Okay, Glass Half Full

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by NRHorn, Sep 10, 2018.

  1. NRHorn

    NRHorn 2,500+ Posts

    at lunch, give me some grace here.
    This isn’t from an ESPN talking head or a FB post, just some opinions. Folks I love you all, but enough. Please. Enough. Below were issues in recent past, that aren’t now.
    The OL- both games, pass protection is much better. Stop- last season even against Maryland and SJ State it wasn’t this good. Okay, breath again.
    Tackling- these kids aren’t missing tackles. Anyone check the Maryland rushing stats last week? Over 400 while allowing 15.
    Sam-,there I said it. Kid plays hard and is tough as nails. Looked really good on Saturday.
    Ingram-Watson and Young...nice hard running.
    The young DBs, confident and look like upperclassmen.
    WR’s catching the ball.
    I don’t know if you know this- ummm this is year 2...as in the second game of year 2. Give TH time to get this right.
    Who I’m glad I’m not- and this is off the top of my head, storied programs boys and girls- would Not trade places with ...
    Tennessee , Florida, UCLA, Mich, Fl St, Nebraska, KSU (gimme grace again , please),
    We would all feel better, if UT opened with NW ST...and then won ugly against Tulsa. Yes, Texas squeaked by, and i was disappointed with the score- but UT was clearly the better team.
    You ran off Mack. Give TH a chance. He’s done everything you complained about in CS.
    Love you all.
     
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    Last edited: Sep 10, 2018
  2. duff_man

    duff_man 250+ Posts

    Thanks. I needed this.
     
  3. AC

    AC 2,500+ Posts

    Another good post. Everybody needs to get there chin up.
     
  4. #2is#1

    #2is#1 1,000+ Posts

    Amen!
     
  5. RainH2burntO

    RainH2burntO 2,500+ Posts

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    Last edited: Sep 10, 2018
  6. dukesteer

    dukesteer 5,000+ Posts

    NR, I believe that Longhorn Nation is melting down this time, and this early, because of the attitude and demeanor of Tom Herman. I’m pissed, and all of my “often measured friends” are pissed as well. I can’t remmeber seeing this level of vitriol so early with a new coach.

    Herman, with his cocky, know-it-all attitude created this monster, and now the fans, the pundants (including the LHN) and probably CDC want to see a better product on the field, now.

    Herman could buy needed time and take a huge step to regain favor “off the field,” tomorrow, by discovering contrition and humility. Frankly, I don’t think he has it in him.
     
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  7. NRHorn

    NRHorn 2,500+ Posts

    Hi Duke-
    Yep, I get that, I really do. But man- people trashed CS for not having confidence. Do you remember the outrage when he stated his players weren’t t that good?
    TH is working them to death and is proud of their development- he should be cocky...that’s what we need in a coach.
    Secure the bag! Loved it.
    I feel a leader should absolutely promote confidence- that’s what this team needs.
     
  8. Aces_Full

    Aces_Full 500+ Posts

    Confidence & being a cocky jackass are 2 different things.
     
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  9. #2is#1

    #2is#1 1,000+ Posts

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  10. NRHorn

    NRHorn 2,500+ Posts

    Well, I gave it a shot.
     
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  11. Pomspoms

    Pomspoms 5,000+ Posts

    i don't mind cockiness to an extent if it's accompanied with competency...and i don't get off to writing these kind of things. When we were pursuing Strong i was pushing for Franklin. Who knows maybe Franklin would still be here and no Herman. But that's hindsight.
     
  12. Statalyzer

    Statalyzer 10,000+ Posts

    True, but it still wasn't all that great. It wasn't as good as Tulsa's even. It looks amazing in comparison though. Last year on a 1-10 scale we were like a 2. Now we're up to a 5 or 6 but it feels like a 9 relative to what we saw before.

    Impressed with them all, but run blocking wasn't too good either. They did a lot of it on their own.

    That has improved also. Stearns early on made a really great tackle while being blocked, to snuff out an outside run for no gain.

    Well, other than the two plays that led to Tulsa's final two TDs. Both of them had a young guy who was in pretty position when the ball was thrown but then ran himself out of position while the ball was in the air.

    Overall still happy with the secondary - they covered well for most of the game despite us having almost no pass rush to speak of. Almost all the pressure we got came from the coverage making Skipper stand back there long enough that eventually a rusher managed to get near him. And young guys blowing coverages like that happens; it will improve. And it came late in a game where they'd been carrying the offense for most of the 2nd half up until then as well.

    I'm much more worried about the DL and LB. We have experienced guys there who weren't really getting it done. Gary Johnson brought us a spark when he first came back in the 2nd half but then he took some poor angles on plays to the outside on multiple occasions after that.
     
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  13. VYFan

    VYFan 2,500+ Posts

    I'm not sure whether Tom Herman being cocky is a good or bad thing in the long run, but I agree that his attitude is causing more backlash at this moment than if he had been a little more humble so far. If he wins, his attitude won't hardly be noticed.

    BTW, it's an old an dead horse, but I don't think Charlie said his players were not very good; I think someone asked him before the season started whether they had a shot at a national championship, and he said no. Again, if the wins were there for Charlie, then his attitude would have been defined as perfect.
     
