Enough Hiding The Problems On Defense

We also lost Cedric Griffin, don't forget about that.  That was very big.  He was a true lock down corner.

I think what happened is that we returned 3 very good players in Ross, Brown, and Michael Griffin, but two of those players are really known more for their run support than pass coverage, and Brown was never himself due to injuries and distractions.  Huff and Cedric were only 2 players, but they were what made the pass D what it was.

Our secondary could be worse overall next year, but still actually play better in pass defense if our young guys just focus more on that part of the game instead of just headhunting like this year's group did.

Defense probs:
This season (and in the Iowa game) seemed like the dbacks slipped a bunch (A Ross on a third? down Iowa reception). And they seem to stay too far off the receivers. (I am thinking about 80 catching the ball for a big 1st down with nobody within 6 yards of him. And what about the Iowa touchdown that got called back for a penalty. Where was the coverage?)

It seems like we just cannot get the qb down when we bring pressure..

Offense:
It seems like our running game has been inconsistent. Iowa was a good example. Not much from Selvin and our Oline was losing the battle.

Not to take anything away from the Horns! What a big win. Unbelievable, really when you think about Colt's injury. He came in and won the game with his judgement and arm (directing Limas for example to change his route). What an unbelievable year for a freshman qb. I look forward to next year!!

Only other comment is about discipline. I think Texas went loosey/goosey in the Vince era. Just watching Iowa workout/come out on the field. Seems like they had more structure...

Happy New Year to Bon and thanks for PB for all the great input! What a source of college football info.

The first five paragraph's basically say "but, but, but look at the defense!!!", while doing nothing to defend the offense.  Sure the defense sucked, and our losses were due more to that than other things.  But you can't just blame the entire thing on the defense because you're tired of hearing people say that they want Greg Davis fired.  The crappy rushing offense was a decent portion of the problem this year.  

Of course we can't replace VY, but...

When I heard the quote earlier this week about how the coaches wanted Colt to run more or something like that, I almost shit my pants in a bad way.  Umm... hasn't Colt just had one of the best freshman QB passing years ever, even before the bowl game?  I know GD didn't fully realize until the middle of the season that he had such a good passer, so I wouldn't expect him to change his playbook after the OU game.  But before the bowl game would seem to be an alright time to tweak the playbook a little bit.  If GD needs the QB to run to have a successful rushing offense, then it's probably a good thing we didn't get Brantley.

He obviously doesn't need this, as seen in the Benson/applewhite and simms years.  so i don't really know what the problem with GD is.  he obviously recruits well and has decent enough schemes, but he doesn't seem incredibly willing to adapt to his players.  it took him a year and a half to "let Vince be Vince" or whatever.  so i guess don't fire him, but just hope he becomes a little more flexible?

Anyways, I'm living in Australia this season, and watching games on a crappy laptop screen, which means it's 3am new years day and i'm drunk posting, and so this is an excuse for anything stupid i might have just said, but i take full credit for anything that might be seen as smart.

PB, I agree with just about everything you said the defense is and should be a concern for all of the longhorn fans next year.  

The defense did have it's challanges this year and certainly did not live up to my expectations.  However, the offense did not help out in some situations.  To many times (take for example last night, we have the MO going our way get the ball at the Iowa 40 run 3 plays gain two yards and punt) the offense has had an  opporunity to give the defense a break or even take control of the game and GD gets so dang conservative and we lose everything the defense just provided...a short field with an opportunity to score.

I'm really looking forward to see what McCoy can do in the future..I think he is going to be outstanding, but the OC has to put him in a position to be outstanding.  Let's all remember this is the University of Texas we should be able to, and certainly capable of getting one of the best OC's in the country and in my opinion GD is not that guy.      

D-Coord. has opportunity to be the hero next year (Akina???).  At least the D got it together in the 2nd half but at the end of the day we beat a 6-7 team.  I am not so worried about next year's personnel.  Look at Ohio State year-over-year.  The turnover may turn out to be a good thing.  And, at least Okam sounds like he's coming back.  He was quoted as saying the win/comeback "sets the tone for OUR season next year."

