Five Takeaways Following a Late Night Loss to Cal

[Royal 60]

Look guys CS is a Great recruiter -- But it stops there. He HAS to have a great coaching staff around him to make this work !!!! He has got to Man up and send Bedford to the showers or Both will go DOWN . I want CS to stay BUT ..............

 

[Mike Roach]

Disappointing. I didn't expect to go undefeated. Nobody did. But most expected to take two steps forward and one back, not one forward and two back.

Offense: Yes many yards and yes many points... against a defense that gives up loads to everyone they play. Why insist on throwing (after two picks already) when your running game is tearing off chunks of 4-12 yards every play. The only way we were going to lose, even as atrociously as our defense played, was if we gave them extra possessions...and we did...and it was avoidable. I'm sure the original gameplan was to run if they put 7 in the box, and check to pass if they went with 8. But an experienced OC and QB know when to change the script once the game is underway and the dividends of the original gameplan change. We were still able to run with however many in the box and were unable to throw consistently under any circumstances. We stubborned our way into an average performance when we needed stellar.

Defense: Players play hard in the front 7. D-Line gets penetration most downs. Linebackers lose their gaps same as last year. Forget coverage from a linebacker. We are about to get exposed there for a loss or two even if the DB's improve. DB's are completely lost. Second year...no improvement with this group. Miss tackles, miss assignments, talk trash, get burned, get shown up with horns down in your face only to come back and get burned worse seems to be the mantra.

The season isn't over, I get it. But seeing ND get basically raped at home and seeing Army beat UTEP worse than we did tells me we aren't very good. We are what Okie State has been the past decade. Reasonable to really good offense with average to really bad defense. Okie Sate

Young this...Young that... It took Charlie two years to learn Watson wasn't the right guy when everyone else knew after two games. Bedford ain't the guy either and I hate that. I wish he were. But between the lack of progress and the inability to adjust in-game...he ain't the guy. If Charlie doesn't do something quickly to get 9 wins out of this team in his 3rd year...he probably isn't either. And I will hate that even worse. But let's not be the same team 3 years in a row and call it progress just because we have a new group of highly ranked recruits underperforming.

I get your points, but you can't abandon aggressiveness in this offense. That's not the way it's designed to work. It's a results based thinking over process based thinking.

 

[Bear19]

I get your points, but you can't abandon aggressiveness in this offense. That's not the way it's designed to work. It's a results based thinking over process based thinking.

Regarding your second sentence if it's working it doesn't matter whether it's by design or not. Keep doing it.

Regarding your third sentence, I really have no idea what you mean.

 

[Mike Roach]

I know many were screaming "run the ball", I was too. This offense was designed to work exactly on pre snap looks though. That's the process, and as this offense grows I think they need to follow the process. Results based thinking is looking at it afterwards and knocking it because it didn't work. Was the process correct? Because that works out more times in the long run.

 

[Randolph Duke]

I know many were screaming "run the ball", I was too. This offense was designed to work exactly on pre snap looks though. That's the process, and as this offense grows I think they need to follow the process. Results based thinking is looking at it afterwards and knocking it because it didn't work. Was the process correct? Because that works out more times in the long run.

The problem with being a slave to "the process" is that it makes it VERY easy for other teams to understand how to control your offense based on what pre-snap look they show. In other words, the defense can force the offense into what the defense wants to see because they know the offense will never alter from "the process."

Other teams pick up on tendencies. Cal sure picked up on some of the dumb things the secondary was doing against ND. If the offense becomes totally predictable and enslaved to "the process" Charlie might as well start packing his bags now.

I just shake my head at any explanation that the team had to abandon plays that were working because of "the process." If the other team's defense can't stop the run, you only quit running the ball when they figure a way to finally stop it or the clock runs out.

Take Buschele's runs out of the stats and the Horns were averaged 6.6 yds per attempt. How in God's name can anyone say losing the game, but following "the process" was a better decision than exploiting Cal's weakness on defense, gaining 6.6 yds per play and going 3-0 on the season? You do what it takes to win each game, one game at a time. You don't willingly lose games because the other team didn't allow "the process" to work successfully.

Now Charlie gets to go on the recruiting trail with the pitch "If you play for Texas, you will lose a lot of games you should have won, and you may well never play in a bowl game, but at least we follow "the process.""

There is a level of lunacy in the Texas program that is simply indescribable.

 

[North Texas Golfer]

Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are big believers in "process" based thinking. Especially Saban.

Just the 2 best coaches in the college game right now. 

 

[Randolph Duke]

Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are big believers in "process" based thinking. Especially Saban.

Just the 2 best coaches in the college game right now. 

Do you understand what Saban and Meyer are saying when they talk about "the process?"

"The process" Saban and Meyer talk of is a core belief that the willingness to prepare in a methodical, daily basis is the key to success. And not just the starters, or the players. They believe successful organizations are methodical from top to bottom and every staff member the players interact with from within the organization is dedicated to the same principle of constant, methodical dedication to improvement.

They don't believe you avoid running successful plays out of a slavish obligation to an offense scheme conjured up before their starting quarterback was knocked senseless and left the game. And they certainly don't believe it is ok to lose a game they should have won because they failed to exploit the opportunities the other team gave them.

 

[North Texas Golfer]

Do you understand what Saban and Meyer are saying when they talk about "the process?"

"The process" Saban and Meyer talk of is a core belief that the willingness to prepare in a methodical, daily basis is the key to success. And not just the starters, or the players. They believe successful organizations are methodical from top to bottom and every staff member the players interact with from within the organization is dedicated to the same principle of constant, methodical dedication to improvement.

