Like a-holes, everyone's got one--an opinion that is...you may not share mine, and that's fine--I'm wrong quite often...if you start reading this and think it is worthless, that's fine, just stop reading. The following was as much for me to reflect on a few things than to show you all how incredibly insightful I am (or not)...
I wish Kliff had given Mahomes time to heal after he was hurt in the KU game. Pat was not nearly as effective post injury. It would have also give Shimoneck the opportunity to improve his game.
Our two most pressing needs going into the '17 season are 1) a pair of legit, Div 1 DE's and 2) significant improvement along the O line. These were my two biggest concerns entering 2016, and both failures resulted in a less than satisfactory season.
Pat needs to stay. He is not NFL ready. He learned how to be an effective quarterback in the TCU game (but oddly forgot how in the Iowa St game). He needs another year to work on mechanics, healing and relying less on his freakish athletic ability and more on sound judgement.
Kliff needs a mentor. I would like Tech to shell out some money to a retired, proven winner to come in and take Kliff under his wing. Kliff will be an outstanding head coach in time, but his learning curve is costly. I know it is easy to criticize when I don't know all that is going on behind the curtain, but I believe a great mentor could do wonders for Kliff and Tech.
Wondering who among U of H's recruits Tech might be able to pull away, and whether any current UT players and/or recruits might be disillusioned and think about transferring.
I'm in the camp that believes UT coming back into dominance will have a much more adverse effect on Baylor and TCU than on Tech. And I don't have a lot to back up that belief, other than UT's fall from power roughly coincided with Baylor and TCU's rise in power--and while there may not be a direct correlation, it also happens that Tech's fall occurred at the same time as Baylor's rise.
I happen to believe that 2017 will be a much better season for Tech. Other than WVU, I thought we should have or could have won every other game this year. Yes, Iowa St drummed us, but we should have never allowed that to happen. Who knows what went on there. Ok St was a missed extra point away from overtime--and we had momentum; UT was an offense that inexplicably fell apart at the end--much of that goes to Kliff and Pat. OU was 2-3 plays away from going our way. And while we can say many games were just 2-3 plays away in most every season, when we get beaten by one score or less in 3-4 games, the case can be made that our season could well have turned out much, much better.
All in all, I would have rather beaten TCU and Baylor than OU and UT--this season. Tech always needs to be on top of the TCU's and Baylor's of the world.
I'm not 100% sold that UT's new hire will be the next coming of Saben. Herman accomplished a great deal at U of H, no doubt. He beat OU, Fla St and Louisville among others. But he lost to a few pretty forgettable teams. He had a very mobile qb at Houston, and while Buchele looks to have a lot of tools, I'm not sure he provides the same spark. One thing for certain--Herman's cupboard is certainly not left as bare as was Strong's.
I wish Kliff had given Mahomes time to heal after he was hurt in the KU game. Pat was not nearly as effective post injury. It would have also give Shimoneck the opportunity to improve his game.
Our two most pressing needs going into the '17 season are 1) a pair of legit, Div 1 DE's and 2) significant improvement along the O line. These were my two biggest concerns entering 2016, and both failures resulted in a less than satisfactory season.
Pat needs to stay. He is not NFL ready. He learned how to be an effective quarterback in the TCU game (but oddly forgot how in the Iowa St game). He needs another year to work on mechanics, healing and relying less on his freakish athletic ability and more on sound judgement.
Kliff needs a mentor. I would like Tech to shell out some money to a retired, proven winner to come in and take Kliff under his wing. Kliff will be an outstanding head coach in time, but his learning curve is costly. I know it is easy to criticize when I don't know all that is going on behind the curtain, but I believe a great mentor could do wonders for Kliff and Tech.
Wondering who among U of H's recruits Tech might be able to pull away, and whether any current UT players and/or recruits might be disillusioned and think about transferring.
I'm in the camp that believes UT coming back into dominance will have a much more adverse effect on Baylor and TCU than on Tech. And I don't have a lot to back up that belief, other than UT's fall from power roughly coincided with Baylor and TCU's rise in power--and while there may not be a direct correlation, it also happens that Tech's fall occurred at the same time as Baylor's rise.
I happen to believe that 2017 will be a much better season for Tech. Other than WVU, I thought we should have or could have won every other game this year. Yes, Iowa St drummed us, but we should have never allowed that to happen. Who knows what went on there. Ok St was a missed extra point away from overtime--and we had momentum; UT was an offense that inexplicably fell apart at the end--much of that goes to Kliff and Pat. OU was 2-3 plays away from going our way. And while we can say many games were just 2-3 plays away in most every season, when we get beaten by one score or less in 3-4 games, the case can be made that our season could well have turned out much, much better.
All in all, I would have rather beaten TCU and Baylor than OU and UT--this season. Tech always needs to be on top of the TCU's and Baylor's of the world.
I'm not 100% sold that UT's new hire will be the next coming of Saben. Herman accomplished a great deal at U of H, no doubt. He beat OU, Fla St and Louisville among others. But he lost to a few pretty forgettable teams. He had a very mobile qb at Houston, and while Buchele looks to have a lot of tools, I'm not sure he provides the same spark. One thing for certain--Herman's cupboard is certainly not left as bare as was Strong's.