  14. NRHorn

    NRHorn 2,500+ Posts

    VY- you are correct, CS didn’t say his players were bad. Poor choice of words on my part.
     
  15. Detective Shilala

    Detective Shilala 2,500+ Posts

    I agree with the overall sentiment that we're totally over-reacting.
    There is a lot of football left, some progress being made in some areas, some talented youth in others, and we should chill out instead of eating our own...

    This is the only part I take exception to:
    - Well, the Culture is still the same.
    Sure Tom Herman and Charlie Strong are two totally different people, with different approaches, but both of them started off going to war with the culture and seemed to lose their steam quickly. One year in and the things Tom Herman says don't sound like he's demanding excellence anymore. More like making excuses. We're still pretty sloppy (penalties, looking lackadaisical, etc) but to hear him talk about it you would think he's satisfied.

    I'd almost rather hear Charlie Strong saying "we just have to get better" over and over. At least that wasn't an excuse.

    Note: I know coaches say things in the locker room they would never say to the media/fans. If Herman is breathing fire into them in the locker room, we should see the results soon enough.
     
  16. ProdigalHorn

    ProdigalHorn 10,000+ Posts

    I don't think cockiness is the issue so much as being thin-skinned and sensitive. When someone asks you a question about players not being productive for parts of the game and your response is to ask in a passive-aggressive tone "what coverage was the defense in when these guys disappeared," that just makes you look petty. When you're Saban, you can do that. Tom's not Saban yet, and maybe one day he will be. Until then, accept those questions with a little class and just say "we didn't feel like the guys disappeared. The other team had something to do with that, and we were trying to work against what they showed us as best we can. But those guys played hard all game and did everything we asked." Done.
     
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  17. Chinstrap

    Chinstrap 1,000+ Posts

    Some fans take the wins and losses a bit too personal. I have no problem with objectve criticism with the understanding that these are non professional critiques (with the exception of me, of course). I think that some cross the line calling for firing and damning the staff for incompetence. And it happens ridicously early in the season. Truth of the matter is the top coaches at major programs all have about the same amount of football inowledge. It is the schemes, implementation, motivation, talent, etc. that result in more wins by some. Yet everybody wants to focus on gameday plays. Sometimes it takes a game or two to get everything to gel.

    Tom has moved this team light years from where it was this time last year. He will need to do the same in the next year. I don’t care for some of his offense. But his knowledge of the game has a market value of $5mil plus. My knowledge has a market value of $0. So there you go. The team regressed in some areas in the last two games, such as a few bad tackling angles and bone head player decisions. No doubt that will be short lived with the defensive staff. Their work with this unit last year was nothing short of amazing.

    Tone down the negative? Absolutely! A little objective criticism on the good and bad is fine. Tom does have to be accountable to fans, even if we don’t know what we are talking about. It is the down side of the job. But always find more good than bad to say about the team you love because there is aways a ton more to be positve about. It’s the Horns.
     
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  18. VYFan

    VYFan 2,500+ Posts

    I agree. Look, at the risk of ironically violating the exact principle I am stating, I have pretty much always suspected I was the smartest guy in the room, no matter what room or what size room, even though I have been exposed in my career to the true high-fliers in the world. No one who is truly "dangerous" in their genius calls attention to that fact. (Okay, that's the ironic part, but this is mostly an anonymous place, so....) The highest level IQ people are conceal-carry, not open-carry, and wouldn't join mensa, and sure wouldn't say so. The simplest advantage is being smarter than someone else; the better advantage is being smarter than other people know or expect. Moreover, truly genius-level IQ people cannot, by definition, be thin-skinned and sensitive (at least on that issue), because their sense of superiority is based on (as they see it) objective facts, not on what they perceive "commoners" might say or think. The reason I agreed that Tom Herman was cocky is that the word carries the connotation of an attitude that is provoking oppositional defiance in those around him, rather than a soothing confidence.

    I learned somewhat by hard experience very early in my life that there is a very fine line between, "Wow, he's the smartest guy I know," and "He thinks he's so smart." When you play with the fire that you are smarter than other people, they have a million ways to undermine you and thwart anything you try to do. But that result, itself, is not smart. Smart is avoiding at all costs the "he thinks he's so smart" backlash, and calculating what interactions with people will get the result you want. If Herman wins, fine, he can be that "smart" coach. But it won't carry a better badge than Bum Phillips winning as a "dumb-sounding" coach. The proof is in the result.
     
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  19. CraigHorn

    CraigHorn 500+ Posts

    Largely agree. Caveat: I would be called a “sunshine pumper,” by some.
    Here, I will list just a handful of observations:
    Malcolm Roach—whom I love, btw—has very good speed... for a DE. The fact that he is playing the position he is right now, is concerning. I realize that is out of necessity. However, the reality of that necessity isn’t going away any time soon.
    With Sam at QB, we have a lower ceiling re success (translated “wins”) than with Shane. I’m not saying we are guaranteed anything with Shane. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. However, Shane gives us a better chance to win. I would love to be proven wrong, but I don’t see Sam reducing the amount of mistakes he makes. Not this year. Maybe not ever. That is concerning.
    The challenges we face are bigger than the two I mention. I put them out there as issues thst have broader implications.
    I’ll close with an observation re ST. I’m reminded again that we had one helluva punter last year. Incredible.
     
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