Hello Steamroller fans! It's football time in Oklahoma and I'm glad you're here because this sports blog writer promises this will be the least informed, crimson colored season yet.
That's right folks I read tea leaves not Athlon. I attempt to parse tidbits from Oklahoman puff pieces. I'm excited for the season though because much like a music festival with a lineup of unfamiliar names, this Sooners team has lots of surprises in store and most of them should turn out well.
To wit: Lincoln Riley, The RB Situation, who replaces Secretary Dede Westbrook, is a 4-3 defense going to be less sieve-like, is true freshman Kenneth Murray a baby-eater for a new generation?
For the record I am excited for the Lincoln Riley era. Bobby Stoops earned the opportunity to stay as long as he wanted and if he truly did go out on his terms then good for him. Thank you Coach Stoops for turning around a program (and really a university) and putting Oklahoma football back in the conversation, making visors kind of cool for minute and showing me a new way to clap. Lincoln Riley is going to be a great football coach though. If nothing else he'll recruit well (80% of the job) and his team will score 50 points a game.
OFFENSE
We do know that Baker Damn Mayfield is back and he has, at minimum, the best offensive line in the Big 12. That's 8-10 wins right there. Mayfield also has Mark "I Catch Touchdowns" Andrews which is super.
It looks like, at least for a few weeks, it will be a quartet of running backs behind him led by Rodney Anderson. I'm sorry but it's not the star power I have become accustomed to. But in a Lincoln Riley offense I would imagine there will be schemes to take advantage of the strengths of each. That could be cool but after Abdul Adams I'm like those construction workers in Major League, "Who are these fuckin guys"? Maybe Dimitri Flowers gets some love too. I'd be "down".
The same lack of recognition goes for the wide receivers after Andrews and Jeffrey Meade. But there are High Hopes for true freshman CeeDee Lamb. If he plays half as great as his name he could be a star.
Today I look for the line to give BD Mayfield enough to time to start finding some receivers he can trust and it would be foolish in my mind to pick anyone besides Baker for Offensive Player of the Game.
DEFENSE
If you trust the Oklahoman (and I don't) this defense is the Ogbonnia Okoronkwo show. He looked great at times last year but I'm afraid he's just the best quote and most accessible player to those lazy writers. There are plenty of other good players who could make or break this unit.
Neville Gallimore, for instance, could have a breakout year along with Caleb Kelly. Steven Parker and Jordan Thomas are great already and the emergence of Parnell Motley at the other corner back spot is the key thing to watch for all season. Two legit corners changes the whole dynamic.
"They" also seem to be raving about middle linebacker Kenneth Murray. Every time I hear the name I want to think of a country musician named Kenneth Michael Murray but I don't know if such a thing exists. I'm not sure if it's a lack of depth or if he's the next great one but I'm hoping for the latter obvs (trying to connect with Millenials).
I am cautiously optimistic that this group will be vastly improved (not greatly!) but I'm going to sit back with my arms crossed, second guess everything and reserve judgment until I feel these guys can be trusted to contain a wet fart.
In the grand tradition of throwing darts on this side of the field I am going to go horse racing style and pick Neville Gallimore for Defensive Player of the Game because I like his name.
THE GAME
I know nothing about UTEP except where it exists on a map (roughly) and I don't care to learn more until I watch the game. The Sooners will come out jacked to get a win under Lincoln Riley's belt. There's no looking ahead to next week either. I expect the boys to look sharp.
Sooners 56, UTEP 20
Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner
Showing posts with label UTEP Miners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UTEP Miners. Show all posts
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
OU - UTEP Hangover
I've had a few days to marinate and make snap judgments on the Sooners ho-hum 24-7 victory over UTEP.
From the "Polishing a Turd" Department I offer the following. First, 1-0 is better than 0-1. Do not lose sight of the fact that the Sooners are still in the title hunt! Second, as FIL (father-in-law) pointed out, the Sooners learned a lot more about themselves than, say, OSU did in their mockery of a game.
Now back to reality. This game was 10-7 going into the 4th quarter because the offense just looked putrid.
