SB Nation User Blog: burnt in ny

In the Trenches - Answering the Call

burnt in ny — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:31:56 -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.

In the Trenches - Anatomy of a Muschamp Adjustment

burnt in ny — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:32:38 -0000

So there were the Horns, having a 21-0 lead on the road, with the ball and all the momentum. Three plays later, Texas comes up a yard short and has to punt. Missouri then takes the ball down the field with a series of running plays, eventually scoring a touchdown when Missouri's offensive formation resulted in Chykie Brown having 1 on 1 coverage of Jared Perry. An excellent throw by Gabbert yielded 6 for the Tigers. OK, it's 21-7, and the offense had looked weak again on the previous series. In days gone by, the track meet would be on, with the opposing offense marching up and down the field and the Texas offense would have had to keep pace. Think Texas Tech 2007. But not in 2009. Not with Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator. First the offense did their part, overcoming a dropped pass by Malcolm Williams with a brilliantly executed screen to Fozzy Whittaker and then once again using Marquise Goodwin as a decoy to free Shipley for a TD pass. Then it was back to the defense, and, as we fans have become almost spoiled to experience this season, came the MUSCHAMP ADJUSTMENT.

Exactly as I planned, men, exactly as I planned!

As the offense, and ergo the offensive line, finally found itself in the first half, I decided to focus the majority of this week's column on the defense. And the epitome of the defensive effort in this game was a subtle but critical change in defensive strategy that largely shut down the MU running game. As an example of many such adjustments Muschamp has made over the past 19 games for Texas, I'll analyze it in detail along with a few comments about the offense after the jump.

In one drive, Missouri outrushes Texas' four previous opponents combined.

So what happened? Missouri got an extra "tight end" on the field in the form of starting left tackle Elvis Fisher (72). Fisher was replaced by backup center J.T. Beasley (67). This effectively put six offensive linemen on the field with three wide receivers still to spread the field. They lined up Denario Alexander in the slot to the opposite side of the two tackles, whilch pulled Earl Thomas to that side of the field. At the same time, Texas lined up Kheeston Randall and Lamarr Alexander in gaps 1 (between the center and guard) or 2 (over the guard) (see purple circles in diagram below). During the drive, Missouri shifted their strong side with Elvis Fisher as tight end. The coupling of these formations left Texas in an unbalanced defense with their arguably four best defensive players (circled in yellow) on one side of the field and allowed Missouri to exploit mismatches on the opposite (strong side)

On the drive, Missouri mostly ran away from Kindle and pulled either guard Kurtis Gregory (78) or tackles Dan Hoch or J.T. Beasley to provide extra blockers at the point of attack. No play epitomized Missouri's success, and the source of it, more than Derrick Washington's 13 yard run for a first down to the Texas 14 yard-line with about 8 minutes left in the first half. The formation allowed MU to double team Sam Acho (81), put a tackle on Rodderick Muckelroy (38), let center Tim Barnes (62) push Kheeston Randall out of the play and pull J.T. Beasley (67) to block Keenan Robinson (1). Sergio Kindle is never blocked on the play.

Note how the play looks defended because of Randall's penetration and Robinson flying in to fill the gap behind him. Instead (see below), because of the mismatches on Acho and Muckelroy, Washington cuts inside Randall into a huge hole created by Dan Hoch (77) doing a niceuncalled infant grip on Sam Acho (purple circle) and Kurtis Gregory getting off the initial block on Acho to double team Robinson. Blake Gideon, for some reason is late getting over and has to take a deep angle on Washington to avoid giving up a TD.

So the next series, Muschamp ADJUSTS by essentially shifting to a 3-4 alignment, with Randall at the nose (0 technique) and Kindle as an extra linebacker. Houston is now the strongside defensive end playing over the 4 or 5 gaps, with no one outside him. Perhaps anticipating Muschamp's adjustment, Pinkel changes to a 20 personnel, with an extra back, Matt Davis (35) in the backfield, and two WR to either side. The only (apparent) advantage MU has in this formation is the ability to double team Randall in the middle.

Note the more balanced distribution of Texas best players (although part of this is the placement of Denario Alexander in the slot opposte the tight end, which puts Earl Thomas behind Kindle).

The example play from this ultimately ill-fated drive is on second down, a sweep with MU's speed back De'Vion Moore (26). The idea is for Alexander to crack back on Kindle and for Davis (35) to block upfield on Earl Thomas, and for Dan Hoch (77) to seal Lamarr Houston. As you might suspect, all these matchups favor Texas, especially now that Kindle is not playing DE and can turn to face Alexander's block rather than being hit from the side.

The result? Houston blows by Hoch like Hurricane Katrina, Randall ties up three (!) MU blockers in the middle (purple circle). Kindle abuses Alexander, and Thomas just runs by Matt Davis for a joint collision and a loss of a yard. All three plays on the drive were disrupted by Houston, who could no longer be double-teamed. On every play, Randall stood up Missouri's double teams, freeing Acho and Houston and Robinson to fill gaps or harass Gabbert. In retrospect, one wonders what Pinkel was thinking in his playcalling and why he got away from the 3-tackle offensive line formation that produced the success on the previous drive. Perhaps, because of the poor field position and only 1:45 left in the half, he thought he needed a more pass-friendly formation but regardless, Muschamp's adjustments shifted the advantage from Missouri to Texas, with immediate results.

Missouri is pinned inside their 10, decides to rugby kick, and Curtis Brown blocks the punt, Malcolm Williams recovers, and it's Texas 35-7. Game. Set. Match.

The Screen Game

Now that Fozzy Whittaker is the #1 RB and is playing well on all 3 downs, including pass blocking, Texas has added the screen to their arsenal in a big way. This puts new expectations for the offensive line, and over the past three games, we've learned a bit about how successful these screens are likely to be. Against Missouri, the Horns ran two screens. One went for 17 yards, following excellent downfield blocks by Michael Huey and Chris Hall, and a solid block against a defender chasing from the rear by Charlie Tanner. The other screen went for one yard even though it was equally well set up and timed because Charlie "Tunnel Vision" Tanner didn't see the nearest and most threatening defender, who sliced in behind the blocking to stop Whittaker. Against Oklahoma, the screen was moderately successful (7 yards), but again, defenders sliced in behind Tanner to make the tackle. Texas also ran a screen against Colorado out of the flex TE formation, but Dan Buckner's missed block caused the play to be stopped for a minimal gain.

Prognosis: The screen pass to Whittaker could become an excellent component of the newly diversified Texas offense, but perhaps it needs to be run to the right behind Michael Huey instead of to the left behind Tanner.

Offensive Line Report

After six games, the "sick child" of the 2009 Longhorns is officially the offensive line. It is the leading cause of sleepless nights for fans and lost thumbnails for Colt McCoy. Against Missouri, they earned these grades.

Adam Ulatoski A- An absolute rock in the run game, number 74 is still showing vulnerability to bull rushes followed by quick inside moves from defensive ends in the passing game.

Charlie Tanner B+ Tanner seems to have gotten over the hurdle of picking up blitzes but still struggles at times with picking out the right defender to block on downfield runs and screens (see above).

Chris Hall B- Struggled with his snapping all night - Colt made him look good with a couple of athletic grabs, but one bad snap led to a sack. Chris still struggles with the cut blocking needed for effective double teams in the Horns' zone blocking schemes. Nevertheless, his blocking calls are usually on and the whole line plays better when Hall, as opposed to David Snow, is in at center.

Michael Huey A- Slowed by a high ankle sprain since the ULM game, Huey was replaced by David Snow after a miserable Colorado game, but came back in to start and play well in the second half against Oklahoma. Huey blocked magnificently on several running plays and was solid in pass protection except for one play where Terrell Rosonno (I believe it was) blew him 5 yards backward. Huey should become stronger as his ankle continues to heal.

Kyle Hix C Texas' largest lineman seems to get physically dominated early in every game, and it's not clear why. Perhaps being matched up against future NFLers Gerald McCoy and Jeremy Beal of OU is too much for Hix, but redshirt freshman Aldon Smith of Missouri? His early failures can make Colt have a short clock in his head before he feels like he has to throw, which can lead to an inefficient passing offense and an over-reliance on short looks to Jordan Shipley. The domino effect of Hix being dominated early in the game may even affect the playcalling, although Greg Davis' eclectic portfolio prevents any real analysis. But early game failures, which fortunately had no impact on the outcome in this game, start sending the message about what you can't do rather than what you can.

Greg Smith Saga

The player who easily leads the team in fan groans over the past two seasons is Greg Smith, an offensive lineman converted from a high school TE to a guard and then back to a TE. Known misaffectionately on the site as the "Extra Blocking Surface" or EBS, Smith is now the favorite son of Greg Davis, who lauded what having Smith enabled the Horns to do once again on his "From the Film Room" report (now up on page 2 videos on the main page of MB-TF). Greg had a typical game against Missouri: decent but somewhat inconsistent run-blocking, and a presence that allowed Texas to block well on zone read and counter plays in the first series. He also caught the only ball thrown to him, and seems to have improved speed in escaping the desultory linebacker usually assigned to him. In some big game in the future, Smith will make a couple of key first down catches.

On the other hand, Smith is still a liability in pass protection. Against the Tigers, he was manhandled by Aldon Smith, on one play that led to one of Colt's two sacks on the day. In some big game in the future, Smith will get overwhelmed again leading to pressure or a sack on McCoy and a turnover.

That's a risk the Horns are just going to have to take, because Smith's presence on the field shifts the blocking schemes to allow the offensive line to have two initial double teams up front, a greater likelihood of the backdoor cut for Whittaker, and greater opportunities in the zone read. It is clear that the Horns want to be able to run the ball up to 5-6 plays in a row, and that's just not possible without a true TE on the field.

The Man in the Middle

Kheestion Randall and Ben Alexander have been incredibly pleasant surprises this year at defensive tackle (see the section above on the benefits of putting Kheeston Randall at the nose. Kheeston has emerged as the clear starter over Alexander in the last two weeks, largely because he has become the first DT since perhaps Frank Okam who is big and strong enough to take on two gaps. That is he lines up in the nose or directly in front of the center and stands him up, and then shifts to the right or left if a running back tries to come through either hole. Randall has shown outstanding quickness on slants, and has gotten close enough to the opposing QB enough times to draw 3 personal foul roughing the QB penalties. Randall is just a sophomore, and if he keeps developing, he could remove worry about the center of the Texas defence and free playmakers like Eddie Jones, Alex Okafor, and Reggie Wilson for the next two years.

