Texas Football 2011 Spring Game Recap Part 1: Looking For A QB

Your take mirrors where I am at after the scrimmage. The next 4 months of internet debate are going to be incredibly annoying. The annointing of Case has already begun in earnest, with people saying trite shit like “Don’t ever underestimate a McCoy!!”. I think I might have to turn the internet off until August practices start back up.

I don’t think anyone saw a team capable of winning more than 8 games next year, so it would stand to reason that we should give the job to the guy with the most room to grow. Based on a very limited sample set, that’s Connor Wood for me. It’s a mystery that he was given the short end of the stick.

What’s funny is that the only thing people seem to agree upon is that Gilbert is not the solution. Well, it’s funny until you realize that everything yesterday pointed to him being the starter in 2012.

My question: What was the deal with McNamara? Hadn’t heard ANYTHING about him at all, and all of the sudden he’s kind of everywhere. Yeah yeah, spring game, don’t pay too much attention, blah blah – but still, kid was in the right spot at the right time a number of times.

Second part of the question that I forgot to ask: Did folks see things in McNamara that would get him real playing time next season? Always enjoy someone busting out with no prior buzz to their name.

GG is really over-thinking. After last year and a new offense, that’s understandable – especially in a kid that wants to win/please.

I don’t see how yesterday helps Gilbert relax at all. Success this Fall may be more of a mental hurdle than a playbook one. Dr. Molly Griswold, imo.

I could be wrong, but I get the sense from listening to people who have seen the practices, that Gilbert got the nod because of looking the best thus far in practice, while Case and Wood have been much more uneven. My guess is that yesterday will raise some pretty serious red flags for Harsin and Major, and I heavily doubt that this is going to be a coronation. I would bet money that if Connor Wood performs reasonably well in practice over the next 5 months, he will be the starting QB. I have to believe that Harsin recognizes that GG is damaged goods, and nobody on this staff is going to be willing to trot him out there to get the same results that we saw all of last year.

Rich -
 
Thanks for the thoughtful response.
 
Our fanbase during QB controversy is not particularly enjoyable to be around in any fashion, but if there is a saving grace, I’m not sure many fans can advocate their guy with much confidence. This feels more like Shannon Kelly vs Mark Murdock vs Donovan Forbes than Simms/Applewhite.

The problem is that this QB controversy will be argued in part by people who have no rationality and are blindly arguing for a last name and a legacy. I was at the game and couldn’t agree more with your take on Case’s performance. Even in watching the warm-ups, it was hard not to notice how weak his arm is compared with the other three, and how often he threw an end-over-end Berne Kosar-esque “spiral”. In the same warm-ups, it was tough not to notice the zip and consistency that Ash had.

TxinDC -
 
I had no clue about McNamara. He’s a legit 6-4 with hands and the QBs like him. That guy always has a place on my team as a chain mover. Obviously, he’s complementary player, but one that fills a niche. He was an All-District WR at Lubbock Monterey, so he’s not without ability.
 
Matt -
 
I do agree that GG is over thinking, but I’m pretty convinced he also doesn’t see the field all that well. That can change with comfort and learning coverages, but it needs to happen quickly.
 
Big Ern -
 
There are no more practices over the next 5 months. There are unsupervised informal workouts led by players followed by two-a-days starting in mid-August. And in August, they’re not interested in QB battles. They’re interested in solidifying a two man depth chart and finding a starter.

QB debates aren’t going to be nearly as fun when we are saying "Your guy’s 4-13 for 38 is pathetic! My guy would have gone 5-13 for 60 yards if they’d only give him the chance! "

“This feels more like Shannon Kelly vs Mark Murdock vs Donovan Forbes.”

Lord. I don’t drink nearly as much as I did then. This is a problem.

I agree that everyone should temper their reactions to Baby McCoy’s stat line. And it does feel like Garrett is getting some incumbant favoritism with the snaps – when he should have been able to separate himself from the pack as a JUNIOR QB. I did find it encouraging to hear that Harsin wouldn’t tell Mack his top QB choice. Perhaps Harsin wants to let them all go for it (despite the sparatic snap distribution) in the spring, then he can figure it out over the summer. We can only hope that HarsinWhite are willing to make the hard decisions and that Mack will give them the freedom to do so. If not, we’re right back where we ended last season.

And maybe we are holding our new QB and/or system to an unreasonably high standard. Maybe we can make this work with a mildly competent QB? Maybe we will generate the most prolific and bat-shit crazy running game the program has ever seen? Maybe.

shitty tackles + shitty QB = no bueno

Scip, do you think they played Case more because Colt was watching from the sidelines? It was obviously a big day and having Colt in attendance and not giving his brother significant snaps would look bad? Even my flag football team (11-13 yr olds) have better throwing mechanics than what Case showed yesterday.

Scipio,

Good to see you back in heavy rotation. I recorded the game on DVR over the weekend while I was out of town but have not had the chance to review it yet.

Although I’m encouraged by what others have said about the play overall – and in particular with some key spots like interior OL, corner, etc. – I’m really discouraged to learn that 1) Gilbert and McCoy were given so many prime snaps, and 2) neither one of them did much with the opportunity.

I will remain cautiously optimistic that this was a means for Harsin/Major to evaluate whether Gilbert and McCoy had been able to absorb the new system and concepts. Sunday’s on-field performance indicates a resounding "no."

Like you, my fear is that (same old) Mack has been privately pushing Gilbert as the starter and pressuring Harsin/Major to keep him there along with McCoy as the backup. That said, my hopeful side wants to believe that the OCs called Mack’s bluff, agreeing to play them in significant snaps to support their case for a change, believing that Gilbert & McCoy would not be able to justify their status.

Or maybe they all see something that I don’t. In any event, there should be a lot of practice film to evaluate between now and August.

While I agree that we’re not exactly picking from the ripest batch of fruit, that fact has never stopped our fan base from picking sides, covering their ears, and screaming “McCoy is the man lalalalalalalalalalalala, McCoy is the man lalalalalalalalala, I can’t hear you!!”

Such is life though. So long as I can force myself to realize that I can’t change anything I will survive the offseason.

I’m much more interested in your take on the overall offense. We felt pass heavy to me, and despite all the motion and shifting I didn’t see a run game that would give anyone on our schedule reason to worry. The winner of the QB job is going to be largely moot if we can’t get good solid yards on the ground.

While I wouldn’t say “lets start the season now!” for any of these QBs, I am certainly more confident in McCoy than I am Gilbert. Gilbert was dead to me when he made more of the horrible throws that he did last year. Seemed like he hasn’t improved at all.

McCoy looked decent. Serviceable is the term I’d use. He can (probably) get the job done and come out fine, but he won’t be a star QB.

Wood seems to have all the pieces there, if he just develops. Same can be said of Ash.

