S
SoonerBS
Guest
I'm not going to be posting a bunch of plays and records. I'm also not going to be listing a UNIT size for any given game. If I go through the energy to post a write-up, I think it is a great play . . . . . period. I'm going to try and concentrate on what I think are the best 5 or so plays of any given week. Personally, I may bet a lot more than I post, but I'm not going to be redundant posting plays that are already elaborated on by other posters. I will be offering input on other games I do not give write-ups on. So, always feel free to ask me my thoughts on any games for a given week.
Now, let's get to play #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OKLAHOMA SOONERS -24.5 over UAB
Last season was a definite rebuilding year for the Oklahoma Sooners. After losing a plethora of quality and experienced players to the NFL after the 2004 season, the Sooners struggled to an 8-4 record overall in 2005. I think it is important to note that those 4 losses all occurred against 2005 Bowl Teams including the National Champions -- Texas. The only positions where the Sooners did not struggle last year was at fullback, defensive tackles, defensive ends, and linebackers. Except for the fullback position, these will be strengths again this season. Oklahoma's star RB, Adrian Peterson, was plagued with injury through the entire season. On top of this, the Sooners were substituting a great deal on the offensive line and breaking in a new QB -- Rhett Bomar. To sum up the way the season went last year, the Sooners started out slow and green, but they improved greatly through the season and capped it off with a Holiday Bowl win against Oregon.
This season starts with a great deal more optimism for the Sooners. Along with a returning QB (which is rare in this conference this season) Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson is currently 100% healthy and eager to play. Combine these facts with the outstanding recruits that are at WR, and who got experience last year as true freshmen, and we have all the skill positions solidified, . . . . . . . if they stay healthy. The offensive line for the Sooners has been marked as the question mark for the season's success, and rightly so. This year's line can only bost two players with "extensive play time" -- Chris Messner and Jon Cooper. "The Sooners certainly have a good starting point with Messner, who Wilson said 'played the best of anyone our last five or six games.' During those last five games, the Sooners allowed just three sacks, and allowed zero during the final three -- with Messner leading the way." (Quoted from Scouts, Inc. Preview) True freshmen, Braxton and Robinson, got a lot of playing time last season and look to be solid starters for this season. On top of these guys, Oklahoma recruited several JUCO players as well as some top notch freshmen who will look to contribute. Stoops commented in a newspaper article today in the Oklahoman, "What stuck with you about your team from spring? Just their overall willingness to work. I thought we had a great attitude through spring. There was a lot of competition. A lot of guys competed well through the spring and enjoyed it. You can tell teams that like to play. For the most part, that’s the way they acted. For instance, the offensive line, though they were very thin, they fought through it day in and day out. Not one of them was ever looking to get out. And that kind of attitude you like." I truly believe that Oklahoma's line will be more than adequate this season IF they can remain healthy.
Defensively, Oklahoma will boast one of their best ever! said Stoops today again from the Oklahoman, "There’s so much excitement surrounding this defense. How does the talent on this unit stack up to some of the better units you’ve had in the past? It’s very comparable to some of our best defenses overall. But they need to have the toughness and discipline of those groups. They have a chance to. They’ve shown signs through the spring to do that. So we’ll see if they can live up to that. But they have a chance to be a really good group. The talent is there, if they’ll have the toughness and be as physical as those other good ones we’ve had." I'm not going to go over every player on the defensive line as well as touting the linebackers. Let's suffice to say that they are not only great at every position, but they also have a lot of depth at every position. Look for several players defensively to be substituted in and out and used in a variety of ways and situations. This is so important in college ball anymore in keeping a defense fresh and potent the entire game and season. The defensive backfield have been a weak spot for what I contend to be the past 3 years running. There has been little production in the area of interceptions from this crew and teams have repeatedly been able to burn the secondary deep. I look for this to change this year. Vying for positions at CB this season are experienced players, DJ Wolfe and Marcus Walker who will compete for time with converted WR, Lendy Holmes and red-shirt freshman Brian Jackson. Wolfe was converted from RB last season and played great at this position all season long! There is a great deal of skill and speed with these CBs listed.
