Blake Gideon

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by horn4jc, Jan 16, 2012.

  1. hornitas

    hornitas 250+ Posts

    It's remarkable to me that any Longhorn fan would bash a guy like Gideon at his point. Get a freakin life.
     
  2. Rex Kramer

    Rex Kramer 1,000+ Posts


     
  3. Detective Shilala

    Detective Shilala 2,500+ Posts

    I do agree Gideon gets singled out too much. I don't think its because he's a "white guy" though.
    For instance, year before last, our entire secondary was filled with fixtures who all played putrid football at times during that losing season. And they all caught **** for it. Deservedly so.
    FFwd one year, Gideon was the only full time starter that didn't turnover from the year before, and already he was the biggest weakness in the secondary even though one CB was a true freshman and the other was sophomore. So I think a lot of it is just a perception of favoritism carrying over from the year before. Nevermind that he might have been the best option we had...
    I think another part of it is just his high profile he has a as player. Being the coach on the field, team spokesman, etc he just garners more attention to himself. I think that is the reason he catches more **** than Christian Scott, for example.
     
  4. Zona Horn

    Zona Horn 500+ Posts

    Gideon being a "white guy" creates two issues: (1) it makes him conspicuous relative to the other DBs and most of the rest of the defense, and thus an easily remembered target when the defense plays badly, and (2) it raises all sorts of stereotypes that some (not all) fans have regarding speed/athleticism, etc. (e.g. recall all of the inane comments on this board from 5-10 years ago when guys like Wes Welker and Jordy Nelson were abusing our future first round pick DBs, and many fans were exasperated as to how that could be since they obviously were not NFL caliber players, etc etc).

    Obviously not all critics are affirmatively engaging in bias or stereotyping (and many may be doing so subconsiously). That said, given the juxtaposition of:

    (1) the fact that Gideon was made a 4 year starter by the best DB coach in the nation and two separate (and highly regarded) DCs, as well as the fact that he has been voted honorable mention all conference 3 times;

    with

    (2) the consistant, abusive, and often ill-informed vitriol he (and only he) gets on UT boards from certain "fans" after nearly every game -- win or lose, and regardless of how he plays (10 tackles and a pick still doesn't get him off the hook) -- while his fellow DBs can get torched repeatedly in man coverage for back-breaking TDs with nary a peep from these same critics;

    ... and its reasonable to conclude that at least some of them are consciously or subconsciously singling Gideon out, at least in part, because his skin-tone. (Black QBs used to suffer from the same sort of disproportionate criticism of their play that white QBs with the same performance would not have, though that criticism seems to be less prevalent -- and certainly less acceptable -- these days).

    Again, you can't prove it by some objective measure, and not every critic is motivated by stereotypes or bias, but given the above, at least some of the unhinged criticism that Gideon gets is due to that.

    At least that is my two cents, which many apparently share.

    P.S. A lesser form of the same bias seemed to follow Jordan Shipley during his playing days. He was the best playmaker and game-breaker we had during his last two seasons, and despite several devastating injuries, was fastest and most athletic receiver on the squad, yet certain fans still tagged him as a "gamer" that "ran great routes" blah blah blah. The guy was one the 2 or 3 fastest guys on the team, routinely broke huge kick returns that won games, blew the doors off countless first day draft pick DBs, and left broken ankled defenders in his wake on nearly every drive, but for some fans he was always the slow-footed white guy that never dropped a pass.

    Whatever.
     
  5. Rex Kramer

    Rex Kramer 1,000+ Posts


     
  6. Rex Kramer

    Rex Kramer 1,000+ Posts


     
  7. horn4jc

    horn4jc 1,000+ Posts

    I'm glad we're having a discussion about Gideon without it getting too toxic. I remember after the Okie State game Gideon got unfairly blamed for one of the long TD runs. It turned out Diaz was more upset with either Keenan or Hicks for being out of position.

