Tulsa World: Sooner defense is struggling as of late

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Sooner defense is struggling as of late

Oklahoma's Auston English knocks Texas quarterback Colt McCoy into the grass last season. English said the Sooner defense is guilty of losing its focus over the past few years. Tulsa World file

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 8/22/2008 2:06 AM
Last Modified: 8/22/2008 3:13 AM

NORMAN — Oklahoma's defense left the practice field Thursday morning drained, drenched and exhausted from grueling drills, plenty of yelling and extra sprints.

Why? It was punishment for what they said was a drastically substandard practice.

"Not good," defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. "I hate to say it because to have a practice like we had today, as a defense, it just doesn't look good. To be where we want to be, that's nowhere close to being good enough. Just upset about it because we had to do a lot of running after practice. We had too many mistakes today, way too many mistakes to be at the end of camp."

This time of year isn't called "dog days" for nothing. Players reported for camp on Aug. 6 and have practiced hard for 16 consecutive days, with two major scrimmages thrown in. With other mornings and evenings spent in the meeting rooms and film study, plus time spent with medical trainers, a cumulative effect begins to occur and effort, intensity and focus can wane.

Consider, too:

There are only two more days of preseason practice to go before the fourth-ranked Sooners start game planning for next Saturday's season opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga.

A night practice on Wednesday left some guys worn down physically and mentally, and Thursday's morning practice was difficult to get up for.

The campus is once again crawling with activity because, after all, classes start on Monday, and a new class load is something that weighs heavily on the minds of most student-athletes.

And don't forget, the Sooner offense is pretty decent and can make even the best defenses look bad.

"It's a little bit of everything," linebacker Ryan Reynolds said. "It's probably different for each person."

Said defensive end Auston English, "It's real easy for guys to lose focus and let down. You get sidetracked; you get to thinking we're only two days out from being done with this. You lose focus. That's been a big problem for us the last few years. That's why we lose three or four games."

At OU, media are given interview access to offensive coaches and players on a designated day, with the defense speaking on another day, and the process alternates. Thursday was a defensive day, and there was a feeling of urgency as players, soaked with sweat and still breathing hard, met the press.

"We play in nine days, a real actual game that counts," McCoy said. "We're trying to be national champions. We ain't just trying to be Big 12 (champs) again and go to a bowl game and be a three- or four-loss team. We're tired of that reputation."

McCoy said the letdowns were myriad.

"We didn't play together at all. We were way off," he said. "Subbing, playing on the goal line, deep balls, just stupid plays, jumping offsides, penalties for facemask, just stupid defense. It was real bad. I'm glad nobody seen it, because that's not us. That's not how we play."

Reynolds said the mistakes weren't just physical, either.

"A lot of people weren't giving 100 percent effort," Reynolds said. "I think a lot of guys are shutting it down, thinking that way, that we only have three more practices, one more two-a-day left. We can't do that, because we're not quite where we need to be yet."

John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

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	Report Comment Turk 182, (8/22/2008 9:10:12 AM) didnt i just read the same article. "sooner defense laments bad practice"
	Report Comment soonerguy, (8/22/2008 12:33:11 PM) This same article was posted yesterday under that title. Lame.

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