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2023 Fall Camp Thread of Dominance


USMCHorn

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Yep, Mack Brown was 100% right about that. It's either a penalty for everyone or not a penalty for everyone. I'd actually prefer it not to be but it has to be consistent. 

It’s kind of odd to have an argument whether a particular form of taunting should be called as a penalty. Like, “Oh such and such team now wants it to be called when the opposing team sticks a middle finger in their face”. Well, yeah. That is textbook taunting I’d think.
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5 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I think we’ll continue to see the horns down against OU and aggy because of course, but I think it’ll be uncommon in the remainder of SEC play.

Horns down will be the unofficial hand sign of every school in that shitass conference within three years.

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Three issues from last years team stand out to me:

(1) terrible completion % to worthy
(2) terrible ratio of sacks/pressures. Gotta land those.
(3) terrible 3rd & long defense.

How has the team addressed each of these going into this year?

(1) solution: QB skill development / WR roster development. Last year a ton of stuff was forced to worthy, but this year I hope the sheer amount of worthy non-worthy targets will remove a ton of those incompletions. Spreading the ball around must be the name of the game this year. I also think Quinn just chucked it up to worthy for lack of a better idea and I hope his skill level has improved that he sees more alternatives and makes better choices.

(2) solution: better secondary play. it always felt like things just slipped right through our fingers. The secondary needs to play better which will force the qb to hold for that extra second we need instead of finding some open guy right at the last second. Also, hopefully pass rushers returning are better than they were a year ago.

(3) solution: secondary, and improved sacks/pressures. It never felt comfortable in 3rd & long, too many times we gave those up extending drives when they should have been killed. We’ve got to tighten the net we put around the offense so they can’t slip through and do this bull shit again this year.

What do other people think?

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37 minutes ago, KeysPhoneWallet said:

Three issues from last years team stand out to me:

(1) terrible completion % to worthy
(2) terrible ratio of sacks/pressures. Gotta land those.
(3) terrible 3rd & long defense.

How has the team addressed each of these going into this year?

(1) solution: QB skill development / WR roster development. Last year a ton of stuff was forced to worthy, but this year I hope the sheer amount of worthy non-worthy targets will remove a ton of those incompletions. Spreading the ball around must be the name of the game this year. I also think Quinn just chucked it up to worthy for lack of a better idea and I hope his skill level has improved that he sees more alternatives and makes better choices.

(2) solution: better secondary play. it always felt like things just slipped right through our fingers. The secondary needs to play better which will force the qb to hold for that extra second we need instead of finding some open guy right at the last second. Also, hopefully pass rushers returning are better than they were a year ago.

(3) solution: secondary, and improved sacks/pressures. It never felt comfortable in 3rd & long, too many times we gave those up extending drives when they should have been killed. We’ve got to tighten the net we put around the offense so they can’t slip through and do this bull shit again this year.

What do other people think?

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1 hour ago, KeysPhoneWallet said:

Three issues from last years team stand out to me:

(1) terrible completion % to worthy
(2) terrible ratio of sacks/pressures. Gotta land those.
(3) terrible 3rd & long defense.

How has the team addressed each of these going into this year?

(1) solution: QB skill development / WR roster development. Last year a ton of stuff was forced to worthy, but this year I hope the sheer amount of worthy non-worthy targets will remove a ton of those incompletions. Spreading the ball around must be the name of the game this year. I also think Quinn just chucked it up to worthy for lack of a better idea and I hope his skill level has improved that he sees more alternatives and makes better choices.

(2) solution: better secondary play. it always felt like things just slipped right through our fingers. The secondary needs to play better which will force the qb to hold for that extra second we need instead of finding some open guy right at the last second. Also, hopefully pass rushers returning are better than they were a year ago.

(3) solution: secondary, and improved sacks/pressures. It never felt comfortable in 3rd & long, too many times we gave those up extending drives when they should have been killed. We’ve got to tighten the net we put around the offense so they can’t slip through and do this bull shit again this year.

What do other people think?

I'm convinced Quinn was still hurt for most of the second half of the season.  Accuracy issues have not really been a thing with him at any other point in his career.

I don't think it's a coincidence that he took a month off and suddenly was much more accurate on his long passes in the bowl game.

