wood, he needs to knock the guy backward, not get run over for an additional 5 yards.
of all the guys we have in the secondary, i'll take gideon. supporting cast hurt him and the D. btw, some of those former horns playing on sunday got beat a few times as well. comes with the territory. gideon works his *** off and plays hard,smart
Zona, I would agree. I'd five Gideon a C, AW a C-, and the rest a flat F. Maybe I'm harder on them then I should be, but damn, this was supposed to be a strength of the team so the expectations were high. So maybe my grades are against expectations and not averages. Still it was disappointing for all involved. A corner with one pic is preposterous considering the amount teams threw on us. You'd think a blind squirrel would do better. And honestly it was hard to know sometimes if it was Gideon or Scott out of position as the only thing in my field of view was the back of the opposing running back or receiver as the walked into the end zone.
I didn't see race mentioned anywhere? You are putting that in yourself. I think most people are annoyed by his smack talking the other team while doing very little in the game. Also, he is the team spokesman for whatever reason. Personally, I think he is very average.
ET was light years ahead compared to AW this year. Not even close. People said ET needs another year because we wanted him back, not because he needed another learning year. AW does. He regressed this year. If he is not on this list then needs to come back Prince Amukamara, Sr., Nebraska Tejay Johnson, Sr., TCU Mark Barron, Jr., Alabama Joe Lefeged, Sr., Rutgers Chimdi Chekwa, Sr., Ohio State Rahim Moore, Jr., UCLA Brandon Harris, Jr., Miami (FL) Patrick Peterson, Jr., LSU Cliff Harris, Soph., Oregon Tyler Sash, Jr., Iowa
at least Gideon comes to play every week and nearly every down. could not say that about too many players anywhere on the field this year
I like Gideon's atitude but he may be a little slow and to me he's a huge reason why we lost the Baylor game. If he doesnt miss that tackle right before the half, we very well may have won that game.
Gideon had some rough plays against BU. The play before the half was entirely on Muschamp. Well not entirely, but it was a poor, poor choice on his part. I would be entirely pissed with our WR with a 10+ yard cushion who could not shake a safety on that play. You would be too so it would be reasonable to expect another team's WR to make the same play. Given the down and distance and time, that was a horrible call. It may have been on another site but no way was Gideon mostly at fault on the shorter TD run up the gut versus Baylor. Scott was applauded for his effort and Gideon was ripped. Gideon was faced with a blocker while the other safety blocked himself. As Zona Horn mentioned in the Aggie game, at least on one of the TD runs, he was split out wide. Scott again blocked himself. The other 10 guys were not perfect obviously but did enough to limit the play to 3-4 yards if Scott does not take himself out of the play. As to the last TD in the Baylor game, he probably makes the play if it is throw on time for the slant. Gideon is not a primary cover safety, but he is generally better at coverage than given credit for. The Terrelle Pryor and Tech plays are held against him. I believe that he and Earl Thomas are good compliments for each other. He and Scott are not. Looking back on the season, I would have put A. Williams at safety and Byndom as the 3rd CB.
I don't really have a problem with Gideon's play. He does miss more tackles than I would like to see in a safety. However, I wish he would shut his mouth on the field. I get tired of seeing him talk sh** to opponents or looking up into the stands after a play trying to show off to the opponents' fans. Make the play, get up, and get ready for the next play. All the gesticulations after a play is bush league.