I'm concerned about the O-Line.  Our running game was not up to par this year but we had good pass protection most of the time.  What O-line will we have next year?  They had better not be bad at both run and pass blocking.  

I say O-line concerns me the most b/c we'll have great receivers, we should be good/better at the TE position, I think we'll have roughly 82 running backs and then we have a potential mega-weapon in Chiles.  If the O-line is bad to mediocre, we'll waste a lot of opportunities.  If they are stout all around, we should kill defenses (GD or no GD).

Speaking of RB's, if we have four-to-five RB's (assuming no one redshirts and forgetting Melton), will we be loaded AND complementary?  If Charles is The guy, forget the sweep left, sweep right crap.  One cut + hit hole + run.  I know he's around 190 lbs. and he doesn't seem to me to be a dancing kind of back in the backfield so getting past the line as quickly as possible then making moves in space makes the most sense.  Then (outside of Ogbonnaya) we might have Creer (what's the over/under on UT landing him ... seems better every day), Whittaker and Cody Johnson.  And where will Kindle be?  At 6' 4" I'd much rather have him at LB if he can handle it.  So forgetting Kindle (on offense), we could have a pretty killer RB rotation.  Whittaker should be fun to watch and provide nice contrast at 5' 9".  He'll be hard to find behind the O-Line and he's fast.  I'm not sure about his receiving skills but if he has that too ... wow.  And although Cody Johnson is being projected as a FB, he has some serious HS rushing numbers.  At 5' 10" and 230 lbs., send this guy up the middle 5-10 times a game.  

I'm happy with another 10-win season and Top 25 ranking.  Not estatic, but happy.  Sure beats the days near the end of the Southwest Conference.  I still remember being happy one of those final SWC years when we TIED Syracuse at home b/c that was considered an upset!

Hook 'Em!

Colt McCoy deserves much of the credit for the season. The defense had a hard time stopping any body. How many 3rd down conversion did Iowa have last night. How many big plays did a mediocre offense have? Does the Horns defense lack talent?speed?size?strength? Is the secondary that was 98th in giving up yardage that untalented? were there 600 guys better than them? of course not but then why did they play as a unit so poorly?

You can say the same thing on the offense, what does it lack?talent?speed?size?strength?

Jamal Charles is a pretty good running back and one of the fastest men in the country (6th fastest to be exact)most of the time he runs the ball following the pulling lineman who are the slowest men on the field. does that suit his talents? Why did the running game not produce many long runs?  

Last night Iowa was in cover 1, man to man with one safety maybe 12 yards deep many times. All an outside receiver had to do was run a post, it's an easy throw for McCoy, I saw that 4 or 5 times at least. Horns got one score off it, Sweed on the side lines but it was there all night. Didn't the coaches?

When Iowa ran the ball, the deep back in the I was always 2-3 yards deeper than when they passed. It was so obvious that those dumb announcers saw it. Did the coaches? if they did it's didn't show.

Would anyone question that the horns have more talent than A&M, K st or Iowa? It's not a matter of hating or liking anyone the question is can they take all this talent and make it into a team.

This year like last the whole team was bailed out by spectacular play by exceptionally talented quarterbacks both VY and CM should get credit for  scoring more point than the defense gave up.

There is no question Mack Brown is one of the great college recruiters in the game. If you go position by position the Horns match up with any team in college football for talent. If that is the case whose job is it to form that talent into a team that preforms up to it's potential? With that in mind you have measure whether the coaches are up to the challenge of molding that talent into a team. Some teams preform better than you expect based on the talent they have. I think many fans who have watched the Horns feel with their talent level that they underperformed this season.
That has to be an issue that rest with the coaches.
 

