Bullseye
07/13/00 06:38 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Great analysis, Scipio. Let me echo echeese in that it is so refreshing to read a football thread instead of the latest Aggie bash. I think your analysis of Redding was right on the money. I am afraid people are going to think he is a bust if he is not the second coming of Tony Brackens. The potential is definitely there, but he has much to learn and much to accomplish before he can be considered an elite player. Of all the players you mentioned, Jermaine Anderson worries me the most. This is mostly because there is no apparent backup to step in like Wilkins for Jones at SLB. Anderson reminds me so much of Norman Watkins. No matter how talented, he just isn't built for DE. I know that may not be a popular statement, but it is true. Also, McConathy doesn't have the size to play the end like Woodard did, nor the speed to play it like a Humphrey. He's smaller and slower. That ain't good. I hope someone steps up to take that position. I'm sure Bull will play the guy that is making the plays in practice and gives us the best effort on the field. Some have speculated that Tubbs or Pittman or Haywood might get a shot. They have before and all have been moved back to DT. Stevie Lee is the most probable solution if the existing ends don't step it up. Thanks again for a great thread.
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Do I Make You Horny?
07/13/00 06:52 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Bullseye--The comparison of Anderson & Watkins may be right except that Reese knows what to do with a passrusher. I still feel ill every time I think about how Mackovic utilized Watkins. A good talent that fit in perfectly as a 3-4 rush backer but he was never allowed to rush! He just keyed on the RB and followed him. If the RB stayed in and blocked, Watkins still shadowed him and didn't even try to rush the passer! 
Anybody here play LB in high school? Could you help me out on what the pre-snap and during play reads are for a Mike?
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PhxHorn
07/13/00 08:15 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Jesus, Scip, I almost missed this thing due to ever present board clutter. Of course, these late nights at the Grayhound bus station are likely not helping my fading perception much, either. I think your 4-3-4 is on target. Greg Brown is a heady young man whom Reese covets because of his ability to call the secondary coverages. As long as Greg isn't forced into man coverage on the wide receiver, he'll likely continue his solid work of last year. With the passing attacks we'll see this year, I expect much nickel and dime from the Bull, which will allow Brown to play centerfield rather than get roped into mano a mano. On the defensive ends, it will be of interest to see how much technique McCrary can stuff into Redding and how fast he can get it there. His reported increases in size and strength will likely be an asset, but his pass rush, based on spring observations, has a ways to go. At the other end, who knows? Anderson is decent, but at 230-235, it's gonna be tough for him vs teams who can come right at him. Gordon may be our best rusher and Mo is up to 248, while McC is reported at 252. With those three, Reese can probably play committee and get around the issue. After that, I expect Lee to possibly see some snaps at end along with his tackle duties, and Doiron may be sufficiently developed to have a chance at early PT as well. I realize what your saying about DDL has more than a little truth. Still, last year was his first ever in the middle - the year on the outside played to his athleticism but didn't teach him a whole lot about reading the flow of the play. Also, it's tough for me to distinguish when he made a bad read vs whether he was filling an assigned gap in the Reese scheme of things. Carl does like to call the gap assignments in the designated defense. All in all, however, this is a defense that should be manly, to say the least. [This message has been edited by PhxHorn (edited 07-13-2000).]
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Scipio Tex
07/13/00 08:33 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Anybody here play LB in high school? Could you help me out on what the pre-snap and during play reads are for a Mike?
You asked, I deliver. MLB's actually have very easy reads assuming a standard 4-3 alignment. Think of the MLB and DT's as a triangle. This triangle is responsible for the integrity of the middle of the field extending from the outside shoulder of each opposing offense's guards (sometimes MLB can have beyond that but let's keep it simple, ok?). The MLB's gaps vary according to what you're doing with the DT's -- if they're slanting strongside or to the wide side of the field, The MLB probably has backside, if both DT's are lined up in 3 techniques (outside shoulder of the guard) you damn well better stay right in the middle of the field until you're sure where the ball's going., etc...
When your positive that the ball is going outside of your triangle, you're free to run sideline to sideline. Watch for cutbacks, they're a [censored].
Your first key is ALWAYS the center but good MLB's also "see" the guards as well (for example, if a guard pulls -- you HAUL ASS in the direction he's going). Almost always, the center's first step determines your first step. If the center doubles a defensive tackle wih the guard, the read is simple -- the ball is coming somewhere to the center's outside hip -- meaning his free or open hip. The one the guard's not helping him on. Does that make sense? You have two choices: shoot the gap that the double created and try to stop the play in the backfield or run laterally to meet up with the ballcarrier at the LOS.
If you see the center fire straight out at you, you try to figure out where he's angling, if at all (this will determine your disposition) -- you MUST meet him. Right after impact, you lock him out and look for the ball -- it's usually coming right off of his ass. Matadoring blocks works sometimes but in the long run you get burned.
