SB Nation - Travis Lewis

Franks Coming Back Others Possibly Leaning Towards Staying

ccmachine — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:29:51 -0000

Oklahoma's defense could be pretty salty again next year as key members of what has possibly been the best defense of the Stoops era are deciding to return for another season. Adrian Taylor announced he'd be returning next season and now Dominique Franks is the next to say he'll be returning to Norman to play ball in 2010.

"I'm not worried about it at all," Franks said. "I'm coming back."

"I'm done with it. I'm just focusing on this last game. That's all I'm worried about," Franks said. "I'm not worried about talking to anybody or being at that next level."

Keenan Clayton, Auston English, Brian Jackson and Ryan Reynolds are all gone due to graduation but only Clayton and Jackson were every down every game players. Reynolds and English missed time because of injury but in their place Austin Box and Frank Alexander performed very well. Both were key contributors to shutting out Oklahoma State on the final weekend of the season and both will be around next season as well.

In addition to Taylor and Franks linebacker Travis Lewis, defensive end Jeremy Beal and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy are among the top underclassmen who could be throwing their names in next spring's NFL draft. It's widely speculated that McCoy is gone and while there's been absolutely not official word from him I'd be surprised to see him in crimson and cream in 2010. Instead we'll be looking at Jamarkus McFarland who while not yet at the level of McCoy did show flashes of greatness this year as a true freshman.

It's been rumored that Jeremy Beal is leaning towards staying as well even though he's not talking. The only thing that he's said is that he's focused on Stanford and will address that once the bowl game is over. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence to be honest but until he gives us something solid to go with all we have is speculation.

"I'm thinking about Stanford and getting better every day at practice," said Beal, who was chosen to the All-Big 12 first team. "I'm not thinking about the NFL."

"We've still got one more game and I'll think about that after the Stanford game," he added.

Travis Lewis hasn't stated whether he's staying or going either but he's at least given us the criteria for his departure. Lewis wants to be a first round draft pick and says he won't leave Oklahoma early unless that is guaranteed.

"It'd have to be pretty high. I have high standards for myself and everybody wants to go in the first round to take care of your family for the rest of your life," Lewis said. "Whether it's this year, next year or the year after. I've got two more years to play. I think eventually I'll be there."

"It's all about me and patience-how patient I am staying here and bettering myself to get to that No. 1, that first round."

There will be plenty of new faces on next year's defense but the key to success is blending the new guys with veteran leadership. Marcus Trice is going to make a push at replacing Brian Jackson, Ronnell Lewis, Tom Wort and Austin Box are going to battle for the middle linebacker position and depending what others do, we may see more. The thing is, the more we see guys like Taylor, Franks, Lewis and Beal the more experience and leadership we'll see on the field to go along with young talent. In a nutshell the learning curve will be smaller and that's exactly what we're looking for.

Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks returning for senior season

Mocking Dan — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:30:31 -0000

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Taking a break from players entering talk, someone wants to come back for the 2010 college football season. That would be Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks.

Although Franks submitted an application to the NFL Draft Advisory Committie, Franks said he'd be back in Norman no matter what.

Franks was named second-team All-Big 12 this season after finishing with 42 tackles and two interceptions.

Fellow Sooners underclassmen defenders Travis Lewis and Jeremy Beal haven't made their professional aspirations known yet. Both submitted paperwork.

"It'd have to be pretty high. I have high standards for myself and everybody wants to go in the first round to take care of your family for the rest of your life," Lewis told reporters. "Whether it's this year, next year or the year after. I've got two more years to play. I think eventually I'll be there.

Breaking Down Bedlam

ccmachine — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:16:33 -0000

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There are so many things that could go right or wrong for Oklahoma in today's Bedlam football game that I really have no idea what to expect. On one hand you consider how well the Sooners play at home and you think that they have an outstanding chance to win. Then you consider how bad they've played in their five losses and add the fact that the competition at home hasn't been that great and suddenly there's a huge knot in your stomach because you realize the realistic possibility that the nation's longest home winning steak very well could come to an end.

The roles are already reversed coming into the game. O-State is the ranked team with a shot at going to a BCS Bowl. Regardless of what the final score is the Cowboys are going to finish ahead of the Sooners in the Big 12 standings and will get a better bowl invitation. The only thing left to happen is for OSU to actually win the game and they come in as a legitimate favorite and for OU to avoid losing their sixth game of the season they must win one of the game match-ups that they're not supposed to.

Quarterbacks

Landry Jones is completing 58% of his passes this year and has 23 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. At times he's look exceptional and then at other moments he's look completely out of his element. The knocks against him are that he's not stable in the pocket and doesn't read through his progressions.

Zac Robinson has completed 63% of his passes with a touchdown to interception ration of 15 to 7. Robinson is a dual-threat quarterback who has rushed for 302 yards this year but has also been known for turning the ball over on a big hit when he runs.

