First sell out since... last week...
On to Kansas Week Thread
- Thread starter BigJCy
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I honestly haven't been super impressed by our defense this year, so we'll see. Not saying they're bad or anything, but I'm not liking how little pressure we've generated and how many easy short passes we give up.
This year feels like "bend but don't break" might just go past the break point more often than we'd like
Bend don't break will always be Campbell's philosophy. Then you only have to stop them on one 3rd down to get the ball back. The problem is that Baylor was making hay on first down leading to 2nd and 3rd and short. You have to stop the KU run game on first down and force them into more throwing situations. You do that, and you set yourself up for success.
Haven't really watched any of their games. Would you say what they do is, gimmicky?
Bend but don't break works on some teams but will always struggle with more patient teams, especially those that do 5-10 yard routes on 1st or 2nd down. We play off receivers too much and it allows offenses to get ahead in early downs so it becomes easier for them. That puts a ton of pressure on red zone defense.
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Sorry I meant one of...No, they didn't. They're Top 10 good, but far from the best. Some rankings have their D line outside the Top 10.
The top 10 offensive lines in college football ahead of the 2022 season
Ranking the top 10 offensive lines in college football ahead of Week 0 of the 2022 season.www.pff.com
The top 10 defensive lines in college football ahead of the 2022 season
Ranking the top 10 defensive lines in college football ahead of Week 0 of the 2022 season.www.pff.com
Some say gimmicky, I think they just know their strengths and play to them very well. Rather than trying to do things they're not good at, they play sounds football with good schemes.
I feel like it did last year. Heacock's defense has been usually good, rarely great, and sometimes cover your eyes bad since the 2020 season IMO.
It seemed like we were solid on first down but Baylor turned 2nd and long into 3rd and 1 or 3rd and 2 consistently. 2nd down was our back breaker.
Not used to that from a Kansas team. On one hand, I don't want to lose to Kansas, but on the other, maybe not super embarrassing anymore, if it happens. Unlike the 2014 or whatever season when they boat raced us and we were their first Big 12 win since whenever
Yes. You can get away with having some three and outs if your defense is returning the favor by getting 3rd down/4th down stops. ISU's defense got several such stops negated by iffy penalties.
We were an AWFUL third and long team last year. The number of times the opposing WR's got behind the corners and safeties on 3rd and long was gross.
Tell him what? Yes, the refs suck but losing the turnover battle and not being able to stay on or off the field also loses games. Things don't exist in a vaccum - if we score on our first two drives after half time or even just after stopping them on 4th down and go on to win - how much weight does the first half calls have? They have more weight certainly because we lost... but the idea that getting out rushed, out pressured and the turnover battle etc played no role in losing -
that just isn't true IMO. The refs certainly helped Baylor in the first half - that doesn't change the fact that Dekkers is averaging 1.5 turnovers a game right now. He's young, he'll get better and he's insanely talented. But that is not a recipe for success, even in a game where you don't get screwed by the refs.
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I get frustrated with Heacock's seeming to wait till half time to adjust BUT those numbers would indicate that we are generally good to great on defense. I think we are a little slow at the line backer position at the moment and we lack a consistent pass rush but what more are we really asking for?
We are 14th in total defense thru 4 games
We were 21st in defense last year
We were 25th in defense the year before in 2020
We were 49th in defense in 2019
Yes, Kansas is going to be a freaking awesome challenge defensively with that QB and the offense. But the number of games I felt like the defense has lost us over the years compared to the number of games that the offense fell short is probably countable on one hand
Biggest question going forward is if defense is allowed in college football.
You can throw every other aspect of every game out the window until Big 12 gives some official answers on that.
You can throw every other aspect of every game out the window until Big 12 gives some official answers on that.
Time of possession had a direct impact on how the defense played in the second half. I don't care how you look at it, those first half calls dug us in a HUGE hole.
IMO there needs to be equal weight carried by the ball carrier. If the ball carrier goes low and puts their head down what is the defender supposed to do?
I think it's the opposite actually. Teams that aren't overly aggressive and take what this defense gives them ( 4-6 yards) succeed. Most college teams won't (or can't) do that. The Baylor scoring drives were 12, 11, 9, 10 and 4 plays. That doesn't scream aggressive to me.
ISU has faced some very stout defenses too, though. Iowa is #2 in defensive yards per play and Baylor is #20. WVU is #42, Duke is #87 and Houston is #105. When you face defenses that allow you to move the ball you aren't generally pressured to make nearly as many mistakes.
No doubt - but that also goes back to the offense., When we have two or three incomplete passes and go 3 and out -
that also increases the time of possession difference between the two. If we had our own 8 minute drive for a touchdown in the 2nd and 3rd quarter - would that not also impact the way that the defense played? Because now they're chilling and resting even more after half time.
Again, I'm not disputing that the refs and the horrendous calls they made had a huge impact on the game. I'm just stating that it didn't occur in a vaccum, even with the bogus calls we still had a chance had we executed at a higher level. Both things are and can be true.
The refs screwed us.
And by turning the ball over and having some quick 3 and outs on offense, notably in the 3rd quarter, we screwed ourselves.
Hopefully, the ref piece does not happen again - at least to the blatant degree it did in the 1st half at least.
But unless we can fix some of what we can control, within reason - we may yet come up short in other close games.
We are tied for 80th right now in turnovers lost. That is just not a winning stat.
I never want to see those refs again - but there are other reasons besides the ref's that we lost that game. The refs are certainly and were certainly a major part - but so was some sloppiness on our own end.
Dekkers needs a big game after his struggles this past Saturday. Let's hope he comes up huge and gets a much needed confidence boost.
