SB Nation - Chris Hall

We're All Americans, But We're Not All All-Americans

Oops Pow Surprise — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:51:28 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

Iowa's Pat Angerer (43) celebrates with teammates Allen Reisner and Dace Richardson, right, after Iowa blocked a Northern Iowa field goal on the final play. Iowa won 17-16. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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As is usually the case after a 10-win season, the accolades are beginning to pour in for the Iowa Hawkeye football team. Everyone and their mom has an all-conference or All-American team, but the two that actually matter--Walter Camp and the AP--are now out. And for the 33th year in a row, the unanimous selection for player of the year is Frank Stallone*.

More importantly, the AP named three Hawkeyes to their All-American teams. While nobody made it onto the first team, thanks to Ricky Stanzi's ankle injury--come on, you know if he stays healthy and Iowa goes 11-1 and finishes at #5 or so, even the guys on defense get a little bit more of a bump--both Bryan Bulaga and Pat Angerer made it to the second team, while Tyler Sash made third-team AA as a sophomore. A fine moment for all three players (two of whom, as we insular and provincial types are quick to point out, are native Iowans).

Meanwhile, the Walter Camp Foundation agreed with the AP, naming Bulaga and Angerer to their second team as well and effectively establishing the two as the de facto MVPs of their respective sides of the ball. We have a little beef with each designation, but for wholly different reasons.

First, though Bulaga is by far the best pro prospect on the line as of right now and was utterly dominant in 2008, the reality is that even notwithstanding the 3-week absence as he recovered from thyroid issues, he struggled in 2009. Brandon Graham and O'Brien Schofield manhandled Bulaga. And while those are two very good defensive ends, so was Aaron Maybin, the 11th pick of the 2009 by the Buffalo Bills and Bryan Bulaga's personal prison bitch after Iowa-PSU 2008. There was a substantial dropoff in play by Bulaga in 2009, and voters just didn't notice it when it came time to hand out awards.

Meanwhile, Dace Richardson was actually very good in his return to the line, and he got a fair amount of media attention when mid-season awards were being handed out. Then his ankle was rolled up on against Michigan State, and he disappeared from both the depth chart and voters' attention. But why should he have been punished for an ankle injury while voters looked past Bulaga's absence of a similar length? It's all past reputation, and that's not really fair to guys who come from nowhere and work their butts off--especially in their senior year, where there's no chance for any payoff in the "rewarded in Year X for play in Year X-minus-1" system that's come to be when it comes to honoring offensive linemen.

What this comes down to is that if the AP were to select an Iowa lineman for All-American this season, we'd have preferred it be Dace--though we'll certainly "settle for" Bulaga instead. If both men are playing their last game for Iowa next month, as lots of speculation suggests, then they've both had stellar careers in the black and gold and we wish them well.

On defense, on the other hand, Pat Angerer didn't really establish himself as the most dominant player for that Iowa defense, but that's hardly through any fault of his own. After all, one usually does so by being simply better than his teammates, and the talent level on the Iowa defense this year was both so high and so consistent that it was hard to see Angerer as someone who was the best player on defense. After all, you could always come back with, "well why not Sash? Or Adrian Clayborn? Or Amari Spievey? Or A.J. Edds? Or, hell, Jeremiha Hunter?" We're not saying that Angerer was the 6th best player on the Iowa defense by any means--just that ranking the top 5 or 6 or so would be impossible, because the gaps would be so miniscule that personal preference could easily mean a 3- or 4-spot swing here or there and it wouldn't even be objectionable.

Angerer's accolades, then, come from two areas: 1) his name, which is everything you could ever hope for times infinity; 2) and his stats, which sort of sneak up on you for the same reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. As mentioned before, he was 5th in the nation in tackles at 11.3 a game. That's pretty outstanding, especially since--as TRE noticed during the season--Angerer's real strength might have been in pass coverage, not run support.

Still, absent game-changing plays, it's somewhat difficult to notice the overall impact a player has on a game. And all of those game-changing plays seemed to happen to other players--most notably Sash and Clayborn, and to a lesser extent Spievey.

Thus we have a weird ambiguity about how we look at Angerer's standing as the most highly-lauded member of the 2009 Iowa defense. It's not that he didn't deserve it--far from it--but with a defense like Iowa's, you could basically pick a name out of a hat and feel relatively confident that you made a good choice. It was that kind of year. Effectively singling out Angerer for praise, then, seems unusual and almost a little unfair. Oh well. There are worse problems to have.

Full AP All-American teams are after the break.

First team
Offense
	   Quarterback -- Colt McCoy, senior, 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Texas.
	   Running backs -- Toby Gerhart, senior, 6-1, 235, Stanford; Mark Ingram, sophomore, 5-10, 212, Alabama.
	   Tackles -- Russell Okung, senior, 6-5, 301, Oklahoma State; Trent Williams, senior, 6-5, 318, Oklahoma.
	   Guards -- Michael Johnson, senior, 6-6, 305, Alabama; Mike Iupati, senior, 6-6, 330, Idaho.
	   Center -- J.D. Walton, senior, 6-3, 305, Baylor.
	   Tight end -- Aaron Hernandez, junior, 6-2, 250, Florida.
	   Wide receivers -- Golden Tate, junior, 5-11, 195, Notre Dame; Jordan Shipley, senior, 6-0, 190, Texas.
	   All-purpose player -- C.J. Spiller, senior, 5-11, 195, Clemson.
	   Kicker -- Leigh Tiffin, senior, 6-2, 212, Alabama.
Defense
	   Ends -- Jerry Hughes, senior, 6-3, 257, TCU; Derrick Morgan, junior, 6-4, 272, Georgia Tech.
	   Tackles -- Ndamukong Suh, senior, 6-4, 300, Nebraska; Terrence Cody, senior, 6-5, 365, Alabama.
	   Linebackers -- Rolando McClain, junior, 6-4, 258, Alabama; Greg Jones, junior, 6-1, 228, Michigan State; Eric Norwood, senior, 6-1, 252, South Carolina.
	   Cornerbacks -- Joe Haden, junior, 5-11, 190, Florida; Javier Arenas, senior, 5-9, 198, Alabama.
	   Safeties -- Eric Berry, junior, 5-11, 203, Tennessee; Earl Thomas, sophomore, 5-10, 197, Texas.
	   Punter -- Drew Butler, sophomore, 6-2, 201, Georgia.
Second team
	   Quarterback -- Tim Tebow, senior, Florida.
	   Running backs -- Ryan Mathews, junior, Fresno State; Dion Lewis, freshman, Pittsburgh.
	   Tackles -- Bryan Bulaga, junior, Iowa; Chris Marinelli, senior, Stanford.
	   Guards -- Rodney Hudson, junior, Florida State; Mike Pouncey, junior, Florida.
	   Center -- Maurkice Pouncey, junior, Florida.
	   Tight end -- Dennis Pitta, senior, BYU.
	   Wide receivers -- Mardy Gilyard, senior, Cincinnati; Danario Alexander, senior, Missouri.
	   All-purpose player -- James Rodgers, junior, Oregon State.
	   Kicker -- Kai Forbath, junior, UCLA.
Defense
	   Ends -- Von Miller, junior, Texas A&M; Brandon Graham, senior, Michigan.
	   Tackles -- Gerald McCoy, junior, Oklahoma; Jared Odrick, senior, Penn State.
	   Linebackers -- Pat Angerer, senior, Iowa; Brandon Spikes, senior, Florida; Sean Weatherspoon, senior, Missouri.
	   Cornerbacks -- Perrish Cox, senior, Oklahoma State; Kyle Wilson, senior, Boise State.
	   Safeties -- Taylor Mays, senior, Southern California; Rahim Moore, sophomore, UCLA.
	   Punter -- Zoltan Mesko, senior, Michigan.
Third team
Offense
	   Quarterback -- Kellen Moore, sophomore, Boise State
	   Running backs -- LaMichael James, redshirt freshman, Oregon; Jacquizz Rodgers, sophomore, Oregon State.
	   Tackles -- Dennis Landolt, senior, Penn State; Ciron Black, senior, LSU.
	   Guards -- Brandon Carter, senior, Texas Tech; Jeff Byers, senior, Southern California.
	   Center -- Chris Hall, senior, Texas.
	   Tight end -- Dorin Dickerson, senior, Pittsburgh.
	   Wide receivers -- Freddie Barnes, senior, Bowling Green; Demaryius Thomas, junior, Georgia Tech.
	   All-purpose player -- Dexter McCluster, senior, Mississippi.
	   Kicker -- Hunter Lawrence, senior, Texas.
Defense
	   Ends -- Jeremy Beal, junior, Oklahoma; Brandon Sharpe, senior, Texas Tech.
	   Tackles -- Brian Price, junior, UCLA; Dan Williams, senior, Tennessee.
	   Linebackers -- Sergio Kindle, senior, Texas; Cody Grimm, senior, Virginia Tech; Navorro Bowman, junior, Penn State.
	   Cornerbacks -- Brandon Harris, sophomore, Miami; Alterraun Verner, senior, UCLA.
	   Safeties -- Tyler Sash, sophomore, Iowa; Mark Barron, sophomore, Alabama.
	   Punter -- Matt Reagan, senior, Memphis.

*Did you know he was in Tombstone, a.k.a. the SINGLE GREATEST MOVIE IN HISTORY? And in a phenomenal scene, to boot.

Anatomy of Stagnation: Second and Short Failures

GhostofBigRoy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:31:17 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

It doesn't take much imagination to envision a Longhorn guard laying on the ground helplessly as Suh makes this play. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

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The Big Picture

Even though play-action passing has become a much bigger part of the Longhorn offense since the coaching staff decided to uset the 11 personnel package much more often, Greg Davis continues to eschew play-action passes on second and short. The reasons for this are relatively unclear, though the most common belief is that Davis much prefers 1st and 10 to 2nd and 2, causing him to run the ball at an extremely high rate in such situations. In some ways, it's a bit paradoxical, as Davis will often eschew the running game entirely for long stretches and comes under criticism for abandoning the running game at times, with some believing that the running game has suffered over the last few years because Davis would rather pass on every down. Call it Jason Garrett syndrome with a dash of reflexive conservatism, in this case similar to a bad twitch.

Situation 1

Context

On the fifth drive of the game, Texas came out running the football after dropping back for passes on 11 of the first 12 plays (including the first play of the game, the chop block call against Chris Hall. Tre' Newton picked up four yards running power on the first play, Colt McCoy picked up 14 yards on a zone read on the second play, and then Newton picked up eight yards on a jet tempo run, most likely an inside zone play.

The Play

2nd and 2 Texas 36

For the second straight play, the Longhorns rush to the line of scrimmage in their jet tempo look with McCoy under center. Notice how Nebraska is playing this look by Texas -- with two deep safeties to take away big plays downfield on a bootleg, with both linebackers extremely close to the line of scrimmage and the nickel back walked up close to the tackle box to put pressure on McCoy in the event of a bootleg (Nebraska would later force a throwaway on a bootleg with such a look). In other words, Nebraska can effectively cover the two plays that Texas runs out of this look -- the zone play and the bootleg pass. Notice also that Ndamukong Suh is playing a two technique just over the inside shoulder of the guard, Michael Huey.

As Nebraska likely expects because EBS is on the left of the formation, the Texas line blocks left for the inside zone play. Since Suh is on the backside of the play and over the inside shoulder of Huey, there's no double team as the center Chris Hall steps playside. Suh uses his hands better than Huey, who seems to lose his balance as he gets into the big defensive tackle's body. Seemingly within a split second, Suh is into the backfield, forcing Newton to make a quick cut. Hall and Tanner get a good combo block on Crick, driving him back off the line of scrimmage, but Tanner can't get off the block quickly enough to stop the penetration of Dejon Gomes, a cornerback who played linebacker on this play and for much of the game. The violence of the cut Newton must make causes him to lose his balance and he slips well behind the line of scrimmage, losing two yards. The final aspect of the play is that McCoy doesn't execute a bootleg fake to freeze defenders in the secondary.

The Verdict

Clearly, Texas went jet tempo once too often in this sequence and Nebraska was ready for both permutations of the play. In addition, since the defensive tackles knew they were likely facing a zone run, Suh aligned to make it difficult for Huey to block him and that alignemnt allowed him a head start in shooting the gap. In addition, Huey used his hands extremely poorly on the play, letting Suh get into his body and then easily into the backfield. The lack of deception on this play allowed the playside "linebacker" Gomes to slice into the backfield before Tanner could get off the combo block.

Basically, the jet tempo might be good for one play to catch a team off guard, but going to it twice in a row, when Nebraska probably only had to spend several minutes scheming for it in practice to shut down the two plays that Texas runs, just won't work against good teams. In other words, to remain effective the jet tempo look must include a new wrinkle every week for which the defense is not prepared or there's very little point to it unless the opponent is Baylor.

The Following Play

As a result, the Longhorns go from 2nd and 2 to 3rd and 4, an obvious passing down for Texas. McCoy actually gets good protection on the play and has a chance to look downfield before checking down to Newton flaring into the flat. The Nebraska linebacker reads the play and hits Newton as the ball arrives for a loss of four yards. The Longhorns magically turn 2nd and 2 into 4th and 8. Impressive.

Situation 2

Context

Following Aaron Williams' interception in the end zone, the Longhorns move the chains by converting a third down on a crossing route to Jordan Shipley, one of the few times this season that Texas has been able to pick up first down yardage with a route that was extremely successful last season. Dan Buckner stays in the game at flex tight end and McCoy hits him on a pivot route inside for an eight-yard gain on first down.