"The safety position returns two players who started at least part of the season -- sophomore strong safety Reggie Smith (6-1, 190) (A phenomenal athlete!), who posted 47 tackles and two interceptions in his 10 starts; and junior Darien Williams (5-10, 197), who played 11 games and posted 43 tackles. Don't be surprised if senior Jason Carter (5-10, 192), sophomore Keenan Clayton (6-2, 210) and sophomore Nic Harris (6-3, 218) also see plenty of playing time at safety." (Posted from Scout's, Inc. Preview) Unlike the last three seasons, this defense has the capability of getting back to the early Stoops' defenses that contributed every game to the scoring end of play.
Now, let's make some points about UAB. Offensively, UAB returns only 6 starters. Most noteably missing is their start QB of last 3 years, Darrell Hackney. With the advent of breaking in a new QB, and none of them with the atleticism or abilities of Hackney, Brown has been quoted by many sources as saying this about the 2006 team strategy, "I think we'll be a little bit more of a running team this year where with Darrell we were pass first, run second," said offensive coordinator Pat Sullivan, who also coaches UAB's quarterbacks. "Now with the experienced part of our offense coming back being the running backs and the offensive line, we're probably going to have to run the ball first and throw it second." This will make the UAB Blazers very predictable this season.
Defensively, the UAB squad returns 6 starters and will have a new defensive coordinator at the helm. "Rick Christophel doesn't intend to make any drastic changes in the scheme and will continue to run a familiar version of the 4-3 defense. Instead, he hopes to take better advantage of UAB's experience and overall team speed. 'We feel like we can run pretty well, so we've got to be able to put our players in a better position to use their ability and fly around to the football,' Christophel said. 'We want to simplify some of the things we've done in the past and just let our kids just play a little more. It's not that we were all that complicated last year. There are going to be adjustments to make during the game, we know that, but there were times last year when we were confused in our base package. When we go out on the field we want to be able to line up in our base defense and say 'this is where we're going to attack this and this is what we've got to do to stop this.' 'We want to do a better job of controlling what we do. We don't want an offense controlling our defense. We want to be able to play our defense and do the things we want to do when we want to do them." (Scouts, Inc. Preview) While not at the bottom in the nation, UAB's 2005 defense was ranked 56 in Total Defense and 59 in Rushing Defense.
THE BOTTOMLINE ON THIS PLAY:
In last week's Big 12 press conferences, Stoops repeated a statement over and over again, "We have to be mentally and physically prepared to come out competing early this season (in contrast to last)" I look for the coaching staff to emphasize this thought throughout fall camp. The players will be constantly reminded of their opening loss last season to TCU. This will serve as motivation for the players and coaches to come out prepared to play with high intensity in game #1 and following. There is no better way to prove this work ethic than to go out and completely dominate on the field in the opener.
Oklahoma is no longer in the "rebuilding phase" of their game, they are now in the "polishing stage." While I don't think this phase is good enough for them to be considered National Contenders, the field this year is so wide open they still have a window of opportunity. Oklahoma needs to get their "swagger" back and the players and coaches know it. A sub-par game in the opener will bring back the doubts that were evident early last season. They need to come out with a BANG (for lack of words) in this opener.
Can they do it? Can they cover the -24.5? Fellas, I absolutely do not see UAB scoring more than a FG in this game. Oklahoma has always been impenetrable by the running game. This season will only reinforce that tradition. UAB's inexperienced QB who will be playing his first collegiate game on the road here is going to have to be able to throw the ball and that's going to be a lot to ask from a rookie who will have to be dodging some of the fastest sack-makers in the game today. This should also set up a lot of interception opportunities. The way I see it, Oklahoma only has to be able to score 1 TD a quarter to cover this game. I think they'll score at least 35 points in this game IF the offense is healthy going into this opener. This isn't just a "we have to depend on Adrian Peterson's running game" type offense anymore. Bomar has proven in the latter half of last season that he can be highly effective throwing and running the ball himself. He will have WRs this game who are much more athletic as well as being physically taller and bigger than UAB's CBs.
