Is it me or does there seem to be a glaring omission here? I'm not even mad. That's amazing. Didn't you get the memo?
Friday, August 15, 2008
Stop That Black Man!
With the plethora of wide receivers running around the league this year, it's going to be imperative that KU's secondary is up to this task. Last year they resuscitated what was one of the country's worst units in '06 to, statistically, one of the better ones last year. By the end of the season they had put together a unit that allowed 223 ypg (9.5 ypc) and yielded 17 touchdowns, while picking off 23 passes (to be fair, some of those INTs were not made by the secondary). Now those numbers are nothing to be overly heralded, but they are to be acclaimed, especially considering that the defense only allowed 94 ypg on the ground, so teams were looking to pass.
Now we've already chronicled our concern for a better pass rush. One of the reasons it has to be better is because this year's secondary will be without its star, Aqib Talib. After declaring early, Talib officially went from 2 star recruit to first round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But alas, he is gone. And replacing him is the guy who was originally lining up opposite of him last year. After going down with an early season arm injury, Kendrick Harper was replaced by true freshman, Chris Harris. Seeing as how Harris went on to become a Freshman All-American, I'm sure you know that Harper never really got his job back. However, he did get some PT, participating in 8 games, starting 3 of them. And in that time, he showed why he is the preemptive starter this time around.
In that limited action, Harper showed the ability to lay some wood and the overall ability to be a solid zone corner. I don't think he has the speed to cover 1-on-1, but in the spread offense, who really does? Harper racked up 19 tackles (10 S, 9 A, 2 FL), 1 interception, 3 PD, and he recovered a fumble. Not exactly a record breaking year, but solid production out of your # 3 CB. This year, though, he won't have the luxury of being #3. He needs to be at the very least 2, if not 1A, as we still have yet to see how Harris handles the conversion to being "the guy."
Speaking of Harris, can he become a true #1? My instinct tells me he'll be great, but not quite there. Not to take anything away from what he did last year - because he went far and above what we could have realistically expected from him – but it's undeniable that it's much tougher being the #1 guy. Still though, when you look at what he did as a true freshman you have to believe that this kid is going to become a star either this year or the next. He played in all 13 games, starting 10, and in that time he racked up 65 tackles (40 S, 25 A, 1.5 FL), intercepted 2 passes, broke up 4 more and recovered a fumble. Unfortunately, what those stats also tell you is that he tackled his guy a lot more often than he defended him. This is always going to be true with a corner, but it especially was with Harris last year as it seemed that he preferred to concede the small gain, while remaining in position to never give up a big one. There certainly is a lot of merit to this mindset and as you saw, he's about as good an open field tackler as you'll find. But as a second year guy trying to make the leap, I think the Big Man would like him to do a bit more.
Aside from those two, however, there is not much depth at the corner position. Isiah Barfield (6', 175) is a RS Freshman and appears to be the clear # 3. Mangino has been speaking extremely well of his abilities and he was originally signed as a WR who could fly. However, I would expect a third safety more often than a third corner in most nickel packages, but we'll get to that in a moment. Aside from him, there isn't another player officially listed as a corner on the entire roster. As they go deeper on the depth chart though, I would expect to possibly see some of Anthony Davis (6', 192), the RS Freshman out of Tulsa. But since I don't know a thing about him, I'll just leave it at that.
On to the safeties. Now here is a crowded spot on the field. Darrell Stuckey returns as the team's fourth leading tackler (72 – 36 S, 36 A, 2 FL) and the only player from the secondary that started all 13 games a year ago. In addition to those 72 tackles, Stuckey intercepted 2 passes, broke up six and recovered a couple of fumbles. Long story short, the guy found his way to the ball more often than not. He's a natural leader and a guy that loves to hit. He's much better at run defense, but as you can tell, he plays a pretty good centerfield back there also. I find that to be the strength of the guy next to him though.
That guy is Justin Thornton, who came on strong at the end of last year, ultimately starting the last four games. While playing in all thirteen he racked up 46 (26S, 20 A, 1 FL) tackles, broke up 9 passes and tied for the team lead with 5 INTs. Again, a long story short, the guy has a nose for the ball. Because of that, along with his speed, I look at him as the better of the two in pass coverage, but he's no slouch against the run either.
