If you're wanting (as do I) to see more long balls

Cougar Football
#1

Relax. We got this.

But first, drops. We had one drop last night. You’d like to have none but I remember multiple drops in one drive on a few occasions. So, I like the hands our receivers have, all ten of them who caught a pass last night. We have freakish depth at receiver and the quality is above average too, I’d say.

Now to completions.

Let’s be generous and say long bombs have a 50% completion percentage. If you can get 60-70% completion rate getting six yards or more, that’s what you do. You want to sustain drives. Going 31 for 33 will sustain a lot of drives.

As long as you go long every now and then, and we do, just to remind people we can and maybe even hit one, there’s no reason to waste a down too often.

On a side note:
I’m seeing improvements in the running game.

P.S. After seeing what Payton Turner did last night, I’m thinking we’ll have some “best ever” DLine talk soon.

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#2

I am very optimistic about what is going on. I don’t know how good this team is but my concerns have morphed into “are they good or are they really really good”.

Kyle Allen is the real deal. He is a NFL 1st rounder. His touch and arm strength is as good as we have seen.

Beat the sand aggies.

#3

I’m curious on your definition of throwing it deep. What I think (may be wrong) the definition of going deep is going over the top of the defense, stretching them out. There was several mid range crossing patterns that went for around 30 yards but I don’t consider 15 yard crossing patterns that go for 30 yards the same as “going deep.” I myself don’t care how many times we throw it deep or don’t as long as we consistently move the ball. It does concern me a bit that Arizona and Rice were able to blow up our receiver screens over and over for no gain. I wouldn’t be concerned if we were doing that to set up going over the top but we never did. Maybe the offense is holding back for teams like Tech, Memphis and USF. The thing is, if you save the big plays for only the biggest games, how do you expect to connect on them when you do try to execute those plays?

#4

Going long to me means anything more than 15 yards, or out and ups, fly patterns, deep posts, and fades. Getting behind people in other words. Those are more tempting to run when you have burners. We don’t but we have guys that can catch and a QB that gets them the ball and hits them in stride too.

I’m very happy with this offense and this defense might become one of the best, if not the best one we’ve ever had. Might I said.

#5

Battle of the safeties. Love the cover two beater but as you know you got to have a QB that fully understand what is given to him. He does? He will exploit the middle. I fully expect to see it in our next game. Rhythm, rhythm, we are progressing that is very encouraging. One of the reasons that we have not seen many “breakaways” plays is that we do not want to divulge our playbook too early in the season. Like Major mentioned it putting inexperienced players in second half is huge for the entire Team. You can’t replace game experience. This is going to be very beneficial at all levels. Our new OC “blended” with Major’s mind is sure to reserve us some deep plays that we have not seen yet. Kyle Allen is in for a treat.

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#6

I agree with you, Johnny. We have possession receivers. The coaches are calling the plays based on the personnel they have. Once we get King and Jefferson back, (And Corbin and Lark step up) I think we will all be very Happy with what they do; HOWEVER, we run a power spread not the air raid offense Y’all. We won’t be taking as many shots as we all want. Case has graduated. Let’s have a moment of silence…All Right!

Let me put my Captain Obvious hat on, the team is getting better. My point is that things are going to start opening up and quickly. The team last night looked great all around. One knock on the past couple of years was inconsistency. There is still a lot to prove, but we have shown that we can run the ball effectively, defend effectively, and pass very effectively.
The past couple of years, Greg Ward Jr. had the team on his back! We could not run the ball, passing was mostly ad-libbed, the defense was open to get burned. When I watch this team, I see a complete team in the making. What do y’all see?

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#7

I would like to see a deeper route. It would nice if we could 7-8 yds on first down an then go deep on the next play. Instead of the sideline screen, which just isn’t working, would like to see a wide toss to the back with a couple of linemen pulling.

