36-Hour CramSession: College Football Week 3

I’m becoming very, very impressed with Baylor’s QB. This kid is someone we are going to hear a lot about. He can make something out of nothing, and nothing (or close to it) definitely describes BU o-line. If Briles start recruiting around this kid and brings in some solid players, Baylor will quickly pull itself out of the cellar in the next couple of years.

The best thing about Griffin’s prospects is that Briles is one of a handful of HC’s with the balls to build an offense around this guy’s abilities.

I just have to say this…Did you see the OU game? Same classless behavior. They wouldn’t let Washington out on the field. Granger goes down after being tripled teamed, and it seemed as if they put in a good shot on purpose after this creep handed out either a late hit and went after some WU player. This team is GOOD, maybe great. Why OU continues to pull this crap year after year…Stoops should be so proud of his boys. They give the Big 12 such a great name. I’m almost giddy about the thought of another USC/OU match-up.

I saw them giving Granger the business on the ground but I did not see whatever precipitated it.

Have they released any injury info on Reynolds and Granger?

I haven’t seen a report, but I doubt we get one any time soon. OU seems to keep very tight control on what gets out. I don’t wish injury to any player on any team, even OU, but you just knew that WU was going to retaliate. And they did. I found this on an OU forum:

On the play prior to the 3 man assault on Granger (where Granger bull-rushed the center and caused the center to fall to the ground) was Granger at fault?? Or was this a play where the Garcia simply fell to the ground (by his own fatigue or his own willingness) after Granger pushed him….I am not disputing that Granger pushed (was rushing the QB) Garcia, BUT was this really equal to a ‘personal foul’….did Granger’s actions really warrant a 3 man attack on the next play? And WHY did the Garcia OL guy NOT get a retaliation personal foul penalty for going after and pushing Granger…?? Is Oklahoma playing ‘aggressive’ (as I think) or ‘dirty’ (as some discussed last week).

I think the ultimate call is that OU plays dirty. Period.

You would assume Stoops is smarter than that. Allowing players act like jerks can only come back to bite you at some point.

Already a YouTube video…

Wasn’t Granger the one arrested for shoplifting during their bowl game last year?

Yes, but I don’t think Washington was defending Burlington Coat Factory’s honor.

Good point. :-)

Pretty much what we should have done to Auston English last year after the unnecessary hit on Colt. But our guys meekly ran away. Sir Robin applauds them.

I don’t remember that hit. Isn’t Auston English the son of missionaries? I guess that religion thing isn’t working too well for him. Moral, ethical behavior can be soooo tricky.

In my opinion, Bradford has very little chance of making it into the NFL. The kid’s play is admirable, and he is very accurate, always right on the money, but he has a weak arm. I cannot imagine him throwing an impressive out pattern. Also, he has no mobility, not too much elvusiveness, and not a quick release either. In college and on that team, he may put up some gaudy numbers, but as Ware and many others after him have proven, awesome numbers in college does not necessary translate in the pros. As Cassell in New England is showing, the NFL is about potential and ability, not numbers in college. Bradford in the NFL would be like a poor man’s version of Bledsoe in his latter years and without the gun that Bledsoe had. He would be like a sitting duck that couldn’t even quack. Bledsoe, at least, had a gun of an arm.

“I think the ultimate call is that OU plays dirty. Period.”

I think the ultimate call is that you don’t know what you’re talking about. Period.

I get the three on one takedown. It was justified for Granger going overboard, even though DL are taught to fire off the line on false starts to make sure the ref throws the flag. And the injury suffered wasn’t dirty.

What I don’t get is the ref not calling the punch that the OL threw. Sorry, boys, but retaliation doesn’t let you go that far. I thought that was a bit dirty. Guess you didn’t notice?

OU definitely started this by blocking the tunnel. I’ll grant that. But nothing else of note really happened until OU was up 34-0. Same thing against Cincy. It’s odd, isn’t it, how a team getting flat out stomped doesn’t take it well?

