Throwing red meat on a Tuesday

That’s too bad, because I’ve really enjoyed the way we stretch the field with Goodwin’s world class speed.

I wonder if that is code for a minor injury? While I would never wish Goodwin any injury, I hope that is what Mack is saying. Because it doesn’t make sense to me that a track guy would be suffereing from fatigue right now. And it may be better to play Kirknedoll more in the games that don’t matter rather than risking Goodwin. Of course by that token I’d rather play Chiles than Williams. But if Chiles and Kirkendoll play together then we have the same old bland, unthreatening receiver corp behind Shipley. So I’m going with thies being a strategerific way to rest Goodwin

Also, I miss Buckner.

It isn’t code for anything other than Kirkendoll is the older player and he sure acts like he works hard in practice. Don’t kid yourself. We’ve seen this now for 12 years.

Listen, Kirkendoll is not a productive player. He drops passes, he talks shit and showboats on 5 yard plays, and he’s actually not a very good blocker. But I am sure he runs in practice and his routes are crisp.

The offensive staff has no idea what they’re doing on offense, especially when it comes to personnel, and they have a head coach constantly delivering mixed messages about why different people should and shouldn’t play.

The simple reality is that Greg Davis remains a very stupid human being in control of a far more complex organization than he has any business leading. He’s perpetually overwhelmed, gives horrific directives to his subordinates and appears to focus largely on managing upwards in an extreme manner. He’s successful in that endeavor and the way you do that in an organization run by an insecure people pleaser like Mack Brown is you constantly ask for his buy-in and encourage him to help you make decisions and then shield him from any kind of subordinate/personnel mumblings about the decisions being made. It’s often a recipe for disaster unless the boss is really good as an overarching leader within the space; the lateral support is superb; and the quality of the raw materials is outstanding.

Hitting a wall leads to riding some pine while the shake-up precedes the stretch run?

I’m confused why it’s a big deal that Mack says a true freshman has hit a wall. It happens. And it’s not like Goodwin isn’t going to get any snaps, we rotate WRs quite a bit. Neither Kirk or Goodwin has been very effective in the last few games. I don’t really see this being that big of a deal.

And I’m excited about Mal getting more playing time.

(Insert Greg Davis rant)

I am no football expert. I watched my first ball game when I was 27 years old. And this is my first public comment regarding the “Greg Davis issue”.

Without having any qualifications whatsoever to judge the man I simply want to ask: how is it possible to properly evaluate man’s performance when the judges do not have access to team’s practice and, therefore, possess just a tiny fraction of Davis knowledge regarding individual athlete abilities, difficulties, strengths and medical condition? Don’t you think that watching players perform in the actual games is just a tip of the iceberg?

Moreover, how do you guys explain the fact that UT offense has been pretty highly ranked in most statistics ever invented? You can’t fool yourself by pointing to our successful recruiting, hey, LSU, Florida, Ohio State and a ton of others recruit first-class talent just like us, yet the consistency of GD offense within last 5 years (maybe more, I haven’t seen) is quite apparent to me. Is it to you?

The man is no saint, but insulting him personally is just stupid. You’ve got to be an insider to knowledgeably criticize coaches, especially those who consistently put highly ranked offense on the field year after year.

Echeese, is that you?

Ev —

Let me put it to you this way — Roman Abramovich is worth $8.5 billion. That is an objective fact. Similarly, the UT offense has been highly ranked during GD’s tenure, with some notable exceptions. Abramovich was a black market perfume and plasitc peddler, until he was able to use black market connections to get on the “board” of a small plastics concern — which is where he was when the privatizing fire-sales in post-Soviet Russia allowed him to purchase an industrial plastics maker for pennies on the dollar. From that position he was able to use his already great wealth to purchase many other companies, including oil companies and manufacturing concerns, to become even more wealthy. This is how he got stupid wealthy. GD was a sychophant at Tulane, who used his sychophancy to hitch himself to a rising star. That rising star accepted a position at UT eventually, guaranteeing GD a pipeline to the sort of talent that is truly the human equivalent of a Spindletop. As such, GD has experienced statistical success.

This is a long of way of saying that back story is frequently as, if not more, important than metrics. And that GD has a special ability, but it appears to be kissing Mack’s ass rather than coaching offensive football.

Eugeny Kontsevoy—

The events on Saturdays in the fall are the only events that matter, for starters. It’s not a difficult concept. What’s remarkable is the amount of obfuscation that occurs around that basic point. “Well, you don’t see the practices.”. “Well, you don’t know what happens in the film room.”. No, you’re correct, I don’t. I do know what I see on Saturdays though, and that’s your problem, man. There really is no way around that. You want it to be one way, but it is another.

You go back 5 years, and if I was defending Greg Davis, I would too. Shit, why not? Vince Young lived off of the porridge Greg Davis fed him, right? Right. This year, like every other, is a crapshoot in any given game. We struggle when it matters and we look like buffoons against opponents like Colorado and Wyoming.

Don’t fucking come here with your bullshit of “hey, I don’t know much, but look at all of this over the LAST 5 YEARS, blah, blah, blah”. Greg Davis has been the head dipshit in charge of this offense for 12 years, buddy. Again, you want it to be one way, but it’s another.

And about insulting him personally, it wasn’t intended that way. I just don’t think the guy has the intelligence of an average 60 year old adult. I think he’s below average with his mind and it shows every time he speaks. And for someone getting the credit he gets from the sycophants like you and paid in the mid-6 figures on a yearly basis regardless of losing 12-0 or 65-13 or 63-14 to our top rival or shitting himself at home 12-7 against the second most reviled rival, he doesn’t deserve the support.

Bob Loblaw—

You make a good point, except James Kirkendoll is a junior. Whoops.

