Back indeed!

As the summer winds down we once again find ourselves on the cusp of another season of college and, more specifically, Sooner football. Mitch and have decided to get into the spirit a little earlier this year and do a few offseason posts to whet the rabid appetite(s) of Steamroller fandom.

Earlier in the year (read: Jan. 21) we bantered back and forth via email about some of the big changes occurring in Norman as they pertained to football. We had grand intentions of making these thoughts available to the public but, predictably, were far too lazy to do so. As a result they sat buried in the vaults of the internet, until now! If the idea of opening heretofore unseen vaults spawns memories of Geraldo Rivera’s famous opening of Al Capone’s vaults in the 80’s (and it’s doubtful it does), the similarities will be even more eerie when you read on and discover that, like Capone’s vaults, little of value or interest was inside.

Our original intent was to present a sort of point/counterpoint discussion of what went on. What follows is the integration of my thoughts (in italics) about points Mitch brought up. What I hope will follow are Mitch’s thoughts on those and a couple of more points that I have come up with (or whatever he wants) in the almost 7 months since we originally did this. Enjoy…

•                Brent Venables looks really weird bedecked in Clemson digs.

Yes Keith, Brent Venables, does look weird in Clemson gear. (hard hitting point)

•                I think he will dominate the ACC. He'll feel like he's playing checkers again.

I’m not totally sure he'll dominate in the ACC, but I imagine he'll look a lot better. The obvious here is that the ACC is a much weaker conference, and he certainly won't face the talent level both of players and of offensive coordinators here. The flip, is he'll certainly have less talented defensive players to work with. It'll be interesting, and I'm sure I'll follow that story closely for about 30 seconds next fall.

•                I think his OU legacy will grow over time. He did a fine job really against some of the most sophisticated offenses in the country.

I'm sure you're right about his legacy growing, people generally remember most things in a light that shines on the highlights and leave the bad things in the shadows. For me, it will be tough to forget getting torched via the pass regularly and failing to make any sort of adjustments during the game. 

•                My groin stretched out of its snail shell with the news of Mikey coming back. His attitude alone will make the Defense something to be feared again. As it should be.

As you know, since I was quite vocal about it for roughly the last 6 years, I've clamored for the return of Mike Stoops since it became evident that the defense just wasn't the same without him. My offseason with list included three things (in this order): 1) hire Mike Stoops (and let him run the defense), 2) Lonnie go pro, 3) get rid of Venables. As Meatloaf says...

·      If it's possible for expectations at OU to be ratcheted up I think this does it. You've been to the top of the mountain with Mike so, to me, it seems all the more real than recent years. Like, every year your goal is to win a championship and in recent years it felt more like bluster. 

As for expectations, I couldn't agree more. In the past few seasons (not including 2008) the national title hopes have obviously been there, but I constantly felt like I was waiting for the collapse. Very few times did we look dominant, particularly defensively, when the title was still a realistic possibility. Granted we haven't won it since 2000, but we've only (ONLY!, who am I?) been to one since Mikey left or since his work/players were still in place, and let's be real we went in 2008 because of Sammy and the offense. Now that Mike is back, I personally am expecting a much improved defense and I highly doubt I'm the only one in Sooner nation with that sentiment. 

Past success certainly doesn't guarantee it in the future, but it's often a strong predictor. That said, much has changed since Mike was here last. First of all, the conference has gotten stronger top to bottom (I think), there are fewer door mats now. Offenses are much better now than they were. The Big 12 is probably the nations foremost conference when it comes to employing the "we'll outscore you" strategy to winning. Not coincidentally, the SEC is lauded because it employs the (notably more effective) "we'll shut you down" strategy which wins national championships. Also, let's not forget, the cupboard isn't exactly overflowing right now. Yes, we've got talented guys returning but we also (lost) some seriously fucking good players on D. Put all that together with enormously bigger expectations and the accompanying pressure and it's going to be, in my opinion, a much bigger challenge than it was previously. 

All of this isn't to say that things won't change. I think we'll game plan better with Mike and more importantly I think he's capable of making those critical in-game adjustments that Venables clearly wouldn't (less likely) or couldn't (more likely). Also, not to say there wasn't any talent on campus when the Stoops brothers first came to town, but probably less than any time since, and I think our 2000 defense has to be considered the best of the Stoops era. This makes me very excited and feel funny "down there". 

·      Something really awful must have gone on in the locker room this season in terms of attitude. To speak two coaching changes, an unprecedented firing tells me something was way off kilter. That said, I can't decide if this revelation makes Bobby's job this season one of his best in a weird way or one of his worst. For the time being I'm sold on it being his worst.

Interesting point about the locker room turmoil. Those kinds of things, which are usually impossible to see as an outsider, will shred a team. I hadn't really thought of it much until you pointed it out but it makes sense. Another strong predictor of shit happening off the field is an underachieving team, which I think we can agree this was. 

I see what you mean about the perspective of this being Stoops best job, but I can't at all agree with that. I think it has to be his worst. Turmoil or not, his job is to get coaches and players in an appropriate frame of mind to win every Saturday. This clearly didn't happen last season. When players check out from being a teammate like their supposed leader, Old Steady, allegedly did (admittedly, I think I heard this from you, and it's possible I even dreamt it) the coach has to correct that immediately. Nobody wants to go above and beyond or stick their neck out, particularly in the heat of competition, for someone they think is a complete asshole.

OK Mitch, your turn. I want your take on the following:

·      The suspension/dismissal/reinstatement of the WR trio who did something mysterious that was evidently serious enough to warrant all of that.

·      What newcomers/freshman do you think will make us seriously hard at one, or hopefully many, point(s) this year?

·      How many veins will Lonnie force to break in my head while screaming this season? Related question: at what point will Sooner Nation begin demanding Blake Bell full time?

·      Will Dom Whaley return as the total badass he was prior to breaking his ankle?

·      How many times will you "feed the geese" in the month of August with thoughts of football season’s eminent return?

An auspicious debut to the season for sure, as I took about as lazy of an approach as I could. Nonetheless, the ball is in your court my quick witted cohort.