SB Nation - D.J. Monroe

Monday Thoughts

Beergut — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:57:24 -0000

Texas A&M's Bryan Davis, center, fights for position against The Citadel's Bryan Streeter (21) and Cameron Wells. A&M beat The Citadel 71-50. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

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Men's basketball's victory over Citadel on Friday gave the Aggies their final win for 2009 at Reed Arena. The men will be playing the Huskies of Washington tomorrow in Seattle at 10:06 PM Texas time. The game will be televised nationally by Fox Sports Net. The Huskies are a solid team, currently ranked #21 with a 7-3 record on the season. The Huskies have lost to Georgetown, and had a loss to Texas Tech in overtime in Lubbock. This should be a solid test for our team, and a chance for us to improve our RPI for seeding come March should we win the game. Mostly, I just want to see vast improvement from our poor effort against New Mexico.

The Independence Bowl is one week from today; the line has moved from Georgia being a mere 4 point favorite to a solid TD favorite. Hopefully we're preparing diligently for the upset.
texas reinstated WR/KR D.J. Monroe after he pled down to a lesser charge of obstructing a passageway, and the driving while intoxicated charges were dropped. Hell, we all know that is an equal charge; obstructing a passageway puts lives in danger just as badly as an underage kid driving around while so drunk he is impaired. The best part is Mack Brown's statement to the media:

"I had a long talk with D.J. yesterday," Brown said. "We looked at the punishment he had, what will affect them in 15 years and what it does to the attitude of the team. And we felt that a three-game suspension for the charges that were dropped, that he should be reinstated."

Brown might as well have said, "We looked at how badly we might need him for the BCS Championship Game, and decided to reinstate him." I'd respect Brown more if he stood by his earlier punishment.
I watched texas' win over North Carolina at Jerry World on television yesterday. While it looks like texas has a very good team this year, I couldn't help wondering how good of a view that stadium gives for basketball. The court seemed fairly far away from a lot of the fans in the stands. Add in the fact that the action is shown on the massive jumbotron, and you have fans paying $100 for tickets and $30 to park merely to 'be there' to watch a game on a screen they could watch at home for free. It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes they make for hosting the Final Four. Cutting the stadium in half to make it a more intimate setting might be an option they should consider.
If you've never watched the Texas Aggie Band Show, you're missing a good time. Initially, the thought of doing a show about the FTAB seems kind of silly, but they keep it interesting and entertaining. It is worth a view.

If College Football Had a Playoff: #15 East Carolina Pirates @ #2 Texas Longhorns

Jeremy Mauss — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:02:43 -0000

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Before we get to game four the previous matchup of #13 LSU against #4 TCU was a back in forth matchup with LSU leading by as many as 60 votes early this morning, but then the TCU fans came out and won by 150 votes. This matchup has the most votes with just under 800.

For the previous results go check out the section "If College Football had a playoff."

This should be as simple as the Troy vs. Alabama matchup with Texas mopping the floor with the Pirates. Had Houston won C-USA then they would at least make this game interesting.

Who knows maybe East Carolina could get a good pass rush on Colt McCoy and make this game interesting for a half. I would expect Colt McCoy to have a field day over ECU.

Now for the somewhat scientific view by using What if Sports to simulate this fine matchup. As expected What if Sports predicts a 43-14 blowout in favor of Texas. Texas was able to run and throw all over ECU with a balanced attack with 304 passing yards and 273 rushing yards.

Stop by to vote and comment on this matchup. Light hearted trash talk is highly encouraged.

Texas Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Garrett Gilbert	8	60.0	15	26	57.7	124	15.5	4.8	0	0	6	11	1.4	1.8	1	-	-
Colt McCoy	13	103.0	330	468	70.5	3512	270.2	7.5	27	12	128	348	26.8	2.7	3	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
John Chiles	11	7	29	2.6	4.1	0	34	319	29	9.4	3
Antwan Cobb	2	1	3	1.5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Garrett Gilbert	8	6	11	1.4	1.8	1	0	0	0	0	0
Marquise Goodwin	11	2	8	.700	4	0	25	209	19	8.4	1
Sherrod Harris	1	1	4	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jeremy Hills	2	9	86	43	9.6	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cody Johnson	13	84	333	25.6	4	12	7	42	3.2	6	0
Colt McCoy	13	128	348	26.8	2.7	3	0	0	0	0	0
Vondrell McGee	9	56	300	33.3	5.4	2	8	37	4.1	4.6	0
D.J. Monroe	9	20	110	12.2	5.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tre' Newton	11	102	513	46.6	5	6	12	106	9.6	8.8	0
Jordan Shipley	13	1	0	0	0	0	106	1363	104.8	12.9	11
Foswhitt Whittaker	10	52	207	20.7	4	4	13	51	5.1	3.9	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Dan Buckner	12	44	445	37.1	10.1	4
John Chiles	11	34	319	29	9.4	3
Marquise Goodwin	11	25	209	19	8.4	1
DeSean Hales	1	1	2	2	2	0
Cody Johnson	13	7	42	3.2	6	0
James Kirkendoll	12	48	461	38.4	9.6	6
Vondrell McGee	9	8	37	4.1	4.6	0
Tre' Newton	11	12	106	9.6	8.8	0
Philip Payne	1	1	7	7	7	0
Jordan Shipley	13	106	1363	104.8	12.9	11
Foswhitt Whittaker	10	13	51	5.1	3.9	0
Malcolm Williams	12	38	546	45.5	14.4	2

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Hunter Lawrence	13	-	-	-	-	-	22	25	90.0%	62	63	100.0%	128

East Carolina Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Josh Jordan	3	70.0	5	7	71.4	61	20.3	8.7	0	0	4	6	2	1.5	0	-	-
Rob Kass	3	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-
Patrick Pinkney	13	60.0	242	407	59.5	2738	210.6	6.7	14	10	41	101	7.8	2.5	3	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Darnell Ballard	2	2	4	2	2	1	2	18	9	9	0
Justin Brockmeyer	2	2	23	11.5	11.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Darryl Freeney	10	2	2	.200	1	0	42	622	62.2	14.8	3
Dwayne Harris	13	31	149	11.5	4.8	5	79	914	70.3	11.6	6
Brandon Jackson	8	84	316	39.5	3.8	3	6	75	9.4	12.5	0
Josh Jordan	3	4	6	2	1.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dominique Lindsay	11	206	1029	93.5	5	5	18	138	12.5	7.7	1
Patrick Pinkney	13	41	101	7.8	2.5	3	0	0	0	0	0
J.R. Rogers	1	5	6	6	1.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Justin Ruffin	2	15	95	47.5	6.3	1	0	0	0	0	0
Giavanni Ruffin	10	56	169	16.9	3	4	5	26	2.6	5.2	0
Norman Whitley	2	3	2	1	.700	0	1	9	4.5	9	0
Jonathan Williams	5	14	38	7.6	2.7	0	3	7	1.4	2.3	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Darnell Ballard	2	2	18	9	9	0
Andrew Bodenheimer	3	4	72	24	18	0
Jamar Bryant	7	21	200	28.6	9.5	2
Darryl Freeney	10	42	622	62.2	14.8	3
Dwayne Harris	13	79	914	70.3	11.6	6
Brandon Jackson	8	6	75	9.4	12.5	0
Jacobi Jenkins	2	2	12	6	6	0
Dominique Lindsay	11	18	138	12.5	7.7	1
Korey Reynolds	1	1	12	12	12	0
Giavanni Ruffin	10	5	26	2.6	5.2	0
Alex Taylor	11	35	367	33.4	10.5	0
Norman Whitley	2	1	9	4.5	9	0
Jonathan Williams	5	3	7	1.4	2.3	0
Reyn Willis	6	6	107	17.8	17.8	1
Joe Womack	6	12	141	23.5	11.8	0

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Ben Ryan	3	-	-	-	-	-	0	2	0	4	4	100.0%	4
Ben Hartman	12	-	-	-	-	-	19	25	80.0%	32	32	100.0%	89

Poll

Who wins?

Texas Longhorns

37 votes

East Carolina Pirates

11 votes

48 votes | Poll has closed

Under The Hood: Nebraska vs Texas Statistical Comparison

Jon Johnston — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:39:22 -0000

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Most of the talk will center around Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley. Husker fans need to know the name Sergio Kindle, though, as he's a disruptive force on defense.

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One piece of advice - don't bother defending Nebraska's offense to anyone. You don't need to - people aren't expecting us to win so that pressure is on Texas. In fact, just consider our offense a zero, and then make the case for why we won't need an offensive touchdown to beat them.

Next question is - can you make that case? Answer = you can if you're delusional and that describes my relationship with Nebraska football. Most of the predictions I see from Texas people (reasonable Texas people, is that an oxymoron? Just asking...) are in the 20-point range.