Either way, I don’t see Texas coming out with a star QB this season. I feel a whole lot of short tosses (to emphasize the talent at WR) and handoffs to the backs (Read: Mr. Brown)

It is really hard for me to get much of a feel for how they deal with pressure because of the sack rules. I know I saw a DE pull up in the back field, probably because he was sure the play was about to be whistled, just to watch the QB (wood? Hard to tell tall skinny white kids apart from 100 yrds) pick up a few yards. Gilbert took a sack before the half for holding the ball too long. Yeah, he should have thrown it sooner, but would he have taken off in the game? Even VY could have been nutralized if it only took a touch for him to be considered sacked.

Case had a good throw on some pressure. He released the ball right as he was touched. He completed it in the middle of the field for 10+ yards but was ruled sacked. Would he have gotten that off in a game? Was was the DLman taking a little off of it, and in a game situation would have altered Case’s pass? I don’t know.

What I did see was that the throwing, in general, didn’t look great, and that worries me. Wood did have a real nice ball INTO the wind that was too far for White. If he is as fast as he’s supposed to be, White needs to get under that. Case had that one that looked nice. Do all of our QBs have bad foot work and mechanics? Was the wind really that bad?

I turned off the DVR last night thinking that if these are the kids from whom we have to choose our QB, we’re in trouble. If I were Harsinwhite, I’d be thinking about how I was going to adjust my scheme to mitigate the QB liability because nobody who we pick we have one. Then I would be looking at developing Wood and/or Ash since they appear to have the most upside, and I would hate to lose one of them to transfer in order to start Gilbert or McCoy.

I thought the run game looked decent up the middle, and, in a real game situation, capable of winning a war of attrition by gaining big yards in the 4th against a tired defense, something that seems optimized for Malcom Brown (and, yesterday, apparently Cody Johnson as well).

Didn’t get to see too many of the cutback-type runs that Boise is famous for, not sure if that was by design or they were just badly executed.

Excellent analysis of the snap allocation & comparison to Jonatan Crompton although UT lite did not have other options. In spite of all that’s said about all positions being open Wood, Ash & McCoy know they’re running against Mack’s incumbent. Gilbert looks just as lost, if McCoy is the answer then the questions about our defense are more serious than the QB issue, Wood appears the most athletic & Ash is the most intriguing but we won’t start a true freshman with three others to choose from. With these players & coaches we should be able to have a QB who performs well.

“Fozzy has to dive for the catch. Injures self, of course.” Priceless.

I’ve defended Gilbert before (see "What’s Eating Garrett Gilbert"), but I have to say I was disappointed, and wanted to see more from a junior QB that had started 12 games. It’s not just the interceptions. He was picked 17 times last year in 441 attempts. That was bad, but not as bad as Colt in 2007 (18 picks in 424 attempts), or VY in 2004 (11 out of 250). What’s missing are the plays made- Colt threw 22 TD passes in 2007 (a disappointing year for him, where we won 10 games), and VY threw 12 in 2004, and ran for a bunch more. Gilbert threw 10 TDs in 2010, 5 coming when within 1 score of the opponent. The game seems too fast for Gilbert.

I’m more optimistic than you, I think, about Mack’s approach. Sure, Mack wishes that the guy he invested 12 starts in last year, the guy he rebuffed other top QB recruits for, would take the bull by the horns. Sure, he’s going to give him first chance. I think it’s very telling that Mack is not naming him the starter, especially when you would really like to have a #1 guy to organize 7 on 7 drills this summer. Mack has shown that he hates QB controversy, but he will compete the position (Chiles was getting 1st half series at QB in 2008’s first game and VY was pulled for Mock in the 2004 Mizzou game), and try to decide quickly.
I don’t have a problem with Mack showing McCoy as #2. Rewarding a guy (McCoy burned his shirt for nothing last year) publicly with a token honor is Mack’s MO (think of the times he’s allowed a senior to keep starting, even though he’s replaced for the rest of the game on the 2nd or 3rd series by a more talented underclassman). I’m assuming that the spring game was a show orchestrated by Mack, and the message he wants sent is that he’s in control.

What do I want to see? I want the coaches to design an offense where the QB only throws 20 – 25 times per game. I want them to start the guy that looks like he has the most potential to be good in 2012.

^ and in conjunction with this, if power running is the bread and butter, with a side of misdirection, maybe next year the dreaded “game manager” appears to be the QB criteria. Ostensibly should be Gilbert, but Case seems most likely to fill the role.

….or maybe if you’re desperate, you say fuck it and take Mykkele Thompson back from the defense. Wild Horn redux.

Other observations:
- Our kickers still can’t kick through the endzone. With the wind we could get it about half way into the endzone. Just inside the 5 going into the wind
- Case is definitely not as big/strong as Colt. Colt worked hard and got bigger and stronger every year (obvious when looking back at pictures), and Case probably is a little bigger. But he’s not as big as Colt was his RS Fr year (2 years in)
- A lot of people like to hype the incoming freshmen and usually throw out 5+ names of players who are going to start. I usually temper my expectations, knowing that usually only 1 will be really big time, and 2-4 will be contributors. Without seeing MB, I’m going to go ahead and call Digg’s as this years new studd freshman
- On the jet sweeps (correct name?) to the WR motioning pre snap it seemed like the play was getting blown up before it got moving, and the WR was just lucky not to be wrapped up well in the backfield. Was this coming from the playside DE/LB or the playside DT? Either way is bad, but I’ve been expecting the interior of the OL to be good, so I’m hoping someone can come back later and tell me it was the T not getting his man.

Thoughts? I feel a lot better about Seth Doege than I did a couple of weeks ago.

FU ded. Meant in the nicest possible way. Go fish and leave us to our misery.

Why not let Diggs fill the Earl Thomas role and start him at FS, given that they’re going to play a standard 4-3 front more often this year – if he’s playing centerfield on that lofted duck to White, it would have saved us a lot of annoying interwebs myth propagation about how Case kicked ass in the Spring Game.

Instead, the guy coming over the top to help on that play was busy making sure everybody aligned correctly and as a consequence arrived well after the fact (in fairness, not sure what his exact responsibility was on the play, but hey…)

“I want them to start the guy that looks like he has the most potential to be good in 2012.”

Wood, imo.

I’d like to see us open fall camp with Gilbert and Wood co-number ones. Ash gets a redshirt, unless something really fucked up happens. And maybe not even then.
Evaluate Wood and Gilbert through the first half of fall camp, and then name one the starter and the other the back-up.

If we go into the fall with Gilbert and McCoy at 1 and 2, I think we lose Wood faster than scipio…. um…. I got nothing. We’d lose Wood fast, okay.

Team desperately needs leadership at the QB position – someone the players on both sides of the ball “believe” in and will lead them in off-season drills. And beat Texas State in a scrimmage.

