18 rushes for 23 yards

[PrideAlum]

That's 1.277778 yards per carry. Hmmmm.
I've just reviewed the first half of the Washington game and I'm going to put my two cents in about Washington’s two big run plays for 71 yards.

Just so you know Tivo is great and I played these plays in slow motion more than once and here is what I saw.

Play 1 - 54 Yard TD for Washington.
I'm going to give up to the Huskies here. That was the absolutely perfect execution by the O-Line. Numbers 58 and 63 put a great double team on Pendleton and then the center (#63) slides off the double team and makes a great block on Rufus. Very impressive. Hey number #58 was that a little bit of holding of Pendleton after #63 slid off the block? Just the same this play was well executed. BUT MR. Clayton there is a reason your position is called SAFETY. You have to be the last line of defense and make that tackle. Make it, and the most they get is 9 yards and maybe a field goal.

Play 2 - 17 Yard gain for WU Up the middle again.
Well executed by WU again. Their pulling guard did a good Job on Rufus. BUT MR. Venables you got beat bad on this play. You had a stunt called on this play didn't you? Pendleton was NOT blocked out of position was he Mr. Venebles? Come on fess up. On the snap Pendelton immediately takes an extreme outside rush and Washington runs it to where he was, then WU's pulling guard (against the flow btw) does a good Job on Rufus filling the gap left by Pendelton and the running back is free for 17 yards. This was the perfect play against this defensive call. This happens in a game and IMO should not be worried about.

First half rush stats for WU
20 rushes 94 yards.

Break down
18 plays for 23 yards
2 plays for 71 yards. Review above.

This tongue gnashing and Sooner bashing by the talking heads is just flat wrong. OUr defense's run stopping capability is a lot better than given credit for.:)

[jwlynn64]

Thanks for the breakdown. Unfortunately they count every play.:( Lets hope that we can eliminate at least one of the blown plays.

[Soonerus]

I agree though the defense has been just off a little and very close to dominating...as usual....

[PrideAlum]

Thanks for the breakdown. Unfortunately they count every play.:( Lets hope that we can eliminate at least one of the blown plays

Yes they do. But all I've been reading and hearing this week is what's wrong with the run defense? I'm saying not a darn thing that hasn't been fixed. Clayton's out and Wolfe is out for our passing defensive problems. Look for some serious clamp down defense this week.

[boomersooner28]

VERY valid points. BUT, I don't think the linebackers or the safeties have played very well at all yet. We still have to find the right combination, which I think we are getting closer to doing.

[jwlynn64]

I rewatched the Washington game when I got home and we should have had at least five sacks in that game. Hopefully, they will correct the angles they are taking on the QB. We came in too sharp and he was able to run outside. We need to force him back into the middle of the line.

I think that we fix the errors and get a couple of turnovers and 3 - 4 sacks (yes I know that he hasn't been sacked yet.)

[Soonerus]

Washington's talented and elusive QB was a factor in those non-sacks...

[jwlynn64]

I agree but our angles left the outsides open. On at least three occasions we had two guys going to the QB unblocked and they both took sharp angles that he was able to easily avoid by turning to the outside.

It's is just like a naked boot leg. The contain man is supposed to take a wide angle to force the QB back towards the line of scrimmage and the LBs. Our positioning on those plays cost us the sack.

Hell, we sacked Vince. Washington's QB is OK but not up to that level. We should have got him.

[Soonerus]

I agree but our angles left the outsides open. On at least three occasions we had two guys going to the QB unblocked and they both took sharp angles that he was able to easily avoid by turning to the outside.

It's is just like a naked boot leg. The contain man is supposed to take a wide angle to force the QB back towards the line of scrimmage and the LBs. Our positioning on those plays cost us the sack.

Hell, we sacked Vince. Washington's QB is OK but not up to that level. We should have got him.

I agree with basically everything you state but I think those mistakes are easily correctable against a QB without the same elusive abilities....

[jwlynn64]

I think that they are correctable period. I think that this week things come together for us defensively. This will lead to more plays on offense and a good showing by our team.

My prediction is that we finally get some respect in the polls Sunday.

[Soonerus]

I think that they are correctable period. I think that this week things come together for us defensively. This will lead to more plays on offense and a good showing by our team.

My prediction is that we finally get some respect in the polls Sunday.

Ditto !!!!

[Ike]

Thanks for the breakdown. Unfortunately they count every play.:( Lets hope that we can eliminate at least one of the blown plays.

The good news is that I'd rather be in the position of having one or two big plays that hurt us rather than be in the position where we are consistently giving up 5-10 yard plays on the ground. In the former, there are just a small number of things that the coaches can work the kids on to correct. In the latter situation, there are just too many things to correct.

[westcoast_sooner]

Yeah, it's a similar situation to our secondary. We can knock down, intercept, hurry, force incompletions all day long, but if we give one up deep, it's still a long gain against us or a touchdown. And people say, what is wrong with our D.

The guys have to play EVERY SINGLE play.

[Partial Qualifier]

Nice research. After that first play, I felt like we weren't giving up much on the ground. Nice to see it wasn't homerism

[Egeo]

what about the second half?

[jwlynn64]

what about the second half?

Just a thought. Take game totals and subtract first half totals from them.
Again, just a thought.

