SB Nation User Blog: Denverjhawk

Kansas vs Nebraska Tale of the Tape

Denverjhawk — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:06:17 -0000

National

Conf

Actual

Category

Actual

Conf

National

Advantage

Rank

Nebraska

127.78

Rushing Offense

145.56

Kansas

303.78

Passing Offense

201.44

Kansas

431.56

Total Offense

347.00

Kansas

30.78

Scoring Offense

25.67

Nebraska

117.67

Rushing Defense

94.44

Nebraska

122.07

Pass Efficiency Defense

89.68

Nebraska

344.89

Total Defense

274.00

Nebraska

24.22

Scoring Defense

10.33

Kansas

34.70

Net Punting

34.24

Nebraska

6.33

Punt Returns

10.80

Kansas

21.55

Kickoff Returns

20.91

Kansas

-.22

Turnover Margin

Nebraska

227.22

Pass Defense

179.56

Kansas

137.11

Passing Efficiency

126.52

Nebraska

T-16

2.78

Sacks

Nebraska

T-30

6.89

Tackles For Loss

7.11

Nebraska

2.56

Sacks Allowed

1.33

Want the magical cure for an offense that suddenly can't score, can't move the ball and can't hold onto the football? It's not Nebraska. 9th in the country at getting to the quarterback, 2nd in the nation in scoring defense and 11th in total defense. None of these are good things. To make matters worse a Husker team that had EIGHT turnovers in one game still has a better overall turnover margin than our Jayhawks.

Amazingly Kansas' offense still looks good on paper, it's dwindling but the stats definitely don't tell the tale of the true struggling nature of this group. On the other side of the ball the defense continues to improve, a silver lining in a season in search of an answer.

Will this be the week Kansas regains it's confidence? Nebraska certainly doesn't give a lot of hope, but it's senior day and if Kansas does get the ball rolling there might never be a better game than this one for the team to really start feeling good about things again. Move the ball against the Corn and you are definitely doing something right. Guess we'll see.

McMORRIS!!!!

Denverjhawk — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:30:04 -0000

McMORRIS!!!!

Competition Breeds Excellence

Denverjhawk — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:31:29 -0000

More photos »

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BOOM!!! Sure it was Pitt State but damn do those Jayhawks look good. Top to bottom an EASY 9 deep the Jayhawks are competing at every spot on the floor for every minute of playing time. The crazy thing is that the 9 deep right now is minus Travis Releford, Mario Little, Jeff Withey, Brady Morningstar and CJ Henry. Even if Releford and Little take a shirt that means Kansas will have 12 guys on the bench that can provide meaninful minutes. There isn't a chance to take a breath right now the competition is so fierce.

The fact of the matter is that competition breeds excellence. Right now there isn't a Jayhawk who takes the floor that is giving less than 100%. Some of the most impressive quite honestly have been the guys who likely feel they have the most to prove. Thomas Robinson 17 points and 7 rebounds!!! Is Cole Aldrich even the best big man on this team anymore? I say that in jest of course but the fact remains that day in and day out the Jayhawks are competing against top tier talent in high intensity situations.

Again the tests will get tougher but the team had 22 assists, 21 steals, outrebounded the opponent 42-26 and held them to a minimal 45 points on the night. Even when things aren't looking the best on the court you get the feeling the Jayhawks are just outworking their opponent. Not a bad deal for a team some see as full of "thugs and prima donna's." Not my words by the way. Tyshawn Taylor came off the bench in game one, get's an opportunity to start in game two...does anyone else think he has no intention of relinquishing that role?

The Morri go for 26 points and 18 boards in 34 combined minutes of play. Thomas Robinson matches the intensity with again 17 and 7. At the four spot or in McMorris' case at times a big 3, the production is off the charts compared to last year. 43 points and 25 rebounds!! Not a bad day and with Thomas Robinson pushing hard for more minutes it's going to be a battle everyday to be the best.

Fun game to watch and clearly the day in day out competition on this team is going to benefit everyone. It's going to benefit players developing, benefit the team in terms of toughness and how can one even measure the preparation these guys are getting for the next level by going rounds daily in a gym full of potential NBA talent. Sure they won't all make it, but if I'm a recruit trying to decide where my best chance to improve and develop into a pro, Kansas has to be near the top of my list.

Next step is getting Kansas football to this same level. Fine...fine...that might be a bit of a stretch but I don't think it's too tough to see when comparing the two programs that football needs a two to three deep that is truly competing on a daily basis. It sure does make the job a bit easier, just ask Bill Self.

