The Fake Lonnie Finch

I sometimes wonder if any of you watch any football other than UNT so you can see what happens when good wide receivers (plural, more than one at a time) are on the field running clean routes. Chancellor's out, and the team's other two leading receivers are walk-ons. They are walk-ons for a reason. Fourth leading receiver, Jimmerson - out. Thompson still hits 60+% of his passes today. Not sure what the bitching is about. Thompson does the best with what he has to work with around him...which, outside of the running back, hasn't been much.

Without receivers... Berglund, Thompson...doesn't matter.

WRs gotta run the right routes no matter who the QB is. We've got nothing at WR without Chancellor. And, even with Chancellor, we've just got one bona fide WR. It's the biggest papradox of all from the Dodge years - a pass happy coach who left the cupboard bare at WR.

“You have to show that you can help us win games,” McCarney said. “Does that mean you have to be an NFL draft pick? No. Does that mean you can continue to sit in the program and never help us? No. That means I made a mistake in bringing you here and you made a mistake in coming here.” Look...didn't most of us expect us to finish with a 4-8 or 5-7 record? My prediction was 5-7, but that 4-8 wouldn't shock me as much as 6-6. The truth is, when you looked up and down this roster, the depth wasn't there in key places: (1) The defensive line depth was glaring. It doesn't matter that you have a guy or two that is "good." You have to have bodies to rotate in there because this is perhaps the toughest position, physically, to play - day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out. (2) The entire starting secondary and many its backups had graduated/used up their eligibility. Are there some good, young athletes there? Yes. But, replacing all four starters in the secondary was going to spell trouble along the way. (3) The talent at wide receiver was not especially good, and needed two to three people to really step it up. I think we've all been pleasantly surprised that the run game didn't suffer a drop off with the losses of Lance Dunbar and James Hamilton. We have a bright future there. I think the surprise disappointments were the early season special teams struggles and the lack of development in the wide receiver corp. QB has been debated ad infinitum, as the QB position always is at any level on any team during any season. There was a time in Football History when people wondered whether Steve Walsh or Troy Aikman was the future of the Dallas Cowboys. (You forgot already that in 1989 Walsh was 1-4 as a starter for Dallas, and Troy was 0-11?...Walsh's QB rating 60.5 for the season, Aikman's 55.7...really.) I think, as many do, the game is won and lost "in the trenches." Our offense trench seems to be set well for the next two to three seasons. We are deep at running back. We seem to be deep at...tight end! I'll argue that with Thompson you have an experienced leader; and, in Berglund, you have a guy whose talent was recognized at one point in his life with scholarship offers from Kansas State, Boise State, Tulsa, UCLA, and Utah...schools that have a pretty decent bowl appearance record over the past decade or so. I think we're set there no matter who wins the position next spring and fall - and, there will be a quality backup. That leaves me with this, as I've said before: (1) We need depth on the defensive line. (2) We need more true playmakers at receiver. I don't think Dan is that far off. I know it stings him and us to be losing. But, let's face it...we're right where many of us thought we would be anyway. Here's to hoping the 2013 signing day delivers three or four DTs and two to three WRs who can step in a contribute immediately. I know Dan is healthy, even given his slight setback last year. So, at this juncture in his life and career - and in UNT's, given the step up to C-USA impending - I don't see the point in redshirting talent that can be on the field helping. Get guy who can help on the field from the get go.

Even though I was a child, I miss the 70s.

Welp...here is a team picture of our conquerors. Really tough looking bunch...for a D II crew. Bet Abilene Christian could get up on 'em!

