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Posted by Scipio Tex on September 28th, 2009 under Football
That felt good.
Our first complete game in all phases and it’s not the score that convinces me of that fact. Compared to last year’s team, we’re faster, quicker, have an identity on defense, and game changers on special teams. A focus on the offense’s slow starts has obscured the fact that we’re building quality units in the other two phases. I think we owe Texas Tech a debt of gratitude for reminding us of the urgency with which we need to play & coach, for showing our defense and special teams what they’re capable of when they’re clicking, and for giving us some teachable moments.
I’ve asserted since the summer that defense and special teams will be the difference maker for this year’s team and I don’t think there’s any doubt about that now.
I can’t think of a better way to go into a bye week.
Special Teams
The forgotten third leg of the gridiron stool gets first billing here. We finally have game changers at every return position and we’re executing in almost all phases of the kicking game.
Malcolm Williams’ destruction of the UTEP punter was fun not only because of the stick, but because of the situational awareness it showed knowing that the ball had touched the ground and the punter was now fair game.
DJ Monroe’s 2nd kickoff return TD of the year squashed any UTEP momentum and the outstanding blocking that set it up is actually more encouraging to me than if Monroe had made some otherwordly run. Catch, run, score. Untouched. More of those to come, folks.
Shipley at PR is proving to be a great move and his 52 yarder flipped the field. Excluding that, he still averaged 10.5 ypr on his remaining two. That tells you something about our blocking and scheme too. We’re a long way from the halcyon days of Courtnee Garcia.
Hunter Lawrence continues to be reliable and if you want to critique his 3 of 4 performance for knocking a 54 yard attempt off of the crossbar with no wind at his back (as an idiot friend of mine did via text message), then you have sterner requirements than the Marquis de Sade and you’re probably raising your children like Marv Marinovich and your dogs like Michael Vick.
Defense
UTEP ran 51 plays for 53 yards. The Miners’ longest drive of the game went for 23 yards. 4 interceptions, 3 Forced Fumbles, and 4 sacks. Held UTEP to 1 of 12 on 3rd down. Other than that, UTEP excelled.
DL
Kindle is changing games. On UTEP’s first series, he makes a great hustle tackle on the ballcarrier for no gain to open the game. On third down, he Taylor Potts-es Vittatoe. Sack, strip, fumble. Offense trots on and scores a lay up. Next UTEP possession, 10:07 1st Q, UTEP throws a sideline screen out past the far hash. Our DBs string it out and who cleans it up on the sideline from 35 yards away? Kindle. 8:57 Q1, we line Kindle up at standup LB and blitz him through the 1 gap (remember this look when we play OU). He gets a pressure and forces a hasty incompletion. This all occurred in one half of the FIRST QUARTER, folks.
Has there ever been a DT at Texas with more screen awareness and recovery ability than Lamarr Houston? I want you to watch his play at 3:50 in the 1st quarter. Outstanding.
Immediately after that play, Vittatoe tries a half roll to buy a little time and Eddie Jones reads it playside, abuses the OT, shrugs off the chip block from the UTEP RB and plants Vittatoe in the dirt as he throws it away. To recap: Jones is doubled, Vittatoe releases the ball in two seconds, he still gets driven. That’s a pretty good summation of what Eddie is giving us right now when we tell him to go get the passer.
Acho with the leg whip sack in the 2nd Q. Inspired by Flozell Adams.
LB
Emmanuel Acho is a guy that we can’t take off of the field. His only weakness is at the point of attack (two knockdowns), but his ability to take a gap on a run blitz and to tackle in open space is top level. Like Aaron Williams, he’s an intelligent, clean cut program poster boy that turns into an evil motherfucker on the football field. He led the team in tackles along with 3 TFL, 1 sack, 2 QB hits and a couple of tackles that looked routine where the RB got up shaking like a newborn giraffe.
Some boxers have heavy hands, Emmanuel Acho has heavy shoulder pads.
Keenan Robinson didn’t have the wow plays that Acho did, but he was really solid for us. Muckelroy’s day was quiet compared to his Tech heroics, but no complaints.
DB
That’s a good example of what we’re capable of when we go man under with predominant press coverage. This is who we are. UTEP’s combined QB statline was 7 of 22 for 38 yards with four interceptions. That’s like Chris Applewhite’s speed dating scorecard.