Behind these two are a few guys waiting in the wings. The first of which, Patrick Resby, started the first 8 games last year before losing his job to Thornton. In that time he had 22 tackles and he recovered a fumble. He has all the tools to play a solid safety, but he often appeared out of position, which I believe is what ultimately lost him his job. Aside from him are Tang Bacheyie and Olaitan Oguntodu, which if paired next to each other would easily lay claim to the coolest duo of names at the safety position. Tang saw time in all 13 games last year and notched 8 tackles in that time. Olaitan didn't do nearly as much, but if you think Stuckey and Thornton like to fly around, wait until you see these guys. Again, it's hard to say how much time they'll get with the guys in front of them, but I wouldn't be surprised to see either making a contribution.
In short, it's unlikely they'll fully replace Talib and his 65 tackles (42 S, 24 A, 3.5 FL), 5 INTs (195 return yards) & 13 break ups. And they definitely won't replace the fear factor that he put into opposing QBs. Sure, he got beat from time to time, but you can't discount how rarely he was thrown at and how he nearly eliminated his side of the field. But that's part of what makes zone coverage so useful. Harper is no Talib and neither he nor Harris can probably cover as well 1-on-1, but when you put the two of them back there with Stuckey and Thornton helping out as well, they form a pretty solid unit. I wouldn't expect the numbers to be quite as good this year – partly due to competition, partly the loss of Aqib – but if the Ends can produce a decent pass rush, this isn't a unit that's going to get torched either.
Before we go, here are a few links of interest…
First, Barking Carnival's Henry James has posted the Kansas Preview: State of the Union. Not nearly as entertaining as last year's, but worth a read nonetheless. And it's always good to read an objective opinion, especially when they're at least semi-informed, unlike most of the national media.
Next, here is a different look at the Top 25 from Deadspin's Balls Deep column, by Drew Magary, giving you a reason to hate every team on the list.
And finally, it appears that Josh Freeman, or "J-Free," will be doing some blogging this year. We'll look forward to that…
And lastly, if you didn't catch Jesse Newell's Sideline Report with Joe Mortensen, be sure to.
Now we've already chronicled our concern for a better pass rush. One of the reasons it has to be better is because this year's secondary will be without its star, Aqib Talib. After declaring early, Talib officially went from 2 star recruit to first round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But alas, he is gone. And replacing him is the guy who was originally lining up opposite of him last year. After going down with an early season arm injury, Kendrick Harper was replaced by true freshman, Chris Harris. Seeing as how Harris went on to become a Freshman All-American, I'm sure you know that Harper never really got his job back. However, he did get some PT, participating in 8 games, starting 3 of them. And in that time, he showed why he is the preemptive starter this time around.
In that limited action, Harper showed the ability to lay some wood and the overall ability to be a solid zone corner. I don't think he has the speed to cover 1-on-1, but in the spread offense, who really does? Harper racked up 19 tackles (10 S, 9 A, 2 FL), 1 interception, 3 PD, and he recovered a fumble. Not exactly a record breaking year, but solid production out of your # 3 CB. This year, though, he won't have the luxury of being #3. He needs to be at the very least 2, if not 1A, as we still have yet to see how Harris handles the conversion to being "the guy."
Speaking of Harris, can he become a true #1? My instinct tells me he'll be great, but not quite there. Not to take anything away from what he did last year - because he went far and above what we could have realistically expected from him – but it's undeniable that it's much tougher being the #1 guy. Still though, when you look at what he did as a true freshman you have to believe that this kid is going to become a star either this year or the next. He played in all 13 games, starting 10, and in that time he racked up 65 tackles (40 S, 25 A, 1.5 FL), intercepted 2 passes, broke up 4 more and recovered a fumble. Unfortunately, what those stats also tell you is that he tackled his guy a lot more often than he defended him. This is always going to be true with a corner, but it especially was with Harris last year as it seemed that he preferred to concede the small gain, while remaining in position to never give up a big one. There certainly is a lot of merit to this mindset and as you saw, he's about as good an open field tackler as you'll find. But as a second year guy trying to make the leap, I think the Big Man would like him to do a bit more.
Aside from those two, however, there is not much depth at the corner position. Isiah Barfield (6', 175) is a RS Freshman and appears to be the clear # 3. Mangino has been speaking extremely well of his abilities and he was originally signed as a WR who could fly. However, I would expect a third safety more often than a third corner in most nickel packages, but we'll get to that in a moment. Aside from him, there isn't another player officially listed as a corner on the entire roster. As they go deeper on the depth chart though, I would expect to possibly see some of Anthony Davis (6', 192), the RS Freshman out of Tulsa. But since I don't know a thing about him, I'll just leave it at that.