The Play

2nd and 2 Texas 41

The Longhorns go with their 11 personnel package, bringing EBS into the game. Could it possibly signal a running play? Stay tuned. Notice that Nebraska stays with two deep safeties on the play, confident that they can win the six-on-six battle in the box.

Davis calls for the zone read. The read man stays at home, telling McCoy to give the ball. The Texas offensive line manages to control the Nebraska defensive tackles on the play, but neither David Snow nor Charlie Tanner get off their combo blocks in time to stop the linebackers slicing through the gaps. It's a race to the ballcarrier and Dejon Gomes wins, stopping Newton for no gain.

The Verdict

The substitution pattern here clearly signals a run and the Texas tendencies support it. A play-action pass would seem like a good play call, but there are two safeties deep on the play -- clearly the Huskers feel like they can stop the Texas running game with a minimum of help from the secondary. Rather than a problem with the playcalling in this specific intance, because the zone read is a good call, as it options off a defender and allows three combo blocks on the line of scrimmage, the problem is one of execution.

The failure of this play falls on the offensive line, as neither Tanner, Snow, nor Adam Ulatoski are able to get off their blocks to even contact either linebacker. David Snow had a terrible game and this play is just one example -- his failure here is no surprise. Charlie Tanner had the most difficult combo block, as he was essentially one-on-one with Jared Crick for several steps before being able to hand him off to Hall, by which point it was too late. Ulatoski is perhaps a bigger culprit than Tanner, as he could have gotten off his block with EBS much more quickly to attempt to at least slow down Gomes.

As it has been often this season, the major problem here is execution by the offensive line. They have nearly every advantage that a line could hope for in this situation -- the play options off a defender from an even match up in the box in the first place, allowing the line three combo blocks. The inability to run against a six-man box with a defender optioned off with six linemen is just pathetic. It doesn't get any easier than that in football.

The Following Play

Texas substitutes for EBS, bringing Dan Buckner back in the game and splitting out Tre' Newton. Nebraska doesn't have the personnel package they want on the field and run off a player late. Instead of hiking the ball and running the play against a defense that is confused and isn't set, McCoy allows the Huskers to call a timeout, essentially bailing them out.

Following the stop in play, the Longhorns opt for the 11 personnel package, them motion James Kirkendoll into a stack with Jordan Shipley. It's a max protection roll out with essentially two players out in the route (Malcolm Williams on the other side of the field gets an inside release and heads straight downfield) and Nebraska takes them away with four defenders, leading to a coverage sack and the injury to McCoy's left wrist. Suh and others knock McCoy into the Nebraska sideline while the Texas offensive linemen walk dejectedly across the field to the Texas sideline like a group of whipped puppies. Not a single one goes to help their quarterback.

Situation 3

Context

The Longhorn defense held Nebraska to a field goal following the long punt return by Niles Paul, but the poor call on Marquise Goodwin's slip near the end zone pinned Texas against their own goalline. Though the coaching staff finally decided to eschew a long-developing I-formation run on the first play, choosing to sneak instead, Davis reprised his bad habit by calling such a play on second down and Suh nearly caused a safety. Fortunately, McCoy completed a third-down pass to Shipley and later completed two more passes for Malcolm Williams for big first downs, the second coming on 3rd and 16. On the next play, a quarterback draw picked up eight yards.

The Play

2nd and 2 Nebraska 42

The Longhorns stay in their 11 personnel package from the previous play with Dan Buckner in the flex tight end position. Nebraska plays the single linebacker to the strong side of the formation, while walking a safety up towards the line of scrimmage, indicating a blitz.

It's the counter read play of WildHorn fame (infamy?), except run this time without a tight end, though the lack of a tight end isn't a problem in the scheme, as the defensive end is optioned off. On this play, the end stays at home, giving McCoy a give read. The play has a chance for success and may in fact go for a big gain if Suh doesn't blow it up, except for the blitzing linebacker on the play, who happens to run right into Newton as McCoy makes the handoff, leading to a two-yard loss.

The Verdict

It's easy to blame Davis for this play, as he seemed to get a little too cute in this situation by calling a running play from a formation the Longhorns probably haven't run out of since the Oklahoma or Colorado game -- there was a reason the coaching staff abandoned any and all 10 personnel running plays. No one provides an extra blocking surface like Greg Smith, basically. The Longhorns really have good match ups on the line of scrimmage though because the play options off a defender -- it just seems like poor luck that Nebaska happened to be blitzing on the play. In terms of the defense anticipating the call, there's little chance of that since the Longhorns hadn't run this play from this personnel grouping probably at all this season.

The Following Play

The Longhorns go five wide on 3rd and 4 and run a double slant concept with Jordan Shipley and Goodwin on the weak side. It's the same play that scored the touchdown against Oklahoma and it works again here, as the safety goes with Shipley and Goodwin gets enough separation to make a tough catch on a ball thrown behind him a bit and pick up a big first down to continue the drive.

The Final Verdict

The fact that the Longhorns only had three second-and-short opportunities in the entire game speaks to poor production on first down, while the complete lack of success on second and short illustrates a combination of poor execution, poor playcalling, and bad luck. The three plays combined lost a total of four yards and led to difficult third-down conversions each time, with Texas only converting one of the three, which is completely unacceptable.

On the first play, the call was relatively beyond reproach, but the execution of the offensive line was terrible. Given the opportunity for three combo blocks, none of the three offensive linemen got off their blocks to get to the second level, allowing both linebackers to slice into the backfield and stop the play for a loss. The scheme doesn't exactly make things easy for the linemen, but the fact is that a ton of teams in college football run the zone read and the good ones consistently execute the play at a much higher level than Texas. Despite the abject failure of this play, it was one of the least egregious examples of the type of terrible execution and individual suckitude that characterized an experienced line that should be much better than this. One would think.

Also unacceptable is the fact that the Longhorns didn't take any shots downfield on any of the three plays -- most analysts and fans know that such situations are the best time for calling play-action passes. Greg Davis seems to have a different philosophy than most in these circumstances -- he just wants to move the chains as quickly as possible to get another set of downs. Perhaps that would be acceptable if his choice of plays actually picked up the first down instead of moving backwards.

Davis also deserves criticisms for not staying with the advances in the zone read. Many times now make it a triple option play, incorporating a bubble screen on the outside of the play, giving defenses more to think about it and making it more difficult to cover. In college football, it's not necessary to be on the leading edge of innovation, but simply to keep up with and copy and integrate successful plays. One of the problems is that Davis simply isn't doing that enough. It's not about trying to incorporate everything and putting in too many plays at the risk of execution, it's about adding things that can easily be integrated like the bubble screen on the zone read, which would only require a handful of repetitions to install.

Five Things to Watch Against Nebraska

GhostofBigRoy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:54:20 -0000

by Jeff Roberson - AP

This is what happens when you enter a House of Spears, Blaine Gabbert. Colt McCoy hopes he doesn't befall a similar fate.

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How well will the interior of the Texas line play? Obviously, the big match up here is Chris Hall and a guard against Ndamukong Suh, the massively athletic "House of Spears," literally -- that's what his name means. Hall and Charlie Tanner have been much maligned around these parts at times, but their play has been more consistent as the year has gone on and they've played a big role in the improvement in the running game. The other offensive linemen who will have shot at helping Hall with Suh will be Michael Huey, another inconsistent performer this season whose problems resulted more from the ankle injury he suffered early in the year than any technical or athletic shortcomings. He's finally healthy and playing well.

The double team on Suh will leave Huey or Tanner consistently on Jared Crick, a player known for using his hands well, but one who doesn't always play with great pad level -- not overly surprisingly for a young defensive tackle with his height (6-6). If the Longhorn guards can get under his pads and into his body, they should be able to handle them, but if they allow Crick to get his hands on them and get extended, the other big Husker could make some plays inside as well.

All three interior linemen struggled against Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy, but because Huey was hobbled during the game with his injury and Tanner and Hall have taken their play to a higher level, it's probably safe to say the Longhorns have a better shot of slowing down Crick and Suh than they did McCoy. However, it's a big question whether or not David Snow can help out in this game because he was absolutely destroyed by McCoy and is probably still suffering from some lingering PTSD after his nightmare in the Cotton Bowl. If Tanner or Huey need a blow at some point in the game, Snow will have to play better than he did against Oklahoma and it's possible that he may only be asked to help out Hall with Suh, which should be easier than going one-on-one with Crick.

The double team on Suh will have a trickle-down effect on other aspects of the line's play, most notably having only one combination block at the line of scrimmage even with EBS (unless they leave the backside end unblocked), putting a lot of pressure on the outside linemen, Kyle Hix and Adam Ulatoski, to make their plays in space and get off the combination block quickly -- not always a strength of Ulatoski in particular.

How will the Longhorn gamplan work around Suh in the middle? Not only is Suh tremendous at putting pressure on the quarterback, but he also has the elite ability to knock down and/or intercept passes, having broken up 10 on the season and intercepted one other. Last season, he returned both of his interceptions for touchdowns. Suh's rare ability to play in space as a 300-pound defensive tackle allows him to drop back into coverage over the middle when Nebraska zone blitzes. Just like Colt McCoy has to know where linebackers dropping off into zone coverage are heading, he must also recognize Suh dropping back into coverage, particularly on any throws over the middle, whether short to a running back or to a receiver running a shallow cross.

Of course, devoting more resources to Suh means leaving all the other linemen one-on-one. As a result, the Longhorns will need an extra blocking surface to even have one other combination block and get anyone to the second level -- fortunately, Texas has a more than adequate Extra Blocking Surface. Woo, Greg Smith! In all seriousness, Smith has been blocking as well of late as he ever did when he was heavier last season and perhaps even better, an impressive accomplishment.

Since the weakness of the Nebraska defensive is their linebacking corps, the Longhorns might be well served to exploit the perimeter. One obvious way is to bring back the Monroe Series that was not used against A&M, the group of plays based around the fly sweep to get the ball to a fast player in motion to take the edge on the Nebraska linebackers and avoid having to move players off the defensive line. The danger here is having Suh bust through the line if the center has to reach to make the play, but the need to have help on every play should decease the chances of that occurring. The latest addition to the Monroe Series, the pass to Tre' Newton out in the flat, provides good misdirection and isolates Newton against a linebacker in the open field -- a desired match up for Texas.

Last week, the return of the zone read and extensive use of the quarterback draw helped McCoy run roughshod over the Aggie defense. The zone read options off a defender and makes McCoy a threat in the running game, which may be the best way to pick up yards on the ground against the Nebraska front four, by far the best Husker defensive unit, while also providing another combination block or a free release to the second level, allowing Texas to account for six players in the box even with a double team on Suh. Running the quarterback draw can punish the interior defenders if they get too far upfield and was a play that Kansas used to good effect. Expect to see it three to four times in the game.

Can Texas get off to a strong start? Conventional wisdom says that Nebraska wants to come into this game and "run, run, run, then play action," as Earl Thomas put it this week. In fact, that's been their plan in every game since the eight-turnover debacle against Iowa State and it's been successful enough to make it to the Big 12 Championship and earn the coveted honor of tallest midget (sorry, tallest vertically challenged person) in the Big 12 North. So congratulations on that, Huskers.

A fast start by the Longhorns on offense could radically change the complexion of the game -- this Nebraska offense isn't built at the moment to come back from deficits. Now, starting fast has been a key for the Longhorns all season and the offense seems to have overcome the slow starts that characterized the beginning of the season and led to weekly Screaming Lady appearances, but it's extremely important in this game because it's not clear how the Huskers would respond when forced to adjust their gameplan so much.

Would Pellini simply continue running the football in hopes of eventually breaking a play or setting up a deep pass off of play action, or maybe even just try to minimize the damage and avoid a blowout while hoping that the defense comes up with a big turnover or two? Would the offense revert to pre-Iowa State form with some attempts to spread the field and pass the ball, with the possibility of disastrous results and numerous Zac Lee interceptions? Or would Pellini insert true freshman and native Texan Cody Green to run the zone read and provide another rushing threat?

Will the special teams recover from a mostly disastrous performance against A&M? This one goes mostly to the kickoff coverage unit. Nebraska isn't a great kick returning team, ranking right at the bottom of the top third in the country at 23 yards flat and Texas spent much of the week working on covering kicks, so the visit to JerryWorld will give the beleagured unit an opportunity to demonstrate improvement. Kenny Vaccaro in particular must return to making positive plays instead penalties and miscues as he did in that strange vortex called Aggieland.

For the kickoff return team, it's not nearly as much about Marquise Goodwin as it is the blocking in the wedge and, to a lesser extent, on the edge by players like Vaccaro, Jeremy HIlls, Fozzy Whittaker, and Nolan Brewster. Cody Johnson, Aaron Smith, and Eddie Jones, the wedge blockers, struggled for most of the game in College Station before getting their blocks. Nebraska covers kicks well and probably won't kick off many times during the game, so the Longhorns need to take advantage when they can. When the Huskers do kick, however, nearly 40% of them go for touchbacks -- it's unlikely that Goodwin will even have half of the six attempts from last week.

Along with solid units on kickoffs, the Huskers have the biggest opportunity to impact the game in blocking field goals and essentially taking points off the board, as Suh has blocked three kicks and the rest of the team two others, with opponents having trouble kicking field goals even down close to the goalline. In addition, the punter Alex Henery, who also handles field goals and kickoffs, has done an excellent job of pinning teams deep near the goalline, with 26 punts downed inside the 20 and another 15 inside the 10.

