Depth Chart Part II: Personnel Is Destiny

Good work.

You always put the ice in just right.

Great stuff as always Scipio. You have had a great off season. Informative, insightful, and in front of the news. A true multi-purpose tool.

My only beef is that I’m not sold on the Curtis Brown portal (Chuck Berry portal yes, C. Brown not yet), and not sure I saw enough Keenan Robinson love from you until you saw him this summer. Cleary I’m picking nits.

Great call on Cody Johnson. Keep it up!

Also, I use the term context specific often explaining our collaboration solution to customers. I think you lifted it from me.

Excellent. I am one to usually b*tch about the “ors”, but I agree that the WR “ors” are about 5 guys being pretty good and worthy of playing time, with little separation. Maybe putting in waves of WRs can eventually wear down DBs chasing them all day. You don’t usually think in terms of a receiving corps doing that, but usually because teams have 1-2 top guys that are significantly better than 3-5.

And spot on with the defensive analysis. Like the comparison to basketball going big or small.

Well played—-Scipio gets it. I just can’t believe you aren’t seeing the pure mad scientest named Carl Reese—-selling him short like that when it’s obvious he was the best around gameplanning the option. It matters little that some of that schedule didn’t actually run the option so there’s that kiddo. He would still be the name floated in coaching circles if only that chuck and duck spread hadn’t surfaced during Carl’s run—-the fish have been biting though so it’s not all bad.

Not sure how many games we will win this season but the over/under on defensive turnovers won’t be offered in Vegas—-we should break several school records along the way. Fun, fun, fun til daddy takes the t-bird away.Thankee

“Though our talent differential at WR 1 vs. opponent CB 1 isn’t great (or there at all), we should be able to make hay at WR 3 vs. DB 3 and so on”

Excellent. Especially when we can sub into our wr 4 & 5 and they are just as strong as WR 2 & 3 and yet the defense can’t necessarily sub to their DB’s without losing more edge.

Also… how will Barrett Matthews line up w/ most LB’s he’ll face??

Can’t.
Wait.
For.
Football.

The Muschamp defense is hell to go 3rd and long against (3rd and 6 or more). I checked how we did against the better offenses we faced last year- TT, Missouri, OSU, and TAMU (strange- three were on the road).

TT had 9 3rd and longs. They ran twice for 5 yards, and called 7 passes, going 1 for 6 for 11 yards, with 1 sack. One conversion.

Mizzou had 8 3rd and longs, calling passes every time. They went 2 for 6, with 2 sacks, for 35 yards and 1 TD (their only conversion).

OSU had 7 3rd and longs. They ran twice for 8 (no conversions), and passed 5 times, completing 1 for 18 yards (their only conversion).

Finally, TAMU. They killed us on 3rd and long. They ran once for 0 yards, and called 7 passes. They were sacked once, but converted every other, 6 for 6 for 146 yards.

I expect this defense to be hell on 3rd and long again.

nordberg -
 
You lifted that line from a Cinemax movie.
 
Let’s go find the Major, nordberg. He will know where the good fishing is behind the alumni center.
 
Art -
 
I’m capable of all sorts of corporate bullshit talk without your help, thank you. THAT IS MY PARADIGM.
 
fear –
 
Thanks, man.
 
TexasFootball -
 
As an old state of Texas DC, it had to pain you to see a defensive coordinator who didn’t understand option football. I mean, shit, most of us understood the defensive rules by 8th grade. That’s when the shine started to come off of Reese. And it came off quick.
 
Yeah, this team will force some turnovers.
 
Orangechipper -
 
He’s a physical mismatch. He’s too strong to jam effectively – partly because he has a low base – taller guys are easier to hold up – but he also has legit 10.7 100 meter speed. Most LBs can’t turn and run with him. I suspect he’ll be able to do some work running up the seams if we can develop threats outside and get the running game credible. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him catch 40 balls for 7 TDs.
 
Jongleur -
 
Best.
Response.
Yet.

Taylor -
 
Great data. We are not a team you want to get behind on.
 
The deal with A&M, and I’ll get into it more as that games gets closer, is that they were able to establish Jerrod Johnson as a big running threat, particularly breaking containment. Once we had to pass rush for containment rather than pressure, they were able to flood the field with good WRs and put Gideon and Chykie in one-on-one situations. And JJ threw some great balls. Some you just tip your hat on.

Scip,

I have learned a hell of a lot from you. This is yet another enjoyable, insightful read. Definitely the peak of your game, the past month or so. Your characterization of the defense in this piece was especially astute, urging us to break ourselves from convention…although, for me, it will be a mental break, as opposed to the type performed by the defensive coordinator. It’s about orchestration, indulging in moments of strength (Dravannti Johnson starting) as opposed to drilling the hell out of the handful of problem areas (a la MacDuff keeping Sergio off the field because he wasn’t adept at dropping back). I love it and, as always, look forward to reading the next installment.

Hard to believe game week is here.

Thanks, Lark. Glad you like it. Tell a friend etc.
 
We have fantastic readers. And though most don’t even post and are happy to follow along quietly, the level of discourse from our readership compared to other sites is ridiculously good.
 
You’re right on with respect to Sergio.

we’re going to have a run blitzing terror who inflicts negative plays

He’s been OC for years now. His slow-developing draw play from the end-zone is legend.

