Texas Post-Mortem
Idon'twritethesetotrytochangethenarrativeordictateemotions,butonly
toserveasareconciliationofwhatreallyhappenedonthefield.It'snot
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somethingyoucancaptureinliveaction,whichiswhyIbelievecoachesrelyon
filmbeforeansweringmanyquestionsaboutwhatspecificallyhappenedingames.
ItstinkslosingtoyourbiggestrivalnomatterhowIsliceandthe
opportunitiestowinwerethere.IthoughtTexasTechplayedtheirgutsout,but
intheend,onetoomanyself-inflictedwoundscostthemthegame.
OFFENSE
I'mmildlyamusedasthecriticismofNealBrown'splay-callingbecause
theRedRaidersdidn'tscoreninetouchdowns,whenTexas'planwastoburnTech
earlywithbigpassplaysthenshortenthegamewiththegroundattackwhile
forcingSethDoegeandCo.todrivethelengthofthefieldonoffense.
Ofthoseninedrives--excludingtheshortenedrightbeforehalfseries--the
RedRaidersscoredpointsonfiveofthemandhadablockedfieldgoal.I'mnot
evengoingtobecriticalofBrown'sredzoneplay-callingasplayerexecution
wastheprimaryaspectoftheoffenseboggingdown.I'venotedthethree
playcallsthatweresuspect:
-SecondQuarter,3rdand10fromUT16-RuntoEricStephens.This
seemslikeaheadcoachcalltoplayforafieldgoal.Toughtosayifthat's
Brown'sfault.
-SecondQuarter,3rdand2fromUT47-RuntoKennyWilliams.Don't
getthepointofcallingatimeoutbeforethattotryandgetpointsonthe
board,thencallingarun.Plus,thatwasabizarrowasteoftimeouttoicethe
kickerifTechwasgoingtotryandscore.Then,Techgoesforitonfourth
down,DoegemakesagreatthrowandWarddropstheball.
-ThirdQuarter,two-pointattempt-Tryalowpercentagefaderoutetoabackup
playeragainsttheLonghorns'No.1cornerback.
So,reallywe'redowntooneplayinwhichtheRedRaiders'clockmanagementhad
madethecallirrelevantanyway.Ontheother69plays,Techmanaged437total
yardsforanaverageof6.33yardsperplay,whichwouldrank25thinthe
country.TheRedRaiders'biggestissuewasthatMackBrownfired
MannyDiazathalftimeoftheKansasgameandtheydidn'tgetthesame
junkunitTexashasbeenrollingouttherestoftheseason.
Thiswasanoffensethatconsistentlydrovetheballupanddownthefield,
continuallyburnedtheblitzandsufferedthreethree-and-outsduetoadropped
pass,asackandaluckytippedpassbyalinebackeronawould-bebigplaytoa
wideopenreceiver.WashingtonStatewouldbegforthisoffenserightnow.
Now,ifyouwanttocriticizetheheadcoachfornotrollingthediceacouple
oftimesintheredzoneofabigrivalgame,Icompletelyunderstand.
Techalsohadfourtouchdowns(orlikely)takenawaybyaphantomchopblock
callandanon-reviewedcompletion,andthenadroppedpassbytheteam'sbest
receiverandaholdingcallonaseniorlineman.Likeyou,Iwouldhavefelta
littlebetterabout42points,butsometimesyoudon'tgetallthebreaks.
ComplainaboutBrownallyouwant,Iguess,butifyou'renotconsideringthe
factorsaboveintoyourrationale,thenyou'relargelysufferingfrom
group-think.Maybedockhimforgainingalittletoomuchconfidenceinsomeof
thezonerunningplaystheRedRaidersburnedthemwith,butalsogivehim
creditforhowmanyincrediblepassingcallshehadonblitzes.
Quarterback
IthoughtSethDoegeplayedgreatlive,butheplayedevenbetterthan
Irememberedonfilm.Hehunginthepocketinthefaceofblitzesandfired
strikestothecorrectreadforfourquarters.And,ontopofthat,protected
thefootball.GreatgamebySethandIjustwishthescoreboardwouldhave
workedoutforhim.
RunningBack
KennimackWilliamsdideverythinghecould,whileEricStephensand
SaDaleFosterchippedinwithsomekeyplays.IwarnedlastweekthattheUT
defensivefrontstillhadtalentand,whenplayingbasefronts,areactuallya
formidableunit.TheRedRaidersweren'talwayssettingthemupwiththebest
blocking,buttheyleftitalloutthere.
WideReceiver
Thegamewouldn'thavebeenascloseasitwaswithoutEricWardonthe
field,butwhenyourquarterbacklaysaperfectballupforyouinabigtime
game,you'vegottomakethatplayinthisleagueifyou'vegotthe
responsibilityofgo-toguy.IknowCarringtonByndomdidagoodjobon
defense,butWardhasmademuchtougherplaysthanthatinhiscareer.
