Five Questions | Quarterback Questions and an Athletic Director Candidate

1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?
I have been a Sheffield fan. I was the the game and Potts didnt play any worse than he had all season. He just doesn’t place the ball in a position for the RB or WR to get YAC. It’s typically to low or to the wrong shoulder which causes the reciever to lose momentum.

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?
Tre Porter played the best of anyone that was matched up against Jeff Fuller. CB height was the biggest problem on Saturday not necessarily experience.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?
I am going to give Neal another season. Turnovers at some very critical points in games have killed this team.

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?
His credentials look good but am worried that he would come for a year or two and then give Tech the David McWilliams treatment.

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?
The bad defense while not acceptable seems to be related to lack of depth, a new scheme and playing a very young secondary. The D plays hard but wears down by the 3rd Qtr and then things get ugly.

The Offense struggles stem from slow starts(surprising for an experienced team) and ball security issues.

1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?

Sheffield. I’ve been a supporter of Potts but what Brown said after the game makes me think that SS could have done better if he had been in the game longer. TP was throwing crappy passes. WRs were dropping balls, but TP was not getting the ball to them w/o an effort on the receiver to make the catch. Start Sticks against Mizzou, bring in TP if it doesn’t work…..better yet, let’s play Karam.

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?

That’s some tough lovin…..but hell no! Fuller should have been double teamed. Tannehill’’s first collegiate start and we make him look like Johnny-Freakin-Unitas reincarnated….sickening.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?

YES. Don’t fire Brown. Don’t fire any of the staff. Tuberville needs two more seasons to make this dog work. For all those those with their pirate costumes on, that miss Leachy-poo, get over it. Leach is a corpse to me, ain’t coming back. Leach had the #10 recruiting classes in our conference in 07 and 08. That’s 10th place out of 12 teams. Leach successfully mined Tubs chances when he was reported as saying “the 2010 team would be my best team” – ha!

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?

Austin College undergrad…TEXAS TECH JD!!!!

All the info on Butch: http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stories/072108abw.html

Worley was the NCAA enforcement point man on the SMU death penalty. Link: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/MYSA030307_01A_smu-clements_36d2bf0_html12919.html?showFullArticle=y

In 98, he was a finalist for AD at Ole Miss: http://www.olemisssports.com/genrel//050898aaa.html

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?

Problem is both. Can’t turn the ball over. TWO DROPS IN THE ENDZONE?!?!?! WTFH?!?! Let’s not forget special teams, the whole team is stinking and Tuberville, support ya bud but, but, but, IT ALL BEGINS AND ENDS WITH YOU, BRUTHA!!!!

A former Texas high school football coach, Worley earned both his bachelor’s (1976) and master’s degrees (1977) from Austin College and went on to earn a JD degree from Texas Tech School of Law in 1983. At Austin College, he was awarded six varsity letters in football and baseball. A native of Leonard, Texas, he and his wife, Angie, have two children, Whitney and Tyler.

http://www.texassports.com/genrel/072808aad.html

1. I want Sheffield. I don’t know how much better he really would be, but he’s a ton more exciting. If we are gonna suck, I’d rather suck being fun to watch.

2. I’m torn. You either have a scheme, or you don’t. If our scheme calls for single coverage, then so be it. But is it not adjustable?

3. First, I don’t think anyone gets fired this year. Second, if we fire Brown, I am with Seth…the odds of a spread OC being brought in go way down.

4. I have no opinion on if an AD candidate went to Tech. I don’t think it’s germane to the job unless there is some weirdness about the school like at ATM or a service academy. I want the best person, regardless of background or affiliation.

5. Man, the problems with this team go to the core. It’s everyone. At some point they will ALL start pointing fingers.

1. – Sheffield should have started the season. Period. He probably would have been injured by now. But, I think this team would have been better off from a momentum standpoint because Sheffield would have created opportunities scrambling and helping the offense gain some confidence that I have really yet to see a complete game of. Pott’s is great when he has 5-10 seconds and when he can throw bullets 20+ yards down field but he’s terrible with short throws and placing the ball in stride of the receivers which is what our offense has fed off of for the past 10 years.