#8

Sideline screens aren’t working because the receivers out there aren’t making blocks. That aspect of the offense has to improve, regardless of what routes are run. If those short passes start hitting, the downfield stuff will open up.

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#9

One thing I noticed Kyle doing last night better than any of our QBs in a long time, Kyle goes through his progressions, a couple of times he went to his 5th option. On TV, you could see him several times scanning long, and wanting to throw it but then going with the shorter route.

He was money yesterday and I think will just get better and better… Only one bad throw the whole evening and one drop. That’s amazing even against lesser competition.

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#10

We need some burners, bad. Hopefully King gets healthy soon.

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#11

Something to understand though, he was playing against Rice. He won’t have that kind of time against Tech and half of our conference opponents. It kind of reminds me of watching Kirk Cousins when the Redskins play a team that can’t pressure him. When Cousins does get pressured he panics and makes bad decisions. Hopefully this week the coordinators will be focused on Allen going though several progressions quickly then getting rid of the ball.

#12

I’m not sure Tech will generate a pass rush any more consistently than Rice did.

Allen does need to develop a little better feel for pressure, though.

#13

I’m not sure where this is coming from. I remember him getting sacked once or twice because he had zero time. One of those was when Rodgers got hurt and his replacement on the very next play let his guy rush right past him to sack KA. Otherwise, he showed some escapability and was able to keep his eyes downfield and make great throws on the run. Rice didn’t produce a ton of pressure, but when they did, I thought KA did a really good job with it.

But I do agree that it doesn’t look like Tech’s defense is going to be any better than Rice’s. Allen should be able to shred that D.

#14

It appeared to me that Kyle Allen often took 4-5 seconds before throwing the ball, and that his release was a bit slower than either Keenum or Ward. While that may be by play design, I sure hope he has enough time against some of the better defenses we face later this year.

#15

Clearly every game is different. You can see as the game progressed that he is “jelling” with his offensive weapons. The OL has now played two solid games. UA might not be a top PAC12 defensive Team but they still have a solid defensive line. Kyle was solidly protected in that game. Apart from Kyle getting more comfortable I am very encouraged by our OL. This is critical when we want to control the clock and keep ttl at bay. I will be perfectly happy running the ball all game long. The offense 1st Team has now played one and half game with minor setbacks. Another week of training and play calling serves us well for our next game.

#16

I’m afraid some of you will ever be content with a QB not named Keenum. I thought Allen had markedly improved from AZ. His arm is very impressive and I was impressed with how he escaped the rush when needed and actually completed a couple (few?) while “on the wing” so to speak.

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#17

I agree with you Stealth, but I will even do you one better. Allen is the best pure pocket passer I have ever seen at UH in my time. Every time that ball was let go, it was a thing of beauty. His movement is so fluid on a throw, it looks like his release is slower, but it isn’t. That release is quick, the ball is almost always exactly where a receiver needs it, and he moves through progressions well. The one area that needs to improve is getting those reads down to about 2.5 seconds, but that will come with reps.

I cannot remember a time since the disintegration of the SWC where we had the level of talent we have at UH this year. Specifically, we are seeing two of the best players ever… EVER… to suit up in scarlet red and albino white. Enjoy it while it lasts. The draft after the 2018 season will likely see two Houston first rounders if Allen stays for his Senior year, which I hope he does.

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#18

Allen “throws” the most beautiful ball I’ve seen “in flight” in my years following UH (that includes rivals).

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#19

You’re kidding, right?

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#20

Anybody that doesn’t acknowledge that the typical 3 star athletes at Texas Tech (P5) are better than the typical 2 star athletes at Rice isn’t really paying much attention.

C’mon folks, just compare Kyle Allen’s passing game statistics against Arizona (P5) vs Rice.

 Arizona Game - 25 of 32 (78%) - 245 yards, 1 TD, 2 Interceptions
 Rice Game - 31 of 33 (94%) - 354 yards, 2 TDs, 0 Interceptions

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