Robinson's experience and leadership give him a clear advantage over Jones but there's the chance that he may not play due to injury or that he'll be playing at less than 100%.

Advantage: OSU

Running Backs

Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray are averaging 4.3 and 4.4 yards respectfully with 12 touchdowns between them but they are a far cry from the dynamic duo that we saw them become last season. After rushing for over 1,000 each last season the two have a combined 1,251 yards this year. The problem has been getting them in space to make plays and clearing holes for them to run in between the tackles. That's on the line and not necessarily the running backs.

Keith Toston is the Big 12's second leading rusher with 1,130 yards. He's averaging 5.5 yards per carry and has crossed the goal line rushing the football 11 times. He's a powerful runner with good speed and is one of only two players (KSU's Daniel Thomas) to average over 100 yards rushing per game.

Toston has clearly had the better season of these three backs and despite Murray having the added dimension of being Oklahoma's second leading receiver the Sooners don't have a rushing threat like Toston has been this season.

Advantage: OSU

Receivers/Tight Ends

Ryan Broyles is one of the most electrifying receivers in the country. He's averaging 12.9 yards per reception and has 861 yards with 12 touchdowns. He's on target to break 1,000 receiving yards this season and it would go a long way for the Sooners if he surpassed that mark today. Behind Broyles is a massive drop off as Brandon Caleb has almost 40 fewer receptions and only 2 touchdowns. Dejuan Miller is coming on and is has pretty much inserted himself as Oklahoma's #2 receiver.

O-State was dealt a huge blow when the NCAA took Dez Bryant away from them. Since then Hubert Anyiam has become the Pokes' top receiver. He's caught 39 passes for 482 yards and 3 touchdowns.

After Anyiam the Cowboys don't have another receiver playing in this game with more than 15 receptions. Conversely the Sooners have four receivers with more than 20 receptions. What's a tight end?

Advantage: OU

Offensive Line

I don't have the words to describe how disappointing Oklahoma's offensive line has been this season. Now this unit has become decimated with injuries and literally a walking triage unit. The latest victim is Trent Williams who may have to sit out today's Bedlam game due to a head injury. Oklahoma has given up 12 sacks this season.

Oklahoma State has only given up 7 sacks this year and is much stronger in both run and pass blocking than the Sooners are. The have a future NFL All-Pro in Russell Okung as their anchor.

Advantage: OSU

Defensive Line

Oklahoma's defensive line against OSU's offensive line is the match-up that could determine the game. Jeremy Beal is third in the conference in sacks with 11 and third in tackles for loss with 16. Gerald McCoy is fifth in the Big 12 in tackles for loss with 14.5.

Ugo Chinasa has 4 sacks for the Pokes and 6.5 tackles for loss. However, you have to go all the way down to 11^th O-States leader board for tackles to find Chinasa, a defensive lineman, listed.

Advantage: OU

Linebackers

Travis Lewis is third in the Big 12 in total tackles with 99 and Keenan Clayton is 39^th with 58. Oklahoma will be without Ryan Reynolds who is a field general for the Sooners defense and that may hurt the Sooners more than missing his 67 tackles. In his place Austin Box will step in and try to get a head start on taking over the middle linebacker position full time next season.

Donald Booker leads the Cowboys in sacks with 5 and tackles for loss with 7. He and Patrick Lavine lead the team in tackles with 80 and 67 tackles respectively. Lavine also leads the team in interceptions with 5.

Both team's linebacker units attack down hill and are solid run stuffers. O-State is second in the conference against the rush (82.6 yards per game) and the Sooners are third (91 yards per game)

Advantage: Even

Secondary

Oklahoma is second in the conference against the pass by holding opponents to just 197.5 yards per game. The OU secondary has a combined 11 interceptions led by Brian Jackson's 4. Jackson and Dominique Franks are one of the best corner duos in the conference and safety Quinton Carter is a hard hitter who's second on the team in tackles with 76.

Perrish Cox is not only the best athlete in Oklahoma State's secondary he's most likely the best athlete on the team. He has 32 tackles and 4 interceptions but as a whole the Cowboys are 9^th in the conference in pass defense.

Advantage: OU

Special Teams

Oklahoma State is last in the Big 12 in kickoff return average (18.6 yards per return) and while the Sooners aren't sitting pretty at #10 (21.2 yards per return) at least they're not last. Punt returns are a different issue for the Sooners where their 14.3 yards per return average are tops in the Big 12. OSU isn't too far behind at 13.9 yards per return which places them 3^rd in the Big 12.

In punting average the Sooners have a 39.6 (Best in the Big 12) to 37.5 advantage. Oklahoma's place kickers have missed seven field goal attempts this season while the Cowboys have missed five.

If this game becomes a field goal kicking contest then I'm not sure that I like Oklahoma's chances. However, in the battle for field position OU's special teams units are outperforming O-State's in just about every category.

