A lot of people are a little worried about the team, mostly because we have little else to do before Texas plays Oklahoma, and the alleged return of "2007" Colt. I’m not sure where 2007 Colt was hiding last season, I’m guessing in 2007, but I’m pretty sure he’s still there. His 2nd half highlights look as good as anything from last year while his first half struggles are troublesome but not shocking. Remember, we didn’t realize how good 2008 Colt was until the Oklahoma game. He hadn’t been tested and Texas had gotten off to some slow starts, most notably the UTEP game.
He’s missing Quan Cosby and Brandon Collins, 2 receivers whom he had developed a lot of timing with, and even offenses with returning starters take a little time to gel. I’ll be worried if we don’t break 50 over the next few games. In the meantime, I’m not.
Taylor Potts was not the player I expected. I had anticipated better throwing mechanics, less courage and less accuracy. Much has been made of his performance and resistance to blitzes. I was as shocked as anyone when he took Predator’s spear through the chest and continued to make sidearm throws in tight windows. However, in instances of actual pressure he was not excellent. Texas held Tech to 3 points in the first half getting pressure on Potts and ended late drives in the 4rth quarter with pressure. So, the man is not quite a legend yet. He played well after taking pressure but when the rush was approaching he was as poor as any hurried quarterback.
Overall I was impressed with the performances in the Tech game both by the pirates and the Longhorns. I’d like to do a unit summary of the team’s performance thus far in the season, and particularly in the Texas Tech game which I’ve now reviewed.
Offensive Line:
It all starts here on offense, and the play begins when Chris Hall snaps the ball. Rewatching the game, I found myself playing a game called “watch Chris” which I recommend as an enlightening experience. He is solid in pass protection, although he gives inside push to good tackles (like Colby Whitlock, or, gulp, Gerald McCoy). I’m assuming he has a very good grasp of the offensive protections and schemes and calls them well. Ultimately, however, he is a terrible run-blocker. He gets absolutely no push off the line, and in fact allows deep penetration up the middle which frequently kill running plays. He’s at his best in protection mode, sealing defenders away from the direction of the run rather than driving them away, or getting out in the screen game (he made an amazing block for Chiles on a screen in the first half). I can understand why he starts and he has some strengths which play to the strengths of our offense. But if you want to know why Texas has so many negative or no-yardage runs play a little “watch Chris”.
Texas will not move the ball on OU using the inside-zone (although it is much more effective in no-huddle as I predicted) because there will be no push against McCoy and co. in the middle. You may think Tre Newton is the answer, and personally I’m a fan, but Texas will have to rely on sweeps and counters to run on OU.
Charlie Tanner has received a lot of criticism as well but I just didn’t notice him much in this game. I believe he, like Hall, excels in understanding what the coaches want and playing to a couple of strengths that allows him to start despite big flaws. Ulatoski was overrated by preseason accolades and mention as a top 10 draft pick but he’s a championship caliber left tackle. Kyle Hix and Snow/Huey are the best we have.
Receivers:
I want to see Malcolm Williams involved more. He’s said to be inconsistent in practice but he’s clearly a guy that just needs to see some game success and he can take off. He has the talent to be the best in the league.
That said, John Chiles is a dangerous weapon and brings a lot when he’s on the field. First, there is the “Wildcat” package Texas can use him in without making a substitution, then there is his game changing speed and open field moves. As a recipient in the screen game he’s very valuable. Shipley is what we thought he was, Kirkendoll has been solid, Buckner is a rising star. It’s an excellent group.
Running backs:
Tre Newton is the best running back on the roster unless Fozzy can stay healthy and show something. His vision, developed from his time at Southlake Carrol and the spread offense at high school, sets him apart from the other backs. Cody Johnson is a great short-yardage runner. It’s nice to have an automatic first down/touchdown when necessary. Situational play can make this team a champion.
Defensive Line:
The line is better than anticipated. Lamarr Houston has been better than expected playing with a healthy ankle and full year from the position. Kheeston Randall is like a Blake Gideon at Nose Tackle. He can do all the necessary things, like taking on double teams without getting blown backwards, getting push up the middle in man on man, and so on. He’s not making a lot of plays but doing what Texas needs. Also, there isn’t much behind him.
