How do you stop TTech?

[jimotis4heisman]

Don't forget that Texas had these guys in the second half. If Texas hadn't have dug themselves into a hole in the first half, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

That said, If I was playing them. I'd put my second string to start the game, and then spend the first quarter collecting late hits, pass interference and personal foul penalties. I would make sure that every skill player got hit on every play, as hard as I could get them hit. Then I'd put my starters in and spend the next three quarters playing catchup, hoping that I knocked them silly enough to throw off some of those timing routes. Hey, if they're going to score anyway, might as well make 'em pay for it.

-z

corso used that formula at louisville....

 

[Zander42]

corso used that formula at louisville....

Cool! If I got fired for it, I could always get a job putting stuffed animals on my head.

 

[Zander42]

You do remember we're talking about college kids, right?

Yeah, I know. I was half joking. It probably wouldn't work anyway. The thing about good atheletes, it's often hard to get a clean hit on them. It's one of the things that makes them good. Wouldn't necessarily want anyone to get hurt, just hit every play. Especially Harrell. I think playing the very agressive and physical is key, and if you get a few flags in that direction, that's ok, especially early.

-z

 

[stxbuck]

I know that you and BB73 know quite a bit about football but I would have to think that there is some football reason opposing coaches have not tried that. It seems so logical but there must be some type of drawback to that philosophy.


As you mentioned, to jam their WRs at the line of scrimmage you have to have the athletes and I don't think there are many teams in the country that have enough athletes to jam all of the Texas Tech WR's. I think going zone against them would be a disaster with the arm that Harrell has. He does not waste much time releasing it and the ball gets to his receivers pretty fast. Again, there must be a football reason for not having the defensive linemen shoot those gaps. I don't know what it is but there must be a reason.

Tech is running the ball more this year, they would counter w/ draws and such if the DL began rushing the splits.
Like has been said ad nauseum in this thread, jam the receivers at the line and try to disrupt the timing of the throws, get the receivers thinking about hearing footsteps. As far as the motion pre-snap to sniff out man vs. zone, the DB/LBs would have to be smart enough to know the zone responsibilites for a couple different positions, and then move w/ the motion to fool Tech. That is asking a lot-that's why Tech moves the ball so well.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

what about bringing them north for a game or two? madison this time of year would help solve the problem, or minn next year once they are out of the dome. the nice weather in evanston, state college would do wonders this time of year, or the wind at ill, iowa, nw this time of year, the cold at the two michigan schools.

playin in the big 12 south helps the scheme.

 

[faithfulraider]

How to stop Texas Tech

There are several things you need to stop Tech:
1) a good time-consuming offense that can score on most possessions (around 70%). This can be a solid run game or even a consistent short passing game.

2) A very aggressive D-line that can penetrate Tech?s O-line and get pressure and sacks on Graham. If you have to blitz the whole game in order to pressure him, he will beat you.

3) Corners that are good enough to cover the speedy and athletic wide outs to limit the number of big plays Tech will bring

4) A smart and physical MLB that can effectively coordinate the defensive team in the middle of the field

5) The most overlooked portion of Tech?s offense is the run ? Tech won?t put up big numbers in rush yards per game, but if you let them get 100+ yards, you will lose so you HAVE to stop the run

You might laugh at this but it IS true....The teams that have been able to beat Tech are the ones that were able to stop the run. This is the single most important thing to control if you want to win against the Raiders. Every team that has allowed us to gain more than 100 yards on the ground has lost. You need the other stuff to solidify your victory.


edit: oh yeah, you also need to be able to score on offense

 

[jwinslow]

Thanks for the insight raider, don't be a stranger. We appreciate quality outsiders who can talk football.

4) A smart and physical MLB that can effectively coordinate the defensive team in the middle of the field

I remember hearing a statistic that OU's defense absolutely fell apart vs Texas when a star defender went down with injury (was it Reynolds?). I wonder if that will still be a big hole heading into your matchup.

 

[Pryor2Posey]

Calling all defensive geniuses that post on here...........and grad21. How in the hell do you stop this Texas Tech offense?

I don't think it can be done. I know damn well I wouldn't want to be playing them right about now..

 

[Joe56]

There are several things you need to stop Tech:

2) A very aggressive D-line that can penetrate Tech?s O-line and get pressure and sacks on Graham. If you have to blitz the whole game in order to pressure him, he will beat you.

3) Corners that are good enough to cover the speedy and athletic wide outs to limit the number of big plays Tech will bring

4) A smart and physical MLB that can effectively coordinate the defensive team in the middle of the field

Great points. I was watching the game on the ipod today and in the first drive alone, Texas flipped from 4-2-5 to 3-4 to a 3-2-6, and back again. Their Coord. did a nice job of trying to keep up for the most part.

 

[faithfulraider]

Thanks for the insight raider, don't be a stranger. We appreciate quality outsiders who can talk football.I remember hearing a statistic that OU's defense absolutely fell apart vs Texas when a star defender went down with injury (was it Reynolds?). I wonder if that will still be a big hole heading into your matchup.
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Yes, it was reynolds....I think he is expected to be back for our game in Norman. Regardless of what happened in the Texas/OU game, this game in Norman will be the toughest of the season for the Raiders. I am optimistic with regards to our chances, but it won't be easy. This game will probably make the Tech/Texas game pale in comparison.

edit: I just found out today that they are likely to be without Austin English for our game. I think he plays DE and is one of their better pass rushers.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

There are several things you need to stop Tech:
1) a good time-consuming offense that can score on most possessions (around 70%). This can be a solid run game or even a consistent short passing game.

