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Nowhichski

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Posts posted by Nowhichski

  1. 5 hours ago, Machinator said:

    Caden Sterns went down late with what looks like a major injury and led the team in tackles with 12. His ability to range free from the Cover 2 shell plays to his strengths, but in this game tackling was decidedly not one of them. He blew three tackles on Sanders where he took bad angles, didn't acknowledge inside help and shoe dived. I think he wore down. It's possible he never fully recovered from his injuries that plagued him right up to Fall camp. This is the playing freshman early paradox I've written about. They show talent and ability, but a lack of physical preparation for the rigors of the game and a lack of "armor" virtually guarantee injuries that can lead to more down the road.

    Interesting take by Scipio. Depending on Sterns' injury and whether or not he's able to come back, maybe you give him a redshirt for the rest of the season and just get fully healthy and maybe a bit stronger for next year to help avoid the injury bug. 

  2. 1 minute ago, BigBenBamboozle said:

    I’ll never seen a a more feeble collection of attempts at “attacking” the ball from a WR. It was even worse opposite of Tylan Wallace. 

    On the positive: I thought the front seven looked great, esp Roach and Coburn. Juwan Mitchell has been a pleasant surprise as well, and Ossai is our best tackler. 

    Agreed on the front 7. They bullied and bulldozed the OSU line. Linebackers seemed much more active than in previous games and even corners like Jamison were coming up and helping to stop the run. Still some surprising gaffs in coverage, though. Even when the dbs are in good position on the ball, they appear to have trouble making plays, as in that long bomb Sanders threw to our 3. 

  3. 2 hours ago, EZ$ said:

    Needed to feed the playmaker Epps. 

    Epps was disappointing to say the least. Doesn't seem like he wants to be out there. That over the shoulder ball was right through his hands if pushes a little. For a guy that big, he apparently doesn't like to play football. Wonder if they'll bury him or somehow try to get him motivated. 

  4. 1 hour ago, horn4life said:

    Our defense isn't the best one we've ever had, but senior Burrows was tossing darts and Sam was playing corn hole.  No disrespect to Sam but Burrows was clearly the better QB.  I think Sam will likely be on a similar level next season, possibly even this season.  In my mind a LOT of the stress on our defense was the inability of the Offense to sustain drives, and for God's sake put up TD's when you find yourself standing at the 5 yard line.

    Young Green got picked on as the weakest link in the defense, but LSU is pretty good.  Not expecting them to pick on a freshmen was never in the cards.  Their QB made decent coverage look shoddy, and good coverage meant you were still screwed by a great pass.  My biggest regret about the game is that we were unwilling on offense to simply pile up 5-8 yard plays underneath.  Sam throws better underneath than deep IMHO. Insteadwe kept insisting on pressing deep and then punting. Just take what they were giving.  Run their best players on the corners deep and dump underneath and let athleticisim take over.  Biggest play of the game was exactly this sort (after we dug a hole and had to go on 4th due to failed deep ball) for what I think may have been our longest play from scrimmage this season.  IF we keep LSU off the field and playing from behind there simply is no thread titled "So our defense, is garbage."

    I might also point out that LSU's first TD drive was assisted by the inability of the referees to note that LSU substituted, and did not allow Texas to sub, resulting in offsides.  It was went ahead on a drive where 2nd and 9 at the 27 to 1st an 5 at our 22. Simply a clear error by the referees gave LSU 4 yards and a free play. We should have taken care of our business and made the referees a non-factor.  But none of Texas' scoring was aided by errant calls.  

    Keep the weaker unit off the field and they won't look nearly as bad.  Perhaps instituting LSU's cramp time out and regroup method might have also helped our young unit.  Burrows was the guy who won the game for LSU.  His accuracy made our defense look weak. Again, LSU is pretty good. And sometimes in sports the other guy is pretty damn good too! I think we gave a strong effort and had our garbage defense been awarded the fumble late in the game, words like "garbage" would be "great," instead. So between LSU cramp time outs for the defense and a little zebra help for their offense our boys fell a hair short. Still a TD early from the five perhaps...

