PB: Okay, I'm ready to roll if you are.
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Billyzane: Yeah, let's go.
PB: Great. And I just lied. Let me grab a beer. Then I'm ready.
Billyzane: Me too. What are you drinking?
PB: A JW Dundee's Honey Brown - you?
Billyzane: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale. We're such beer snobs.
PB: We're both tools. Great to know. Let's talk football?
Billyzane: Let's get to it.
PB: Okay, so you're every bit as much of a numbers nerd--maybe more so--as I. Tell me you had trouble telling anyone Texas was going to win on Saturday.
Billyzane: I mean, you read my numbers column on Friday. I was scraping the bottom of the barrel. You look at OU's numbers coming into that game and they had no weaknesses outside of the kicking game. None. I would have given us about a 15% chance of winning that game.
And that's with me being a homer.
PB: I rambunctiously called for it on EDSBS LIVE last week, but it was straight homerdom - totally lacking in analysis. But you did touch on one thing that wound up being key -- OU got worn down in the 4th Quarter. You could see our depth start to wear them down and then--whoa--OG is gone for 62 yards.
Billyzane: Absolutely. When I wrote that, I was thinking to myself, "This is such crap. It's OU, they're conditioned just as well as we are." But sometimes you forget that there's no substitute for real game experience. And Texas had been playing 4 quarters every game, while OU had been playing 2 and a half to 3. And it showed in the 4th.
PB: It helped on defense, too, where our ability to send Rak, Melton, Acho, Jones, etc. over and over eventually wore them down. Both Davis and Muschamp wore the Sooners into submission.
Okay, so here's what I want your take on: I wrote that I thought this win was a really important piece missing from Mack's resume, and in some ways completes it. Though his further legacy largely will be determined based on what he does with the win, I don't think it's possible to overstate how important a win this was for him/the program. Thoughts?
Billyzane: I think Mack is a great coach and that he's underrated as a gameday coach. But he's by nature conservative. We all know this. This is not going to change. And we've all thought his conservatism has been his undoing. He relies on the talent of his team to outplay the talent of the other team. And that's why he's phenomenal at beating lesser teams whereas Stoops and Carroll and Meyer consistently lose to lesser teams (see HornBrain's Eyes of Texas article for proof of this), but he can't beat better teams because of this as well. But on Saturday, he beat a team with better athletes. Did he shed his conservatism? Maybe a little bit, but fundamentally, he was the same coach.
So what's changed? I think that for the first time since Vince was doing it for him, Mack and Co. have created a team that truly cares about winning. THey play hard for their coaches and for themselves. We didn't see that before Vince and we certainly didn't see that last year. So I"m not sure how much this cements Mack's legacy. He's still the same coach he always was. But he did something that he had never done before without fundamentally changing who he was. That's a big deal, and perhaps in some ways more telling of how good a coach he is.
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No, I think we saw something bigger at work: We saw Mack Brown bottom out last November and we saw him aggressively gun to do what he's been told he can't/won't. And that's manifested itself in numerous ways--from the coaches he hired to the attitude he insists his team develop, to--even--the game plan his offensive coordinator creates. I don't think it's enough to say what you're saying, and insofar as you agree with me, I think the way you phrased it undersells what a big deal it is.
Billyzane: See, I think we're saying the same thing. You perhaps said it better than I did. I think all those things he did after the A&M game last year created an energy that has permeated this team. An energy that previous teams (other than '05 and maybe '04) didn't really have. Could you really look at those '00 to '03 teams and say they had a palpable kinetic energy about them? They were good teams (especially '01), but they seemed to be fine with being good. And Mack's style certainly had something to do with this.
But this team isn't okay with being good, and Mack's style since A&M certainly has something to do with that. He's still a conservative coach, but he's changed the way he runs this team, and I think that's all that needed changing to make this team elite. For that, he earns my undying esteem. Do you think we're saying the same thing?
PB: Okay, I do. I wanted to force you to say the same thing forcefully, because I think Mack deserves for each of us who peer in extra-super-close to ring the bell for him in this case. He's deserved our scrutiny; today, he deserves our full salute.
Part 2 of Talkin' Texas will run later Tuesday.
0 recs | 30 comments
Coupla things ...
… first, if you’re talking Texas football, where the hell is the Shiner?!
OK, something on the attitude front. A couple of years ago, when special teams were really sucking, Mack changed his special teams philosophy. Instead of it being just another unit, it became a select group. Players had to earn their way onto special teams.
It became a matter of recognition and pride, and immediately, the level of play increased.
I think you’re seeing this on defense under Muschamp, who has clearly stated that the best players will be on the field. Period.
