*****Game Thread - Texas vs. Maryland*****

[dillohorn]

Baylor is losing to Liberty, in Waco, late in the 4th. 47-38

Watched bailor lose to Liberty was the high point of a miserable day. 10 3rd down conversions in a row for Liberty.

 

[RDHookEm]

I know but they never even tried to establish a running game from the get go.   The Rb's had what 16 carries?  

2 run plays out of 16 when the game was tied 7 to 7...there was no deficit

I know what you mean. We were tied half way through the first quarter, but the rest of the game we were playing catch up.  It's easier to keep trying to establish the run when the game is close. I am not trying to defend the offensive play calling by any means. I just understand their logic of taking their chances with the passing game as opposed to taking time off the clock to re-establish the run.

 

[JMagana]

Ok guys, long time reader, but just signed up to get a few thoughts off my chest. Obviously, this game was pretty disappointing and felt a lot like last year. 

Couple of things that particularly struck out to me:

- Poor tackling: With all that talk about intensity and hitting I really thought we wouldn't see as many missed tackles as last year, but didn't change much. Also that we couldn't close the gaps and stop the inside runs was pretty bad. Even as the secondary wasn't tested that much, they got beat on a couple of deep balls... overall, defensive performance didn't seem improved at all

- Trenches: After all that praise about our guys in the trenches on both sides of the ball, today's performance was well below what I anticipated. Neither the offensive line could constantly protect the pocket (even Connor got beat a couple of times especially late with those 2 penalties) nor establish the run, nor the defensive line stop the run. Maryland didn't dial up crazy play calls, there most effective run working 100% of the time was inside zone straight up the middle. We should be able to stop that

- Special teams: Again a blocked FG and a missed one, sounds too familiar. Couple of sparks with the PR and the blocked FG, but our Kick returns should learn how to catch a kick...

- Play calling: Really hoped this would be an area where we would improve greatly. Didn't look like it. The calls on 4th down (I don't mind going for it on the 4th and goal but different play please) were at least questionable, and dropping back to pass on 90% of the time made us one dimensional. 

The thing is, if just one of those areas would have been a little bit better we would've escaped today's game. Too much of the things felt like a year ago and I'm pretty disappointed right now. But there is still a lot of football to be played and I remain pessimistically optimistic that we're going to see some improvement this year....

P.s. I don't think Boo is the problem. Sure he didn't have his best game. But he zero help from the running game (i.e. compared to last year when our opponents crowded the box and helped create space for the deep ball) and a OL that wasn't able to protect him properly. He isn't the big mobile QB but when he ran, he ran with determination today. 

Glad you got off the fence. Took me a while too, especially during football season lol when the population goes fu*king nuts (you all know I'm not lying).. Your insight is welcomed.

 

[JMagana]

I did not see anything from Warren that inspired me to want to give him more touches. In fact, to me he looked slow and tentitive. I only saw one run where he kept churning after contact. In fact after today I am curious what Young looks like.

The O-line was simply not good today. Yall can rag on Shane all you want, but he was running for his life on nearly every play until Maryland started only sending 3 guys, which still caved in our pocket. Our D-line maybe didnt get off the bus. At first we were persuing and tackling crisply....then the whole D just up and quit. Malik made one good tackle early and spent the rest of the game standing around. Many a play I just watched Malik to see what he did.....He never did much.

Oldhorn2,

Only problem I have with your statement is that Texas was not committed to the run so we don't know what either back could have done. 

Texas needs to run the ball period.

Daniel and Co. correct me if I'm wrong most of the o-line guys that Charlie recruited we're well known for their run blocking abilities first and foremost because Charlie's philosophy was run first. I know it's hard to remember but Warren (not just D'Onta) was carving up defenses, he just couldn't stay healthy.

Your totally right... They were not good today. Let's hope this staff can learn from their mistakes. 

 

[bscooter99]

Ok just to make my take simple Shane will not take this team to a nc...nor will this defense and oline...but Shane won't...good GOD

 

[Hiwood]

I am all for Shane but he was not mistake free.

The very first offensive play.

He snaps the ball rolls left.   Clearly sees the defender running at him for what seemed like 2-3 seconds.

He had Porter open (from the angle I saw) in the flats but he appears to be looking downfield even knowing the defender is closing in on him.

Then tucks it and takes the sack...almost a safety.

That was just one play but throw it away or to Porter.  That was a poor decision.

Granted the kid had ZERO help from his overrated and overhyped OL and ZERO help from coaches unwillingness to ESTABLISH any type of running game but that was a BAD play.

IMO Shane did not look comfortable with this offense...he was lucky that he didn't have more passes picked

hard for me to remember when I have seen a TEXAS team look more unprepared than what we saw on Saturday...They were jumping around all hyped up prior to the game and NEVER seemed to settle down and concentrate...poor tackling, poor angles, costly horse collar penalties..the list is long and no one really deserves much praise..We flat out got BEAT

 

[83Dee]

I did not see anything from Warren that inspired me to want to give him more touches. In fact, to me he looked slow and tentitive. I only saw one run where he kept churning after contact. In fact after today I am curious what Young looks like.