Oklahoma switched to the Wishbone during the offweek between games 3 and 4 in 1970, not during the offseason. http://articles.latimes.com/1988-09-23/sports/sp-2851_1_head-coach http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080113_1_A8_spanc88381 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1086586/index.htm http://newsok.com/digging-up-the-bone-rice-bringing-once-feared-wishbone-offense-back-to-owen-field/article/2712632 http://books.google.com/books?id=iRBRTABxO1EC&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=Wishbone+1970+Oklahoma+Oregon+State+Fairbanks&source=bl&ots=EIoAwxerjS&sig=Sj8scJDCo95-XMxSZDvcr019y4s&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B3-dUPusCqj8yAHvzYHYDQ&ved=0CCsQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q&f=false http://alabama.scout.com/2/1237406.html http://newsok.com/darrell-royal-coached-the-texas-longhorns-but-he-was-still-one-of-us/article/3726499 "When OU famously implemented the wishbone in mid-season 1970, and the Longhorns thrashed the Sooners 41-9 in its debut, Oklahoma coach Chuck Fairbanks called Royal and asked if Switzer, OU's offensive coordinator, could chat with UT offensive coordinator Emory Bellard about the offense Texas had made famous." It was installed during the 1970 season, and all that happened was after the first game OU installed it - the Texas game in 1970 - OU's head coach called Royal to ask if their offensive coordinator's - Barry Switzer and Emory Bellard - could discuss it. The history is well known...just like the history of Texas and Royal not recruiting black players...and, OU then taking the Wishbone and running it with their black players from Texas, Florida, California, Pennsylavian, Arkansas, and all point in between, and beating Royal for the next five games in a row, and tying them for a sixth...until Texas, finally recruiting black players, caught up with them. Athletes of all colors - OU recruited them to resurrect their program, surpassing Texas in almost every measure since then - wins, conference titles, national titles, Heisman Winners, Outland Winners, etc., etc., etc. Royal and Texas did OU - and, consequently Nebraska as well, who began to recruit Texas with more vigor once Tom Osborne was elevated to their head coaching position - a huge favor by lagging in recruitment of black athletes. So...again...when you see OU thrash Texas, remember who is was and for what reason: Darrell Royal and the big southern dummies that ran Texas at the time allowed them to do so. You can watch OU's and their black players run all over Texas' Fighting Whities a year after they installed the offense (about 7:00 mark to about 10:00 mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFcixV0As-w In addition to guys like Greg Pruitt, Roy Bell, and Al Chandler of offense, you can see that OU's defense back then was almost entirely composed of black players.

Yes, just ask any police officer...respect and wisdom is the hallmark of drug users. Ditto for people out at bars getting drunk.

Bellard went to OU and showed them the offense during the 1970 football season? What a strange thing to do midseason for an archrival. Anyway, what happened, according to Switzer, Fairbanks, Jimmy Johnson, and others on the OU staff at the time was Barry and the defensive coaches sat down in the film room and studied the offense. Switzer, in the middle of the 1970 season, convinced Fairbanks to switch to it. Emory Bellard never went to OU to teach them to offense, and Switzer and Fairbanks never went to Austin to learn it from them. Also, OU was mediocre between the retirement of Wilkinson and Fairbanks/Switzer making the midseason switch to the Bone in 1970, going 40-25-1 from 1964 to the third game of 1970, winning more than seven games only once in that span. Wilkinson, in his 17 years as head coach, only lost 29 times. So, yes, the Sooners had become middle of the pack mediocre following Wilkinson's retirement. OU's only national titles to the point of the wishbone were won during Wilkinson's tenure. After winning their conference titles in 14 of the 17 seasons Wilkinson led them, OU won only two in the in the eight years following, 1963-1970. The Wishbone, and having those fast, black Texas halfbacks that Darrell Royal wouldn't recruit led to the Oklahoma resurrection, saved Chuck Fairbanks' job, and provided the impetus for Barry Switzer being chosen over other assistants to lead the Sooners when Fairbanks was hired away by the New England Patriots a couple of year later. The 1972 OU coaching staff consisted of Wilkinson, Switzer, Jerry Pettibone (head coach at Northern Illinois, 1985-90, and Oregon State, 1991-96), Jimmy Johnson (heach coaching history well known in these here parts), Jim Dickey (Kansas State head coach, 1978-85, father of former UNT head coach Darrell Dickey), Galen Hall (Florida head coach 1984-1989, during the Emmit Smith years, 1987-89). Many careers saved/launched by Texas/Royal racism in recruting. Racism can have many unintended consequences. For Darrell Royal and Texas, the uninteded consequence was reawaking a fallen giant...that happened to be their cross border rival. From Sports Illustrated's recruiting history article in 2008: "Lacewell said the most important recruiting innovation the Oklahoma staff brought to its corner of the world had nothing to do with NCAA rules. 'We were some of the only ones,' Lacewell said, 'who would recruit black players.' While much of the nation had already integrated, the schools of the SWC and SEC remained mostly segregated in the late '60s and early '70s. Switzer, the assistant in charge of recruiting Texas, used this to Oklahoma's advantage. Switzer, who had grown up on the black side of town in Crossett, Ark., related easily to black players and their families. He also didn't hesitate to point out the fact that Oklahoma's rivals remained lily-white. 'If you were to sign with a Southwest Conference team,' Switzer recalled telling black recruits in Bootlegger's Boy, 'just think how lonesome it would be to look around in the huddle and see nothing but honky faces.'" Ka-pow! A salesman knows how to sell! Royal and the good old boy white guys running the SWC schools and football programs did OU and other Big 8 schools a huge favor with their high brow racism.