ESPN crew stated the players were complimentary of Ash. Since Mack will never start a freshman QB, anyone know how the players feel about the other three ?

being as hamfisted as i can about:

gilbert sucks. dude’s a junior and has had no progress w/ his vision (which is tough to improve on without the moving parts in front of you, so i guess there’s a slight pass there) or mechanics…the mechanics thing really irks the shit out of me. did your dad teach you to throw that special flutterball? what the hell is that? are his hands not big enough to grip the ball right? he’s 6 damn 4…completely baffled.

case is a legacy whose 2 main traits yesterday were shitting his pants and trying to heave it and not shitting his pants but trying to wind up like he’s dennis eckersley who just tripped over a lawn chair after one too many at carney lansford’s backyard bbq.

after reading the middle of taylor’s post i just got depressed.

and for the guys who want to see the power run game (i do too) our tackles were truly beat to all hell yesterday. someone who knows more than me should convince us that it’s a product of our ends being awesome and that they’ll do that to anyone. otherwise…yeesh.

A Scipio football write-up, it almost feels like fall.

Let’s follow this up with a Blake Brockermeyer scrimmage breakdown / podcast.

Some good:

Reggie Wilson – Very disruptive, played as well or better than Okafor, I thought. Also showed some vocal leadership, pushing Bible and the LB’s on a goal line play. Bible responds by creating a stalemate at the LOS after getting blown up the previous two plays, and Reggie forces his way into the backfield for a -1 tackle. If he hasn’t earned himself some playing time, then I don’t know what he has to do short of murdering Jeffcoat and Oak (who also looked great). Overall nasty play from the DE’s on the roster.

Diggs – The kid is a football player, you can tell he already gets it. He just needs some time to polish his game, but looks like he could make a difference very soon.

Running backs/Fullbacks – I know the rest of Longhorn netdom is meh on our stable, but while none of them are a complete back, I like the way they were deployed in the offense, and the level of effort they showed. These will be the guys who carry some games, even if it’s unspectacular looking ball.

The screen game – This is the first time in years I’ve seen what appears to be a well designed set of screen passes, called in a manner that has some form of arguable logic behind it.

Not exciting, but encouraging:

Adrian Philips – Showing some flashes, seems to be making the transition well, and looks like he will end up being an asset. Still making some costly mistakes, but well within the boundaries of a realistic learning curve. He should be a solid player.

Offensive focus – We actually appear to have some sort of commitment to running the ball well, and as part of a logical approach to situations.

Interior O-line – As advertised, they look like a strong and reliable core. Depth and Tackle play may create some drag though.

Shift in attitude – I saw a lot of kids getting playing time that have gotten into the habit of not expecting it. They were getting a little shock that shifting out of spectator mode wasn’t easy. Despite some weak initial response, you could tell they were getting the taste of challenge for the first time in awhile, and several of them decided they liked it. Some still looked resigned. Overall, the development of a new team identity seems to be creating more positive response than negative.

Defense – It has some very aggressive tendencies. Several guys seemed to flourish in it, regardless of raw talent or experience level. Also saw holes in it that I know can be gouged by some of our rivals.

McNamara and Harris – Two guys who are earning some respect the hard way. Really nice to see some guys who got ahead of the competition because they worked harder.

Meh:

QB’s – no need to kick this horse anymore.

Bible – He’s trying, but he’s not there yet. I keep seeing him get taken off his center of gravity and getting his shoulders turned by an offensive lineman. I hope he can contribute, because we need some help, but I’m not sold on his ability at this moment, Wylie pet project or not.

TE’s – I liked how they were used in many cases. But this unit needs a lot more practice. Drops, poor route shape, hesitation here and there. On another count (not their fault) none of the QB’s did a great job of finding them. We had some nice openings from the TE’s that were wasted efforts due to how poorly the play developed around them. It’s too early to pass judgement on them, it just looks like their entire environment is unfamiliar to them, which it is. I hope they figure things out fast.

3rd down and red zone offense – It looks like we have an offense that won’t rely on the quarterback to create a play every time we need some clutch production. However, at some point, we’re going to have to get some go-to options when we really need to move the chains or punch one in. We need a lot more players that feel comfortable with this role, or outright crave it. We need to shake the tendency to tighten up in certain game situations.

These idiots calling for Case are the same ones placing GG atop Kipers big board this time last year. Football Geese. Honking and shitting on everything.

Great writeup Scipio.

“I think it’s very telling that Mack is not naming him (GG) the starter,”

I agree with TTR. This was the biggest take-away of the scrimmage for me. After his performance it’s clear why.

On a related note – I was reminded that maybe I have some issues when I actually cared that a HS Senior (Ash) had to call timeout when his play card lost the adhesive.

I swear the Case/Wood comparisons read exactly like the Colt/Snead comparisons.

Hope the coaches make the right decision again this time around.

we should just put DJ in at QB and run the wild horn every down.

Scip,

I’m curious to hear more about why you think Ash is not a viable candidate for this fall.

Is it:

1) Because we both know Mack won’t even consider it?
2) Because you think we’d lose substantially more games with him at QB than the others?
…and if so, why do you think that?

I admit we haven’t seen nearly enough from him to have any idea.

But I’d contend that, if the team is already starting to follow him (and that’s a big IF), and if he’s got legit skills…then you gain as much as you lose by starting to get him experience for a real run in 2012.

He doesn’t have any less experience in Harsin’s offense than the others.

Not looking to argue, just honestly asking for more on why you see him as a non-starter, in both the football and conversational senses.

The scariest things yesterday were definitely the QBs and the play of our OTs, which will probably be correllated to a good degree this Fall. I’m hoping most of the OT atrocities that I remember weren’t perpetrated by our purported starters, and I’ll also hope that the ol’ zero sum game theory falls on the side of our DE’s being badass man-beasts in this instance. But there’s no doubt they’ll have tremendous growing up to do before we face a real team.

I don’t think the nail is in the coffin for Gilbert, but I think the priest is standing by the bed. If none of your QBs look like they’re going to be true playmakers (at least in 2011) I think you have to go with the guy who you can count on to take the best care of the ball. Some sharp football minds have won me over to the idea of ‘bad decisions’ as a truer evaluation metric for QBs than actual interceptions caught by DBs. Gilbert had two HORRENDOUS decisions on Sunday unless he forgot which team was which and was trying to connect with Diggs in the end zone. That literally cannot happen anymore, but I don’t know how you hammer home the NO MORE MISTAKES, DAMMIT!!! mantra to a kid that’s probably already playing way too tight.

If you put a gun to my head right now I’d go Wood/McCoy/Gilbert/Ash (RS) as my rotation, accept the inevitable Gilbert transfer and be willing to be extemely Machiavellian with McCoy if Wood faltered badly or got hurt (e.g. McCoy gets a very short leash to show that his grithustlemoxie can overcome his obvious physical limitations and back-foot tendencies before I rip the shirt off of Ash). Gilbert would have the first two weeks of Fall practice (and really the first one or two live fire scrimmages) to change my mind.

Lowery:

I was just thinking the same thing. I suggested caution on Garret Gilbert last year until we had a bigger sample size to judge him. I was informed by a number of the BC regulars that GG had a pro skill set: better accuracy, pocket movement and arm strength than Colt McCoy. Just what the pros were looking for while Colt was a college quarterback.

I suggest once again that a decent stat line in the spring game means absolutely nothing. I’m not giving up on GG yet. With an improved scheme (read running game) GG might still make an excellent quarterback. He’s the only one who has any experience at all, and has shown flashes of ability. Granted they were really short flashes.