Curtis, Aaron, Chykie toyed with UTEP’s WRs and our safeties cleaned up the garbage. I expect consistency from Curtis and AJ, but Chykie gave this game his full attention and that’s an important step for him. Beasley gave us some solid snaps from the second quarter on (along with a PI) when AJ went out with a ding. Four picks were like rain in the Sahara and an important confidence booster.
Earl Thomas is playing like the best safety in the league. Apologies to Stuckey at KU, but that’s how I’m seeing it. Smart, can play press coverage, ball skills, mean little shit. No one else has his flexibility or audacity. Three picks in four games.
Ben Wells! Thank you for giving me a mental image beyond a Baylor WR streaking by you.
Nice play in the alley by Nolan Brewster for a loss at 9:42 Q1. Knew what was coming based on film study (you can see him creeping in recognition before the snap) and played downhill and though the tackle was less than authoritative, it was good football.
Gideon made a by-God football play on a ball in the air. Congratulations, Blake. Let’s do it some more. For doing that, I’m not going to dwell on your tackle attempt at 14:04 in Q2 when the UTEP RB set you up and ran by you for 18.
Offense
We blew the doors out. Very encouraging to see us go 300+ passing and 300+ running. I was intrigued to see us working out of some different formations and exploring some different looks.
QB
He’s baaack. Good fundamentals on display. He threw the ball well and the opponent was immaterial - I was looking at how it came off of his hand, his touch, placement. All good. 28 of 35 with four drops. The pick 6 was a confluence of our scheme and some of Colt’s bad habits and we’ll have another before the season ends, but that’s the opportunity cost of a passing game. For Colt to experience a horrendous start, rally, and then go into the bye week with the pressure off and feeling good about himself is really important for us.
You’ve got to be pleased with what our coaches have done with Garrett Gilbert. He’s playing meaningful snaps, we’re letting him run real offense, and Garrett is offering every indication that he’s a player. He’s filling out too. I really liked how he operated with so much comfort in different formations and like his accuracy throwing on sprints outs. We’ll be a different offense with him at the helm - I think we’ll marry some of the Colt offense to some of our Simms/Applewhite era play action game.
RB
Whenever the RB personality cult starts to rise and I strike it down with logic and refocus the conversation on system, context, and opportunity rather than dumb player fixations, the football gods always reward me. Always. I know that there are several Tre Newton Is The Answer enthusiasts puzzled right now, but it’s all going to be OK. Our RBs are like sushi boats. Sample a little of each, enjoy the overall experience, and don’t get attached to one dish.
Vondrell had a fantastic game and it was nice to see him experience success. Amazing how holes restore a RB’s vision. I liked the quick draw feel of his 51 yarder (it was base blocked with no delay - not a true draw) with the screen play fake.
Good to see Fozzy back healthy. I’d forgotten about his lateral quickness. I anticipate a part from a Chinese satellite falling on him soon.
Jamison Berryhill is the shit.
WR
Aside from the early dropsies, these guys played well. Dan Buckner cracks me up. He’s enormously talented and his hands are covered in flypaper, but his mannerisms and post-catch injury flirtations bring to mind an Italy-Argentina World Cup Final. The one hand TD was a really difficult play and it was nice to see him score on a crossing route. He’s deceptively fast once he gets in his stride.
Shipley was his nifty self and absolutely worked UTEP over nibbling at the edges and breaking ankles. Chiles gave us his requisite WR screens and solid blocking. Malcolm Williams gave the coaches some confidence with some steady system play and I liked that Colt focused on him on the 4th and 2 conversion at midfield in the 1st half. Kirk was solid.
Have to write a word or two about Marquise Goodwin. Like DJ Monroe, this is a football player who also happens to be an elite track guy. Further, his speed sticks when the pads come on. He has legit hands. I’m enthused about this guy’s future. Gilbert’s fixation on him in the passing game amuses me to no end.
OL
Great protection for Colt overall. Obvious struggles early in the running game, but once the offense established rhythym, UTEP tired, and our passing game forced UTEP out of gap control, they dominated. Chris Hall has yet to play a bad football game for us. I really appreciate how he battles in there on every snap. No rollerskates on his cleats.
