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1. TaylorTRoom said:

   September 22nd, 2008 at 8:46 am

   Good commentary. I remember before the season, when we were wondering where our playmakers were, people would list all the young WRs, and say that surely some of them are going to be special.

   Maybe not. Our first three opponents are the kind of teams (cupcakes) made for breakout performances. The fact that we haven’t had any is worrisome.

2. Nordberg said:

   September 22nd, 2008 at 8:57 am

   How could we tell? Most of the freshmen are redshirting, and I don’t know if Malcolm Williams has ran more than five yards down the field on any offensive play yet.

3. HenryJames said:

   September 22nd, 2008 at 8:58 am

   Malcolm Williams has completely disappeared.

4. Steve Nebraska said:

   September 22nd, 2008 at 9:11 am

   Our rushing attack is abysmal. Vondrell McGee looks about as comfortable in our scheme as Ryan Mallet would have in Rich Rodriguez’ offense.

   I love Quan Cosby, but we need more juice in the return game. Not to mention, why risk injury to one of our most important offensive players. Let Curtis Brown get back there and make some things happen. He’s gotta feel like he’s wasting 2 years here, especially since he should have redshirted last year.

5. BRAGGonUT said:

   September 22nd, 2008 at 9:24 am

   McGee actually looks solid when we run from the Aces formation with a fullback. If I have time, I am going to break down our attempts from that set.

6. Uncle Rico said:

   September 22nd, 2008 at 9:37 am

   i’m not worried because we still have the q package and teams will shit their pants and let us score.

7. Nordberg said:

   September 22nd, 2008 at 9:39 am

   I ask you to please refer to it as the ‘Cluster Flux’, thank you very much.

8. Kafka said:

   September 22nd, 2008 at 10:20 am

   Ship does a sweet double move but the difficult part of executing a double move is to give the QB enough time to throw the pass (since the double move takes quite a while to execute). Easy enough against Rice but not so easy against OU. Most of the deep plays will disappear against OU because they will definitely blitz the crap out of Colt.

   I’m not an I formation freak but if you do have a good FB (and Cody is a good FB) and you have no deep threat at TE and your TB running attack is anemic, then maybe it is time to play Cody at FB some and see if it helps the running attack. It would at least get another big mass strong guy in the lineup who can block and run and catch passes.

   I don’t see 4 WOs working too well against OU because Colt quite often won’t have enough time to figure out to whom to throw.

   Colt has really impressed so far this year as a runner but was it really necessary for him to run so much against Rice? Maybe the idea is to establish the effectiveness of Colt as a runner while minimizing the risk of injury during this process (i.e. colt is less likely to get hurt running the ball against Rice than a Big 12 opponent).

   Colt had negative yardage rushing against OU last year. My guess is that OU stuffs the UT intermediate/long passing and running attacks by blitzing a bunch. UT better be able to throw the ball short very reliably. A short passing attack spreads out and distracts the LBs (which helps and supplements the running game). An effective short passing attack also is discouraging for the pass rushers.

   I really hope that Fozzy is healthy pretty soon. It would be great to get another explosive guy on the field.

   It would be harder for the D to know where the run is going if more of the runs were sprint draws off of a fake of Colt rolling out. Colt’s rollouts have to be honored by the D and are a bigger threat than the TB running. This play action would also give the OL better blocking angles.

   The pitch out where the TB is going one direction and a WO is going the other direction also makes it difficult for the D to know who the runner is going to be and where he is headed. Obviously it helps if the WO is a serious running threat. Fozzy would be good in this role.

9. Nordberg said:

   September 22nd, 2008 at 10:38 am

   “It would be harder for the D to know where the run is going”

   Honestly, how much of an emphasis do you think Davis puts on this?

10. Mysterious Package said:

    September 22nd, 2008 at 11:24 am

    So who have we been recruiting at tight end and running back these past few years? It was going to bite us at some point.

11. Kafka said:

    September 22nd, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    I think GD focuses more on the passing attack and Mack has a lot of input on the running attack strategy. Mack coached the QB option at OU and still loves having a QB who is a running threat. If you have a QB who is an excellent runner and he can stay healthy, Mack’s approach is great.

    Colt is a good runner but he isn’t Pat White so most Ds (OU, for example) are going to encourage him to run since he is a lesser threat than the TB running and it gives the D a good chance to force a fumble or hurt Colt.

    It has been reported that last year’s recruiting class had very little involvement by GD since Mack had GD focus on studying other offenses to see what could be incorporated into the horns’ attack. Maybe we will see some new wrinkles in the O for the OU game. GD did prepare a good game plan for last year’s OU game.

