OTF Premium Steve Sarkisian still confident in Texas offense's ability, but he wants growth 'sooner rather than later'

[Jeff Howe]

The Texas offense’s inability to move the ball consistently and maximize scoring opportunities through three games is staggering.

The Longhorns enter the non-conference finale at home against a 0-3 Sam Houston club on Saturday (7 p.m., SEC Network+), averaging 24 points per game and 5.39 yards per play. Steve Sarkisian’s fifth season running the program is off to the worst three-game start Texas has experienced on offense since 2014, when Shawn Watson’s unit averaged 20.7 points per game and 4.57 yards per play through the first three games of the Charlie Strong era.

The reality of where the Longhorns are offensively, 18 days away from a trip to Florida for the SEC opener, is sobering. Injuries have sidelined Quintrevion Wisner, C.J. Baxter Jr., DeAndre Moore Jr. and Emmett Mosley V through the non-conference schedule, compounding the experience issues Sarkisian knew existed on offense, even if Arch Manning had a full complement of weapons around him.

“I'm not naive to think we wouldn't have some growing pains,” Sarkisian said during his weekly news conference on Monday. “I just want those growing pains to... I want to get tall as fast as we can and feel good and start playing. That's the race that we're in. I'm comfortable in saying we're going to get there. I just want to get there sooner rather than later.”

Manning has been under the gun publicly since he put up a clunker in last Saturday’s 27-10 win over UTEP, with an 11-for-25, 114-yard performance through the air. While he accounted for the offense’s three touchdowns (one passing and two rushing), the fifth start of Manning’s career was marred by a forgettable second quarter, one in which he went 2-for-12, including 10 consecutive incomplete passes, for 15 yards and an interception.

When it comes to helping Manning get back on the right track, Sarkisian said he feels “good about the process that we're in right now,” adding that Manning “had a great practice this [Monday] morning.”

“So many times, what happens is you can start looking at yourself, beating yourself up, focusing on yourself. Well, it's already hard enough. The other team is already trying to beat you up,” Sarkisian said. “The other team is already trying to knock you down, so let's not self-inflict wounds.

“Let's take some of that frustration and anger out on them.”

Nothing Sarkisian said throughout training camp foreshadowed the struggles the No. 1 team in the preseason Associated Press Top 25, a club whose players spoke openly about their national championship aspirations while being quarterbacked by the odds-on favorite for the Heisman Trophy, has experienced.

Still, what he said roughly four minutes into his post-practice availability on Aug. 5 could be a massive red flag missed by virtually everyone with a pulse on the squad, especially since it might be the best way to describe the current state of the Texas offense.

“One thing for us that I think, with players that are trying really hard, we have to learn to feel... we have to learn how to deal with disappointment a little bit better. What I mean by disappointment is not every play is going to go perfect,” Sarkisian said. “You might miss a block, you might not catch that ball, you might not get the yardage you thought you were going to get on the run, but you've got to get onto the next play. You’ve got to give the next play the credit it deserves because that next play has a life of its own. I think, right now, a little bit on offense, we're trying so hard that there's this level of disappointment, that we're carrying some of that to the next play and some of those mistakes are compounding on top of one another for certain players. We've got to improve upon that and, as a coach, once you can identify that, we can talk to that, we can coach to that, but I think that's something we can improve upon.”

Even if Sarkisian, his assistant coaches and other staff members did everything they could to resolve the problem at the time, the Longhorns are still working through it on some level.

This is a time when offensive leadership must step up. Unfortunately, the leaders on that side of the ball are on the mend physically (Cole Hutson is on the list of players whose health will be monitored leading up to Saturday’s game, along with Baxter, Moore and Wisner), aren’t playing up to their potential (along with Manning and Ryan Wingo’s struggles, D.J. Campbell has the second-most accepted penalties against him among FBS offensive linemen with five, according to Pro Football Focus) or are gaining the experience they need to maximize their leadership capabilities.

The Longhorns won’t get out of their current predicament overnight.