Let's figure that Texas scores 21 points. Obviously we'll need 21 to match or better. If you give us a big play on special teams, blocked punt or kick, there's one-third. Our defense should be capable of a big play, say a Ndamukong Suh interception return (or Matt O'Hanlon, I'm not picky) for a touchdown (where he runs over Colt McCoy like a rag doll), there's another third.

Can our offense score seven points against Texas?

Statistics include national and conference rankings in parentheses.

Offensive Statistics

	Nebraska	Texas
Rush YPG	147.42 (64/6)	163.92 (47/5)
Rush YPC	4.12 (69/6)	4.40 (50/3)
Rush TDS	18 (61/7)	27 (8/1)

Pass YPG	187.3 (93/9)	287.7 (13/3)
Pass YPA	7.0 (67/8)	7.5 (43/2)
Pass TDS	15 (75/10)	27 (10/3)
Pass Efficiency	128.95 (62/8)	148.5 (15/1)

Total Offense	334.8 (93/11)	451.6 (11/3)
Scoring Offense	25.6 (72/8)	43.0 (3/1)

- Move along, there's nothing to see on the left side here.

- On the right side, it's interesting to note that Texas is eighth in the nation with rushing TDs. In fact, it's somewhat shocking with all the negativity about their run game. 14 of their 27 rushing TDs came against their non-conference opponents, leaving 13 for eight Big 12 games. That sounds better, doesn't it?

- 10 of Texas 27 passing TDs came against non-conference opponents.

- Texas longest rush of the season was that 65-yard run last week against the Aggies. McCoy had another long rush of 43 against the Aggies as well. Against Big 12 opponents, they've had only six rushing plays over 20 yards.

- Texas looks like they've gotten their running game together, largely because they've found a productive back. Running out of time, I'll expound on this later, hopefully this afternoon.

- The Longhorns longest pass of the season was an 88-yard pass against Central Florida from McCoy to Jordan Shipley (surprise, surprise). The pair hooked up for a 78-yarder against UL-Monroe. The longest against a Big 12 opponent was McCoy-Malcolm Wiliams for 68 yards. Against conference opponents, they've had 12 passes longer than 20 yards. Of those, only two were to Shipley. Four went to Williams, two to James Kirkendoll, and one to John Chiles.

Defensive Statistics

	Nebraska	Texas
Rush YPG	101.08 (14/5)	61.75 (1/1)
Rush YPC	2.98 (12/5)	1.99 (1/1)
Rush TDS	6 (5/2)	5 (2/1)

Pass YPG	189.5 (17/2)	201.4 (39/3)
Pass YPA	5.4 (7/2)	5.6 (9/3)
Pass TDS	7 (3/1)	14 (34/4)

Total Defense	290.6 (11/3)	263.2 (5/1)
Scoring Defense	11.1 (3/1)	15.4 (9/3)

- Oklahoma's defense is comparable to the Longhorns, so we've played a defense of this caliber before.

- We gave up three touchdown passes to Colorado, yet remain first in the nation in defending touchdown passes. It'd have been nice to have kept that number lower and remain in the "that's incredible" category (maybe we're still there, I'll look at that stuff after the season is over), but this is one key area between both these teams.

- The longest pass and run plays by our opponents both came in the Virginia Tech game, with a 46-yard by Ryan Williams and the disappointing 81-yard pass by Tyrod Taylor that helped them when the game.

- The 1.99 yard per carry given up by Texas defense is astounding. They've given up only six plays of over 20 yards all season. If that sounds awesome, the Blackshirts aren't far behind with eight. In passing plays of over 25 yards, Texas has given up 13, while Nebraska has given up 18.

The Details

	Nebraska	Texas
3rd Down Conversions (Pctg)	39.52 (59/6)	47.70 (13/2)
Red Zone Conversions (Score %)	80 (71/8)	92.86 (9/1)

Turnover Margin	+4 (39/5)	+12 (8/1)
Sacks	33 (12/5)	36 (5/3)
Tackles for Loss	74 (38/7)	103 (2/1)
Sacks Allowed	18 (40/5)	22 (61/6)
Punting (Avg)	41.98 (38/4)	38.94 (87/9)
Punt Returns	10.95 (37/5)	13.45 (14/2)
Kickoffs (Avg)	68.32 (1/1)	63.47 (34/5)
Kickoff Returns	23 (38/5)	28.31 (3/1)
Penalties (Yds/G)	64.6 (100/7)	57.9 (81/3)

- I hate to say this, but it continues to bug me. Remove the eight turnovers from the Iowa State game (as if you could) and Nebraska's turnover margin would be one of the best in the nation. There. Done with that.

- Texas kickoff return man D.J. Monroe is ranked third nationally with a 35.79 yard average. He's scored two touchdowns, both against non-conference opponents, where his kickoff return average is 52 yard per return. Against Big 12 opponents, it's 26.78. Niles Paul is ranked 43rd, with a 25.36 average. Good news, though as Paul has gotten better. Against the Big 12, his average is slightly higher at 26.83 yards per return.

- We will need to pick up some third downs (Captain Obvious). We were 1-for-14 against Oklahoma, but kept them out of the end zone because they had a freshman quarterback. Colt McCoy - no freshman. Against Kansas and Kansas State, we were 7-for-16, and then digressed at Colorado where we went 3-for-10 (and played like crap). I don't know what you're thinking of as a solution, but I'm thinking of Rex Burkhead and Brandon Kinnie.

- I double-checked the penalty stat on Texas. Hey, perhaps we will pick up some holding calls this weekend.

The Opponents

Total Offense Rank	Nebraska Opponent	Total Defense Rank	Total Offense Rank	Texas	Total Defense Rank
21	Florida Atlantic	113	51	UL-Monroe	47
90	Arkansas State	49	112	@Wyoming	83
56	@Virginia Tech	13	7	Texas Tech	48
72	UL-Lafayette	95	23	UTEP	111
33	@Missouri	55	104	Colorado	59
7	Texas Tech	48	29	Oklahoma	7
75	Iowa State	100	33	Missouri	55
86	@Baylor	96	62	Oklahoma State	32
29	Oklahoma	7	84	Central Florida	45
25	Kansas	74	86	Baylor	96
83	Kansas State	38	25	Kansas	74
104	Colorado	59	6	Texas A&M	107
56.75	Average	62.25	51.83	Average	63.67

- Both sides averages are nearly equal, which is expected when you play a lot of common opponents. I wasn't going to include this chart this time, but I really wanted to know about how their non-conference opponents, mostly because I could then do a little more smack talking.

- Funny that Texas A&M's defense is so horrible.

Morning Coffee Loves Malcolm Williams

GhostofBigRoy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:10 -0000

by Harry Cabluck - AP

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Running game suffers biggest struggles since Colorado. Not only was it clear that Central Florida was the best team at stopping the run the Longhorns will face until a potential appearance in the national championship game, but the Knights also loaded up to the stop the run, daring the Longhorns to throw the football. So throw the football they did, to the tune of 470 yards by Colt McCoy. The concern, however, is that Texas didn't run the ball successfully after three straight games coming close to or exceeding the 60% success rate the coaches want to achieve. Against Central Florida, Texas rushed for 67 yards on 25 carries, with a success rate of only 50%.

There are certainly a lot of reasons for the lack of success. Much like the Colorado game, the coaches were relatively stubborn about using the basic running plays -- the counter and zone plays with some zone read sprinkled in, while eschewing the Monroe Series after the first play from scrimmage and choosing not to run the actual misdirection counter play and the draw play debuted on the first play against Oklahoma. Though Cody Johnson scored his first touchdown on an inside zone play, all of his other attempts on the play were stopped by the Knights -- it just doesn't make that much sense to have such a big back running laterally down the line of scrimmage. The easy adjustment here is to run the same plays from under center, where Johnson would have the ability to come downhill more on the plays and square his shoulders to the line of scrimmage, though that is, of course, unlikely. In the two times the coaches used the jet tempo package, however, the Longhorns did use play action both times, so they did break tendency there. Congratulations, GD!

The coaches also have to be careful with their substitution patterns when they bring Johnson into the game. As Greg Davis effectively moved between 11 personnel and 10 personnel while alternating Johnson and Whittaker at the running back position, Johnson coming into the game often meant a running play and he's just not good enough in the passing game to establish much of a threat, despite his 14-yard gain late in the game in which he broke several tackles and then moved the pile at the end. Improvement in the passing game and picking up the blitz should be major points of emphasis for Johnson in bowl practices.

It looks like Johnson will get the start against Baylor after Fozzy Whittaker came out with the ones against UCF, with Brown speculating that he may get 20 carries. The question is how those 20 carries come about. The I formation look hasn't been particularly successful this season and it just doesn't make a ton of sense to only have two receivers on the field if Antwan Cobb isn't going to split out at all as a receiver -- recall that there was some speculation in fall camp that he would earn the role of third-down back.

