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BobbyBurton said...
This post was originally posted by A_Texasmancan late last night in a different thread.
I'm reposting it here because I think it's a good read.
***
I suppose I'm just a glutton for punishment. I find myself pausing, rewinding, and examining play after play when Kansas or Baylor or Oklahoma (or pick any team we've played this year) breaks for a long gain on this "defense" of ours. I wanted to see what caused the break down and how a back can run untouched for 20 plus yards before being tackled, or worse, break three tackles on the way to gaining 20 plus yards. Maybe it's a habit, having played linebacker at the Univ of Texas on some pretty darn good teams ('68-71), and recalling how our excellent coaches would dissect any mistakes we made during Sunday afternoon's film session from the game the day before. The ability to break down a play just sort of stays with you, I guess, from hours & hours of film study. I've never been one to just watch the ball as a result of that type of training from years ago. What I've seen this year has already been repeatedly discussed ad nauseam. I see too much stunting by the front seven. Back in the day, we always felt a defense that stunts over & over is a defense that is admitting it is inferior to the team it's playing. They are too small, not quick enough, doesn't have the athletes across the board to compete with the opposing teams offense. You do this because they feel it levels the playing field somewhat. You are compensating for a lack of talent. We didn't do that back then. We felt like our athletes and our system would allow us to win most battles because we were fundamentally sound in our approach to the game. You line up, we will line up, and we will kick your butt head up because we want it more. Period. This defense of ours makes me want to throw up. I don't like the system, and I don't like what I see from the individual players and their lack of desire to compete. I see horrible pursuit angles, I see players not maintaining an inside/our leverage on a runner, I see players diving for the ankles of runners, I see players not putting their head across the bow to properly secure a tackle, I see players that have no clue where to line up or where to go in a particular defense, I see players that once they actually get where they need to be not wanting to aggresively attack the ball carrier, I see defensive ends getting too far upfield, I see players not using their hands to keep a blocker off their legs, I see once knocked down just lazily staying on the ground instead of bouncing up and continue pursuing, I see a group of players who body language would suggest they don't even want to be out there...and I see this time after time after time. It disgusts me. Our coaches we had would have NEVER allowed that type of effort, and the leaders we had on our team would have been in your face in a heart beat reaming you out and telling you to step it up. From what I have observed thus far, I have zero confidence we will go to Lubbock and be able to stop a good offense, or any other game remaining on our schedule. It is as bad as any defense I have ever witnessed at our school since the '60's. Those are the observations. Anyone can make an observation, the question becomes how does it get changed? How does it get better? When does the process of changing philosophy and developing mental toughness begin? I would suggest it's damn near impossible to elevate one's play at this point in a season. This change in attitude begins during off season. I believe it will only come with new direction. What we have going on currently is just not getting it done. I'm appreciative of what has been done in the past 15 years on so many levels. If there are changes made, the new regime will come in with a chance to immediately turn things around because there are athletes galore on the team. But the team is soft, and that doesn't get changed usually till the season has ended. I hope an honest assessment will be done at the close of the season, so that the healing process of becoming mentally tougher can prevail. Hook em!
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Codaxx said...
Agreed. There will be improvements, but to what extent? Even under Boom there were some humiliating games. In fact those type of games have continually scarred Mack's career. My pt is there always seems to be an excuse or a finger to point. Mack has lost more games vs teams with less talent than any coach over the last 5 yrs. According to college football matrix it is more than double the next guy. 15 coming into this yr. At some point Texas should have a head coach that does not need great coordinators to win. Texas deserves a coach that can make coordinators great (at least on one side of the ball)
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josecanusee2 said...
Dias changed. The players came up with Muschamp and probably still did a lot of things they were taught and were use to doing. I'm not sure if the players respect a coach that never played football and then tries to tell them to do things they don't feel is correct. Not buying in to the plan.
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BobbyBurton said...
This post was originally posted by A_Texasmancan late last night in a different thread.
I'm reposting it here because I think it's a good read.