Question: is this still the case with special teams? Because there is something missing there this year, fundamentally. Lot of missed tackles …
Btw, I enjoy “listening in” on your conversation … thanks!
EddieTheAlbinoSquirrel - October 14, 2008
The blocked kicks arn't good enough for you?
I think the return yardage is more about our kickers. We can’t consistently kick the ball out of the end zone or at least get a good bit of hang to limit the return on kickoffs. On punts we have the opposite problem, as we seem to out kick our coverage.
Wells - October 14, 2008
John Gold
I just love his mettle.
Get it?
run Bevo run - October 14, 2008
on kickoffs
didn’t they change the kickoff area a season or two ago, making them kick from the 35 instead of the 40 or somesuch?
IIRC, they wanted shorter kicks, b/c they wanted to create more offense.
Maybe that is just now really starting to take effect.
Beergut - October 14, 2008
Nope
Sure, a few blocked punts against mediocre teams is great. My problem is the coverage – lots and lots of missed tackles.
Yes, the punter has seemed to outkick the coverage occasionally. Other times, the coverage gets there quickly and simply gets burned.
On kickoffs, there have been way too many missed opportunities. Return men who shouldv’e been down at the 10 somehow blow it out to the 30.
So yeah, a blocked punt or two is nice. But let’s see some good old-fashioned tackling as well.
EddieTheAlbinoSquirrel - October 14, 2008
Helles Lager
Let me recommend Shiner’s 99th anniversary beer, Helles Lager. It is a Munich style lager, golden brown and hoppy. Lighter and less bitter than many Octoberfest beers. Goes well with a whipping of OU.
Caradoc - October 14, 2008
uhh....98th black lager (shiner black) is waaay better
hookemkp - October 14, 2008
and yet...
also goes well with a whipping of OU!
Pflash - October 14, 2008
wait
are either of these two available outside of Texas?
Dammit I’m salivating now…
cheevyjames - October 14, 2008
Depends on how far outside of Texas probably
The Whole Foods in NOLA carries them semi-reliably, if you’ve got a Whole Foods near you, I’d try there.
learned hand - October 14, 2008
Now that Shiner is owned by Budweiser
Their distribution outside of Texas has increased. Dunno if the special brews and seasonals make it out much though.
BoddickerIsClutch - October 14, 2008
not much here
All I’ve seen in NC is Classic Shiner, Blonde, Hefewizen…and maybe another one. I will check the Whole Foods to see if they have any special varieties. I try to avoid going there if I can help it.
cheevyjames - October 14, 2008
Black lager
That was ‘97. Yes, it’s very good, too. But something of an acquired taste, being a darker, maltier beer. ’98 was the Vienna Amber Lager.
Caradoc - October 15, 2008
Texas executes in more ways than one.
When OU had the energy to run it’s hurry up offense it executed at 100% 5 for 5. It’s like running a 2 minute offense every drive and it wore OU down. They could not sustain that level of play. Against lesser teams OU could execute at 85% and still score. The differences was the level of play execution of the horns. They executed well throughout the game and scored on 7 drives ( is a kick off return a drive?).
This game and the Tech NU game have made me wonder about the only one stat that be the most important, how many points a teams average for each possession. The same ratio for the opponent would be a measure on how well the defense executes relative to the offense.
Xerxes - October 14, 2008
BTW
I disagree that what has changed about this team/program has come from a change from Mack himself.
I think the difference with this team is leadership. It is completely cliche, but when looking at this team in the off-season, the one thing that stuck out to me was that you didn’t have any stars, especially on offense. There was no one who you looked at and said, “We need to stop him, he’s scary, he can hurt you.”
Well, the season stasrts, and still no one steps forward. You have no starting tailback, and you have two veteran receivers step up and become consistent contributors, quietly turning in spectacular performances.
In talking with my texas fan buddy, wishiwasalonghorn, we were trying to figure out why texas was still consistently performing on offense despite no real star, save maybe McCoy. I pointed out that since texas didn’t have a star that they depended on to make the big plays and win the game for them (ala Jamal Charles in ‘07), the layers were simply doing their jobs and executing. I thought that “Do what you can do” slogan of a few years back was asinine, but that is basically what texas’ players are doing. They’re simply doing their jobs and doing them well.
In order for such an attitude to take place over a team and to hold, you need team memebers willing to be accountable to each other. such a culture within a team cannot come from a coach, b/c it will not last. That type of a culture comes from leadership within the team, from the players themselves.
I can’t remember the exact quote but a commentator quoted Butch Davis talking about his team on Saturday before they played Notre Dame. He was addressing the improvement in his team from last season tot his year, and he said when you have kids who buy into what we’re doing, when you have kids who don’t care about who get sthe tackles, the sacks, the carries, the receptions, the yards, the TDs, kids who don’t care about the stats but only care about getting the job done, tyou have yourself a real team, and you have yourself a winner. I think that is the state texas is finding itself in now.