On to the safeties. Now here is a crowded spot on the field. Darrell Stuckey returns as the team's fourth leading tackler (72 – 36 S, 36 A, 2 FL) and the only player from the secondary that started all 13 games a year ago. In addition to those 72 tackles, Stuckey intercepted 2 passes, broke up six and recovered a couple of fumbles. Long story short, the guy found his way to the ball more often than not. He's a natural leader and a guy that loves to hit. He's much better at run defense, but as you can tell, he plays a pretty good centerfield back there also. I find that to be the strength of the guy next to him though.
That guy is Justin Thornton, who came on strong at the end of last year, ultimately starting the last four games. While playing in all thirteen he racked up 46 (26S, 20 A, 1 FL) tackles, broke up 9 passes and tied for the team lead with 5 INTs. Again, a long story short, the guy has a nose for the ball. Because of that, along with his speed, I look at him as the better of the two in pass coverage, but he's no slouch against the run either.
Behind these two are a few guys waiting in the wings. The first of which, Patrick Resby, started the first 8 games last year before losing his job to Thornton. In that time he had 22 tackles and he recovered a fumble. He has all the tools to play a solid safety, but he often appeared out of position, which I believe is what ultimately lost him his job. Aside from him are Tang Bacheyie and Olaitan Oguntodu, which if paired next to each other would easily lay claim to the coolest duo of names at the safety position. Tang saw time in all 13 games last year and notched 8 tackles in that time. Olaitan didn't do nearly as much, but if you think Stuckey and Thornton like to fly around, wait until you see these guys. Again, it's hard to say how much time they'll get with the guys in front of them, but I wouldn't be surprised to see either making a contribution.
In short, it's unlikely they'll fully replace Talib and his 65 tackles (42 S, 24 A, 3.5 FL), 5 INTs (195 return yards) & 13 break ups. And they definitely won't replace the fear factor that he put into opposing QBs. Sure, he got beat from time to time, but you can't discount how rarely he was thrown at and how he nearly eliminated his side of the field. But that's part of what makes zone coverage so useful. Harper is no Talib and neither he nor Harris can probably cover as well 1-on-1, but when you put the two of them back there with Stuckey and Thornton helping out as well, they form a pretty solid unit. I wouldn't expect the numbers to be quite as good this year – partly due to competition, partly the loss of Aqib – but if the Ends can produce a decent pass rush, this isn't a unit that's going to get torched either.
Before we go, here are a few links of interest…
First, Barking Carnival's Henry James has posted the Kansas Preview: State of the Union. Not nearly as entertaining as last year's, but worth a read nonetheless. And it's always good to read an objective opinion, especially when they're at least semi-informed, unlike most of the national media.
Next, here is a different look at the Top 25 from Deadspin's Balls Deep column, by Drew Magary, giving you a reason to hate every team on the list.
And finally, it appears that Josh Freeman, or "J-Free," will be doing some blogging this year. We'll look forward to that…
And lastly, if you didn't catch Jesse Newell's Sideline Report with Joe Mortensen, be sure to.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Real Genius
I know what you are thinking...yet another post extolling the wonder and excitement I derive from watching awfully awesome Val Kilmer movies? Not quite.
Apparently Kansas State CC procured themselves a certified fucking genius QB coach out of where else, Elon Goddamn College of course. Science damn you!
Obviously, this raises some questions. How did we miss this golden opportunity to elevate Todd Reesing to the upper echelon of college quarterbacks? Where the shit is Elon College? Who the hell cares? Will Ron Prince make him run stairs with the other coaches?
I may or may not choose to answer my own questions, but the only thing you need to know is who bequeathed the label "genius" unto this Rudy-lookalike wunderkind....a former player under said "genius", Southern Conference freshman of the year Scott Riddle. I may not know this Riddle character, but he does have some kind things to say of his former coach. However, I do question his authority to proclaim Ruggiero a genius. (Maybe Prince should have done a package deal and lured Riddle to campus?)
But, let's let the man speak on, well, himself:
“I have a pretty confirmed idea of how to develop a quarterback,” Ruggiero said. “I’ve coached enough quarterbacks at different levels of the totem pole to be able to say, ‘What do we need to get a quarterback to the top?’
“My experience, more than anything else, has helped me get to the point right now where I feel with each (quarterback) I know what I have to do to get them to the top.”
