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How's OU Doing Post-Bomar?

RJ Esq

Prick Since 1974
From OC Wilson:

Wilson says OU offense is ‘soft’


By Justin Harper
The Oklahoman

NORMAN - When Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops closed the remainder of preseason practice to the public, he said the offense would be working on some new things that didn’t need to be in open view of everyone.

Apparently, the offense is actually doing some old things. And crowd or no crowd, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson doesn’t like what he’s seeing to this point.

“Last year in preseason, we had a sloppy camp,” Wilson said after the first of Tuesday’s two practices. “We started the season as a sloppy offense. We need to stop being sloppy and start being a tough, fundamentally sound football team so we can have a chance to have a great season.”
After digesting the first six practices, Wilson offered a three-word assessment of the Sooner offense.

“We’re real soft,” he said.

And the solution to that problem?

“We get not as soft,” Wilson said.

For means of clarification, Wilson wasn’t calling any players wimps or citing a lack of effort or desire.

“Toughness means playing smart,” he said. “Toughness doesn’t mean you run out and hit somebody. Toughness means you’re smart enough to focus, get the plays, get the adjustments, react to the defense and play physical football.

“Me saying we’re soft, we need to be tough enough mentally as we’re playing football as a young offense. That’s where we’re waiting to see who we can and can’t count on. Not a lack of, ‘We can’t hit,’ or that kind of deal. But are we tough enough to play, play after play?”

There is a bit of a learning curve to consider. For starters, Wilson is in his first season of having autonomous authority over the offense, having shared duties with Chuck Long the previous four seasons. And, of course, the dismissal of would-be starting quarterback Rhett Bomar sent Paul Thompson back behind center after he spent the spring as a receiver.

Also, the offensive line is young and something of a work in progress.

Nevertheless, Wilson wasn’t offering excuses for his players on Tuesday - nor accepting any from them.

“We’re sloppy,” he said. “We’re still in camp, playing some young guys, but we have some old guys who need to be better.”

Thompson shared one of Wilson’s adjectives.

“We were sloppy,” he said. “I don’t know if it was because it was the first day of two-a-days or what. Just all around, we weren’t clicking like we’ve been clicking. It’s something we have to learn from. We’ll get in and watch film this afternoon and correct it.”

One area Wilson doesn’t have a complaint with is the effort. It’s more often the result.

“We practiced hard today,” Wilson said. “But there’s a difference in practicing hard and practicing tough, where you’re getting better. We practiced hard, but we were sloppy. And that needs to get out of our football.”

Another factor in the offensive struggles could be attributed to Thompson having to adjust to expanding defensive looks he’s facing.

“They have been throwing some different things out there than they did the first couple days, but I’ve been able to pick up on it pretty well,” the senior said. “And I’m getting more and more comfortable with every practice. That’s going to help things a lot.”

Several players from the offense, tailback Adrian Peterson among them, left practice without speaking to the media, explaining Wilson instructed them not to. However, whether that was a miscommunication or perhaps a directive to specific players, several members of the offensive unit granted interviews.

OU will next allow media access on Friday. By then, Wilson hopes to have some answers.

“It’s not that we won’t hit or are afraid or that kind of deal,” he said. “It’s the ability to mentally play tough football. If you know what you’re doing, every play, as hot as it is, you’re a tough player. And that’s where we’re trying to challenge. “It’s what I kept saying all summer, with a young offense, you don’t know who you can count on, because mentally you don’t know how tough they are. Throw them out in that environment and see how tough they are.”
 
Yep. Still a lot of camp left before the opener, but the UNDER is looking like the play in that game.
 
Got this from my OU buddy...

It sounds like neither Thompson or Joey Hazle was very impressive:



I just returned from Norman, and as promised, here are my observations. By way of warning, this is my first time doing this and I am hardly a football expert; rather, I am merely a long-time fan. I have not yet read any other practice reports regarding yesterday's scrimmage, so these are only my thoughts and observations. I am quite sure others will have picked up on different things or may differ in opinion. Moreover, I took extensive notes on what happened on each play (e.g., PT pass for 7 yards to M. Johnson left sideline; JH 15 yard pass to JJF, nice run after the catch), most of which I have reproduced here. Keep in mind that I was eye-balling the yardage and probably made a few errors. Moreover, it was impossible to keep track of everything going on while keeping such extensive notes on the main happenings of each play. I am sure others spent more time concentrating on the battle at the line of scrimmage or the play of particular defensive backs or linebackers.