Overall
We needed this. The national scene opened up for us nicely and now it’s a matter of taking care of our own business. This was a great teaching tool for the coaches to show the team what it looks like when we’re on in all phases. We’ve got two weeks to dissect where we can improve and to heal injuries. I wonder how much of our preparation time is spent on Colorado vs Oklahoma? Hopefully not more than half.
ransomstoddard said:
September 28th, 2009 at 4:29 am
The speed of this defense, and the team overall, is amazing. Even guys like Muck who are heavy can really move. Agree on the Achos: they are just really good football players that are rarely out of position. One player you didn’t mention was Ben Alexander. He had a tremendous game and is much better than I expected going into this year. Finally, Thomas’s press coverage was excellent but if he is 5′10″ tall, I’m seven feet tall.
beowulf said:
September 28th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Walk-off Homerun, Scip.
On Monroe’s TD KO return there was one player making up a bit of ground on him as he streaked down the sideline. #84 in Burnt Orange. May the football gods please continue to give Mack the courage and serenity to continue with this freshmen package.
I think we are the #1 scoring team in the country at this point in the season. Our defense isn’t nearly so highly rated in scoring average, so this is a good example of how stats don’t always tell the tale. We should have 2 goose egg games like OU, but our offense scored 10 for Wyo and 7 for UTEP. The Texas defense is quietly becoming every bit as dominating as Florida’s, Alabama’s, and OU’s. Ssshhh.
With the exception of a few boneheaded calls and formations in the Red Zone, this was the perfect game for Texas and the fans at this stage of the season. It was game 4 last year vs Arkansas that opened my eyes to the possibly that the 2008 team was going to be special.
Perfect weekend for an open date, too. Get a few dinged up players back to full speed, spend quality time working on OU as they prepare for a Miami trip, and we fans get to watch a full slate of college games on the telly, including A&M/Arkansas and OU/ Miami.
October, here we come. Our fate awaits us.
TaylorTRoom said:
September 28th, 2009 at 4:59 am
Something to watch for- Mack Brown’s background is as an offensive coach. This team has had an offensive identity since he’s been here. The 2001 team had the nation’s top ranked defense, but the stars were Simms, Benson, and Williams, not Jammer, Johnson, and Redding. The 2005 team had a very good defense, and the best offense college football may have ever seen.
This year, Texas’ defense is notably better than the offense. I wonder if Mack can discover his inner Tressell, and manage a game when we need the defense to win it. I think back to the Tech game, and all those wasted series in the first half where the offense was going no-huddle, throwing the ball incomplete and stopping the clock, and sending the defense out there again for another series of Tech plays. To me, it looked like the strategy was to “prime the pump” and get the offense going. Unfortunately, this year’s offense is not strong enough to eventually get rolling against elite defenses. There will be a game this year, maybe against OU, maybe at OSU, maybe in the bowl, where we will need the offense to call plays to help the defense get a breather or protect field position. I don’t know if Mack is ready to call that kind of game.
The General said:
September 28th, 2009 at 5:37 am
TTR,
That is a good point. The problem is that we don’t run Tressel’s offense. Slowing down and grinding it out for us probably still involves Colt throwing the ball on 2/3 of the downs because of the weekness in our running game.
The hurry up seems to get Colt in a rhythm better than anything. Like OU last year, our ball best ball control option may be Colt completing 80% of his passes.
That is problematic.
texoz said:
September 28th, 2009 at 5:37 am
“I don’t know if Mack is ready to call that kind of game.”
Don’t you think that WM probably has had a conversation with Mack pointing this out?
Kafka said:
September 28th, 2009 at 5:39 am
Shipley is great on punt returns but wouldn’t DJ Monroe also be awesome (might even be better, if that is possible)? It would reduce the risk to Shipley and would get DJ on the field more (which is a good thing). DJ was an excellent defensive back in HS so he might also do a good job on fake punts. This might be a post OU game change.
What changes would you recommend to the running game in the 3 weeks before the OU game? My suggestions:
* more sprint draws
* more counter
* the counter works well for UT because it sets up blocks for the OL, more plays that give the OL mechanical advantage
* more quick pitches to the TB on the side that Malcolm/Dan are blocking on (assuming that Malcolm/Dan are playing the interior WR)
* more draw plays
* more participation by WR (such as DJ or Goodwin) in run game
What changes would you recommend to the passing game in the 3 weeks before the OU game? My suggestions:
* more emphasis on dumping passes to the TB and making that play work for steady yardage. The horns are getting efficient yards on WR screens this year (with Chiles, anyway), next step in the short game is to get dump passes working efficiently.
