My Observations

houstonmeangreen · November 5, 2012

I saw the turning point...and what i call a terrible coaching decision with 10 minutes left in the 2nd qtr. Dan decides to kick a field goal with us down 16-9. They were showing the off numbers on the scoreboard...unt...105 yrds to ASU 245 yrds...clearly our def was getting our ass kicked...I have seen this in every game were we have been beaten down...a lack of "feeling" for the situation and realization of how poorly we are doing early in the game..Dan plays too conservative when we are behind early in the game...we had a 3rd and...poor play calling..went 2 a 4th and 2 at about the 25 yrd line...downhill from there...then when we come back from the half down by 3 TDs to pull ahead and they waist so much time on the field getting plays off...always a lack of urgency and failure to recognize how much the other team is dominating us..usually easy to see early on...these are coaching issues.

GoMeanGreen1999 · November 5, 2012

so down 18 in the 4th quarter with over 12 minutes left, do you go for it on 4th and 8 at our own 48? Down 16-9 in the second qt, I kick for 3 every time to cut it to 4.

CurveItAround · November 5, 2012

I had no issue with the decision to kick the field goal in that situation. Fortunately Zach came through and cut the lead to 4. At some point, you have to be able to count on the defense to step up. Unfortunately, the secondary has been exposed badly as the season has gone on.

UNTLifer · November 5, 2012

I had no issue with the decision to kick the field goal in that situation. Fortunately Zach came through and cut the lead to 4. At some point, you have to be able to count on the defense to step up. Unfortunately, the secondary has been exposed badly as the season has gone on.

I agree. The play action pass down the middle was wide open time and again and drove me crazy. The lack of recognition/blown coverages over and over again is maddening.

MEANGREENCOACH · November 5, 2012

OUR secondary could not stop a nose bleed on Saturday it was so disappointing!! multiple times our corner/Safety would have 2 guys in his zone and he would pick the short one to cover allowing the WR to streak down the field behind him

glick1980 · November 5, 2012

I told my wife I had given up on this team on Saturday and she asked why. I told her because we are so horrible that I honestly think I could go out today and start at DB for this team. She said, "But you have a bum knee," to which I replied, "exactly."

MeanGreenTexan · November 5, 2012

OUR secondary could not stop a nose bleed on Saturday it was so disappointing!! multiple times our corner/Safety would have 2 guys in his zone and he would pick the short one to cover allowing the WR to streak down the field behind him

Several of the open deep receivers I saw were because the DB's bit on play fakes. Credit Malzahn's crazy offense. There was deception everywhere.

I remember one of the deep TD's in particular, the slot receiver came in motion (a-la Chancellor), and Aplin faked the handoff to him, then faked the handoff to the RB. All DB's bit on one fake or the other, and voila! a quality QB hits an open receiver and he jogs in for a TD.

So discipline against over-aggressisniff may be to blame, but not all of them were because of bad zone coverage.

meangreendork · November 5, 2012

The ASU offense is very fast and very tricky in the passing game. They've given a lot of their opponents, SBC or not, fits. We have a young secondary, so they were more or less stuck with a bad hand to start the game. The hope was for the offense to fill the scoring gap, but without an effective passing game, I don't think that game was winnable.

MEANGREENCOACH · November 5, 2012

i understand MEANGREEN TEXAN but i also understand your corners should be the last people getting in on the tackle thats why we have 7 other people in the box to stop the run. so either we werent playing disciplined enough football or the players are free lancing. i did notice the "zip" motion in and then up the sideline it was a very nice play call the corner instead of playing deep in his zone jumped the RB who flared into the flats and the play went for 80

but yeah that offense was crazy and they had good looking play makers on the outside im really excited when we get those type of recruits!!

glick1980 · November 5, 2012

Several of the open deep receivers I saw were because the DB's bit on play fakes. Credit Malzahn's crazy offense. There was deception everywhere.