GG needs to learn the new system, then gain a bit of confidence in the O line. People tend to anoint QB’s too early and give up on them too early as well. Patience.

Cotcher is right – just as Wood spent his Christmas vacation working with a mechanics guru, more than anything Gilbert needs to spend a good part of the summer working with a first-rate sports psychologist. Sadly, GG looks for all the world like a kid whose confidence has been irreparably ruined.

Since you asked, I’d start Wood, make Gilbert the backup, redshirt Ash, and expedite Case’s eventual transfer to Abilene Christian. Sink or swim, I’d stick with Wood as my starter next year with an eye toward 2012. I was thinking 9 or 10 wins in 2011 before yesterday (just on the reputations and abilities of Harsin and Diaz). Short of a miracle at QB and both OTs, this is a 7-win club.

Speilman is not just a sourpuss; he strikes me as a guy with unfinished business or a death wish. Or both.

The Spring Game is always a lousy data set. I remember Major Applewhite looking like hammered dogshit roasting in the summer sun, only getting the #2 job because Cicero’s knee got ostriched, and the TV highlights kept showing this Major pass flipping end over end, over and over. I was embarrassed for the kid.

And then UCLA lb put a late hit on a future radiologist no one remembers and 1998 happened.

Texas has an offense that probably won’t face a defense like this defense, and a defense that won’t face an offense like this offense. Call it an eight-win season now and save yourself the stress. New Years in San Antonio sounds nice right about now.

Didn’t get a chance to watch the spring game closely. But two “memes” have emerged re: Gilbert. Perhaps, Scipio, you could clarify. You seem to be saying, and the majority response seems to be, that he lacks quarterback intangibles like seeing the field, going throught his reads and sensing pressure accompanied perhaps with some kink in the mind from the way his situation has been handled.

I’ve read a coupla posts, tho, that make the case that his delivery is overly long and that his footwork is not all that great, iow, that he was overrated as a qb prospect (I find that hard to believe with a qb dad). Luck had seemed like the choice to me, but when Texas went so strong after GG, I assumed he must be the Second Coming.

How much of this is tools and talent? How much mind and mentality? How fixable is it?

After reviewing the game last night, the right thing to do….is develop Ash. He has the most raw potential and leadership abilities. He didn’t get much of a chance to show skills yesterday because the redshirt is coming. We will assuredly not do the right thing and develop the younger quarterback with the most potential because that could trigger two transfers.

Like I said at the end of last season. There are too many basic things missing in Gilbert to get him there in a single off season, lack of leadership doesn’t help.

What I saw on offense yesterday was nothing to get excited about. Great promise and emergence overall in the team, just not in time for this year. I’m not expecting much from Gilbert. Adjusting for improvement in the summer……our offense will be tepid, but infinitely more satisfying to watch under Harsinwhite.

Our defense should keep us in games, but our offense will be a brand new system looking for players. I expect improvement after the season gets going. We are an 8-5 team with McCoy or Wood…..not Gilbert.

Gilbert rips up practice, but falls apart in competition with his laundry list of fundamentals that are on pace to come together in October of 2012. Yet we continue to invest valuable practice reps in him. He’s got the losing stank on him now…..he knows how to lose….not find a way to win. Once he tries to find a way to win, he turns the ball over, he forces things, he forgets his fundamentals. This can’t be untaught at this point.

We have 3 games that could easily take us down early with BYU, UCLA, and Iowa State (the last two are on the road). We are set to lose 5 automatic (pencil it in), unless some amazingly miraculous things happen between now and September.

3 of the four openers are what I worry about in the hands of Gilbert. We’ll win if we can get an early lead. Otherwise, we could drop all 3. The young coaches will make the correct decision to bench Gilbert if he plays poorly against UCLA or BYU, then bring in McCoy or Wood to go against OU, and get smoked. Starting Gilbert against Rice could potentially go as many lost games as last year.

Gilbert would be much better right now as a back up.

It would be smarter to get Wood, or McCoy those season opener reps so they have a better chance of developing as the season progresses……..Gilbert: Good enough to start, just not good enough to win with any kind of pressure. Speaking of pressure….

Our O-line is not ready either. Not even close. Okafor shat on the right tackle all day long, and there were no serious blitzes. Harsin will have to find some creative icing to hide the initial cow patty that is our offense.

dreaming of 2013 and 2014

Is GG a poor man’s Chris Simms? By that I mean an excellent practice player with real growing pains under live fire.

Our tackles will require us to be an excellent screen draw team this year.

and did anyone notice that Case looks a hell of a lot like Bill S. Preston, Esquire?

http://hiff.org/blogger-programmers/uploaded_images/billted200-759463.jpg

Hi, Missy… I mean, Mom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=She24nu2MIQ

Gilbert needs to spend a good part of the summer working with a first-rate sports psychologist.

Why? He’s lived his entire life living with a first-rate losing backup QB. Maybe Gale’s five superbowls of sideline patrol is embossed on the surface of Garrett’s gray matter.

I agree with Saltshaker re: focusing on Ash meaning losing two other QBs, and I agree with nobis re: start the guy who will turn it over the least.

Any enthusiasm I have for Case, and I have little, is based on that line of thinking.

But I don’t really have nearly enough of a sample size to know which of McCoy or Wood would turn it over least. I believe either of them would turn it over substantially less than Gilbert.

And nordberg, I think the phrase you were looking for is “lose Wood faster than seeing Rosanne Barr stooped down naked, dropping a deuce.”

“Roseanne Barr naked” is enough said.

depressing game

Gilbert – never gonna have IT. No different from last year. Should have had 2 picks.

McCoy – agree with post. The one glimmer from me though was a couple of the short quick passes. Had those been Gilbert, we probably would have seen a tipped ball and pick going the other way. Colt lived off those. Sometimes it seemed as though he just made up plays because it was an easy 8 yards.

Wood – not sure what everyone else saw. I saw either 1) tuck and run too early or 2) hold the ball forever and get sacked. It did not seem like he wanted to throw it. On the other hand, he looked like he was the best runner of the three, maybe we should go back to the spread option :-). Kidding.

Ash – Obviously not in the mix.

I think I would go with McCoy. It seems like he plays within himself and will likely not LOSE us games like Gilbert.

I would have liked to see more action to the tight ends. Everyone seems to be talking about Harsin and tight ends. VY used to live off that to Thomas. Confidence builder for Gilbert. He seems to look deep or negative yardage to the back. Use the tight ends, quick slants, etc.

Positives:
Diggs should start day one and every game until he leaves. He looked like the anti Chykie Brown, effortless ball awareness and body control.

Seemed like that Chet Moss dude made some plays. People seem really down on him on this board. Zach Thomas miracle?

Why doesn’t Hales ever play?

Latest 2012 recruits must have been more busy accepting offers than watching the game.

Gilbert’s delivery on that INT reminded me of a kid trying really, really hard to throw a napkin. He put everything he had into it, and the fucking ball went nowhere. With the wind. Ugh.

TEST. Previous post never posted.