Advantage: OU

Ranking the top 25 draft-eligible sophomores

Mocking Dan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:12 -0000

by Mike Fuentes - AP

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With a possible record number of redshirt sophomores entering the 2010 NFL Draft, it might be a good idea to start thinking about some of the best.

The clear-cut top third-year sophomores are Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett and Texas strong safety Earl Thomas. After them there is a moderate drop in talent, but the top six in the list could all go in the first two rounds of the upcoming draft.

Snap Shots: The Monroe Series

GhostofBigRoy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:11:11 -0000

More photos » by Harry Cabluck - AP

Get this man the ball. Now. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

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The Big Picture

Pretty much everyone in Longhorn Nation lambasted the coaching staff for the running performance put on against Colorado. It was terrible. During the week leading up to the Oklahoma game, Mack Brown apparently had to bite his tongue to keep from informing the big mean media that he and Greg Davis did indeed have some new wrinkles saved for the Sooners.

Over at BC, LonghornScott correctly pointed out the flaws of having one package that isn't working and trying to fix it with another separate, completely different package -- it's a somewhat simplified summary of the post, but enough for the purposes here. It's a valid point, and certainly one that Davis would be well served to understand better, but there is something to be said for series-based football. For example, the three plays Dan Lee ran at Arkansas in the Wildcat formation qualify as a series of plays that generally look similar, but can catch the defense overpursuing in anticipation of one play, in this case the stealer, then take advantage of that overpursuit by running the play in the series that punishes the defense for that decision -- the power. Once the defense adjusts to that play and takes it away, then the third play comes in, in this case the counter. In other words, series-based football.

Instead of using that series-based approach with the WildHorn (it was not used against Missouri), which probably would have kept it from dying, Davis decided to use it for another set of complementary plays -- what I've chosen to call the Monroe Series. After Monroe played well enough to earn the inaugural, but yet-unnamed Flavor of the Week award for the Louisiana-Monroe game, one of the first things I wanted to see with him was the jet sweep, putting him in motion across the formation to take the hand off -- it doesn't exactly take a football genius to figure out that it's better to get him the ball at speed rather than standing still, even if he does have elite acceleration. Davis finally answered that call with the Monroe Series.

The Context

Before Davis completely abandoned the run in the first half of the Oklahoma game, he sought to gain some momentum for the Longhorns by breaking out several running plays Texas had not shown to that point in the season. For instance, the first play from scrimmage was a draw play to Fozzy Whittaker that picked up 16 yards. On the second series, after knocking out Sam Bradford and forcing a three and out by the Sooners, Davis unveiled another new play, but this one was different -- it had other complementary plays along with it, a series if you will.

Stealer

The play the Longhorns run is not exactly like the stealer run by Dan Lee because the original stealer had a pulling guard from the backside attempting to lay a block in front of the runner. In some ways, the design the Longhorns use is more effective, because judging from the plays included in the instructional video, it was extremely difficult for that pulling guard to ever get in front of the running back to actually throw a block -- think about, a guard is trying to catch up with a running back who already has a head start.

Instead, the Longhorns use Fozzy Whittaker, or Tre' Newton when the Longhorns ran the play with Garrett Gilbert at quarterback late in the MIssouri game, as the lead blocker on the play. The blocking scheme is the same as the speed option play -- the offensive line blocks down the line of scrimmage in the direction of the play, while the running back heads into the playside flat to block the first player he comes across, in this case the nickel back lined up over Malcolm Williams. Notice that both of the OU linebackers line up well inside the tackle box.

Kyle Hix has a tough task in this play -- Jeremy Beal lines up well outside the left shoulder of Hix, forcing him to cut Beal. Since Beal is a badass, he doesn't allow that to happen, forcing Monroe to take a wider angle to get around him. Fortunately, since Monroe is ridiculously fast, Beal never really has a chance to tackle him, but he does allow his teammates an extra step or two in pursuit of the Longhorn ballcarrier, far from insignificant with Monroe. If Hix can get a good block on Beal, Monroe turns the corner much more quickly and has a ton of open field in front of him. Notice also that Whittaker is about to take an the OU nickel back.

Whittaker also cuts the OU defender, with a slightly higher level of success, while Monroe, now seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, avoids Beal.

Now by Beal, Monroe can finally turn upfield with the football, while the nickel back has to regain his balance after hurdling Fozzy. Notice the other highlighted OU defender taking a terrible angle on Monroe. In fact, one of the foremost reasons for putting Monroe on the field is on obvious one -- his elite speed changes the geometry of the game. In other words, he can blow angles up.

Since Beal forced Monroe to take such a wide angle approaching the line of scrimmage, the pursuit catches up with him only a yard or two downfield. Had the timing of the play been more optimal, the excellent downfield blocking by Williams and Shipley might have led to a big play. Instead, they allow Monroe to gain a little bit of extra yardage.

