Around the&#8230;thoughts by Nickel Rover on 2nd open practice

Football:

So, I went to the 2nd open practice Tuesday night and collected a few thoughts on the team to this point. Mostly I just watched the offensive line to determine blocking schemes/plays that were being used in the shotgun, 11 personnel, and I-formation plays. There were quite a few if half of them stick the Texas running game will still be more diverse.

Over at BON InDKR’s shadow was watching with a wider perspective and had these thoughts you might want to peruse.

I was able to notice the following things when I wasn’t trying to work out if they were pulling linemen as part of an outside-zone run or a sweep/power play.

-Barrett Matthews is going to make this offense a lot better in a lot of ways. He flexes out as a receiver and is a reliable option on dump-off routes even if he isn’t going to light the world on fire in the open field. His blocking is terrific and was generally never the weak point of attack. His versatility (along with Newtons) will enable Texas to use different formations in the hurry-up and split out 4 receivers and a tight end or be in the I-formation with the same personnel group.

-Pass protection isn’t fantastic yet. I’m not in love with Britt Mitchell and while Kyle Hix could be an excellent Right tackle I’m not as confident in his ability to handle the speed-rush every down. If he gets in front it’s all over because no one is knocking him back but sometimes his slide-step isn’t getting him there quickly enough. For those reasons I’m not excited about the empty sets, although they will serve a function and can mix things up.

-I don’t have any superman stories from Vaccaro or Scott but I can report that they started together and that Scott doesn’t like plays to end without his involvement at the end. He’s a physical brand of safety that I’m not sure Mack Brown has had. Sure Griffin and Huff were physical, but they weren’t bringing the wood like this 215 pound evil. He flattened someone in the open field. I saw Blake Gideon afterwards at the Longhorn Po Po whatever that place is called eating with Huey. He generally always looks pretty serious but I’m not sure if he’s keeping his job or not. It’s possible that the green shirt is just keeping him out of the starting lineup or that the coaches just want to see what Vaccaro offers since Gideon is a known commodity. Don’t rule out Muschamp pulling him though.

-John Chiles? He got moved to #5 because Gilbert owns him and 7 belongs to the boss. However, apparently Brandon Collins left his spirit in the number because John Chiles played like a man possessed. I’ve never seen him behave towards the game as anything other than a prima donna who thinks he can smoke everyone else on the field and that his involvement is tantamount to success on a given play. Well in practice he was making physical, finishing blocks, catching the ball over the middle on the run and generally wreaking havoc on the secondary. Kirkendoll was also making tough catches on slants and in traffic. Something lit a fire under these guys.

I think, due to their improvement that we may occasionally see glimpses back into the 2008 season when Colt would hit receivers on the run and consequently put them in position to continue accumulating yardage for the offense after the reception of the football. Also aiding this is that…well Gilbert may be more accurate than Colt McCoy. I know it’s early to say that, and we may never see 80% completion percentage again, but Gilbert can hit some tight windows and put the ball where only his guy can go get it at more points on the field.

-Malcolm Williams looks the same as we left him. He pulled in a deep sideline fade that was thrown away from the defender (Gilbert) and dropped another ball in 7 on 7 drills. He’s the most dangerous man on the field and I think he’s mostly just a few big games away from having the every down confidence to become the monster we’ve seen grainy, possibly faked photos of.

-Do y’all recall one of Cody Johnson’s runs at the end of the last Red River Shootout when he was carrying the Sooner defense? Or the Cedric Benson days when no run was complete before he fell forward for another few sneaky yards?

Well you can expect to see some of that when Chris Whaley hits the field. Reports of his demise as a running back were somewhat premature. He was cutting back on the zone-runs and following leads into holes and relishing any and all violence that took place at any point in the process. You could tell that his first priority was always to cut North and South and start punishing people in the open field. If the blocking and scheme keeps up from what I saw then hopefully that won’t be beaten out of him.

-Texas ran some draws, running back draws. Apparently Greg Davis is familiar with the concepts of hesitation and ball fakes in the running game and had a draw out of the I with Matthews as a lead blocker that ate the defense’s lunch when it was called. Most of the I-formation plays were set up with movement out of the backfield by Matthews and the worst looking runs generally ended up being play-action passes to a vacated open field. Last fall it was clear the defense was all over everything the offense wanted to do. Right now they looked a little less sure, perhaps by fall camp they’ll be able to resume the savage beating of the basic plays. It would probably be a great sign if they did.