That is our problem on offense.  We kept trying to run Vince's offense without Vince.  The team is in need of another offensive remaking.  If we want to run Vince's offense, then why are we recruiting drop back passers?  How much do we lose when we change our schemes this dramatically?  I know you have to recruit the best players available, but shouldn't you also be recruiting the best players for your team?  Colt is a drop back passer with a escapability speed, as such, from day one, the scheme should have been adjusted to account for that, and what's more, it should have been recognized by the coaches WAY earlier.  

GD's main problems stem from a lack of imagination, no clue on how to develop a strategy that keeps the D on their heels, and complete lack of a desire to make adjustments due to personel or situations.  Other than that, he's a great coach.  

The defense looked like the forward pass was only introduced this year.  Did we really lose THAT much from the Championship team?  Where were all the 3 and 4 star DB's and athletes we've been recruiting for reloading purposes?  

We have a lot of questions going in to next year, I'm just really proud of our guys for pulling this win off.  It was a tight one, and I was really afraid that they had lost their heart, but somebody found it.  The team is in DESPERATE need of an on field leader....especially on defense.

It's a roller coaster with him at OC.  I still believe that he can make the right calls when he needs to, and he usually does.  But he also puts the offense in stiuations they shouldn't be in- it's very much a game of give-and-take.  All in all, however, you can't expect any coach to be perfect, and however much I express my frustrations during close games, I usually calm down when it's all over.  Greg Davis can coach this offense.

I agree with what Matt said about the secondary needing to play better in coverage.  So what if Aaron Ross won the Thorpe?  He also gave up some big pass plays.  But what's also killed the D is the fact that it never really came together and played well as a unit- when the line was playing well, the linebackers weren't and so forth.

I think Akina will stay on, but he certainly failed this adition, so to speak.  We'll get our man at DC, whether it's Tenuta, Van Gorder, or someone else.  Greg Davis will remain at Texas, and he will likely have a better year next year.  I'm perfectly okay with that, even though I get pissed off t him for all his bubble screens and horizontal runs.

This team has all the pieces to win a championship (at least on offense), but the Horns must have both consistency and coherence on offense and defense to make it all work.  There's no doubt in my mind this team will be a contender if the defense is solid- and if not, if Texas won 10 this year, the Horns can win the Big XII next year.

Colt McCoy is Chance Mock Redux. That comment is not meant as a slam. McCoy is a very capable quarterback. Hell, aTm wishes Stephen McGee was at least half the quarterback that McCoy is.

McCoy is not going to win many games with that running game. The backs and line were essentially the same as last year's. Where were Young and Charles this season? Where were the 20 plus yard runs?

Can Harris run the option from either the spread or I formations? Last year, Texas was an option team that could pass at will. This year, Texas could not run the ball.

By the middle of the season, Mack Brown said the running game suffered from a lack of Vince Young. Opposing defense did not respect McCoy's ability to run. Um, except McCoy could throw the ball all over the field. Opposing defense played run first at their peril.

Except for the aTm and Ohio State games, no team stopped Texas' passing. McCoy should not have played against aTm period.

Greg Davis and company unveiled the I formation for the Alamo Bowl. Same results for the running game. At least Charles and Young did not fumble.

The defense, or more specifically, the pass defense was terrible this season. It was terrible against Ohio State, Baylor, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Kansas State, and Iowa. At least against Iowa, Texas stopped the halfback pass.

Duane Akina should not get the defensive coordinator's position. The defense gave up two touchdowns on Iowa's first two possessions. Hawkeye quarterback Drew Tate has spent the year battling injuries and was not the same quarterback he was last year. Against Texas, though, he looked like a return to the 2005 version of Tate.

Iowa's receivers are slow and run basic routes. Yet, two touchdowns in the first two possessions.

Akina is not the man for the job. If he needs to leave the Horns, then so be it. But Texas needs a defensive coordinator from the SEC. Texas needs a defensive coordinator who will make the Horns nasty. Bo Pellini?

OU had a nasty defense for their last MNC run. Texas had a nasty defense last year. Where is the nastiness? The linebackers are not very athletic, and do not hit people.

