Breaking Down The Oklahoma Sooners Offense and Landry Jones
by Scipio Tex on May 31, 2025 3:14 PM CDT
in Texas Longhorns and Other Football
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PrintA very good 5 minute feature from Trevor Matich and Todd McShay that breaks down the personnel challenges of defending OU's spread and some of the mechanical issues that Landry Jones suffered from in his late season decline. I have some thoughts in how that relates to our defense this year.
I'm a big fan of Trevor Matich. His breakdown a couple of years ago on how to defend Urban Meyer's spread is one of the best pieces of football instruction I've ever seen (and no, his advice wasn't to wait until Meyer's roster implodes).
Matich's point about OU's ability to use their base personnel to give a variety of looks is right on. They lure teams into playing base defense by showing a FB, RB, TE, line up in an empty set, and put linebackers and safeties into uncomfortable positions. However, the final formations they get into are inflexible. An empty set without a running QB is a declaration of intention. A one back set isn't much better. Good defenses can get hits on the QB and WRs in exchange for yardage. The O is short on protection options, so throws need to come out quickly. Any inside pressure, an overload, or a botched assignment with a free blitzer is disastrous.
Further, if a defense has good hinge personnel who are capable of doing multiple things as blitzers, in run support, or in coverage (Vaccaro, Hicks, Cobbs, Edmond, Phillips), Diaz can play the formation and not the personnel. You don't have to overreact to a spread formation with OU's base personnel by putting in a dime and then getting run on, nor do you have to watch your base 4-3 backers get killed by scatbacks in the flat.
That's the area I'm most optimistic about in Dallas.
As for Landry Jones, I'm on board with some of McShay's points. His end of year deterioration is partially attributable to WR injuries and inconsistency, but he strikes me as more the product of an offensive approach that needs the other cogs in the machine working well in order to do his thing. Read a little about George Whitfield, Jr. I'll venture a guess that most of what he's doing with LJ is fixing his mechanics and getting him more comfortable when he has to go off script.
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versatility
is the name of the game in Norman. You’ll note that however obvious some of their passing formations are, teams don’t get a ton of pressure. Or they didn’t until Broyles went down, because Landry is good at getting the ball out quickly.
An unblockable DT in the pass-rush is a quick fix to their whole system but maybe we are comfortable throwing more FZ’s and send Hicks/Edmond up the middle at them.
This is where alignment confusion from our DB’s becomes key, Landry wasn’t fooled much by our FZ’s last year.
by Nickel Rover on May 31, 2025 3:38 PM CDT reply actions
From the Arena League to Shakespeare...
At Whitfield Athletix, we believe in the motto "As a quarterback thinketh in his heart, so is he!"
- George Whitfield, Jr., Renaissance Man.
by Big(g) Ern on May 31, 2025 3:58 PM CDT reply actions
Trevor Matich...
dude is good for college football.
by Hippie Killer on May 31, 2025 4:09 PM CDT reply actions
I love the earnest enthusiasm of Trevor Matich and Gus Johnson, it is infectious.
by Pinche Gringo on May 31, 2025 9:08 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm on board w/ Matich
My only issue w/ the piece referenced was it featuring James Hanna where a much better and more versatile player in Trey Millard will be used in the role this coming year. Obviously that hasn’t happened yet so I get why it couldn’t have been part of his breakdown, but it will make a pretty significant difference in my opinion.
The other thing, not saying there is no validity to the critiques of Landry and his late season performance but I continue to see people talk about it while failing to mention Blake Bell’s emergence in the offense.
Admittedly, part of that was due to Landry’s struggles but when you simply point out “Landry Jones only threw ‘x’ amount of TDs vs. ‘x’ amount of INTs late in the season” without acknowledging the fact that he wasn’t in the game for most of their red zone situaitons you’re simply not presenting the whole picture. Mind you, I’m not implying that Scip is doing so here just speaking in general.
To be fair, I think some assumptions are made w/ respect to the ability of Hicks, Cobbs, & Edmond to do the things you’re speaking of. Are they capable of it, no question. Have the proven yet they can be relied on to do it? Very different story.
I’d be lying if I said I’m not a big fan of what Diaz is doing w/ your defense and praying that Mike Stoops can bring back some of the bite to ours. For that reason alone, Dallas this year scares the bleep out of me. Hard to believe our defense can put that many points on the board again and if “we” can’t run the ball it’s going to be a very, very long day IMO.
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by Jordan Esco on May 31, 2025 4:37 PM CDT reply actions
Oh, and also
FWIW, longtime lurker who finally took the plunge. Scip, Ripley, and many others really know their stuff. Respect, albeit hateful which I’m sure you understand, but respect none the less.
"Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets." - Ron Swanson
Crimson and Cream Machine - There's only one Oklahoma!
