My (brief) OU rant...
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:57 pm
Okay, here's the deal...
I either watched, or attended every game, yet again, this year, so it's not as if I'm speaking completely unfoundedly. Also, being that I know my football, to a pretty decent extent, at least, my opinion should at least carry a modicum of weight...
So, having said that, I say this:
OU lost its "mojo" when Mike Stoops left, and Bob doesn't have the ability to maintain it on his own. When Mike was here, our team made plays on defense routinely, but ESPECIALLY when we needed them. With his defense, even our anemic offense of 2001 was able to compete...
And, don't think that the irony of Mike pulling out the big win for OU (against Oregon) followed by Bob blowing it (against Tech) was lost on me. Stoops is a great x's and o's guy, pre-game. But, during the game, he doesn't seem to have the same feel for managing the game; making calls on the fly, at least defensively, that Mike does. Bob's teams don't come from behind well, mainly because they usually don't stop doing what it was that let them get behind in the first place. Mike's defenses adjusted and beat the sh*t out of people to boot. Bob's are built the same way, but the players aren't. They're better athletes, sure... but they don't have that same "we've gotten our asses kicked and spit on and now it's OUR time" attitude that Bob's first couple of teams, with Mike coaching the D, had. THAT is what OU needs to get back, either with or without Mike, in order for us to be more than a year-in, year-out BCS team with no rings.
Kinda like Mack in Feb, before last year.
the_ouskull
I either watched, or attended every game, yet again, this year, so it's not as if I'm speaking completely unfoundedly. Also, being that I know my football, to a pretty decent extent, at least, my opinion should at least carry a modicum of weight...
So, having said that, I say this:
OU lost its "mojo" when Mike Stoops left, and Bob doesn't have the ability to maintain it on his own. When Mike was here, our team made plays on defense routinely, but ESPECIALLY when we needed them. With his defense, even our anemic offense of 2001 was able to compete...
And, don't think that the irony of Mike pulling out the big win for OU (against Oregon) followed by Bob blowing it (against Tech) was lost on me. Stoops is a great x's and o's guy, pre-game. But, during the game, he doesn't seem to have the same feel for managing the game; making calls on the fly, at least defensively, that Mike does. Bob's teams don't come from behind well, mainly because they usually don't stop doing what it was that let them get behind in the first place. Mike's defenses adjusted and beat the sh*t out of people to boot. Bob's are built the same way, but the players aren't. They're better athletes, sure... but they don't have that same "we've gotten our asses kicked and spit on and now it's OUR time" attitude that Bob's first couple of teams, with Mike coaching the D, had. THAT is what OU needs to get back, either with or without Mike, in order for us to be more than a year-in, year-out BCS team with no rings.
Kinda like Mack in Feb, before last year.
the_ouskull