Trench Warfare | Oklahoma vs. Texas (Second Half)
Posted on: October 15, 2014
This play is a really good illustration of how angles help blocking. Perine’s leading on the bottom, Bell’s sealing the edge and Rip is leading up in the hole. It was blocked really well.
Perine’s still leading, and Sterling cut up inside reading the block. He outran the scraping linebacker and ended up getting 30 yards.
The drive stalled, and this is when we got the ball back. Trevor shows some nice pocket presence on this play. He was able to shuffle to his right while keeping his eyes down field. Nila has the DT turned inside giving Trevor the room to shuffle and find Bell over the middle. Going out of conventional sets seems to help because you get linebackers matched up on Bell instead of safeties.
This is a play I wish we’d see more of. Durron’s h.s. highlight tape is absolutely sick. It’s swing passes, wildcat runs, runs out of the backfield etc. It’s very similar to Percy Harvin and how he’s used. Durron is a dangerous runner, and I do believe that he’s more dangerous than some receivers we’ve ran swing passes with in years past. This would really open up draw plays by getting linebackers flowing, and let’s face it our receivers are good at blocking it.
He put a sick move on Steve Edmond cutting up back inside of him and getting 15 more yards. I bet we see more of this.
Look at the cushion the safety is giving Sterling. Nine yards. That’s just a bad idea.
Here is the end result, and a play against TCU last week was the same with a similar cushion. Sterling’s a handful out there.
This was one of those plays talking about little things that hurt us. Look at the lane back to the right. If he hits it up in there it’s a touchdown. He cuts back left to the red X and gets stuffed.
Look at Tyrus’ eyes. He makes this block with his eyes due to Coach Bedenbaugh’s teaching. Work inside out.
He’s able to come back on a much more athletic opponent and spring Sterling for a nice gain. Nice technique with the eyes
Sterling missed this gap too. The Texas defender is turned outside, and if Sterling hits up in there fast, he outruns #6 for Texas and Bell has the left sealed off. We really need to work on hitting run lanes and reading defender’s body language. We don’t do a good job at it.
It didn’t hurt us, because this play allowed Perine to score. He hits the hole he missed in the 1st half here and sticks with the play. He walks in untouched. Nice lookin’ play.
As time ran out, we had to run the ball and get 1st downs. The o line started wearing em down, and this last drive gave me hope for this week.
Perine didn’t stay close to Rip’s block and got too far inside. If he takes the blue path, he’s able to cut outside of Durron’s block for a big gain. Kid needs to slow down and see things happen.
The play of the game was on 3rd & 4 with one timeout left for them. Only swing pass we saw all day to a RB, and it was a big one. Shows the trust they have in the young freshman.
Samaje missed a lot of holes on Saturday, but it’s not to say he can’t get better at it. This is film study and getting used to the speed of the college game. This is a 5 or 6 yard gain here just sticking with the play.
Because here he does stick with the play and puts the game away with another 1st down. The swing pass got us to this moment of 2:28 left. It was a steady dose of Optimus Perine to close it out.
True to form he puts his hand on the ground and gets it into four-wheel drive to finish it off. Ball game folks. This team has the talent and ability to win every game from here on out. I’m just waiting for us to put it all together. You never want to peak too early, so with a big stretch run coming, we could still see something special.
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And that’s why it’s so frustrating. It’s right there. The talent is there. I grow antsy!
Something special. Well said JY. Well done sir. That’s why we play sports to whatever level we’re blessed to get to, to accomplish something special together with our teammates, our 2nd family
Preciate it.
Perine will be great with more experience. Ford is great now; man, we need him back! Imagine two fresh backs in the 4th qtr!
Thanks JY. Most people understand how difficult it is to adjust from HS to D1 where speed of the game is concerned. These young players will begin to see things better with time and it will all come together.
Sure will be nice to have Ford back, he seems to see those holes and be more patient
Let’s hope the layoff and injury haven’t slowed him at all when he does return.
Way cool. JY.
thanks!
This refreshes my positivity towards the offense a bit. Thank you, it was much needed!
Yeah, I gotta calm down some sometimes.