-Watched some of the one-on-one linemen pass-rush drills. I don’t think Britt Mitchell’s job is locked up at this point but I’m not sure who will replace him (how’s that ankle Mr. Walters?). Snow and Huey were pretty solid in pass protection and Paden Kelly actually mauled someone as if he was defending his sister from Chaisson armed with a hammer. I know out of high school the concern was with base-strength for him and so far he’s gained about 20 pounds and I think he’s the best bet for future left tackle from what I saw on the practice field. I saw Luke Poehlmann get tossed like a rag doll at another point, will call him a less viable option at this point. Ashcraft looked good.

On the defensive side Russell Carter is playing like someone desperate to make an impression. Sam Acho led everyone in “the eyes of Texas” after the practice and along with Eddie Jones are the clear leaders on the team. I didn’t catch much from Okafor but I know that when the defense brought pressure the tackles were generally pretty helpless. I didn’t notice the defensive tackles much except for in the pass drills where I saw Kheeston Randall and Derek Johnson each bulldoze someone.

Overall the offense is making a few subtle changes. The empty set is still there but employs more versatile personnel to make it a strong no-huddle option. The 11 personnel is still more or less the base offense only with Gilbert under center (same with the empty set). I don’t think the shotgun will be featured as much, it doesn’t really offer anything this team is interested in since all the plays can still be run from under center and the play-fakes and running are better aided by the under center sets. After that the 2-back offense was used frequently and it’s going to be effective because anything that involves Barrett Matthews will find success.

Not football:

Scipio Tex writes about the stats obsession in sports and has some great thoughts on the Patriots 4rth and 2 call vs. Bill Simmons and the uneasy marriage of rationality with experiential knowledge in sports analysis. I actually root for the Patriots and began lashing out at the world after their lead in that game evaporated and for some reason ended up describing Barry Switzer as having “crawled out of Hitler’s butt crack” amidst my ravings. I also believed that the 4th down call was the right one. The play-call wasn’t as wise as it turned out the Colts defenders had been trained to expect Brady to look for Kevin Faulk underneath and were there to contest the play.

Even then only his bobbling of the ball prevented a first down and I still believe that an official review should have been in order because 1st and 10 for Indianapolis didn’t look like a sure thing to me.

Situational stats in football is the next horizon and stuff I’ve seen like, “which running backs have the most YPC on well-blocked runs” could make for some fascinating reading. For instance, in that function Chris Johnson was the best running back in the league while contact-loving Marion Barber had unimpressive numbers when his way was paved for him.

Over at the new One Foot Down Whiskey has rated various national programs for their recruiting prowess in describing which teams have what levels of talent. Texas appears in “teams with elite talent” as I’m sure you would have guessed. It’s worth taking a look at who’s been keeping up with the Joneses as well as where other Big 12 programs stack up.

Texas draws Iowa State in round one today. I don’t remember much about Iowa St. but evidently the previous encounter was a close call where a 24 point game from Bradley was required to put them away. Hopefully Texas can manage at least this first round of the tourney. Does everyone remember that Texas has never won this tournament? Just checking. Five time runner-up, the last 3 occasions vs. Kansas, I believe I watched all 5 of those games.

Article Tags:

Barrett Matthews is the truth, draw play? man-blocking?, I-Formation, nicknames for Christian Scott?, recruiting=guys fighting for jobs

63 Responses

06_UT said:

March 10th, 2010 at 7:32 am

So what you are saying is that Barret Matthews will be the player to blow out a knee this offseason that we will all be lamenting during next season (see: Kirby or Grant) because he would have opened up many more options?

I wonder if someone had a talk with Chiles. I hope so if only for his sake. The kid has 1 year of football left. He came in with high expectations because of his talent, but unless he shows something next season he will not be making a living playing football.
jc25 said:

March 10th, 2010 at 8:23 am

Nickel, I’ve really got to wonder if the Vaccaro/Scott (V/S) talent combo will outweigh the “field general leadership” that Gideon is said to provide. It seems like Earl Thomas also played that role last year, but I can’t see either V/S stepping up to lead this defense. The middle doesn’t seem to have that leadership, either. Robinson plays football akin to V/S, and Acho may not be established enough to take that vocal leadership position. Who knows what’s going on in the middle.

