Opinion: Landry Jones is Oklahoma’s dealbreaker

One of the saddest days for Sooner Nation last season was the day Ryan Broyles went down. I was on the way home from a brief business trip in Wichita Falls, Texas, and Twitter was the only way I could follow the game. So as soon as Broyles went down, the texts flooded in. Friends were asking me what I thought, and just like a relationship breakup, hearing the news over a text made the situation all the more upsetting.

I had no idea what was going on, but from what I read from my twitter, Broyles was in serious pain and knew it was his last game with Oklahoma. It sucked, and I’m still bitter about it. Broyles was a dealbreaker. If Oklahoma was going to have a chance to sneak back in to the title picture, Ryan Broyles had to be there on the field.

However, injuries happen. Landry Jones struggled without his top guy, and who wouldn’t? He lost the all-time reception leader in NCAA history. The team was able to get past Iowa State in Norman, and Iowa in their bowl game, but fell to Baylor and Oklahoma State on the road.

So heading in to this season, I ask, who is Oklahoma’s most VALUABLE player? Not necessarily the best player, but the guy the team undoubtedly needs to win the crystal ball. Who is Oklahoma’s dealbreaker?

A lot of people might say Kenny Stills or Dominique Whaley. Without them, the pressure would be enormous on Landry. And until he can prove us wrong, Landry does not manage well under pressure.

You could also make a case for Tom Wort. This should be a big season for Wort, and Oklahoma is going to need him to step up and get the important stops to allow the offense to put up points.

You can make cases for a lot of guys. However, despite Landry’s down falls. He is this team’s dealbreaker.

Some people want Drew Allen or Blake Bell under center. Mainly, because they haven’t done anything wrong. Allen has a sideline pass to every game, and rarely ever goes in to mess anything up. With Blake Bell, the “Belldozer” goes in every time the team gets within five yards of the endzone, and punches in the touchdown.

However, with Jones, you get a quarterback who can throw the ball extremely well when the line gives him time. He definitely has an arm, but needs some work on his accuracy. Not to point the finger, but a lot of the time, receivers are simply dropping passes.

Also, in a conference with traditionally solid quarterbacks, teams are going to prepare for whatever is thrown at them, no pun intended. The other Big 12 schools go up against good quarterbacks in practice every day, so when it comes time for conference play, they’ll be ready to go.

Jones is our guy, though. Bell and Allen are good kids, but they aren’t ready to take the keys to the offense. Jones has made some dumb mistakes, but with three years under his belt, everyone writing him off, look for Jones to be the gamechanger for Oklahoma.