Game Week of Sep 9th, 2024 - Tulane

The offense isn't just something we're seeing for the first time. This is a four year trend right now....down, down, down, down.  Sure the defense is great, but realistically, how many elite defenses win 10 games by allowing less than 20 points?  This offense cannot produce that much and the defense will get worn down if the offense refuses to play complimentary football and help them out.  If OU should LOSE this week, which isn't out of the realm of possibility, this team is bound for four wins max.

The only thing keeping me from fully pushing the panic button (currently at 8 of 10 on the freak-the-F-out scale), is I keep thinking back to all of those Clemson natties. The defense was elite for the entirety of the season, but in those years, the offense looked like garbage for at least the first half of the year and sometimes nearly all of it.  Problem is, they always came through so people had a reason to trust them.  Not so with Littrell and this merry bunch of buh-derps.

I also expect improvement. I think the problem is, with everything as bad as it has been how much can they improve in one week’s time? If it’s just a little bit, we have a good chance to lose. The improvement has to be pretty significant for us to win imo.

yes, imo- especially for sports... the SEC, Fox Sports and B1G networks are included as well as the espn's but not SEC+ or espn+

thy also do a multi-screen that shows anywhere from 2 to 4 games at the same time, you just navigate using your remote onto whichever screen you want audio for and/or click on one to go to just that game full screen

you also get locals, can record shows (to a cloud type dvr) - only drawback i've seen is they do not have the A&E suite of networks (History etc)

Andrews and Anthony both back is a BIG DEAL!  They are both proven, high quality WRs.  The first two games Burks was it.  Add those two, while keeping 87 (not 10) at TE and the offense has multiple options, better blocking, and two more pass catchers with hands rather than lobster claws.  

Well, watched my son's team play with their food and win in OT 27-24 on a circus catch on 3rd and long in the EZ.  They punted 6 times and the boy is getting better every game. No snap issues thus far...punter NEEDS TO be faster or they're gonna get one blocked when competition increases.  Regardless, they're off to a 3-0 start.  

When that game ended, OU was up 21-0 and I told my dad, "looks like OU got tired of playing bad football."  Then the ride home got stressful as ESPN kept interrupting my driving to tell me OU was falling apart.  After the the pick 6, I got a text from my son that said, "Not good."

The game was over by the time we arrived home, so I knew the outcome and was very curious to watch how things had come to pass.  Here are my takeaways. (Kinda sounded like the Letterkenny intro: "There are 2300 people in Letterkenny...and these are their problems." LOL)

1) That field looked terrible on TV. Was it that bare and brown in person?
2) Jackson Arnold, despite the panic pick 6, played a fantastic game. I found reason for optimism in that performance and the hype will be legit if he can replicate it. Now, he NEEDS TO work on his progressions and some small decisions, but overall great bounce back from that kid. How good was that pass to Burks that got dropped over the middle later in the game? Wow. Mahomes-level throw right there.
3) WRs - Really, really disappointed. The drops are still there and they don't block.  Edge runs are dead on arrival because they refuse to get to blocks.  Brennan Thompson almost got JFA killed because he didn't get to his LB/S on one early run. Kearney flashed, but has to fix his blocking (JFA should have thrown to him when he forced one late to Burks who made a circus catch out of bounds), Kearney might have scored if he's hit in stride.
4) TEs - Still NEED to block better...especially 10. That guy NEEDS TO only block in practice for a week straight.
5) DEs - Still waiting for a DE not named Thomas to play real football. Woullard showed some flashes, but otherwise that position isn't good enough.
6) RBs - It is obvious now, after three games, that Tatum is the best RB and RB2 is easily Barnes.  Not sure what's up with Sawchuk, but it ain't his YPC.
7) OL - Oh boy.  So much good, so much WTF-was-that?!?!?!?  Tarquin has to fix his alignment issues.  Otherwise he was serviceable. Having Sexton back at LT was a huge lift for this unit. For the most part I thought Ozaeta and Bates looked ok...until they didn't and then things went sideways quick, fast, and in a hurry.  Hickman can't come back soon enough and Ozaeta NEEDS TO learn he cannot turn his back to the LT EVER.  Did it four times in the second half and every time JFA paid the price. That patented maneuver led to the pick six.  Nwaiwu still struggles in pass pro and how and when to help.  Still thinking because he's slow. He NEEDS TO get it figured out as he's a vet.  Overall, they were much better than the past two weeks and I think they finally showed some reason for optimism. Still NEED more push in the run game; have to open some vertical creases as well as horizontal.
8) Nice bounce back from Keltner. Nailed a short one and a 50 yarder that was only negated because of sheer mismanagement by the coaches.
9) DBs - WT-actual-F is going on back there? If it weren't for the pick (off 2 deflections), I would never know Billy Bowman even plays for OU anymore. That guy is pretty much invisible and that has to change immediately.  Way too many guys running all by themselves in that back end.  Granted the DE position, minus Thomas in the 4th quarter, can help them by winning and not allowing clean pockets, but the DBs NEED to also help the DL and cover better to allow for some sacks.  Not at all impressed or encouraged by the play of this unit on Saturday.
10) R Mason Thomas finally showed me what the coaches claim to see every day in practice. What a 4th quarter.  If there was consistency on the other side of the line from him, he would have had probably 6 sacks yesterday.  Gotta get another DE going; OU has about five that I'm told are good...they NEED to show it.

All-in-all, I thought OU was much better yesterday. That first drive of the game was exactly what they NEED to do four times a game...and I think, with all the pieces back, they can.  Defense was in a funk for a lot of the game and that was not encouraging.  If it weren't for IDL and LB play (until the Thomas 4th quarter), there wasn't much redemption for that unit on Saturday.

Onward and upward.

I agree with a lot of the same things. Saw improvement on O which was encouraging. Don’t like bogging down in the second half. Concerned about the lack of downfield passing game. Maybe we’re saving more of that for SEC play, but I also think the WRs aren’t able to separate. Could also be that JA is struggling with it.