I disagree with your assessment of the Shep TD play. I think the 9 yd cushion was well played (described below). Here’s the analysis I read on another website which I agree with more.
“Diggs is really frustrating. For all his athleticism and veteran plays, I think he gets bored and sloppy sometimes. This is just poor eye discipline on his part. We’re in Man Free, and OU wants to pick Diggs with the curl/wheel combo. But because our guys are well-coached and/or Diggs isn’t an idiot, he and Duke align at different levels, making a pick difficult if not impossible. It’s set up perfectly for Diggs to make a big PBU but he takes his eyes off the receiver for too long.”
Did Diggs really expect Shep to run a wheel route and stop midway? He shouldn’t have been turned around. But, good play by Shep.
Lastly, for every play where a small thing on our part would’ve turned it into a big play, I feel that a small thing by TX could’ve shut us out on every one of our successful plays…I guess that’s football though.
Overall, this was a terrible game by Samaje. He wasn’t patient and missed a lot of holes, some of which you’ve highlighted above.
I don’t understand what you’re disagreeing with? JY was pointing out the cushion that was given as it relates to Shep’s ability. He didn’t say anything about the way the defense played him.
As for the other person’s assessment of what Diggs did on that play, that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I think he’s reading too much into the coverage Texas was in on that play. Diggs wasn’t aligned like that out of concern for a pick on the cross route.
I see what you’re saying but I think they’d have given the same cushion no matter who the receiver was. I was disagreeing with the fact that giving him the cushion was a bad idea. I think that both db’s aligning at different levels works out better for the defense in this case.
Yeah, I didn’t diagnose the coverage, I just said that it’s a bad idea to give him that big of a cushion.
Thanks once more for the great teaching examples. Even as an “old dog,” I am learning some tricks from you.
Thanks Cush!
4WD! Love it!, Great job, JY! I feel like a broken record, but it’s deserved every time!
Our D-Coordinator in college used to say that a lot. We’d be running drills in the offseason, and if someone stumbled, Coach Cooke would always be yelling to put it into 4 wheel drive! Stay up!
Very nice JY….even watching on TV it looked like Perine and even Ross were not hitting the holes correctly. Not sure if that is just a timing issue to let the blockers push the defenders a little more, or just not reading it right altogether. I played HS with a RB that was a scat back type guy like Finch and he almost always went at the defenders and not into the hole. Drove our coaches crazy. Hopefully the Sooners get these bugs ironed out and the RBs churn up some good yardage hitting the holes the OL will be opening for them.
It is, and guys have to be patient. That’s why it’s so difficult
Is it sad that I miss Brennan Clay?
Why would it be sad? Brennan played outstanding last year. I think he would have played that well the past few years had it not been for the hit he took his freshman year (against FSU). He wasn’t ever really the same after that hit, until last year.
I meant, for as great as our RBs have been playing, I miss Brennan’s vision and patience. Perhaps I’m giving him more credit than is due, but it seems like he’s one of those guys who had a knack for being able to cut and take advantage of blocks, and play tough to get the extra yards.
Gotcha. I don’t think you’re giving him too much credit, he definitely developed the ability to slow the play down and find running room. Clay was never the fastest or biggest, but his ability to find lanes made him very good.
Clay’s performance in the Sugar getting needed first downs was a thing of beauty. The way he finished runs, punishing tacklers and getting additional yardage was the one difference I noticed as he matured.
Brennan became that runner with great vision due his countless amount of time in the film room, learning the art of running. I am confidant that these guys we have will get there too, given the time. That’s the reason why having an experienced veteran out there makes a huge difference, and we are having growing pains in the position.
Brennan’s vision in his final two years were leaps/bounds better. Who can forget the TCU game where he found that cut back lane, the 2012 OkieSt game with the game clincher. Some great runs.
I disagree, he was the starter his sophomore season then Dom Whaley stole the show. He was the starter his junior year then Damien Williams stole the show. When Williams was dismissed he finally became “the guy” even though he was still the same solid performer. Not once in his four years did he fumble the ball.
What I think is sad is that neither Brooks or Smith have gotten a touch.