In the Trenches - Brutal Lessons

burnt in ny — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:52:13 -0000

Wow, what a strange game. After re-watching it, I came away reminded of the Texas-OU clashes from the mid-1970's, in which neither team could do anything for 3/4 of the game because the defenses were so amped up. The media looked on the game as sloppy because of all the turnovers and penalties, but the speed and power on both defenses was the root of most of the miscues (more about that later). As Mack noted, it was like a prize fight, but one in which neither team could do much more than jab without being counterpunched. Both team's collective faces look like this charming visage

via img.skysports.com

Only Texas' players are smiling

Some lessons from the game:

Greg Davis - bureaucratic loser or offensive investor?

The Colorado and Oklahoma games, coupled with strangely slow offensive performances in the first halves of ULM, Wyoming, and Texas Tech, have the fanbase in a mob mentality. Greg, you'd best not be seen at Walmart this week. Frustration with the offensive philosophy and playcalling was eloquently discussed in PB's postgame react. But I have to wonder, is the ineptitude all on GD? Or did multiple players simply not execute? Or is the lack of execution created by poor playcalling? And round and round we go.

Davis the Bureaucrat

In his excellent post-mortem, ScipioTex, who's depth of understanding of the game exceeds that of any member of the press by two orders of magnitude (that's 100 for you English majors), had this to say about GD:

In an alternate universe, Greg Davis is employed as Process Manager Grade 3 at the Port Arthur DMV. This is the guy who goes on break when you’re next in line and sits staring at you at his desk slicing up an apple during the noon hour rush knowing full well that he could take a longer break one hour from now when no customers are in line.

via positivesharing.com Add some glasses, 25 pounds, a golf shirt and a gentle twang, and call me when Mack retires.

Is Davis a bureaucrat of a coach? In manner, yes. The Davis way is to follow the formula, stay within the "rules," and cover your ass with excuses. This is the guy who is shocked when the other team blitzes more than expected, or which blitzes less than expected. A man that gets excited when a back runs for 7 yards or a receiver catches a pass for 3 yards. A guy with a perpetually clean desk and color-coded files, and who has to go to the restroom when a receiver drops a pass.

It seems clear now that not only does GD not anticipate well, he fails to consider that others might anticipate his own anticipation. Such was the case with the OU game. Texas read for the last month about how teams were attacking OU over the middle, by golly, just like the Horns did in the RRS in 2008. So here we go boys - we get to get'em where we got'em last time. News flash. Brent Venables read the same articles, and looked at the same tape and said to himself and his team, "Whatever they might do, Texas is NOT going to beat us by throwing short stuff over the middle or that bubble screen crap." So Brent dials up blizes up the middle, stacks coverage in the middle and trusts that Chiles and Kirkendoll cannot beat his corners in single coverage. Furthermore he instructs his charges to forget covering the actual receiver, and run instead to all of Colt's favorite spots to throw. Result, Colt is flabbergasted that there was nothing available in the middle. The flex TE has 0 catches. Jordan Shipley has 4 for a paltry 27 yards. Colt gets blasted back to the Stone Age, minus a fingernail. Self-flagellation by the fanbase ensues, while GD just blinks and points out the three good plays and talks about "how hard our kids played" on his "from the film room" expose.'

For an alternative view and observations about offensive and defensive line play, make the jump.

Greg Davis the investor.

My own opinion is that GD comes across as the above because of a fundamental, irrevocable and ultimately frustrating philosphy of playcalling. GD thinks of "situations" in which plays are like investments to "purchase" for each game situation: they each have their potential reward and associated risk. He thinks of down and distance and picks plays with the acceptable risk:reward ratio. The entire invention of the Texas "short passing game" emerged from the chaos of an inexperienced, relatively untalented offensive line in 2007 coupled with an accurate QB (McCoy). Short passes were a lower risk than running plays, such that the Horns thought about their offense as "passing to run." Yesterday, it took GD a half to figure out that misdirection runs away from Gerald McCoy had the greater reward:risk ratio, and even then he "passed to run" twice on third and short, even though the Sooners had not changed their fundamental defense.

Greg Davis, er Edward Liddy (CEO of bailout villain corporation AIG), testifying to readers of BON, "It was the play that works most often on 3rd and 2!"

The problem with the investment approach for Texas is that, just like in the markets, the hot stocks or commodities are always changing. Internet stocks to real estate to gold. The successful investor anticipates declines in one market and rises in others. Getting back to football, GD is proud of the offense he created around Colt and two quick, sure-handed receivers in 2008, and he is slow to realize that defenses are catching up. Beginning with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech last year, with a few minor rebounds against slower defenses, the offense has increasingly struggled as teams are more and more willing to gamble that Colt isn't going deep with the ball, or that if he is, he'll throw it short or out of bounds. On the off chance he does, we'll take our pass interference penalty and move on. The risk is just too high to go for the "junk bond" of a deep post or a double move. The team now faces investing in the equivalent of gold: the running game, that tried and true commodity when the offense (read economy) has gone south. Given the running game's sketchy past performance, the board of Mack Brown, Inc. is feeling anxious.

Another problem with the investment approach is that it treats each down as independent. Each situation and anticipated defensive formation is measured against the likely reward to risk, regardless of what happened on the previous play or series of plays. So it doesn't matter whether you've run for 2 and passed for 7, or run for 4 and run for 5, the measure of potential success is the same. In a real game, there are all these ugly issues like momentum, the success or failure in individual matchups (like the colossal failure of Davis Snow against Gerald McCoy in Saturday's game), or local tendencies within a game that you can go against (such as passing when you've run in the same situation the previous 3 times). The investment approach avoids all these complicated contingencies and assumes that the offense can execute the play as long as the players can read the defense and adjust routes, blocking assignments, etc. accordingly.

Either as a bureaucrat, investor, or worse, bureaucratic investor, Greg Davis is capable of making strategic adjustments and changing offenses to fit his personnel. But he is not an aggressive manager, and his playcalling often seems unresponsive to short-term changes in game conditions. He places his faith in the long-term statistics of success or failure rather than a recognition of changes in the defense between series or sometimes between halves. Occasionally, we may see the Horns go "all in" for a high risk high reward play, such as setting up Shipley for his double move TD reception against Colorado. But otherwise, with Mack's conservatism as office furniture, GD is essentially the manager of a retirement account for a 65 year-old with no pension - the goal is an accrual of small rewards for presumably even smaller risks. The question is, how many more pick-sixes and near-pick-sixes do there have to be before GD realizes that it's time for investing in a new "market," like a QB-included running game with playaction passing to 3 outstanding deep targets.

Investment strategies in the Oklahoma game

So how does all of this help understand what has been happening to the offense in the game against the Sooners and in several previous games? It seemed clear from the start that Davis understood the need for misdirection in the running game, but it was never clear for the entire game that he understood that Oklahoma was going to take Shipley and the middle away EVERY TIME. Going with 5 WR on two separate 3rd and 1 plays, as PB pointed out in his post, left no doubt about what GD thought he could do, and how that did not match what the defense would let him do.

An Early Halloween for the Texas Offensive Line

When I was 14 and just dumb enough to be dangerous, my brother and I hid in the branches of our tree on Halloween and waited for little trick or treaters to pass by underneath, when we would then jump down screaming behind the poor kids and their parents (Yes I still feel guilty). That stunt set off some major running to mommy by a series of six year-olds. Well, David Snow and Kyle Hix did their best "run to mommy" imitation yesterday after being intimidated to near pants-peeing by the Sooner line shifting and blitzing. David Snow personally accounted for at least 2 false starts and 2 holding penalties. He was later benched for awhile in favor of the bad-ankled Michael Huey. The attitude of the right side of the line improved in the second half, and Texas began to put together significant drives. Yes, Snow is the least experienced of the starting offensive linemen, but it bothers me that fans call for the offensive line to "man up" every week.

Mack Brown has taken note, and inserted Tray Allen, who has never before been mentioned in association with the right guard spot, as the OR player for Missouri. Allen has shown fantastic speed and power while run-blocking late in games this year, and it will be interesting to see what happens when he gets significant early game snaps in place of the ankle-sprain-limited Huey.

The Real Deal

Every game features players bally-hooed by the press as "All-Americans" or "one of the best in the country" or some such. Let's just say this - Jeremy Beal and Gerald McCoy are the REAL DEAL. They were absolutely responsible for destroying many of the plays Texas ran, especially in the first half. Their energy levels went down a bit in the second half, and perhaps this more than anything explained the difference in Texas' success between halves. The tale of Beal and McCoy is worth exploring in more detail. Quite often during the game, OU would line up Beal (44) just outside the offensive tackle's shoulder and McCoy (93) would take the 3 gap (between guard and tackle), while the other Oklahoma DT, Adrian Taylor (86) lined up in the opposite 1 gap

This defensive formation put McCoy one-on-one with a guard [David Snow (78)] and Beal one-on one with a tackle [Kyle Hix (64)]. Early in the game, McCoy and Beal beat Snow and Hix like a rug, leading to multiple QB pressures and tackles for loss. Note also how the area in front of Jordan Shipley (8) is saturated with defenders, while the area in front of Kirkendoll (11) and Chiles (7) is open, especially if Beal blitzes. Add blitzes by Reynolds (4) and/or Lewis (28), and mix in Kirk and Chiles not beating their men and voila - disaster in the short passing game.

Note also, however, that the OU defensive line is unbalanced and is vulnerable in front of the strong (TE) side of the offensive line, because Greg Smith (83) and Ulatoski(74) can initially double-team Auston English (33) and Tanner and Hall can initially double teamTaylor, after which Tanner attacks Travis Lewis (28) and Smith can engage Keenan Clayton (22). This vulnerability was exploited on multiple running plays in the second half, as it also provides a cutback lane behind Chris Hall's block if Taylor overplays to the outside.

While both teams used different variations of these formations, this basic alignment was in place the entire game, and explains most of what happened in the game. Oklahoma gambled that Texas wouldn't run misdirection plays enough and that Kirk and Chiles couldn't get open often enough to overcome the Sooners' advantage in man-to-man matchups along the defensive line. The first half - score one for Brent Venables: OU complete defensive domination. Second half - score one for Greg Davis, who finally realized that the Sooners were daring him to run. Without offensive line penalties, Texas was dominant offensively.