Field position may play an important role in this game as it did last week against A&M, as the Aggies repeatedly had short fields due to long kick returns, failed fourth-down attempts, and the single turnover when the punt hit Vaccaro. If Texas can at least force Nebraska to move the ball the length of the field, the chances of a comfortable victory increase dramatically. If there continue to be breakdowns on special teams and the Huskers can keep points off the board and give their offense a short field, the game could come down to the fourth quarter. Likewise, whenever going against a defense as strong as that of Nebraska, shortening the field is a major priority because long drives become so difficult. Long fields for the Longhorns could keep the Huskers in the game late.

Are Malcolm Williams and Jordan Shipley healthy? Last week, Jordan Shipley incurred a foot injury that forced him to the sideline to have his ankle wrapped. After that point, he didn't catch a single pass in the game. Malcolm Williams missed several series in the second half with an apparent tightening of the hamstring, throwing off the rhythm of he and McCoy. Then, Chip Brown mentioned this morning on the radio that a source close to the Texas program indicated an injury to an offensive playmaker that may impact the game on Saturday. Brown wouldn't disclose the name, but the most likely candidate is Shipley unless another injury occurred during practice this week.

If Shipley isn't at full speed, the comfort level McCoy has developed over the last several weeks with Kirkendoll and Williams, assuming the latter is healthy after what only seemed like a minor injury, will become even more important, as will the play of Marquise Goodwin, who might have to play in the slot some to allow Kirkendoll to remain outside where he has been most successful.

Afternooon Brewsky Is Long-Winded

GhostofBigRoy — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:33:15 -0000

More photos » by Erich Schlegel - AP

Your Flavor of the Week at running back: Tre' Newton.

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Flavor of the Week at running back: Tre' Newton. It's been quite a season for this feature -- numerous running backs stepping into and out of the starting role in the Texas offense, but never able to hang onto the job. In all, my biggest regret is not giving Jamison Berryhill the Flavor of the Week Award after his performance against UTEP -- I just couldn't do it because of his fumble. Just in the last month and a half, Fozzy Whittaker looked like he earned himself the job with a strong game against Oklahoma, then it looked like Whittaker and Johnson were a strong one-two punch before Johnson carried 19 times for only the second 100-yard rushing game of the season against Baylor. Then, Johnson had a mediocre eight carries for 15 yards against Kansas and perhaps the coaches felt like his coming into the game too strongly signalled a running play -- probably because it did. Combined with his lack of ability to split out in the passing game and Johnson fell by the wayside with Vondrell McGee and Whittaker, carrying the ball only once against A&M.

The star of that game at running back was Tre' Newton, who received his first extended action since the Texas Tech game against Baylor when he broke off a 45-yard touchdown run and then came back with 12 carries for 66 yards and three catches for 36 yards against Kansas. Fully recovered from his concussion, Newton showed the ability that had some calling him the perfect fit for the Texas scheme after his strong performances against Wyoming and Tech early in the season.

What is it about Newton that makes him so valuable to his team? Perhaps his most valuable skill is his ability to pick up the blitz. It's obvious at this point that Texas is a passing team first and foremost, sprinkling in just enough running to keep the defense honest at times. Newton has been as good picking up the blitz as he was advertised to be in the spring -- his work in that respect by have been the most underrated part of the Texas win on Thursday, as he did not appear to miss an assignment at all during the game. At a solid 6-0, 200 pounds, Newton has the build that Whittaker does not to pick up blitzing linebackers and stop them in their tracks.

Combined with his blitz pick up abilities, Newton can also catch the ball, as he showed against Kansas, but there is still room for growth in that area and it will probably have to happen with Garrett Gilbert because McCoy clearly does not have the same trust with Newton that he did with Chris Obgonnaya, hardly surprising since Newton has gotten little work with the first team, while McCoy worked with Ogbonnaya for three years.

Running the football, he's hardly spectacular, but he has an excellent sense of when to be patient and when to hit the hole hard, as evidenced by his 16 carries for 107 yards and touchdown, only the third 100-yard game by a Texas back this season. What sets him apart from Fozzy Whittaker is his vision -- where Whittaker tries to bounce everything outside, which probably cost him his job, Newton doesn't get caught stretching plays horizontally when he can get up the field. And while he isn't the fastest running back around, he hasn't been caught from behind and his size makes his speed somewhat deceptive, which is just about as effective for blowing up angles as is a pure, 4.4 burst. After the Baylor game, Mack Brown probably expressed it as well as anyone could -- he said that Newton simply plays fast in pads, he has football speed.

It also looks like Newton has a nice stiff arm, as well:

That stiff arm delivered to an Aggie defender segues into the next point -- since Newton doesn't necessarily have breakaway speed, he does have to break some tackles, which he accomplishes by running with good pad level and finishing by driving his legs. He's a tough guy to bring down, as several Aggies got taken for a ride late in the game (with an assist from EBS):

In other words, Newton is basically a bigger, faster, stronger version of Chris Ogbonnaya and that's an excellent sign for the future of the running back position.

Return of the zone read. While Colt McCoy picked up some serious yardage on scrambles and quarterback draws, his Heisman moment on Thursday night came on his 65-yard touchdown run on a zone read, that staple under Vince Young that McCoy struggled running early in his career because he wasn't making the proper reads and was rarely used this season as the coaches sought to protect their star quarterback. Well, it's back and in a big way.

At least for the Texas A&M game, that is. It's hard to say how effective it will remain for a major reason -- the Aggies didn't seem prepared for it. During the game, they eventually adjusted by having the read man get upfield and force the handoff, but Nebraska and Florida/Alabama if the Longhorns win on Saturday may use the now tried-and-true technique of forcing the quarterback to keep the ball by crashing the read man down the line of scrimmage, then scraping a linebacker to that side to cover the quarterback -- basically the way that teams stop the zone read these days.

Doing that, however, may take a scraping linebacker out of the play on the straight inside zone, which could open up holes for the running back and allow a lineman to even get to the third level of the defense. Basically, running the zone read should open up the running game for Texas because the defense has to decide where to commit resources -- to stopping the running back or stopping McCoy by scraping a linebacker and leaving the Longhorns with even better numbers on the inside zone.

Here's a perfect example from the A&M game -- obviously the Aggies were caught off guard with the zone read, most likely just thinking the Longhorns were running the inside zone, but adjusted at halftime by sending the read man upfield to force a handoff:

The read man on the play gets upfield, giving McCoy a give read. The Aggie player on the right end of the line of scrimmage runs himself out of the play for some reason, perhaps concerned with McCoy, while the offensive line does an excellent job of sustaining their blocks and getting to the second level to take out the linebackers. It's a perfect example of how the threat of McCoy running can open up the running game -- Newton picked up 20 yards on this play extremely easily.

if teams get lazy and forget about McCoy, the Texas quarterback will gash them for big plays with his feet. If teams focus too much on McCoy, it opens up the inside zone for Tre' Newton. In other words, using McCoy in the running game is the best way for Texas to run the ball consistently and with him becoming a threat in recent weeks, it puts a ton of pressure on the defense and elevates the Longhorn running game from inconsistent and sporadic to a serious threat.

Malcolm Williams continues his emergence. Rivals has a scouting report ($) up from an opposing Big 12 coach about the Longhorns, from the context probably an Oklahoma coach because he talks about being physical with Shipley and Texas not having another dangerous receiver. Clearly, that coach hasn't watched the Longhorns over the last several weeks as Malcolm Williams and James Kirkendoll have emerged as excellent no. 2 and no. 3 options for McCoy. Of course, the same coach also said that McCoy "doesn't look like a substantial guy," so he clearly doesn't really know what he's talking about. Have you seen his guns the last two years, dude? The guy is ripped and has been for some time.

The bigger point here is that Texas is at a much different point right now with their receiving corps than they were a month and a half ago after playing Oklahoma, a game in which every receiver other than Marquise Goodwin had a bad day and Goodwin even made a huge mistake late by going behind the defender on a slant. Since then, Williams has accounted for 27 of his 35 catches, 411 of his 494 yards and both of his touchdowns. In the last two games, Williams has caught 15 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown -- nearly half of his receiving yards on the entire season and the second and third games of his career with more than 100 yards receiving. So, for that coach who hasn't been paying attention -- check out what Malcolm Williams has been doing, because it's pretty impressive.

More than pure numbers, though, Williams has opened up the Texas offense by providing a threat down the field, as well as a physical presence in the short passing game who has the ability to break a tackle and pick up big yardage. On one play in the second quarter, the Aggies failed to put a safety over the top of Williams and tried to jam him with Justin McQueen. As soon as McCoy saw him walking up on Williams, he pointed and made eye contact with his big receiver, perhaps making a sight adjustment on the play. Williams did an excellent job using his hands to get the inside release and then ran by McQueen, catching the pass at the first-down marker and accelerating downfield.

The play would have gone for a 75-yard touchdown had McQueen not made a shoestring tackle on Williams to limit him to a 28-yard gain. A productive play, but one that ended up essentially costing the Longhorns points because they were not able to score on the drive -- had Williams recognized that McQueen was right behind him and done something that a lot of running backs do well in chopping his feet high and hard, he might have broken the tackle and scored on the play.

Even with that small complaint, the play illustrates just how close Williams is to breaking big plays consistently. In fact, had McCoy hit him on several targeted deep passes, the Garland product and former track star may have easily eclipsed 200 yards receiving on the day -- it's clear that he and McCoy aren't quite on the same page consistently on deep passes. Part of the problem is that Williams seems to get caught up in hand fighting with defensive backs instead of trusting his speed to get him downfield, something that has caused McCoy to overthrow him twice in the last two weeks on plays that could have gone for touchdowns. If the Longhorns can get past Nebraska this week, then McCoy and Williams will have a little more than a month to get ready for a national championship game and connecting on deep passes. With how far they have come in a month and a half, that extra time could lead to some big plays even against good defenses like Alabama and Florida.

One key for McCoy might be to not try to lead Williams so much, but rather to make sure that he has a chance to make a play on the ball, even if he has to slow down to do so. Slight underthrows also make it more likely that a defensive back will interfere with the play and though that isn't as big in college football as it is in the NFL, 15 yards is still much more helpful to a drive than an incomplete pass. A perfect example of his came on the first drive of the third quarter when the Longhorns tried a play-action pass off their jet tempo look -- McCoy had some pressure in his face and had to get rid of the ball a little early, but overthrew Williams to the inside instead of giving him a chance to make a play on the ball.

Tracking: special teams play. For the second straight week, covering kicks was an abject disaster. The first problem is that unless he has some wind behind him or is in the thin air of Wyoming, Justin Tucker can't seem to put the ball in the end zone, forcing the Texas coverage kickoff unit to cover every single kick. The reasons for the other problems -- failing to fill lanes, missing tackles, not getting off blocks -- are harder to explain, but they need to get fixed and soon.

Virtually everyone on both the kickoff coverage unit and the kickoff return unit are to blame for the poor performace against the Aggies. Outside of the touchdown return from Goodwin, the Longhorns averaged a paltry 15 yards per return on the first six Aggie kicks -- that's a terrible average that would rank dead last in the country over the course of a season.

Here's a look at each kickoff return:

1st return: An Aggie player comes completely free from the right edge of the Texas return team, while Aaron Smith and Malcolm Williams both fail to get blocks inside. Shipley never has a chance on his 13-yard return.
2nd return: A high, short kick by the Aggies gives the coverage excellent time to get down the field. Goodwin fields the ball at the 14 yardline and heads up behind the wedge of Eddie Jones, Aaron Smith. and Antwan Cobb. The blocks are good initially, but as Goodwin tries to get arond Jones' man, the Aggie defender disengages and makes the play. If Jones could have help the block longer and done a better job of sealing the defender inside, the return might go for a big play. However, it was destined to come back because Kenny Vaccaro absolutely tackled his man on the right side of the unnecessarily.
3rd return: Another high, short kick by the Aggies field at the 14 by Goodwin and the wedge never forms because Aaron Smith gets absolutely blown up and Nolan Brewster gets beat on the edge, keeping Goodwin from getting quickly upfield. He does manage to take the corner and picks up 22 yards, a good return on this evening.
4th return: Goodwin fields the ball at the 6 and heads upfield, but has no chance to get up into the wedge because Nolan Brewster misses his block on the edge so badly that the Aggie hits Goodwin in the legs at the 16, a tackle the speedster escapes before he gets hit on the left side of the field at the 22 by an Aggie who was unblocked on the play. Had the blocking been better on the edges, Goodwin still wouldn't have had much of a chance, as Cody Johnson missed his block and Aaron Smith didn't manage to block anyone. The Longhorns start at the 22 after a 16-yard return.
5th return: This was a really bad play for the Texas running backs. Cody Johnson misses a block in the wedge that forces Goodwin outside after his catch at the 2 yardline, while both Fozzy Whittaker and Jeremy Hills miss blocks on the right side of the return. Kenny Vaccaro also misses his block early in the coverage, so basically everything on the right side broke down. Goodwin bounces it outside left, then tries to cut back, eventually getting to the 17. Unfortunately, Hills, in his attempt to get back into the block, gets a cheap, unnecessary block in the back call at the end of the play that didn't even help Texas. The Longhorns end up backed up inside their own 10.
6th return: Goodwin catches the ball at the 3 yardline, then heads upfield into the wedeg. Oh wait, there is no wedge on this play because Cody Johnson and Aaron Smith both fail to block the single Aggie coming at them. Guess who eventually collapses the play? Yeah, that guy who didn't get blocked. Goodwin gets 19 yards out to the 22.
7th return: Ah yes -- the seventh time is the charm, apparently. This time, Cody Johnson and Aaron Smith knock down an Aggie trying to split their block, then keep him on the ground. On the other side of the wedge, Eddie Jones blocks one Aggie, while getting in the way of another -- looks like one of them got out of their lane pretty badly to allow that to happen, while Vondrell McGee walls off another Aggie behind Jones. Meanwhile, Nolan Brewster gets an excellent block on the edge, despite getting a hand to his throat and facemask. An unblocked Aggie comes from the right edge, but Goodwin blows up his angle with his speed, as the Aggie slips trying to make the tackle. At this point, Goodwin is up in the wedge with a beautiful running lane and needs only to get a block from Malcolm Williams and beat the kicker. Williams overruns the last Aggie in hole, but recovers to get a piece of him as Goodwin sprints by. Now, it's just Goodwin and a short, fat, dumpy kicker in the open field. Goodwin cruises for the last 30 yards of his game-changing 95-yard touchdown return, the 11th non-offensive touchdown for the Longhorns this season.

