At halftime I thought we had a puncher’s chance to get a win tonight.  We continue to do a great job of passing against the zone and finding high-quality shots.  By that I mean we get the ball to a player who can step into an uncontested jumper, a lot.  Problem is, we don’t make the shot.  Considering the kind of looks we got tonight (until we got frustrated and started jacking 3’s), shooting 40% is inexcusable for college basketball.  It just is.  And we don’t have any offensive rebounders to get second looks.  Meantime, Baylor has guys making tough shots and most of the easy ones.  They have a great backcourt that can penetrate with strength, draw help and pass to big men who can finish.  Credit Scott Drew for not panicking early when his team came out a little too loose.  They found their rhythm, and we didn’t show any ability to make them uncomfortable with our defense in the second half. 

Not a very special Senior Night for Darko or Okorie.  Hope you both got your degree and can move on to other things in life.  You’ve got a chance to get one more win in Boulder, and then give it all you’ve got against OSU or Texas.  I kind of wish Okorie did play football.

With all the interweb discussion about Pat Knight, I will say that I have some thoughts about his coaching and recruiting, but I’ll wait till after the season to get some perspective.  If you’ve been reading this blog since the season started, you probably know that I rarely complain about Pat Knight’s in-game coaching decisions.  So that’s your preview.

On to Boulder.  I just want one more good showing from this team, just to remember that hope I felt in December.

As far as this game goes, both teams played to their identity (for us that’s switching man defense and motion offense), hoping to out-execute the other guy.  Ultimately we shot a little better (which is amazing considering that we couldn’t hit water from boat through most of the second half), and they were a little better rebounding and taking care of the ball.  With the stats about even, it comes down to making plays at the end, and Zek Henry had more.

Some player thoughts:

Nick Okorie – It’s good to see the senior playing well, making some steals and playing to his strengths in the motion offense.  He might have just three games left in his career, so I hope he keeps it up.

Roberson, Roberts, and Singletary – Injuries happen to every team, but Knight needs these three guys to have a chance at winning.  They’re out there, and they’re battling, but they’re not at full strength.

Brad Reese – If you’re trying to figure out how this team can be better next year, Reese’s development has the most potential impact.  He needs at least ten pounds of upper body strength, tons of ball handling work, and healthy shot of confidence.

With two games left, it’s not completely hopeless, but it’s close.  Two more wins might get us an NIT invitation, so you’re looking at trying to beat Colorado next Saturday and then a first round upset of Oklahoma State or Texas.  No, I don’t think we’ll beat Baylor on Tuesday.  So it’s a tall order.  Today’s loss was a huge opportunity missed.

Thoughts?

Say what you will about this team, but they battle.  Right now I’m just sad about the ending, so it’s hard to talk about the details.  We don’t have a single complete basketball player, but at this point we do a pretty good job of hiding or at least playing above, our deficiencies.  No, we can’t rebound.  No, we can’t guard the post.  And our transition offense is outright embarrassing.  But we keep playing, and sometimes a few things go our way.  We’ve got four conference games left.  Can we win two of them and solidify an invite to the NIT?  Hard to say, but I do believe Pat and his troops are going to throw it all out there trying to make it happen.  For that, I will continue to watch, root for, and believe in this team.

The Lesser of Two Evils

Pat Knight had to try something, anything, to keep UT from isolating Gary Johnson or getting to the paint.  He went with zone, knowing we almost no chance of rebounding.  To my shock, instead of just throwing up a shot and collecting offensive rebounds, the Longhorns got tentative and turned the ball over a few times.  Nick Okorie ran off 11 straight points, and with 25 seconds left, we had the ball and a chance to tie.  Credit Pat with rolling the dice and being willing to try anything to give his players a chance.

Good Crowd

It sounded like the loudest and most determined crowd of the year, through my television.  You could really feel the expectant intake of breath as Okorie rose up for a three to bring us within four.  Those are the best moments watching a basketball game live.  Wished I was there.