The fact of the matter is that the current scheme doesn't suit Johnson particularly well and if the coaching staff is really intent on giving him more carries, they have to figure out what plays consistently work. With the success of the jumbo package, which debuted some actual runs behind the left side of the line for the first time this year, and the possibility of bootlegs and some play-action passing, that might have to be more of an option on any short-yardage situations like 3rd and 3 or even 4 in the middle of the field.

Another adjustment in the receiving corps. Aren't there ways to get Marquise Goodwin the ball on the move? The freshman speedster had three catches on Saturday, all three of which got him the ball standing still, where he had no chance to use his speed or even avoid tacklers. The first came on an obvious screen pass out of a bunch formation with Shipley and Buckner that quickly got blown up because there were too many players in a small area. No idea what Davis was thinking on that play -- it had virtually zero chance of success.

The Longhorns have not run any slip screens for him that give him more momentum on the catch and also did not appear to run any slants, crossing routes, or deep routes other than clear-out go routes out of the empty set for Goodwin. The crossing route in particular may be intriguing given his ability to run away from virtually any defender -- neither Jordan Shipley nor James Kirkendoll have that kind of speed. It will be extremely disappointing if the coaches aren't more creative and/or assertive in getting Goodwin the ball so he can be effective -- after debuting Goodwin on the jet sweep against Oklahoma State, he did not receive a carry against UCF.

Perhaps the coaches essentially sabotaged Goodwin's ability to produce in order to have an excuse to re-insert Kirkendoll as the starter. The blocking effort from the local product has been much more better since his demotion, so that's great. He's also done a better job of making opponents miss in space to turn short passes into nice gains.

Mack Brown offered a pretty lame excuse for Kirkendoll's struggles after the Wyoming game:

I thought we probably worked James too much in preseason. Receivers run all the time in this heat. Jordan (Shipley) came out and didn't spend as much time out there. I'm not sure that James didn't hit a wall after Wyoming. He just got tired a little bit. We just need to get him some rest and shake it up a little bit. He played great on Saturday. He was one of the great performers during the ball game with his blocking. Our downfield blocking with our receivers was as good Saturday as we've had. We feel like now when Marquise (Goodwin) and John (Chiles) hit a little wall we can give them a little break. I think James is ready now with Malcolm (Williams) to make the stretch run here.

It's a lame excuse because Kirkendoll hasn't even gotten that much rest, as he and Chiles have both played heavily in the three games of their demotion, enough to pretty much call them de-facto starters with Williams and Goodwin. The demotion resulted in better effort from both players, but the questions about their ability to create separation still linger. After all, that was the main reason they lost their jobs in the first place.

The good news is that Malcolm Williams continues to play well. Though he did fail to attack the ball on the post route that should have gone for a touchdown, McCoy did underthrow the ball slightly and the defender did make a nice play to knock the ball loose. In the last two games, though, Williams has not had the type of out-and-out drop that he did against Missouri, catching the ball away from his body well on every play but the one mentioned above. After that play, McCoy went right back to him on a stop route and Williams used a ridiculous big brother-like stiff arm to make it past the first defender before nearly breaking another tackle on his way to 16 yards. It's that type of physical dominance and speed that gives Williams so much potential.

Jordan Shipley. It's difficult to put words to the type of performance that Shipley had against the completely overmatched UCF secondary. About the only thing that is easy to say is that the 53-yard catch he had late in the second quarter would have gone for a 93-yard touchdown had McCoy hit him in the stride after Shipley left a defender trailing and flailing on a double move.

It's probably the proper time, now that Shipley is the all-time single game receiving yards leader in the history of the program, to reflect once again on just how far he's come. After leg injuries kept him out of his first two seasons, Brown advised him that maybe his football career just wasn't going to happen. Though he may not have the pure speed he did in high school, Shipley never stopped working and, in fact, admittedly may have worked too hard coming back from his first injury, leading to some of the hamstring issues he experienced. Tell the guy to take a day off and he would probably look at you like you're crazy.

The bottom line is that Shipley will go down as one of the best receivers, perhaps the best, in the history of Texas football. A tireless worker and true student of his craft, "The Roommate" never seems to run a sloppy route or drop a football and is not only an incredible representative of his university and football program, but tops it all off with a heaping dose of genuine humility.

It's hard to imagine that Shipley will finally end his college career in January, but the good news is that if his younger brother really can run routes as well as his older brother and really does have the hands to match, as all reports indicate, he will have an extremely successful career as well. Let's just hope he doesn't have to endure so many injuries first.

Tracking: special teams play. Headng into the game, it seemed unlikely that the Longhorns would find much success in the return game, given their top-10 national rankings in both covering kicks and punts. Add in the fact that Texas wasn't likely to get many opportunities to return kicks and it seemed that the normal advantage Texas holds in special teams would mostly be negated. It turns out that was mostly the case. On the opening kickoff of the second half, the Texas wedge got blown up, limiting DJ Monroe to a 17-yard return. In the punting game, Texas had a little more success, as Shipley had an 11-yard return and picked up three on another -- his 14 yards nearly matched the 17 Central Florida had given up all season.

However, Shipley was only able to return two of eight kicks and the Central Florida punter, normally one of the worst in the country, managed to average 42.5 yards per kick, including a 70 yarder, and pinned Texas inside the twenty on four different occasions -- on the day, he was probably the best offensive weapon for the Knights, consistently flipping field position.

In the Texas kicking game, Justin Tucker, perhaps finally unleashed to put the ball in the end zone, had touchbacks on each of his last two kicks, while the coverage units played well with the exception of a 27-yard return. Antwan Cobb was the star, making tackles on consecutive kicks, while Aaron Smith also had a nice day in coverage.

On the negative side, Hunter Lawrence had his first bad miss of the season, missing well left on a 44-yard attempt. Certainly one miss isn't enough to cause concern, but it does ruin his otherwise perfect season (his other two misses came on a block and the 52 yarder that hit the cross bar against UTEP) in a week that saw him named a semi-finalist for the Lou Groza Award, given to the best place kicker in the country.

The other major negative was a shanked punt off the foot of Justin Tuckern, raising further concerns about the rugby-style of punting Mack Brown has adopted at the exclusion of John Gold. No doubt it will be something the coaching staff revisits this week. The Longhorns also did not come close to blocking any punts either, though it did not appear that the coaches really sent them after the quarterback, for unexplained reasons.

Overall, Brown sounded disappointed in the special teams as a whole after bragging about them so much over the last several weeks. Of the three phases, the special teams have the most room for improvement going up to Waco.

Behind the numbers. Some notes on the Central Florida game and the season to date. Also here.

EBS not only caught his fifth pass of the season, but also had six knockdown blocks in the game to earn the Boss Hawg Award.
The defense had nine quarterback pressures, 13 hits on the quarterback, and seven sacks, the latter number representing the highest total this season.
The defense gave up only 151 yards on 57 plays (2.6 yards per play), despite giving up 75 yards on the final drive, which came against mostly second-string players. UCF gained only 76 yards on 38 rushes -- 2.0 yards per carry. On the other nine drives by the Knights, it took them 43 plays to gain 76 yards, only 1.8 yards per play.
Over the last six games, the Texas defense has given up 1.092 yards on 360 plays -- 3.0 yards per play. During that time, opponents have scored 58 points (9.7 per game) on nine scoring drives (six touchdowns, three field goals). That means that Texas has allowed scores on only 12% of 75 opponent possessions during that span.
Texas leads the country in total defense (230 yards per game) and rushing defense (55 yards per game), while ranking in the top 10 in pass efficiency defense (94.61 rating/5th), tackles for loss (8.2 pg/6th), turnover margin (+1.0/7th) and scoring defense (12.4 ppg/8th).
Opponents have scored more than 14 points only twice this season. In the last six games, no opponent has scored more than 14.
The Central Florida game marked the fourth time this season the Longhorns have held their opponent to under 200 yards of total offense and the seventh time Texas has held their opponent to less than 100 yards rushing.
The Longhorns also lead the country in scoring differential, having scored 369 points and given up 112. On average, then, Texas outscores their opponents by 28.6 points per game.
After struggling against Oklahoma, McCoy has returned to his 2008 form: Over the last three games, McCoy has completed 75-of-94 passes (79.8%) for 910 yards (303.3 ypg) and six TDs (2 INT) -- a 177.9 pass efficiency rating. Excluding sacks, he's also rushed for 93 yards on 23 carries (4.0 ypc). He's led the Longhorns to scores on 15 (12 TDs/3 FGs) of 25 drives (60%) in those game.
In the 117 years of Texas football, 43 of the 66 500-yard peformances by a Longhorn offense have come under Mack Brown.

BCS Profiles: Texas Longhorns

utesfan100 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:24:06 -0000

With the third BCS standings now out it is past time for me to profile a third team in the standings. The highest ranked team I have yet to profile is #2 Texas.