How about Rosanne Barr naked, throwing a napkin with a deuce inside?

I’m with nordberg — let GG and Wood battle it out from an even playing field. RS Ash no matter what.

depressing game

Gilbert – never gonna have IT. Same as last year.

McCoy – agree with post. The only thing that gave me glimmer of hope was a couple of the short quick passes. If that was Gilbert, probably gets tipped at the line and picked off. Colt seemed to just make up plays like that just because there was an easy 8 yards to be had.

Wood – not sure what everyone else saw here. I saw 1) tuck and run too early and 2) hold the ball forever and get sacked. It did not seem like he wanted to throw the ball. Maybe we should go back to the spread option :-). Just kidding.

Ash – obviously not in the mix.

I think I would go with McCoy as it seems like he plays within himself and hopefully would not LOSE us games like Gilbert.

Also, where is the Harsin tight ends offense I keep hearing about? VY used to live off Thomas security blanket. Confidence builder for Gilbert on those kind of throws.

Positives:
Diggs should start from day one. He looked like the anti Chykie Brown, effortless ball awareness and body control.

Why does Hales not play?

That Chet Moss dude seemed to make some plays. Zach Thomas miracle?

2012 latest recruits must have been too busy accepting offers to watch the game.

Positives:

All of the QB’s were average at best, agree that Gilbert looked no different than last year, Urban kept talking about his mechanics and how great he looks at field level, but to me he looks awkward and gawky! And McCoy doesnt have the physical skills at this level, not sure why he was recruited other than being Colt’s brother.

They just need a game manager this year because they group they have to work with cant do anymore than that, better hope M Brown can run the rock.

It is amazing what a differences one bad year makes. In a live chat room with Kirk Bohls and Cedric Golden before the start of last season, I just made a comment that GG hardly throw tight spiral. Boy, I got bombarded from almost everyone in the chat room, including Mr. Bohls and Golden themselves.

It’s so true that you are blind when you fall in love.

Well I think that’s exactly why everyone is high on Wood. The only knock on him at this point is the level of competition he’s played against. He’s yet to reveal his glaring flaws (likely due to lack of opportunity).

In my opinion, GG looks smooth and poised in the pocket. His problem is his tendency to stare down receivers. Colt proved that you can often get away with this if you have great accuracy and a great receiver. GG doesn’t have either at his disposal.

While Case may have some of the Colt-“intangibles”, he just doesn’t have the same tools at this point in his development. Colt was always criticized for his lack of arm strength, but Case’s arm looks like Colt following the K-State stinger. And he just looks terrified (awkward, imo) in the pocket.

The scouting report on Wood is still TBD, and we’re clinging (ruthlessly) to that hope. The only reason I say to RS Ash automatically is because he should be receptive to the idea. If the season starts out apocalyptically, I wouldn’t oppose reevaluating his shirt…

“Gilbert is salvageable…” Uh, or not.

What is most shocking is the fact that our overall team talent level is so low. Which of these players on offense could have made the 2005 team? NONE. Which of the defensive players? One? Maybe two?

Hate to say it ransom but I think you are right on the overall talent level. Right now I’d say Randall would get a lot of snaps for the 2005 team and K Robinson would start. Not sure who else. Mike Davis would see the field on O, but not sure anyone else would.

“What is most shocking is the fact that our overall team talent level is so low.”

Agreed. The announcers talked up our safeties like it was one of our better positions. While I disagree, it’s speaks volumes that it’s not painfully obvious that they’re wrong.

OL – thin / work in progress / LOW expectations
RB – serviceable (arguably best performing group last season)
TE – disaster / work in progress
WR – work in progress (should be a position of strength this year) … McNamara! Hales!
CB – thin / green / work in progress (excited about Quandre)
QB – mediocre / work in progress
S – mediocre / moderate-Vaccaro-upside? Scott can’t be as bad as he was last year, right?
DT – thin / work in progress… Once again, we’re totally effed if Kheeston gets hurt.
DE – solid we hope… hardly any sacks last year?
LB – solid we hope… I seem to recall a lot of criticism of this group last year… This should be the strongest position on the roster…

Huh, ouch!

Which of these players on offense could have made the 2005 team?

I’d take Mike Davis over Billy Pittman at wideout, even though Pittman did a decent enough job that year. In general – playing with Vince and behind that line would probably make a lot of guys on this team look a hell of a lot better than they do.

Gilbert should transfer to a Northwestern or Virginia type of school. Nice football programs, great degree, but much lower profile. He can still be a good college QB, just not here. If he gets his head together he can still have a nice journeyman career like his pops.

I think the QB job is settled this summer by Mike Davis. Whichever one of these guys is throwing to Mike every morning/afternoon is going to get the gig. I expect McCoy to know that.

I may be a homer but I believe that there’s talent on this team/ It’s just extremely green. We may start 8 or 9 sophomores/freshmen on offense and up to six on defense. The 2005 team was loaded and experienced. The upperclassmen are a mediocre bunch, and were last year as well, which points to the disappointment of the 07 and 08 classes.

In Fall 2006, after Vince led the Longhorns to the promised land, everyone was concerned about a baby-faced kid named Colt who was stepping in to fill VY’s big shoes. GD said something to the effect that Colt wouldn’t be asked to carry the team on his shoulders, just to drive the bus.

Although Texas is now entering a new season from the opposite end (a trainwreck season), the same philosophy should apply today. Mack and HarsinWhite need to find a QB who can run our system decently, without crashing the bus. Identifying which of the 4 QBs on campus can sustain drives and protect the football should take priority over everything else (pretty spirals, good footwork, outward confidence, etc.).

The entire event was surreal. I kept harkening back to Rocky 3, as Rocky was “preparing” for his first fight with Clubber (a.k.a. Mr. T). The party mode, Mack miked-up and joking with commentators between plays, the joke that is Gilbert… All the while, the hungry teams are doing real spring training. And, did I hear it wrong, or were the commentators saying that MadDog still has something to do with strength training?!?!

“Prediction? Pain.” — Mr. T as Clubber Lang

If Case McCoy was named Joe Dokes, would Texas have recruited him based on his high school stats and film?

As for the talent question:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/04/04/2973779/spring-football-roundup-baylor.html

Then there’s the ESPN midget review:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/blog/dallas/colleges/post/_/id/4672284/extra-thoughtsnotes-on-uts-spring-game

If there was any scrimmage to take the black shirts off the QB and let them play till the “real” whistle – sack or no sack – this was it. Instead, Mack pussed out. Why should he be worried about the starting QB going down when there is no starting QB?

It is really interesting that the players and coaches are so high on Ash, definitely a sign that neither Gilbert, nor McCoy, nor Wood have persuaded the coaches and players that they are the man.

