Hey PK -- What would you say you do here?

[Codaxx 5764]

PK lost me OT. How do you not load the box there? Game is likely over, but 2 deep and a CB blitz? They are not dropping back to throw the ball. I would rather he come out in goal line defense and make Tech throw the ball

[Atticus 3976]

4 hours ago, Codaxx said:

PK lost me OT. How do you not load the box there? Game is likely over, but 2 deep and a CB blitz? They are not dropping back to throw the ball. I would rather he come out in goal line defense and make Tech throw the ball

They actually blitzed on the big run in OT and our guys vacated a gap IIRC. But we should have been pressuring much more throughout the game.

[Codaxx 5764]

7 hours ago, Atticus said:

They actually blitzed on the big run in OT and our guys vacated a gap IIRC. But we should have been pressuring much more throughout the game.

Ran 2 high and a CB blitz, that isn’t a run defense 

[pacman 7359]

I feel the same codaxx. pk seems to only have one strategy regardless of the other team's strengths. He should be fired.

Quote

Tech got the ball for their overtime possession, their task is straightforward. No negative plays or turnovers. Kick a field goal. They are going to run the ball. Inside the tackles. The job of the Longhorn defense is to hold them down and/or inflict a negative play to entice more offensive risk-taking on 2nd and 3rd down and lengthen Tech’s field goal try.

Texas rolls out with two safeties deep and Overshown walked up on the edge to blitz, removed from the second level or an opportunity to shoot a gap. With the game on the line, the Horns are now running a de facto 5-1 front, an honest box (despite a late useless nickel blitz from the other side). Overshown is blitzing from wide against what is clearly going to be an interior run. SaRodorick Thompson runs for 17 yards through that vacated interior spot. On the bright side, Tech didn’t throw the ball over our heads! Game over.

 

[hookem48 4700]

first 2 games we play sound defense, stay in our lanes and believe the next guy will do his job, last 2 games back to hero ball and fucking up.

[Pam Cummings 9645]

PK has got to go. Fuck outta here dude.

[JFKFC 4890]

PK's defense has blown so many double-digit halftime leads. It's shocking.  The only thing more shocking is that Sark and CDC don't care. 

[StrippersAndNobelPrizes 844]

18 minutes ago, pacman said:

I feel the same codaxx. pk seems to only have one strategy regardless of the other team's strengths. He should be fired.

 

My god - reading that quote. Can someone post that on PK's door in Belmont? Assuming he still has an office Monday (praying he does not!!!).

[Codaxx 5764]

10 minutes ago, JFKFC said:

PK's defense has blown so many double-digit halftime leads. It's shocking.  The only thing more shocking is that Sark and CDC don't care. 

The odd thing is the defense held Tech to 4.7 per play. They were decent outside of money downs. Just frustrating. You can never know, maybe some 1 man or 0 coverage occasionally on money downs and this is an easy win. I feel like I am watching bizzaro Orlando. 3 years under Orlando and yelled at the TV “Don’t blitz here, just chill” and now I am like “dial it up, Parakeet balls”

Edited September 25, 2022 by Codaxx

[MonkeyDoughnut 10302]

7 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

The odd thing is the defense held Tech to 4.7 per play. They were decent outside of money downs. Just frustrating. You can never know, maybe some 1 man or 0 coverage occasionally on money downs and this is an easy win. 

It's been this way with PK every game. He schemes to slow down the other team and wait for them to make a mistake. It they don't they score. He's not scheming to actually stop them.

 

[LTtxfan 49253]

23 hours ago, JFKFC said:

PK's defense has blown so many double-digit halftime leads. It's shocking.  The only thing more shocking is that Sark and CDC don't care. 

Playcalling on defense has been terrible.    Nothing is being done to set up these defenders to play fast and aggressive.  Having defensive ends continuing to make the mistake of getting up the field too far in the 2nd yr of PK's defense is ridiculous.

If I'm a player, how do I have confidence in this shit defense anymore.  Who are PK and his assistants developing into better players?  Where are the playmakers on this defense?  Why are numerous mistakes continuing to be made on defense?

Who the fuck is being held accountable for the shitshow defensive performance in Lubbock??  