All of this happens in about a second and a half. Assuming you've now read the direction of the play correctly, you now have to acquire the ball through a visual screen of OL and traffic -- sometimes your own teammates. Your "key" now is simply acquiring the ballcarrier and taking an angle that gets you there. Overruning a play is as big a sin as underrunning. If you can't see the ball, look for the FB -- he's often leading the charge.
Truly great MLB's can "see" the center, both guards and the backfield all at the same time. Think of those Apache helicopter pilots who are looking through their nightgoggles, at their radar and out of their cockpit for a visual readout all at the same time. They can integrate all of this knowledge at the same time and make a kill. They have vision-in-depth which they can coalesce in to "the big picture."
Truly mediocre MLB's guess. They also "spy" or "peek" into the backfield, bypassing the reads that their center and guards give them. This may sound logical to you, but this is why teams run counters and traps. The MLB reacts to the counter step and then tries to recover in the correct direction. I earholed many a "spying" LB in high school because they lost their line reads and tried to determine their proper disposition simply on what they were "reading" (I say that charitably) in the backfield.
There's your crash course.
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Do I Make You Horny?
07/13/00 08:49 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Thanks Scip that is an excellent breakdown! I'm going to tape a few games this year and try to watch for some of those reads you listed. After that I'll probably be back with some more questions and comments.
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kchorn
07/14/00 12:00 AM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Scipio - The football board must be getting difficult to read (or I'm just getting old), because I didn't see this topic until now -- nonetheless, it is an interesting review of the starting defense, and I particularly enjoyed your sterling analysis of the responsibilities of the MLB. Interesting, isn't it, that the Texas City guys are so much a part of the X-factor for the defense in the coming season. Wonder if Sendlein, Satchell and Doiron will figure into things this Fall. One thing you noted made a particular impression on me -- your comments re Redding. I agree and had suggested in an earlier discussion that we perhaps had not seen Redding completely healthy to this point. Do you have any reports re that issue? Thanks for the usual good work.
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DAMCM
07/14/00 12:25 AM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Good post. I expect we'll probably see Babers make it into the elites soon. Who else of this group or the non-starters do you think has the potential to really step up a notch or two this year? Hook'em
DAMCM
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Bomb Squad
07/14/00 02:38 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Just a thought,
I know that the backups for the most part are extremly young, but I wonder how many of them were AA in high school. Anyone have that information? Hook 'Em!
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Scipio Tex
07/14/00 03:10 AM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Phx, glad you found it. I had to highlight this revealing quote by Phx Horn. Very relevant to recruiting.
Greg Brown is a heady young man whom Reese covets because of his ability to call the secondary coverages.
Some have questioned Mack's early offers to a couple of guys who weren't on "the lists." I won't go into the folly of questioning Mack's recruiting record (which is unimpeachable) but think about some of the characteristics of those "sleepers" and what role they might play for future Longhorn teams at FS and slot reciever respectively. Units need officers.
Alright, enough preaching.....
Carl does like to call the gap assignments in the designated defense.
Like you, I can't very often determine gap responsibilities from my barcalounger, but for a MLB gap responsibilities become very clear when the DT is double teamed playside and you see a FB leading through the hole. Too many times last year DeAndre "peeked" into the backfield and took false anticipatory steps that sealed him from the play. It happened in the 1st NU game time and again on that fake reverse to Newcombe. #4 would run himself out of the play and Alexander would rumble for thirty right up the guy. NC State had some nice examples of that too.
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Scipio Tex
07/14/00 03:23 AM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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KC --
No idea on Redding's health. If he's ready to go in August, that's all that matters to me. He can learn a lot over the course of two a days and the early Fall schedule.
Bullseye --
I think we see eye to eye on the Brackens thing. The guy is the second best DE in the NFL and I'm seeing folks on here posting that Cory will be much better. No undue pressure there or anything. The problem with that sort of person is that they'll blame Redding rather than their own deluded perceptions if he isn't All-America in his sophomore year.
DAMCM --
Of our non-starters, Pearson and Geiggar are damn good (they should be FS and SS respectively when Brown graduates and if Jackson goes pro). Brooks and Hill are as solid as a rock. Collier certainly looked nice last year before his injury. At the risk of overhyping, Nathan Vasher has as much raw ability as any DB I've ever seen on film. The X factors at S down the road could be Sloan Thomas or Tony Jeffrey. The state of Texas churns out stellar DB's so frequently it's tough to imagine us having a secondary without elite players every year of Brown's tenure.
Bomb -
No idea. The problem with "All-American" is according to who? Parade? Emfinger? Your neighbor Bob?