BCS Race:

Texas might be dancing with Alabama for the rest of the season for the 2 spot. Alabama and Florida would square off in the SEC championship game so all Texas is required to do is win their games.

A statistical breakdown of Texas is next:

Offense:

Texas is #31 in total offense at 417.8 yards per game, #1 in scoring offense at 41.75 points per game and #7 in Red Zone offense at 95%.

They are #26 in passign offense at 261.9 yards per game and #49 in rushing offense at 155.9 yards per game.

Former Heisman winner Colt McCoy is #7 in passing with 24.75 completions per game. In yards per game he is #23 at 247.1. In all purpose yards per game he is #24 at 264.4. In passing efficiency he is #25 at 144.6. he is tied for #35 in points responsible for at 12 per game.

Jordan Shipley has 64 of those receptions earning a tie for #3. He is #11 in receiving yards per game at 97.1. In all purpose running per game he is #34 at 134.5.

These two form a formidable threat to any defense, but cold not have the success they have had without the excellence of their supporting cast..

Defense:

Texas is #3 in total defense at 240.8 yards per game. They are #11 in scoring defense at 13.6 points per game. They are #95 in Red Zone defense, allowing opponents to score 87% of the time.

They are #1 against the run, allowing only 52.9 yards per game and #29 in passing offense at 187.9 yards allowed per game.

Earl Thomas is # 2 in passes defended per game at 1.83. He is #3 in interceptions with 0.75 per game.

Curtis Brown is tied for #32 in passes defended per game at 1.00.

Sam Acho leads the nation in fumbles recovered with 4 in 8 games. Emmanuel Acho and Lamar Houston are tied at #38 with 2 recoveries in 8 games.

Deon Beasley is tied for #35 in forced fumbles with 2 in 6 games.

This defense is a turnover machine. They may give up a few yards, but they are ready to burn your every mistake.

Other:

Hunter Lawrence is the #5 field goal kicker with 2 per game.

D.J. Monroe is #4 in Kickoff returns with 38.1 yards per kickoff return.

Jordan Shipley appears again here at #11 with 15.35 yards per punt return.

They are tied for #5 in turnover margin with +1.25 turnovers per game. They are #27 in time of possession at 31:34.

Prospectus:

Texas has faced all of their ranked opposition. The Big 12 championship game is the biggest game left, though complacency can rear its ugly head this time of year if a coach is not careful.

Even with a loss, Texas would be high on the list for an at-large invitation to the BCS.

Five Things to Watch Against Central Florida

GhostofBigRoy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:51:09 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Fozzy Whittaker and Adam Ulatoski have the privilege of carrying the flag into the stadium because their brothers are both readying to deploy to the Middle East. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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How well does Cody Johnson run the ball? The two strengths of the Central Florida defense are the Knights' ability to stop the run and similar aptitude for sacking the quarterback. Starting Cody Johnson, or at least featuring him early in the game, is a direct attempt by the coaches to test Johnson -- can he succeed at efficiently running the football against a team that stops the run well? Ross Lucksinger calls it "four yards and a cloud of dust," which aptly describes the current emphasis of the Texas running game.

The Texas running game just isn't going to make big plays unless the defense is completely worn out, that much is exceedingly clear, but consistently picking up yardage is the main priority, even if it is only four yards. A lot of that falls on the offense line to perform better and more consistently, but the coaching staff probably hopes that Johnson's ability to break tackles and move the pile can increase the number of successful runs.

There are also strategies in football for getting running backs the ball while they're already moving. Pretty revolutionary idea, I know, especially for a bigger back like Johnson. And no, I'm not talking about running to the line of scrimmage and then running the ball after a hand off from under center -- that was getting ridiculous by about the third game of the season. Now it's just stupid. Why is it, GD that only two times this season have the Longhorns thrown the ball after going jet tempo and then quick-snapping the ball? Why only once with McCoy, a screen pass that ended up getting a holding called on Kirkendoll because he didn't have time to get lined up and figure out who he was supposed to block.

Of course, there's also the pistol. How I pine for Texas to use the pistol. Call it the Colt .45. It's just too perfect, yet Davis and Brown -- might as well throw him in there, too -- ruin the beautiful opportunity.

The point, of course, is that the coaches want to see Johnson run the ball well, and more often than he ever has in a collegiate game, and maybe, just maybe, he can finally earn himself a nickname if he's successful.

Can Texas exploit the secondary, the weak link of the UCF defense? All the talk about Johnson means there will be an emphasis on the running game, but that's going against UCF's strength. Their secondary is the team's weakness, as they give up plenty of passing yards every game. With that being said, Texas probably will not and should not come out with a bunch of empty sets and four-wide packages given the good edge rushers for UCF -- with good protection, someone should be able to get open, even if there are only three or four players out in the route and one of them is EBS in the case of four receivers.

Here's the key though, play Malcolm Williams and Marquise Goodwin early -- they need the quality game reps for an extended period of time. Play them exclusively the first two or three drives with Shipley and EBS, using Buckner on passing downs or for a change of pace. Note: that's change of pace, GD. Along with Shipley, those are the players most likely to break big plays for the Texas offense.

Hey, and while you're at, GD, how about giving the ball to Goodwin two or three times on the jet sweep, then maybe throw a pass off it. Just for fun. LIke a little experiment, see if anything good happens. Considering that Longhorn running backs have carried four times for 33 yards on the jet sweep, even though several of the plays weren't even particularly well blocked, the play works. And works well. That's an average of 8.3 yards per carry!

Here's how the experiment works, GD -- you commit to running the play four times a game. Just four -- not that many, we're just talking every once in a while, then see if the other team can stop it. Because no one has yet. In fact, it's more that the Longhorns have stopped themselves by failing to block more consistently on the offense line to avoid early penetration. On the edge, I like the chances with Johnson taking a safety or nickel back, then Williams and Shipley blocking on the perimeter. Those are the more important blocks, anyway. Put I'll take that every time, against any defense until it doesn't work.

You can even keep it really, really simple. GD, you don't even have to run the counters off of it against UCF. That's fine, save those for the magic moment.

Oh yeah, back to the issue here. About the receivers -- it was nice that Chiles had a third-down catch against Oklahoma State and that Kirkendoll turned a short pass into a nice gain early, but save them for later in the game or just put them in if Goodwin and Williams get winded. They lost their starting jobs for because they weren't producing -- treat them like back ups.

Can the defense shutout the Knights? George O'Leary's general offensive philsophy is to run the football, then run the fooball some more until they can hit some play-action to a group of receivers even Scipio Tex seems to like. You know, for Central Florida. Since Will Muschamp lives to stop the run on first and second down and Lamarr Houston, Ben Alexander, and Kheeston Randall performed extremely well against Oklahoma State, the best running team Texas will face all season, particularly inside, that strategy may not work well for the Knights, forcing them either out of their normal gameplan, common for opponents against this Texas defense, or into third-and-long situations. The second scenario will give the Longhorn defensive ends plenty of opportunities to get after the quarterback, something they weren't able to do much of last week because of concern over Zac Robinson's scrambling abilities. Personally, I'll be disappointed if I don't see a "freaky leg plant" sack, UTEP-style.

In any case, pressure on the quarterback will give the secondary chances to make plays on the football. Perhaps another pick six there might help the ol' Thorpe Award candidacy, Earl. Or a ridiculous strip like you made near the goalline against Oklahoma (one I forgot to mention, somehow, when I was discussing the playmaking defense the other day). Maybe Blake Gideon even makes another play and gets a better chance to return an interception, to shut his teammates up about being tackled by an offensive lineman last week. After all, Gideon admitted this week he hasn't had much practice with the ball in his hands, having not carried it since high school.

How do the special teams perform against strong UCF coverage units? Jordan Shipley has gone the last three games without picking up any positive yardage on punt returns. UCF has only given up 17 punt returns yards all season, perhaps because their punting ranks 113th in the country at just more than 36 yards a pop. Those aren't the type of punts that are easy to return, leaving a lesser chance of Shipley actually breaking one. If the Longhorns elect to place an emphasis on returning punts, can that unit block better?

Or will Mack Brown opt to go after the punter more often, which also means more fair catches and fewer hits on Shipley, while giving the someone a chance to join the block party. How about DJ Monroe? Chykie Brown perhaps? The special teams star from the Oklahoma State game, Kenny Vaccaro? Malcolm Williams, even? C'mon Mack, go after a couple.

Even if the defense doesn't play lights out and gives up a touchdown or two, Texas isn't going to have many chances to return kicks, unfortunate because good things happen when DJ Monroe has the football. In fact, in the last five games, the Longhorns have received only 14 kickoffs, of which Monroe has returned seven, good for 240 yards -- more than 34 yards a return. UCF is fith in the country in covering kicks, giving up an average of only 16 yards. The Knights will have to kick off at least once in the game -- can the Longhorns return it if it's not well into the end zone?