The practice started out with the offense and defense running 7 on 7 passing drills (no linemen). PT and JH took turns at QB with Bradford and McEachern each getting only a few snaps. PT started out rough, throwing INTs on his second and third pass attempts. The first was interecepted by Wolfe, and the second by R. Smith. They both made nice plays on the ball on relatively short passes. Lendy Holmes also had an INT on a PT deep pass into double coverage. It was a very nice one handed interception. Lendy later had another INT of a deep pass overthrown by PT.

During 7 on 7 drills, both PT and JH completed most of their short to intermediate passes, at least as long as the receivers were open. They struggled with the deeper passes. Probably the best offensive play of the 7 on 7 drills was a deep pass down the right sideline from JH to A. Tennell. JH pump-faked to freeze the defender and then lofted a deep pass about 40 yards. It was one of the few deep passes by either QB that was on target. Toward the end of 7 on 7 drills, PT hit some pretty nice short to intermediate slant passes. Both PT and JH tried to hit Gresham down the field but missed on a few passes. On one, Gresham got behind the coverage about 20-25 yards down the middle of the field, and PT threw a pretty nice pass. Unfortunatey, it went a couple of yards in front of Gresham, though it was my impression that Gresham may have not known the ball was coming his way and slowed up a bit, otherwise he might have been able to make the catch.

Overall, JH had the better performance during 7 on 7 drills, but both he and PT need to work on their deep passes. They clearly both appreciate the talent of Gresham, because they were really trying to get the ball to him down the field. Although Gresham lined up in a down stance at times, most of the time in the 7 on 7 drills he appeared to be split out like a receiver. Bradford got a few snaps and completed some dump off passes, but I don't recall him ever really trying to throw the ball down the field.

After the 7 on 7 drills ended, the team had about a 90 play scrimmage (excluding the special teams plays). PT and JH continued to rotate in and out each possession. Most of the early drives started at mid-field. In the early part of the scrimmage, JH continued to look a little better than PT though neither had much success sustaining drives, but toward the middle to end of the scrimmage, PT really picked up his play and looked better than JH. I was really glad to see PT start to settle in and have some success. Believe it or not, I managed to keep a play-by-play summary for each play during the scrimmage. Here is a summary (please give me a break with regard to any mistakes I may have made; preparing this took some time and effort).

1st drive: PT at QB; completed a short pass to MJ then a roughly 10 yard pass to JJF for a first down. After a short AD run, PT threw incomplete to J.I. into coverage (about 6 yds) and then incomplete on a bad sideline pass about 10-15 yds.

2nd drive: JH at QB; completed short pass, about 5 yds, to the right; C. Brown ran about 4 yds; C. Brown ran less than 1 yard; on 4th down, Birdine made a nice play dropping the back for a loss.

3rd drive: PT at QB; PT pass intercepted by A. Dotson (pass was intended for Gresham but underthrown; pass was about 10 yards on the right sideline)

4th drive: JH at QB; JH completed about a 7 yard pass to C. Brown; on the next play the back ran for a short loss; JH short pass, 5-10 yards to the left, completed for a first down; JH completed 13-14 yd pass to E. Huggins for 1st down; G. McCoy was all over the QB on the next play and JH got rid of the ball by throwing it deep to an area with no receivers, and the pass was intercepted by L. Holmes

5th drive: PT at QB; Patrick 1 yd run; PT 5 yd run to the right on a designed QB run play; PT overthrows Q. Chaney on an intermediate sideline pass

6th drive: JH at QB; snap exchange botched between Beeler and JH; short pass completed to Zaslaw; C. Brown rush for short loss

7th drive: PT at QB; PT overthrows C. Chaney on deep pass; PT 15 yard pass to J. Gresham dropped; Cooper botched snap to PT

8th drive: JH at QB; Madu 3 yd run up middle; JH 16 yd scramble for 1st down; JH throws INT picked off by L. Holmes (yet again; what a day Lendy had) on an overthrown deep pass