This passive, pussy defense needs to go away... 

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by LTtxfan

[JBJ 3655]

On 9/25/2022 at 8:52 AM, Codaxx said:

Ran 2 high and a CB blitz, that isn’t a run defense 

Yes it is.  It was literally a 6-man run blitz

[Codaxx 5764]

28 minutes ago, JBJ said:

Yes it is.  It was literally a 6-man run blitz

CB blitz is a worthless blitz, when you know they are running the ball up the middle. 6 men in the box. You have 90% chance to lose the game. The only way to increase your chances of winning are negative plays. That box needs to be loaded. If they throw it over your head, so be it. There are times when you save to sell out based on the situation, this is one of them

not to mention what a god awful play from Thompson on this 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Codaxx

[JBJ 3655]

Use your fucking eyes.  There's no CB blitz.  It's cover zero with the safeties walked up to LB depth.  9 in the box, 6 rushing every single gap.

By every definition imaginable this is selling out to generate a TFL.

Edited September 26, 2022 by JBJ

[Pig Bellmont 8719]

Converting 4th down 7 fucking times. It’s like I’m re-living the Shawn Watson hire and refusal to fire him after year 1. Sark thought he could bring in GP as an analyst to keep PK, but that isn’t enough. 
 

Don’t worry guys- I’m sure we’ll fire PK after ou, or losing to Kansas again 

[Codaxx 5764]

37 minutes ago, JBJ said:

Use your fucking eyes.  There's no CB blitz.  It's cover zero with the safeties walked up to LB depth.  9 in the box, 6 rushing every single gap.

By every definition imaginable this is selling out to generate a TFL.

So hostile. It was a NB blitz I was wrong on a CB blitz.. I didnt go back and look. This is the actual look at the snap. Lets call it a 5-1 look with a NB blitz, safeties at around 9 (not LB depth). I dont see that as a defense selling out to stop the inside run, but each to their own. 

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Codaxx

[squeegeedegg 723]

Compare Sanders on our last offensive play vs Cupp on the next play.  

[horny_gunman 137]

1 hour ago, Codaxx said:

So hostile. It was a NB blitz I was wrong on a CB blitz.. I didnt go back and look. This is the actual look at the snap. Lets call it a 5-1 look with a NB blitz, safeties at around 9 (not LB depth). I dont see that as a defense selling out to stop the inside run, but each to their own. 

 

Actually looks like base 2-4-5 w the NB blitz. I guess DMO is also blitzing because WTF is he running the play down from the backside like that.  I think the coverage is man-free as Thompson seems to roll towards the middle of the field, Cook goes and closes towards the RB going wide. (From what I’ve seen of the game so far, Thompson was awful) 

[Codaxx 5764]

Just now, horny_gunman said:

Actually looks like base 2-4-5 w the NB blitz. I guess DMO is also blitzing because WTF is he running the play down from the backside like that.  I think the coverage is man-free as Thompson seems to roll towards the middle of the field, Cook goes and closes towards the RB going wide. (From what I’ve seen of the game so far, Thompson was awful) 

I just called it a 5-1 in appearance. You are correct that it is 2-4-5. I agree on the Man free. Personally, I would have gone at least 4 true DL and cover 0. Ovie and Overshown run up the field and pretty much take themselves out of the play (I know, shocker). To me this is basically a goal line situation or as close as you can get to it. 

[horny_gunman 137]

I gotcha what you’re saying.  Again, whether this is designed to run/blitz both outside gaps or to get to the QB, the effect was awful. This defense has not the brains or ability at LB and S to…. do much. 

[LTtxfan 49253]

Siap..  Fuck You PK !!!!!

Pete Kwiatkowski (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Sarkisian: "...we weren't in sync enough with our pressure package and our coverage."

Eric Nahlin•about 5 hours

Box scores don’t often tell the story of a game, but the Texas vs Texas Tech box score does in part summarize how Texas lost. Beyond the absurd amount of 4th down attempts and conversions, Donovan Smith’s day tells quite the story.

Smith was only sacked twice on 58 pass attempts, neither coming from the defensive line. Though PFF states he was pressured 44 times on those 58 drop backs, he was still able to complete 68% of his passes. Further, his meager 5.9 yards per attempt adds finer detail — his completions were mostly short and made before pressure could truly disrupt the passing game.

