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Hey PK -- What would you say you do here?


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9 minutes ago, Tex Long said:

 Should PK be wary about Nansen coming in as "co-" coordinator?

lol.. not taking a shot on you but my buddy texted me earlier asking the same thing....

 

.. cause he watched Anwar and Ketch on youtube and they were saying this lol

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1 hour ago, Thiefery said:

lol.. not taking a shot on you but my buddy texted me earlier asking the same thing....

 

.. cause he watched Anwar and Ketch on youtube and they were saying this lol

Okay... I  just thought it was a little strange that the DC would take a backward step to Texas. Not remotely similar to Phatterson, and an Az site said Nansen is an old buddy of Sark's, so...

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Mhttps://www.burntorangenation.com/2023/8/3/23817595/texas-longhorns-defense-pete-kwiatkoswki-sacks-turnovers

 

Reviewing the season based on the 4 goals set before the season:

3rd down defense: Improved to 26.6% conversion (#2 in nation behind Ga), improvement of almost 20 points

4th down defense: Improved to 46.4% conversion (#44 in nation), improvement of 10 points. Still room for improvement imo

Turnovers: Improved to 24 (tied for 12th), almost double previous year total. Feels like there is still room for improvement in big games.

Sacks: Improved to 32 (52nd), only an improvement of 5. Still room to improve.

Along the lines of sacks, would look to improve at tackles for loss in general(6.1 per game). I believe we ended up with only one tfl against Washington. Getting better at finishing plays will help this as we had more than 1 opportunity to drop Washington for a loss, but missed tackles.

 

 

 

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Lots of talk this morning about Michigan defense being a more "sophisticated NFL level defense".  Said college teams aren't used to it, and a big reason for Michigan's success this season.  Michigan DBs passed off WRs much better than Texas, and their pass rush was much more dominant. 

Sure hope Sark/PK improve the Texas secondary play and pass rush in 2024.  

 

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Michigan's defense is light years ahead of Texas both in terms of talent and scheme

There were no Jerrin Thompsons or Mike Taafes out there for UM. And they actually had proper edge rushers that didn't get stonewalled by that white TE.

In terms of scheme they actually blitzed and make Penix uncomfortable in the pocket.

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24 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

Michigan's defense is light years ahead of Texas both in terms of talent and scheme

There were no Jerrin Thompsons or Mike Taafes out there for UM. And they actually had proper edge rushers that didn't get stonewalled by that white TE.

In terms of scheme they actually blitzed and make Penix uncomfortable in the pocket.

Their rushers just did a better job of powering through Washington's line as well. Our guys seemed to try and finesse their way through. 

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Michigan's defense is light years ahead of Texas both in terms of talent and scheme
There were no Jerrin Thompsons or Mike Taafes out there for UM. And they actually had proper edge rushers that didn't get stonewalled by that white TE.
In terms of scheme they actually blitzed and make Penix uncomfortable in the pocket.

Were these the same guys out there last year when TCU throttled their asses?

Interestingly enough, piggybacking off ctj in another discussion, the XM radio crew said UM had 20 draftable guys but none were 1st or 2nd day guys.

Sounds like their experience and maturity played a big part.
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2 hours ago, Had Enough said:


Were these the same guys out there last year when TCU throttled their asses?

Interestingly enough, piggybacking off ctj in another discussion, the XM radio crew said UM had 20 draftable guys but none were 1st or 2nd day guys.

Sounds like their experience and maturity played a big part.

TCU last year presented a different challenge with a running QB. Duggan ran for 64 and two scores. Totallt different scenario.

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6 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

Lots of talk this morning about Michigan defense being a more "sophisticated NFL level defense".  Said college teams aren't used to it, and a big reason for Michigan's success this season.  Michigan DBs passed off WRs much better than Texas, and their pass rush was much more dominant. 

Sure hope Sark/PK improve the Texas secondary play and pass rush in 2024.  

 

I don't know about how sophisticated they are. Our defense just plays dumb. Constantly giving up inside leverage, whether at the corner or safety level. Cannot figure out how to pass off routes. Simple curls aren't recognized. Late to react to RBs releasing to the flat. However, the biggest issue is not being able to generate any pass rush without bringing the house.

Penix isn't some machine. The second he got pressured, like a lot of QBs, he became errant and his clock sped up. We saw that out of him all year when facing a solid pass rush. We just didn't have one.