I know, it's crazy, right? You put something in a store where more people can get to it and more people buy it. Capitalism is nuts that way. Can you believe Pepsi and Coke won't sell through dealers on street corners and in flophouses because they can put their product on store shelves? Crazy. Just crazy. Anyway, it'll be a moot point as soon as the Obama Adminstration reminds Colorado and Washington about what exactly the 10th Amendment will and will not allow the States to do. The Baked Brain Cell Faction will have to come to grips with the fact that even their liberal president understands the 10th Amendment and how it relates to their futile efforts to make blazing up legal.

No. Royals had the last all white national championship team, and he was slow to integrate until Texans like Billy Brooks, Greg Pruitt, Joe Washington, George Cumby, etc. started pummelling the Horns under the guidance of Fairbanks and Switzer. OU installed the Wishbone midway through the 1970 season. From 1971 until his retirement, Royal never beat OU again, 0-5-1 against an offense his own coordinator, Emory Bellard, had developed off Bill Yoeman's version of the Veer. Royal got tired of watching it and began recruiting blacks as well. Black Texans on those early OU teams that Texas wouldn't recruit: Dexter Bussey, Greg Pruitt, Albert Qualls, Kenith Pope, Mike Thomas, Billy Brooks, Waymon Clark, Horace Ivory, Joe Washington. OU was already recruiting black players nationwide back then as well...out of San Diego, California, current Mizzou QB James Franklin's dad, WIllie...out of Miami, Fla. Elvis Peacock...Jim Culbreath form Pennsylvania...Jerry Anderson from Tennessee...etc., etc., etc. It doesn't matter where they learned the offense. The Pistol offense of today was thought up by a guy at Nevada. Who cares? Texas running it with their white players couldn't keep up with OU running it with their black players once the Sooners adopted it. That's fact. You can thank the rise of OU on Royal and UTs delay in integrating. Since 1970, OU's record against Texas: 22-18-3, Texas winning a majority of games in the series only one of the last four decades (1990s). Remove the years between Switzer and Stoops and OU is 20-11-1 against Texas since the Horns delay in recruiting black football players. By not recruiting blacks, Royal and Texas really opened the door for many schools to rise. Good work. Very charitable. Between the retirement of Bud Wilkinson and Fairbanks' offensive coordinator Barry Switzer convincing him to gamble with a new offense midseason, OU had become mediocre. So, every time OU beats Texas' butts, think of Darrell Royals' all white Longhorn teams futiliy chasing the Greg Pruitts and Joe Washingtons around the Cotton Bowl. "Speed kills," Barry Switzer used to say. Barry Switzer...the man who owes his rise, three national title rings and one Super Bowl ring, to the Darrell Royal who wouldn't recruit black football players. Remember that every time you see Barry, Horn fans. Fun historical facts about Darrell Royal. Lots of fun.

Yes, they already exist. But, that's not the point. The point is, now you will drunk drivers and more stoned drivers on the road. Or, not. Thankfully, someone in the Obama adminstration has a brain and they've promised to quash it with the federal laws already on book about marijuana.

He was racist until Chuck Fairbanks and Barry Switzer starting beating his ass with black players from Texas.

This is a good idea. It's like the lottery money that saved the school funding crisis a couple of decades ago when it was approved. Let's see, since the lottery scheme solved the school financing problem years ago, what to do with all the extra weed money that will be rolling in....

It'll be good to add stoned drivers on the roadway with the drunks. I'm for anything that makes the roads safer.

