SB Nation User Blog: SelimSivad

Personnel discussion

SelimSivad — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 20:12:01 -0000

So Mack tweaked the lineup a little bit after "all starting jobs were open." I'm curious what some other BONers think about this and individual player performances. A few suggested topics:

Chris Hall starting at Center over Buck Burnette. I can't recall, was Buck injured? Or did Mack just decide that Chris was the man?
Which opened up the RT position for Kyle Hix, and Tanner got the start at LG. I'm no OL expert, what did you guys think about these moves and their performance?

Starting LB's: Norton, Muckelroy, Derry. 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Killebrew and Bobino must have been outplayed in practice, eh? BTW any news on the injuries to Kindle and Lewis? The LB corps should be a monster next season.
Playing Ogbonnaya split out as a WR? He's had some success catching the ball this season, but mostly in screens and quick outs. Was he just a decoy or did the coaches like the matchup? Does he have the speed to be out there?
Um, can we move Lamarr Houston permanently to kickoff returner?
John Chiles, Vondrell McGee and the Zone Read: a match made in heaven. I'm still wondering if JC#7 can throw the ball, though.

Sorry I don't have more insight to add, but I thought I would get the discussion going.

Reflections on my trip to LSU-ARK

SelimSivad — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:45:38 -0000

A little background first... I grew up in Louisiana in a family full of hardcore LSU fans. My parents had season tickets so I went to countless games when I was a kid, but I hadn't been to one in over 10 years. I went to Baton Rouge to visit family for Thanksgiving, and my uncle offered us tickets to the game against Arkansas. It meant I would miss watching the Texas vs. A&M game, but I figured we couldn't pass up a chance to see the Tigers at home, especially with a #1 ranking, and McFadden coming to Bayou country.

General impressions: The stadium has had a bit of a makeover, but still has the old-school looking scoreboard and a tiny video screen (compared to Godzillatron). In overall size it didn't seem to be bigger than DKR to me, but the capacity is higher right now - I think they squeeze people in tighter. The Tiger band is great, they could teach a few things to the Longhorn band. They played a bunch of different songs throughout the game, and got the whole crowd singing along and waving hands up and down (although "Living on a Prayer" may have been a poor choice). Tailgating at Texas may be serious business, but I give the edge to LSU on that one, too. As one t-shirt put it, "Tailgating in Baton Rouge - We May Not Win 'Em All, But We've Never Lost a Party."

Our seats were in the north end zone where the LSU players run out of the tunnel, 11 rows up. Here's a shot I took with my phone of Darren McFadden (#5) running a play right in front of us:

As for the game, after a slow-going first half, it turned into an exciting affair. McFadden is the real deal - LSU's defense just couldn't stop him all day. He took a lot of direct snaps, maybe 1 out of every 3. It made me think a lot about using Chiles in that kind of role, with Colt still taking the reins in passing situations. LSU had a couple of big plays late in the game that got called back due to penalties, and that probably ended up costing them the game. It was the first overtime game I've seen live, and the intensity was unbelievable. It just seemed that neither offense was going to be stopped. But, of course, LSU came up just a little bit short when Flynn threw that INT (again, right in front of us). The crowd was absolutely stunned. I resisted the urge to heckle Perilloux as he exited the field, because I was afraid my uncle might not give us a ride back if I did. Flynn did leave the field during the 2nd half and in between overtimes, but came right back out - I don't know what was wrong, but he didn't appear to be injured to me.

I was probably the only one there in burnt orange... I got a lot of funny looks walking around before the game, and a couple of intrigued comments ("Texas? TEXAS?? What's he doing here??"). I even got heckled by an Aggie fan at an intersection earlier in the day, yelling "Break 'em off" out of his car. (My uncle: "I didn't know we had any of them here.")

I picked up a portable radio that included TV signals, so I was able to listen to the ABC broadcast audio of the Texas game. (Sure made me miss Craig Way). It was pretty depressing listening to that while watching LSU lose. I just have one question: Why didn't Mack go for an onside kick there at the end? It was probably too late at that point anyway, but it seemed like that gave away the last chance. Or maybe I misunderstood the announcers.

