Quantifying the 2022 version of the Texas Tech defense is difficult. They were good enough to keep you in some games, but not good enough to win any games, good enough to keep you from some familiar embarrassments, but still enough lapses to keep you from being able to depend on them (Baylor, OU, various spots against KSU, OSU, and Kansas). This is probably just part of the process of progress, but it's been so long since we've seen that around here, I can't say it definitively.
Like I did with the offense, I wanted to look at something the defense struggled with last season, and wonder aloud about how that might be fixed going into 2023. When browsing FootballOutsiders.com, two stats stood out, busted drive rate and passing down sack rate. The Red Raider defense ranked 108th in Busted Drive Rate (Busted drive rate (DBD) is the percentage of opponent offensive drives that gain zero or negative yards), only holding opposing offenses to a busted drive on 8.8% of all drives. Relatedly, Tech ranked 125th in Passing Down Sack Rate (Passing Downs Sack Rate: Unadjusted sack rate for passing downs pass attempts), only recording a sack on 4.6% of downs where everyone knows the offense is in a passing situation.
This backed up the eye test, the 2022 version of the Red Raider defense was almost the definition of "bend don't break." Although a vast improvement compared to what we're used to, there were times when that "one stop" or "one play" to end a drive eluded them and the bending broke. The statistics listed above go a long way to show us why that was, Tech could not, consistently, put offenses in bad situations AND take advantage of it.
There was no better example than the Baylor game. As lopsided as that score ended up being, the game was there for the taking for about 3/4 of it. The first play in the clip is probably the play that most people remember from that game, a simple crack toss/sweep play that incorporated a gap scheme with down blocks and one or two outside pull blocks (depending on how Tech lined up), possible that they are pulling "uncovered." The motion killed us here, Tech is lined up correctly, considering the wide side of the field, until the TE motion gives Baylor an extra body (and angle) on the weak side. The TE is able to just get in the way of Kosi's ability to read and react, the slot easily sets the edge with a down block on Pierre, the rest of the D Line is run away from, and the critical block is the pulling tackle on the CB Williams... You're taking the tackle every time in that situation. Grimes cracked the code, they ran variation after variation of this play and there was nothing Tech could do stop it, you'd like to think an adjustment could have been made, but with as good as Baylor's O Line was last year, there was not a ton that could have been done that night.
The next clip is the same play, except blocked poorly, and it was still successful. Tech was outmanned, and, more obviously, out schemed with little they could do to stop it. In 2023, you're counting on on more consistent play from your defensive line, especially in these types of situations. Someone like Myles Cole/Adedire/Isaac Smith/Esters is essential to stopping these plays. The key is the guy getting "cracked" or blocked down on (Pierre in the first play), has to do whatever possible to either create a stalemate, or, ideally, penetrate the backfield in a way that slows down the progression of the play. In the second play, Vidal Scott almost does this, but he is out of control and over runs the play, but you can see the chaos he causes. Another thing you have to see is your secondary defenders making more of an effort to fight through a block or limit the space the RB has to run. Maybe that's a tough ask of a corner, but it's just part of the job.
The next two plays are related to why the run plays were so tough to stop because of the over aggression Tech had to play with in order to overcome certain deficiencies. Tech had one guy that could consistently win one on one pass rush matchups, Tyree Wilson, so opposing offenses would double him and... problem solved. To make up for that DeRuyter played an incredibly aggressive brand of defense that was meant to overwhelm the offense at the point of attack. However, if teams were able to find a gap, block the pressure, or create time with improvisation, the Tech defense would look helpless. This is why they were so susceptible to screens, delays, misdirection, and big passing plays.
In both of these pass plays Tech is playing some variation of man coverage, while sending a stunt or a blitz/pressure, and they are burned both times because of the inability to create pressure despite dedicating man power to it. Which leaves them vulnerable in coverage and no one in this league is going to make a living leaving their secondary on an island. DeRuyter threw everything he had at Baylor and the Bears took every punch, maybe it's unfair to focus on the game against the, arguably, best OLine in the conference, but I don't think so. This is where Tech wants to be and if they cannot solve this puzzle, we won't be getting there any time soon. This is my biggest concern heading into 2023, a defense's life is so much easier if it can make an offense uncomfortable, and opposing offenses were too comfortable far too often last season. Rayshad, Malik, and Rabbit are proven players at this level, but the unknown depth behind will be even more worrisome if opposing QBs can comfortably sit in the pocket and pick them apart.
For this upcoming season, we can be encouraged by what we saw after Tyree's injury down the stretch. The play of Isaac Smith, Joseph Adedire, and even some productive Robert Wooten snaps saved what could have been a dire situation. Add another year of Myles Cole, Charles Esters, Harvey Dyson, plus newcomers Steve Linton, Quincy Ledet, and Dylan Spencer, and you suddenly feel like there's enough quality depth to rotate edge type guys without a drop off (especially with Bradford and Hutchings holding down the middle). This will, hopefully, lead to DeRuyter being able to play more "straight up," and not give offenses the answers to the test and not being too "feast or famine" reliant. That can only happen with the defensive line winning one-on one-matchups more often than not, and making offenses uncomfortable or do things they don't want to do. Another promising element is the addition of CJ Baskerville and more snaps for Tyler Owens, both guys better in coverage than who they are replacing, providing some insurance on the inevitable plays where the pressure doesn't get home.
There is enough potential change to be encouraged, but the current high expectations will be a pipe dream if the defense cannot make strides in busted drive rate and sack rate. You can only paper over problems and use smoke and mirrors to hide them for so long until you are found out. There's no reason to think McGuire and Co will fail to fix these issues, but it's also an element of next season that deserves a conversation.