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Showtime
07/14/00 04:27 AM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Scipio, Thanks for the great post. I too read these boards religeously and I am so sick of the Aggie flaming and OU sucks crap that goes on here. It isn't funny, is bush league, and I wish they would delete this garbage. I realize that it isn't that easy to monitor a board like this though and they do a great job of it. As far as the defense, I am really interested to see Mr. Colorado #98(I've drawn a frickin bland). He looks to have great size and quickness. I have heard that he is tearing it up in the weight room. Hope this is true. I also have hopes that Reed Boyd will be a player. He is a big kid. I wonder if he is a possible future DE. I also wonder if I am the only one who thinks that Chad Stevens would make a bad ass center.
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Scipio Tex
07/14/00 01:16 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Showtime --
As far as the defense, I am really interested to see Mr. Colorado #98(I've drawn a frickin bland). He looks to have great size and quickness.
Ryan Haywood from Denver Jefferson. Ryan got a shirt, reassessed his attitude a bit and is now supposedly tearing it up. Last I heard, he's around 285 and getting strong. I'm not sure if he'll be playing DE for us or filling in for Shaun Rogers when he graduates. His potential is limitless.
I also have hopes that Reed Boyd will be a player. He is a big kid. I wonder if he is a possible future DE. I also wonder if I am the only one who thinks that Chad Stevens would make a bad ass center.
I think you're wish has been granted: Reed Boyd IS a player right now. He impressed our coaching staff all through Spring and he had a wonderful Spring game. Reed has the best instincts for the ball of our entire LB corps IMO. I don't see him at DE but what the hell do I know?
As for Chad, I agree with you that his future may be as a blocking TE or at C. If he took a shirt this year, he could still have three years to bulk up and make his mark. He's a rugged kid who can maul people lined up across from him. I hope for the best for him.
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bat
07/14/00 01:32 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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A very good post. My questions are two. 1) As you suggest, what could we do to improve the level of play in the question marks? I think Redding will learn and will do well in certain situations. The up sides for this type of player this year are two. First, he won't need to make a lot of plays in the running game. This dramatically simplifies his game...get into the backfield and kill someone. The other up side is that we've got another speed end on the other side that will help with back side pursuit. With both ends that contribute in this way, we'll cover a lot of mistakes spectacularly. Re Jones, he plays well as a pure blitzer...a la Babino in the cotton. This would obviously be best in your standard sets. Re. Brown, we just won't ask him to do a whole lot, and what he does, he does very well. So I do feel good about our down sides because they have good potential and we can cover some down sides with scheme. 2) Can we play some games to get our down side risks off of the field? We'll play lots of minutes out of the nickel or dime, and this will enable us to pull a question mark off of the field. We can also get another tackle onto the field against running teams...likely someone like Lee. My point is that different sets are likely to get us to 4-4-3 by your notation...so we just don't have as far to go. Two final points. One is that we've got pretty good depth, so that all of the pressure won't be on an Anderson to produce. There are two other guys of similar ability that may be able to help, and some tackles to throw into the fire if that strategy doesn't get it done. The situation is similar at DB, especially safety where Walker, Pearson, Brooks/Babers/Hill at safety, McClintock or a younger kid at LB. Two, I'm stunned that we have four difference makers on defense. That's insane and explains well why we were a top 10 defense last year against a good schedule. [This message has been edited by bat (edited 07-14-2000).]
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Scipio Tex
07/14/00 02:01 AM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Bat --
Nice comments.
1) As you suggest, what could we do to improve the level of play in the question marks?
Redding can improve the most by working on pass rushing skills (watching film, practicing moves endlessly, doing padless drills with OL) and doing chutework so that he stays low against the run. He needs to learn to use his hands to keep blockers off of him: he has a tendency to get bound up.
His first step off of the ball is often straight up -- you'll notice that he got pinned several times in the 2nd NU game because of that.
Greg Brown isn't on the field for his physical attributes but he'll get quicker from doing 7 on 7 work. Anderson should be stronger from his time in the weight room and Jones will hopefully be headier and more purposeful from general maturation and getting coached up.
2) We can play some games to get our down side risks off of the field. We'll play lots of minutes out of the nickel or dime, and this will enable us to pull a question mark off of the field.
I totally agree with this. Reese will play us in the nickel and dime a great deal and we'll have some fearsome blitz packages out of those sets. Few opponents will be able to run the ball effectively enough to punish us for it. My worry is, of course, Nebraska. If we play a questionable run stopping DE backed by a questionable run stopping SLB, we could have some real problems. We could put Stevie Lee out there, but can he string out the lode option? Doubt it. We're going to have to walk up Jackson and Brown which will certainly stifle the Husker's running game but will leave our corners on islands and Wistrom running free behind our safeties. If our corners can completely dominate Newcombe and Davison mano a mano and Jackson and Brown can recover on play fakes to blanket Wistrom, we'll pull a sweet upset. That's a lot of doing though.