9th drive: PT at QB; PT completes 16 yd pass to A. Tennell for 1st down; nice almost 10 yd draw by Gute; PT incomplete to A. Tennell (double coverage; thrown behind receiver); PT incomplete to Strong about 10-15 yds on sideline (probably could have been caught)

10th drive: JH at QB; JH rollout pass incomplete (thrown out of bounds and in front of the receiver); C. Brown 5 yd run up the middle; JH completes 14 yd pass to Q. Chaney on sideline for 1st down; JH slightly overthrows Q. Chaney on deep pass; JH throws incomplete pass broken up with a nice play by M. Walker; JH deep sideline plass to E. Huggins dropped

11th drive: PT at QB; PT completes 4 yd pass to A. Tennell; 5 yd run by A. Patrick; A. Dotson nice rush on QB, and pass is hurried and thrown incomplete

12th drive: JH at QB; JH 5 yd pass to Gresham; JH incomplete on overthrown pass (I may have missed a play because my next note is on a play with PT at QB)

13th drive: PT at QB; PT 7 yd pass completed to A. Tennell on the sideline; PT 15 yd pass completed to A. Tennell; Gute short run, 1-2 yds, before being touched down (he was wearing a blue jersey); PT rollout pass to JJF for 13 yards; Madu 9 yd run up the middle to the 1 yard line; Madu 1 yd TD run (THIS IS THE FIRST TD DRIVE OF THE SCRIMMAGE; PT LOOKED MUCH BETTER STARTING AROUND HERE, MID-WAY THROUGH THE SCRIMMAGE)

14th drive: JH at QB; JH scramble for no yards (good coverage); JH 7 yd sideline pass completed; JH overthrew Q. Chaney on 7-10 yd slant

15th drive: PT at QB; PT throws complete to Patrick for 5 yards; strong 3 yd run by Patrick; strong run inside by Patrick for the first down despite solid defensive play; PT sacked by N. Harris (actually, Harris got into backfield and then just stopped a few yds from PT; PT then scrambled for several yards, but the coaches apparently decided to count it as a sack since it would have been a sack in a game); PT run on QB draw for 3 yds; PT pass to the left sideline is tipped by L. Baker and then caught by Strong for 15 yds and 1st down; PT completes 15 yd pass to Madu (most yards came on nice run after the catch); PT completes 4 yd pass to JJF; Madu tough 2 yd run up the middle to the 1 yd line; Madu run for no gain from 1 yd line; Madu run stuffed by the defense on a great goalline stand (SO THIS DRIVE WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE 1 YD LINE BEFORE DEFENSE STUFFED THE RUN FROM THE 1)

16th drive: JH at QB; JH swing pass to C. Brown who makes a nice run up the sideine after the catch for 20 yard gain; JH 17 yd pass completed to Q. Chaney in the middle of the field; JH completes nice swing pass to C. Brown, hitting him in stride, as the gain goes down to the 2 yd line after 11 yd pick-up; 2 yd TD run by C. Brown (THIS IS THE SECOND TD DRIVE AND FIRST LED BY JH AT QB)

17th drive: PT at QB; PT 9 yd sideline pass to J.I. dropped/bobbled; PT 9 yd pass completed to M. Johnson; PT 4 yd pass to JJF thrown low and dropped; on 4th down, the defense gets a big stop on a run up the middle dropped for a loss

18th drive: JH at QB; Madu nice 10 yd run up the middle breaking some tackles; deep pass from JH to B. Caleb incomplete but there was pass interference; Madu run up middle for no gain; JH swing pass to Madu dropped; JH overthrows E. Huggins on 10-15 yd sideline pass

The team next went to red zone drills with the offense getting the ball around the 15 to 20 yd line.