2) A very aggressive D-line that can penetrate Tech?s O-line and get pressure and sacks on Graham. If you have to blitz the whole game in order to pressure him, he will beat you.

3) Corners that are good enough to cover the speedy and athletic wide outs to limit the number of big plays Tech will bring

4) A smart and physical MLB that can effectively coordinate the defensive team in the middle of the field

5) The most overlooked portion of Tech?s offense is the run ? Tech won?t put up big numbers in rush yards per game, but if you let them get 100+ yards, you will lose so you HAVE to stop the run

You might laugh at this but it IS true....The teams that have been able to beat Tech are the ones that were able to stop the run. This is the single most important thing to control if you want to win against the Raiders. Every team that has allowed us to gain more than 100 yards on the ground has lost. You need the other stuff to solidify your victory.


edit: oh yeah, you also need to be able to score on offense

or you can just score more points than tech...

 

[LitlBuck]

Yes, it was reynolds....I think he is expected to be back for our game in Norman. Regardless of what happened in the Texas/OU game, this game in Norman will be the toughest of the season for the Raiders. I am optimistic with regards to our chances, but it won't be easy. This game will probably make the Tech/Texas game pale in comparison.

Always nice to hear from a person who has watched the football program and can speak honestly about it. I know this thread is supposed to be about stopping the Red Raiders offense but what about on the defensive side of the ball. They don't seem to be that weak there either and I watched all of the Texas and Oklahoma State games. Your information will be helpful in determining how much money I should bet on the game

 

[faithfulraider]

Always nice to hear from a person who has watched the football program and can speak honestly about it. I know this thread is supposed to be about stopping the Red Raiders offense but what about on the defensive side of the ball. They don't seem to be that weak there either and I watched all of the Texas and Oklahoma State games. Your information will be helpful in determining how much money I should bet on the game

First, don't use my info to bet. I don't want to be responsible for that. :tongue2:

Our defense is MUCH better this year. The biggest difference is the DC. Lyle Setencich was horrible. He had a scheme that was an NFL type defense that was too difficult and required NFL type talent at every position. This is a formula for failure at almost every college. Ruffin McNeil is a breath of fresh air. He has brought excitement and enthusiasm to our defense. They are playing fast and downhill, attacking the ball instead of waiting for it to come to them.

Our D-line is probably in the top 10 or 15 in the country in my opinion. Brandon Williams, McKinner Dixon, and Colby Whitlock are Tenacious pass rushers and Whitlock is a great run stuffer as well. Dixon and Williams are good enough that they force O-Lines to hold and get flagged a good bit to keep them off the opposing QB. Colby likes to shoot right up the middle by simply shruggin off the center and barrelling down the throat of the O-Line.

This D-Line is the key to our defensive success. They take all the pressure off of our secondary and give them the ability to make big plays by getting pressure on the QB and stuffing the run. Our MLB is Brian Duncan. He is probably the BEST MLB we have had since Zach Thomas and he's only a sophomore. Very smart, fairly quick and very sound tackling.

Marlon Williams (OLB) is one of the fastest on the linebacking crew and he can close on an outside run extremely well. Bront Bird is a big, physical LB that is great against the run, but a little slow to be covering passing downs.

The two things that our defense is a little suspect on are the corner when Brent Nickerson is in (because he's just too slow to cover big and fast receivers). He has been playing more this year due to injuries at that position, but L.A. Reed is getting healthy and should be good to go for OU. Also, our defensive performance relies on rotating defenders based on down and distance and obvious matchups. This is very difficult to manage when an offense is playing fast and not allowing our defense to rotate players in and out. If the offense stays in hurry-up mode and prevents the defense from changing their personel, they have a good chance of catching our D off guard.

Sorry this is so long. I COULD keep going thoug. This team is special on both sides and I look for them to beat OU and end up in the NC game. I would really like to get some revenge on Alabama but I think Florida will take them to the woodshed in the SEC championship game. However, if we don't beat OU, we likely won't even get into a BCS game due to the strength of the Big12 south this year. So I guess they will just have to win out and make it the best year in school history.

 

[LitlBuck]

First, don't use my info to bet. I don't want to be responsible for that. :tongue2:

I had forgotten about Whitlock. He is a player. I was curious as to whether or not there had been any rumblings about your defensive coordinator getting a HC next season. He seems like a good one but he also has the talent.

 

[NightmaresDad]

You beat them by not missing tackles at the three yard line with 4 seconds left in the game.


Oklahoma does not beat Tech next week. They gave up 27 points in the first half last year and the Tech
offense is better this year.

I agree with you that OK won't be able to stop TT, but I think they can outscore them.
There every well may be 100 points scored in this game.

If, like DaytonBuck said, you can limit them to a FG a couple of times, then maybe you can outscore them.

I just get the gut feeling that all these Big 12 high-powered offenses are going to really struggle in their Bowl games.
I think the Big 12 defenses are that weak.