I remember one of the deep TD's in particular, the slot receiver came in motion (a-la Chancellor), and Aplin faked the handoff to him, then faked the handoff to the RB. All DB's bit on one fake or the other, and voila! a quality QB hits an open receiver and he jogs in for a TD.

So discipline against over-aggressisniff may be to blame, but not all of them were because of bad zone coverage.

That just means that our DB's were looking in the backfield which is the ultimate no-no when playing DB. In zone like we normally play your key is going to be the person you are lined up against through him to the QB.

houstonmeangreen · November 5, 2012

so down 18 in the 4th quarter with over 12 minutes left, do you go for it on 4th and 8 at our own 48? Down 16-9 in the second qt, I kick for 3 every time to cut it to 4.

If I think it could be a close game...I would kick...but on about the 24 yrd line witha 4 and 2 and getting ass kicked...NO...I go for the 1st down and keep the drive alive..keep the ball with our off and try to keep the score down...our def was not doing well..not at all...this seemed to change the momentum of the game for us...and I have seen this 3 x this season.

houstonmeangreen · November 5, 2012

so down 18 in the 4th quarter with over 12 minutes left, do you go for it on 4th and 8 at our own 48? Down 16-9 in the second qt, I kick for 3 every time to cut it to 4.

YES I do..absolutely.

houstonmeangreen · November 5, 2012

I agree. The play action pass down the middle was wide open time and again and drove me crazy. The lack of recognition/blown coverages over and over again is maddening.

But this poor secondary coverage isn't new...it is one of our achilles heel.

meangreenacct · November 5, 2012

The most frustrating thing for me was the lack of urgency. If someone just started watching the game in the fourth quarter, based on the pace of the offense they would probably assume we were up by 3 scores, not down by 3. It was at that point, to me, that it seemed like we weren't even interested in trying to compete...

CurveItAround · November 5, 2012

But this poor secondary coverage isn't new...it is one of our achilles heel.

Agreed that it is not new. We were somehow distracted the first few games and it did not look as bad, but since the Houston game we have played a lot better passing teams.

I went back and watched the MTSU game last week and there were three different TDs in the first half where Busby and Trice both got burned on play action and let receivers get behind them and one additional TD as a result of poor tackling by them. Instead of these 3 plays resulting in an incomplete pass or a small gain, they go for 21 points. MTSU added a couple of solid drives and BAM 31-0.

I saw the same mistake by our safeties on first TD on Saturday. Simple play action, safety bites, receiver runs wide open. These are fixable mistakes that do not require burner speed to resolve. Based on the numbers of DBs that Coach Mac is stockpiling, he seems intent on finding a solution.

I can't imagine that the mental mistakes in the secondary are sitting well with a disciplinarian like Coach Mac. Changes can't be far off. I don't see him pulling a redshirt off of anyone, but he has to be pissed.

glick1980 · November 5, 2012

Agreed that it is not new. We were somehow distracted the first few games and it did not look as bad, but since the Houston game we have played a lot better passing teams.

I went back and watched the MTSU game last week and there were three different TDs in the first half where Busby and Trice both got burned on play action and let receivers get behind them and one additional TD as a result of poor tackling by them. Instead of these 3 plays resulting in an incomplete pass or a small gain, they go for 21 points. MTSU added a couple of solid drives and BAM 31-0.

I saw the same mistake by our safeties on first TD on Saturday. Simple play action, safety bites, receiver runs wide open. These are fixable mistakes that do not require burner speed to resolve. Based on the numbers of DBs that Coach Mac is stockpiling, he seems intent on finding a solution.

I can't imagine that the mental mistakes in the secondary are sitting well with a disciplinarian like Coach Mac. Changes can't be far off. I don't see him pulling a redshirt off of anyone, but he has to be pissed.

Last year we gave up a ton of blown coverage TD's. More than this year...Didn't see changes then and don't expect changes now. I thought our D made the most improvement from the Mendoza debacle to Deloach. Since Mac has arrived, we have not made many significant strides in any area.

wardly · November 6, 2012

Losing Warner before the season ever started hurt the weakest position on the team before the season ever began. I am a big fan of the move of Whitfield to DB, but he needs major time at the position to get there.