[poke4christ]

It's a good analysis, but it's faulty. Case in point Adrian Peterson in last years OU vs OSU (won't let me use the 'B' word) game.

note: I'm using this example because I know OSU. Therefore, I know OU better when they tie together.

Overall stats:

Rushes: 24
Yards: 237
Yards per attempt: 9.9

Two big gains

84 Yard TD
71 Yard TD

Adjusted stats:

Rushes: 22
Yards: 82
Yards per attempt: 3.72

Though it's not a perfect anology, its still eye opening. Does this mean that OSU did a good job holding perterson? Of course not. He still smoked us last year and that isn't changing. My point here is that you can't pick and choose what stats you want so that you can look better. If your team gives up a big run as OSU did twice in the OU game, then that is NOT a good thing and can't be ignored.

Zach

[FlatheadSooner]

Just a thought. Take game totals and subtract first half totals from them.
Again, just a thought.


Boy, you take to cipheren like a mule does to millet.

;) (Jed Clampett on his boy Jethro)

[Partial Qualifier]

It's a good analysis, but it's faulty. Case in point Adrian Peterson in last years OU vs OSU (won't let me use the 'B' word) game.

note: I'm using this example because I know OSU. Therefore, I know OU better when they tie together.

Overall stats:

Rushes: 24
Yards: 237
Yards per attempt: 9.9

Two big gains

84 Yard TD
71 Yard TD

Adjusted stats:

Rushes: 22
Yards: 82
Yards per attempt: 3.72

Though it's not a perfect anology, its still eye opening. Does this mean that OSU did a good job holding perterson? Of course not. He still smoked us last year and that isn't changing. My point here is that you can't pick and choose what stats you want so that you can look better. If your team gives up a big run as OSU did twice in the OU game, then that is NOT a good thing and can't be ignored.

Zach

very good points. But it validates Ike's take, and there's a big difference between 1.2-something YPR and 3.7YPR for all those other rushes.

[poke4christ]

very good points. But it validates Ike's take, and there's a big difference between 1.2-something YPR and 3.7YPR for all those other rushes.

Agreed (you and Ike). I really feel like OSU's D last year was better than commonly thought. The problem was that our O was so bad that they were always on the field defending short lengths. Ike's point works for OU and OSU last year.

[lukin254]

the achilles heel for OU's defense since... well, for quite some time now, is giving up the big play... Whether it be OSU in 2002, OSU in 2004, A&M in 2002, Neb in 2001, LSD in the Sugar, K-State in Kansas City, or pretty much all of their losses in the Stoops 2000+ era... They give up the big play... For 95% of the snaps, OU is completely dominant on defense... If the opposing offense takes advantage of the 5% of busts, OU typically loses... That's where having a dominant figure in the secondary sets OU's defenses apart from the others.... Case in point Roy Williams and how consistently dominant OU's defense was with him vs. without him.

[KingDavid]

That's 1.277778 yards per carry. Hmmmm.
I've just reviewed the first half of the Washington game and I'm going to put my two cents in about Washington’s two big run plays for 71 yards.

Just so you know Tivo is great and I played these plays in slow motion more than once and here is what I saw.

Play 1 - 54 Yard TD for Washington.
I'm going to give up to the Huskies here. That was the absolutely perfect execution by the O-Line. Numbers 58 and 63 put a great double team on Pendleton and then the center (#63) slides off the double team and makes a great block on Rufus. Very impressive. Hey number #58 was that a little bit of holding of Pendleton after #63 slid off the block? Just the same this play was well executed. BUT MR. Clayton there is a reason your position is called SAFETY. You have to be the last line of defense and make that tackle. Make it, and the most they get is 9 yards and maybe a field goal.

Play 2 - 17 Yard gain for WU Up the middle again.
Well executed by WU again. Their pulling guard did a good Job on Rufus. BUT MR. Venables you got beat bad on this play. You had a stunt called on this play didn't you? Pendleton was NOT blocked out of position was he Mr. Venebles? Come on fess up. On the snap Pendelton immediately takes an extreme outside rush and Washington runs it to where he was, then WU's pulling guard (against the flow btw) does a good Job on Rufus filling the gap left by Pendelton and the running back is free for 17 yards. This was the perfect play against this defensive call. This happens in a game and IMO should not be worried about.

First half rush stats for WU
20 rushes 94 yards.

Break down
18 plays for 23 yards
2 plays for 71 yards. Review above.

This tongue gnashing and Sooner bashing by the talking heads is just flat wrong. OUr defense's run stopping capability is a lot better than given credit for.:)

Rufus has been getting blocked a lot this year . . . and has appeared tentative more than last year. I'm sure I'll get ripped for saying this, but he needs to be less "spotty" in his play to really be a great one.

For all the talk of Keenan Clayton being a ferocious hitter so far, I've sure been disappointed by his cautious play. Probably just freshman jitters.

Something our coaches always told us in high school was this quote by Martin Luther: "Sin boldly." Translation, once you set your mind to something, even if it's wrong, GO FOR IT.

Perfect counter-example of this philosophy: remember that blitz by Marcus Walker in the first half of the game that shall not be named? He starts in hard, and then he sees that Leinart has the right check and instead of going at him full speed (at least put him on the ground if he's going to throw a TD), he checks up and looks silly trying to recover. Ends up in no man's land.

It's easy to critique from the sideline.