SB Nation - Joey Halzle

Q & A with Crimson and Cream Machine

Seth C — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:04:23 -0000

Much thanks to ccmachine at Crimson and Cream Machine for taking the time to answer a few questions for DTN. Updates on the OU injury front, how to get to QB Landry Jones, why the offense struggles to run, etc.

The Sooners have been severely bitten by the injury bug this year, can you give us a quick run down of the injured starters we can expect to see out against Texas Tech and how have their replacements fared thus far?

QB Sam Bradford – Landry Jones has been solid but not spectacular in replacing Bradford. To be honest he looks a bit like Bradford did in `07 with the exception of not reading through his progressions as well as he should. Every young quarterback makes mistakes and bad throws it’s just that Jones has made some really, really bad ones. A lot of Sooner fans aren’t over the 5 interceptions he threw against Nebraska yet. A good performance on the road could help out a lot with that.
TE Jermaine Gresham – Oklahoma still hasn’t found a replacement for him which is natural when you lose the best tight end in the nation. However, you’d think that they would have someone at capable of getting regular reps. Walk on Trent Ratterree leads all tight ends with 6 catches for 51 yards. It should go without saying that we (the fans) expected a lot more from that position than anyone else.

OL Brody Eldridge – Brody is quite possibly the best player on Oklahoma’s roster. He’s started at center, tight end and right guard. He regularly graded out as Oklahoma’s best offensive lineman and wasn’t too shabby at the tight end position either.

OL Brian Simmons – Simmons actually returned to practice this week and while its unclear if he’ll play or not it certainly is clear that the Sooners need him.

OL Jarvis Jones – He’s out for the remainder of the season with a foot injury.

Oklahoma’s offensive line has been a hodge-podge of personnel this season anyway but now depth is a real concern. There have been so many different lineups on the line that I’ve really lost count. The one silver lining in the lack of depth is that the guys who are in there now have the ability to build some continuity.

DE Auston English – At one time in his career English was the Big 12 sack leader but he’s been hampered by injuries every since. The good news here is that Oklahoma is very deep in talent at the defensive end spot and Frank Alexander was able to fill the role very well last week.

More after the jump.

Is QB Landry Jones still trying to find his way as a quarterback and if so, what does he do well and what still needs work?

I think that it’s still a learning process for Landry. He had to battle freshman Drew Allen for the backup position but in reality this was supposed to be Sam Bradford’s farewell tour as a Sooner and Jones had to be thrust into battle in game one. He’s getting a better grasp on the offense but still struggles under pressure, gets rattled easy, doesn’t go through his progressions and looks very uncomfortable in the pocket. Basically all the things that make us OU fans very uncomfortable just about on every pass play.

The OU defense, especially the pass rush has been outstanding this year. I haven't seen a ton of Sooner football this year, how have the Sooners been getting to the quarterback? Simple 4-man rush, blitzes, stunts, etc.?

Oklahoma’s front four have been extremely successful at getting to the quarterback without the need for blitzing but their success as also made blitzing that much more difficult to pick up. Brent Venables has done an outstanding job most of the season at bringing a linebacker or defensive back on the blitz and even dropping defensive ends back into coverage. It’s a variety of schemes that are used to pressure the backfield but it all starts with the success of the tackles and ends.

The rushing offense has been tremendous in wins for the Sooners, but relatively poor in losses. Is it the opponents that were causing those tough rushing efforts or was it a symptom of the beat-up offensive line?

I think that it’s a little bit of both but mostly the offensive line. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown were both 1,000 yard backs last season and they have 592 and 608 yards respectfully this season through 10 games. This line is doing an okay job at pass blocking but I’d still give them a big FAIL when it comes to run blocking. I’d even go so far as to say that the success in running the ball this year has come more on the talent of Murray and Brown than the blocking of the line.

Complete the following: "The Sooners will win if __________ happens and the Sooners will lose if __________ happens."

The Sooners will win if they can run their offense. Defensively this is one of the best teams of the Bob Stoops era but offensively its one of the worst. In Oklahoma’s four losses they’ve only averaged 12.25 points which we both know won’t be enough to beat Tech this Saturday.

They’ll lose if something crazy happens again. Seriously, going to Lubbock is like entering the Twilight Zone for the Sooners, something strange always happens. In 2005 it was the phantom first down and the iffy touchdown that gave the Red Raiders a win. I know, I know, you say he was in and I say he wasn’t so let’s just leave it at that. In 2007 Sam Bradford gets a concussion and Joey Halzle gets pressed into service but is unable to pull off a comeback. If none of those type things happen and Oklahoma is able to run their offense then I like their chances.

OU Football Spring Preview Part One: Who Is and Isn't Back, Exciting New Players

dishingoutdimes — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:29:16 -0000

Isn't that a beautiful sight? Owen Field filled to capacity, waiting to watch the OU football team take the field. I know we are in the middle of two remarkable basketball seasons (men's and women's), but it's time to start previewing the football team as the Red-White game will be approaching, and Spring practice has already started. Now, with the tournament starting soon, these may not be regular installments, but I will link to previous versions of these previews in the latest preview that I post. Eventually, when I end, there should be a series of links at the top of that post, and you can explore all of my spring previews.