CTJ—Now I know how you chose your moniker.

Back away from the ledge, dude.

I’m just glad we’re not having this argument re Williams v Chiles. The gap between seems much larger than Goodwin v Kirkendoll.

Ev,

This is a tired argument. This is sort of like saying you need to be 100% informed to come to a firm decision. By your logic it is impossible for us to evaluate how much of a fuckwad dictator Kim Jon Il is.

We all know the offense is statistically good. But Texas gets topflight recruits and plays in the Big 12, which means that by default the offense should be ranked very well. The arguments against GD are less about numbers than philosophy/personnel decisions, and his flaws tend to become more apparent situationally, read: when he faces competent D coordinators with a modicum of personnel. In a year when stars are aligning for Texas football the GD led offense is the only apparent cause for worry and so will be bitched about ad nauseum.

In all deference to N. Korea’s fuckwad dictator, I believe it is spelled Kim Jong Il.

So far, in 5 B12 games this year, UT is ranked 10th in total offense- 319.4 yards per game. We average 4.5 yards per play, which is also 10th. We score 34 ppg, which is 2nd in the B12, but if you subtract the 6TDs scored by the defense and special teams in league games, we drop to 25.9 ppg, which would put us around 6th.

This is not a good offense. The defense is holding us afloat.

Pundits make their money on the internets by taking a position and yelling it loudly.

Total offense ranking for Texas:
2008: 9
2007: 13
2006: 22
2005: 3
2004: 7
2003: 20
2002: 48
2001: 38
2000: 14
1999: 29

Greg Davis is mediocre. That’s all. Maybe better than mediocre. But articles aren’t interesting if they say something is meh. It has to be WOW or FUCK!

Looky there. It appears as though Vincent Young was a fine player. Kinda like the ol’ Quan Cosby/Colt McCoy/Jordan Shipley sammich being unstoppable.

The saving grace is that when we get to Pasadena we will be matched up with a team whose offense has more issues than ours (Alabama’s) or about the same amount(Florida’s). We will win or lose on the performance of our defense and ST’s. If we play turnover free ball on offense we will probably win.

I can live with that. Winning (or losing) 16-13 or 10-7 or 12-9 is waiting on us.

Turn The Page, Fred—

I changed handles from horndfl to close to jumping on Hornfans directly as a result of Greg Davis and his supporters. I used the signature “Greg Davis put me on this ledge, and moronic fans supporting him will send me soaring off of it.”. There are few threads where this handle is more appropriate, in my mind.

ghostofagroundgame and Bob Loblaw,

I think you may be misreading Mack’s quote. He is saying James Kirkendoll may have hit a wall, not Goodwin… insinuating that is why Kirkendoll’s performance dropped off. Doesn’t change anything…. but thought I’d take up for my track guy (Goodwin).

“I thought we probably worked James too much in preseason. Receivers run all the time in this heat. Jordan (Shipley) came out and didn’t spend as much time out there. I’m not sure that James didn’t hit a wall after Wyoming. He just got tired a little bit. We just need to get him some rest and shake it up a little bit.”

Art —

In the last sentence he says that Goodwin and Chiles may be hitting the wall now.

CTJ,

So, Greg Davis is compared to both the Russian mob & kim Jon Il. He’s on the gravy train. He’s a suck-up, a dumb-ass. He gives bad directives to subordinates. Manages upwards in an extreme manner to save his dumb-ass. Yet, his dumb-ass is able to deceive the insecure Mack Brown. He stifles his staff – the same staff that has no idea what it’s doing and who delivers mixed messages. I’m glad you did not intend to insult him personally.

But the quality of raw materials and talent is overwhelming. The talent that just drops in from the sky, as if by magic. Brought in by the insecure Mack Brown, someone who lets himself get deceived for over a decade.

You blast the last 12 years, yet you will not find a better 12 years of offensive production in Texas history, nor on any team in the past 12 years in college football (I understand looks can be deceiving, so please keep reading). You point out several horrible games as anecdotal evidence to support your claim that he’s not only a bad coordinator, but a bad employee and a stupid person.

I’m writing all this because I believe that analysis like this just makes it easier for Greg Davis apologists to write it off as the crazy interwebs. The fact is – you have no idea what you’re talking about regarding the day-to-day activities of Bellmont. So, don’t embarrass yourself and let the apologists disregard other insights on BC.

You have in the past provided more thoughtful analysis about the Mack Brown offenses. As you know, when you disregard the games that Texas plays against outmatched defenses over the past 12 seasons, you can see a pattern of underperformance against real teams that has been the case for 10 out of the past 12 seasons. Still, the Texas O has been consistantly good for a very long time and Greg Davis has both strengths and weaknesses. He’s not the best coordinator, but he’s certainly not the worst.

Hey, I’ll be the first to celebrate when we hire a more innovative OC. When compared to Muschamp, he’s lacking. But to personally hate Greg Davis in such a manner is disturbing. Unless I’m missing the playful joke, please stop.

Eskimo,

No one said Abramovich was in the Russian Mob.

For me it was the personal foul a few weeks ago. James Kirkendoll has not shown any special playmaking ability. Yeah, he’s good for 4 for 40 and an occasional TD a game, which is outpacing Goodwin’s contributions right now, but his douchebaggery outside of the production doesn’t make him worth the playing time: the weak blocking, the crowing over five yard catches, the generally crappy attitude.

If you’re going to act like Randy Moss, PRODUCE like Randy Moss. Otherwise, give me the little guy who will put his helmet in a DB chests on screens.

“Total offense ranking for Texas:
2008: 9
2007: 13
2006: 22
2005: 3
2004: 7
2003: 20
2002: 48
2001: 38
2000: 14
1999: 29

Greg Davis is mediocre. That’s all. Maybe better than mediocre. But articles aren’t interesting if they say something is meh. It has to be WOW or FUCK!"

