SB Nation User Blog: thestos

Why All The Media Doubting?

thestos — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:00:05 -0000

I'm having trouble figuring out why the media is so dead set on finding reasons that Texas is unworthy of it gift of a BCS title shot, while close wins by Florida and Bama throughout the season have not been punished in the same manner.

Is Auburn an obviously far superior team than aTm? So much so that a close win by Bama (in a low scoring affair) over Auburn, is more impressive than an all out offensive close win by Texas over aTm?

I'm obviously a Horns supporter, but things like this article seem to want to draw more comparisons to our 2001 team than our 2005 team. (It's worth pointing out that in this article he mentions our clear path to the MNC in 2001, even though that path was not clear until minutes before kickoff of the Big XII Championship game, when Tennessee lost).

Also, is it wrong that I relish the underrating and lack of respect being bestowed upon us by the rest of the nation? I almost want to suffer through the Tebow felating that the media is about to drop on us for the next month, just to shut them up in Pasa-get down-dena.

One last meandering thought. Would you rather face Alabama or Florida in the MNC game? I'd vote for Bama, because I think both defenses are stout, but that we would definitely score more points than them...too simple?

Poll

Would you rather face Bama or Florida in the MNC game?

Alabama

84 votes

Florida

80 votes

164 votes | Poll has closed

Tooting My Own Horn

thestos — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:34:39 -0000

Bask onJa

Back on January 28th, Peter had a piece on here title "Morning Coffee's Got That Feeling Again." I was still very worried about the basketball team. Here's what I said.

Are We Watching The Same Team

Uh, yeah…Peter…I’m going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there…

Seriously, I love the site and usually agree with you, but this team does not look to be developing into a cohesive unit. I hope that maybe the struggles of this team lead to some growth come tournament time, but I just don’ think we look very great.

I hate to say it, but part of the problem stems from your second set of praises for the team, Rick Barnes. I love the guy. I think he is a great recruiter, I love what he does on the defensive side of the ball, and his charm cannot be denied…but he has never had a real offense since coming to Texas. Due to his amazing recruiting, he hasn’t needed much of one. Dribble penetrate, and finish or dish with TJ…get it to the hard working, strong finishing PJ…let KD do whatever he wants…let DJ do the TJ thing. Those were all good plans, but that plan fails when you don’t have THE GUY. The only thing we have close to a guarantee score now is Dex, but he can’t stay on the floor (mostly due to fouls, and not conditioning).

Dogus should use his ball handling skills to penetrate and dish or finish. he’s got mad hops, and is looking like a good passer. Barnes should encourage this. The dishes will go to Damion or Dex, and defenses will have to be honest, leaving AJ open at the 3 pont line more often. Short of that, I would feed it in to Dex once every possesion while he is on the floor.

I think there are so many options on offense, and we don’t seem to be going after any of them. It’s just motion until someone takes a bad shot (yeah, I am referring to the Damion 3 pointers).

Here’s hoping to some offensive sets in the future,

P.S. Get Conner off the floor if he is not going to play with confidence. he has shown no reason this season to be getting the playing time that he does. Use Dogus to get him in those pick and pop situations, and if he still doesn’t play confidently, sit him down.

Well, Balbay got some real minutes finally, and things opened up. Now it helped that we shot 60% from the field, I cannot deny that, but penetration makes for easy shots in several ways disccussed above. Conner shot and played with confidence for the first time all season, and it payed off. He has earned more time now, and as long as he continues to play confidently keep putting him out there. Dogus helps him out a lot, getting him more open shots.

Toot Toot! We could have saved those 3 straight losses if Rick had just read my comment and gone with my plan last month.

Bowls and BCS and Playoff

thestos — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:19:46 -0000

Use the Bowls to create an 8 team playoff. This year it would look like this.

