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Where does our defense go from here?

westx

westx

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Dec 6, 2009
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It is pretty difficult for me to attempt to analyze what went wrong. Tech played very confident and had good success against our defense. Was it coaching? Was it secondary? Was it the linebackers? It is hard for me to say other than general observations.

Pass coverage: Linebackers did a poor job, but our high regarded secondary could not make plays and seemed to be out of position a good amount. I have no idea if it was the defensive scheme by the coach or players not doing their job. We had no answer for their receivers and the YACs.

Run defense: Didn't seem bad except for the one that Thompson broke

Rush defense: Didn't seem bad. It looked like the defensive linemen overran the pocket on several plays.

In general, Overshown didn't look that good. Tom Herman blamed the poor tackling on the reduced practice going all the way back to the spring due to Covid. I will buy that for now, unless we just don't improve.
 
LonghornMM said:
This team is showing no improvement year over year. It's the same old story. Missed tackles. Poor OL play. Stupid penalties. Poor coaching. Herman isn't the answer.
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I think the defense has a chance to improve as they go. The fact is Ash really hasn’t had a chance to coach this defense the way he needs to. The way you improve tackling is to tackle. Spring ball got shut down and they had very little summer workout in terms of contact. So I think you have to see how it goes week to week. This isn’t normally how a new DC would want to come in.
 
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They tackled in HS, so whats the tackling excuse? They play this game in HS so whats the excuse for not playing good?
 
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Hopefully the tackling improves over the course of the season. I saw a few other games today and all had tackling issues.
My biggest concern was the O line. In the 4th qtr, Tech's 3 man rush was annihilating our O line. I mean just shoving it down our throats. It was bad. Sam was running for his life. A Tech D line. Let that sink in.
 
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JDCPAgolferHorn said:
Hopefully the tackling improves over the course of the season. I saw a few other games today and all had tackling issues.
My biggest concern was the O line. In the 4th qtr, Tech's 3 man rush was annihilating our O line. I mean just shoving it down our throats. It was bad. Sam was running for his life. A Tech D line. Let that sink in.
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Yeah the thing most concerning to me is the OL. I think the D can get better but the OL is pretty much the same dudes as last year, same coaches and hasn’t really gotten better. That’s an issue
 
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I noticed Herman coaching Schooler right after his first-half touchdown. Maybe Herman should just enjoy the results of his previous coach having taught him right. Hope this does not result in unlearning good lessons.....
 
Our Center had 2 false start penalties. How do you false start when you're the one snapping the ball? Smdh

We had a TE drop a pass today, because he was more concerned about hitting the ground than securing the football.

Start watching our receivers and pay attention to how often they fail to extend both hands to catch the football. Our top 3 receivers today were a guy that was suspended all of last season, a guy transferred in a week before the season started, and a walk-on.

If bubble screens are going to be one of the foundations of your offense, you have to be able to block on the perimeter.

Brandon Eagles is a horrible route runner.
 
This was Tech's Super Bowl. They were crucified for almost losing to houston baptist. They were a cornered animal and had nothing to lose. We got their best game that they will play this year.
 
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dj701919 said:
Our Center had 2 false start penalties. How do you false start when you're the one snapping the ball? Smdh

We had a TE drop a pass today, because he was more concerned about hitting the ground than securing the football.

Start watching our receivers and pay attention to how often they fail to extend both hands to catch the football. Our top 3 receivers today were a guy that was suspended all of last season, a guy transferred in a week before the season started, and a walk-on.

If bubble screens are going to be one of the foundations of your offense, you have to be able to block on the perimeter.

Brandon Eagles is a horrible route runner.
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I was hoping someone would bring this up. I've called out so many kids that I didn't want to have to call him out as well and look like I was being hyper-critical.

But yes, how in the hell, if you're the one in charge of the snap count, do you end up with two false start penalties?
You're the center. You're supposed to be the smartest guy on the line. You're the keystone. The rock. The pillar of cool calm and collected.