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by Jordan Esco on May 31, 2025 4:40 PM CDT up reply actions
I agree
on running the ball. If you can do it, we probably can’t match up yet. If not, it’s anybody’s game.
by Nickel Rover on May 31, 2025 4:45 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah
W/ the secondary you guys will be putting it out there, if we can’t run, and our receivers are still wet behind the ears, it could be really bad (or good of course depending on which side of the Red River you fall on).
"Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets." - Ron Swanson
Crimson and Cream Machine - There's only one Oklahoma!
Listen to Sooner Nation, the #1 podcast for OU fans
by Jordan Esco on May 31, 2025 4:54 PM CDT up reply actions
I like you
Post more often.
Follow me on Twitter @GoHornsGo90
by GoHornsGo90 on May 31, 2025 11:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Makes more sense
I agree that the criticisms of Landry have been a bit overrated. He lost his best go-to guy and the rhythm just kind of jammed up a bit.
However, Landry still has a quick release and is football smart when he is in rhythm. That’s when he scares me. We absolutely have to confuse and disrupt that rhythm. Dealing with an experienced senior QB is never easy. I like our DL much better this season. The lights really turn on for Okafor and Jeffcoat. Plus we have depth that is capable of starting at most other schools. You’re right about Edmond and Cobbs. All the capability but have to prove it. I think they will be just fine but that will be seen on the field. The part that makes me somewhat okay is the fact that our secondary will be much better. When the lights turned on, we kept OSU to a season low and that was one potent offense. Diggs, Byndom, Kenny V, Phillips will be fine and I think Diaz knows this. We held down OU’s run game well last year and I think we should be able to do the same because of a better secondary allowing more freedom for Diaz. If we can get our running game going, I like our chances.
Either way, I think this will be one heck of a game. Probably the best one we will both see all season.
by STLaw on Jun 1, 2025 12:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Any time the Sooners have run on us,
they have generally eaten us alive. I’m not really worried about that this year. I think the defense will be fine.
The unknowns for both teams are the matchup of the OU defense vs the Texas offense. Both units are coming off subpar years with many questions to answer. The unit that answers those questions most positively will likely decide the game.
by lurkerinthedark on May 31, 2025 4:56 PM CDT reply actions
before a sooner piles in here
let’s be a bit cautious comparing the Sooner D to the Longhorn O. They were miles better last year and will likely be much better this year as well.
They had 3 bad games, just like our unit. They are losing more pieces than us but I still expect them to be top 3 in the conference. If our offense achieves that I think we’ll all be dancing on the drag in january.
by Nickel Rover on May 31, 2025 5:21 PM CDT up reply actions
At this point
I see us improving over last year’s performance just given maturity and poise from all of the offensive talent that were wide-eyed freshman last year.
But… I think it takes Landry spitting the bit big time and downright blowing the game like he did against Okie State for us to win.
Our offense should be better than the nightmare it was last year, but I still don’t see us putting up many points. They are still a year away and this is the best defense they will see. Our D needs to force turnovers, shorten the field and we need scores from both the D and special teams if we are really in this.
by Big(g) Ern on Jun 1, 2025 9:51 AM CDT up reply actions
20-17 type win
I don’t think we’ll see a 2008 style shootout.
by Scipio Tex on Jun 1, 2025 11:15 AM CDT up reply actions
And this is the sort of game where an inexperienced and untrustworthy kicker scares the shit out of me.
by Big(g) Ern on Jun 1, 2025 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, but at the same time I like who we have returning punts/kicks
Monroe, Shipley, Diggs, and Thompson might be enough to flip field position once or twice.
OU hasn’t been historically strong on kick coverage, and they lost Broyles who I think was doing kicks for them.
I’m not sure whether or not OU has secured a decent kicker yet, but I remember them having kicker issues.
by notsofst on Jun 1, 2025 8:46 PM CDT up reply actions
The dream
Is stopping OU’s running game cold and using Whaley and Tank at DT the majority of the game. Okafor, Jeffcoat, Whaley, and Tank combo is going to be on of the top pass rushing lines in football. The only way to see it featured is if OU running game is DOA
by codaxx on May 31, 2025 6:07 PM CDT reply actions
that would be really nice
if we win, I think it’ll be a result of confusing Jones’ reads and achieving pressure as a result. No matter the DL you can’t sack a QB who gets the ball out in less than 3 seconds.