Extra Pass-Catching Surface Going forward, having Greg Smith in the game creates more gaps and better blocking angles for the other offensive linemen, even if Smith himself is not particularly dominant in his blocks. It helps both guards be involved in double teams immediately after the snap, which allows running plays to develop and for the running backs to have more holes to choose from. The issue, of course, as discussed at length yesterday by GhostofBigRoy, is whether Texas benefits by being able to run more consistently but having fewer passing options with Smith as opposed to having much better passing options with Buckner at flex tight end. As GBR pointed out, Buckner has looked more than a little lost in trying to make key blocks in runs out of the flex TE formation (with 3 other WR's). As noted several times on BON, Smith did catch both balls thrown to him, one in fairly tight coverage, and so he becomes a limited option in this TE drag play that was inspired by a similar play run by Miami in their victory over the Sooners.

The Horns' version features a roll out by Colt to the right, featuring some sort of pattern by Chiles or Kirkendoll. Meanwhile on the backside of the play, Jordan Shipley runs a deep pattern to clear the cornerback, and the innocuous, lightly regarded Smith slips in front of the linebackers to the left flat, where he is so open that he has time to eat lunch. Texas ran this play twice against the highly aggressive, blitzing Sooners. Look for it again if the defensive team gets overly aggressive.

Tan is the Man I am flabbergasted at the play of Charlie Tanner. Throughout 2008 and early 2009, Tanner was easily the weakest offensive lineman. Every team targeted the 1 and 3 gaps around him with blitzes and stunts, leaving him grasping at air or just downright confused, and which flushed or rushed Colt all too often. In addition, he struggled with his timing in releases off the initial double teams (combination blocks) in the running game, and was called for holding multiple times in the first three games. So imagine my shock when I found that, in the OU game, Tanner did not allow a sack or tackle for loss, and wore out Travis Lewis like a sick mule. It also says a lot that OU targeted its isolation of Gerald McCoy on the right guard (Snow and Huey) Perhaps the light has come on for Mr. Tanner.

The Bosses - Is there any other way to describe the play of the defensive line than as "The Boss."

via praxeology.net

Yes, the Sheriff is in town, and his paymaster is named Will Muschamp. Featuring three former high school running backs (Houston, Kindle, and Jones) along with the African Express (Sam Acho) and some major Beef (Randall and Alexander), this defensive line is even better than last year. They don't have as many sacks as last year's line, but they play the run and the screen pass much better. This all translates into, "Don't be bringing that $#%%&& in here!" Other than the misplayed screen pass to Demarco Murray, Oklahoma got virtually all their yardage outside the hashmarks. That's domination. I need not say more, as PB provided an excellent overview of their play here.

"Show Me" the Victory

As we fans release the last glow from the win over OU and edge into mild anxiety over Missouri, change is afoot. Will the Horns become a team based on running, or will the offense become more opportunistic and gauge whether the defense is gambling against tendency or sitting back and playing it safe? The pieces are available in the offensive and defensive lines to put things together, though the team will continue to struggle to find a consistent identity with the lack of a true TE with enough speed to make a safety pay attention. But it should be fun to watch, not knowing what you are going to get.

In the Trenches - System Failure or Sphinctered Heads?

burnt in ny — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:02:00 -0000

After reading over 100 comments in PB's postgame react and completely reactionary articles such as this one, the fanbase is screaming for an explanation about why Texas rushed for 46 yards on 25 carries while Toledo rushed for over 300. Our very own dimecoverage, in response to a comment in her postgame Daily Roundup responded:

My mother would like our o-line to get their s&%$ together.

So what was the deal? Is it evidence of a soon-to-be-fatal weakness, a warning klaxon for a complete system failure?

via www.stsci.edu Reactor meltdown at Chernobyl. A metaphor for the Texas running game?

Or is it a case of hubris and overconfidence, causing the players to play like they had their head firmly inserted into a sunless area

via 4.bp.blogspot.com - The Extra Blocking Surface? Anyone? Anyone?

In this week's rendition of In the Trenches I'll explore these and other questions. But here's a hint : hold off just yet on reaching for that morning cocktail, the Vallium, or even the Tylenol.

"And the shuttle Atlantis has just exploded over the Atlantic ocean...."

Let's first entertain that the sky is truly falling and that the Horns' woeful performance is indicative of impending system failure. What would be the evidence?

#1. The running game has been a worry since VY left.

#2. The Horns' offensive linemen appeared overwhelmed by demonstrably inferior defenders all Saturday night.

#3. Texas has three running plays: the zone read, inside zone handoff, the speed option, and the spread counter (the sorta-counter). Even a Pop Warner team has more running plays than that.

#4. Texas is averaging less than 6 designed QB runs from scrimmage per game in a spread offense that only functions properly when the QB is a threat to run. Keep in mind that this is NOT the Texas Tech offense, which uses draws and traps to punish defenders that drop LB's too quickly and rush the passer too fervently. Texas' running offense is designed to run the ball on first down when the defense EXPECTS the offense to run.

Logical Conclusion: This is a scheme that wastes plays running and results in lots of third and long situations, with back-breaking sacks (2 by Colorado, including a fumble) and interceptions (averaging more than 1 per game). Against a highly talented front seven of OU, frustration and disaster are imminent.

Where the Sun Doesn't Shine

And now let's consider the alternative, that Texas was flat, uninterested, and basically did not have their head in the game for this week only.

#1 Colorado was the first team Texas has played this year to run multiple, sophisticated run blitzes. This created considerable confusion at times among the offensive linemen, who seem to have forgotten that they saw lots of these blitzes last year, and at the least created 7 defenders against 5 blockers on virtually every running play.

#2. The playcalling seemed to suggest that the Horns treated the game like a scrimmage, in which the assumption was that plays would succeed as long as they were executed properly. Colorado' attacked every play like they had heard it called in the offensive huddle.

#3. Several players had absolutely miserable games blocking in the running game: Greg Smith (aka the EBS), Chris Hall, Michael Huey, and Dan Buckner. We fans acknowledge that some of these players are poor on a weekly basis, but subpar games by Huey and Hall are a surprise. Buckner saw things from his flex position he's probably never seen before (more details below).

#4. Because of the relative novelty of having to read a lot of blitzes, Kirkendoll and Chiles weren't always on the same page as McCoy, resulting in broken routes and missed reads.

#5. Like it or not, words to the press notwithstanding, players (and coaches) were saving their intensity for OU.

Logical Conclusion: Put your money on the head-up-your-ass explanation. We forget that Newton was out, McGee was injured (ankle and then hurt his shoulder) and Cody Johnson is simply not a good zone runner (backcut and go is not his forte). I don't know why Hall and Huey struggled so much to pick up stunting and delayed blitzing linebackers - the best explanation is that they just weren't prepared for the intensity, but it isn't easy to understand why they weren't. Up to this point in the season, most running plays have assumed that two defenders (one DE and one outside LB) can initially go unblocked, leaving 5 offensive linemen to block four areas at any time during the course of the play.

By blitzing in the interior gaps and doing a lot of stunting and twisting (where defenders cross behind others to attack different gaps in the line than they covered at the snap), the Buffs forced the Horns to have to block six areas. The zone blocking scheme used by Texas succeeds by getting a blocker under one of a defender's shoulders, pushing him aside and then leaving to block another defender. Against Colorado, blockers had to shift laterally and with poor leverage to block defenders coming from different directions, which is why they looked out-manned at times.

Note in this next diagram that Michael Huey and Greg Smith end up badly out of position because the defenders are past them before they fully release from their initial block. Note also that a poor block by Kirkendoll removes any outside escape. This leaves Cody Johnson with no place to go and not enough quickness to cut back behind Charlie Tanner (52).

The final piece of the puzzle has to do blocking by the receivers. Without a true dual-threat tight end, the Horns have called on Dan Buckner to block out of his "flex" slot position. Against Tech and UTEP, for example, Buckner usually just had to chip the oustide linebacker before an offensive lineman would arrive to lay the wood. With the linemen preoccupied with other things, Buckner was in position to make several key blocks on the outside linebacker and largely whiffed. One play in particular, a little shovel pass to Whittaker in the first quarter, might have gone for 15 yards or farther except that Buckner missed his block. Dan knew this because after the play he looked the coaches and pointed to himself as if to say, "My bad."

One doesn't normally think of wide receivers as "in the trenches," but with as many bubble screens as the Horns throw, the wide receivers become key blockers in the offense. Wide receiver screens had a huge potential on Saturday night because the Buffs were attacking so strongly with their linebackers and a good initial block on the cornerback would have yielded a ton of open space. Kirkendoll has succeeded in the past by blocking defenders from the side and sort of nudging them outside. Colorado's strategy was to attack Kirkendoll, knock him down and then go make the play. This was an effective strategy all night against the Chiles screens and also effectively turned the zone read and speed option plays inside to the stunting linemen and linebackers.

A message: Mr. Buckner and Captain Kirk, nobody's going to beam you up or come to your rescue to save your glutes; you're going to have to man up and do your job next week.

Verdict

The jury is still out on this dilemma of failed system with impending disaster vs. a one-game welcome back to the Big 12 punch in the face will depend on the coaches and players. Some key possible solutions.

1. Get creative with the weakside guard and let Colt run. More than any single other suggestion, this will help the overstuffing of the running lanes for the running back. If Colt is an actual threat to run, the outside linebacker on the weakside (the Will) has two gaps to cover. Colorado basically gambled that Colt would not run. Use either Hix (64) or Ulatoski (74) to engage the end and pull Tanner (or Huey (63) to kick out the outside linebacker if he attacks up field to cause Colt to "read" the DE and hand the ball off. If the linebacker attacks the 3 gap (between the tackle and guard). Colt can then either go inside or outside the tackle. Mind you, this requires the guard to read whether the LB is attacking him or pushing upfield outside the tackle. A couple of 10 yard runs by Colt, and the linebackers will have to stay home, allowing the running play to work as planned.

2. Recognize that Malcolm Williams is not, and never will be, a "practice player" but is one of your very best players - get him on the field. Particularly in the slot as a blocker for Chiles or Shipley on the screen. Send he and Buckner up the seams on deep curls or, gasp, flag patterns, hit a couple of those and get those linebackers out of the gaps. Pump fake the screen, fake the handoff, and then let Williams or Shipley run past the attacking DB and up the seam.

