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Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 6)


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Posted
7 minutes ago, Dark Horse said:

He has an S&C fetish. He previously claimed that all the transfers were much stronger than those in our S&C program, didn’t seem to help our transfer DTs against Florida. 

Yeah S&C is definitely Scip's white whale.

Posted
Quote
  • G Stroh
  • G Umeozulu
  • G Kibble

I was so lost in the Neto vs Stroh debate that I forgot Kibble existed. Is there a reason we haven't heard this guy's name this season?

Posted
2 minutes ago, pyrofiend said:

I was so lost in the Neto vs Stroh debate that I forgot Kibble existed. Is there a reason we haven't heard this guy's name this season?

no, because apparently Stroh or his family has incriminating pictures on Flood and Sark.

Posted
46 minutes ago, Dark Horse said:

He has an S&C fetish. He previously claimed that all the transfers were much stronger than those in our S&C program, didn’t seem to help our transfer DTs against Florida. 

 

Yeah.  Plus the DL held up against Ohio State.  The issue isn't physical strength.  It is mental and motivational.  

 

That is how Florida became better, right?  Yes, it helped that Texas is in a funk.  But 21-29 doesn't happen without Florida stepping up their play through coaching and attitude.  

Posted
Ian Boyd: The way forward for the Texas offense after Florida
The Longhorns are in a world of hurt on offense. After the Florida game, I moved up the alarm levels to DEFCON 2, but I doubt it changed anyone’s minds. It was already clear the Longhorn offensive performance against Florida signaled a team with very little chance of making a playoff run. Now there’s very little time for the staff to rethink things or adjust before the Longhorns play the most important game of the season: the Red River Shootout against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Oklahoma thrives on defeating Texas, and this game consistently poses a significant challenge for the Longhorns. Can they muster the fitness and focus to channel the university’s vast resources into a winning effort against a determined foe in the unique Cotton Bowl atmosphere? Current oddsmaker lines favoring Texas largely reflect doubts about John Mateer’s participation. Even if he doesn’t play, Oklahoma’s defense, which we’ll discuss this week, is ideally suited to exploit the Longhorns’ weak offensive line.
So, what strategy can this offense adopt to regroup and secure a win in the Cotton Bowl? A victory over Oklahoma would grant Texas another week to grow and improve, opening up unpredictable possibilities. However, a loss could render the season a disappointment for many fans, leaving few meaningful achievements for a team ranked preseason No. 1.
The problem with the Texas offense
Here’s the problem. Steve Sarkisian’s Texas offense is designed to set up deep passing plays, protect the quarterback with varied formations and maximum protection off play-action, and keep the defense honest by running the ball effectively. Running the ball sets the stage for the play-action deep shots and screen passes that provide much of the actual production for the offense.
With a deep shot artist like Arch Manning at the helm it’s even more important the run game set up those other concepts. But this team can’t run the football. Rather than setting the table for downfield passes, the run game’s failures disrupt the passing game by inviting conservative pass defenses and aggressive pass rushes. Worse, the same offensive line that falters in run blocking also struggles to protect for the vertical passing game.
As a result, the team may score occasionally if scripted deep passes connect, but it struggles to control the ball and score consistently due to uneven play in the trenches. Sarkisian called numerous deep passes against Florida because he knew Texas’s only chance to score was to increase variance by frequently aiming for big plays.
That’s a far cry from what we expected from the offense this season but it’s hard to see things changing given how poorly the offensive line has played, the paucity of options, and the complete lack of game-breakers at running back. Not only is the O-line often poor, but when they do block well the running backs either waste opportunities or fail to maximize runs. Suffice to say the tight ends don’t offer many solutions either.
In short, the problems are too numerous for easy solutions. So, what can be done?
“Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward.”
There is only one way forward for a team that cannot control good opponents in the trenches. To vacate the trenches in favor of space exploration. Consider two contrasting deep passing plays against Florida:
In the first play, Texas attempts a deep pass from maximum protection (seven blockers) in 11 personnel. It’s spread personnel but max protection means there isn’t full commitment to spreading out the defense. Florida counters by sending a defensive back off the edge late, unnoticed, while dropping linebackers into coverage, disrupting Texas’s blocking scheme.
Although this allows Florida to double-team several routes, they still concede a one-on-one matchup to Emmett Mosley (fifth of that name), whose double move creates separation downfield. Unfortunately, two of Florida’s four pass rushers are matched up on the weakest blockers, the running back and tight ens. The resulting pressure prevents Manning from getting a good throw off.
In the second play, the tight end flexes out instead of blocking, simplifying the coverage and stressing Florida’s secondary. Despite poor pass protection, the impact is mitigated by the increased space and clearer reads. The route combination to the trips side goes (inside to out) whip-dig-post and is very potent. The whip-dig pairing has been effective for Texas this season, and adding the post-dig variation mixed things up while providing Manning with a quick read on the deep safety.
It was clear in this game that Texas’ best bet was to sporadically connect on explosive plays when Manning could scramble or throw on the run. Can this approach sustain an entire game? No, but it could produce enough scores to give Texas a chance to win. Quick hitting spread passing could potentially serve to replace the running game and help set the table for the deeper shots.
