Horns247 Board

man it was a pain to watch our D, OSU's rb's were gashing us left heavy. id rather these defensive problems be early in the season, but i'm not sure if they're fixable. WVU will torch them if our d plays the same way. we shoulda beat OSU by 10+, a couple dropped balls, and there you go. Where was Malcolm brown1, didn't matter i thought gray looked really good when he got the chance.

I don't disagree with any of that.

You are mistaken if you think the offenses Texas faces this year aren't as good as last year.

OSU is averaging more yards and points than last year.
Baylor is just as good as last year with Griffin.
WVU and TCU replacing Missouri and aggy from last year are trade ups.
Tech is Tech.
KSU is about the same.
ISU is about the same.
KU sucks.
OU is the only team I would agree with you on being worse than last year.

So everyone thought Diaz was the next defensive genius last year & now he is a moron. Harsin was an idiot last year that was barely a step above our last idiot & now he is a borderline genius. Which is it? Do the Jimmy's & Joe's mean more than the "x" & "o's"?

I'm not mistaken. I think time and competition will bear that out.

OSU played Arizona and two teams that would struggle to give Southlake Carrol a good game. Let's recheck those stats by the end of the year. They replaced Weeden and Blackmon. They're not as good as they were.

BU is not just as good as they were with Griffin. Come'n man. Really? The Heisman winner, that faster than hell wr, and that hoss at RB head off to the league or post graduate work and they managed to get better on offense? They're plenty good. I believe I said Florence would do just fine before the season, but let's be real here.

WVU would be the equivalent of last year's OSU or BU offense. They are truly elite.

TCU has yet to play anyone with a pulse either. They have a QB and some nice pieces on offense. Are they better than last year's aggy offense? Doubt it. Better than Mizzou? Maybe. Probably

Tech is Tech, and KSU is KSU. ISU is the same, KU has a decided fupa advantage, and BlowU is definitively worse.

So that's one team, WVU, being the equal of what we faced last year. One. There's one maybe, and seven equals or worse.

Diaz's defenses are predicated on the LB play.

Look at who he's got right now at the position.

Cobbs - jr. that is playing LB for the 1st time ever in his football career. Probably should have RS last year to learn the nuances of the position.
Edmond - soph. man beast that is a 1st year starter, and his built more for downhill running games than spread attacks. Still though he's getting better.
Santos - true frosh forced to start at WLB when he's really a MLB.
Thompson - soph. that didn't play much last year at the position.
Jackson - see above.

The only guy on this team with real playing experience at the position was Hicks. Who also happens to be the best all around LB on the team. I can't say that I'm disappointed with their play, because I don't think anyone could honestly have any real expectations from this group based on their lack of overall playing experience.

This is a rough league where you have to be aligned correctly 100% of the time, or the offenses will chew you up.

I think the most disappointing thing from tonight, for me, was Diggs dropping INT #4 in the EZ.

Unfortunately, the hype on Edmonds seems to be just hype. He is not getting off blocks. Given his size, I doubt he can be a plus defender in the passing game. If he is not a plus player in the running game I am not sure he is helpful. I am hoping the lights go on, but as of now I am removing the "bad MFEr" from his wallet

The biggest issue I see is 3rd down. This unit just seems allergic to 3 and outs. I would love to know Texas's stats on 3rd down. Just an amazing amount of 3rd and longs given up. The secondary is should be good enough to win these battles, but they want to make me relive that 3rd and 18 from the OU game over and over. It was fixed after RRS last yr. I am just praying it happens this week, because that will make a huge difference

Currently Texas has allowed 17/51 3rd down conversions

I'm sure they've been working on tackling and watching film of previous games leading up to this game to see what went right and what went wrong. The talent is there and I don't think Manny has gone from genius to stupid in a year.

I have to think its mental. When Randle went on that long run on the 2nd play, the unit is probably thinking to themselves "here we go again". Then the players start thinking too much and start pressing and snowballs.

They did start to get some stops as the game went on and forced them to settle for 3's. Plus a couple of times our kickoff team didn't do our D any favors on coverage or botched squibs. Also, let's not forget Okie State is an explosive team.

The coaches have a better pulse on the team than I do. But I'm not sure another "come to Jesus meeting" is in order. Instead, have them watch film of the Holiday Bowl and show them what they can become.

In the meantime, I feel like I'm commisurating as if we lost. Snap out of it, WE WON!!!

Also, LB is just a cluster f. Best player is out, Santos and Edmond get lost, Thompson looks to be the 2nd best but is inexperienced, Cobbs shouldn't be considered a LB, and Tevin Jackson is nowhere to be found after supposedly stealing snaps from Cobbs during camp.

Diaz is in over his head. I said the same thing last year, and it looks the same now. His scheme is flawed/a gimmick. Our players are, according to all reports, in the best shape that they have ever been in. Yet, we see a Dline that cant get any consistent pressure, LB's who cant fight over a block or fill the right gap, and DBs who cant tackle and are out of place. Anyone else see how pissed KV got when OSU scored on the play where Diggs dislodged the ball from the wr in the endzone? Guys have no idea where to be. His, for lack of a better word, 'exotic' blitzes dont reach the qb nearly enough and leave us vulnerable to the big play. For instance, anyone else see Byndom get his world rocked multiple times when he blitzed? People are saying its not Diaz's fault and the players (LB's esp.) need to learn to read and react. Who do you think is responsible for teaching them how to read and react?? He's simply not doing his job, or at the very least he is not doing his job well.