Christian Scott to Start?
by BMG on Mar 16, 2009 9:02 AM CDT
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PrintScarborough is reporting that Texas went almost exclusively with a 4-2-5 defense in the first half of spring practice. Gideon, Thomas, and Christian Scott at safety, A. Williams and Chykie Brown at corner and the usual suspects upfront.
The basis for the switch really comes from making Aaron Williams a full time cover corner opposite Chykie Brown and rotating Keenan Robinson down to the Sergio Kindle role. The switch should also tell you that the coaches feel better about Williams' size/speed combination than Curtis Brown's.
The base 4-2-5 is the best way to matchup against the spread offense assuming that you have great run support from the secondary and can get to the QB with four linemen. By having Christian Scott and Keenan Robinson on the field at the same time, you can change to something resembling a 4-3 by spinning Robinson down to an edge rusher and moving Scott into an SS/LB hybrid role. Additionally, Thomas's range and Scott's bonecrushing hits stand to have the best change of creating turnovers in the secondary.
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Interesting
I would think Gideon would be the SS/LB role since so many believe he is nonathletic. It makes sense to run a 4/2/5 if you look at the recruits that are coming in too, very strong DB class but a little light on the LBs.
-rBr-
Gideon
Gideon is probably better in coverage, and C. Scott is a better tackler. Hopefully C. Scott gets better in coverage. I think B. Wells will transfer.
by Longhorns84 on Mar 16, 2009 10:05 AM CDT up reply actions
differentiator
the big difference between Scott and Gideon is athleticism in run support along with diagnosing the play. Although Gideon is less athletic, he quickly figures out what the offense is doing and snuffs it out. Not withstanding the bowl game (where he matched up against Pryor in a jump ball situation), Gideon was also solid in passing situations. Scott on the other hand is the guy you want attacking the backfield and the ball carrier. Scott’s responsibilities in this role would probably be more limited than Gideon’s – and given the additional experience Gideon has it would seem appropriate.
Fiesta Bowl
Although Gideon is less athletic, he quickly figures out what the offense is doing and snuffs it out. Not withstanding the bowl game (where he matched up against Pryor in a jump ball situation),
To be fair, he did sniff out that play he was just basically helpless against it. Muschamp sent the CB (Beasley I think) on a blitz and left Gideon alone to cover a guy who was much bigger and much more athletic. Bizarre call frankly.
God he looked absolutely helpless in that play. nt
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
P.S. 45-35
Never saw the ball
until Pryor had it in his hands. Covered well, just can’t make a play on the ball when you don’t see it.
It really was not his fault
We had a corner blitz with man coverage, they call a fade, Ronnie Lott in his prime would not have made that play, but he may have looked better not making it.
You are right.....
It is just the way he looked utterly lost that just crushed me.
But if he moved up the ladder to start ahead of guys more highly reguarded coming out of HS, then there must be somethng to the kid.
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
P.S. 45-35
Muschamp did it on purpose
He knew that time was running out and that something needed to give — either on OSU score or his defense forcing a turnover. It was a calculated risk and one that eventually worked on in Texas’ favor, as there was just enough time to march down the field and score the winning touchdown.
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Mar 16, 2009 9:05 PM CDT up reply actions
Roy - I believe you are thinking of the wrong TD.
I believe you are thinking of the running TD by Herron that gave tOSU the lead, in which Muschamp called a run blitz that was designed to either throw tOSU for a big loss or give up a TD.
The fade to Pryor was earlier in the 4th quarter, when tOSU was starting the comeback.
by Horncasting on Mar 18, 2009 11:34 AM CDT up reply actions
The 4-2-5 as a base defense
makes a lot of sense. I thought Mack said the ‘08 team used a five-deep half the time. This gets a couple of the team’s primo young athletic talents — Scott and Robinson — added playing time. Same with Williams at CB, another sophomore, another mega-talent.
question...
So who exactly are the starting 2 in the 4-2-5? I’m assuming it’s 2 out of muck, norton and robinson…
Starting LBs
Its a 3 headed monster similar to last year. Norton takes over the role he shared with Bobino last year, while Robinson picks up the position Kindle played. Muckelroy stays on the strong side.
