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Texas Spring Football Game 2018


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8 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

Just turned this on at 1:22 in the morning and I hear Mack Fucking Brown talking about our QB issues and how “they” haven’t had a QB in a long time. Shoot me. 

Well he’s not wrong.....   Watching Sam and Shane yesterday was brutal.   The defense needs to throw shutouts this year 

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What’s the point of running QB power when the QB is in non contact jersey?
Practice? I don't see how people forget the spring game isn't really a game. In fact, both the offense and defense would be giving far more looks in a practice session closed to the media, and more importantly...LHN cameras.
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10 hours ago, TexasTroll said:

What a stupid take.

Scholz's is unprepared? Blame the coach!

Beer is expensive in the stadium? Blame the coach!

Nachos and pretzels are cold? Blame the coach!

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What a stupid take.
Scholz's is unprepared? Blame the coach!
Beer is expensive in the stadium? Blame the coach!
Nachos and pretzels are cold? Blame the coach!
Yeah, reading that it's apparent he isn't the sharpest spoon in the drawer..
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If the offense moves the ball easily then everyone's stressed about the defense.

 

It's reassuring that we already know the defense is good and our vanilla offenses scored 20 on them. It's also reassuring that the teams were pretty evenly divided with lots of good defenders on both Orange and White defense and LJH and CJ were split up on offense. I think if you put all of our best offensive talent together on one team (LJH, CJ, Young and Leitao/Beck) that they are going to move the ball on most defenses. Factor in that the oline played the ENTIRE game and were bound to be worn out, there's reason to be optimistic. Our offense couldn't do shit against our D in the spring game last year and we all know that that defense started out the season VERY shaky. At least we put together a few positive drives this year.

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8 minutes ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

If the offense moves the ball easily then everyone's stressed about the defense.

Spring games are zero-sum. I would be more worried about our DL/pass rush if they weren't capable of getting a pass rush against the OL we put out there yesterday. 

Also of note, I'm not sure our offense will play a better defensive front all year outside of maybe TCU.

 

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5 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

Good lord I don't. That's the last thing this team needs.

Yes because the other options are going to work...  Did you watch the first half of the spring game?  The freshman can’t be worse I don’t think.  Sam’s good for 6 yard outs and pretty much nothing else same as last year is what I learned.

Edited by Hook1997
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Just now, Hook1997 said:

Yes because the other options are going to work...  Did you watch the first half of the spring game?  The freshman can’t be worse I don’t think.

Shane and Sam were not terrible. They aren't going to carry this team, but they weren't awful. And please don't tell me that your opinion of the freshmen was formed based on what they did against the 2s, 3s and walk-ons.

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Just now, Hook1997 said:

Yes because the other options are going to work...  Did you watch the first half of the spring game?  The freshman can’t be worse I don’t think.

If they can't be worse, experience wins. Those two freshmen are red shirting barring injury. Even then, Heard will probably take snaps before they do. 

The very last thing I want to see on this football team is a true freshman playing quarterback again.

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Just now, Hook1997 said:

Yes because the other options are going to work...  Did you watch the first half of the spring game?  The freshman can’t be worse I don’t think.

 

Just now, Machinator said:

Shane and Sam were not terrible. They aren't going to carry this team, but they weren't awful. And please don't tell me that your opinion of the freshmen was formed based on what they did against the 2s, 3s and walk-ons.

I’m just really dissapointed that neither showed growth and that Sam is Obviously not the answer and will still lose us games I think

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35 minutes ago, Lat22 said:

I know it was just the spring game, but my impression was a resounding “meh”. 

I tuned in long enough to watch us run a sprint out to the right with two receivers within 3 yards of each other totally covered in the end zone, and then the QB (Boo?) reverse his field and throw back across to CJ who just barely snagged a TD reception over Boyce. 

 

Yup. We’re in mid season form. 

My impression is this.  We need a LOT of immediate, effective help in the OL, and hope the punter consistent.  

 

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10 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

 

I’m just really dissapointed that neither showed growth and that Sam is Obviously not the answer and will still lose us games I think

it's a  spring game. I don't know how anyone can judge someone like Ehlinger in a spring game when his biggest strength is the run game. Spring games are glorified practices. 