Doubt that the UT QBs will have much time in the pocket vs good defenses. The horns are going to have to rush the ball well or expect loads of interceptions again. Most likely the QB is going to have to run the ball quite a bit for the run offense to work. Knowing when to tuck it and run on opportunity draws and roll outs, running ability, ball security when running, and ability to throw well on the roll out or moving pocket will be critical to the UT QB’s success next season. Picking out the correct secondary receiver and dumping the ball to him on time (i.e. before getting sacked) will also be a critical skill. Throwing the ball away to avoid taking the sack will also be a critical skill. The ability for the QB to make good decisions in real time will be much more important than arm strength or the ability to throw a tight spiral.

Mike Davis going to be working against double coverage most of the time. If the horns’ QB can run well enough to force the opposition defense to play zone to account for the UT QB’s running, it will make it easier to get the ball to Mike. Sounds like a long shot.

The UT corners and safeties are most likely going to give up more than their share of big plays.

I have to say I was hoping for more out of Gilbert, but I am not ready to give up on him yet. Our offense’s only good player last year was Mike Davis, and the coaching was even worse. Monroe is an amazing play maker, but could “never learn the play book.” Gilbert also is trying to learn a brand new offense.

We are going to go through some serious growing pains next year. It’s going to take at least one more season to outgrow all the mistakes we made in player evaluation and poor coaching.

I am hoping for 8-9 wins and to split the OU & A&M games. That may be a little to optimistic at this point. I feel better knowing we are heading in the right direction though.

Anticipating competition, I saw attempts at coronation.

You knew better, Scip.

A huge problem when evaluating the QBs is that they don’t get hit in practice so there is no real way to know how they will perform in real game conditions. That gives Gilbert a big edge because the coaches have a season’s worth of game video on Gilbert so he is more of a known commodity.

Some guy nailed it. If we got to see these QBs actually avoid sacks(or not) and make plays(or not) with the real possibility of being hit, this wouldn’t be such a mystery.

Alas, we’ll probably wind up slogging through the first 5-6 games finding out “who we are” and still not have a clear-cut starter at QB. Unless things have really changed?

Sorry Kafka I somehow didn’t read your comment before I posted. You nailed it too.

Kinda amazing to me how quick people are to write off the QBs as a group when they’ve been running this brand-new offense (which is completely different from the junk they were “taught” for the last 2 years) for what — like 3 weeks now? Personally, I’m going to give them a little more time to learn before giving up on them, b/c sometimes the game slows down quite a bit when a QB has the system down pat and can just play rather than having to think about every little thing. I’m betting Ryan Dinwiddie and Kellen Moore didn’t look all-world after their first 3 weeks with Harsin, either.

“Gilbert needs to spend a good part of the summer working with a first-rate sports psychologist.”

This is what I’ve been thinking. I work with college music students. There’s a big step between performing well in the practice room and on stage. Handling failure can be a problem for some kids, but they can learn to deal with it. Public failure on the scale and stage that GG has experienced can take some major work to overcome, but it can be overcome. When it finally clicks, the changes can be quite sudden and dramatic.

He might best off working through whatever issues he has as a backup or at a lower profile school, but I’m still hoping he finds his Eye of the Tiger from high school and becomes everything we all hoped he be.

Or maybe he needs to visit Lens Crafters.

Or he just sucks.

My two cents: if I were Mack, I would recognize a rebuilding year when it’s staring me in the face. Green corners. Green tackles. A starting QB who should be working on technique and leadership…but instead he’s under the gun to learn a new playbook based on a different concept of offense that anything he’s done before. Backup QBs that do not look convincingly better than the starter on a bad day.

There – I’m pretty sure I’ve just covered the three most important positions on the field, right? Except maybe DE…but even though that’s a strength, consider me unsold on Okafor back at DE. It’s an understandable move given the state of the depth chart, but he had an unimpressive first step last year, his shedding technique wasn’t stellar, he’s gained weight since then, and the fact that he got 5 sacks in the Spring game makes me choke down vomit at the thought of our tackle depth more than anything. A nice effort to be sure. But I won’t believe it until I see it against UCLA.

A brief glance at the four-deep shows lots of promise in 2012 & 2013. But my guess is Alamo Bowl in 2011, at best. Jaxon and Malcolm better be good-as-advertised.

Gilberto V., In case you haven’t been watching for two years, our criticisms of Garrett are ones that have nothing to do with the system. You are in a happy place if you think any of these guys are Kellen Moore in summer latency. We-are-going-to-suck. There is no amount of Footloose/Breakin’ dance practice montages over the summer that will change that.

If you want to see what a QB should look like, check out BYU’s Jason Heaps, he broke all the BYU true freshman records last year. I can’t wait to play him.

Dagga, Okafor looked pretty mean screaming around that corner all day. His rip move made the OT look shitty, well maybe that’s because he was. Agreed UCLA will be the true test, but BYU will be the wake up call for adjustments.

Heaps lit up the second half of their season, and they are bringing a very good senior running back. Cougs should drop us before we get to LA…..especially if Gilbert is starting.

correction…BYU’s QB is Jake Heaps, not Jason my bad.

Good article here on his freshman year after taking over for the injured starter and how it took two weeks to get the offense moving: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/27/byu-quarterback-jake-heaps-comes-of-age-after-tough-freshman-yea/

Who cares about BYU? Other than that pedophile dude who was banging his daughters in between forcing them to play piano recitals and folks who are enamored of seer stones. Any school that won’t let a college kid get his wick dipped warrants as much hatred as Pyongyang’s government.

I watched Gilbert play all of last season along with everyone else. It must be said, there really weren’t even flashes of “great” QB play out of him. He looked inaccurate, albeit without a lot of open guys to throw to and with little to no help from a run game at buying him time. So I’m not terribly surprised to hear that he looked lousy. It seems like the Boise system requires a quarterback to make quick reads and throw mid-range passes accurately — that is, of course, not the kind of quarterback we’ve been recruiting.

QB is going to be a liability this year, in all probability. It’ll take a couple of years for Harsin to get the types he wants (once he does we’ll be gold). I’m bummed but not surprised to read about how bad the QBs looked, although I understand that each of them was implementing a new system with new reads for the very first time with something like live action.

We are undergoing a complete change on offense. Greg Davis’ chaotic yet predictable “offense” was a hodge-podge borrowed from many offensive philosophies that required the QB to make plays by improvising after things broke down. Harsin is installing a coherent offensive system that (judging from Kellen Moore) requires reads, touch and smarts. GG has two years in the old non-system plus some psychological real baggage from last year’s epic fail.

Rich’s original comment nailed it. Looks like 2012 before we can expect much different on a consistent basis. Who it turns out to be doesn’t matter to me.

Rather than harping on the playbook canard for Monroe and the sins of the ancien regime, far more telling is his habit of not holding on to and not catching the ball, on display yet again. He’s more Mel Gray than Eric Metcalf.

On Okafor and the filthiness of the DE’s – it looked great, but that second team OL was particularly awful, if anybody noticed, and probably why poor Traylon Shead didn’t really have a chance.

It wasn’t just backups, it was way, way worse. You could take Ricky Williams and put him behind a line of Buchanan, Nick Zajicek, Garret Porter, Drew Russo (6-2 and a mean 230 of walk-on freshman fury, according to MB-TF), and Thomas Ashcraft (laughably ill-suited for tackle) and he’d be smoking bowls and downing paxil by the bucketful by halftime.