    As for Baylor, Gideon was in a catch 22. If he went up, RGIII will heave it to Kendall Wright. If he covered Wright, then RGIII has a big gainer. I chalk that up to RGIII more than Gideon making a mistake.

    And yes, having a coach on the field helps more than you think. Especially when you have young DBs. If you don't think so, ask Diggs and Byndom how valuable it was to have Blake on the field with them.
     
  8. theiioftx

    theiioftx Sponsor Deputy

    Thanks to Gideon for all of his effort to be a great player. I could only hope that he could meet some of these Internet jackasses one day in person so he could show some hate back. [​IMG]
     
  9. Bluff Horn

    Bluff Horn 250+ Posts

    This discussion is killing me. Gideon wasn't a star player, but gets a thumbs up from me in the big picture.

    So if we have no white starters on D next year, who gets the blame in a big loss - the ghost of Gideon or Reed Boyd?
     
  10. UTExinPDX

    UTExinPDX 1,000+ Posts

    Thanks for representing the Longhorns for the past four years! [​IMG]
     
  11. non_sequitur

    non_sequitur 250+ Posts


     
  12. Detective Shilala

    Detective Shilala 2,500+ Posts

    I for one, quickly forgave and forgot the dropped INT against TTU.
    Just as I did Ship for dropping that huge pass, and Cu Brown for not tackling Crabtree at the 2, etc etc etc etc... Lots of **** happened in that game. (I never forgave GD for his play call at our own 1 yd line though)
     
  13. I35

    I35 5,000+ Posts


     
  14. Zona Horn

    Zona Horn 500+ Posts

    Rex --

    A few responses:

    1. Our corners got torched by Baylor AND OU. Go back and watch the big plays and TDs against us in the OU game -- the corners got lit up in that game. Again, it happens, especially with underclassmen (and by and large they were outstanding this year). But the point is they rarely received any criticism, and certainly not to the level of Gideon. Indeed, on one of those TDs the corner (forget wheich) got burned down the sideline in man coverage, and the complaints on this board the next day were that Gideon didn't get over to help fast enough! Ditto Vacarro -- the kid was a beast this year, but he couldn't cover his own shadow last year, and yet Gideon was the only scapegoat game after game.

    2. I agree that Gideon played better with better players around him. That was especially the case when he had Thomas as his wingman. When the talent around him was letting people get open, however, he had to provide a lot more support, and thus was exposed to giving up more big plays. Safeties always get the blame since they are the last line of defense (yes, I am biased as a former safety).

    3. Blaming Gideon for piling on tackles is just silly -- that is what safeties are supposed to do, yet Gideon is the only one I ever see criticized for it. What would you have him do -- stand back and just see if the first guy there can get the runner down by himself, and thus give up a few big plays a game to broken tackles? Watch any random football game and you will see safeties coming in to clean up tackles that others initiated -- that is what they are supposed to do. Its called "flying to the ball."

    4. As for Shipley, he obviously was a gamer and obviously ran great routes. Yet there were plenty of (stupid) fans that would focus on those attributes and then impugn his speed and athleticism. (You apparently don;t fall into that category, but there were plenty that did). The Welker comparisons were ubiquitous (depite the fact that Welker is 4 inches shorter, plays in the slot, and does not have the top-end speed of Shipley). If he wans't a white guy, those kinds "slow/gutty/overachiever" of comments would never have been asserted. The guy was the best pure receiver that ever played for UT, and that includes his speed and athleticism. Yet to some fans he was a glorified Phillip Elliot (the Nick Nolte character from North Dallas Forty).

    Again, I am not saying that Gideon was an all american or that every criticim of him is the product of bias. I am just saying he was a good player and a credit to the program, who recieved far more blame and criticism than he deserved from some "fans". (The same thing could probably be said for poor ol' Scott Derry! ; ) ).
     
  15. AustinBoston

    AustinBoston 25+ Posts

    Re: bad angles

    I'm wondering if one of the angle experts could give us a total of the bad angles Blake took and break it down by year. Please cite your data source.
     