They don't believe you avoid running successful plays out of a slavish obligation to an offense scheme conjured up before their starting quarterback was knocked senseless and left the game. And they certainly don't believe it is ok to lose a game they should have won because they failed to exploit the opportunities the other team gave them.

I know perfectly well what Saban and Meyer are saying when they talk about "the process". Why do you ask?

 

[Sirhornsalot]

BTW, I just want to give a shout out to Shane Buechele and the way he went the distance Saturday night. He's a tough young man and a warrior. I'm glad he's on our side.

 

[Randolph Duke]

I know perfectly well what Saban and Meyer are saying when they talk about "the process". Why do you ask?

Because your invoking Saban and Meyer's application of the phrase "the process" has nothing to do with what was being discussed here. The discussion here was how "the process" dictated a confidence that executing the overall tactical scheme they started the game with, and not going to a run-heavy play selection, would score enough points to win. You brought up a head coach's strategic approach to managing an athletics program.

The strategic philosophy of Saban and Meyer has nothing to do with Mike's comment that Gilbert was right in his tactical play calling.

 

[Bear19]

"The strategic philosophy of Saban and Meyer has nothing to do with Mike's comment that Gilbert was right in his tactical play calling."

In other words, if it's not broken don't fix it.

But our OC gets a pass from me. We're a hell of a lot better on that side of the ball and he is still learning.

 

[Eastexhorn]

We areyoung. The coaches will get it fixed. The poor refereeing hurt us.Sounds like last year again too me.

The facts are the coaches are not doing thier jobs. And neither are the players.If the players are all that good its the coaches.If the players are not all that good poor jobin recruiting.This is the third year and we are seeing the same old product. Hope Strong can fix it. If not bring in some one who can. Charlie old school is looking pretty good. Then they and Houston has a very good QB.

 

[drgilbert]

I think Gilbert is a great hire. He has brought excitement back to our offense. I still do not agree with the play calling, especially having Swoopes throw a short pass that gets intercepted. Swoopes has on hell of a fastball but his touch on shorter routes is missing. Not his strength so don't call it. I would love to sit down with coach Gilbert with a few beers and ask him if your next opponent is giving up 6 yards a carry will you call more running plays.

 

[North Texas Golfer]

Because your invoking Saban and Meyer's application of the phrase "the process" has nothing to do with what was being discussed here. The discussion here was how "the process" dictated a confidence that executing the overall tactical scheme they started the game with, and not going to a run-heavy play selection, would score enough points to win. You brought up a head coach's strategic approach to managing an athletics program.

The strategic philosophy of Saban and Meyer has nothing to do with Mike's comment that Gilbert was right in his tactical play calling.

We'll agree to disagree on whether or not their is a connection between Saban's process and what is being discussed in this thread. But there are several Saban quotes talking about process over results which Mike mentioned in one of his above posts.

Now go to the second half "play by play" on the Texas website and see how many plays you can find where you think it was a mistake to pass the ball instead of running it.

 

[Mike Roach]

When specifically did you have a problem with the process of playcalling? I can tell you the one time I did. Last drive of the game and 3 straight passes. That's the only time. The offense did enough to win that game. They got tripped up mostly by penalties and turnovers. The turnover swoopes threw we can discuss. The one Buechele threw was with short time and Texas trying to exploit a quick turn in momentum. It didn't work, so people lament the results. That's my only point.

 

[Mike Roach]

"The strategic philosophy of Saban and Meyer has nothing to do with Mike's comment that Gilbert was right in his tactical play calling."

In other words, if it's not broken don't fix it.

But our OC gets a pass from me. We're a hell of a lot better on that side of the ball and he is still learning.

Learning and growing. As is the offense with these players. Everyone likes aggressive until it doesn't work.

 

[Randolph Duke]

Learning and growing. As is the offense with these players. Everyone likes aggressive until it doesn't work.

Everyone likes winning. Almost anyone would sacrifice aggressive for successful. Especially after the starting QB gets knocked out if the game, the defense can't get out of its own way and the run game is producing 6.6 yds per attempt.

As rough of a night as the defensive secondary was having, how can anyone not think it would have been worth a try to keep them off the field by burning some clock with the run game?

Charlie's game management is just mind boggling at times.

 

[Shannon Kelley]

Not bagging on the D, but man, when your O can hang 40+ on ANYONE, you should win 100% of the time. D has to get stops, period....

This true frosh QB is gonna be great. He's Colt part 2 in my book. In fact, he's ahead of Colt this early in his career. He throws a great ball, specifically his long ball for the most part. Looks like he has great football savvy.

D has to get more push to hurry the QB. Can't allow QB to sit..Can't happen.

Specials have to be great, Punt, PR, KOR, KOC, FG/EPT....

A lot to clean up and get fixed...difference this year and moving forward, looks like Coach Strong has the talent to win!

 

[Mike Roach]

Everyone likes winning. Almost anyone would sacrifice aggressive for successful. Especially after the starting QB gets knocked out if the game, the defense can't get out of its own way and the run game is producing 6.6 yds per attempt.

As rough of a night as the defensive secondary was having, how can anyone not think it would have been worth a try to keep them off the field by burning some clock with the run game?

Charlie's game management is just mind boggling at times.

Again, which times did Texas throw the ball on drives that they should have run outside of the two I mentioned above? I thought they mixed run/pass pretty well

 

[tejasrulz]

I thought they mixed run/pass pretty well

Yea, the offense wasn't the problem.