Rock Chalk Talk Pick 'em Week 9 Results

Denverjhawk — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:12:47 -0000

Mediocrity was the name of the game in Week 10. HOWEVER, in terms of mediocrity, yours truly was the ultimate correctly selecting 8 of the potential 15 games to win the weeks event. A cluster at 7 and another at 6 but I alone sit atop the charts with 8.

"Greatness is truly defined by the one who can rise to the top when everyone else is failing"

-Someone very old, wise and important

The above quote clearly states that while I may be near the bottom of the overall standings, I am truly the victor in this long seemingly endless exercise in college football pick 'em.

In the overall standings KC still sits atop the list at 102 with Dubya and Hutch close behind at 100. The weeks are dwindling down. 5 more to go maybe?

New Picks are up

Weekly and overall Standings after the jump...

Rank	Selection	W-L	Pts	Tie Breaker FSU - CL 24 - 40
Standings for Week 10
1	Denver's Picks	8-7	8	17-31
2	Dubya's picks	7-8	7	28-31
2	Danimal's Picks	7-8	7	17-24
2	tommyallenn's picks	7-8	7
2	The Slow Dancers of Fury	7-8	7
2	Esteban	7-8	7
2	mhinkle's picks	7-8	7
2	Foreigner	7-8	7
2	Mark Randall	7-8	7
2	hank123's picks	7-8	7
2	SlamDunkTheFunk	7-8	7
2	Jahiegel	7-8	7
13	freudhawk's picks	6-9	6	28-35
13	NoTalentAssClown	6-9	6	40-45
13	Warden11	6-9	6	20-34
13	Bensa's gonna win	6-9	6	27-31
13	HUTCH's picks	6-9	6	27-30
13	The Answer Key	6-9	6	21-27
13	KCsince88	6-9	6	33-27
13	BZACHARY's picks	6-9	6
21	Prophet's Picks	5-10	5	21-24
21	dci981's picks	5-10	5	38-35
21	tell burke's picks	5-10	5	33-27
21	The Pessimist	5-10	5	34-27
25	scouted	4-11	4	14-24

Rank	Selection	W-L	Pts
Overall Standings Through Week 10
1	KCsince88	102-49	102
2	Dubya's picks	100-51	100
2	HUTCH's picks	100-51	100
4	Prophet's Picks	99-52	99
5	NoTalentAssClown	98-53	98
6	The Slow Dancers of Fury	97-54	97
6	BZACHARY's picks	97-54	97
8	freudhawk's picks	95-56	95
8	Warden11	95-56	95
8	Bensa's gonna win	95-56	95
8	tommyallenn's picks	95-56	95
12	The Answer Key	94-57	94
13	SlamDunkTheFunk	92-59	92
14	Danimal's Picks	91-60	91
15	Esteban	90-61	90
16	scouted	88-63	88
16	Mark Randall	88-63	88
18	Foreigner	85-66	85
18	Jahiegel	85-66	85
20	tell burke's picks	83-68	83
21	Denver's Picks	82-69	82
22	The Pessimist	80-71	80
23	mhinkle's picks	64-87	64
24	dci981's picks	54-97	54
25	hank123's picks	32-119	32

Kansas v Pitt State Game Feed and OGT

Denverjhawk — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:58:04 -0000

Kansas v Pitt State Game Feed and OGT

Password: phog

In case I'm running late tonight I thought I'd throw this up now. OGT for tonights game. Exhibition game 2, season starts Friday and we will have a bonafide OGT for that one. Also this Friday Harrison Barnes is announcing his decision, can we break the hat presser curse?

Kansas Football Notable Quotables 11.10.09

Denverjhawk — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:38:26 -0000

Another interesting week in terms of the weekly presser. Coach Mangino covers the usual in upcoming opponent Nebraska and preparation for the Huskers, but a few new areas do get touched on.

The running game, why Sharp and not Opurum and where the problems lie. Looking for a leader on the offensive line. Also keeping the team positive and trying to motivate differently. To answer the motivation question, we aren't trying a different approach and to be honest I think I wish the answer was a little different.

From a player standpoint we've got Angus Quigley, Darrell Stuckey, Jake Sharp and Chris Harris.