Tariq Allen and Emmanuel Acho would be the primary back-ups.
thought Muck
played weak side. Perhaps my muddled mind misplaced Muck.
DE
With Kindle at quick, and Eddie Jones hurt/made of glass, who plays strong?
Garrett Gilbert: 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
Sam Acho, Eddie Jones, Alex Okafor
Acho has been getting some praise from the coaches and has bulked up to 265 and gotten stronger.
His shoulder is messed up
For the last two years he’s had injuries. First it was a shoulder, and now a lingering ankle I think. Hopefully hes full speed by september.
Hmm...
If he’s gonna start at a SS/LB position, he had better be ready to cover. In the Big XII, having an extra run supporter isn’t all that helpful unless he can cover, too. When the Horns had 4-2-5 personnel out there last year, I can’t remember one instance where the fifth DB was an extra safety. It was usually Palmer or Curtis Brown (both CBs by trade, and obviously weren’t out there to help with the run) as the fifth man if I recall correctly.
It would be nice to have Scott up there as a physical presence against teams that pound the rock. But if he can’t cover, I would expect this to be scrapped pretty quickly. Then again, I wouldn’t imagine that Muschamp would experiment with it if he didn’t think Christian had taken the necessary strides to make it work.
Link, please
They want Scott’s athleticism out there, but if Gideon wasn’t back there as well, Scott wouldn’t know where to be. Not sure if the coaches are going to keep the left/right safety designations they had last year to simplify the scheme, but Earl Thomas is going to spin down to covering the slot receiver in this defense. He’s supposedly improved on knowing where he needs to be, so he could end up directing Scott, which would leave Gideon out of the picture a little bit more, meaning another cornerback could eventually make their way back onto the field in the 4-2-5, probably Deon Beasley or Curtis Brown, who appear to be losing the battle at the cornerback position to A-Will and Chykie.
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Mar 16, 2009 1:08 PM CDT reply actions
I would give more credit to Christian Scott
hopefully he learned where to line up by now…this is 3rd yr in the program right? (including redshirting first yr)
COACH BOOM BABY!!
None of that is editorializing,
I’m just repeating what I’ve heard out of the program. I hope Scott knows where to line up now, too, and I think he probably does most of the time. Having Gideon out there guarantees that he knows where to line up.
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Mar 16, 2009 5:09 PM CDT up reply actions
Perhaps you can parse this a bit.
The Scott/Gideon situation implies that either the system is {or can be} so complex and refined that it takes long-term experience to get all the nuances down or some players just don’t have the mental chops to get it all down and play intuitively without extensive training.
Obviously, college football is on a trend toward the NFL level of defensive complexity although they can’t quite play “kill the QB” ala Buddy Ryan. (They’d like to but too much risk.)
What are the implications for recruiting…is the selection of DBs moving toward a Gideon level of perceptual ability to match with excellent athleticism? Is this, in fact, the case with the incoming classes, do that have that balance?
Blasphemy I know
but I’ve always thought that Akina’s schemes and/or technique took quite a bit longer for players to grasp than at other schools. The result is players that look more lost their first couple of years than young players at other schools, but veteran players that come on and can dominate to a greater extent than their veteran peers. Just my observation.
by Horncasting on Mar 18, 2009 11:38 AM CDT up reply actions
Thanks. I can see the validity in that.
Don’t know if it’s the depth of instruction and systemic knowledge or just paying attention to detail. His results show that it works at the NFL level.
{I would sorta discount the period when he was co-coordinator; everything seem to fall of the table in 06-07, so that could have been the scheme.}
I am going to have to see our backfield .....
shut down the pass before I get too excited. We have just not been good back there for a while now. But Mack has definately recruited to fix the problem.
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
P.S. 45-35
Isn't Robinson a little small to play the Buck position?
Robinson seems to be more of a traditional LB in size and agility. He seemed to show good instincts at LB in limited playing time too (one of the things Kindle lacked, hence the creation of the Buck position).
Seems like it on the surface
but Muschamp seems to like him at the position, though Emmanuel Acho is getting reps there, too, and seems to be impressing the coaches.
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Mar 16, 2009 5:10 PM CDT up reply actions
D. Johnson would seem to have the best frame for it.
But this is all speculation.
by Horncasting on Mar 18, 2009 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions
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