After watching the overreaction Monday, there seems to be a common theme that is emerging. And really that theme dates back to the end of the Mack years.
There are moments in the Arkansas and OU games where the Texas defense played like a top 50ish unit. And then large stretches where they could not stop anyone.
Sark, who I trust understands the pulse of this team, has alluded to the teams tendency to go away from solid, fundamental football and start trying to make plays. Instead of doing their job, players try to make the big play to grab back momentum. This could be coach speak, but I think it speaks to a longer cultural trend in the program that really started in 2010.
In 2010, the off season started with Mack stating this may be his best defense during his tenure. UCLA happened. And the defense was not a good unit for the entirety of the season. Through Manny, Orlando, Vance, Ash, and now PK, the unit is a sieve at times during the game. The common trait is being out of position, missing tackles and not playing sound football. We all remember Tom's comments after Maryland, when he stated the players started doing things they had not done in practice for weeks. They ditched the coaching and went rogue.
The fans start pitch forking the coaches mid season (and if this is accurate the coaches certainly have some blame). The only time it gets better is when we start to run vanilla concepts with the insertion of Ash or Robinson. Those defenses were not good, but they did not leak quite as badly.
If we think back to all of the Texas teams since 2010, we see signs of the same problem Sark is addressing today. I remember during Mack's final years the absurd muffed punts inside the five because the player was trying to do too much. The missed tackles issues that have plagued us for a decade. X's kick return this weekend.
Is the problem with the program trust at his point? Do the players not trust the guys around them to do their jobs? Do the players not trust the technique and scheme on defense to get it done?
I will never believe that Texas lacks the talent to field a top 50 unit every single year. Here is how our units rate since 2010:
2021 - 106th
2020 - 61st
2019 - 65th
2018 - 58th
2017 - 30th
2016 - 91st
2015 - 87th
2014 - 31st
2013 - 56th
2012 - 74th
2011 - 34th
2010 - 50th
In the last 12 years, Texas has fielded the following units on total defense:
0-25 - 0 times
25-50 - 4 times
51-75 - 5 times
76-100 - 2 times
100+ - on pace in 2021, but will likely be a 76-100 unit.
8 of the last 12 years (66% of the time), the Texas defense is outside the top 50 nationally. 25% of the time the unit is outside the top 75. 33% of the time the unit is inside the top 50. At no point has a top 25 unit emerged.
There is no way this can be explained with coaching schemes and talent. A school that consistently recruits in the top 10 (top 5 at times) during this run, should not fail to EVER field a top 25 defense. They should not struggle to field a top 50 unit. They sure as hell should not be fielding a unit outside of the top 75 in 1/3 of their seasons.
Is this a continuity issue? Do we switch coordinators so much that the defense a) never settles in and b) has the personnel to run the scheme? This would be a strange concept considering our best two defenses in the last 12 years were in Charlie and Tom's first seasons.
There is something else going on here. The bar I am setting at 50 is a very low bar for the recruiting classes and coaching salaries at Texas. But it is a bar we must find a way to hit. If this team can play like a top 50 unit the rest of the way, we can win the Big 12 title. If they continue the trend, Ketch is right. We will lose games we should not. Coburn, Sweat, Collins, Ojomo, Overshown, and Murphy are more than capable of being a stout run defense without rushing the QB. If they can do that, then we can dial up heat on third and long to create pressure we cannot achieve rushing four.
Sark's biggest task is to fix whatever this issue is. And I think he fully understands it. If they just play within themselves and do their jobs, every single play, this unit can be top 50. With this offense, that is enough to achieve the goals.
There are moments in the Arkansas and OU games where the Texas defense played like a top 50ish unit. And then large stretches where they could not stop anyone.
Sark, who I trust understands the pulse of this team, has alluded to the teams tendency to go away from solid, fundamental football and start trying to make plays. Instead of doing their job, players try to make the big play to grab back momentum. This could be coach speak, but I think it speaks to a longer cultural trend in the program that really started in 2010.
In 2010, the off season started with Mack stating this may be his best defense during his tenure. UCLA happened. And the defense was not a good unit for the entirety of the season. Through Manny, Orlando, Vance, Ash, and now PK, the unit is a sieve at times during the game. The common trait is being out of position, missing tackles and not playing sound football. We all remember Tom's comments after Maryland, when he stated the players started doing things they had not done in practice for weeks. They ditched the coaching and went rogue.
The fans start pitch forking the coaches mid season (and if this is accurate the coaches certainly have some blame). The only time it gets better is when we start to run vanilla concepts with the insertion of Ash or Robinson. Those defenses were not good, but they did not leak quite as badly.
If we think back to all of the Texas teams since 2010, we see signs of the same problem Sark is addressing today. I remember during Mack's final years the absurd muffed punts inside the five because the player was trying to do too much. The missed tackles issues that have plagued us for a decade. X's kick return this weekend.
Is the problem with the program trust at his point? Do the players not trust the guys around them to do their jobs? Do the players not trust the technique and scheme on defense to get it done?
I will never believe that Texas lacks the talent to field a top 50 unit every single year. Here is how our units rate since 2010:
2021 - 106th
2020 - 61st
2019 - 65th
2018 - 58th
2017 - 30th
2016 - 91st
2015 - 87th
2014 - 31st
2013 - 56th
2012 - 74th
2011 - 34th
2010 - 50th
In the last 12 years, Texas has fielded the following units on total defense:
0-25 - 0 times
25-50 - 4 times
51-75 - 5 times
76-100 - 2 times
100+ - on pace in 2021, but will likely be a 76-100 unit.
8 of the last 12 years (66% of the time), the Texas defense is outside the top 50 nationally. 25% of the time the unit is outside the top 75. 33% of the time the unit is inside the top 50. At no point has a top 25 unit emerged.
There is no way this can be explained with coaching schemes and talent. A school that consistently recruits in the top 10 (top 5 at times) during this run, should not fail to EVER field a top 25 defense. They should not struggle to field a top 50 unit. They sure as hell should not be fielding a unit outside of the top 75 in 1/3 of their seasons.
Is this a continuity issue? Do we switch coordinators so much that the defense a) never settles in and b) has the personnel to run the scheme? This would be a strange concept considering our best two defenses in the last 12 years were in Charlie and Tom's first seasons.
There is something else going on here. The bar I am setting at 50 is a very low bar for the recruiting classes and coaching salaries at Texas. But it is a bar we must find a way to hit. If this team can play like a top 50 unit the rest of the way, we can win the Big 12 title. If they continue the trend, Ketch is right. We will lose games we should not. Coburn, Sweat, Collins, Ojomo, Overshown, and Murphy are more than capable of being a stout run defense without rushing the QB. If they can do that, then we can dial up heat on third and long to create pressure we cannot achieve rushing four.
Sark's biggest task is to fix whatever this issue is. And I think he fully understands it. If they just play within themselves and do their jobs, every single play, this unit can be top 50. With this offense, that is enough to achieve the goals.