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TCU last year presented a different challenge with a running QB. Duggan ran for 64 and two scores. Totallt different scenario.

It’s football. The object is to outscore your opponent. Every opponent is different with different strengths and weaknesses. So every scenario would be different.

Milroe is a better, faster runner than Duggan. Bama skill guys comparable to TCUs.

The talent level of the Michigan defenders didn’t markedly change over the past year. Experience and maturity allow persons to handle different scenarios. So rather than Duggan being all world maybe it was something else.
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28 minutes ago, Had Enough said:


It’s football. The object is to outscore your opponent. Every opponent is different with different strengths and weaknesses. So every scenario would be different.

Milroe is a better, faster runner than Duggan. Bama skill guys comparable to TCUs.

The talent level of the Michigan defenders didn’t markedly change over the past year. Experience and maturity allow persons to handle different scenarios. So rather than Duggan being all world maybe it was something else.

This is why Jahdae possibly coming back is a big deal

 

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This is why Jahdae possibly coming back is a big deal
 

I am a bit curious about his role if he does return. Would they let him run at CB?

He’s aggressive. Seems to be quick. But how fast is he?

But yes his experience and maturity would be invaluable.
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28 minutes ago, Had Enough said:


I am a bit curious about his role if he does return. Would they let him run at CB?

He’s aggressive. Seems to be quick. But how fast is he?

But yes his experience and maturity would be invaluable.

His NFL value would be a lot higher with a good year at CB.  Safeties and nickels are like the RBs of the defense.

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Cross-posting Scipio's breakdown from the 9.95 thread. Thanks @satyanash

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As I mentioned in my previews, Washington is the rare college offense that can execute like a well-orchestrated rhythm machine of football nerds while also doing YOLO “playmakers make plays” baller things. 99% of college passing offenses are predominantly one or the other and the opposing defense can attack either the offense’s lack of athleticism or indiscipline for stops.

No easy day for Texas in that regard. Washington required Texas to be buttoned up to hold down (stopping was never a realistic premise) their offense. Texas was less than buttoned up. Their fly (and fly routes) were open all too often. When confronted with a high level passing offense, a defensive coaching staff can make a few choices in their month of bowl preparation. They can introduce novelty in scheme and/or personnel to disrupt or they can double down on what they usually do and try to clean up poor execution.

Or some combo of both. The combo means rather than a total reimagining, which can be risky, you introduce a new coverage, intro a new blitz package or two, or roll out a different personnel group to steal a key possession while also making sure the defense doesn’t bust on core staples. Alternatively, pure reinforcement means not complicating things and really nailing down core teachings over 15 practices, geared specifically to the other team’s scouting report. Clear minds, play fast, bring it. You also have to call a good game and not lose many calls before the athletes even get their say.

Unfortunately, Texas accomplished neither. No novelty. No improvement in its base schemes. A regular game plan that exhibited no accompanying benefit of clear assignments or hair-on-fire urgency. Texas chose to do what it do. Something you’d expect to see from an experienced NFL team that played on a Sunday evening and then had a quick Thursday turnaround. Dance with who brung us and make adjustments on the fly in-game.

Unfortunately, the Texas pass defense didn’t brung us to the playoffs. So the “let’s just do what we do” game plan probably began with a fallacy at its inception. Doing what we do on the back end isn’t very good, though facing Behren Morton and Texas Tech’s backup receivers or Alan Bowman (3 passing touchdowns in a blowout) and an outgunned Oklahoma State may have created some illusion of competency for us all.

Players missed assignments, Washington was able to scheme their good on our average repeatedly, there were some down and distance calls that didn’t match game situation – the battle was lost before the ball was even snapped – and Michael Penix Jr and his receivers played out of their minds. That last part didn’t help. Let’s not gloss that over. Washington has some absolute studs.

Penix finished the game 29 of 38 for 430 yards with no forced turnovers, no sacks and a handful of pressures. Terrific pocket presence, accuracy, eyes downfield and an absolute dawg mentality. Allowing 11.3 yards every time he dropped back to pass and nearly 15 yards on every completion is poor, but perhaps there is some solace in the fact that he was more contained in the second half after a first half where he was 11 of 14 for 255 yards and a 18.2 yards per attempt average.

