About those All-Big 12 Teams...

The All-Big 12 lists that rank all the conference stars as 1st team, 2nd team and so on is predominantly based on preseason expectations. If a player is expected to be great, or is a senior, his place on the lists will reflect that. Coaches will make sure to soothe each other’s political desires and reward seniors, program kids and pretend like the preseason expectations were matched by the performance on the field.

Of course there is an exception to that standard; Texas is routinely robbed in the All-conference teams. In the instance of the newly released 2009 All Big 12 teams, Texas has 3 first team players. OU managed to get 4 players selected to this list and that offensive juggernaut Kansas St. placed 4 players, all on offense.

Before I look over other injustices how about we just look at the list?

1ST Team defense:

DE: Von Miller, A&M: this one is obvious. He leads the nation in sacks.
DE: Brandon Sharpe; TT: another big achiever in the pass rush, fair choice.
DE: Jared Crick Nebraska: at this point it’s clear that they chose the ends with the 3 highest sack totals. Also, it’s unclear how this defense will perform with 3 quick-ends and 5 total defensive lineman. This will be a reoccurring theme.
DT: Ndamukong Suh: He is really good.
DT: Gerald McCoy: the tricky thing is, you can’t really point to any stats that would suggest either McCoy or Suh have been more dominant than Texas’ Lamarr Houston. They are ahead of him here because they were ahead in the preseason.

LB: Sean Witherspoon, Missouri: a lot of all-around hype for this guy.
LB: Jessie Smith Iowa St.: we can’t offend Iowa St. by not including one of their fine athletes somewhere right? Might as well do it at the expense of a Longhorn like Roddrick Muckelroy who has terrorized the league for 2 years at a level beyond anything Smith could dream of.
LB: Travis Lewis, OU There is nothing in the numbers that suggests that Lewis is better than Muckelroy either.

Here the list just names DBs but I’m going to list their exact position to further demonstrate the absurdity:

Corner: Perrish Cox, OSU: He’s a standout to be sure. Aaron Williams is a better player who was injured too often. I might take Curtis Brown here as well.
Corner: Dominique Franks, OU: Another worthy enough pick. The trend here, however, tends to reward the Sooner Defense over the even more dominant Texas one.
Coner: Prince Amakamara, Nebraska: This is our 3rd corner I notice. I suppose that actually makes sense in this league but it should be at the expense of a defensive end AND a linebacker.

Safety: Larry Asante, Nebraska: Anytime a safety makes 2 interceptions and breaks up 7 passes in a pass-heavy league you adorn him with praise.
Safety: Earl Thomas, Texas: Arguably the best player in the league, somehow not a unanimous 1st team selection.

1st Team Offense:

QB: Colt McCoy: they managed to avoid blowing this, surprisingly.
RB: Daniel Thomas, Kansas St.: The Kansas St. running game gets a lot of attention in this list. I think everyone is afraid of Coach Snyder.
RB: Keith Toston, OSU: He’s really not that great of a runner. He benefitted from getting the majority of the carries in the Oklahoma St. running system.
FB: Bryant Ward: OSU: it’s required to pick a fullback to honor so they simply choose the one on the best running team. I think OU might actually have an argument here but who cares about this position anyways.
TE: Jeron Mastrud, Kansas St. Mastrud terrorized defenses to the tune of 21 catches for 233 yards and a devastating Touchdown. When not horrifying defenses with the threat of a 3 yard release pattern, he plowed ahead for Daniel Thomas en route to 1200 yards over the worst competition college football has to offer. He’s a no brainer here.
WR: Jordan Shipley, Tx: duh. Thank you.
WR: Danario Alexander, Missouri: Pretty explosive player, 1600 yards on the year.
WR: Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas: Solid overall list at WR. You could make a case for OU’s Ryan Broyles but I sure won’t. It’s not hard to pick 3 dominant WR in this league.

Now the OL:
LT: Nick Stringer, Kansas St: Had as much to do with Thomas’ amazing success running the ball as just about anyone else on the line.
LT: Trent Williams, OU: Was not completely embarrassed by the Texas pass-rush.
LT: Russel Okung, OSU: Best LT in the conference, possible top 10 draft pick.
LT: Nate Solder, Colorado: I have trouble seeing the logic here given Colorado’s terrible pass protection.
RG: Brandon Carter, Texas Tech: Great run blocker, good pass-protector for an interior lineman. I hope he knows how to snap the ball…

KR/PR: Brandon Banks, Kansas st: He’s an awesome kick returner, with 4 TDs. Not so great a punt returner. Shipley should go here if they didn’t want to avoid rewarding the same guy twice.

At this point all I can do is attempt to form my own list. I don’t have the benefit of having seen all these teams play very much, only my own few perceptions and the use of stats which alone may ascend my list above this crappy one.
Additionally, I’m going to create a real Big 12 offense and defense. And it will be schematically coherent.

Ian’s All Big 12 Offense:

QB: Colt McCoy, Texas: I’m choosing Colt because he’s the best quarterback in the country. He can run well enough to operate some option-read and he’s the best short-intermediate passer Texas has ever had.