I think we’ll see more FZ’s this year, which present 8-man fronts against the run. Again, that’ll be afforded by disguising our coverages so Landry can’t hit the weak spots. If we can get the Jeffcoat-Tank-Whaley-Okafor line or other heavy pass-rush groupings we’ll do tremendous damage.
by Nickel Rover on May 31, 2025 6:40 PM CDT up reply actions
can't even imagine
that happening. We would win, I guarantee it.
by Nickel Rover on May 31, 2025 6:57 PM CDT up reply actions
Maybe we can show this tape to our shiny new D coordinator
After all, he got torched for 55 last year including a 64 yard run by a mediocre rb and 3 td passes from Jones. Let’s set a goal to hold ou under 50 points this year!
by ransomstoddard on May 31, 2025 7:26 PM CDT reply actions
OU defense
Outscored our offense. I think OU scored over 30 pts directly from their defense or by result of excellent field position. Not saying defense was great or even good, but The offense put them in an impossible position. By the way, OU couldn’t really run on Texas. That run was after it was all over and was pretty much the only run OU had.
by codaxx on May 31, 2025 7:36 PM CDT up reply actions
Pretty sure the 21-24 of those points were scored against the offense off turnovers. But 30 points still doesn’t get it done.
by Ascendant on May 31, 2025 9:43 PM CDT up reply actions
The three TDs passes the Sooners caught from David Ash contributed to that point total. Having a QB that didn’t just get through with prom will help us out a lot this time around.
by Tackchevy on Jun 1, 2025 8:56 AM CDT up reply actions
28
28 pts directly off turnovers. Like I said it wasn’t good defense, but the play of defense was not reflected by the score. Just responding to the hold them under 50 comment
by codaxx on May 31, 2025 9:51 PM CDT reply actions
As usual
Key to beating OU lies in how many we have to bring to get to the QB. Last year we brought seemingly everybody (including Gideon about a hundred thousand times) and never got to Landry. That was when Jeffcoat and Okafor were still struggling with their pass rushing, which hopefully won’t take so long to kick in this season.
Cobbs and Vaccaro are the two keys for me this season, aside from the two DE’s. Can they get pressure from slot blitzes? Can they hold down the slot receiver? Can they make 1st down saving tackles on flat routes out of the backfield? I’m less worried about Byndom and Diggs this year over the top. I just don’t want to get nickel and dimed down the field by OU—that sets everything we can never seem to stop up perfectly.
Follow me on Twitter @GoHornsGo90
by GoHornsGo90 on May 31, 2025 11:09 PM CDT reply actions
Man, are we ready for the season to start.
Judging by this thread, anyway.
We’ve got Scip, Nickle, et. al. bringing the knowledge, non-Longhorns posting cogent thoughts in a respectful (if hateful) manner, Ransom spewing random negativity… heck, we even lured GHG90 over from BON.
If we can get Brick to bring the snark, and BFLT and Nobis to each post about 8 paragraphs, maybe this thread will fold space and time, and August will hurry up and get here.
by Flipteach on May 31, 2025 11:45 PM CDT reply actions
Play to win
Don’t play not to lose. Don’t play “knowing a loss doesn’t wreck your season”. While personnel and schemes tend to tell the tale, Mack really needs to revamp his approach to this one.
by Sailor Ripley on Jun 1, 2025 12:07 PM CDT reply actions
If I was playing OU's offense I would want
Good interior pass rushers/blitzers at DT and MLB who can impact the quick game with pressure, batted balls, flushes from the pocket.
Good DEs who can put pressure on intermediate and long pass routes (they’re not going to do much in the quick game except maybe bat a ball) but are strong enough to play the run.
Sure tacklers in the secondary. Cornerbacks who are reliable and sound, but dynamic enough to make a break on a ball and take it other way when the QB makes a bad read. Safeties who won’t get beat deep, but have the ability to man up when you want to blitz and will support the run aggressively when you go into dime or nickel.
Basically, that describes our personnel.
Unfortunately, OU’s defense thrives when it can play an incomplete offense and rely on “cheats” to completely shut down the things you do well. That also describes our personnel on O.
If we win in Dallas, it ain’t gonna be 45-35.
by Scipio Tex on Jun 1, 2025 12:54 PM CDT reply actions
Nice work
Insightful article as always, Scipio, and I think this comment really hits on why Texas will be in far better shape for this game than a year ago. UT’s D is pretty well constructed to combat OU’s offense. Hell, with Diaz pulling the strings, they’re well constructed to combat any offense.
Right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if OU’s offensive game plan looks a lot like what they did last year versus Florida St. I’d like to see more of Texas’ DTs and Edmond, though.
Four months out, I really think this one comes down to Ash. That may sound obvious, but as you indicated, OU’s D generally gets its rocks off against offenses with quarterbacks who can’t extend plays or do enough downfield to keep it honest. I didn’t see much last year to make me think Ash is the kind of QB who can do that, but clearly it’s way too early to make that kind of call.
by Blatant Homerism on Jun 1, 2025 8:32 PM CDT up reply actions
Development
Our O is going to hinge on whether Ash has gotten it together, the OL is solidified, and our WRs are improved.
I think the OL will be just fine. Ash showed real improvement in the spring game with a vanilla offense. Better touch on the ball and better vision without so much pocket panic. The WRs scare me the most. Outside of Shipley, every guy needs to prove his worth. I’m hoping Caleb comes in the fall and just raises hell to get a shot on the field.
by STLaw on Jun 2, 2025 12:19 AM CDT up reply actions
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