Don't tell me the problem, what is your solution if you are Sark.

[TexasMDcoach]

Mods and members, I think we all realize we have a QB that has not played up to his potential.  There has been much said about what the problems are.   So instead of complaining, I am curious what your solution is. This week, what is your move to fix this?  Do you bench Arch? Rotate him with QB2, run a different scheme?  

[Sundancekid]

Pay up and I will tell you.

[ATX16]

Try and win with defense. More 12 personell. Use Manning like a Tim Tebow (good fullback with mediocre passing skills). When they have to bring a safety up take a few deep shots. Every game will be tight. Kick field goals when you can. 

Hope 3 losses (from OU, A&M, Georgia) gets you in. 

Edited 2 hours ago by ATX16

[Robbin Antono]

Heck, playing like this get you L against  Florida, and maybe Vandy

[TexasMDcoach]

I get him with a good sports psychologist and show him film of where he is making good plays and throws.  Surround him with positive people.   I throw out the bad tape. Try to lower the stress and rebuild his confidence, I keep him off social media and away from the press.  Open up a QB competition because that is what he deserves.  I rotate him with Caldwell so he does not feel he is the only option.  Let him see measured success and let him earn his way back to the starting role.  

[bevocbs]

3 minutes ago, TexasMDcoach said:

I get him with a good sports psychologist and show him film of where he is making good plays and throws.  Surround him with positive people.   I throw out the bad tape. Try to lower the stress and rebuild his confidence, I keep him off social media and away from the press.  Open up a QB competition because that is what he deserves.  I rotate him with Caldwell so he does not feel he is the only option.  Let him see measured success and let him earn his way back to the starting role.  

I'll second the Sports Psychologist. I don't know if Texas routinely works with one, but they should. I know that under Saban, Alabama used to regularly bring in Dr. Bhrett McCabe, who also works with a lot of the top professional golfers. Right now Arch, and several of the offensive players, need help with the mental side of the game. 

 

We always say that the mental side of any sport is of such great importance, but how many people/teams actually practice it.

[thatdude2]

I’d quit my job and let Texas hire you to coach the team.

[TexasMDcoach]

1 minute ago, thatdude2 said:

I’d quit my job and let Texas hire you to coach the team.

Thanks Sark, but looking for solutions to help you here 😉

[AusMOJO]

Less under center. Less play action. Go more shotgun and let him RPO/straight drop back. Less long developing plays and give him more quick/easy throws. Stop trying to play bully man ball, you don't have the OL or OL coach for it, you can't just arrogantly run with 8 guys in the box. Get your younger play makers more involved at WR/TE. RB there isn't anyone elite there, that includes Wisner, imo.

Right now, it looks more like Manning is overthinking everything and Sark isn't really helping him out. He looks like he wants to call an offense that isn't working and instead of setting his QB up for success might have set him up for failure. 

While the OL isn't perfect he has time to throw, he just overthinks what he's seeing. He's also not throwing/playing like he did last yea, not sure if that's because he knew it wasn't only temporary or what. 

I should mention you have to do a better job of getting him going early and often. Not run on 1st down, run on 2nd down, okay 3rd and long, oh he missed. Might also need to have some other plays in the back pocket for some red zone plays. 

Just my uneducated take. To me it seems like he completely changed what his offense was originally but that's just what I think. Not sure I'd pay for my opinion or coaching advice but just what I'm seeing out there. 

 

[John F.]

36 minutes ago, ATX16 said:

Try and win with defense. More 12 personell. Use Manning like a Tim Tebow (good fullback with mediocre passing skills). When they have to bring a safety up take a few deep shots. Every game will be tight. Kick field goals when you can. 

Hope 3 losses (from OU, A&M, Georgia) gets you in. 

Yeah pretty much this in the short term. May not be popular and likely lowers the ceiling for the season but the team could go 7-5 or something playing like they have 

[thatdude2]

I’d start working in Matthew Caldwell a little more. I wouldn’t bench Arch unless the offense under Caldwell was top 10 in the country. 

[utx2]

A girl friend 😎

[tsip92]

10 minutes ago, utx2 said:

A girl friend 😎

Problems with the girlfriend might be the problem 😆

[Sundancekid]

A puppy dog?

[tsip92]

I kind of like the idea of having him trade off series with Caldwell or whoever Sark thinks is the #2 long term.   Gives Arch a chance to settle down and Sark a chance to see what the offense can really be with Plan B.  I haven’t given up on Arch, but the proof is in the pudding.  

[Sundancekid]

Benching Arch for Caldwell over Owens and Lacey… that should be encouraging to Dia Bell. The most capable qb is the one who has been in the program the least amount of time? Lol.

Honestly, the best thing to do is not panic. We need to see how Sark and his team respond. Sometimes teams play up and down to the level of their adversaries. We had a flood of preseason Kool Aid. Many drank it up with relish(not the noun… i hope).

  We are green all over on offense. Stroh and Baker are abysmal. Campbell gets 2 or 3 penalties a game and he is out alpha!? Losing Golden, Bond, Blue, Helm and not playing Moore, Wisner or Mosely with Baxter crumbling again after one carry… makes us an easy target for teams like UTEP to play with serious chips on their shoulders against us while Arch and the band aid boys try to figure it out.

Edited 57 minutes ago by Sundancekid

[LonghornLegends]

1 hour ago, ATX16 said:

Try and win with defense. More 12 personell. Use Manning like a Tim Tebow (good fullback with mediocre passing skills). When they have to bring a safety up take a few deep shots. Every game will be tight. Kick field goals when you can. 

Hope 3 losses (from OU, A&M, Georgia) gets you in. 

I absolutely agree with this. I would add kick more. Field goals, and punts. You’re not good on 1st, 2nd, or 3rd down. Take the points and put your defense in better situations, if you don’t you’re doing the team a disservice as the head coach.

[drag worm]

Start KJ Lacey for a half against SHSU. Let Arch reset on the bench and come in third quarter and see if that adjustment helps him psychologically. He sure looked better as the backup last year coming in off the bench. 

[whereiend]

1 hour ago, ATX16 said:

Try and win with defense. More 12 personell. Use Manning like a Tim Tebow (good fullback with mediocre passing skills). When they have to bring a safety up take a few deep shots. Every game will be tight. Kick field goals when you can. 

Hope 3 losses (from OU, A&M, Georgia) gets you in. 

IMO 12 personnel is the opposite of what you want. Need to spread the field to get lighter boxes, then use Manning in the run game with high frequency. If he gets hurt then that is football.

Edited 25 minutes ago by whereiend

[harveycmd]

I know Sark said he was going to stay aggressive on fourth downs, especially early in games, but I'd like to see them at least take points early and as often as necessary. Coming away with nothing after multiple opportunities is psychologically deflating. With this defense, all points are a killer for the opposition. 

For Arch specifically, I agree with spreading out. Do that and run some tempo to manufacture rhythm. Less time to overthink and just go.