    I agree with all of this. Burrow was spectacular. Sam is very good, but the differences between them shows the importance of accuracy. Burrows rarely failed to hit receivers in the hands and in stride, even when facing decent pressure. Sam, who was under pressure a lot more, still just kind of gets it in the vicinity and hopes receivers make plays. Our two long tds were like this, with the receiver outplaying the DB. Agree also that Sam throws much better over the middle and shallow. He has trouble hitting deep sideline passes, which is one reason we're not getting a ton out of Collin Johnson right now. However, I'm not sure that Sam ever gets to Burrow's level of pinpoint accuracy. That seems kind of like a god-given talent. Aaron Rodgers has it. Russel Wilson does not. Both are good qbs, but there's a qualitative difference in arm talent. 

    • Like 1
  5. 3 minutes ago, Newy25 said:

    LotusHorn is a fake insider that straight makes everything up. The fact that Burton allows him to keep posting speaks to his professional integrity. Or lack thereof. 

    Burton might as well allow a palm reader operate on his site because that is how truly deplorable it is to allow LotusHorn continue to pretend to have inside information. 

    Gotta say, 99% of practice reports sound made up, as pretty much every one of them restates narratives that have been around for month: Sam in complete control, Braun great at run blocking but needs work on pass blocking, Ingram bigger and faster, Keondre Coburn beasting, corners need to work on ball skills, blah blah ...

    Only once in a blue moon is there the slightest tidbit of news, e.g. Roschon at RB. 

    • Like 2
  6. 3 hours ago, Machinator said:

     

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    Tom Herman has had strong relationships with his quarterbacks in the past but his partnership with Sam Ehlinger could be one of the most meaningful yet. After two years working with Ehlinger as a spot or full-time starter, Herman and his junior QB have been through some fires while attempting to rebuild the Texas football program and put together the first elite offense in Austin since Colt McCoy was on the 40 Acres.

    “We respect the heck out of each other, I would want that guy in my foxhole, any day of the week, whatever cliche you want to use, you know? In a bar fight, whatever it is, I want that guy by my side in times of adversity. We do butt heads at times, but I think that’s a testament to how much I trust him and how much I believe in his maturity level that we can quite literally argue on the headset during the game then we’re hugging after the game.”
    -Tom Herman

    Now the Longhorns are looking at an enormously consequential 2019 season in which they’ll be taking center stage with a schedule that matches them up against championship contender LSU and then features a wide open Big 12 Conference. On top of that, Sam Ehlinger chose to announce that Texas was “back” after their 28-21 upset victory over Georgia, heaping extra attention on the upcoming year. The Longhorns always have plenty of bullseyes on them, but the pressure on this season is greater. If Texas can’t put something special together in year three with Herman and Ehlinger under these favorable circumstances, they’ll face an increasingly uphill climb to seize control of the Big 12 and regional recruiting in coming seasons..

    Fortunately for Herman and the Longhorns, while the roster is stocked largely with young, up and coming talent on offense and defense, they’ll have an upperclassman Ehlinger to help put it all together. Tom Herman and his staff have a vision for the signal caller’s third year in which he distributes the ball to a unit that can isolate and overpower opponents with their skill talent on normal downs before taking over to put them over the top in situational football. If it all comes together like it should, the Longhorns will field their most effective offense of the decade, perhaps even the century.

    Joining the RPO spread revolution

    One of the big questions for every spread offense is how they’re going to run the football on a nickel front. If the defense is in a two-high quarters concept with a sturdy front six that knows how to play your favorite run concepts, can you force the issue somehow and still generate chain-moving gains on the ground?

    On the chalkboard you have five OL for blocking all but one of those six defenders, but how do you stop the sixth from making a tackle near the line of scrimmage? There are three popular options, one is to deploy a FB/TE like Texas likes to do with their “Y-back” TE player, who offers a sixth blocker. Another is to leave a defender unblocked and have the QB read him on the option to determine whether to keep the ball or hand off to the RB. Finally there’s the RPO...

    “I think the appeal of the RPO is that instead of what I grew up learning, spread zone-read that was a run-run option, right, which obviously exposes your quarterback a little more when he did keep the football, where now it’s a run-pass option. So if the defense does something to make you pull the ball out of the running back’s belly it’s not the quarterback running with it anymore it’s the quarterback throwing it. And it’s a way to get more yards because those yards are a little more down the field…”
    -Tom Herman

    Texas ran some RPOs in 2018, but they were mostly limited to bubble screens, swing passes to the RBs or TE, and the occasional hitch to Collin Johnson or Devin Duvernay. Texas could account for all six nickel defenders with Andrew Beck blocking a DE or LB and then they could control the nickel back with a quick bubble screen or an Ehlinger keeper. If the safeties got nosy they’d dial up a play-action toss to Collin Johnson.