All fine and dandy...except the new ladder he must climb to get his QB to the top is something he is none to familiar with:
Prince couldn’t stop thinking about Ruggiero, although he’d never coached above the Football Bowl Subdivision level (formerly Division I-AA).
*(Admittedly, the reason Prince couldn't stop thinking about him(OMG!) was because he sought out fresh meat to put bunny-ears on during photo-ops.)
Last but not least:
K-State coach Ron Prince said he was swamped* with inquiries from assistants hoping to advance their career with the opportunity to tutor Josh Freeman.
*Applicant List to "tutor" Soul-Glo: Michael Bishop, Elon's other paid coach, North Dakota State's waterboy, Fred Phelps, Prince's neighbor and a John Deere tractor once rumored to have been used by Brett Favre.
Who knows, the guy might be a QB coaching savant and miraculously turn Josh Freeman into something other than a guy who would have been a good tight end. Their offensive scheme still blows and he still has no one to throw the ball to. One thing is for sure, Ruggiero should have him ready to play that tough Montana State team out of his old stomping ground, the FCS.
“I couldn’t find anyone better than him,” -Ron Prince
More true words have never been uttered, Ron. Never.
College Football 2009 Rosters
Sorry for the semi-spam post that will move down hiphops great analysis but thought this might save some people a lot of time. Here is a link to free rosters for NCAA 2009 so you don't have to enter your own or deal with the generics. It really saves a ton of time. I have not gone all the way through the KU one for accuracy yet but will let you know. You can use usb drive or an EA Locker Account to get them
Enjoy
NCAA 2009 Rosters
Enjoy
NCAA 2009 Rosters
A Look Down the Field
Before we get started today I want to direct you to a few links of interest. The first is courtesy of Rivals.com as they rank each Big XII team by position. Below is a quick rundown of where Kansas fell in…
Backfield: #5
Receivers/TEs: #5
O-Line: #7
D-Line: #4
Linebackers: #1
Secondary: #3
Special Teams: #6
Coaching: #5
Secondly, I want to direct you to Barking Carnival for the KSU State of the Union. Though the site is often great, the SOTU posts take the cake, and this one is no different.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the Kansas receiving corps. As noted above, Rivals has them ranked #5 in the league behind Methzou, OU, Tech and OSU. Considering they lost Marcus Henry and Derek Fine, I have no qualms with this placement. With that said though, I think they can be every bit as good, if not better, than they were last year.
I've already chronicled my hope for Dezmon Briscoe this year so in the interest of avoiding redundancy I'll keep it short. But like I said then (and per the poll in the upper right hand corner) he just may be the break out star in 2008. What I really want to see from him is more consistency. His seven TDs were great last year (though I'll expect a few more this time around), but of those seven, 3 came in the throttling of Nebraska. Furthermore, he went without a score in seven, not even catching a pass in two (SE La., CU).
If Dezmon is to replace Marcus Henry's scoring production, Dexton Fields needs to replace some of his yardage. Despite catching more balls than Henry last year (63 to 54) Fields finished with 150 less yards. However, he did turn it on late, averaging 9 catches for 109 yards and a TD in the final three games (ISU, MU, VT). And to be candid, it would behoove Dexton to get into the endzone a little more consistently as well, considering he also did not score in seven games. Part of that, though, is his height. It's not that he's a real short guy (6'), but in the red zone guys like Henry, Briscoe and even Meier are easier targets for Todd. With that said, I'll be expecting a couple more scores out of Dex this year.
If those guys are 1 & 2, after that it's pretty much a free for all for 3, 4 and so on. Kerry Meier is the by far the leader when you look at last year's production. And while I fully expect him to contribute to an even greater extent this year; I think Jonathon Wilson is going to give him a run. It's tough to project what Meier will do as we don't know exactly how he'll be used. And since we really haven’t seen much of Wilson yet (3 for 52) we don't know exactly how he'll do on a game by game basis, but I'm under the impression he has the best hands on the team (and he's not lacking in size at 6'3" 187). With that said, between these two I'm expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of a combined 50 catches for 600ish yards and a handful of scores. I think that's pretty realistic, but also enough to make any Jayhawk fan very happy.