Nick Okorie – MVP for the senior.  I really wanted that last shot to fall for him.  I hope we have a good post season experience for Nick because he’s been a good Red Raider.

Brad Reese – He made his best offensive move of the season on a first-half drive to the basket, then followed it with a steal.  If he can strengthen his base and his ball strength in the off-season, he could have a very special senior year for us.

Darko – He picked a bad game to leave his jump shot in the locker room.  If he hits just half of those uncontested open looks, we’re in a position to win.

Mike Singletary – Solid game, about his standard.  Slow reactions on defense a few times, but clutch from three when we needed it.  Barnes was smart to double-team him on the last shot.

John Roberson – He was trooper for playing with the bruised back, but it clearly affected him.  Hope he heals up for K-State.

D’Walyn Roberts – I really love this guy.  His foot’s killing him, but all he does is go out there and hustle and battle on defense, and stay completely within himself on offense (stand-still mid-range jumpers and tip-ins).  Glad to have him.

Tairu and Davis – Good energy and positive contributions.

K-State will be a tall order on Tuesday.  On paper it doesn’t look good, but all you can do is suit and see how it goes.

Thoughts?

As for my own skills, I was most comparable to the white guy at the end of the Duncanville basketball team bench every year.  Probably good enough to start at Grapevine, but never going to be logging serious minutes in this depth chart of sharpshooters.  Much like Duncanville basketball, we made a strong showing at the state tournament on an annual basis.  I was always an “alternate” when the money was on the line.  However, the tournament was scored in somewhat track & field fashion.  You ranked your top 3 events in order of strength.  The future Olympians all chose 3-position as their first option, which consisted of a combined score of prone, kneeling and standing.  The weaker team members, such as myself, were used in strategic fashion to accumulate points in other positional events among the B shooters.  The 3-position was comparable to a relay in that it was worth more points than simply winning a single positional contest such as prone.  Make no mistake about it, they weren’t expecting me to score points.

After getting my ass handed to me the first year, I decided to explore a different strategy.  They had a new “exhibition” event in air pistol that was being added to the schedule the next season.  Points weren’t being counted towards team totals, so the salty shooters weren’t in play.  I signed up to investigate.  We were issued loaner pistols and a couple of mustaches showed us a little technique.  I sucked like everyone else.   All 3 of us.   Light bulb.  Walmart.  Air pistol. Paper plates. Sharpie. Clothes pins.  12 months.  

About 3 weeks before the next state tournament, I start practicing in our backyard.   The coached sessions at the range were reserved for legitimate team members.  However, coach was supportive of my scheme because he thought it might actually work.  Just as planned, 4 people sign up for the event as choice #1 and I’m the only one who brought my own gun.  It came from the same place the unsighted pistols they loaned you did.  I checked the model numbers the prior year.  Game over.  The inaugural champion had been crowned with a state record that was more than double the nearest competitor.  I had achieved all my goals in shooting and retired in the offseason.  You know, before a pellet gun-wielding Steve Wiebe showed up the next year calling me out. 

Shooting For Championships by dedfischer. 

I’ve shared with you this story of the will and determination in a champion as a testimony to what you can accomplish, if you work hard at discovering the short cuts to victory.  I’m also trying to instill confidence in the small sacrifice I’m asking you to consider.  The situation, much like my state title, is closely related to opportunity.  That, of which, I have identified.

I want you to move to Canada with me.  I think with 8-10 hours a week of practice against elite Alberta competition for the next 7 1/2 years we can make the 2018 U.S. Olympic Curling team.  I’m serious as shit.  I think you and I have the talent and magic it takes to compete for the gold, if we dedicate our lives to it.  What’s the stiffest competition we’ll face to make the U.S. team?  Sisters from North Dakota, whose grandmother and aunt passed along a set of lazy quarter table pool rules wreaking from the stench of immigrant impurities?  Shit, man.  I’m telling you.  We can can do this.