***
I suppose I'm just a glutton for punishment. I find myself pausing, rewinding, and examining play after play when Kansas or Baylor or Oklahoma (or pick any team we've played this year) breaks for a long gain on this "defense" of ours. I wanted to see what caused the break down and how a back can run untouched for 20 plus yards before being tackled, or worse, break three tackles on the way to gaining 20 plus yards. Maybe it's a habit, having played linebacker at the Univ of Texas on some pretty darn good teams ('68-71), and recalling how our excellent coaches would dissect any mistakes we made during Sunday afternoon's film session from the game the day before. The ability to break down a play just sort of stays with you, I guess, from hours & hours of film study. I've never been one to just watch the ball as a result of that type of training from years ago. What I've seen this year has already been repeatedly discussed ad nauseam. I see too much stunting by the front seven. Back in the day, we always felt a defense that stunts over & over is a defense that is admitting it is inferior to the team it's playing. They are too small, not quick enough, doesn't have the athletes across the board to compete with the opposing teams offense. You do this because they feel it levels the playing field somewhat. You are compensating for a lack of talent. We didn't do that back then. We felt like our athletes and our system would allow us to win most battles because we were fundamentally sound in our approach to the game. You line up, we will line up, and we will kick your butt head up because we want it more. Period. This defense of ours makes me want to throw up. I don't like the system, and I don't like what I see from the individual players and their lack of desire to compete. I see horrible pursuit angles, I see players not maintaining an inside/our leverage on a runner, I see players diving for the ankles of runners, I see players not putting their head across the bow to properly secure a tackle, I see players that have no clue where to line up or where to go in a particular defense, I see players that once they actually get where they need to be not wanting to aggresively attack the ball carrier, I see defensive ends getting too far upfield, I see players not using their hands to keep a blocker off their legs, I see once knocked down just lazily staying on the ground instead of bouncing up and continue pursuing, I see a group of players who body language would suggest they don't even want to be out there...and I see this time after time after time. It disgusts me. Our coaches we had would have NEVER allowed that type of effort, and the leaders we had on our team would have been in your face in a heart beat reaming you out and telling you to step it up. From what I have observed thus far, I have zero confidence we will go to Lubbock and be able to stop a good offense, or any other game remaining on our schedule. It is as bad as any defense I have ever witnessed at our school since the '60's. Those are the observations. Anyone can make an observation, the question becomes how does it get changed? How does it get better? When does the process of changing philosophy and developing mental toughness begin? I would suggest it's damn near impossible to elevate one's play at this point in a season. This change in attitude begins during off season. I believe it will only come with new direction. What we have going on currently is just not getting it done. I'm appreciative of what has been done in the past 15 years on so many levels. If there are changes made, the new regime will come in with a chance to immediately turn things around because there are athletes galore on the team. But the team is soft, and that doesn't get changed usually till the season has ended. I hope an honest assessment will be done at the close of the season, so that the healing process of becoming mentally tougher can prevail. Hook em!
"Don't know. Never had one" -- D. Royal-Mack Brown how to coach a team after a losing season
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ut755 said...
I am piling onto this thread because of the similarity of our post. Agree with everything A_Texasmancan said. I posted this in Bobby's Waking Thoughts topic.
I just counted Kansas running plays. Kansas ran the ball 56 times against Texas for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Texas didn't effectively stop the run until the fourth quarter and it was largely due to the Horns consistently playing 7 or 8 in the box. Texas stunted or blitzed 38 times against the Jayhawks on rushing plays. Texas gave up 170+ yards in the running games when stunting or blitzing and not maintaining gap integrity.
As a former Texas linebacker, this is the most atrociously coached defense I have seen at Texas since my freshman year in 1983. The defensive line is being coached to penetrate and running themselves out of plays. Because they are shooting gaps and not looking for the ball the offensive line is walling them off with zone schemes. The offensive line is also consistently getting to the second level and making contact with our linebackers and safeties.
While I can appreciate a slant or run blitz occasionally, the frequency at Texas is much too high. Zero/One techniques should be shading between the center and guard forcing a double team. Three techniques should be extending the arms and getting their heads up to look for the ball. The strong side defensive end should be penetrating to the depth of the ball and turning plays inside to pursuit. The weak side defensive end should be pursuing down the los at half the depth of the ball. If the defensive line does this, there aren't enough play side offensive lineman to block the MLB, play side linebacker and safety. The unblocked defenders swallow up the running game and neutralize it.
Other negative defensive comments.
Texas needs to do the following.
1) DE need to penetrate the line of scrimmage and funnel the running game back inside. 2) The defense needs to pursue from the inside out. 3) The defensive line needs to give better effort. Getting cut block and laying on the ground without getting back up to eliminate back side lanes is purely an effort problem. 4) The defensive line needs to protect the linebackers so that they can fill gaps. 5) Two down lineman is borderline retarded. 6) Texas should never allow any receiver to get deeper then the safety. 7) Texas should never allow a slot receiver off the line of scrimmage without getting chipped or bumped. 8) Texas DBs should always play with inside leverage and never allow a receiver to get their head across the front of their body.
Pathetic effort.
"Don't know. Never had one" -- D. Royal-Mack Brown how to coach a team after a losing season
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close to jumping said...
You guys are on a roll.
Nothing can more simply describe the stupidity of the defensive coaching than pointing out the fact that they go 2-down with more frequency than 4-down. Variation is fine, but the idiocy of constantly walking LBs up, dropping DEs back, and run blitzing on every series is some of the dumbest shit I have ever seen. Someone mentioned Carl Reese and I've said it this year too, but it's worse than what he was doing and that is nothing short of shocking. This isn't MTSU - the defense should just be able to line-up and play a fricking 4-3 for most of the game against numerous teams, but especially Kansas.
"Don't know. Never had one" -- D. Royal-Mack Brown how to coach a team after a losing season
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Willow01 said...
What still shocks me are all the short memories regarding Muschamp's defenses.
He lived and died with stunts and blitzes also and either came up with tackles for losses or gave up huge runs.
Lamar Houston and Henry Melton were great college defensive lineman and why they are successful in the NFL.