Penix and his receivers exhibited plenty of play that should elicit a hat tip and a whistle of admiration. You shrug and play on. They were going to make plays. Criticizing that is like yelling at the tides. The key question was how many plays the Texas defense could afford to place on a tee and offer free swings? Those errors needed to fit on the fingers of one hand, not two hands and some toes. Plays like this:

In Game 14, allowing an uncovered receiver to split safeties is not ideal and while Penix made some wonderful throws, the throw above happens every Friday night in Texas high school football.

As for personnel usage, Texas ran its normal rotations and introduced no twists (literally) to the game plan. Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat finished with their typical 41 snaps each, Washington ran in a touchdown with our mostly backup DL personnel in the game and Texas never really tried different front mixes to see if bigger edges (Broughton, Collins) or a three man covered G-C-G package with accompanying blitz or edge stunts could alter the pocket.

It’s instructive that Washington’s two best defenders in the game – Bralen Trice and Jabar Muhammad – played every down they were healthy. Washington likely wished they could spell them 10-15 snaps, but they’d rather go out with their best firing the whole magazine in a survive and advance scenario rather than conserve ammo.

It would be difficult for me not to have Murphy in the game 55+ snaps. Or find Collins and Broughton their snaps on the edges or as part of odd fronts rather than dutifully rotating in lesser players like we were playing Rice. In this type of game, I think you want as much good on the field as possible at all times. Also, disposition.

I mean in both senses of the word. I mean orientation to the offense you’re facing and a general sense of emotional urgency. Texas defenders blitzed or rushed cautiously on way too many downs, we never attacked the interior with blitzers until late (and it was moderately effective in forcing resets or early balls – part of Penix’s first half drop off from extraordinary to the second half’s very good) and several times I saw us offering containment rushes on a pocket QB.

Whether strategy or a player resigning to getting beaten by the OL across from him, that dog won’t hunt. Washington’s 280 pound center was uncovered on more than half of our downs. He became a quick-footed double teaming asset rather than a potential bull rush liability. There were also a handful of coverages unsuitable to down and distance.

Like a 3rd and 2 off zone coverage with a vacating LB blitzer that allowed a wide open tight end to take three steps and move the chains during a critical late 4th quarter drive that ended in Washington points. Or asking Michael Taaffe to play a speed out on 3rd and long from an interior safety spot. Does Earl Thomas get to that?

That wasn’t an expression of Husky ballerness. Just basic offensive execution vs. a bad call. We really needed to limit those. On the positive side, Texas predictably stoned the standard Washington run game (Dillon Johnson 21-49) and the defense held up well on money downs (Washington was 4 of 13), in no small part because Kalen DeBoer chose to run on 3rd and 4th and short rather than throw play action. I’m grateful for that.

Overall, Texas bled 532 yards and 37 points. A ton of credit goes to the Huskies and a passing offense that lived up to every bit of hype, but if this defensive effort had been rolled out early in the year against a non-con opponent, the discussion would be how Texas didn’t want to show anything for a quality future opponent. So even while acknowledging Husky passing game excellence, we didn’t fire all of our bullets. I’m not sure we even brought them all to the fight.

Defensive Line

Byron Murphy had some success as a pass rusher and was terrific against the run. He had four hurries and if anyone else had also gotten push with him, they would’ve been sacks or fractional turnover opportunities. Sweat had some terrific moments in short yardage, including one big stop where he took on a double team without even getting down into his stance.

Alfred Collins had some great snaps. Would have liked to have seen him paired more often with a big front or on the edge.

Edge pass rush was non-existent. There were long periods where edges played the I’m-going-to-stand- here-praying-an-interior-player-flushes-Penix-to-me game, but that’s not what we needed or how Penix plays football. I mentioned in the pre-game that this was not a Justice Finkley game. On one possession I watched him get handled in pass protection by Washington’s former walk-on tight end. On the next play, a Husky offensive tackle big-brothered him flat footed and drove him into the ground.

The lack of T/E stunts or twists was notable. Nor did Texas use immediate pressure blitzers to create 1 on 1s inside. If you want to play lots of guys, they should be playing like maniacs. Use depth and energy on games and stunts to force Washington’s OL to at least move their feet and pass off assignments. Watch Washington’s pass rush. Watch ours. Who is going harder? Yeah, surprised me too. I didn’t have that on my bingo card.