Edited by Chuckie Finster
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Did this math the other day and forgot to post. This is all by hand so could be slightly off. Third down defense from last year:

Third and long (7+): 27.1%. We faced 107 3rd and 7+ situations last year. Seems like a lot and speaks to how good the early down defense was.
Third and medium: 48.1%
Third and short: 59.6%

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27 minutes ago, stork642 said:

Its funny that they ran off those “fake” blue blood programs.  What’s interesting is without the blue bloods around helping to keep things in line this conference has already gone full carny mode.  All promotion without the substance and relevancy.  Can’t wait for the hotdog eating contest between Joey “Chestnut” McGuire and Dana “Red Bull” Holgorsen at halftime on the 50 yard line at next year’s Tech vs UH game.  Dana is going to puke all over the Tech logo and they’ll send the bell ringer dude out to clean it up.  Majestic.  

Their butthurt is beyond delicious.

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1 hour ago, KeysPhoneWallet said:

Three issues from last years team stand out to me:

(1) terrible completion % to worthy
(2) terrible ratio of sacks/pressures. Gotta land those.
(3) terrible 3rd & long defense.

How has the team addressed each of these going into this year?

(1) solution: QB skill development / WR roster development. Last year a ton of stuff was forced to worthy, but this year I hope the sheer amount of worthy non-worthy targets will remove a ton of those incompletions. Spreading the ball around must be the name of the game this year. I also think Quinn just chucked it up to worthy for lack of a better idea and I hope his skill level has improved that he sees more alternatives and makes better choices.

(2) solution: better secondary play. it always felt like things just slipped right through our fingers. The secondary needs to play better which will force the qb to hold for that extra second we need instead of finding some open guy right at the last second. Also, hopefully pass rushers returning are better than they were a year ago.

(3) solution: secondary, and improved sacks/pressures. It never felt comfortable in 3rd & long, too many times we gave those up extending drives when they should have been killed. We’ve got to tighten the net we put around the offense so they can’t slip through and do this bull shit again this year.

What do other people think?

I’m somewhat with you. My biggest question mark for the year is Sark, but otherwise I would say it’s the below three things. I’m very hopeful on 1 and 2.  Overall, this staff has done an incredible job of infusing talent all over this roster. 

1. Ewers - can he make the necessary leap. Obviously supremely talented. He has an A+ play caller, A+ tackles, and A+ receivers; there is no excuse. I don’t love his overall vibe for a quarterback, but that could all be bullshit. I’m hopeful.

2. Interior Offensive Line - the woes are well documented. Bijan made a lot of chicken salad out of chicken shit last year.  DJ Campbell obviously has NFL talent and in theory should be an improvement at RG, but a true sophomore is still pretty young on the offensive line.

3. Pass Rush - I’ll be surprised if we have anything better than a tepid pass rush (can Collin Simmons pull a Ewers and enroll now?). Fortunately our secondary should be very good if Catalon can stay healthy.

This team should be able to out talent every team on our schedule other than Bama, but I’m from Missouri with Sark.

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Three issues from last years team stand out to me:

(1) terrible completion % to worthy
(2) terrible ratio of sacks/pressures. Gotta land those.
(3) terrible 3rd & long defense.

How has the team addressed each of these going into this year?

(1) solution: QB skill development / WR roster development. Last year a ton of stuff was forced to worthy, but this year I hope the sheer amount of worthy non-worthy targets will remove a ton of those incompletions. Spreading the ball around must be the name of the game this year. I also think Quinn just chucked it up to worthy for lack of a better idea and I hope his skill level has improved that he sees more alternatives and makes better choices.

(2) solution: better secondary play. it always felt like things just slipped right through our fingers. The secondary needs to play better which will force the qb to hold for that extra second we need instead of finding some open guy right at the last second. Also, hopefully pass rushers returning are better than they were a year ago.

(3) solution: secondary, and improved sacks/pressures. It never felt comfortable in 3rd & long, too many times we gave those up extending drives when they should have been killed. We’ve got to tighten the net we put around the offense so they can’t slip through and do this bull shit again this year.

What do other people think?

On offense I think the running game is being glossed over. The OL, particularly the interior, was a putrid run blocking unit. I’ve legitimately never seen a RB room consistently turn 0 or -2 yards into a gain like Bijan and RoJo did. Shit was wild and maybe a little taken for granted after two years.

