Daily Whisper: Super Colt

The AAS has an interesting article up focusing on the leaders of the offense and defense, and the team's outlook going into the season. What really caught my attention the most was that the coaches have changed their tune a little bit from last season going into the Holiday Bowl. At the end of last season, absolutely everyone's position was up for grabs, but this season there are a few players who's spots are safe for stability's sake. The article specifically mentions Colt, but implies that the same probably applies to Roy Miller. The question I have is whether Colt is really that good that he doesn't need to feel pushed by the backups? Also what does this do for John Chiles and Sherrod Harris, knowing that they pretty much don't have a shot at it until Colt is gone?

Top Five Players That Won't Start on Aug. 30th

Disclaimer: I have not included John Chiles in this list because it has been promised to us by the Texas information machine that the coaches are hard at work trying to get him on the field no matter what, and I fully expect them to at some position.

5. Sam Acho DE: Behind the likes of Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton, and Eddie Jones it is tough to believe that we have this kind of talent at defensive end this far down the depth chart. At any other school, dare I say it, even in the SEC, Acho would not only start, but be a star defensive player. He just has the misfortune of playing at the same time as a bunch of guys that out-mutant him. Acho is not quite the secret some other players on this list are, as he was named one of the Defensive Newcomers of the Year for Horns, but still will struggle to get on the field with the group of future All-Americans he currently sits behind. As a backup last season he registered more sacks than certain starting linebackers, and will likely continue to create havoc in the backfield given the chance.

4. Sherrod Harris QB: Sherrod Harris might be one of the most overlooked players on the roster right now, but had a remarkable showing at the spring game that propelled him up the "replace Colt list." He would be higher up on that list at this point if he had not been injured as a freshman. If you've read anything on this blog you'll know I am a huge supporter of Colt, but there is always the chance that he gets surpassed as the team's top quarterback this season. On top of that,  Colt has to leave the program at some point. If or when either of those do happen I would really like to see Sherrod take over. He's got a strong arm, currently sufficient vision (and I mean that as a compliment at this level), and can effectively use his legs as a weapon. In the mean time, he will hopefully continue to be a tough competitor for snaps against both John Chiles and Colt McCoy.

3. Chykie Brown CB: If you have ever seen Chykie Brown in person, you really get the idea that he can destroy anyone at any sport. Extreme checkers, underwater hockey, you name it. Maybe the best part of Chykie (pronounced "Shockey") is that at 6'1, no ABC announcer will ever refer to him as "undersized." You'd think with our current squad of lollypop kids, that it is a requirement to be well under 6' in order to be a cornerback for Texas. To compliment his size and physical abilities, he already has good sense and the kind of bridled aggression you like to see out of a defensive back. Unfortunately for us and him, he will most likely be watching senior Ryan Palmer and the very talented junior Deon Beasley trotting out in front of him on August 30th.

2. Sergio Kindle LB: With the amount of hype Sergio Kindle received coming out of high school, it is unbelievable to me that he is going to be a junior this season. I remember seeing his recruiting videos almost three years ago and thinking that he was going literally kill some poor Rice slot receiver at some point in his career at Texas. He's scary big, fast, has a killer instinct, but unfortunately either very unlucky or very breakable. Kindle simply hasn't been healthy long enough to be the haymaker at linebacker that  EVERYONE seems to know he can be. He will have a heck of a time passing up senior linebacker Rashad Bobino, given Texas' affinity for seniority. Here's to hoping Kindle stays healthy, and has a good enough summer to get some serious play time.

1.  Fozzy Whittaker RB: This might be my favorite player associated with all of Texas football. I mean, he plays the tuba and has has a dog, two turtles, a ferret, and a catfish named "whopper." A catfish. Named "whopper." Not only is he wildly eclectic, he's also a pretty phenomenal running back. He will only be a sophomore, but already he has shown his ability to break open plays and get huge gains on any play, any down. It'll be tough for him to get a ton of carries over the more experienced Vondrell McGee, but expect him put up some pretty gaudy stats, especially in the per carry column. 

Thoughts? Leave a comment or send me an email at texaswhisperchant (at) gmail (dot) com.

2008 Football Offense: Volume 2

So I contacted the ESB and apparently they are all booked up making bat-people. Oh well, their loss. With that idea no longer viable, I believe there are essentially two ways to best utilize the Longhorns' depth at quarterback.

Sharing is fun

Sticking with only Colt until he graduates is a waste of talent, clear and simple. During the Holiday Bowl, Greg Davis wisely opted to divide play-calling duties two-to-one between Colt and Chiles. This is a strong strategy that is sure to give many a Big 12 defensive coordinator nightmares should it continue to be employed. Attempting to teach their defenses to stop two very different and talented quarterbacks is no easy feat, even for a talented coordinator (ask Florida if it works). 

Let's get freaky

Certainly the least likely, but by far the most exciting option is to employ a few exotic playbooks, the likes of which could transform Greg Davis' wikipedia resume into one similar to Bill Belichick's. Unlikely because creating and teaching a few new playbooks is hard and time consuming, time which could be spent perfecting strategies already familiar to the offense. It's a gamble that could have disastrous results in terms of the execution of other playbooks in Greg Davis' arsenal, but without great risk there is no great reward. Maybe he could scrap the bubble screen, just saying (begging). 

Ideating

So what would these new plays look like? If it were me, I would employ all three quarterbacks at the same time as much as possible. Last season, Chiles saw the majority of the non-Colt snaps, but based on my observations at the Spring game this was more a result of Sherrod Harris getting hurt, and not so much Chiles being the better quarterback. Actually, I found the two to be very similar from a pure athleticism standpoint, but Harris had a slight edge when it came to passing the ball. The benefit of using all three of the quarterbacks is that it puts more offensive play-makers on the field at once, and thus forces the defense to make more choices. For my first playbook, I'd use two wideouts and a slot receiver. I would use Colt out of the shotgun as my "primary" quarterback, meaning he'd do the cadence, the audibles, and actually take the snap. Rather than simply line Harris and Chiles up as receivers, I'd line them up on either side of Colt as if they were flanking running backs.  Nothing special in the way the backfield is set up, other than there being three players back who can all throw on top of being able to make plays on the ground. From this set up there are plenty of ways an offensive coordinator worth his six-figure salary could devise to really make life hard for the opposing defense. Teams that use this type of configuration with running backs rather than quarterbacks generally run the ball to the outside of the line using any of the three players lined up in the backfield. For a defense, this strategy is only a little more difficult to defend than any other standard running play. Throw in two running backs who can also throw the ball down-field, and you get a much harder to defend play.  The two examples below show the different directions in which the play could be ran, as well as the passing opportunities available to each passer. What the examples below do not show are the choices the corners and the linebackers are having to make. They must choose whether to pursue the quarterbacks or the receivers. In the cases below, I opted to show the defenders mainly pursuing the quarterbacks, as most defense would interpret this play as a running play. This leaves most of the receivers in single coverage and in a position to make a play. If the defense got wise and pursued the receivers, the quarterbacks are still physically equipped to run the ball upfield and get a decent gain. With that, I present to you a page of my first new playbook. Another added sweetness factor is that the quarterbacks run a pattern that looks like a longhorn.