2. One on one for the rest of the season for game experience. As long as our offense continues to struggle with staying on the field our secondary will be terrible regardless of our defensive plan. I don’t care what kind of talent we have (i.e. look at Texas this year)….if our offense can’t sustain drives to gain momentum our defensive will miss assignments, tackles, get beat on the long ball, etc.

3. Keep for at least 3 years – hoping to find a Holgerson type or even the kid that went to ECU with Ruff is a crap shoot at this point. Plus, I’m not sold with Brown being the problem on play calling. I think it’s at the QB position and the ball placement/touch passes that get this offense going.

4. no idea

5. Offense is the problem. Defense would be night and day if they could rest for more than a few minutes a serious. Plus, the injury issue only compounds the problem.

1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?

I want the guy to play qb that can qb this team. In the discussions about his subject keep this quote in mind, it is from the same AJ article that Seth sourced above:

In early October, Tech coach Tommy Tuberville mentioned Sheffield had a bruised shoulder that made him unplayable for a time at quarterback. Brown said that had remained the case until just days ago.
"His arm got healthy, and he practiced well for the first time last week," Brown said. "He really hadn’t practiced well. But he threw the ball, had some zip on it and looked a lot better last week. This is really the first week I thought it was a possibility that he could play in a while — probably since going into the Iowa State game (on Oct. 2)."

I will continue to accept that who ever plays is the guy who plays, I don’t see enough to know who is ready. We need a qb who can qb this team.

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?

It looks as if we have an attacking defense. We have blitzes. We have people moving around…at the end of the day it remains a game of numbers. 11 on 11, if we are going to blitz, we have to be prepared to get burned, if we don’t want to get burned that way, we could go back to the thinking of Coach McNeill and get burned the way he got burned, running game. Make a plan and work it, it is going to be good some of the time and it is going to fail some of the time. A big part of the defenses current problem is 3 and out’s by the offense.

We are pretty much caught between a rock and a hard spot. The defense is terrible, terrible. (apparently the DC is great though !!) We are so beat up on defense that we played Neboh (Jeff Fuller loves playing against Neboh or our other last straw cb) I have nothing negative to say about Neboh, his is a good story, he is simply not ready for what he has been asked to do, and it is not of his doing. The significance of this is that we are out of people to play defense…depth.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?

I don’t want to speculate on a fear coming out of a speculation….

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?

This is interesting, there will be a number of guys considered, surely. I would like to see what the deciding factors will be.

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?

Tuberville has a point, I think he is talking to his experience, and his entire offensive staff, saying you are not doing what you are capable of doing, momentum killing fumbles, inconsistent play, weak execution, we need more from you. At the same time, there is recognition that the defense is horrid. Part of that is guys who have been lost to whatever reason. We are weak on that side of the ball and need help.

1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?

Potts to start.

If Potts’ slow starts hurt us again, put Sheffield in the early first or second quarter to pick up the pace. If Sheffield plays well, ride that horse until it doesn’t run anymore.

If Sheffield stinks up the joint, put Potts in after a couple of series.

This is supposed to be hard?

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?

No you do not match them up one-on-one. What is the point – to give the secondary more experience for 2012?

If something’s not working, adjust. adjust. adust.

Other than rotating bodies to get 11 players on the field, Willis’ lack of flexibility is disappointing.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?

I don’t see the value of pretending to utilize a spread offense any longer than we have to.

Brown said it himself. Sheffield did not make Nascar look better. Sheffield made Sheffield look better.

The NASCAR itself features short passing plays and very little passing upfield. This approach might fly in the Sun Belt where the defenses are less sophisticated and talented. It does not work as effectively in the Big 12.

Now would be the best time to put the spread to bed. The OL is maturing and the key starters in the skill positions are graduating.