On other Texas boards today, I’ve seen people wondering if Connor Wood and Alex Okafor will now be looking to transfer after the release of today’s depth chart.

So yeah, I agree with that Scipio.

parlin -
 
That was cruel. We’re trying to generate real, genuine, unfounded hysterical excitement and you’re impeding that process.
 
nordberg -
 
I’m not surprised.
 
It’s counter-intuitive. You would think that the “cover charge” of a pay-site would keep the riff-raff out, but in fact it does the opposite. It creates tyrannies of the dumb who use moderation as an insulation for their stupid, constant opinions and banalities.
 
Similarly, non-pay site open forum need a strong culture to take root or else they’re swept over in the tide of stupid too. It’s a little like Jersey Shore – the people that have the least reason to be confident in their opinions are the most vocal and attention seeking while the good posters are always driven out. This is the Iron Law of The Internet.

Since I’m not happy unless I have something to be concerned with, here’s my concern: With so many situational packages, how does Muschamp make all the requisite substitutions against hurry up offenses? Can he make the changes without incurring a bunch of 12-men on the field penalties. I’d rather see a core group that is capable of multi-tasking and use 1 or 2 specialty guys to plug in when necessary. Changing up the fronts from a 3-4 to a 4-3 or scheme packages like a 4-2-5 is going to open up mismatches not just for our defense, but if the OC on the other side is saavy enough, maybe some opportunities for our opponents as well. I can sum all that up thusly: Get too cute and we could get burned.

………waiting for football. Almost over.

Acho has to be one of the quickest Mike’s in the history of the B12.

I think Dra Johnson looks to transfer too. The thinly veiled depth chart deal is just a way for Mack to coerce him into staying. He sees through it and transfers after the season in which he produces 6 sacks, 6TFL and 28 tackles

It creates tyrannies of the dumb who use moderation as an insulation for their stupid, constant opinions and banalities.

Bingo. Nothing to add, that sums it up nicely.

Whatever.

For any issues we have, if you zoom out far enough, it’s easy to see that this program is light years ahead of where it was only a few years ago. People are expecting us to return to 2007 form with the departure of some key guys, and they simply don’t know how wrong they are. The -28.5 spread on Rice is the easiest money you’ll make all season.

Scipio,
Your position/season previews the past few weeks have been uniformly superb reading. I don’t think I’ve ever been as well-informed about a Longhorn team going into a season as I am about this one. I’m calibrating my expectations accordingly. Highest of kudos to you for your work.

Five days til kickoff!

“The -28.5 spread on Rice is the easiest money you’ll make all season.”

I guess it’s possible that halftime is 28-7 or some such, and we run Jamison Berryhill all 2nd half and win 38-10ish …. but, yeah, 28.5 seems pretty low.

I am loving the slobbering over OU and DeMarco-1-yard-per-carry- Murray and the rest of the OU team.

It will give us that much of an edge at the RRS.

Also, don’t you know one of the reasons for our offense starting CJ is how sending him up the middle over and over again against OU’s DL will wear them down in the 2nd half.

Don’t know if you non-Austin guys saw Bohl’s column today, but he said that Mack had never been so quietly confident starting a season.

Scip you’re on fire! This is awesome. Your observation about pay sites is dead on. I hope Texas247 can avoid it, but maybe not. There still some good stuff on Rivals, but it’s getting harder and harder to find. I’m shivering thinking about this defense and the type of disruption they’re capapble of providing. It also tells you how strong and much trust the back 7, especially back 4(5) have earned that allows this.

On other Texas boards today, I’ve seen people wondering if Connor Wood and Alex Okafor will now be looking to transfer after the release of today’s depth chart.

I don’t know if this has been discussed already or not, but is there any thought that Wood is being redshirted just to give him a year of separation from Gilbert, and not that he actually got beat out by McCoy? Or is it clear that isn’t the case?

You would think that the "cover charge" of a pay-site would keep the riff-raff out, but in fact it does the opposite.

Your observation about pay sites is dead on. I hope Texas247 can avoid it, but maybe not.

Here’s the problem inherent with the pay sites business model. They depend largely on subscribers to make money, ergo the moderators can’t come on a thread after one of their paying customers starts shitting all over it with their nuggets of ignorance and call that person a fucktard. If they do, they lose subscribers, so policing a pay site is inherently difficult, but not impossible. Really good, and really smart people can call someone a fucktard in such a way that the person is sufficiently shouted down yet doesn’t feel belittled. Regardless of whether it’s a pay site or free, it all starts at the top. Fantake has some of the best writers around and they do a great job of corralling the idiots through subversion, wit, or in the case of Tim, outright mockery.

Just seeing if you are reading this Tim.

Re: If we’ve learned anything from watching Muschamp, it’s that we are a bunch of situational packages. Muschamp does a beautiful job of crafting specific roles to exploit the talents of a guy with one or two outstanding attributes rather than bemoaning what they don’t do and refusing to develop them.

and

The same goes for DE. Forget that we have a position called DE.

Just as often, it’s situational guy on edge. Best run stopper. Or best guy against a mobile QB. Some guys like Acho are complete against the run and pass so he’s a core DE.

Taking Gman’s concern into account, what is written above, to me, describes a coach who creates the appearance of complexity but really is finding ways to remove impediments to players’ maxing out their natural ability without compromising overall team responsibilities. It looks like it takes more thinking, but once fluid state is achieved, it takes less.

so what you are saying is that we are burning all these shirts for title runs in 11/12?

