Wonderings: Tech's defense may be better sooner than you think

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This is no secret, but Texas Tech has been bad on defense for more than half a decade.

Yes, yes, I know. Water is wet, the sky is blue, etc.

It's also no secret that when it came to stopping people in critical situations in 2015, things rarely worked out for the Red Raiders. The Texas Tech defense allowed an ungodly amount of rushing yards, which played a huge role in LSU, Oklahoma and Baylor scoring a combined 182 points against the men in Red and Black.

It was ugly at times, like when Oklahoma State made one of their biggest comebacks in program history to ultimately defeat Red Raiders 70-53.

Simply put: Texas Tech was not good on defense in 2015. But I think there are legitimate, tangible reasons that things will get better - at least a little bit - in 2016 and maybe even much, much better by 2017.

I think that starts with what David Gibbs and his assistants did with the roster in his first year on the job. They added a platoon of new players from either the recruiting trail or transfer and most, if not all, of them will be expected to contribute right away. And I think that depth - while most of it young and green - is something that the Red Raiders flat out didn't have a year ago.

In fact, I thought the defense showed some noticeable improvement in the first half of the final five games last fall. They were actually stopping people but, thanks to a lack of depth, the bottom would invariably fall out once the majority of the starting unit had been worn completely down. They just had nothing left in the tank.

They also weren't mentally prepared to gut it out late. And that's where my second part of the plan comes into play: Rusty Whitt. By all accounts, both on and off the record, he's done a marvelous job of really developing a different, tougher mindset for this team, especially defensively. The way teams play in key situations is first fostered and developed in the offseason, and if that pans out how I believe it will, you can check this item off the list of requirements.

Finally, the returning players are in their second year in Gibbs' system and are hearing from a unified staff about what they're doing defensively. In year two, your experienced and older vets should simply get better. That's how this is supposed to work, and I think it will to some degree with what's now a seasoned secondary that is in great hands with two good teachers in Gibbs and Karl Scott.

Add all those elements up, and I think you are bound to see some semblance of better play defensively. This is what should make sense. Granted, Red Raider fans haven't seen much that makes sense on defense in seven years, but now is the time that changes.

How much better will they be exactly? I don't know, but it will be better. You add one more platoon-sized class to this defense and really turn the roster over, and I think things might get cooking in a big way in 2017.

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Think back to when Netflix just started rolling along in the 2000s. No one other than maybe the most ambitious minds at the company likely saw what was to come, as the streaming service now has more moolah than they know what to do with. In fact, it's helped them transform from a simple DVD-by-mail rental service into a major film and television producer, essentially cutting out the middle man.

Here's a live look at Netflix's CEO in his office:

Netflix hasn't simply made good content. They are creating high-quality television. So, seeing as they have a ton of new seasons for shows coming out right now, I decided to rank my five favorite original Netflix offerings.

5. Stranger Things - I'll admit that I'm only about halfway through the first season so far, but man. When I finish up with the season, it may skyrocket all the way to the very top. It's a love letter to Spielbergian filmaking, specifically 1980s blockbuster Sci-Fi. Which puts it right up my alley. I'll give my man Chris Level credit here: He nailed it down as a wild blend of E.T., Lost and Poltergeist. If that appeals to you, then get on this.

4. Bloodline - I really wasn't sure what to expect from this show, even after the first couple of episodes. It's undoubtedly a slow-burn drama about family skeletons and what that ultimately entails, including the consequences, and it may or may not be your cup of tea. Ben Mendelsohn, Kyle Chandler, Sam Shepherd and Sissy Spacek are all incredible actors that put on fantastic performances.

3. House of Cards - So, here's my thing with House of Cards: I think the first season is one of the best in television history, mainly because of the hurricane of a performance by Kevin Spacey as politician Frank Underwood. After that first season, though, I think it's been progressively worse as the story has changed, some things I equate to bad writing decisions. It's still great TV, don't get me wrong, but it slips from first to third for that reason.

2. Narcos - I'll admit first and foremost that I'm a total history geek, so the setup of this show as both a series drama and quasi-documentary got me glued in from the jump. It's an entrancing look at Pablo Escobar and the Colombian cocaine empire of the 1980s, especially with the ways they simultaneously somehow pull off the line-riding stunt of making Pablo both a somewhat endearing yet terrifyingly despicable character. I can't tell you how excited I am for season two.

1. Daredevil - The first season was pretty good. In fact, I thought at the time it was the best in-depth character look at a Marvel Comics hero to date, both making Matt Murdock a simple man of conviction while making him incredibly vulnerable as a hero. You never ever feel like he's the invincible super soldier that many of his big screen counterparts turn out to be. Instead, this is small-scale justice about morality and a fight of good versus evil at a very basic yet eloquent level. Season two was just stellar, diving deeper into the difference between justice and vengeance and the line Daredevil rides as he tries to do the right thing. It's incredible.

So, speaking of Netflix, I had a chance to watch a few episodes of the documentary series that just came out called Last Chance U. It's an impressively in-depth, all-access look at big-time junior college football and all that it entails.

Anyone - such as myself - who has spent legitimate time covering recruiting in the media understands the baggage that comes with many JUCO players. To be perfectly frank, there's usually at least one clear-cut negative reason players have to go that route instead of straight into FCS or FBS athletics.

When watching it, and when discussing the show with others, it became very clear that very few of these athletes truly understood the level of opportunity they were throwing away, and most were shockingly arrogant despite that often being a big reason they ended up there.

It's honestly tough to see those athletes, many of whom will play Power Five level college football this year or next, think of themselves as so much better than their situation or those around them. I think that's a big negative side affect of the attention many prospects receive. They're told how great they are from an incredibly young age, and they have praise showered upon them at a near non-stop pace.

That's when I really sat down and had to ask myself: "Are you a part of the problem? Does what you do in your coverage of these players contribute to that mindset?"

And honestly, the answer to some degree is yes. That's not a fun thing to acknowledge. And I have to ask myself how much I and others in my position breed and fertilize those negative attributes. It's a hard question to ask and wonder.

But then, I think about the good that I hope I've done, and the good people I've both been able to help and connect with. In fact, there are prospects in recruiting that I have real relationships with well beyond the process because of that.

I see that, with my platform, I was able to help in some small way a good kid get the exposure and opportunity he needed to make it. I get to actively help a few of them change their lives while learning their stories along the way. I get to see their struggles. I get to see them conquer them.

And that's what makes it worth it. That's what makes my heart full when I lay down my head at night. It's about helping people and bonding with them as a result of it.

And that good far outweighs the bad. So, I ask this of you: When you see athletes that behave in manners that are less than acceptable, and when you see prospects ignorantly waste opportunities, please don't believe that's the majority.

Believe in the fight against overwhelming odds than many of them face and overcome. Believe in the ones that challenge themselves and find success. Believe in the good people that are many athletes.

Please think of them.