I think sometimes people forget that right now the roster is so young that I we are going to really struggle in positions we don't have depth or there are injuries. According to ESPN there are 46 FR or RS FR on the team. On a full scholarship allotment that would be over half and is just under half of the total scholarship and non scholarship allowed players.

4 Mark Lewis RB 5-10 217 FR LIVONIA, LA 5 David Busby DB 5-11 189 FR COPPELL, TX 6 Jordan Gill QB 6-1 180 FR WHITESBORO, TX 7 Devante Davis DB 5-11 167 FR BATON ROUGE, LA 8 Cooper Jones TE 6-4 224 FR LONE OAK, TX 9 Carlos Harris WR 5-8 173 FR FRISCO, TX 14 Chaz Sampson WR 6-5 191 FR GRAND PRAIRIE, TX 18 Jamal Marshall DB 6-3 193 FR MISSOURI CITY, TX 19 Brandon Allen DB 6-1 183 FR ARLINGTON, TX 20 Rex Rollins DB 6-1 195 FR TYLER, TX 22 Antoinne Jimmerson RB 5-9 219 FR DALLAS, TX 23 Zac Whitfield DB 5-9 180 FR SHERMAN, TX 25 Xavier Kelly DB 5-11 165 FR KATY, TX 26 Zach Paul K 5-9 175 FR FRISCO, TX 29 Spencer Cowley DB 6-1 190 FR FRISCO, TX 29 Brock Squier DB 5-9 194 FR SANGER, TX 30 Jarrian Roberts LB 6-2 238 FR CLARKSVILLE, TX 31 Kenny Buyers DB 5-11 174 FR HURST, TX 32 Jamarcus Jarvis RB 5-10 203 FR HOUMA, LA 36 Steven Rivera WR 5-10 180 FR -- 38 Brendan Campbell LB 6-2 201 FR KILLEEN, TX 40 Blake Macek P 5-9 180 FR SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX 42 Chad Polk LB 6-1 226 FR DALLAS, TX 46 Brad Horton DE 6-6 240 FR ARGYLE, TX 47 Dustin Clark LB 6-1 202 FR BORGER, TX 50 Kaydon Kirby OL 6-3 300 FR FLOWER MOUND, TX 51 Boone Feldt OL 6-3 277 FR BUDA, TX 53 Kendall Washington LB 6-2 220 FR MANSFIELD, TX 56 Malik Dilonga DE 6-4 248 FR CEDAR HILL, TX 58 Tony Johnson OL 6-1 210 FR FORT WORTH, TX 67 Bo Keane OL 6-3 255 FR PARKER, TX 68 Grant Shaw OL 6-5 302 FR FORNEY, TX 70 Sir Calvin Wallace DT 6-2 308 FR TYLER, TX 72 Ryan Rentfro OL 6-4 309 FR FLOWER MOUND, TX 77 Travis Ellard OL 6-3 285 FR DEER PARK, TX 78 Connor Trussell OL 6-5 295 FR ARLINGTON, TX 82 Nick Schrapps WR 6-3 202 FR BEAUMONT, TX 84 Marcus Smith TE 6-4 238 FR SAN ANTONIO, TX 85 Roderick Lancaster WR 6-2 200 FR DALLAS, TX 91 Austin Orr DE 6-4 268 FR SEABROOK, TX 92 LaJaylin Smith LB 6-1 228 FR LAPLACE, LA 94 Mustafa Haboul DT 6-1 241 FR ARLINGTON, TX 98 Jarrod Lynn TE 6-1 235 FR GRAPEVINE, TX 98 Dutton Watson DE 6-3 261 FR MIDLAND, TX 99 Dylan McDorman DT 6-2 302 FR WICHITA FALLS, TX