Combine that with the Browns on the outside, who we know are prone to lapses in concentration and/or effort, and who seem like they need someone to continually light a fire under their asses to play. I just don’t see Muschamp being willing to move away from Gideon “the leader” for Vaccaro “another playmaker.” Just my spring two cents.

Russell Carter, besides having an awesome car dealership name, always intrigued me. Why he hasn’t been able to translate that to on-field production boggles my mind, especially since he’s been able to sit and learn behind Orakpo and Kindle.

Paden Kelly sounds like the name of someone on King Arthur’s round table. We could desperately use a shutdown LT. I wish Mack would be man enough to admit his recruiting mistakes and go the Loadholt route. Now watch Kyle Hix completely blow us away.

06_UT: Much like the “Flex TE”, Barrett’s “H-Back” role should be immune from the TE curse. He just needs to stay away from Aggie Equestrians.
Bighornfan32 said:

March 10th, 2010 at 8:30 am

I think it is important to remember that though it is good to see Chiles and Kirk catching the ball over middle, they don’t actually have to worry about getting lit up. Just a little shoulder pop. Big difference. Let’s see them do it in a real game.

I am of the opinion that our OL will be better than last year, especially since we seem to be finding some worthy blocking TEs to help on the edge. The interior looks really good.

Scott and Vaccaro might cause other teams to forfeit due to a lack of coherent receivers.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 8:56 am

Why would the qb be under center in an empty backfield? Having the qb under center most of the time is a huge change. Does Gilbert look comfortable under center?

If Barrett is the h back, who is the TE? Are they throwing to the TE? Is Barrett big enough to play TE? Who is 2nd best h back or who else played h back in practise?

Are they normally running with 3 true WRs (i.e. guys like Kirk, Malcolm, Chiles) or with 2 true WRs and 2 hybrid h back and/or TE types?

Great news about Chiles, did he look faster than last season?
Burnt Orange Wookiee said:

March 10th, 2010 at 9:10 am

Kafka, I was there as well. Gilbert looked like a natural fit under center. A lot of it will come down to the blocking though, as always. He won’t get too comfortable if they can’t give him adequate protection. That said, Gilbert looked pretty comfortable and when followed by any one of Sherrod Harris (played with 2nd team), Connor Wood or Case McCoy, Gilbert was clearly the most talented guy. He had one beautiful pass in particular while scrambling to his right, identified Chiles (I think) in the middle and made a real nice throw that took arm strength which we aren’t used to here. Garnered many oohs and ahs.

Barret looked solid, wasn’t a burner but will be far more than an EBS and had sure looking hands. I’m excited about what he’ll bring to the offense. He seemed a little undersized for TE but will be alright. Don’t expect him to be Pettigrew, but I do think his ceiling is high. David Thomas wasn’t the biggest TE either.
Newy25 said:

March 10th, 2010 at 9:16 am

“Combine that with the Browns on the outside”

I guess you think Aaron Williams left already for the NFL.
scagnetti said:

March 10th, 2010 at 9:32 am

i want kafka’s questions answered please…

thank you.
Capt. Obvious said:

March 10th, 2010 at 9:52 am

I don’t see Gideon missing any field time unless he takes a step backwards from last year. If he improves any from last year, he’ll be a huge asset in the secondary.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 9:54 am

It sounds like rather than TE, Barrett is playing flex TE/h back/fullback. Did Barrett play any TE yesterday? Imagine that, a flex TE who can actually block. Can Barrett block a DE by himself?

BON said that the 1st team skill group was Gilbert, Tre, Smith, Malcolm, Kirk, and Chiles but Whale opened the practise at TB because Tre was late. BON also said Chiles looked very good. Did Smith catch any passes? Who is backup TE? When Barrett is in the game does Smith go out or does one of the true WRs?

Did the OL block down much?
06_UT said:

March 10th, 2010 at 9:56 am

“If Barrett is the h back, who is the TE? Are they throwing to the TE? Is Barrett big enough to play TE? Who is 2nd best h back or who else played h back in practise?