Owned and operated by Red Raiders, Sideline Provisions offers one of a kind items you can’t find anywhere else in the world. They are the original creator of the Guns Up logo and are the only place to get Dirk West original pieces.Sideline Provisions
Like I did with the offense, I wanted to look at something the defense struggled with last season, and wonder aloud about how that might be fixed going into 2023. When browsing FootballOutsiders.com, two stats stood out, busted drive rate and passing down sack rate. The Red Raider defense ranked 108th in Busted Drive Rate (Busted drive rate (DBD) is the percentage of opponent offensive drives that gain zero or negative yards), only holding opposing offenses to a busted drive on 8.8% of all drives. Relatedly, Tech ranked 125th in Passing Down Sack Rate (Passing Downs Sack Rate: Unadjusted sack rate for passing downs pass attempts), only recording a sack on 4.6% of downs where everyone knows the offense is in a passing situation.
This backed up the eye test, the 2022 version of the Red Raider defense was almost the definition of "bend don't break." Although a vast improvement compared to what we're used to, there were times when that "one stop" or "one play" to end a drive eluded them and the bending broke. The statistics listed above go a long way to show us why that was, Tech could not, consistently, put offenses in bad situations AND take advantage of it.
There was no better example than the Baylor game. As lopsided as that score ended up being, the game was there for the taking for about 3/4 of it. The first play in the clip is probably the play that most people remember from that game, a simple crack toss/sweep play that incorporated a gap scheme with down blocks and one or two outside pull blocks (depending on how Tech lined up), possible that they are pulling "uncovered." The motion killed us here, Tech is lined up correctly, considering the wide side of the field, until the TE motion gives Baylor an extra body (and angle) on the weak side. The TE is able to just get in the way of Kosi's ability to read and react, the slot easily sets the edge with a down block on Pierre, the rest of the D Line is run away from, and the critical block is the pulling tackle on the CB Williams... You're taking the tackle every time in that situation. Grimes cracked the code, they ran variation after variation of this play and there was nothing Tech could do stop it, you'd like to think an adjustment could have been made, but with as good as Baylor's O Line was last year, there was not a ton that could have been done that night.
The next clip is the same play, except blocked poorly, and it was still successful. Tech was outmanned, and, more obviously, out schemed with little they could do to stop it. In 2023, you're counting on on more consistent play from your defensive line, especially in these types of situations. Someone like Myles Cole/Adedire/Isaac Smith/Esters is essential to stopping these plays. The key is the guy getting "cracked" or blocked down on (Pierre in the first play), has to do whatever possible to either create a stalemate, or, ideally, penetrate the backfield in a way that slows down the progression of the play. In the second play, Vidal Scott almost does this, but he is out of control and over runs the play, but you can see the chaos he causes. Another thing you have to see is your secondary defenders making more of an effort to fight through a block or limit the space the RB has to run. Maybe that's a tough ask of a corner, but it's just part of the job.
The next two plays are related to why the run plays were so tough to stop because of the over aggression Tech had to play with in order to overcome certain deficiencies. Tech had one guy that could consistently win one on one pass rush matchups, Tyree Wilson, so opposing offenses would double him and... problem solved. To make up for that DeRuyter played an incredibly aggressive brand of defense that was meant to overwhelm the offense at the point of attack. However, if teams were able to find a gap, block the pressure, or create time with improvisation, the Tech defense would look helpless. This is why they were so susceptible to screens, delays, misdirection, and big passing plays.
In both of these pass plays Tech is playing some variation of man coverage, while sending a stunt or a blitz/pressure, and they are burned both times because of the inability to create pressure despite dedicating man power to it. Which leaves them vulnerable in coverage and no one in this league is going to make a living leaving their secondary on an island. DeRuyter threw everything he had at Baylor and the Bears took every punch, maybe it's unfair to focus on the game against the, arguably, best OLine in the conference, but I don't think so. This is where Tech wants to be and if they cannot solve this puzzle, we won't be getting there any time soon. This is my biggest concern heading into 2023, a defense's life is so much easier if it can make an offense uncomfortable, and opposing offenses were too comfortable far too often last season. Rayshad, Malik, and Rabbit are proven players at this level, but the unknown depth behind will be even more worrisome if opposing QBs can comfortably sit in the pocket and pick them apart.
For this upcoming season, we can be encouraged by what we saw after Tyree's injury down the stretch. The play of Isaac Smith, Joseph Adedire, and even some productive Robert Wooten snaps saved what could have been a dire situation. Add another year of Myles Cole, Charles Esters, Harvey Dyson, plus newcomers Steve Linton, Quincy Ledet, and Dylan Spencer, and you suddenly feel like there's enough quality depth to rotate edge type guys without a drop off (especially with Bradford and Hutchings holding down the middle). This will, hopefully, lead to DeRuyter being able to play more "straight up," and not give offenses the answers to the test and not being too "feast or famine" reliant. That can only happen with the defensive line winning one-on one-matchups more often than not, and making offenses uncomfortable or do things they don't want to do. Another promising element is the addition of CJ Baskerville and more snaps for Tyler Owens, both guys better in coverage than who they are replacing, providing some insurance on the inevitable plays where the pressure doesn't get home.
There is enough potential change to be encouraged, but the current high expectations will be a pipe dream if the defense cannot make strides in busted drive rate and sack rate. You can only paper over problems and use smoke and mirrors to hide them for so long until you are found out. There's no reason to think McGuire and Co will fail to fix these issues, but it's also an element of next season that deserves a conversation.
Owned and operated by Red Raiders, Sideline Provisions offers one of a kind items you can’t find anywhere else in the world. They are the original creator of the Guns Up logo and are the only place to get Dirk West original pieces.Sideline Provisions
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