Add into it another 20 SO or RS SO

5 Andrew McNulty QB 6-1 202 SO IOWA CITY, IA 13 Michael Stojkovic LB 6-2 211 SO KATY, TX 15 Mike Marshall DB 6-1 203 SO GRAND PRAIRIE, TX 16 Derrick Teegarden WR 6-1 187 SO ODESSA, TX 21 Freddie Warner DB 5-10 176 SO DALLAS, TX 27 Lairamie Lee DB 5-10 189 SO TYLER, TX 34 Willie Hubbard WR 5-10 170 SO EULESS, TX 39 Konockus Sashington RB 6-1 214 SO AUSTIN, TX 49 Daryl Mason DE 6-3 233 SO GARLAND, TX 52 Derek Akunne LB 6-1 238 SO GARLAND, TX 54 Blake Dunham LB 6-1 215 SO ARGYLE, TX 57 Mason Y'Barbo OL 6-2 309 SO SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX 62 Cyril Lemon OL 6-3 321 SO MARBLE FALLS, TX 65 Micah Thompson OL 6-4 308 SO JONES, OK 69 Joe Astorga DT 6-1 272 SO DALLAS, TX 71 Antonio Johnson OL 6-5 311 SO DIBOLL, TX 74 Cam Feldt OL 6-5 299 SO PILOT POINT, TX 87 Brett Renger WR 5-11 202 SO SOUTHLAKE, TX 88 Tanner Smith TE 6-3 234 SO FORT WORTH, TX 95 Alexander Lincoln DE 6-2 266 SO CIBOLO, TX

66 players on the roster have been eligible to played at most one season of games or have been in the program for 2 years... That is a SCARY number that pretty much sums up why any major injury is going to be filled by a young player with very little exp.

This is one of the reasons why I was upset that we didn't try and buy out or reschedule the KSU game. We needed the additional cream puff for both the easy win and less wear and tear.

K- state wanted out of last years game in Denton, and we would not let them out of contract. Turn about is fair play.

wardly · November 6, 2012

Losing Warner before the season ever started hurt the weakest position on the team before the season ever began. I am a big fan of the move of Whitfield to DB, but he needs major time at the position to get there.

I think sometimes people forget that right now the roster is so young that I we are going to really struggle in positions we don't have depth or there are injuries. According to ESPN there are 46 FR or RS FR on the team. On a full scholarship allotment that would be over half and is just under half of the total scholarship and non scholarship allowed players.