Players of the Kansas State Game

Offense: Dezmon Briscoe

Defense: Chris Harris

Special Teams: Darrell Stuckey

Scout Team Defensive Player of the Week: Brian Blackwell

Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week: Deshaun Sands

Head Coach Mark Mangino

On this week's game vs. Nebraska and Senior Day:

"This week we have Nebraska, here. It is our seniors' last game at Memorial Stadium. It has been a senior class that has meant a great deal to the football program, to the athletic department and to the university. There are a lot of quality young men in that group who will be successful in life, not only in football. They will be great ambassadors to the university. They have faced challenges and met many of them head on, and been successful. They are a group of kids who understand the highs of college football and the lows. They have dealt with both in a mature fashion. They have handled whatever has come to them, good or bad. They have kindly faced it. I am proud of them. They are a good group of kids."

On Nebraska's defensive unit:

"Nebraska is a very good football team. Defensively, they are outstanding. They are ranked in a couple categories nationally in defense. They are No. 2 in scoring defense. They have a very talented defensive unit. It starts with their defensive line. They are big, strong and athletic. If they get into a rhythm, they can really halt the run game, so you really cannot allow that to happen, but it does quite a bit, obviously, with guys like [Ndamukong] Suh and [Jared] Crick inside and [Barry] Turner outside. They are really a formidable bunch. They are good at the second level as well. Their safeties are very good players. [Larry] Asante is a very good cover man and very good tackler."

On Nebraska's offense:

"On offense, a lot like us, they have been up and down, but they have quality players. Their running back Roy Helu is an outstanding running back and outstanding player. Their offensive line is starting to gel and come together. Their quarterback situation has been a little bit up in the air. I think one is just a really young guy, and the other is a veteran guy. I think Zac [Lee] is kind of a guy who can manage the game for them, which is probably what they are looking for right now. It will be a great challenge, but we will be ready for it. We are preparing for it and we are looking forward to our seniors playing their last game here at Memorial Stadium."

On Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh:

"He is as fundamentally sound a football player as there is in the conference. He jumps the ball, his hands are up, he is working to the football and he is controlling the guy in front of him. He is strong. He is quick. He is hard to get off his feet because he has a real low center of gravity. He seems to be a very smart player. You cannot fool him. People have tried to fool him with various blocking schemes and he is not fooled. He is well-coached and really understands the dynamics of the game."

On improving KU's run game:

"We certainly are aware of the fact that it is not as sharp as it ought to be. I think there are a lot of factors. I think the offensive line needs to have a leader emerge; kind of a guy who's ‘the glue.' Because they are young, they are all leaning on each other. I think fundamentally we need to be better at some of our run-game schemes. Jake Sharp seems to feel a little better every week. Our run game is sort of set up for Jake being healthy and 100% with the kind of mobility he had in early September. Toben [Opurum] is coming along. He is learning as the season progresses. Things get more and more complex and a freshman like him just has to learn. It is a new experience every week against the new opponent we prepare for. He is doing well. He is coming along and I am not going to try and push him hard because he is just a freshman. I think he is going to be really good for us, but I want him to know what he is doing before having him in there. Our wide receivers have to block on the perimeter runs too. I thought last week they did a better job of that. We played more physical at that position than we had all year."

On staying positive:

"You have to understand coaches and players and the world that they live in. Everyday is a challenge. Everyday you want to get better and when you lose you want to learn from those experiences. We're not going to get down from losing games. We're going to find a way to get better, that's the way we do it here. We keep looking for solutions. Nobody is feeling bad for themselves, there is nobody pouting. If you go down the hallway to the coaches' suites, people are working. Players are coming in and asking questions and getting DVDs to watch and things like that. It's business as usual. Our players are strong emotionally. The reason they are is because we spend a lot of time in the offseason and training camp building emotional strength. Some coaches try to develop their players just for how to deal with diversity. Some work on how to get mentally ready to play. What we've done in the time that we've been here is that we work on building emotional strength. That means preparing kids for everything. We've had kids in the past here in some instances who weren't very good at handling success. We've had some kids on occasion or two who don't handle diversity well. But when you prepare them for both, and talk about the highs of winning and the lows of losing and the pitfalls that come with losing and all the new things that come with winning. We prepare our kids for those types of things so that they are emotionally prepared to deal with both adversity and success. Both can be difficult. We have faced both during our tenure here."

On motivating the players differently:

"No, I don't (think they need to be motivated differently). I'm not naïve; I've been down this road before. It's not unchartered waters for me. Through the years when we've had a tough spell, we've stayed the steady course. We didn't panic, we don't blame players, we don't blame anybody, and it's our own fault that we didn't win. We keep our same routine, we keep encouraging the players and we keep coaching them. I think that's the best way. When you take drastic measures during a tough time, the kids wonder if the coach is panicking or if they don't have confidence that they can pull out of it (losing streak). We've always stayed the steady course because deep down inside, we believe we can pull out of it.