Can the offensive line protect Colt McCoy? The two best players on the UCF team are probably also their sack leaders -- of UCF's 22 sacks, good for 17th in the country, tied with Alabama and a host of other teams, edge rushers Jarvis Geathers and Bruce Miller account for 12.5 of those. Can the offensive line avoid the complete breakdowns in protection that seem to occur once or twice or more every game, particularly of the kind where no one decides to block an edge rusher? Those are kinda dumb. Also annoying. And dangerous. Maybe Texas could even use some constraint plays like the draw that Texas used to start the game off against Oklahoma or the screen pass that has been successful two out of three times in recent games? That would help slow down Geathers and Miller, which is one of the highest priorities for the Texas offense and an early in which they cannot afford to fail.

Central Florida Depth Chart

GhostofBigRoy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:52:05 -0000

OFFENSE
Position	No.	Player	\|	No.	Player	\|	No.	Player
Flanker (Z)	8	Jordan Shipley	\|	11	James Kirkendoll		6	DeSean Hales
Sub B	84	Marquise Goodwin	\|	7	John Chiles
Tight End (Y)	83	Greg Smith	\|	13	Ahmard Howard	\|	89	Barrett Matthews
	Flex TE: Dan Buckner
Right Tackle	64	Kyle Hix	\|	72	Britt Mitchell
Right Guard	63	Michael Huey	\|	56	Tray Allen	\|	54	Mark Buchanan
Center	71	Chris Hall	\|	78	David Snow	\|	75	Steve Moore
Left Guard	52	Charlie Tanner	\|	56	Tray Allen
Left Tackle	74	Adam Ulatoski	\|	77	Luke Poehlmann
Split End (X)	9	Malcolm Williams	\|	4	Dan Buckner
Tailback	31	Cody Johnson	OR	28	Fozzy Whitaker	\| OR	2 23	Vondrell McGee Tre' Newton
	Specialty Back: D.J. Monroe
Fullback	24	Antwann Cobb	\|	31	Cody Johnson
	Short Yardage: Lamarr Houston
Quarterback	12	Colt McCoy	\|	3	Garrett Gilbert	\|	17	Sherrod Harris
Place-Kicker	15	Hunter Lawrence	\|	39	Ryan Bailey	\|	19	Justin Tucker

DEFENSE
Position	No.	Player	\|	No.	Player	\|	No.	Player
Buck	2	Sergio Kindle	\|	80	Alex Okafor
Tackle (Nose)	91	Kheeston RAndall	OR	92	Ben Alexander
Tackle	33	Lamarr Houston	\|	96	Calvin Howell	OR	93	Tyrell Higgins
End	81	Sam Acho	\|	32	Eddie Jones	\|	95	Tevin Mims
Strongside LB	18	Emmanuel Acho	\|	1	Keenan Robinson
Middle LB	38	Roddrick Muckelroy	\|	42	Dustin Earnest
Weakside LB	1	Keenan Robinson	\|	18	Emmannuel Acho
Right CB	3	Curtis Brown	OR	8	Chykie Brown
Right Safety	21	Blake Gideon	\|	27	Nolan Brewster	\|	5	Ben Wells
Left Safety	12	Earl Thomas	\|	27	Nolan Brewster
Left CB	4	Aaron Williams	OR	3	Curtis Brown
Nickel	12	Earl Thomas	\|	7	Deon Beasley	\|	4	Aaron Williams
Punter	19	Justin Tucker	\|	47	John Gold	\|	17	Trevor Gerland

SPECIAL TEAMS
Punt Returns	8	Jordan Shipley	\|	12	Earl Thomas	\|	3	Curtis Brown
Kickoff Returns	26 9	D.J. Monroe Malcolm Williams	\| \|	6 84	Jordan Shipley Marquise Goodwin		4	Aaron Williams
Kickoffs	19	Justin Tucker	\|	15	Hunter Lawrence
Holder	8	Jordan Shipley	\|	17	Sherrod Harris
Deep Snapper (PAT/FG)	83	Greg Smith	\|	72	Britt Mitchell
Deep Snapper (Punts)	58	William Harvey	\|	48	Alex Zumberge

Some brief analysis after the jump...

The big news here is obviously that Cody Johnson is now listed as the co-starter at running back, but in front of Fozzy Whittaker. It's hard to say if the coaching staff is upset with Whittaker, who missed open holes twice against Oklahoma State while bouncing his runs outside and also went out of bounds without contact again, a bad habit that was particularly damaging against Oklahoma, when Whittaker left 10-15 yards on the field. More likely, it's a result of Mack Brown's infatuation with larger backs and Johnson's tough running the last several games. He's still not a great fit in the scheme, but he does look quick and is a better blocker both on quarterback draws and in blitz pick up. It's also possible that he could see time as the lead blocker in the Monroe Series, where he could be much more effective than Whittaker.

Besides that, not a whole lot else worth parsing, although the coaches continue to list Shipley at flanker even though he has been playing in the slot almost exclusively since the Colorado game. Marquise Goodwin is now the starter in the slot in front of John Chiles. Malcolm Williams is also listed as the starter on kickoff returns with D.J. Monroe.

Notice that Curtis Brown is listed in front of Chykie Brown in their co-starter relationsihp, no surprise as Curtis has significantly outplayed Chykie for most of the season.

Snap Shots: The Monroe Series

GhostofBigRoy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:11:11 -0000

More photos » by Harry Cabluck - AP

Get this man the ball. Now. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

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The Big Picture

Pretty much everyone in Longhorn Nation lambasted the coaching staff for the running performance put on against Colorado. It was terrible. During the week leading up to the Oklahoma game, Mack Brown apparently had to bite his tongue to keep from informing the big mean media that he and Greg Davis did indeed have some new wrinkles saved for the Sooners.

Over at BC, LonghornScott correctly pointed out the flaws of having one package that isn't working and trying to fix it with another separate, completely different package -- it's a somewhat simplified summary of the post, but enough for the purposes here. It's a valid point, and certainly one that Davis would be well served to understand better, but there is something to be said for series-based football. For example, the three plays Dan Lee ran at Arkansas in the Wildcat formation qualify as a series of plays that generally look similar, but can catch the defense overpursuing in anticipation of one play, in this case the stealer, then take advantage of that overpursuit by running the play in the series that punishes the defense for that decision -- the power. Once the defense adjusts to that play and takes it away, then the third play comes in, in this case the counter. In other words, series-based football.

Instead of using that series-based approach with the WildHorn (it was not used against Missouri), which probably would have kept it from dying, Davis decided to use it for another set of complementary plays -- what I've chosen to call the Monroe Series. After Monroe played well enough to earn the inaugural, but yet-unnamed Flavor of the Week award for the Louisiana-Monroe game, one of the first things I wanted to see with him was the jet sweep, putting him in motion across the formation to take the hand off -- it doesn't exactly take a football genius to figure out that it's better to get him the ball at speed rather than standing still, even if he does have elite acceleration. Davis finally answered that call with the Monroe Series.

The Context

Before Davis completely abandoned the run in the first half of the Oklahoma game, he sought to gain some momentum for the Longhorns by breaking out several running plays Texas had not shown to that point in the season. For instance, the first play from scrimmage was a draw play to Fozzy Whittaker that picked up 16 yards. On the second series, after knocking out Sam Bradford and forcing a three and out by the Sooners, Davis unveiled another new play, but this one was different -- it had other complementary plays along with it, a series if you will.

Stealer

The play the Longhorns run is not exactly like the stealer run by Dan Lee because the original stealer had a pulling guard from the backside attempting to lay a block in front of the runner. In some ways, the design the Longhorns use is more effective, because judging from the plays included in the instructional video, it was extremely difficult for that pulling guard to ever get in front of the running back to actually throw a block -- think about, a guard is trying to catch up with a running back who already has a head start.

Instead, the Longhorns use Fozzy Whittaker, or Tre' Newton when the Longhorns ran the play with Garrett Gilbert at quarterback late in the MIssouri game, as the lead blocker on the play. The blocking scheme is the same as the speed option play -- the offensive line blocks down the line of scrimmage in the direction of the play, while the running back heads into the playside flat to block the first player he comes across, in this case the nickel back lined up over Malcolm Williams. Notice that both of the OU linebackers line up well inside the tackle box.

Kyle Hix has a tough task in this play -- Jeremy Beal lines up well outside the left shoulder of Hix, forcing him to cut Beal. Since Beal is a badass, he doesn't allow that to happen, forcing Monroe to take a wider angle to get around him. Fortunately, since Monroe is ridiculously fast, Beal never really has a chance to tackle him, but he does allow his teammates an extra step or two in pursuit of the Longhorn ballcarrier, far from insignificant with Monroe. If Hix can get a good block on Beal, Monroe turns the corner much more quickly and has a ton of open field in front of him. Notice also that Whittaker is about to take an the OU nickel back.