Behind them you've got Marcus Herford and Rod Harris, Jr. I won't be expecting much of Herford in this capacity, though I'm hopeful he can continue to return kicks as he did a year ago. As for Harris, I've seen his JUCO highlight tape and the guy definitely has the skills. His numbers, however, weren't all that impressive so I'm wondering if consistency, motivation, etc. is an issue for him. Because of that I'm not holding out high hopes for him to contribute on a game by game basis, but he clearly has all the tools to be a big play guy, so I wouldn't mind seeing a few of those from him.
Lastly, I want to touch on the tight end position from a pass catching perspective. We'll get into this more as it pertains to the O-Line, but Derek Fine is going to prove to be a much bigger loss than anyone is giving credence. Though he's not nearly as massive as some of the other TEs in the league, Fine was pretty much a sixth offensive lineman that could also catch 46 passes. I'm not thinking we're going to see 46 catches out of the TE position this year, but I do think that a lot of his production here can be replaced.
From what I'm hearing, AJ Steward is coming along nicely and is going to contribute right away. Given that he's 6-4 230 and is a converted QB this isn't very surprising. Seeing is believing, though, and I've yet to see much. My thought here is that they may even copy Methzou a bit by lining up 4 wide with Fields, Briscoe, Meier and Wilson and go for that Rucker/Coffman approach by saying to the defense, you can either choose to defend us with size or speed, but one way or the other, we're going to beat you. Throw Crawford/Sharp in the backfield and that becomes one spread out field that is nearly impossible to defend.
There are two other guys I've yet to touch on that I expect to here from this year. The first is the other TE, Bradley Dedeaux. In limited action last year we didn't find out much about his pass catching (1-11), but he did seem to be a solid blocker and since Steward is a former QB, I'll give Dedeaux the nod here for now. Secondly, there is true freshman Daymond Patterson. He's 5-9 175 and he can fly. For one thing, I expect him to bolster the punt return team from a year ago (not a difficult task), but I also wouldn't be surprised to see them try and get him the ball in space on offense as well. We all know how much the Big Man likes those bubble screens. And to be honest, if they're not used every other play they're pretty effective, especially with a quick little shit like Patterson out there catching them.
As I'm sure you've surmised, this should be a strength of the team this year. Yes, they lost Henry and Fine, two guys that won't be easy to replace. But let's not forget that as recently as 2006 Marcus Henry had only 25 catches for 316 yards and 3 scores. In that same year Fine had 28 for 355. So in one year Henry more than doubled his production (+29 catches, +698 yards, +7 TDs) and Fine certainly increased his as well, so quite a bit of this success can also be attributed to the quarterback and the system.
Backfield: #5
Receivers/TEs: #5
O-Line: #7
D-Line: #4
Linebackers: #1
Secondary: #3
Special Teams: #6
Coaching: #5
Secondly, I want to direct you to Barking Carnival for the KSU State of the Union. Though the site is often great, the SOTU posts take the cake, and this one is no different.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the Kansas receiving corps. As noted above, Rivals has them ranked #5 in the league behind Methzou, OU, Tech and OSU. Considering they lost Marcus Henry and Derek Fine, I have no qualms with this placement. With that said though, I think they can be every bit as good, if not better, than they were last year.
I've already chronicled my hope for Dezmon Briscoe this year so in the interest of avoiding redundancy I'll keep it short. But like I said then (and per the poll in the upper right hand corner) he just may be the break out star in 2008. What I really want to see from him is more consistency. His seven TDs were great last year (though I'll expect a few more this time around), but of those seven, 3 came in the throttling of Nebraska. Furthermore, he went without a score in seven, not even catching a pass in two (SE La., CU).
If Dezmon is to replace Marcus Henry's scoring production, Dexton Fields needs to replace some of his yardage. Despite catching more balls than Henry last year (63 to 54) Fields finished with 150 less yards. However, he did turn it on late, averaging 9 catches for 109 yards and a TD in the final three games (ISU, MU, VT). And to be candid, it would behoove Dexton to get into the endzone a little more consistently as well, considering he also did not score in seven games. Part of that, though, is his height. It's not that he's a real short guy (6'), but in the red zone guys like Henry, Briscoe and even Meier are easier targets for Todd. With that said, I'll be expecting a couple more scores out of Dex this year.
If those guys are 1 & 2, after that it's pretty much a free for all for 3, 4 and so on. Kerry Meier is the by far the leader when you look at last year's production. And while I fully expect him to contribute to an even greater extent this year; I think Jonathon Wilson is going to give him a run. It's tough to project what Meier will do as we don't know exactly how he'll be used. And since we really haven’t seen much of Wilson yet (3 for 52) we don't know exactly how he'll do on a game by game basis, but I'm under the impression he has the best hands on the team (and he's not lacking in size at 6'3" 187). With that said, between these two I'm expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of a combined 50 catches for 600ish yards and a handful of scores. I think that's pretty realistic, but also enough to make any Jayhawk fan very happy.
