Horns247 Board

Not sure how Cobbs is not on the Bottom 5 list. Close to zero production, missed tackles, missed assignments. Maybe you left him off because he lost his job to Kendall Thompson.

They do not use their hands well. They let the impact come to them instead of striking with their hands. OL get their hands on their shoulder pads and it's all over.

Adrian Phillips is so bad, he's left me praying for another Blake Gideon

It has zero to do with Wylie. It has to do with Jackson and Whaley.

And just because the DT coach wants everyone benching 400+ does not somehow exclude the DTs for also leg pressing and squatting certain amounts as well.

I think Jackson and Whaley have serious issues against the run straight up.

I agree. I also think they don't keep leverage well because half the time all they are doing is pushing upfield and the linemen are just riding them that way.

Bergeron got the 4 tds, and the play calling may not be his fault in the 4th quarter with Texas facing first down on the 12 down 3, but I thought those were a couple of really tentative tries by him in that series, particularly on 1st down when there appeared to be an opening for a significant gain had the back hit the hole quicker. Add the drop of the 1st quarter 4th down pass (which wouldn't have been the easiest catch, I grant you), and I just don't know about him making the top 10 for the game. I readily grant you that he didn't fumble while asked to get the tough last couple of yards in scoring situations, but still. . . 17 carries for 45 yards and a drop on his only targeting in the passing game?

OU's Whaley is going to have a field day of we don't improve gap control come this Saturday.

Agree.

You don't need dominant defensive lineman on the interior to play good solid defense. You need solid interior line play. Holding ground. Punching. Steering blockers. As BB said, we're stunting and trying to get upfield too much and OL are just pushing them into where they are already going. Malcom Brown and Moore seem to be the only guys that get close to consistent interior line play. I would put Edmond in the bottom 10 for the first half, but watching the game again, he seem to gain a bit in the second half. The light seemed to come on a little for he and Thompson, but Edmond still traps himself at times. Like a RB he needs a little more patience. I did think he made nice strides though.

After further review, I think Jeffcoat should replace Vaccaro in that top 10. I initially accused him of getting upfield too much, and losing contain too often. After looking at previous games, as well as WV, it seems more like he's playing his assignment well, and wow, Cobbs or the filling safety is getting wiped out in run assignments. On a couple of plays where I thought he was badly beaten on contain, it was Reggie Wilson. Just watching 'Coat, I think he actually played great in the WV game, which surprised me. Okafor played even better though. They were not the problem, and heck Jeffcoat saved the whole defense a couple of times by squeezing the play down AND making the tackle solo. Solid, fundamental play that probably goes unrecognized outside of scouts and the locker room.

Looking again, All of the DBs were pretty poor in coverage save Diggs on a few plays. Byndum seems very tentative breaking on the ball, in contrast to how aggressive he was last year when he was just missing vs good receivers. Now he's just late. Phillips is plain taking bad angles and trying to guess on plays. You could see him jump routes a handful of times and overrun the receiver. A safety with decent instincts picks off 2-3 of those passes over the middle..........................as you could see when Thompson was in. Phillips is thinking too much. Perhaps he and Diggs start cross-training for an eventual switch? Vaccaro trailed a lot. I will say even in the run game, he trailed a lot.

All in all, from a fundamental standpoint, I think the defense is closer than most probably think. The DL picture is probably more clear than its been in a while with Brown stepping up. LBs made some strides I thought when left in position to play. Thompson may have the instincts and patience Phillips doesn't, while we need a more aggressive Byndum. Whether Diaz sees that or not, we shall see. Calling a bad game this week could get UT blown out moreso than other games.

False.

gideon will never be the standard for safety play. try jerry gray, earl thomas, chris carter or stanley richard for that honor...

I would like to see the Joe B that was allegedly "trucking" people in the spring and fall.
So far, I can't recall him really blasting anyone on the other team yet.

I still remember Ced Benson as a frosh delivering the wood straight up, but as he got older on campus, the collisions got less from him and more from the defender.

2 cents.