The OL has to be much better this year because the RB stable is taking a big step back, and while it’s reasonable to assume some improvement there’s a lot of ground to cover between where they were and where they need to be in order for this offense to not have to be one dimensional against good DL’s. If they don’t, defenses are just going to play light fronts, drop 8 to keep the passing game in check, and not worry about Texas being able to make them pay for it on the ground. This offense will go as far as the OL takes them.

Defense, yeah, it’s sacks or if you want to expand it broadly just disruption. They have been good on a per play basis, hence the love from analytics, but the true drive killers like sacks and turnovers are few and far between. Even an elite unit will give up points if the opponent gets enough decent chances.
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I'm convinced Quinn was still hurt for most of the second half of the season.  Accuracy issues have not really been a thing with him at any other point in his career.
I don't think it's a coincidence that he took a month off and suddenly was much more accurate on his long passes in the bowl game.

I expect him to look markedly better this year with scheme, experience, and health all pointing him towards improvement.
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1 hour ago, KeysPhoneWallet said:

Three issues from last years team stand out to me:

(1) terrible completion % to worthy
(2) terrible ratio of sacks/pressures. Gotta land those.
(3) terrible 3rd & long defense.

How has the team addressed each of these going into this year?

(1) solution: QB skill development / WR roster development. Last year a ton of stuff was forced to worthy, but this year I hope the sheer amount of worthy non-worthy targets will remove a ton of those incompletions. Spreading the ball around must be the name of the game this year. I also think Quinn just chucked it up to worthy for lack of a better idea and I hope his skill level has improved that he sees more alternatives and makes better choices.

(2) solution: better secondary play. it always felt like things just slipped right through our fingers. The secondary needs to play better which will force the qb to hold for that extra second we need instead of finding some open guy right at the last second. Also, hopefully pass rushers returning are better than they were a year ago.

(3) solution: secondary, and improved sacks/pressures. It never felt comfortable in 3rd & long, too many times we gave those up extending drives when they should have been killed. We’ve got to tighten the net we put around the offense so they can’t slip through and do this bull shit again this year.

What do other people think?

I am going to change #1 to develop a consistent passing attack. I think that is something that has plagued Texas under Sark. Sark has found adjustments to the 3-3-5 and 2nd half to win games last year, but they have all been based on the running game. Can Sark find an answer to defenses that commit defenders into the box to stop the run? The answer has to be more than hit a 50 yard bomb (see OSU game, where throwing deep into 30 mph winds shockingly wasnt an efficient strategy)

On defense the biggest one for me is Havoc plays. Turnovers/Sacks. Texas finished 101st in sack rate (5.1%). 86th in Opponent Interceptions thrown Percentage (2%). Texas unlucky last year at Fumble recovery rate on defense finishing 111th (recovery 40% of fumbles), but just mediocre in forced fumbles at 62nd in the nation.  

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Did this math the other day and forgot to post. This is all by hand so could be slightly off. Third down defense from last year:
Third and long (7+): 27.1%. We faced 107 3rd and 7+ situations last year. Seems like a lot and speaks to how good the early down defense was.
Third and medium: 48.1%
Third and short: 59.6%

What are these percentages? 27.1% of the time we got a stop on 3rd &7+ ?
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I’m somewhat with you. My biggest question mark for the year is Sark, but otherwise I would say it’s the below three things. I’m very hopeful on 1 and 2.  Overall, this staff has done an incredible job of infusing talent all over this roster. 
1. Ewers - can he make the necessary leap. Obviously supremely talented. He has an A+ play caller, A+ tackles, and A+ receivers; there is no excuse. I don’t love his overall vibe for a quarterback, but that could all be bullshit. I’m hopeful.
2. Interior Offensive Line - the woes are well documented. Bijan made a lot of chicken salad out of chicken shit last year.  DJ Campbell obviously has NFL talent and in theory should be an improvement at RG, but a true sophomore is still pretty young on the offensive line.
3. Pass Rush - I’ll be surprised if we have anything better than a tepid pass rush (can Collin Simmons pull a Ewers and enroll now?). Fortunately our secondary should be very good if Catalon can stay healthy.
This team should be able to out talent every team on our schedule other than Bama, but I’m from Missouri with Sark.