Behind them you've got Marcus Herford and Rod Harris, Jr. I won't be expecting much of Herford in this capacity, though I'm hopeful he can continue to return kicks as he did a year ago. As for Harris, I've seen his JUCO highlight tape and the guy definitely has the skills. His numbers, however, weren't all that impressive so I'm wondering if consistency, motivation, etc. is an issue for him. Because of that I'm not holding out high hopes for him to contribute on a game by game basis, but he clearly has all the tools to be a big play guy, so I wouldn't mind seeing a few of those from him.
Lastly, I want to touch on the tight end position from a pass catching perspective. We'll get into this more as it pertains to the O-Line, but Derek Fine is going to prove to be a much bigger loss than anyone is giving credence. Though he's not nearly as massive as some of the other TEs in the league, Fine was pretty much a sixth offensive lineman that could also catch 46 passes. I'm not thinking we're going to see 46 catches out of the TE position this year, but I do think that a lot of his production here can be replaced.
From what I'm hearing, AJ Steward is coming along nicely and is going to contribute right away. Given that he's 6-4 230 and is a converted QB this isn't very surprising. Seeing is believing, though, and I've yet to see much. My thought here is that they may even copy Methzou a bit by lining up 4 wide with Fields, Briscoe, Meier and Wilson and go for that Rucker/Coffman approach by saying to the defense, you can either choose to defend us with size or speed, but one way or the other, we're going to beat you. Throw Crawford/Sharp in the backfield and that becomes one spread out field that is nearly impossible to defend.
There are two other guys I've yet to touch on that I expect to here from this year. The first is the other TE, Bradley Dedeaux. In limited action last year we didn't find out much about his pass catching (1-11), but he did seem to be a solid blocker and since Steward is a former QB, I'll give Dedeaux the nod here for now. Secondly, there is true freshman Daymond Patterson. He's 5-9 175 and he can fly. For one thing, I expect him to bolster the punt return team from a year ago (not a difficult task), but I also wouldn't be surprised to see them try and get him the ball in space on offense as well. We all know how much the Big Man likes those bubble screens. And to be honest, if they're not used every other play they're pretty effective, especially with a quick little shit like Patterson out there catching them.
As I'm sure you've surmised, this should be a strength of the team this year. Yes, they lost Henry and Fine, two guys that won't be easy to replace. But let's not forget that as recently as 2006 Marcus Henry had only 25 catches for 316 yards and 3 scores. In that same year Fine had 28 for 355. So in one year Henry more than doubled his production (+29 catches, +698 yards, +7 TDs) and Fine certainly increased his as well, so quite a bit of this success can also be attributed to the quarterback and the system.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Where's the Pressure?
This is one of the biggest questions this Kansas football team will have to answer. It seems to me that since they have nine returning starters everyone (not you, Tully) is just assuming that the defense will be the stalwart they were a year ago. Count me as one that is not so convinced.
For one thing, the competition gets tougher. Secondly, they lost their two best players. I think Kendrick Harper is a fine player, but he is not Aqib Talib. Aside from Talib's fairly impressive stats, you can't discount the value he provided simply by being on the field. True, Talib gambled a little too much to be a true shut-down corner, but he was good enough at it that opposing quarterbacks avoided him when possible.
As with Aqib, it's tough to quantify McClinton's value. But as much as I like Blakesly, Greene and Johnson, Jr. none of them get off the ball like James did. He was never the biggest guy on the line, but he required a double team on nearly every snap because he was way too fast for single coverage. And even then, he was often able to split the blocks and get into the backfield (see: OSU when he nearly took the handoff). I have high hopes for his replacements, but this is a luxury the team will no longer have.
As we all know, the d-line is more about occupying blockers and freeing up their linebackers than making all of the tackles on their own. However, if you can't get a pass rush with four then you can't create much of a pass rush. In any version of the spread (since it seems like everyone is running one) the last thing you want to have to depend on is blitzing your linebackers, because once you do that you leave open some real wide holes in your coverage. With the pass-happy schedule KU has this year, this simply cannot happen unless they plan on scoring 45 points per game.
Here's a quick look at some of last year's stats...