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flash
07/14/00 03:24 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Scipio, I can't remember the last post i enjoyed more than this one. Right now I'm packing my stuff for a move back to Austin after 14 yrs away. I'm having a very hard time containing my glee. Also looking forward to seeing the team in person for the first time since the TT stomp in Austin last season. Till then, a couple of Q's regarding personnel: OJ McClintock: is he working at willie in the 4-3? Any early predictions on his difference-maker potential? I still imagine the guy running like a marcus allen or OJ(!) clone from the backfield, given his great vision and body control as a HS RB. How do those talents translate to his defensive responsibilities/potential?
M Mckay: Thoughts on his potential at DT? With his strength and current size, he seems like a throwback NG to me. Which would be key against the NU offense, no?
C Stevens: What about DE if the fit on offense isn't found? Thinking about Stevens' potential on D brings up a few thoughts regarding the ability to really hit. Lots of big, strong, fast guys lay wood. But some (Westbrook) have a knack for really exploding at impact. Its a combination of many things of course, and Stevens seems to have it. Really, really laying wood from a down lineman's stance, ona guy who starts off just 2 feet from your face is a talent. While that makes him a candidate for a mean OL, it also seems to make a potential LB/DE. Thanks again for the great read.
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Scipio Tex
07/14/00 05:19 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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flash --
Welcome back to Austin!
OJ McClintock: is he working at willie in the 4-3? Any early predictions on his difference-maker potential?
Well, we know he can run. No doubt about that. His quickness is also superb relative to any LB. He's solidly backing up Rawls and learning to play Will -- we'll have to stay tuned. Wish he could have had a redshirt. He'll play special teams for sure.
M Mckay: Thoughts on his potential at DT? With his strength and current size, he seems like a throwback NG to me.
Definitely plugs it against the run. I think Tubbs and Lee have passed him though. He's still learning to play DT -- could have an epiphany -- who knows?
C Stevens: What about DE if the fit on offense isn't found?
Nope. Chad's too slow. No DE or LB in his future.
Thanks for the nice comments.
[This message has been edited by Scipio Tex (edited 07-14-2000).]
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Showtime
07/15/00 01:18 AM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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This topic is too interesting to be on page 2. Scipio Tex has done a great job on this one. Back to the top.
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bamboozle
07/15/00 01:52 AM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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Scipio Tex,
Do you see Cole Pittman at de? Is Rod Baber our other starting cb? All these defensive line problems can be easily solved if Mr. Colorado play up to his potential. I have high expectation for Haywood to contribute next year. Then again, he is only a RS fish.
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horndfl
07/15/00 01:22 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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It's hard to add anything to this thread of merit. Everything has already been said, pretty much. Regardless, I still would like to see this hover around the top on the off chance that someone about to post an "I hate the aggies because they [censored] sheep" thread sees this and has a moment of clarity. As to the unbridled fervor some people are showing towards Greg Brown, I'm a little perplexed. This guy is needed for his leadership and wits, but to say he has yet to reach his potential is something I question. I think he has maxed his potential, and that's a good thing. He will play well this year and may get some postseason recognition locally, but it will be due to hard work more than pure ability. He's the Major Applewhite of the defense and we're fortunate to have him. Also, I'm honestly stunned at the lack of recognition that Rawls, Jackson, and Jammer have received. It's yet further proof that the sportswriters and preseason mag writers are fat, pasty hacks with little clue as to what the word research means. Further, they seem to suffer from the worst case of groupthink this side of BCS. This weeks Sporting News points out ND's Tony Driver as a guy that's switched positions and will make a drastic difference. How many years in a row is he going to be noticed for this? It's easy to make a better case with Jammer. Oh well, like Scipio said, [censored] them.
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Scipio Tex
07/15/00 03:19 PM
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Re: Defensive Personnel Analysis
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bamboozle:
Do you see Cole Pittman at de? Is Rod Babers our other starting cb?
No, I don't see Cole Pittman at DE in anything more than spot duty. I'm projecting Roderick as our starting corner but that's coming completely out of my ass --he'll have to beat out two solid guys in Brooks and Hill. If either of the latter hold onto their job, it will be because they raised their level of play. Darwinian natural selection, a process long absent from the University of Texas, is back. Seeing solid starters lose their jobs despite the fact that they're improving and progressing is a very good thing for a football team.
horndfl -
I'm similarly perplexed at the hacks. If you'll recall, Roger Roesler was a first team All-Big 12 selection and All-American at the conclusion of last year. Extraordinary. Based on a sampling of preseason periodicals, I can only conclude that DD Lewis is our best LB, Redding is our best DL and Greg Brown is our top secondary guy. The more poignant question is: knowing what I know, and knowing that their assessments of other teams is similarly misguided, why do I still buy the [censored] things?! I'm a heroin addict mainlining Advil in hopes that it will provide a fix.
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