There still hasn't been a time since Ryan Broyles went down where the Sooner offense has had anything resembling rhythm. On this night it would be easy to blame the O-Line, Josh Heupel, dropped passes or Landry (in that order). If the first two do not drastically improve it's going to be a very long and depressing season.
There's no real sugar-coating the lack of depth at O-Line so Josh Heupel has to figure out a way to work around it. The answer in El Paso was a steady, nauseating dose of screens and swing passes. This is done under the guise of trying to get players into the flow of the game but this does not play to Landry's strengths. He does not throw this pass particularly well. What Josh did try that worked was the hurry up offense. It was really effective the three plays it was used. Fingers crossed that this number goes up by the week. I will not hold my breath.
Now, Landry looked quicker than ever moving around in the pocket. He must have done a lot of cone drills with the QB guru out in California. He also made one hell of a throw to Kenny Fucking Shitbag for the first touchdown (backhanded compliment alert) albeit on a desperate 3rd and long cross-field heave. But it was a beautiful pass. Other than that I almost spewed beer out of my nose when the announcers said Landry was in the Heisman discussion.
Dropped passes are going to correct themselves. This will not be a lingering issue.
In other news, I'm pretty excited about the DD Williams era. It's unfortunate it comes at the expense of Roy Finch's playing time but he looks to be the real deal. Dom Whaley looked healthy but he did not play particularly well. Trey Millard gobbled up yards as he is wont to do. The Belldozer's role has expanded from the goal line to 3rd and short. It'll be swell if he can prove he can throw the ball in this situation as that could be lethal. Last year his passing was poisonous.
Defensively it was mildly disconcerting to see so many missed tackles at the point of attack. Just as on offense, the line deserves much of the blame. There seemed to be very little push. UTEP got to Landry better than the Sooners got to the UTEP QB's. This is an indictment of both OU lines.
The D got off to a rough start but got settled down. Giving up less than 100 passing yards to anyone is pretty legit. Giving up 200+ rushing yards is not. No points allowed is nice although the UTEP special teams unit gave the game away. Individually, I thought Chuka Ndulue looked great. Tony MF Jefferson played as everyone expects. David King seemed to get his name called a lot as well. Tom Wort and Corey Nelson had a pretty quiet 11 tackles between them. I was surprised to see the ball thrown at Demontre Hurst as much as it was and I hope this speaks to Aaron Colvin's cover corner ability. I'll be interested to see how the D-Line looks when Casey Walker and Stacy McGee get back into the lineup.
Overall, everything fell short of expectations. I will do my best not to worry until the K-State game on September 22nd. The Florida A&M home opener and a bye week (so two bye weeks?) should provide all the time needed to get into game shape. Then, we'll see what we have.
From the "Polishing a Turd" Department I offer the following. First, 1-0 is better than 0-1. Do not lose sight of the fact that the Sooners are still in the title hunt! Second, as FIL (father-in-law) pointed out, the Sooners learned a lot more about themselves than, say, OSU did in their mockery of a game.
Now back to reality. This game was 10-7 going into the 4th quarter because the offense just looked putrid.
There still hasn't been a time since Ryan Broyles went down where the Sooner offense has had anything resembling rhythm. On this night it would be easy to blame the O-Line, Josh Heupel, dropped passes or Landry (in that order). If the first two do not drastically improve it's going to be a very long and depressing season.
There's no real sugar-coating the lack of depth at O-Line so Josh Heupel has to figure out a way to work around it. The answer in El Paso was a steady, nauseating dose of screens and swing passes. This is done under the guise of trying to get players into the flow of the game but this does not play to Landry's strengths. He does not throw this pass particularly well. What Josh did try that worked was the hurry up offense. It was really effective the three plays it was used. Fingers crossed that this number goes up by the week. I will not hold my breath.
Now, Landry looked quicker than ever moving around in the pocket. He must have done a lot of cone drills with the QB guru out in California. He also made one hell of a throw to Kenny Fucking Shitbag for the first touchdown (backhanded compliment alert) albeit on a desperate 3rd and long cross-field heave. But it was a beautiful pass. Other than that I almost spewed beer out of my nose when the announcers said Landry was in the Heisman discussion.
