8/7/07 Practice

by wtfitzhomie on Aug 7, 2007 10:43 PM CDT

Current 1st Team Defensive Depth Chart
DE Orakpo
DT Okam
DT Lokey
DE Lewis
SLB Killebrew
MLB Bobino
WLB Derry
CB Foster
S Griffin
S Jackson
CB Palmer

"Offense wins games but Defense wins championships."

Quick notes from Tuesday:
The offense ruled today. The guys played hard and seemed like they wanted revenge from yesterday. Colt was absolutely on fire as were the WRs (Pittman & Cosby) & Finley.

Chiles and Harris weren't as sharp today although Harris broke a long run against the 2nd team D. Harris will probably win the will the 2nd QB job.

Killebrew was much better today and seemed to be in place.

I was being cautious as to predictions regarding this season, but after these practices, I can confidently say that these guys have worked their butts off during the off-season and they deserve the #4 spot in the coaches poll. This is going to be a great year.

P.S. Even though the offense ruled today, we may have our fastest defense and most competitive defense of the Mack Brown era. There may have been more talent on D on past Mack teams, but this one definitely has the drive and speed to become a daunting defense. These guys are definitely going to push each other to become better. The 2nd team D is quite good in its own right. Although there are quite a few players who have yet to make there mark, this could become a lite version of the '00 Ravens defense that was a monster.

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Comments

couple questions..

Did Muckelroy get any reps with the first team (i.e. do you see him cracking the starting lineup?)

And how safe do you think the starting CB jobs are for Foster and Palmer, because they aren't exactly the biggest cornerbacks we have.

by mvplonghorns on Aug 7, 2007 11:33 PM CDT reply actions

answers

If Mack decides to let Muckelroy start, based on his performance, he will be there by the OU game. I honestly think though that Mack is going to use a two deep rotation similar to what the Patriots do with their linebackers, with no change between the 1st team and 2nd team as they have great chemistry together. However, I think the first team will play 60 % of the snaps while the 2nd team 40 % at the start of the season while eventually shifting to 55-45 by mid-season. I say this because they will be blitzing quite frequently and thus there will be many pre-snap shifts and motion which leads to more substitution to keep the players fresh. So Muckelroy will get plenty of time to shine, so to speak of.

As for Foster, one year has made a significant impact and he looks great out there. If he continues to practice and play this way, he could move up from a 7th round/UFA pick to a late 3rd round pick. He has pretty much locked up that job.

And for Palmer, he faces some competition from Brown but I think he will be the starter during opening day with Brown taking over the job sometime after the TCU game. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Mack decided to stick with Palmer till the end of this season. Both Palmer and Foster are much slimmer than last year and it has helped increase their speed.

by wtfitzhomie on Aug 8, 2007 1:41 AM CDT up reply actions

more on Muck

Pre-snap motion and complicated blitz schemes require more experienced players and a more rigorous understanding of the play book (not just memorization but varied applications in mathematical terms) and that is why the upperclassmen will have an advantage. The opposing offense may adjust a play or formation when it sees pre-snap motion from a defense and thus it requires a more experienced defense to read those changes and react accordingly.

by wtfitzhomie on Aug 8, 2007 1:51 AM CDT up reply actions