That makes sense until you consider that we have had top ten recruiting classes in pretty much every year out of the last 12. Greg Davis will never have an offense that consistently performs at or above their talent level.

We hit a period last year where we were overachieving… but I don’t think Greg really understood why. In fact, it’s obvious with what has transpired since that he didn’t understand why we were so successful on offense last year because when we stopped being successful he’s just tried inserting new packages. That’s always what he has done and always what he will do.

The only thing that’s better about Greg now (as opposed to 10 years ago) is that he has more experience teaching new packages. He has no experience understanding why they are successful or how to make them more successful.

It’s funny because the people who defend Greg Davis have the same mentality as those who defended Carl Reese and they use the same arguments. There are many of us called for an actual analytical thinker as a coordinator who would teach and run sound defensive schemes and a coach that knew what the hell they were doing with our linebackers. Look at what fucking happened when we got that… we have the best defense in the country and it’s outstanding regardless of who we play. Because we have the fucking talent married with a great coach. That’s the way it should be at Texas. Not mediocre. Mediocre at Texas is unacceptable… and I’m not sure Davis is even mediocre.

ghostofagroundgame,

I disagree. He is saying “when” they hit a wall. He is basically reserving the right to use that as an excuse to start whomever he wants. Which of course is his prerogative.

“We feel like now when Marquise (Goodwin) and John (Chiles) hit a little wall we can give them a little break”

Hopefully this is just Mack saying “Hey, I want to put in some new stuff for the Big 12 Championship and hopefully national title game… and I’ll put Kirk out there until we’re ready to show the new stuff with Goodwin.”

A man can dream.

Yes, let’s get that straight. No one here said Abramovich was in the Mob, for chrissakes. (Never know who reads this.)

I really don’t know what happened with Kirkendoll. He straight-up won the Fiesta Bowl for us by knowing where the marker was on fourth down. If he wasn’t savvy enough to swing his arm around and nick the marker line with the nose of the football, the ball goes to tOSU and Quan never dives into the end zone. It was a damn smart play and I thought it indicated a bright future for him. Watching him this year has been pretty disappointing.

Oh, and this whole “you don’t know what goes on in Belmont” line of reasoning is ridiculous. Actual games aren’t “the tip of the iceberg.” The iceberg comparison doesn’t work. That’s like saying “Yes, ‘Point Break’ sucks, but the rehearsals and screen tests were awesome! You should have seen them. Don’t judge the movie by what’s on the screen!”

Brah, don’t be dissin on Point Break this soon after Brody just went to the great break in the sky.

Don’t bring Point Break into this.

Good post, Scott. Agreed with what the results look like when we bring in a Muschamp-type. A reminder: the defense lost a whole hell of a lot more after last year than the offense did. One is getting noticeably better every game, the other isn’t.

And the way we recruit, I feel like we’re going to have a defense at this level for as long as Muschamp is on our sidelines.

Most accurate blog post title. Evar.

Eskimohorn—

I did not compare him to Kim Jong Il or the Russian. You see, those were other posters doing that. I am not going to defend someone else’s analogy, and I am not responsible for it.

I don’t give two shits about the Texas offenses before Brown got here. They were historically pathetic excepting the late 60’s/early 70’s. That is a low bar for which I give him no credit in passing.

In regard to what goes on in Belmont, I’ve made no claims of knowing. I know very simply what I see on the field and what Davis tells us regularly. Upon those items, I can draw the conclusion that he’s not a very intelligent person and spends more time working up than looking around or down. The guy has the self-scouting skills of a strayed gazelle in the African savannah.

The guy is a public figure and represents all that sucks within an otherwise pristine program. Forgive me for not giving a shit if people don’t think that’s fair.

And Point Break was awesome. Posters on this thread have now failed on every level. Even when Woody Bombay was right, he was wrong.

On a related note, as in head-scratching offensive “strategies.” I’m really curious what DJ Monroe did to Greg Davis to piss him off? Monroe had 9 rushes in the first game of the season, had 5 the next game, then averaged just under 1 a game since.

Looking at our game-by-game individual rushing stats is like reading Cybil’s autobiography.

http://www.texassports.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2009-2010/indgbg.html#IGBG.RSH

- Vondrell McGee still leads all rushers.
- how often has UT gone a whole season with only one 100-yrd performance by a running back?

Well, last year UT had two RBs with 100+ rushing games. Colt had 103 vs Florida Atlantic and Og had 127 vs OU.

And people wonder why UT has trouble recruiting running backs?

Greg Davis recruiting a RB, “Hey son. Come to UT where you’ll get to know the sideline judges really, really well. And if you’re lucky you may start a few games before we switch you out so we can mask our OL problems and my play calling. Speaking of, do you like my power I formation out of the end zone for a safety at the Tech game last year and almost this year vs UCF?”

“I … am … an … F … B … I … agent!”

“I’m really curious what DJ Monroe did to Greg Davis to piss him off?”

After the second or third game of the year, Mack said something like “we went back over all of the times Monroe is in the game, and it turns out he gets the ball whenever he’s in there, and the defense knows it”. So we did the obvious thing and stopped playing him.

The Monroe thing is the reult of GD’s limited intellect. And I won’t use any analogies, but thanks for having my back CTJ. Remember when Mack said that everyone knew DJ was getting the ball when he was in the game which was making us predictable (didn’t a CU linebacker say as much)? Well there are three possible solutions: (1) use DJ as a decoy from time to time; (2) get him more snaps; or (3) stop playing him. The third one is simplest, and that is exactly what we have done.

Nordberg = mind-meld

It’s the PLAYERS, stupid. In college, scheme is 20%, players are 80. Our line, backs, TE, and 3rd and 4th WR’s just aren’t as good as you want to believe.