Is that because Washington’s front was allowed to line up in different spots, stunt and attack more? Yeah, I think so. It created energy and attitude. Texas had no sacks and three tackles for loss. The least havoc-inducing effort of the year.

Linebackers

I’m not sure if our game plan or Washington’s made them more irrelevant for large stretches, but the net effect was the same. They weren’t attacked in the passing game so much as simply bypassed and ignored. PK didn’t use Hill’s quickness as a rusher and disruptor until late. Why? Blitzes came haltingly from distance, which even cursory scouting predicted would be ineffective. Gbenda played with energy.

Defensive Backs

Terrance Brooks was probably identified as the duck in the Texas secondary. Washington is pretty good at handling Ducks. He surrendered two big catches for over 100 yards total, including a 77 yarder in the 1st quarter in man coverage on the kind of no-man’s land blitz that I was worried about. Ryan Watts also gave up 100+ yards with too much Husky efficiency, but one of them was on an unreal sideline throw and catch that I can’t fault him for. The “going too low” penalty on him was utter nonsense. Muhammad played the best of the bunch, but that’s a relative statement. Tough play here.

Holmes only logged 10 snaps. Jahdae Barron was stretched thin, resulting in a surprisingly efficient targeting of #23 for 9 of 11 for 104 yards. A lot of those successful short throws felt like an exploitation of our coverage more than Jahdae himself. Great tackle by #23 to prevent a first down on 3rd down late in the 2nd half. Prevented Washington points.

Michael Taaffe played winning football. Other than one mental mistake (I think – sometimes when we blow a coverage badly enough, it’s hard to tell the culprit) he was active, engaged, dialed in and brought some pop. Jerrin Thompson in single high triggered an immediate deep route. Derek Williams played like a freshman thrown in cold after the first half.

Special Teams

Keilan Robinson was allowed to return kicks with an arm cast. Not sure about that. Blue was close to getting a big gain on one of his kick returns. Xavier Worthy was clearly at less than 100% laterally, so punt return impact potential was diminished. Auburn did his job. Coverage teams were fine. Texas had advantages here, but couldn’t bring them to bear.

Final Thoughts

Texas had a fatalistic game plan. It’s one thing to admire Washington’s passing game excellence, it’s another not to really compete on the white board with something that plays to Longhorn strengths. Or in the understandable absence of novelty, fail to demonstrate better proficiency in foundational principles with the benefit of extended prep time.

None of this really matters, of course. The game was played, Texas lost a close one in which it brought its C+ game, there are no more opportunities left for the 2023 team, so any future key indicators are big picture. So here’s one to chew on: Texas probably needs to find an outside-the-box thinker, developer within scheme and general coverage mind to complement PK’s fundamental big picture approach in order to optimize.

Now, an accompanying zoom out to an even bigger picture… Texas has a lot to be proud of and a good foundation for the future. The standard has been raised from exhibiting improvement to playoff contender in three years and that’s no small feat. Keep the big picture in mind, don’t be afraid to break things in the quest for excellence and trust that this program is getting much more right than wrong. Happy New Year and Hook ’em!

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I meant to circle back to Scipio's PK stuff, but Bo Davis and Saban created a whirlwind. 

Anyway, he touches on many gameplanning concerns, including one play discussed in my previous post where we gifted Udub a first down on a critical 4th quarter drive before the ball was even snapped.   

This is why I think just upgrading secondary talent and getting an edge rush is papering over some serious issues with the drywall.  We benefitted this year defensively by playing some really shitty offenses in the big 12.  Are we gonna be able to go toe to toe with the best minds in CFB on the offensive side on a consistent basis, particularly in the passing game?  I guess we will find out.  

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This is why I think just upgrading secondary talent and getting an edge rush is papering over some serious issues with the drywall.  We benefitted this year defensively by playing some really shitty offenses in the big 12.  Are we gonna be able to go toe to toe with the best minds in CFB on the offensive side on a consistent basis, particularly in the passing game?  I guess we will find out.  

