Something to think about…

Maybe this the the result of co-coordinators on offense…maybe it is because of the I experience at play calling on offense and we wait and talk as a staff about changes at halftime….whatever it is, it is killing us…especially in tight games…LJ played tight. Hey, where did the Demarco Murray short pass out of the backfield play go? The positive is LJ was acked once and not 3 times…but he fumbled…and was thrown off his stride I side the 20s. The opposing team knows he is not a running threat and has happy feet and is prone to fumble or throw a pic. Here is the problem for LJ….he has been around for so long teams know how to play him….and as for ND, UT, WVU and TCU they are reading the scripts from UTEP, KSU, and OSU last year.

The only answer is to change up the flow of the game…LJ isn’t going to fix these issues over night. He doesn’t have the line he had in 2010. DeMarco had a hell of a senior year as did Broyles that year. I am not suggesting to put Bell in the same offensive schemes that suit LJ….new schemes have to be developed to maximize his talents…don’t put a square peg in a round hole. These are things great OCs can do…OCs that understand the strengths of the player and the schemes that fit. Tim Tebow had many more flaws as a QB than strengths, but the strengths he had mattered more than his weaknesses at the collegiate level – he had a great instinct for the game, could run, throw effectively, and was a leader.

If Stoops stays loyal to LJ for fear he jeopardizes his NFL draft status, he is putting LJ above the team’s interests. There is no reason why we cannot use both Bell and LJ. One doesn’t have to be a lone running QB and the other the lone throwing QB. LJ can handoff and throw to the running backs. Bell can throw the ball. Mix it up!

If not expect more of the same….the script to beating OU has been written and there are plenty of teams left that can pull off what KSU did. Give their D some credit…they got in LJ’s head. Their actions led to LJ’s costly errors.

OU has 2 weeks to prepare for TT. They have not won their since 2003. Play conservative and see if the results change. Take the same playbook and players and see if you get different results. It reminds me of the kid who cannot explain the causes of the revolution…the teacher keeps trying the same way to teach it over anover only saying it louder each time…I think that is what we are doing on offense. Or Stoops could take a risk and use 2 QBs to change up the tempo when needed….give Bell 30 percent of the snaps….he would have ran 21 plays on Saturday…2-3 series. Roll the dice, or be prepared for more nights like Saturday night. As far as LJ and his draft status, if he is on a team with 5-7 losses, he isn’t going anywhere anyway…and you have wasted another year with Blake Bell or Kendall Thompson, etc…

Bell fumbled because he was looking at the line instead of securing the snap. Let’s not blame it on Ikard.

That aside, I agree with most of your points. I’m still not convinced changing QBs in the middle of a game is the answer. I’m not a Blake Bell kool aid drinker and I’m not sold on his decision making and throwing ability. Bell could start against TT and I don’t think we would see much difference.

Use the up tempo more often, bring in Bell in short yardage and goal line. Above all, take care of the friggin ball.

It bears repeating, this isn’t one Stoops’s better teams. The talent isn’t where it needs to be (in the trenches), and OU lacks the depth that the program typically has.

Tim, your last couple of paragraphs were good too. Once again OU loses to a less talented team that appeared better prepared.

We know more now than we did a month ago. The answer about being elite is still relative to the whole season….which for some teams is almost half over. We are 1/4th the way through OU’s season. Seventy-five percent remains…but this what we now know:

1. LJ is struggling mightily….he has been since losing Ryan Broyles. He has been inconsistent…especially since Broyles’ departure. He is MUCH better when running the hurry up. I think because the defense is on its heals (they have a harder time playing the match up game) and he doesn’t have time to think….he just attacks…he knows what he wants to do and does it. Once again he admitted that this one was on him….just like he said after last year’s OSU game. By far his 2 worst games. How many more times will he use that line? How many more times will Stoops refuse to change the flow of the game by changing QBs? When a point guard isn’t getting it done in BB, a good coach doesn’t hesitate to change the flow of the game with substitutions. The starting point guard is on the bench watching the play on the court so when he is reinserted, he might have seen enough to make better choices and plays. LJ should have been picked 3 times, instead of once. He was saved by the refs and instant replay for not having 3 instead of 2 fumbles. His mistakes came at critical points in the game…yes, those mistakes lost the game…period.

2. Why not use Bell more often? Yes, his fumble killed us….but here is the thing on that fumble…what was going on with Ikard? His snaps were off this game…LJ kept one from flying over his head…he recovered a low one at his feet….so as bad as it was, it could have been worse..kiddos to LJ on those 2 plays. Bells’s fumble was because of a low snap. Ikard again….could he not hold off the KSU linemen? Was he trying to help another lineman? There was a problem with snapping the ball Saturday night.

3. The defense played great….yes, great….we didn’t get beat by the big play and KSU can break off big plays…which probably explains why we didn’t blitz…Klein wasn’t touched behind the line. I told my nephew before the kickoff the game would be decided in the 4th quarter if we couldn’t stop their run game. And if that was the case, KSU would win because our guys would be knocked silly by then. OU needed to get off to a quick start on offense which means running the hurry up…which they didn’t do much of in the first half. Our D-line has no depth to play manno a manno football. KSU’s linemen seemed huge to our undersized line. Don’t blame the defense….it is vastly improved from previous years. Yes, the had problems…on 3rd down especially, like 3rd and 12 and 3rd and 11 in the 4th quarter. It should have never come to that….that is my point….the score should have been 24-7 OU instead of 24-13 KSU. Knowing the huge depth problems we have on defense, we should never invite getting into a slugfest with a powerhouse team in the 4th quarter.