There's obviously some issues on the offensive line if we suffer any injuries, but there's not much to take away from the QBs in a spring game setting. 

 

Edited by texasstrong12
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5 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

It was practice. They looked fine.

Practice or not I’m not sure how you can be optimistic when both completed less then fifty percent of their passes....  that’s not looking fine.   Just pissed right now bc the qb position is going to cost us lots of games again this year I think.

Edited by Hook1997
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1 minute ago, Hook1997 said:

Practice or not I’m not sure how you can be optimistic when both completed less then fifty percent of their passes....  that’s not looking fine.   Just pissed right now bc the qb position is going to cost us lots of games again this year I think.

Be pissed.

I'm extremely optimistic about the upcoming season for the first time in nearly a decade. The number one reason why? Experience behind the center.

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18 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

  Sam’s good for 6 yard outs and pretty much nothing else same as last year is what I learned.

It's almost like the offensive line was a makeshift OL like last year without Anderson, Hudson, and Grandy so they couldn't block in pass pro. 

Have you thought maybe the reason we continue to throw short 6 yard outs is because of offensive line issues and not the QBs? 

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IT: Spring Game Quick Reaction: Offense

 

I jotted a few notes and put the broadcast team on mute after Mack Brown made his fourth canned reference to Texas fans being needy and meddlesome and Rod Gilmore offered that a NFL team should draft Dickson in the late 1st or early 2nd round. Lowell Galindo was also there, depending on the camera angle.

I may have more (or different) thoughts with the aid of a re-watch.

Let's get to it....

OFFENSE 

Quarterbacks


I wasn't happy with Ehlinger or Buechele early. Some of their problems were agnostic to the poor OL play.

Sam's early issues were ball security and decision making. Ehlinger fumbled a zone read and mishandled an errant but salvageable shotgun snap. He also wrong-shouldered a throw to Johnson when he found him iso'd near the goal line on Boyd with leverage. If Kris catches that, it's a 14 point swing. Ehlinger's best throws were a 44 yarder to Duvernay on a post and some beautifully thrown intermediate balls to LJH - most notably an in-route near the goal line. Sam settled down as the game progressed and hung in the pocket instead of his patented sprint out default. That was a big positive. Discouraging QB running game certainly didn't play to his favor with respect to play action.

Settled Down Sam is our best QB, but the settling is the issue.

Buechele had three poor deep throws that should have all been scores. He overthrew a wide open John Burt under severe pressure from Mal Roach and then overthrew the track star again without any duress. He also underthrew a streaking LJH who had beaten Kris Boyd up the sideline (this was actually Sam). He redeemed that with some good chain moving work, a just-let-it-go deep strike to Jerrod Heard (as he kind of got sacked), and a throwback against the action to Collin Johnson for a TD on our patented goal line roll out play that I despise. He consistently showed recognition of what the defense was doing, but if he can't capitalize, it's a moot point.

On to the youngsters...

Cameron Rising spins a terrific looking ball and he's certainly no statue. Accurate, strong arm. It's what I saw in HS so I can't say I'm surprised.

Casey Thompson showed the mobility I expected, but his acceleration and elusiveness surprised me. He also turfed a intermediate out route outside of the hash early, which is exactly what I saw in his HS tape. Showed excellent touch outside on a Collin Johnson jump ball.

I like what I saw from both freshman.

Running Backs

Tim Yoder scored and must start. Plano Plowhorse.

When the team's breakout WR serves as the goal line back and scores two touchdowns, a message is being sent to RB stable. On the positive side, the expected strength of our RBs as receivers was evident.

Obviously, this game didn't feature the running game for reasons of DL dominance, a desire to get some passing game reps, and the inability to use a QB in the running game, but I'm comfortable asserting that it's currently 1a Young and 1b Carter. Kyle Porter did a solid job as a lead blocker.

Wide Receivers 

On offense, I was the most pleasantly surprised by the WRs, which is encouraging considering that this unit spent a good portion of 2017 irritating me. Collin Johnson won multiple 50/50 balls and used his body like a big WR (6-91-1) and LJH (7-100, 2 rushing TDs) has evolved his game into real route running and soft skills instead of just being Great Athlete Will Hurdle You Guy. Duvernay got some run and perhaps enough "hey, don't transfer!" looks to placate him. Receivers often break out in Year 3 when they figure stuff out. It's time.