Eddie Jones has been a very strong pass rusher, Sam Acho might become a star and the ends overall are amongst the best in the country. Sergio Kindle is one of the best defensive players in the nation. He is a certain top 10 draft pick. He can singlehandedly destroy a team and almost did so with the Taylor Potts sack. He bowled over lineman and went totally around veteran Marlon Winn. These were Tech lineman, bred and molded by Leach to stay in front of pass-rushers. Everything Leach does makes it easier for lineman but Kindle still dominated. The Potts fumble and Earl Thomas fumble were both directly caused by the Predator.
If it wasn’t enough that he’s an athlete way beyond the norm, Muschamp makes it easier for him by using the 3-3-5 and blitzing Kindle from all directions. If Texas doesn’t want to pit him against the other team’s left tackle they don’t have to do so, and the change can be made without substitution.
Linebackers:
Emmanuel Acho has stolen my heart. Between every game last season and this Blake Gideon has forced one turnover. The biggest leap to be made from good defense (2008) to elite defense (championship 09 defense) is forcing turnovers. Emmanuel Acho caused 2 fumbles against Tech in one half of football.
Acho and Keenan Robinson are spectacular linebackers of the variety that Texas needs in league games against spread passing teams. They blitz well, cover and tackle in space, and they force turnovers. I’m excited. Roddrick Muckleroy is actually one of the best linebackers in the Big 12.
Secondary:
While this has been a team strength it hasn’t been quite as elite as might have been excited by more hopeful prognosticators, like myself. I would rank the defensive backs as follows:
1). Earl Thomas
2). Aaron Williams
3). Curtis Brown
4). Chykie Brown
5). Blake Gideon
Teams are afraid to go anywhere near Earl when he’s playing back. He flies to the ball quickly and makes big hits. Aaron Williams is another playmaker and together with Earl is pushing this unit towards elite status. Curtis Brown is thrown to a lot (there isn’t much choice left) but it takes a good throw to beat him. He blankets outside receivers and isn’t a weakness but another cog that allows Texas to play coverages that free up the front 7 from responsibility other than murdering quarterbacks.
Shocking Brown has been a little disappointing this season allowing receivers to break free with good routes and moves. I’m not sure if his concentration has been down or what, but he’s been supplanted by Curtis and will have to earn his spot back. Blake Gideon is one of the most consistent players on the team, and it seems unfair to criticism him and not Kheeston Randall, but he’s the potential variable in the equation. Backup Christian Scott, if ever cleared academically, could be a player that gives Texas playmakers all over the coverage. Gideon is excellent at working very hard to be where he needs to be and making sure clean-up tackles on big plays but he can’t jump routes or react like Thomas does when the ball is in the air. Texas can dominate with Gideon, but Scott could make things really interesting.
Thus far then, we’re seeing a defense that might be Mack’s best and an offense likely to find it’s way into top form (with the addition of Newton and more stability from Colt). Don’t underestimate the effect of the no-huddle, when used more in league play, as well as Davis’ adjustments to all the soft coverages Texas is facing. So far, so good.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Flotsam and Jetsam
Let me begin by giving kudos to the Oklahoma Sooners for wasting no time in giving due credit for last year’s offensive success to Duke Robinson, Phil Loadholt and Jon Cooper. It took an entire offseason and a devastating first loss but they finally publicly showed their support for the previous offensive line’s legacy by demonstrating utter futility in Dallas yesterday. It won’t be the first time they do that this season. Nothing says “thanks for all the good work guys” like 9 penalties and a devastating series of hits on the best pocket quarterback in the school’s history (unless you count Troy Aikman, who was benched because the team ran the wishbone).
That said, they run-blocked pretty well as DeMarco Murray had 58 yards on 10 carries. Of course, when you find yourself in a vicious low-scoring cockfight there is no place for running the ball. Especially when you have a terrible, inexperienced quarterback throwing to a new cast of receivers missing their best player (Jermaine Gresham). Good job, Big Game Bob.
Oklahoma St. looked pretty solid. They punked a poor Georgia offense and their offense looked about like it did last season, very good if not quite elite. Perrish Cox looks phenomenal and the D-line was better than adequate. They’re still giving up loads of points against the Big 12 offenses and perhaps will hold down OU’s weak looking squad prompting undue credit to the new DC and further trashing of Todd Beckman.
