This fall, with AD posting his postgame thoughts immediately after each contest, I'll go with the opposite approach with a different point of view, posting my thoughts on Monday morning after I've had a chance to watch the game for a second time and allowed things tom really sink in and digest.
So, without further ado, here are my thoughts from the La Tech game....
*Texas Tech never punted against the Bulldogs, with their only possession of the night coming on missed field goal to end the first half. In short, aside from the number of blocking penalties, which were too much, I think this may very well have been the best all-around performance from a Red Raider offense I've ever watched. Whether it be Mahomes at QB, the running backs, the receivers, or the O-line, no one had a bad night as a position group, and it was mostly good to great. Just a fantastic evening where the unit was an unstoppable machine.
*I'll quickly hit on Mahomes. Simply, this was bar none the best he's played through the first three weeks, and against the best defense. He was decisive, smart, and only made one or two throws that he'd like to have back. He did a fantastic job of checking in and out of plays at the line, especially in the run game, where he made most of the calls to a handoff with a light box. This was far and away the most patient he's been through three games.
*And this was also the first game where I really saw his growth from the offense shine through on the field, starting with his ability to audible, as I already stated. However, the thing that stuck out to me the loudest was the way he manipulated the safeties to go where he wanted them to in order to make the throws he wanted to, which is a sign of a veteran, heady QB. There were numerous times he used his body language, his eyes, and his body to shift the watching safeties, prime among them being on the play-action slant throw to Giles to make it 14-3. He looked left, which shifted the safety playing centerfield over and away from Giles' slant route, which pried open a window for Mahomes to come back right and make the fastball toss for the TD. He's just really, and quite simply, growing up before our eyes. If he plays like this every week, it's gonna be real, real hard for anyone to slow this offense down.
*Receivers, I'll go ahead and give you boys a round of applause. This was one of the best performances I've watched from Tech's wideouts as a whole in a long, long time. They ran good routes, were physical, didn't drop balls, and played with some real ferocity and determination after the catch. Whether it be Giles, Cantrell, Batson, Willies, or anyone else in the primary rotation, each receiver made at least one really good play. I'm also now convinced this is the most talented group across the board that I've watched since at least 2006 or 2005. Just such a savvy, veteran, talented group.
*How about Jonathan Giles? All offseason, we heard about his growth, and he put it on prime display against La Tech. Over the top, underneath, in blocking, or whatever, he was fantastic. Hos speed is noticeable in the open field, and he's quietly developed into arguably the most dependable option for Mahomes, much of it having to do with his hands. I think it's very clear that he's far and away the front runner to be Pat's top pass catcher this year as a true sophomore, and I'm excited to see how he keeps growing with nine games left on the year.
*Speaking of reliable, I think Giles and Dylan Cantrell have become the two biggest safety blankets for Mahomes. Both made some big catches on the night, and Cantrell notably made most of his catches when the Red Raiders really needed to keep moving the chains. It's a good duo to have as the go-to, need-a-play pass catchers, too.
*Derrick Willies is going to break out at some point this year, of this I'm sure. We got our first taste of his potential on Saturday night, and he's simply gonna keep getting better and better. For a player of his size, I think it's pretty wild to see him already be the best tunnel screen receiver for this team since Michael Crabtree. He does it differently, however, as he's going to try and bulldoze a few guys instead. I think you'll continue to see him start at X, and I think you'll continue to see him become a bigger part of the passing game as the weeks go by.
*Oh, DaMarcus Felton. Hey there, buddy. It became very clear to me after seeing him take only a handful of consecutive handoffs to make the conclusion that this needs to be your every down back this fall. He's decisive, fluid, shifty, and has such a natural knack for feeling out his blocking and knowing how to run to open space. If you make a hole, he's gonna find it, and often for big chunks when defenses lose him because of his small stature, which is to his advantage. I think it's very clear, to me anyway, that Felton should be the starting taiilback for what this team needs in the running game: A reliable runner between the tackles that's always going to get at least a handful of yards. That's what DeAndre Washington was last year, and that's what Felton can be to a slightly lesser degree.
*This was far and away the best game the O-line has played this fall, without question. They gave Mahomes more time than they had against SFA and Arizona State, and it was easily their best showing in the run game. This group is becoming much more physical and really starting to gel together, an encouraging sign this early in the year. It's even more impressive when you consider the fact that Steele left so early on in the game. I'll go ahead and give Madison Akamnonu a gold star for holding up so well on the fly at left tackle, too. If this group takes a step forward each week like they have so far this year, they're going to be a really damn good O-line by the time we reach the final stretch of the year.
*Now, on to defense. After my second watch, I'll be honest: This group played a little bit better than I thought after Saturday night. I'm not saying they were good, but they certainly did what they have to do at the very least: Get key stops when the absolutely had to. That was something the team didn't do against ASU, so it's, at the very least, a step in the right direction. I thought linebacker play was better, too, which is an encouraging sign. But, I also thought this was the worst game the defensive line has played so far. So, let's get into it a bit.
*Once again, you get so frustrated with this group because you see some real signs of good mixed in with the bad, and I've come to accept that's just how it's going to be most of the year. It's just going to be Jeckyll and Hyde for most of the season as the solid veterans are mostly solid, the young talented guys are inconsistent, and the rest is somewhere south of that. They'll play well in stretches where they get a bunch of stops and play fundamental football, as they did for the majority of the first half. They really were solid for most of it outside of the two touchdowns, which were win the roof caved in. This group is either not talented enough or not experienced enough depending on which players it is. It's just very simple.