3. Get the offensive linemen to read the stunts and prepare to attack a delayed defender. The offensive linemen will get down the field later, but there will not be the penetration into the backfield. This will give the back time to read the blocks and cut into the gap vacated by the stunting linebacker.

4. Get Whittaker in the game. He and Newton have the right one-cut quickness it takes to make the zone-blocking scheme work. Witness Whittaker's 12 yard touchdown in which he reversed field to wide open spaces on the backside of an initial zone stretch play to the left.

5. Let's see some reverses, middle screens and slants to the WR. Make the LB's pay for their aggressiveness.

A Final Word. None of this should be new to any football professional. My purpose here was to suggest for discussion some ideas about what when wrong and how to fix it. Here's to confidence that the game was nothing more than a punch in the mouth by the first attacking defense the Horns have seen this year and that next week, the Horns are prepared to slip the jab and land the uppercut.

In the Trenches - Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Zone Blocking Horns

burnt in ny — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:09:35 -0000

As the Longhorn fanbase wakes up from a sleepy off-week and prepares for Colorado, I thought I'd use this week's version of "In the Trenches" to address some questions about the Longhorn offensive line and that mysterious thing we've all heard about, called zone blocking. For experts like ScipioTex of Barking Carnival or our very own GhostofBigRoy, much of this may be old hat, but comments from many suggest that it's new hat for many BONers.

Let's see, where to begin... I recall overhearing a conversation on a London train that went something like this...

via xtrvaluedvds.com

"By jove, Holmes, that Newton's a right quick little roger!"

Two gentlemen, decked out in tweed and hats, sat cross-legged on the bench.

The one with the cap exclaimed, "Dear God, Holmes, what on earth are you reading!"

Nonchalantly sucking on a pipe (since there's no smoking on the trains nowadays), the porkpie-hatted one rustled his newspaper and replied, "My dear Watson, this is a snappy little rag known as the Austin American-Statesman. I never had much use for those newfangled internet sites, however fiendishly cleverly they're linked to the great library of the world. I much prefer the feel and rustle of newsprint beneath my fingers."

"Well, what's so fascinating about that provincial outpost," pressed Watson.

"It's quite fascinating, really. Seems there's quite the mystery about this raucous game called American football. Some team in a rather heat-blasted colony called Texas has a football team with all the ingredients for a smashing ability to hand the ball to a quick bloke and let him run with it. Yet somehow the populace is quite fervent in their disbelief about its efficacy and extremely dispossessed in their lack of understanding of it."

"Well, it must be quite the story to be wresting your attention away from all the nefarious crime here in our fine city of London," said Watson doubtfully.

"Indeed, Watson, indeed... Seems there's this bizarre phenomenon called 'zone blocking' that's got everyone titillatingly frightened and frustrated. A mystery worth solving by any standards, I'll warrant."

"Tell me more, good sir. Anything to crush the boredom of this train ride. I wish we could just cut back through the alleys," snuffled Watson. "Like in the old days!"

"My dear Watson, you are right as always, and as always without knowing why!" exclaimed Holmes, sitting more erectly. "For it is indeed in the so-called 'back cut" that the secret to the mystery presents itself. Elementary! Why didn't I see it sooner!"

Watson gaped at his companion."Back cut! I'm afraid you've lost me Holmes."

"Well, I suppose, Watson, that a rather clearer picture of the whole affair would emerge from a bit of background. Along about 2004, the instructors, er coaches, of this football team began to be fascinated with a peculiar series of plays called the 'zone read,' in which the quarterback would receive the ball from the center and decide whether to hand the ball to another runner going in one direction or keep it himself and go in another direction. Devilishly simple, and it was eventually run to perfection by a rather phantasmic character known as Vince Young. A regular Tower of London with the feet of a dancer and the speed of a locomotive. As always, Watson, the general populace is singularly unprepared to accept the obvious and prefers instead to focus on the fantastic. You of course remember that harrowing case of the overgrown dogs, don't you Watson?"

"You mean the hound of the Baskervilles?"

via www.srpublications.com

"My dear Watson, the public's view of Vince Young can never be trusted!"

"Precisely," smirked Holmes. "Illustrates my point perfectly. All that blather about ghosts and demons, and in the end it was nothing but an overstimulated dog. At any rate, all the jolly good folk of Austin thought the rampant success of their team was due to this Young fellow, when in fact a just as important change was in how these incredibly massive young blokes, called the offensive line, were attacking the rather plightful defensive players that tried to tackle their heroes. In short, it was the advent of 'zone blocking.'"

"Sounds altogether quite boring, Holmes," sighed Watson.

"Quite right, my good man. The most brilliant of deductions are virtually always boring to the uninformed eye, based as they are upon the most fundamental, and least fantastic, aspects of any enterprise."

"Bloody hell, Holmes, then get on with it, what's this, er, 'zone blocking,'" grumped Watson.

"Elementary in concept and adept in form. Each of the five blokes, and sometimes a tight end, is responsible for blocking the men in a defined area around them. This was a novel concept in the late 20th Century, and became unmatched in its execution at the universities in the early part of this decade. It was unremittingly new because, prior to its advent, each offensive lineman would pick a defensive man and push on him for the entirety of a play. In zone blocking however, linemen often switch from one defender to another, with defenders passed among linemen like so many water buckets in a fire line. I recall an excellent source on the basics of this fine idea from the latest delivery from the library. And, yes, it's always good to seek the advice of professionals, and a former NFL (You do recall the London Monarchs don't you Watson?) coach has an excellent video tutorial on the subject."

"By jove, Holmes, I am yet to be distracted by this tome. If this scheme is all so effective as you say, then why isn't everyone doing it, and why is there such a mystery?"

"Patience, my good man. The successful tale is always good in the telling, if only for the discerning listener. There are in fact many teams using this scheme. The mystery, you see, is in why it works or not. When those scatbacks are being pummeled at the line of scrimmage, the average fan looks at how the offensive line appears while it's blocking. Imagine gorilla behemoths dancing with and engaging, rather than pulverizing, their opponents. Think of the exquisite timing of trading defensive partners from one lineman to another. A sort of primary school mantra comes to mind, 'First we double, then I share, and off to the linebacker I go, go, go,' repeated over and over. It's enough for the respectable conservative fans, with blood on their mind, to decry as 'soft' or 'sideways'," replied Holmes.

via www.lifeinthefastlane.ca "...these zone blocking behemoths can create a powerful running game, though they may be perceived as ballerinas. A rather unpleasant and unwarranted image I say." said Holmes.

"'Whatever happened to smashmouth football?' they scream," he continued. "Why is the running back always going sideways?' they moan. The coaches have turned real men into ballerinas. Quite frankly, Watson, it's enough to spark the appetite of any sleuth. How indeed, can this zone blocking scheme be the foundation of a powerful running game?"

"I'll take the liberty of sketching it out for you on the back of this newspaper," continued Holmes. "I suppose I could use actual video or video stills in the manner of that most insightful analyst GhostofBigRoy, but it's rather hard to distinguish the movements of offensive linemen from a horizontal perspective. First let's draw how they start. The team of interest, of course, is the Longhorns, and a brilliant choice of mascot it is, I might add."

"This is one of the basic formations for the team (in orange) with three wideouts, 2 to the wide side of the field, and a tight end, apparently a fine young fellow known as Greg Smith, the Extra Blocking Surface. The running back is lined up to the weak or short side of the field from the quarterback."

"The play starts with the running back moving to the right, which draws the linebackers in the direction that the running back is moving (yellow arrows). Note that the TE and right tackle double team the end and attempt to seal him inside. The center Chris Hall (71) and right guard Michael Huey (63) double-team the defensive tackle on the strong side to prevent him from penetrating and destroying the play. The two offensive linemen on the left side (outlined in blue circles) each block a single defender, but they are about to change who they block."

As the play develops, the left tackle Adam Ulatoski (74) (left-hand blue circle) leaves the defensive end (E) and reaches out to block the outside linebacker (OLB) on the weakside, who has now entered his area. Charlie Tanner (52) (center blue circle) passes his man off to Chris Hall and now blocks the end that has entered his area. Note that all the defenders are pushing to the strong (or righthand) side of the field. The Extra Blocking Surface (83) has left the end he originally blocked to muscle up the linebacker (right hand blue circle). At this point, the good fellow running back Tre' Newton has a choice of potential holes, depending on the movement and blocking by the offensive line. In the case studied here, Newton took the cutback lane (white) instead of completing the sweep to the right because of the penetration by the strongside end and outside linebacker. Newton gained 12 yards on exactly this play against Texas Tech.

"Surely they don't always run this play," suggested Watson.

"Indeed not," affirmed Holmes. "The team often runs plays out of this so-called 'shotgun spread,' but occasionally they change it up to something called the 'I-formation' with the running back lined up 7 yards behind the quarterback. Witness this play, which scored a touchdown from 15 yards out, and frankly would have scored from anywhere on the field."

"Watson, do note that there is no fullback and no tight end but instead a 'flex' TE, Dan Buckner (4). As the play begins, note the clever bit where the defensive end comes unblocked into the backfield while our man Huey and Hix double-team the defensive tackle and the center Chris Hall pushes the other tackle to the left, keeping him on his left shoulder. It is readily observed that this allows the Longhorns to concentrate more blockers on fewer defenders."

"But then," said Holmes, raising a finger in exhilaration, "Huey leaves the tackle to the outside shoulder of Hix and charges after the middle linebacker (blue circle), leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the line for our man Newton. Thanks to an additional fine block on the safety by Jordan Shipley, Newton sprints straight for a touchdown! Meanwhile, there's been no smashing of defenders, merely a bit of pushing and shoving along the line."

"Fascinating!" exclaimed Watson, now beginning to see the point.

"Moreover, this rather utterly destroys another popular myth," continued Holmes, "namely, that one requires a fullback and a tight end to run the I-formation. Zone blocking allows the defender normally blocked by the fullback to be blocked by an offensive lineman and the defender blocked by the tight end is rendered irrelevant by splitting the tight end out in the flex position, thus pulling the linebacker covering Buckner too far away from the play. Brilliant, I say!"