By no means did I think the three issues I pointed out were the only issues. I think you put a bigger, more athletic, and more talented guy in at RG and it will help for sure. Regarding #3, we had good pressure rates last year, we could just never turn it into a sack. We let them slip through our defensive fingers every damn time. It was uncanny how we couldn’t close the deal last year.
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5 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

On offense I think the running game is being glossed over. The OL, particularly the interior, was a putrid run blocking unit. I’ve legitimately never seen a RB room consistently turn 0 or -2 yards into a gain like Bijan and RoJo did. Shit was wild and maybe a little taken for granted after two years.

The OL has to be much better this year because the RB stable is taking a big step back, and while it’s reasonable to assume some improvement there’s a lot of ground to cover between where they were and where they need to be in order for this offense to not have to be one dimensional against good DL’s. If they don’t, defenses are just going to play light fronts, drop 8 to keep the passing game in check, and not worry about Texas being able to make them pay for it on the ground. This offense will go as far as the OL takes them.

all of this. Bijan especially covered for a lot of sins from the OL. 

TCU beat us by basically saying "we'll take away Biijan and you aren't good enough to throw on us" - and they were right.

Now having said that if Ewers and the WRs are as good as we think they can be then I don't think anyone has the bodies in the secondary to match up with them all. Someone will be open every play.

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On offense I think the running game is being glossed over. The OL, particularly the interior, was a putrid run blocking unit. I’ve legitimately never seen a RB room consistently turn 0 or -2 yards into a gain like Bijan and RoJo did. Shit was wild and maybe a little taken for granted after two years.

The OL has to be much better this year because the RB stable is taking a big step back, and while it’s reasonable to assume some improvement there’s a lot of ground to cover between where they were and where they need to be in order for this offense to not have to be one dimensional against good DL’s. If they don’t, defenses are just going to play light fronts, drop 8 to keep the passing game in check, and not worry about Texas being able to make them pay for it on the ground. This offense will go as far as the OL takes them.

Defense, yeah, it’s sacks or if you want to expand it broadly just disruption. They have been good on a per play basis, hence the love from analytics, but the true drive killers like sacks and turnovers are few and far between. Even an elite unit will give up points if the opponent gets enough decent chances.

Went back and watched all brooks Carrie’s from last year and the dude is talented. I think there is a general overreaction to the new rbs this year. Brooks looks like he is better than roschon and worse than bijan, and we should have better running opportunities for him bc the expected improved passing game will stress the defense differently from last opening up lanes for brooks.

I will be surprised if our total rushing yards are significantly down from last year, and won’t be surprised if they are up.
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2 minutes ago, KeysPhoneWallet said:


Went back and watched all brooks Carrie’s from last year and the dude is talented. I think there is a general overreaction to the new rbs this year. Brooks looks like he is better than roschon and worse than bijan, and we should have better running opportunities for him bc the expected improved passing game will stress the defense differently from last opening up lanes for brooks.

I will be surprised if our total rushing yards are significantly down from last year, and won’t be surprised if they are up.

How many carries did Brooks have last year that weren't in garbage time against backups or worn out defenses? Not saying he isn't talented, just saying...

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How many carries did Brooks have last year that weren't in garbage time against backups or worn out defenses? Not saying he isn't talented, just saying...

Yea, agreed. He did look good doing it though …

it’s all regard speculation, but wanted to get some actual conversation going about what was wrong and what’s gonna be done about it. This is the home fucking stretch, I’m just trying to make it.

Also, rewatched last years tx ou game, let’s do that every game this year. Problem solved!
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I am going to change #1 to develop a consistent passing attack. I think that is something that has plagued Texas under Sark. Sark has found adjustments to the 3-3-5 and 2nd half to win games last year, but they have all been based on the running game. Can Sark find an answer to defenses that commit defenders into the box to stop the run? The answer has to be more than hit a 50 yard bomb (see OSU game, where throwing deep into 30 mph winds shockingly wasnt an efficient strategy)
On defense the biggest one for me is Havoc plays. Turnovers/Sacks. Texas finished 101st in sack rate (5.1%). 86th in Opponent Interceptions thrown Percentage (2%). Texas unlucky last year at Fumble recovery rate on defense finishing 111th (recovery 40% of fumbles), but just mediocre in forced fumbles at 62nd in the nation.  