1st Red Zone: PT at QB; good run by Patrick for several yards; PT 10 yd TD pass

2nd Red Zone: JH at QB; JH sacked by C. Moore; JH nearly sacked while facing right/middle, quickly turns to his left and throws dangerous pass across the field that is completed to C. Brown for about 15 yds down sideline; C. Brown 2 yd run; C. Brown 2 yd run up the middle; JH overthrows Q. Chaney in endzone; JH scrambles for a few yards before being touched at the 1 yd line, but I think the coaches gave him the TD as he clearly would have scored in a real game

3rd Red Zone: PT at QB; 6 yd run by Madu; good coverage and solid scramble by PT for 3 yds; Madu 2 yd gain for 1st down; PT pass completed to M. Clapp for about 5 yds down to within the 1 yd line; PT 1 yd TD pass to M. Clapp

4th Red Zone: JH at QB; JH misses the back on a swing pass, throwing the ball backwards (live ball, loss of a few yards); JH incomplete pass to Gresham in coverage in the back of the endzone; SCRIMMAGE ENDED BEFORE THIS POSSESSION WAS FINISHED

Other observations: R. Smith and A. Patrick were the 1st string KO returners with M. Johnson and J. Nelson making up the 2nd string. R. Smith was the 1st team punt returner with D. Franks running second team. Hartley hit all of his FGs except for one from 46-47 yds that hit an upright and bounced off (UPDATE: Soonersports shows that he missed another, so I may have missed that one). He hit one from 55 yards and another from 50 yards. I was not paying really close attention to the punters, but it appeared that Hartley was a bit inconsistent. The best punter may have been a guy that was not on the roster (no. 13 - UPDATED: someone in another report said no. 13 was Mike Knall). He hit a couple of very good punts. Perhaps someone else knows who he is. I am not sure how the other punters did.

Players that had good scrimmages include L. Holmes who had about a half dozen interceptions; A. Tennell, who had alot of pass thrown his way and played quite a bit with the 1st team; R. Smith, who had an early pick in 7 on 7 drills; Wolfe, who had an early pick in 7 on 7 drills; Dotson, who had an INT and a sack (he looked bigger than I thought he was); C. Brown, who looked good running and catching the ball; M. Madu, who also looked pretty good running the ball but did have one drop; Q. Chaney, who the QBs threw to quite a bit and had a couple of catches; J. Gresham, who the QBs also threw to quite a bit (he really looks the part of a big/hybrid receiver); and J. Halzle who showed much more promise than I had expected (in a year he could be a pretty good QB). The defensive front played very well with several big short yardage stops, but the offensive line only allowed a few sacks in about 90 offensive plays which is encouraging. McCoy had the one great QB rush, but I did not pay much attention to what he did the rest of the time. D. Murray may have had some minor injury or other issue that kept him out, because I did not see him play or run sprints at the end of the scrimmage despite being suited up. As for PT, he looked really rusty early but improved greatly by the end. I was very, very encouraged by how he ended the day. Hopefully he will continue to improve. He and Halzle really need to work on their deep passes, as more were thrown badly and intercepted than the receivers had a chance of catching. The defensive backs, and L. Holmes in particular, obviously had a good day.
 
Your right, Horn, they both started slow and looked a little better towards the end. BUT, for some reason, Thompson, Stoops and Wilson were all pleased with the QB play following the scrimmage. Thompson said something about a lot of little things that fans don't notice -- near hits on passes, footwork and execution decent, calls made at the line of scrimmage, leadership etc. I don't know what is true or propaganda at this point.

I do know, however, that they are running these series against one of the best defenses in the nation. Converted WR to CB, Lendy Holmes, has been looking awesome on defense and he's not even listed as a starter! Defense is deep at every position. Also, Wilson ran some very vanilla plays through the whole scrimmage. They confess to having some new plays and schemes to utilize Thompson's talents, but will not show them until game 1. Stoops has closed all practices to public and last saturday's scrimmage will likely be the last one the public will see as well. 13,000 damn fans showed up for the scrimmage!!!
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Personally, I think Thompson will get in sync before the opener. They will likely throw short to intermediate passes as his weakness is the long ball. He will not be outstanding at QB, but he will not make a lot of mistakes either.

Fullback play and tight end play has been good so far as well. Coaches are liking what they are seeing there so far. Jermain Grisham is awesome!!

One bit of info that I was glad to hear is that we have two punters that are consistently punting the ball 45 yards and longer. The kicker has also been highly accurate at all yardages. After kicking the punter off the team last Spring, I was a little leary of our special teams performances this fall. Things are looking up there.

