Mixed bag all around, though I will say that I was hoping for a 21 at the very worst, so I got what I wanted. Offensively: had some issues with blocking in general in the early stages of the game and sometimes ball carriers were hesitant to commit to a running lane on plays where the blocking was good. The worst of such instances was when Mike Davis clearly drove his guy to the sideline on a bubble screen and instead of cutting inside of that block that Davis was nice enough to give him, Jaxon Shipley (for whatever reason) decides to dance with the defender and goes OOB with him. I really don't know what was up with him in the game, but he avoided contact more than I would have cared to see. I'm hoping that all this stuff I've mentioned can be attributed to opening game jitters. Ash had a pretty decent game considering what he was being asked to do, which wasn't a whole lot. The only 2 big complaints I have are 1) dude, seriously, pay attention to the shotgun snap and 2) that deep ball to Davis that he missed should have been thrown to Shipley and a lot sooner than when he decided to let it go. Shipley had his guy beat in the dead center of the field. A QB cannot ask for an easier deep ball. Wish Gray had more carries, but it's the first game, so what the hell. Defensively: Scheme was fine, execution was solid, effort was not. That 82 yard TD was the worst play of the game, and not because it was an 82 yard TD, but rather the reason for it: the half-assed attempt at tackling by Phillips and Byndom. Maybe the D in general didn't think much of Wyoming and maybe they just are looking ahead to bigger things, but that's a ******** reason to go in half-assed like that. Simply put, there were way too many missed tackles. I was pleased, however, with the fact that the "give the offense the ball 2X inside the 50" check was given by 2 turnovers. I don't even have to say that I hope Diaz will light a fire under these guys' asses because I already know he will. Special Teams: My boy did great and he has an even better supporting cast to help out whenever he isn't shooting balls over the back line on kickoffs. Their average starting field position on possessions obtained by kickoff was their own 18 yard line. That's sick. As I sort of mentioned on the Fera thread, Jordan didn't really do all that bad at PAT/FG. That blocked PAT was 100% on the center's low snap. I didn't stick around to watch the field goals so I don't know whose fault it was. If it was Jordan's, well then that sucks for him, but I'm sure this is all stuff that can be fixed. The punt game was kind of "meh" on both sides, so I won't say anything other than that tipped punt at the end of the first half was very appreciated. Overall: Decent for an opening game. I'm not all that concerned about the score or the lack of statistical dominance because I've seen plenty of Texas teams in the Mack Brown era wreck **** in home openers to the tune of 65-0 and the like only to see those teams reveal themselves to be mediocre by the time a big opponent came to town (or whenever that Dallas trip was made and the crimson shirts came out on top). They say that the biggest strides are made between game 1 and game 2, so here's to a better defensive effort, big plays in the passing game on offense, and a continued solid kicking game next week against those Lobos.
Mike Davis looks solid on some plays and others he just looks half-assed. I remember once you made the analogy of the basketball rim being larger or smaller. He reminds me of smaller as he doesn't give much effort unless the pass is picture perfect. That contributes to picks; sometimes a receiver just needs to turn into a db on a poor pass.
Thanks for the analysis, as always. As far as the defense is concerned, there has to be some credit given to the Wyoming QB. That kid can play and will cause any defense fits if he performs at that level every week. Hook 'em!
Great review on the game Hip! I just wished Shipley would have been involved more and less Mike Davis I agree with Burnt Orange man I hate the half *** effort that Davis illustrates sometimes. Also let Frosh J. Gray some touches on the outside like maybe a sweep
Thanks for crunching the numbers, its giving some good metrics to note strengths and weaknesses that I think are insightful. One thing that stood out to me was the cohesiveness of the offensive line last night. Hopefully it wasn't my imagination, but I thought there was a greater sense of direction and purpose up front as a unit that I haven't seen in a first game in recent memory. Its a subjective observation that transcends simply noting penalty yardage... I thought the Oline looked in very good form. Congratulations to the players and coaches on a solid start to the season. My 2cents, and .
