Defense wins praise; offense not so much
Usually, I have to put out feelers for The Whys of Texas submissions. Not this week.
Not after a 13-10 overtime loss that dropped Texas to 3-4.
Not after coach Tom Herman effectively raised the white flag on the 2017 season. “We’ve got an opportunity to send these seniors out with a bowl game, something they haven’t had the last two years,” he said after the game. A bowl game? This team is guaranteed nothing, unfortunately.
Not after Sunday night’s news that Sam Ehlinger had suffered a head injury. Not after Monday’s confirmation Ehlinger was going through the concussion protocol and Shane Buechele will be back at quarterback.
There was universal praise for the defense after a bang-up job against the nation’s No. 1-ranked offense. As for the Texas offense, eh, not so much.
The squeamish should turn their heads. Only those with cast-iron stomachs should venture forward. On to this week’s mailbag, with questions culled from Facebook, Twitter and email ...
Just watched another loss to Oklahoma State. Why aren’t we trying to run the ball more? With a makeshift offensive line, I would think it’s easier for the line to run block than be on their heels all the time. Our quarterback is always scrambling. When we do try to run and have success, Coach Beck goes away from it and gets pass happy. Coach Beck is horrible at play calling. Frustrated!!! — Leonard H.
Let me play devil’s advocate for a moment. Is Tim Beck truly the problem? Now, before you go crazy, hear me out. He’s lost two starting offensive linemen (tackles Connor Williams and Elijah Rodriguez) and the starting tight end (Andrew Beck). What’s left of the offensive line is simply not that good. Both quarterbacks have now suffered injuries. No running back has really distinguished himself. And you expect the Horns to score 40 points per game?
Now, I’ve got my bones of contention. It was flat wrong not to use the 250pound Chris Warren III on the goal line in double overtime against USC. This staff learned its lesson, apparently, as witnessed by what happened on the goal line against Kansas State and Oklahoma. The constant rotation of running backs is maddening. Nobody can get into a groove. The constant rotation at receiver is just weird. And I wonder about the plays that force a right-handed freshman to roll out of the pocket to his left and throw across his body.
Herman knows he can’t let outside flames engulf his offensive coordinator. So expect to hear him defend Beck all season long. All head coaches defend their hires right up until the moment they shoot them between the eyes. That’s what Charlie Strong did right up until the moment he fired Shawn Watson after the season opener debacle at Notre Dame in 2015. That was in year two of the Strong era.
Where is the creativity that Coach Herman talks about needing to have when we have so many freshman playing on offense? I see no creativity whatsoever. — Newt H.
Herman will gladly tell you now that Texas has a “fresh- man quarterback handing off to a freshman running back.” And there’s a freshman right tackle and freshman tight end. Here’s the problem with all of that. He said age was a nonfactor in August. If you could play, you could play. And Texas fans are flat-out tired of hearing about how young the Longhorns are. The coaching staff somehow must find a way to make it work.
To have a run game YOU HAVE TO CALL RUNNING PLAYS. If Texas loses this game (against Baylor) the season is over. Mike Perrin and Greg Fenves will see half-filled stands at best for Kansas and Texas Tech. Just to think we could have hired James Franklin 4 years ago. Steve Patterson destroyed Longhorn football. — Dan B.
Here’s a fun fact. Did you know that former UT President Bill Powers wanted to hire Franklin, who was coaching at Vanderbilt, to replace Mack Brown? Then-Athletic Director Patterson wasn’t sold on Franklin, though. He initially liked UCLA’s Jim Mora. As we all know, some wanted Nick Saban, which was never going to happen. Powers was never going to hire Saban.
You hit the nail on the head, Dan, about the running game. You actually do have to call running plays to see if your running backs can gain some headway. Herman loves to throw the statistical totals out at reporters, saying Warren “averaged 2.8 yards per carry” and all that. Yeah, coach, but did you know Warren came into this season averaging 7 yards per carry in the fourth quarter for his career?