A couple of other things:

There's definitely not much love for Saban down there. I heard from somebody who "has it on good authority" that Saban hates being at Alabama. Also, I don't get the impression that LSU fans would care if Miles goes to Michigan. Some of them are hoping for it.
I talked to somebody who is at the high school where Rivals 100 DE Chase Clement plays (he's #100). I asked him why Texas wasn't on his list, and he told me that they don't think he's as good as everybody else seems to think, although he's really good at the HS level. But Les Miles and Saban were both on their campus last week checking him out. (BTW it's pronounced "CLAY-MONT")

Mack's adjustments for Iowa St

SelimSivad — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:50:57 -0000

I picked up a few tidbits from Mack Brown's radio show last night:

He said that they were very pleased with Vondrell McGee's level of play so far, and "he will get more playing time this Saturday."

Blaine Irby is doing well at TE, but they are going to use him some in the fullback position because of Tiemann's injury.

They are changing up snap counts, play signals, check-offs, etc., to make sure that Chizik has to guess a little bit.

He talked about the younger Offensive Line players some, and said that McWhorter won't let them get significant PT until they stop making mistakes in practice. He said it's not fair to put them in the game if they're going to miss an assignment and let Colt get blown up. But, he said they're trying really hard and coming along well.

In the MB-TF.com "Tracking Mack" it mentions that Cosby, Jones, and Shipley are starters at WR with Pittman as a "rotating starter."

Killebrew Facemask

SelimSivad — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:23:23 -0000

Did anybody catch that photo from the statesman on Sunday where Killebrew has a firm grip on the Rice QB's facemask? It was especially unnecessary considering there were 3 guys tackling him simultaneously.

I found the photo on their website... here's the link:

http://www.statesman.com/sports/cont...

It looks like the QB's chinstrap is around his nose. The caption mercifully referred to it as a "gang tackle." I hereby dub Mr. Killebrew as "The Facemask King."

Injury report

SelimSivad — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:16:52 -0000

According to the statesman, Sherrod is listed as "probable" for the game Saturday! I know Mack doesn't like to push it if there's risk of aggravating an injury, but FWIW Shipley was listed as probable for last week and he played quite a bit.

This means they could still redshirt Chiles, which may be a good idea if he hasn't played by this saturday (1/3 of the regular season). Anyway, good news for Sherrod that he's at least getting better.

Ulatoski and Orakpo are definitely out.

Mack did say that Melton and Kindle will play, obviously Pittman too, although none will be starting.

Did anybody else catch that great Royal quote that Mack read on Craig Way's radio show this afternoon?

Orakpo out for TCU - confirmed

SelimSivad — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:06:54 -0000

according to the statesman, not that we didn't know this already. Eddie Jones is tabbed as the likely replacement.

Also mentioned, Shipley has been upgraded to "questionable" and Sherrod is still out.

Here's the link:

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/conte...

Henry Melton

SelimSivad — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:20:12 -0000

I was reading a certain football publication that focuses on Texas football, and the rushing stats from last year caught my eye:

RUSHING GP Att Avg TD
--------------------------------------
Charles, Jamaal 12 156 5.3 7
Young, Selvin 12 137 4.3 7
Melton, Henry 13 45 4.3 6

I know the reason many of us were down on Henry - he failed miserably in several crucial short-yardage plays. But overall the stats aren't that terrible. He had the same average and one less TD than Selvin and JC each had. I also realize some of that was garbage time, but still I think we should cut him some slack.

Hopefully he'll excel at DE after he serves whatever suspension he gets. He had great promise in '05, and I still think he got robbed in that Ohio State game.

Top Football programs

SelimSivad — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:56:03 -0000

Over at the LSU blog "And the Valley Shook" they have a post comparing the top programs over the last 5-10 years, basing it on winning percentage. Texas is right up there of course, and is in the discussion for best program, although he ultimately gives USC the nod. (Apparently he didn't consult Les Miles first).

http://www.andthevalleyshook.com/

And I also have a completely unrelated question - how hard is it to get into DKR with the student ticket deal? If my friend doesn't have an ID, will I need to "borrow" one for him, or can he get by without one?

Durant's jersey number retired

SelimSivad — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 23:00:22 -0000

According to the Statesman, Barnes has made it official.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/conte...

"Kevin meets the same criteria as T.J.," Barnes said. "He was national player of the year."

I know there was some debate about this... I thought VY's number would be retired before KD's, even though he didn't win a certain award. What do you all think?

Poll

Should Vince Young's jersey be retired?

Yes

90 votes

No

6 votes

96 votes | Poll has closed

Aldridge impressed with Oden

SelimSivad — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:42:18 -0000

excerpted from SI.com:

"One shot I couldn't block, and he came over my shoulder and blocked it; I was amazed," said power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2006 draft. "And he dunked everything around the rim."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...

Personally I still think the Trailblazers made a foolish decision, but I won't be able to prove it for at least 5-10 years.