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GoldAppleCorps

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Everything posted by GoldAppleCorps

  1. I think the UGA comparison is apt. They're bigger and stronger than Texas. They have to be, because they were designed to compete with 'bama. If both teams stood still on the field and played 1970's NFL style ball, LSU would win by 2 TDs. Of course, that's not what's going to happen. Texas moves. A lot. On offense and defense. Watch the Sugar Bowl replay and see how often Georgia's defense lined up and just waited. You're basically giving Sam and Shack time to find your weakness (every defensive scheme has them). Success wasn't guaranteed because football plays are still won by players winning battles, but it allowed Texas to maximize its chance for success on any given play. Conversely, on defense, Texas never showed its true intention before the snap. If they did that, Big 12 offenses would shred them. A couple of large DL would drop anchor, an edge rusher would move around, and 8 other speedy guys would find some gaps to stand near. At the snap, or just before, everyone starts moving. Both the OL and QB will need to find their schemes in real time. I was afraid that UGA's OL was simply going to be able to dictate terms irrespective of Texas' schemes. Early miscues trashed that game plan (if it were ever there), and they couldn't adapt to Plan B against an inscrutable Texas defense. LSU was very one-dimensional last season, largely by necessity. They have hopes of adding a more dangerous passing game this season, so we'll see how that progresses. The Texas secondary is a tough school to learn in, though. It's the offseason, so anything's possible. Also, an OL doesn't play on paper. They only show their mettle when beaten on by a hostile defense. However, if Cosmi and Braun hold down the left side like I'm thinking, Sam could have Colt and Vince levels of time behind that line. When that happens, football becomes really easy for the rest of the team.
  2. This is a "F the offseason" article. No real reason to flag it in itself. Now, running by the student section or the Texas bench doing it should be flagged just from a game management perspective. "Throw it up, let 'em see it / So they can know how you G it / If they hatin', so be it!" -Bun B
  3. The US gave as good as they got in that game. They should have had at least 2 goals by HT. That's on a purely physical level. On a soccer level, their inability to counter the change in game strategy introduced at HT by Mexico is very concerning! With extra pieces, Mexico and the US could get arguably better. The concern, though, is that playing the CONCACAF Gold Cup final is a lot like playing the MAC Championship. It still doesn't mean you're ready for the big boys. The next USMNT game is in October against Cuba. 2022 qualifying is around the corner. I know it's difficult to work around club seasons in international windows, but I'd really like to see some more games scheduled against contenders. We're at the "learn by taking your lumps" stage. I'm still irritated that I can't find a left back that can be described better than "didn't do too bad".
  4. I guess there's no arguing with that dazzling insight and acumen. Thank you for sharing your wit and wisdom.
  5. I suppose hoping a FA signing gets hurt in training camp makes me a bad fan?
  6. With any type of finishing, the US goes to break up 2 or 3 to 0. After that, Mexico is forced to play a panic game. Instead, we saw the difference between soccer experiences. Berhalter put out a great starting 11. They moved the ball fluidly through their game plan. Chances were created. A befuddled Mexican midfield and back line just sort of stood around while players raced in on them. The chances they created were halfhearted lobs that the taller Americans easily deflected. At halftime, Tata reorganized his troops. He had them get tighter and play vertically down the middle. What happened then was all too familiar. The Americans accepted those terms and did not know how to cohesively deviate from their original thought. Tactically, Altidore or Arriola could have drifted more inside and let Pulisic head outside. With the additional ball handlers wider, Mexico would have been forced to at least honor that spacing and detract from the tight center. Instead, they stayed with the original plan. Mexico spent most of the 2nd half compacting the US near their penalty area. Eventually, one went in. Without changing players, the Mexicans knew how to alter their game. Their original plan was beaten, so they changed it. They can do this because experience helps them feel the flow of the game. Unlike American Football where we stop and explain the next move, soccer is played a lot like chess. You're both attacking and defending at the same time. There's too many options and not enough time to think through them all, so the best players learn to read the dynamic. At the club level, familiarity with your teammates helps promote this feeling within the group - which is why national teams are weird. You don't get enough time practicing with your national teammates to artificially create that cohesiveness. You have to learn that. Players can only learn by playing big games for big teams. The US is getting there, but right now doesn't have enough players with enough big game experience to sense the game. As a result, you get players running diagonal for diagonal passes and vertical for horizontal passes. By themselves, both options were understandable, but together, they equal turnover. With 8 or so passes needed for a legitimate scoring effort, the odds greatly favor turnovers over scoring chances. The US found a lot of workable pieces in this tournament. The result against Mexico was disappointing, but useful. Michael Bradley is getting too old for the job, but unfortunately he's not holding up the line of stellar defensive midfielders right now. He's the QB of the team. Some mistakes are his sins. Some are those of others. Now about left back....