Worried yet? Obviously the most glaring issue is the lack of sacks. But if you look at it as a whole, you can tell that it's really an issue of just getting into the backfield. It's completely inexcusable for your starting D-ends to have a combined 4 QB hurries. McClinton had five by himself.
And that's the kicker. Because you can see that in MUCH less playing time (and to be fair, sometimes against lesser competition) Laptad, Wheeler and Onyegbule were much better at getting back there. But the only one of them that really showed much ability to rush the passer, while also maintaining his assignment was Laptad. This is obviously not a trade-off the staff is willing to make, and understandably so. But with the spike in competition this year, I firmly believe that not only will they have to replace McClinton's production (as well as Haselhorst's), but also improve upon those numbers. I don't think the sack number has to improve dramatically, but without a doubt the pressure does. Unfortunately, I'm not utterly convinced that it will.
I love the depth at safety. I think the corners will be just fine. And the linebacking corps is probably the best in the league. But none of those units can make up for a poor defensive line. As I mentioned earlier, in a league like the Big XII, the last thing a defensive coordinator wants to do is depend on blitzing his linebackers. But if you don't get pressure with four that's exactly what you have to do. Here's to hoping they prove me wrong.
For one thing, the competition gets tougher. Secondly, they lost their two best players. I think Kendrick Harper is a fine player, but he is not Aqib Talib. Aside from Talib's fairly impressive stats, you can't discount the value he provided simply by being on the field. True, Talib gambled a little too much to be a true shut-down corner, but he was good enough at it that opposing quarterbacks avoided him when possible.
As with Aqib, it's tough to quantify McClinton's value. But as much as I like Blakesly, Greene and Johnson, Jr. none of them get off the ball like James did. He was never the biggest guy on the line, but he required a double team on nearly every snap because he was way too fast for single coverage. And even then, he was often able to split the blocks and get into the backfield (see: OSU when he nearly took the handoff). I have high hopes for his replacements, but this is a luxury the team will no longer have.
As we all know, the d-line is more about occupying blockers and freeing up their linebackers than making all of the tackles on their own. However, if you can't get a pass rush with four then you can't create much of a pass rush. In any version of the spread (since it seems like everyone is running one) the last thing you want to have to depend on is blitzing your linebackers, because once you do that you leave open some real wide holes in your coverage. With the pass-happy schedule KU has this year, this simply cannot happen unless they plan on scoring 45 points per game.
Here's a quick look at some of last year's stats...
Worried yet? Obviously the most glaring issue is the lack of sacks. But if you look at it as a whole, you can tell that it's really an issue of just getting into the backfield. It's completely inexcusable for your starting D-ends to have a combined 4 QB hurries. McClinton had five by himself.
And that's the kicker. Because you can see that in MUCH less playing time (and to be fair, sometimes against lesser competition) Laptad, Wheeler and Onyegbule were much better at getting back there. But the only one of them that really showed much ability to rush the passer, while also maintaining his assignment was Laptad. This is obviously not a trade-off the staff is willing to make, and understandably so. But with the spike in competition this year, I firmly believe that not only will they have to replace McClinton's production (as well as Haselhorst's), but also improve upon those numbers. I don't think the sack number has to improve dramatically, but without a doubt the pressure does. Unfortunately, I'm not utterly convinced that it will.
I love the depth at safety. I think the corners will be just fine. And the linebacking corps is probably the best in the league. But none of those units can make up for a poor defensive line. As I mentioned earlier, in a league like the Big XII, the last thing a defensive coordinator wants to do is depend on blitzing his linebackers. But if you don't get pressure with four that's exactly what you have to do. Here's to hoping they prove me wrong.
Friday, August 8, 2008
The Big Boards
Apologies to our two interview subjects for bumping them down thepage so quickly, but the season is upon us and we have meaningless analysis to get to. While perusing Barking Carnival the other day I came across the Texas Big Board according to Scipio Tex. Since I found the post interesting and he mentioned his interest in knowing what KU's Big Board would look like, I decide to throw mine out their for the masses (It should also be noted that I'm stealing his entire format as well as idea). Enjoy…
Offense
Todd Reesing
Dexton Fields
Jacques Crawford
Dezmon Briscoe
Kerry Meier
Jake Sharp
Ryan Cantrell
Jeff Spikes
Chet Hartley
Johnathan Wilson
Angus Quigley
Marcus Herford
Matt Darton
Adrian Mayes
Jeremiah Hatch
Rod Harris, Jr.