John Burt could have scored twice with better thrown balls and as one trick ponies go, I'll take that. He's an X factor that can help open up the offense, but execution - route, throw, catch - is the rub here.

Heard is probably our third or fourth guy right now and that suits me just fine. Though our insistence on running him off tackle amuses me. Interested to see more of Pouncey. If we're trading last year's eight man rotation for four guys with some chemistry who run real routes and compete for the ball, that's an improvement.

Offensive Line

As an overall unit, they were lambs led to slaughter when Hager and Omenihu were cranking and Orlando brought Roach on interior blitzes, but some of that was a function of the rotation, the pass rush being really good, and not always having Best Five on the field. A few guys were inordinately physically exploited and overall cohesion was an obvious issue.

Denzel Okafor can't play tackle for us, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a future at guard. Urquidez just isn't ready. Cosmi is promising but not quite ready for prime time. Shackleford needs to have a good 3+ months in the weight room and regain the lower body strength his injuries have cost him, but the problems outside suggest that we're not moving a viable tackle like Kerstetter inside to seek improvement at center. 

There's still time for this unit to improve substantially in the weight room and in Fall Camp, but Texas clearly needs upgraded play outside and depth development across the board. Calvin Anderson will be a welcome addition.

Tight End

Reese Leitao didn't look out of place out there. He's sort of a happy medium between Beck and Brewer. It was good to see Beck back and I think the game offered a realistic assessment of his true impact for the Texas fans who fancy him as Tony Gonzalez. We're certainly improved at this position from last year, but that's a relative statement. At least I don't have to see Kendall Moore split out in five wide on 3rd and 9 anymore.

Edited by Machinator
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4 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

I'm extremely optimistic about the upcoming season for the first time in nearly a decade. The number one reason why? Experience behind the center.

lol wut? I mean... I guess you could call Shack experienced but he has yet to complete a season healthy.

Be optimistic that hardly anything we saw yesterday from the OL (personnel wise) is what we'll see in the fall.

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1 minute ago, BigHorn'13 said:

lol wut? I mean... I guess you could call Shack experienced but he has yet to complete a season healthy.

Be optimistic that hardly anything we saw yesterday from the OL (personnel wise) is what we'll see in the fall.

Not to be nit-picky, but I said experience behind the center, not experience at center.

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I am absolutely shocked that satyanash is taking a pessimistic view. 
Sorry for not trying to sunshine-pump the hell out of what happened yesterday.

Everything I'm reading on this board "It's just practice" "We just ran vanilla stuff" is stuff I've heard before. Remember this when we start running utterly predictable plays again this season.
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1 minute ago, satyanash said:

Sorry for not trying to sunshine-pump the hell out of what happened yesterday.

Everything I'm reading on this board "It's just practice" "We just ran vanilla stuff" is stuff I've heard before. Remember this when we start running utterly predictable plays again this season.

I'll remember it when we win more games than we did last year.

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11 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Sorry for not trying to sunshine-pump the hell out of what happened yesterday.

Everything I'm reading on this board "It's just practice" "We just ran vanilla stuff" is stuff I've heard before. Remember this when we start running utterly predictable plays again this season.

Nobody is sunshine-pumping the hell out of everything . There's obviously issues on the OL and at RB. But there's a thing called context. Ya know it being a spring game and Texas likely  missing 2 or 3 starters on the offensive line. 

I know this doesn't align with your constant negativity and pessimism, so I'm probably just talking to a wall. 

Edited by texasstrong12
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3 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Sorry for not trying to sunshine-pump the hell out of what happened yesterday.

Everything I'm reading on this board "It's just practice" "We just ran vanilla stuff" is stuff I've heard before. Remember this when we start running utterly predictable plays again this season.

Look, we might (probably) have issues with the o-line and playcalling this season. But using the spring game as evidence for your conclusions is just dumb.

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13 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Look, we might (probably) have issues with the o-line and playcalling this season. But using the spring game as evidence for your conclusions is just dumb.