  7. I remember when he converted the 4th and 16 against Kansas (how we got to that point is irrelevant to my purposes here). As he started to run, I was yelling, "Idiot! It's 4th down! Just throw it somewhere!". As he glided out of bounds, I just knew we'd lost the game, because he'd only run 8 of the 16 needed. It took me several seconds to realize that yes, he had indeed covered all 16 yards, plus a few more, with those long casual strides. No matter how fast the defender was, Vince was just a step faster. He'd just roll out of arm (or any other type) tackles. Just about every defensive player in the Big 12 "almost" tackled Vince Young that season.
  8. Daryl "Razor" Reaugh. The Dallas Stars all-time color commentator is my favorite. You'll need a thesaurus to listen. He enjoys employing difficult words, but knows how to turn a phrase.
  9. I tried to mention Phil Pozderac, but after three straight holding penalties and a false start, I had to drop him. My mother was one of Gary Hogeboom's biggest supporters - mostly because of his Scandinavian roots.
  10. I can tell you that the "American Cornhole League" isn't what I thought it would be.
  11. If there's a game on ESPN, then I'll watch it. If I want to experience the uninformed ravings of a group of blithering idiots, I'll read them here. When I'm folding laundry and want to have the TV on, there's an OTA network called "BUZZER" that shows really old game show (like from the 70's) reruns. It's strangely transfixing, but not so much as to be distracting when I'm matching socks.
  12. The offense has to get its guys on the field first. The defense then sends out the players that they think can best deal with that offensive grouping. What you have to avoid is a player that only does one thing. When that player or group comes on the field, you can't be telling the defensive coaches, "We're going to run THIS play.". Just like playing poker, the defense is reading everything they can. Is the tackle's foot behind him too far? Is he tipping off a pass? Is the H-back so eager to block that he's rocked forward? In addition to ensuring solid fundamentals like hand (!) placement, maintaining power through the ground by ALWAYS having your feet set as your base, and working as a unit to account for and pass off defenders as necessary, Hand is working to ensure power tosses look exactly like the deep strikes before the snap. Of course, an OL coach likes nothing more than extending a hand engraved invitation to the opposing DC saying, "Dear Esteemed Colleague: We're running power over your left side. You are cordially invited to try and stop it!", and then just bashing the ball home!
  13. Are those his total stats at Texas, or just from Q4 Nebraska 2007?
  14. https://images.complex.com/complex/image/upload/c_limit,w_680/fl_lossy,pg_1,q_auto/zslgmp0efoljtjodsdq2.jpg
  15. It was cooler looking than all the ones he usually sees at the football bloggers meetups.
  16. I think if you're on an opening day roster for 5 seasons in the NFL, you earn your pension. Not sure if practice rosters are included on that plan. The point is, it's been a great way for him to earn coin. He's forever the best player in the AAF, and he'll be able to recognize his grandkids in 30 years.
  17. That's what I get for posting after huffing paint*. At least I landed on the right sport. Coulda been Emeka Okafor. *This in no way means I'm huffing less paint. Just pointing out that it's a likely contributing factor in my ongoing disagreement with reality.
  18. This is the time of year to experiment with OL combinations. They're not at all the sum of their parts. Five skilled individuals can look like cat puke if they don't complement each other or freelance. Conversely, five adequate players can become all-world when they act as one unit, picking up DL shifts and stunts while still sensing where their teammates are. I get the sense Alex Okafor is in a "figure it out or forget it" period. He's had all the coaching and development he can stand. Now, he's either going to jell with his unit, or find himself as an emergency backup.
  19. If you can't block it, you can't run it. Let's get an OL rotation where any one of 7 guys can enter the game without Surly cursing before we start tallying up points. A couple of TEs surviving into the season wouldn't suck either. This will be the first season (I hope) where the development of the OL can be more than a "hey, it could happen!" hope.
  20. I've seen suggestions for letting women's (wymynz?, wimminists?) fire the cannon. I'm pretty sure their expectation is different than mine in a few critical ways, but I'm going to cling to my mental picture for a little while here.
  21. Ordinarily, I don't care for these type of measurables. We all know LJH's worth isn't in his straight line speed. He's a ball player that goes up and grabs contested balls like a power forward. Usually, I'd tell scouts to go look at the tape, since football isn't played in shorts. However, LJH really only had the benefit of 1.5 seasons to build that tape. The Texas offense simply did not have enough clout to use his gifts properly before then. That's just not enough of a record for a team to simply trust him
  22. It seems our offense is developing akin to our defense. A whole lot of 'tweener players that don't have a true position. WR's that can easily line up as RB, TE's that can flex to WR to back to RB. A DC tries to match his defensive package to the the offensive players (a reason why the offense has to commit inside the numbers), but with so many flex players, Texas could run different attacks from the same player grouping.
  23. Depends on if you wanna sign up for the P-Poppin' portion or not. Gotta say, I sighed a bit to see 'cris called "Old School". That's probably right, but whither UTFO or Whodini?
  24. C'mon! He's the guy from the front end loader commercial! What better way to get football players excited?
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