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Seriously tho,
Is CDA waiting on possible NFL opportunities? I mean what is the deal? I’m at least thankful he’s not leaking stuff to press like Rhule did every year.
Posted by aintathangbutachickenwing
Cody Orr: Everything I’ve read suggests there’s no reason to worry — an extension for Aranda and the staff are imminent.
pbpope: Concur with Cody here. I haven’t seen anything from any outlet that would suggest there’s cause for concern. In this particular instance, where there’s no smoke, there’s no fire.
Andrew Miner: My educated guess would be that Rhoades and Aranda are attempting to work out new coaching hires and budgeting for the rest of the staff in parallel with Aranda’s extension. This could bode well as Aranda’s mindset may be assembling the best staff to win more Big 12 and then a national championship. I agree though that I am always apprehensive until a contract is actually inked.
BNT: I’ll say it again, CDA isn’t going anywhere. If he were leaving, why would our Super Seniors on both sides of the line be returning? Doesn’t make sense, as surely conversations of his staying or leaving took place and factored into some of those decisions. Also, there is no traction to the small handful of rumors having Aranda going to the NFL. I have it from an inside source that CDA is about to ink a huge contract that should keep him in Waco for a long time. The holdup seems to be taking care of the rest of the staff as well, which Baylor is willing to do. All of the contracts will be based upon figuring out who’s staying and what their role will be as restructuring of the staff responsibilities is taking place. This takes time. Wing, I appreciate you brother but gotta chill and stop taking
Is the 2021 Baylor defense better than the 2019 defense?
Common wisdom after the regular season was that 2021 had a somewhat better offense than 2019, but the 2019 defense was still the all-time best.
After 4 picks and insane goal line stands in the Big 12 championship and 10 sacks with only 7 points allowed in the Sugar Bowl, offense sputtering in both games, do those late season performances push the 2021 defense over the top for best all-time?
Clearly the 2021 defense improved greatly every game from the Texas State debacle to a record setting Sugar Bowl. How do you weight season averages vs the fully developed product at the end of the season?
What were pieces had the biggest impact in the improvement? Bernard getting healthy? Ika getting in shape? Walcott taking the starting role?
Posted by Your_Bailey_Bear
Cody Orr: There are advantages and disadvantages to comparing defenses across the entire season versus at the end of the season. You should probably look at both for a complete picture. For instance, what would you do if some of the best players were out with injuries by the end of the year?For detailed stats comparing the two teams, I’ll make a shameless plug for something I wrote up before the Sugar Bowl:
Baylor Football 2021 vs 2019: A Tale of Two Seasons
Andrew Miner: I think you need to take into consideration the entire season. With that said, I would argue that this 2021 team has the edge in defense and rushing offense with 2019 having a sightly stronger passing offense. Really look back on both years, and we are talking razor thin margins when trying to differentiate. Going into this season, I believe most were very high on the defense—it was very similar to 2020 and we were high on the defense going into that Covid campaign. Looking at the crude statistics: 2019 Defense—16th in nation with 19.3 ppg allowed (3 games allowed 30 or more & 26 to UGA in what felt like a Sugar Bowl blowout); 46 sacks (including a single season record 13.5 by James Lynch); 17 INT and 13 FR // 2021 Defense—14th in nation with 19.2 ppg allowed (one game allowing 30); 42 sacks; 19 INT; 8 FR. I think we had more defensive scores this year than in ‘19. Overall, if you make that type of performance in the title game to win the Big 12 you get the nod. I would not say that Texas State was a debacle other than the camera work, but Baylor certainly got key guys back and meshed by the postseason. Dig into Cody’s article for more polished insight!
BNT: 2019 was better in the earlier part of the season, but I give the 2021 team the edge beginning with the WV game through the end of the season (the outlier being TCU). 2021 was down right money during the stretch run, Big 12 Championship, and Sugar Bowl. The difference was controlling the line on both sides of the ball. We definitely didn’t have that with the OL of the 2019 team.
Any discussion of best defense all time -
…. must include 1979 -1980 (the Singletary teams).
Posted by BearlyCoherent
BNT: Certainly the 2019 and 2021 defenses have to be in the top 3, but I would also add the 1979 team as it had 5 players drafted (Andrew Melontree, Gary Don Johnson, Kirk Collins, Thomas Brown, and Howard Fields) and 2 players drafted the following season (Singleratry and Doak Field). Those are some salty groups.
What’s the holdup on Aranda’s contract
Look, we have to take CDA at his word on saying he loves it here and wants to remain, win and keep winning here. We can win a natty if we keep this going. However we as the Baylor nation have been shell shocked the last number of years about coaches leaving. We have heard this is a done deal, so why haven’t we heard it’s a DONE DEAL?
Posted by proudpapabear
BNT: See the responses to chickenwing above.
How can 2022 be better for Baylor sports than 2021?
And any New Year’s resolutions?
Posted by westjef
Joe Goodman: New Year’s resolution - beat TCU.
Andrew Miner: New Year’s resolution - Stay healthy and have another party in NOLA!
BNT: It can be better by winning the NCAA MBB championship and making the CFP. That would be awesome to have our men’s basketball and football teams playing for natty’s. My New Year’s resolutions are...