Are they normally running with 3 true WRs (i.e. guys like Kirk, Malcolm, Chiles) or with 2 true WRs and 2 hybrid h back and/or TE types?”

Good questions. Anyone have the answers?
Fritz said:

March 10th, 2010 at 9:59 am

I’m exposing myself as the complete idiot I am, but what does EBS stand for?

Nickel – nice stuff as always. Great to hear about Chiles, Kelly, Carter, and Whaley. If we can get some unexpected production out of these various guys it could go a long way.
Newy25 said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:03 am

“If Barrett is the h back, who is the TE?”

When he is in, there is no TE. He lines up at TE, FB or flanked at at the old “Flex” position. They also have a set with 2 backs and B. Matthews at H-Back. A true I formation where he would flex out and play receiver or stay in and block. Cody Johnson and Chris Whaley lined up in the backfield in front of Newton/Whitaker during these drills.

He is an excellent run blocker and a serviceable receiver. This will actually allow our hurry up offense to be something more than a zone run from the I. They can go shotgun or under center with the same players.

I am pretty pumped after watching what they are installing.
TXinDC said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:10 am

Frtiz – it’s an inside joke.
Last season in fall (maybe spring?) practice, when it became clear that there wouldn’t be any real TEs available, Greg Davis said – whether or not it was intentionally tongue-in-cheek – that Greg Smith would work well as an Extra Blocking Surface, i.e. he wasn’t good enough at catching to be a real threat, so at least he could pick up an extra block.
Bateshorn said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:19 am

To Build on TXinDC’s answer, Peter over at BurntOrangeNation has declared that Greg Smith must be called EBS or Extra Blocking Surface at all times until he has a reception longer than 25 yards. So now you can confidently yell out “EBS” next time he drops a ball on a three yard out into the flat on 3rd and 7.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:20 am

“When he is in, there is no TE. He lines up at TE, FB or flanked at at the old “Flex” position. They also have a set with 2 backs and B. Matthews at H-Back. A true I formation where he would flex out and play receiver or stay in and block. Cody Johnson and Chris Whaley lined up in the backfield in front of Newton/Whitaker during these drills.”

So either Cody or Whale (not both at the same time) would play FB sometimes in the I, right? Presumably Cody or Whale could also play h back while Barrett lines up at TE. You could even play Barrett at TE, Whale at h back, and Cody at FB. Do Cody and Whale block well? Barrett used to be a bit small for a TE, does he look any bigger?
nordberg said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:29 am

If it weren’t for 1999-2003 I’d be pretty pumped about all this.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:37 am

Nordberg,

What is it about 1999-2003 that keeps you from being pumped? Those were the Chris Simms years, right?
nordberg said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:39 am

Were you around then Kafka?
Magnificent Bastard said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:42 am

NOBODY is lining up at TE. Got it?
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:43 am

I’ve been around since the Akers era but you are going to have to give me more clues.
nordberg said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:45 am

Um, okay. We routinely got assraped by every good defense we played during those years.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:48 am

OK but what specifically does that era have to do with this season?
ballrific said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:52 am

you’re a dull boy jimmy
Magnificent Bastard said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:53 am

Hopefully, 1999-2003: catching, 2010-2012: pitching
nordberg said:

March 10th, 2010 at 10:55 am

Kafka: WTF? I feel like you’re trying to drag something out of me but I don’t know what it is.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:01 am

I am trying to figure out what you think this team has in common with the teams of 1999-2003. Is it just that the horns will be starting a new qb, have 3 new starters on the ol, and are changing the O scheme? Or are you talking about some historical commonality between the 1999-2003 teams?
srr50 said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:08 am

am trying to figure out what you think this team has in common with the teams of 1999-2003. Is it just that the horns will be starting a new qb, have 3 new starters on the ol, and are changing the O scheme? Or are you talking about some historical commonality between the 1999-2003 teams?

Greg Davis
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:08 am

Nordberg,

Are you saying that GD offenses sucked in 1999-2003 so it is certainly possible that a GD O could suck in 2010? OK, I thought maybe you saw some other specific commonality between the 1999-2003 teams and the 2010 team.
nordberg said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:11 am

I didn’t change the subject or anything. Everyone was talking about going under center, using a fullback, running from the I, etc.