* more passes on the rollout by Colt with fake draw as part of the play
* more short button hooks to the TE when he is in the game
Preparation time for OU: 2 weeks. Prep time for Colorado: 1 week.
On the crossing route that Dan scored on, there was a sweet block by a WR (maybe Kirk or Chiles, I could not tell even in replay) crossing from the opposite direction. The block was not a de-cleater (more like a stationary screen) but the timing had to be precise for that to work legally so kudos to GD and his guys for making that happen.
TaylorTRoom said:
September 28th, 2009 at 5:53 am
texoz, Mack has won a ton of games. A whole boatload of games. When an individual has had that much success doing things one way, it’s often hard for them to adjust. That said, Mack has already shown, better than many of his contemporaries, that he “gets” how football is different in 2009 than it was in 1989.
Kafka said:
September 28th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Re: Mack being more ball control/conservative in his play calling (specifically running clock when necessary), I have been thinking/saying this for a while except that GD is actually the guy who calls the plays. Mack is more likely to tell GD to be a bit more conservative as needs be but will GD be able to actually do it? In the past, GD has resisted this role of the offense to move the ball slowly and run clock, saying that the role of the offense is to score. Now that Muschamp is the head coach in waiting, maybe GD will be more willing.
Something that strikes me as absolutely insane is that, evidently, GD does not know exactly who is actually playing when he calls a play. GD has said this in the past. How can you optimize for matchups if you don’t know exactly who is playing for the offense and defense? It seems like you could construct a function/chart that takes as inputs the the names of the players that are playing on offense and defense and outputs the optimal plays for those matchups.
batate said:
September 28th, 2009 at 6:32 am
OU won their national championship by attacking on offense and defense. I like that we do the same. We rarely sit on a lead.
This team has a chance to really pick up steam and dominate. OU could get us, but I think we’re pulling away from the rest of the field.
The General said:
September 28th, 2009 at 6:39 am
I don’t know if giving our offensive coordinator a reason to call plays from the fetal position is a great idea.
When is the last time we lost a game because our offensive play calling was too aggressive?
jc25 said:
September 28th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Re: Acho with the leg whip sack in the 2nd Q.
Listen, if the refs are going to call blatant holding violations somewhere in the vicinity of zero per game, I’ll take the illegal leg whip sack any day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
texoz said:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:27 am
These next 2 weeks do set up really well for OU. Spend this week resting/prepping for OU. Next week prep for CU. They looked miserable so it shouldn’t be close. Hopefully, we jump on them fast and let the subs come in in the 2nd half. Priorities for CU game are 1) win game 2) get out of game without injuries.
Then fine tune the prep for OU the following week. On a related OU note. Shouldn’t Bradford start practicing in the next couple of days if he’s going to have any chance of playing against UT? It doesn’t seem like he could wait until next week and get back up to speed with only one week of practice.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Games like this must really kill ChrisApplewhite.
He’s really going to have to dig deep this week to find something to bitch about. I’m sure he’ll come up with some reason why this game exposed how the sky is falling.
I bet it’ll have something to do with Greg Davis.
chrisapplewhite said:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:39 am
UTEP was abysmal. We didn’t even play well in the first quarter and still managed a huge lead. The defense is great and was made to look greater by that OL, and our offensive numbers are all but meaningless. This game sucked from an entertainment perspective, but it’s better than last year’s effort, at least.
The defense is still coming along. They’ll continue to get better until they are the best. The ceiling there is unbelievably high.
The offense showed nothing and didn’t have to. Whitaker is the best RB on the roster. He’s so freaking good. He needs to stay healthy.
Our 7th string RB looked dominant. That tells you all you need to know about this game.
BEHorn said:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:41 am
When I saw the phrase “gridiron stool” I thought you had switched the topic to aTm.
Glad you mentioned Gilbert’s filling out. He looked thicker than I remembered, as well, but then my memory’s not all that great.
Good stuff. Prep about 5 minutes for Buffie and the rest of the time get ready for the land thieves.
triplehorn said:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:44 am
There is a lot to feel good about from the UTEP performance, but the most gratifying for me was seeing Gilbert enter early in the third and proceed on his initial drive to take the team 66 yards in 8 plays for a TD. He passed 4 for 4 for 38 yards. As noted, there was a clear connection between Gilbert and Goodwin as they connected on all four passes in that drive.