Which makes it all that more impressive that lil McCoy was able to make that group look competent, given he had flaming dumpsters for tackles and Lake Travis JV receivers to work with.

Talent – I disagree with the talent level argument. I think asking which of these players would start on the 2005 team was kind of a loaded question. Sam Acho is off to the NFL. Would he have started on the 2005 team? How many players on the 60’s NC teams would have started on the 2005 team? That was a GREAT team.

But this team has a lot of really good players. We are LOADED at DE. Wilson, Jeffcoat, and Oak might be the best 3-deep at DE we have ever had. Randall is a stud. Have we ever been this deep with talent at LB? Our biggest problem at wide reciever and QB is that we have too many “really good guys” (admittedly none that are great) at those positions to select the starters. Safety? We have talent with Vacarro and experience with Gideon. We have talent. I do not think talent is the issue.

We do have weaknesses, but to say we are not talented is side-stepping the issues that are real. Our coaching was bad, and our attitude was complacent. There was in-fighting on our staff last year, and our strength coach like….took the year off. Some busts at recruiting and injuries at DT, TE, and OL have cost us, and our QB play was … less than stellar. Those are real issues. Team talent is not our problem.

All of our linebackers would have started on the 05 team. Killebrew anyone?
Justin Tucker. Jeffcoat is at a Crowder/Robison level.
None of the OL or RB’s would have seen any PT. I’m guessing none of our QB’s would have either. Davis would have played for sure.

So what’s that, about five out of 24? About right when comparing a national championship team with a team coming off 5-7 that just fired all its coaches.

“GD said something to the effect that Colt wouldn’t be asked to carry the team on his shoulders, just to drive the bus.”

Yet another example of GD having absolutely no idea what his offense would be about when the season started.

I think Walters and Snow would have gotten some PT on second team line – especially if they had been given the opportunity to be around Studdard, Sendlien, Blalock, etc. and their attitudes.

"GD said something to the effect that Colt wouldn’t be asked to carry the team on his shoulders, just to drive the bus."

….Epilogue: By 2009, when Colt was a senior, he (and shipley) were asked to put the offense in the bus, then carry the bus on his shoulders, Magnus ver Magnusson-World’s Strongest Man-style, setting the table for 2010.

^ while towing the Dreamwagon on a trailer hitch in the back.

Shit in 2006 he was asked to add “power running game” to his duties and got hurt, ending our MNC hopes.

All of our linebackers would have started on the 05 team. Killebrew anyone?

Just reading that name causes me to walk 15 steps backwards.

Scipio: Welcome back. Awesome piece. Analysis that’s spot-on, with enough open-ended thoughts and questions to generate tons of responses.

My take may be off the wall . . . Staff is certain Connor Wood isn’t going anywhere, and not quite so certain with Case McCoy. So, they set up circumstances that give McCoy a chance to feel good about himself so that he stays on campus. Staff may feel Wood isn’t far enough along his “learning curve” to trust him to on-field duty. McCoy might be more ready to help the 2011 team than Wood (or Ash), so do what it takes to keep him interested and on the team.

I agree that his physical tools aren’t equal to his competitors’. I expect Gilbert to start, get more consistent, make some plays, and also frustrate us at times.

And I can’t help thinking that a lot of the fault we dump on our quarterbacks is actually the fault of the surrounding talent. Especially at tackle, tight end and running back.

I got so caught up in the talent post that I forgot to say, Awesome post Scip. I have traditionally been a BON guy and there are a lot of posts over there praising McCoys “Heady” play and “moving the chains” and that is all well and good, but the spring game is…. the spring game.

A) its a small sample space, so a good comp % is better than a bad one, but that itself is not enough to make a judgement. B) there are a lot of variables that are different than a real game and so have to be judged accordingly (i.e. if his reaction to pressure was a terrible habit in a practice game with no chance of injury or even contact…..then what does he do in a game? kind of judgement)

There is a lot to like about Case, but the Spring game is about more than the stat line. It has to be.

Reading all of this is making me suicidal. The thought of being fourth best in the big twelve10 makes me want to vomit, eat it and then vomit again.

Well Berlin Horn, the good news is that the rest of the Big 12 ain’t nothin’ to write home about.

“All of our linebackers would have started on the 05 team. Killebrew anyone?”

Just reading that name causes me to walk 15 steps backwards.

Thank you brick. That was hillarious.

It looks like Connor Wood is currently the 3rd string QB. The rumor is that he will transfer to another school if he isn’t at least 2nd string QB next season. OTOH, McCoy most likely stays at UT whether he is 2nd string or 3rd string.

Some QB questions
Will the first 2011 depth chart be issued before the start of the 2011 fall semester? My guess: no.
Will Connor pass McCoy in the Harsin QB pecking order by the start of fall semester? My guess: no.
If not, will Connor transfer from UT? My guess: yes, because Mack will tell him where he stands in the QB competition..
Will Ash redshirt next season? My guess: yes, unless there is a QB injury.
Who will lead off season 7 on 7 workouts? Normally the starting QB does this but there is no depth chart stating who the first string QB is. My guess: initially Mack leave this up to the players to work out, to see who steps up to provide the necessary leadership. If this does not work out well, then Harsin tells Gilbert to lead the 7 on 7 workouts.

Watching the Sping Game highlights video posted on MBF.com, it’s notable that the final edit includes commentary on QBs by Mack that focuses on not turning the ball over as an essential element to winning. On the face of it, there is no annointment. And if anything, it’s critical of Gilbert by association.

I can see Gilbert remaining the de facto leader for now and in 7on7’s this summer by virtue of the fact no other QB has seized the role on their own.

I’m very interested to know how the QB’s graded out from a standpoint of executing the new offense in the eyes of Harsinwhite going deeper than the statlines. Depending on where the group of QB’s are on the learning curve for the complete offense that has yet to be installed, there very well could be substantial opportunities for leapfrogging in the fall. And for now, I think Harsinwhite need to be keen to expand their own leadership roles that a leader at QB would ordinarily assume until a clear one emerges, which could be awhile.

“Well Berlin Horn, the good news is that the rest of the Big 12 ain’t nothin’ to write home about.”

Which means OU might as well schedule the addition to their trophy case.

Gilbert showed me nothing to make me believe that if he starts in September, 2011 won’t be more than a slightly better replay of 2010. Maybe he’ll improve over the summer in the “informal” sessions, but he’s got a lot of improving to do.

Yeah, the surest way for Gilbert to lose his job is to keep throwing interceptions, especially when thrown into double coverage. His NFL QB dad must have told him a million times over the years to not throw into double coverage but it didn’t take.

“there very well could be substantial opportunities for leapfrogging in the fall. And for now, I think Harsinwhite need to be keen to expand their own leadership roles that a leader at QB would ordinarily assume until a clear one emerges, which could be awhile.”