Gee, what a surprise. Nothing changed. Incumbents were about completely re-elected, and races for seats abandoned were largely won by the same party. I feel so bad for not voting. What a difference I could have made! Wake me when the Chinese Navy lands off the West Coast.

The Tea Party is just Libertarianism dresses up in different clothes. You've got ding dongs out there talking about Flat Taxes and Send Immigrants Back to Mexico and crap that will never happen...just riling up old white people like my parents. I'm going to say this for the good of humanity - I will sprout wings and fly before there is a "Flat Tax." And, what's more I will fly over the rainbow with those wings when we have the police kicking in doors and dragging immigrants away.

Look, here's the truth about any athletic endeavor - you are either athletic enough or you are not. Very rarely can someone makes themselve more athletic with more training. Yes, I know that strength coaches, etc. exist for a reason. What they do, in my opinion, is get people to their maximum natural potential. But so what? Look at what a skinny little runt Deion Sanders was. It didn't matter. He was a naturally gifted athlete. Think what you want of him, but the guy played NFL football and Major League Baseball. He wasn't a bad baseball player either. Had he chosen that full time, he'd have been as successful as he was in the NFL. The point is, the type of athlete we currently get could train 365 days a year - strenght, speed, agility, whatever - and not be half the athlete of a Deion Sanders. Look at Jamize Olawale. He was, apparently, the best athlete we had while he was here. At least, the best as far as what NFL teams look for in players. Did we have coaches that recognized it and maximized it? No. Obviously not. We are in a situation where we are not going to get athletes like Texas, Alabama, Oregon, etc. So, while our defenders may recognize what is happening on the field, and know what they are supposed to do, they cannot get their bodies to do and do it as quickly as those who are playing with UT, Bama, or Oregon. Okay, TFLF, then explain the brain farts UT has. Easy. The other half of the equation is having a coaching staff that know what the hell it is doing. We didn't have it for the better part of four years. A guy like Mack Brown just doesn't have the intensity of a Les Miles or Nick Saban. Nor do his assistants. His best years were when firebrand DCs Muschamp and Chizik were in Austin. Mike Leach...he doesn't give a fartwhiff about defense, so he'll never succeed to a championship level. He will not ever have the athletes USC or Oregon State does. Maybe he can get Wazzu to rise to the level of 7 to 9 wins a year like he did at Texas Tech. But, as little as people remember who came in second, they remember even less who came in third, fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. We have decent coaches (we think). But, we don't have elite athletes. Are they good athletes? Well, for Belt level competition, yes. Will a diamond in the rough sometimes emerge? Yes. The reality, though, is that we've got what we've got; and, what we've got will not dominate even Sun Belt football. Leach does what he does with what Wazzu can get, so...his team gets its ass kicked in most Saturdays.

Ditto. Sat out 2008 and 2000 as well. Voted in 2004 mainly because I was so disgusted by Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Voted for Bush just because I wanted him to have a large a margin of victory in any state he carried. Other than that, became disenchanted after the 1992 and 1996 elections. Was amazed to see how many people were fooled by Ross Perot and Bill Clinton. And, amazed that the GOP was so stupid that they threw up Bob Dole as their choice. The choices now days are so ridiculously packaged and guarded by the Parties that it's like choosing between Milli and Vanilli.

Perhaps this is the result of a defensive line worn out by lack of depth...as some here predicted would happen at the end of the season. Defensive line, defensive line, defensive line. Depth and quality. Without it, this ship will not sail. Moving "up" a notch in coference next year. If a defensive line this thin can't handle the Belt, how will it handle the challenge one rung up the ladder? Got to get defensive linemen.

Being surprised by it versus having the talent to defend it are two separate and distinct issues. As to Mike Leach, he's got zero championships under his belt as a head coach. He will have zero when he leaves Pullman. He never understands that defense is the key. Wazzu will be the last school that falls for his magic bean offense. I don't know if he'll fall to the degree of his mentor, Hal Mumme (Division III McMurray...okay, McMurray is II now), but...it will be interesting to see how far the fall is.

The spread offense has had its day. It no longer surprises opponents. With the element of surprise gone, Leach is nothing more than a carnival barker.

Thankful that we won't jump on the weekly uniform change bandwagon. It has led to some hideous results for Oregon, Tulsa, Boise State, Maryland, and all involved. Throwback needs to be Worm.