It's hard to say that the return unit made up for the consistently poor blocking the rest of the game with one good effort, but considering how much that one play changed the game, it's probably not out of line to say that. However, it doesn't excuse the poor effort by some of the same players on the coverage unit, particularly Kenny Vaccaro. A special teams standout since the Oklahoma State game, Vaccaro had by far his worst game as a Longhorn, with only one good block that was close to being a hold on kickoff, while committing another holding penalty and a late-hit personal foul on the return after Goodwin's touchdown when he jumped way late into Ryan Swopes and the two Longhorns pushing him out of bounds.

Vaccaro clearly walks a fine line between playing with near-reckless abandon and playing out of control. Against the Aggies, he was clearly out of control and he needs to reign himself in if he wants to keep playing on special teams because both of those penalties were extremely harmful to the field position in the game -- after his personal foul, the Aggies started their drive at the Texas 36 yardline, an extremely short field. Add in the penalty on Jeremy Hills and the special teams accounted for three of the six Longhorn penalties on the evening.

In the punting game, Justin Tucker was adequate, averaging just over 43 yards on his two kicks and Colt McCoy continued his streak of killing the ball inside the 20 on his pooch punts, punting for 33 yards and pinning the Aggies inside their own 8 yardline. The Longhorns also ran a fake punt, hiking the ball to Antwan Cobb, who pitched it to Malcolm Williams, who ran the option with Justin Tucker. The Aggie forced the pitch and Tucker got within two yards of the marker, but Nolan Brewster missed his block and Keenan Robinson could get not outside fast enough to get his block. The timing and position on the field of the call were questionable, but the Longhorns would have made it if it had only been 4th and 4 instead of 4th and 6 or possibly if Brewster could have made his block.

The special teams has disturbingly trended downward throughout the latter part of the season, as the kickoff return game has stalled at times, Jordan Shipley has fumbled twice, Justin Tucker's punting has been inconsistent, and the kickoff coverage has cratered over the last two weeks, giving up around 25 yards per return, which would put them in the bottom seven in the country over the course of a whole season. As it is, ranking 63rd in the country, right behind North Texas and Ball State, is hardly something to brag about. The Longhorns have some serious work to do if they can escape the Big 12 championship game against Nebaska before they move on to a possible national championship game, as both Florida and Alabama both rank in the top 15 in kickoff returns and Alabama ranks sixth in punt returns.

Tracking: third-down conversions. The Longhorns rank second this year in converting third downs, picking up nearly 48% of their attempts. Against the Aggies, Texas was slightly below their season average in conversions at 42% or five of 12.

Here's a look at each third down:

3rd and 11 Texas A&M 41: Texas A&M brings a linebacker, a safety, and a standup end or linebacker and though the Texas offensive line mostly holds up well, Adam Ulatoski allows enough pressure on McCoy and the coverage downfield is good enough that he has to throw the ball short of the first-down marker to Jordan Shipley for a five-yard gain. The Longhorns ran their unsucessful fake punt attempt on the next play and came up short.
3rd and 10 Texas 45: After dropping back to pass and scanning the field without finding a receiver open, McCoy heads heads towards the line of scrimmage and pumps fakes one A&M defender before breaking the tackle of another to get close to the first-down marker. The Longhorns sneak the ball on fourth and short to pick up the fourth down -- the third-down scramble doesn't go down as a conversion, but basically works as such since the Longhorns couldn't have gone for it and fourth and long.
3rd and 5 Texas A&M 40: The Longhorns line up in 10 personnel with Buckner as the flex tight end. A&M brings a blitz from the defensive back lined up over Buckner and there isn't a safety close enough to stop Buckner after McCoy finds him on a short route over the middle. Buckner does a nice job of planting his foot and making one defender miss to pick up 12 yards on the play.
3rd and 2 Texas 35: Ah yes, the Heisman moment: Texas lines up in 11 personnel and the Aggies bring a blitz from the weakside. McCoy does an excellent job of waiting just long enough for a defender coming free from his left to get too far upfield, while another defender coming on the blitz bites hard on the running back. Adam Ulatoski and Charlie Tanner both get good blocks and then McCoy simply outruns two defensive backs to the end zone for a 65-yard touchdown.
3rd and 4 Texas A&M 41: This is the possession where Malcolm Williams nearly broke the short pass for a long touchdown, but got taken down from behind. McCoy drops back and scans the field, then checks down to Tre' Newton over the middle, who can't hand onto the catch just short of the marker -- the only real mistake from Newton on the evening. Had he caught the ball, the Longhorns might have gone for it just over midfield. The second-down play also led to the lack of a third-down conversion, as McCoy misfired on a short pass that Shipley couldn't hang onto that would have been about a yard and half short, setting up an easier third down.
3rd and 8 Texas 39: The Longhorns are in 10 personnel with Buckner as the flex tight end. The Aggies blitz and Williams runs a hitch, pushing McQueen well off the ball, then using his superior size and a stiff arm to get the last several yards to pick up the first down. A perfect example of the physical dominance Williams possesses over 95% of college cornerbacks.
3rd and 8 Texas A&M 50: This looks like almost the exact same play as the previous third down: the Aggies blitz and McCoy hits Williams on a hitch. This time, McQueen does a better job of making the tackle and Williams appears to be inches short, but gets a poor spot nearly a yard from the first-down marker. The Longhorns go to the quick-snap sneak one time too many and get stopped -- it would have been a perfect time for the Jumbo package.
3rd and 1 Texas A&M 13: Chris Fowler calls this a zone read on the broadcast, but it's really power, with Davis Snow pulling into the hole and picking up a good block for Tre' Newton, who picks up six yards on the play.
3rd and 8 Texas 22: Aganst an 11 personnel look from the Longhorns, the Aggies bring both linebackers and though Tre' Newton does an adequate job of picking one up, the defender collapses the pocket, forcing McCoy to step up into the rush of a defensive tackle who knocked Charlie Tanner onto his back and Von Miller, who used a nice inside move that knocked Ulatoski off balance. McCoy is sacked for a loss of six yards.
3rd and 10 Texas 8: This one really comes down to poor plays on first and second down. On first down, Williams dropped what would have been a five or six yard gain, making playcalling on the next two downs much easier. Then, on second down, McCoy gets himself in trouble by stepping up in the pocket, which helps a defensive lineman disengage and nearly takes a safety before overthrowing Malcolm Williams downfield. On third down, the Longhorns go to empty and the Aggies drop nine into coverage to take away any scrambles by McCoy, who forces a pass to a covered Buckner and overthrows him on the play.
3rd and 12 Texas A&M 47: This is the touchdown pass to James Kirkendoll. See here for analysis.
3rd and 7 Texas A&M 50: This is the final play of the game -- victory formation for the Longhorns.

Taking out the final play and putting the two fourth-down sneak attempts in, the Longhorns finished at 46% for the game, close to their season average. The major blemishes were the two three and outs in the third quarter, which had more to do with more plays on first and second down than poor playcalling or execution on third down. Those two drives illustrate just how important it is to pick up yardage on first and second down -- this is why Greg Davis doesn't mind callilng short passes -- two short passes to set up third and short end up being extremely effective. What stands out here is that McCoy targeted Williams on two consecutive third and long plays and Williams converted the first and nearly converted the second, as his size and strength makes him difficult to stop when the cornerback has to respect his ability to go deep.

Anatomy of Momentum: Replying Against A&M

GhostofBigRoy — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:19:06 -0000

by Dave Einsel - AP

If Aggies were smarter, they would know that horns go up. Of course, if they were smarter, they might not be Aggies.

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Context

Momentum is a fickle mistress, willing to switch sides at the drop of a hat, to follow the most recent success, to abandon at the first sign of distress, cresting and surging along with a raucous home crowd and abandoning the poor road team in distress. However fickle, though, our lady is, perhaps more than anything, she is ready to abandon a mentally fragile team, whether they are playing at home or not, whether they are going against a meaningless non-conference patsy or playing in the most heated rivalry game. Yes, a fickle mistress indeed.

The Longhorns took a 35-21 lead midway through the third quarter and it looked like momentum was on the side of the road team, with the notoriously fragile psyche of the young Aggie team appearing ready to collapse at any moment. A methodical drive into Texas territory re-energized the crowd and gave the A&M offense confidence again, but an Earl Thomas interception in the end zone threatened once more to swing momentum firmly to the side of the visiting Longhorns, who had a chance to blow the game open. An incomplete pass by Colt McCoy, however, followed by a short run and a sack, killed the Texas drive and gave the ball back to the Aggies. No momentum swing after all.

This time, Jerrod Johnson gashed the defense with his feet on the first play for 38 yards before the Longhorns stiffened to hold the Aggies to a field goal. Three incomplete passes by McCoy on the next series gave the ball right back to the Aggies with great field position, while the home team caught a break by recovering Jordan Pugh's fumble on the return. With the Longhorns defense coming back onto the field after only a short break, momentum was firmly back on the Texas A&M sideline, no doubt ready to make out with a goofy member of the Corps with a bad haircut -- so yes, just about any one of those silly, homely, wanna-be members of the military.* Christine Michael took advantage of poor tackling by the Longhorns to finish the drive with an 18-yard touchdown run and Ryan Tannehill easily beat the coverage of Blake Gideon to convert the two-point play, bringing the Aggies to within 35-32 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. And that would be our fickle mistress getting tongue thrashed on national television by a redneck who was made to drink his own urine the night before as part of ritualistic hazing. And that would be people of taste all over the country vomiting up their turkey onto their living room floor.

After all that, Marquise Goodwin returned the kickoff 19 yards to the Texas 22 with 13:38 left in the game.

*Note: if you want to be like someone in the military, join the military -- dressing up is for little girls.

The Plays

1st and 10 Texas 22

Texas comes out in an empty set on first down with five wide receivers and the camera angle makes it difficult to see who is on the field. Regardless, A&M shows blitz at the line of scrimmage, with six defenders against the five Texas offensive linemen.

McCoy reads blitz prior to the snap and probably decides at that point to go to his hot read, Jordan Shipley on a quick out. Perhaps because the offensive line knows the hot read is to the right side, the protection slides in that direction, leaving the backside defender free, even though A&M drops two of the defenders who showed blitz into coverage in an attempt to take away any hot reads by McCoy in the middle of the field. The backside defending coming free forces a quick and inaccurate pass from McCoy, as the ball hits near Shipley's feet.

2nd and 10 Texas 22

It wasn't a great decision by Greg Davis to start the drive in an empty set that allowed A&M to show blitz and force the quick throw, so Davis takes out a receiver and puts Tre' Newton into the game at running back. Notice that the Aggie defense is still spread out and has only one safety deep in bracket coverage on Malcolm Wiliams at the top of the screen, with the defensive back over Shipley in the slot showing blitz, then retreating into coverage.

The weakside linebacker comes on a delayed blitz, while McCoy drops back showing pass.

McCoy sells the pass well, something he doesn't always do well on quarterback draws, then heads towards the line of scrimmage, while Chris Hall and Charlie Tanner release upfield to block. Michael Huey can't maintain his block and the defensive tackle appears to have a play on McCoy.

Huey ends up releasing his defender just long enough to avoid a holding penalty, then gets him to the ground as McCoy goes by. Chris Hall cut blocks a linebacker in the open field, leaving McCoy with only a defensive back to beat to make a big play.

MCoy takes a glancing blow from the defensive back as three other Aggies converge on him -- perhaps the most underrated part of McCoy's game right now is his combination of strength and balance. There aren't many ways in which comparisons between McCoy and Vince Young are valid, but McCoy's ability to pause and gather himself for a minute to use an opponent's momentum against him is positively Vince Young-esque and it makes McCoy extremely difficult to take down in the open field, as the Aggies learned on Thursday night. Notice as well the fine blocking of Malcolm Williams at the top of the screen.

As McCoy escapes the group of Aggie defenders, there is nothing but open field in front of him for 25-30 yards or more.

Unfortunately, Malcolm Williams works too hard blocking on the play, catching Justin McQueen in the back relatively unnecessarily. On the broadcast, Chris Fowler notes that Williams didn't need to block McQueen at all on the play because he wasn't going to catch McCoy, but that is questionable. In the end, it isn't a terrible block in the back by Williams, as he has one hand on the front of McQueen's shoulder and his other hand barely in McQueen's back -- a good call, but a close one. McCoy gets inside the 25 yardline on the play, which would have made it a 54-yard run by McCoy, but the penalty brings the ball back to the Aggie 45, reducing it to a 43-yard run by the Texas quarterback.

1st and 10 Texas A&M 45

The Longhorns bring EBS onto the field in their 11 personnel package to do what he does best -- provide that nice blocking surface. Of course, bringing him onto the field at this point also telegraphs a run.

The Aggies don't necessarily anticipate the run though, as one of the two deep safeties sells out down the field without even reading his keys. The Longhorns run what looks like the power play (though it isn't blocked like most power plays) they've begun using in recent weeks but that familiar, oft-bumbling duo of Hall and Charlie Tanner rear their ugly heads, as both miss badly on their blocks, leaving two free defenders in the backfield. Newton avoids Tanner's man, but gets forced outside where the pursuit of the Aggie defense stops him for a two-yard loss.

