Tony Dungy on Houston radio today---his son is on Oregon squad......Tony said he couldn't believe the lack of talent on the Texas team compared to Oregon...given that Texas has so many football players to choose from...he said there is no excuse for it.........makes me wonder who has been evaluating the talent and if all the early offers to underclassmen have really worked out so great after all
I wonder if Tony knew about or took into account the injury factor when he made his comment. Lost: Starting QB #1 RB #1 Game-breaker #1 LB #2 LB #2 DT With both teams at full strength or close, such an observation would be baseless.
My point is that the talent "is" there. Whether or not this year's coaching staff could develop it is another issue, and a big one. As I contended in another string, I believe that our incoming HC will inherit a pretty good "roster."
Meh we definitely have some holes to fill but I still think the base talent level is pretty good. Its just that its only at some positions while there is a complete dearth of talent and / or depth at other positions. We are just not a complete team. Then you take into account coaching, and it seems a lot worse than it really is. -The defense had their heart ripped out and eaten right in front of them in the front half of the schedule, and no matter how great Gerg did, you just can't expect a full recovery from that. -The offense has basically been playing with 10 men on the field, and the missing player was at QB. And our playcaller had no ideas to scheme around it. Ironically, this is the best OL we have had in 5 or more years and we could not make hay with it. I see your point, but I still think the core of this team could end up being pretty good down the road, with some more depth at a few positions, a QB, and better playcalling.
Something has not been there.... Stoops won 11 games and "fixed" the team with a 2012 recruit at quarterback after losing to Texas. It was clear we didn't have a prayer of matching it; you tell me: Talent? Coaching? Both? OU lost their best D-tackle and their best linebacker this year..... This reminds me of when Jake Mathews Dad said (in so many words) that our offensive line coach wasn't getting the job done. The hand-wringing around here was enormous. How could this be? He's wrong!
Other than Malcolm Brown and Jonathan Gray when healthy, I didn't see one player on offense who could start for the Ducks. Defense is a different story. I agree that when it comes to big boy football, injuries are no excuse.
I know Tony knows a hell of a lot more about football then I do, maybe he was referring to the QB and anyone who was required to catch a forward pass. If they were not missed or thrown to the other team then it was dropped. The lines on both sides of the ball looked better to me then what Oregon was trotting out there.
Let's dig deeper, particularly on offense. I think that our receiving corp is highly underrated. But how would we know? Without a QB to get them the ball, their talent level cannot be assessed. That said, going into the 2014 campaign, I am very high on Shipley, Sanders and Johnson. Shipley is a fantastic possession receiver that, as we have seen, possesses other talents. Sanders is very fast, with good hands, and my personal favorite is Marquis Johnson. He just seems like a game breaker to me. Imagine for a moment if Colt McCoy instead of Case McCoy had been throwing to these receivers this year. These guys could play for anyone. Next, one might be hard pressed to identify five players in the country that possess the game breaking intangibles of a Daje Johnson. Whether or not his off field issues can be managed, the kid's special, a Percy Harvin type. (Remember that Harvin had a pretty good supporting cast in college.) Finally, the running backs are not chopped liver. In fact, Texas may have the most imposing triumvirate of RBs in the country going into 2014. Don't forget that a running back's effectiveness has plenty to do with the offense, and more importantly, the existence or lack of a passing threat. How do you think we will do next year if we have a passing threat to go along with our running game? I'll go out on a limb and say, "imposing." The talent is there. Let's regroup and continue this discussion next October.
We will still be lacking a quality QB next season. Ash ain't got it and Swoopesy doesn't impress at all (maybe in practice... but that's an Ash trait). We are truly lacking both talent and coaching, as well as proper motivation.
I think I'd take the 98 roster that Mackovic left Mack vs. the roster our new coach is getting (AS IS). However, when someone actually coaches, these players might start playing to their potential.
Ash or not next fall, Swoops is your backup if Ash goes out again and then the heir in 2015. He is the future right now. We open with or have the second game of the season @ notre dame in 2015. I realize he is still pretty young, he got limited meaningful time this fall, he will get better in the spring, blah, blah... but, I am concerned about his up side... he is clearly not the next VY folks. Anyone else concerned, see or sense that?
I'm still optimistic about Swoopes. None of us have seen enough to know much. How good was McCoy in his first few games back in 2006, and how concerned were we about him? And he had the benefit of having redshirted. I like Swoopes’ size and arm strength. I cannot really assess his running ability because when he has been in, it has mostly been in mop up time, and the defenses have been stacked against the run.
It's tough to continually beat this into the ground, but a halfway competent QB makes weak talent look so much better. Look at the 2009 OL that went to the national championship. Did any NFL GMs come calling for Hix? Huey? Hall? Tanner? Hell no. They were serviceable at best, and maybe a 3 out of 10 at worst. But Colt did what he did under the constraints of no run game because of his relationship with Shipley and because he was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of player. Marcus Mariota hides the deficiencies of many Oregon players on offense. Other than their TD drive, they got very little production out of anyone else. Now, as for defense, he's more than correct. We haven't recruited or even been in the running for a top tier LB since Derrick Johnson. Hopefully, Strong will change that perception. Our DBs also seem to think more highly of themselves than their play on the field indicates. I have no issues with our DE talent, and I hope Giles is the only coach retained.
I also think our dt coach bo Davis is also good. There are flashes in Malcom brown, Desmond Jackson, etc. He is building depth, and we were able to withstand the loss of Chris Whaley. Also; the new rb coach Larry porter has done well and is known as a great recruiter. Everyone else can go as per the new coaches plans.
^^^ In fact both the lines, O and D, have looked decently or well-coached this year (though on O, I may be biased from seeing work that looked gimmicky to me even in the 2004-2009 period). Porter certainly should get top consideration to be kept, as you say.
Let me tell you all a first-hand account of what tough, accountable, effective coaching can do in a single year. I was a Soph in HS for a 4A school and our varsity finished with 1 win. Hadn't had a winning season in years, the old coach had been there for 20+. In comes a firm hand, younger coach from a successful 4A school. What did he do immediately? Put us through hell and back in the off-season. Everything was based around competition and fierce physicality. It wasn't even so much football related competitions. It was tackle basketball, wrestling with sticks, no-pad full-tackle football with rugby rules of the down is over when the guy is stopped on the ground (gang tackling mostly). And in every game you were allowed to fight anyone you wanted at any time as long as it was one-on-one and open handed. Needless to say it was illegal as hell and we had to scrap our planned game when anyone outside the program came to observe. We got so used to competing, fighting for everything, and enduring pain that it became second nature. To make a very long story short, the guy had us beat toughness into ourselves and ultra-competitive ways, along with teamwork as you were in deep if you all didn't fight together to win or even not get beatdown for an hour. The result...most of the same returning players finished with 2 losses and state semifinalists, losing by 2 TDs to the eventual state champs. Next year, playoffs again. Then coach bolted to college assistant position. Year after with new soft coach from 3A school...no playoffs. We have enough talent, we just didn't have the fierce, proud, accountable nature. YET! Watch what some of these same guys do in one year. Night and day. Don't forget how important the linemen are in this equation. Can't wait to see Strong and crew get these highly talented big boys to unleash the inner beast.