Beergut - October 14, 2008
You've got half of it...
You’re right when you say that the leadership has to come from the players, but all of these players were here last year, and we had no such accountability. Something happened to bring that accountability and the team mentality out of these guys, and what happened is Muschamp.
I know that since we hired him you’re going to come back with how Muschamp has his head up his butt when he tries to run X defense against X personnel (though I think even you would find it hard to complain about his scheme), but this has very little to do with the scheme. It has to do with the intensity and the honesty that Will brought to this program, coupled with Mack being in a hell of a bad mood after 2007. Muschamp installed a hierarchy that allowed the leadership to grow in these players, and turned the defense into a bunch of mean SOB’s. I think that in the fall, Muschamp’s defense brought the hurt on Davis’s offense and dominated them physically to the point where Greg and Mack had to notice that the defense was playing on another level while the offense tottered around and mailed it in on occasion. Whether it was the players who changed first – Say, the OL working a little harder in their drills to prepare to handle that big, mean DL – or the coaches, somehow the Muschamp mentality has spread to the whole team.
My point is, yes the leadership has to come from within the team for it to become a fixture, but the coaches have to give the players the opportunity to do this. Until this year, the coaches were going to work, and might as well have been filing TPS reports while they ran drills. Now, the players and the coaches are feeding off of each other’s intensity, and the team has created this self-sustaining chain reaction that makes it much, much more than the sum of its parts. The catalyst came from one or two new coaches, but the fuel is the players themselves.
BufreTX - October 14, 2008
agreed
All about Muschamp! One guy like that can change the entire atmosphere of an organization.
Michael Bean - October 14, 2008
Mack's resume
Take a look at Mack’s head-to-head against some of college footballs “geniuses”.
Carrol 1-0 (greatest team of all time?)
Tressel 1-1 (huge win in the horse shoe)
Saban 1-0 (essentially the same LSU team he won the NC with)
Stoops 4-6 (but 3 out of the last 4)
Ferentz 1-0 (yes, he actually had the genius label for awhile)
Erickson 1-0 (see Ferentz)
Carr 1-0 (you win a NC you get the label)
Miles 5-0 (yes, all of these were at OSU, but Stoops didn’t go undefeated against him and he did just win a NC).
I realize that you have to add some context to almost every one of those games, but that is still a heck of a record against what alot of folks think or thought at one time, were the top coaches in college football.
Horncasting - October 14, 2008
While we are talking football
I had a quick question about one play during TX-OU game
I noticed center and right guard was pulled during C-O’s 63yd run, is that normal? do we normally pull centers? I dont seem to recall past centers doing that…
hookemkp - October 14, 2008
Don't know the answer
But I believe there was mention of that specific play on one of Barking Carnivals writeups (Scipio’s Post Mortem maybe?).
Horncasting - October 14, 2008
IIRC
y’all pulled center and guard often in ’06
Beergut - October 14, 2008
I think maybe pulling the linemen
was one of the changes GD added last week. NOT pulling the center last year is easy to understand — Dallas Griffin was a great student and role model but a limited athlete. Dockery, last year, was still rehabbing from major knee surgery while playing almost full-time. Pulling the center in ’06 was easier: Sendlein is now NFL starter.
Ticked me off that the announcers, while pointing out the players pulling, did not name them. Sad truth: OL get no respect.
edsp - October 14, 2008
The Honey Brown--an inspired choice, PB
Very interesting dialogue, gentlemen.
jc25 - October 14, 2008
smuttynose
It doesn’t get any better.
andy_wooster - October 14, 2008
Them's fightin' words
learned hand - October 14, 2008
don't knock it until you've tried it
Smuttynose is a fantastic brewery. Pumpkin Ale is sorta gross though IMHO.
andy_wooster - October 14, 2008
Definitely a great brewery
I was trying out the Pumpkin Ale because, well, ‘tis the season, and I think it’s pretty good. Not something I’d seek out ever, but pretty decent.
billyzane - October 14, 2008
I just don't like pumpkins
But it’s definitely the season.
andy_wooster - October 14, 2008
Not knocking it
And I’d love to do a taste test between this Smuttynose and Great Divide for beer snobbery/toolery purposes. Unfortunately, where I am, it’s easier to find moonshine than most micro brews.
Agreed about the pumpkin ale though, someone talks me into trying one every fall and I just can’t enjoy it.
learned hand - October 14, 2008
I like Great Divide
It’s available in Texas, so that’s a big plus in its favor over Smuttynose.
andy_wooster - October 14, 2008
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