RB: Daniel Thomas, Kansas st: As much as I’ve mocked Kansas St. he was the most accomplished runner this year and is used to the shotgun formations this offense would run. I would rather choose a back with explosiveness in the receiving game but Batch from Tech and Murray from OU put up inconsistent seasons.

FB: There is no fullback.

TE: Riar Greer, Colorado: No one really utilized a Tight end very well in this conference but Greer is one of the better receiving threats and a solid check down for McCoy.

Sub B receiver: Jordan Shipley, Texas: He’s going in the slot where he can punish everyone.

Flanker, Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas: Another phenomenal midfield weapon.

Split End: Danario Alexander, Missouri: I would love to just put Malcolm Wiliams here and moved Alexander to flanker and could have justified it had Williams not had to split time with John Chiles. Alexander with his 6-5 frame will go very nicely here though.

LT: Adam Ulatoski, Texas: He was entrusted with handling Von Miller alone against A&M. He’s not as good as Okung, but I like Ulatoski here with potential help from Greer and Okung plowing the road on the right.
LG: Andrew Lewis, Oklahoma St: Part of the Oklahoma St. machine who is mobile enough in the zone-blocking game and good in pass protection.
C: JD Walton, Baylor: Best center in the conference that I’m aware of.
RG: Brandon Carter, Texas Tech: He’s adept at pass-protection, which is what this offense will be all about, and a punishing run-blocker.
RT: Russel Okung, Oklahoma St.: As great a Left tackle as he is, his value in the run game makes him a better fit here.

Here we have a coherent Offense that utilizes the conference’s best talent and features a line that can handle zone-blocking and the pass-protection necessary to keep McCoy upright.

Ian’s All-Big 12 defense

This defense will be designed to handle the typical Big 12 offenses and have a 4-2-5 under alignment.

End/Linebacker: Von Miller, Texas A&M: He’s lightning quick and has 17 sacks on the year. If left single-blocked he will wreck opposing passing games.
Nose-Tackle: Ndamukong Suh. He can provide a great interior pass-rush with 6.5 sacks and the ability to handle the double teams that come here. Another perk, when the double team keeps him off the QB (besides freeing up Miller) is his 10 pass break-ups at the line.

3-tech/quick tackle: Lamarr Houston, Texas: I will justify Houston over McCoy with the following numbers. Houston had more tackles, 50-31, more sacks 7-5, more quarterback hurries, 26-9, and more tackles for loss 20-14.5. Houston is a more disruptive option and lived in the opponents backfield.

Power-end: Sergio Kindle, Texas. Sergio split time as the linebacker on this side and as a defensive end at Miller’s position. His sack numbers were down on the year but his season was phenomenal. 28 quarterback hurries, 17 tackles for loss and 56 tackles overall make him the best option at this spot.

We are only taking 2 linebackers here, a Middle Linebacker and a Weakside linebacker. MLB needs to be able to handle the inside running game and intermediate coverage responsibilities. Weakside LB needs to be a fast, tackling machine who can strip the ball.

Middle Linebacker: Joe Pawelek, Baylor: Interceptions were down from last year to only one and his 4 tackles for loss weren’t stunning but overall this is one of the most well rounded players in the conference and his 109 tackles overall speak to his ability to find the football.

Weakside Linebacker, Roddrick Muckelroy, Texas: It’s time Muck got his due. I like Emmanuel Acho for the future because of his ball-stripping abilities but Muck’s 10 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 87 total tackles demonstrate how much of a speed demon he is for the Texas defense. Additionally, he did this from middle linebacker after Jared Norton was injured.

Corner: Perrish Cox, Oklahoma State: He had 4 interceptions on the season along with 15 pass break-ups.

Corner: Curtis Brown, Texas: Only 1 interception on the season for Curtis but it was one that few could make. His 14 pass break-ups are a good indicator of his athletic ability and its usefulness in finding the ball at its highest point in coverage. His 50 tackles and forced fumble also demonstrate his physical play.

Nickel: Prince Amukamara, Nebraska: He’s solid as a physical option inside against the run with 50 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble on the year. Against the dangerous slot receivers in the Big 12 he should be fine having picked off 3 passes this year and broken up 10 more. Aaron Williams might be more talented but Amukamara’s production earns him this spot.

Strong Safety: Earl Thomas, Texas: He’s going to hang near the line in Cover-1 robber at times where he can pattern read and jump routes. With 8 interceptions on the year he is a weapon to disrupt any and all passing routes made by the opposing team.
Free Safety: Quinton Carter, Oklahoma: Carter is a Cover-2 safety who can crash down on plays in front of him with speed. On my defense he’ll be way back as a free safety where his 3 interceptions and 5 pass break-ups suggest he is a more than adequate centerfield playing behind Amukamara, Brown, Cox and Thomas. He had 80 tackles on the year and 2.5 for loss so he has the ability to attack plays closer to the line as necessary.

All that said, clearly I believe that Texas has the best defense in the Big 12 and should have been rewarded as such in the all-conference teams.