CLBHorn said:
September 28th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Starting to cringe when I see all these references to “just win out, control our on destiny”.
Exactly our situation last year prior to Tech. Of course, it beats the alternative.
Robert Frost said:
September 28th, 2009 at 8:06 am
“UTEP ran 51 plays for 53 yards. The Miners’ longest drive of the game went for 23 yards. 4 interceptions, 3 Forced Fumbles, and 4 sacks. Held UTEP to 1 of 12 on 3rd down. Other than that, UTEP excelled.”
The most beautiful words ever written…
Thank you.
travis said:
September 28th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Scip- Always good stuff, its amazing that you guys aren’t the pay site… I really feel like I take away a deeper knowledge break down from the stuff you write as well as the other BC guys, so thanks for breaking up the time in between saturdays for me. I think its important to give props to the team on saturday’s win because lets face it, we needed that bad, up until saturday I was extremely nervous about how they would play against OU( still am but I feel like we will make it happen), I refuse to listen to comments of “that doesnt mean anything because utep sucks”, because I think Utep would beat wyoming and I know they would beat LA monroe, and we sure didnt look like that against either of those teams. They played a complete game, and if we play that way every saturday every team except for OU would look like just another utep, our recruiting and speed is far superior to the teams on our schedule, thats how all texas games should look, but for whatever reason we dont execute for 4 quarters, to me that was an extremely exciting game, seeing your team finally look like the team they are supposed to, the team we defend against all others everyday saying we are overrated, that was the best game to date, after a win like that its hard for ppl to hate on us… so it will be important for mack and co. to bring them back down to earth, and keep them hungry this week.
Trips Right said:
September 28th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Great breakdown. I wish you were there to see Vasherized try to invoke prima nocta on some Mayan chicks from El Paso.
BecauseIMajorinEconomics said:
September 28th, 2009 at 8:46 am
The opportunity cost of a passing game is rushing yards. Just sayin’…
Seriously though, great write up, I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with this team after Saturday.
Vasherized said:
September 28th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Great breakdown. I wish you were there to see Vasherized try to invoke prima nocta on some Mayan chicks from El Paso.
Or to see Trips’ most promising offspring punch Minnesotahorn in the balls within 20 seconds of introduction. Welcome to the family!
Scipio Tex said:
September 28th, 2009 at 10:05 am
ransom:
Ben was solid. As was Kheeston Randall. Frankly, I’d run out ink if I tried to hit everyone. Thanks for the positive comments.
beowulf:
Thanks, man. I think the bye week was well timed and we’ll appreciate it as much as we’ll appreciate the home date with UCF later on.
TTR:
The Fiesta Bowl is a pretty good example of that kind of game. So long as Colt minimizes turnovers, I don’t mind how much we’re throwing the ball. Nor do I want it in Mack or GD’s head in any way that turtling up is an option.
I’ve always been of the opinion that having a great defense offers you the gift of allowing you to take chances on offense. Our ability to take a short field on quick turnaround and hold a team to a field goal is a huge advantage.
Kafka:
I think GD knows when DJ Monroe is in the game, obviously. Our play calling reflects it. However, GD doesn’t monitor the play-by-play wide receiver rotation run by Kennedy on the field. He’s calling a play to a position (X, Y etc) and not a man. It’s Kennedy’s job to have situational awareness. I don’t see a problem with it. You just need coaches on the same page.
DJ Monroe would be a very good punt returner except that he doesn’t field them cleanly in practice and he has small hands. It’s a lot easier to catch a kickoff than a punt and Mack likes Shipley’s decision making and ball security. So I can’t fault his decision.
texoz:
Getting reliable info about Bradford is next to impossible. We’ll know what’s up in Miami on Saturday, I think.
chrisapplewhite:
I like Fozzy too, but the coaches are loathe to invest all of those practice reps and starter snaps on a guy that is made of china. I can appreciate their perspective. They’ve tried to hand him the starting job on multiple occasions, but his body always refuses it.
CLB:
It is our best alternative. It certainly beats pining for a Byzantine series of events to propel us forward. The Florida-Alabama elimination game in the SEC title game is a gift.
travis:
If we went to a paysite, we’d certainly make money but we would narrow our audience. I’m not sure that’s the play for us. Or anyone else as these media evolve. Thanks for the kind words though. As for UTEP sucking, I’m with you in the sense that I tried to evaluate the game in terms of hustle, energy, execution. Not whether we won a physical match-up between Jordan Shipley and a 3rd rate cornerback.