Of course, we must talk about the Horns as well. Let’s start with
1). Special Teams:
I think our special teams will be a big difference maker this season. Potentially a game changing play will be made on special teams in Stillwater or Dallas. The punting is good, and all our kickers are as good as you might expect from college players. The return game is looking very promising. Earl Thomas wasn’t the greatest punt returner but he’s merely a placeholder. Jordan Shipley will play there when it matters most. DJ Monroe is perhaps the fastest player on the team and his participation on kick returns is pretty exciting.
2). Offense:
McCoy was McCoy. He threw a terrible INT but it’s early in the year. He’s going to be the best quarterback in the country. He still has some happy feet in the pocket and drifts out when it isn’t necessary to do so but overall, he was excellent and spread the ball to a big cast of receivers.
Speaking of the receivers, they look phenomenal. When Texas used the 4-wide receiver set with Dan Buckner in the TE-Flex spot they were picking up huge chunks of yards over the middle of the field. Jordan Shipley was used in that role last year and took some heavy punishment while torching OU and the rest of the Big 12. That Buckner can already occupy that role so well will mean great things for the offense. Kirkendoll looked over the middle as well.
The outside is very interesting. We didn’t see much of Malcolm Williams, which would be a great disappointment if not for the reason. The reason is John Chiles. He’s cut the the 15 pounds he needlessly added to play QB and he looks good in the open field. He’s a fantastic weapon for teams to account for, and teams just don’t have the resources in the back 7 to account for Chiles on the edge while defending the middle and the lethal Jordan Shipley.
Jordan might be the most underrated WR in the country. He’s really, really good. I don’t know what else to tell you. He does everything that WR’s are supposed to do well. He’s not huge and tall, that’s his only weakness.
The Texas running game pleased me greatly yesterday, except the fumbles. Greg Davis wisely chose not to scrap our zone-running game as I predicted in this space earlier. Instead, he did exactly what I proposed and expected and employed the inside and outside zones from a no-huddle offense with Vondrell McGee and successfully moved the ball down the field. He made 2 other tweaks that also generated some real results.
They moved Colt under center in the traditional 11 personnel (1 TE, 1 RB) formation we usually run from the shotgun and employed the zone-runs and play-action. We’ll see more of this later in the year. It’ll be a nice way to punish the over-aggressive Sooners.
Finally, they played DJ Monroe at RB and ran the old counter we really haven’t seen since Jamaal Charles left. I suppose they feel that you need great speed to the outside to run if effectively. At any rate, Monroe was a monster on the outside zone and counter and should see a lot of action in that role.
Between the 4 and 5 wide offense, the no-huddle under-center offense, DJ Monroe and the unstoppable jumbo package Texas has too many strengths on offense for any team to be able to handle.
On defense we showed a few interesting traits. We gave up some big plays, but the fact is that Texas will do that all year. Muschamp is going to play aggressively against what teams are running and leave Corners in single coverage and attack upfield. Now, there will be better execution down the road and you’ll see this defense play better and tighter but still give up some big plays in the running game or passing game as the competition intensifies.
The secondary looked pretty solid, barring the one play where Chykie blew coverage one on one and gave up a 75 yard TD pass. Ben Wells made a huge hit late in the game, hopefully this will give him confidence along with Christian Scott’s possible absence this season due to academic issues.
The Linebackers looked like an elite unit such as Texas hasn’t had since I started watching them. Roddrick Muckelroy picked up where he left off. Norton (hopefully not seriously injured) was good and a great inside back in our new 3-3-5 look. E. Acho and Keenan Robinson are fast strikers who can play in space or inside as necessary. I like them all a great deal.
Defensive End seems to have been the underrated strength of the team. Sam Acho might be better than I even dared to hope. Texas played the option last night about as poorly as they did when A&M used it to pull that disgusting upset in 2006 with the exception of Acho. When they ran it at Sergio he ran straight at the quarterback hoping to deliver a killing shot and set them up for the pitch that yielded some good runs. Acho played contain on the pitch man, forced the quarterback to keep it and created a fumble. He plays smart but is very athletic and gets in the backfield. Kindle, while a little over-aggressive on the option, is going to be phenomenal this season. He’s relentless in his pressure and athletic enough to punish teams on every play because of his pursuit. He might end Sam Bradford’s life this season. Alex Okafor also looked very good, and more importantly, he looked great against the run. Coming into the season he was supposed to be another pass-rushing weapon to rotate in against the hapless Big 12 quarterbacks we face but he demonstrated the know-how to use his penetration and athleticism to blow up the LA Monroe running game.