Rice was having trouble stopping Berryhill last season, iirc. They couldn’t stop Jeremy Hills at all.

Most interesting writer on the internet. Thank you, ScipioTex.

“I don’t know if this has been discussed already or not, but is there any thought that Wood is being redshirted just to give him a year of separation from Gilbert, and not that he actually got beat out by McCoy? Or is it clear that isn’t the case?”

No inside knowledge, but the impression I get is that there is little seperation with the two. With Connor having more upside, it makes sense that you redshirt him, if there is not much seperation. He is coming from a very low level of competion. When the game slows down, I would anticipate him unseating McCoy at some point in teh next two years. I would also anticipate teh loser of the spring to transfer.

Great call on Cojo Scip. But if he leads the team in rushing – I will send you some Don Julio. Tre will be the man.

“use depth to wear on people and get favorable mismatches on the other team’s 3rd and 4th DB.”

Great point. If you have a lot of depth at WR, it makes sense to make the opposition CBs run as much as possible or hit them every play. This will force the opponent to rest their best CBs more and play their less talented substitute DBs.

Cody not only provides powerful inside running and multiple types of blocking but also punishes opponent’s who sell out to stop the pass by running over these smaller, faster pass defenders. Cody at TB forces opponents to play a more balanced D thus giving Gilbert a better chance when passing.

Muschamp’s mantra last year to our D was “be versatile” I think that is because of some of the hurry up we’ll inevitably see. I think that is where our base D will have to be able to be versatile.(facing the 1-2 teams that will go no huddle on us) Maybe that’s why you see Okafor training at all 4 d-line positions. Maybe that’s why Dravantti can be both a buck or a LB. That’s why scott/vacarro can be corners or run-stuffers. So i think our base D will be versatile and when the situation allows, THEN you put in some specialists like a Jeffcoat and spin down Acho to Dline. But if the situation DOESN’T Allow… hopefully we still have our best 11 out there that have the versatility that Muschamp preaches.

That’s one thing that Scip and other keep mentioning about our Offense that’s encouraging. They appear to be very versatile. Go from a strong I-formation set with Whaley as the HB/FB and Matthews as the TE to the next hurry up snap in shotgun where Matthews is the flex and Whaley is at the TE spot.

Heck put in Monroe for a series and the first snap is pro-set with Monroe as the lone back. Second snap is hurry up empty set! How would a defense match-up with that!?!?!?!

…the people that have the least reason to be confident in their opinions are the most vocal and attention seeking while the good posters are always driven out. This is the Iron Law of The Internet.

Slouching towards Reliant to be born.

“Muschamp’s impact hasn’t just been on the defense.”

Amen. Ability/aggression/intensity over seniority. Creatively putting players in positions to use their strengths instead of forcing them into a pre-conceived conventional ideal.

I really like Cody behind Huey/Snow/Walters and playing the WR’s in waves making our offense as physically punishing as our defense and special teams.

Forgetting conventional thoughts about “positions” reminds me of Laker coach Pat Riley’s vision of the future of the NBA after a few seasons with Magic Johnson, James Worthy, et al—five 6’8" guys who could run. He wasn’t forseeing 5 clones but guys with complementary specific skills with common size and mobility. We have a collection of LB’s and DE’s ranging from 230 to 270 with speed, strength and nasty. That offers you lots of options to match up with opponents’ strengths as well as game situations.

We have recruited an unprecedented collection of afo’letes. Time to let the dogs out.

I think Dra Johnson looks to transfer too. The thinly veiled depth chart deal is just a way for Mack to coerce him into staying.

I don’t see how you’d conclude that – the coaches basically forfeited Earnest’s PT as a 5th year “Sangre por La Programa” senior and are letting Johnson play a Von Miller-esque pure pass rusher (though not on every down) role. The guy has already played a bit of TE and FB too, IIRC so he’s obviously the type who will do anything for the program. The only guy of recent vintage who may be too far down on the bathyspheric-depth chart of DE/LB/Buck-shit-wreckers to ever see the light of day, and hence a transfer candidate, is maybe Mims.

whoosh!

“the people that have the least reason to be confident in their opinions are the most vocal and attention seeking while the good posters are always driven out. This is the Iron Law of The Internet.”

My senior year in high school I learned an important life lesson from my dual credit Houston Community College English writing class – if you are unsure of something, say it twice as loud. Apparently, my professor was well aware of the coming Iron Law of The Internet.

Back to football. Great write-up Scipio, as usual. I am happy to see Dravannti in the line up because he has one of the coolest names on the team, and probably looks good getting off the bus (similar to how I pick out wines I’ve never heard of at Spec’s – name and good looking label). Knowing that Muschamp knows what to do with him and knowing that he is not going to be asked to cover a slot receiver makes it even better.

I’ve been asked by a few folks how I think we are going to do this year (and let me tell you, my thoughts and a $1.25 will get you a cup of coffee, so listen up), and I would not be shocked anywhere from zero to two losses (more than two, and I’m shocked, and we won’t be too worried about Muschamp leaving if that is the case).

Two more full days until football season starts on Thursday.

Hook ’em!

He’s a hell of a hand model offline too.

echeese has already infiltrated 247, ruining any chance for rational discourse.