The same problem that exists now will remain consistent through the season -- we have to remain healthy on offense.
 
Also, I was watching a live interview with Stoops on a new sports talk show here in Oklahoma late last night, and he was the most relaxed and jovial that I have ever seen him. He's just been too relaxed lately for things to be looking bad for the team.

I'm starting to like the -21 for the Sooners in the opener a little right now . . . .
 
What Horn's outstanding report fails to say is that both the offense and defense showed nothing but plain vanilla, in both formations and play calling.

You guys crack me up. You worry more about OU than you do your own team.
 
SoonerKL said:
What Horn's outstanding report fails to say is that both the offense and defense showed nothing but plain vanilla, in both formations and play calling.

You guys crack me up. You worry more about OU than you do your own team.

I pointed that out in my summation a couple of posts above, KL.

Hey, dude, it's still to early, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the opener. The line has dropped to -21 and I don't think UAB will score. I'm kind of liking OU with a side here so far.
 
SoonerKL said:
What Horn's outstanding report fails to say is that both the offense and defense showed nothing but plain vanilla, in both formations and play calling.

You guys crack me up. You worry more about OU than you do your own team.

Know your enemy, as they say...

...besides you gotta know about your conference opponents.
 
TheGarfather said:
So when he is saying soft, what he really means is they aren't crisp? They look very unpolished? That is what I gather.

Pretty much. They are running very vanilla formations right now, it seems, to get Thompson fully aclimated to running the O.
 
SoonerBS-I wasn't talking about you. I saw where you mentioned it.

As for the game, there's just too many question marks for me to even think of playing it. For instance...

The obvious one- Will Thompson break out or will he be just avg.?

Will UAB's OL, which is pretty decent be able to open some holes for some pretty decent RB's?

Will UAB's new QB be able to throw at all against a emerging OU secondary?

Will UAB stack it up and contain A.D. if Thompson shows no sign of getting the ball down field?

I don't play many early games and this one I will definitely stay away from. But I do see Stoops showing something on special teams to get those units off to a fast start. The ST need a boost after having a couple of avg seasons. If I had to play it, I guess that I would probably take OU and UNDER but playing a 3 TD fave along with an under is not the smartest thing in the world to do.
 
SoonerKL said:
SoonerBS-I wasn't talking about you. I saw where you mentioned it.

As for the game, there's just too many question marks for me to even think of playing it. For instance...

The obvious one- Will Thompson break out or will he be just avg.?

Will UAB's OL, which is pretty decent be able to open some holes for some pretty decent RB's?

Will UAB's new QB be able to throw at all against a emerging OU secondary?

Will UAB stack it up and contain A.D. if Thompson shows no sign of getting the ball down field?

I don't play many early games and this one I will definitely stay away from. But I do see Stoops showing something on special teams to get those units off to a fast start. The ST need a boost after having a couple of avg seasons. If I had to play it, I guess that I would probably take OU and UNDER but playing a 3 TD fave along with an under is not the smartest thing in the world to do.


Personally, I do not think UAB will be able to run against Oklahoma. In fact, I don't see anybody running against Oklahoma with the exception of maybe Texas because of their offensive line.

I look for our secondary to cause a lot more turnovers this season than in seasons past. This is a good opportunity to get it started with a new QB playing his first start on the road.

I'm like you, the play is either Oklahoma or the UNDER. I will be playing one or the other. Once the TOTALS get posted I'll know more about which one I want to take.

Thanks for responding, KL and don't be a stranger!
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From Bruce Feldman's BLOG today:


OU: Take 2


posted: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 | Feedback | Print Entry

I'm starting to hedge. A week ago, I, like a bunch of my brethren in the media, had completely written off Oklahoma after Rhett Bomar got the boot.