Sarkisian said on Monday that “leadership always starts with us as coaches." He remains confident that the offense will eventually get over the current dilemma.

Nevertheless, with only one opportunity left to work on itself before entering the SEC portion of its schedule, Texas needs a heightened sense of urgency when analyzing and attacking its problems.

“We want to see a well-oiled machine offensively, on special teams, on defense, playing our best football when our best is needed,” Sarkisian said. “We've got to get there as quickly as possible.”

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[Jeff Howe]

I've been stuck on Sark's Aug. 5 quote for the last few days. I hope this isn't something that lingers, but this offense clearly needs something positive in a hurry to have any hope of righting the ship.

[John F.]

We need Lasso!

[alrightalrightalright]

The August 5th quote rings very true for Arch / the offense after the 4th down interception in the end zone.

I believe that was the 2nd of the 10 consecutive incompletions. The Wingo wheel route thrown from the right hash to the left front pylon the throw prior was a difficult throw, but open. The interception on the next throw was went things went off the rails.

[Quinncent McManning, Jr.]

31 minutes ago, John F. said:

We need Lasso!

Offense definitely needs to be a goldfish 

[Califashorn75]

Thankfully our defense will keep us in most games. 

[Jeff Howe]

54 minutes ago, alrightalrightalright said:

The August 5th quote rings very true for Arch / the offense after the 4th down interception in the end zone.

I believe that was the 2nd of the 10 consecutive incompletions. The Wingo wheel route thrown from the right hash to the left front pylon the throw prior was a difficult throw, but open. The interception on the next throw was went things went off the rails.

Couldn’t agree more.

[Jbro52]

I feel like we are getting the sark version of “I run 6 plays, split veers just like Novocain just give it time it always works “ lol

[Jarveaux]

Start your criticism after playing Florida in the swamp & beat them or you can wait & start your criticism after we beat oklahoma in Red River Rivalry. is this BS against the Longhorns ever going to stop ? 

[Jarveaux]

2 hours ago, Jeff Howe said:

Couldn’t agree more.

So what’s your point Jeff ? Gerry said Arch would be attacked harshly. I’ll bet he didn’t think it would be by his cohorts.

[PaulieD]

👤👀

[4thandFive]

3 hours ago, Jbro52 said:

I feel like we are getting the sark version of “I run 6 plays, split veers just like Novocain just give it time it always works “ lol

Top 10 movie 

[Jeff Howe]

37 minutes ago, Jarveaux said:

So what’s your point Jeff ? Gerry said Arch would be attacked harshly. I’ll bet he didn’t think it would be by his cohorts.

I haven't attacked Arch personally. I agree with the poster that things went off the rails after the two-play sequence in question.

I'm sorry, but I don't believe anything I've written is attacking the Longhorns or any players. The point of my article is that the offense has an issue that, in hindsight, has existed since the preseason.

I hope they get it fixed. I want them to get it fixed.

[Jarveaux]

6 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

I haven't attacked Arch personally. I agree with the poster that things went off the rails after the two-play sequence in question.

I'm sorry, but I don't believe anything I've written is attacking the Longhorns or any players. The point of my article is that the offense has an issue that, in hindsight, has existed since the preseason.

I hope they get it fixed. I want them to get it fixed.

Say something positive, if i want to hear negative about Sark or Arch i’ll listen to Billy Lucci or Ketch or Paul Finebaum. Show some Loyalty. Your money comes from Longhorn fans.

[Jeff Howe]

7 minutes ago, Jarveaux said:

Say something positive, if i want to hear negative about Sark or Arch i’ll listen to Billy Lucci or Ketch or Paul Finebaum. Show some Loyalty. Your money comes from Longhorn fans.

I don't believe I've written or said anything that would or should put me in the camp with the other folks you mentioned. I don't want to blow smoke, but I'm not being negative for the sake of being negative.

This article has nothing to do with loyalty. I'm attempting to find answers to the problem or dig into why things are in the shape they're in and what can be done to remedy the issue(s).