I learn something every time I read your work, Scipio. Good stuff.

Orangebloods is the best site on the web because I dominate it with my vast knowledge of statistics. I love putting those who criticize the best offensive coordinator in college football in their place.

“Muschamp shits on convention and wipes his ass with cliche. He’s going to a three guard lineup, pressing full court, and bringing the fucking hurt to you.”

Scip, please tell me you pulled this right out of Boom’s non-compete, third person, clause. Priceless.

If this D shows any more blue in the collar, Jimmy H himself might resurrect from underneath the Red Zone Food Court and pop a cap in Bo Pelini’s ass.

I still have trouble understanding how a guy that rushed for 4 yards on 4 carries against Nebraska and Bama, collectively, is suddenly and magically The Answer to our running back problems. I hereby dub Johnson: The Answer. And expect him to fulfill all of these glorious pre-season expectations. Perhaps the explanation is that we have a veteran qb whose passing skill will take pressure off the running game. No, no. That’s not it. Perhaps the explanation is that the offensive line, unlike last year, will not be manned by doughy, leadfooted choirboys trained in a puzzling blocking scheme. No, that’s not it either. Okay, I give. Hope you’re right, but I give.

ransom, did you read the post? The coaches have to choose a running back, they have to choose who to play on the line, and they have to choose a scheme (at least, they have to start with one). Based on who we have on campus, and the info outlined above, this seems like a rational way to end up in more 2nd and 6s, 2nd and 7s, 3rd and 2s than 2nd and 12s, 3rd and 8s…etc.

I’ll take The Answer, for $1000, Alex.

Ransom-

Any optimism in Johnson most likely has to due with his off season dedication. I didn’t get the idea that the enthusiasm for Johnson being named the starter stemmed from the notion that Texas will definitely be able to run the ball. Rather, it has to do do with the fact that a certain type of running game is now being promised. The naming of Johnson as the sole starter both confirms that a change in style is being implemented and as well as puts the best back for that style in for the majority of snaps.

Vahserized-

What’s up with echeese and the lunch bunches and all that crap?

Ransom’s in midseason form!

I have a lot of “depth.”

some would refer to them as “interchangable parts.”

my Daddy is a pimp — but not in the sense of the common vernacular.

my wife doesn’t want to move again.

who am I?

Personnel Is Destiny

That’s like… profound man….

blah, my bad. hard to tell on the interwebs who’s serious and who’s unserious. I need flashing avatars and such to pigeonhole better.

Ransom,

There are a few reasons to think the run game is going to be better. First, the first game is just a few days away and, being good college football fans, we are wildly optimistic. It may not be rational but it is fun.

My belief that the UT run game is going to improve is based primarily on scheme modifications: QB under center much more, OL in 3 point stance, encouraged to fire out more vigorously, playing a TE and H back to provide additional blocking, way more practice reps of the run game, dropping the QB zone read run. These things are all incremental improvements in scheme that will improve the run game.

Much of what Cody provides is not necessarily being a better all around runner than Fozzy and Tres but being a better power runner and making the O more multiple with his ability to block.

Cody’s power may be sufficient to force D’s to play more run stoppers. This will also hurt the D’s ability to zone blitz. When you are accustomed to facing nickels, dimes (and beyond), it is nice to attack those D schemes with a power TB. Cody will force the D to honor the power run which permits Gilbert to pass against a less passing oriented D. If that happens, it will be a huge improvement over last season.

Cody’s blocking is going to make a huge difference. He will better protect Gilbert in the pocket because he can block LBs and even some DEs. He has the ability lead block on a QB rollout or a sweep by a WR. He can chip block a DE, permitting an OT to get into his block of a DE. These are things that Fozzy and Tres mostly can’t do. Cody can line up wide and be a devastating blocker of a DB on a screen play.

We have one irreplaceable part on defense. Kheeston Randall allows muschamp all of this front seven wizardry. We are one chickenshit chop block from being very ordinary on defense. Good thing we only play two teams that can exploit this. Oh yeah, Beaumont Kelly hollah!

… twice as loudly.

Actually Dave, loud can be used as an adverb.

Cody Johnson is a beast. Will be a great downhill runner this year. Just keep him out there. Most people who aren’t optimistic, are blaming the back for a bad running formation. I am totally on board with Scipio with this one.
The best news is that we are going to the El Ced offense look but with a Musch D.

arriviste

Don’t feel bad. The intelligence on here is evident and the wit often subtle. I have been looking for a board like this for a long time. I have been here more than once a day for what I feel is the majority of this blog’s life, and I only pipe up rarely, and then usually only to ask questions.

Somehow, this place has not been invaded by the unwashed yet, and is easily offering the best insight, explained in layman’s terms, going. I really feel like I am going to enjoy this season more because of the work these guys do.

It is not just Scipio, but their entire crew. I have noticed a fall off in put downs between the authors as the readership has grown, but so go inside jokes as the group grows.

In short, don’t read this like you would a normal blog, because the readers and authors seem to adhere to the old maxim of, “Better to not say anything and be thought a fool, than to say something and erase all doubt.”

Thanks, Fantake.

The Muschamp: An Ongoing Process of Domination

The problem with sports over the years is that many people were interested in sports before they had direct access to it (they could go to a game occasionally, but not watch it on tv). So the sportswriter is born. What does the sportswriter say? Because of this, descriptive measurements were born. The important thing to note here is, measurements do not win games and they never have. They just create sort of a play by play of events or subunits within a game.

