Here for the Wins

I do think Guilbeau blitzed but the opposite side defender dropped so still only rushing 4. I could be wrong on that. Angles were a problem. You’re the first I recall mentioning this so kudos to you. Players need to make plays. I’d classify this play as one of those. Guilbeau should be aware that a screen is very possible on that play. On the back end, we had one guy let him get outside while at the same time taking out another one of ours.

Curl is certainly underappreciated. It’d be cool to talk football with him. A generation too soon. A football player.

He sure threw a better pass.

I was always curious about his pro career. His production was excellent. From what I recall his combine/pro day numbers were solid. Why did it take awhile to get the surgery?

Please explain those limitations . There were effectively 3 plays that kept the game in question. And one of those was the offense taking a lower percentage shot on 3rd down on the non-Pi call. The same play that had a secondary effect of a slightly more difficult FG because no yards were gained. It virtually eliminated any decision of a potential 4th down try. And it stopped the clock. Seeing as how Vandy scored with 33 seconds it certainly changed Vandys philosophy with that extra half minute. Yes, a TD ends the game but a first down virtually does as well. So we chose poorly on the risk/reward side of that playcall. Then the next possession we have 4 plays and punt. The offense had an opportunity to end and did not. So let’s keep that in mind given there was a questionable strategic decision. The other two were the TD pass right before half and the 4th and 19. I just saw an article saying that was a busted coverage in the first half. I did not see elaboration on what should have happened though. Then the 4th and 19. But what I do know is that we had two backup safeties out for the majority of the game. I also thought Filsaime got dinged too. Maybe Manny. Or maybe another DB as well. So some confusion given Vandys offense and our experience level was not completely surprising. What exactly does they weren’t playing together mean? The long Stowers TD - there wasn’t much apparent the front had anything to do with it. The other two plays are difficult to determine how they weren’t playing together. I don’t know the dynamics internally. No idea who wanted Akina. Maybe I’ve forgotten but I do not recall ever hearing that a teams front and secondary are not working together.

I can see OSU 2025. Their schedule was pretty weak too. Bama - I don’t remember who was on that team. I remember the offense moreso. Georgia - was it the secondary or a dominant front? Bama and Georgia each had a 5 year window in which their overall talent completely overwhelmed most opponents. May be why the names don’t just jump out at me.

I’m curious what you think is elite. The QBs and WRs faced in 2024 were mediocre at best. And that’s only cause we made a deep run into the playoffs.. When we played competent teams, they did reasonably well. Clemson hit for 300+ passing and 3 TDs. Michigan and UF didn’t even throw out D1 QBs. The two turnovers had a bit to do with the UW loss. No sacks. But talk about competence. The tackles have started in the NFL. 3 WRs drafted, pretty highly too. One TE ran a sub 4.5 40. The other is in the NFL. The center just got drafted. The QB a top 10 pick. My point is that defending teams is more difficult when the offensive competence and skill increases. The 2024 defense was great, but our regular season opponents had poor offensive talent. Even the playoff contenders had some kinks offensively.

Out of curiosity, name some elite secondary’s.

He did leave a year early. He compiled some stats too. When he was a freshman we had too many freshman defenders playing. I’m not sure he would ever been terribly instinctive, but he could run around and be active.

Dusty Renfro some underappreciation.

Interesting name selections as it includes two guys Texas likely don’t take out of high school.

Believe in Team. Thats where our potential lies. The season’s ultimate outcome will depend on whether we make critical plays. We don’t have to rely on one source or one side of the ball.

R Williams concussing 3 opponents also hard to top.

Kevin Watler?

Well obviously poor planning on the schedule committee. Two headliners at the same time.

Look forward to the H Wiggins summary @Jeff Howe.

I assume you’re speculating here. Or did Sark communicate something to trigger this particular thought?

At Texas? I don’t remember that.

He had a workout with the Cowboys post-draft after participating in the Pro Day. So presumably he was working hard at it until at least May.

This shouldn’t be happening. Georgia was in the CWS, final 4 even.

I certainly understand people playing off the ball and underneath throws converting the first as frustrating. Some of that to me falls on the player. Just because we’re off the ball doesn’t mean you can’t attack the ball or receiver. Certainly with that comes risk. I always refer back to Rod Woodson with the Steelers. He played off quite a bit, but he was aggressive downfield. He was susceptible to double moves at times for this reason. I don’t recall complaints about their defense lacking aggression. Different era though so that plays into it. I was very hopeful that Will would have become coach those many years ago. I’d love to have played for him. If I thought about that, he might be my number 1 choice of all time in that regard. So that’s how I feel about him.

I’ve come to appreciate Wisner more over time. You highlighted the big games, but his effort was pretty consistent. Believe two years ago he was top 3 in yards per carry in the conference. I have a different view of PK. I don’t view taking away the big play as bend but don’t break. We don’t concede the run and have been top 25 in 3rd down conversion rate the past 3 years. I’d venture to say he mixes it up quite a bit. No, he’s not a press man coverage guy. That is difficult to find 3, 4 guys that do it well enough consistently so for many teams it’s better to make that the change of pace than the base defense. This season the change at both spots will likely downplay Wisner and PK. Thats not to say that’s not part of the reason, but we’re primed to be better this season had those changes not been made. I do think the schedule allows us to ease into the season a bit better than last year too. I’d say 10-2 regular season is the minimum number of wins.

The distribution of home versus road/neutral is far more favorable than last year. There’s a good chance there’s a UF on this years schedule - high hopes, decent talent, that somewhat falls apart. We effectively played 3 road games that our opponent had an off week to prepare for us. The OU played one of the worst teams in the country leading up to our game. We are a deeper team. A more mature team. There is quite a bit of talk about the offense. But what’s not mentioned much in that regard is that returning home likely was very impactful. Sark called games better. The 4th quarter versus MSU was the start. Sark also entered the season with roster preservation in mind. That also impacted the offense. The first five games his gameplan was too volatile. Run oriented versus UTEP, somewhat run oriented versus OSU early, then deep ball oriented versus UF and cautious versus OU so our rhythm was disjointed which was made worse with the offensive turnover from the prior year. It is all looking to point in the right direction this year.

Did you know that OU won it all with a 2nd baseman that hit .222 and an OPS of like .636. He started 61 games. I’m not certain he even had double digit XBH. is that a hole or no?

We have more depth this year. I’m not sure it’s that close. Few of the non-starters were impactful at Texas much less the NFL. The redshirts were great, but they weren’t playing. The starters were great, but there was a falloff. The portal makes much of that possible.