After his speed, the most endearing aspect of Monroe is how hard he fights for extra yardage at his size. Instead of meekly going out of bounds after picking up only two or three yards, Monroe manages to pick up six yards on the play -- an excellent gain on first down that easily could have resulted in more yardage.

The Verdict

The good news is that this play provides some evidence that Davis is not a complete idiot. Putting Monroe in motion is an obvious move, but it's also a smart one and it pays dividends on the first play, even though Kyle Hix fails to execute his block. Keep running it, GD, it's hard to stop!

Running Back Counter

This is where Davis doesn't quite understand series-based football, even though it's pretty simple -- on the next play, instead of running stealer until the Oklahoma defense adjusts and takes the play away, difficult because of Monroe's pure speed, Davis dials up the counter to stealer, the running back counter:

The Longhorns stay with the same personnel in the same formation and the play starts out looking like stealer, with Monroe coming in motion across the formation. Notice that Oklahoma stands up the defense end on the opposite side of the field from Monroe to make it even more difficult for the left tackle, Adam Ulatoski, the cut the defensive end, Auston English. Perhaps Davis doesn't trust Ulatoski with that assignment running the stealer, so both Charlie Tanner and Chris Hall pull on this play. Notice that EBS has the assignment of blocking Jeremy Beal this time.

Here's another example of why Davis fails by calling the running back counter here. Perhaps the linebackers read their keys well -- the movement of the offensive lineman -- but the point here is that they don't flow to the play or take any bad steps in the direction of Monroe coming in motion, indicating that stealer should work again. Notice also that Kyle Hix is matched up with Gerald McCoy on the play -- so far so good, but there's a problem developing, as Hix allows McCoy to get into his body.

Once again, Hix allows penetration into the backfield, as McCoy quickly sheds the Longhorn offensive lineman, and, once again, the running back must take a wider angle, allowing more time for the pursuit and forcing the the blockers to hold their blocks for a difficult extra split second. Notice that EBS hasn't allowed Beal to get into his body and is holding the block well, except for the fact that he hasn't managed to seal him inside, a difficult task considering the opponent.

Whittaker avoids McCoy and finally has a chance to start heading upfield and into the boundary on the short side of the field. Notice that Beal is about to shed EBS, who can't hold his block for the extra split second needed as a result of Hix allowing such quick penetration by McCoy. However, the play still has a chance for success if Hall and Huey can make their blocks in space. Notice that Hall could have stopped to chip Beal, but instead heads for the pursuing defensive back. Or does he?

Beal has now completely disengaged from EBS, creating a fair amount of separation. Huey is still locked in on his target, while Hall inexplicably overruns the play, failing to put himself in a position to block either Beal or the defensive back.

In the realm of positives, Huey gets a good cut block on the defensive back. Back in the realm of Texas offensive line realities, Hall has now completely run himself out of the play without having even gotten in anyone's way. To be fair, it's difficult for a lot of offensive lineman to block in space, but this is just not good enough. Beal is now locked in on Fozzy.

Does the Mythical Fozzy Creature like contact or will he meekly head out of bounds, short of the first down?

Instead of laying out, which puts him in little danger because the defenders aren't close enough to pick a big hit on him anyway, Whittaker opts to go meekly out of bounds short of the first down.

The Verdict

But it's 3rd and 1, any good offense should be able to pick that up, right? Wrong, not when Greg Davis infamously calls for an empty set and has every receiver run a route of less than five yards, culminating in McCoy throwing an incomplete pass to Shipley after Brian Jackson grabbed his jersey. Fail. Thanks Fozzy.

As mentioned earlier, Davis clearly doesn't quite get series-based football, as he should have run stealer until Oklahoma stopped it -- that's how series-based football works. Sometimes an offensive coordinator has to sacrifice one play in order to hit a big play on the next. However, even though it wasn't the optimal time to call for the running back counter, it still would have picked up a first down if Hall could have thrown a block on someone, if Hix could have held his block on McCoy for a split second more, of if Fozzy had simply laid out for the first down. Monroe would have.

Quarterback Counter

As much as Davis failed in going to the first counter too soon, he makes an excellent play call in the second quarter after completely abandoning the run for much of the first half. It's the third play in the series, the quarterback counter:

It's the same personnel, the same formation as the previous two plays (with the exception of Kirkendoll in at wide receiver instead of Malcolm Williams), with Monroe coming in motion across the formation to the wide side of the field. It also has an extra misdirection built in -- McCoy will fake the running back counter to Whittaker before taking the ball himself behind the two pulling linemen, the left tackle Ulatoski and the left guard Tanner. Notice that OU now has greater separation between their linebackers, with one farther off the line of scrimmage on the short side and the other now almost outside the tackle box to deal with Monroe's speed to the outside.

The OU defenders get a little bit undsiciplined on this play -- both the nickel back and Ryan Reynolds key on Monroe, attempting to stop stealer. On the other side of the field, Travis Lewis isn't quite as undisciplined, as he only takes a little hop forward to deal with Whittaker, while the cornerback on that side of the field and English both also key on Whittaker. Instead of watching their keys -- the movement of the offensive linemen, they get caught up in both fakes.