12. van mcclinton said:

    September 22nd, 2008 at 6:31 pm

    i do not believe the thoughts are offensive in the least

13. Ransom Stoddard said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 4:11 am

    Translation: our offense is baffling and will suck against any team with an average or better defense.

14. EyesOfTX said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 4:26 am

    Yep, that’s where we’re headed. Our offensive scheme is so rudimentary and boneheaded that our only hope to move the ball against excellent defenses is for Colt to make big plays with his feet or his arm on plays that break down. The OU game could be extremely ugly. Extremely.

15. BatesHorn said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 4:40 am

    Eyes: That was our offense last year, except it was based around Jamaal Charles busting long runs.

16. EyesOfTX said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 5:14 am

    It’s our offense every year under this staff when Vince was not the QB.

17. Kafka said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 5:55 am

    Eyes:

    What do you think the horns should try to do against OU this year (i.e. what changes would you make to the offense given the current personnel)?

18. echeese said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 6:01 am

    “Translation: our offense is baffling and will suck against any team with an average or better defense.”

    You don’t know what your talking about.

    This offense is not perfect but we have scored more points than almost every other team in the country over the last ten years.

    You must think all our opponents are all “below average”.

    No team is perfect and the chicken littles are already screaming just because our coaches focused on the passing game and held back the new wrinkels in the running game until we play a real opponnent.

    Just three games in and the barking Clowns are already out in full force.

19. steven said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 7:08 am

    Our offensive success or failure this year will come down to one player, plain and simple, and that player is Fozzy. Without a quality and consistent running game, this offense will stall against the better defenses it will face or it will fail to put up enough points to out score some of the better offenses in this league. Either way, without an effective running game, we will lose a couple of games this year and have a bunch of others which will be nail-biters. So far, only Fozzy has shown the ability to be the sort of effective back that this offense really needs to play at its highest level. I don’t believe that the others we have on the roster can get it done. But with that said, I believe that if Fozzy stays healthy, our running game is in good hands. Fozzy has mad talent and I believe that if he stays healthy, at the end of the day, we will find out that he is actually an improvement over Charles. I believe that Fozzy is already a better back than Charles. Charles had more top end speed, but aside from that, it appears that Fozzy is a better back in every other respect, and, keep in mind, I thought that Charles was one hell of a RB. Charles was certainly a better back than Benson ever was, so I am really high on Fozzy.

20. UTtuck said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 7:58 am

    echeese - I hope your right (and we’ve actually seen a couple interesting things in the run game, just not consistently, so it’s possible), but I’ll believe that we are actually holding back when I see something that we progress too. Usually we are holding back for the whole year, and then holding back some more.

21. Nordberg said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 8:02 am

    “Charles was certainly a better back than Benson ever was”

    Tap the brakes son. That man’s a national treasure.

    Really, “certainly” better than Benson? Benson won a Doak Walker and was a top 5 draft pick.

22. HenryJames said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 8:08 am

    Forget it, Nordberg. It’s Chinatown.

23. ponderos said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 8:37 am

    What do you think the horns should try to do against OU this year

    Pray.

24. steven said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 9:00 am

    Well, if the Horns, cannot run the ball effectively against OU, then all is lost. If we can run the ball (and I think Fozzy can do this), then we do have a pretty good shot at beating OU, although I do think that the odds are against it since OU is just too good this year.

    And Benson may be a “national treasure” and he may have won a bunch of awards, but he was also an ineffective RB without VY in college and he was ineffective without VY in the pros as well. Charles just gained 1600 yards without VY and all that during a year where his head was not screwed on straight. Charles, in terms of sheer talent level, is just heads and shoulders above where Benson was. Benson never had the speed nor the quickness to be considered an elite back, although it seems that he ran hard and played with a lot heart at the college level.

25. Kafka said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 7:03 pm

    Most likely there are quite a few new wrinkles in the O that will be unveiled versus CU and OU. Mack definitely attempts to be deceptive (sometimes transparently so) and values secrecy. Last year the bombs to Finley against OU had not been seen earlier in the year. It makes no sense to reveal your whole O strategy when you are winning games by something like 48 to 11 (or whatever it is).

    With all due respect to Fozzy, he is way less important than Colt to UT’s success. Clearly the passing game will set up the running game against the toughest Ds the horns face. In other words, if the horns can run effectively against a nickel, that will probably be a sufficiently balanced O to win.

    On most downs (against the best Ds), it will be more important for the TB to be a good pass blocker and pass receiver than a running threat.