The O-line was simply not good today. Yall can rag on Shane all you want, but he was running for his life on nearly every play until Maryland started only sending 3 guys, which still caved in our pocket. Our D-line maybe didnt get off the bus. At first we were persuing and tackling crisply....then the whole D just up and quit. Malik made one good tackle early and spent the rest of the game standing around. Many a play I just watched Malik to see what he did.....He never did much.

Warren = 5.5 yards per carry
Porter - 2.8 yards per carry

These were the last numbers I heard.  I disagree on Warren; agree whole heartedly about OL. 

Regarding Shane:  He is a good QB when he drops back or rolls out and has an open receiver.  In other words, he is accurate (probably most important quality in a QB).  Is decent at alluding the rush, and hits the receiver in a place where they can catch and run.  However, he is not ideal for this offense.  This offense by design uses the QB as a constant running threat.  Sticking with Shane for three more years is a miniature version of Barry Switzer having Troy Aikman.  Good QB (in that case great) not the right offense. 

 

[texbound]

Ok just to make my take simple Shane will not take this team to a nc...nor will this defense and oline...but Shane won't...good GOD

I honestly remember saying/thinking the same thing about Colt McCoy his sophomore year.  Having a really, really good freshman year (getting injured against ATM didn't help) then coming back with good, but not great, So. campaign.  I thought this kid is good, but not NC good.  I thought he was too fragile, but I was proven wrong the next couple of years.  Colt got stronger, his body developed and he did lots of preparation to become better.  Shane will certainly do the last one. I will say this about my Colt and Shane comparison, Colt played in an offense that played to his strengths and I don't think Shane is playing in one that fits his.  Sam E. is probably the better QB in this situation.  Hell, J. Heard is probably the better fit, but he is too far down the WR path now.

 

[texbound]

Warren = 5.5 yards per carry
Porter - 2.8 yards per carry

These were the last numbers I heard.  I disagree on Warren; agree whole heartedly about OL. 

Regarding Shane:  He is a good QB when he drops back or rolls out and has an open receiver.  In other words, he is accurate (probably most important quality in a QB).  Is decent at alluding the rush, and hits the receiver in a place where they can catch and run.  However, he is not ideal for this offense.  This offense by design uses the QB as a constant running threat.  Sticking with Shane for three more years is a miniature version of Barry Switzer having Troy Aikman.  Good QB (in that case great) not the right offense. 

Great comparison with Aikman and OU to Shane and UT.  

 

[83Dee]

Ok guys, long time reader, but just signed up to get a few thoughts off my chest. Obviously, this game was pretty disappointing and felt a lot like last year. 

Couple of things that particularly struck out to me:

- Poor tackling: With all that talk about intensity and hitting I really thought we wouldn't see as many missed tackles as last year, but didn't change much. Also that we couldn't close the gaps and stop the inside runs was pretty bad. Even as the secondary wasn't tested that much, they got beat on a couple of deep balls... overall, defensive performance didn't seem improved at all

- Trenches: After all that praise about our guys in the trenches on both sides of the ball, today's performance was well below what I anticipated. Neither the offensive line could constantly protect the pocket (even Connor got beat a couple of times especially late with those 2 penalties) nor establish the run, nor the defensive line stop the run. Maryland didn't dial up crazy play calls, there most effective run working 100% of the time was inside zone straight up the middle. We should be able to stop that

- Special teams: Again a blocked FG and a missed one, sounds too familiar. Couple of sparks with the PR and the blocked FG, but our Kick returns should learn how to catch a kick...

- Play calling: Really hoped this would be an area where we would improve greatly. Didn't look like it. The calls on 4th down (I don't mind going for it on the 4th and goal but different play please) were at least questionable, and dropping back to pass on 90% of the time made us one dimensional. 

The thing is, if just one of those areas would have been a little bit better we would've escaped today's game. Too much of the things felt like a year ago and I'm pretty disappointed right now. But there is still a lot of football to be played and I remain pessimistically optimistic that we're going to see some improvement this year....

P.s. I don't think Boo is the problem. Sure he didn't have his best game. But he zero help from the running game (i.e. compared to last year when our opponents crowded the box and helped create space for the deep ball) and a OL that wasn't able to protect him properly. He isn't the big mobile QB but when he ran, he ran with determination today. 

Welcome aboard, I hope you continue posting. 

I'm going to throw something out there that I have been thinking for about 1 1/2 years, but have never really stated it this way.  I will leave out specific names, only because I am such a class act (pause for laughter). 

For Charlie's last two seasons and now one game into the MENSA coach's tenure, we have seen really, really bad defense and really, really bad offense (the exception being last year on offense).  There have been different coordinators and now a new head coach, and quite frankly it looks identical.  During this time, there is something that has stayed rather constant - the players.  This group of players plays very poorly.  They can't: block, tackle, pass rush or cover to be specific.  Yet, our attitude is that they are not being coached up?  We in essence have bought into "the ingredients are there - the cake just needs to be baked" idea. 