I think a lot is riding on the passing game making that jump and being elite this year. All the things are in place, just need ewers to make it real.

On defense, I like fumbles and interceptions, but getting off the field on 3rd down is a turnover too. Good metrics might be scores/possession and td/fg ratio.
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3 minutes ago, Vito Andolini said:

He had two touchdowns against Washington while also carrying a groin full of misplaced guts, so that’s pretty good.

He was 6  for 18. The run game was nonexistent vs Washington. One TD was pretty much a perfectly blocked screen. 

 

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I’d say all those things are important.

I don’t call play calling adjustments but for the past two years there are games which Sark fails to use his rather simple to execute screen, jet sweep, diamond formation game. We’re less perfect for that without Bijan and Roschon gone but still damn good from a personnel standpoint. If the offense begins to lull, we need to get the ball in playmakers hands. Those type plays can you get you first downs and kick start drives.

We need to catch the interceptions when presented. There’s no stats background for it, but we missed quite a few opportunities for picks.

Staying healthy is important. Obviously luck is needed there.

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1 hour ago, Duane Moore said:

Alabama fans are real touchy about that kind of thing:

IMG_6229.thumb.jpeg.1f79c92651536a555e155d0f65b1551a.jpeg

 

not much for the hand sign discussion but tennessee guy in this got me.  hilarious.

 

24 minutes ago, gmr548 said:


On offense I think the running game is being glossed over. The OL, particularly the interior, was a putrid run blocking unit. I’ve legitimately never seen a RB room consistently turn 0 or -2 yards into a gain like Bijan and RoJo did. Shit was wild and maybe a little taken for granted after two years.

The OL has to be much better this year because the RB stable is taking a big step back, and while it’s reasonable to assume some improvement there’s a lot of ground to cover between where they were and where they need to be in order for this offense to not have to be one dimensional against good DL’s. If they don’t, defenses are just going to play light fronts, drop 8 to keep the passing game in check, and not worry about Texas being able to make them pay for it on the ground. This offense will go as far as the OL takes them.

Defense, yeah, it’s sacks or if you want to expand it broadly just disruption. They have been good on a per play basis, hence the love from analytics, but the true drive killers like sacks and turnovers are few and far between. Even an elite unit will give up points if the opponent gets enough decent chances.

100% accurate.  gmr has nailed exactly why i think you people with floor expectations of ten wins for a team coached by a guy who has never lost fewer than four games and a team that lost one of the most talented football players ever are slightly delusional.  bijan (outside of the o.t. against tech) was utterly extraordinary.  if he had the 2005-2008 offensive lines (hell, even the 98-04 lines)...people would remember his name forever.  you can't derive much info from a bowl game but anyone who watched us in that game against washington should have immediately thought "holy shit, bijan robinson was incredible."  nothing brooks has done so far has bolstered any notion that he is even 70% of what bijan was.  our pass blocking line last year was very respectable.  their true blue run blocking was fucking horrible across the board.  they should certainly be better this year but they have a long ass way to go and if we are going to win ten games, the line has got to make that jump.

on defense, i remain skeptical about every single element of it until we can stop tech from converting 3rd and 30 and 4th and 25 and put in a little effort in the second half of games.  until we can keep punk ass washington from going 13/23 on 3rd and 4th down, i will reserve going beyond hope.  really hope anthony hill is a game changer.

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My main concern with Brooks is blitz pickup and overall pass blocking.  Roschon was really good there and Bijan worked on that hard after his freshman season.  We are going to take a serious step back there to start the season I expect.  Considering how many times the backs were called upon to assist the OL in passing situations, and we STILL gave up play breaking pressure on Ewers, I don't think the passing game will become elite until a #1 rb emerges that will do it all at least at above average levels.  Vision, ball security, hands, and blocking.  That said, I expect that guy to be Baxter over Brooks maybe by mid season or towards the end of the season

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The other team has scholarship players too. Washington was a top 10 team. I know there was a lot of frustrating aspects of that game but if Worthy doesn't have his head up his rear end it is very likely we beat that team despite 3 of our best players opting out. 

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