Mean Green Defense Shines In Scrimmage

Charlie NT 73 · April 19, 2007

I agree with FLF-- regarding the playing Texas,OK,Ark, future games against Miami,Clemson--

to start up the season. The so called MONEY games-

NT is not ready for these games right now. Give Caoch Dodge a couple of years, and maybe

we can win some of these games.

I fully understand the need for the $ but, I do not like getting hammered in these games-

I know Coach Dodge can work wonders, but he will have some real challenges.

I would rather play the mid major schools with a real chance to win.

Winning cures everything-brings in the recruits we need, and the $$$ we need.

Speaking of OU, they stomped the muts, 59-0. The muts handled NT, 35-0 last

year. So will the point spread against zero-u be NT +94 ?

The Fake Lonnie Finch · April 20, 2007

I agree with FLF-- regarding the playing Texas,OK,Ark, future games against Miami,Clemson--
to start up the season. The so called MONEY games-
NT is not ready for these games right now. Give Caoch Dodge a couple of years, and maybe
we can win some of these games.
I fully understand the need for the $ but, I do not like getting hammered in these games-
I know Coach Dodge can work wonders, but he will have some real challenges.
I would rather play the mid major schools with a real chance to win.
Winning cures everything-brings in the recruits we need, and the $$$ we need.
Speaking of OU, they stomped the muts, 59-0. The muts handled NT, 35-0 last
year. So will the point spread against zero-u be NT +94 ?

The only thing that gives me hope about OU is the fact that they are breaking in a new starting QB for the third year in a row. Everybody else returns. Even though they lose Adrian Peterson, the Sooners were 6-0 with him out and the back-up guy in. The back-up guy started six games last year and is back, along with a kid out of Las Vegas who was a Top 5 running back two years ago who redshirted last year.

Also, OU completely overlooked TCU two years ago. Now, that TCU team went 11-1 and had a bunch of upperclassmen on both sides of the ball. We don't have that luxury on offense. What we have to do is make zero - and, I mean, zero - mistakes with the ball. And, our defense has to find a way to exploit their inexperience at QB. Their OL is all returning upperclassmen, so they'll be stout.

To me, an upset of OU lies in playing mistake free on offense, getting two to three turnovers from our secondary, and having a big play out of the special teams. My guess is that they throw a pretty vanilla offense at us because they play Miami the next weekend and won't want to give too much of their playbook away. So, discipline on defense will be key. They came out vanilla against TCU two years ago and the Frogs tore them up by blitzing on run and pass downs.

The thing that is just the killer is how our young offense will deal with their defensive speed. We need short fields to work with against OU and Arkansas. Special teams and the secondary...those will be the key to an upset.

Eagle1855 · April 20, 2007

We need short fields to work with against OU and Arkansas. Special teams and the secondary...those will be the key to an upset.

Lots of good points, I think this is the key. This was the problem last year playing at Texas. It just wears a defense out having an offense go 3 and out and then being forced to play short fields all day.

Regarding OU's offense, Allen Patrick isn't Adrian Peterson, but he's a very capable RB . He's incredibly fast and I imagine we'll see plenty of him before the day is done. You miss an assignment, he's gone.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · April 20, 2007

Lots of good points, I think this is the key. This was the problem last year playing at Texas. It just wears a defense out having an offense go 3 and out and then being forced to play short fields all day.
Regarding OU's offense, Allen Patrick isn't Adrian Peterson, but he's a very capable RB . He's incredibly fast and I imagine we'll see plenty of him before the day is done. You miss an assignment, he's gone.

If you do a little research on Patrick, you find that he was a First Team All-State tailback in high school, but didn't make the grades. When he went to his JUCO, they put him on defense. OU signed him as a safety, then moved him to tailback when Peterson was hurt the year before.

The guy seems to be a workhorse of a tailback, too. Three games in a row last year - Colorado, Missouri, and Texas A&M - they gave the guy the ball 35, 35, and 32 times and he got more yards each weeks! Then, he sits for a couple of weeks, comes back against Oklahoma State and lights them up for 163 yards on 23 carries. He also ran for 61 yards on 11 carries in the bowl loss to Boise - better numbers than Peterson had put up until the OT touchdown run.

10/21/06 Colorado G W 24-3 35 110 3.14 1

10/28/06 @Missouri T W 26-10 35 157 4.49 0

11/04/06 @Texas A&M G W 17-16 32 173 5.41 1

11/11/06 Texas Tech G W 34-24 Did Not Play

11/18/06 @Baylor T W 36-10 Did Not Play

11/25/06 @Oklahoma St. T W 27-21 23 163 7.09 1

The bottom line is, OU won't be hurting at tailback even with Peterson gone. Their weakness is going to be QB. We're their game one, and it will be game one for whichever of their QB wins the job. That's why I say our secondary is going to need to really step up and bring it. If they can get us some short fields early, maybe OU gets frustrated like they did against the Frogs two years ago because they couldn't run their vanilla playbook on them.

