TW:A step back for OSU

[JimBob]

From yesterday's TW:


A step back for OSU


By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
11/30/2007
Last Modified: 11/30/2007 5:57 AM


At first glance, the Oklahoma State football performances of 2006 and 2007 seem basically the same. The 2006 Cowboys followed a 6-6 regular season with a bowl victory over Alabama. The 2007 Cowboys just completed a 6-6 regular season and are headed to their fifth bowl in six seasons.

But if you crunch the numbers, it's easy to determine that the 2006 OSU season was more impressive than the 2007 season.

Start with the defense. Last season, the Cowboys were 89th nationally in total defense. This season, the Cowboys are 102nd. In six of the 12 games, OSU allowed at least 487 total yards.

Last year, the O-State de fense allowed 364 yards per game. This year, 447.

The Cowboys were handicapped by a lack of depth and injuries, along with other factors. But football is a bottom-line business, and a 19 percent increase in yards allowed is abysmal.

In 2006, the Cowboy defense had a 13-game total of 37 quarterback sacks. In 12 games this season, OSU has only 21 sacks.

Last season, OSU committed 74 penalties. This season, 84.

There was a drop in punt returns (a 7.9-yard average this season, compared to last year's 11.9) and a slight drop in kickoff-return yardage.

On field goals, OSU has had a terrible season. In 2006, the Cowboys were 11-of-13 overall on field goals. They were 6-of-8 on tries of 30 yards or longer. This year, OSU is 10-of-18 on field goals. From 30 yards or longer, Cowboy kickers are 1-of-8.

Cowboy fans can celebrate outstanding play by the offense. OSU is eighth nationally both in total offense and rushing offense. With 2,950 yards, the Cowboys have their greatest rushing total since 1988. Dantrell Savage and Zac Robinson have a combined total of nearly 2,000 rushing yards.

An offense of that caliber deserved better than a 6-6 regular season.

[osupsycho]

I am sorry this is nothing but a slam job. Yes the numbers went down but what is the saying... lies, statistics and lies!

He just glosses over the fact that we had injuries on defense like I have never seen. And then he doesn't even bring up the level of competition which was much higher (especially the offensive teams we faced).

The one thing I do agree with is that our offense deserved a better record than 6-6 but he seems to forget that our offense didn't even get good till the TTech game. Give us the offense we had in the last half of the season and we beat Troy no matter the defense. We also stand a decent shot at Georgia...

[PokesFanatic]

I really don't understand what is a slam job about it. There are exactly three sentences in the piece that are anything but hard fact. The facts are that special teams has played very inconsistently, defense went from bad to worse, and that we had an offense capable of playing for championships if the rest of the team were up to snuff.

I know we had a tough schedule this year, but that's life in the Big 12. Injuries also are a fact of life, but rarely do more established programs let them tank an entire aspect of their program. Gundy has sold out to the redshirt program and we're feeling the ill effects of it now. He has also adopted a very stringent policy on player conduct and has not hesitated to boot players when they screw up. That's a good thing, but it has repercussions on the field.

I know the article isn't the rosey scenario that many of us Pokes fans want to read, but it's the reality. We have some very serious ground to make up if the program under Gundy isn't going to be just another footnote in football history.

[BigBadBen]

This article is a bit out of left field isnt it?
The season has been over for a week. What, is he afraid the readers are so glorified that the landtheives won the Big 12, they may have forgotten that OSU's record stinks?

I guess I just dont get the timing....

Is it a last second plea to the bowl committee's to reconsider selecting OSU?


Yeah, our defense was worse this year. But with a new system, and so many injuries on defense, what do you expect? I just dont get why this article was written.

[PokesFanatic]

Ben,

I can agree that the injuries were devastating, but I can't buy that the new defensive schemes were to blame. For one thing, it's the same base 4-3. For another, all of the position coaches returned, with the exception of Beckman, who just came from tOSU. I think injuries, lack of depth, and lack of talent in a couple of spots did our defense in.

What's harder to understand is how the special teams have eroded over the past few years. It's as though DeFo is distracted or something. Perhaps he's wearing too many hats?