During his weekly press conference, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said the following: “I felt like looking at the tape, we weren’t in sync enough with our pressure package and our coverage. For whatever reason, the way we had been playing pass defense early in the year, which was a lot tighter, a lot more aggressive, a lot more confident, it didn’t feel that way Saturday. Although we were getting home with some of our pressures and line games, the quarterback still had enough time to get the ball out because we weren’t tight enough on coverages. There were times that we did play it that way, and we had a lot of success. We’ve got to get those two things in sync, and we’ve got to trust our ability to cover people in tight coverage.”

Aside the 4th down conversions, some of which were converted in the fashion described above, that’s the ball game.

There are always tradeoffs in football. Had Texas switched to man coverage more often, some of Tech’s preferred routes would have been more difficult to cover. It’s also more difficult to receive timely help from the secondary versus a mobile quarterback. Indeed, Smith is a quality runner. However, this death by a thousand paper cuts — Tech had a whopping 40 more snaps than Texas on the day — looked eerily familiar to second halves a year ago.

The characteristics of losses last year were on display on Saturday. The defense couldn’t get off the field and the offense couldn’t stay on. 

At this point it’s hard not to wonder if there’s an asymmetry between Sarkisian’s and Pete Kwiatkowski’s philosophies. Like last year, Sark could have helped out the defense by keeping them off the field, but also like last year, PK all but invited the opposition to control the ball.

Sark’s comments today demonstrate he identifies the main issue on defense but this season will be defined by his ability to address it on the field.

FUCK YOU PK -- Quit Calling Pussy Defense!!!

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by LTtxfan

[LTtxfan 49253]

Texas vs Tech on 4th down

Ian Boyd•about 4 hours

Donovan Smith runs against Texas (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas).

Texas was 50% on 4th down against Texas Tech in their 37-34 overtime defeat. Not terrible, they only went for it two times and they converted one and missed the other. A pretty normal rate.

This wasn’t a normal game though, Texas Tech was all in on utilizing upset/comeback strategies to have a chance in this game, including going for it on 4th down eight times over the course of the game. They converted six of those eight, prolonging five different scoring drives

There was a lot for everyone to chew on after the game but the No. 1 factor in Texas’ defeat was how thoroughly beat they were on 4th down. They created one scoring drive for themselves with a conversion and blew another crucial opportunity, then yielded 27 of Tech’s 37 points by failing to stop even half of the Red Raider 4th down attempts.

This game would have been a blowout had either Tech not been so aggressive, or had they been stopped on the 4th down attempts of 4th-and-5 or longer, of which there were three (two conversions). It would have been a narrow Longhorn victory had they done even just a little better on 4th down.

So we’re going to review all the 4th downs in this game to see where it went awry for Texas.

4th-and-7 on Tech’s opening drive

This one was a little reminiscent of the Todd Orlando days. A 5-man, single-high match pressure where the blitz needed a little more time to get home. As Sark noted in his presser,

I felt like looking at the tape, we weren’t in sync enough with our pressure package and our coverage. For whatever reason, the way we had been playing pass defense early in the year, which was a lot tighter, a lot more aggressive, a lot more confident, it didn’t feel that way Saturday. Although we were getting home with some of our pressures and line games, the quarterback still had enough time to get the ball out because we weren’t tight enough on coverages. There were times that we did play it that way, and we had a lot of success. We’ve got to get those two things in sync, and we’ve got to trust our ability to cover people in tight coverage.

Jerrin Thompson is in man coverage on the boundary slot receiver and just made the comeback route too easy. No replay review to the consternation of Texas fans but I don’t think it would have changed the outcome.

4th-and-goal on Tech’s opening drive

“From four yards out, surely this is a passing…nope.” You can almost see that thought process play out for the Texas defenders. Ovie Oghoufo races in, sees it’s not a passing play and finds his momentum turned against him as the tight end turns him inside and down to the turf. Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey was also hesitant and doesn’t meet the ballcarrier, 6-foot-5 and 230-pound Donovan Smith, until two yards past the line of scrimmage where the quarterback has the momentum to fall forward into the end zone. Jaylan Ford was almost Johnny on the spot from the other side but narrowly missed his diving tackle attempt.

