Wednesday, September 24, 2014

SOONERS SURVIVE MOUNTAINEERS IN MO-TOWN 44-33


PFLUGERVILLE FRESHMAN PHENON SAMAJE PERINE PUTS
ON PRIME-TIME PERFORMANCE AT PUSKER STADIUM

Samaje Perine, Pflugerville, TX.
34 Carries for 242 yards / 4 Touchdowns

Going back and watching film, there were times that we opened the holes for him, but getting to the second level and people were just bouncing off of him. I don’t even know what to compare him to, but he runs the ball hard and he’s hard to bring down. We love that as offensive linemen.” – Sooner center, Ty Darlington

Turns out, the only thing harder than trying to pronouncing this true freshman running backs name and home town…is tackling him.

Samaje Perine, pronounced Sam-ah-jay Pee-Rhine, is 5’-11” tall and weighs a biscuit shy of 250...a description that, in and of itself, doesn’t mean much.  Hell, if being 5’-11” /250 lbs., having a strange name and hailing from a funny sounding hometown made you a college football star, then I should’ve been a Heisman winner.

(…And this year’s Heisman Trophy goes to, Buddy Putty! Pronounced Bud-dee Put-tee, this short, overweight senior from Antlers, Oklahoma led the nation in fast food drive trough’s after 2AM and total
YAC’s per game (Yack’s after Crown.))

But size and weight are obviously where the comparisons between Perine and Putty end.  Perine possesses amazing athleticism for someone his size. Samaje has quick feet, tremendous balance, deceptive speed, the power to break tackles and has shown terrific hands when catching the ball out of the backfield.  Perine reminds me of former Notre Dame and NFL star Jerome ‘The Bus’ Bettis...only with better speed.  ‘The Baby Bus’ may be 245 lbs., but he runs the forty in 4.41 seconds.  For me, if it’s 40 yards away then I need to find my car keys.   It’s only been four games, but Samaje Perine looks to be something special.  How special?  Many more games like the one he had in Mo-town Saturday night and by the end of the year you might see his name on an award list…it’s pronounced All-A-mer-i-can.

“Take it, to the limit, one more time” –The Eagles

As impressive as Perine was, the play of the game was provided courtesy of a different Sooner running back.  The 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Alex Ross with 1:08 remaining before halftime completely changed the momentum and quite possibly the outcome of the game.  The Mountaineers, aided by two 15 yard penalties on the Sooners defense, had just gone 55 yards in 5 plays to take a 24-17 lead.  But before you could say, ‘West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home, down country roads,’ Alex Ross was standing in the W. Va. end-zone.  This was the second kick this year that Ross has returned at least 80 yards, the first coming against La Tech.


The Ross kickoff return underscores a point I mentioned in my last blog and the reason why I called Sooner kickoff specialist Nick Hodgson a weapon.  Hodgson kicked off 7 times Saturday night…all 7 resulted in touchbacks.  Over the years I’ve noticed that the chances of the opposing team returning a kickoff for a touchdown are greatly reduced when they don’t even get a chance to try.  Just sayin’

Not a Good Knight…

OU QB Trevor Knight was average at best Saturday night. I say average, only because OU won the game.  Still, much too often, Knight is not going through his progressions, instead locking in on one receiver…which is usually Sterling Shepard.  There were several plays last Saturday night where replays showed Knight throwing into coverage when other OU receivers were more open than a Jerry Jones marriage.  Even when Trevor found the open man Saturday night, his throws were high, short or horribly off the mark.

…But There is Good News

The news handed down by the NCAA yesterday that Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield has been ruled eligible, is huge for both Knight and the Sooners. With no experienced back-up QB available, the OU coaches have practically forbidden Knight to run the ball this year…obviously not wanting to risk him getting injured.  While that made sense, it also took away a big part of what makes Trevor effective.  The luxury of having a quality back-up like Mayfield, will hopefully allow the Sooners to take off Knight’s training wheels…so he can be more effective in running the zone read.

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself” Andy Warhol

I’ve often been critical of the OU coaching staff’s inability to make successful halftime adjustments and changes…but that was not the case this past Saturday night in Morgantown.  After getting torched for 286 yards and 24 points by the Mountaineers in the first half, Mike Stoops was able to make some changes defensively that helped hold West Virginia to 9 second half points.

After Further Review…

I like West Virginia head coach, Dana Holgerson. I think he’s an excellent offensive minded football coach…But that being said, I thought he really helped the Sooners out with his play calling.  The Mountaineers ran 81 plays from scrimmage Saturday night, 40 rushing & 41 passing.  While the play calling was balanced, the productivity was anything but.  Almost 80% of the Mountaineer’s 513 yards of total offense came through the air. I can appreciate their desire to try and control the clock and keep their tired worn-out defense off the field, but at some point doesn’t it seem counterproductive to do so at the sacrifice of productivity?  The way Mountaineer QB Clint Trickett was carving up the Sooner secondary, I think I would’ve gone more with what was working versus what wasn’t, but hey, what do I know.

Scary that is took a 100 yard kickoff and a trick play just to keep the Sooners from being behind at half.

Might be time to review having Sterling Shepard returning punts.  First of all, it scares me having our best player perform the most dangerous job in football.  But it’s a risk the coaches are usually willing to take if the possible reward is the kind of game changing production Jalen Saunders gave the Sooners last year.  Sterling has shown flashes of having that type ability, but right now he’s struggling to even make the proper decision on when to call for a fair catch.  I guess at minimum, the coaches know that Shepard can be relied on to catch the ball…a trust that dynamic true freshman Michiah Quick has yet to earn.


Time of possession: OU 33:25 West Virginia 26:35.  Nice

Not sure what to think of the defensive performance.  The aggressive nature in which the Sooner defense has been rushing the QB this season wasn’t as evident.  All I know is this, I’m glad that wasn’t Baylor we were playing last Saturday night, because it would’ve been ugly.

Do you know when the last time the Sooners tried an on-side kick that wasn’t at the end of a game and expected by the opponent? Yah, me neither.

I was worried about this game.  On the road, at night, rowdy crowd, the week after a big game…it had all the makings of being a trap.  Many nationally predicted West Virginia would win this game….but they didn’t.  Bottom line, this was a very nice road win for the Sooners.  They faced some adversity, battled though it…and played well enough to win…which is what it’s all about.  Great win boys!

The bye week comes at a good time.  The Sooners are 4-0 and get two weeks in which to prepare for Gary Patterson and the TCU Horned Frogs. 

Boomer Sooner…come see me in Fort Worth when the Sooners play TCU in two weeks!

Just the opinion of one mildly interested guy

The Overweight Armchair Sooner

Buddy Putty

No comments:

Post a Comment

Facebook Badge

Followers