2008-09 College Football Bowl Schedule
BOWL	LOCATION	DATE/TIME	NETWORK
Konica Minolta Gator Boise State(9) vs. Utah (8) Play-In Game	Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium	Dec 13, 6 p.m.	ESPN
New Mexico Colorado State vs. Fresno State	Albuquerque University Stadium	Dec. 16, 7 p.m.	ESPN
magicJack St. Petersburg Memphis vs. South Florida	St. Petersburg. Fla. Tropicana Field	Dec. 17, 7 p.m.	ESPN2
Pioneer Las Vegas San Jose State vs. UL- Laf	Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium	Dec. 18, 7 p.m.	ESPN
Orange Bowl Oklahoma (1) vs. Play-in (8)	Miami Dolphin Stadium	Dec. 20, 8 p.m.	ESPN
Tostitos Fiesta Alabama (4) vs. USC (5)	Glendale, Ariz. University of Phoenix Stadium	Dec. 20, 5 p.m.	ESPN
Capital One Florida (2) vs. Penn State (7)	Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl	Dec. 20, 2 p.m.	ABC
AT&T Cotton Texas (3) vs. Texas Tech (6)	Dallas Cotton Bowl	Dec. 20, 11 a.m.	FOX
R+L Carriers New Orleans Southern Miss vs. Troy	New Orleans Superdome	Dec. 21, 8:15 p.m.	ESPN
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Air Force vs. TCU	San Diego Qualcomm Stadium	Dec. 23, 8 p.m.	ESPN
Sheraton Hawaii Hawaii vs. Notre Dame	Honolulu Aloha Stadium	Dec. 24, 8 p.m.	ESPN
Motor City Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan	Detroit Ford Field	Dec. 26, 8 p.m.	ESPN
Allstate Sugar (Semifinal) Orange vs. Tostitos	New Orleans Superdome	Dec. 27, 4pm	FOX
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi (Semifinal) Capital One vs.Cotton	Pasadena, Calif. Rose Bowl	Dec. 27, 8pm	ABC
Meineke Car Care West Virginia vs. North Carolina	Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America Stadium	Dec. 28, 1 p.m.	ESPN
Champs Sports Wisconsin vs. Florida State	Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl	Dec. 28, 4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Emerald Wake Forest vs. Navy	San Francisco AT&T Park	Dec. 28, 8 p.m.	ESPN
Independence Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech	Shreveport, La. Independence Stadium	Dec. 28, 8:15 p.m.	ESPN
Papajohns.com NC State vs. Rutgers	Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field	Dec. 29, 3 p.m.	ESPN
Valero Alamo Missouri vs. Northwestern	San Antonio Alamodome	Dec. 29, 8 p.m.	ESPN
Roady's Humanitarian Maryland vs. Nevada	Boise, Idaho Bronco Stadium	Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Texas Rice vs. Western Michigan	Houston Reliant Stadium	Dec. 30, 8 p.m.	NFL Network
Pacific Life Holiday Miami (Fla.) vs. California	San Diego Qualcomm Stadium	Dec. 30, 8 p.m.	ESPN
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Houston vs. Arizona	Fort Worth, Texas Amon G. Carter Stadium	Dec. 31, Noon	ESPN
Brut Sun Bowling Green vs. Florida Atlantic	El Paso, Texas Sun Bowl	Dec. 31, 2 p.m.	CBS
Gaylord Hotels Music City Boston College vs. Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn. LP Field	Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m.	ESPN
Insight Arkansas State vs. Minnesota	Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devil Stadium	Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m.	NFL Network
Chick-fil-A Oklahoma State vs. Oregon	Atlanta Georgia Dome	Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.	ESPN
Outback Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh	Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium	Jan. 1, 2009, 11 a.m.	ESPN
Capital One LSU vs. Georgia Tech	Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl	Jan. 1, 2009, 1 p.m.	ABC
Konica Minolta Gator Clemson vs. Kansas	Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium	Jan. 1, 2009, 1 p.m.	CBS
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi Michigan State vs. Nebraska	Pasadena, Calif. Rose Bowl	Jan. 1, 2009, 4:30 p.m.	ABC
FedEx Orange Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech	Miami Dolphin Stadium	Jan. 1, 2009, 8:30 p.m.	FOX
AT&T Cotton Ole Miss vs. BYU	Dallas Cotton Bowl	Jan. 2, 2009, 2 p.m.	FOX
AutoZone Liberty Kentucky vs. East Carolina	Memphis, Tenn. Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium	Jan. 2, 2009, 5 p.m.	ESPN
Allstate Sugar South Carolina vs. Iowa	New Orleans Superdome	Jan. 2, 2009, 8 p.m.	FOX
International Buffalo vs. Connecticut	Toronto Rogers Centre	Jan. 3, 2009, Noon	ESPN2
Tostitos Fiesta Georgia vs. Ohio State	Glendale, Ariz. University of Phoenix Stadium	Jan. 5, 2009, 8 p.m.	FOX
GMAC Tulsa vs. Ball State	Mobile, Ala. Ladd-Peebles Stadium	Jan. 6, 2009, 8 p.m.	ESPN
FedEx BCS National Championship Game Sugar Semi winner vs. Rose Semi winner	Miami Dolphin Stadium	Jan. 8, 2009, 8 p.m.	FOX

All the teams currently in bowl games are represented, including the (4) .500 teams that weren’t invited to bowl games. The Eagle Bank bowl had to be eliminated, but the matchup remained. Complete with TV schedule, and it’s not like the sponsors won’t change the names anyway. Screw the leaders of the BCS, this took about an hour to figure out. 7 bowl games were added with one subtracted, to a net gain of 6 bowls, with more schools involved, and a true National Champion. More games, more schools, more TV, more revenue… There may be a bowl game or two added or subtracted, depending on how many teams are eligible for bowls. Some of the matchups were improved for added flavor. The only "problem" is that some bowls happen twice, once as a playoff, and once for their usual time slot. Not a big deal though.