This is zone-follow, a quarterback run play that feigns zone-read before turning the running back into a lead blocker in the cutback lane. It’s really more like duo or power for the quarterback, Texas used to run it for Sam Ehlinger.

4th-and-1 on an eventual Texas touchdown drive

This is quarterback counter from the Wildcat, or “Ro-cat” formation with Hudson Card flexed out as a receiver and Roschon Johnson taking the snap at quarterback. Cole Hutson pulls to kick out, Gunnar Helm leads, Bijan takes a fake hand-off and goes to obstruct backside pursuit.

Helm helps clear the hole but actually misses his man. It doesn’t matter, Roschon isn’t met by a tackler until he’s at the mark to gain.

4th-and-5 on a failed Tech drive after the half

I noted in my preview Tech might have problems stemming from Ryan Watts playing man coverage on their boundary receiver and freeing up Jerrin Thompson to poach routes on the other side of the field. They did exactly that here and Thompson landed one of a few big warning shots coming from the boundary to force an incomplete passes.

Notice Texas is in press-quarters coverage on both sides of the formation with their cornerbacks. “Soft coverage” wasn’t really an issue in this game. Nor coverage in general, unless it was 3rd-and-a-mile or 4th down.

4th-and-2 on a failed Texas drive after the half

This too, is the zone-follow play. Texas runs it with motion from Gunnar Helm to execute a trap block on the backside against the end man on the line while they block down on everyone else. This is a first down but for Cole Hutson losing Tony Bradford (former North Shore champion) on an inside slant. For as strong a runner as Roschon is, he can’t just run through a 300-pound defensive tackle hitting him square with momentum.

4th-and-4 on an eventual Tech field goal drive

From the end zone view you see Jahdae Barron is playing in the middle of the field in a 3-down, flyover defense package Texas utilized a few times in this game. He just loses track of this middle curl route. Shame for Texas the spy doesn’t either commit sooner to chasing the quarterback or hang back to contest this easy middle window.

4th-and-1 on an eventual Tech touchdown drive

Zone-follow again! This time Tech is in the touchdown play formation with the tight end and three receivers to one side of the field. Texas walks down Jaylan Ford to the edge and he regrettably gets too far upfield and then tries to spin off the running back’s lead block and make the play himself. Ideally he’d have met the back a little shallower and shoved him inside to remove the running lane. Barryn Sorrell also loses his rep against the tight end who blocks down and moves him inside.

Jerrin Thompson is there in a flash to hit the quarterback before the sticks and DeMarvion Overshown gets there quickly as well but they cannot prevent 230-pound Smith from falling forward for the first.

4th-and-goal on a failed(?) Tech drive

This was a no-brainer decision by Tech, unlike some of the other aggressive calls made by Joey McGuire. I included the 3rd-and-goal just before this play because they called the same zone-follow play twice in a row and were at last punished for trying to go back to the well.

Texas has Justice Finkley in there now. On 3rd-and-goal he disrupts the tight end, then comes off and meets the running back lead block to help blow this up. Byron Murphy also rag-dolls an offensive linemen to help get the stop. On 4th-and-goal Texas finally knows what’s up and has Finkley on the wide edge with Vernon Broughton and Jaylan Ford up on the line inside. They destroy the intended lane and Smith tries to dive the other direction to get what he can, which isn’t enough.

At last, zone-follow is beaten, but the Texas offense is backed up and can do little about it.

4th-and-5 on an eventual Tech touchdown drive

Texas has a nice call on this one. They’re in tight coverage and Overshown comes from the weakside to get under the quick route and stays on it. However, when Smith scrambles ahead out of the pocket he basically Euro-steps DMO and then falls forward for the first down.

The call is solid, the personnel package is not great. They have Jett Bush as a defensive end executing an inside stunt with Keondre Coburn while T’Vondre Sweat and Jaylan Ford work off either edge. They don’t get pressure and don’t contain well.