    Having said that, the horns do really need Fozzy just to have another explosive guy on the field. As long as the horns are beating up the opposition, it makes sense to rest Fozzy and get him as healthy as possible for the Big 12.

    The biggest factor in the horns’ O success this year will be if Colt can deal with blitzing pressure much better than last year. I think that requires an excellent short passing game to take the starch out of the opposition blitz, to supplement the horns’ running attack, and to keep Colt from getting frazzled when under intense blitzing pressure.

    This is Colt’s team and I have no doubt that Mack would love to get Colt a Heisman before he leaves the 40 acres.

26. steven said:

    September 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 pm

    Sure, Colt is a given, and I agree on his utmost importance. I was referring to new variables in the offense. For all the talk about blocking schemes and so on and so forth, all I know is this, without Fozzy our running game is shat. And without an effective running game our offense will most likely bog down against any decent D’s we face. Our offense just does not seem to be configured to be consistently successful if it is reduced to being one dimensional and without Fozzy, it will be. I think Fozzy is that good and that much of a difference maker. He really is the key to whether this offense takes it up another gear or whether the offense will stagnant in frustration against the better teams we face.

27. Kafka said:

    September 24th, 2008 at 4:43 am

    Sounds like we are both high on Fozzy.

    I’m not as worried about the UT running game and TBs as some are. Cody is the best short yardage back the horns have had since Cedric so that is a huge step forward (no need to risk colt’s health on QB sneaks). Cody also seems like he can be used in the same way that Vondrell and Fozzy are used (i.e. as an every down TB). Ogbonnaya is an excellent 3rd and long TB (clearly quicker than last year and still an excellent blocker and pass receiver). Colt has really stepped up his running game and Chiles, of course, is an excellent runner. The O line is blocking much better than last year.

    Maybe the biggest problem with the running game is that vondrell has not really figured out how to zone run. It may be that there need to be more runs for him where he hits a designated hole.

    I am not sure how well Fozzy blocks in the back field (he may be fine, I just don’t know). Normally young backs are not great on their blocking. I am also worried about his durability at TB.

    It will be interesting to see how Fozzy does in a Bush or Ramonce role (i.e. split out a bit rather than at TB). He is probably most effective in space and less likely to get hurt out there than at TB. Fozzy could be a huge boost to the horns short passing game. He could also help the horns running game enormously by giving them another running threat (i.e. in addition to the TB) from the WO or WB position. Besides forcing the D to honor a 2nd (3rd, if you include the QB) running threat, using a WR in the running game makes it easier to run against the blitz.

    If the horns are good at the short passing game, then they are not really 1 dimensional. The short passing game is actually more viable than the running game when the opposition blitzes a lot (and the opposition is going to blitz the horns a lot).

    The horns will primarily be a passing team this year and just need to be able to run well enough to keep the D honest (i.e. to keep the opposition out of a nickel or dime).

    The horns have the raw materials to be an effective running team this season even if Fozzy just plays TB part time.

28. steven said:

    September 24th, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    Don’t think Fozzy will be injury prone, unless he is just designed that way to begin with. He is the type of back who never seems to take a clean hit and, surprisingly, for one of small stature, he typically ends up delivering the hit at the end of the run. For all the talk about slow poke ass Cody always falling forward, Fozzy is just as good at doing that as Cody. He may do it by other means, but the net results are the same.

    If the Horns are or become a primary passing team this year, then I better be prepare for a mediocre or a lackluster year. Cause from what I can tell, the Horns are just not good enough at doing that to get away with it forever and against good physical teams. Ever since Mack has been here, the Horn’s offense has been predicted on a strong running game. I just can’t see him changing from that bent ever, at least not unless circumstances force him to. In just about all cases, really good and legit teams almost always have a strong running game. It is just an essential characteristic of an elite team. Really good teams need to have a physical presence on the field. Without that, an offense tends to roll the dice to often and eventually ends up getting burned. And for all the good things Colt does, that is just too much of a burden to place on his shoulders. He too is just not that good to have such a load on his shoulders. The limitations of his game will be exposed soon enough if we do not have a strong, physical running game to complement and support whatever the hell else we are doing on offense.

29. Kafka said:

    September 24th, 2008 at 7:32 pm

    Don’t know about the future, but so far this season Fozzy is injury prone (he has hurt both knees). It is nearly impossible to play TB and not take your share of nasty hits.

