TCU Post Game Wrap-up

This game was defining for all the wrong reasons. The streak is over, the -not a quest for a perfect season- Quest for a perfect season and the hopes of a BCS game have been dashed on the rocks of frustration and humility at the hands of the Frogs. That game was hard to watch and is hard to write about. Normally I look for the positives of our teams performance, but after last night I can only wait to see what happens next week. It was a serious slap in the face by a team that honestly wanted it more than we did. We might of wanted not to lose it more than the Frogs, but we didn’t want to win it like they did. (I hope you get what I mean. It was like an MMA fight where one guy wants to punch and knock their opponent out and while one guy is eating fist, the other fighter is trying to pull him to the ground. They are both still fighting but one fighter is on the offensive and the other fighter is fighting not to get knock-out.)

It was a game where everyone at every position was out played. Man for man, position by position, we got beat. Don’t get me wrong, we have a good team and I do still believe we are a Top-10 program, but last night our “good” team was beaten like they stole something. What I can’t understand -and what bugs me the most- is where the spirit and passion went. Where was Fui screaming like a maniac, where was that bounce in our step and bob in our heads? Where were those young brash players that had won 16 games in a row. I want to see the team that loves simply playing the game -having fun. I can honestly only remember a couple of plays where I thought, “OK…we can make something happen here” and after that thought passed we threw an interception or we were forced into a third and forever or #85 bounced it outside for another crucial third down conversion.

That was just an old fashion shellacking, and I might need to add an extra H or L to emphasize how bad we were beaten.

Man that game hurt, but we can’t do what so many other BSC buster hopefuls have done. We can’t implode after a tough loss. There are still good things on the table. TCU still has some tough league games ahead of them and lets hope the boyz in red can pull off a win against TCU in Rice Eccles Stadium. We could than split the championship between all three of us after we beat Utah. A partial championship is better then NO championship. So brush your tears aside. The welts will fade and remember there are always blue skies in the distance. Let’s start a new winning streak, we have a lot of young talent. How about 17 games starting now, no wait……..   ……now.

Well it has come time for the sobering analysis. (Settle in folks, if you saw the game you know what might be coming.)

Offense

Steady has been our downward spiral. We as fans where spoiled at the beginning of the year, weak opponents gave a false sense of our offensive development. Now we have been beaten and it will give our players and coaches a new perspective to assess our performances. If our team uses this game wisely, they can learn a lot and can make huge strides throughout this week of preparation. Oh and our offensive staff needs to pow wow and come up with a few more plays. I backs, off tackle iso/ play action, Collie going deep isn’t cutting it anymore. Oh and smash route with Dennis running the corner has resulted in more completions to the safeties and corners -in the past three games- then to Dennis. Just an FYI.

Offensive line

Despite the offensive statistics, I thought the O-line did…..we OK. When Max dropped back to pass he had a decent pocket, time to assess the field and good throwing lanes. Yes, Max was pressured more in this game then in all other games combined. We also haven’t played a defensive front with the speed and talent of TCU. I think Max could have helped his line out by dropping back deeper or not moving up in the pocket as far. I wouldn’t blame the lack of a running game on the big fellas. They weren’t give a chance.

Last year against UCLA’s Davis he gave up multiple sacks and that game and last nights game have one thing in common, SPEED. When do we start looking to the future and give RJ Willing, Terrance Brown and Jesse Taufi a chance, to show their abilities. I am not saying lets bench some guys on our line, but lets evaluate performances objectively and see if a healthy competition improves a players performance.

I give them a C, but their performance will be seen as poor because their signal caller had a tough night and the running game was forgotten.

Running Back

First of all I hope, Harvey evaluates his priorities and begins to use his head a little more. He is a great kid, but he is a kid. He made a selfish choice at a bad time, which drew attention away from the task at hand. Lets hope he learns from his mistake.

The backs in general weren’t involved in the game that much. They didn’t have any significant catches and I think Harvey only had a couple runs where he looked effective. What I would like to see are Tongan backs who are punishing people on their way  to a five yard gain. Lets understand what kind of backs we are. We aren’t going to take it the distance. We are going to punish a few guys, and slow the defensive rush.

Get back to doing that and your carries will increase and the offense can again be productive.

Wide Receivers

They haven’t been open in two games. Partly because of the route combination’s and partly they were out performed by the corners. The only balls they caught were on double moves or they were in serious traffic and immediately tackled. The TCU corners had chips on their shoulders tonight and they were out to make a statement. The corners sat on routes, were physical in press and most importantly made plays. Austin and Mike couldn’t create separation and if they did the window of separation was too short and the ball didn’t come till after the corner had recovered. Timing was off and -in a pass happy offensive scheme- if that  happens you’re a fish out of water.

Like I said above I was just looking for some passion. A big block, a move after a catch, just something that told me they are passionate about their performance. Mike, don’t get frustrated that you can’t get open and pull a bush league move like you did. Show more class and hustle back and make it happen the next time. You are great players, but it didn’t show last night. It will be gut check time next week, so what’s it going to be…feast or famine?