Eventually (really just the last 20 years) some dorks got interested enough in sports to create new statistics where everything is measured against the ultimate goal, which is to win the game. It started in baseball and is gaining steam quickly in basketball. There may just be too many variables in football to come up with a system of “winning statistics”, but until that is accomplished, one can just throw out the current statistics and focus on the score.

It was very exciting when Muschamp came in and said the only stat he cared about was points allowed. Because of this, he’s not so concerned with yards allowed. Which means he’s not so concerned with pass yards allowed versus rushing yards allowed. Which means when he’s selecting players for positions, he’s not focused on local optimums (tackles per position, passes defended, etc), but how the entire system is going to perform. So if he doesn’t even care about positions, then he’s at a point where he’s purely looking at personnel, and how his personnel are going to keep the score down.

Muschamp has thrown out everything we’ve previously known about how to describe, categorize, measure, or identify with a defense, and boiled it down to its most important function and rebuilt the entire system around that goal. The guy just goes out and kicks ass.

As to the blog: babytime said it well. I also think that there does seem to be a streak of humility in everyone here (don’t laugh). Perhaps we all realize that there is somebody else out there that knows more than we do, and we each are trying to do our little part in uncovering new and interesting information about UT sports (and pop culture, etc.) rather than trying to prove how awesome we all are by shouting people down.

It’s like the opposite of the game “King of the Mountain”. Or maybe we all just recognize that Scipio is the philosopher king and back off.

There is a lot of comment about how good the BC Blog Authors are. When people who are hungry for good, fact based, entertaining writing go without for such writing for excruciating long periods of their existence, suddenly round a corner and there it is … the response is predictable and warranted.

sa- too easy but love the answer anyway.

One great hope: this is the year that Muschamp’s temperment has discernable bleed over into the decisions that other coaches make. Proverbial “I’m looking at you GD” comment is hopelessly unavoidable.

I raised a smart-ass. I am out to dinner earlier this evening with my daughter and my son-in-law and two of my grandkids and I make the remark that I don’t know if I can wait until until Saturday. (Bringing brother, son-in-law, and youngest son with me to the game). Her response: What are you going to do, make them play earlier. (Dad sadly shakes head).

Fall, Texas, Football = Satisfaction (Mick Jagger please take note)

"Cody will force the D to honor the power run which permits Gilbert to pass against a less passing oriented D. If that happens, it will be a huge improvement over last season."

There it is. Our offense was utterly one dimensional last year and that allowed defenses to play without hesitation, especially along their D-lines. Opposing backfields could play comfortably in nickel and dime formations while their D-lines got to pin their ears back and come on virtually every play, and we couldn’t make them pay for their over-commitment. A refurbished Johnson hauling it behind a nastier and more athletic interior O-line should keep defenses honest.

As Mack has pointed out repeatedly, this isn’t a wholesale change to a “three yards and a cloud of dust” run-heavy offense, it’s simply shifting to a more balanced attack. Johnson is the perfect fit for that adjustment.

“If we’ve learned anything from watching Muschamp, it’s that we are a bunch of situational packages.”

Which leads me to wonder whether the blowU’s of the world will try to counter with hurry-up to prevent us from (to paraphrase GD on Cody Johnson) “growing our package”.

uth – “(similar to how I pick out wines I’ve never heard of at Spec’s – name and good looking label)”

Any wine whose label features a frog or a leaf is bound to be top shelf.

there’s not a lot to add, if ever, after reading Scip’s posts.
i too have hope for a better/simplified/diverse (wha…?) offense. and CoJo is the key to this.
tres will see the field on third down. matthews will (hopefully) catch about 30-40 balls this year…

HOWEVER, Dearest Scipio…

I cant help but see us stalling when we cross midfield. lots of field goals/red zone failures. and this isnt me projecting my own inner ransom. im beguiled at my own skepticism. or is it just me? but i get the sense as the field shortens, matthews seams/empty unders disappear, no edges for Tres Whittaker to beat to the stick, more collapsed 8 man fronts to stop CoJo on 3rd and 5, AND obviously less vertical routes for our WRs to gain separation…

this just reeks of 400 yards of total offense and 16 points. never covering the spread, never separating from opponents till/if even in the fourth quarter…

what say you?

scagnetti -
 
We will bully bad defenses and stumble against good ones. Nothing will change in that regard.
 
I’m talking about optimizing within the structures most of us already understand.

I think there’s some sense – even among barkers – that this year’s offense will devolve back to the early Mack Brown years. There may be some truth to that, but we all need to remember that it’s a team game and by 2002, our defense was getting exposed. With a Muschamp-quality D, we beat Colorado in the Big XII title game and go on to play in the MNC game. We stop OU’s munchkin in 2002. All of a sudden, the offense gets more snaps and Simms/Williams actually connect on a few TDs in the Red River Rivalry.

If memory serves, outside of 2002, we had a perenial Top 10 offense. That’s good enough with Muschamp’s defensive standard to win a MNC.

“Sangre por La Programa” is my new favorite phrase.