[CanadianCowboy]

[QUOTE=PokesFanatic;1406]... Gundy has sold out to the redshirt program and we're feeling the ill effects of it now... [QUOTE]

??? If not for the redshirt program, we have NO future.

It is so obvious some, but it seems so difficult for some others to grasp: We spent the first 2 years post-Lester filling out the offense framework and loading up the offense to make the team exciting to watch while we had little on the D side of the house. Now we are in the midst of a 3-year defensive build-up to get over the Miles D-depletion so that we can hold the opposing offenses down while our high-riding O kicks them in the ass.... It ain't rocket science, it's dang exciting to watch (if not just downright fun), and all done through building the team the RIGHT way: through player development - which the redshirt program OPTIMIZES. Gundy's philosophy: A player has FIVE years with us. Two of those are to develop - during one redshirt year and one year to get on the playing field occasionally and get used to .....what is it?...The one universal comment from everyone who transitions from HS ball to D-1 ball?....the SPEED OF THE GAME. The remaining 3 years of a player's time at O-State to produce on the field.

The article does NOT capture the STATISTICAL improvement of the offensive effort. Also, the defense HAS improved, in spite of what most seem to think. Injuries, the first year of a new DC's tenure, and distractions blur the improvement, but its' there. We DID take a backsliding on special teams, especially placekicking and punt/kick coverage. That is something that absolutely needs to be addressed in the off season.

Beckman made his mark early and instead of arrogantly and abruptly installing a defense that absolutely reflects his philosophy, he took the talent he had and built a defense that fit the talent - ala creating a position of a hybrid linebacker/DB for Woods that put the most athletic talent on the field and gave them the best chance at achieving thier objectives. Next year, he blends in more of his own philosophy. Personally, I think after 2 years with us Beckman will be recognized as much a defensive genius as Fedora is as an offensive guru.

It's coming....I believe it. What makes me believe it is that I can see the pieces coming together in a defined order. Facilities that, among the other things, facilitates recruiting. Recruiting that builds first on the offensive side, to produce an exciting show that will be fun to watch and increase patronage interest. Then recruit to the defensive side while maintaining the high level of the offense which transcends not only big hits often, but more importantly, consistent winning. Consistent winning fuels increased patronage and coincides with completion of the facilities, so the supply of seats is there to meet demand. I can see it happening.

To wrap this mini-thesis up, a word or two about Gundy. For all those who think that continuation of Gundy's tenure equates to continuation of mediocrity, my response is simply this: "Horsesh%&". If he is anything, the man is all about winning the right way. Not just winning, and not just doing things the right way, but BOTH inextricably linked together. We will have good players that are intent on graduating. We will have teams that win consistenly. We will have coaches that can recruit aggressively but cleanly, and install good schemes that our players can execute aggressively. And we will have the results that our alum-parents and alum-grandparents never got to see - Wins on the field, trophies in the case, and the big red sewerners putting us down publicly not from arrogant superiority but out of fear because we compete on par with them EVERY time.

Go Pokes! Let's get 'er done!

[SeaOfOrange]

You're looney.















that is all. Kidding.

[CanadianCowboy]

You're looney.

that is all. Kidding.

Thanks....I appreciate it. :cool:

[PokesFanatic]

CC,

I never said the redshirt program was a bad thing, just that we are feeling the effects of it right now.

I, for one, don't see the Gundy extension as a bad thing. I see it for what it is: a PR move aimed at quelling rumors that Gundy is on the hot seat. It's a good move to help eliminate that coach change scenario that could be used against us in recruiting.

As to whether Gundy hanging around will work is still up for debate. The defense will have to make leaps and bounds, special teams play will have to get consistent, we will have to shore up our red zone offense, and we will also have to learn how to last all 4 quarters of every game we're in.

I don't blame every mistake on the coaches, but I do hold them responsible for them. Some of our misfortune this season was directly related to questionable coaching, at best.

I think Gundy is still wet behind the ears a little bit. He needs to be given another couple of years to fully implement his system here (get the redshirting all the way installed among other things).

I'm not exactly enthusiastic about Gundy in the long term (let's face it, anyone who is at this point is going on a gut feeling and nothing else), but acknowledge that he needs more time to prove himself. Ultimately, only time will tell whether he will get us to the point of being competitive in our division or not.