Our stiffest competition. 

Texas A&M Aggies

If you really want to know the area we need to address, check out Ag-in-TX’s peep show at this dick measuring contest.

Oklahoma Sooners

As if it couldn’t get any worse than having a guy from Springer as your QB, NorthDallasSooner points out that OU has 9 bowl teams on the 2010 schedule. Bigdukesix has OU’s early commitments from this weekend’s Junior Day over at Recruitocosm.

Texas Longhorns

The Chancellor’s Office released an official statement admitting TripsRight has gone off the Bosque Redondo with Rick Barnes’ basketball team and his last known direction of travel was west.  That’s about all they want you to know at this point.

“Kiss……my ass, Rick.”

Halftime Thoughts 

It was pretty cool running Baylor out of their 2-3 zone.  Darko was solid in the high post, and the team as a whole maintained good spacing, understood how to attack, and consistently obtained quality shot opportunities.  Problem was, Baylor then went man-to-man, and it gave them a real energy boost.  We didn’t react well at all, and Udoh had fun blocking about eight shots.  If you want to understand the talent disparity we’re dealing with, compare the size, strength, and athleticism of Carter and Dunn to all of the guards we have.  Compare the kind of basketball moves that Jones, Acy, and Udoh can make to Roberts, Jenkins, and Darko.  We’ve got a ways to go.

Second Half

You could feel the route coming on, especially after Baylor ended the first half with a great defensive stand.  All our key players had at least two fouls.  Baylor had played terrible and they still led by five.  They say the first five minutes of the second half is key; we got outscored 18-5 in those five minutes.

Once we were down by 18, I was happy to see Pat make some interesting substitutions.  He put Lewandowski and Darko on the floor at the same time, and he wisely sat Roberson for a few minutes after Dunn tackled him.  Mike Davis did some good things, and he continues to improve.  Baylor went back to their zone, and we continued to attack it for good shots.  Unfortunately we weren’t making many of those shots.  Pat even went small and threw a zone trap in there.  It was worth trying.

Baylor did a really good job of exploiting our switching defense, isolating tall players like Jones on Okorie and lobbing it in for layups.  When they weren’t executing well, they made great one-on-one moves, or got offensive rebounds, or collected loose balls.  In short, they were quicker, longer, and more explosive at every position, and the score reflects that.  I may think Scott Drew is a sleaze ball, but he’s put together a great roster and they’re playing well.

I find it hard to believe that we’ll be able to beat this team in Lubbock.  It’s a talent inertia situation.  Like Texas on Saturday, Baylor just needs to show up and play their game with confidence, which I think they will.

That puts us in the 6-10 or 5-11 range for a conference record, which is still good enough for the NIT.  I’ve come to feel, watching the way we match up against the Big XII, that the NIT would be the right place for us to try and finish strong.  You might be able to get two or three wins in a post-season environment, something to build on for the seven seniors we’ll have on the roster next year.

This game was pretty sobering.  I’m gonna go fix that.

Thoughts?

A two-point loss makes you think a lot about specific plays that hurt you, such as:

-          John Roberson getting fouled on a 3pt shot and missing all three free throws.

-          1.5 seconds to go in the first half, and you throw it out of bounds, giving Bryan Davis the chance to dunk on you going into halftime.

-          In the second half you get THREE one-and-ones, and you miss the front end on ALL of them.

-          Late in the game, Tech had a beautiful possession, making extra passes and feeding to D’walyn Roberts for layup late in the shot clock.  On the ensuing two possessions we jacked threes without making A&M work on defense.  We missed.  They scored.  We lost.

To me, defense was solid throughout, but we just couldn’t close out stops with rebounds.  Davis and Loubeau just killed us, and it’s so demoralizing to play tough D, force a junk shot from Sloan, and then watch Davis slide in and collect it.  Ugh.  I hope Paul Cooper is a true glass cleaner, because this program has a hard ceiling until we can get that fixed.