You can blame the putrid Horn offense all you want, but the 2010 Horn defense didn't exactly hold teams to a lot of FGs that season and was consistently gashed by below average teams.
"Don't know. Never had one" -- D. Royal-Mack Brown how to coach a team after a losing season
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J. Frank Webb said...
This is just my two cents. I played linebacker until I hurt my ankle of all things and was given a choice to continue playing or wind up on crutches. This was high school. I am kin however through extended family to a fairly well known coach who adopted after a fashion a cousin. Bum Phillips I believe knew a bit about defense as well as offense. The cousin put some pretty good defenses on the field for UT- Leon Fuller.
They both preached the defeat your man football. In their eyes you need to have aggressive men who know what their basic assignment is and how to do it. This is the tricky part. Football has changes when teams play the spread. Defenses need to adapt to this. How? That is what we are discussing. Manny has a concept that may work with very experienced players who are not confused by 27 different alignments and schemes. It simply fails with younger players who are so afraid of being in the wrong place that they lose the basic concept- hit the other guy harder than he hits you and if you let a man run free after you made contact you became a guard the water bucket player.
I saw an amazing young man just tear Montgomery up- Malcom. He knew his job- destroy the qb or the ball carrier. He appears to be gaining confidence and playing time. Ut is 6-2 to some (0-1 to me). If our defense begins playing with pride and starts defeating the other man, our season will turn out pretty good. If we play with fear and confusion, it won't. Me I would have the video of Bobbie Stoops laughing at us looping on every TV in the complex and even the Godzelotrone.
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Codaxx said...
I see a lot of people taking the original post as a knock on the defense. I think that is short-sighted. The defense is clearly an issue, but merely a symptom of a larger disease. The issue is Texas is soft. Neither line is capable of dominating. The culture at Texas needs to change. A new DC can not do that. A team will reflect its leader. Firing off at the DC is exactly what will keep the program stagnant. Do not allow yourself to scapegoat another coordinator or position coach. We have all been there. It does not change things. Changing the culture takes far more drastic action. It is time to hold Mack accountable
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A_texasman_can said...
I appreciate the kind words, but honestly, it greatly disappointed me that I had to be so candid. While I am definitely proud of what we accomplished on the field so many years ago, my love & passion for this University over the years has always prevented me from being too vocal when things weren't good. Because we are part of this legacy which is Longhorn football, to join the many "negative nellies" which will always be a part of any major college program, was something I felt shouldn't be done. We should rise above the trash talk and remain loyal to our program. Anyone that has known me for the past 40 years knows I will take the high road and support the current regime. Does that mean I wouldn't ever get frustrated? Of course not, don't be silly. Does that mean I never voiced my opinions to my fellow teammates? Again, don't be naive...of course we talk. However, to say something in a public forum somehow makes me feel I have stooped to the level of many who seem never satisfied.
Having said all that, I feel remaining silent feels equally insubordinate. Please know that my opinion stated in that post was not & is not just my opinion. This is an opinion shared by EVERYONE of my former teammates that I have had conversations with. Notice I said "that I have spoken with", which is probably only about 25 or so. I had over 200 teammates, so you can see it's a very small sampling. What I can tell you is that we are all greatly disappointed with not only the effort the players have given this year, but the scheme that is being taught. I'd like to think with the athletes we have recruited that we could line up in a base defense and win the battles most of the time. Of course you need to vary what you do. Duh. But when you look at the statistic for the opposing team going for it on 4th down and you see a whopping 85% success rate, it would seem it's time to reevaluate what you're doing. Here is a suggestion...on short yardage of 2 yds needed or less, let's put more than 2 people in a down position on the line...let's get ready for a quarterback sneak by having enough bodies around the center/guards...let's have players 100% focused on stopping the run rather than looking to the sideline to see if they are properly lined up when the damn ball is being snapped...crap...when the opposing team is on your one yard line how about placing the linebackers a bit closer to the line of scrimmage than the 5 yards deep they are now...I mean come on, a quarterback sneak results in a damn 12 yard run on a 4th down?? Really???
I want to know what is causing the Univ of Texas to lose 42% of it's '09 & '10 recruiting classes where 35 of the 45 signed in those two classes were either a 4* or 5* player, when at the same time Kansas State loses 19%, Alabama loses 25%, USC loses 24%, and Oklahoma loses 29% of it's '09 & '10 classes. SOMETHING is not right in Austin when you look at those figures. Why are we losing that many? Those aren't someone's opinions, those are the cold, hard facts folks.
We are now reading about possible dissention amongst coaches. Harsin is frustrated at being told what to run or not to run. Dodds had a "strong talk" with Mack after the Kansas game outside the locker room. Diaz has more than his fair share of critics. Let's get this mess straightened out. Let's stop our team from being so dang soft on both sides of the ball. How do we do that? Unfortunately, it's rarely accomplished in the middle of the season. It's usually done with a change in leadership & developed in the off-season program, then spring training. We need to get away from this sense of entitlement, and start playing hard nosed football.
Hook em!!
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