Our program took off when we abandoned all that in 04, so of course I’m a little nervous about going back to it.
Nickel Rover said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:14 am

Kafka, I’ll try to answer some of those questions:
Chiles looked fast for sure, very fast. I thought he looked a lot faster last year as well but he was never catching the ball on the run. He dropped 15 pounds or so after switching back to WR and it has showed. Anyone remember what he did in the spring game as a freshman? He’s closer to that again.
Greg Smith played TE. In the 11 personnel Smith was TE, Malcolm was X, and I don’t remember whether Chiles or Kirkendoll played slot or outside. I suspect Chiles was in the slot. If Matthews played TE in the 11 personnel I didn’t notice because I was watching other things.
In the I-formation Smith is TE with Malcolm X and another receiver split out, Matthews lines up as an H-back and then usually motions to fullback. They definitely used some down-blocking for a Power, I think some Iso, and the draws. The inside/outside-zone is still hear to stay though. Matthews can handle a defensive end and usually a fullback isn’t asked to do more than kick out the backside end or lead-block against a linebacker. He is up to all of these tasks.
The other fullback/Hback was dominique Jones. I don’t even want to think about Barrett getting injured.

JC25, maybe Gideon holds on for his generalship but I can at least till you that the coaches are exploring other options because Gideon was commanding the 2nd team when I was watching. Although he hasn’t played in games much Scott should have a pretty good grip of the defense by now, the linebackers are all very experienced and all 3 corners have logged heavy action. I think Muschamp could play some 2-deep shell stuff without Gideon in that could create turnover opportunities better with 2 guys like this that can attack the ball than with Gideon who is really only useful as a deep centerfielder.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:18 am

Yeah, I see what you mean. I think the O changes have to with being more multiple in the O scheme, which works better with the hurry up offense. Also, Mack doesn’t feel that Gilbert is a good match for zone read running so the run scheme has to change some anyway.
Richard C. Hottelet said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:24 am

They used Barrett in motion some. If I am a defensive lineman and Matthews is coming my way in motion I would pay attention. Not sure what size Barrett is but he plays very large. Ahmard Howard also has a nasty streak when he lines up at TE. Davis will have some nice options with these two plus D. Jones and the return of Grant.
Nickel Rover said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:24 am

Nordberg, it’s fair to be nervous about returning to what didn’t work in the past. However I think there are a few reasons it’ll work better this time around:
1). There is a fullback and he is good.
2). The Big 12 defenses are no longer built to handle this kind of offense. Everyone’s loading up on smaller LBs and lots of defensive backs. As we have seen from Texas in the last 2 bowl games, these guys are not used to taking on blocks and tackling big backs.
3). They didn’t just drag out the 99-03 playbook from a dusty shelf. The offense will be a little more diverse in the running game and pass-protections because of the zone-blocking, better play-action, and increased use of the screen game. The jailbreak screen to Marquise Goodwin is going to give a lot of teams pause about sending the house.
4). This may not be agreed upon by all but I think McWhorter is going to put out a better product than Nunez did in those years. I’m worried about obvious passing downs for this team and protection holding up but I think the interior OL is going to be better than it’s been in essentially every season without Sendlein and co.
06_UT said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:28 am

We have a game tonight in the first round of the Big 12 tourmanet, but no one is talking abou it, and everyone if fucking pumped about an open practice held early in March, 6 months before the next football game.

Yep. This is Texas.
nordberg said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:29 am

That has more to do with the state of the basketball team, 06.

I need to stop, I’m sounding like Ransom.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:34 am

Nickel,

Thanks, great info! How did Cody and Whale look blocking? Do you think Whale might alternate with Tre at TB? Did most plays include a TE? Do Whale and Cody fill the same niche? Is Whale a better runner and quicker than Cody?
milksteak said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:39 am

Did you ever get the idea that GG struggled under pressure? I generally thought that Colt was reasonably good at making things happen when the OL was on a snack break, but he didn’t really make that jump until after his wretched sophomore year (without the NFL offensive line).
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:44 am

Nickel,

On power running plays, did the OL look like it was attacking, trying to actually move defenders or did it look like the OL was trying to just maintain contact with the blockee?
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:48 am

My guess is that when pass blocking breaks down, Gilbert is not going to be as agile as Colt at dodging the pressure from the rush. I hope GD is stressing the importance of throwing it away to avoid the sack/pick. Gilbert might pick that up much quicker than Colt did.
Vasherized said:

March 10th, 2010 at 11:57 am

This might come across as a concept wholly antaganous to Greg Davis’ ONE SYSTEM OR DIE raison d’être but how about not marrying the offense to one particular scheme but utilize elements from the power running game and spread as needed?