Oh, the first person who can tell me the penalties against OU versus the penalties for UW gets a gold star. I’ll give you a hint: if you can read that and think the Pac 10 refs were calling a fair game, you either didn’t watch, your hate for OU has turned you retarded, or you need to start watching competitive eating.

Nate, utgrad 89 quoted an ou board saying it was dirty. I don’t think anyone here directly stated that ou plays dirty.

steven, I view Bradford’s ridiculously high accuracy as his best asset for the league.

Also, about OU. The UW game was the first time I have been able to see them in a while, since I was out of commission for the past year. The true strength of the OU ball club, to me, are their lines, both their O-line and D-line. Their lines are so athletic, stout, and dominating that they make the rest of that team look a lot better than it actually is. So from that, it would seem that the MVP of the OU team probably would be their S/T coach, Jerry Schmidt, who they ironically refer to as their “Director of Sports Enhancement”, talk about foreshadowing. OU’s dominating lines are probably the major reason why they have dominated Texas over past few years. And the funny thing is that, for those that follow recruiting, Mack has, for the most part, out recruited Stoopsie on the lines on both sides of the ball. Any suggestions on how this apparent disparity can be explained (and this goes back to this board’s discussion of Texas’s S/T issue which I remember so well)? The only rationale way that I think this disparity can be accounted for is that the OU S/T program on an instutional level smells like Barry Bonds. I do not believe it takes a genius to be able to sense what is going on in the Okie S/T program. Just have to put two and two together. Supposedly this fellow Schmidt, has won wherever he has been apart of the S/T program. Whereever he has coached, those teams have wound up winning a MNC. Also, the tales of bicep tears, linemen raging to the point of beating their friends into a coma, and the high turnover rate of linemen all seem to fit a pattern and all seem to be more than just a random coincidence when taken into account as a whole. It would be hard for me to imagine that even Texas with its excellent O-line recruiting, year in and year out, could possibly field such an elite line after such a level of attrition within the past few years. Heck we can’t even field one comparable even without the attrition. Just imagine what our lines would like if we had OU’s turnover rate. Let the Okies claim that three or four of their linemen just up and quit cause they were sissies or got their feelings hurt or cause lifting weights was to hard for them. For anyone wlse who is not an OU homer, where there is smoke there is fire. I’ll put it to this way, it may just be the case that the recent records of the RRS would be reverse what they are, if the S/T coaches were just switched and this is no criticism on MadDog on my part. Just stating what is probably a truism. Stoops, for better or worse, seems to be just another version of the “bootlegger’s boy” Switzer, just a more P.C. version and one easier to swallow for masses in the ESPN era, where appearances matter, even for the toothless Okies.

Sure, accuracy maybe the single most important asset a QB can have in the NFL, but it still won’t get him far if that is his only asset, and so far as I can tell, this appears to be the case with Bradford.

What is a J. Schmidt? What else but the chemically laden grease that keeps the toothless Okie machine rolling in Norman. Stoops said it all when he referred to him as his “Secret Weapon”.

Haven’t watched Stafford too much, and plan on watching him more. I caught a bit of the USC game, and I have to admit there is a little bit of a dissappointment factor when it comes to him, with a lot of that being due to unrealistically high expectations. He may have a bit of a Simms characteristic in that his instincts or on field decision making does not exactly keep up with his physical abilities. That said, he is a much better pro prospect than Bradford or any B12 QB and any B12 QB ever for that matter. He reminds me alot of Cutler, seems to be an approximation of him, just not as accurate (how many people are) and not as crisp in his delivery and just in the general way he plays. And this comparison is no insult to Stafford. Actually it is a complement, cause I believe that Cutler is, by far, the best young QB in the league. Cutler is sort of like an Aikman but with less of the stiffness and the stifling mechanical style, or he is like a responsible, socially acceptable version of Farve, a Farve without the double dose of caffeine and its corresponding recklessness. If Stafford does not stick in the league, it will be for a similar reason as Ryan Leaf. It will be all be due to what is lacking between his ears and nothing more.