Trips:
That I would have liked to have seen.
Economics Guy:
You’re right. Guilty. Not sure why I wrote that.
bigdukesix said:
September 28th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Entertaining writeup.
You’ve got to be pleased with what our coaches have done with Garrett Gilbert.
How about letting him pass it a bit more? 14 pass attempts so far after 3 blowout wins. I think we can do better than that.
is mannerisms and post-catch injury flirtations bring to mind an Italy-Argentina World Cup Final.
Love this metaphor. Oh the diving and complaining!
Scipio Tex said:
September 28th, 2009 at 10:45 am
bigdukesix:
I disagree. GG has been handled perfectly and he’s passing quite a bit when he’s in there.
nordberg said:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:24 am
I would have liked to have seen Gilbert get the entire second half, and throw the ball 15-20 times, but that’s just not realistic. I think they’re getting him as much quality time as possible without looking like dickheads.
Scipio Tex said:
September 28th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Right. Allowing him to throw 15-20 times means also putting in the 2nd team OL so that he doesn’t take hits. Which also means that we beat UTEP 85-7 and we look like the biggest dicks in college football.
And it’s not as if those extra throws against a beaten down defense would speed him along any more than a few throws. I think there’s diminishing return that’s realized fairly quickly there.
Yassir Sanchez said:
September 28th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
“We’ll be a different offense with him at the helm – I think we’ll marry some of the Colt offense to some of our Simms/Applewhite era play action game. ”
I can’t see us getting back into the multiple I pro style offense that was so prevalent back in the Simms / Benson era.
I think we are in store for more of what we are seeing now with Gilbert. The only reason that Gilbert does not break Colts records is that Colt was starting as a Freshman while Gilbert is mostly holding the clipboard still. I REALLY like what I see from Gilbert in warmups.
Good writeup.
dick said:
September 28th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
One thing GG won’t have is a bad year like Colt 07. Gilbert will definitely not lack for talent around him a la Colt his soph year (minus J Charles). That OL and WR was not good esp after Limas, D Griffin and finally Hills JR went down. Gilbert will always have a fantastic OL and WR unless something goes horribly wrong.
Scipio Tex said:
September 28th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Yassir:
“I can’t see us getting back into the multiple I pro style offense that was so prevalent back in the Simms / Benson era.”
Yeah, we’re not going base I formation by any means, but we’re going to do some things with our TEs/HBs like Barrett Matthews etc to make us more multiple and give us a downhill running game. Out of that, we’ll take some more shots downfield.
bigdukesix said:
September 28th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
And it’s not as if those extra throws against a beaten down defense would speed him along any more than a few throws. I think there’s diminishing return that’s realized fairly quickly there.
I’m receptive to this argument.
I just don’t think that “not looking like dicks” by running up the score counts for anything, really, while preparing your backup QB actually helps the program. Being nice doesn’t count in college football, if anywhere.
bigdukesix said:
September 28th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Should read by *not* running up the score.
Scipio Tex said:
September 28th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
bigduke -
My philosophy:
85-7, lots of bad press, little change in Gilbert’s development = not worth it.
85-7, lots of bad press, huge change in Gilbert’s development = the media can blow me
triplehorn said:
September 28th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Re bigduke: “I just don’t think that “not looking like dicks” by running up the score counts for anything, really, while preparing your backup QB actually helps the program.”
There is plenty of room for debate and I have no idea if this thinking was a factor for the coaches, but perhaps as important to Gilbert’s development at this stage as getting more live passing reps is him having positive performance and success to lay that foundation for confidence at the next level. To his credit he came prepared, executed without a flaw, and took the team for a sustained TD drive on his first opportunity.
For a true frosh back-up QB to have that kind of praiseworthy showing, limited as it was, arguably is as or more important -at this stage- than pushing it with the distinct possibility of freshman mistakes or unit sloppiness detracting from what was a very sharp performance.
