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Last point is so important. I think Coach Erwin talked about it and I completely agree... Arch was missing that swagger that makes him who he is on saturday. He himself said that he plays his best ball when he's having fun, and I'm sure he wasn't on Saturday... I think this really comes down to experience, being able to tap into that mode even on the road...

I agree. A few things I'd like to see out of Manning in these non con games is : 1) Two minute drill - If I were Sark I'd try my best get Arch an opportunity to hold onto the ball and score a touchdown without giving the opposing team an opportunity with any time left on the clock. Best if able to receive the second half snap and put together timely back to back scoring drives. 2) Pre snap adjustments - identifying Mike linebacker, lots of communication with his line and receivers, possibly even checking out of a call into something entirely different, especially in red zone. 3) Patience - I'm not saying sit on the ball and don't throw it if wingos in press man with no help over the top, but I'd like to see him allow routes and concepts to develop more when applicable. The Ohio State defense seemingly dictated where Arch was going with the ball. With patience he can adequately and accurately decipher the appropriate lapse in coverage rather than taking what the defense wants him to have. He got lured in like a mouse to cheese and was caught in too many traps versus Ohio State. 4) Leadership - it was a tough environment but Arch looked like he was on rogue products after a night on 6th street. I'd like to see more vocal leadership and fire from him like we saw at times last year. It was a different animal when he could come in off the bench and go wild in limited snaps inspiring and motivating his teammates. How does he inspire and lead this group week to week, play to play. Each player leads differently, I'm excited to see his approach and growth leading this team before SEC play. Can't wait to see his journey in hopes the final destination is a Championship before he heads to the NFL whenever that may be.

I thought Chase Daniel's breakdown was great.

It wasn't just the coverages, it was a mix of a lot of things that rattled him... I think number one he wanted this game really really badly, too much maybe, so much so that he went into it thinking he'd have to do it all alone: that's a ton of pressure to put on yourself... Also I think CJ made a great point: he was expecting something like Georgia last year but it never came, so in many ways he wasn't trusting (as much as he should've) his oline AND himself, because apart from running the ball if there's one thing that Arch did really really well saturday was actually maneuvering the pocket. That's instincts, and you can't teach those... He just gotta trust in his abilities to move in the pocket more, step into throws... Process faster so he doesn't have to spend too much brain power diagnosing the defense to allow him to keep the same great footwork and mechanics he's had since like middleschool

I'd say to all the texas fans that still feel uneasy about the future of Arch to watch Chase Daniel's breakdown on youtube. Much less "apocalyptic" about how Arch played than other people who analysed his game. Biggest problem was for sure the mechanics but he actually wasn't processing things as badly as people think, and we're talking about things that he probably never saw up until saturday... I'm telling you, a lot of people in the media nationally will backtrack as the season goes on and will be back on the hype train... (Not sure if that's good or bad) Just need the game to slow down a bit, whether that was due to emotions, not being used to seeing the kinds of coverage he saw or maybe just wanting to be "superman" so badly that he ended up doing the opposite ( or all three) I don't know, but I really think he'll be fine.

IF Texas practices good on good and our defense really mixes and disguises things up every day on the practice field it would do a ton to help Arch. I dont see much over the next 3 weeks during games that are going to do much other than build confidence. Opponents wont do much to truly challenge this offense because of the talent gap. Just my 2 cents.

Thank you. I had missed this earlier.

really lol? last year's game means nothing.

Is there anywhere on this site that has a snap count for each player? Maybe I am missing it.

Yes. At the end of the day, I believe we get the W because of our defense, but this one is a potential trap game. A healthy Florida with Lagway is a good team and the swamp isn't an easy place to play.

We’re still arguing about Florida? lol I don’t see how a team Texas obliterated last year is going to suddenly become their hardest game. Give me Texas all day.

Let them work the bugs out for a few games. Opening the season against another top 3 team on the road has a way of making a team look worse than they are. We have the speed, but the processing/timing needs to get there with Arch. Several times we had a TE or WR open, but Arch didn't find them. Hopefully this stopped all the Arch to the draft talk for a while. I agree on returners. Weird choices there. Sark understands he's going to need to lean on his defense while the offense figures out who it is under Arch. We'll probably see what Clark and Mosley bring on Saturday.

Would you feel the sane if Arch went 19/25 2tds and a Texas win last week?

The Swamp isn't easy to play in. Florida could be healthier. Florida is hoping to get to Texas without any injury issues from a tough stretch. If they can avoid injuries, it will be a dog fight.

Germie Bernard is pretty good. I think he is of the caliber that he would have been at least a top 4 receiver on that UW team.

The only teams Bama had any business losing to last season were UGA, LSU and Tennessee (not even really Tennessee given their struggles). Realistic expectations for DeBoer would have been lose 2 of those 3 and make the CFP, or even all 3 and miss the CFP (they probably would have made the CFP if those were the 3 they lost). But to lose to Vandy and OU just shows an immense change in culture for the worse. 4 losses to unranked teams, matching the total number Saban had his whole time there. And again, Bama has never been less penalized than their opponent under DeBoer yet. That is wild. It goes beyond the record. If DeBoer pulls it out and goes 8-4 or better, props to him because that will be a hard earned 8-4. But I really do think he could go 6-6 or worse this year.

Part of the issue is that we don’t know what DeBoer is really capable of when he doesn’t have a deeply experienced qb who is likely the best in the country (Penix) along with a stable of dangerous and experienced WRs like he had at UW. I know he’s won big everywhere he’s been, but he never had to rebuild at UW. He had all the pieces for an elite offense. Even with all the talent he has at Bama, he’s never had a truly elite QB. And aside from Williams, what WR even comes close to the dudes he had at UW? If he’s not able to recreate the same kind of dominant offense that he had at UW, it means he needs his defense to be incredible—and they are far from that. These are the things that concern me about his ability to take Bama back to the heights they reached under Saban.

One game into his second season is barely a sample size, especially at a program with the expectations DeBoer inherited. Knee-jerk reactions like that are wild when you think about it. If this were any other coach at a program not named Alabama, people would laugh at the idea of firing them after a 9-4 year one and 0-1 start into their tenure.

Also, DeBoer left a team that made the natty to take over for a guy that just made the semis and won 6 titles for the program. I think not losing to OU or Vanderbilt was an ok expectation to have of him.

If they bounce back and make the CFP, I would agree with you, but the difference is they are regressing as a program. Sark has improved the program every year he's been here and we'll see if that trend continues or if he's plateaued. The culture that Saban had built is quickly eroding under DeBoer.

Sark has improved in every season and took over from a rotten culture situation. DeBoer could fall HARD this season, and took over one of the best and most talented programs/cultures of all time. Monumental difference there.

Totally agree. Sark is excellent at creating amazing game plans when he has film to work with. When he has to adapt and adjust in game, we know that he struggles. I wonder if the reason his script was so uninspired is because he was flying blind with what Patricia would do. I suspect if Texas and OSU play again later this year, Sark will call a MUCH better game with more tape on Patricia’s D.