Whittaker also cuts the OU defender, with a slightly higher level of success, while Monroe, now seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, avoids Beal.

Now by Beal, Monroe can finally turn upfield with the football, while the nickel back has to regain his balance after hurdling Fozzy. Notice the other highlighted OU defender taking a terrible angle on Monroe. In fact, one of the foremost reasons for putting Monroe on the field is on obvious one -- his elite speed changes the geometry of the game. In other words, he can blow angles up.

Since Beal forced Monroe to take such a wide angle approaching the line of scrimmage, the pursuit catches up with him only a yard or two downfield. Had the timing of the play been more optimal, the excellent downfield blocking by Williams and Shipley might have led to a big play. Instead, they allow Monroe to gain a little bit of extra yardage.

After his speed, the most endearing aspect of Monroe is how hard he fights for extra yardage at his size. Instead of meekly going out of bounds after picking up only two or three yards, Monroe manages to pick up six yards on the play -- an excellent gain on first down that easily could have resulted in more yardage.

The Verdict

The good news is that this play provides some evidence that Davis is not a complete idiot. Putting Monroe in motion is an obvious move, but it's also a smart one and it pays dividends on the first play, even though Kyle Hix fails to execute his block. Keep running it, GD, it's hard to stop!

Running Back Counter

This is where Davis doesn't quite understand series-based football, even though it's pretty simple -- on the next play, instead of running stealer until the Oklahoma defense adjusts and takes the play away, difficult because of Monroe's pure speed, Davis dials up the counter to stealer, the running back counter:

The Longhorns stay with the same personnel in the same formation and the play starts out looking like stealer, with Monroe coming in motion across the formation. Notice that Oklahoma stands up the defense end on the opposite side of the field from Monroe to make it even more difficult for the left tackle, Adam Ulatoski, the cut the defensive end, Auston English. Perhaps Davis doesn't trust Ulatoski with that assignment running the stealer, so both Charlie Tanner and Chris Hall pull on this play. Notice that EBS has the assignment of blocking Jeremy Beal this time.

Here's another example of why Davis fails by calling the running back counter here. Perhaps the linebackers read their keys well -- the movement of the offensive lineman -- but the point here is that they don't flow to the play or take any bad steps in the direction of Monroe coming in motion, indicating that stealer should work again. Notice also that Kyle Hix is matched up with Gerald McCoy on the play -- so far so good, but there's a problem developing, as Hix allows McCoy to get into his body.

Once again, Hix allows penetration into the backfield, as McCoy quickly sheds the Longhorn offensive lineman, and, once again, the running back must take a wider angle, allowing more time for the pursuit and forcing the the blockers to hold their blocks for a difficult extra split second. Notice that EBS hasn't allowed Beal to get into his body and is holding the block well, except for the fact that he hasn't managed to seal him inside, a difficult task considering the opponent.

Whittaker avoids McCoy and finally has a chance to start heading upfield and into the boundary on the short side of the field. Notice that Beal is about to shed EBS, who can't hold his block for the extra split second needed as a result of Hix allowing such quick penetration by McCoy. However, the play still has a chance for success if Hall and Huey can make their blocks in space. Notice that Hall could have stopped to chip Beal, but instead heads for the pursuing defensive back. Or does he?

Beal has now completely disengaged from EBS, creating a fair amount of separation. Huey is still locked in on his target, while Hall inexplicably overruns the play, failing to put himself in a position to block either Beal or the defensive back.

In the realm of positives, Huey gets a good cut block on the defensive back. Back in the realm of Texas offensive line realities, Hall has now completely run himself out of the play without having even gotten in anyone's way. To be fair, it's difficult for a lot of offensive lineman to block in space, but this is just not good enough. Beal is now locked in on Fozzy.

Does the Mythical Fozzy Creature like contact or will he meekly head out of bounds, short of the first down?

Instead of laying out, which puts him in little danger because the defenders aren't close enough to pick a big hit on him anyway, Whittaker opts to go meekly out of bounds short of the first down.

The Verdict

But it's 3rd and 1, any good offense should be able to pick that up, right? Wrong, not when Greg Davis infamously calls for an empty set and has every receiver run a route of less than five yards, culminating in McCoy throwing an incomplete pass to Shipley after Brian Jackson grabbed his jersey. Fail. Thanks Fozzy.

As mentioned earlier, Davis clearly doesn't quite get series-based football, as he should have run stealer until Oklahoma stopped it -- that's how series-based football works. Sometimes an offensive coordinator has to sacrifice one play in order to hit a big play on the next. However, even though it wasn't the optimal time to call for the running back counter, it still would have picked up a first down if Hall could have thrown a block on someone, if Hix could have held his block on McCoy for a split second more, of if Fozzy had simply laid out for the first down. Monroe would have.

Quarterback Counter

As much as Davis failed in going to the first counter too soon, he makes an excellent play call in the second quarter after completely abandoning the run for much of the first half. It's the third play in the series, the quarterback counter:

It's the same personnel, the same formation as the previous two plays (with the exception of Kirkendoll in at wide receiver instead of Malcolm Williams), with Monroe coming in motion across the formation to the wide side of the field. It also has an extra misdirection built in -- McCoy will fake the running back counter to Whittaker before taking the ball himself behind the two pulling linemen, the left tackle Ulatoski and the left guard Tanner. Notice that OU now has greater separation between their linebackers, with one farther off the line of scrimmage on the short side and the other now almost outside the tackle box to deal with Monroe's speed to the outside.

The OU defenders get a little bit undsiciplined on this play -- both the nickel back and Ryan Reynolds key on Monroe, attempting to stop stealer. On the other side of the field, Travis Lewis isn't quite as undisciplined, as he only takes a little hop forward to deal with Whittaker, while the cornerback on that side of the field and English both also key on Whittaker. Instead of watching their keys -- the movement of the offensive linemen, they get caught up in both fakes.

EBS has the toughest job on this play. Though Chris Hall tries to cut Gerald McCoy, it's a long way for the center to go to block such a good defensive tackle -- he has little chance. After taking a step or two to his left, Smith must now block the dangerous McCoy for the play to succeed. Smith gets a good seal on McCoy and even helps out Michael Huey behind him by getting in the way of the other defensive tackle attempting to get into the backfield -- Huey has allowed the defender to get across his body. The play has set up extremely well to this point, as the nickel back takes himself out of the play by following Monroe, while Tanner and James Kirkendoll are both set up to make their blocks and Ulatoski heads into the open field with no one currently in the picture to block -- that's a good thing.

Ulatoski makes a good decision to help Tanner the linebacker, Reynolds, while Hix gets an excellent seal on English inside, allowing a big running lane for McCoy to head through.

Ulatoski's footwork could have been a bit better to seal Reynolds and keep the running lane open longer, but he still does a good enough job to allow McCoy to eventually pick up 12 yards on first down.

The Verdict

Had Davis called either stealer or the running back counter, OU probably had them well defended with several offensive possessions to talk about adjustments to the first two plays. Instead, Davs dailed up the counter to the first two plays and picked up 12 yards on first down, giving the Longhorns an excellent start to a drive on which they would eventually kick a field goal, an important three points in a game decided by that margin. It's also important to note that the Longhorn offensive line executed this play to near perfection, much better than some individually poor efforts that limited the first two plays. Yay, execution!

Stealer, Redux

Of course, these plays don't mean much if Davis isn't willing to call them again or if defenses make adjustments to take them away. Yet, that's the beauty of series-based football -- the defense should always be wrong. Here's another look at stealer, this time run with different personnel against Missouri:

It's the same play run against Oklahoma, except with Gilbert as the quarterback, Newton at running back, and Howard at tight end, with Williams and Kirkendoll as the blockers. However, the most important player here, Monroe, stays the same. Notice that the only real adjustment Missouri makes versus what Oklahoma did is to walk up a safety behind the outside linebacker covering slot, while keeping two linebackers well inside the tackle box and at the same depth, unlike OU defended the quarterback counter.

A Missouri defender slices through a gap against the second-team Longhorn offensive line, but, like the first stealer play, Monroe just takes a wider angle while using his speed to beat keep his opponent from having a chance to tackle him. Notice the unblocked Mike linebacker running down the line of scrimmage in pursuit. The question then, is that a good enough angle?

Newton throws a nice block on the outside linebacker, while the MIke backer heads right towards that pile -- that probably won't be good enough, son. Monroe sees the running lane to the outside.

The Mike backer did indeed take a poor angle on the play and has no chance at a tackle. Notice that both Kirkendoll and Williams are throwing good blocks downfield, allowing Monroe to still have a nice running lane to pick up more yardage after turning the corner.

Both defenders eventually get off the blocks of Kirkendoll and Williams, who both do a good job of not getting a holding call on the play, and have a chance to tackle Monroe, who can go down with a nice gain or do what he normally does -- keep fighting for as much yardage as possible.