If you were CDA
What positions would be the highest priority in the portal?
Posted by BrentBear
Cody Orr: Wide receiver, 100%. Look no further than Alabama in the national championship to see what happens when you lose your top two receivers. Between Thornton, Sneed, Estrada, Ebner, and Smith, we’re losing 76% of our receptions from last season.
Andrew Miner: Agreed that it has to be wide receiver as the most needed. Thinking adding depth in the secondary at corner and safety would be wise too.
BNT: Yep, receiver and defensive backs are priority as Baylor has offered several, but they would take a quality offensive and defensive lineman if available. Baylor is in no hurry and will take their time in evaluating.
How would you power-rank Jeremy Sochan’s hair styles?
Posted by PioneerSkies
Brandon MacKinnon: The blonde fro will quite literally never be beat in the history of Baylor athletics hair. But here’s the full power rankings. 1) Blonde fro, 2) Natural fro, 3) Silver fro, 4) Silver buzz, 5) Natural buzz (see Poland mens national team highlights for reference bc this hasn’t been in Waco). Fro Bros. NIL that never was.
Andrew Miner: I was just disappointed that he cut it. I thought it looked really cool having two freshmen studs with sweet fros. For the record, I liked Brown’s better.
BNT: I’m a huge fan of anything that adds length to any of our players. My advice to Sochan, buzz cut needs to go...let it grow!
What are your expectations for WBB?
Does the new coach need a “baby” sighting to get the team going?
Posted by daddingo
Joe Goodman: My expectations are for the team to be really good, which I think they are! There are a lot of factors here, fan expectations, conference improving, and of course, new coach. I like where the team is headed. It’s not like the best years under the previous regime right now, but it’s so hard to follow in those footsteps. Give this staff some time to develop their own culture and recruit their own fits. This team is going to be really fun to watch for years to come.
Andrew Miner: The Big 12 has improved so much over the past few seasons. Baylor was annihilating the majority of the league by nearly 40 on any given night. Now, half the league is ranked in the top 25. Short term expectations: You have to expect the Bears to attempt to climb out of this last place hole; they have three five-stars, the potential No. 1 pick and an all-SEC point guard and coming off an extended Covid pause. They are right there, and for some reason have not been able to get over the hump in losses to No. 3 Maryland (3); No. 13 Michigan (6; OT); now No. 25 Kansas State (9); and No. 23 Oklahoma (6) all of which have been on the road. I predict it will be a journey that will be really fun to watch. Long term expectations: we need to give Nicki Collen at least three seasons to implement her shift this program’s philosophy and fill it with her recruits before truly panicking.
BNT: Nikki and the WBB’s team will be just fine. They’ll right the ship and win their 14th straight ‘ship. We still are uber talented and the players are learning the system. With an excellent recruiting class coming in, we will see continued success. I think in the long run CNC’s system will better prepare future players for the WNBA than CKM. As for the baby sighting, CKM still texts me and refers to me as baby.
Any BNT personal anecdotes
on the Froggy Feud?
Posted by BearCamp
BNT: Too many to choose from and they might be a tad inappropriate to share. I’m mildly amused at the rerivalary between BU and TCU, as my generation of Bears never saw them as a rival. I mean, we beat them 4 straight years when I was at BU. But a funny story is that although her husband (GP) blocked me on Twitter, his wife Kelsey followed me...briefly. We exchanged some messages and I kindly informed her that it might not be the best idea to give me a follow. She must have asked someone as shortly she unfollowed me. We had kind of a funny DM exchange as she had a good sense of humor, which is needed I suppose being married to GP.
What do you predict the 2022 Season?
15-0 NCAA Champions?
Posted by SicEmOSo
Joe Goodman: I’ll be the realist here, and you can have me, but please let my family live! It’s impossible to replace Pitre and Bernard with a snap of the fingers. We have some questions at WR too. We should be very good in the trenches and that’s a great foundation, AND the league is up for grabs again. BUT, we have to travel to Provo, Norman, Morgantown, Ames, Austin, and Lubbock. That’s ROUGH, and we’ve had struggles on the road. I think a solid goal and expectation is 9-3.
Andrew Miner: That is a rough road slate; however, with all the movement going on I think that opened the door for Baylor to be favorites to defend their Big 12 title. I expect our offense to control TOP and rushing attach, and the question becomes how good can our QB compliment that ground game without turning it over. I think that can erase some of the minor setbacks the defense may face. If 2021 was year one for Aranda, then imagine what he has learned and can fix for year two with regards to playing on the road, offensive game plans and on defense? I’ll say 10-2 again, where we fall short of the CFP but win the Big 12.
BNT: You’ll just have to wait for the BNT Season Preview and Bold Prediction article in August, won’t you?
This ESPN article headline is just too amazing to ignore.
I guess our football team is now relevant!
Posted by BrentBear
Cody Orr: Should be higher than 16th! SMDH.
BNT: ESPNWho?
Which basketball court is worse....
Oregon’s colorblind forest or TCU’s hideous mountain west monstrosity?
Posted by PioneerSkies
BNT: Tie as when I see both
Leave you thoughts or other questions below.
xoxo
BNT