    In 2019 Texas may not have a TE that they want to play as much as Beck played but they can explore other options anyways with Ehlinger now entering his junior year. In particular, vertical pass options on run plays that push the ball down the field and force off ball defenders to hang back rather than playing the run. A great RPO attack can force off ball defenders to play hesitantly against the run even when they see the OL coming downhill on inside zone or GT counter, or else risk getting taken apart. For instance…

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    The 2018 Alabama Crimson Tide made RPOs the main thrust of their offense with Tua Tagovailoa returning after his championship performance against Georgia and shredded defenses like Oklahoma’s that tried to crash hard to stop the run only to yield throwing lanes for slants and glance routes. Now a similar embrace of RPOs is in the works for Texas for 2019.

    Ian Boyd:
    Sam, coach has been talking about the increased role of RPOs in the offense next year, that puts a lot more on your shoulders, how’s that been going? What is that looking like for you guys so far in the offseason?

    Sam Ehlinger:
    It’s been awesome. I love it because it’s going to be hard for teams to try and take away the run without adding guys in because of how physical and athletic we are going to be up front and the skill we’re gonna have at the running back position, without having guys that are running 4.5s cutting behind them. We saw that a lot in the spring, I really enjoyed it, I think there’s a lot of teams around the country that do it really well…

    Ian Boyd:
    Like your friend Tua...

    Sam Ehlinger:
    (nodding)…yeah, man, Tua is really, really good at it. And it’s a little bit different, now instead of reading the backside we’re reading the frontside or maybe we’re reading both sides. It’s just more of a full field type deal and it really puts defenses in a bind.

    What we’re talking about here is Texas having multiple pre and post snap options in the offense for Ehlinger to take based both on how defenses are aligned and how they respond to pre and post snap movement. Those could include the fade ball to Collin Johnson, quick slants to the slot receivers, and all sorts of adjustments that can allow Ehlinger to turn any given play into an opportunity to land a knockout punch throwing to a “4.5 guy cutting behind” LBs.

    Ehlinger noted his growth in executing this style of offense over the offseason,

    “One of the bigger things for me is understanding defenses and understanding what really hurts them, now that I have a great grasp on our offense and what college football is like [now] really transitioning into understanding pre-snap what defenses are in, what to expect post snap. And once I can really grasp that we’ll always be in the right play offensively and we’ll always have a chance.”
    -Sam Ehlinger

    Here’s one of dozens of possible examples of how that could look from the offense with a flexed out TE or good blocking slot and then a burner like Jordan Whittington, Josh Moore, or Jake Smith at the H.

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    Texas can quick motion the H to the perimeter before the snap so that Ehlinger can key the middle linebacker. If he stays in the box and doesn’t chase the H, it’s a simple pitch on the swing pass and the strong safety has to be able to come down and make an open field tackle or else the nickel or corner needs to beat a block. With guys like Whittington or Smith as the target this is an easy recipe for picking up chunk yards.
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    If the middle linebacker chases the H then the typical means by which modern defenses like to replace him in the box is to drop a safety down to join the run fit, so the free safety becomes the post-snap key. If Ehlinger sees him dropping into the box or drifting to the middle of the field so that the strong safety can drop down, he can pull the ball from the RB and throw the fade (or another route) to Collin Johnson who’s now matched up 1-on-1 vs a cornerback.
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    If both read-key defenders hang back to maintain a conservative pass defense, then they’re allowing Keaontay Ingram and Texas’ five OL to go up against five defenders in the box. That’s the true objective and the means by which Texas can look to protect their star QB, isolate their improving OL on a league not known for having size and depth up front on defense, and loosing their talented young RBs into space.
    image.png

    Clemson ran their offense this way in 2018 and star RB Travis Etienne turned 204 carries into 1658 yards at 8.1 ypc. Using these schemes to prevent safeties and even linebackers from closing quickly on Keaontay Ingram and the RBs could be a shockingly effective way to turn a steady rushing attack into an explosive one.

