Blocking and Tackling Need Improvement...

[Blues1]

I love OU football just as much as anybody on this board (54 years now) - BUT -
From my view (TV only) - Looks to me we are getting a little Lazy on some of our offense Blocking and some players seem to be still caught up in arm tackling while others are over pursuing which is pretty normal for all fast defense players - Other teams have used our Speed on defense as a tool for years so I'm pretty much use to that - I just think half way through the Season our offense blocking would be better by now....?? - Am I off base here or does anyone else get the same vibe...?? - Do we need to get back to the basic's..?

Your thoughts...

[swardboy]

It does get wearisome to watch the first OU tackler on the scene slide off the ball carrier who waves buh bye as he gets another four or five yards. I'd trade some of that speed for being in position, breaking down, and wrapping up....Remember The Fundamentals.

[fadada1]

I just think half way through the Season our offense blocking would be better by now....?? - Am I off base here or does anyone else get the same vibe...?? - Do we need to get back to the basic's..?

Your thoughts...
i thought it was stellar the first 4 games. i surely didn't think we would regress. is the competition better?? perhaps. but to look that good in the first month, and look that ****ty in the last couple games has me confused and concerned.

[Flagstaffsooner]

Some people try to find things in this game that don't exist but football is only two things - blocking and tackling.
Vince Lombardi

[adoniijahsooner]

The defense looks as if it improving every week.

[medstudent24]

Across the whole season I think our tackling has actually been pretty good. Not perfect but right up there with other elite teams. I think the D problems have more to do with lack of coaching, lack of aggression, confusion based reacting to whats happening in the backfield by our DBs, and the soft zone scheme that we rely on too much.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Our run blocking needs to improve....and it would if we handed off nearer to the line of scrimage, rather than 8-10 yds deep in the backfield.

[Landthief 1972]

I'll tell you this much - if Curtis Lofton wasn't coming over from MIDDLE FRIGGIN LINEBACKER position to save the corners' *** on numerous plays, we might have lost a few more games.

[bluedogok]

What I get tired of is DB's who try to "knock" guys down instead of using their arms to tackle. You might be able to get by with on a small receiver but most receivers (and tight ends) are much bigger than the DB's and the physics aren't in their favor of coming out on the winning end of that collision.

Too much of this is the NFL influence where guys want to get the "kill shot" on other places. As much as I like TRRW he is one of the worst at doing this.

[SoonerProphet]

Thought I saw Reggie, DJ, and Lendy do a good job of tackling yesterday. Reggie off the edge once and DJ was hitting all day.

[Sooner47]

Not many runners slip away from Curtis Lofton, do they? He is a tackling machine with speed and perhaps the best MLB in the country.

[Blues1]

Thought I saw Reggie, DJ, and Lendy do a good job of tackling yesterday. Reggie off the edge once and DJ was hitting all day.

Yes I see that also - I guess my post should have been more directed only to Offensive Line Blocking - Where are those holes we had in the first 4 games...??

[man00]

Lofton great against the run not so good against the pass. At time the tackles are getting blown off the ball.

[BillyBall]

The last 4 games we have played to the level of our competition, that is what really concerns me.

[tulsaoilerfan]

The things i see: 1. OU has a hard time shedding blockers; there are a lot of times when we have players there but they are not getting off their blocks. 2. Secondary tackling is shoddy at times; it was a lot better in the second half, but i don't know how many they missed in the first half. 3. Lofton almost never misses, and Wolfe made some good solo tackles also in the second half.

[Widescreen]

Lofton and Harris are our 2 best tacklers. Even when they overrun, they still manage to get the ballcarrier down.

[trpltongue]

Our Offensive line has been criticized about run blocking so I thought I'd post a break down of our run game:


1st Qtr

AP 11

AP 3

AP fumble
DM 1

1Qtr Average 5.0

2nd Qtr
CB 6

CB 5

CB 5

AP 10

AP 8

2nd Qtr average 6.8

3rd Qtr

AP 0

DM 6

DM 10

DM 10

DM 11

CB 6

CB 3

CB 8

DM fumble
AP 4

AP 4

CB 5

DM 9

CB 3

CB 1 (dive for 1st down)
3rd Qtr average 5.7

4th Qtr
AP 5

CB 4

AP 5

AP 3

AP 6

AP 1

CB 1

CB 2

CB 1

4th Qtr average 3.1

game average 5.1



That is NOT a bad day running. We didn't have any big runs, but that is on the running backs, receivers, and TE's, not the offensive line. If we can average 5ypc we are doing well (against North Texas we averaged 5.9). Yes there are times that our O-line or TE's miss blocks but that happens to every team. The fact of the matter is that we ran the ball effectively except for the fumbles.

People complaining about having less than 50 yrds rushing at half ought to realize we only had 9 rushing attempts at half! The O-line is creating holes just as before, the difference is that the defensive secondaries are better at tackling and are limiting our "big" plays.

Bradford had a number of deep balls open that he missed because of the wind, and we had a bunch of turnovers. Without the missed passes and turnovers this game is a BLOWOUT.

The troubling part is the turnovers. We can't keep giving up the ball or we will loose to better competition. The scary thing is that we've been "emphasizing" this for 4 weeks now and it hasn't improved.

[jduggle]

Too many turnovers...too many penalties....and with our offensive line we can't establish the running game against Iowa State? Nebraska scored 35 points on Iowa State...and we get shut out for a half??? No excuses... this team is poorly coached right now and the players aren't ready to play at the highest level every week.

[KRYPTON]

What I get tired of is DB's who try to "knock" guys down instead of using their arms to tackle.


Somewhere out there, Brandon Everage is desperately trying to type out an angry response to you, but he can't do it because he's beating the keyboard with his forehead since he has no arms.

[oupride]

ditto special teams

[SoonerGM]

i agree with trpltongue. i have been critical about the running game, but in my opinion this was the most consistant running game we have had this season. defense played relatively well.

sloppy football resulting in turnovers is what is killing us.

[fwsooner22]

So nobody wants to point out that we can't even get more than a 20 yard punt off in a crucial situation.....we aren't sure whether the extra point is going to be good.....forget about whether we can nail a 40 yard field goal.....that is now an adventure of the highest order......

I saw a lot of the old "Gary Gibbs" tackle the football instead of knocking out the guys legs and wrapping up.

I also saw what appeared to be a lack of interest or overconfidence. Maybe it is normal to be overconfident at ISU. But ISU STINKS and they had a shot to beat us. That is embarrassing.

Sure we are a good football team.....we are NOT a great football team.....maybe we will be in two weeks.....I sure hope so!

[jduggle]

Did any of you read today's article in the Oklahoman regarding OU's NFL injuries? Could the occassional lackluster performance be attributed to a worn out football team? Maybe OU needs to trade a little weightroom time for film room time.

[MextheBulldog]

Definitely need to get better running the ball, and we did sorta in the second half. With as much hype as this line got, it should be more dominant.

[trpltongue]

We actually ran the ball with better proficiency in the 1st half (5.4 ypc) than we did in the second half (4.5ypc) (excluding sacks and receiver running plays). The difference in yardage is related strictly to the number of attempts (9 in the first half, 24 in the second half).

[cheezyq]

I think we tried to be too fancy and get up on ISU in the first half with the pass. Several incompletions, a couple of turnovers, and a 7-0 deficit at halftime later, and it appears the philosophy in the 3rd quarter was to establish physical dominance at the LoS. It was obviously more effective than chucking it all over the field.