Obviosuly, these can be reworked a lot of different ways. The crap bowls would work out differently based on bids, and accceptance. The playoff portion of the bowls would be set ahead of time, and follow a normal tournament format.

I owe the construction of this schedule to my friend Aaron.

Whatever happened to Philip Payne?

thestos — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:34:42 -0000

This guy had a lot of hype coming in as a fast, physical receiver. This is his 3rd year on the team, and he hasn't recorded a single statistic in his career.

Does anyone know if he has been injured, bad attitude, or if there is some other issue here?

Secondary issue: Comment on some guys who were recruited in the last few years that you were excited about seeing, but never panned out.

Texas LBs being overlooked

thestos — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:27:42 -0000

I feel like the Texas linebacking core is quite a bit underrated coming into 2008. As much as I'd like to raise hell about this, I actually think it may be a positive. I think it is a theme for our 2008 team as a whole. Underrated, off the radar, low national expectations. I think it may provide some inspiration for the team, and with Muschamp stoking that fire, I think the upside is huge.

Check out these names below, and let me know if you think the LBs will be a liabillity.

Experience: Rashad Bobino (SR), Roddrick Muckelroy (JR), Jared Norton (JR)

Potential: Sergio Kindle (JR), Kenaan Robinson (rsFR), Dustin Earnest (SO)

That second group has some natural, physical ability that we haven't even begun to see yet. I am excited.

Who are you most interested in watching this year out of this group?

Looking Back/Looking Forward

thestos — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:57:25 -0000

This is an attempt to optimistcally correlate the time period when Major Applewhite came into the program, and the current state of affairs. Trust me, this story ends well.

I realize that it is quite a stretch, but that glass has to be half full at some point.

So, when Major entered the program, he definitely won hearts with his ups, and crushed dreams with his lows. Ironically, one of the worst of the low times was against Kansas State, when he was given the name "Apple Turnover," by some of our more fair weathered fans. Colt is struggling early on against this same opponent, but Colt also won our hearts with some early carrer moments. The point is both struggled early.

Things changed when Chris Simms, instead of going to Tennessee at the behest of his family, errouneously came to Texas. This stiffled the career of the Maj. He came into the Big XII cahmpionship game his senior year, due to the Simms "finger injury," and nearly brought us to the National Championship game after Simms handed the ball to Colorado 4 times, one of which resulted in 2 of our best players being out for the rest of that game and the bowl game. It can be argued that had Major started that entire season, we would have had the oppurtunity to get our asses kicked by Miami in the NC game.

Luckily for the current situation, the Simms character (John Brantley)has chosen to head to Florida, and despite the early career highs and lows, Colt will be able to develop throughout his entire career.

Does this then lead us to believe that in 2 years, he could lead us to the National Championship game? If so, I'll take a NC appearance every 4th year as a fan.

If that is not the proper conclusion to draw, maybe it leads us into a nice bowl win with Colt in a year's time, followed by the introduction of the VY character (Chiles).

Either way, I think we are in good shape to stay among the elite teams in college football, and be back in the National Championship game within 5-6 years. If we can make a National Championship appearance, even if we don't win it, every 5-10 years, I think that should keep Texas fans quite happy.

P.S. How did I get 21 points in College Pick 'Em, relinquish my 2 week hold on first place, and only drop to #10?

Texas, OU, and the Cotton Bowl - possible solution

thestos — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 20:52:29 -0000

An abstract idea from one man, on how to save tradition, while also letting both school garner more money through home games.

OU and Texas, both eventually want to move towards home and home for the obvious monetary benefits. Many fans, and college football purists want the game to stay at the Cotton Bowl for posterity's sake (and there is not a bad seat in that stadium). What about a home, home, Cotton Bowl rotation....or home, Cotton Bowl, home, Cotton Bowl rotation as a possible solution? Could something this odd ever gain any real traction?

A Severe Misrepresentation of VY

thestos — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:13:09 -0000

Pete Prisco calling it as he sees it......he must be blind

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/...

(Warning -- Very homer piece)

In this article Pete Prisco seems to be making up reasons to not like Vince Young. He points to two situations in particular.

(1) He missed a team flight last year, and was not made to sit out the game.

Really Pete? This sounds like one of those rookie events, laughable even. Instead of being a stupid rookie, Vince finds a way to book his own flight, and make it to the game on time. Hardly an even where you should call one's character in to question.

(2) VY had to sit out the preseason game for staying at his own house rather than the team hotel.

Okay, Vince should stay with his team. Does this make him not want to be a winner, or a player who is not trying to become greater than he already is.

The point is Prisco is marginally correct in the fact that VY should find ways to prevent these things from coming up. However, the problem is that Pete calls in to question VY's work ethic, and desire to win.

Is there another Vince Young on the Titans?