Actually, I think most people don't have a problem with Mock starting, the problem will come if he doesn't have immediate success, which is unfair, because he has never had any significant in game experience.
That had nothing to do with knowing the playbook. Major Applewhite had been going to QB camps since he was about 13 years old. He was far more instinctive than Simms. Simms biggest weakness was not the playbook but an inability to look off his primary receiver. You can fault poor coaching for a lot of Simms' problems. Major taught himself. And neither player did anything against Oklahoma after Stoops got his machine rolling.
Yes. I changed my post after I remembered that. It took Stoops 1 year to get adjusted. Since then, he has owned the Longhorns, especially on the defensive end.
So his biggest weakness was not learning the entire play? Or I'll put it this way, he may have learned the playbook, he just didn't always run it effectively, which isn't that much better.
He can limit controversy by playing only one QB. If Mock is the starter, name him the clear # 1. If Mock throws a pick, don't sub him the next series. Let the starter play the whole game.
Your first contention was Chris Simms was too stupid to learn the playbook. That is false. He ran the plays exactly the way they were designed and audibled appropriately. The problem was the Longhorn offense was so predictable, the other team would shift the defense in anticipation of the audible. I loved Major Applewhite because he was incredibly gutsy and was far more astute than 99% of the other division 1 QB's. You cannot compare him to the other QB's because no one other than him could succeed in Greg Davis' piss poor offense. Neither Chance Mock nor Vincent Young have had the specialized individual training that Major had. People who blame Chris Simms have no idea how bad Greg Davis really is.
I don't believe Simms was too stupid just as I don't believe Young is. They were both prolific passers in High School and I don't think they had problems reading playbooks back then. Really, I think Simms biggest problem was he relied on his talent too often. People like to blame Davis, but the Texas offense was fine with a lot less talent, when Brown first got to U.T. We know the offense had to be dumbed down in the Oklahoma game so Chris would not screw up so much so saying that Davis's offense was to predictable is really laughable.
I've heard a rumor that C. Simms was trained and guided by a NFL QB since his birth--not sure if its true though.
Give me a break. That is totally misleading. When Brown first got to UT, we had Ricky Williams, one of the greatest RB's in college football history. The following year we lost the last 3 games of the seaon due to our anemic offense. Remember the Arkansas game where we racked up a total of -27 yards rushing? As far as dumbed down, the playbook was the size of the telephone book but Davis insisted on running the same 5 plays over and over again. How many Kwame Cavil slip screens (aka Tunnel Screens) do you remember? How about the Ryan Nunez 6 yard out? This was not just with Simms but Applewhite as well. Applewhite pretty much said screw this and audibled on his own. I remember when the Oklahoma assistant coaches told Chris after the season that it wasn't his fault. They shut down the running game because our OL coach insisted on using a zone blocking technique which is useless with 300 lb out of shape lineman when they shouldve used a power blocking scheme. With 0 running game and predictable offense play calling, OU just put 4 linebackers in a 10 yard radius waiting for the 5 yard routes that Davis loved so much. Greg Davis is a boob. Good division 1 coordinators get offers for head coaching jobs, This is a fact. Look at how many OU assistants have left. The fact Greg Davis has not had 1 offer let alone interview should tell you plenty about his ineffectiveness.
Dude, make all the excuses you want, but Major Applewhite was the best passer in U.T. history throwing to Quame Cavil. Simms has Williams, Thomas, and B. J. Johnson. You already stated that Simms biggest problem was locking on receivers. The offense will be simple when your quarterback leaves himself only one option. I really don't understand why people argue this. There is a reason Chris Simms was picked on the last day of the first round of the N.F.L. draft. The experts know. He never learned to read defenses and look off receivers. The offense is not the problem.
If the offense is not the problem then why did we fire worthless Tim Nunez (a Greg Davis protege) and hire Tim McWhorter?
If the offense is not the problem then why did we fire worthless Tim Nunez (a Greg Davis protege) and hire Tim McWhorter? So he can come up with an excuse when the offense runs smoothly under Davis this year and people start saying "see, it really was Simms!" How did Davis' offenses do before Texas? We only have an Applewhite / Simms sample here, but I'd be curious to know how they did in previous stints. Obviously, UNC was top 5 in the country with him, but I don't know how much of it was the defense.
What will happen if Simms turns into a good NFL QB? Simms never improved from his first game to his last game IMO. Is that his fault or the coaching staffs fault? 0-3 vs. ou = horrible coaching As far as before Texas, Mack and staff could never win "the big game" at UNC either. See Florida State.
Were they really top 5? I remember them being top 10, but never being that high. I do remember them never being able to win the big game against Florida State, though.