Monroe does not go down easily, picking up another five yards in the process and turning a seven-yard gain into a nice 12-yard gain.

The Verdict

The beauty of the stealer play is that the offensive line doesn't really even have to block that well for it to work -- the important blocks are by the running back and the receivers outside. An offensive lineman allowed serious penetration on the play, but Monroe's speed kept that defender from being able to make the play. This play also illustrates, once again, just how often Monroe can blow up the angle of a defender and how well he does at his size making himself difficult to bring down -- there's some power in that small frame. The bottom line -- this play seems to be good for at least five yards a carry.

The Takeaway

The three main Wildcat plays made me a believer in series-based football and the early succes of this group of three plays -- the Monroe Series -- confirms that belief. Even though this package doesn't represent a serious leap forward for Davis in being able to put together a coherent offense that includes a more systemic approach, that really doesn't matter here.

What matters is that the Monroe series can significantly help the running game and gives the ball to one of the two most explosive offensive players on the team -- that's good, especially since Mack Brown talks all the time about how difficult it is to get carries for more than about two running backs. Even though it appears that those two backs are Fozzy Whittaker and Cody Johnson, this package still allows Monroe an opportunity to touch the ball. Davis should run these plays up to about 10 times per game -- once again, the beauty of series-based football is that as long as the offensive coordinator can correctly see how the defense is defending each play, the defense should always be wrong.

To make sure the defense is always wrong, Davis could make one important adjustment to increase the effectiveness of the plays. Instead of calling the play before the defense lines up, Texas could look back to the sideline after the defense shows their coverage to get the play. If a team overloads the wide side of the field or separates their linebackers in the box significantly, as Oklahoma did on the quarterback counter, Davis can get the offense into the proper play. A similar solution is to allow McCoy the ability to call the play at the line of scrimmage and it's possible that Davis already does give him that freedom, though it's impossible to tell.

It's worth noting that defenses continue to play this formation with two safeties deep, concerned about the pass. If defenses do begin adjusting, the Longhorns need to have two or three passing plays out of the formation, either keeping Monroe as the split end in the formation or having him run a route after coming in motion -- a wheel route would work well, a play the Longhorns have only tried to hit with Monroe once this season, against Oklahoma. Basically, the idea is to add another constraint play by passing the ball to keep that extra eight defender out of the box or close to the line of scrimmage on the wide side of the field. Texas has now had two full weeks to put in those passing plays, so they have had plenty of time for installation if they need those plays this weekend against Oklahoma State.

The other adjustment is less likely, but could allow the Longhorns more flexibility in the formation. By using Marquise Goodwin as the motion man in the formation, Texas could run all the same passing plays they normally do with Goodwin at split end, a position he played for several snaps against Missouri, while putting Monroe at running back, a player who can more quickly take the edge on the running back counter than Whittaker, critical since there is so little space on the short side of the field. The only downside is that Monroe would be responsible for blitz pick up on the throwing play and would also have to block on stealer. However, given his ability to pick up extra yardage, it's not inconceivable that he could cut a defender about as well as Whittaker and picking up the blitz isn't a problem until the Longhorns actually decide to throw out of the formation. Obviously, putting Goodwin and Monroe on the field at the same time for the Monroe Series is a long shot, but it does get the two fastest players on the team on the field in a formation other than the empty set.

Anatomy of Success: First Drive Against Missouri

GhostofBigRoy — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:00:33 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Missouri made this way too easy. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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The Context

Throughout the entire season, the Texas offense has struggled to get off to quick, early starts. Against Missouri, in a nationally-televised homecoming game in front of the biggest crowd at Faurot Field in 25 years, getting off to a quick start was even more important than usual. In addition, the Longhorns are in the process of re-tooling the offense, or at the least, re-adjusting priorities and personnel.

After losing the coin toss, Missouri elected to defer to the second half and kicked off the ball to Texas to start the game. DJ Monroe returned the kick 30 yards to the Texas 39, putting his head down and picking up difficult yardage at the end of the game -- Monroe is far from the biggest guy on the field, but he's willing to do the dirty work for extra yards. Love that toughness and effort from him.

Big Roy's breakdown is after the jump. Interestingly, the outstanding Mizzou blog Rock M Nation posted a similar breakdown earlier today. View their take on the same drive here. --PB--

1st and 10 Texas 39

As expected, Texas opens up in 11 personnel with EBS on the right side of the line to provide help for Kyle Hix, though Jordan Shipley and Marquise Goodwin are reversed from their positions on the depth chart -- Shipley is in the slot and Goodwin is the flanker. Malcolm Williams starts at split end:

Notice that defensively, Missouri is giving the Longhorns big cushions on wide side of the field and Shipley draws coverage from a linebacker.

Key Shot

The Longhorns start out the game with a play-action fake to the short side of the field. All three linebackers bite on the play action, with Shipley's man caught taking a bad step towards the line of scrimmage, leaving McCoy's roommate plenty of room to catch the short pass. McCoy delivers the ball and Shipley turns upfield, breaking a tackle and finding the open field before tripping on the turf for a 31-yard gain on the first Texas play from scrimmage.

1st and 10 Missouri 30

Texas stays in 11 personnel, with Smith once again on the right side of the line. Notice that Missouri remains in soft coverage with the cornerbacks providing huge cushions for the Longhorn receivers:

Key Shot

Texas runs the zone play to the right, but Fozzy Whittaker, always aware of the cut-back lane, finds it and manages to get past the backside defender on the play:

The defender brings him down from behind, but the combination of vision by Whittaker and his understanding of the scheme allows him to pick up six yards without the offensive line having to execute at a high level.

2nd and 4 Missouri 24

The status quo established on the first two plays remains -- Texas is in 11 personnel with EBS on the right side and Missouri has two safeties deep and the cornerbacks well off the Longhorn receivers:

Key Shot

Ah yes, this looks like the Texas offensive line -- notice that EBS misses his block, Hix attempts to cut his defender, missing, Huey attempts to cut Weatherspoon, missing, and, just for good measure, Charlie Tanner whiffs in space, as usual. Somehow, despite four blocks that fail in varying degrees, Whittaker picks up two yards on the play, setting up third and short.

3rd and 2 Missouri 22

Greg Davis dials up the Jumbo package on third and short, bringing in Lamarr Houston, Ahmard Howard, Antwan Cobb, and, of course, the blunt object, Cody Johnson:

Key Shot

Given the overwhelming tendencies of the Texas offense, which runs behind the right side of the line with the Jumbo package nearly every time, Missouri probably expects the ball to go right, which it does. Houston gets a nice block and Hix and Huey get some drive, but this play is mostly made by Johnson, who is rarely stopped in these situations. Guess who wins this little battle shown above? That's right, the irresistible force, the bludgeon known as Cody Johnson, wins over the quite-movable Missouri defender and picks up the necessary two yards with an extra foot or two thrown in for good measure.

1st and 10 Missouri 20

Johnson stays in the game, but otherwise the same 11 personnel package from earlier returns, with the only adjustment being Malcolm Williams at flanker instead of Goodwin, who moves to the split end position. Notice how far off the Missouri cornerback is playing Malcolm Williams -- around eight yards:

Key Shot

McCoy runs a play-action fake to Johnson as two linebackers come on a blitz, leaving Shipley free to make the block on the cornerback for Williams, who catches the short pass and picks up an easy seven yards before fumbling the ball out of bounds on the hit.

2nd and 3 Missouri 13

Same personnel as the previous play, with Johnson lined up to the left of McCoy. Once again Missouri is in soft coverage, but appears to have brought a nickel back on the field:

Key Shot

It's a simple zone play right, but the offensive line does an excellent job of making their blocks, particularly EBS, who sets the edge for Johnson by getting to the second level and sealing the safety. Johnson has a huge expanse of open field to the outside and uses his speed to take the edge before using his power to punish Missouri defenders and pick up yards after contact. All told, Johnson breaks four tackles on his way to a seven-yard gain.

1st and Goal Missouri 6

Texas brings in DJ Monroe to run the Monroe series in 11 personnel with Fozzy at running back, Williams and Shipley to the top of the formation, and Greg Smith on the right side of the line once again:

Key Shot

Monroe comes into motion, drawing the attention of the safety coming on the run blitz, who attacks up the field and takes himself out of the play. It's not the jet sweep, but rather the quarterback counter:

The play sets up well, as pulling tackle Hix only has to block the playside linebacker. That's Hix there on the left of the line of scrimmage, looking at the aforementioned linebacker he just whiffed on. Instead of a successful play and a possible touchdown, McCoy loses two yards.

