The Film Guy Break shows we are in trouble with Arch

[Grant Ward]

16 minutes ago, Levester White said:

Maybe, but what is the correct take? 
the problem I’m seeing is everyone sees we have major issues BUT Sark. When your head coach and OC doesn’t know how to fix it, you are in trouble, and yes… the sky is falling. 

Sark is not okay right now. He was a little snarky at reasonable pushback. 

He didn't watch Brook's analysis

[Gerry Hamilton]

2 minutes ago, Grant Ward said:

The % of D1 qbs who come from larger more competitive schools dwarfs the # from the private school ranks. I'm not saying it's impossible but Arch is more like Preston Stone than Quinn Ewers.

That's just population. 

If you dig into it, there have been plenty of QB's that didn't play big classification football around the country ... and some of the best ever

I've mentioned Peyton and Eli

Dan Marino - sub 700 enrollment HS

Josh Allen - 632 enrollment at his HS

Tony Romo - less than 1,000 at his HS 

Steve McNair - less than 400 at his HS 

etc...

 

 

 

[Levester White]

4 minutes ago, Grant Ward said:

He didn't watch Brook's analysis

Clearly. 

[AusMOJO]

I actually disagree about the OL being bad or the problem. I watched the all 22 (just Arch's plays) and he had time to throw and make reads on most of his drop backs. There are issues with communication and slide protections but overall they actually did a good job at the point of attack. Now the run game I'll have to see more of because I didn't see the all 22 of that.

But when he has time to throw, he has nowhere to go, guys are still running their routes. When his protection breaks down, guys still have their backs to him or are covered. There's very rarely something for him to dump it to and when there is he doesn't see it for whatever reason. 

People want to blame Arch and the OL. But the problem is Sark, that's where it starts. He's the guy running the program, running the offense and coaching up these guys. He's the one in charge of Milwee, Flood, etc.

It's easy to just blame Arch but when you don't plat to what your QB does well and instead having everyone running 20 yards downfield for a route, when you know teams are bringing pressure is weird.

Now If I'm going to pick on an OL player, it's Robertson specifically. The C is the most important position on the OL. All the blitz pick ups, communication, etc. They start from there. Several times I see Arch walking up to the LOS to point things out and I didn't see Robertson do any of that. Sikorski tries to help him out a lot but he's also trying to make sure no one's in his lane. 

Not sure if there will be changes there or who you even put there. Do you move Sikorski to C or Christian to C? Because just from watching the play from that all 22 he seems like the biggest issue there. Especially for a 5th year guy, that is a bit concerning. 

Anyway, just my two cents for whatever it's worth. We'll see what he does this week against Florida but I'm not really excepting anything different. 

[Grant Ward]

44 minutes ago, AusMOJO said:

I actually disagree about the OL being bad or the problem. I watched the all 22 (just Arch's plays) and he had time to throw and make reads on most of his drop backs. There are issues with communication and slide protections but overall they actually did a good job at the point of attack. Now the run game I'll have to see more of because I didn't see the all 22 of that.

But when he has time to throw, he has nowhere to go, guys are still running their routes. When his protection breaks down, guys still have their backs to him or are covered. There's very rarely something for him to dump it to and when there is he doesn't see it for whatever reason. 

People want to blame Arch and the OL. But the problem is Sark, that's where it starts. He's the guy running the program, running the offense and coaching up these guys. He's the one in charge of Milwee, Flood, etc.

It's easy to just blame Arch but when you don't plat to what your QB does well and instead having everyone running 20 yards downfield for a route, when you know teams are bringing pressure is weird.

Now If I'm going to pick on an OL player, it's Robertson specifically. The C is the most important position on the OL. All the blitz pick ups, communication, etc. They start from there. Several times I see Arch walking up to the LOS to point things out and I didn't see Robertson do any of that. Sikorski tries to help him out a lot but he's also trying to make sure no one's in his lane. 

Not sure if there will be changes there or who you even put there. Do you move Sikorski to C or Christian to C? Because just from watching the play from that all 22 he seems like the biggest issue there. Especially for a 5th year guy, that is a bit concerning. 

Anyway, just my two cents for whatever it's worth. We'll see what he does this week against Florida but I'm not really excepting anything different. 

If you watch Brook's analysis, he breaks down the routes.  He shows the check downs that Arch is not using.  Sark is not the problem.  He is stubborn and a bit of an ass, but what football coach isn't?  Arch is the issue.  The dude has been in the program for 4 years, and this is his 2nd starting.  He is way behind where his development should be... He is not understanding the concepts. That's on Arch.

Edited 3 hours ago by Grant Ward

[Gerry Hamilton]

6 hours ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

That's just population. 

