“I thought last season might have actually been Greg Davis’s best year as an OC at Texas”

Totally disagree. 80% of our passing yardage was improvised, our running game was basically all Jamaal. Unless Davis designed the offense for Fran Tarkenton and told Jamaal to just outrun the 3 guys in your way, you can’t say he did a good job. He was much better in 98. You’re right that the 2005 offense was Davis proofed.

Just because it worked sometimes doesn’t mean it was good.

Is he doing it again?

Very good thoughts as always, but I beg to differ on Houston and the DE spindowns. I found that to be one of the most encouraging things about Muschamp’s Spring and a sign that he gets the Big 12 offenses. Our staff and fanbase needs to change our conception of what a DT looks like at Texas. We’re playing against the spread every week; I don’t see a veer team on the schedule. The days of 6-5 330 pound run stuffers are - thankfully - over. I’m all for one (reasonably) big body inside playing a gap nose, but he needs to be paired with a quick mother looking to sprint through a 3 gap and get quick pressure up the middle.

Coach Boom wants a front 7 of greyhounds and if Mad Dog won’t make our DT’s obey the scale, then he’ll keep snatching big DEs and sending them inside.

Then again, we also came out throwing all over the place for 3 quarters against Nebraska and their unbelievably bad run defense, we scored 21 points and nearly went to OT against Arkansas State, and our running game was crap for 2/3 of the season until we rediscovered the zone read by a complete accident when Colt got dinged up.

So … maybe I am more sad than encouraged by last season being possibly the best job Davis has done since he’s been here. If our running game isn’t well above average, which it may not be with McGee getting carries instead of Charles, then we could be in big trouble on offense.

However, I am legitimately optimistic about the defense. We are loaded with raw talent at every position except the DT opposite Miller, and Lamarr Houston and/or Jarvis Humphrey both have the potential to step up there. I still wish Houston had stayed at DE, though. That guy was way too athletic at DE to beef up and spin down, but I guess we had to do something to address the need at DT.

Also, it’s impossible to underestimate how retarded Duane Akina was last season. On most 3rd and longs, we were in the 4-3 with Derry and Killebrew “covering” slot receivers. Any DC who hasn’t been lobotomized would be an upgrade over that bullshit, and the DC we did bring in is actually really good by all accounts. Whatever drop off we experience on the offensive side from last season should be outweighed by the fact that our defense won’t be hemorrhaging 350 yards through the air to scrubs like Stephen McGee every week.

1. The QB’s durability. McCoy has been knocked out of three games in two years, and we have lost each of them. What do we do to protect him? What do we concede (keeping receivers in as blockers) to protect him? What do we do if he gets hurt?

2. Muschamp’s staff. It must be weird to have your predecessor on staff as your subordinate. How does Akina respond (hopefully he doesn’t walk around explaining “how we do it here”)? How do the other assistants respond in conflicts, knowing Muschamp may be gone in a year or two, but Akina may be here for several years? Hopefully the chemistry is good.

So there’s a good chance that Calhoun will be able to contribute by TX-OU. I think the OU staff can teach him “left” and “right” by that time.

Also from R+J, appropriate three months from football season:

“Ay me. Sad hours seem long.”