On the four senior captains: Reesing, Stuckey, Sharp, Meier:

"You can't miss on those guys. They can handle anything. They are very intelligent. They are well-spoken. They are well-respected. They are problem solvers. They are not guys who go by the seat of their pants. They are intelligent guys that everything is well thought out that they do. They have great energy and enthusiasm; and anybody who wanted to hire them; I don't care where it is: corporate world, the world of education, politics, or government. They would be an asset, they are just quality kids.

Senior Linebacker Angus Quigley

On switching positions (from running back to linebacker) his senior year:

"It seems that it's been pretty up and down. Changing my positions senior year was pretty tough, but I figure that I could help the team by doing that. I'm getting more playing time now and trying to learn some things that are a little tougher than I expected. I'm not frustrated or anything, I want to enjoy this season. We've had some low points, obviously, but we're still trying to get things rolling the right way."

On the toughest thing about playing linebacker:

"It's been so long since I've played defense. To come back with things moving so fast, I had to switch my mind from this whole offensive mindset. Everything was just moving so fast and it came so quick."

On the four-game losing streak:

"It's tough. It's really tough when you come into the season with goals and you've set a lot of goals and worked you butt off all offseason. These past few weeks that we've lost, we've had some of the best practices since I've been here. People are working hard start to finish. We just haven't been able to figure out why it's not transitioning onto the field. It's tough because nobody wants to go out their senior year on a losing streak."

Senior Running Back Jake Sharp

On his favorite memory in Memorial Stadium:

"I couldn't pinpoint one. I've had a lot of great ones and I've definitely enjoyed the ride."

On what impresses him most about Nebraska's defense:

"They're coached real well. They're very fundamentally sound. They don't do a lot of crazy things to try and confuse you. They're going to line up and play with you and that's pretty impressive with how disciplined they are."

On how he feels right now:

"I feel good. I feel that I'm definitely at the level where I need to be at at this point in the year to do the things I want to do on the field."

Senior Safety Darrell Stuckey

On the recruitment process:

"At the time I was questioning whether I was a Division-I player or not and if I was good enough to play football at college. I went to a five-day camp and only stayed one day, and Mangino approached me and said, ‘I'm happy you came, but I hear you're not staying with us for too long.' He asked me if I was going to a leadership camp and I told him it was an FCA leadership camp. He said, "You chose that over this (football)?' I kind of laughed and said I had already committed to it before I decided to come here for the testing day. He told me it was fine and that you can't get enough leadership. I tested pretty well, but I ended up getting injured before the day was over so I couldn't actually compete in the competition. I left there with a heavy heart and nervous about what had gone on and kind of distraught not knowing if I had done enough to play college football or if I'd messed up my own opportunity. I was at the FCA camp all week, from Monday through Friday. That Friday Mangino called me and offered me a scholarship and it was mind-boggling because I had prayed about it and was scared about it while I was there because I thought I'd messed up my opportunity by getting injured. I had prayed and I was like, ‘God, if this is my only opportunity, then let it be. But, if you offered me this scholarship then I'll accept it because I know that it comes from you and I believe solely in you. And I will preach your word and be a witness for you.' When he (Mangino) called me and offered me the scholarship, it was one of those things where I had asked for this and I wanted to play here because I'm from a single-parent home. My mother made a way to be at all my home games. I couldn't imagine being further away from her than just Lawrence, Kan. I wanted to be in the Big 12 and I wanted to play against the South because I wanted to play against the best of the Big 12 - as they said at the time. I wanted to make my own footprints and make my own history and be my own man."

On the highs and lows the senior class has experienced:

"I stay positive about it now because we've had so much success as a senior class and to hang our heads and think this senior class has been a failure - no it hasn't. I feel like we have been the core of this team for the past four years. We have all individually been our own quiet leaders in the beginning. We have grown and groomed ourselves to be strong, stable and very persevering young men - not only on the football field, but off the football field too. I think that we have influenced KU football, the players that play here and the coaches that play here for the ages."