I think Sark recognizes it and is putting PK on notice by hiring his old friend.
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I meant to circle back to Scipio's PK stuff, but Bo Davis and Saban created a whirlwind. 
Anyway, he touches on many gameplanning concerns, including one play discussed in my previous post where we gifted Udub a first down on a critical 4th quarter drive before the ball was even snapped.   
This is why I think just upgrading secondary talent and getting an edge rush is papering over some serious issues with the drywall.  We benefitted this year defensively by playing some really shitty offenses in the big 12.  Are we gonna be able to go toe to toe with the best minds in CFB on the offensive side on a consistent basis, particularly in the passing game?  I guess we will find out.  

Exactly how many best minds do you think there are?
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  • 3 weeks later...

Texas hires defensive analyst Brandon Huppert from Oregon State

image.png.21dfca007dbc09172a42209fe4b6dbb8.png

After one season with the Oregon State Beavers as a defensive quality control analyst, Brandon Huppert is heading to the Forty Acres to join Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian’s staff, Huppert announced on Saturday.

native of the Seattle area, Huppert was a walk-on linebacker at Boise State when current Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was the defensive line coach before transferring to Washington, appearing in 15 games for the Huskies.

After Huppert’s playing career, he served as a defensive quality control analyst from 2013-17 under Kwiatkowski and head coach Chris Petersen. Dan Hawkins hired Huppert to coach the defensive line at UC Davis in 2017, a group that set the single-season program record with 37 sacks under Huppert’s tutelage. Huppert returned to Washington in 2020 as the Director of Player Development, a role he held until departing Seattle for Corvallis last year.

 

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Washington had a month to prepare for Texas and were a play away from losing. 
They had 3 days to prepare for Michigan with Michigan having a scouting report from Texas  defense. 
They had nothing left for Michigan game after firing all bullets at Texas. FUCK ALL OF THEM 

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On 1/10/2024 at 9:00 PM, bschoolprof said:

We benefitted this year defensively by playing some really shitty offenses in the big 12.  Are we gonna be able to go toe to toe with the best minds in CFB on the offensive side on a consistent basis, particularly in the passing game?  I guess we will find out.  

What best offensive minds and passing game?  Vandy?  Kentucky plays at a slower pace than Dumbo did at aggy.  Billy Napier and Florida?  Blake Shapen at Miss State?  Collin Klein and his ball control offense at aggy?  Outside of UGA with Beck, what QB are we facing that should scare us to death?

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Think big picture. You can reasonably expect LSU, Bama, Ole miss, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri etc to have good passing offenses with great athletes. Not to mention who we might see in the playoffs. “Let’s just hope we don’t face a good qb” is not a great defensive strategy. 

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By my count there were 7 Big 12 offenses in the top 30 in OFEI. There were 7 in the SEC.

We did not play 2 from the 12 but played 1 from the SEC then we had UW.

So at least in one metric, half our schedule was against top 30 offenses. That doesn’t include Gundy and Holgerson who’ve done well historically on the offensive side.

This staff attempts to address areas of need. So perhaps there will be more emphasis on pass defense than run defense. With Sarks calling card being offense and having his dream QB, offensive line with 100+ starts under their belt, the best WR corp NIL can buy, the offense simply needs to run away with some games. They did not do this and often gave the opponent hope and life in various ways.

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The SEC has traditionally had less than great offenses outside of a few standouts every year. 

It also tends to be more athlete driven than scheme driven.

 

DeBoer, Kiffin, and Heupel are the ones I'd be looking at as plus scheme guys. 

Kirby Moore, OC at Mizz is good. We'll see about Litrell at OU. We'll see about LSU's offense post Jayden Daniels.

Georgia has overwhelming talent against most, but can be had when they don't overwhelm you. 

 

Unless we're really up against it up the middle of our defense this year, we'll be fine.

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On 1/9/2024 at 11:48 AM, 6th Street said:

Michigan's defense is light years ahead of Texas both in terms of talent and scheme

In terms of scheme they actually blitzed and make Penix uncomfortable in the pocket.

Sure hope Nansen can help Texas/PK improve their defensive scheme in 2024.  Obviously Sark is upgrading the talent at DB and DE -- but PK/Nansen really need to develop a better pass rush and much more effective blitzing packages for this next season.  And our secondary development and play needs a big upgrade too  -- damn it Coach Joseph and Gideon!!!

 

(Just listened to Bruce Feldman on The Rich Risen Show say Penix faced a much more vanilla defensive scheme from Texas than from the more NFL-like Michigan defense 🙄)

 

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