Bradley Dedeaux
AJ Steward
Ian Wolfe
Nathan D'Cunha
Comments: You can see here what you probably already knew. The team is heavy on skill players, solid on the line, but clearly there are some holes to fill from last year. At this point Crawford is entirely a guess on my part but having seen the guy and knowing what he did at the JUCO ranks I think it's at least somewhat warranted. The one that worries me the most is how far down I have Adrian Mayes as I thought he was the definite low-man last year. Here's to hoping I have him pegged a little too low…
Defense
Mike Rivera
Joe Mortensen
James Holt
Darrell Stuckey
Chris Harris
Justin Thornton
Arist Wright
Russell Brorsen
Kendrick Harper
John Larson
Caleb Blakesly
Jamal Greene
Jake Laptad
Drew Dudley
Richard Johnson, Jr.
Justin Springer
Phillip Strozier
Jeff Wheeler
Olaitan Oguntodu
Isiah Barfield
Comments: Again, no real surprises here with linebackers dominating the board. Of more concern is the d-line, which only had two representatives in the top ten. That being said, there are still 7 reps among the 20 slots so it's not like they don't have the bodies to throw out there. Of similar concern to me would be the depth at cornerback. Harris and Harper are somewhat proven commodities, but beyond that it's hard to know what we can expect from Barfield, who is one of only two others listed on the roster as a CB (of course, since Mangino runs this team no one knows where he'll play anyone once the season actually starts).
The biggest difference between the two units is depth. Offensively, I'd be surprised if a player not on my list had any sort of impact on the year. Defensively, though, I got to twenty before I could incorporate Jake Schermer, Tang Backeyie, Maxwell Onyegbule, Darius Parish, Patrick Dorsey, etc. The first three of which are sure to see the field and could definitely make an impact; that isn't going to happen on the other side of the ball.
Before we go, I'd also like to provide you with a link to an Excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is organized by tabs and features a schedule for every team in America (denoted by helmets) and even has a tab for the five biggest games of each week. Download and save.
Offense
Todd Reesing
Dexton Fields
Jacques Crawford
Dezmon Briscoe
Kerry Meier
Jake Sharp
Ryan Cantrell
Jeff Spikes
Chet Hartley
Johnathan Wilson
Angus Quigley
Marcus Herford
Matt Darton
Adrian Mayes
Jeremiah Hatch
Rod Harris, Jr.
Bradley Dedeaux
AJ Steward
Ian Wolfe
Nathan D'Cunha
Comments: You can see here what you probably already knew. The team is heavy on skill players, solid on the line, but clearly there are some holes to fill from last year. At this point Crawford is entirely a guess on my part but having seen the guy and knowing what he did at the JUCO ranks I think it's at least somewhat warranted. The one that worries me the most is how far down I have Adrian Mayes as I thought he was the definite low-man last year. Here's to hoping I have him pegged a little too low…
Defense
Mike Rivera
Joe Mortensen
James Holt
Darrell Stuckey
Chris Harris
Justin Thornton
Arist Wright
Russell Brorsen
Kendrick Harper
John Larson
Caleb Blakesly
Jamal Greene
Jake Laptad
Drew Dudley
Richard Johnson, Jr.
Justin Springer
Phillip Strozier
Jeff Wheeler
Olaitan Oguntodu
Isiah Barfield
Comments: Again, no real surprises here with linebackers dominating the board. Of more concern is the d-line, which only had two representatives in the top ten. That being said, there are still 7 reps among the 20 slots so it's not like they don't have the bodies to throw out there. Of similar concern to me would be the depth at cornerback. Harris and Harper are somewhat proven commodities, but beyond that it's hard to know what we can expect from Barfield, who is one of only two others listed on the roster as a CB (of course, since Mangino runs this team no one knows where he'll play anyone once the season actually starts).
The biggest difference between the two units is depth. Offensively, I'd be surprised if a player not on my list had any sort of impact on the year. Defensively, though, I got to twenty before I could incorporate Jake Schermer, Tang Backeyie, Maxwell Onyegbule, Darius Parish, Patrick Dorsey, etc. The first three of which are sure to see the field and could definitely make an impact; that isn't going to happen on the other side of the ball.
Before we go, I'd also like to provide you with a link to an Excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is organized by tabs and features a schedule for every team in America (denoted by helmets) and even has a tab for the five biggest games of each week. Download and save.
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