  16. Detective Shilala

    Detective Shilala 2,500+ Posts

    "Bad angles" has become very much of a meme around here.
     
  17. Rex Kramer

    Rex Kramer 1,000+ Posts

    Have you guys not watched a game? If you have watched most any game, you see poor angles. Most of which are visible on TV, but some not. All visible live. It's like asking for evidence GG threw into double coverage. It's readily apparent.
     
  18. Detective Shilala

    Detective Shilala 2,500+ Posts

    All Gideon needed was a geometry class to be an AA Safety!
     
  19. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    "Bad Angles" : 2012 Hornfans :: "Blocking Sled" : 1999 Hornfans
     
  20. Third Coast

    Third Coast 10,000+ Posts


     
  21. wadster

    wadster 5,000+ Posts

    Thought Gideon did better this year. I never blamed him for the Tech loss. I blamed MB, Ship, and Colt more. MB/GD for the clock, Ship for the dropped TD, and Colt for the pic 6. Reason being those guys were star players. But stuff happens and guys make mistakes. Same guys made big plays too and the game just didn't work out for us.

    With that said, Gideon had a terrible year in 2010. How many big plays did we give up that year? He and Scott were the safeties and they both took themselves out of the play so many times it made my head want to explode. Gideon took a lot of heat, but it sure seemed like he was a big part of the big play collapse that year. It just never looked like he had his head in the game the 2nd half of the season.
     
  22. longhorn1476

    longhorn1476 < 25 Posts

    What was the best play or moment in Gideon's career at UT?
     
  23. I35

    I35 5,000+ Posts


     
  24. Dude

    Dude 1,000+ Posts

    You know who knows more about DBs than every poster on this board? Akina, Diaz and Muschamp. Those guys played him for 4 years.

    I have a hard time believing that Gideon consistantly missed assignments and took bad angles and Akina kept starting him. Maybe he looked out of position because he was covering someone else's mistake?

    He wasn't perfect, but there is no way he deserves the criticism he gets from this board.
     
  25. UTDad

    UTDad 100+ Posts

    Well said, Dude! I would have probably added a few expltives directed toward all the so called experts.
     
  26. Texas Taps

    Texas Taps 5,000+ Posts

    ^^^ You know some of them did stay at the Holiday Inn Express last night
     
  27. Horn87

    Horn87 1,000+ Posts

    was in school at The University during the Craig Curry yrs---funny story (or maybe not so much)--a former classmate of mine from hs dated him while she ran track at UT and brought him with her over to another friend of mine's apartment--long story short, when she said that Curry was in the car and wanted to come inside my friend's apartment my friend said "No Way!" cuz "You cost us a NC!"...can't really blame the guy, although it was probably as much FA's fault for putting a db in that situation...
     
  28. hornpharmd

    hornpharmd 5,000+ Posts


     
  29. orangecat1

    orangecat1 500+ Posts

    Gideon improved through the years, we saw that improvement. He went from dropping the int against Tech to catching a very difficult pass against Alabama.

    Unfortunately for us the thrown pass against Alabama was on 4th down, when he should have dropped the pass. So the int against 'bama became a 15 yard punt instead of us taking over at the LOS.

    Just anecdotal, but it seemed to me like Gideon is that guy who had the instincts or preparation to know where he should have been, gets there a little late because of his lack of speed and then tries soooo hard to make up for his lack of speed with a "blow-em up" tackle, and part of the time he would miss the tackle because he was trying too hard. He literally tried too hard his last three years instead of somehow being able to let the game come to him.

    I'm guessing he will attend the combine? If so, I will be shocked if his 40 time
    is faster than 4.8
     
  30. SHS1984

    SHS1984 250+ Posts

    Gideon played his *** off for 4 yeara at UT. But I am happy that he has graduated. I think the recruiting has improved and the Horns don't have to play someone like him now.
     

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