Ash managed the game which is all he should be expected to do. He still has issues with 15+ yard down field passes (over-throws/under-throws/late delivery). He will need to make those throws at some point in the season. How a defense could not be ready to play in the first game is unbelievable. They were able to control Wyoming through athletic ability not effort. At some point in the game every starter took at least one series off. Finally, the secondary has looked/been over matched in three of the last four games (aggy, Baylor and Wyoming). Has Akina lost his touch?
Both the defensive line and offensive line looked fairly evenly matched with Wyoming. We did not penetrate consistently without blitzing and we dd not consistently open holes for very long between the tackes. That is is a sobering issue considering who we think we are, who we played.and who we will be playing after next week. I saw obvious NFL talent on the DLs of a bunch of other teams playing similar to tougher competition, but I did not see that in the UT game except for (maybe) Jeffcoat who was beating his man a little more often than the others. I don't think Wyoming has an Alabama equivalent OL. It all started there because we had to blitz and that QB knew how to take advantage of the resulting hole from that gamble. The lines were not terrible (no sacks was nice), but they were not great, even against Wyoming and that set the tone for the entire night.
The biggest disappointment for me was the secondary. These guys are supposed to be the best in the nation. The first quarter looked like they were still reading their preseason reviews. They did better in the second half, but as mentioned, the effort was not there. The best thing I liked was the O line play later in the game. Execution and conditioning really showed. The fact that we could make short yardage plays was huge. I remember a few years ago when we couldn't score on Rice inside the 5 with four plays.
great game for an opener. Texas rarely looks amazing week 1. would like to see Davis come up with a jump ball at least once. Ash needs to get ball out quicker on deep balls. loved the running game. secondary needs to get better. defensive front needs to watch for the cutback and stay disciplined. I loved the pressure they were getting. that late hit out of bounds call was absolutely atrocious.
HP, Was the slow start on offense in any way attributable to Harsin’s conservative playcalling? We started out slow in the Cal game also, and it pains me to see a game plan that says, “Let’s throw away the first couple of series on offense so that we can be sure to not make a mistake.” Scoring first is always good. Thanks for the analysis as always.
First game of year, team was working out a lot of things. This isnt a team in same universe as Bama or USC right now but they will get a lot better as the year progresses.
Great game film to teach off of and deflate the big heads the press clippings have created on Defense. If we don't see better effort coming out against NM, I will begin to worry about our defense. Yes Harsin was very conservative in that first series.
Thanks, Slugga, as always. These analyses, more that church, are the reasons I look forward to Sundays.
Great analysis! Thanks! I definitely agree with you on the Defense! Vaccaro played great, but the rest.... uummm.....
Thanks, HP. Howver, I have to admit my attennae are now up to see what happens on the first couple of series on offense.
HP, Maybe you can help me with something that's been on my mind about the offense? I agree that the first few series were conservative and possibly Harsin's way of analyzing our effectiveness of the most commonly used plays in our arsenal given our relative youth at QB. But, why do we line up in the 2-minute, hurry up offense to run up the middle 3 consecutive plays and 3 and out in less than 45 seconds? Just seems like we know we have an inexperienced QB who isn't totally in charge yet and we know we'll be somewhat conservative in our approach. Why not put Ash under center a couple of times or go to a huddle and try to control the situation a bit? Seems like we rush up to the line, rush up to the line, rush up to the line, rush the punt team onto the field. I'll humbly bow to your wealth of knowledge and experience. And thanks for these analysis...awesome work.
Another question for Hp (esp. given your kicking background): It seemed to me that King was purposefully landing his kicks short of the returner, then getting them to roll deeper into Wyoming territory. Is this a skill that punters can learn and that King can do very well? Or was he just getting lucky? Thanks for the Landry Grades, too. One of the first things I check after every game.
Nice work 'Slugga So proud of the job your kicker is doing. ViperHorn I don't think Akina is close to losing his touch. These guys are young and they are still thinking some and not reacting. I to thought some of their tackling looked lazy. Akina will drill these guys this week and they WILL look better. Lobos QB play will not be close to Brett Smith. Brett Smith is a stud for that Cowboy team. The guy has got wheels like Colt McCoy had.