    There are other benefits as well, which Herman noted when explaining the thought process behind ramping up their RPO game for the 2019 season...

    “...we made it a priority to try and take some of those hits off of Sam, I think in an ideal world, obviously Sam is going to scramble right? So you can’t avoid that. There’s going to be times when he’s pressured on a pass play and he’s going to scramble but then there’s going to be times when we call his number on fourth and one, but if we can eliminate the times that he’s actually keeping it on a read scheme then that’s 2-5 tackles a game that we’re taking off his body.”
    -Tom Herman

    Ehlinger will still be lowering his shoulder into opponents at times, it’s hard to see that changing, but every tackle you eliminate decreases the chances of an injury like the one against Baylor when he strained his shoulder cutting upfield into a linebacker on a zone-read play.

    Mastering this kind of RPO offense requires quite a bit from the QB. He needs to understand how defenses like to match up to Texas’ various run schemes, where they send help and how, and how the pass options manipulate the defense. Then he needs to be ready to throw accurate balls to spots with lightning footwork because the OL isn’t in a pass protection set aiming to buy him time and the officials will also throw a flag if they get more than three yards down the field before the ball comes out.

    But Ehlinger performed well in the RPO game in 2018 and should be ready to wield a fuller arsenal of option schemes for 2019 after an offseason of emphasis.

    Situational domination

    If Texas can hit the pass options consistently then defenses will have to take their chances against the OL and running game while hoping to limit explosive plays so they can make their stand on third down or in the red zone. The last time Texas went all-in on this approach to offensive football was the 2016 season, with Sterlin Gilbert coaching the “veer and shoot” offense and asking Shane Buechele to throw quick pass options to receivers in extra wide splits to keep the alley clear for D’Onta Foreman.

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    With an OL that had some run blocking strength (though it was inferior to the prospective 2019 Texas unit) the Longhorns opened up the alleys for D’Onta Foreman to turn 323 carries into 2028 yards in 11 games. He picked up 6.3 ypc and 15 TDs on the season and was basically the only strong suit for that entire team. But while Foreman was dominant that season, Texas didn’t play terribly effective offense overall because they struggled with situational football.

    The “18-wheeler” short-yardage package for Tyrone Swoopes was initially highly effective but limited in scope and the coaches started to move away from it later in the year as they felt the building pressure for their jobs and began to focus even more on Foreman. The passing down package was nearly hopeless due to weak protection, Buechele’s lack of pocket presence, and an undeveloped WR corps.

    The 2019 Longhorns are very different and are coming off a season in which their standard down offense was steady but decidedly non-explosive but their short-yardage and third and long execution were well above average. The Sam Ehlinger Texas offense has the potential to be lethal in the sorts of situations where even Alabama found difficulties. The red zone...

    Ian Boyd:
    Some people may see the carries he gets, and maybe the yards per carry aren’t always high cause he’s in short yardage, but how huge is it for your offense that you can run RPOs or whatever between the 20s but when you get into those tough yardage (scenarios) like that Alabama struggled to get against Clemson with their RPO game, that Ehlinger can finish plays?

    Tom Herman:
    Yeah, him running the football is never going to leave our offense (chuckling) um, he’s too good at it and he’s too tough. But you’re right, I do think that as the field condenses in the red zone that you need some different answers other than RPOs and that’s where then maybe your read game comes in, your called quarterback runs, although again we’d like to think that we’re good enough up front to get some movement and get four yards with our tailbacks inside the red zone even.

    The issue in the red zone for RPOs is that everything turns into man coverage as space becomes more limited and the safeties pack in tighter. The quick pass options aren't open and the more vertical throws face a lot of arms and traffic so you can’t use pass options to create space for the run game. The offense has to be able to force the issue, beating tight man coverage or running through set defenders.

    One dimension that made the 2018 Texas offense extra deadly in short-yardage/red zone situations was that they could get into a variety of brutal, two-back QB run schemes very quickly without substituting personnel. If they don’t have a TE on the field that becomes trickier, but the main principles are still there for Texas to do real damage. They can either draw up some ways to attack in short-yardage with QB run RPOs from spread sets (like the two-point play that West Virginia used to defeat Texas) or they can sub in some bigger bodies knowing that doing likewise won’t save the defense. The plus one advantage Texas gets from direct snapping the ball to the ballcarrier (the QB) and then the particular knack Ehlinger has for pounding defenses in short yardage is simply difficult to overcome.