Will there be a better time to get a more traditional OC? Next year, we’re pretty much starting over any way, so why not replace the OC now?

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?

No. Worley seems unlikely to come to Texas Tech after 24 years in Austin and just 2-3 years removed from assuming the top post there. If he was going to leave, he would have done so a long time ago.

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?

Uh, no. That’s pretty lame. The defense has been terrible from day one.

1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?

Sheffield deserves a shot at a whole game. It’s an injustice not to try to this guy at this point. He absolutely gives Tech opportunities that Potts can’t. Forget about burning Scotty Young’s redshirt as that would be really stupid. We have 3 capable QB’s behind Potts that deserve looks at this point. Sheffield not starting against Mizzu makes no sense.

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?

Defense needs to adjust per the game and we don’t seem to be doing that. Fuller was killing these guys. I think we have little to pick from and Willis is desperate at this point.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?

No. Even if Tuberville went with a more conservative OC we stand a better chance if that OC comes in with experience and proper credentials to coach at this level. We are dead in the water today and it’s apparent that Mike Leach’s offense can’t be replicated by this staff. It’s time to move on and find a savvy OC that has his own brand and I could care less what it is as long as we score points.

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?

No to knowing anything about him. I like the idea of alligning ourselves with father horn. We could easily fall out of sight especially now and we need some power players behind us. I would prefer a PAC12 or SEC connection but I think staying well connected with UT has it’s benefits despite them controlling everything. Better to be a little brother to them versus an orphan.

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?

They are both horrid at this point. The only thing I can say about the defense is that it’s been neglected for a long time and always been spotty. We have some decent athletes that can fill in the voids occassionally but it’s not enough to build on. We need better athletes pure and simple on that side of the ball. We need tall and faster DB’s badly. The new scheme is also requiring these guys to think more and that’s a whole lot harder to do with guys that didn’t have to do too much of that in the past. Ruffin had a much simpler defensive package that worked for what he intended. Willis wants a more versatile 3-4 defense that he was used to seeing at Alabama. Problem is Kirby Smart was the brain child of that scheme and not Willis. Willis is going through a learning curve and has no DC experience and we are reaping the benefits of that. I still think with better athletes we can get there with Willis. I may be wrong but I speculate.

Offense I don’t feel the same way regarding Brown. He’s very predictable and this offense is lost. My earlier rants about Brown still have me thinking the same way today.

And all other positions for that matter. Play kids. If T’ville’s mantra is “Playing for championships” play for next year or the year after that’s championship. We can’t win anything this year. Move on. I guess technically one could say we could ge a bowl and thus more practice time for the youngsters through that, so I can see fighting for a bowl, but getting an underclassman QB 4 games seems the right move to me.

1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?
Sheffield. Potts is a known entity and he’s not leading the team effectively. Sheffield provides a “spark” to the team and mobility that Potts doesn’t have. If Sheffield falters I’d like to see him backed up by Karam or Doege.

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?
No.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?
Honestly, I hadn’t thought about this until you brought it up yesterday but I think you’re right and it scares me. But Tubs view for offense may be a reality that we don’t have any choice but to accept at some point.

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?
Other than his bio, no.

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?
The problem is on all three sides of the ball. Guess I’ve been more willing to give the defense a pass this year because it’s always been the red-headed stepchild of Tech football, and due to all of the injuries and young, inexperienced players. But they are killing us.

1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?

At this point, I don’t know who gives us a better chance of winning because I think the issues are deeper than just QB play. If I was making the call, I would probably start Potts and bring Sheffield in like they did at the Alamo Bowl.

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?

No. You cover-up, strengthen, or support your weakness, you don’t expose it.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?

No … and others should go as well. Robinson, our DB coach, is probably as stand up guy (seems like Tubs has a pretty good handle on character) and is a good recruiter, but these DB’s need a proven veteran to lead them. Robinson has coached two years (one at Western Kentucky and one at Southern Miss) prior to coming to Tech.