"If I might have the temerity to offer an opinion, what happens if the outside linebacker ignores Buckner and attacks the gap in the middle?" queried Watson.

"Astounding deduction as to the defense's response, my dear Watson. In that case, the team might very well go back to a spread formation and run their very best running play," gloats Holmes, "It is called a 'counter,' which has nothing to do with numbers, but everything to do with a rather dramatic sleight of feet, so you might say. It's a right jolly symphony of beefy movement.

"As the play begins, the entire left side of the offensive line 'pulls,' as they say, from left to right, as the center Chris Hall pushes the defensive tackle to the left and Michael Huey engages the tackle to the right, setting the poor bloke up for a future block by the pulling linemen."

"The pulling linemen enter the gap between Chris Hall and Michael Huey, looking to attack the tackle and end, which have been left behind by Michael Huey and Kyle Hix to attack the inside and outside linebackers. A jolly classic demonstration of the finest zone blocking techniques."

"The pulling linemen (Ulatoski and Tanner) take the right defensive tackle and end from a new angle, keeping the defensive players on their right shoulder. Smith helps seal the other defensive tackle to the left, along with Chris Hall. Huey and Hix each execute their downfield blocks on the linebackers and Newton right into the hole and straight up the middle. Extraordinary!"

Watson sat speechless (for once).

"So," intoned Holmes, "You see that, when properly executed, these zone blocking behemoths can create a powerful running game, though they may be perceived as ballerinas. A rather unpleasant and unwarranted image I say."

"You don't say, Holmes," exclaimed Watson.

"And so there you have it, Watson. A complete de-bunking of the popular moronity, that you can't have a good running game with measly-appearing zone blocking. It should be mentioned that the scheme requires exquisite timing and supreme intelligence and experience of its practitioners. Having an intrepid back with sufficient vision to spy those cutback lanes is also a requisite. Without those, the plan might as well be rubbish."

"And once again, my good man," lauded Watson, "you've reduced hysteria to cold hard analysis. It might be one of your best cases ever!"

"I wonder if my not so humble opinion would be of value to the press," speculated Holmes. "Ah, a useless muse, no doubt. The press... mystery, not facts, sells newspapers, not to mention space on that polyglot of public opinion, the internet. One must present the appearance of dire consequences and grievous incompetence to intrigue the public. Things have changed little sincce 1876."

In the Trenches - Digesting the Cupcake Feast

burnt in ny — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:43:32 -0000

Another superb bit of analysis on Texas' line play from burnt in ny. --PB--

It's like Thanksgiving afternoon on the UT blogs today, as fans sit satiated with great plays and haul in their bloated bellies from a 64-7 smacking of UTEP. I'm digesting the last icing on the final cupcake of the afternoon for the Horns, thinking on what we learned about play in the lines this week.

The human metaphor for the Longhorn fanbase at the moment

Yes, there were astounding plays by Kindle, Houston, Sam Acho and Ben Alexander on defense. Yes, the Horns rushed for more than 300 yards for the first time in a coon's age, and yes Colt was smiling on the bench for the first time this season. But hey, this was UTEP, a team that largely gave up after Colt McCoy's 16-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Shipley's back shoulder made it 33-7 with 7:08 left in the second quarter. You always have to wonder about how much you learn from a game like this, so let's go to class after the jump.

First, let's consider the Big Points following the namesake of this weekly piece.

Loaders and Backhoes

Recognition and the Texas running game

The Horns handed the ball to a running back only 7 times in the first half, so all the griping from fans and analysts about the first half rushing stats (and Tre Newton now NOT being the answer) are a bit hysterical. One run went only 3 yards because it was a touchdown (standing up I might add). Two runs gained negative yardage, and I'll get into these in a moment, while the other runs gained 4, 7, 7 and 3 yards, respectively. Points of excellence were excellent seal blocks to the outside by Ulatoski and Hix on the DE or LB (depending on how the defensive formation was shifted. The negative plays were a microcosm of the problems in the Texas running game and illustrated quite clearly: THE PROBLEM WITH THE TEXAS RUNNING GAME HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THE RUNNING BACKS. The problems have been, and continue to be, inconsistent play by the guards.

So what do they have to do with? Recognition and technique by the interior OL. The first negative running play (-3 yards) was a zone read to the right from the UTEP 6, when tackle Kyle Hix kicked out the LB as planned, but RG Michael Huey, in his shift to the right, failed to react to an interior twist by the UTEP DE and allowed his man to penetrate into the backfield. This forced Newton to shade backwards, running him into Hix and allowing the DE to make the ankle tackle on Newton. Had Huey made his block, Newton might have scored on that play. The one-yard loss occurred later from the UTEP 45 on the same type running play. This time Chris Hall attacked the middle LB successfully and Huey and Hix sealed off the right side, with Huey successfully leaving his man to block the outside LB that was attacking the middle. However, Charlie Tanner reacted very slowly to in inside slant by the DT and allowed him to slide right into the otherwise gaping hole, stopping Newton for a loss.

Numerous other recognition problems plagued other plays. For example, John Chiles ran a WildHorn counter play later in the third quarter and might have gone for 10-15 yards, except Charlie Tanner, who was pulling from left to right, didn't see the UTEP safety attacking from his left and instead went after another safety 7 yards further down the field, leaving the first safety untouched to make the tackle for only a 3-yard gain.

It's not clear how many of these little problems are fixable, since they seem to result from Tanner and Huey not seeing the field as well as they need to, or just getting out-quicked by smaller linemen.. At any rate, the OL remains, to quote Mack Brown, "a work in progress."

Hell Hath No Fury...Except When the Smarter Play Is...

Many commentators are lauding the defense as being the best at Texas in a long time. The tendency is to think of it as a ferocious unit that takes on Will Muschamp's personality, with Sergio Kindle, the Achos, Lamarr Houston, and Muckelroy laying the wood. The team has 12 sacks in its last 3 games, a pace that if continued would smash last year's nation-leading 47. It is clear, however, after 4 games, that the Horns are as much a smart team as they are a ferocious one. It was fun to watch Houston, Ben Alexander, and Muckelroy make initial rushes and then peel off early when they read a screen pass. Come to think of it, none of the last three opponents has really run a successful screen against the Horns. This contrasts sharply with last year, when OU, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech ran screens with impunity.

Picks and Shovels

Some of the finer points of mention In the Trenches

1. It was amazing to see DT Ben Alexander on a zone blitz in the third quarter, 10 yards deep in the zone, come within a foot of breaking up a pass. That's what you call OPTIONS. It's great to know that Alexander is more than just a potentially immovable object.

2. One thing I was interested in was how Dan Buckner was helping or hurting the Texas running game. This was a difficult evaluation, given the opponent and the small number of times Texas ran the ball when it wasn't garbage time. But a few things pop out. One, Texas rarely uses Buckner as anything other than a downfield blocker from his flex TE position. Without a true TE, I think this puts enormous pressure on the five offensive linemen to make their blocks, as there are fewer of the double-teaming options along the line that are critical to making the zone-blocking scheme of the Longhorns work. Look for more boom and bust in the running game in that regard, as Texas' downfield blocking with Buckner, Williams, Chiles, and Shipley is outstanding and leaves gaping areas if the backs can get into the secondary, but occasionally a defender will make deep disruptive penetration.

via www.40acressports.com

3. Adam Ulatoski is known as a good pass blocker with liabilities as a run blocker. In the last two games, big number 74 has done much better at run-blocking than pass-blocking. He's given up, by my count, 4 QB hurries against Colt, and seems to be struggling against inside moves. In the run game, he's been a monster on those counter plays when he pulls from left to right, and he has been strong at sealing the DE inside and the LB outside on zone reads and sweeps.

via www.nationalchamps.net

Adam Ulatoski staring down a LB on a sweep.

4. Texas' offensive line depth, while not overwhelming, is better than many think. Trey Allen was in for a lot snaps, even early in the game and played well, often absolutely smothering his man, but keeping his head up to look for delayed blitzers. David Snow came in for Chris Hall after Hall dinged a shoulder and played well, as he pass-protected well and shows excellent speed in getting upfield to block safteties and LB's. Britt Mitchell also played well at RT early in the thrid quarter. He looked a bit overmatched at times, but there was no ole' in his two-step against the pass rush. But before we get too excited, I was underwhelmed by the play of Luke Poehlman, the Horns' first runner up at LT. He had problems recognizing blitzes and was getting beaten routinely on inside moves.

In the Trenches - Eating Kindled Crow While It's Snowing Newtons!

burnt in ny — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:24:49 -0000

Bumped. Another quality take from burnt well worth reading. --PB--

This is the second installment of a weekly series on perhaps unappreciated key play along Texas' offensive and defensive lines.There are many things happening in the lines that may not be noticeable to some fans, so perhaps these posts can provide some insight.

Last week I opened the series by suggesting that Sergio Kindle, while playing positionally very well, seemed a step slow and might be injured. So today I'll begin with a breakfast of Kindled Crow, complete with feathers, feet, and beak. Sergio is NOT injured and is NOT slow. Beyond the celebrated obliteration of Taylor Potts leading to the fumble (recovered as usual by Sam Acho) that set up the Horns' last touchdown, was a steel-jacketed bullet all night long. He mixed speed and power in a unique way and made critical plays all night long. It was a Kindle pressure that led to Earl Thomas' interception, and at least two other pressures led to bad incompletions. On another play, he lined up as a LB as if to cover the inside slot receiver on a trips left formation for Tech, but instead blitzed and bulled Tech's 300+ lb LT like he was pushing a wheelbarrow right back into Potts. He was monster against the run, as he seemed to make the tackle on Tech's little draw plays no matter where he lined up. My favorite play was his erasure of TT runningback Eric Stephens on a 3rd and 1 draw play. Kindle came on an inside stunt, sniffed the run, and completely stoned Stephens, who otherwise was running out of tackles all day. Perhaps most telling, Muschamp gave him a rest after the Horns went up 24-10 with 5:25 left in the third quarter, and Potts drove Tech 84 yards in 8 plays for a touchdown in a series that looked a lot like 7-on-7 against a high school team. Sergio has been found, and after I wipe that last feather off my lip, I will be happy to tell you how much I am enjoying eating bird way before Thanksgiving.

Now, for the other important news, check out the new kids movie "Snowing Newtons" after the jump, featuring an unusually powerful offensive lineman and visionary running back, after the jump.

