There were some spectacular busts last Saturday, whether they were from poor leverage, poor tackling, or coverage gaffes, the Longhorns defense had it all. That said, what seems to be the order of the day for Strong, as the head coach and defensive coordinator? I can only guess, but allow me to share some thoughts.
3-3-5… Strong innovated this scheme and I think he should strictly adhere to it. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hager and Roach, but 3-4 should be reserved for ’12’ or ’21’ personnel, exclusively.
Mindset… This is where I think having Coach Strong on your *** every day in practice makes the most difference. I don’t know exactly how long it will take, but the Texas defense needs to restore it’s confidence and swagger. Strong, ever the leader of men, will seek to alter the defense’s mindset and free them to play fast and physical.
Personnel…
Safeties – Play the veterans. That means Haines and Hall at safety almost full-time. Hall showed that, while he may be flawed, he played with passion and made tackles. Haines’ early injury hurt the defense, but if healthy, he’s a welcome addition.
The Breckyning – I love me some Hager, but the 3-4 needs to fall by the wayside. Besides, he’s still an asset in the 3-3-5, at Fox, setting the edge and rushing the passer from the weak side.
Pass Package – If the staff insists on playing Hager and Malcolm Roach at the same time, place them at strong side and weak side ends in a 2-4 alignment. This minimizes cross-over, as Roach remains at Fox and Hager is already accustomed to playing the strong side. That said, it may not be needed, as Charles Omenihu seems to have come on strong as a pass rusher.
DBU – Surprisingly, despite the mishaps, I liked some of the secondary’s work in 2-high coverage, but they need to press more outside. Hopefully, with the return of Holton Hill, we see that. Also, with Malik close to executing his drop in Cover 2, playing 2-high may pay dividends in the near future. If this team is to do real damage, it’s going to come from matching up and playing man-coverage. That is where the defense’s pressure packages should be formulated. Cover receivers and yield only difficult throws to quarterbacks looking to quickly get the ball out of their hands. The missing piece, the coverage specialist. The hope is, freshman Brandon Jones can provide a significant role covering down on inside receivers.
This remains a young team, but there have been bright spots. Texas did have a handful of successful stops against a very good OSU offense. Improvement will come by taking bad habits and mental mistakes out of the game. How soon they are able to accomplish that is a mystery.
[TFB]