Let me offer an alternative solution..... we are not a talented football team at all.  In other words, I believe a lot of players are considered to be talented because of how they were ranked coming out of high school, but I'm here to suggest that many of those were misses.  If you erased from your mind what any of these kids were ranked coming out of high school, then how in the world would you possibly think any of the following units have "good talent":

Defensive backfield
Offensive Line
Linebacker

I saved linebacker for last because I would suggest that in my years of watching Texas football (starting in 1975) the last three years has been the absolute worst linebacker play I have seen.  Yet we think they are loaded with talent there.  OL I'm really only referring to a couple of spots who were highly ranked coming out of high school. 

Here is my suggestion to Coach Herman - one I doubt will receive much approval - but hey, this is just a forum for discussion, right? :   

If you are going to lose, lose with youth.  I believe the current group of highly touted prospects will continue to have "poor gap integrity" and continue to take "poor pursuit angles".... will continue to have an absence of pass rush and will continue to be poor at tackling and covering.  Why not go with some fresh faces that will be there during your "make or break year?" 

And for goodness sake, if you have a kid (Roach, Hager) that seems to be able to make plays, DON'T PUT HIM ON THE BENCH!!!  Yes, watch the film from previous years and see how these kids play when the lights come on.... though, yes, practice is important. 

Yes, I'm writing this season off.  Question whether or not my blood is orange, it's okay, but I'm using sound logic based on three years of repeatable observation. 

And finally.... I hope I'm wrong. 

 

[Hiwood]

I honestly remember saying/thinking the same thing about Colt McCoy his sophomore year.  Having a really, really good freshman year (getting injured against ATM didn't help) then coming back with good, but not great, So. campaign.  I thought this kid is good, but not NC good.  I thought he was too fragile, but I was proven wrong the next couple of years.  Colt got stronger, his body developed and he did lots of preparation to become better.  Shane will certainly do the last one. I will say this about my Colt and Shane comparison, Colt played in an offense that played to his strengths and I don't think Shane is playing in one that fits his.  Sam E. is probably the better QB in this situation.  Hell, J. Heard is probably the better fit, but he is too far down the WR path now.

this ^^^^^^^^^

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

I'm not gonna blame the offense, defense, or special teams for this loss.

They ALL share the blame. TFH needs to look at himself in the mirror and ask why he went for it on 4th and goal in Q3. Kick the damn FG. Why didn't we pin the turtles back in Q4 with Piggy hurt? Dumb to go for it on 4th down there with plenty of time.

Ridiculous, IMO. Membership in Mensa revoked.

 

[DMAC]

I'm not gonna blame the offense, defense, or special teams for this loss.

They ALL share the blame. TFH needs to look at himself in the mirror and ask why he went for it on 4th and goal in Q3. Kick the damn FG. Why didn't we pin the turtles back in Q4 with Piggy hurt? Dumb to go for it on 4th down there with plenty of time.

Ridiculous, IMO. Membership in Mensa revoked.

Yea some of those calls seemed either desperate or over-confident.

This loss on Herman and staff.  They were not prepared.  

Herman stated the team didnt start preparing for Maryland until the final week.   Herman didnt seem nervous atleast not pregame.   This reeks of over confidence.

I remember Herman was asked during a press conference shortly after he was hired if he was nervous about being the UT head football coach and he said

"No, Im not nervous.  You should only be nervous if you are not prepared"  or something to that effect.  

He wasnt prepared and if he didnt realize it then he was overconfident.   

 

[okiehorn]

TH said in a Hype video last week "WE DONT GET READY....WE STAY READY" well............

 

[RDHookEm]

Yea some of those calls seemed either desperate or over-confident.

This loss on Herman and staff.  They were not prepared.  

Herman stated the team didnt start preparing for Maryland until the final week.   Herman didnt seem nervous atleast not pregame.   This reeks of over confidence.

I remember Herman was asked during a press conference shortly after he was hired if he was nervous about being the UT head football coach and he said

"No, Im not nervous.  You should only be nervous if you are not prepared"  or something to that effect.  

He wasnt prepared and if he didnt realize it then he was overconfident.   

I completely agree with all this. To be honest, you really don't know what you have as a team until you see them in live action. I hope Herman and the coaching staff have a better understanding of what these guys can and can't do. I think Orlando made the mistake Manny Diaz made and tried to incorporate all these exotic looks with a team that is already known to have communication issues on defense. I am not going to crucify these guys over one game. I just hope to see some improvement on offense and defense next week after 

 

[Epictetus]

I'm not gonna blame the offense, defense, or special teams for this loss.

They ALL share the blame. TFH needs to look at himself in the mirror and ask why he went for it on 4th and goal in Q3. Kick the damn FG. Why didn't we pin the turtles back in Q4 with Piggy hurt? Dumb to go for it on 4th down there with plenty of time.

Ridiculous, IMO. Membership in Mensa revoked.

editing comments... took breaths... to be continued