Here's how it will work: I will post articles throughout the offseason (starting now and lasting possibly through May), and eventually we should have a nice overall view of how the football team is shaping up.

In order to go anywhere with this preview, first we need to understand what pieces will be missing from last year. This will be the "logistical" part of the preview - who is and is not back, who redshirted last year, etc. etc.

All the good stuff after the jump...

Who We Lost

Regular Starters: OT Phil Loadholt, OG Duke Robinson, OG Brandon Walker, C Jon Cooper, WR Juaquin Iglesias, WR Manuel Johnson, S Nic Harris, S Lendy Holmes, P Mike Knall.

Role Players/Backups: OL Branndon Braxton, WR Quentin Chaney, DT Cory Bennett, DB Brett Bowers, DE Alan Davis, QB Joey Halzle.

Obviously, what jumps out is that we lost almost our entire starting offensive line, our two starting wide receivers and our two starting safeties. We'll delve more into this when I talk about how we're going to fill the holes in our team from last year and graduations. However, I'll offer a few thoughts on these issues:

First, wide receivers are relatively easy to replace. It's not like in the Stoops era that OU has had an absolutely incredible stable of wideouts. On the contrary, I would argue we have had a stable of running backs, and a ton of really solid wideouts. Even 2 and 3 star recruits at WR pan out to be solid for the Sooners. Quentin Chaney was a 3 star recruit. Juaquin Iglesias was a 2 star recruit. Plus, we have some pretty solid guys waiting in the wings. Like I said, more on that in a later issue.

We have some awesome recruits waiting to compete for the safety spots. That's not really a concern. In fact our defense is loaded. All of that in later issues. Most concerning about these losses is the offensive line. It's not easy to replace such a bulky, athletic and talented offensive line overnight. It's probably the most unheralded position on the field except maybe the punter, but I think our offensive line was the big reason why our offense put up such astronomical numbers last season. Bradford rarely got touched, and we could pick apart defenses.

Last Year's Redshirts

We had a few redshirts last year (19 to be exact). Here they are:

DB Derrick Bradley, RB Jermie Calhoun, LB Daniel Franklin, OL Ben Habern, DB Lamar Harris, LB Dylan Hughley, DB Joseph Ibiloye, LB Emmanuel Jones, OT Jarvis Jones, QB Landry Jones, DE David King, OL Brian Lepak, DT Stacy McGee, TE Josh New, QB Ben Sherrard, TE James Toms, DT Casey Walker, DE R.J. Washington, K Tress Way.

New Players To Watch

Obviously we know about what we're getting from guys who were on the field regularly. But there's some new recruits or redshirts from last year who you should keep an eye on, especially in the spring game:

DE R.J. Washington - This guy was a 5 star recruit coming out of Keller, Texas. He was redshirted last year, but everyone was real excited about him. I'm not sure how much of the field he'll see with really only one DE graduating, but I would expect to see him become a part of the rotation. Here's some YouTube highlights.

WR's Jameel Owens and DeJuan Miller - Both of these guys were recruited last year as well. They both have good size. Owens is 6'3" 210 and Miller is 6'5" 200. While Ryan Broyles will be one of the obvious starters, and upperclassmen Adron Tennell and Brandon Caleb will be given every opportunity to win the other spot, I would expect to see both of these guys challenge for significant playing time and/or a starting spot. They were both 4 star recruits, so both of them have the talent to be big impact receivers. I would expect one of them to step up big time and impress.

S Quinton Carter - He isn't really new, but I would love to see him step up. In the playing time he did get, he was sort of a spark plug. He hits hard and would play well as a strong safety I think. We're going to need a centerfielder out there with a little bit more range and fluid hips in and out of turns, but I liked what I saw of Carter last year. Here are some samples of his work:

Ben Habern, Stephen Good and Jarvis Jones - All of these offensive lineman were highly rated in recruiting services. Jarvis Jones was a starter at LSU as a freshman before he transferred to OU. They all have the size to be successful in Division 1 college football, but will their skills transfer? If so, our offensive line could be almost as good as it was last year, which was basically untouchable.

RB Jermie Calhoun and RB Justin Johnson - Both of these guys were 5 star running back recruits last year. With Murray, Brown and Madu, they didn't get any playing time last year. However, they are both obviously very talented, and the majority of the buzz has been about Calhoun (he hasn't seen the field at all, he was redshirted). With the possibility of Mossis Madu moving to WR, that could open up the possibility of one of these guys sliding into 3rd down back or quality depth back role. I'm particularly excited to see Calhoun finally.

If a lot of those guys step up and help fill in major roles vacated by departing players, I think we'll be close to last year's level of competitiveness. We are returning a lot of starters, especially on defense.

The next spring preview issue should involve the major holes that have opened up, and the players that we should expect to step up and fill in these roles.