It's Broken and it Desperately Needs to be Fixed

by DGiroux on Dec 4, 2011 9:06 AM CST

This is an article about the state of Oklahoma Football as we know it now. After getting completely destroyed last night by OSU in a game I will refer to as a "pass game", there are a ton of things OU needs to do in order for this not to be such a game. What I mean by a "pass game" is this game has officially signaled that one program has passed up the other. OSU, no matter how much we hate it, will most likely contend for Big 12 titles for years to come. OU is most likely to start contending for the Cotton Bowl or lower for years to come. In January of 2001, OU played a"pass game" where they passed up Florida State. You know what has happened since then, so you know what I am referring too. There are several things that need to happen for OU to recover, however, we all know what will happen, so this will be filed under a "fantasy" for now.

1. Coaching changes- Major coaching changes should be in the works. This is a school that prides itself on loyalty however, and I do not see any of this happening. And no one is exempt. Obviously, the biggest change everyone is asking for is for Venebles to go. I say Norvell should also face the music, and whereas I would like to keep Heupel as a QB coach, if he will not accept that demotion, he also needs to go. Pete Martinez was fired from Georgia for a REASON. Does anyone not see this? Did anyone notice that Georgia was playing LSU in the SEC Championship game, which I am sure has as much to do with Richt as it does with the fact that Martinez no longer is a part of that program. I will go as far as to say that if he is unwilling to make changes, Bob himself must even go.

2. Scheme changes- Defensively, we could solve a lot by abandoning the whole 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 we have adopted lately and go to more of our base defense plus a nickel and or dime which employs cornerbacks instead of additional safeties. Safeties are good defending the run, but this conference tends to like to pass. Also we must mix up coverages with zone and man. Offensively, we must take advantage of the fact that we have 2-3 very fine fullbacks on this roster. We have the personnel to line up and play power football from the I formation, we just choose not to. I think a lot of this has to do with the experience and expertise of the coordinators we employ presently. I am not asking for an I based offense, I am just saying that we need to mix our offense and make it more of a pro style than this "air raid" crap we have been trying to play.

3. Players need to show some pride- Bottom line. I have said for years, that I would rather have a player who grows up wanting to play for the University of Oklahoma, than one who is talented and is using us as a step to the pros. I feel this was one of the major differences between Sam Bradford and Landry Jones. Sam was a Sooner, Landry seems to be more there to be there, maybe for an education, at times he just looks clueless. Bottom line, Landry had the worst performance of any Sooner Starting quarterback last night since a man by the name of Eric Moore took the field. I would have thought maybe Tom Wort would have stood up and provided some leadership defensively but I guess I was wrong. He seems more interested in hitting people so hard that he makes a highlight reel. Tom, I love what you are doing on the field, you are the closest thing we have had to The Boz since the man himself, but Brian Bosworth was a leader.

Needless to say, this is one fans opinion, and I know the reality of it all is that there will be no changes made next season. It will take the unthinkable for anything to be done here, and it may take a year or two of that for it to be done. With no changes being made, I can tell you that I believe that this team, next season, with all the current coaches, philosophies, and players in place will finish somewhere between the 4-8 to 6-6 mark. Be ready Sooner nation, because we have seen instances like this before.... Bedlam 2011 has been a program changer. The sooner we embrace it and do something about it, the better we will be.

FanPost are for the voice of the fan and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Crimson and Cream Machine administrators.

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Comments

Fix it!

Arrogance can be tolerated on occasion – that being when the talking is backed up with the walking. The arrogance of OU’s coaching staff this year bit them in the ass. Most years we worry about the staff being raided by other schools looking for something better than what they have – this year we should send them an invite because that’s probably the only way anything will change. In my opinion, any ideas Jones has ever had about playing ball on any given Sunday was a waste of his imagination – illusions of talent were not based on any talent he possessed – but on the remarkable ability of Broyles to make impossible catches. I personally hope that someone in Norman has the integrity to decline any invitations this team might receive for one of the toilet bowl games. Stoops definitely does not deserve any bonus money for a bowl game – and the fans need an end to the embarrassment that has been OU football this year.

Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple

Barry Switzer

by liquor dealer on Dec 4, 2011 9:56 AM CST reply actions

Hyperbole

that’s the word that comes to mind when I read this.

First of all, Georgia’s not very good. They played nearly no one this year in the weak SEC east and were exposed yesterday in the SEC championship game, or did you not notice that?