Muschamp was here last year but the PLAYERS are all growed up now. That’s the difference on that side of the ball.

That has to be sarcasm.

The thing that gets me about GD is that he’s not bad at everything, there are some things which he is good at doing. However, for aspects of his job which he is bad at, he is really, really fucking bad.

ghostofagroundgame—

I am less reliable and trustworthy than a pit bull. You are welcome. I did enjoy the analogy, if it makes you feel any better.

We’re already frustrated w/ Davis’ employment, quit frustrating us more w/ talk to leave him alone as we have no clue what’s going on in practice or the film room.

All of us who have played sports know there are those outside of (insert program here) that will judge you based on your game performance. To me personally, it’s fair. But also, I cannot think of a single program that I was in where the players and other coaches knew a single coach was making a terrible decision. For whatever reason it may have been, that coach could not be swayed differently.

I guarantee there are players on this team and coaches who are more frustrated with Davis then us outsiders who don’t watch practice or are in the film room. The players and coaches are the ones who deal with “Saturday Davis” which we get to enjoy x10.

Each one of you who played I bet had a talent on your team who would destroy 1st team squads while on the practice squad running another team’s offense. Yet, come Saturday we would try to use him in a completely different offense that wasn’t right for him or a play that didn’t suit his talent…so 1 play doesn’t work, idiotic coach just believes practice was a fluke and so on…

this post just took me on an emotional roller coaster which ends in me punching myself in the face… after punching GD in the brain.

Any thoughts on Muschamp promoting Applewhite or do we think he will bring in someone new for OC???

Guy, the defense is also playing without Norton, and with key seniors missing from last season. Yet, the players have been coached UP and are performing at or above their expected levels of production. This is not the case on offense.

Back to Point Break: Admittedly, Lori Petty’s production dropped off and she was never the same after Point Break (except for a brief stint in Free Willy), but she was an All-Star, as was Busey (no need to re-hash his awesomeness, see here – http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2009/09/16/dan-hawkins-seeks-the-wisdom-of-busey/), and then you get to top it off with Pat and Keanu. Also, for us younger folks, we got to learn a slew of presidents prior to Reagan and Bush!

Greg Davis’ offensive philosophy is similar to a William Faulkner novel – it seems to have little continuity, and can be mind-numbingly difficult to comprehend at times. However, instead of coming from a place of genius, it’s source is an uninspired, insipid, and unworthy mind. All that really needs to be noted is the “look at the defense grow” line of logic. We have equal or better athletes on offense, yet we stagnate. If these elite athletes can’t execute, it’s because they are not properly instructed how to execute or put into a scheme that has little chance of success. The glaring level of disparity between the perfomance of the offense and that of the defense just leaves most of us shaking our heads and salivating over the prospect of “what if”.

Boy, I am sure kicking myself for forgetting Lori’s performance in A League of Their Own, of which I am sure is a BC favorite. Her work as the little sister, Kit Keller, was amazing, and wonderfully exemplifies our relationship with the aggies.

Many apologies.

A League of Their Own would be fabulous if they just cut out all of the scenes that don’t include Tom Hanks.

Don’t want to distract you guys from the task at hand, but I did want to remind you that we’re still undefeated this season.

I’m not trying to discourange the eutopian vision of an offensive coordinator of Muschamp’s caliber, but before anyone firebombs Davis’ house, remember that we only have to score more points than the other team does. We don’t have to live up to the offense’s perceived potential.

Firebombing GD’s house is so 2004.

Sundance, without the defense we have, we’d probably have two losses right now.

Greg Davis sympathizes with you, Kirk Ferentz:

As one might expect, Kirk Ferentz is not joining in on the second-guessing of the call. In his post-game comments he targeted his frustration with the players, “Obviously, we didn’t get a good enough block, delay on their defensive end. He made the play,” he said. “It’s a good play on their part, bad play on ours.” Covering for Ken O’Keefe? Maybe. But anyone who follows the Hawkeyes knows that this Iowa coaching staff is devout believers in execution over and above scheme. “Let the players decide it” has been the mantra at Iowa in the Kirk Ferentz era.

Sundance, I have been in your shoes. I too have tried to accept this guy as our coach. But it’s killing our players and selfishly the fans and coaching staff.

A close buddy of mine is a defensive position coach in the Big12. For the past 2 years he has said that Texas’ offense is the easiest to prepare for. No shit. Sure we could all assume this and talk about it, but coming from a defensive coach who prepares all week for our offense means a little more. They still get waxed by our O due to pure talent.

The past 2 years he has been honest in saying Texas is not only easy to prepare for, but they are not that good. This is where we usually argue and he agrees that our fielded talent is top notch but the O coaching staff (F’in Davis) is holding them back.

“Avoid the clap.”

-Jimmy Dugan

A League of Their Own was awesome. Madonna, while a complete whore, always does it for me from that period.

I fail to see any correlation between being undefeated and Greg Davis being the OC. We’re winning in spite of the guy.

I really don’t see what the big deal is as far as Mack pulling Goodwin for Kirkendoll. Why doesn’t it matter? Because:

1. Greg has told us he doesn’t know who the hell is on the field at any given time anyway.

2. Greg won’t call plays to utilize both of those guys well regardless of how either of them plays.

3. As soon as they do overcome his play calling and make something happen, inevitably they’ll be yanked for someone who has sat the bench the entire game; or Greg will make sure to never go back to those working plays again and instead focus on perfecting the uber greatness that is the WildHorn.

As far as the tired old argument about our offenses always scoring a lot of points goes: of course we score a lot of fucking points. Being the offensive coordinator at Texas in this day in age is like being an overgrown bruiser beating retarded kids with a whiffle ball bat. It’s just plain unfair.