Whatever – On to Baylor

I’ve been looking forward to this game for a while.  We’ve been so good at finding quality shots when opposing teams go to zone, it’s made me wonder if we can be as effective for an entire game against a team that runs exclusively 2-3 zone.  I like the first one being in Waco.  I won’t be too depressed if we lose, and we’ll get a game’s worth of film to make adjustments for the rematch in Lubbock on March 2.  We need to split with these guys, and maybe have a great game against K-State to set us up with seven wins.

On Defense – Guess what, Baylor has great post athletes as well.  Bottling up Tweet and Lacedarius will not be that big an issue.  They’ll get theirs, but they’ll also take some bad shots.  Problem will be getting the frickin’ rebound when they miss.  I’m concerned about Darko getting in early foul trouble against Udoh, Acy, and Lomers.  That’s what I would do if I was Scott Drew, but thankfully I’m not.

On Offense – Darko’s big chance.  He needs to own the high post with good ball strength, patience, and recognition.  He’ll have to hit the 15 footer, reverse it, and dump it down to the block when it’s there.  Keep Singletary or Jenkins in the short corner, and finish when you get the contact!  Roberson and Okorie need to stay on the perimeter and be deadly when they are open.  Neither of them will have much success trying to penetrate.  I don’t know where Reese fits in here, but we need him on defense, so just be opportunistic and don’t try to do too much.  At some point we’ll have to play Lewandowski, and that kind of scares me.  I’d stick him on the weak side block and put Singletary at the high post.

Don’t get too upset if they beat us by 15-20.  Waco has a good home crowd, and if the Bears get hot from three they can score ten straight before you know what’s happening.

Texas Longhorns

Offense - OL Tray Allen – I’m not sure if he’s an inside or outside guy this year, but in the limited snaps I saw of him, the Longhorns got a lot more athletic up front with Allen in the lineup.  He’ll be too good to keep off the field this year and has some legitimate run blocking ability.

Defense – DE Eddie Jones – Jones is a player that would have been a 3-year starter by now at 11 other Big 12 programs.  He’s just been stuck behind 1st round draft picks on the depth chart.  I think he’s got elite closing speed and will prove to be hell to a new crop of Big 12 tackles. 

Texas A&M Aggies

Offense – OT Luke Joeckel – He’s already on campus at 280, and in all likelihood, the best athlete of Barrera, Baker, Gramling or Klinke.  Matthews and Ogbuehi will need to gain weight via redshirt.  I’m going out on a limb here, but I think this Joeckel kid is legit enough to crack the Aggie starting lineup. 

Defense -  OLB Garrick Williams – At 6′2″, 230 lbs with decent athleticism, he’s the only other guy on the Aggie defense right now, outside of Von Miller, that I see glimpses of quality potential.  He’s a little bit of a mess at times like the rest of the unit, but DeRuyter might be able to do something with an athlete of his level.  Williams intrigues me at a minimum.

Baylor Bears

Offense – I’ll just pick WR Kendall Wright like everyone else.  Griffin is no secret.  WR Willie Jefferson is an interesting physical specimen at 6′6″.

Defense – OLB Antonio Johnson – He’s one of the more underrated players in the Big 12, especially in coverage.  Everyone assumes Johnson sucks because he plays on the Baylor defense, but he’s a good enough athlete to be starting for just about any program in this league.

Oklahoma Sooners

Offense – OG Bronson Irwin – When Bob Stoops signed Tyler Evans last February, I don’t think he felt Evans would actually be starting.  Like Joeckel, Irwin is another reach pick.  Adam Shead is a nice inside prospect for the Sooners and I expect one of them to be injected by mid-season for a running game boost.  Irwin is on campus already, has size, and I liked his film.