Also got to consider defense in this game with regard to Stafford’s play, USC has got a very good defense. If USC’s defense were in the B12, it would most definitely be in the top three and, at the present moment, there is a very good chance that it is better than the one UT is fielding. It is a lot more difficult to look all world when you are not in a chuck ’n duck system, playing against a bunch of slow footed and, in general, lousy defenses.

Also, for all the hoopla about the QB’s in the B12 and its passing offenses and all the denigration of the offenses in the SEC, um, just how many QB’s from the B12 have made it into the NFL? I believe the only ones have come from Texas, and those two have not exactly set the NFL on fire with their talents, to say the least. In comparison, you can name quite a few from the SEC and the same goes for the RBs from the SEC as well. In actuality, the offenses in the SEC may just not be as bad as they seem. Although, I have to admit, there is no getting around the fact that Auburn has some serious issues with its O right now. But as bad as their O may be, you gotta hand it to Auburn. Man, what a D. If Auburn ever attains any semblance of an offense, I would take them over the Mizzou team of today which seems to be so unstoppable, cause I beleive that Auburn D could effectively shut Mizzou down.

Nate, utgrad 89 quoted an ou board saying it was dirty. I don’t think anyone here directly stated that ou plays dirty…

It was posted on the board, but you know, Nate, people don’t have a high opinion of your program. Does the word sportsmanship mean anything to OU? OU is clearly a very superior team. They don’t have to pull the stunt they did at WU’s entrance. They knew they were going to win big.

I’m almost giddy about the thought of another USC/OU match-up.

How giddy are you about another OU-TX matchup, utgrad? Myself, I’m giggidy giggidy giddy.

How giddy are you about another OU-TX matchup, utgrad? Myself, I’m giggidy giggidy giddy.

We are going to have a very tough time with OU this year. They are a very talented team and they just get better every week. I can appreciate the talent that Stoops has recruited and what he has done with the program. (That’s the only good thing I can say about the program.) I hope we win, but I think it unlikely given our current “challenges” with our secondary, We will be their toughest game of the year.

giggidy giggidy giddy…interesting choice of words. A follower of the infamous text messenger?

steven, you lost me at “in my opinion”.

Well, I will just put it this way. That Bradford is a four year QB in college is almost certain. After those years, just watch where he is drafted if he is drafted at all. Of the two, I believe that Colt will be drafted higher, if either of them are drafted at all. You may have gotten lost at “my opinion” but I doubt if the NFL scouts will be. Bradford is not much more than a Jason White clone. Now tell me, where exactly did White end up in the NFL, and if you think otherwise, tell me, in specifics, how he is any more suited to the NFL game than White. Bradford is just in a fortunate situation at OU. At any other B12 school, there is a good chance he would be no more than an average to an above average college QB. And furthermore, contrary to popular opinion, if I had to choose between him or Colt, I would take Colt everyday of the week. Now Colt may have more of a flakiness to his game and he may also just be a bit more inconsistent, but Colt also has to pull a bigger share of the load at UT in order for the UT offense to run effectively. For all Colt’s faults, he also has a higher upside than Bradford and to win in big games against opposition that is equivalent or nearly equivalent to yours, upside is what you need to have at your QB position. You need to be able to exceed beyond just what is consistent. Bradford is steady and consistent. I’ll give him that. But he is going to be that way whether he is playing against sorry opponents or better ones. He is like a car with only one gear, although that one gear happens to be not bad. You cannot lean on the guy with extra burdens to win a game beyond what his average capabilities are. In comparison, Colt has a better, stronger arm than Bradford, in addition to being a hell of a lot more mobile and elusive. You put Colt on OU’s team and OU is a much better team with a higher upside. That we have an advantage at the QB position is one of the reasons why I believe UT has a pretty shot at beating the Sooners this year.