This is what I've been screaming for years---- these are MENTAL mistakes. It comes from a lack of discipline.

Look, way back in the day when Chris Simms would try and thread the needle between to DBs and rifle it right into BJ Johnson's hands, it was because Chris had a freaking rocket launcher for an arm. He did. He had a fvcking missile and there's zero debating that-- he would make mistake because he believed that he had a superior talent that he could use to exploit the defense.
Most of the time he was correct. But sometimes his belief got him into trouble. These are physical mistakes.

"I believe I can make this throw"---- zip---- "well sh!t--- I didn't make it..." That's a physical mistake.

A false start as a center is a MENTAL mistake. That's inexcusable. And @Oldmanastro, this is what I'm talking about when I say minutiae. When you see stupid little crap like this happen time and time and time again, you come to the realization that these kids aren't being coached properly. That they aren't disciplined. And that they aren't mentally tough. Then their stupid mental mistakes start to snowball.

Last night Bama went into halftime against Mizzu with a 28-3 lead. Saban was so confident that the lead was insurmountable that he threw the second team QB in there. Bama won 38-19 and Saban flat out said that his team got "complacent" in the second half and were outplayed by Mizzu. That was the second team that got complacent. Think those kids aren't going to get a really hard lesson in discipline this week at practice? I assure you, they will.

Tom's time at his learning curve is over. He is what he is and we are who we are. Get ready for this team to be this way for the duration of his tenure here.

The days of whipping teams in the first half and coasting to an easy win are done.
 
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clob94 said:
I was hoping someone would bring this up. I've called out so many kids that I didn't want to have to call him out as well and look like I was being hyper-critical.

But yes, how in the hell, if you're the one in charge of the snap count, do you end up with two false start penalties?
You're the center. You're supposed to be the smartest guy on the line. You're the keystone. The rock. The pillar of cool calm and collected.

This is what I've been screaming for years---- these are MENTAL mistakes. It comes from a lack of discipline.

Look, way back in the day when Chris Simms would try and thread the needle between to DBs and rifle it right into BJ Johnson's hands, it was because Chris had a freaking rocket launcher for an arm. He did. He had a fvcking missile and there's zero debating that-- he would make mistake because he believed that he had a superior talent that he could use to exploit the defense.
Most of the time he was correct. But sometimes his belief got him into trouble. These are physical mistakes.

"I believe I can make this throw"---- zip---- "well sh!t--- I didn't make it..." That's a physical mistake.

A false start as a center is a MENTAL mistake. That's inexcusable. And @Oldmanastro, this is what I'm talking about when I say minutiae. When you see stupid little crap like this happen time and time and time again, you come to the realization that these kids aren't being coached properly. That they aren't disciplined. And that they aren't mentally tough. Then their stupid mental mistakes start to snowball.

Last night Bama went into halftime against Mizzu with a 28-3 lead. Saban was so confident that the lead was insurmountable that he threw the second team QB in there. Bama won 38-19 and Saban flat out said that his team got "complacent" in the second half and were outplayed by Mizzu. That was the second team that got complacent. Think those kids aren't going to get a really hard lesson in discipline this week at practice? I assure you, they will.

Tom's time at his learning curve is over. He is what he is and we are who we are. Get ready for this team to be this way for the duration of his tenure here.

The days of whipping teams in the first half and coasting to an easy win are done.
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I remember in 80's when Ou first team would come out of half time in their sweats if they had a big lead. They did not even suit up. That is cocky.
 
StrangerHorn said:
They tackled in HS, so whats the tackling excuse? They play this game in HS so whats the excuse for not playing good?
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Tackling is a matter of practice repetition, this is what was lost due to Covid. I think they will improve if they are allowed to practice tackling in practice. That is not a given with Tom Herman.


hookem365 said:
I noticed Herman coaching Schooler right after his first-half touchdown. Maybe Herman should just enjoy the results of his previous coach having taught him right. Hope this does not result in unlearning good lessons.....
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Are you sure Herman was coaching him or was Schooler Coaching Tom?