It all adds up to an Oklahoma blow out and one of the best bets on the board IMO.
Now, let's get to play #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OKLAHOMA SOONERS -24.5 over UAB
Last season was a definite rebuilding year for the Oklahoma Sooners. After losing a plethora of quality and experienced players to the NFL after the 2004 season, the Sooners struggled to an 8-4 record overall in 2005. I think it is important to note that those 4 losses all occurred against 2005 Bowl Teams including the National Champions -- Texas. The only positions where the Sooners did not struggle last year was at fullback, defensive tackles, defensive ends, and linebackers. Except for the fullback position, these will be strengths again this season. Oklahoma's star RB, Adrian Peterson, was plagued with injury through the entire season. On top of this, the Sooners were substituting a great deal on the offensive line and breaking in a new QB -- Rhett Bomar. To sum up the way the season went last year, the Sooners started out slow and green, but they improved greatly through the season and capped it off with a Holiday Bowl win against Oregon.
This season starts with a great deal more optimism for the Sooners. Along with a returning QB (which is rare in this conference this season) Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson is currently 100% healthy and eager to play. Combine these facts with the outstanding recruits that are at WR, and who got experience last year as true freshmen, and we have all the skill positions solidified, . . . . . . . if they stay healthy. The offensive line for the Sooners has been marked as the question mark for the season's success, and rightly so. This year's line can only bost two players with "extensive play time" -- Chris Messner and Jon Cooper. "The Sooners certainly have a good starting point with Messner, who Wilson said 'played the best of anyone our last five or six games.' During those last five games, the Sooners allowed just three sacks, and allowed zero during the final three -- with Messner leading the way." (Quoted from Scouts, Inc. Preview) True freshmen, Braxton and Robinson, got a lot of playing time last season and look to be solid starters for this season. On top of these guys, Oklahoma recruited several JUCO players as well as some top notch freshmen who will look to contribute. Stoops commented in a newspaper article today in the Oklahoman, "What stuck with you about your team from spring? Just their overall willingness to work. I thought we had a great attitude through spring. There was a lot of competition. A lot of guys competed well through the spring and enjoyed it. You can tell teams that like to play. For the most part, that’s the way they acted. For instance, the offensive line, though they were very thin, they fought through it day in and day out. Not one of them was ever looking to get out. And that kind of attitude you like." I truly believe that Oklahoma's line will be more than adequate this season IF they can remain healthy.
Defensively, Oklahoma will boast one of their best ever! said Stoops today again from the Oklahoman, "There’s so much excitement surrounding this defense. How does the talent on this unit stack up to some of the better units you’ve had in the past? It’s very comparable to some of our best defenses overall. But they need to have the toughness and discipline of those groups. They have a chance to. They’ve shown signs through the spring to do that. So we’ll see if they can live up to that. But they have a chance to be a really good group. The talent is there, if they’ll have the toughness and be as physical as those other good ones we’ve had." I'm not going to go over every player on the defensive line as well as touting the linebackers. Let's suffice to say that they are not only great at every position, but they also have a lot of depth at every position. Look for several players defensively to be substituted in and out and used in a variety of ways and situations. This is so important in college ball anymore in keeping a defense fresh and potent the entire game and season. The defensive backfield have been a weak spot for what I contend to be the past 3 years running. There has been little production in the area of interceptions from this crew and teams have repeatedly been able to burn the secondary deep. I look for this to change this year. Vying for positions at CB this season are experienced players, DJ Wolfe and Marcus Walker who will compete for time with converted WR, Lendy Holmes and red-shirt freshman Brian Jackson. Wolfe was converted from RB last season and played great at this position all season long! There is a great deal of skill and speed with these CBs listed.