On how he and his sister (Denae Stuckey, who plays basketball at Iowa State) dreamed about college as children:

"The funny thing is that we never talked about college at all. We never talked about college, we never talked about playing professionally - we just talked about being the best. We both love sports so much. Wherever I went, she had to go. She was like my best friend. We're only 11 months apart, so people always were teasing us and saying we were twins and this and that. I think the funniest thing about it is that she was just as positive as I was about life. We always just took it one day at a time. We didn't know too much about any college game this or that. As we got older, and went to high school and colleges started calling us, we didn't know how to handle it and we didn't know what to do. It's kind of because of the environment we grew up in. No one really talked about college. We knew we wanted to go there, but we just didn't know how we were going to get there. We both were in ROTC in high school. I was a four-year member of ROTC airforce at our high school and I graduated with the second-highest rank in my class. She did the same thing and my brother before me did the same exact thing. It was one of those things where I knew for a fact that if I couldn't go to college for a sport, I was going to enlist and pay for college elsewhere. We had so many plans and just wanted to be successful in life and sports were a way of getting where we wanted to go. We loved it so much we just continued playing."

Junior Cornerback Chris Harris

On the toughness Coach Mangino instills in the team:

"It's always a mental aspect of just knowing that once football is over, we're going to face adversity in the real world. He (Mangino) always explains that it can always get a lot harder than it is now. He prepares us in life for after football. We know that this isn't anything that we can't overcome because we're going to face something way harder than this after football."

"It helps out a lot to know that this really isn't anything. It's kind of encouraging to know that we can come back together and start affecting this team and start affecting each other. Sometimes in football, you go through slumps. I went through it personally. We can all overcome it. Everyone just has to have faith in each other."

On what the seniors have meant to him:

"The seniors we have this year are great. Our record doesn't show how good of leaders they are and what they've done for this program. It's crazy that it's their time to go and it's time for new seniors next year. It's been a thrill playing with them. They're great leaders and it's fun playing with them."

Kansas Wraps up Exhibition Season with Pitt State

Denverjhawk — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:02:34 -0000

Exhibition Continues

Five-time defending Big 12 Conference champion Kansas continues the 2009-10 exhibition season hosting Pittsburg State Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Jayhawk TV. Kansas is looking to win its 35th-straight exhibition contest and is 20-0 in exhibition games under head coach Bill Self. Pittsburg State opened its exhibition season with an 89-53 loss at Kansas State Sunday.

About Kansas

Sherron Collins, with a game-high 19 points, and Cole Aldrich, with a double-double, paced Kansas to a 107-68 victory against Fort Hays State in its season-opening exhibition basketball game. In all, six Jayhawks scored in double figures and all 10 players who saw action scored.

2009 starter Tyshawn Taylor came off the bench to record 15 points, a team-high five assists and a game-best four steals. Markieff Morris was one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. His brother Marcus Morris added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. The night marked the collegiate debut of highly-touted freshman Xavier Henry, who drew a starting assignment. He scored 14 points on 3-of-7 shooting, which included 2-of-4 from three-point range.

About Pittsburg State

Pittsburg State returns two starters and five letterwinners from its 2008-09 squad, which posted a 10-17 overall record. Senior guard Spencer Magana and senior forward Rodney Grace lead Pitt State. Magana (6-4, 192), a native of Dewey, Okla., averaged 12.4 points per game, starting 26 games as a junior in 2009. Grace (6-6, 195), from Omaha, Neb., contributed 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 23 starts for Pitt State a year ago.

In its 89-53 exhibition loss at Kansas State Sunday, Pitt State's leading scorer was junior Quincy Owens with 14. He and freshman Javon McGee shared the lead on the boards with seven apiece. McGee also added seven points for PSU, as did Grace.

This Day in Kansas Basketball History

Nov. 10, 1998: Kansas set an exhibition record with 140 points in the 140-78 win against Geelong, Australia, in Allen Fieldhouse. Eric Chenowith had 17 points and 15 rebounds in the contest. Jeff Boschee had 19 of his 21 points in the first half. Ryan Robertson scored 19 points, while Nick Bradford and Lester Earl chipped in 16 points apiece in the win. KU went on to finish 23-10 in 1998-99 and tie for second in the Big 12 with an 11-5 record. The Jayhawks won the 1999 Big 12 Tournament.

Up Next

Kansas begins the 2009-10 regular season when it hosts Hofstra on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. on Jayhawk TV. KU will then play Memphis in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase in St. Louis on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 9 p.m. on ESPN. The game is a rematch of the 2008 NCAA National Championship game. Two days later, KU will host Central Arkansas in the second game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.