I’ll throw my kudos on to the pile for all of this. What Muschamp is doing on defense just blows my mind. I get a sense that Belichek was there first by dispensing with classical football roles and just using people in a way that maximizes their talents, but Muschamp has really thrown all definitions out the window and is visualizing defensive schemes without constraints.

Assuming Mark Richt gets his shit together, I’m excited about Muschamp applying this outside the box mindset to the entire team as head coach.

“Muschamp shits on convention and wipes his ass with cliche.”

Ooooohhhhh. That…is…GOOD.

Scip, you use your fingers purtier than a twenty dollar whore.

Does anyone know how much Mack is consulting with Muschamp regarding head coach decisions or how that relationship works? Do they meet apart from the other coaches?

I recall that the offensive players said that they liked to be within earshot of Muschamp’s defensive huddles to expose themselves to the contagion. Maybe they worded it a little differently. I wonder how Muschamp’s status is manifested officially and in the process of coaching decisions.

I’d appreciate any links or info regarding this. Thanks.

Great question Roma. I’d be interested in that answer also. If Mack truly is grooming Muschamp like we all think he is. I could see Mack saying in a coach’s meeting (impromptu)… “Will is gonna run today’s meeting.”

Muschamp then makes his own recommendations and Mack just smiles sheepishly in the background.

Afterwards, Mack says he’d do such and such a tad differently when he meets privately with Muschamp.

Turns out Mack learns more from said meeting than Muschamp and we change shit around. As such, Mack never lets Boom run another meeting. ;)

Tremendous, Scipio. I assume you Skype into the Defensive QC meetings.

The inhalation of the Barkers’s collective junk is starting to make me a little uncomfortable.

"Sangre por La Programa" is my new favorite phrase.

—Me too! Hot-a-mighty!

but wouldn’t that be “SANGRAR por la programa”?

Great stuff, Scip. I think you and I have had similar thoughts bouncing around in regards to this depth chart and the overall trend we are seeing with the team. I have been most struck by the maturation of Mack Brown. Since Muschamp arrived Mack has changed… but the way he carries himself now, the decisions he makes, the way he runs this team… I think Mack is the strongest head coach he has ever been. You can see it in the details… and this depth chart really showed me how far he has come.

I can’t help but be encouraged by the indications about the direction of the offense. It seems like we have recognized that our bubble screen spread offense is not going to be viable with the new blocking rules. That in conjunction with Cody Johnson’s transformation, the imminent arrival of Malcolm Brown, and the recognition that we need play-action to open up our passing game have led us to adopt a bona-fide identity… in the pre-season! We just haven’t done this in years past. I also can’t help but feel like the addition of the h-back role will help Greg be less obvious with personnel and alignment and help us add onto some of the successful no-huddle concepts we employed last year from under center. I mean it’s a totally logical route to take this team on offense… and we are doing it proactively. WTF?

I still definitely have concerns about what we will see in terms of the timing/design of our running game. However, if we stick with this base offense and work it… color me optimistic. I can’t help but feel like Muschamp is affecting our offense (even if indirectly)… we may see a goddamn cohesive identity right from the get go.

Of course I say all this and we’ll come out and run a ton of 5-wide versus Rice. Still… you are deluding yourself right along with me, right?

Gman and Orangechipper make excellent points re: the efficacy of situational packages vs a hurry up O. Obviously a hurry up O severely reduces the ability of a DC to insert a situational package. Muschamp struggled vs the OU 2008 hurry up O. Knocking Bradford out of the game solved that problem in 2009. OU will probably resume their hurry up O efficiency this season, how will Muschamp counter it?

Having athletes like Scott and Vacarro who can both defend the pass and the run is a good first step but what will Muschamp do to minimize the time it takes him to figure out his defensive call for a particular play and get that play call signaled to his players on the field? How does he avoid getting caught in the situation where his players are moving around in response to his D call and the O starts the play?

Muschamp is a great coach but an efficient hurry up O will mostly stop him from inserting situational packages and will also seriously hamper his ability to play call and move his troops around as part of that play call. There are technical solutions that can alleviate this problem but I don’t know if UT is going down that road.

One problem that may occur when facing a hurry up O that features a heavy running attack (such as OU) is if you can’t get your young run stopping DTs off the field in the middle of a drive, are they going to run out of gas? After Randall and Higgins, are the young substitute DTs in good enough shape to play an entire drive without substitution? If Howell can’t play vs OU or NU, that is probably a big problem. .

Kafka,

This defense will defend the run by inflicting negative plays. The flipside of running hurry-up is that there are likely going to be more drives and a number of those are going to result in very short possessions. That will definitely not play in OUs favor over the coarse of the game particularly when you consider our defensive depth versus theirs, our superiority on special teams in recent years and the fact that we are developing an inside running game. They may be able to get over on our defense in a few drives but over the coarse of the game those factors would not work out well for them. What’s more likely is that they may go hurry up out of the gate or situationally but that they will only do it in spurts. That definitely could be effective for them. Then again think about all the complexity that Muschamp is going to throw at Landry Jones in this game… OU may want to let him brain catch up in the first quarter.

*let his brain catch up

“It seems like we have recognized that our bubble screen spread offense is not going to be viable with the new blocking rules.”

From http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/08/ncaa-rule-changes-in-effect-for-upcoming.html, a description of new blocking rules impacting WR screens:

" an offensive player that’s split out, like a flex tight end or a wide receiver, any time he blocks a defensive back below the waist back toward the ball inside a 10-yard radius of the ball, he will receive a 15-yard penalty.".

