So I was finally able to re-watch the game, and I watched it specifically focusing on the DLine and DBs the entire game
It’s a long post so I’ll just give a super short summary::
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Watkins for CB1 -but I think that already happened
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We brought pressure all game, stop saying we didn’t
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We just couldn’t handle the pace; our defense wasn’t as bad as it looked
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Our O-line played great but collapsed in very crucial moments
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Offense played into the loss (read the “missed opportunity” part before you attack)
General notes:
Pass Rush
This game our defense played over 100 plays, I counted how many times we brought less than 4 players, the answer is 3…yes, 3 out of a 100 plays (edit: manster54, noticed a few more i didnt notice, but the point still remains, it was rarely ever less than 4)
We brought pressure and it was actually effective in the 1st half. Turner collapsing on techs qb (who is super tall) made him overthrow twice, and Turner even deflected a pass. tech had 2 holding calls on Ed Oliver all in the 1st quarter alone because they couldn’t stop him.
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note: Tech had 4 punts in the 1st 6 drives. We were only a minute into the 2nd quarter at that point to elaborate the insane pace, and to show we were actually effective until we got tired
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I also want to note in Kingsbury’s post game presser, he notes that our D-Line was owning them, but they had run 58 plays in the 1st half alone and that he knew we couldn’t keep it up. Also, tech released a “sights and sounds highlight” of the game, it shows Kingsbury screaming that “tech’s sideline is in the shade and Houston’s is in the sun and to push the pace and ware them out”
Lack of pass rush in the end was tiredness, not scheme
Missed opportunities and we played into their hand
The longer you play an air raid, the better their offense gets (wearing defenses out). This was evident in the keenum years, we’d have 7 points in the end of the 1st quarter and finish with 72…
We have a better defense than tech, so they pushed the pace to ware us out, and then we also pushed the pace to score…
With our better defense the time for us to win was in the 1st half, with fresh legs on defense but we never took advantage. They punted 4 of their 1st 6 drives, but we kept them in it till the point our defense got worn out. and crucial breakdowns in the o-line played into it
- the 3rd down and short with bryson and the wildcat (zero run lanes), on 3rd and 5 tech only brought 3 vs our 5 oline & TE and still collapsed the pocket & almost sacked king (forced a rushed throw). Couldn’t covert on 3rd and 2 on a run, on the next play Corbin dropped the ball on 4th. We were moving the ball but failed to covert on 3rd and shorts.
Had we slowed the pace in the 1st half, or scored when we were forcing them to punt (putting them in a big hole) this would have been a completely different game
Pace
The defense honestly didn’t look bad till the last 2 tds in the 1st half. Tech’s pace , which was insane killed us, and it was obvious we were tired at that point. We weren’t even lined up properly for most of those drives, there was always just someone wide open. It was for sure pace as both drives stalled late (an injury in the 1st and a chain malfunction in the 2nd) literally after the little break tech struggled to move the ball (second wind), and only scored on both because of penalties
The Defensive Backs: A Film REVIEW
Alex Myres – who is 5’10 and has limited speed, was covering Vasher 6’6 all the 1st half. That was a HORRIBLE IDEA. they ran 1 identical play over and over on crucial short yardage plays, and myres could do nothing (listed below). Vasher ran a quick slant and they just threw the ball in front of vasher where only his 6’6 hands could reach. It was pitch and catch
- Many hits to prevent long yardage
- 3rd down conversion on vasher (early 2nd) /4th down conversion mid second/ end of half TD
- Myres had a Huge hit on 3rd down to force a drop
- injured at halftime, comes back in the 4th
- Misses a WR tackle very badly (slides far away) on a play for a 3yds, that ended up being 12 yds in the 4th
Kadarian- him and vasher were yapping all 2nd half, The youngster has some spirit
- Came in after myres was injured
- Slipped while covering vasher, 25yd gain
- defended vasher all the 3rd & 4th. Vasher wasn’t targeted at all after the switch (besides the slip and when he first came in). not sure if that means anything
Johnson- Wesley was way too skilled of a WR for the inexperienced Johnson, Wesley caught him with footwork so many times
- Caught on a move by Wesley 1st quarter for A big play
- Pulled WR jersey for PI (early 2nd)
- Caught by Wesley on a move for a td
- PI call Johnson on a crucial red-zone play at the end of the second half, put ball at the 2
- Did not see him play from mid 3rd to the end of the game (was demoted or injured)
Anderson- I guess not being noticed much in a film study critical of DBs is a good thing
- Personal foul on crucial 3rd down stop (responds to some trash talk with a shove), gave them a 1st and goal
Watkins- I like Watkins as our top CB even though he migh not have top end speed. even when he was scored on, you could tell it was the WR just making a great play and not just pitch and catch (like the last td, his hands were in front of the WRs hand and it was still caught), and he makes a lot of plays
- Missed tackle on the 60yd td on what should have been a 5yd play (1st)
- A Failed set up- he purposely let the wr run by him in short yardage and was staring right at the qb like he knew he’d take the bait (which he did), but he couldn’t make up the ground when the pass was thrown
- Watkins was beat by vasher for a TD, but stopped vasher twice the 2 plays before the score (early 2nd)
- Big time pass breakup on 2nd and goal at the 2
- Beat on a 50yd bomb early 3rd quarter
- Huge PBU in early 3rd quarter on 3rd down (tech could have gone up 3 scores)
- Deflected pass, but the wr still caught it (early 4th)
- Was scored on for the last td, but he had great coverage
- Might not be elite but he’s the best we got
Joeal
- big 3rd down break up in the 4th quarter
Sprewell
- Stopped a run for negative yards
- Missed tackle on the 60yd td on what should have been a 5yd play (1st)
- Lots of tackles
Linebackers
- Emeke- pretty good in coverage had a nice pass break up
- Robinson had a bad missed tackle early 3rd that should have been a 3yd loss on the rb, that ended up a 15yd gain (That led to a 2 td lead)
Overall: our defense isnt as bad as we looked, we tried to out pace a team built for the pace, on a roster who has never played a game like this before, and it bit us…
I want to see our pass rush versus a team that isnt dinking and dunking who holds the ball (reading progressions). Ill get hate for this but it honestly felt like we were getting to the qb kind of quick (the 1st half), he was just getting rid of it quicker
Our DB unit isnt good, that isnt changing this year, but adjustments can be made. I like Watkins at Cb one, I think he already is from the end of the Tech game, but the Texas Southern depth chart doesn’t reflect it (but that depth chart also says Stevenson isnt the full starter, so not sure to believe that)
There is only 1 team in the aac that pushes pace like tech (not including us) and that is UCF, so I don’t expect many replicated performances