Stoops optimistic for 2010
You know what the Calvinists — those who believe in predestination — say when they fall down the stairs? Glad that’s over with.
I thought of John Calvin’s sect Monday when Bob Stoops met with the media to discuss spring practice and the 2010 season in general. Stoops was incredibly optimistic for a coach coming off an 8-5 season and with some serious question marks remaining.
And I think it all boils down to this. No way can 2010 go as badly as did 2009, with the rampant injuries (Sam Bradford, Jermaine Gresham, most everybody on the offensive line) and close losses. Seems like Stoops might be saying, “Glad that’s over with.”
Stoops naturally is a positive person. Positive and optimistic aren’t exactly the same thing but are close. Yet Stoops seemed more gung-ho than normal.
“I’m optimistic about this group, finishing the way we did,” Stoops said, referring to a 27-0 whitewash of Oklahoma State and a 31-27 Sun Bowl victory over Stanford.
OU coach Bob Stoops congratulates Tress Way after a punt during the first half of the Bedlam college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) at the Gaylord Family -- Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, in Norman, Okla. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Stoops went down the list. Said he believes OU will be better at quarterback with a more experienced Landry Jones, better at receiver with guys who got much better later in the year, better in the offensive line because of all the injuries suffered in ’09.
Stoops also said the defense “has a chance to be every bit as good” as 2009.
I applaud Stoops for his optimism. I don’t agree with it. Not necessarily. Not on all the aforementioned elements.
Quarterback? Receiver? Yes. But OU is automatically going to be better in the offensive line? That’s a less strong limb. The Sooners will be without likely first-round draft choice Trent Williams, plus veterans Brian Simmons and Brody Eldridge. Sure, Simmons and Eldridge were hurt for half the 2009 season, but the guys who filled in did not instill assurance that 2010 will be better.
Let’s take a closer look at the line. Tackles Jarvis Jones and Cory Brandon were so-so last year, and while junior Donald Stephenson draws raves, he’s never so much as played and has been in trouble on occasion, leading to a 2009 suspension. Guards Stephen Good, Tyler Evans and Tavaris Jeffries played last season — not very well — but still could develop. It’s not kooky to think two of them could develop into solid blockers. And at center, Ben Habern was decent last season as a redshirt freshman before a late injury, but Gabe Ikard could push him for the position this year.
OU has some options on the O-line. It has some prospects. But to say with assurance that this line will be better, well, I just don’t see how we can know that.
Stoops questioned the offensive line a year ago before spring practice. He in essence saw some of the problems coming. This year, he says the O-line has been “one of our best groups” in off-season work. “I’m pleased with where they’re at, at the work they’ve done.”
I also think it’s a stretch to believe the 2010 defense can be “every bit as good” as the 2009 defense. Mainly because the ’09 was fantastic. The 2009 defense had its failures, but for the most part, the ’09 Sooners played championship-caliber defense.
To meet that standard, OU has got to replace both cornerbacks (Dom Franks and Brian Jackson) plus defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who might be the first pick in the NFL Draft. That seems like a mighty mission.
Just at tackle, OU had McCoy and a healthy Adrian Taylor all season, until Taylor’s broken ankle vs. Stanford. Now the Sooners will have promising youngster JaMarkus McFarland and a recovering Taylor. The ends will be better — Jeremy Beal and Frank Alexander are a year older — and so will the linebackers (more athletic). But the dropoff in the interior is a lot to make up.
In the secondary, cornerbacks can be difference-makers immediately. Stoops is high on Demontre Hurst and Jonathan Nelson, with good reason.
If the Sooner defense justifies Stoops’ optimism and is “every bit as good” as its predecessor, 2010 indeed could be a special year. But it will need help from those offensive linemen. Stoops had better be right about them, too.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
Berry; Great article, but you don’t talk to the tight ends. In my opinion, OU’s greatest weakness last year was its lack of a really great tight end. What is your feeling about not having a great tight end, as well as what their prospects look like.
Bill Nassif
I some what agree with David on this but not totally and I like berry but he seems to be a glass half full kinda guy and Im the oppisite of that but being realisttic we win 10 to 12 games next year if berry wants us to be sure about something.