I'll admit that I loved how Bomar developed as last season progressed and figured he would mesh well with all those great young wideouts to take some of the heat off Adrian Peterson this season.
But after seeing how his scandal rocked the program, especially since it happened right on the eve of camp, it looked like a full-blown disaster. (Me, thinking to myself then: Yank them out of that preseason top 16! Never mind beating Texas, the Sooners will be lucky to be better than Texas A&M!!)
But maybe this is a blessing for the Sooners after all.
I had believed that Paul Thompson, once a touted Oklahoma QB prospect, was the right guy for the starting job because he would enable OU to do all of the rollouts and mobile things offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson wanted his quarterbacks to do.
However, there may be something even better that the Sooners have going for them now, and that's from a leadership standpoint. Maybe Thompson, a man long known as the most respected guy in the OU program by his teammates (in some part because of the selfless way he handled his move last season to wideout), can get things out of these Sooners that perhaps Bomar couldn't.
Scandals like the one surrounding Bomar often draw teams closer together, especially whenever guys feel like they've been betrayed. I suspect this is a pretty ripe situation now for someone like Thompson.
Just look at the top three teams in college football last season: Texas, USC and Penn State.
What is the one thing all three QBs of those teams had in common? They all were great leaders that had the utmost respect from their teammates. (Me, again, thinking to myself: And who really believed in Michael Robinson or Penn State at this time last year? Not you. Come to think of it, shouldn't you still feel bad for calling [ESPN The Mag colleague] poor Ryan a homer and a complete fool after trying to shoot down his early-season Penn State idea? Ryan said the Nittany Lions would get off to this fast 4-0 start last season and then start sailing behind Robinson).
Thus far, it certainly sounds like Thompson's on-field transition is going pretty well. Today's Dallas Morning News has a story about how Wilson and quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel are working with Thompson to help him rediscover his timing on throws and his confidence.
Wilson said he's limited the offensive packages so Thompson can become comfortable with the simple things before overloading him with, as Wilson calls it, "Chapter 2."
"I'm really encouraged with his progress and where he's going," said Heupel, who quarterbacked OU to the 2000 national title before becoming a coach. "He understands where we need to go with the football, and he's starting to get it there on time."
Saturday's scrimmage certainly sounds encouraging. Thompson struggled early, but completed 11 of his final 13 passes and threw two touchdowns and one interception. I should say I wasn't one of the people who had OU as a preseason No. 1 before the Bomar scandal. (I had them at No. 6.) And now, the more I think about it, the more I'd like to bump OU back into my preseason top 10. (Me, again to myself: Maybe I should file this one under Paralysis by Analysis. ... God, the season can't start soon enough.)
 
Sooners say having a young offensive line is a positive


By John Helsley
The Oklahoman

NORMAN - By unspoken rule, a mixture of too much youth creates only a hazardous formula for ambitious football teams.
And youth on the offensive line - suicide.
Yet at Oklahoma, they dare to blow up the rule and spin a perceived negative into a plus, now and next year and the next.
OU’s front features four sophomores, with senior Chris Messner, the only returning full-time starter.
Youth isn’t just being served amid OU’s offensive line, it’s the main course.
“I think it’s a positive,” said center Jon Cooper, who had earned a starting role as as a true freshman a year ago before a broken ankle ended his season. “The guys who are here are young, but they’re good.
“It’s exciting for this year and it’s more ex citing for the next years to come. Right now, I’m excited to see how we’re going to play this year.”
For a team that dreams of championships, OU’s inexperienced offensive line remains the primary sticking point, even after the dismissal of quarterback Rhett Bomar. The point could be made that the offensive line is more under focus now because of Bomar’s loss. Protection for Paul Thompson and open lanes for Adrian Peterson are more critcal than ever.
But must youth equate to weakness?
The four Sooner sophomores - Cooper, George Robinson, Branndon Braxton and Brandon Walker - were all touted recruits, ranked among the best line prospects in the nation.
“They’re young and they’re talented,” OU offensive line coach James Patton said.
Yes, a lack of game experience is an issue. But if their talent holds true, why couldn’t this season mark these players’ coming of age moment? At least that’s the hope among the Sooners.
“The best thing about young players - and there’s no substitute for experience, having older players with game reps - but with young players, they’re eager to learn,” Patton said. “And they’re eager to have great effort.
“You can work through the inexperience when you have young guys who want to work and get better and achieve success.”
Hard work is not an issue with this group, Messner said.
He can back that up with evidence from the spring, when a lack of depth regularly reduced OU’s available line candidates to seven, and at times six, on any given day.
Heavy reps were required.
Cooper, still rehabbing his ankle, missed the spring and Walker had not yet arrived as a junior college transfer. But the workload benefited Messner, Robinson and Braxton and others who now fill key backup roles.
The work ethic seems to have carried over.
“As long as you’ve got a group of guys willing to work hard and work together, that’s what it’s all about,” Messner said. “We’re all trying to win here. That’s what we’re about. That’s what me and my other o-linemen buddies are about.
“The youth is not a negative at all.”
Cooper, Robinson and Braxton aren’t void of Big 12 experience. Cooper played in seven games and was making his second start at Texas Tech when he suffered the broken ankle. Braxton played in 11 games and started three, while Robinson played in 10 contests.
“Those guys are a year older and a little more mature,” Patton said. “I think they’re going to do a good job for us.”
While new talent is in place, depth remains a concern. Behind the starting five, none of the backups has taken a Division I snap.
So even one injury could be all it takes to wreck what critical cohesiveness is taking place.
Offensive lines are always referred to as units, not five separate working parts.
In last Saturday’s scrimmage, the first line didn’t allow a sack, despite going against a talented Sooner defensive front. Rotating fresh ends, Calvin Thibodeaux, C.J. Ah You, Larry Birdine, John Williams and Alonzo Dotson kept coming. And coming up empty.
“We have some good d-linemen and ends and they really did a nice job competing with them,” coach Bob Stoops said. “You saw a good pocket most of the day.”
If the youngsters develop, the Sooners have found their foundation for the future. With Thompson and likely Peterson out the door after this year, this offensive line, then veterans, could ease the transition at those key positions.
“Being so young and being from basically the same classes, it helps us bond together,” Cooper said. “You can’t make a unit happen, it’s got to come together. And it has. We’ve bonded really well. “And Messner is kind of the glue.”
 
