I don’t understand it. Literally, I have no idea how this works, and perhaps somebody out there can help me comprehend what is going on.
Immediately after the Sooners won the Big 12 Championship against Nebraska, I went to a Sooner message board that I frequent. Man, I was pumped as I was certain a mass revival was to occur.
As I expected, fans were still posting threads explaining how excited they were the Sooners won the game, but to my dismay, many were still clinging to the myth of sophomore quarterback Landry Jones being “just average,” according to one poster.
However, there were several others suggesting that Jones was not good or that he benefited from a list of playmakers around him, not from his own talent or skill.
It’s shocking, really. What’s interesting is the national media and other fan bases recognize Jones as a quality quarterback.
Don’t believe me? Ask your friend that goes to the University of Texas — if you have any Longhorn friends — what he thinks of Landry Jones.
What’s just downright sad is that Landry receives more flack from his own team’s fan base than any other. Check out forums and message boards around the Web — they all think he is a quality quarterback.
But rather than listen to me, let’s have the stats do the talking.
This season, Jones ranks second in the NCAA in passing yards with 4,289 and third in passing touchdowns with 35 (two quarterbacks have 36). His 35 touchdowns make him one of eight quarterbacks in the NCAA with 30 or more touchdowns this season — four of which, including Jones, are from BCS conferences.
His 35-to-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio puts him equal to or better than four of the other seven top-eight quarterbacks and is not a bad stat by any stretch of the imagination.
As I've made this argument over the past several days, many have countered with, “Well, he’s thrown the ball more than anyone else in the league, so of course he’s leading in stats.”
Yes, Jones leads the league in pass attempts with 568, the next highest total being 552. However, he also leads the league in completions, so the argument of him needing more attempts to gain his stats is worthless.
But hold on; I’m not done yet.
Has anyone ever stopped to look at this year’s rushing stats? Maybe the reason Jones throws the ball so much is because that’s the only way the Sooners can gather together an offense.
Don’t believe me? Well, I’ve got news for you.
This season’s 3.35 average yards per carry is the worst of the Bob Stoops-era (1999-present). It’s also worse than any season in which John Blake was the coach of the Sooners (1996-1998). It’s also worse than Howard Schnellenberger’s lone 1995 season total and all of the Gary Gibbs years (1989-1994). It’s much worse than any years in the Barry Switzer era (1973-1988) or the Chuck Fairbanks years (1967-1972).
For those with a weak stomach, I suggest you stop reading. To find a year where the yards per carry number was lower than this season’s 3.35, you’d have to go all the way back to 1938, when the Tom Stidham-led Sooners put up a dismal 2.97 average yards per carry.
My point being: The run game is not what it normally is, and it's definitely nowhere near carrying the team.
Above all else, Jones led his team to wins over Texas Tech, at Baylor, at Oklahoma State and against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Dallas to become a Big 12 Championship. He has already done something Sam Bradford never accomplished — win a bowl game — and could lead the Sooners to their first BCS win since they beat Washington State in the 2003 Rose Bowl, 34-14.
Again, I just don’t see the logic behind bashing on a sophomore quarterback who was put in one of the most dire and injury-ridden situations last year only to — one season later — post league-leading numbers and land his team in a BCS bowl.
I don’t get it, and I never will.
—Clark Foy, journalism senior
The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
chicopiloto 1 year, 5 months ago
Clark, while I agree with most of your comments here, your stats on the RUN game are complete junk. Wilson opted to speed up the game and go sideways, throwing the wheels and screens to the RB's, which are essentially runs. Add those numbers and it brings up the running avg. by double.
hjs6624 1 year, 5 months ago
Nate Hybl won a BCS game and Sam Bradford didn't win one...that doesn't make Nate anything close to Sam. Landry is Hybl!
Coach 1 year, 5 months ago
Mr. hjs6624
If Landry is Hybl, then he will be the MVP of the Fiesta Bowl, as Nate was the Rose Bowl.
They guy managed the clock well and helped engineer victories.
Landry's numbers do not lie. You do.