EBS has the toughest job on this play. Though Chris Hall tries to cut Gerald McCoy, it's a long way for the center to go to block such a good defensive tackle -- he has little chance. After taking a step or two to his left, Smith must now block the dangerous McCoy for the play to succeed. Smith gets a good seal on McCoy and even helps out Michael Huey behind him by getting in the way of the other defensive tackle attempting to get into the backfield -- Huey has allowed the defender to get across his body. The play has set up extremely well to this point, as the nickel back takes himself out of the play by following Monroe, while Tanner and James Kirkendoll are both set up to make their blocks and Ulatoski heads into the open field with no one currently in the picture to block -- that's a good thing.

Ulatoski makes a good decision to help Tanner the linebacker, Reynolds, while Hix gets an excellent seal on English inside, allowing a big running lane for McCoy to head through.

Ulatoski's footwork could have been a bit better to seal Reynolds and keep the running lane open longer, but he still does a good enough job to allow McCoy to eventually pick up 12 yards on first down.

The Verdict

Had Davis called either stealer or the running back counter, OU probably had them well defended with several offensive possessions to talk about adjustments to the first two plays. Instead, Davs dailed up the counter to the first two plays and picked up 12 yards on first down, giving the Longhorns an excellent start to a drive on which they would eventually kick a field goal, an important three points in a game decided by that margin. It's also important to note that the Longhorn offensive line executed this play to near perfection, much better than some individually poor efforts that limited the first two plays. Yay, execution!

Stealer, Redux

Of course, these plays don't mean much if Davis isn't willing to call them again or if defenses make adjustments to take them away. Yet, that's the beauty of series-based football -- the defense should always be wrong. Here's another look at stealer, this time run with different personnel against Missouri:

It's the same play run against Oklahoma, except with Gilbert as the quarterback, Newton at running back, and Howard at tight end, with Williams and Kirkendoll as the blockers. However, the most important player here, Monroe, stays the same. Notice that the only real adjustment Missouri makes versus what Oklahoma did is to walk up a safety behind the outside linebacker covering slot, while keeping two linebackers well inside the tackle box and at the same depth, unlike OU defended the quarterback counter.

A Missouri defender slices through a gap against the second-team Longhorn offensive line, but, like the first stealer play, Monroe just takes a wider angle while using his speed to beat keep his opponent from having a chance to tackle him. Notice the unblocked Mike linebacker running down the line of scrimmage in pursuit. The question then, is that a good enough angle?

Newton throws a nice block on the outside linebacker, while the MIke backer heads right towards that pile -- that probably won't be good enough, son. Monroe sees the running lane to the outside.

The Mike backer did indeed take a poor angle on the play and has no chance at a tackle. Notice that both Kirkendoll and Williams are throwing good blocks downfield, allowing Monroe to still have a nice running lane to pick up more yardage after turning the corner.

Both defenders eventually get off the blocks of Kirkendoll and Williams, who both do a good job of not getting a holding call on the play, and have a chance to tackle Monroe, who can go down with a nice gain or do what he normally does -- keep fighting for as much yardage as possible.

Monroe does not go down easily, picking up another five yards in the process and turning a seven-yard gain into a nice 12-yard gain.

The Verdict

The beauty of the stealer play is that the offensive line doesn't really even have to block that well for it to work -- the important blocks are by the running back and the receivers outside. An offensive lineman allowed serious penetration on the play, but Monroe's speed kept that defender from being able to make the play. This play also illustrates, once again, just how often Monroe can blow up the angle of a defender and how well he does at his size making himself difficult to bring down -- there's some power in that small frame. The bottom line -- this play seems to be good for at least five yards a carry.

The Takeaway

The three main Wildcat plays made me a believer in series-based football and the early succes of this group of three plays -- the Monroe Series -- confirms that belief. Even though this package doesn't represent a serious leap forward for Davis in being able to put together a coherent offense that includes a more systemic approach, that really doesn't matter here.

What matters is that the Monroe series can significantly help the running game and gives the ball to one of the two most explosive offensive players on the team -- that's good, especially since Mack Brown talks all the time about how difficult it is to get carries for more than about two running backs. Even though it appears that those two backs are Fozzy Whittaker and Cody Johnson, this package still allows Monroe an opportunity to touch the ball. Davis should run these plays up to about 10 times per game -- once again, the beauty of series-based football is that as long as the offensive coordinator can correctly see how the defense is defending each play, the defense should always be wrong.

To make sure the defense is always wrong, Davis could make one important adjustment to increase the effectiveness of the plays. Instead of calling the play before the defense lines up, Texas could look back to the sideline after the defense shows their coverage to get the play. If a team overloads the wide side of the field or separates their linebackers in the box significantly, as Oklahoma did on the quarterback counter, Davis can get the offense into the proper play. A similar solution is to allow McCoy the ability to call the play at the line of scrimmage and it's possible that Davis already does give him that freedom, though it's impossible to tell.