This game Texas needed their young Edges to play more to spell Sorrell and Oghoufo. Neither Prince Dorbah nor Jett Bush gave them enough in their snaps on the Edge (Bush also played at Mike and was more effective there). Oghoufo is in this play but he drops back to carry the running back on a wheel route.

4th-and-3 on eventual Tech field goal drive

Similar to the play above, two things go wrong here. First of all, that’s a heck of a play by Donovan Smith to hit the crosser while backpedaling with pressure in his face. He made plays on virtually every single Tech 4th down conversion and used both his feet and his arm to do so.

The killer for Texas here is they’re in press-man coverage with a single deep safety and two underneath defenders in Overshown and Oghoufo (who looks exhausted). Those two underneath defenders get caught in no man’s land. They aren’t deep enough to contest the throwing windows but they aren’t closing fast enough to help the pass-rush either. Smith and the high volume of snaps has discombobulated them by this point

So there you have it. Much of this game came down to Texas not being ready to handle Donovan Smith on 4th down using his legs. It’s an understandable issue, Josh Allen and many other big, mobile quarterbacks give great defenses fits all over football in a similar fashion, but had Texas been even just a little bit better they would have survived with a win. Main take aways for the staff should be getting the young Edges more acclimated to spell the starters more (or simply trusting them) and more coaching up at linebacker.

[GringoSalado 1651]

This cocksucker is just stealing money at this point. Hope he fucking loses it all to some Nigerian scammer. Appears stupid enough for this to be a realistic fantasy.

[Atticus 3976]

That entire Ian Boyd piece essentially says “the moment was too big, they weren’t really athletes” on many of those 4th downs for us. 

[Levi 2586]

23 minutes ago, Atticus said:

That entire Ian Boyd piece essentially says “the moment was too big, they weren’t really athletes” on many of those 4th downs for us. 

Watching Hutson look completely stupid on the 4 & 2 was hard to watch. If he does his job, the play has a better chance of succeeding. I like Rojo’s odds against the lb coming up. 

[Thiefery 5012]

I love DMO but looking at those clips.. he has to play better, he's supposed to be our leader out there

[LTtxfan 49253]

 

 

[LTtxfan 49253]

Alright PK you fucker...

Take the DAMN governor off of this Texas Defense and UNLEASH THE DOGS OF HELL on the hillbillies from West Virginia!!!

[satyanash 14529]

Any bets on PK's gameplan for West Virginia? \

 

[taybo20 2877]

2 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Any bets on PK's gameplan for West Virginia? \

 

The good news for WVU is we love to give large cushions, allow short passes in front of us, and like to give up first downs...oh that's the point...lol

[Deej 76830]

18 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Any bets on PK's gameplan for West Virginia? \

 

[Jkwellborn 6709]

Any bets on PK's gameplan for West Virginia? \
 

Get fired?

[ClubWhatever 12146]

Hmm.  Let’s see.  QB is accurate but not mobile, a borderline statue.  I got it.  Let’s play lots of soft zone and see if he can pick us apart in the pocket.  I like it.  

[Horn Dog 9875]

3 hours ago, satyanash said:

Any bets on PK's gameplan for West Virginia? \

 

There is only one strategy to properly defend this: 
—15yr cushions, especially on 4th and short.

—Rush 2-3 to keep QB comfortable. If we do get to QB, make sure to run past him or rough him to get the penalty.

—Safeties must stay at least 5 yards from receivers or better yet leave them unguarded.

—any potential interceptions must be dropped 

—our defense needs at maximize being on the field to rest our offense.  Defending 100-150 snaps is ideal.  NEVER defend 3rd downs.
 

[Elmer_Fudd 22282]

Remember the rumors that Sark wanted Zac Arnett as his DC after Muschamp fell through, but the BMD's stepped in and said he needed to hire a "name" DC?  I have no reason not to believe it.  This program will continue to dwell in mediocrity and get its ass kicked in the SEC with continued shit like this.

[Eskimohorn 5635]

Remember the rumors that Sark wanted Zac Arnett as his DC after Muschamp fell through, but the BMD's stepped in and said he needed to hire a "name" DC?  I have no reason not to believe it.  This program will continue to dwell in mediocrity and get its ass kicked in the SEC with continued shit like this.