Tight End

Dennis was throwing his body around and Andrew only got a few touches. I still think we need to get George involved more. He creates a tough match-up for opponents and  with Collie and Pitta drawing double teams we need to find a third guy. Mike was that guy, but hasn’t returned from his surgery yet. George is that guy. Dennis, just keep catching the ball when it comes your way. Hopefully you won’t separate your shoulder diving for balls.

Quarterback

The stage was Max’s tonight and he didn’t leave the Cougar faithful wanting more. I am not going to rattle off statistics or anything like that. Mostly because I personally don’t care about statistics, I care about WINS. Max has gotten respect because he has won games. He lead our team to 16 straight -so lets not forget that. Did he hold onto the ball too long last night….yes (but he did that all last year too.) Did he zero in on receivers and throw into tight spots…..yes (but again, he did that last year.) In last nights game he simply paid for his bad habits. He has made similar mistakes in the past and people said he was gutsy, but now that he isn’t getting away with it people are starting to question his abilities.

Max excelled at the beginning of the season because he spread the ball around and got rid of the ball quickly. He needs to get back to taking what the defense gives and being smart with the ball. Dennis and Austin are great players, but teams are taking notice. They will not be open all the time, the well has been pumped and will need to be primed until it is ready again. Spread it around, lets work the slot receivers, lets hit the running backs out of the backfield. Make it easier on yourself Max.

We have fallen victim to the long ball. She is a fickle beast and when she is pissed we struggle as an offense. A great offense doesn’t depend on the long ball. A great offense uses the long ball to throw the knock out blow -alla UCLA & Wyoming. It doesn’t throw the long ball with hopes and dreams. We can’t be a team that depends on a bomb to Collie every game. UNLV will be a great game to get back into an offensive groove. Lets work the timing routes and hopefully a receiver can get some separation and make Max’s throws a little simpler.

Defense

Well….we looked like we were in quick sand, you can’t coach speed. That’s just something you have to combat with technique, leverage and effort.

Defensive Line

I thought these guys did an admirable job at stopping the runs up the gut, but we didn’t do a good job of containing their speed and forcing the ball carrier back towards the pursuit.

Jan tried to strap the squad on his back, but he couldn’t get any help. They didn’t consistently win the one on one battles. With speed backs a defensive linemen can not stay blocked. They have to shed the blocker and get in a position where they can make a play on the ball carrier. Our guys had Frog linemen all over  them all night, which made it nearly impossible to get a paw on the ball carrier (no pun intended).

Also, our stunts were ineffective. We often brought pressure up the middle, which caused the backs to bounce to the outside. They were supposed to run into a containing end but instead found green grass. In order to be successful down the road, our ends are going to have to stop trying to get sacks and instead complete their job within the defense to insure the collective success of the defensive unit.

Linebackers

With Nixon banged up no one stepped up to fill his shoes. We are weakest at the most  crucial position on the field, Middle backer. That player should of had 15 tackles tonight and should be leading the team in tackles interception and sacks. The defense is built around having a dominate interior linebacker and well, we haven’t found the answer. Granted our blitzes didn’t help them last night, but when you are blitzing you need to come free and when you are in open space we need you to make the tackle.

Next week I think we continue rotating the interior linebackers and start shopping for a guy who is going to take the reins from Cameron and Kelly. With David nicked up, our defense lacked a leader who was going to make plays. A defense is useless if they aren’t making plays. Guys can be in the right spots all night, but if they aren’t being aggressive and making plays what is the point of being on the field.

Defensive Backs

I know everyone is waiting for me to lay into Bradon Howard, but everyone already knows he played bad. Lets talk about the collective unit. As a whole this group hasn’t been tested. Our corners were playing timid. They were worried about the speed of the TCU receivers and gave them too much cushion. Our safeties weren’t in position when they were in underneath coverage and our defensive line & linebackers didn’t get pressure which magnified the problem.

Where do we go from here? I think we start looking at ways in which we can mix up the DB’s. We need to find a combination of players that is going to give us the best possibility of stopping the pass. We can do some things in the scheme to help Howard or whomever, but it will put stress at other positions.

We have to be bend but don’t break, not bend and take it up the tail pipe. I am still waiting for a play maker to emerge. I am dieing for a big hit, an interception, a pass break-up, just something to let me know that their is some promise.

A lot of credit needs to be thrown Gary Patterson’s way. He had his teamed amped and foaming at the mouth.

Our Coaching staff needs to assert themselves to make sure that we don’t lay an egg at home against UNLV. When Lavell talked to the team in 2004 he specifically said you can not lose at home. Coach Mendenhall is in uncharted waters, he set the expectation and now he has to deal with the fall out. Coach Anae needs to get on the phone with his Texas Tech buddies and start drawing up some new route combination’s. Austin right and Dennis left is not working as good as it used to. Coach Hill will need to find out who “the guys” are that are going to start making plays. That means in practice guys better be making plays and in film sessions guy better be asking and answering questions.

It is going to be an interesting week for me as well. The monday poll discussion won’t be as fun, but don’t worry I’ll keep it light and we will have a good time. Don’t lose the faith, we still have a very good football team, we just got beat by a team that had more speed and was more diverse in their play calling and abilities. We need to adapt and progress. Next up UNLV, anyone have a good Las Vegas joke???