What a spin that is...:rolleyes:

Reaction is to completely write OU off and overreact. That won't happen but I don't think they will improve much, if at all, over their 8-4 record last year.
 
hey horn great writeup buddy....

i have ou in a teaser at -14.5 i think that is a safe line up to 20.5 IMO as uab won't score more than once
 
I've received word from some sources I will not reveal, that one of the things Oklahoma will be doing quite a bit is throwing some swing passes to Adrian to get the ball in his hands some other way than hand off. He worked a lot in the offseason on receiving passes.

This will lossen up the linebackers a bit.
 
OU scrutiny begats a snarl

[SIZE=-1]01:27 AM CDT on Friday, August 18, 2006

[/SIZE]

NORMAN, Okla. – Even in the best of times, Bob Stoops is not what you'd call warm and fuzzy. And these are not good times at Oklahoma.

On paper, the Sooners should be as good as any. They have one of the best running backs in the country and maybe the Big 12's best defense and a brilliant coach to put it all together.

OU has as good a shot as anyone to win the Big 12, and the last three years, that's meant a berth in the national title game.

But a cloud hangs over this team like the humidity choking Wednesday's last practice.

Hangs over Stoops.

In the next week or so, OU officials expect to file their internal report to the NCAA on Rhett Bomar and J.D. Quinn. A summary judgment probably isn't in the works. All that's left to do now is wait.

Hard to say what eats at Stoops the most. Cutting a quarterback who might have become the best in school history? Taking questions about whether the bad ol' days are back at OU? Wondering if Oklahoma columnists were right when they wrote he should have known?

Waiting?

"We're the ones that discovered it and acted on it," he says. "I believe that usually makes a difference."

Jim Wacker figured the same back in 1985. He dismissed seven TCU players, including his franchise running back, Kenneth Davis, after learning they'd accepted money from boosters.

And still it didn't stop the NCAA from coming. Nine months later, they left the program in tatters.

Bottom line: Unless something surprising comes from the NCAA's investigation, OU isn't in that kind of trouble.

The mess Kelvin Sampson left in basketball? OU officials say the football program won't be eligible for the death penalty. Not that it matters. No one's getting it again.

But any time the NCAA comes knocking, it should make even the cleanest coach nervous.

And Stoops' reaction? He closes practices and cuts off the media for all but two days a week.

Ask him why, and the hawk eyes flash, the jaw rises, the contempt all but oozes.

