I’m as excited as anyone to read dedfischer’s Post-Mortem, but here’s some quick thoughts:

Carter Calls His Block

On our last scoring drive, we had a first down on the Nebraska 43 yard line after a clutch completion from Sheffield to Leong.  I’m not sure what play was called, but Carter stops everything, calls Sheff over, and says something to him and Keown.  Sheff then walks over to Batch and it’s pretty obvious he’s saying, ‘Run to the hole Carter makes.’  At the snap of the ball, Carter blows up DT Jared Crick’s earhole, Keown folds into the hole and levels LB Phillip Dillard, and Batch shoots through for a 9-yard gain.  That’s like backyard shit, and it was awesome.  First off, we almost never fold the center; usually the center blocks down and the guard folds.  Secondly, to have Carter see it, call it, and have Sheff and Batch run with it, so to speak, was pretty damn cool.  It’s great to see your players thinking out there, not just robots checking the sideline for a pre-snap read.

DE’s named Brandon

Sharpe has eight sacks in six games (suspended against UT).  At this pace he has a very good chance to equal or surpass Brandon Williams’ thirteen from last year.  Sharpe’s first step isn’t as quick as Williams’, but he doesn’t stop driving to the QB, and he’s been the primary beneficiary of our excellent secondary.  I’ve also liked some of the stuff he’s doing versus the run.  He defeated a block and tackled Helu on a play in which Whitlock got doubled-teamed and pancaked eight yards downfield.  Last year I had Sharpe in the ‘baby moose’ category (Leach compared a young Joel Filani to a ‘baby moose’ because he hadn’t yet become comfortable with his explosive athleticism.)  I thought he played out of control a lot last year.  This year he’s been disciplined and rarely runs himself out of the play.

Sheffield Progress Report

Okay, Sticks doesn’t have Harrell-like fast-twitch read skills yet, but how could he?  It took Harrell two years to get there.  So in a tough third quarter that included four possessions, fourteen plays, two first downs, four punts, and I believe 1 total yard, it’s easy to get a little frustrated.  I thought he missed some five yard completions that would have kept us ahead of the chains, and got sacked on some plays where he had time to throw it away.  That said, he didn’t fumble and he didn’t throw an interception.  With the defense we’re playing this year, that’s all we need.

On to the good.  Those two third and long, deep throws to the sideline on the first drive were frickin’ money.  Leong helped him out on the first, but the second to Detron was a thing of perfection.  To go out, first possession in Lincoln, and make those two plays on the way to a TD to silence the crowd and give your team confidence, was the stuff of cold-blooded, hard-core hombres.  And how about that last drive?  Milking the clock, running on first and second down, then making clutch third down completions?  Color me impressed.  He’s having to learn a lot in a very short time, and so far he’s been fantastic.  I feel very good with Sticks running my team.

Team Chemistry and Poise

I’m really liking the way this team carries itself on the sideline.  Offense is cheering on the defense and vice versa, so much so that the sideline reporter had to comment on the difference between us and Nebraska.  A game like this, where the defense carried the offense and the special teams on the road versus a ranked team, is something we haven’t seen in the Leach era.  I’m loving it.  It makes you think we might be able to get a win in Stillwater for the first time since 2001.

And how about the poise?  Nothing surprised or confused this team.  We had four penalties and no turnovers.  They got beat on some plays by some very good players, but everyone appears to know their job and they’re trying to do it to the best of their ability.  Which was good enough to beat a tough team on the road. 

Now let’s beat some Aggie ass and keep rolling.

Thoughts?