It's worth noting that defenses continue to play this formation with two safeties deep, concerned about the pass. If defenses do begin adjusting, the Longhorns need to have two or three passing plays out of the formation, either keeping Monroe as the split end in the formation or having him run a route after coming in motion -- a wheel route would work well, a play the Longhorns have only tried to hit with Monroe once this season, against Oklahoma. Basically, the idea is to add another constraint play by passing the ball to keep that extra eight defender out of the box or close to the line of scrimmage on the wide side of the field. Texas has now had two full weeks to put in those passing plays, so they have had plenty of time for installation if they need those plays this weekend against Oklahoma State.

The other adjustment is less likely, but could allow the Longhorns more flexibility in the formation. By using Marquise Goodwin as the motion man in the formation, Texas could run all the same passing plays they normally do with Goodwin at split end, a position he played for several snaps against Missouri, while putting Monroe at running back, a player who can more quickly take the edge on the running back counter than Whittaker, critical since there is so little space on the short side of the field. The only downside is that Monroe would be responsible for blitz pick up on the throwing play and would also have to block on stealer. However, given his ability to pick up extra yardage, it's not inconceivable that he could cut a defender about as well as Whittaker and picking up the blitz isn't a problem until the Longhorns actually decide to throw out of the formation. Obviously, putting Goodwin and Monroe on the field at the same time for the Monroe Series is a long shot, but it does get the two fastest players on the team on the field in a formation other than the empty set.

Oklahoma 35/Kansas 13 – Post Game Reaction Thread

ccmachine — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:51:03 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

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The Sooners won their sixth consecutive game over Kansas in football by holding the Jayhawks to nearly 200 yards below their season average. Landry Jones completed 26 of his 38 passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns. Unfortunately he'll be credited for an interception as well although we know that the blame for that belongs to Cameron Kenny who was benched once again.

Stats That Stand Out

Ryan Broyles                - 11 receptions, 121 yards.

Adron Tennell               - 6 receptions, 47 yards, 1 touchdown

Chris Brown                 - 22 carries, 78 yards, 2 touchdowns

Travis Lewis                 - 12 tackles, 1 tackles for loss

Auston English - 9 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss

Jonathan Nelson           - 9 tackles

Interesting Notes

It looks like Jimmy Stevens has been benched yielding to Tress Way.

Brody Eldridge started again on the offensive line. I think that he'll be there the rest of the season.

Tavaris Jerrries is suspended and didn't make the trip to Kansas.

Unfortunately for Oklahoma, today's win still has them on the outside looking in when it comes to the Big 12 Championship. The good news is that with fives games left in the season there is still time for something to happen. OU needs a lot of help still and playing the way they did today there isn't a game left that they can't win. Oklahoma State/Texas is a crucial game for us next week as one of them will be dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten in conference play and gives the Sooners the opportunity to at least move into a tie for second in the South.

Post Baylor Game Quotes And Thoughts

ccmachine — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:17:11 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

2 months ago: Oklahoma's Cameron Kenney, left, bobbles a pass in front of Baylor defender Tim Atchinson, right, in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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Quotes From Bob Stoops

"It was a good solid win here today. Our compliments to Art Biles and Baylor. They really played disciplined, good football. They are in a bad position. I thought their quarterback did a really good job but obviously he doesn't have the experience their other quarterback has. We caught a break that way, but overall I think they have done a good job all year."

Reading between the lines Bob Stoops is saying that it nice to finally be the team playing someone else without their starting quarterback instead of being the team without the starting quarterback.

Baylor's Nick Florence completed 53.7% (22/40) of his passes for 220 yards with one touchdown and one pick. Unfortunately for the Bears he was Baylor's only source of offense as the Bears were held to just 7 net rushing yards. Baylor's offense was so bad that I couldn't tell how much of their futility had to do with the Sooner defense and how much was attributed to the ineptness stemming from not having Griffin.

"It was pleasing to win a good football game. I thought it was pleasing to go in at half, 14-7, and come back in the second half and play so well and so solid throughout the game. Anytime you have an offensive day when you have no turnovers and fewer penalties, you rush the ball for over 200 yards and throw for near 400 yards and you are doing things that are positive. I was disappointed in the drops, but again I think a lot of that is inexperience. We have all kinds of yardage and big plays, if we just catch the ball better. I'm hopeful and I believe the ability is there. It's just time and time on the field to make improvement and to make those plays when they are there to make."

Sam Bradford might have had a career day had it not been for the drops. I know that frustrations were high with them. There were several murmurs in the crowd, screaming from the coaches and even a little body language from Bradford himself. This has been an issue troubling the Sooners all season long but has never been on display more than it was on Saturday when just about every skill position player on the field dropped a ball.