OK, lets say OU’s defense is as good as last season’s. Do you call 17th in Total
defense and 13th against scoring “championship caliber”. Against BYU, OU
had nearly No injuries in the offensive line and got “horse whipped” all
over the field by a team they were favored by, over 2 TD’s. Last season, the
defense had 9-10 returning starters. Instead of stepping up to carry the
offense and repay the favor of the offense carrying the defense, like they have
for the last 6 season’s, they had bust’s, letdowns, disipline, and mental lapse’s
at crunch time. Thats where Sooner Magic is born. Unsung hero’s making
big-time plays. Stoop’s doesn’t have any! He used them all up in ’00. The
majority of those in ’00 were Blakes player’s. It’s hard to play with the Big
Boys, when you are getting advice from a bunch of Crony Buddies who have
very little to No respect for the OU Legacy. It’s just a job to them. Getting
outcoached has become a routine for Bobby Boy and Staff. The glass is not
half full anymore, it’s almost empty. If they win their first 4 games, then
get excited. There might be some potential, but keep in mind the Texas
game is a road game, every year, and OU is a bad road team. Ever Wonder
Why? I’ve already explained it.
Each year we hear Stoops talk about whatever group – OL,LB, DB, QB whatever – is the big spring question mark. He ALWAYS says they have been one of the brighest groups over the winter, in the spring, over the summer in the fall or whatever period he is referring to. I take no comfort is that form of coachspeak.
Last spring, Kevin Wilson(I am sure at Stoops direction or with his approval) told us that the 2009 OL was going to be a strength and then BYU happened and it all went downhill from there.
Even if the O-line isn’t great, in the Sun Bowl, Landry Jones showed he can get away from the rush and make plays. That should be a new dimension for the Sooner offense in 2010.
Hello Berry, First of all, I grew up watching Bud Wilkinson’s Sooners on a black & white tv. And loved the King (Barry). And will always be a Sooner fan to the end. But I’m not a Stoop’s fan. He is over rated, and over paid. But anyway, I’m riding with the COMMENTS by jadams. I’m not a coach, but I have common sense. How will the 2010 season go, I figure a little better than 8&5. Stoops lived off the Blake players. But what hurts him the most, is the good ole buddy system he adheres to. He won’t make any coaching changes. The only sensible hire he has made recently, is this incoming defensive backs coach. Duh, what took him so long to figure that out? But you can bet on one thing, in the big games. he will get out coached and out played. How do I know this, just look back. As for the Sooner Magic, I think it’s gone. I wish I was wrong. Fred
i love this coach in bob stoops and his family, they have done so much for the state of oklahoma and football. in his second year he won a national-title, yea i know he took us too other title games losing too usc,lsu, and florida. but he really knows how too coach and get every ounce out of every player. hopefully oklahoma makes a big turnaround in 2010. all he can do is coach and encourage these young men too go all out and play lights out like its there last down in every game. look forward too the spring game. i encourage every oklahoma sooner fan too stay positive and optimistic and excited for oklahoma football. no matter what happens coach stoops is oklahoma. just like sam, jermaine, gerald and others are. boomer-sooners in 2010. play hard and bond together in 2010. no-laying down on the field in 2010. take every opponent seriously and never let up. i do not want too see another season like 2009 again. get excited and fired-up. thats my take. once a sooner always a sooner. i live in texas and me and my boys always take up for you guys here, so give us some love back in 2010.
It really annoys me when posters lie to prove a point. First, OU’s Defense was in the Top 8 of all 4 major denfensive statistical categories. That most definately IS Championship Caliber.
Second, Stoops could only when with Blake’s players? Really? OU’s won 6 conference titles & played for 4 MNCs, has a winning record against Texas, but Stoops can’t coach? Beyond ignorant assertions…
Btw, players from the MNC that were not Blake’s: (QB) Josh Heupel, (MLB) Torrance Marshall, (RB) Quinten Griffin, (WR) Antoine Savage, (CB) Derrick Strait, (CB) Michael Thompson, (DE) Dan Cody, (DE) Jimmy Wilkerson, (OL) Howard Duncan, (K) Tim Duncan, (FS) Brandon Everage, (DT) Kory Klein, (DT) Ramon Richardson… All were major contributers & nearly all were starters on that team. Stoops also gave scholarships to (SLB) Roger Stefin & (DE) Cory Heinecke who Blake was too clueless to recognize their talent. And then there are the players Blake had on the wrong side of the ball because he was clueless how to coach, etc…
I’m amazed that people like Fred Murillo exist. How in the world has he lived on the planet this long without finding out how ignorant he is about coaching football.
come on bearry
at 3 million + salary , what the heck do you think Stoopified is gonna say ?
- hey – we are gonna suck as much as we did last season !
GOOOOOOONNNNERRRSSSSSS = live in the past – YAWN !
for 2010 how about a change in ou’s uniform atmosphere? those white hats with the crimson stripe and the addition of the crimson ou on the sides might make a welcome change.something new and different could give the boys some spark….