[Joe Zura]

16 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

I don't believe I've written or said anything that would or should put me in the camp with the other folks you mentioned. I don't want to blow smoke, but I'm not being negative for the sake of being negative.

This article has nothing to do with loyalty. I'm attempting to find answers to the problem or dig into why things are in the shape they're in and what can be done to remedy the issue(s).

Jeff don’t engage he does this all the time when he is upset. Him, hashtag, and MBhornsfan are the 3 you want to avoid on the board just FYI 

[Layne Seawright]

Xanax does wonders for the yips. Half joking but I think the kid is having a bit of a panic attack. The pressure from living up to eli, peyton, and his grandfather's legacy, plus the preseason hype has mounted and reached a breaking point. He looks tight out there. The swagger from the mississippi state game is gone. A lot of people have mentioned getting a sports psychologist, but i think a medical intervention could help the kid a lot

[Texas fan in Georgia]

10 minutes ago, Layne Seawright said:

Xanax does wonders for the yips. Half joking but I think the kid is having a bit of a panic attack. The pressure from living up to eli, peyton, and his grandfather's legacy, plus the preseason hype has mounted and reached a breaking point. He looks tight out there. The swagger from the mississippi state game is gone. A lot of people have mentioned getting a sports psychologist, but i think a medical intervention could help the kid a lot

He needs to burn one with Ricky. Come out and throws for 450 and 5 tuddies

[Jarveaux]

20 minutes ago, Joe Zura said:

Jeff don’t engage he does this all the time when he is upset. Him, hashtag, and MBhornsfan are the 3 you want to avoid on the board just FYI 

Joe i don’t believe that is fair criticism by you . I’ve been a Longhorn fan for 62 years.  I don’t believe i’ve criticized your comments. Don’t feel like you have to criticize mine. obviously your not a money contributor to our Longhorns. 

Edited 5 hours ago by Jarveaux
Hookem “

[Jeff Howe]

32 minutes ago, Layne Seawright said:

Xanax does wonders for the yips. Half joking but I think the kid is having a bit of a panic attack. The pressure from living up to eli, peyton, and his grandfather's legacy, plus the preseason hype has mounted and reached a breaking point. He looks tight out there. The swagger from the mississippi state game is gone. A lot of people have mentioned getting a sports psychologist, but i think a medical intervention could help the kid a lot

If I could talk to Arch, I'd tell him that if he's worried about the worst-case scenario unfolding, stop. Getting booed at home is about as bad as it's ever going to get for a Texas quarterback.

The pressure is off. Cut it loose and play like you've got nothing to lose.

[Jbro52]

1 hour ago, 4thandFive said:

Top 10 movie 

For sure 

[Hashtag]

51 minutes ago, Joe Zura said:

Jeff don’t engage he does this all the time when he is upset. Him, hashtag, and MBhornsfan are the 3 you want to avoid on the board just FYI 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Hashtag

[4thandFive]

5 minutes ago, Jbro52 said:

For sure 

There’s tons of good lines from it.

It’s also an interesting movie because it shows the possibility of a “family” (like church, police force, a sports team, etc.) overcoming differences like ethnicity. I don’t like the term “race” since we’re all a part of the human race. 

[Longhornlove]

1 hour ago, Jarveaux said:

Say something positive, if i want to hear negative about Sark or Arch i’ll listen to Billy Lucci or Ketch or Paul Finebaum. Show some Loyalty. Your money comes from Longhorn fans.

Jeff is calling a spade a spade. If you are offended, go find the nearest mirror, it is a choice to be offended just like it is a choice to be here, read and comment.

[alrightalrightalright]

1 hour ago, Jeff Howe said:

I haven't attacked Arch personally. I agree with the poster that things went off the rails after the two-play sequence in question.

I didn’t take anything you wrote as negative, Jeff.

Sark’s quote about letting negative plays linger on offense was visible in the game. I’d be shocked if that sequence wasn’t discussed on Sunday morning when they met. That’s a good thing if it was discussed. You have to diagnose an issue to solve it. Arch and the offense will be better for it.