The Big 12 doesn’t play great defense. The shotgun spread allows you to rack up yards/points even if you do play semi-competent defenses. And the talent level at Texas under Mack Brown makes sure that every kid you have out on the field is vastly superior to his adversary across the line. Except when it comes to the offensive line where MacWhorter and Davis’ philosophy seems to be that we need a bunch of pansy ass, estrogen swilling cupcakes to defend our Heisman caliber, record setting QB.

So why wouldn’t we be ridiculously high on the offensive rankings? When you play 10 cupcakes a year the likes of Baylor, Kansas, LALA, Rice, etc. and your only real tests are Oklahoma and MAYBE one decent OOC school every blue moon, you SHOULD be dropping bombs on everyone. If you aren’t there’s a serious problem. Thus, the reason for the criticism of GD. When Tulsa dump trucks Colorado to the tune of 52 points or so and your offense struggles to do anything against them, there might be a problem! Of course, the stellar offensive coordinator promises you that they’re working on it and that soon they’ll have the running game fixed and everything will be fine. Only problem being, the running game never gets fixed and instead the coordinator comes out with his own fuzzy logic theory to prove to everyone that despite what you see on the field each Saturday, our run game really is fine!

Sadly, the LOLFAILCAT run of Baylor, Kansas, Agric, and whatever shmuck comes out of the Big 12 North will probably only lull Greg and Mack into further believing that the offense really is fine. Then when the title game comes around and we’re facing a fast, nasty, fire breathing, face raping, skull reaping defense like Bama or Florida has we’re going to be woefully unprepared.

I can just see Chrissy Hall trying to block Terrance Cody or Brandon Spikes as they barrel with murderous, eye-gouging intent towards Colt. It’ll be NLAA, alright. Just not the kind we want.

Nobody wants to hear this, but NU is a bad matchup for us. They are good against the run, and better against the pass than we are.

The next three games, we play three teams that are poor against the run, crappy against the pass (Baylor), crappy against the run, good against the pass (KU), and crappy against the run an crappy against the pass (TAMU). If we struggle on offense against them, we will be primed for an embarrassment against Nebraska.

WWGDD – Your friend is merely echoing what opposing players and coaches have been saying about Davis’ offense for years. This criticism was once limited to OU, which has excellent defensive coaches. This season, however, we were treated to this aggravating evaluation by Colorado players. COLORADO. If the nitwits coaching in Boulder can figure it out, anyone can.

Apologies if your friend is one of those nitwits.

“We don’t have to live up to the offense’s perceived potential.”

I would rephrase that slightly: So far, we haven’t needed to live up to the offense’s perceived potential.

Hope that doesn’t change, but another 12-7 turd against aggy — with a trip to the MNC on the line — does create enough uncertainty to make me nervous.

Well that, and if it was about something other than girls playing baseball.

Davis…..I really don’t get it. Our QB play has been very good for the most part since he’s been here. Part of the credit has to go to him. Our running game has been hashed and re-hashed. It has underperformed in big games for 9 of the 12 years he has been here with the two VY years and the one RW years as the only exceptions. I think it is pretty obvious why. Arguing with that requires a fundamental lack of knowledge about football.

My problems with Davis revolve around the inability to use our tendancies in our favor. The refusal to ever take shots on 2nd and short. The extremely rare use of play action on 3rd and short. The unwillingness to use double moves and pump fakes when our play calling dictates that we must on occasion to offset our love of 2-4 yard digs. The inability to teach or excecute a RB or WR screen with actual blockers. No use of a true pass block draw (although with the Cowboys success of their fake throw/draw play I am praying Davis steals it). The rare use of misdirection. The total lack of quick hitters. The feeling that we must hide standard plays for big games, rather than working on perfecting them against patsies. Make a defense have to guess for a fucking change. The use of solid plays that work and then are shelved because now the defense has tape. The step back throw to the WR 2 yards behind the LOS resulting in a loss of 2 or no gain. It is a let me think of my next play call. Just run the ball up the gut for a 1-2 yard gain while you think of your next play. 2nd and 8 beats the shit out of 2nd and 12. I have many more and could go on forever but I won’t bore you anymore.

He isn’t the worst, but is that really the criteria? Our offense has been pathetic against anything resembling an average defense this year. I love this team and like its chances, but like I said before OU and OK state, “I would be really worried in years past, but now we have Muschamp. We’ll be fine.” He is the only reason we have a chance to win it all this year. Here’s hoping he can pull it off.

Taylor—

Nebraska is not better against the pass than we are. I like their defense too, but, no, their pass d is not as good as ours.

UNL has no concept of how to win consistently or how to stand success. The same team that beat a miserable OU offense found a way to lose, on a pass, to a Virginia Tech that will wind up 8-4 and boring the shit out of anyone watching in a random bowl game. Nebraska figured out a way to lose to Iowa State at home.

Suh will wreak havoc and I’d rather play KSU, but we’re splitting hairs here. That offense for Nebraska might not get past the 50 on its own against us.

For those attacking GD, why not focus more attention on Mack? GD is GD. It is the job for Mack to manage GD. If you want the horns to run better, shouldn’t Mack step in? Mack does not need to fire GD. It would be easy for Mack to tell GD to delegate some of his responsibilities to subordinates. Let somebody else design the run game. Let Major do the play calling. Maybe it is time for a new OL coach.

Kafka – I invite you, or anyone else on this thread, to describe each instance where you’ve fired (or substantially demoted) any person who’s been your friend for 10+ years.

There aren’t many, I bet.

TTR,

Our D is a worse matchup for their offense than our offense is for their D. The Huskers’ offense is atrocious. Ours is not, despite it’s inherent limitations.