Well, the usual suspects did usual suspecty things on the OL, we need people to come in and start or come back from injury and start at several positions on that unit, and the sprint out pass fetish seems to be raging unabated. It’s not a reach to look at that, consider our recent past and project the offense to likely be pretty bad. Not entirely putrid, but capable of inducing nausea on a drive to drive basis. 

Edited by Bobby_Batronic
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1 hour ago, Hook1997 said:

This...   It’s our only hope to win 9 games 

This is an unbelievably dumb take. 

31 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

Practice or not I’m not sure how you can be optimistic when both completed less then fifty percent of their passes....  that’s not looking fine.   Just pissed right now bc the qb position is going to cost us lots of games again this year I think.

Most pass plays they had guys in their face or had to scramble and throw it away., so the 50% is very misleading. When they had time, they both made some good throws, although beuchele has to hit those deep balls. 

I’m not optimistic about OL, or offense as a whole in any sense, but we were playing guys like Urquidez and Imade. Guys who will almost definitely never see the field in a real game. Urquidez killed a lot of drives by himself, he was called for holding and gave up multiple sacks and got killed by hager almost every play. There’s not much you can take from a spring game where the staff is letting Hager go up against Urquidez.

When our line blocked half-decent, our offense looked passable. The QBs and skill positions aren’t keeping us from becoming a decent O, it’s the OL. The hope now is that plugging in Anderson, and then hoping that Okafor or Hudson can take over the RG spot will do a lot to solidify things. Personally, I’m extremely high on Okafor as a G. He flat out can’t play tackle, but he’s always gotten great movement in the run game and can pass block if he doesn’t have to worry about getting beat on the edge. 

 

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3 minutes ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

Well, the usual suspects did usual suspecty things on the OL, we need people to come in and start or come back from injury and start at several positions on that unit, and the sprint out pass fetish seems to be raging unabated. It’s not a reach to look at that, consider our recent past and project the offense to likely be pretty bad. Not entirely putrid, but capable of inducing nausea on a drive to drive basis. 

I would be elated if I never saw another sprint out the entire season. Beck’s offense in general has way too much lateral movement and not enough stressing the defense vertically. Hopefully Duvernay and Burt coming on will change that. 

Herman did a great job stretching the field vertically at tOSU. Beck has always sucked at that. I really hoped Herman would alter that last year, but he didn’t. We have to attack deep this year. 

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1 minute ago, UT Lawnghorn said:

Herman did a great job stretching the field vertically at tOSU. Beck has always sucked at that. I really hoped Herman would alter that last year, but he didn’t. We have to attack deep this year. 

I agree. I hate cutting off one side of the field like we did too often.

That said, you to succeed on vertical routes, you need a QB who can more often than not be on target (witness Buechele missing Burt multiple times) and an OL that can give us some time for those routes to develop (witness Malcolm Roach nearly killing Buechele on one of those plays).

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1 hour ago, Lat22 said:

I know it was just the spring game, but my impression was a resounding “meh”. 

I tell you what would have made it better.  First, Grass.  Get off the turf.  Secondly, Don't ever let Galindo near a Texas Football game ever again ever.  And C, burn those fucking ugly ass black jersey's the lineman were wearing.  Burn them.

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16 hours ago, texifornia said:

Bobby Burton said he was the worst take in the '16 class. Just want to put that out there again.

I’m told Bobby Burton is an established moron.  

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About the LHN coverage:

The players don't have names on their jerseys yet the play by play rarely tells us who made plays. They became to wrapped up in their own opinions about the team's progress instead of telling me much about the new players. At times it felt like the audio feed was from a different place than the video feed.

It's still a little soon to have Mack commenting on Texas because he's not far enough removed from the situation at hand. I don't spend my days persecuting Mack Brown, but even I got irritated with him talking about the QB and OL situations which his tenure still impacts.

Give Manny Acho a valium. Every statement need not be proclamation from the hilltop. 

I hope they bring Vince back. He brings the goofy fun which is a nice note for the game day broadcasts. This isn't coverage of a nerve gas bombing of civilians; it's sports which should be fun.

I never know exactly what to make of Spring games. I though the newcomers were impressive and I loved seeing Wheeler make tackles nearer the sideline. A lot of nice individual efforts, but it's hard to deduce much about the team. Even so, I feel good about winning some of those very close games that got away from us last year.

Hook 'Em!

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