Kansas vs. Nebraska Matchup Breakdown

Denverjhawk — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:26:03 -0000

Why Kansas?	Edge	Scenario	Edge	Why Nebraska?
My only hope is this is the bottom. Any semblance of the 2007 offensive juggernaut is gone. Confidence appears to be a problem from the playcalling down to the execution. Kansas faces it's toughest defensive test against the Corn. Only way I see Kansas winning this matchup is if they move the pocket, take what the defense gives them in the passing game and use that to create some sort of running game to go with it. It doesn't have to be explosive but take care of the ball and score three times. It might just win it.		KU Offense vs. Nebraska Defense	Never thought I'd see the day. The Kansas offense will need to pull a complete turnaround on senior day if they want to beat this Husker D	Suh, Crick and the rest of the Husker D are pretty imposing. The way Kansas has taken care of the ball lately there's a good opportunity for the Corn to create problems, force mistakes and maybe even punch in a defensive score or two to win this thing. Make no mistake Kansas has no answer for the Husker front four.
The weakness against the run last week was concerning but the defensive effort is still much improved. It's beginning to sound redundent but this defense has put together solid minutes for most of the game the past few weeks. Offensive breakdowns and turnovers are hanging them out to dry. With the Husker problems offensively I think Kansas really just need to focus on stopping the run and if Cody Green gets in the game keep him from hurting you with his legs. Wouldn't hurt to find our way into the 8 turnover mark like the Cyclones did either. Kansas may need the defense to score in order to win this one.	I give Kansas the edge here based on their continued improvement and the Huskers struggles. Only 180 yards of offense against OU yet they come away with a victory. Important thing for the KU D is to maintain the intesity for four quarters, even if the offense doesn't help out. Nebraska does it.	KU Defense vs. Nebraska Offense		Get Roy Helu and the Husker running game off to a strong start and it will open things up enough to make a few throws despite problems at QB. The Kansas defense is improved but it's also vulnerable. The Huskers need to avoid the turnover bug and be who they are. Just like Kansas it won't take a herculean effort on offense to win this one, just a good enough effort. The memories of 2007's offensive explosion are long gone in this one.
The kick return game looked improved last week but I'm still pretty certain this is an area of weakness. Jacob Branstetter is missing kicks, and on the year our return game has given us nothing. At least we have Alonso Rojas!!		Special Teams	Edge to the Corn because if this thing comes down to a field goal one way or the other it's a no brainer right now.	Well Alex Henery is pretty much money inside of 50 so that's a bit of a concern in a game where 3-0 could win it. Other than that the Huskers aren't all that different from Kansas in this one. Not a whole lot to strike fear into any team at this point.
Somewhere along the way the strength of this team has been lost. Not sure where the disconnect is but at this point there is no way to ignore the fact that something isn't right and it starts from the top down. They patched up the defense but at this point the offense has got so far to go it doesn't matter. I know they have it in them, I just hope they've got a feather in the cap for the month of November.	Any other year I think I'd take the Kansas coaching staff based on what they've accomplished to date but something is misfiring right now and while the Corn staff has their issues as well they've played to their strengths and defense has them in a position to win the North. Something I was hoping to say about the Kansas offense this time of year.	Coaching		There are issues with the Corn. Primarily at the moment they rest with the offensive side of the ball much like the Jayhawks. What the Husker coaches have done however is find a way to play to their strengths, maximize that strength and win the games they are supposed to. Not a doubt in my mind that this staff will have something special ready for Kansas on one side of the ball at least.

Senior day for Todd Reesing, Darrell Stuckey, Kerry Meier, Jake Sharp and a likely final appearance in Memorial Stadium for Dez Briscoe as well. Let's hope Kansas finds something to turn the giant wave of uncertainty that has overtaken this team. A confidence boost, a moral boost or something. Hopefully these guys get a chance to enjoy themselves one final time. The Huskers present a winnable game. Kansas just has to find a way to put everything that's happened aside and start over.

RCT Tailgate?? Or something maybe. Who's headed to the game Saturday and wants to grab a beer. ...

Denverjhawk — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:31:03 -0000

RCT Tailgate?? Or something maybe. Who's headed to the game Saturday and wants to grab a beer. Maybe a Schooner at Louise's afterwards or whatever. Not sure where the day might take me but I'll be in Lawrence if anyone else is.