4 Mark Lewis RB 5-10 217 FR LIVONIA, LA 5 David Busby DB 5-11 189 FR COPPELL, TX 6 Jordan Gill QB 6-1 180 FR WHITESBORO, TX 7 Devante Davis DB 5-11 167 FR BATON ROUGE, LA 8 Cooper Jones TE 6-4 224 FR LONE OAK, TX 9 Carlos Harris WR 5-8 173 FR FRISCO, TX 14 Chaz Sampson WR 6-5 191 FR GRAND PRAIRIE, TX 18 Jamal Marshall DB 6-3 193 FR MISSOURI CITY, TX 19 Brandon Allen DB 6-1 183 FR ARLINGTON, TX 20 Rex Rollins DB 6-1 195 FR TYLER, TX 22 Antoinne Jimmerson RB 5-9 219 FR DALLAS, TX 23 Zac Whitfield DB 5-9 180 FR SHERMAN, TX 25 Xavier Kelly DB 5-11 165 FR KATY, TX 26 Zach Paul K 5-9 175 FR FRISCO, TX 29 Spencer Cowley DB 6-1 190 FR FRISCO, TX 29 Brock Squier DB 5-9 194 FR SANGER, TX 30 Jarrian Roberts LB 6-2 238 FR CLARKSVILLE, TX 31 Kenny Buyers DB 5-11 174 FR HURST, TX 32 Jamarcus Jarvis RB 5-10 203 FR HOUMA, LA 36 Steven Rivera WR 5-10 180 FR -- 38 Brendan Campbell LB 6-2 201 FR KILLEEN, TX 40 Blake Macek P 5-9 180 FR SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX 42 Chad Polk LB 6-1 226 FR DALLAS, TX 46 Brad Horton DE 6-6 240 FR ARGYLE, TX 47 Dustin Clark LB 6-1 202 FR BORGER, TX 50 Kaydon Kirby OL 6-3 300 FR FLOWER MOUND, TX 51 Boone Feldt OL 6-3 277 FR BUDA, TX 53 Kendall Washington LB 6-2 220 FR MANSFIELD, TX 56 Malik Dilonga DE 6-4 248 FR CEDAR HILL, TX 58 Tony Johnson OL 6-1 210 FR FORT WORTH, TX 67 Bo Keane OL 6-3 255 FR PARKER, TX 68 Grant Shaw OL 6-5 302 FR FORNEY, TX 70 Sir Calvin Wallace DT 6-2 308 FR TYLER, TX 72 Ryan Rentfro OL 6-4 309 FR FLOWER MOUND, TX 77 Travis Ellard OL 6-3 285 FR DEER PARK, TX 78 Connor Trussell OL 6-5 295 FR ARLINGTON, TX 82 Nick Schrapps WR 6-3 202 FR BEAUMONT, TX 84 Marcus Smith TE 6-4 238 FR SAN ANTONIO, TX 85 Roderick Lancaster WR 6-2 200 FR DALLAS, TX 91 Austin Orr DE 6-4 268 FR SEABROOK, TX 92 LaJaylin Smith LB 6-1 228 FR LAPLACE, LA 94 Mustafa Haboul DT 6-1 241 FR ARLINGTON, TX 98 Jarrod Lynn TE 6-1 235 FR GRAPEVINE, TX 98 Dutton Watson DE 6-3 261 FR MIDLAND, TX 99 Dylan McDorman DT 6-2 302 FR WICHITA FALLS, TX

Add into it another 20 SO or RS SO

5 Andrew McNulty QB 6-1 202 SO IOWA CITY, IA 13 Michael Stojkovic LB 6-2 211 SO KATY, TX 15 Mike Marshall DB 6-1 203 SO GRAND PRAIRIE, TX 16 Derrick Teegarden WR 6-1 187 SO ODESSA, TX 21 Freddie Warner DB 5-10 176 SO DALLAS, TX 27 Lairamie Lee DB 5-10 189 SO TYLER, TX 34 Willie Hubbard WR 5-10 170 SO EULESS, TX 39 Konockus Sashington RB 6-1 214 SO AUSTIN, TX 49 Daryl Mason DE 6-3 233 SO GARLAND, TX 52 Derek Akunne LB 6-1 238 SO GARLAND, TX 54 Blake Dunham LB 6-1 215 SO ARGYLE, TX 57 Mason Y'Barbo OL 6-2 309 SO SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX 62 Cyril Lemon OL 6-3 321 SO MARBLE FALLS, TX 65 Micah Thompson OL 6-4 308 SO JONES, OK 69 Joe Astorga DT 6-1 272 SO DALLAS, TX 71 Antonio Johnson OL 6-5 311 SO DIBOLL, TX 74 Cam Feldt OL 6-5 299 SO PILOT POINT, TX 87 Brett Renger WR 5-11 202 SO SOUTHLAKE, TX 88 Tanner Smith TE 6-3 234 SO FORT WORTH, TX 95 Alexander Lincoln DE 6-2 266 SO CIBOLO, TX

66 players on the roster have been eligible to played at most one season of games or have been in the program for 2 years... That is a SCARY number that pretty much sums up why any major injury is going to be filled by a young player with very little exp.

This is one of the reasons why I was upset that we didn't try and buy out or reschedule the KSU game. We needed the additional cream puff for both the easy win and less wear and tear.

K- state wanted out of last years game in Denton, and we would not let them out of contract. Turn about is fair play.