If you dig into it, there have been plenty of QB's that didn't play big classification football around the country ... and some of the best ever

I've mentioned Peyton and Eli

Dan Marino - sub 700 enrollment HS

Josh Allen - 632 enrollment at his HS

Tony Romo - less than 1,000 at his HS 

Steve McNair - less than 400 at his HS 

etc...

 

 

 

More QB's ... a lot of the best didn't play high level HS comp or at big schools

Tom Brady - 850 enrollment at HS

Jared Goff - 750 enrollment at HS

Kirk Cousins - 600’ish enrollment at HS

Philip Rivers - 1,000’ish enrollment at HS

Matt Ryan - 1000’ish enrollment at HS

Joe Flaco - 800’ish enrollment at HS

Donovan McNabb - 800’ish enrollment at HS

Brett Farve - under 600 enrollment at HS

Mark Brunell - 400’ish enrollment at HS

Troy Aikman - small school 

Kurt Warner - small school 

Jeff Hostetler - small school 

Case Keenum - 3A HS in Texas

[Thanos72]

7 hours ago, Nate C said:

I love Brooks, tells it how it is. Arch is too good to bench but lacks consistency to win when we need him to be consistent. His pocket presence has me questioning if they even coach it or if he gets under the lights and forgets it all. biggest thing that kills me in the offensive line play. You just can’t fall down and be late on stunts. If you get beat, fine, but don’t get whooped with bad technique. 3rd and 1 and our lineman take backwards steps and get whooped. just bad

Bull. He defends the non call against bama because he is a ga honk. Started scouted Texas because we bring clicks. 

[Thanos72]

36 minutes ago, Grant Ward said:

If you watch Brook's analysis, he breaks down the routes.  He shows the check downs that Arch is not using.  Sark is not the problem.  He is stubborn and a bit of an ass, but what football coach isn't?  Arch is the issue.  The dude has been in the program for 4 years, and this is his 2nd starting.  He is way behind where his development should be... He is not understanding the concepts. That's on Arch.

You have no idea. None of us do but it’s neither sark nor arch. It’s both but it’s a leader’s job to effectively, and efficiently, recognize the coachees floor/ceiling. Arch was raised to not make waves and sark likes to joystick too much. It’s not a great combo. 

[RH123]

Brooks summed up the Arch roller coaster  well in the video. One second he’s throwing NFL level balls. The next…he’s stepping up out of a clean pocket into pressure. Year 4 in the system. Year 2 starting. Excuses are running thin. Speaking of running, yeah the run game ain’t helping him out either. But it’s just all too inconsistent. And I hope this roller coaster smoothes out even just a bit, is making me nauseous. 

[AusMOJO]

1 hour ago, Grant Ward said:

If you watch Brook's analysis, he breaks down the routes.  He shows the check downs that Arch is not using.  Sark is not the problem.  He is stubborn and a bit of an ass, but what football coach isn't?  Arch is the issue.  The dude has been in the program for 4 years, and this is his 2nd starting.  He is way behind where his development should be... He is not understanding the concepts. That's on Arch.

You say Arch is the issue. Arch is a reflection of his coaching and what he's being taught to do. Ewers had similar issues. It can't always be the players when things have remained the same. Sark and Milwee are at fault. Arch has to take part of the blame for his own actions but he isn't the main problem. 

Brooks is great at what he does but I saw the same routes and most of the time there isn't anyone to dump it to and if there is he misses it at times trying to make a play down field (something Sark wants btw). 

Edited 1 hour ago by AusMOJO

[BrandonRaulston]

43 minutes ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

More QB's ... a lot of the best didn't play high level HS comp or at big schools

Tom Brady - 850 enrollment at HS

Jared Goff - 750 enrollment at HS

Kirk Cousins - 600’ish enrollment at HS

Philip Rivers - 1,000’ish enrollment at HS

Matt Ryan - 1000’ish enrollment at HS

Joe Flaco - 800’ish enrollment at HS

Donovan McNabb - 800’ish enrollment at HS

Brett Farve - under 600 enrollment at HS

Mark Brunell - 400’ish enrollment at HS

Troy Aikman - small school 

Kurt Warner - small school 

Jeff Hostetler - small school 

Case Keenum - 3A HS in Texas

Fun fact: My dad played against Troy Aikman in high school. Troy was a Henreyetta Hen and my dad was a Beggs demon! 

[AusMOJO]

45 minutes ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

More QB's ... a lot of the best didn't play high level HS comp or at big schools

Tom Brady - 850 enrollment at HS

Jared Goff - 750 enrollment at HS

Kirk Cousins - 600’ish enrollment at HS

Philip Rivers - 1,000’ish enrollment at HS

Matt Ryan - 1000’ish enrollment at HS

Joe Flaco - 800’ish enrollment at HS

Donovan McNabb - 800’ish enrollment at HS

Brett Farve - under 600 enrollment at HS

Mark Brunell - 400’ish enrollment at HS

Troy Aikman - small school 

Kurt Warner - small school 

Jeff Hostetler - small school 

Case Keenum - 3A HS in Texas

One of the best QB's at Texas that everyone praises (Colt McCoy) came from small school football. I believe Jim Ned was 2A at the time? Correct me if I'm wrong on that but there's tons of small school kids that do really well at the college level.