No question he was solid, but he wasn’t as good his junior year as he was last year. He was bigger, quicker and a smarter back his senior year. Like Kevin said (below), he was a patient runner, with the ability to find the holes that weren’t always there early.
Brooks actually has run the ball this year (against LaTech). He looked good, but it’s hard to tell too much from that. I like David Smith a lot, but I just think he’s always going to be a depth chart filler/practice player. I would like to see a little more of Brooks though.
Having more carries his Sr. year is probably why his skill got noticed more.. If you were to watch the 2011 FSU game highlights again, Clay was ripping the Noles defense good early in the game.
It wasn’t just that hit, he also had one of those shoulder things, that lingered for the better part of a season. Even though he played it down, he wasn’t really fully healthy until his last season.
JY I’m with you completely brother. Neal is a good receiver, but he’s a GREAT athlete. Why else would he be back on KR if he wasn’t great in space? Give him the ball in jet sweep/swing/bubble situations and let him go to work.
Yeah, it baffles me too. We have a guy who has this as a strength. Let em do it.
Feel same way about Quick. Get the kid in space, even if just handing him the ball on end around. I mean, why not try it?
Neil has a RB body playing WR so use him for shorter routes and let him break some tackles. Love to see Young run a sluggo from the slot on the short side, be easy pickens. Great work as always.
Thanks again JY. I watched again last night & recorded some play stats I posted on the ‘Open Post’ today. Was just curious on play selection & successes accordingly. I’d be curious on your thoughts on that post & what you make of it, if anything. It didn’t look as bad upon review as the 1st time.
Lemme ck it out.
Thanks for the TW, JY.
As an old lineman that is the phase of the game I tend to watch most. Seeing the backs miss the holes the line is/has created is like a gut punch.
I keep seeing comments here claiming Darlington is the “weak” link in the O-line and I just don’t see it. In fact I have been alarmed at how often our guards and tackles have gotten beat, even in some of the stills you posted yesterday show DTs and DEs near Knight’s feet in the pocket.
It bugs me when I hear this when I just don’t believe it to be true and would hate to see him get a label he doesn’t deserve, like Keith Ford being labeled as a fumbler when he only dropped two last year and lost one.
After the kstate game I expect our line to look good the rest of the year. And they may look good against kstate but after that I don’t know that they will face better defenses than tcu, texas, ksu and tenn. Those teams may not be lighting the world on fire but they are well coaches and especially on defense.
Definitely frustrating. But it’s the o line’s fault. Always is!
I know, I know…the line is not only supposed to grade out 100 after each game, but get pancakes on each and every play…according to the masses.
Had a prima donna QB try to lecture me on my assignment on a particular play after the fact, I slapped the playbook in front of him in the locker room and showed him where he was wrong and reminded him I was the pulling guard on the QB sweeps.
As for Darlington, I saw one play where he was out muscled as the DT was driving him back into Knight. Darlington still had position and would have driven the DT past the QB if Knight had just taken one step to the right, but he didn’t and the play was disrupted.
/dang QBs
JY, of course you chose plays that help to illustrate your points, but your breakdowns have shown a lot of promise from this week. I may even dare to say it was an improvement from last week. The o-line saw the linebackers much better than against tcu and it looks like the push/holes were there allowing our backs to get up to the second level with ease (although they must use patience to see these holes and cutback lanes). Really pretty proud with the way our o-line came back, now like you said, we just need to see everything and put it all together. K-State has a more than solid defense, but we have the talent to wear them down and make plays in the second half.
Good eye on the LB blocking. Those frog LBs made far too many plays.
