Are You Surprised Longhorns?

With the passing of Thanksgiving, we are now officially into the Christmas season.  This means non-stop parties, school events, and shopping for gifts.  Now, for fear of my life, I will have to give full disclosure that my wife handles most of the gift buying for our family.  While this is a tall task, luckily, just about everyone in the family has made it a little easier by putting together a Christmas list and emailing it out.  Admittedly, I was not a fan of this practice early on because I like being surprised on Christmas morning.  However, after receiving the SPAM haiku book of poems one year (I am not kidding....Look it up), I have now come over to the list making side.  It is a little sad that the surprise is gone, but at least you know what you are getting.

Texas fans shouldn't be surprised by the bowl-less season that is 2010.  Well, maybe a little surprised.  After all, the Longhorns came into the season with a top 5 preseason rating and being a Colt McCoy injury away from winning the title last year.  While no one could expect that type of free fall, the warning signs were there.  The last few years, guys named Young and McCoy have served to cloak the short comings of Greg Davis as an offensive coordinator.  All you have to do is remember back to the pre-Young/McCoy days when Davis could not get the Longhorns' loaded offense (Roy Williams, Chris Simms, Cedrick Benson, etc.) to perform in big games.  Time and time again, the Longhorns would stall against the likes of OU and others (especially in big games!).  Just like Shaq or LeBron in their prime could have made me a better basketball coach, that is exactly what Young and McCoy did for Davis.  Although it would have been tough given the success of the last few years to do so, Mack Brown's unwillingness to make changes doomed the Longhorns to mediocrity.

Speaking of Longhorn signal callers, is the quarterback position for Texas a government office?  That would be the only way to explain how the staff hung with Garrett Gilbert all season.  While he has a great high school pedigree, the guy just has not demonstrated enough of an "it" factor to be given such a long rope.  In fact, if  anything, he seems to have demonstrated an unfortunate knack for making the game-changing play for the other team!  Brown and his staff's unconditional devotion to Gilbert with his lack of results and poor track record further doomed the Longhorns to mediocrity in 2010.

So, what now for the Longhorns?  As an Aggie fan, you hope that they stand pat and give both Greg Davis and Garrett Gilbert another shot next year.  As strange as this sounds, the most natural reaction in this situation is to do nothing.  "We're great...It can't be us...2010 was a fluke...Gilbert will get better...Look at what we did in the past."  To quote George Strait, "Famous last words of a fool."  Coaches have egos just like CEOs and admitting that they were wrong is not at the top of their Christmas list.  However, the great ones can not only admit their shortcomings, but also embrace the changes to address them.  The ones that can't...well ask Sears, Montgomery Wards, Blockbuster, etc., what happens to them.

While no one in their right mind thinks that the 'Horns will go the way of Montgomery Wards, if their 2011 team includes Davis and Gilbert in their current roles, don't be surprised at what you get for Christmas next year Longhorn fans!     

If It Was Easy....Anybody Could Do It!

In 7th grade, I was the back up quarterback.  By back up, I mean really back up...I wore the number 48!  That tells you how close I was to getting the keys to the Rogers 7th grade machine (8-0!).  Nonetheless, it did provide me with a great deal of perspective on the position.  Typically, our games consisted of the first team running up the score the first three quarters, and then we second teamers would come in for what I liked to call the "save" situation.  During the first three quarters, I would often pass the time by taking snaps from the back up center.  Although I am not sure why, we probably took 50 snaps a game prior to coming into the game.  However, when the fourth quarter would roll around and we would hit the field, we could never execute a successful snap.  While the question of who was at fault for this failure to execute the snap might never be answered (see Michael Morris #51), it illustrates an important point....everything looks easy until you have to do it.

Last week, the Rogers Eagles kicked off their 2010 playoff run (on schoolboysports.com) without the services of their quarterback, safety, punter, and kicker.....Ryan Fares.  Unfortunately for the Eagles, the Rogers signal caller suffered a broken ankle on the last play of the season finale against Lexington.  This created numerous job vacancies for the Eagles.  While Cody Richmond filled in admirably at the quarterback position with two touchdowns and only a couple of missed snaps/fumbles (they are trickier than they look!), the highlight of the night was Dylan Mendoza's performance filling in as the placekicker.  While I am partial to placekickers anyway (my only career score was a PAT on homecoming night 1988), there is something great about seeing a big guy wearing number 60 trotting on for the PAT that makes me smile.  Although Mendoza was able to hit his first two PATs, it was his third one that was the play of the night.  On the attempt, Mendoza fielded a bad snap that had sailed over the holder's head.  Rather than panicing, the sophomore took a step to the right and then headed to the left corner of the end zone for the 2pt conversion that ended up being the difference in the game.  For you old timers, it looked like John Riggans running the counter tray behind the Hogs for the 1980's Redskins!

Make no mistake, the Eagles really miss Ryan Fares and we would all love for him to be playing.  But his absence opened up an opportunity and Dylan Mendoza stepped in and stepped up.....Maybe it was just me and it is as easy as it looks!    

When The Music Stops

All of us have an identity.  Whether it is a great singing voice, a quick wit, or being good at math, there is something that defines us all.  For many high school seniors, it's football.  As we close in on Week 10 of the high school football season, many young men will be strapping on the pads for the final time in their career and they will no longer be who they have been since they were in elementary school....football players. 

Unlike certain NFL quarterbacks who get to shamefully prolong their careers (see FARVE), the high school player's days are numbered.  Even for those who are fortunate enough to prolong the fate by being on a playoff team, it's not a matter of if...it's when.  When that final horn finally does sound, the emotions take over and the memories start to flood...The first game that you remember going to as a little boy and watching your team win...Trying to catch the little footballs that were thrown into the stands so that you could get your buddies together in the endzone for a game...Friday night family road trips to follow the team...The first time that you donned the school colors and hit the same field that your dad played on for your seventh grade debut...Your first touchdown (Note: some of us are still waiting for this!)...The bus rides with friends...The memories of opponents and hits that gave you the shivers to the big victories and memorable plays...The pep talks from the coaches that made you want to run through a wall...Running through the sign for the last time in front of your home crowd...Leaving a legacy for the next generation of players.

To all of the seniors.....Thanks for the memories!