Also, a blocked kick or punt...a long punt return or two. I don't know if that's possible since we lost Johnny Quinn. But, we'll need it from whomever is back there this season.

We really are lucky that Miami goes to Norman the following weekend. The Sooner coaches won't want to show the 'Canes anything. That helps us out, too, if nothing else.

Edited April 20, 2007 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

FirefightnRick · April 20, 2007

I've been to many of the major body bag games over the years and I remember how much more the other team had compared to us. More money, lots more money, more talent, more speed and on and on and on. Of course for me I have never given a rats ass about any of that. Luckily for us in years past, Corky and Simon's teams didn't seem to either. What I like about this year and the ones that will follow is that for the first time in many it will feel like our team's attitude will be..."I didn't come here to lose".

Rick

Mean Green 93-98 · April 20, 2007

I've been to many of the major body bag games over the years and I remember how much more the other team had compared to us. More money, lots more money, more talent, more speed and on and on and on. Of course for me I have never given a rats ass about any of that. Luckily for us in years past, Corky and Simon's teams didn't seem to either. What I like about this year and the ones that will follow is that for the first time in many it will feel like our team's attitude will be..."I didn't come here to lose".
Rick

That's one thing you have to give Simon--he probably overlooked the conference games, but he saw playing a major opponent as a major opportunity.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · April 20, 2007

Unfortunately, attitude doesn't equal speed.

Anyway, the Columbia (Mo.) Tribune had an article about OU minus Peterson today:

OU more than prepared for post-Peterson era

By DAVE MATTER of the Tribune’s staff

Published Friday, April 20, 2007

Former Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson will be the first player selected from the Big 12 Conference in next weekend’s NFL draft, but the Sooners are hardly sweating the post-Peterson era.

During the second half of last season and throughout spring practices, Oklahoma learned that Peterson’s injury-shortened junior year might have been a blessing. While a broken collarbone sidelined the former All-American for half of last season, the Sooners discovered their supply of tailbacks lacked neither quantity nor quality.

In the seven games Peterson played last year, OU’s first six and the Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma averaged 172 rushing yards. In the seven games he missed, with Allen Patrick and Chris Brown handling the carries, OU averaged 182. Of the five times the Sooners averaged 5.0 yards per carry or more, three came when Peterson was out.

Perhaps most telling of Oklahoma’s Peterson-less prowess, the Sooners were 5-2 with him in the lineup, 7-0 without, including the Big 12 championship game victory over Nebraska.

Even as Peterson heads to the NFL - he’s expected to be a top-five pick in the draft - Oklahoma should have the deepest collection of running backs in the conference. The most explosive of the bunch might be redshirt freshman DeMarco Murray, who put on a dazzling display this spring. In three scrimmages, Murray ran for 327 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries, an 11.3-yard average. In each outing, Murray had at least one run for 65 yards or longer.

Still, Sooners Coach Bob Stoops expects to divide the carries between Murray, redshirt freshman Mossis Madu, Brown and Patrick, who was last year’s workhorse in Peterson’s absence.

"We are going to be able to use them all in different ways and get them all 20 or 25 snaps between three or four of them and give them an opportunity to keep them fresh and to keep them fast as you go through a 13- or 14-game schedule," Stoops said.

Who will be handing those runners the ball? That’s another matter, one that might prove to be more difficult than replacing Peterson. With three quarterbacks competing to replace steady departing senior Paul Thompson, the spring game passed without Stoops anointing any as the favorite. The contenders - junior Joey Halzle, redshirt freshman Sam Bradford and freshman Keith Nichol - can make every necessary throw, but Stoops probably won’t identify a starter until a few weeks into preseason practices.

"Yes, it would be great if you had a guy that is experienced and you know who it is and you give him all the snaps," Stoops said. "But none of these guys have played, and you are only respected in the huddle and you are only respected in the locker room when you have earned a position."

FirefightnRick · April 21, 2007

Unfortunately, attitude doesn't equal speed.

It has to start somewhere and for me attitude is it.

If I were to balance our outright chances against the major opponents I would have never seen some of my most memorable games against the likes of TCU, Texas, Tech and Oklahoma State to name a few. The very fact that we had a program during those times that were led by men who coached with a winning attitude regardless of the odds rather than to simply run the clock is probably why I made many of those games. Win or lose, I expect to these this attitude return. The rest will take care of itself.

Rick

Edited April 21, 2007 by FirefightnRick