The game news and postgame thread on BON is full of comments about the arrival of Tre Newton as THE ANSWER at RB. It is certainly clear that Newton can read the blocking on the line better than McGee, is more decisive in his cuts, and has a more explosive burst through the hole. But let's talk about the hole through which Newton earned his money most of the night. In the zone sweep, Chris Hall usually teamed with Charlie Tanner on Colby Whitlock to prevent his penetration, and this left David Snow 1 on 1 with the other Tech tackle Richard Jones. On Newton's 19 yard TD and on several other runs, David Snow not only stayed engaged with Jones, but sealed open the backside cutback lane. Since the middle LB Brian Duncan was overplaying the sweep to overmatch the blockers on the edge (the usual reason the zone sweep rarely works with McGee), this left huge hole that Vondrell McGee rarely sees, but that Newton burst through. Newton's speed is enough to beat the trailing weakside LB through the hole. With Texas Tech in their two-deep zone, the safety can't come up in time to stuff the hole, leaving Newton free to juke, cut, and break tackles. The first "wildcat " formation (a new variant of last year's Q package) yielded the 34 yard cutback run by John Chiles and Texas' first field goal, and the same seal block by Snow freed up Chiles. Thus, the key to the successful cutback and Texas' most successful runs lay in Snow's dominance of his man and the ability of Hall to sustain the double team on the other DT.

This type of blocking and running, more than anything else is a key to Texas' future success, because teams will continue to rush 3 and delay blitz a fourth, with everyone else back in zone coverage, as long as Texas can't demonstrate that it can beat you running. This type of soft coverage by opposing teams is part of what is making Colt look shaky, especially on third down. Let's hope the Horns can continue to make it "Snow Newtons" for both halves of a game as they head into the rest of the season.

In the Trenches - Where Oh Where is Sergio...??

burnt in ny — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:48:20 -0000

Entree with an Italian troubadour tenor and lute strolling the sidelines of DKR...

"Where oh where is Sergio... where oh where can he be?....

We're looking for sacks from our favorite beast, we're not impressed in the least!"

via www.recorderhomepage.net - Wherefore art thou Sergio?!

(lute strums violently)

After two games of mostly dominant defense and All-American performances from Lamarr Houston, Sam Acho, and Earl Thomas, much of UT fandom is asking, "Where is Sergio Kindle?" We fans were expecting a one-man wrecking crew to roll up the line and obliterate the first and second-string quarterbacks of both ULM and Wyoming...Okay, maybe get a couple of sacks and have the quarterbacks looking for stray prairie dog burrows to hide in two seconds after every snap. Well, maybe just a constant steaming presence in the backfield. Still no? Alright, so maybe he was triple teamed, and we haven't seen him because he's been surrounded by offensive linemen. What's that? We can see Sergio's #2 clearly on every play?

How to explain this phenomenon of the disappearing Sergio? Take the jump.

Pass-rushing terror extraordinaire Sergio Kimble has had a strange first two games. No sacks. No monster hits. No quavering opposing coaches saying,"We just couldn't block that guy." Yet UT coaches have commented that Sergio has done a "good job," and have explained the lack of sacks on the offensive team "not going to let us get sacks." If you look at the boxscore, Sergio is down for 2 tackles and 2 quarterback hurries. Something isn't quite adding up

I thought I would get beyond the "coachspeak" and see for myself by watching the tape of the Wyoming game. So what was the deal? Is Sergio being blocked? Is he running out of plays rather than into tackles? Are the coaches working him on his pass coverage in the games against the "cupcakes?"

My assessment is that there is something physically wrong with Sergio - specifically, he is not running as well as he was last year. Given his history of injuries as a freshman and sophomore, this isn't out of the question. Given Mack Brown's history of not revealing injuried to starters if those players will play in a game, this becomes a distinct possibility. The lack of almost any effort to move Sergio around to different positions on the line or as the "Buck" linebacker provides additional evidence, given Will Muschamp's famous statement in early August that opposing coaches are going to "need a GPS" to find Sergio on gameday.

On what do I base my claim that Sergio isn't 100%? Several things. Let's start with his basic pass rush. Kindle has shown little explosion or strong first step. He typically attacks the offensive tackle and then tries to sidestep him to the outside in his pass rush. As a consequence, Sergio comes clear of the OT on almost every play, but seems to have little speed when he does so.

A second issue is that when Sergio has come free, it seems like he has lead in his shoes and it takes him forever to get to the QB. Hence Sergio has 8 QB hurries on the season but no sacks. A classic example of this occurred on Saturday when Wyoming quarterback Robert Benjamin rolled to his right and Sergio had him dead on and... Benjamin whipped by him like VY. And let's face it, Benjamin is no VY.

For the most part, Wyoming and ULM have run away from Sergio, and right at Sam Acho. On these plays against Wyoming, Sergio was always two steps behind in tracking down the play from behind. In 2009, Sergio would run down the back from the back, saving countless yards. He single-handedly kept the Texas defense in the game against Texas Tech by running down plays from the back side. But right now, this is not happening.

Come to think of it, Sergio didn't play in the spring game (for still mysterious reasons), and was in for many fewer plays against ULM than other defensive starters.

I would bet a gallon of Hagen Dasz (you pick the flavor) that we'll find out at the end of the season that Sergio was "playing through" some leg (probably muscle, but maybe knee) injury. If Sergio is injured, it's in Texas' best interest to leave him on the field, even as a decoy, since this is likely to increase the predictability of the opposing offense (run away from Sergio) and increase opportunities for other players to make plays (hello Sam Acho and Keenan Robinson). Let's hope whatever it is gets better by next week, and certainly by the RRS, because if Sergio can begin to turn his "hurries" into sacks, even the best teams are going to have difficulty scoring on the Longhorns.

It's Time To... To Step Up!

burnt in ny — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:21:45 -0000

As the daily countdown to the UL-Monroe game begins, I started thinking about how this Longhorn team, with so many apparent pieces in place, will be different and need different things than last year's to achieve an undefeated season. The coaches have already alluded to the need for new leaders, as Roy Miller, Chris Ogbonnaya, and Brian Orakpo, 3/4 of the heart and soul of the 2008 Horns with Colt McCoy, have journeyed on to the NFL. And that made me think about who on the 2009 burnt orange needs to STEP UP.

As a point of reference, the 2008 team was all about players "stepping up." In fact, watching players of purported talent but little experience blossom is one of the things I like best about college football. In 2008, Texas had Roy Miller emerge from the third guy in a 3 DT rotation in 2007 to All Big 12, Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP, and third round NFL draft choice. There was Brian Orakpo, the oft-injured Mad Dog creation, who emerged from perceived threat to consensus All-America and winner of three national defensive player awards. How about Henry Melton, who emerged from his spectacular failure at running back as a sophomore and obscurity as a junior to lead the team in quarterback hurries and become a 4th-round NFL draft choice? Earl Thomas rose from virtually unknown redshirt freshman to be a pre-season All Big 12 safety for 2009. On offense, Jordan Shipley rose from a valuable third receiving option in 2007 to the biggest offensive impact player on the team.

So who will be the "Step Up Guys" in 2009? I really don't know. But I do have a wish list. And this list is related to what I see are the biggest weaknesses on the Horns, especially relative to their two toughest opponents Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Here are my top 6, ranked in order of need for the biggest improvement. Clearly all would need to improve over their 2008 performances, in terms of production and playing time. Several of these players have been discussed at length in different threads, but some, as expected, are still under the radar.

1. Jared Norton

2. Kyle Hix

2. Christian Scott

4. David Snow

5. Lamarr Houston

6. Malcolm Williams

I explore the reasons in more detail after the jump

Why these six?

1. Jared Norton. Point #1.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. These appear as various formations with one TE and a blocking back or 2 TE's, both of which create a broader "surface" against which to attack defensive linemen and linebackers. Texas proved vulnerable to plays that focused blocking on the strong side edge. For example, in 2008, 56% of tackles by DE's and LB's were by strong side players (Melton, Norton, etc.) in the game against the Cowboys, where the Horns struggled in defending the run, compared to only 37% in the game against OU, where Texas had much better success defending the run. Point #2. Texas features slanting defensive tackles, which means that the DT's charge through gaps at the snap. This practice in fact weakens Texas' dependence on having great DT's because attacking the gaps tends to tie up offensive linemen even if the DT is a stiff. However, slanting leaves one extra gap to be filled by linebackers, and there are at least two unfilled gaps generated by a power running offensive front. This puts enormous pressure on the LB's to sniff out the right gap to fill.

With the expected and somewhat unavoidable inexperience and lack of talent at DT (more below about Lamarr Houston), inside and strongside linebacker play will be critical to the Horns' success in 2009. This points the giant fingers of a foam Hook-Em hand directly at Jared Norton. Number 11 has shown flashes of talent in the past two seasons - I recall him blowing up several plays and getting a QB sack in the big (at the time) win against TCU in 2007, and he had a couple of nice stuffs against Beanie Wells in the Fiesta Bowl. However, these "flashes" have been relatively few and far between. A more powerful memory is watching Norton being apparently eaten by the monster otherwise known as TE Brandon Pettigrew in the Oklahoma State game and chasing Kendall Hunter from behind all over the field. In general, Norton struggled throughout 2008 with choosing the right gaps, and Blake Gideon, that champion of of the bone-crushing hit (Not!), had to come to his rescue repeatedly. Texas needs a major upgrade from Norton in the "head for football" department if opposing teams are to repeatedly enter the the third-and-long "sack zone" for clean-up by Kindle, Jones, Acho, and Okafor.

2. Kyle Hix. General and loud lamentation and woe on various blogs has blamed problems in the Texas running game on scheme, recruiting, injuries, and backs that can run but can't block (Yes, Vondrell we're talking about you). That all might be relevant, but I think there's nothing wrong with Texas' running game that an upgrade at right tackle wouldn't fix. I watched the film of several games: UTEP, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Ohio State, and it struck me that Point #1, Texas rushed for an average of two yards less per carry when running to the right (Kyle Hix's side) than the left, with the exception of Chris Ogbonnaya's Sooner killer run. Point #2. Backs seemed to have trouble reading Hix's blocks, and thus "did the dance" on many plays, as if they were uncertain whether Hix would push his defender outside or inside. On the zone sweep that Texas' runs so often, the tackle needs to seal the DE to the inside or kick him out strongly to create a cutback lane, and all too often, this didn't happen in 2008. Point#3. Hix was often late in arriving on leftside counter plays (or possibly the backs rushed the hole too soon). Timing was off somewhere.

