Players starting and player decisions

[bmoney214]

Pass blocking was remarkably good/better against the Bears today...

It helped that Morris didn't stand back there and hold on to the ball all day too. He made quick reads and got rid of the ball.

 

[bmoney214]

Morris on that option play is one of the best plays I've ever seen a TCU QB make. Got a lot of respect for Duggan, but I really think Morris earned the job today.

There was another play where Morris started to take off and then stopped and floated the ball to a receiver for a first down. As someone said in the game thread, it was Patrick Mahomes-esque.

 

[CountryFrog]

Banks not playing more is totally inexcusable. No fathomable explanation for it unless he was injured.

The Morris thing is a little easier to understand. It's not like Max had been bad up until the last couple weeks, although he clearly looked hobbled and if he can't run then he's not the same player. So you could definitely fault the coaches for sending him out there hurt. Plus so much of what Morris did today is stuff that only shows up in games. I doubt he showed this kind of play making in practice because practice is just a different environment, especially for QB's. Kid is an absolute gamer and has to be the starter for the rest of the year.

 

[jack the frog]

I always wondered why teams like OU and Tech and about anyone else could bring in quality freshmen QB's and the offenses never missed a beat. Why is that always so hard for TCU? My guess was defective schemes but this is a solid indication that is has to do with hierarchy and seniority and simply who you let play.

 

[JugbandFrog]

Yeah how is this suddenly possible? They have been so lost , we are on game 9 and all the sudden they get it, today is puzzling as much as it is funt

It’s cuz they weren’t staring at the sidelines waiting for the calls at the snap of the ball. Bank’s interception was 100% him seeing the formation, reading the route, and jumping it. Yes, a little behind the receiver, but those seconds to settle in and see what’s in front of you are important.

 

[Fiscuits]

Maybe Patterson put too much emphasis on seniority and young players waiting for their turn

A little different now when you recruit better players, some may be instantly ready to play and make a difference

After seeing Morris finally play….is there any doubt left about who is better, Zach or Chandler? It’s not even a debate. I had heard it from staff directly at TCU and at OU. Chandler is a freaking baller.

Gary had it stuck in his head that Zach was “the guy” no matter what. He had it stuck in his head about certain guys on D, no matter what , that they were “his” guys and they were going to play.

Gary’s control freak personality in some ways was very good for the program. And in other ways suffocated it.

 

[Fiscuits]

It helped that Morris didn't stand back there and hold on to the ball all day too. He made quick reads and got rid of the ball.

What you are really saying is : he’s better than Zach and should start/have started since day one. Our staff has seen this at practice for a year too. With Gary gone, the best players will hopefully play on Saturday regardless. Gary didn’t always do that.

 

[Rabidfrog]

I always wondered why teams like OU and Tech and about anyone else could bring in quality freshmen QB's and the offenses never missed a beat. Why is that always so hard for TCU? My guess was defective schemes but this is a solid indication that is has to do with hierarchy and seniority and simply who you let play.

Baylor under BRiles always had at least three qbs who were of equal ability. He never hesitated to change.

 

[Moose Stuff]

After seeing Morris finally play….is there any doubt left about who is better, Zach or Chandler? It’s not even a debate. I had heard it from staff directly at TCU and at OU. Chandler is a freaking baller.

Gary had it stuck in his head that Zach was “the guy” no matter what. He had it stuck in his head about certain guys on D, no matter what , that they were “his” guys and they were going to play.

Gary’s control freak personality in some ways was very good for the program. And in other ways suffocated it.

It’s a harsh assessment but I think it’s also a fair assessment…. after watching yesterday’s game it’s almost impossible for me to come to any other conclusion than Gary was choking the life out of this program (and had been for a while). He’s removed from the equation and we just magically find a potentially great QB, the defense plays it’s best game of the year, and energy returns to the sideline??? Yeah, that wasn’t even remotely a coincidence.

 

[NewFrogFan]

Once you name a starting QB hard to change that. Even if he played that good during practice hard to show since starter gets all the reps.

Some players suck at practice and when the lights camera action of a game starts they transform into football Gods!

Sometimes they get in Coaches dog house for bad school work, late to meetings, etc.

This is hard to explain why these players weren’t allowed some playing time.

5 games with huge turnovers by the Qb should have led to someone else. It did not take that many at OU. If I were TCU I would be all over Brennan in the TP from LSU. MD needs to be convinced he could be a large version of Wes Welker. A top 5 in school history performance AND a win by Morris were huge.