"Defensively in particular, I thought in the first half even though we held them to seven, there were some plays we could have definitely played them a little bit better and been in better position, and we did in the second half. Anytime you hold someone to six yards rushing, that is positive, and hold them to seven points with as a wide open offense they have, and formations and adjustments they give you. I thought in the second half we really settled in and played good disciplined football to be where we needed to be."

It's a lot easier to hold a team scoreless when you don't have the type of coverage breakdowns that led to Baylor's first and only score. Yes, it was only better but it should be noted that the Bears were averaging 36.2 points per game coming into Norman and had it not been for one defensive breakdown in the first half this might have been Oklahoma's third shutout of the season.

Quotes From Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson

(Discussing the Red Zone) "We had a couple of drops a couple of times that got us into some third-and-eights. We tried to stay in some spread stuff instead of some big guy stuff when it came to our approach. We got down there quite a lot and other than finishing the drive, I thought that our guys played pretty solid. So we will look at what we are doing and look to find how to finish things off."

At least we didn't see any draw plays on third and long. As much grief as we gave Wilson last week it has to be said, this week, that its awful had to call plays when your receivers are dropping passes all over the field.

"We have to work our way into some positive momentum. We had to force it in today and when the guy dropped it, we would throw it right back to him the next play. We have to stay positive and stay aggressive and for the most part we did. The run game will come in time, they were a little committed to load the box. We had a fair amount of pass yards, but we have some inconsistency right now and we have to play through it. I thought our kids battled as hard as they did all year and I was proud of them."

Oklahoma had 25 rushing yards at the half and ended the game with over 200. That's not a bad turnaround. As long as receivers are dropping passes Oklahoma's opponents are going to stack the box and force them to win through the air. As soon as they are able to find success in their air it will open up on the ground as well. Saturday was a perfect example of this.

Quotes From Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables

"I thought that we responded really well in the second half. I thought that they made a few plays on us obviously in the first half. They threw up some balls in the first half and did a good job competing for it and we had a couple of breakdowns. The guys came back and played a lot better in the second half."

"Outside for the most part, when they scored, we had a couple of things during that drive that happened. Overall, I thought that they played pretty well."

In addition to holding Baylor to 29 points below their season average the Sooners also put the brakes on the Bears' running game. Baylor was averaging 196.2 yards per game on the ground which only makes the 7 yards that OU held them to even more impressive. However, like last week the breakdowns in the defensive secondary were costly.

Individual Performances

Travis Lewis - Led the defense in tackles with 7
Brian Jackson - 2 pass breakups, 1 interception
Jordan Lake (Baylor) - This kid has his name called all afternoon! Finished the day with 14 total tackles.
Jimmy Stevens - 4/4 on field goal attempts, 2/2 on extra points
Brandon Caleb - 7 receptions, 139 yards
Sam Bradford - 27/49, 389 yards, 1 touchdown
DeMarco Murray - 17 carries, 82 yards, 4.8 average

Oklahoma vs Baylor Game Thread

ccmachine — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:30:15 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

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Game Information

Date: October 10^th

Location: Norman | Live Radar

Stadium: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

TV: ABC

Radio: Sooner Sports Radio Network

Satellite: Sirius Satellite Channel 152 | XM 105

Team Comparison	OU	Baylor
Points Per Game	35.5	36.2
Total Offense Per Game	424.8	393.2
Passing Yards Per Game	239.2	197
Rushing Yards Per Game	185.5	196.2
Points Allowed Per Game	8.8	19.8
Total Yards Allowed Per Game	253	330.8
Rushing	65.5	164.8
Passing	187.5	166
AP Rankings	19	NR

Baylor Players To Watch

Running Back Jay Finley - 22 Carries, 212 Yards, 9.6 YPC, 1 TD

Running Back Jarred Salubi - 24 Carries, 197 Yards, 8.1 YPC, 2 TDs

Receiver Kendall Wright - 24 Receptions, 314 Yards, 13.1 YPC, 2 TDs

Linebacker Antonio Jones - 40 Total tackles, 3 Tackles for loss, 1 Sack

Oklahoma Players To Watch

Quarterback Sam Bradford - 71% Completion percentage, 96 Yards, 1 TD

Running Back DeMarco Murray - 55 Carries, 408 All-Purpose Yards, 5.4 YPC, 4 Total TDs

Receiver Brandon Caleb - 14 Receptions, 201 Yards, 14.4 YPC, 2 TDs

Linebacker Travis Lewis - 39 Total tackles, 3.5 Tackles for loss, 1 Sack

OU vs. Miami BCS Elimination Game Thread

ccmachine — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:00:40 -0000

More photos » by Marty Lederhandler - AP

2 months ago: FILE - In this Dec. 9, 1987 file photo, Miami coach Jimmy Johnson, left, meets with Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer to ask the question, "Who will be No. 1?", during a news conference at New York's Marriott Marquis Hotel. The answer will be determined on the field New Year's Day in Miami when the top ranked Sooners meet the Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl Classic. The two teams continue their storied rivalry when they meet on Saturday night, Oct. 3, 2009 in Miami. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)