Kyle Hix had starts as a freshman in the offensive-line-challenged year of our Lord 2007, and much was expected of him in 2008. Reach-blocking, the technique central to success in the zone-blocking scheme used by the Longhorns, may not be his strength. He was OK in pass-blocking, but often had help from a TE or RB, leaving Ulatoski on an island on Colt's blind side. Starting as a freshman lineman at Texas speaks to considerable talent for number 64; the fans are waiting to see it in 2009.

3. Christian Scott. One of the more memorable series of plays in 2008 occurred when Blake Gideon suffered a concussion at the hands of Kansas running back Angus Quigley, and Christian Scott entered the game and, on the next play, knocked the stuffing out of Quigley and the ball out of his hands. Ever since, the cries for Christian Scott to take the field have amplified to the point of screechy feedback. No screeching has been louder than that of coach Will Muschamp, who longed to put Mr. Scott on the field but couldn't because he "didn't know where to line up."

As Texas shifts more fully to a 4-2-5 base defense, Christian is one of the few players Texas has who can play the critical hybrid linebacker-safety position (although Nolan Brewster may fill in there). The possibilities are both exciting (he looks to be an elemental force) and frightening (how high is his football IQ), as that "rover" position needs to be manned by someone who recognizes formations and can make decisions about whether to drop into coverage or attack the line of scrimmage. Clever offensive formations can also isolate smaller, quicker receivers on Scott, and it remains to be seen whether he is up to the coverage nightmare. It was encouraging that number 6 did make it onto the field with the first team defense in the spring game, but it will be important that he develops an understanding of the game sufficient to deal with the likes of Jermaine Gresham and Dez Bryant if the Horns are to have a truly dominating defense.

4. David Snow. The other piece of offensive line play that needs upgrading is the interior play of the guards. Yes Chris Hall is a physically maxed out but very smart player who might be irreplaceable in making the line blocking assignment calls. However, Michael Huey and Charlie Tanner are highly replaceable in my view. Both have been badly overwhelmed at times by smaller, quicker pass ruishers and have underwhelmed in their ability to pull on counter plays or switch blocks in the zone running game. Snow represents the best hope for an upgrade, as he, a true freshman lineman who saw significant playing time in 2008, paved the way with beautiful, annihilating blocks on several touchdown runs last season. His physical presence and tools seem better than those of either Tanner or Huey, and fans and coaches are still twiddling their thumbs waiting for Trey Allen to emerge. It may be difficult for Texas' running game and overall offensive performance to improve if Snow doesn't "step up" to claim a starting guard spot.

5. Lamarr Houston. For all the reasons outlined for the importance of Jared Norton's improvement, improved play by the 2009 DT candidates is also paramount. The encouraging thing is, we fans have been here before. With the departure of Frank Okam and Derek Lokey after 2007 and the immature career self-destruction of Dre Jones, many questions existed about the the DT position last August. Roy Miller was the only experienced incumbent, and no one foresaw him as a physically dominant presence on the line. Thus 2009 feels like deja vu. Two seniors have departed, leaving a converted DE with less than overwhelming statistics, Lamarr Houston, to lead a thin group. Lamarr's tramsition to DT was pantingly awaited at the beginning of 2008, but the show turned out to be Roy Miller's, not Lamarr's. So now we arrive in 2009 and the question is, can "Lamarr be a starr"? Let's sell T-shirts.

I think Lamarr can be a "starr" for several reasons. One, he is playing at 300 pounds instead of the marginal 275 he played at last year. Two, he's had a year to make the transition - that time did wonders for Henry Melton last year. Three, nearly a third of his tackles went for loss last year. Fourth, Lamarr's biggest problem was running himself out of plays, that is, playing DT like a DE - see reason two. Fifth, Lamarr might be the best overall athlete ever to play DT for Texas. If he stays healthy, the Big 12 media will be saying "Gerald who?"

6. Malcolm Williams. If I had a dollar for every blog post salivating over the prospect of Malcolm Williams getting open deep or outjumping some poor safety for an end-zone fade in the last six months, I'd be rich enough to retire. I don't need to go into details - the man has incredible potential to dominate games at the WR position with his speed, jumping ability, and size. His ability to push safeties five yards deeper and keep them from jumping the short routes Colt likes to throw are of incalculable value. You'd think he was the second coming of Vi... OK that's enough. Malcolm showed flashes in 2008 with a high-flying TD reception against Missouri and the two TexasTech-back-cracking(but eventually not breaking) long TD's. But he also looked lost in blocking on running plays (how can a TE-sized guy not just smother the DB on a running play?) and had a few drops. The competition to get on the field at the WR position is intense, and in game situations, Williams hasn't been consistently up to it. So despite being rubbed with anointing oil and having the altar prepared, number 9 still must show it in the real games on a consistent basis for Texas to have a highly effective passing game.

There are others who could stand to "step up," like Chris Hall, Fozzy Whittaker, Blake Gideon, Deon Beasley, etc. but I felt Texas' depth would make them unmissed in the case that they failed to do so.

Poll

Which player on the Longhorns needs to improve the most for the Horns to go undefeated and play for the MNC?

Jared Norton

13 votes

Lamarr Houston

68 votes

Christian Scott

7 votes

Kyle Hix

15 votes

David Snow

4 votes

Malcolm Williams

32 votes

Fozzy Whittaker

60 votes

Someone else

17 votes

216 votes | Poll has closed

2008 Horns report card, part 2 - defense

burnt in ny — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:34:15 -0000

With this earlier post, I began a breakdown of Horns players by position starting with the offense. While offense wins BCS rankings and gets most of the press, I believe this Texas team achieved its 11-1 record on the back of its defense. The key word here is evolution; the defense has undergone a remarkable transformation this year, a baby turning into a teenager. Mack’s transformation of his defense from a 4-3 run plugger that depends on play-making safeties to a flexible, fast, pressurizing bee swarm to combat spread offenses is now nearing completion. All that remains is to develop those play-making safeties and find at least one more linebacker, and this becomes a defense that beats teams up (like they did to Kansas).

What’s left, and the Fiesta Bowl provides a great intermediate target, is to complete the journey from teenager to man for the 2009 season. So where are the Horns in that process?

Defensive Tackle – All summer, fans worried that Texas would be too light and too shallow in personnel to hold up for the season. The show was billed as Roy Miller and the Munchkins, since 260 pound DEs (in 2007) Lamarr Houston and Aaron Lewis bulked up to 275-280 and converted to tackle in the spring. That show never made it out of focus groups; what we got instead was The Gatling Gun, a group of gap-shooting disruptors that played hell with opposing teams’ running games and produced 7 sacks and an astounding 52 quarterback hurries (only 3 less than that produced by the much more ballyhooed defensive ends). In perhaps their finest game, the play of the DT’s actually forced Missouri to shrink the gaps between the center and guards, equivalent to a big-time tightening of the derriere and capitulation by a spread offense. Instead of a weakness, DT was a team strength. Individually, senior Roy Miller was a god, with 26 quarterback hurries (only one less than Brian Orakpo), 4 sacks, and 46 tackles with 10 for losses. How he could not be on the All Big 12 defensive team is beyond me. Miller’s stuffing of the Jeremy Maclin opening-play reverse against Missouri was the statement play of the game and maybe for the year. Although much less heralded, Aaron Lewis played better than expected and looks to be a very good player for 2009. Lamarr Houston, one of PB’s “my guys” from the pre-season, was somewhat disappointing, given his athletic talents. Aside from the distraction from the DWI incident in September, I suspect it’s a case of “You can take the DE to DT, but you can’t take the DE out of the DT,” or something like that. Houston ran himself out of too many plays and seemed to struggle to hold position when double-teamed. On the other hand, he’s been plagued with a nagging foot injury that has diminished his explosiveness. Despite all this, he was undeniably disruptive, because 7 (30%) of his 20 tackles went for loss and he delivered another 11 quarterback hurries.

DT is another position where Texas has a considerable advantage over their hulkier, slower counterparts on the Ohio State offensive line. With time for his foot to heal, Houston, together with Miller and Lewis could emerge as the disruptive force that stops Beanie Wells before he can generate a head of steam or makes him bounce outside, where the Longhorns’ speed advantage can come into play.

Backups: A true freshman, Kheeston Randall began getting on the field toward the end of the season, and junior Ben Alexander played well enough to spell a starter now and then. To my limited eye, there was never a huge dropoff when either was in the game. Randall, with a year of strength training and some additional bulk, could be a serious player in the years ahead.

Grade A-

Defensive End. As of this writing, Brian Orakpo has won the Lombardi, Nagurski, and Hendricks awards for the nation’s best lineman, defensive player, and defensive end, respectively. Next, we’ll find out he’s won the Medal of Honor. Short of Orakpo, does Texas have any defensive ends? I think the answer to that question is a resounding yes. The "other" ends in the 2008 campaign, senior Henry Melton and sophomores Sam Acho and Eddie Jones combined for 8 sacks, 16 tackles for loss and 29 quarterback hurries. Not exactly girl scouts. I must say I am more than impressed with Henry Melton, who went from a sad sack of a sophomore running back that seemed afraid to hurt somebody to a consistent, motorized force at DE who may yet play in an NFL always looking for pass rushers. This depth and aggressive play from the opposite side of the line prevented consistent double teams on Orakpo and allowed the defense to develop a remarkable fluidity and unpredictability that is the trademark of Will Muschamp. All this aggressiveness did lead to a certain vulnerability to screen passes, especially early in the season, but you can’t have everything.

In their two most recent BCS beatdowns by SEC teams, speed and power off the edge from the opposing team’s DE’s completely overwhelmed the Buckeyes. With Orakpo’s knee healed up and Acho’s confidence peaked for the Fiesta Bowl, the Horns DE’s could very well be the heavy artillery that takes out the command and control of one freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The key is not to sack him on every play but rather to collapse the pocket, making him stand and read defenses rather than run, free-lance and play sandlot football.