Counterpoint: Sark wanted to hire Mike Stoops and was overruled

[Codaxx 5764]

1 hour ago, Eskimohorn said:

Counterpoint: Sark wanted to hire Mike Stoops and was overruled

This is a counterpoint because Texas LB play has been so good under Choate? Ill trade the Texas ILBs for the Kentucky LBs right now. 

Edited September 29, 2022 by Codaxx

[bschoolprof 6263]

27 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

This is a counterpoint because Texas LB play has been so good under Choate? Ill trade the Texas ILBs for the Kentucky LBs right now. 

It's a counterpoint because Sark makes bad staff decisions, which is one reason he's always been a mediocre (at best) HC.  But yes, Stoops>what we've got.  

[NoName 16354]

30 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

This is a counterpoint because Texas LB play has been so good under Choate? Ill trade the Texas ILBs for the Kentucky LBs right now. 

no thanks. no interest in Mike Stoops at all.

[Codaxx 5764]

23 minutes ago, NoName said:

no thanks. no interest in Mike Stoops at all.

just pointing out based on Texas ILB play, it is hard to argue anyone else would have been a worse decision. (that and trolling a little)

Edited September 29, 2022 by Codaxx

[Hookem2147 21339]

51 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

This is a counterpoint because Texas LB play has been so good under Choate? Ill trade the Texas ILBs for the Kentucky LBs right now. 

jfc Mike Stoops has been at Kentucky for 4 games.

I've seen David Gbenda play football. Will Mushcamp couldn't turn that guy into a contributor.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Hookem2147

[NoName 16354]

15 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

just pointing out based on Texas ILB play, it is hard to argue anyone else would have been a worse decision. (that and trolling a little)

fair enough on that point

[satyanash 14529]

😬

 

[Hookem2147 21339]

Well, if a fan poll says it then it must be done.

Those are the rules.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Hookem2147

[bschoolprof 6263]

53%?  Ok.  

[CurlyDumps 4476]

3 hours ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Remember the rumors that Sark wanted Zac Arnett as his DC after Muschamp fell through, but the BMD's stepped in and said he needed to hire a "name" DC?  I have no reason not to believe it. 

So then Sark went and hired somebody nobody had even heard of? That doesn't track. Nobody in Texas outside of CFB junkies knew PK's name.

[CurlyDumps 4476]

22 minutes ago, satyanash said:

😬

 

Only 53%? When did Texas fans become so reasonable?

[Hookem2147 21339]

3 hours ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Remember the rumors that Sark wanted Zac Arnett as his DC after Muschamp fell through, but the BMD's stepped in and said he needed to hire a "name" DC?

This is the first time I am ever hearing of these "rumors".

Muschamp was choice 1. Barry Odom was close behind but wanted to bring his young CB coach with him who only had a year of on-field experience and that was a holdup. The CB coach ended up getting run out of town last year because the Arkansas players hated him so the concerns were valid.

Arnett, Freeman, Golding, Dan Quinn were all names that were thrown around at some point. Hell, I think I even remember Tim DeRuyter's name being thrown out.

[Codaxx 5764]

2 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

This is the first time I am ever hearing of these "rumors".

Muschamp was choice 1. Barry Odom was close behind but wanted to bring his young CB coach with him who only had a year of on-field experience and that was a holdup. The CB coach ended up getting run out of town last year because the Arkansas players hated him so the concerns were valid.

Arnett, Freeman, Golding, Dan Quinn were all names that were thrown around at some point. Hell, I think I even remember Tim DeRuyter's name being thrown out.

I remember hearing Arnett was being vetted. I can not attest that he was a top choice though. 

[1leggedduck 443]

I thought PK was Sark's 3rd choice, but if the Arnett info above is correct, then PK was his 4th choice. Boom, Arnett, Stoops, then PK. I would think, without any evidence other than board poster yap, that if the BMDs didn't want Arnett, they wanted a DC with some big school success, and that would seem to be PK, at that moment in time.

The important question is what does Sark have to do to replace PK? Does he have to ask "may I" again, or can he pick out his guy and go with it? If his job rides on the call, and I think it may down the road, he should get to make the call.