Tony:
When the smoke is cleared at the end of the season, we’ll see. Will your team do anything during 2010? It’s early, but we believe that we will have a better season this year. Much of that will depend on how we do against real teams, Florida St, Air Force, Cincinnati, and Texas. We also have to play Missouri at Columbia, OSU at their house, and Texas Tech. Then we will know how good the defense is and how much better the offense is doing. Any comments from the little boy’s section bears no merit then or now. Have a good day!
Lynn1: And you think you know more than Fred? I don’t agree with all his points, but he has a more than passing understanding of the game.
Tell this jadams who ever he is if he feels this way if he has tickets put them up for someone to buy. HE IS WHAT’S WRONG WITH SO MANY Sooner fans. Bod Stoops is one of the best coaches in the country. Go up to Stillwater or better yet go to texas….remember Texas and Oklahoma are great teams. I’m sure Texas would like to have jadams as a new fan. jay…..grow up!!!
There is optimism in the air and there should be. OU’s head coach is indeed quite a coach, afterall he took a program that went 3-8 in 1996, 4-8 in 1997, and 5-6 in 1998 with presummably Blake’s players who needed a different guidance with a QB (Heupel) which was indeed a Stoops player and won a championship in 2000. For all those who think Sooner Magic is gone, lets not forget the fact that Stoops has a better winning percentage against the top 25 than the Great Wilkinson and Switzer. But oh no, lets remember Stoops for his losses. We as Sooner fans have become spoiled. Have some class and cheer for your team when they win and when they lose. If the next decade is anything like the past decade, then we have 4 more NC games to look forward to.
Very few of “John Blake’s players” attended the University of Oklahoma because of John Blake. Just like Rocky Calmus, many attended the University of Oklahoma due to its great legacy that the incompetent John Blake almost single-handedly destroyed.
And Coach Stoops had to move a number of players to different positions where they were better suited, something that the incompetent John Blake could never have done.
I have no problem with Stoops, accept he is to loyal. Offensive cord. chocks in tight games. You can’t expect the defense to be great when the offense won’t let them off the field. Run left off center didn’t work, let’s try it again. Quarterback roll out works let’s not use it. You have to have a little bit of trust in the player’s.
The Sooners will lose 3-4 games this year. The quarterback is great, but not a gol-dang Houdini like Bradford. He would do himself well to practice complete follow-throughs on his fake hand-offs – like Tony Romo; plus doing better head fakes, shoulder fakes and pump-fakes. If he could improve in these areas, he has all the other atributes to make him better that Bradford. With the lazy/confused O-line and lack of star power/game changers at TE, WR, & RB, he will need to be.
James I think your an idiot for saying we have no star power at WR & RB. Maybe at the TE postion but i think we have that covered with Trey Millard & Austin Haywood so check yourself James.
Develope and use your tight ends more. They can make or break a game in crucial 3rd downs. But, that doesn’t mean just use them in 3rd downs, use them as much as possible to keep the D-guessing.
OU for ever, we may loose sometimes, but we have class that Texas will never know.
HEY LETS REMEMBER STOOPS WENT TO 4 NC TITLE GAMES, WIN OR LOSE HE WAS IN THE BIG DANCE..WITHOUT BLAKES TEAM…HES 6-1 BIG 12 TITLES AND MORE BCS GAMES THAT ANY BIG 12 TEAM..BEST RECORD IN 2000′S…ID SAY HE KNOWS WHAT HES TALKING BOUT..LAST YR OKLA LOST 4 OF ITS GAMES BY TOTAL 5 POINTS..EVEN LOSING TO OVERRATED TEXAS BY 3 POINTS WHILE TEXAS WAS HEATHY AND OKLA HAD 7 BIG PLAYER OUT INCLUDING BRADFORD AND GRESHAM..OU PLAYED A NEW OFFENSIVE LINE AND MOSTLY NEW PLAYERS..BUT SOME SEEM TO FORGET…OKLA STAYED HEATLY LAST YR THEY GO UNDEFEATED AND WIN TITLE…SO I DO AGREE OU WILL BE BETTER..WAY BETTER THIS YR DUE TO EXPIERENCE…I GOT EVERY PTEDICTION RIGHT LAST SEASON EXCEPT I HAD NEB WINNG BIG 12 BY A FLUKE..BIG WAS WAS SO DOWN LAST YR..THIS YR I HAVE TECH WINNING..WITH OU CLOSE 2ND..TEXAS 3RD..BUT HEY WE SEE.
Berry, you were right about Blake all those years. And, you are right to question this season’s OL. But, look at last year’s OL performance at the BYU game and tell me you can’t be more optimistic about this year’s OL. This one will be better. Probably not the best Sooner OL. Maybe good though. Depends on the coaching and the player dedication.
It is definitely the time to be optimistic. So far, we are undefeated in 2010 and my bet is we are closer to going undefeated than 8-5.
Ain’t Spring great.