Bradford is not much more than a Jason White clone. Now tell me, where exactly did White end up in the NFL, and if you think otherwise, tell me, in specifics, how he is any more suited to the NFL game than White.

Bradford has knees.

Jason White had knees at one point…he just didn’t end his career with any knees.

I like Colt a lot and am glad he is our QB, but I’d be shocked if he is drafted higher than Bradford.

Well, then prepared to be shocked, assuming that either one of them actually are drafted at all. You say that you feel that Bradford is sort of a lock to make it in the NFL. Well history does not support your position. How many QB’s has OU had that looked all world in college, and for that matter, how many has the B12 had, in total, since the beginning of the conference. Now tell me, give me the number of those QBs that have actually stuck in the league. I believe it is two. Simms and Young, and both of them have a world of talent that is heads and shoulders above Bradfords. Bradford is not even in the same ballpark as those two, either in terms of the quality of his arm or in other intangibles which those other two bring to the table. Given that history and that disparity, what on earth makes you think that Bradford has any where close to a good shot at making it into the NFL.

Also, Bradford may have knees, but what good are they if he either does not or is unable to use them in any functional way on the football field. Basically, a Bradford with knees is about as mobile as a Jason White with no knees, so aside from the aesthetic issue, who the hell cares. You guys are still not telling me how Bradford is any different from his predecessor, White, in any substantial manner. And I do not believe you all can, cause basically there is no substantial difference, aside from Bradford evidently having had braces as a child.

How is any other Oklahoma QB relevant to the discussion as to whether Bradford will be drafted highly?

Um, are you really being serious here. In any subject matter, in order to be able to evaluate, you need a standard by which to compare. Nothing exists in a vacuum alone which can be compared and therefore evaluated. In other words, Bradford does exist in a vacuum, otherwise any evaluation of him would be impossible. So one would need a standard of reference as to what would be a good QB prospect and what would be a pipedream prospect. And what standard of reference would be better than the previous B12 QB’s that have gone before him, especially the previous ones that gone before at the same program that he is currently in and who played with a similar style as him as well, such as a Jason White. What other kind of standard of reference could there be and if I may ask, what standard of reference are you using to judge his qualifications with such certainty, if it is not the play and outcomes of previous B12 QBs that have gone before him? Oh, by the way, you do not have to answer that question. Just threw that in as a rhetorical question, cause I already know the answer to this question, or, rather, what must be the answer to this question.

You belive Jason White is a good comparison for Bradford because they both played for Oklahoma. Jamelle Holieway played for Oklahoma too — is he a good comparison? How about Nate Hbyl? Josh Heupel? I think players like Stafford and Sanchez are applicable comparisons. If you don’t understand that, it is not really worth discussing.

Don’t forget Darrell Royal, Troy Aikman and Justin Fuente when talking about comparable Sooner QBs. Also Eddie Crowder and Jack Mildren.

When talking about Sooner WR’s NFL prospects, you can’t forget Lance Rentzel!

No, not just that they played for the same school. They also played in basically the same offense, with the same dominating lines, with the same limitations with regard to arm strength and mobility, and they both have been extremely successful on the collegiate level. I mean can’t you just tell that Jason White is more than a fair comparison for Bradford, I mean they pretty much look the same when they are playing, they play in a similar manner with accuracy being their key asset, and they both throw a similar looking ball to boot. Also, Hbyl and Heupel are examples of more of the same. They were also fairly successful collegiate QB’s at Oklahoma who had very mediocre arms. The point being that if you believe Bradford is pro material because of how good he looks at the college level and based on how much success he has on this level, then all I am saying is that this is probably not the best standard to be using to project him on to the pro level, as the other previous OU QB’s have proven to be the case, in spite of all their success at the college level.