Denver

re-Balancing the O

Denverjhawk — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:38:16 -0000

View full size photo »

Balance in the offense. Pretty common belief in football that balance in the offense leads to success in the offense. If all you do is run it becomes easier for teams to focus all their efforts at stopping it. At that point you can still be successful but you better have a mammoth offensive line and every player has to put a hat on a hat and play football.

What proves slightly more difficult is if all you are capable of is passing. Again at that point you better field an offensive line that creates a pocket, wins their matchups and more often than not allows very very few sacks. Still you likely need balance within your passing game itself. Does it do you any good to go five wide if only two are legitimate targets?

Right now the Kansas Jayhawks have no balance. There are other reasons for the current struggles and perhaps 2007 inflated expectations a bit to high but that season certainly points to some glaring reasons why 2009 and perhaps even to a lesser extent 2008 weren't as successful.

2007

First off let's take a look at the 2007 statistical breakdown for the Jayhawks offensively.

Passing Statistics
NAME	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	YDS/A	TD	INT	RAT
Todd Reesing	275	445	3486	61.8	7.83	33	7	148.9

Rushing Statistics
NAME	CAR	YDS	YPC	LONG	TD
Brandon McAnderson	190	1125	5.9	40	16
Jake Sharp	111	556	5.0	25	5
Todd Reesing	92	197	2.1	53	3

Receiving Statistics
NAME	REC	YDS	YPR	LONG	TD
Marcus Henry	54	1014	18.8	82 (TD)	10
Dexton Fields	63	834	13.2	37	6
Dezmon Briscoe	42	496	11.8	34	7
Derek Fine	46	394	8.6	32	4
Kerry Meier	26	274	10.5	39	2
Brandon McAnderson	21	213	10.1	39	0
Aqib Talib	8	182	22.8	58 (TD)	4
Jake Sharp	19	134	7.1	31	1

Clearly we all know this was a good year offensively against a weaker schedule, but still it's not hard to see we were a much more balanced team.

Todd's numbers are what they are, amazingly he still looks to be on pace in 2009 for a better statistical year but that doesn't take into account the fumbles, the sacks and other wasted offensive plays that seem to be plaguing him this year.

A quick look at the running game vs. passing though and you'll see Kansas rushed for over 2400 yards in 2007 while passing for around 3700 as a team. 40% run, 60% pass, probably about par for the spread. Certainly some balance in that area and when you look inside each of those areas separately you see an equal amount of balance.

McAnderson 190 carries, Sharp 111 carries. Hell even Todd ran it 92 times although I wouldn't say that's the ideal scenario this year. Still why can't we see this type of split with Sharp and Opurum? Take away the Sharps injury and who knows if Toben sees the field much past UTEP.

In the passing game the spread amongst receivers is great. Marcus Henry with 54 catches, Dexton Fields with 63, Derek Fine with 46, Dezmon Briscoe at 42, Kerry Meier with 26 and running backs combined with a total of 40 balls thrown their way. No single player was the recipent of more than 22% of the teams receptions. Who does a defense focus on? It's pretty clear this year but in 2007 the ball was being distributed around no one man more emphasized than the next and it made the offense very difficult to defend. Isn't the point of the spread to get more athletes on the field than the other team and get them into space? So what good does it do if only two of those athletes see the ball? Just a question.

2008

Now let's jump to 2008 a year which was truthfully very close to being a disaster. A great game against Missouri and a monster comeback in Ames essentially made things feel a whole lot better than maybe they really were. Nonetheless it was a success but things were clearly trending away from the balance we saw in 2007.

Passing Statistics
NAME	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	YDS/A	TD	INT	RAT
Todd Reesing	329	495	3888	66.5	7.86	32	13	148.5

Rushing Statistics
NAME	CAR	YDS	YPC	LONG	TD
Jake Sharp	186	860	4.6	47 (TD)	12
Angus Quigley	59	309	5.2	20	3
Jocques Crawford	62	232	3.7	20	4
Todd Reesing	126	224	1.8	18	4

Receiving Statistics
NAME	REC	YDS	YPR	LONG	TD
Dezmon Briscoe	92	1407	15.3	69 (TD)	15
Kerry Meier	97	1045	10.8	68 (TD)	8
Johnathan Wilson	43	573	13.3	56	3
Jake Sharp	25	283	11.3	67 (TD)	1
Dexton Fields	20	214	10.7	50	3
Daymond Patterson	14	154	11.0	44	2
Angus Quigley	17	82	4.8	14 (TD)	1

2008 final numbers were 1650 on the ground and just shy of 4000 through the air. Moves the Jayhawks to 30% of their yards on the ground and 70% through the air. If you remember the ground game really came on much stronger in conference play so I'll accept this as a failure in the non-conference combined with the fact that confidence was through the roof in the passing game. It worked too for the most part, even in the losses the offense was working.