"This is what we always do," he snaps. "This is what we've done for eight years.

"How much do you need?"

No more than what's normal. And that's the point: He's shutting down three weeks earlier than usual.

He says practices are closed to put in some new offense. We'll have to take his word on that. Everyone says it's going great. Adrian Peterson says you'd never know Paul Thompson hadn't played quarterback in a year.

Thompson's not quite as convinced. The first few practices, coaches had him throwing a modest 30 passes a day.

"Any more than that," Thompson says, "and my arm would have fallen off."

He's still working his way back into QB shape. No one questions his leadership or command of a huddle. No teammate is more respected.

But no one's forgotten that he lost his job after just one start last year, either.

The burden of this team's offense falls on Peterson. He knew it even before Bomar was dismissed. The load just got bigger.

If he was going to average 20 to 25 carries, it'll be closer to 30 now.

Harder carries, too. Teams will put eight or nine in the box, and they won't be as worried about getting burned.

"Obstacles are gonna come," Peterson says, smiling. "We've just got to get around 'em."

Peterson is better equipped than most to do just that. It remains to be seen how well his coach handles it.

Straight up: No one's been more impressed with Stoops than me. He's been called a genius so often in this space, it was looking like a nickname.

But Stoops hasn't dealt with much flak at OU, either. A man who wins a national championship in his second season and coaches in two more title games over the next four years accumulates a lot of grace points.

But sooner or later, a coach at a big-time program endures unwanted scrutiny. Mack Brown gets it every year, usually before and after playing OU. For the most part, he's responded with class.

Stoops' reaction? After Berry Tramel's tough but fair column in The Oklahoman calling Stoops and Joe Castiglione, the athletic director, "asleep at the wheel," the head coach scales everything back.

Makes you wonder what's next. The NCAA hasn't even hit town, Bob. Might as well start getting used to it.
 
NEWS AND NOTES


Body count: It's getting a little dicey for the Sooners at the center position.
Starter Jon Cooper was already coming off a broken ankle sustained late last season. Now coach Bob Stoops reports Cooper has a minor knee injury that has limited him at practice this week.
That has given Jenks freshman Chase Beeler more snaps. Only Beeler can't go every play after spraining his ankle over the summer.
J.D. Quinn was supposed to provide depth at the position, but he was dismissed from the team just before camp began.
Stoops said starting left tackle Chris Messner snapped along with Beeler during OU's scrimmage Wednesday.

Force at second: Sooner backup quarterback Joey Halzle, who transferred from Golden West (Calif.) Community College last January, continues to adjust to Division I football.
"Joey is still trying to force it too much," offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. "I think Joey's deal as a young quarterback is he thinks if he doesn't complete every pass it's a bad play.
"He's thinking a little too much or he's a little late or he's getting bluffed by coverage and he's forcing some balls. That concerns me. He needs to manage the game better."
 
"And Stoops' reaction? He closes practices and cuts off the media for all but two days a week."


RJ, a bunch of reporters and the media, even around here in Norman and OKC, have been on Bob's ass about closing down practices and scrimmages. They are all a bunch of dumbshits that are pissed because they're not getting enough OU coverage for their sports reports.

Stoops closed practices and scrimmages for two reasons:

#1.) They are adding some new "twists" to the offense. Wilson is working on some out passes and flat passes for Adrian to give them more options of getting the ball in Adrian's hands. Also, they are working on some roll out plays for Thompson to give him some options of running or throwing. You can expect to see Thompson's talents utilized a great deal more and better than what Chuck "3rd and" Long was running with him at the start of the season last season. Don't expect to see a lot of "down the field passes" the first couple of weeks. Basically a lot of "dinking and dunking."

#2.) When you open practices, you also open up your game strategies to all the schools you will be playing. Billy Brooks, former WR for Oklahoma and business man in Austin, Tx., called in the other day and said that Texas has people scouting on Oklahoma constantly. I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist, but I wouldn't put it past them. So, why run the risk?
 
Sooner--Look, I know alot of this is media driven. "Hey, you're not letting me do my job. Boohoo." Take the story on its face or as evidence of what kind of microscope the program is under this year. I take it for the latter.
 
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