We’re also superior in special teams assuming we end the 30 yd rugby punt charade and let John Gold just kick the fucking ball 50 yards.

And they lost to Iowa State. Iowa. State.

Our offense has been pathetic against anything resembling an average defense this year.

Um, that trend goes back much further than this year. Take out Vince, and Davis’ failure against good defenses is the norm.

Nordberg – I don’t disagree. But we do have that defense. If we win a championship with a mediocre offense and a transcendent defense, it still counts.

WWGDD – I hear you. I agree that Davis does a poor job of putting our players in a position to succeed, and I’d be happy to see him replaced by a number of other coordinators that I think would be interested. However, UT only plays football about 12 Saturdays every year, and I’ll be damned if I let GD spoil those for me. That’s all I was getting at.

I’d rather play Nebraska than K-State, based on mojo alone.

I like the way Mack considers all his options.

We could get our talented freshman ready for “hitting the (as yet imaginary) wall”

OR

Another option might be “We really need to get our freshman MORE playing time to get them ready for the pressure of a conference championship and perhaps a national championship game.”

nordberg believes in the boogeyman and the tooth fairy as well. Give me KSU and exorcise the demon.

BEHorn – RE: Shannahan, Mike and Bowlen, Pat

Keaton always said, “I don’t believe in God, but I’m afraid of him.” Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Bill Snyder.

That is funny. I actually feel similarly, but I believe it to be a more winnable game.

Embrace your fear.

i guess overheating can lead to impulsive headbutts as well.

Can someone explain how you hit a wall after the 2nd game of the season?

Anyone find it odd that the fucking mascot has his fingers taped up? And apparently he was taped up by someone on crack – thumb near hand, index near nail, ring near hand, and looks like the same on the other hand (except I can’t see the thumb).

Is he giving some imaginary pitcher signals to throw a curveball?

WTF?

He also appears to be hugging Dick Cheney.

I try to look at GD as objectively as I can. Our running game stinks and I think we’d be better off under center and utilize single back and I sets. That said, without having a dual threat TE, I’m not sure it wouldn’t create just as many problems as it solves.

Here’s the personnel problems I see with this years team.

TE – We really don’t have one.

WR – Malcolm Williams: Why it’s taken the staff this long to decide he’s the best WR not named Jordan Shipley is beyond me. I understand he’s had a bad case of the drops in practice, but so do a lot of great WR’s (Andre Johnson, TO, etc.). I hope the coaches have come around to the fact that sometimes it’s just going to happen and you’ve got to throw the ball to a freak like that and just accept the drops. He’s playmaking ability is much superior to Chiles, Kirkendoll, and Goodwin at this point in time. Anyways, I’m just glad they’ve apparently got it right moving forward.

RB – Cody’s extremely versatile and does a lot of things well. He’s not a great fit for the zone-read or whatever it’s called, but he’s not unbelievably bad at it either. If a crease is there, he’s going to hit it and pick up at least 4, but if our lineman get blown off the ball and he’s forced to run east and west….well, he’s going get caught.

Monroe and Whitaker are incapable of doing anything other than running east or west. Sure, they get to the sideline sometimes, turn it upfield and bust a long run. It’s great when they do, but they are not versatile running backs capable of shouldering 20-30 carries a game and pass blocking. Subsequently, this doesn’t give the coordinator a whole lot of flexibility when those two are lined up in our backfield. They’re pretty much Jefferey Demps or Trindon Holliday in Longhorn gear.

Vondrell has zero patience. You want a guy to hit the hole hard, problem is he’s running to a spot where the hole is designed to be and not using his vision and he does a poor job of utilizing his blockers. I’ve never seen a running back run so hard into the back of his lineman.

I haven’t seen enough of Newton to form a solid opinion, but he seems like he’s the best RB we’ve got, albiet the one with the least amount of speed, power, or combination of the two, similiar to Obe. In the limited action I’ve seen him in, he does seem to have the best vision, he makes good cutting decisions, and he does a good job of using his blockers.

Bottom line, our RB’s aren’t very good and the lack of a dual threat TE isn’t helping there cause. I’m not so sure this O-line is all that great either. They seem to false start, hold, and miss assignments more than any unit I can remember in a long time. Anyways, Ced, Selvin, and JC were successful using essentially the exact same scheme because they were great running backs. I really don’t think any amount of scheming is going to significantly improve that situation without hurting our passing game.

Ditto everything BartonCreek said.

“Can someone explain how you hit a wall after the 2nd game of the season?”

Because receivers run a lot, and it’s hot and stuff.

Bingo, Art…that practice bubble is a fucking mirage – it’s hot as shit in there, too.

I saw this earlier today, and 2/3rds of my hair fell out of my head. This just fucking drives me out of my goddam mind. Kirkendoll is completely useless on the field unless the ball is being thrown his way, in which case he’s only half useless.

There is just no accountability at all when it comes to naming starters at the RB and WR positions. Sometimes I think the coaches just get together and decide it by playing “rock, scissors, paper”.

Hook ’em!!!

This thread captures a lot of what is simultaneously thrilling, maddening and potentially heart-breaking about Texas football.

“It’s (weird Mack-GD symbiosis) often a recipe for disaster unless the boss is really good as an overarching leader within the space (he is); the lateral support (Muschamp, facilities, school, town, etc) is superb; and the quality of the raw materials (Texas talent) is outstanding.”

Fine description of our program, ctj. You are irrascible, profane, highly entertaining, occasionally brilliant, and one of my favorites on this site. Please do not jump or stop.

Bates—goddamit, Swayze’s role in Point Break was called “Bodhi” (short for bodhisattva) not “Brody.” Do not fuck with the classics.