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?

No. Maybe a strategic short-term hire with the instability of the FBS.

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?

They are both bad. The coaches better learn how to make better decisions and put the players they have in the best positions to succeed.

I am drained after the aggie game. And I vowed that I would not invest as much mental energy nor post or spend much time on DTN for the remainder of the season.

But…if I may paraphrase Tommy Lewis, the Alabama player who came off the bench to tackle Rice’s Dicky Moegle in the ‘54 Cotton Bowl, I guess I’m just too full of Texas Tech. So…

1. Sheffield, without doubt. Potts is a great kid, and I wish him much success in the future. But, for several reasons, he doesn’t have the “it” and Sheffield does. It’s Coach Leach’s ego (I think he wanted an NFL quarterback, and Potts had— maybe still has— a chance to make it) and Coach Tuberville’s, um, lack of perspective, that made Potts our starting quarterback for the last two years. If Sticks struggles or can’t get it done, bring in one of the other guys. (I’d like to see what Karam can do in an extended opportunity.)

2. I realize this is a little bit contradictory to my answer to 1, but I think the “now” vs. “future” question is necessarily different for offense and defense. Coach Willis needs to keep on doing what he’s doing, because for the defense now, it’s all about the next couple of years. They’re going to continue to struggle this year, but it all amounts to a “trial by fire” for the future. The situation reminds me a bit of Gerald Myers’ “eight is enough” basketball team in ‘83. That young team, decimated by injury and suspensions, played poorly that year— but won the conference championship two years later. I think there’s a parallel here. (Ok, I know it was a LONG time ago and the analogy is a bit of a stretch, but cut an old alum some slack.)

3. This is a moot question. Coach Brown won’t be fired after one year, unless Coach Tuberville is as big a chicken s**t as many of you think. And you’re right, Seth, any new coordinator is likely going to be more “conservative.”

4. According to an article about Mr. Worley on the official UT athletic site,he has a B.A. (‘76) and an M.A. (’77) from Austin College and has a ‘83 J.D. (!) from Tech. Nice academic credentials and a TTU connection; however, I know this isn’t very rational, but I don’t want a 57 year old who’s spent 24 years in the UT organization for our athletic director.

5.The defense is a problem, certainly. Personnel losses and the introduction of the “really new” system are primary issues. But the offense shouldn’t be as mediocre as it has been. Most of our losses were winable games with better perfomances by the offense— not to mention several fewer three-and-outs would have helped the defensive cause.

1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?

Start Sticks and then bring in either Karam or Deoge. Let NB start the preperation for next year. It really won’t matter because Tubberville is not going to let go of the offense. Since when does Tech recruit punters. At turn over is a punt in our offense.

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?

Hell No and Hello No. Bend and don’t break. Keep the assignments simple and just keep you man in front of you. Its just football. Way too much for these kids to handle. What the heck was Willis thinking. Rush four and stay in your gaps. Worked well in the pasat.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?

Go back to number one. I don’t think it matters who the OC is. Tubby is not going to let OC go. We are going to run the draw on second down. Period, and we are going to throw the ball side to side.

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?

Nothing, but his only tells me how much Hance and the Board must be jealous of Texas. If they want to be Texas so bad, why the hell don’t they just transfer. Oh, that right, you can’t get in. Sorry bunch of terds. We are Texas Tech.

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?

Point fingers, turn it towards yourself. You are the problem. You have no enthusiasm, you coach like its 1920, and why don’t you just leave and get the hell out of the way. He is right, it is all three phases of the game. We have a QB who is slow and can’t read his progressions, we have a defense that is so confused they don’t even know what day it is, and we have a special teams coach who thinks we are playing backyard football. Fire the CEO so we can start rebuilding.