2nd and 12 Texas A&M 47

After the failed running play, the Longhorns bring Dan Buckner back onto the field in an obvious passing situation. Annoyingly, the bottom receiver is not on the screen once again because of the poor angle the cameras have at Kyle Field. Notice that the Aggies have only two down linemen, with Von Miller and another Aggie standing at the line of scrimmage. Notice as well that the linebackers are playing only three yards off of the line of scrimmage.

The reason for the linebackers' proximity to the line of scrimmage becomes immediately apparent -- they're both blitzing. The Longhorn offensive line does a good job of picking up the blitzers, as does Tre' Newton, but the two Texas tackles do a poor job with the speed rushers off the edge, particularly Adam Ultatoski matched against Von Miller, who gets by the big senior before Ulatoski can really even get his hands on him.

McCoy steps up in the pocket and attempts to deliver the pass to Shipley as he gets hit, but the pass comes out just as Shipley is coming out of his break -- too late on this play. Had McCoy read the depth of the linebackers at the snap as a blitz look, he might have made the adjustment with Shipley to run his route with less depth. Instead, it's third and long for the Longhorns.

3rd and 12 Texas A&M 47

The Longhorns stay in their 10 personnel look, with Dan Buckner remaining on the field for this crucial third down. Notice that A&M once again has their linebackers extremely close to the line of scrimmage, signaling another blitz.

This time, Ulatoski gets his hands on Miller and the rest of the line does an equally good job of picking up the blitz. Tre' Newton deserves special mention once again for his effort. McCoy has time in the pocket to scan the field.

The good protection allows McCoy to hit a relatively slow developing route -- a seven-yard in by Kirkendoll, who has one defender, known on this play as RAS #1 -- Random Aggie Scrub #1 -- to pick up the first down

Since McCoy hits Kirkendoll on time and in stride, he allows his receiver to make a spin move up the field and elude RAS #1, who apparently thinks he is playing flag football and tries to grab Kirkendoll's towel. Unfortunately for RAS #1 and all the military wanna be's out in the crowd, RAS #1 is not playing flag football, but rather football of the tackling variety. Oops!

Kirkendoll takes the edge against RAS #2, seen here trailing the play, while RAS #3 tries to cut off his angle as the Longhorn receiver heads inside of the Buckner "block." I'm using the term block here loosely.

RAS #3, seen here convingly playing the role of a slow white linebacker, flails about helplessly against the much faster player as RAS #4 tries to catch Kirkendoll flat-flooted. Hmm, doesn't look like he has the hips to be a cornerback. Oops!

Having left nearly half the Aggie defense, random scrubs all, in his tracks, Kirkendoll has an easy jaunt to the end zone to complete his 47-yard touchdown catch. One thing though, Kirk -- could you throw your horns up when you score a touchdown instead of just pointing at people/things?

Final Totals

Five plays, 78 yards, 1:34 expired. One of three passing for McCoy for 47 yards and a touchdown, with both incomplete passes intended for Jordan Shipley and neither one catchable. One catch for 47 yards and a touchdown for Kirkendoll, along with four Random Aggie Scrubs beat on the play. One carry for a loss of two yards by Tre' Newton, who also had two excellent blitz pick ups on the drive. One missed pass block each for Adam Ulatoski and Kyle Hix. Two good blitz pick ups by the interior line and good pass blocks from Ulatoski and Hix on the same play. One missed run block apiece by Chris Hall and Charlie Tanner. One good cut block in space by Chris Hall.

Final Verdict

As mentioned in the lengthy Context section, this was an extremely important drive for the Longhorns. Not only had the Aggies roared back from the earlier 35-21 deficit, but the Longhorn offense had struggled in the second half with the exception of the second drive on which Texas ran every play. On the other three drives, the Longhorns had been stopped on downs and had two three and outs. Not good enough.

The major point here is that Texas responded, giving themselves some breathing room and, though they didn't allow the defense much of a break with such a short drive in terms of time elapsed from the clock, it did give the defense more margin for error, which they quickly proved they neeed.

In terms of playcalling, the run on first down was obvious after bringing in Greg Smith and the empty set on the first play begged the Aggies to bring a blitz and force a quick pass -- the empty set doesn't seem to have any advantage over the 10 personnel package with Buckner in the flex tight end role, especially since Tre' Newton does so well picking up the blitz. Ditch it. The quarterback draw was an excellent playcall, however, and caught one linebacker bailing out in coverage and the other an a blitz.

The touchdown pass to Kirkendoll was certainly an effective call, but the offensive line and Newton deserve most of the credit on the play for picking up the blitz and giving McCoy a perfect pocket from which to throw. As expected given the time, McCoy delivered the pass perfectly and Kirkendoll showed yet again why the coaching staff did an excellent job challenging him after the Oklahoma game with his benching and forcing him to earn his playing time. Challenging him, along with switching him to his more natural position outside, has lit a fire under Kirkendoll and has led to the break-out performances over the last several games that everyone expected much earlier in the season. The junior from Round Rock is now a serious threat and McCoy's confidence in him seems to grow every week -- that's extremely encouraging for the offense moving forward.

Combine that with emergence of Malcolm Williams as a downfield threat and this offense is hitting on just about every cylinder right now, although the struggles early in the second half illustrate that there is still room to grow with more than a month of practice left to do so. If Alabama and Florida fans aren't a little bit scared by that thought, they should be.

Anatomy of Explosion: Four Plays, 76 Yards Against Kansas

GhostofBigRoy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:39:10 -0000

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

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Context

After a three and out on the first possession offensively highlighted by John Chiles running onto the field late on the first play, causing an offensive linemen to false start after being set for far too long and another mistake by Chiles when he failed to run the proper route, earning himself an earful of criticism from his quarterback, the Texas defense forced a three and out by the Kansas offense, highlighted by Chykie Brown's sack on third down. Then, Clark Ford earned himself a membership in the Block Party by deflecting the subsequent punt, but Kansas was fortunate enough to get a big bounce after the block, with the ball rolling all the way down to the Texas 24 yardline.

With nearly half the first quarter already expired, the Longhorns needed to establish some offensive momentum and begin gaining separation from the Jayhawks. The first order of business -- banishing John Chiles to the bench after his poor performance on the first drive. The second order of business -- continuing to throw the football against an overmatched secondary and getting the ball in the hands of offensive playmakers. Surprisingly, James Kirkendoll should now be included in that group after solid play of late.

The Plays

1st and 10 Texas 24

The Longhorns open their second drive of the game in the empty set. For the purposes of this play, the important players are at the top of the screen -- Jordan Shipley in the slot and Marquise Goodwin split wide. Kansas is playing nickel with two deep safeties and the boundary corner at the top of the screen well off Goodwin -- the perfect time for a screen pass.

It is indeed a screen pass to Goodwin. Notice that the four Kansas down linemen all sold out on their pass rush, while three Texas offensive linemen released into the flat to block for the freshman speedster, setting up a 4-on-3 situation with the three Kansas defenders on that side of the field -- the cornerback, safety, and Will linebacker. If Charlie Tanner can block the linebacker and Chris Hall can block the safety, the play should work.

Tanner doesn't get a great block on the linebacker, but does well enough to allow Goodwin to get past him. Notice #90, Maxwell Onyegbule, the older brother of potential 2011 target Miles Onyegbule, who may well become one of the first members of the 2011 recruiting class, pursuing Goodwin with an angle on the world-class athlete. Notice, as well, the safety Justin Thornton just in front of Dan Buckner, who will also take an excellent angle on the play. However, the most important player at this point is Chris Hall, who must lay the block on the safety to spring Goodwin. Hall does, doing a good job of cutting the safety and knocking him off his feet.

There's Onyegbule, who almost catches Goodwin, with the advantage of a running start and the angle -- still, though, extremely impressive for a 250-pound defensive end. Ultimately, though Onyegbule can't bring Goodwin down, he probably slows him down just enough for the cornerback Shipley blocked earlier, Daymond Patterson, and Thornton to eventually catch up with him.

Patterson catches up Goodwin first -- and Goodwin may have picked up more yardage on the play had Shipley held his block longer, though he did his job more than adequately, but Goodwin stiff arms the defender behind him while still maintaing his forward momentum to help him pick up 34 yards by the end of the play.

The stiff arm is my favorite part of the play and it's worth saying again, even though it's just about played out now -- Marquise Goodwin is a football player, not a track guy playing football. A quick aside -- re-watching part of the Oklahoma State game the other day on the airplane, Goodwin came in on a crack-back block that probably wasn't even called by the coaches since it's something Texas rarely if ever does, and laid a lick on a linebacker to allow Cody Johnson to get the edge. Kid will mix it up.

1st and 10 Kansas 42

The Longhorns bring in Cody Johnson and EBS in their 11 personnel grouping, while Malcolm Williams also comes on the field as the split end. Notice that Kansas has a linebacker matched up against Shipley in the slot and is walking the safety on Williams' side of the field up into the box expecting a run from Johnson.

In all likelihood, there was a running play called, especially since Texas hadn't called a run on any of the first four plays from scrimmage. McCoy probably checks out of the run when he sees the safety walking up to the line of scrimmage and the cornerback well off of Williams. Notice that the Texas offensive line still run blocks on the play, which may slow down the cornerback going against Williams if the cornerback is pattern matching and reading the EMLOS (End Man on the Line Of Scrimmage), a common tactic in that coverage. In this case, though, the cornerback is watching Williams all the way and comes up to make the play, but not before Williams picks up almost three yards.

2nd and 7 Kansas 40

Texas stays with the 11 personnel group, with Cody Johnson on the left side of McCoy. Notice that Kansas has once again walked their safety up into the box with the three linebackers, giving Kansas an 8-on-6 advantage against the run.

For whatever reason, McCoy doesn't check out of the run this time and Johnson gets the hand off on the pseudo counter. Hey, let's play a fun game! It's called, "Where's Cody?" Much like "Where's Waldo," this game involves finding Johnson in the teeming mass of players at the line of scrimmage. Give up? Yeah, I don't really know where he is either, but he didn't get far, losing one yard on the play.

3rd and 9 Kansas 41

Surprisingly, the Longhorns stay in with their 11 personnel grouping, even keeping Johnson out on the field. For Kansas, it should be an indication that the Longhorns plan to throw the ball down the field, as this is basically a maximum protection look in a situation where they normally bring Dan Buckner into the game at flex tight end. Notice that Kansas is in nickel, with two deep safeties, while the cornerbacks give James Kirkendoll and Shipley big cushions.

Kansas only brings four, so both Greg Smith and Cody Johnson release on their routes, but the important player here is Kirkendoll at the bottom of the shot. It's hard to see in a picture, but Kirkendoll is chopping his feet, selling a hitch route or comeback and the cornerback comes out of his backpedal and begins breaking on the play, jumping the route. Here's another look a split second later:

That's Kirkendoll at the bottom right, accelerating past the flat-footed defender.

The defender attempts to recover, but Kirkendoll has the necessary separation and McCoy hits him in stride for a 41-yard touchdown pass and the lead, 7-0. Notice that the safety stopped backpedalling as soon as Kirkendoll began chopping his feet and took away the inside route, but didn't stay deep enough to remain over the top against the double move, leaving only fake plastic grass in front of Kirkendoll after he beat the cornerback.

Final Totals

Four plays, 76 yards, 1:34 expired. McCoy completed three passes for 77 yards, one to Goodwin for 34 yards, one to Williams for two yards, and one to Kirkendoll for 41 yards. Cody Johnson ran the ball once for a loss of a yard. Two good blocks on the screen by Charlie Tanner (less so) and Chris Hall (more so).

Final Verdict

The drive generated momentum for Texas and got the Kansas defense on their heels, setting the stage for future dominance. Long, sustained drives may tire a defense, but a drive featuring one or more explosive plays demoralizes the defense and highlights the separation in terms of talent between the teams. Though Kansas commendably didn't give up, as they could have given the circumstances surrounding their head coach, a team with less mental toughness, like, say, Texas A&M, might have started to doubt and started to give less then full effort.

The drive also highlighted some excellent playcalling by the much-maligned Greg Davis, who made an excellent call on the screen to Goodwin, then saw something on film ($) against Kansas he exploited with the pass to Kikendoll:

We called it third-and-medium. They were really down-and-distance conscious, so we wanted to call a pump-and-go the first chance we got on third-and-medium. We called a pump route for Kirkendoll. He ran a great route, and Colt really laid it in there.

From the sound of it, Davis was just waiting to call the play, knowing it was almost guaranteed to be a success. It was and the play got the Longhorn offensive juggernaut rolling on the night and it wouldn't slow down much until the late stages of the game, after the outcome had long been decided.

Back to the Goodwin play -- not only did the Longhorns have favorable match ups with the cornerback and safety on that side of the field well off the ball, but it got the ball to Goodwin in a position to make a play, something the Longhorns haven't done enough of in recent weeks. And guess what, it worked. Later in the game, McCoy took a shot downfield to Goodwin and though the pass wasn't completed, it's still the type of play Texas should run to Goodwin once or twice a game. He hasn't hooked up yet with McCoy on a long pass this season, but when he does, it will probably go for a touchdown regardless of where on the field the ball was snapped.

Since Greg Davis believes in taking what the defensive gives him, it's no surprise that Texas didn't run the ball much early in the game, as Kansas often loaded up the box, as they did on two plays on this drive. Combined with what Davis saw as a susceptible secondary and it resulted in a lot of throws early in the game. It's not clear why Kansas was so worried about the run, but if teams sit back with two safeties deep in a nickel, the Longhorns should be able to run the football enough against anyone to keep the chains moving.