    Texas' success on third and long in 2018 was achieved largely by the offense’s ability to move Lil’Jordan Humphrey around and have him run option routes, quick hitters vs linebackers, or tunnel screens. The solutions here for 2019 aren’t clear yet, perhaps they’ll move Collin Johnson around and bring in Malcolm Epps on the edge, or perhaps they’ll develop some other young wideouts.

    Whatever they do there, Herman and his staff have now evolved the offense so that they can leverage Sam Ehlinger’s abilities in the passing game and in executing the chess games on the live action chalkboard to boost the explosiveness of the offense and free up his talented backfield mates. This approach also keeps him fresh to go be a fullback on third and goal to go and to use the scramble fearlessly on third and long. If Ehlinger is ready to wield this system as a junior then the Longhorns could once again shock the nation with the scope of their improvement and break through even further on offense.

     

    Tua making really timely, accurate throws in those RPO passes. Hopefully, Sam can have the same touch and accuracy. It's the one thing I worry about with him. A bit raw in terms of accuracy and occasionally throws wobblers. Looks like you need some precision for the RPO, unless Duvernay et al are getting 1-2 yards of separation off the LOS. 

    • Like 1
  7. Well, for being just a sophomore, he's got pretty good footwork in the pocket and definitely a powerful arm. While not Lamar Jackson fast, he's pretty speedy and elusive. Amazing that he's going to have 2 more years of high school. 

  8. 5 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

    Would you even dispute that Steph, Klay, and to a certain extent Draymond Green just play better when KD isn’t out there? And I don’t mean that as a knock on KD. I just think Steph mentally turns into Robin when KD is out there (because KD is the better overall offensive player), and Klay maybe doesn’t get enough touches to get into a rhythm. When KD isn’t out there, both of those guys turn into assassins. 

    My point is, I think our opinions on Steph and Klay over the last 3 years would be DRASTICALLY different if KD weren’t on the team. Whether they win more games or not, we’ll never know. But when Steph and Klay are on in the same game, they’re almost unbeatable.

    100% agree with this. Impossible to assess team without KD, because they’re in many ways most amazing when he sits out. If ever all could fire at once, it’s the greatest of all time. Just doesn’t happen that way. 

  9. 1 hour ago, Atticus said:

    Being a cool guy doesn't make a shit if you can't close. I know plenty of sales people who are great at building rapport, but can't seal the deal for shit. 

    Tim "commit on these hittas" Beck seems like a goofy motherfucker, but he's apparently very good at connecting and closing. 

    Good point. 

  10. Hard to put the Leal loss on Giles. That came out of nowhere. Felt like a sucker punch, which maybe it was. True that our DL recruiting hasn't been tops in the country, and I don't know to what extent that lands on Giles. But frequently in their interviews, recruits seem to say that he's a cool guy and they talk to him often. Maybe he doesn't have highest level of credentials for putting people in the league? But Poona's a great story. Would be cool to see Hampton or Rodgers or Redding come back to the program in the same capacity as Vasher or Huff. Maybe that would bring a little more glamour to the DL. 

    • Like 1
  11. 24 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

    I'm out here at AHS right now getting ready to watch Baker and Adams in their season finale against the Maroons. I'll report back after the game with what I saw. Hopefully it goes better than when I went to watch Jarrett Allen, lol. 

    Also it turns out that my middle school HC (Coach Wilkes) has been an assistant at WHS for 13 years now. Was very cool running into him tonight, and one of those things that makes me (and I'm sure Coach Wilkes) feel old. My former coach is now coaching one of my former students. Where did the time go?

    Thanks for the posts. Look forward to reading your report. 

  12. 1 hour ago, Bevo said:

    I don't see much handwringing. However, I am concerned that it will embolden A&M boosters. Eventually, we will have to win in-state recruiting battles.

    Exactly. Lots of factors have conspired to make this a tough in-state year, but we need to get that ship righted. We need to own this state as well as being able to cherry pick out of state. It was just intuition, but one of the more damaging aspects of Alabama's loss was the pounding media narrative of how they lost Justyn Ross to Clemson.

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