4. Stoops has shown at critical times his lack of confidence in his players on offense by taking questionable timeouts…he did it at Baylor last year, and again Saturday night. Everyone in the house knew the play that should have been called…Belldozer….especially when LJ couldn’t even hit a wide open TE for a touchdown early in the game and struggled from that point on. Bell’s fumble was more about Ikard than Bell. It was a low snap. Another one of those little things….and Bell should have handled it by looking it in….

5. It was obvious KSU wanted to stop the ground game and stacked the box all might leaving the 15 yard to deep pass wide open all night…we used to take what the defense gave us…now we seem to want to make a point or a statement….I agree you have to run the ball…but run it effectively….look at all the time that came off the clock for 1-2 yard gains….we played right into Snyder’s game plan. We didn’t test the medium to long range passes near enough…they were open most of the night. The o-line play was horrible. KSU has a physical team, but so does WVU and UT. And I didn’t even mention an SEC team. There is no creativity on offense …and I am not talking about trick plays Nd gimmicks…I am talking about mixing up the playing calling….even changing QBs when one is obviously costing you the game and keeping your short stacked defense on the field too long.

6. The Sooners had 2 weeks to get ready for this game…a game everyone knew was BIG. This is what we netted? They have 2 weeks to get ready for TT. …a place we haven’t won at since 2003. Another run/pass offense. I never bet against the Sooners, but I am really having to think about this one. KSU is a very good team…we all knew that…make no mistake…but they a re beatable…their secondary is suspect…and a team that can exploit that will be able to run the ball…our play calling didn’t do it until the second half…Sterling Shepherd was incredible!

7. Passion….when OU took the field for warm ups, I was worried just
I,e last year against TT. I didn’t see any fire and spark…no hop in their steps. The only passion I saw all night was on defense. No leadership on offense.

8. There is still seventy-five percent of the season left….so, verdict is not in….but there are so many problems on this team concerning all elements of the game, depth, coaching, execution, play calling, schemes, and the quality of opponents gets tougher by the week, a miracle will have to happen to have the kind of season OU fans have become accustomed to.

I traveled 500 miles to once again watch the Sooners lose at home..I saw the TT debacle last year. I am a life long Sooner fan. Me and my family of 8 spent 3 days and $3800 to come and our Sooners….like many other fans…we can take a loss…we don’t like it, but we can understand when we lose a game when everything possible was done to win it and we don’t. Most fans don’t believe that was the case on Saturday. They either believe we played too conservatively (especially on offense), or that the whole program is on a downhill slide…maybe defenses have caught up with the spread….we haven’t reacted….result we will continue to decline. The spread needed skill players….the SEC has the dynasty it has because of dominating line play. We seem to be in a time warp….even Switzer had enough sense to modify the bone to keep winning.

As a teacher I know sometimes, students are fickle…the ones you expect greatness from don’t deliver, sometimes one with great potential quit, sometimes the average kid blows you away, and sometime the one you thought would end up in jail is the superstar student. Anytime you deal with kids it is a fluid situation. Leadership starts at the top….taking risks, doing what is best for the team instead of loyalties to coaches an players, in the end, is what is most respected and understood by all. By and large, OU has some of the best folks coaching and playing…they need to figure out how to make the pieces fit together…they need to know first what the picture looks like…it seems the defense knows those answers..the know the strengths and limitations…and when in doubt during the game a wise time out is called…that why there are time outs…if the offense was as efficient as the defense with their timeouts maybe we would have fewer games like Saturday. Change needs to come to the offensive side of the ball…change that is positive…if the starting QB, is fumbling, throwing picks and can only put up 6 points on the board, maybe someone else deserves a few snaps so the starter can go to the sidelines and watch what is happening…

Are you talking about your man-love that is Blake Bell, who can’t catch a shotgun snap, or Jones? Which one is it?

So much for the unbiased media.

He’s got a mediocre coaching staff–a bunch of guys with whom he’s comfortable but are by no means the best in their profession. And his recruiting has fallen off. And he never has recruited enough linemen, and that has bitten him already this year.

He’s averaged 3 losses a year for the last 7 years. Looks like this year will be #8.

I heard on the radio that Bob got “combative” with John Hoover at the post-game presser tonight. Hoover probably asked why OU had to call TO 3 times on defense, and why K-State converted for a 1st down on the next play all 3 times. Or why the offensive coaches didn’t have a 2-point conversion called in advance, and had to waste another TO right there. Or why the Belldozer wasn’t in for the 2-point try. Or why OU didn’t throw the ball downfield any more than it did. All reasonable questions.

The Sooners are a pretty good team. Probably good enough to finish in the top 3 or 4 in the 10-team Big 12. And that will probably be the case next year too. And the next. And the next.