Defense - MLB Tom Wort – I was going to use Austin Box here and reference the upgrade in athleticism to Ryan Reynolds.  However, Wort is apparently atop the depth chart heading into spring after an injury sidelined him last fall.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Offense – TE Tracy Moore – In past Cowboy offenses, Justin Horton and his blocking ability might have been my choice.  However, look for new OC Dana Holgerson to take advantage of Moore’s 240-lb size and athletic ability as a flex tight end to attack the deep middle.

Defense – S Markelle Martin – I think Martin is potentially an NFL player.  Good speed and size combo with balls and ball skills.

Texas Tech

Offense – LT Terry McDaniel – He’s a potential star in this league given he returns from an October knee injury.  McDaniel can do things historical Tech tackles can’t, if healthy. 

Defense – OLB/DE Aundrey Barr – He’ll most likely be the best option on the Tech roster this spring for perimeter pressure on the QB.  Tuberville and Willis will find a way to get the fastest player in their front 4 on the field.

I don’t follow the North enough to be as familar with their rosters, but two defensive players have caught my attention in KSU DE Brandon Harold and ISU NG Stephen Ruempolhamer.  Harold was injured for most of last season.  Louis Vasquez hasn’t had his ass kicked that bad in the pros.  I can’t figure out exactly what Ruempolhamer is, but he gave OSU a lot of hell last year.

On Friday night, Panama bangs on the door about 7:30, pops his head in, and says, “Vince at the restaurant in 2 minutes.”  Then, leaves.  I rolled with what I was wearing and calmly grabbed a camera and sharpie.  My gal, a UT grad, frantically ran up stairs to get her hat, which she had signed by Mack Brown at the basketball game on Vince’s recruiting trip while she was in school. 

Sure enough, Vince rolls in the restaurant a little bit after we show up.  His posse runneth about 10-deep.  He’s probably a 14-point favorite against TCU playing with his groupies.  Big dude, nice guy, tell the hat story, get it signed, take a picture for her.  It was cool.  We finish our meal, pay the bill, and as we’re putting our coats on, she asks me, “Didn’t you want to get a picture with Vince?”  To which I replied with a negative headshake and, “It’s not like this is Wes Welker we’re talking about here.” 

Also, worth mentioning, I watched an interesting movie last night.  The plotline centers around C. Thomas Howell as a last year law student and former all-state basketball player from Milwaukee named appropriately, Monroe Clark, who has come to L.A. for the summer to work at his uncle’s firm.  Circa 1990.  Howell is sent to collect rent from a past due tenant, who happens to be a former beach volleyball legend (played by Peter Horton).  He also gets distracted on his first day at work and ends up getting sucked into a game, while returning from serving “Zack Barnes” a notice. 

Because, this kind of shit, it happens every day.

Anyway, this film was set in the Fluorescent Era, and as you can imagine, Howell ends up telling his uncle to piss off, teams up with the volleyball legend, and goes on to win the Classic over Kent Steffes and Randy Stoklos.  In like 3 weeks.  I question the vertical listed in Howell’s Rivals profile and I just didn’t see anything on tape that would suggest he could dominate at the net like he did late in this movie.  Body-double, imho.  Although, I don’t question Howell’s top end speed and there’s some solid tape floating around somewhere from a stabbing at the Watonga city park to prove it.  Every Howell scene after his first day of work features a different shade of Mossimo tank top.  The movie is called Side Out, and while I’ve provided some choice teasers, I can’t possibly describe in justice the awesome shittiness of this film.  The script, the clothing, a nipple or two.  It’s all there.  A must see.  I’m still trying to figure out how someone got away with this.

Texas Longhorns

The Longhorns had selected 13 draft picks at the time of this blog.  Three of those are listed as holding one of Tech’s 38 uncommitted offers, so at the moment, we’ve still got plenty of options.  I’m sure that front will continue to change over the coming weeks. 