Sure Stafford and Sanchez would also be standards of reference, but not all standards of reference are equal and as dependable. The previous OU QB’s would make a better standard of reference for Bradford because of the reasons stated above. As far as these other two are concerned, while Bradford may acheive stats which are better than both of them and even may go on to win a Heisman like J. White, still none of that means diddly squat when it comes to projecting him into the pro level. Didn’t J. White prove that point. Also, Sanchez and Stafford, just have way better arms than Bradford, it just is not an even comparison. They are just much more physically gifted than Bradford. The disparity in physical ability is so large between them, that those other two would not make a very good and reliable standard of reference by which to judge Bradford’s prospects by.

Anyway, to quit beating on a dead horse, let us just say that we have a difference of opinions.

“They also played in basically the same offense…”
If you can’t tell the difference between an offense run by Chuck Long, and one run by Kevin Wilson, you are beyond hope. The only similarities are that both teams run and pass in an attempt to score.

“with the same limitations with regard to arm strength and mobility”
So, Sam Bradford is as mobile as a guy with two rebuilt knees? Is it possible that you don’t know what you’re talking about yet again? It sure looks like it, stevie. When have you seen Bradford have to run? He’s looked more than fine on every bootleg I’ve seen. Unlike McCoy, he hasn’t yet had to run for his life.

“The previous OU QB’s would make a better standard of reference for Bradford because of the reasons stated above.”
That would be ok if the reasons stated above were valid, but they’re not. Heupel played in a Leach-esque spread and called most plays from the line. Hybl ran a Big 10 power-I. White ran a spread/I blend. Bradford runs a multiple formation pro-set from the no huddle.

“Any suggestions on how this apparent disparity can be explained (and this goes back to this board’s discussion of Texas’s S/T issue which I remember so well)? The only rationale way that I think this disparity can be accounted for is that the OU S/T program on an instutional level smells like Barry Bonds.”

Again, ration and logic are obviously your weak points. As ChrisApplewhite noted on a game thread, OU’s OL plays 110% every single down which makes them look unreal. UT does no such thing. As noted in the 2007 Barking Carnival SOTU, OU’s OL coaches have weeded out a LOT of pretenders. Players quit because they couldn’t handle it. UT has done no such thing.
As with most disparities between OU and Texas, the difference is coaching.

“Mack has, for the most part, out recruited Stoopsie on the lines on both sides of the ball.”
Not really. It’s actually been just about even. OU has a slight edge at DT and OG, UT has a slight edge at OT and DE.

“Didn’t J. White prove that point.”
Jason White proved that a guy whose knees fail every NFL physical can’t make it in the NFL.

The names of the offenses may have changed, but I do not believe that there is a great difference in the way the offenses play, at least not from the J. White era to Bradford’s. And you think that the failing knees were the only reason why White did not even get a sniff from the NFL. Those knees did not keep him from playing effectively at the college level. Even without the failing knees, White would have been no lock for the NFL, in spite of his impressive statistics in college. That no QB from Oklahoma, impressive stats or no, and none from the B12, outside of Texas, have made it in the NFL should be a fair indicator that Bradford is no lock to make it in the league as well. How could anyone think otherwise?

As far as the lines are concerned, yes recently OU has recruited the DT position better than UT, but if you look at the long term history of recruitment of the lines between the two schools, I believe that you will find that, outside of Tommy Harris, Mack has recruited both sides of the lines better than Stoops for years, especially the O-line. In spite of that, the Longhorns have yet to see this advantage actually express itself on to the field. Actually, we have witiness the exact opposite of this, with our lines typically being dominated by OU’s. Now you can attempt to account for this disparity with the notion that OU gives 110% while Texas does not, but I do not think too many people outside of OU homers are going to be buying into this childish line of thinking. I mean, come on, OU has dominated the lines, invariably, time after time cause of what? Cause they follow the Hulk Hogan regimen of hard work, vitamins, and eating your veggies. Get real. The more realistic explaination of this disparity would be that OU on an institional level is doping its players. OU’s lines just look too physically dominating for any other line of thought to be realistic. With your line of naive thinking Okie, I guess you would also think that bodybuilders just get their muscles by lifting 110%. Come on, give me a break. You know the old saying, when something looks too good to be true, it generally is.