The effect of this new (good, IMO) rule is to make it more difficult for small WRs (like Kirk, for example) to block a bigger player. For larger blockers (such as Malcolm, Matthews, Chiles, Greg Smith, Whaley, or Cody) the new rule should not pose a problem. These big receivers don’t need to hit below the waist (that is more for smaller WRs). Playing bigger guys like Greg Smith, Matthews, and Cody should vastly improve the horns blocking ability on WR screens (when the big guys are split out rather than playing H back, TE, or TB and paired on the same side with somebody like Malcolm or Goodwin).

Kafka,

I’m not saying WR screens are dead… I’m saying we recognized our previous incarnation of it isn’t viable any more. Hell, Alabama, Neb, and OU all made that clear last year before the rule change. The rule change would make it that much harder to execute against an already stacked deck.

“The flipside of running hurry-up is that there are likely going to be more drives and a number of those are going to result in very short possessions.”

Hurry up requires that the O lines up rapidly so the O is in position to snap the ball at any time, it does not require that the O actually snap the ball rapidly. A hurry up O can still let the clock run. There is no reason to believe that a hurry up O will be less efficient than a non hurry up O, in fact the hurry up O is more likely to be more efficient because it can lock a D into poor personnel matchups and takes the DC out of the game. OU will run hurry up most of the time. So will UT.

“Then again think about all the complexity that Muschamp is going to throw at Landry Jones in this game… OU may want to let him brain catch up in the first quarter.”

Muschamp’s ability to throw complexity is severely reduced by a hurry up O (as we saw in the 2008 UT-OU game), which is why OU will play as much hurry up as their personnel allows. Hurry up stops Muschamp from substituting and it drastically reduces the time he has to call a D scheme and move his players around accordingly. Once the O is in position to snap the ball, the D has to be in position to play and understand their D scheme on that play. If the DC tries to position his players after the O is lined up ready to snap the ball, the O could easily snap the ball while the D is in disarray, still trying to get in position.

The hurry up is here to stay and both UT and OU will use it a bunch against each other.

Up until this year, OU had a more impressive hurry up O than UT. Up until now, OU has played bigger skill players than UT which permitted them to run a conventional running attack while still having an efficient passing game. This season UT will also feature bigger skill players which should improve their blocking in both the passing game and the running game. It should also permit them to switch between a passing oriented attack and a running attack without substituting personnel, which is essential to efficiently run a hurry up O.

I still disagree with the statement:
“our bubble screen spread offense is not going to be viable with the new blocking rules.”

Viable means practicable, workable. Something that is not viable does not work. Horn WR bubble screens this season will not only be viable, but they will work better when the WR blockers are bigger and better blockers. It is difficult to efficiently block a WR screen with a small WR as the blocker. When you split out a big guy who is a proficient blocker (i.e. Matthews, Greg Smith, Whaley, Malcolm, Cody, etc) the efficiency of the WR goes way up because the blocking improves so much. It also gives the O a chance to knock the crap out of a CB (which is always a good thing). Since the horns will be playing big guys who block well at TB, H back and TE, it will be easy to split one of them out to much more efficiently block a WR screen

When the DL whips the OL, being able to run an efficient WR screen is a huge boost for the O. The new WR blocking rules are not going to going to have a major impact on the ability of big WRs to block a DB. WR screens will be viable this season when the blocker is a big guy, probably a lot more viable than past horns WR screens.

“Muschamp’s ability to throw complexity is severely reduced by a hurry up O (as we saw in the 2008 UT-OU game), which is why OU will play as much hurry up as their personnel allows”
That or two freshman safeties and an entire defense in the first year of a new scheme.

“Hurry up stops Muschamp from substituting and it drastically reduces the time he has to call a D scheme and move his players around accordingly.”
Not really. Muschamp is building fluidity into his defense… you may have noticed that trend building last season. His defensive personnel are getting comfortable changing up their look pre-snap and flowing from one call to the next. This defensive has a lot of parts that can play multiple roles… stemming, zone-blitzing… these are basic parts of our defensive identities.

“It is difficult to efficiently block a WR screen with a small WR as the blocker. "
Forest. Trees. You are talking about the ability to execute a single play by splitting out a larger player to serve as the blocker on the bubble. I am talking about the package as a whole. If you don’t see how splitting out a Greg Smith or Chris Whaley is a detriment to the spread packages we ran last year then you need to zoom out a little bit.

a more accepting attitude to young talented mistakes vs. experienced mediocrity suggests that Muschamp’s impact hasn’t just been on the defense

Interesting. One of the Mack interviews recently linked at this site contained a curious, extended passage where Mack explained how playing young talent over old mediocrity is corrosive to team cohesion. It sounded like a minority report, like he was giving up on a philosophy he preferred, under duress.

Not that this means anything, of course. We’ll just have to see.

Roma Victa -
 
To your earlier question, yes, I’m under the impression that Mack and Muschamp meet separately and take each others counsel on a number of issues: staff, recruiting, how to handle alums/media, strategery, team identity. I don’t have any links to support that, I just know it’s happening.
 
Our recruiting maximizing has everything to do with Will Muschamp’s arrival. I feel the same way about this depth chart. Will has a two year track record of taking players previous DCs were saying were too flawed to do anything with and landing them NFL contracts. Look at the absence of dead weight on our D vs our O.
 