To your point, one does not need to be at the top level of a state (6A in Texas) to be a great QB.

[TheRoJoShow]

8 hours ago, HookedOnTF said:

Here's a Gemini summary of the video. I could only watch 9 minutes but that was enough for me to wonder why an OC couldn't make 3rd quarter adjustments to routes and or joysticking the QB. Also makes me wonder why - forget making right progression reads - neither QB developer nor uncles can get through on mechanics and throwing it away.

---

Based on this detailed film study of the Texas offense, the blame for the problems is shared across Arch Manning, head coach Steve Sarkisian, and the offensive line (10:54). The video breaks down how each component contributed to the struggles against Oklahoma's defense (2:39).

The issues can be attributed to the following key factors:

1. Arch Manning's Inconsistencies & Conceptual Grasp

The analyst expresses significant frustration with Arch Manning, noting that while he shows elite flashes and throws "dots," his overall performance is a massive roller coaster (0:54).

Lack of Progress & Internal Clock: Manning is heavily criticized for having "garbage" internal clock management (13:53). He frequently refuses to check the ball down when a primary route is covered, opting to stand with dead feet in a collapsing pocket (15:50).

Misreading Concepts: On multiple plays, Manning seems to struggle with full conceptual grasp of the offense (14:01). For example, after moving off a covered route to his right, his eyes and shoulders inexplicably dart back to the left side where no receivers or routes even exist (16:16).

Mechanics and RPO Execution: He misreads RPO pull/give triggers early in the game (4:16), struggles with "arm talent" (touch and finding alternate slot angles) versus pure raw arm strength (21:30), and displays erratic ball placement—such as missing open "YAC" (yards after catch) opportunities (33:21) or airmailing a desperate throw across his body for an easy pick-six (34:20).

2. Steve Sarkisian's Play-Calling Constraints

While the film guy praises Sarkisian for dialing up some beautiful, open concepts that Manning simply missed or couldn't get to, he also points out a degree of "hard-headedness" from the head coach (10:54).

Failing to Build in "Hots": Oklahoma consistently brought "seven-up" pre-snap pressure configurations (26:47). Despite knowing Oklahoma's tendency to create free hitters, Sarkisian's scheme failed to build in immediate "hot" routes or adjustments to give Manning a quick place to go with the football, forcing a throwaway or an interception (27:59).

Relying on Uncomfortable Concepts: Sarkisian is criticized for repeatedly calling concepts—like fake swing-back tunnel screens—that Manning has historically struggled to execute, rather than tailoring the package strictly to what his young quarterback is comfortable with (21:09).

3. The Offensive Line's Slow Eyes and Feet

The offensive line is certainly a major part of the problem, though the analyst clarifies they are often blamed for sacks that were actually caused by Manning drifting into pressure (17:45). However, their technical performance was poor:

The Center Position: The center is singled out for having both "slow eyes" and "slow feet" (9:51). When defensive lines executed basic stunts or nose tackles shifted away, the center failed to snap his eyes back to locate the looping defender, setting his feet terribly and completely falling out of pass protection (10:15).

Losing the Physical Battle: On short-yardage downs, the line simply lacked the edge. The analyst points out specific blockers getting completely "tossed like a ragdoll," summarizing that Oklahoma simply "brought the fight" and physically out-leveraged the unit (7:58).

Ultimately, the video concludes that Texas lost because it was an entirely "up and down" offensive display where a struggling line, an uncompromising game plan, and a young quarterback with zero pocket presence compound each other's mistakes (9:51).

 

A lot sounds instinctual, which is not a good sign. Need to adjust the play calling or the roller coaster will continue.

We really just need a bus-driving QB who can make the easy throws and has some athleticism.

Edited 1 hour ago by TheRoJoShow

[Nate C]

47 minutes ago, Thanos72 said:

Bull. He defends the non call against bama because he is a ga honk. Started scouted Texas because we bring clicks. 

I would be a GA guy too the way their trenches play. Brooks likes physical teams, and frankly, our Offensive Line isn’t that physical, otherwise we wouldn’t struggle so much in short yardage. 

[SETXAN]

Man…I find myself feeling just as aghast as Brooks. Would love to be a fly on the wall during the offensive coach film watch. Arch either plays like a God or like he’s auditioning for the Little Giants. And it’s usually within the same drive. At least in the show..the good guys win. The same horrible mechanics seen against OSU last year to start the season rear their ugly head too too often. I think when Sark references the positives at practice not translating to the game is code for “Arch is fuggin’ it all up.”