Dropped passes are going to correct themselves. This will not be a lingering issue.
In other news, I'm pretty excited about the DD Williams era. It's unfortunate it comes at the expense of Roy Finch's playing time but he looks to be the real deal. Dom Whaley looked healthy but he did not play particularly well. Trey Millard gobbled up yards as he is wont to do. The Belldozer's role has expanded from the goal line to 3rd and short. It'll be swell if he can prove he can throw the ball in this situation as that could be lethal. Last year his passing was poisonous.
Defensively it was mildly disconcerting to see so many missed tackles at the point of attack. Just as on offense, the line deserves much of the blame. There seemed to be very little push. UTEP got to Landry better than the Sooners got to the UTEP QB's. This is an indictment of both OU lines.
The D got off to a rough start but got settled down. Giving up less than 100 passing yards to anyone is pretty legit. Giving up 200+ rushing yards is not. No points allowed is nice although the UTEP special teams unit gave the game away. Individually, I thought Chuka Ndulue looked great. Tony MF Jefferson played as everyone expects. David King seemed to get his name called a lot as well. Tom Wort and Corey Nelson had a pretty quiet 11 tackles between them. I was surprised to see the ball thrown at Demontre Hurst as much as it was and I hope this speaks to Aaron Colvin's cover corner ability. I'll be interested to see how the D-Line looks when Casey Walker and Stacy McGee get back into the lineup.
Overall, everything fell short of expectations. I will do my best not to worry until the K-State game on September 22nd. The Florida A&M home opener and a bye week (so two bye weeks?) should provide all the time needed to get into game shape. Then, we'll see what we have.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
OU - UTEP
It's time to get this party started.
There was this one time when the Sooners started the season on the road. They featured a much ballyhooed Quarterback who should have entered the draft the previous spring but decided to come back for his Senior season. The Sooners played an opponent of some quality but the game should not have been close. The QB went down to a season-ending injury, an inexperienced QB replaced him, the Sooners lost the game.
Let's not have that happen again.
There are only two things interesting to me about the UTEP Miners. They are coached by Mike Price. Second, the Red State portion of the Sooner fanbase (and there are many) traveling down for this one are concerned about getting caught up in some Mexican borderland violence. Nothing whatsoever on the football field for the UTEP football team intrigues me enough to even look at their roster.
I am keenly interested in the Sooner storylines. Those stories being the return of Mike Stoops, his defense, the Wide Receivers, the return of Dom Whaley, the Offensive Line and the play calling.
I'm not expecting perfection or wholesale changes to the D. But I do expect to see some brahs flying around like their hair is on fire. I want to see the promising beginning of something that, when it is firing on all cylinders, will put fear in opponents.
Offensively, it all starts up front. The O-Line has to give Lonnie time to find his new receivers. Josh Heupel needs to be clever enough to get the running game going and open everything up. It's a simple game really.
Offense
I'm going with Dom Whaley here. This is a pick from the heart. His injury last year was a crushing blow not only for the team but for a great story. Today he can get it going again. Rumor has it he looks like his old self. Why does it look like I have a plantain in my trousers?
Defense
How can I go with anyone other than Tony Motherfuckin Jefferson? He's got a new role where he's free to run roughshod. I look forward to it. Hopefully he can more than justify his selection as the first two time recipient of the MFer Award.
The Score
If this game looks anything like Taking Care of Business (dba TCB) I'll be thrilled. Of course I can't imagine anything else. I'm actually feeling pretty good about utter dominance.
OU 31 UTEP 10
Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner
UPDATE:
I searched the roster high and low earlier this week because I wanted to make an award for Most Likely to be Suspended for the Season Opener. I did not make a selection because I figured all the non- judeo christian youth had already been taken off the roster. But lo and behold the tradition continues with Geneo Grissom getting suspended. Good Christ it's as predictable as taxes.
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