Otherwise,anothergoodouting.
DarrinMoorewassolidaswellinthepassinggame,butlessthan
willinginblockingdutiesonacoupleoftheteam'sstalledrunplaysinthe
redzone.TysonWilliamscaughtthreeballsandknockedsomeoneinto
theIowaStategametheremainingtime.Lovethewaythisguyplaysfootball.
OffensiveLine
Asfaraspassprotectiongoes,thiswasthebestTechhasplayedagainsta
TexasteamsinceIcanremember.TheLonghornsthrewthekitchensinkatthem
andthere'snoshamein
TerryMcDanielgettingbeatforonesackby
AlexOkafor.Therunblockingcontinuestobeaninconsistentendeavor
thatpreventstheteamfrombeatingaconferenceopponentwithit.Theyhadsome
highlightsinspots,butnothingreliable.
Le'RavenClarkistheexceptionandhehasdevelopedintothebest
underclassmanguardintheconference.Iamsomewhatexcitedforthe
JaredKasterEratobeginandIhopeTechgiveshimanopportunityformorereps.
It'samazingforatruefreshmancentertostepinandlooklikehebelongs.His
quicknessandtechniquewillprovideuswithanelement
DevericGallingtonhasn'teverquitedelivered.That'sprobablythenumberone
pieceofthepuzzletoimprovingtherungame.
DEFENSE
I'veactuallygotafewmoreissueswiththeplay-callingonthissideofthe
ball.HereisanexcerptfromapreviewIwroteforaTexassite:
"IsuspectthepowersweepstoGraywithEspinosaandaguardpullingshouldbe
thebreadandbutterthisweek,iftheUTstaffhasbeenwatchingthesamefilm
Ihave.ThekeywillbeBarrettMatthews'abilitytosecureahookblockonthe
Techends.Agoodgameplanwouldcallforaminimum10-15repsofthisplayand
asolidplayaction/rolloutpackageoffittotakeadvantageoftherunbiased
defenseTechwillmostlikelybeplayingonearlydowns.Aheavydoseofjet
sweepsshouldalsobeinthecardstocontinuallytesttheperimeterpursuit."
Insummary,thatisexactlyhowtheRedRaidersgotburned.Thefirstplayfrom
scrimmageandJohnathanGrayburnsTechwithasweepplayfor26yards.
Texasbotchesanend-aroundandtheRedRaidersendupwithanicechancetoget
themoffthefieldina3rdand14.TheLonghornsaregoingtorunoneoftwo
plays:draworscreen.Myneighboragreeswithme.It'sascreen.
ArtKaufmancallsatwolinebackerblitztobailUToutinwhatwasarguablyas
criticalasanyplaythehometeamdidn'tmakeinthegame.
IrecognizethatTechdoesn'thavetheoptionofstoppingeverything,butyou
wouldthinktheycouldspareonesafetytoprotecttheteam'sdepletedcorners.
IfyoutakeoutGray'sfirstrun,theRedRaidersdidarespectablejobinrun
defenseuntilthelasttwodrivesholdinghimto11carriesfor27yardsover
thatstretch.TheLonghornshadthesameamountofpuntsastouchdowns,which
shouldstillserveasrecognitionforthestrideshehasmadewiththisunit.
Techjustlookedworndowninthefourthquarter,butasawhole,Iwaspleased
withthephysicalitytheyshowed.
DefensiveLine
KerryHyderand
DelvonSimmonshavedonetheirpartthroughout
theseasonandtakingawaythemiddleandthisgamewasnodifferent.The
LonghornsgottotheRedRaidersalittleonthelastdrive,buttheywerestill
disruptiveforcesthatlimitedoffensiveoptions.
DartwanBushand
JacksonRichardsstruggledagainontheedge,
especiallyinthefirstandfourthquarters.BrandenJacksonwasout
there,butdidn'tseemuchaction.Idon'trecallPeteRobertsonseeing
thefieldthisweekandthepassrushwasnon-existent.
Linebackers
Thelinebackerswereeitherreallygoodorreallybadthisweekandtheredidn't
seemtobemuchinbetween.IthoughtWillSmithand
TerranceBullittbothhadsomestretchesofgoodfootball,butpullinglinemengot
totheirlegsorblockedthemoutofUT'ssweepplayforthemostpart.Inoted
SamEguavoenand
ZachWinbusheachononegoodplay,but
didn'tseemuchpastthat.
Secondary
Techdidn'tgetanyturnoversoutofCodyDavisor
D.J.Johnsonandbothhavehadbettertacklingperformances.
EugeneNeboh,BruceJonesandDerrickMayseachgaveupatleast
onebigplay.
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