I think that has Mack’s attention.

IIRC, Muschamp’s defense did just fine against OU’s hurry-up in the 2nd half of the 2008 game, once they got a chance to adjust.

In any event, the hurry-up did nothing for OU’s ground game that day – 48 yards on 26 attempts. Bradford had a big yardage day (387) but wasn’t otherworldly in terms of YPA (9.9 on 39 attempts).

"our bubble screen spread offense is not going to be viable with the new blocking rules."

Yeah, I thought that sentence was about bubble screens, especially since you specifically mention the new blocking rules that directly impact bubble screens (i.e. that the O could not survive the new WR blocking rules). Probably a zoom difference.

"Hurry up stops Muschamp from substituting and it drastically reduces the time he has to call a D scheme and move his players around accordingly."

“Not really. Muschamp is building fluidity into his defense… you may have noticed that trend building last season. His defensive personnel are getting comfortable changing up their look pre-snap and flowing from one call to the next. This defensive has a lot of parts that can play multiple roles… stemming, zone-blitzing… these are basic parts of our defensive identities.”

Really. No matter how fluid Muschamp is, his ability to substitute is severely hindered by a hurry up O.

It is also a fact that a hurry up O reduces the amount of time available before the O lines up and is ready to snap the ball (by definition). Muschamp’s coaching may (and probably does) utilize the time available more efficiently but it can have no impact on the amount of time available before the O is ready to snap the ball. Any D changes after that may be great but also may run the risk of putting the D in disarray when the ball is snapped.

OU’s hurry up certainly flummoxed Muschamp in 2008. Now that the horns’ D is now in its 3rd year with Muschamp, the D is more efficient in organizing itself for a play. Whether this efficiency is enough to negate the advantages of the hurry up O remains to be seen. I doubt it.

CrazyJoe:

I didn’t research it too much but a quick look at the box score reveals that OU scored 21 points in the first half and 14 points in the second half. OU had 20 first downs and 435 yards total O. What I remember are the busted plays where UT was completely out of position on D and Muschamp profusely thanking GD for winning the game after the game.

OU’s hurry up O was a force to be reckoned with in 2008 for obvious reasons: it locks a D into disadvantageous personnel matchups and takes the DC out of the game. In 2009 it wasn’t a factor with Bradford getting knocked out of the game. It is likely that it will be more of a factor this year than last year. What I’m wondering is how much more of a factor will it be and how Muschamp will deal with it. For example, if one of the not well conditioned frosh DTs is in the game, how do you keep him from getting worn out on a drive?

I don’t think OU hurry up will be much of a factor this year against us, we still have the ability to match personnel. OU isn’t going to changing personnel during the hurry up, so and we can match and defend whatever personnel grouping they trot out to start each series.

Hurry up is effective when you have a personnel advantage and prevent the other team from making adjustments to said disadvantage.

We did get rammed in 08, defensively, but we had 2 true freshman safeties, and an extremely young secondary over all. We now have the ability to outmatch OU athlete for athlete in any personnel grouping they send out, and our athletes are Jrs. and Sr.s now. I think defensively we match up very well to OU.

And all the DL needs to rotate is incomplete pass, or a big play one way or another, just something that takes the refs a little longer to spot the ball. We’ve done it before.

Kafka,

You are a dog with a bone on this one. A well-prepared defense can match up just fine with no-huddle offense. You design your defense to align in a first defense and then have a second and third defense available to transition into depending on how long the snap takes to occur. The offense needs to be able to identify their assignments. If the offense is depending on a call coming in from the sideline then they need time to identify the defense, get the call in, and then identify assignments. If your defense shows and initial look, lets the call come in, then shifts looks, it can cause havoc leading to busted offensive assignments or delays of game/timeouts.

That’s why in order for a no-huddle to be effective against a well-schooled defense, the QB has to be able to run the offense himself. Then it becomes a pattern of play to play adjustment by the offensive and defensive personnel and a drive to drive adjustment by the co-ordinators. If we are matching Landry Jones wit up against E Acho’s and Gideon’s…

Furthermore, it is really not that difficult to cycle in defensive linemen versus a no huddle… it can basically be done after just about any passing play as long as your linemen are ready for the switch.

No huddle has it’s advantages (and disadvantages)… it is not the unstoppable juggernaut that you seem to think it is. Defense’s practice against it just about every time they do a two-minute drill.

This topic may be worth revisiting on the OU game week when we have a better idea of what both teams will bring to the table. We may be talking UT’s no huddle offense going into that game rather than OU’s.

Muschamp’s interest in versatility is directly related to the popularity of the hurry up offense. If you can play a safety as a corner, a la Thomas last year, you aren’t necessarily forced into a nickel defense when you might otherwise be.

You go five wide our safeties/corners and linebacker/safeties can still run with you. We don’t have to send in a nickle package it’s already on the field. Not to mention the fact that very few teams match up with our talent level.

That said keeping the reads and assignments simple enough to execute at speed cannot be easy. In fact that may just be the real genius of Muschamp.

Let’s face it even if you have the athletic ability to play linebacker and safety, the two positions are fundamentally different, and you only get 20 hours to practice. At least that’s what Rich Rod said.

Carl Reese was responsible for the fall of Nebraska

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