Postgame React: Texas Buries Kansas 51-20, Improves To 11-0

Peter Bean — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:33:20 -0000

More photos » by Erich Schlegel - AP

27 days ago: Texas quarterback Colt McCoy (12) walks a victory lap after the Texas Longhorns beat Kansas 51-20 in the NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. McCoy also set a NCAA Division I record for most wins as a starting quarterback (43). (AP Photo/Erich Schlegel)

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The outcome was: fantastic. Though Texas has for some time been locked into "win and they're in" territory, even now not all wins are created equal. We're 11 wins deep into this thing, and tonight's punishing win over the Jayhawks might be my favorite to date (OU excepted, always).The offense turned in its most encouraging performance, the defense got a healthy test from Kansas' strong receiving corps, and -- I'm damn happy to say -- the seniors walk out of DKR one last time, having played well, won impressively, and remaining on track to achieve all their goals.

As noted in the celebration thread: this is as good as I've felt about the team all year. Join me after the jump to discuss.

COLT MCCOY

We can't say what his final legacy will be until the season ends, because the only thing he's missing are rings. First and foremost, I hope he gets the conference championship he was robbed of last year. And of course, if he leads Texas to a national title in Pasadena, he joins Vince Young atop the Texas pantheon -- the absolute best of the best.

Even if the team falls short of that goal, it is remarkable to reflect on just how many games he's won; if his predecessor were anyone else, we would by this time have forgotten what it is like to be quarterbacked by anyone other than Colt McCoy. An NCAA record 43 career wins, 3 of them against Oklahoma. Every passing record in the books. He's a great kid and fine representative of the university and football program. And he's earned everything that he's accomplished.

Fittingly, I thought tonight's performance was his best of the season. He completed 32 of 41 passes for 396 yards, 4 TDs, and 0 INTs. Though he fumbled once and took three sacks, they were the result of McCoy having his most active game of the season -- the good kind of chaos, in which he uses his feet to scramble, extend plays, and break down defenses. Removing the 3 sacks and 11 yards lost on them, he rushed 9 times for 40 yards. He wasn't his most accurate throwing the ball tonight, but he was absolutely at his best as a playmaker, mixing short, intermediate, and long passes across multiple receivers: 10 completions to Shipley (108 yards), 6 to Malcolm (103 yds), 8 to Kirkendoll (86), 3 to Newton (36), 2 apiece to Goodwin (34) and Chiles (16), and 1 to Buckner (13).

It was his best performance of the year. Congratulations to a damn fine quarterback.

OFFENSE

Texas racked up 532 yards of total offense on an outstanding 6.5 yards per play, picking up 29 first downs overall and converting 9 of their 15 third downs. The Horns rushed 37 times for 151 yards (sacks excluded), led by Tre Newton's impressive 12 carry, 66-yard (1 TD) performance. The ground game was modest, but it was sufficient: Texas needn't be a strong running team, but it must commit to rushing the ball for the good of the passing game. We've been seeing much more of that in the five games since OU, and it's no accident that McCoy's numbers have improved:

Colt McCoy, first 6 games: 156-223 (69.9%) for 1,537 yards, 11 TDs, 7 INTs
Colt McCoy, last 5 games: 130-169 (76.9%) for 1,477 yards, 12 TDs, 2 INTs

In this regard, the commitment to rushing the ball isn't even about doing so successfully -- the 3-4 yards per carry the staff apparently seeks is actually fine. So long as Texas runs with sufficient purpose that defenses cannot completely ignore it, the mission is accomplished. The real prize is the boost that commitment provides to the passing game -- in particular, with play action. Whether he was saving his good stuff for mid-season, or just slow to figure it out -- an indictment either way -- Greg Davis has gone bonkers using play action the past five games. And it's working. Well. More, please.

On a related note: Davis is doing some really nice things in this belated diversification of the offense. In focusing on the need to improve the vertical passing game, we mostly focus on it as an end unto itself, but there are ripple effects from regularly attempting intermediate and long passes, including an opening up of enough space to strategically use short passes as runs. Without the deep passes, there's no room for it to work, but as the field gets stretched and defenses align to cover larger swaths of the field, there are opportunities to hit designed passes that have little-to-no big gain potential but are valuable as a boost to a mediocre rushing team.

McCoy's not the only one who's gotten it together since OU: what about the performances we've seen from James Kirkendoll the past three weeks? The junior wideout contributed 5 catches for 40 yards and a TD against UCF, 6 catches for 43 against Baylor, and 8 for 86 and 2 TDs tonight against Kansas. For a guy whose season-defining moment had been his Killebrew imitation, he's clearly gotten his head on straight and done what he needed to in practice. Most of us groaned when it was announced Kirk would replace Goodwin as a starter, but he's made the most out of the opportunity. That's all you can ask, and it's great seeing him out there working well with McCoy.

I'm almost afraid to say it because I'm terrified I'll jinx it, but Malcolm Williams is... emerging. Ignoring the Baylor game (in which we barely tried to pass at all), the outrageously athletic wideout has been consistently productive: 5 catches for 53 yards against Missouri, 2 for 55 (1 TD) against the Pokes, 5 for 67 against UCF, and 6 for 103 (1 TD) tonight. It's taken awhile, but as the passing offense diversifies to involve Goodwin, Kirkendoll, and Williams, the offensive attack is starting to have some real bite. For all the deserved criticism he's received this year, Greg Davis' extreme increase in the use of play action passing has this offense approaching its potential. If that trend continues, Malcolm will continue to find the end zone.

The season-long game of musical running-backs has been hilarious, and makes ridiculous any attempt to discuss it meaningfully. We opened the season with McGee, went to Newton, dabbled with Fozzy, changed to Cody, and now return to Newton. Would you even blink if Jeremy Hills was announced as next week's starter?

All that said, it looks like the coaches are settling in on Tre Newton as The Guy. While for the most part it still seems like Texas can plug-n-play with anyone and get roughly the same results, I like the move. Newton has the speed and agility to break runs Big Cody will not, and a toughness and downhill running style that separates him a bit from Whittaker. The bottom line is that Newton is the only tailback who is proving solid in all four aspects of the position: downhill running, speed to break a run, pass blocking, and receiving. He's like my boy Ogbonnaya with slightly better top-end speed: not particularly flashy, consistently productive, versatile, and strong as a finisher. Given our modest aims as a rushing team, that's the guy we want.

Turning to the O-Line: To be honest, I've been too busy (and maybe a little fat and happy with our commanding position) to sit down and re-watch our last three games, so I can't offer much more than just general observations picked up from live viewing. But this much I'll say: things are better than they've been all season.

As for rush blocking, there's no question it's better. You wouldn't put it on a video and try to sell it, but it's better. Last week I had to do a double-take when a replay revealed Michael Huey and Chris Hall perfectly executing zone blocking -- doubling the tackle at the snap before Huey quickly released upfield to get his hat on a linebacker. Our pulling guards on misdirection are finding guys to block. If this is the line performance Texas will get at A&M and, especially, against Nebraska, I'll feel great about not having to worry that the offense could suffer some sort of season-spoiling meltdown.

[Edit: Most everyone I've talked to since the game thought the line played poorly. As noted in the comments, I watched at a bar with friends and didn't watch terribly closely, so take my observation with a grain of salt. I'd have to re-watch to offer anything substantive. --PB--]

DEFENSE

Though they didn't dominate the stat sheet like they have of late, let's start with a salute to the two senior starters on the defensive line -- Sergio Kindle and Lamarr Houston. Though Kindle gets most of the attention, as the career of Lamarr Houston draws to a close, he's not only my favorite Longhorn on the team (that's been true for a long while now), but he joins Casey Hampton as my favorite Longhorn defender of all time. While I'm certain that loving an average defensive tackle might not be the most rewarding fan experience, there is nothing I enjoy more than watching a great one wreak havoc -- and especially when the big guy is someone you also admire as a person. The best DTs can uniquely impact a game and utterly destroy the strength of the opposing offense. I've watched Hampton do it for 15 years with the Longhorns and Steelers, and I couldn't be more pleased with the exceptional quality of Houston's senior season. That he was perhaps the team's best defensive end as a sophomore just makes it -- and him -- all the more amazing.

No fanboy salutes for Kindle and Rod Muckelroy, but no less fond a DKR farewell. They're both guys who had to battle to get to this level of senior success, though in different ways. Kindle arrived on campus overflowing with athletic talent, but raw as a football player -- a weakness that was only compounded by ankle trouble that slowed his development. But by all accounts he is a humble, hard worker, and when the perfect coach showed up his junior year, he had put himself in a position to take advantage of it. Amazingly, he's still pretty damn raw, but no one plays harder, and whatever short-term setbacks he faces as the difficulty elevates in the pros, that room to grow will prove a good thing. If he stays healthy, he can get there as a Sunday starter.

For his part, Muckelroy all but had to have his finger amputated when early in his sophomore season he severed a nerve. It is practically unfathomable to imagine an athlete that good having to sit on the sidelines because of a numb finger, but he bode his time, kept preparing, and closed his career fulfilling the promise he showed early on. A string of nagging injuries have held him back from having the gaudy senior season he's capable of, but as he returns to full health, he'll be as important as anyone on the entire defense if/when Texas matches up with Alabama or Florida.

It's hard to be anything but sappy about all of these guys, because everyone's so clearly worked so hard and contributed to the team so selflessly, and that goes for Deon Beasley, as well. It was Beasley -- not Chykie Brown -- who got put on the fast track as a freshman, but after he struggled with the big play as a sophomore and underestimated the importance of physical play as a junior, he lost his starting job to younger talent. Aaron Williams, Chykie Brown, and Curtis Brown haven't relinquished those spots, yet the demotion wasn't the death knell for Beasley, either. It would have been easy for Beasley to look at his impending graduation and his diminished role and coast to the finish line, but he clearly did just the opposite: though his role is more limited, when he's been out there he has played physically and hungry. It not only says something good about his character, but if Texas suffers an injury down the stretch, Beasley has shown he's ready to play. Heavy applause, sir.

Last but not least, I hope Ben Alexander is as proud of himself as we the fans are of him. When asked over and over on radio interviews this summer about the defensive line (the unit's presumed Achilles' heel), my go-to line that I repeated time and again was that "Alexander isn't much more than a situational space eater." But when the season started, there was Alexander, regularly rotating into the line, visibly slimmer and demonstrably quicker. And he has now played in all 11 games this season -- including one start -- accumulating 27 tackles and 7 tackles for loss. Texas needed Ben Alexander this year, and he put in the work to ready himself to contribute. Congrats, big fella.

He's not a senior, but the way he's playing football, I think we have to ask whether Earl Thomas is NFL-bound. Earlier in the season, I hung my hat on his diminutive size masking from scouts just how good he really is, but he's been so utterly exceptional over the past six games that it's becoming harder and harder to believe the secret's not out. I trust that Muschamp will help him make the decision that's best for him, but if the pro scouts are on to his excellence, "what's best for him" may, gulp, mean "going pro after this year."

Thomas was brilliant again tonight, whether shedding blocks to make a tackle before the marker, smothering Kerry Meier in coverage (5.1 yards per reception), or making another great play with the ball in the air to snatch a turnover. Again, he's just playing too well to be a secret. This is not a complaint.

Curtis Brown got his first taste of an NFL-caliber receiver since whats-his-name caught that pass at the end of regulation last year, and it wasn't terribly pretty tonight. I mentioned at the outset that I thought Kansas' success in the passing game was healthy: as thoroughly as this defense has dominated almost every opponent this year, I'm not opposed to a challenge providing a spark to keep everyone focused on improving. Curtis is so quick and athletic that he's capable of defending 98% of college receivers without worrying too much about technique, but Briscoe is not among them. The senior wideout repeatedly worked Brown with inside moves and then surprised him with his professional grade strength and speed. For the team and for Curtis: a good lesson and motivation to keep working.

SPECIAL TEAMS

I was away from the television for the kickoff return so I haven't had a good look at what went wrong, but kickoff coverage had been solid the previous five games and outside Briscoe's touchdown we held Jayhawks returners to a perfectly acceptable 19 yards per return. Texas only punted twice, one of which was returned for 32 yards, so I'd expect that'll be a point of emphasis in the coming week of practice. Given the overall strength of the kickoff and punt games on the season, I'm not going to lose much sleep over it, at least until there appears to be something systemically wrong. I didn't get a good look at either return live.

The big story on special teams to me was Hunter Lawrence, who buried kicks from 49, 47, and 35 yards out, raising his season totals to 8-of-9 from 40-49 yards and 7-of-7 from 30-39 yards. All told, Hunter has knocked through 20 of his 23 kicks, and among the three misses, only one is his fault -- a 28-yarder he jerked to the left; the other two were a miss from outside 50 yards and a block. Lawrence is 52-of-53 on PATs. Bottom line: if Texas finds itself in a game that comes down to a Lawrence field goal try, I like our chances. The senior has been absolutely nails all year long.

And with that, I'm out, with a short week before us until the final regular season game at A&M, who cost me a bottle of whisky by whipping the Bears today. I hope we beat 'em by 50.

Anatomy of Momentum: Scoring After the Fourth-Down Stop

GhostofBigRoy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:38:31 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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The Context

Will Muschamp talks a lot about his defense responding to sudden-change situations, calling his players "firemen" when coming onto the field after an offensive turnover. For the offense, the idea is similar, though instead of stopping the opposing team from generating momentum by scoring after a sudden change, the offense intends to consolidate momentum established by the defense with a turnover or a fourth-down stop.