 

[NewFrogFan]

At some point GP fell in love with tiny linebackers. That 4th quarter in Waco in 2014 spooked him and never quite ran his defense the same way he used to. He stopped blitzing as much and started playing safeties at linebacker.

As in who?

 

[Paint It Purple]

Another play encapsulates what's been described above. On the kick-off after our last TD, an extra-effort tackle was made by a kid that i've never seen on the field. #26 I think. He came up all fired up and the TCU bench mobbed him down around the 10 yard line, as he came off the field. I mean the whole bench. We haven't seen that passion and camaraderie in a long time.

 

[WIN]

And don’t underestimate the fact that the coordinators admittedly got to coordinate and make more decisions. Those shallow routes and middle routes were not being run and when they were they weren’t run with aggressiveness. And I expect that its very hard to play loose and free and instinctual when you are having to interpret the intent and expectations of your coach on every dang play. The whole demeanor was vastly different. Still…I hope this high doesn’t cause them to let down next week. Even if we don’t win in Stoolwater, I’d like to see us play as loose and free and passionate as they did today.

They don't grow up when you don't trust them. If you recruit them you have to be comfortable with playing them. They don't grow on the bench.

 

[y2kFrog]

As in who?

Most of the Kansas St. game we were rolling with Dee Winters and Josh Foster at the LB position both recruited as safeties.

 

[kidkarr]

What you are really saying is : he’s better than Zach and should start/have started since day one. Our staff has seen this at practice for a year too. With Gary gone, the best players will hopefully play on Saturday regardless. Gary didn’t always do that.

Who is Zach? The RB?

 

[Fiscuits]

Lol. My bad , typo’d Zach, should be Max.

Who is Zach? The RB?…

 

[kidkarr]

Lol. My bad , typo’d Zach, should be Max.

Figured it was a typo until I saw “Zach” in two different posts, lol. Then I was lost.

 

[BleedNPurple]

I figure Duggans family moved to FW and Dad being a ball coach helping Max etc… Coach P probably feels a strong loyalty to the kid and his family - if Max feels good enough to play he gives us the best chance to win. That hasn’t worked out very well this season and you can see what happens when you have a QB with great wheels that can throw a laser bullet pass its Night and day. Would have liked to have seen Morris starting 3 games ago- Gary may still be here. The whole team got a spark out of having an offense that can light it up.

 

[Fiscuits]

Banks not playing more is totally inexcusable. No fathomable explanation for it unless he was injured.

The Morris thing is a little easier to understand. It's not like Max had been bad up until the last couple weeks, although he clearly looked hobbled and if he can't run then he's not the same player. So you could definitely fault the coaches for sending him out there hurt. Plus so much of what Morris did today is stuff that only shows up in games. I doubt he showed this kind of play making in practice because practice is just a different environment, especially for QB's. Kid is an absolute gamer and has to be the starter for the rest of the year.

I would argue the opposite concerning Morris. I have friends on the OU staff who thought he spun it better than Rattler.

The players know who “should” be playing each position. Injured or not (and I love Max) - Chandler is top to bottom and better QB.

He is going to make mistakes from here on out and he is not going to go for 500 yards plus in another game (probably in his life).

But this game was not a fluke. He is our 1 QB. And should have been all season.

 

[Limp Lizard]

Hanging on to a QB is a Gary trademark. As with a lot of coaches. This is like 2005.

In 2005 we were generally playing good defense, with a conservative offense led by Tye Gunn, who was a good QB when healthy...which he had not been since after he got hurt a couple years before against Southern Miss. That team had beaten OU 17-10 earlier, but not due to offense. Then scored 10 points to SMEW and lost, we were not a good comeback team at all. But at BYU we were behind while being led by a gimpy Gunn. Finally, with less than 3:00 left in the third quarter and BYU leading 34-16 (one TD and 3 FG's for TCU) Gunn could not play any more, we put in Ballard who brought the team back in Provo and won. The defense had maybe their worst game of the season, but the offense blew back and TCU won in overtime. GP did not want to play Ballard, and afterward would say "We would fire him (Ballard) every Tuesday", meaning Ballard was not good in practice but excelled in the games.

That team finished the season 8-0 under Ballard including a Houston Bowl win over Iowa State. No way if Gun had stayed healthy enough to play against BYU and the rest of the season.

Recently GP would often say "I judge my QBs on how the play on Saturday" and "I judge QBs by wins". Huh???