Making a shift to more of a spread approach would challenge Sarkisian, who favors double moves and longer-developing routes for outside receivers from heavier formations, but the offensive line and tight ends lack the skill to execute this strategy effectively, especially against Oklahoma.
Texas needs the flexibility of operating in open space with more skilled players on the field, especially with Mosley’s return adding depth. Manning requires quick reads and answers to pressure, even on deep passes, and more space to maneuver when forced to play hero-ball. The Longhorns need to stress defenses in space rather than trying to challenge them in the box.
If the Longhorns can exploit space effectively, they could incorporate tempo and attempt to run the ball after first downs against defenses struggling to regroup and align. Running becomes significantly easier against a fatigued, unprepared opponent. Will this work for Texas? Perhaps, but it’s a better option than their current ineffective running strategy.
If Sark were to fly in Mike Gundy tomorrow for a consulting session, he’d tell him the same thing. He’d say drop all but a few run schemes, spread em out, sling the ball around the field, and move the critical point away from the trenches. Texas can’t win games like the Red River Shootout in the trenches, they can only lose them.
Scipio Tex: What Now On The Texas Longhorns Offensive Line?
We’ll be doing an All 22 Deep Dive tomorrow on the IT Youtube channel. It will be worth your time to help understand the challenges that this offense faces. The Florida Gators had 36 pressures on Texas in the Swamp. They had 34 in their prior four games combined. Right now, I have us as somewhere between the 12th to 15th best OL in the SEC. We have a cushion because Mississippi State lost both of their starting tackles.
We can bemoan how we got here, but what’s the best template going forward? What lineup offers Texas the best chance to win? I don’t know. I knew we had very serious problems after Ohio State because I can see more than the box score, but the lack of progress or the clean up of basic errors continues. Our more fundamental issues can’t be addressed in-season.
So maybe we can puzzle through it together. My inclination is to prioritize the best pass protecting unit. In fact, throwing it with efficacy may open up an opportunistic run game. I don’t see it working the other way. That means there are two certain starters: left tackle Trevor Goosby and right guard DJ Campbell. Goosby had his worst game as a Longhorn on Saturday, but we have no other tackle options and he is talented, even though his technique has plateaued and he isn’t strong at the point of contact. He’s long with excellent feet and general athleticism.
Campbell must start, partly because he’s been a solid pass protector overall, but also because we have no other options. The veteran Campbell has six penalties this year, which is not ideal for a program mainstay with 36 starts, but his effort level has been better against the last two opponents. What are our other choices for RT, C, LG then?
**
  • C Robertson
  • C/G Hutson
  • C Cruz
Hutson was awful against Florida and he’s been closer to Stroh in grading than Campbell. He struggles with both quickness and power in pass pro and he has odd lapses as a run blocker. Does that change at guard? If he moves back there, that opens up the potential for inserting Robertson at center. Robertson has played 89 snaps at a roughly below average level at center this year.
He struggles with power rushers in pass protection, but has decent awareness and can make the calls. He’s an occupy guy in the run game. He won’t move people, but he keeps them occupied for longer than some of our other OL, who are not very sticky. Cruz is a complete unknown. I doubt we baptize him in the Red River.
  • G/T Brooks
  • G/T Chatman
  • T Baker
Baker is the most penalized player on the team with 7. He has good feet and has some athleticism. He is also weak and technically raw. The more he gets pushed around, the more his technique degrades. He excels most as a puller and down blocker. We can work with that, but the penalties have to stop. Brooks leads the entire offensive line in pressures allowed for the season, but he earned that distinction in only 44 snaps against Florida.
Brooks allowed nine pressures, seven hurries and a sack in less than a full game. He should have been pulled. Keeping him out there was not cool. PFF graded him at a 3.8 on a 100 point scale in pass pro. He has logged 25 snaps at RT this year in spot action, but I don’t trust him against opponents with a pulse. A lot of switching this OL up is reliant on the idea that guys like Hutson or Brooks are different players at other positions, but I’m skeptical. Chatman was talked up all offseason as a key swing guy and possibly the 6th man of the OL. He has 10 snaps this year. That’s difficult to square.
  • G Stroh
  • G Umeozulu
  • G Kibble
Stroh is unplayable. He may not be a P4 player, now or ever. Umeozulu has played better than the others at left guard in limited snaps, but he’s never been known for assignment soundness. Maybe he didn’t take an early season benching well and that explains why he’s in the dog house? Couldn’t tell you. The time for kicking the tires on Kibble was in our last three games.
**
I don’t see any easy answers, but Baker gets the nod for me at RT, mostly for a lack of options. He also has some traits. Now we’re left figuring out the mess at center and left guard. If it helps to contextualize our plight there, Florida DT Brien Taylor (#33) had 0 sacks, 0 pressures, 0 QB hits, 0 hurries coming into the Texas game. He played in all of their games, averaging 22 snaps per. But he was a box score blank.
On only 24 snaps against the Longhorns facing only Hutson, Brooks and Stroh, he had 5 pressures, 2 sacks, 2 hurries and a big QB hit. Those are prime Aaron Donald numbers.
**
Perhaps the best pass pro combo is Goosby-Hutson-Robertson-Campbell-Baker but I think people are under the impression that Hutson has been solid or that Robertson was good in his single start. Overall, I’d adopt an iterative process. Start throwing combos in with Goosby, Campbell, Baker and see if they can stay afloat.
That’s a stupid and absolutely horrific way to manage an OL, but here we are. We should have explored other options against our three week run of G5’s but proactive isn’t the word that leaps to mind with regard to how this staff has managed this unit. The suggestion box is open.
 

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