Although the offensive line is gone for next year, Texas could make another run for a MNC. If Harris can run the option, then Davis needs to show he is a legitimate coordinator by benching McCoy. A new defensive coordinator, who instills a sense of nastiness, will help improve Texas' chances.

If there was one positive from the Alamo Bowl, then it was Henry Melton's move to defensive end. Now, that should be nasty.

while i agree that our defense left ALOT to be desired this year, my biggest concern going into next year is the running game.  without the development of a north-south running game, next year will be alot like this year-we'll go as far as colt can take us.  this season, despite our defense's struggles, the only games that we lost were the ones where colt was either injured or struggling.  every win and loss has a direct correlation to colt's performance.  when he threw 2 or more touchdowns, we were 10-0.  less than 2, 0-3.  we cant continue to put games solely on our qb.  as great as colt was this year, he's not vince...no one is.  the only fault that i would find with greg davis is that he was spoiled by vince.  i think next year we will see a renewed commitment to the I-formation running game.  jamaal was one hell of a back out of the spread...with vince at qb.  i didn't see anything from him this year that made me think that he can be an everydown back.  i think next year we should use him like we used ramonce.
i think that kindle is the answer to at least one of our problems, either short yardage running or improving linebacker play.  personally, i'm hoping they put him at rb.  i agree with patienthornsfan, his 5 yard run was the toughest inside run we had all year.  in fact, i would say that the worst thing that happened in the iowa game was the linebacker injuries, which forced kindle to be used there instead of at rb.
while i think that the defense will determine how good we are next year, i don't see any easy solutions there.  with the personnel available, i don't see how we could be much better next year.

I've been reading BON for a while and it a quality site that I've chosen to participate in.  I hope I can add quality to what's already here.  Having said that, here is my nit-pick'n on the season.

1. It's nice to have 10 wins for six years and be able to nit-pick.  Many fans don't have that luxury.  However, it can also make us become complacent to inadequacies.  I don't have the answers or I would be on the coaching staff so keep in mind that the following or just my own observations and opinions.
2. Like most I was very hopeful for defending the title this year, then thought it very realistic we would be BCS bound after OSU loss, especially after the OU win.  So a two point win in the Alamo Bowl, with the talent this team had, is disappointing even at 10 wins.
3. I agree Greg Davis should not be the GOAT entirely, but he is an under-achiever in my view.  I wont go into previous years but with the talent this team had on the O-Line and running back I should've been able to play QB.  I don't know if it's a discipline issue or the talent is not as good as advertised, but when you throw passes in the flat up by 2 and trying to ice a game, it's either bad play calling or you're admitting you have lost the battle at the line.
4. Colt is the QB of the future.  He has a head for the game and leadership.  He makes smart decisions, is very accurate, and although no VY, is mobile enough to create.  He will only get better with time.  I would liken him more to Applewhite than Mock.  It would take a LOT more than Harris being able to run the option before I would replace him.
5. As far as defense, that WAS the most disappointing for me.  I'm not even gonna try and figure it out.  Only observation is that we were most weak in secondary and that is Akina's responsibility.

Again, these are just my opinions and not necessarily attacks on anyone else's comments so please have mercy on this rookie blogger.  I look forward to hopefully being a long time participant to BON.

I take issue with nothing you've said, but to re-emphasize a statement you made - that our red zone and short yardage offense were bad is key.

I've complained about his predictable and conservative (with a few exceptions, of course) playcalling before, so I won't rehash that.  What I will say is that in watching the Alamo Bowl I lost count of the number of times that we had something like 3rd and 6 and the primary receiver (and generally the one on the opposite side of the field as well) ran 5 yard routes - ususally a five yard hitch or an out.  Pathetic.

Note to GD:  When you need 6, there is absolutely no reason to have the receiver stop at 5.  If you're playing for the upfield block or broken tackle, might as well run the bubble screen.