"The safety position returns two players who started at least part of the season -- sophomore strong safety Reggie Smith (6-1, 190) (A phenomenal athlete!), who posted 47 tackles and two interceptions in his 10 starts; and junior Darien Williams (5-10, 197), who played 11 games and posted 43 tackles. Don't be surprised if senior Jason Carter (5-10, 192), sophomore Keenan Clayton (6-2, 210) and sophomore Nic Harris (6-3, 218) also see plenty of playing time at safety." (Posted from Scout's, Inc. Preview) Unlike the last three seasons, this defense has the capability of getting back to the early Stoops' defenses that contributed every game to the scoring end of play.
Now, let's make some points about UAB. Offensively, UAB returns only 6 starters. Most noteably missing is their start QB of last 3 years, Darrell Hackney. With the advent of breaking in a new QB, and none of them with the atleticism or abilities of Hackney, Brown has been quoted by many sources as saying this about the 2006 team strategy, "I think we'll be a little bit more of a running team this year where with Darrell we were pass first, run second," said offensive coordinator Pat Sullivan, who also coaches UAB's quarterbacks. "Now with the experienced part of our offense coming back being the running backs and the offensive line, we're probably going to have to run the ball first and throw it second." This will make the UAB Blazers very predictable this season.
Defensively, the UAB squad returns 6 starters and will have a new defensive coordinator at the helm. "Rick Christophel doesn't intend to make any drastic changes in the scheme and will continue to run a familiar version of the 4-3 defense. Instead, he hopes to take better advantage of UAB's experience and overall team speed. 'We feel like we can run pretty well, so we've got to be able to put our players in a better position to use their ability and fly around to the football,' Christophel said. 'We want to simplify some of the things we've done in the past and just let our kids just play a little more. It's not that we were all that complicated last year. There are going to be adjustments to make during the game, we know that, but there were times last year when we were confused in our base package. When we go out on the field we want to be able to line up in our base defense and say 'this is where we're going to attack this and this is what we've got to do to stop this.' 'We want to do a better job of controlling what we do. We don't want an offense controlling our defense. We want to be able to play our defense and do the things we want to do when we want to do them." (Scouts, Inc. Preview) While not at the bottom in the nation, UAB's 2005 defense was ranked 56 in Total Defense and 59 in Rushing Defense.
THE BOTTOMLINE ON THIS PLAY:
In last week's Big 12 press conferences, Stoops repeated a statement over and over again, "We have to be mentally and physically prepared to come out competing early this season (in contrast to last)" I look for the coaching staff to emphasize this thought throughout fall camp. The players will be constantly reminded of their opening loss last season to TCU. This will serve as motivation for the players and coaches to come out prepared to play with high intensity in game #1 and following. There is no better way to prove this work ethic than to go out and completely dominate on the field in the opener.
Oklahoma is no longer in the "rebuilding phase" of their game, they are now in the "polishing stage." While I don't think this phase is good enough for them to be considered National Contenders, the field this year is so wide open they still have a window of opportunity. Oklahoma needs to get their "swagger" back and the players and coaches know it. A sub-par game in the opener will bring back the doubts that were evident early last season. They need to come out with a BANG (for lack of words) in this opener.
Can they do it? Can they cover the -24.5? Fellas, I absolutely do not see UAB scoring more than a FG in this game. Oklahoma has always been impenetrable by the running game. This season will only reinforce that tradition. UAB's inexperienced QB who will be playing his first collegiate game on the road here is going to have to be able to throw the ball and that's going to be a lot to ask from a rookie who will have to be dodging some of the fastest sack-makers in the game today. This should also set up a lot of interception opportunities. The way I see it, Oklahoma only has to be able to score 1 TD a quarter to cover this game. I think they'll score at least 35 points in this game IF the offense is healthy going into this opener. This isn't just a "we have to depend on Adrian Peterson's running game" type offense anymore. Bomar has proven in the latter half of last season that he can be highly effective throwing and running the ball himself. He will have WRs this game who are much more athletic as well as being physically taller and bigger than UAB's CBs.
It all adds up to an Oklahoma blow out and one of the best bets on the board IMO.
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