Bartoncreek—I agree that GD has probably contributed to the quality of our QB play. Some credit due there. However, your catalogue of GD’s standard maneuvers that result in my wanting to pull my hair out was as complete and well-stated as any I have read. At least commiserating with other like-minded sufferers is cathartic.

CloseToJumping is my personal hero. Seriously, great commentary – and more important, it is the Truth.

CTJ

Winning in spite of a guy…we’ve done that before. There was a guy that put up awesome stats, and we had a good defenses at the time he was here. We killed inferior opponents most of the time, but sometimes struggled against them. We almost always lost the big one. His name was Chris Sims.

This is what scares me about Greg Davis, I feel like I’ve already seen what happens when you allow talent to crush cream puffs in spite of the fact that he continually makes bonehead moves that jeopardize his team (see a 6’4" QB throwing into the D line over and over).

After reading most of this, I feel compelled to discuss the 1st reply…

nordberg – “That’s too bad, because I’ve really enjoyed the way we stretch the field with Goodwin’s world class speed.”

Maybe I haven’t been paying enough attention to Goodwin when he’s been on the field, but if he has been stretching it, why haven’t we thrown the ball to him down field? How many times per game has Goodwin run deep routes and how has that impacted the play of those around him? I’m really hoping one of the barkers can chime in here.

Just to make sure I didn’t forget something, I checked his stats. His longest catch of the season was a 29 yarder against that directional Louisiana school in week 1. Given the limited number of catches per game, it could be a coincidence, but his YPC has steadily declined as the season has progressed. Maybe he really could use a week off…

I see why you didn’t choose Jonathan Swift as your screen name.

Oh, dear God.

Texasengr, thank you. I think you’ve proven the point beautifully.

Wow, texasengr. Wow.

In additional deference to N. Korea’s exalted f*wad leader, I believe his actual name is Kim Jong-il.

I am a great proofreader, ketch, and boy do you need one. Hire me.

I am not talking about message boards. I am talking about the major articles.

I could work from home and make your publication a lot more professional, if you care about that. I can also write and edit.

To quote the man, I will now light myself on fire.

I think it’s safe to say that this slab of red meat is well done.

Bring on the steak sauce.

Guess I missed the sarcasm. I was drinking, heavily.

When people have time to bitch, people will bitch.

Personally, I’m enjoying this season.

lurkerinthedark I can’t stress to you how thoroughly we here at Barking Carnival have despised this season. We’ve derived not one single moment of pleasure from it as is so strongly indicated from our occasional criticism of one particular aspect of the team.

Thanks for reading but moreover thanks for ‘getting us’.

lurkerinthedark is no doubt a 50,000 post star at Orangebloods.

Nothing like the input of a shameless cheerleader fan to dumb down a thread.

Hook ’em!!!

Lurker might not enjoy this season as much if we lose to Alabama 20-13 because we can’t run the ball and they can.

I’ve run across people regularly in school, sports, and business who project out that if you’re critical about anything at all, you’re not a team player. Those folks should generally join the military or large bureaucratic organizations, because they are cannon fodder in any other environment.

Ah Lurker. So precious.

CTJ and the like are the John Carpenter of Longhorn fans. They’ve created a boogeyman – Greg Davis, who slashes teenagers (in this case, 4 & 5 star recruits). While great social commentary and allegory, which brings pieces of the truth to the service, it’s ultimately fiction. I prefer actual analysis of offensive execution (or lack thereof), rather than guesses about the mental capacity and integrity of coaches based on excerpts from pressers.

Not only does Greg Davis personal attacks and conspiracy theories about his role on the staff not help, but it ensures that more thoughtful analysis on Barking Carnival & Burnt Orange Nation are set aside as fringe, internet hysteria by “Mr. Overly Competitive Touch Football Game Player.” Not that Greg Davis & Mack Brown are above criticism – it’s when you seriously question their intelligence and integrity as human beings where you cross the line. And, post things you have no insight on, such as Greg Davis’ role on the staff and within the organization.

After a game, I can say, “Davis really had his head up his ass in this one.” and that’s normal griping. Par for the course. But, to seriously post that Davis is a stupid human being seems a bit much. There are plenty of coaches who suck, yet are very intelligent or at least normal intelligence.

And, let me talk about press conferences and quotes to the media. They mean nothing. It provides very little insight, especially from the media-savvy coaches at UT. If you have actual information about why we change the starting line-up so much on offense, then I’d like to know if you have real insight into the operations of the coaching staff. But, to base your “analysis,” assumptions and judgement of Davis on his and Mack’s comments in the press is ridiculous. You have nothing. It’s what they want you to hear at the time of the comment. Because our press does not care to find out the truth behind the comments, they have no incentive to provide 100% honest responses. Why should they?

Just because you’re in the anti-Greg Davis camp, does not mean you’re not a true fan. Still, you are not a team player when your criticism is not constructive and when it undermines the more thoughtful critical analysis by others on your team.

Linda: “Doyle, I’m havin’ a friend over for supper. His name is Greg and he’s a little slow.”
Doyle: “Hey is this the kind of retard that drools and rubs shit in his hair and all that, ‘cause I’m gonna have a hard time eatin’ ‘round that kind of thing now. Just like I am with antique furniture, midgets and zone blockin’. You know that I can’t so much as drink a damn glass of water around a midget or a piece of antique furniture.”

Eskimo—

For starters, I am not a serious writer, nor have I ever claimed to be. Project that bullshit about journalistic integrity onto someone paid to do the job. I am a fan with fan opinions and I don’t apologize for that or hide it. I am an unpaid poster on multiple football boards seeking and finding entertainment.