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Game Information

Date: Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. Central

Location: Miami, Fla. |Live Radar

Stadium: Land Shark Stadium (76,500)

TV: ABC | Coverage Map

Radio: Sooner Sports Radio Network

Satellite: Sirius Satellite Channel 127 | XM 231

Team Comparison	OU	Miami
Points Per Game	40.7	26
Total Offense Per Game	452.7	379.7
Passing Yards Per Game	256.3	268.7
Rushing Yards Per Game	196.3	111
Points Allowed Per Game	4.7	27.3
Total Yards Allowed Per Game	223.3	334
Rushing	40.7	159
Passing	182.7	175
AP Rankings	8	17

Miami Players To Watch

Quarterback Jacory Harris - 59.5 Completion %, 806 yards, 5 Touchdowns, 3 Interceptions

Running Back Graig Cooper - 182.7 All-Purpose yards per game, 2 Touchdowns

Receiver LaRon Byrd - 141 Receiving yards, 1 Touchdown

Linebacker Colin McCarthy - 25 Total tackles

Oklahoma Players To Watch

Quarterback Landry Jones - 60.5 Completion %, 673 yards, 9 Touchdowns, 3 Interceptions

Running Back DeMarco Murray - 6.8 Yards per carry, 14.7 yards per reception, 3 total touchdowns

Receiver Ryan Broyles - 309 Receiving yards, 7 Touchdowns

Linebacker Travis Lewis - 29 Total Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 Forced Fumble

Tulsa Game Position Grades

ccmachine — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:28:19 -0000

More photos » by ALONZO ADAMS - AP

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I have to admit, I expected a much tighter game against Tulsa last Saturday. I didn't think it would be the kind of game to be won by a field goal or anything but I did expect the Golden Hurricane to at least score. To say that the Sooners played good is an understatement and to say that Tulsa was a Top 25 caliber opponent is an overstatement. However, TU should have been a stronger test for the Sooners and their inability to impress had a lot more to do with OU than it did with us touting an opponent too highly. Good Grades are in abundance this week!

Quarterback A

Let's hear it for the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Week! Landry Jones completed 25 of 37 passes for 336 yards and a school record 6 touchdowns. He did throw two interceptions on two really bad passes and he still seems to occasionally lock in on a receiver without reading through his progressions so there is room for improvement but we must applaud the effort.

Running Backs A+

DeMarco Murray averaged 6 yards per carry and Chris Brown 4.6. Neither back scored on the ground but Murray made and amazing touchdown catch in which he spun around twice and flipped into the end zone. Murray had two catches for 38 yards and a score. In mop up time Jonathan Miller, for the second week in a row, looked stronger and faster than Jermie Calhoun. As a team the Sooners rushed for 193 yards.

Receiver/Tight End A

Adron Tennell's dropped touchdown pass was surprisingly not shocking based on his on field productivity so far this season. Trent Ratterree also joined Tennell in dropping a touchdown pass and while this has been a recurring theme for Oklahoma this season it was only a subplot on Saturday while Brandon Caleb having his breakout game was the main story. Caleb hauled in 5 passes for 104 and two touchdowns to become the perfect complement to Ryan Broyles who added 128 and three touchdowns on 11 catches. Landry Jones also found his tight ends on his record day as a Sooner. Jones completed passes to James Hanna and Eric Mensik.

Offensive Line A

No one is ready to anoint this group as championship ready but they've come a long way since opening night. The line gave up no sacks on Saturday afternoon and helped Oklahoma to an average of 6.5 yards per play on offense. This line looks more mentally focused than they've been all season which is good because they are about to face a stretch in which the level of their success will define the rest of Oklahoma's season.

Defensive Line A

Oklahoma's defensive line had Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne running for his life all day long. Jeremy Beal had three sacks and a forced fumble, Adrian Taylor recovered a fumble and Oklahoma ran a plethora of players through the line.

Linebackers A+

Ryan Reynolds let the team in tackles with 13 and was followed by Keenan Clayton who had 11. Travis Lewis added 7 tackles to the linebackers totals giving the starters 31 total tackles. Reynolds also had two sacks and Lewis had one.

Secondary A+

This was a physical game for Oklahoma's secondary and it needed to be. As we stated in our pregame coverage, Oklahoma's secondary making sure tackles and big plays would be the key to shutting down the Tulsa offense. Brian Jackson and Quinton Carter responded with 9 tackles and an interception each. Sam Proctor also added 5 tackles.

Special Teams A

The chief criticism with this unit was the missed field goal but as a whole they had a very solid game. I guess we could also call out the partially blocked punt. However, OU averaged 42 yards per punt and held Tulsa without a return. They also held Tulsa to just 21 yards per kickoff return while taking their lone kickoff return 32 yards.