Sharp was effective with over 180 carries on the year. The running game certainly wasn't to 2007 standards but we lost an All American left tackle and a senior right tackle so a dip was somewhat expected.

The passing game is where you begin to see a bit of a troubling trend. For all the talk of Reesing, Dez and Meier being great it shouldn't be hard for a defensive coordinator going forward to see where they need to pool their resources. There are two guys on this list that catch better than 60% of the balls thrown. Granted they were somewhat new on the scene and both are very good, but is everyone else a decoy? The spread the ball around distribution from 2007 is long gone.

All in all 2008 was productive and the offense never stalled out like it has this season but when you look at the numbers it would seem the Jayhawk playcalling was at the very least trending in the direction that has led to the complete unbalance we are seeing today.

2009

Passing Statistics
NAME	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	YDS/A	TD	INT	RAT
Todd Reesing	232	361	2626	64.3	7.27	17	8	136.5

Rushing Statistics
NAME	CAR	YDS	YPC	LONG	TD
Toben Opurum	116	498	4.3	26 (TD)	9
Jake Sharp	83	368	4.4	30	3
Kale Pick	13	162	12.5	55	0
Todd Reesing	78	92	1.2	22	4

Receiving Statistics
NAME	REC	YDS	YPR	LONG	TD
Dezmon Briscoe	61	917	15.0	56	6
Kerry Meier	73	758	10.4	71	6
Johnathan Wilson	30	361	12.0	33	0
Bradley McDougald	28	263	9.4	42	0
Jake Sharp	23	178	7.7	56	3
Toben Opurum	12	110	9.2	30	1
Tim Biere	8	108	13.5	19	0

Here's a quick look at 2009 YTD. Currently Kansas sits at about 30% of their yards coming from the ground game and again about 70% in the air. On paper it wouldn't seem we've regressed in this area much from 2008 but only 313 of the rushing yards in 2009 have come after conference play began. Yep, 313 yards rushing in 5 games. How many would you guess in the first five conference games for 2008? 843 is the magic number, a 163 yard/game average. Our offense turned it on in 2008 when conference play began. So in this current skid it'd be safe to bet that maybe 10% of our offensive yardage is coming on the ground. Not tough to defend when you tell your front four to tee off and drop the other seven into coverage.

It becomes even less difficult when you realize that once again, two players on the Jayhawks are accounting for nearly 60% of their offensive receptions. Now I'll concede the fact that Johnathan Wilson has dropped a good number of passes this year but do we not have anyone else on the team that can catch a ball? Let's give them a shot. Against Kansas State Tetravian Ingram finally came in for Johnathan Wilson who has struggled of late. Missed the first pass thrown his way and yanked back to the sideline. The reactions to the two's behaviors seems a bit unproportional.

Also why doesn't Tim Biere see the ball more? He seems every bit as capable of making a catch as Derek Fine. Not too mention he runs like a truck down the field. Has he been tackled yet? or just eventually bounced out of bounds. The running backs are seeing about the same number of balls as they have in the past but the effectiveness is down. Too many middle screens and shovel passes perhaps? Why not check down to these guys on our normal every down passing plays when no one appears open?

To wrap up I just want to make it clear that what this group has done for the University of Kansas football program is immeasurable. It's made Saturday's matter again in the fall. Nobody sets out to lose and certainly these guys put in a tremendous amount of hours and effort all year. They deserve and will get my continued support. Somewhere though whether it rest with the man at the top, the offensive coordinator and certainly a little bit with the signal caller, this offense isn't remotely close to where it's been. In 2007 this team did it with players nobody wanted out of high school. Literally no one wanted Marcus Henry, Brandon McAnderson was far from the top of anyones list at running back and as I recall the Head Coach on the other sideline this past weekend didn't recruit Jake Sharp.

Kansas should be better, it's time to adapt what we're doing and fix the problems. Changes were swift on the defensive side of the ball, but are coming far too slowly for the offense. I'm headed back to Lawrence this week to see Senior day for this crew and I'm thrilled to say I'll send off Stuckey, Meier, Reesing, Sharp and likely Briscoe. I just hope that the teams struggles this year can be corrected enough to get them a bowl game and then going forward our program finds a way to adapt what we've done well in the past to continue moving forward as a program.