Second, in regard to “serious dialogue on Greg Davis and his shortcomings” or some such, I did that, for years. When that was done, guys like you showed to tell me I am not a coach and that I don’t understand the game. Everything I typed then is still true today. I tired of that, and the fact that it had absolutely no impact on anything regarding the program, and 12-0 against the sooners in 2004 was the final straw. I realized that Davis, dumbfuck that he is, was going to be around here as long as his buddy was running things.

Finally, yes, I believe a great many of the coaches out there are not very bright. They look good, they speak well, and they can motivate folks. Some can find the right guy’s assholes upon which to cling.. Some really are bright guys. I’ve played for them and been around them all my life. Whatever shine you want to apply to the guys out there drawing up the x’s and the o’s is your own thing, but it holds very little weight in the reality of the environment. Greg Davis has given 12 years of commentary and empirical evidence in which we can derive our conclusions. Very clearly, you and I see it differently. I choose to look at what the man himself has presented, and you choose to look at his status and position within the football universe. Good luck with it. I refuse to couch my position simply since I haven’t seen the man’s IQ results.

I stand corrected. And appropriately so.

My uncle and I were wrecked at his daughter’s wedding a year ago, and I was bitching about Greg Davis, and he, in his scotch induced stupor, made a fairly valid point: Greg Davis and Mack Brown’s professional relationship has reached a point of undivideable symbiosis. I don’t think Mack Brown can exist successfully without Greg Davis. I know that sounds sort of silly, but he can cut everything else loose in his professional career, but Davis is a crutch that he must have, for whatever reason.

If you want all the good that comes with Mack Brown? It comes with a dark side as well. And I think many of us on this page have come to peace as much as possible with this situation, as aggravating as it may be.

Having said all that, it won’t make the boiling rage I feel less white hot if Nordberg’s prediction comes true in the MNC game .

Bill Syder is no Ron Prince, let’s not be scared of someone Chris Simms beat on the road without Roy Williams.

I too was scared of Colorado in the 2005 Big 12 game bc of the deep deep emotional scars of 2001 Big 12. 70-3 was quite cathartic and I expect a similar game if we get to play KSU. Especially from a defensive domination standpoint.

I was all set to pull for Nebraska, but then I had visions of Chris Hall and Charlie Tanner blocking Ndkabadmotherfucker Suh.

Go Wildcats!

Ah, we could get into field goal range against Nebraska, so given the shutout our D would throw we’d end up winning despite Suh.

To build on Kafka’s point…

I think this thread is an excellent, standout example of why Mack keeps Greg around.

Every program needs a whipping boy, and for as long as Greg F. Davis is on the staff, it’ll never be Mack.

Count the number of criticisms of Mack in this thread compared to criticisms of Greg. Baby might got back, but Greg got Mack’s.

Well said, Bates. The Mack/GD symbiosis is part of the Mack Brown package. CTJ detailed that package pretty well in the last sentence in his original comment in this thread.

“It’s often a recipe for disaster unless the boss is really good as an overarching leader within the space; the lateral support is superb; and the quality of the raw materials is outstanding.”

This season’s major suspense will be finding out if the strengths Mack has brought to the program (plus some luck) will be enough to overcome Davis’ shortcomings. Speaking up about those shortcomings doesn’t make a bad fan. Quite the contrary, expressing alarm about a potential threat is an indicator of both intelligence and passion.

A number of the voices on these boards that I respect most seem to think that Mack is a short-timer as head coach. I think the closer Texas comes to the MNC this season, the more likely Mack is to step down in favor of Muschamp, possibly succeeding a retiring DeLoss Dodds as AD. I suspect GD may leave with Mack if our symbiotic hypothesis is accurate. One more reason to root like hell for another championship.

One thing that has crossed my mind during this thread…

I think some of us may have fallen into the idea that, once Muschamp is the Head Man, our defense will remain the same dominating squad, and our offense will rise to the same level.

No man/coach is perfect, and I think there’s a better than decent chance that the Muschamp years will be marked by an offense that looks more SEC-like, just like his defense does.

He was schooled in the SEC, and I think we should all allow that our future offenses may be decidedly more SEC-esque.

If we win all the games, I doubt anyone will kick up too much a fuss for an oldtimer like Brooks, but our offense may get a lot less pretty in the coming years. Just food for thought. Red meat for thought, if you will.

Just win – that’s really all I care about. My big concern with this team is that our running game – or lack thereof – will ultimately cost a game, and the national championship.

Hook ’em!!!

what’s missing vs last year’s offense

- Chris O. He had an excellent feel for getting open on dumpoffs, and saved Colt a lot. Where is that this year? watch the Colorado, Mizzou and OU games especially.

- Slot receiver’s hot route

- Excellent pulling on run plays + excellent reads by Obi to find the hole on these plays

- A lot more reckless abandon by Colt when it came to running.

Otherwise, its typical GD offense.

BeHorn:

As a computer systems engineering/scientific software development manager for many years, I have quite a bit of experience getting rid of people. Normally it involved “running them off”, i.e. putting enough pressure on them that they just decided they would rather work elsewhere. It is also effective to assign duties that the targeted employee finds unappealing. It is also effective to make the employee use a methodology they don’t agree with. It is also effective to be very honest in evaluations and and make it clear to the target that they have no future in this particular job.

Having said that, my suggestion re: GD specifically does not call for firing him. I suggest Mack bring in a consultant (somebody with gravitas like Mike Shanahan) and explain (to Mike in private) that he wants Mike to evaluate the offense and make some recommendations that define a more distributed effensive management organization. Call it flattening the organization. Call it developing people. Call it managing the future. Call it whatever but reduce the scope of GD’s power. You can also use this as an opportunity to get rid of a lower level coach who is not getting it done.

Kafka -
I love you, Daddy..

Hell, I’ll say it. The worst, the absolute worst.

And his “packages” are just another overcompensation.

max factor is much better in my opinion x