Oklahoma Sooners

NateHeupel has an interesting take on OSU’s financial woes that left the Cowboys without a completed indoor practice facility.  Also, you can take a peak at the Sooner depth chart for spring.

Missouri Tigers

Phenomenal Smith has broken down the NFL Combine list by Big 12 school.  Only Iowa State (0), Texas A & M (0), and Colorado (1) had fewer invitations than Tech.  Batch, Lewis, and Whitlock are in for sure next year, while Olson, Bird, Duncan and Moore need strong senior outings to warrant an invite.  Moore is the most intriguing to the scouts of those four, I suspect.  Duncan will fill up a highlight film in the run game, and they may want to find out exactly how slow he is. 

Nebraska Cornhuskers

If you haven’t visited Better Off Red, the new Husker blog, it’s worth checking out.  Farmer Ted has a nice feature up about the continuity of Tom Osborne’s coaching staff. Seattlehusker has chosen to focus on the death of the spread instead of Ndamukong Suh’s departure. He’s a half-full guy like me.

Seven Two!!!

Quick First Half Thoughts

-          Darko and Lew were huge in the first half, hedging ball screens, busting back down to the block, pulling defensive boards, and contributing on the offensive end.

-          Okorie and Tairu look quick tonight.  Great defensive intensity, and they are really starting to make use of the triple threat with drive and shot fakes.

-          Singletary being patient and letting the game come to him.  He’ll get his looks in the second half.

-          Jeff Capel rolled the dice with zone at about the ten minute mark and got knifed by Mike Davis for a layup.  Great pass from Singletary.  No more zone.

-          If Brad Reese could get just a little more comfortable on the offensive end.  Great steal. and then just rushed the reverse layup.  He looks quick too.

-          Roberts is still not 100%, but I’m glad he’s out there.  His length helps so much on defense.

-          We’ve been fortunate with OU being so cold from three.  Hopefully they won’t get hot in the second half.

Second Half

You had to know OU wouldn’t go away.  Capel went with the press, Crocker got his thug on, and Gallon made a bunch of smart plays in the post.  Meanwhile, just like the OSU game, the press disrupted our offensive rhythm and gave OU the turnovers and stops they needed to give them a chance to win.  It was stressful, and I was on one knee as OU got ready to inbound with 2.5 seconds left.

But the Basketball Gods were watching, and we’re suddenly 4-5 in conference.  If we play like this on Saturday against the Aggies, we’ll have a decent shot to even things up.  That’s some turnaround after our 0-3 start.

Poise

Nothing comes easy on the road.  In the face of more defensive intensity and better execution in the second half, Tech held it together and kept grinding away.  I thought Singletary in particular did an awesome job walking away from two controversial charging calls.  We had just twelve turnovers.  We were very patient and made a lot of extra passes late in the shot clock.  And tonight was our most efficient night from the free throw line (15-16) and beyond the arc (5-8).  All of that was necessary to eek out a 1-point win.  Credit this team for reflecting the demeanor of its coach, Pat Knight.  He stayed composed, and so did his team.

Identity

            I’m not sure how far it’s going to take us, but this team knows exactly how it’s going to go about winning basketball games.  The players have bought in, and I’m seeing some great help defense and lot of confidence in the motion offense.  We’re still not finishing the way I’d like to, but we’re working for good shots.

 On to the fellas:

John Roberson – Eh, another game, another MVP.  22 points on 6-9 shooting, 3-4 from the arc, and 7-7 from the line.  Damn, Son.  There was one loose ball play where Roberson fought like three Sooners before it got tied up.  Little man came to fight.  A couple of tough turnovers in the second half, but John is evolving into the floor leader we need to win close basketball games.

Darko Cohadarevic – Tremendous effort on both ends tonight.  Looks like the suspension worked.  His perimeter shot is looking pretty good, and that will open up the lane for cutters.  Just don’t fall in love with it.