Harsin (Major will have virtually no impact on the QB decision) will have to make a decision sooner rather than later. It is an enormous challenge to get your starting and backup QBs sufficiently well trained in the new offense that they can tell (in realtime with play clock timing constraints) any of their teammates precisely what their assignment and position is on every play that is called. Four QBs is two too many to teach the new offense to. Two QBs have to go. Ash will redshirt and Connor is likely to transfer if he does not beat out Gilbert by the start of fall semester (which will be extremely difficult to do). Mack won’t stand in Connor’s way and will be relieved to not have another QB civil war on his hands. McCoy will be happy to be the backup QB which will make Mack happy in a couple of different ways.

Because Gilbert has a year of experience and none of his competitors have any relevant collegiate experience, Gilbert has a huge advantage. The job is his to lose. Transferring is a business decision for Connor. His dream is to play in the NFL someday and being the 3rd string QB at UT isn’t going to make that dream come true. I doubt that he is willing to risk losing a year of eligibility if he hasn’t eclipsed Gilbert by the start of fall semester.

Bottom line is that time is an especially precious commodity for the UT offense for Mack, Harsin, and Connor this season so there won’t be much time to wait for a clear leader to emerge.

The Greg Davis factor and other offensive coaching changes. Not matter who is at QB, by season’s end we will see dividends and enhancements in the offense based on things outside of a QB play:

1) Route running execution and timing
2) Gameplanning, game management, game development
3) Coordination of running game with passing game
4) Coordination of personnel
5) Line play
6) Enhanced running game
7) Screen game execution, development and timing

Assuming all of these aspects improve, I believe Gilbert can be a game manager to the tune of 20 TDs, 12 Ints. I’m a little nervous about our OTackle play and Gilbert’s locker room and huddle command. All of those factors could sink those hopes.

Garrett/Case/Wood/Ash is the new McGee/Johnson/Fozzy/Whaley ?

Count me in. Can we keep rotating them mercilessly? Sweet.

EskimoHorn:

You are probably right in pointing out several things that will probably improve by the end of the season. The problem is that even if you are right, the horns could still have a painful season if those improvements don’t occur sooner rather than later. There is going to be a transition period in the first part of the season where the horns are likely to look somewhat ragged while they are learning the new offensive scheme. The question is how long does it take for our horns to master the Boise State offense. The longer it takes, the more the losses are going to mount up.

So far the fans have not discussed this but it is conceivable that the Boise State offense won’t be an optimal match for Texas talent and may need to be significantly reworked to optimize it for Texas athletes. 2011 is the first field test of the Boise State offense at UT. Initial field testing usually reveals that changes need to be made to the product being field tested.

“Gilbert can be a game manager to the tune of 20 TDs, 12 Ints”

12 interceptions is still too high. He needs to keep interceptions to less than 10. Gilbert becoming a game manager will be quite a transformation. One of the reasons he threw so many interceptions is that he often chose to throw high risk, high reward passes rather than check down to the safer target. This says that he does not naturally take a game manager approach and will need to rewire his football brain to do so. How much Gilbert improves in that area is the biggest unknown for 2011.

“One of the reasons he threw so many interceptions is that he often chose to throw high risk, high reward passes rather than check down to the safer target. This says that he does not naturally take a game manager approach and will need to rewire his football brain to do so.”

One only needs to look at Gilbert pre-Iowa St to see a conservative QB. As you may recall, he and Greg Davis were criticized for passing to EBS on 3rd and Longs (Needless to say the real criticism was that they were being suckered into passing to EBS). At that time, Tech was the only game where picks were a problem (with assists from Malcolm Williams and Britt Mitchell).

Then Iowa St came and you saw a QB forcing the throws. With our running game unable to move the ball against 6-man fronts and no coordination with our passing game, Gilbert pressed and played miserably for 3 quarters.

Gilbert then played well against Baylor (having a lot of drops) and then melted down against Kansas St.

Gilbert rushed for over 500 yards (discounting sack yards that should be counted against team passing stats). I’m not sure how he’ll handle the offseason, locker room dynamics or fan pressure, but if we can run the ball and force defenses to move their secondary allowing for some open looks, I think he’ll be OK.

20 TDs, 12 Ints is decent. I expect every longhorn fan will take a 2:1 TD ratio. I think many fans would take 1:1.

Also fun fact, last year we fumbled the ball 20 times and lost 13. Our opponents fumbled 36 times and only lost 10.

Looking at the QB stats for last season, only one Div 1A QB in the nation in the nation threw more interceptions than Gilbert threw last season (17). Presumably that 17 interceptions does not include the 4 that Gilbert threw in the MNC game at the beginning of 2010. BTW, only 33 QBs threw more than 12 interceptions last season, so that does not seem like an adequate goal.

Clearly Gilbert threw way too many interceptions in 2010. It will be great news if Gilbert stops making risky throws, especially throwing into double coverage but throwing an interception (throwing into double coverage) in the spring game did not instill confidence. In the same game, he threw another pass into double coverage in the end zone that should have been intercepted.

Gilbert threw 4 interceptions in the MNC game in 2010 so it was clear that a major focus for him before the 2010 season was to cut down on interceptions. That improvement did not occur in the 2010 season or the 2011 spring game so it is not a given that there will be sufficient improvement in the 2011 season.

Every Texas quarterback we can call “good”, made a play like this:

First OU game as RS FR. Stoops and Co think they can get the kid on a backside corner blitz. He sends Nick Harris (or some other okie booger picker). The QB, who we weren’t sure was “good”, feels the rush, turns away from the pocket (stepping up would have gotten him killed), rolls to his left and, as a right handed thrower and with Lattimer or Lattimore or some LB chasing him, nails Quan Cosby with a strike for a 15 yard gain and first down. You could feel the collective “Oh Shit” from the OU sideline when he made that play. And from that moment on, we knew he was “good”.

The point of all this is to say, you can tell when a kid is good and when he’s not. Give the next guy a chance. At least find out whether or not they are good.

Watched the game.

Judging by his improvement, Gilbert was apparently in science fictional stasis the last five months (cf. Han Solo in cryo-pit or similar).

What he needed was science fictional education (cf. Matrix instant kung-fu lessons or similar).

I presume Harsin has explained next-generation concepts like “don’t stare at your intended receiver” and “don’t throw off your back foot” and “don’t panic” and “traffic is that thing into which throwing is bad” and yet Gilbert just soldiers on. Better bad habits than no habits at all, apparently.

My respect for Greg Davis has actually escalated a little, since we now have reason to believe Gilbert is unteachable.

None of the others are any better.

The silver lining: perhaps this is the opportunity Harsin has been looking for to trot out his bold and innovative new QB-free offense. I envision this:

(a) Monroe will be given the ball on every play — that being a playbook he can master

(b) all other players will be armed with feces and told to hurl it at the other team

Even in that scenario, Texas only has seven wins in 2011.

If Gilbert were to perform close to as well this season as Crompton did his last season, I’d be a very happy fan. He settled down a lot after the UCLA game, and put together a solid year, with almost 3000yds. and a better-than-2:1 TD:INT ratio. He wasn’t a superstar by any means, but he sure played a lot better than Gilbert has shown he can.

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