A Cody-Johnson-out-of-the-I Yin to Tre Newton’s-shotgun-zone read Yang.
TXinDC said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

I really hope that Whaley pans out and everyone has to eat their words about Mack’s choice to offer him as the only RB.
mashtun said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

As long as they have more than one kind of play to run when Matthews is in. Otherwise it just becomes another gimmick where we give away what we’re going to do.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

Vasherized,

I’m guessing GD is not digging this whole qb under center, power running O thing.

The reason not to do 2 different run schemes is the limited amount of practise time, there only so many reps. Also Mack does not think Gilbert is suited for QB zone read run. Mack really loves big plays and play action passing initiated with qb under center produces big plays.

OU had an amazing O with this approach in 2008, Mack is just borrowing that approach.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:14 pm

It sounds like they have a ton of options when Barrett is in because he can run block, pass block, and catch passes. He can play h back, fb, flex TE, and maybe even TE. His biggest problem will be learning all the plays from all these different positions.

How well does Barrett run with the ball after the catch?
nordberg said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:27 pm

Aaaaaaaand, he’s just been hit by a bus. Dominique Jones attempted to stop and render aid, but was attacked by a tiger that had just escaped from the zoo. Both are questionable for 2011.
Vasherized said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:35 pm

Good one, nordberg.

The reason not to do 2 different run schemes is the limited amount of practise time, there only so many reps.

Our OL already knows the shotgun zone read system. It’s been the basis of our offense for the last five years. Adding 7-10 power options from under center shouldn’t be considered reinventing the playbook.
Fritz said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:43 pm

Thanks, guys, for the EBS explanation. Now I find out I’ve been thinking it was Ying Yang this whole time instead of Yin Yang. Well I learned two things today.

I wondered last year why we didn’t just go with a 3 guard offensive line. Was Greg Smith a better blocker than Tray Allen?
06_UT said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:45 pm

I knew that would happen. Let’s start guessing when Barret will awake from his coma and the tiger will pass Jones left foot so that it can be reattached. I’m sure they’ll be OK to go for the RRS.
Nickel Rover said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:46 pm

Vasherized, it looks like that’s actually what’s going to happen. I saw zone and power run from the 11 personnel and from the I-formation. It’s possible to use zone and man-blocking rules if you are willing to devote the necessary practice time and personnel to the running game, which it looks like they are. So, to answer Mashtun’s issue, this team probably was practicing more running plays with Barrett Matthews in than they consistently ran last season.
I didn’t see a counter but I’m betting it’s in there and just wasn’t being used last night.

O’ insatiable Kafka; Whaley ran a lot more than CoJo and he runs better. He cuts back better and really looks like he’s trying so hard to accelerate through holes mostly just for the benefits momentum offers him when he runs into a defender. I don’t know if Whaley will end up at FB just yet. CoJo has been used there before with less than stellar results.
I saw Gilbert under pressure a few times and he rolls out and throws on the run really well. One time, in the I, Muschamp caught the offense with their pants down on a huge blitz and Gilbert thought about throwing it but then decided not to add a potential interception to an already obvious sack.

Burnt Orange Wookie referred to one of the more impressive moments in practice when Gilbert started rolling right after nothing was open for something like 5 seconds and then hit someone (not sure who, maybe Chiles) wide open streaking towards the end zone with no one within 10 yards of him. He’s a strong thrower on the run and that was the only indicator i saw that Vaccaro and CS may be vulnerable to losing someone deep.

