WEEK 2: OU vs. IDAHO ST.
Norman, Oklahoma

HELP WANTED, ONLY CUPCAKES NEED APPLY

Normally, I hate games like this. It’s your typical early season home game against an over matched Division II opponent. The game is no more than a glorified scrimmage, the results of which are so banal and predictable that after it is over, you wonder what the purpose was. The reason: these early season games are all about the guarantee. The University receives all the financial gains that are normally associated with home game…the Sooners are assured a blow-out win…and Idaho St? Well, Bob, tell them what they’ve won: “like all Division II opponents who appear at Memorial Stadium, the Bengals will receive a generous check, a large dose of humiliation, and a lifetime supply of Johnson’s Turtle Wax.”

Yes, normally I hate these games...but normal got its ass kicked by a bunch of Mormon boy scouts on national television last week…normal is MIA when a tight-end suddenly becomes your starting center and your right tackle keeps jumping off-sides before he even gets a chance to illegally use his hands. Normal was suppose to be a returning Heisman Trophy winning QB throwing to a first team All-American TE…not a red-shirt freshman with a porn-stache watching the play clock expire on the one yard line. Normal is not watching Bob Stoops get out coached on National TV in a bowl type atmosphere by some guy named Bronco…OK, OK…maybe that last one was not a good example…but the point is…nothing is normal in Norman these days. This team needed some confidence…this team needed a cupcake…

…And man did it get one...

The Offense
Grooming issues aside, Landry Jones looked pretty good. He seems to have a presence about him and was seemingly in control of both the team and his own emotions, which is a big thing. He possesses a big arm, but he also showed some touch and accuracy, which was especially impressive considering the conditions. Yes, there were also some mistakes…he tried to throw into double coverage several times …and the pass he tried to make to Clapp in the flats would have been picked off and returned for a touchdown by any other team on the schedule.

Some will also say that it was obvious that Jones was locked in on one receiver (and he was), and that he needs to spread the ball around more (yes and no). Let me put it to you like this: If you are looking for your car keys, and you find them in the first place you look, then you don’t continue to look for them just because there are other places that they conceivably could have been. So yes, maybe he was locked in on Broyles, but as a former QB (albeit on a slightly different level) I can tell you this…if you look up and see an open receiver, you throw it to him…especially if you know he is going to catch it when you do. Smart guys those quarterbacks.

The problem going forward is that teams are certainly going to double cover Broyles…so you would like to know that Jones can go thru his progressions and find some one else if necessary. But who says he didn’t? This situation, in my opinion, could be just as much about the other receivers as it is the QB. Are the other receivers getting open? Will they catch it if he throws it to them? Do they like his mustache?

I don’t understand how OU can have such a drop off in talent at this position. Considering the style of offense the Sooners run, and who has been running it, you would think that top WR’s around the country would flock to Norman. True, the Sooners have been close to landing the top WR recruit in the nation in recent years (see Julio Jones last year), only to be spurned on signing day…but evidently those efforts were an all or nothing attempt to fill the position, because no one on this roster outside of Broyles seems capable of stepping up.

What about the TE? Not much help here since the tight ends had the same number of catches in the game that I did…none. All I read about on message boards is about what great hands Hanna has…great hands for what? Is he the team masseuse, or a TE? If he is the later, get him in the frickin game.

The running game….The Sooners have the ability to trot out not one, but two returning 1000 yard rushers from a year ago…but until the Sooners show or prove they can throw a pass deeper than 15 yards, defenses are going to continue to creep up to contain the run. You can trot out Emmitt Smith or bring back AD, but it won’t matter if the O-line sucks. Speaking of, and I know you have been:

Offensive Line
When the music stopped this week, Eldridge was back at TE, Habern was back starting at center and a true freshman named Tyler Evans was starting at guard. Cory Brandon and his 6 penalties were holding down the bench this week instead of opposing defensive lineman. I agree that changes should have been and needed to be made here…but what I don’t understand is all the position changes. Are you a guard, or a tackle? Are you a tight end or a center? Are you a punter or a place kicker? My unsolicited opinion? Why not pick one position for a player…then the player learns that one position and all that goes with it…then when he goes into a game he knows what to do…which would seemingly increase his chances at producing positive results. Hey, there is a reason I am still undefeated…Call me coaches, I am here for you.

Any chance of this team reaching the goals they set for themselves going into the season is contingent upon whether or not this unit can drastically improve. With reports that Bradford may be back sooner than later (today’s rumor is that family and doctors are advising not playing again) an improved offensive line could still allow the Sooners a chance to be in the hunt for a 4th straight Big 12 Title. Status quo from the big uglies and Sooner fans can start looking into Independence Bowl packages. Judging from the first drive of the game when the Sooners failed to score on 4 straight tries from the one yard line…against the Bengals of Idaho St… a trip to Shreveport, LA may be in the Sooner Nations future. Hey, I hear it is great there in December.

Yes, as expected OU got a W Saturday night…but what else did it accomplish? I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that the Idaho St. Bengals were the worst team the Sooners have ever hosted at Memorial Stadium…so how much do you take from some of the good things we witnessed last Saturday night? There are still a lot of questions surrounding these 2009 Sooners…Will the Sooners start to find some answers starting this week at home against Tulsa or for sure a couple weeks later in Miami? I don’t know, but one thing is certain, the questions won’t be coming from a cupcake, they will come in the form of a Hurricane.

Just One Mildly Interested Guys Opinion

The Overweight Armchair Sooner

Buddy Putty