Salvi's Headband said:
Ash is a horrible coach. Take it from me.
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A lot of good coaches would disagree with you.


Salvi's Headband said:
At RU he systematically destroyed every aspect of the program over three and half years.
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Hardly convincing since he was fired before he got his own players fully into the system. Besides, Charlie Strong was a terrible head coach at Texas but because a head coach because he was a very accomplished DC and he probably still is. For some guys, being a coordinator is their peak.
 
This team has 2 losses in it at least. I hope we are better but likely not. Big 12 not sending any1 to playoff.

Acc and b1g are not better than b12 but bias exists. Sec is marginally better.
 
HornNation101 said:
I remember in 80's when Ou first team would come out of half time in their sweats if they had a big lead. They did not even suit up. That is cocky.
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When I think of tackling I remember an interview Barry switzer did after a practice. The reporter who was watching practice asked Barry why he kept running the option what seemed like 1,000 times and Barry answered because 999 is not enough.

Tackling is the same thing, you have to practice, practice practice. I'm not just talking about tackling in scrimmage drills but they need segments of nothing but tackling drills. Every day as much as possible because that is how you get better.
 
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KChorn11 said:
I think the defense has a chance to improve as they go. The fact is Ash really hasn’t had a chance to coach this defense the way he needs to. The way you improve tackling is to tackle. Spring ball got shut down and they had very little summer workout in terms of contact. So I think you have to see how it goes week to week. This isn’t normally how a new DC would want to come in.
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Hear, hear.

2020 is a weird year, and this CFB season is going to be no less so. Some strange outcomes already. Tech was humbled from prior week, whereas Texas went in too arrogant.

It's too early to tell what is going to happen with Sam's team. I still have hope, but some things need to change, urgently. OL blocking execution, avoiding false starts and getting caught holding. That includes on punts. Tackling execution. ST wits and execution. Route running and Sam's precision.

And did I expect too much from Bijan?
 
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clob94 said:
"I believe I can make this throw"---- zip---- "well sh!t--- I didn't make it..." That's a physical mistake.
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That could be a mental or a physical mistake.

It's only a physical mistake if your arm didn't do what you intended. If you thought you could make a throw that you can't (yet), then that's a mental mistake, too. Or if you failed to account for the wind.

Your main point, though, is clear. Too many mental mistakes, including from Derek Kerstetter. Starting on a clap seems risky to me--too easily faked by opponents--but I never played in front of a crowd, so what do I know?
 
I wouldn’t worry about Bijan. He has been good, but he got injured on his first series. He is the least of this teams worries.
 
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StrangerHorn said:
They tackled in HS, so whats the tackling excuse? They play this game in HS so whats the excuse for not playing good?
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I think that is what the majority of people think. But for those guys who haven't tackled much in practice it is a problem. Also the speed of the game for new starters and true/redshirts is an adjustment that every player must make. Once made that issue seems to resolve itself.
 
what the hell?....We are averaging 61 per game on offense......what do we need a defense for anyway?


I think someone said that if you score over 40 a game you cannot play defense. It is a law!
 
oldhorn2 said:
what the hell?....We are averaging 61 per game on offense......what do we need a defense for anyway?


I think someone said that if you score over 40 a game you cannot play defense. It is a law!
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And that average is based on the defenses of UTEP and Texas Tech...
 
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Hornsruleu....we are not looking for context here, just results.
 
StrangerHorn said:
They tackled in HS, so whats the tackling excuse? They play this game in HS so whats the excuse for not playing good?
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The answer is like the Short game in Golf. A lot of people are now saying: "WTF Short game in Golf?" But it is true, chipping and putting are the first things in golf to go away and make you look like a new beginner when you play again. The art of the short game has to be practiced to become good at it again. Same with tackling. That is why our D looks like new beginners. We bitch and complain about miss tackles and we wonder why they cannot wrap up? Madness it is all madness.
 
This team hasn't practiced real tackling since high school. Orlando ball...
 
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