I recompiled the play stats for last 2-games by half – might be a better way of viewing them. Visibly noticeable how spread out plays became in 2nd half of Texas, much more balanced between categories. % is portion of each half total number of plays by category. I put all rushing plays at beginning and all passing together at bottom. FWIW
_______________________TCU 1st half ________TCU 2nd half_____Texas 1st Half ____Texas 2nd half
Rush Between Tackles____________________29%_______________31%____________46%___________24%
Edge Rush_________________ 9%_______________ 10%____________0%____________15%
End Around_________________0%________________0%_____________0%____________6%
QB Draw____________________6%________________5%_____________0%____________0%
QB Scramble________________12%________________8%_____________8%____________0%
Option______________________0%_______________2.50%___________0%____________0%
Other (double reverse/fake end ar 0%________________0%_____________8%____________6%
QB Pass 0-15_______________15%________________21%____________8%___________15%
QB Pass 15+________________24%________________15%____________0%___________12%
Slant Pass__________________2.50%______________5%_____________0%____________0%
Swing Pass__________________0%_______________ 2.50%___________8%___________12%
Screen____________________2.50%_______________0%____________15%____________3%
QB rollout___________________ 0%________________0%_____________8%____________6%
I recompiled the play stats for last 2-games by half – might be a better way of viewing them. Visibly noticeable how spread out plays became in 2nd half of Texas, much more balanced between categories. % is portion of each half total number of plays by category. I put all rushing plays at beginning and all passing together at bottom. FWIW
_________________TCU 1st half _____TCU 2nd half_____Texas 1st Half ____Texas 2nd half
Rush Between Tackles______________29%_______________31%____________46%___________24%
Edge Rush___________ 9%_______________ 10%____________0%____________15%
End Around___________0%________________0%_____________0%____________6%
QB Draw______________6%________________5%_____________0%____________0%
QB Scramble_________12%________________8%_____________8%____________0%
Option________________0%_______________2.50%___________0%____________0%
Other________________ 0%________________0%_____________8%____________6%
QB Pass 0-15_________15%________________21%____________8%___________15%
QB Pass 15+__________24%________________15%____________0%___________12%
Slant Pass____________2.50%______________5%_____________0%____________0%
Swing Pass____________0%_______________ 2.50%___________8%___________12%
Screen______________2.50%_______________0%____________15%____________3%
QB rollout_____________ 0%________________0%_____________8%____________6%
I recompiled the play stats for last 2-games by half – might be a better way of viewing them. Visibly noticeable how spread out plays became in 2nd half of Texas, much more balanced between categories. % is portion of each half total number of plays by category. I put all rushing plays at beginning and all passing together at bottom. FWIW
____________TCU 1st half _____TCU 2nd half_____Texas 1st Half ____Texas 2nd half
Rush Between Tackles__________29%_______________31%____________46%___________24%
Edge Rush_______ 9%_______________ 10%____________0%____________15%
End Around_______0%________________0%_____________0%____________6%
QB Draw_________6%________________5%_____________0%____________0%
QB Scramble____12%________________8%_____________8%____________0%
Option___________0%_______________2.50%____________0%____________0%
Other____________ 0%________________0%_____________8%____________6%
QB Pass 0-15____15%________________21%____________8%___________15%
QB Pass 15+_____24%________________15%____________0%___________12%
Slant Pass________2.50%______________5%_____________0%____________0%
Swing Pass________0%______________ 2.50%___________8%___________12%
Screen__________2.50%_______________0%____________15%____________3%
QB rollout_________ 0%________________0%_____________8%____________6%
I recompiled the play stats for last 2-games by half – might be a better way of viewing them. Visibly noticeable how spread out plays became in 2nd half of Texas, much more balanced between categories. % is portion of each half total number of plays by category. I put all rushing plays at beginning and all passing together at bottom. FWIW
________TCU 1st half _____TCU 2nd half_____Texas 1st Half ____Texas 2nd half
RushTackles____29%___________31%____________46%___________24%
Edge Rush_____ 9%___________ 10%____________0%____________15%
End Around____0%____________0%_____________0%____________6%
QB Draw______6%_____________5%_____________0%____________0%
QB Scramble____12%____________8%_____________8%____________0%
Option_________0%___________2.50%____________0%____________0%
Other________ 0%_____________0%_____________8%____________6%
QB Pass 0-15__15%_____________21%____________8%___________15%
QB Pass 15+____24%_____________15%____________0%___________12%
Slant Pass____2.50%____________5%_____________0%____________0%
Swing Pass____0%____________ 2.50%___________8%___________12%
Screen_______2.50%____________0%____________15%____________3%
QB rollout_____ 0%______________0%_____________8%____________6%