Taking a calculated risk on his own 44 yardline, Art Briles went for it on fourth down on Bayor's second possession, hoping to establish some momentum for the Bears, down 7-0 10 minutes into the game. The Texas defense, having game-planned for the Baylor quick snap on fourth down -- they had seen it on film against Missouri -- did an excellent job of stopping the quarterback sneak, with the defensive line winning the battle at the point of attack to allow Dustin Earnest, who played well replacing the injured Roddrick Muckelroy, to make the first-down saving tackle, giving Texas the ball at the Baylor 44, seeking to consolidate momentum.

The Plays

1st and 10 Baylor 44

Texas lines up in 11 personnel, with EBS on the right side of the line and Cody Johnson on the right side of Colt McCoy. John Chiles is the split end, while James Kirkendoll and Jordan Shipley are at the top of the screen at the slot and flanker positions, respectively. Baylor has two deep safeties, three down linemen, three linebackers, and five defensive backs on the field. Since the Bears are worried about not giving up deep passes, Texas has favorable conditions to run the ball.

Key Shot

Greg Davis dusts off the counter read play that was the staple of the now-defunct WildHorn formation. Once again, the strange thing about this play is that the pulling guard, in this case Michael Huey, seen on the ground here, tries to block the read man, the linebacker standing on the left side of the Texas line. McCoy pulls the ball, as the read man gets upfield and Huey tries to block him instead of leading into the hole, where Adam Ulatoski and the pulling tackle, Kyle Hix, both get their blocks. Once again, the pulling guard tries to block the read man -- the guy optioned off on the play, the point of option football. The end result is that the backside linebacker Joe Pawelek, who could have been blocked by Huey had he led into the hole, ends up making the stop for a two-yard gain.

There's no misdirection in the play, so the offense must account for the backside linebacker, but fails to do so because of the strange obsession with blocking a player already eliminated from the play. Add to it the fact that since Texas started using his play, the pulling player has never sucessfully blocked the read man and it just doesn't make any sense to design the play that way -- Texas might as well just take an offensive lineman off the field, because the scheme effectively eliminates them from having any chance at success.

2nd and 8 Baylor 42

Texas stays in their 11 personnel look, with Kirkendoll and Shipley now at the bottom of the screen and EBS on the left side of the line, with Johnson moving to the left side of McCoy. Notice that Baylor stays in the same defensive look, with two safeties deep and big cushions on the Texas receivers, as well as three down linemen and three linebackers.

Key Shot

Texas runs at the weak side of the Baylor line, where they have only a defensive tackle and a linebacker. It's the inside zone play and notice that Chris Hall moved the defensive tackle three yards off the line of scrimmage, but lost his balance and is now being shed by the defensive tackle, who will eventually make the play. Notice also that the play is pretty well blocked, except that Tray Allen, on the ground in front of the linebacker Pawelek, failed to execute his cut block in space. Johnson picks up three yards.

3rd and 5 Baylor 39

As has been the case for the last several weeks, Dan Buckner enters the game on obvious passing downs, coming in for EBS. Notice that Jordan Shipley is now at split end, with the Baylor defensive back coming up in press coverage. In their two-deep safety look, it appears that Baylor has bracket coverage on Shipley.

Key Shot

Actually, the Baylor cornerback is one-on-one with Shipley, as the left safety turns his shoulders to look inside at the snap -- a strange call by the Baylor defensive coordinator. Shipley beats the cornerback at the line of scrimmage and McCoy delivers a perfect strike to his long-time friend, giving him the opportunity to go up and get the football, which he does. The play goes for 21 yards and a first down.

1st and 10 Baylor 18

This is the only screenshot available, as FSN misses most of the play as the Longhorns go jet tempo. Texas did, however, appear to substitute, as that looks like EBS at the top left of the screen. It also looks like the Longhorns were man blocking on the play, as the offensive line moved the line of scrimmage about 4-5 yards downfield, allowing Johnson an easy gain of five yards on the play.

2nd and 5 Baylor 13

The Longhorns stay in 11 personnel, with EBS on the right side of the line and Shipley and Kirkendoll split wide at the top of the screen, with Chies at split end. Johnson is on the left side of McCoy. Baylor shifts out of their two-deep safety look for the first time on the drive, with a single-high safety on this play. The Bears do stay with their three-down look and a linebacker standing at the line of scrimmage, with either three other linebackers on the field or a safety lined up as a linebacker.

Key Shot

Given the nature of the Texas offense, it's highly possible, and in fact highly probable, that Texas comes to the line of scrimmage with a running play called. Since Baylor has seven men in the box, a look they haven't shown much in the early part of the game, McCoy probably checks into a quick throw outside, as there is no safety on the wide side of the field. The pass goes out to Shipley, who simply has to beat his man and receive a good block from Kirkendoll to pick up a nice gain. Shipley doesn't exactly beat his man, but gets by him enough to pick up seven yards. Much maligned for his blocking earlier in the season, Kirkendoll demonstrates the blocking effort that has helped him regain his starting role.

1st and Goal Baylor 6

Once again, the Longhorns go jet tempo and under center, while the FSN production crew misses the start of the play. It's the inside zone play and Baylor doesn't look like they were able to get set particularly well.

Key Shot

The Longhorn offensive line wins at the point of attack, as Hall does an excellent job of turning the shoulders of the defensive tackle in a combo block with Huey, then gets to the second level to block Pawelek. Johnson has a gaping hole to run through and simply has to knock Jordan Lake backwards, which he does, to find the end zone. Six yards on the touchdown run for Johnson and the Longhorns go up 14-0.

Final Totals

Six plays, 44 yards, 2:08 expired. McCoy completed two passes for 28 yards, both caught by Jordan Shipley, while picking up two yards on one carry. Three carries for 14 yards and a touchdown by Cody Johnson. Two good blocks by Hall and one good block on the perimeter by Kirkendoll.

Final Verdict

The Longhorns did an excellent job of consolidating momentum by marching down the field after stopping the Bears on fourth down. At this point in the game, after scoring on two of their first three possessions and stopping Baylor twice, once at the goalline on the interception by Aaron Williams and the second time on the aforementioned fourth-down stop, any hope of springing an upset is essentially gone from minds of the Baylor team. In fact, Art Briles commented after the game that this group, being relatively young and inexperienced, just doesn't respond particularly well to adversity.

The offensive philosophy of Greg Davis was also apparent on this drive -- take what the defense gives you. Last week, Chip Brown and Sean Adams were discussing Davis on their radio show and Adams commented that all of the coaches he had played for generally tried to attack opponent weaknesses: any weak players, back ups who came in to replace injured starters, etc. Davis, however, places a higher value on letting the defense dictate where the ball should go, hence all the short passes out to wide receivers that operate as part of the running game. On this drive, Davis ran the ball some against the three down linemen of Baylor, but also took advantage of single coverage against Shipley to throw a pass farther down the field. The other pass on the drive was most likely a checkdown by McCoy once Baylor started to run the ball. Though the philosophy may let opponents dictate what the offense will do at times, this drive shows just how successful it can be to run the ball against weaker fronts and pass the ball against stronger fronts.

This drive also emphasized that the jet tempo offense, which generally features running plays from under center, has a place in the offense, as the touchdown appeared to catch Baylor before they were properly aligned and allowed some rare drive blocking on Johnson's second run. The Longhorns ran a bootleg pass and tried to throw a quick screen from the jet tempo offense, so Davis is also cognizant of breaking tendency at times to keep teams from teeing off on the run when Texas speeds it up and gets under center.

Snap Shots: Abject Stupidity, aka I-Formation From the One, Redux

GhostofBigRoy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:25:23 -0000

by Harry Cabluck - AP

It's a good thing Cody Johnson wasn't an injured Chris Ogbonnaya on this play. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

View full size photo »

Context

The only poor kickoff coverage of the day by Texas resulted in a 27-yard return out to the UCF 46 yardline, giving the Knights excellent field position. Though they were able to pick up a rare first down on an offsides penalty by Ben Alexander following a nine-yard run by Johnathan Davis, Texas forced a punt after a Lamarr Houston sack on third down. On the first play of the fourth quarter, UCF punter Blake Clingan kicked a 50-yard punt downed by the punt coverage unit at the Texas one yardline. Texas starts their possesion after marching 87 yards on 15 plays their previous possesion, culminating in the touchdown pass to James Kirkendoll after holding the ball for over six minutes.

Snap Shots

The play is either 24 or 26 Lead, meaning that the fullback will either go fill the four hole inside the left tackle or the six hole outside of the left tackle, with Johnson following his lead blocker into the hole. The main difference in the two plays is whether or not the playside tackle, Adam Ulatoski, decides to kick out the defender to create a running lane through the four hole, or if he tries to seal the defender inside. Given that the playside defensive end is lined up over the outside shoulder of Ulatoski, the left tackle should kick the defender out, opening up the four hole for Cobb to come through and pick up the playside linebacker, with Johnson following on his hip.

There are several important things to point out on this play. One, there are eight UCF defenders in the box, as they correctly expect Texas to run out of the rarely-used I formation. Second, the tight end is on the right side of the Texas line of scrimmage, the stronger side of the Longhorn line behind which they prefer to run. Predictably, the Knights shade their defense to that side of the field, with the middle and outside linebackers taking the A and C gaps on that side of the field, respectively, with the cornerback providing outside leverage and a safety also providing run support on that side of the formation. Third, notice that UCF defensive tackle Torrell Troup, an excellent player in his own right and one of the better defensive tackles Texas will face all season, is lined up over the left shoulder of Chris Hall, while the left guard, Charlie Tanner, is uncovered, giving him no one to block at the line of scrimmage. Lastly, there is also the fact that Johnson is closer to the back of the end zone than the front, as I-formation plays leave the tailback seven yards from the line of scrimmage.

Let's play a fun game -- it's called "Watch How Far Torrell Troup Can Push Chris Hall Into the Backfield!" Okay, maybe this game isn't so fun for Texas fans, but we're going to play it anyway, dammit. The compact Troup fires off the ball with excellent leverage, getting under the pads of the Texas center, who receives no help from Tanner, headed for the Mike backer. Chris Hall is currently more than a yard behind the line of scrimmage. Notice also that if the Longhorns had run a bootleg, the safety, a converted quarterback, is giving Jordan Shipley 12 yards of cushion.

Chris Hall is now two yards behind the line of scrimmage and comes fairly close to stepping on the foot of Colt McCoy leaving center -- not an entirely uncommon occurrence when a center gets so completely blown up at the snap of the football. Notice also that Ulatoski has just engaged the defensive end and is getting no push.

Returning to our fun little game, Chris Hall is now at least three yards behind the line of scrimmage -- that's nine feet. He's not exactly on the line of scrimmage when he hikes the ball, so it's really only fair to point out that Troup has only moved him six to seven feet backwards. See, it's really not so bad is it? Well, except for the fact that Hall has been pushed almost into Johnson shortly after his receives the football, slowing the big backs momentum and disrupting what little timing still exists with the play.

Notice also that Ulatoski has his shoulders turned, which would be fine if there was still a running lane through the four hole, but since Hall got pushed so far back, there isn't. Notice as well that Cobb doesn't really have an idea of what he's trying to do to the playside linebacker -- he's sort of cutting the guy, but doesn't leave his feet, but also doesn't really block the guy, as his left arm is just kind of dangling by his side, unused for, you know, actually blocking the guy. In fairness to Cobb, his day was otherwise, most notably including his two special teams tackles and a crunching block on Johnson's touchdown run over the left side of the line from the Jumbo package.

Chaos time! The chaos has officially begun on this play, as happens on so many plays when the timing gets off because one player is beat badly at the line of scrimmage. Even though Hall fights back against Troup enough to arrest his backwards movement, it's too late. Cobb, who decided not to use his hands to block the playside linebacker, loses his block, getting shed by the linebacker -- no surprise, since the linebacker didn't even really have to disengage to do so. Ulatoski, who failed to get any push on the playside defensive end, loses his block. Tanner, being Charlie Tanner, loses his block on the middle linebacker.

At this point, it's one on three -- Johnson must fight through the three UCF defenders to pick up a litle more than a yard to get the ball out of the end zone.

Johnson fights forward, nearing the goalline, but appearing just short on his second effort.

Fortunately for Texas, Johnson keeps on fighting, barely getting the ball out of the end zone with his third, and possibly fourth, effort.

Final Verdict

Um, haven't we all seen this movie before? The Longhorns get pinned near the goalline, go I formation, obviously a running package...Chris Hall gets blown up after snapping the ball...The Texas running back receives first contact deep in the goalline...Sounds like the Tech game last year doesn't it? Same situation, almost the same result, except this time the coaches manage to brilliantly avoid putting an injured running back in the backfield, instead using the biggest back they have. Credit them for that, at least.

Greg Davis indicated after the game that the Longhorns did receive the look they wanted as well, with UCF overloading the left side of the line, leaving the Longhorns evenly matched up on the other side. The only problem is that UCF overloaded the other side of the line because the left side does a poor job of getting push on running plays, particularly Ulatoski, who remains much stronger in pass protection than actually moving defenders backwards.

The real problem here is that the coaches didn't learn from their mistakes last season and failed to understand that another I-formation running play was vritually doomed to failure. Mack Brown indicated that the coaches have, after one safety and another near safety, finally learned their lesson:

The one that was ugly coming off the goal line that Cody saved us otherwise it would have been a safety was missed assignments up front.

So we didn't block it right and Greg and I have talked about it, we're foolish from the 6-inch line to take the ball and hand it to a tailback seven yards deep. That's just foolish.