Secondly, OSU has not passed OU as a football program. They won 1 Big XII championship and deserve to play for the national title but they are not the premier program in the state and are not one of the premier programs in the country.

We can rant and rave about firing coaches all we want, though I don’t really get the logic of firing Norvell — a premier recruiter — and keeping Heupel who has been dismally below average as the play caller this year. If Brandon Williams, Gabe Lynn, and others deserve 2nd chances due to youth and inexperience then does Heupel not also deserve the opportunity to get better at what he’s doing?

And the I formation is dead. You should embrace that. We do need a more powerful running game but the days of putting a big running back behind a huge fullback and running it up the middle 45 times a game are over, for good reason. WRs are better athletes and play makers than FBs are and it’s silly to put more FBs on the field at the expense of WRs. We need to be able to run the ball better but you might have noticed that OSU ran the ball pretty well last night and didn’t line up in the I formation.

It’s OK to rant and rave but at some point we need to calm down and be willing to make the changes that need to be made without just saying “Fire everybody and start over!!!!!!” It’s been a bad season but we’re not Texas Tech or even Georgia. Relax. Take a deep breath. And hopefully Stoops and Joe C will be willing to embrace the necessary changes without just scrapping the whole thing.

by chuckb on Dec 4, 2011 9:59 AM CST reply actions

No one could have said it better, the perfect reply with good reasoning behind it.

Yes change need to be made but it should be done with a witch hunt attitude or ’who’s fault is it we lost 44-10.

I really think a part of the problem is at the position and unit coaching level, the corporation setup where the mid level people are empowered too much, and that new no-named administrative assistant being named a position coach. Things like 3 or 4 kickers on scholarship needs looked at. Recruiting these small speedy RB’s needs looked at, leaving starters in too long needs looked at, this style of offense needs looked at, the defensive schemes need looked at.

If it was mine to do I would study Bill Snyder’s approach. Hard nosed, and play in a style that fits the players you have on hand. He is getting more from his players than we are getting from our players. Somehow he is instilling enthusiasm, attitude and heart.

The one thing being a lot older has going for it, most of us older have seen more CFB than most younger people have seen web pages.

by scarab on Dec 5, 2011 8:03 AM CST up reply actions

THIS

This, this, this, thisthisthisthis!!!

I still like the scheme. I like the offense. There is just no toughness behind it. In that aspect, I whole-heartedly agree that changes to the style need to be implemented. There must be unit-level changes. There have to be. DC needs to change too.

by SCKSChief on Dec 5, 2011 9:28 AM CST up reply actions

What people neglect to look at is the fact that OU’s recruiting base has gone from just the states around us to all the way out to so cal. Does anyone follow the Cali trio on twitter? If you don’t after each loss they show no sadness no dissapointment no heart. They always talk about their “swag” and nothing else. What stoops did was what most coaches coming into the most prestigious football program in the nation, he recruited the best of the best hoping to keep his streak of “big game bob” alive. Instead of picking the guys up like rocky calmus, Torrence Marshall, teddy Lehman, Derek strait, jt thatcher, tommy Harris the josh huepuels, Adrian Peterson, mark bradly, mark Clayton, Allen Patrick. I think you get the point now. Those guys went to OU for the tradition the 7 national championships wanting to win more. Not to promote their golden hair and their “Cali swag”
Bud has rolled over in his grave to see that sooner magic is now tiring
Into simple pixie dust. We as fans can do something and that is to get this to the school
And express we Are not impressed and change should
Be made. Here’s my bold prediction for all of this, next year there’s one of two things that can happen. Mike is hired again along with Brent. Offensive coordinators say same and either we have a year like this or it goes down the drain and OU goes
Back to the mediocre 90’s

All I can say is no matter what I’ll always be a sooner fan. BOOMER!

by Soonerfrk1 on Dec 6, 2011 10:39 AM CST reply actions

Cali does have something to do with it

How many times this year did we watch Stills give up on a route. One thing that makes the Gasman what he is(great), was that he never ever gave up on a route and tried with everything in his body to make the catch. He never had a half hearted or half assed attempt.

Recruiting closer to home may be part of the cure.

The one thing being a lot older has going for it, most of us older have seen more CFB than most younger people have seen web pages.

by scarab on Dec 9, 2011 8:21 AM CST up reply actions