The Validation

Let's face it....my readership isn't what one would call "wide spread," so it's entirely possible that the message of this post will not reach it's intended recipients.

What is this message, you ask?

"Nanny Nanny Boo Boo!"

No, no.  That's not gibberish.  It's an age-old saying, often shouted by children who are taunting other children on school yards.  Or, in adult terms, it would be something along the lines of:

"Stick it!"

Ray Liotta, the second scariest man alive will demonstrate.

Look, I know this isn't the classiest thing I could be saying to all of those people who aren't even reading my blog but who are the intended recipients of my message.  But!  For the last two years, I've been telling everyone that asks (and, let's face it, some people who didn't ask) what I think the problem was with the Longhorn Offensive Line....aside from the fact that I found their inability to close ... well, offensive.

What was my diagnosis? 

The offense needs to simplify.  How?  By having a playbook full of plays that don't require players to be running on and off the field between each snap.  Why?  Well, it's freaking chaos and wasn't working, for one.  Not to mention that doing this gives the defense clear cut clues as to the next play we're running, and also gives them time to rest up...cause now the offense has to huddle and wait until the last damn second to snap the ball, since the player package was a rotating mess of players.

Every time I brought this up I was met with opposition and told firmly that this was not the problem, and that if I had played football, I too would find my opinion stupid.  "Obviously this is not the problem, the problem is much more complicated" they would say.  "Coaches who don't understand offenses don't get to this level."  And my favorite "Harsin did {ok} at Boise State.  I think he knows what he's doing."

{FYI this indicates sarcasm}.

Each of these comments was paired with a patronizing tone and a different, and really technical - the kind of technical that can only be gleaned by one who has physically played football - opinion of why the offense was terrible.  Because I couldn't possibly know.  Because I never played football.

To all you people and your patronizing tones I say "Stick it!" 

Ah, if only you were reading.

"Texas football coach Mack Brown seeks to speed up the Longhorns' pace of play" is how the Fort Worth Star Telegram put it.

"We want to run a similar offense, but do it form no-huddle and try to keep the same personnel on the field" is how Mack Brown put it.

Mack also said  "We changed so much personnel over the last couple of years that we fell like it gave defenses a chance to match with us in packages." 

Coach Applewhite said "We are trying to get a group on the field and keep them on the field and run a lot of different plays and formations from the same players so the defense cannot rest."