2nd and Goal Missouri 8

Texas goes back to their base 11 personnel grouping, with EBS on the right side of the line of scrimmage and Fozzy in the backfield with McCoy. Notice that Missouri now has all three linebackers in the box, with Shipley matched up against a safety lined up seven yards deep:

Key Shot

In looking at the picture above, it's not hard to imagine that this play will be a success -- Missouri seems to have no desire to adequately defend Shipley on this play. The roommate heads out into the flat as the Missouri defender takes several steps back in coverage, leaving Shipley wide open:

As a result, Goodwin is able to block both his own man and the safety "assigned" to Shipley, leading to an easy walk into the end zone and the first score of the game.

Final Totals

Eight plays for 61 yards, 3:35 expired. Three of three passing for 46 yards and a touchdown for McCoy, as well as one carry for a loss of two yards. Two catches for 38 yards and one of the easiest touchdowns Shipley has ever scored. One catch for seven yards and a fumble by Malcolm Williams. Two carries for eight yards by Fozzy Whittaker and two carries for nine yards by Cody Johnson. Two missed blocks by Kyle Hix, as well virtually the entire line on the second running play. Several other good efforts by the offensive line, though, particularly on the run of seven yards by Johnson, which included a strong effort by EBS

Final Verdict

In terms of establishing momentum, taking the crowd out of the game, and punching Missouri in the mouth early, this drive was a complete and total success. In fact, given the circumstances and the previous slow starts by the offense, this drive was exactly what the Longhorns needed.

Honestly though, Missouri provided extremely little resistance defensively, particularly with the decision of Dave Steckel to play such soft coverage and give Shipley so much room to operate one week after Oklahoma shut him down by man-handling him at the line of scrimmage. No idea what the Tiger defensive coordinator was thinking.

The running looked solid, with Smith providing a big help to Hix and Huey on the right side of the line. Despite Scipio Tex deriding the running back personality cult that exists among Texas fans, Whittaker does provide more than Vondrell McGee, particularly with his ability to see and anticipate the cut-back lane opening up, something McGee struggles with mightily. Johnson, for his part, now looks as quick as he ever has at Texas and is running with pure, unbridled anger -- it's a vicous, but beautiful thing to behold.

Even without having run the football yet, the first play demonstrated that the emphasis and talk about the running game the last week or so caught the attention of Missouri players, as the play-action fake made sure the outside was wide open for Shipley to catch and run. Malcolm Williams looked fast and strong on his catch, though he needs to work hard on ball security this week -- that could have been a reason, along with the obvious problem with dropping the football, that has kept him off the field. Goodwin did not have a catch on the drive, but did an excellent job blocking downfield, as he did the entire evening. More, please.

All in all, an excellent start to the game and a indication of things to come, as the Longhorns reeled off 21 points before the Tigers really knew what hit them and by that point, with the strong play of the Texas defense, the game was effectively over before it had really even begun. On a night that featured huge struggles by Florida and Alabama, particularly offensively, the Longhorns showed conclusively that they absolutely deserve mention with those two teams as the best in the country.

Five Things to Watch Against Missouri

GhostofBigRoy — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:40:15 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

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Which Blaine Gabbert will the Longhorns see today? During the four non-conference games, Gabbert was exceptional, particularly for a first-year starter -- he threw 11 touchdowns with no interceptions and averaged more than 10 yards per attempt in victories over Furman and Nevada. However, once he reached Big 12 play, the numbers started to drop, as he's thrown five interceptions to only one touchdown in losses to Nebraska in the monsoon and Oklahoma State in Stillwater. It may simply be that the increased level of competition has brought Gabbert back down to earth, but he did also sprain his ankle when tackled by the beastly Ndamukong Suh in the Nebraska game and re-aggravated it last week.

The reason that's a big deal is that Gabbert is much more athletic than generally expected of a 6-5, 240-pound quarterback. An effective runner and scrambler, Gabbert has had those elements of his game either taken away or significantly reduced by his injury, leaving Missouri without a running threat at the quarterback position and Gabbert without the same ability to make plays downfield on the run.

The question, then, is whether Gabbert is healthy enough now to make those plays and if the Longhorns can put pressure on him to test that ankle and his ability to move. The Missouri offense is 88th in the country on third down, while the Longhorns have the best third-down defense in the country. If the Longhorns can stop Missouri and first and second down, then Gabbert may be in trouble and Texas has a good chance of forcing him to make bad decisions with the football, creating turnovers or simply forcing Missouri to give up the football.

Can the offense finally get off to a fast start, particularly the offensive line? It's no secret at this point that Texas has been ranging from mediocre to terrible at the start of football games this season. Can the Longhorns open up the game with a successful drive running the football? And why is it that the offensive line plays so terribly and makes so many mistakes early in the game? The adrenaline level of opposing teams probably makes a difference, but, ultimately, there's really no excuse for not executing assignments. Michael Huey may not play much this week with his ankle still bothering him considerably, so Tray Allen may receive his first extensive snaps in a close game this season, while David Snow looks to back up Chris Halle exclusively at the center position.

On a related note, do the Longhorns try to push the tempo early in the game to get the Tigers back on their heels? It has been an effective tactic at times, but teams are really starting to sell out towards the line of scrimmage when the Longhorns go jet tempo and quick-snap the ball from under center. Where is the package of play-action passes and bootlegs from this set? Texas has only passed once in that situation, a screen pass that resulted in a hold by James Kirkendoll because he didn't have time to fully line up and see his blocking assignment.

The other aspect in this is that Faurot Field, while not a massive homefield advantage for the Tigers, will host the largest crowd in 25 years for Homecoming, at the school that invented homecoming, and the fans will have all morning and afternoon to imbibe all the liquid courage they can handle. Getting off to a fast start could calm down a potentially raucous crowd and start removing some of that homefield advantage.

Will the run defense continue to dominate? Despite the worries nearly every week from Mack Brown, the Texas run defense has been dominant. In fact, dominant doesn't even seem to describe it well -- but the numbers tell the tale. Missouri isn't a good running team, ranking 101st in the country by Bill C.'s numbers. As mentioned above, if the Longhorns can stop the Tigers on early downs, then they can tee off on Blaine Gabbert on third downs, when Missouri is not particularly effective. It may be that Texas forces the Tigers to abandon the run early in an attempt to actually pick up yards on the early downs and that plays into the hands of Muschamp and his Legion of Boom, as Chip Brown now refers to the Texas defense -- I like it and I'm going to steal it. The sincerest form of flattery and all that, Chip. If the scenario just laid out comes to pass, Texas has an excellent chance of running away with the football game if the offense can produce at a reasonably high level.

What will the passing offense look like? Between BON and Barking Carnival this week, plenty of attention has been paid to the new Texas offense by numerous writers (here, here, and here). What is the result of all those changes? Wide receiver is a position to watch especially, with Jordan Shipley moving to flanker, Marquise Goodwin taking over in the slot, and Malcolm Williams now manning the split end position. Can Shipley and Goodwin create more separation than Chiles and Kirkendoll? Can Williams catch the football when it's thrown in his direction and can the Longhorns get a downfield passing game going to him?

Something to consider here is that Missouri has played the exact defense with their secondary that has been giving Texas problems this season -- sitting back in coverage, keeping everything in front of them, and allowing the underneath passes. The defense hasn't produced many turnovers, but it has limited big plays, the exact type of plays that Texas is now hoping to produce in the passing game. Will the Longhorns then be able to complete passes underneath and move the ball down the field or will Missouri be able to sit on nearly every single route Texas runs as Oklahoma did last week and opponents have generally been doing throughout the season?

What will the rushing offense look like? The running game is the next question mark. This week, Greg Davis admitted that he abandoned the running game in the first half against Oklahoma, to the overall detriment of the team. If Missouri is going to sit with two safeties deep and only seven men in the box, Texas has to be able to run the football, particularly early in the game to try to draw up the safeties and run some play-action passing downfield.

Will the misdirection continue to be a part of the offense? Texas last week actually ran a real, actual counter play with misdirection and a counter step -- they need to run it several times against Missouri, especially if the linebackers are flowing on the zone runs. McCoy was beat up last week, but needs to be a part of the running game, particularly running draws and the zone read, which re-appeared last week and helped McCoy make the long run on which he eventually fumbled near the goalline.

The other aspect of the running game is the Monroe series -- it's similar to the WildHorn, but instead uses Monroe in motion. The stealer-type play the Longhorns used last week needs to be run more than once for Monroe -- this season, he's only taken the one handoff on the first appearance of the series and one in the WildHorn, both times picking up 5-6 yards without particularly successful blocking, just his pure speed taking effect. The other two plays, a counter to the short side of the field and a quarterback counter that worked well, also need to see the light of day. Another play may surface this week, which is a power play for the quarterback used once in the WildHorn, as well as any pass plays the Longhorns have built into the formation.

Basically, the point is that Davis needs to commit to the series as a massive help to the running game and punish defenses for what they are giving up -- the whole idea behind series-based football is that the defense doesn't have enough resources to always be right. Abandoning this helpful series in the running game would be classic Davis stupidity -- here's hoping he knows better.