Oh, and there was a TE on the field at all times. The empty set often had 3 WRs, a split out RB, and a TE.
06_UT said:

March 10th, 2010 at 12:46 pm

Fritz – but then they would have known we weren’t going to throw to that extra guy on the line…

Yep. That’s why.
ransomstoddard said:

March 10th, 2010 at 1:27 pm

Your thoughts and analysis are like a bottle of Evian to a guy stuck in the Sahara. Thank you.
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 1:46 pm

Quote from Mack on zone reads:(http://www.statesman.com/sports/longhorns/mack-says-horns-will-run-more-well-see-298472.html)

“We want to keep our shotgun runs, but limit them and not have a package where the zone-read is huge for Garrett because it never was great for Colt,” Brown said. “He did it in some games, but it was great for Vince. We also found out that more of our explosive plays under the last two years have been with the quarterback under center.”

Nickel:
Did you see Gilbert running the qb zone read run much/any in practise?
Blake Borron said:

March 10th, 2010 at 1:59 pm

“I really hope that Whaley pans out and everyone has to eat their words about Mack’s choice to offer him as the only RB.”

Why would anybody have to eat their words, this has already been proven a bad choice. Whaley would have come to Texas if we recruited Christine Michael also. Michael has proven himself a good/great RB after only a single year at A&M. In what way does this work out in our favor?
kafka said:

March 10th, 2010 at 2:44 pm

A few more points about the QB zone read option run play:

1. It is an QB option play. Like any QB option play, the QB has to read the D (IIRC, the QB reads the DE on this play) to figure out whether he should keep the ball or hand it to the TB. This requires good judgement and thus needs to be practised.

2. Because the handoff is optional, it is more likely to screw up the handoff by either the QB wanting to handoff but the TB doesn’t realize it or the QB wants to keep it but the TB tries to take it. This requires practise between the QB and each TB.

3. Gilbert increases his risk of getting hurt by running instead of just handing off. In fact, even when Gilbert hands off on the QB zone read run play, he is still going to get popped.

4. Gilbert would probably hand off even more than Colt did his frosh year (when Mack and GD were begging Colt to run more) so it would work even worse than the QB zone read run did Colt’s 1st year because the D will focus on the TB.
Bighornfan32 said:

March 10th, 2010 at 2:59 pm

PractiCe.
CAinSF said:

March 10th, 2010 at 3:23 pm

“I was able to notice the following things when I wasn’t trying to work out if they were pulling linemen as part of an outside-zone run or a sweep/power play.

Pin and pull, baby, like the Colts do.
he's a clown said:

March 10th, 2010 at 4:17 pm

fritz, you may be thinking about ‘little egypt (ying-yang)’ by the coasters:

i went and bought myself a ticket an’ i sat down in the very first roooow-woh-woh
they pulled the curtain up and when they turned the spotlight way down loooow-woh-woh
little egypt came out struttin’ wearin’ nuttin’ but a button and a boooow-woh-woh
singin’, “ying/yang . . . ying/yang . . . a-git/gitchee/gitchee . . . ying/yang . . . ying/yang.”

. . .

she did a triple somersault and when she hit the ground
she winked at the audience and then she turned around
she had a picture of a cowboy tattooed on her spine
sayin’ phoenix arizona 1949
Ambergris Cay said:

March 10th, 2010 at 4:46 pm

Vash, whither the word ‘antagonous’ (your 11;57 AN post)?

Did you perhaps mean ‘antithetical’?
Patrick Bateman said:

March 10th, 2010 at 4:55 pm

What is this about Sacho moving inside to DT? I guess Okafor and Eddie Jones start on the outside. Was hoping Howell could secure that other inside spot….
Steve Bartman said:

March 10th, 2010 at 6:19 pm

Doesn’t appear Vash will be beating Ripley I’m scrabble.
austin 420 said:

March 10th, 2010 at 8:54 pm

doesn’t it seem like garret has a lot of wobble on his throws?
Nickel Rover said:

March 10th, 2010 at 9:00 pm

CAinSF, yeah I figured out that’s exactly what they were doing. I saw them run inside-zone, the colts stretch-zone, a draw, and a power run. Inside zone was still the main play but it was much easier to cut back for the bigger backs out of the under-center sets.

Kafka, they ran out of the shotgun exactly once. I’m not really expecting to see the shotgun next season much because there is really no reason to use it in this offense. That run was the typical inside it was run in the last few years.about every time it was run in the last few years.
Garrett didn’t look remotely interested in reading the end.
Sugarpants said:

March 10th, 2010 at 9:07 pm

Good write-up. Thanks!

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