Houston played well but it was hard to evaluate DT play from the upper deck where I sat. Texas used the 4-2-5 under front they used for much of last season and also mixed in a lot of 3-3-5. I intended to write about the 3-3-5 before the season started but didn’t fully grasp what we’re doing with it.
Last season the front looked like this:
This year as follows:
Last season, Muschamp used the first front to create one-on-one matchups that paid big dividends for the pass-rush. The ends line up against the guards (who aren’t typically selected for their ability to defend the quarterback from quick rushers) and avoid double teams. Kindle could rush from the same side as Orakpo and prevent the Left tackle from coming to double Orakpo. If a team asked a guard to help double team Roy Miller they then had to also ask a tackle to slide inside 2 or 3 yards in time to block Orakpo or Houston, which is a little more useful than asking me to suit up and block Orakpo or Houston.
This season the ends are in the more traditional 5-tech, meaning they are lined up over the tackles instead of the guards. I’m not clear on the reasoning for this change but evidently Muschamp is not as interested in creating matchups for Kheeston Randall or Ben Alexander as he was with Roy Miller and I sympathize. Instead the linebackers we’ll have to take on guards inside more often and the ends have more responsibility, perfectly acceptable terms since these are team strengths. We’ll see how this front develops over the course of the season and what advantages it lends to Muschamp’s squad. Overall, I feel great about the defense, despite the 20 points allowed. They are fast and aggressive and will certainly create some turnovers. It also warrants mentioning that despite allowing 20 points, the defense only gave up 298 yards for the game yesterday.
So far so good, bring on Wyoming…
That said, they run-blocked pretty well as DeMarco Murray had 58 yards on 10 carries. Of course, when you find yourself in a vicious low-scoring cockfight there is no place for running the ball. Especially when you have a terrible, inexperienced quarterback throwing to a new cast of receivers missing their best player (Jermaine Gresham). Good job, Big Game Bob.
Oklahoma St. looked pretty solid. They punked a poor Georgia offense and their offense looked about like it did last season, very good if not quite elite. Perrish Cox looks phenomenal and the D-line was better than adequate. They’re still giving up loads of points against the Big 12 offenses and perhaps will hold down OU’s weak looking squad prompting undue credit to the new DC and further trashing of Todd Beckman.
Of course, we must talk about the Horns as well. Let’s start with
1). Special Teams:
I think our special teams will be a big difference maker this season. Potentially a game changing play will be made on special teams in Stillwater or Dallas. The punting is good, and all our kickers are as good as you might expect from college players. The return game is looking very promising. Earl Thomas wasn’t the greatest punt returner but he’s merely a placeholder. Jordan Shipley will play there when it matters most. DJ Monroe is perhaps the fastest player on the team and his participation on kick returns is pretty exciting.
2). Offense:
McCoy was McCoy. He threw a terrible INT but it’s early in the year. He’s going to be the best quarterback in the country. He still has some happy feet in the pocket and drifts out when it isn’t necessary to do so but overall, he was excellent and spread the ball to a big cast of receivers.
Speaking of the receivers, they look phenomenal. When Texas used the 4-wide receiver set with Dan Buckner in the TE-Flex spot they were picking up huge chunks of yards over the middle of the field. Jordan Shipley was used in that role last year and took some heavy punishment while torching OU and the rest of the Big 12. That Buckner can already occupy that role so well will mean great things for the offense. Kirkendoll looked over the middle as well.
The outside is very interesting. We didn’t see much of Malcolm Williams, which would be a great disappointment if not for the reason. The reason is John Chiles. He’s cut the the 15 pounds he needlessly added to play QB and he looks good in the open field. He’s a fantastic weapon for teams to account for, and teams just don’t have the resources in the back 7 to account for Chiles on the edge while defending the middle and the lethal Jordan Shipley.
Jordan might be the most underrated WR in the country. He’s really, really good. I don’t know what else to tell you. He does everything that WR’s are supposed to do well. He’s not huge and tall, that’s his only weakness.