No doubt Gilbert needs to jog beyond the foothills on the experience curve and will make mistakes to learn from, but what he, his teammates, and people will remember and take into the next week is that he opened with a TD and was near perfect for the day. He’s got to feel real good about it. It should serve to focus his hunger for more of the same.
magnusbleuveigner said:
September 28th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
There’s no need to run up the score. I don’t care about the looking like dicks argument. IF we had to look like dicks to get in, then let us all look like pulsating blue-veiners. The fact is we just need to win out, and with all the other big schools losing atleast once other than the obvious big three, we don’t have to resort to it.
Kafka said:
September 28th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Scipio:
Thanks for confirming that, for any particular play, GD does not know who is on the field for either the offense or defense (except for DJ Monroe). I am really surprised that you don’t think that knowledge of specific matchups would improve play calling significantly. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any sports where match ups don’t have a huge impact on strategy. I guess there is always room for improvement.
That makes sense that catching a punt is a little more difficult than catching a kickoff. The difference is not the physical act of catching the ball on a punt or kickoff (that depends on the specific punt or kickoff).
Maybe the difference is that catching punts takes more judgement than catching kickoffs. On a punt you have to know when to fair catch, when to run, and when to let it go over your head into the end zone. On a kickoff because you normally catch it and the only decision is whether to run or not. Also punt catching is more likely to be in a crowd while there is lots of space to catch the ball on kickoffs. Also, kickoff returns tend to be longer than punt returns so there is more motivation to put an outstanding returner back there. Anyway, thanks for pointing out the difference (I never thought about it before).
4th String QB said:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
What is the point of winning the “Spot Slice and Play QB” Contest if you don’t even mention me under QB???
Yassir Sanchez said:
September 29th, 2009 at 7:25 am
“Out of that, we’ll take some more shots downfield.”
One of the things that is most frustrating to me these days (not that I am hearing from you but rather your post made me remember) is the hue and cry for “more downfield passing”.
Do people not realize that on almost every passing play we have one sometimes two deep routes? The reason Colt is staying so long in the pocket and taking sacks that he has not in the past is because he is waiting and hoping for those routes to come open. The problem is that the defense for the overwhelming majority of this season has been playing four deep. While it is really easy to call for more deep passes, when it comes to completing them against a four deep zone…..not so much.
What it comes down to is that defenses would rather make us throw the ball short and have sustained drives rather than playing tight man and risking getting beaten deep. The problem for opposing defense is that Colt is going to be able to deliver short passes and more importantly our receivers are going to be getting open. I think opposing DC’s have decided that with our largely unproven Receiver Corp give us the short stuff and deny the deep balls (especially to Shipley). I would have gone the opposite route, with unproven receivers play man alot and see if the young guys can get open deep.
Look for defenses to start playing more man free and/or two deep coverages which will open up the deep passing.
gohornsgo90 said:
September 29th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Yassir, how often are these passes adequately set up by either changing our blocking scheme (having the RB block the correct side or slide the O Line) to accommodate Colt’s necessity to be in the tackle box longer or running play action this season? Don’t bother looking it up, the answer is almost never. Sure, we have people running deep routes, great…
But we aren’t SETTING up the deep ball. Can’t fault people for asking why we simply CANNOT throw it-can’t even get it off most of the time. This is a flaw in our scheme, DCs don’t run Cover 4 against us every down.
On the other hand, I like your point about how we are getting schemed so prevalently this year (it’s actually really interesting because Colt is more of an accurate QB than monster arm guy a la Ryan Mallett/Matthew Stafford). Hopefully if we keep picking apart the opposing D’s underneath, things will open up downfield (especially for guys like Malcolm and Ship).
Holy Cow said:
September 29th, 2009 at 10:41 am
“Like Aaron Williams, he’s an intelligent, clean cut program poster boy that turns into an evil motherfucker on the football field.”
This really cracked me up for some reason. Nice analysis. . . .
Scipio Tex said:
September 29th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Yassir:
I laugh when people demand downfield passing when the opposition is running Cover 4. But we do need to find ways to bring those safeties up and that’s why my eternal frustration with our running game. It only takes a couple of 10 yard runs to create some downfield shots for Shipley, Buckner, and Malcolm Williams.
Now that Colt appears to be back “on”, this is less of a problem for us but our WRs and Colt need to hit all of the gimmes for it to work. No drops, no batted balls, no fumbling when the LB and S converge on you.
Bighornfan32 said:
September 30th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Kafka:
punts are harder To catch because you have guys right in your face as you’re catching it.