Mike Singletary – Crocker abused him on the drive late in the game, but except for some tired legs versus a quicker player, Singletary let the game come to him, and this team was at its best because of it.  I just feel better when he’s in the game.

Brad Reese – He’s having a tough time on the offensive end, but just keep working, big fella!  He still shuts down anyone he’s guarding, with active hands and the kind of length that disrupts what teams are trying to do.  I wanted him on the floor more in the second half, but I couldn’t argue with Pat’s decision to stick with more reliable offensive players.

Nick Okorie – When we play teams who lack legit shot blockers, Okorie becomes really dangerous.  He had three plays that stuck out in my mind – an offensive rebound/put back, a key defensive rebound in the last few minutes, and the unbelievable challenge of the last shot from Thomas Mason-Griffin.  Great effort.

Robert Lewandowski – Except for this deal where he thinks it’s last year and the defensive philosophy is to foul anyone driving to the basket, Lew is starting to figure out how to help this team.  Five points and five boards in thirteen minutes, and he’s still the most underrated finisher on this team.

David Tairu – Solid minutes and good defense.  Teams have adjusted to his offensive strengths, so he’s struggling a bit right now trying to find his mid-range game, but what I like is that he knows this and is trying to take good shots in the motion offense.

I’m extremely satisfied with this game, despite the nail-biting at the end.  Sure, we could work on our killer instinct, but this was an OU team that beat Texas on Saturday, and we had them unraveled for about 30 minutes.  This game was huge because, as I said in the pre-game, OU is one of the teams we have to leap-frog in order to have a chance at a tournament bid.  This win pulls us even with OU and OSU.  I’m thoroughly happy about sweeping OU this year.  Suck it, Sooners.  We stomped you in football and swept you in hoops.  It doesn’t make up for last year’s football debacle in Norman, but it’s a start.

Sorry about the pics interspersed throughout.  As my buddy Jones says, “If putting hot, large-breasted students behind the opposing bench becomes commonplace in the Big XII, then I approve.”

- Outside of New Mexico, Iowa State and Colorado, I don’t think an opponent will place fewer than 3 WRs on the field for 70%-100% of its offensive snaps. 

- Tubs has mentioned on several occasions we will be “multiple” on defense with a lot of nickel and dime packages.

- Willis has stated the two most important players on his defense will be the MLB and FS. 

- Ryan Haliburton and Aundrey Barr were our starting 4-3 ends by default the day after the Alamo Bowl. 

- Phillip Warren is the perfect nickel back.  The next Jarraud Powers.  Porter and Bush receiving reviews of  early playing time candidates.

- Bront Bird should flourish under the new scheme.

The Speculative Part

- Nickel means 5 DBs.  Keep hearing the names Porter and Warren pop up.  Knowing our opponents, sounds like we’ll be rolling with 5 DBs.  I’m not just hoping this.  I think it’s really going to happen.

- I’ve seen a variety of 3-4 alignments in my day, but I can’t recall one with a MLB. 

2010 Tech Defense?

The above diagram isn’t your traditional 3-3 stack alignment, and I doubt we’ll be seeing much of that either.   A recent example is the New Orleans Saints defense in the Super Bowl.  The 5th DB under this scenario will be dictated by the matchup.  SMU?  Guys like Will Ford, D.J. Johnson, Phillip Warren.  Colorado?  Daniel Cobb, Brandon Mahoney, Dion Chidozie are in play.  You could also see us transition into a 3-5-3 look from here by simply walking up the strong safety and still play fairly low risk deep 1/3 zone coverage with the FS and CBs when executing blitzes.   Some teams, like Boise State this year, will go small and fast at one of the OLB positions. Like 210 small, which I guess is still bigger than Marlon. But overall, speed is always played over size under purist principles.

Here’s a decent article .  Some things start to add up as I scanned over it.  If this is the direction we head, you’re somewhat informed of who has what job in the spring game.  If we don’t do this, then you should be working right now instead of surfing the internet.