The Texas running game pleased me greatly yesterday, except the fumbles. Greg Davis wisely chose not to scrap our zone-running game as I predicted in this space earlier. Instead, he did exactly what I proposed and expected and employed the inside and outside zones from a no-huddle offense with Vondrell McGee and successfully moved the ball down the field. He made 2 other tweaks that also generated some real results.
They moved Colt under center in the traditional 11 personnel (1 TE, 1 RB) formation we usually run from the shotgun and employed the zone-runs and play-action. We’ll see more of this later in the year. It’ll be a nice way to punish the over-aggressive Sooners.
Finally, they played DJ Monroe at RB and ran the old counter we really haven’t seen since Jamaal Charles left. I suppose they feel that you need great speed to the outside to run if effectively. At any rate, Monroe was a monster on the outside zone and counter and should see a lot of action in that role.
Between the 4 and 5 wide offense, the no-huddle under-center offense, DJ Monroe and the unstoppable jumbo package Texas has too many strengths on offense for any team to be able to handle.
On defense we showed a few interesting traits. We gave up some big plays, but the fact is that Texas will do that all year. Muschamp is going to play aggressively against what teams are running and leave Corners in single coverage and attack upfield. Now, there will be better execution down the road and you’ll see this defense play better and tighter but still give up some big plays in the running game or passing game as the competition intensifies.
The secondary looked pretty solid, barring the one play where Chykie blew coverage one on one and gave up a 75 yard TD pass. Ben Wells made a huge hit late in the game, hopefully this will give him confidence along with Christian Scott’s possible absence this season due to academic issues.
The Linebackers looked like an elite unit such as Texas hasn’t had since I started watching them. Roddrick Muckelroy picked up where he left off. Norton (hopefully not seriously injured) was good and a great inside back in our new 3-3-5 look. E. Acho and Keenan Robinson are fast strikers who can play in space or inside as necessary. I like them all a great deal.
Defensive End seems to have been the underrated strength of the team. Sam Acho might be better than I even dared to hope. Texas played the option last night about as poorly as they did when A&M used it to pull that disgusting upset in 2006 with the exception of Acho. When they ran it at Sergio he ran straight at the quarterback hoping to deliver a killing shot and set them up for the pitch that yielded some good runs. Acho played contain on the pitch man, forced the quarterback to keep it and created a fumble. He plays smart but is very athletic and gets in the backfield. Kindle, while a little over-aggressive on the option, is going to be phenomenal this season. He’s relentless in his pressure and athletic enough to punish teams on every play because of his pursuit. He might end Sam Bradford’s life this season. Alex Okafor also looked very good, and more importantly, he looked great against the run. Coming into the season he was supposed to be another pass-rushing weapon to rotate in against the hapless Big 12 quarterbacks we face but he demonstrated the know-how to use his penetration and athleticism to blow up the LA Monroe running game.
Houston played well but it was hard to evaluate DT play from the upper deck where I sat. Texas used the 4-2-5 under front they used for much of last season and also mixed in a lot of 3-3-5. I intended to write about the 3-3-5 before the season started but didn’t fully grasp what we’re doing with it.
Last season the front looked like this:
This year as follows:
Last season, Muschamp used the first front to create one-on-one matchups that paid big dividends for the pass-rush. The ends line up against the guards (who aren’t typically selected for their ability to defend the quarterback from quick rushers) and avoid double teams. Kindle could rush from the same side as Orakpo and prevent the Left tackle from coming to double Orakpo. If a team asked a guard to help double team Roy Miller they then had to also ask a tackle to slide inside 2 or 3 yards in time to block Orakpo or Houston, which is a little more useful than asking me to suit up and block Orakpo or Houston.
This season the ends are in the more traditional 5-tech, meaning they are lined up over the tackles instead of the guards. I’m not clear on the reasoning for this change but evidently Muschamp is not as interested in creating matchups for Kheeston Randall or Ben Alexander as he was with Roy Miller and I sympathize. Instead the linebackers we’ll have to take on guards inside more often and the ends have more responsibility, perfectly acceptable terms since these are team strengths. We’ll see how this front develops over the course of the season and what advantages it lends to Muschamp’s squad. Overall, I feel great about the defense, despite the 20 points allowed. They are fast and aggressive and will certainly create some turnovers. It also warrants mentioning that despite allowing 20 points, the defense only gave up 298 yards for the game yesterday.
So far so good, bring on Wyoming…
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