Who are we?

[MTsandfly]

I don’t know why this bothers be so much but it just does. We have no real team identify, especially offensively. We’re about to be on our fourth OC in four years and they have mostly been very different in their offensive philosophies. Stoops, being a defensive guy, puts no real stamp on his teams, seems to leave it to the OCs (many argue that’s a good thing). But it just keeps us from having a “Brand”. Example, with Hal Mummy we were a big time air raid team. But, who are we now?
Again, I don’t know why it matters (other than my OCD) but I just want us to have a team ID…and the sexier (think Lincoln Riley) the better.
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.

 

[BlueRaider22]

I think it's pretty clear who we have been offensively. We run a pro-style offense who favors running, minimizing turnovers, and controlling the clock.







Now, early on Stoops wanted more of a balanced attack. He wanted something akin to Oklahoma State who waivered on run/pass percentages depending on personnel. That's why he hired guys like Neal Brown and Eddie Gran.

The problem is that we've really struggled putting personnel in place. Brown had nobody. Dawson didn't care what the personnel was......he just wanted to chuck it miles down the field regardless of outcome. Gran's offenses had poor receiving options and so-so QB's.......but had decent OL's and good RB's......so, he ran it a lot. Coen had a good OL, a pretty decent mobile QB, a really nice RB, and just a few receiving options.......and so we ran it a fair amount.


So, I think we have an offensive identity. What we don't know is how much balance will Stoops allow if the personnel really feels good? For instance, next yr. "IF" the personnel next yr has a decent OL, good receiving options in guys like Dingle/Brown/Key, etc..........AND we land a stellar QB transfer.......but we don't really add any good RB transfers. Will the offense adjust and look to pass quite a bit more......or will they force guys like McClain and Wright to run ineffectively?

 

[MTsandfly]

You do make some good points. I guess maybe I’m looking for some stability. And I do think it hurts recruiting when you have this much turnover with the OCs. Kids want to know who they’ll be playing for and what style of play will there be. To your point, I think we’ll always be a strong running team and I like the emphasis on having a big ass O line.

 

[docholiday51]

OK who lines up behind center on our first play and what play do we run in the bowl game?

 

[Short-Dawg-69]

OK who lines up behind center on our first play and what play do we run in the bowl game?

1st play
Kaiya Sheron lines up behind center and JuTahn McClain gets the 1st touch of the game.

 

[KYWC36]

I thought the Marshall war cry was starting

 

[docholiday51]

1st play
Kaiya Sheron lines up behind center and JuTahn McClain gets the 1st touch of the game.

I'll go with Wade and he airs it out to Brown on a fly pattern

 

[Girthang]

It bothers most people because it's not easy to see what we should be doing. In basketball it becomes pretty clear. Fewer moving parts, simpler rules. It's chess to checkers= football to basketball, except with fewer players in basketball, so it's even simpler.

If you have an identity that is rigidly in place, you are not going to match up well with certain types of teams. There's little you can do about that when you have them, except hope your defense can hold them to fewer points.

I prefer not to have a rigid identity because that gives us more flexibility, but flexibility without incredible personnel across the board still leaves you very vulnerable to matchups. YET, you almost have to choose the identity to get the personnel before you can flex effectively. It's what makes coaching from behind so hard to do.

If you get a gig at Bama, where you have a huge recruiting footprint, national recognition, great history, and a huge budget, flexing should be much easier to do. But you dont really see it done there. At Kentucky, you better be an incredible coach and recruiter to do that and still it's tough. That's why the Bowden year is so remarkable and was probably a wake up call as to how good UK might become.

People want consistency, so identities are important to them. It makes things more predictable, which is easier to defend, but also to watch (unless it just doesn't work and then it is excruciating). Since the entire world is now solely about money, identity is necessary, and flexibility is gonna get crushed

 

[Girthang]

You do make some good points. I guess maybe I’m looking for some stability. And I do think it hurts recruiting when you have this much turnover with the OCs. Kids want to know who they’ll be playing for and what style of play will there be. To your point, I think we’ll always be a strong running team and I like the emphasis on having a big ass O line.

The portal has all but erased stability, so kids shouldn't be looking for what they're not willing to give.

 

[MTsandfly]

“ YET, you almost have to choose the identity to get the personnel before you can flex effectively. It's what makes coaching from behind so hard to do.”
^^^^This^^^^^ From Girthang!!!

 

[Chad Rock]

OK who lines up behind center on our first play and what play do we run in the bowl game?

Yeah, was thinking the same - we talking identity in general or for this bowl game? Levis out, Crod out, Smoke gone, OC gone, several WRs and a decent TE gone…oh, and Drennen gone (I actually forgot about him as we never saw him this year - wonder what was up about that?). I guess it’s good we can get some other youngsters in real live game experience.