It happened to us at Tech, and we're going to change that. So that's more on us as coaches than on the kids. I thought it was just not smart and we've got some different things we can do.

Obviously, that ends up being a 99-yard touchdown drive. It ended up being effective. But if they are going to wad em all up and we're going to line up a tailback seven yards deep in the backfield, let's learn from it and move forward. That's on us as coaches, even though there was a missed assignment.

Yes, Mack -- foolish, stupid, dumb, and idiotic are all apt descriptions of the play call. Davis, however, has a slightly different perspective on whether or not there was a missed assignment on the play:

We had a missed call on the first play that Cody did such a great job. We got the look we thought we'd get.

The guard (Charlie Tanner) had an option to bang what we call Lock It, and we didn't make that call, which left Chris Hall in a one-on-one situation, and Chris did a pretty good job of maintaining.

And if we weren't on the minus-1 yard line, Cody probably would have taken it back door. But because of where we were at, he just went front side.

The missed call probably falls on Hall himself, as the center is normally responsible for making the line calls. So the responsibility falls both on the coaches were putting the players in a bad position, and on the players for not making the proper call at the line and for failing to execute, as three players essentially missed their blocks, leading to Johnson having to fight through three defenders

The play illustrates the individual breakdown(s) that have occurred all too frequently this season along the offensive line. When it's not Hall, it's Tanner. When it's not Tanner, it's Michael Huey or David Snow. When it's not Huey or Tanner, it's Ulatoski. No player has been immune from significant individual failures at different times. The play also illustrates the major problem with man blocking -- it allows one-on-one that can lead to penetration and highlight individual failures in a manner that zone blocking covers up to some extent. Of course, had the right call been made and Tanner had double teamed Troup with Hall, the play would have had a much better chance for success.

The final point worth making here is that Texas is better served by play-action passing in those situations than running out of the I. Lining up four wide isn't a good idea either, so the compromise here is probably 11 personnel, running play action, and moving the pocket, as the Longhorns did on the following two plays, resulting in a big third-down conversion on a pass to Malcolm Williams.

In the Trenches - Answering the Call

burnt in ny — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:33:24 -0000

July 30 2009 - In a pre-season fanpost, I expressed the following concern for the upcoming season

As evidenced in last year's games against Oklahoma State and Ohio State, Texas's defense, which is increasingly designed to emphasize speed and quickness in order to match up with spread offenses, is vulnerable to power rushing attacks.

Numerous pre-season posts expressed anxiety about Texas' defensive tackles behind Lamarr Houston, who was an unknown commodity himself, such as perceived journeyman Ben Alexander and green redshirt sophomore Kheeston Randall. Visions of helpless collapses against power running teams in critical games filled everyone's heads. 2009 could be the year of Motown's Lamarr and the Space-Eaters against the blitzkriegs of Chris Brown, Kendall Hunter, Christine Michael, Tim Tebow, or Mark Ingram. The Horns might even have to use, gasp!, true freshmen Calvin Howell and Derek Johnson. The call went out by anxious UT fans for anyone, anyone to step up.

The Space Eaters - Ben Alexander (92) and Kheeston Randall (91)

Sure, UT could win 10 and maybe even make a BCS bowl (little did we know that there might be as many as 6 undefeated teams after 9 weeks in the 2009 season), but if it was the 2009 mythical national championship the Horns wanted, these guys had to step up.

Jimmy Hoffa, from the grave, "I need some nasty, beefy guys up front, and not ya cousin Guido. Whatevah it takes, capisce?!"

November 1, 2009. Basking in the glow of 41-14, the report is in: The call was ANSWERED!

For the details and more on the offensive line, Will Muschamp, and other tidbits, make the jump!

The Evolution of the Defensive Tackles: Space Eaters to Gap Monsters

No doubt, the Cowboys thought they could build on last year''s success and overpower the spread-ready Texas D. From the first offensive play, Oklahoma State's strategy was clear. Double the strongside DE (Acho or Kindle) with a tackle (Russell Okung or Brady Bond) and tight end Wilson Youman. Let Lamarr Houston penetrate into the play and have Keith Toston cut back behind a double team from guard Noah Franklin and center Andrew Lewis on the presumed sacrificial Kheeston Randall. Randall holds position with his shoulders underneath Lewis, and then when Franklin leaves to block Rodderick Muckelroy, he reaches out and slaps the ball out of Toston's hands, luckily recovered by Oklahoma State. OK, not exactly chopped liver, but it's one play.

On the first drive, powered largely by Zac Robinson's scrambling and a couple of trick plays, OSU ran some variation of the inside power run at Kheeston Randall 6 times. In the half they tried it 8 times The result: gains of 2, 2, 3, 1, 3, 4, 5, and 3 yards. That's a 3.8 ypc average if you're calculating at home. Not exactly 2008, when the Pokes averaged over 6 yards per carry. On all six runs, either Randall or Houston was able to slide off their block into the gap chosen by Toston, or were able to tie up two offensive linemen without losing ground for long enough to let Keenan Robinson or Roddrick Muckelroy make the tackle.

Even more interestingly, on the second drive, OSU abandoned the inside run almost completely (only two more inside runs the rest of the half) and instead began to attack Texas' corners. In the next 7 plays, 3 before and 4 after Jordan Shipley's fumbled punt, and ending the dropped fourth down pass in the end zone by Hubert Anyiam, OSU ran speed options to the outside or passed. They did not make a first down on either drive, and both Houston and Randall had QB pressures. Indeed, for most of the game the primary pressure on Zac Robinson was from either Houston or Randall.

This is worth taking a moment to appreciate. The play of the Longhorn defensive tackles, perceived to be a weakness at the beginning of the season by the fans and clearly also by Mike Gundy (otherwise why call 6 inside runs?) so completely defeats the OSU power running game that the Cowboys have to go to Game Plan B after the first drive. This shift in offensive philosophy eventually leaves Robinson vulnerable to the Texas secondary and perhaps provided the key to the blowout. While the Houtson-Randall-Alexander trifecta may not be composed of the best individual defensive tackles in the Big 12, they are good enough to stop the best power running team on the schedule without altering the defensive formation or changing personnel.

34 or 43: Which is the Magic Number?

The average fan is often aware of offensive formations (Wildhorn vs. empty set, etc.) but oblivious to details in defensive formations. Texas features a "Buck" package with Sergio Kindle as the "Buck" linebacker who can put a hand on the ground as a defensive end (to make a 4-3 alignment) or line up as a linebacker (to create a 3-4). The 3-4 alignment allows Will Muschamp to move Kindle around and create confusion in the blocking scheme. The success of the 3-4 alignment depends heavily on Texas having a strong presence at the nose, and Kheeston Randall filled that bill pretty well. A 3-4 defense is strongest against the pass because of the flexibility and uncertainty it creates for the offense in choosing routes and pass-blocking assignments. The 4-3 has the greatest potential against the run because the defensive tackles can take just one gap and penetrate and the linebackers are more protected.

In the Oklahoma State game, Texas switched regularly between the two alignments, and with largely the same personnel on the field. Although both fronts played well, there was a striking difference in OSU's performance against the two that highlights their strengths and weaknesses. Oklahoma State ran (not counting QB scrambles) against the 4-3 front 5 times in the first four drives, gaining 3 total yards (0.6 ypc). They ran against the 3-4 front 9 times, gaining 45 yards (5 ypc), with two runs accounting for 20 of the 45, including a 13 yard "jet sweep" by Travis Miller. On the other hand, Robinson passed against the 4-3 alignment 8 times, going 4-7 for 31 yards and an added 5 yard scramble (4.5 yards per play). Against the 3-4 front, Robinson threw five incompletions and had one scramble for 5 yards (0.8 yards per play). By the second quarter, Robinson was checking in and out of running plays to try to avoid running against the 4-3. Eventually, that caught up with him as he checked out of a run on 3rd and 2 from the Texas 30, only to throw the pick six to Curtis Brown.

The moral of these stats is that there will be a little cat and mouse game every week with opposing offenses trying to avoid running against the 4-3 and passing against the 3-4. The dominance of each defensive front against the offense it is designed to stop allows Texas to play against the offensive tendency, such as to expect a playaction pass on first down against its 4-3 or expect a run against its 3-4. Reducing an offense's playbook by half is a powerful defensive weapon.

Muschamp, You Wily Fox, You

Muschamp, the fox, playing with the mind of Zac Robinson. No chance, mouse: 41-14!

In going back over my notes and studying the tactics of both teams' playcalling, I'm convinced (without proof of course) that Muschamp baited Zac Robinson into Earl Thomas' interception. One of the great things about spread offenses is that receivers' routes are dictated by coverage, which allows the receiver to exploit the right seam or gap in the defense. However, I think that one of the reasons Texas' offense is struggling as much as it has this year is because defenses have now learned what choices receivers and QB's tend to make against particular formations. Defenses can now "show" one formation, know what choice a QB will make, and then run someone to that spot to jump the route. Against OSU, Earl Thomas began to run with the slot receiver, likely knowing that if he went with the receiver, Robinson would make the read to throw to the receiver running underneath to the area Thomas vacated. Knowing that, Earl released his man to Gideon deep and jumped the underneath route. If a defense gets to the point of responding to an offense's read rather than the actual player movements, then the offense will suffer the fate of the poor mouse in the photo, especially since there's no hole in the snow for an offense to hide.

Takin' it to the house!

Jekyll and Hyde, Version 2009.8

The offensive line that is. Frankly, I'm tired of analyzing the line's play because it's the same infuriating play every week. Any given individual along the line makes 3 great plays, 3 okay plays, and one really bad play. Against OSU, it was MOS. Chris Hall lets the defender get underneath him and thus enough penetration to trip Colt McCoy for a first down on 3rd and 2 in the red zone (Texas 3-0 instead of 7-0). Adam Ulatoski takes the wrong pass rusher and Colt takes a sack (end of drive). Charlie Tanner turns his head to the left and a blitzing LB goes by him to his right - sack and end of drive.

The good news is that, for the first time in three games, the OL was not physically overmatched at any time. The bad news is that this means it's all mental and after 140 collective starts or whatever it is, there shouldn't be this many mental errors. The offensive line is like an old house with faulty wiring: when you flip the switch, the light comes on most of the time, and good luck figuring out why it doesn't come on a few times. That said, GD had better be careful in how much he relies on only the core 5 offensive linemen to protect Colt. Five wide may be a nice change of pace, but an entire series of plays based on it, or using it on third and long, is going to get Colt injured or result in a turnover.

Greg Davis is a Genius

In an ode to GhostofBigRoy's call for series-based playcalling, I give you Texas' third drive against the Pokes at 14:25 of the second quarter. The previous (second) drive self-destructed from missed blocks by Greg Smith and Chris Hall and a failed run on first down, Colt throwing to a triple-covered Shipley for 3 yards when James Kirkendoll was 10 yards from anyone wide open 3 yards downfield on the opposite side of the play on second down, and a missed block by David Snow allowing Colt to get tripped up on a QB scramble.

With visions of Wyoming and Colorado dancing in the fans' heads, Texas started their third drive, after Hubert Anyiam's fumble, with three plays from 4 or 5 wide receiver sets. After overcoming a first down failure of the empty backfield and a sack of Colt, the Horns started first down on the OSU 38. The Horns, using their 11 personnel set with a running back and Greg Smith as the TE, ran the most beautiful series of running plays of the season.

1st down - Jet sweep to Marquise Goodwin (surprise, not DJ Monroe) for 7 yards.

2nd down - Spread counter to Cody Johnson up the middle for 7 yards. Charlie Tanner had awesome lead block.

1st down - Fake the jet sweep to the left and run Fozzy on a counter sweep to the right for 6 yards.

2nd down - Zone read, the DE crashes on Fozzy to seal the backcut, and Colt keeps for 6 yards.

1st down - Play action, fake the zone stretch left, Colt rolls out to the right and finds Marquise Goodwin in a seam vacated by Jordan Shipley's crossing route for 11 yards.

1st down - Jumbo package - Cody Johnson goes 2 yards and breaks the plane of the goal line - touchdown.

So the next time someone tells you that Texas has no running game, no misdirection, or no playaction passing, you can whip this out. The Horns have now used multiple plays to set up multiple other plays on the same drive, including in the running game. MORE OF THIS PLEASE!

Greg Davis goes from genius to imbecile on the same drive

It's the first drive of the second half. After the best playaction pass of the year for 44 yards to Malcolm Williams on a post pattern vacated, once again, by a Shipley crossing route underneath, Texas has the ball on the OSU 20. We're seconds away from 31-7 and good night ladies....

1st down - Cody Johnson on the zone stretch, cuts back inside and, with a good block from Buckner, gets 6 yards.

(Yeah, baby, pound it home!)

2nd down and 3 - Oops, OSU dances in front of Adam Ulatoski, threatening the blitz. Uli decides to tango. False start -5 yards.

2nd down and 8 - Davis can't get the play in in time AFTER A PENALTY &^&%&I. - 5 yards

2nd down and 13 - Let's call a play that hasn't worked all year against a defense that isn't blitzing. Shovel pass to Fozzy, who is clocked by an unblocked linebacker. - 4 yards

3rd down and 17 - Using 11 personnel (Okay, the Horns aren't running, it must be for max protect), Greg Smith runs out in the flat, Colt gets harassed and throws it to Smith for 5 yards.

4th down and 12 from the OSU 23 - Hunter Lawrence bails out the Horns with a 40-yard field goal.

What does it all mean?

Somehow, out of the flickering lights of GD's brain and the offensive line's attention span, Texas has a top offense that is going to look unstoppable on some series and infuriating on others. It is what it is, and I will officially stop complaining from now on and start appreciating it when the lights are fully on.