Backups: Although Orakpo and Melton seemed to always be on the field, Acho and Jones are not much of a drop-off. Their signature moment as a pair was the six-play goal-line stand against Kansas where each got a sack

Grade A+

Outside Linebackers – On one hand, we have Sergio Kindle, whose brutal tackles and pass rush kept the Horns in the game against Tech when every other player’s head was spinning demonically and has played like a beast ever since. I always think of him as "The Cleaner" for his tactic of delaying his pass rush until he sees that a. it really is a pass, and b. which way the quarterback might flush and then swooping in for the kill. He is easily the most disruptive and best pass-rushing linebacker in the Big 12. Then we have Roddrick Muckelroy, who has a different job of cleaning up draws, screens, dumpoff passes to running backs or fronting slot receivers who run hot routes. With all this responsibility, he is the first linebacker to record 100 tackles in a season and lead the team in tackles (by a wide margin in fact) since Derrick Johnson in 2004. He played monster games against UTEP, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech, but was dominated by Oklahoma State’s TE Brandon Pettigrew, and has virtually disappeared since the Texas Tech game (Colorado-Tech, averaged 11.6 tackles/game, but only 6 per game since). It may be that he’s injured but the team hasn’t reported it, but his on-again, off-again performances have left him off the All-Big 12 teams.

Given the Horns’ recent history of atrocious linebacking, this year’s play is a serious upgrade. But the team has been vulnerable to runs off the edge (see UTEP, Oklahoma State, and Baylor (incidentally Muckelroy’s worst game)) and good TE’s (Gresham, Coffman, and Pettigrew all had big games). It could be scheme-related, but somehow the outside linebackers seem a year away from being truly great. As a fan, I hope Kindle doesn’t turn pro, because I think he is still learning the LB position and could easily triple his signing bonus by playing another year for Muschamp.

This group needs to work out how to play the double TE set, because as sure as a Sunday morning, Ohio State will line up with 2 TE’s and pinch the DE’s, daring Kindle and Muckelroy to fight off the FB or make the right choice on a Pryor option play. While their athletic ability is unquestioned, their mental game needs an overhaul, or Beanie Wells just might wear out the UT defense.

Backups: Sophomore Keenan Robinson and freshman Emmanuel Acho have shown a few flashes, but neither has been on the field enough to tell what their potential might be. One encouraging sign of some quality depth is that Robinson was listed ahead of Kindle on the early depth charts in summer camp, until Kindle had shown Muschamp what he could do.

Grade: B (It’s a long way up from last year’s atrocity at all linebacker positions. Kindle is a difference-maker against spread offenses, but the defense has proved vulnerable to attacks on the outside LB’s in several games).

Inside Linebackers – Rashad Bobino and Jared Norton have shared this position all year. Bobino is the senior and a veteran of the 2005 championship year, but has been consistently ineffective throughout his last 3 years. Norton has a lot of athleticism, but has come up short in the smarts and pass coverage department repeatedly. Neither player’s play changed significantly from 2007, although both seem to have improved their ability to pick gaps and judge attack angles. The MLB position poses no real threat to offenses and has made few signature plays. In some games, particularly Oklahoma State and Tech, they seemed a significant liability with missed tackles, poor gap control, and being lost in pass coverage. This is a classic case of how experience may not make you a better player.

The Fiesta Bowl will test these two hombres in serious ways. Controlling their gaps in coordination with slanting defensive linemen will be key in any feasible plan for stopping Beanie Wells. Fans can only hope that they will "man up" for that job. Fortunately, the Buckeyes do not have an all-world TE to abuse them in pass coverage.

Backups: None

Grade: C (One of two remaining problem areas on defense. Luckily they have Miller & Co. in front of them).

Cornerbacks – This position has perhaps evolved the most during the year. The starters on the depth chart, Ryan Palmer and Deon Beasley, are likely the worst players (more on that later), and the subs, considering their youth, have been fairly spectacular. So let’s focus on the starters. Ryan Palmer seems to be the only DB with good enough hands to make an interception (he leads the team with 3), and in fact made a critical interception in blowing open the Baylor game. Nevertheless, his small size and lack of quickness and closing speed leaves him vulnerable to downfield blocking on outside runs. As the only senior, he was clearly the glue that helped hold the secondary together early in the year, but he is clearly ready to be supplanted by the wondrous Chykie Brown (more below). So now let’s turn our attention to the single most disappointing player on the team, Deon Beasley. You can see his talent in his ability to change direction. You can also see that he is the worst tackler on the defense, and the player most likely to be obliterated by a blocking wide receiver. Watching him be manhandled by Michael Crabtree and Dez Bryant felt like watching a movie on spousal abuse. Beasley versus the run on Roddrick Muckelroy’s side of the defense equals disaster. Interesting that the decline in Muckelroy’s performance has accompanied the period of Chykie Brown’s injury; hmmm… I think we have the point.

With Chykie Brown returned to health by the Fiesta Bowl, Horns fans can hope that Beasley gets relegated to the bench now that the team will not be facing a spread offense. Beasley versus the run is scary. Beasley vs. Beanie is called hide the children. While the Brown’s are not exactly the return of former UT great Quentin Jammer (who I thought was one of the best college cornerbacks against the run that I ever saw), at least they’re not afraid to knife through a double team or underneath some big clumsy pulling guard.

Back-ups The future is now with the Browns, Chykie and Curtis and a true freshman wunderkind named Aaron Williams. Because of injuries and spread offenses, these guys all got a lot of playing time early in the season, and gave us some of the best defensive plays of the year. Who can forget Curtis Brown leaping to break up a "go get it" pass from Zac Robinson to Dez Bryant of Oklahoma State. Who can forget Chykie Brown running up the sideline stride for stride, mano a mano with Jeremy Maclin of Missouri. Aaron Williams had FOUR blocked kicks, not including the one he blocked against Oklahoma that was called back for roughing (my A!!), and returned an interception for a touchdown.

Grade C+ (If it isn’t obvious already, I think Beasley is Texas’ worst defensive player and he drags an otherwise B-level group down with him).

Safeties – This group of all true or redshirt freshmen, led by starters Earl Thomas and Blake Gideon, has been scrutinized more than a couple’s first baby. Oh look, his first blown coverage! (Thomas against Florida Atlantic) Oh look, his first interception! (Thomas against OU). Oh look, his first blitz! (Gideon against Missouri). Mack must have regurgitated the pre-game dinner (if he ate at all) for every game leading up to Oklahoma, pinching himself to remember that, yes, we’re STARTING TWO FRESHMEN AT SAFETY. And one of them, the true freshman, IS CALLING THE PLAYS!! Even the casual fan knew about "the safeties" and followed their every burp and crawl. And then came the Tech game, where on the final two plays of the game, some little evil devil whispered in the ear of first Gideon (drop that interception, don’t you know you’re just a freshman!) and then Thomas (let go of that jersey, dude, you’re out of bounds and you’re just a freshman). As Texas fandom despaired, along came the Kansas game, where Gideon and Thomas formed a double-headed hammer, whacking on the Jayhawk receivers and tight ends, knocking Kerry Meier and Jake Sharp out of the game (yes I’m still impressed by that).

So if we forget all the baby babble and realize that, like all babies, our safeties after 12 games are all grown up now, the safety position has to be considered a success. Are they Eric Berry of Tennessee? Heck no! Are they as good as anyone could be in their situation? Heck yeah! I’m impressed that Gideon has gotten everyone lined up since the first game. I’m impressed that they make opposing defenses limit their throws over the middle. I’m impressed that, since the Oklahoma State game, they take good tackling angles (OK Michael Crabtree, yes that one bad one by Thomas). I’m impressed that, despite giving up big plays here and there, many of those were created by clever screens or by blown coverages and overrun plays by linebackers. I saw no uncontested post patterns, no ankle-breaking flops in front of juking midgets. I saw few short angles that allowed receivers to outrun double teams. So, dare I say it, I’m impressed!

That’s not to say that the safeties wouldn’t benefit from tip drills and former Ohio State and Minnesota Viking great Cris Carter’s video method on learning to catch a football. Three interceptions by the safeties in 12 games is not going to cut it. "Hands of Stone," was branded by the retired welter/middleweight Roberto Duran, and has no place on the football field. The safeties also need to learn how to chickenfight with and tackle low on big tight ends like Gresham and Pettigrew.

Against the Buckeyes, the Horns just need MOS, more of same. The Buckeye receivers are fast, but not faster than Jeremy Maclin or Manny Johnson. They’re definitely not tougher than Crabtree, and not as good an athlete as Dez Bryant. The Horns’ group kept the lid on all these characters (with the exception of one play) and I don’t see Robiskie and Hartline as nightmares waiting to happen. They will have to "man up" against Beanie, but the fans have seen significant man-evidence the last 3 weeks to feel confident about that.

Backups: Back in the summer, everyone wondered which of the four safeties, Thomas, Gideon, Ben Wells, or Christian Scott would start. So it’s not surprising that there is not a lot of drop-off in talent to Wells and Scott. What has been surprising is that Scott made such an impact when he came in for the concussed (call it what you want, coaches) Gideon against Kansas, it was like a medieval carpenter discovering the nail gun. With the debacle of the Pirates of the Plains fresh in everyone’s minds, the clamor for Scott to start issued forthwith. When asked why Scott hadn’t played more, Muschamp offered a one-word answer, "Preparation." Going deeper into the lineup, Nolan Brewster has played better in mop-up duty over the season, as he was lost in the first four games.

Grade B+ (Given where they started, "the safeties" performed better than anyone could have expected, even with ‘the drop" and "the jersey tackle")

Conclusions Given the vanguard of top offensive teams the Horns have played this year, being in the top 25 in scoring defense is nothing short of a miracle. This is a very good defense, that, with some coach cojones to demote Beasley and a subliminal sleeping tape on how to play linebacker for Norton, should be one of the top defenses in the country in 2009. Right now, it’s a defense no one wants to play, as PB predicted in the pre-season. As a "baby," Will Muschamp has schooled it through crawling, walking, running, training wheels, bicycles, to adolescents on motorcycles. A beatdown of Ohio State would provide its official driver’s license for 2009.

Poll

Obviously, Brian Orakpo is defensive MVP for 2008. Who will be the defensive MVP for 2009?

Sergio Kindle

151 votes

Lamarr Houston

11 votes

Roddrick Muckelroy

21 votes

Earl Thomas

34 votes

Blake Gideon

28 votes

245 votes | Poll has closed