O-linemen are generally the most dependable and stable players on a football team. They have the least rate of turnover or players leaving or transfering from the team. It is just rare to see a whole group of them just walk off a team. Now just what is this 110% that all those folks were not willing to give? Could it be that those folks were not willing to stick a needle full of ‘roids in their tush. Is that the 110% you are talking about. Cause that was probably what J. Schmidt, your “Director of Sports Enhancement”, was probably referring to when he was talking about giving 110%. And basically all those players, coincidentally, left saying that the OU program was dirty. To quote one of the players on why he left, “There was a lot of stuff going on with OU, with the program being dirty. A lot of that stuff was going on and you really do not want to be a part of that”. Read between the lines, dirt burglar, if you have the open-mindedness to do so. By “being dirty” you think he was just referring to payments to players. Come on, you think he would not really “want to be a part of that” if he was just referring to payments. And everyone on god’s green earth knows that the Okies pay their players and have for the better part of their history, so there nothing surprising or shocking in this respect, nothing that could be considered dirty for OU. This is just a given a for the OU program and not even worth being labeled as dirty when referring to them. No, it is clear that he was referring to the instiutionalized doping of players in the OU S/T program. That is why he called the OU program dirty. If you read between the lines, he was saying that the OU S/T program on an institutional level is doping its players. It is not just one player here and there doping on his own, the OU program itself condones, encourages, and, evidently, according to him, demands the use of roids in its S/T program. That is why the OU program is dirty. And he was not the only lineman saying this among those who left the program. All of them were saying this. He was just the only one who actually said this in a newspaper.

Also, if you look on the net, there is an interesting before and after photo of Duke Robinson. The difference is just night and day. Yes, your very own J. Schmidty is just a biological miracle worker. No wonder Stoops refers to him as his “right hand man”. If you want to see the difference in results between the programs, just compare the appearances between Scott Derry and Ryan Reynolds. Needless to say that there is no one on the OU team that looks like Derry after years in the OU S/T program. Now it could be cause the OU players give a 110%, but that is sort of laughable, isn’t it? Basically Reynolds is an approximation of what Derry would have looked like if he had chosen to roid himself out at UT.

Also, don’t think for a minute that the OU program is not going to attempt to cover this up and come clean with its S/T techniques. Afterall, it is “dirty” from top to bottom. Dovorachek, for instance, everyone knew that dude was on roids. And it would be a no brainer to assume that roid rage was the major part of the reason why he kept trying to bash the heads in of innocent bystanders. What is the OU program response to this? He had an alcohol abuse problem. Get real. A lot of people have issues with alcohol and yet they do not go around and repeatedly try to bash people’s heads in. More likely than that, the cause of his desire to hurt and maim people was probably due to all the doping he was doing. Afterall, they do not call it “roid rage” for nothing. It is a very easy thing to go and pay a shrink to write whatever it is that you want, especially if your main concern is to get an extra year of eligibility for your star Def. Tackle.

steven, step away from the keyboard.

Oh, by the way, if you have the interest, just pull up a photo of your S/T coach, J. Schmidty. It is clear from the photo that your very own S/T is on roids his very own self. And if you happen to live in Norman, why don’t you go and find him and ask him yourself if you are so confident in the cleanliness of your program. But just be sure to wear a helmet when you do so.

I bought one of Jason White’s knees on e-bay.

Steven, you ignorant slut.

Pondie, I can’t be, not a part of the cheer squad at OU.

Hmmmm…..maybe Okies take steroids to counteract the taste of the rotted skunk ass they suck. Just a thought.

“Frank Beamer has no playmakers.”

Beamer agrees with me as they announce today that Macho will get more snaps on offense this week.