    I understand what you are saying about the historical importance of a strong running game but it seems clear (at least so far) that horns 2008 are all about the passing attack. It is not just the horns, pretty much the entire Big 12 has gone to a passing dominated O. The Big 12 is just dominating the national QB ratings.

    If the horns have an efficient short, intermediate, and long passing game (a big if), they will force opposition Ds to play nickel and dimes to stop the horns’ passing attack.

    As long as the horns can run efficiently against nickel and dime packages and convert 3rd and short yardage (at which Cody seems to be great), that is probably good enough to score a bunch of points.

    It will be interesting to see how Colt performs as the year progresses and comes under greater pressure. There is a decent chance that he is going to have one heck of a year.

    I doubt Mack’s dedication to a strong physical running game. It has been alleged in recent years that the horns are a finesse team on O rather than a smash mouth power running team. Today the Arkansas DC mentioned that Arkansas’s D would match up better with the horns than alabama. His reasoning is that the horns do a lot of zone blocking rather than the blocking down that alabama uses. He also emphasized the skill of the horns’ O rather than their power (i.e. the horns are not as powerful as alabama).

    Cody is the first really physical TB the horns have had since Cedric (who left in 2004!). With all due respect to Vondrell and Fozzy, they are not real big guys. Texas has not recruited a 5 star TB in a long time (Jamaal was 4 stars, I don’t know about Cedric).

    UT’s O scheme is optimized for the passing game. The TEs are usually selected for their pass receiving abilities and ability to get deep rather than their blocking abilities (i.e. UT usually has had relatively light TEs in recent years). There is usually no FB to do lead blocking for the TB. The QB is normally in the shotgun, which is great for passing but not optimal for the TB running.

30. steven said:

    September 24th, 2008 at 8:49 pm

    Just don’t think, to be honest, that Colt is good enough to do that and take us to where we want to go. Colt is a great college QB, but, from what I have seen, he still has not learned what Simms learned his senior year at UT, and that is elusiveness in the pocket, where you still keep your head and keep the play alive. Colt does fine with pressure, except when it hits a little too close to home, then that mobility of his actually becomes sort of a liability. Instead of avoiding the rush, with a subtle move here and there, he is prone to go ape sh*t crazy out there and attempt to his attempted white boy imitation of VY, which of course fails to impress quite often. In those situations, as Scip said, he tends to sack himself or makes stupid decisions in the process.

    And by physical, I wasn’t talking so much about blocking schemes, but just about the ability to run when you want or need to run. For me that is the true test. And I gotta believe that Mack is committed to that. Supposedly we have imitated the Broncos blocking schemes, and they are successful as hell in running the ball. So why not us?

31. Kafka said:

    September 25th, 2008 at 5:12 am

    It is true that Colt lost his head sometimes last year. The horns and colt have focused on dealing with that specific problem and the expectation (expectation might be too strong a word) is that Colt is going to get rattled in the pocket much less this season than last. We’ll see.

    I am impressed with Colt’s running when he pulls it down and runs an opportunity draw. He makes good decisions and has excellent timing and vision. His big problem under pressure last year was throwing into duble coverage.

    Interesting point comparing the Broncos success at running the ball compared to the horns (when they both use zone blocking). Here are my SWAGs about why the Broncos are better than the horns at zone blocking/running. The Broncos have had a lot of time to polish their techniques. College teams practise time is limited by the NCAA. Pro teams can practise (at least study) all day. College players are younger and less experienced.

    SWAGs aside, I do know (from playing tight end in high school) that it is much easier to drive block a guy when you are blocking down than to block the guy in front of you and get him out of the hole. I also know that lots of running backs find it more difficult to run in a zone blocking scheme because the holes are smaller (they are not even holes typically, just creases) and they are not identified a priori (the running back has to figure out where the hole is after the play starts).

    Zone blocking plays (at least as executed by UT) tend to be slow developing compared to traditional blocking/running schemes (i.e. where the blockers get to block down on the blockee and the runner knows a priori where the hole is going to be).

    Mack wants to run but he wants to do it on the cheap. The horns’ O scheme is optimized for passing.

    Speaking tautologically, the horns must be able to run when they need to run. My point is that when the offense is optimized for passing and is efficient at short, intermediate, and long passing, there is much less need for running. The short passing game assumes a chunk of the role of the running game.

    The role of the TB in a passing spread offense is also different. There is less emphasis on traditional running and more emphasis on pass blocking, pass receiving, and draw play running. When you do run off tackle in this passing spread O, it is likely there will only 5 or 6 men in the box because the D is playing a nickel or dime package. It is much easier to block 5 or 6 guys than 7 or 8 guys.

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