 1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?
My brain says Doege or Karam, my gut says SS. My gut likes beer and tex mex, so I’m going with it.
2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?
I just wish they would turn around and find the damn ball
3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?
Yes, I think this is a good point. I think Brown should do things over the off season to increase his manly level….go to bullfights, MMA matches,Buffalo Wild Wings in Midland and WurstFests.
4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?
Is he named Gerald Myers? No? OK, I’m good.
5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?
You can skin a cat by being an exciting offense first team or a boring defensive minded SEC team…what you can’t do is suck at both of them and be a YouTube sensation because of your boneheaded special teams play.

they don’t hire a Longhorn to be our AD. What are they thinking?

blaming the players? Leach never did that – except when he blamed the players for listening to their fat girlfriends. These are the same guys who went to a bowl game every year. These are the same guys who have won 8 or 9 or ten games a year. This is the same team that has rebounded every year even after the loss of key players like Harrell, Crabtree, McBath to name a few. Does Tubbs think we are all that stupid?

We dont stink to the core, were not the worst team in all of football. Our main problem is that the Tubs gameplan isnt suited to the players style of play. Their is no flow to the offense, be that playcalling or the QBs placement of the ball most plays just dont get exectued on the field. I thought Atm did a good job because they knew that Potts/Brown wouldnt stretch the field. It was easy for their atheletes to defend the screens and runs up the middle.

The gameplan is horrible when you cant kill two minutes before the half. What they are trying doest work, be it too conservative or too running oriented whatever it doesnt work. Its a game thats played ten yards at a time and it seems that our new style of football is to use all three of those downs to try and get that ten yards. Seems rather risky than say gettting eight or twelve every down.

I think that Tubbs should make the decision on who should QB, not the fans. You want to make that decision, get a job making a cool million smackers a year coaching a team and then you get too.

He watches them practice, he has watched many QBs practice and play in games, he gets to make the choice. He lives with the choice.

Whats up with the defense? We were steadily moving up in the Defensive rankings til this year.

I can’t believe you want to get rid of the OC. As he develops his talent, this team could be crazy good. He did amazing things last year at Troy. He likes the Pistol and wants a running passing QB. Thats what teams like Oregon, OKie State and Baylor are all running and all ranked.

Already commented on 4 and 5 in above posts…

1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?
Sheffield w/ Doege at back-up

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS? Nope. Very little pass rush this year. Can’t expect any corner to cover the WRs for too long.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?
Not real worried. I would like to see a more proven commodity at OC if the season progresses along the same path. I think Brown’s observations are a little late. “Potts early in the game missed some throws,” Brown said. "He was off. I don’t know if he got too excited. I don’t know the reasons why, but he was off. Our receivers actually made some really hard catches on some balls that he threw, and he missed some other throws.
“And then in the second half, he held the ball a little too long and took some hits. I thought we’d go in a different direction there, because he was taking some hits and wasn’t real sharp.” Are you kidding? With the exception of the Oklahoma game in ’09, this is Potts method of operation.

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?
Don’t know.

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?
Bad offense = worn out defense. Couple the three and outs with our lack of depth…..look out.

. WHO DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AT QUARTERBACK AND WHY?
Steven Sheffield as QB. Potts is just not responding quickly enough and the team does not appear to be responding to him as the team leader. If we lose against Mizzou, then I say we start looking at next season and use Seth Doege or Jacob Karam. Let them get some real game experience this year.

2. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE CORNERBACKS ARE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, DO YOU STILL MATCH THEM UP ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE OPPONENT’S BEST RECEIVERS?
The Defense is banged up and has no depth. The one-on-one is at least providing a learning experience that hopefully will assist the team next season. I think they just need to do the best they can this year and that is all we can ask of them at this point.

3. IS ANYONE ELSE CONCERNED THAT IF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS ON DTN GET THEIR WISH AND OC NEAL BROWN IS FIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DON’T YOU THINK THAT TUBERVILLE WILL HIRE AN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR?
I would like to see what OC Neal Brown can do in a second season. I am slightly concerned that Tuberville will repeat history and try to throw out the Air Raid Offense like he did at Auburn. I think CTT will retain both Brown and DC James Willis and the rest of the staff since this is the first season.

4. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POTENTIAL AD CANDIDATE BUTCH WORLEY?
Worley went to Tech Law School.

A former Texas high school football coach, Worley earned both his bachelor’s (1976) and master’s degrees (1977) from Austin College and went on to earn a JD degree from Texas Tech School of Law in 1983. At Austin College, he was awarded six varsity letters in football and baseball. A native of Leonard, Texas, he and his wife, Angie, have two children, Whitney and Tyler.

Worley could have inside track on realignment if and when it comes. Since he is the Assistant AD at ut, Worley could have insider information that would help Tech if and/or when realignment comes.
I too worry about a David McWilliams scenario.
I do not like or want ut personnel using Tech as a training center.

5. WITH TUBERVILLE STARTING TO POINT FINGERS, DO PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS STILL THE OFFENSE RATHER THAN ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSES OF ALL FBS TEAMS?
Tuberville needs to start taking responsibility for the decisions. He is a CEO type coach and ultimately the buck stops and starts with him. There are issues on both sides of the ball. The only consistent play maker we have is Matt Williams. The Defense is the worst, but part of that is no depth and the injuries.

1. I would like to see Sheffield get the nod, as I feel he should have from the get go. But at this point I just want to see anyone other than Potts. Taylor just doesn’t have what it takes.

3. After seeing Sheffield get 129 yards passing, and the RB’s get a bunch of yards in the 4th quarter, I really don’t think the offensive struggles are due to Brown’s scheme anymore. I lay the blame for that at the feet of Taylor Potts. But then again, I lay the blame for Taylor starting on Brown and Tubs because he has no business being out there.

Some of you guys are driving me crazy with your short memories and/or your revisionist history.

I am a Mike Leach fan, I think Steven Sheffield should have been the starting quarterback, and I agree that the current coaching staff has done an inadequate job of running the offense. That should establish my cred for the following comments.

First, Coach Leach also picked Taylor Potts as his starting quarterback. It was the injury to Potts in the New Mexico game last year that gave us all the opportunity to see Sheffield’s ability as a gamer. My psychic powers are not good enough for me to state authoritatively what Coach Leach would’ve done had Sticks remained healthy for the entire season. All I know is that Coach Leach expressed regret for those rare times when he switched quarterbacks for no reason other than the fact that his starter was struggling.

Second, there were several occasions over the years when Coach Leach called out his players in public. Most of those were a variation of the memorable “fat little girlfriends” comments and usually came after a bad loss like last year’s A&M game. Coach was fond of the “inflated egos” approach and was inclined to talk publicly about how the players spent too much time reading their own press clippings. A related mechanism he used was limiting media access to his top players, ostensibly to keep them from being distracted by the attention, but also as a thinly veiled form of punishment.

Coach Tuberville should be held accountable for the success or failure of the football program, this season included. But when we criticize him in comparison to Coach Leach and forget that Coach Leach did some of the same questionable things, we are being unfair.

…, oldschool, how it was back then.

We’d had some winning seasons under Coach Dykes. We’d been to a few bowl games and won a couple of them. After the Rex Dockery (RIP) and Jerry Moore years (and I won’t mention the Mc-something-or-other guy) this was serious improvement. Then Spike retires and the dumb Tech administration hires this quirky, unproven coach who’s going to install a gimmicky-looking passing offense.

The rest, as they say, is history. But it is worth remembering that we were not instantly enamored with Coach Leach. (Unconventional thinkers— dare I say geniuses even— are often misunderstood, as Coach Leach still is.) I watched the GalleryFurniture.com Bowl loss to East Carolina. I thought, this’ll never work. We can’t win consistently with this offense. Much happened in the years after and he won us over, but what is obvious now was not so obvious then. I think we’ve lost sight of that in our angst over the whole coaching change situation. And as you correctly point out, expectations are now much different.