*But no matter how good or bad it is, I'll tell you one thing: Jordyn Brooks is gonna be a damn ball player sometime in the near future. Watching him let it loose, especially with his lateral speed and physicality, is something else. He moves better sideline-to-sideline than any linebacker I've watched in a long time, and he's so physical when he's not thinking too much. And there's where his current hang up is: He's still piecing together how to play DI linebacker, and that's as expected. However, when he does have those lightbulb moments, which are becoming more frequent, he's really good. And I think you all are going to love watching him become the tackle hoarder on this unit when he does put all the pieces together.
*The defensive line was a pretty mixed bag in this one, and mostly not good. Granted, La Tech has far and away one of the most veteran heavy, savvy O-lines that the Red Raiders will play all year, which is part of the problem when Ondre Pipkins is really the only truly veteran guy among the entire D-line, which is something I think we forget about a lot. Fehoko, Hill, Moore, Gilmore, Washington, and Wallace is a group I really think you can grow old with here over the next few years, but they're still learning a lot, and that was prevalent against the Bulldogs, who often out-leveraged and out-worked the Tech D-line. If Tech is going to be solid against the run, these guys simply have got to get off more blocks and quit falling into the pit traps set up by O-lines to completely turn them out of the play and get embarrassingly out-leveraged. But, there are flashes of good for each of the guys I mentioned where they'll make plays. They have to stay sound, stay smart, and for Pete's sake, they have to quit getting their shoulders turned away from the line of scrimmage.
*Let's talk a little bit about the blitz packages that David Gibbs has started pulling out of his pocket on third downs. I like the move to be a bit, and sometimes a lot more, aggressive on third downs with different blitz looks out of different packages, including some radar/psycho packages, which are packages without any down linemen that you use to try and confuse the protections for an O-line. The blitzes were particularly effective in the first half, getting the Red Raiders a number of key stops. It's also very interesting to me how GIbbs is using his corners, safeties, and even sliding down Kevin Moore and Payton Hendrix from safety to linebacker in blitz packages to either be speedy rushers or more reliable coverage options than some traditional linebackers. I get the idea behind the blitzes, too: You're not gonna consistently stop anybody right now, so you might as well bring pressure, gamble a little bit, and give yourself a better chance at getting a few more stops. You'll lose a handful of times for big gainers against good quarterbacks and O-lines with this strategy, but you'll also win more than you were before, IMO. Good move by Gibbs that I think you'll see evolve as we get deeper into the schedule.
*In coverage, things when from really good in the first half to woof in the second half. The Red Raiders essentially shut down La Tech all-world receiver Trent Taylor through the first quarters, much of that having to do with Justis Nelson, who played great against the receiver in the first half. However, the roof caved in a bit after halftime once both La Tech made adjustments and Keenon Ward went out with injury. There were a number of blown coverages and assignments, which is going to happen this early in the year when you have so many young guys out there in the secondary facing a veteran group of skill players like La Tech.
*I thought Douglas Coleman was surprisingly good for a bunch of this contest. La Tech chose to pick on Nguema most of the time over the true freshman, which I thought was interesting. He was good in zone coverage, only making a few rookie mistakes from time to time, and I think his natural ability shined through as an elite athlete with speed. Bright future for Coleman, who I really, really like from a potential standpoint.
*Thierry Nguema simply can't miss a coverage like he did on that long, wide open touchdown early on in the second half. He just whiffed the assignment, and it as easy of a touchdown as you're gonna get in college football. And Karl Scott let him know it, too. If you're a senior, you simply can't have that kind of mental lapse in the game. It's that simple. Doing that consistently will get you benched, especially with a guy like Paul Banks likely playing against Kansas next week.
*If the Red Raiders will play defense like they did for much of the first half against La Tech, they'll be much better off as a group. They played more sound football than they have much of the year so far, and they tackled well other than on the two TD drives. The margin for error is just so thin for this defense right now. They simply can't make mistakes, and it's just part of it.
OFFENSE:
Positives: Efficient, determined playmaking, good blocking in the run and pass, Mahomes made good decisions, best run game has looked this year
Negatives:Too many penalties, need to clean up a few botched blocks on the O-line
DEFENSE:
Positives: Blitzing was mostly effective, shut down Trent Taylor for the first half, Brooks is growing up
Negatives: Too many missed assignments, bad leverage play by the D-line at times, missed tackles, too many botched coverages
So, without further ado, here are my thoughts from the La Tech game....
*Texas Tech never punted against the Bulldogs, with their only possession of the night coming on missed field goal to end the first half. In short, aside from the number of blocking penalties, which were too much, I think this may very well have been the best all-around performance from a Red Raider offense I've ever watched. Whether it be Mahomes at QB, the running backs, the receivers, or the O-line, no one had a bad night as a position group, and it was mostly good to great. Just a fantastic evening where the unit was an unstoppable machine.
*I'll quickly hit on Mahomes. Simply, this was bar none the best he's played through the first three weeks, and against the best defense. He was decisive, smart, and only made one or two throws that he'd like to have back. He did a fantastic job of checking in and out of plays at the line, especially in the run game, where he made most of the calls to a handoff with a light box. This was far and away the most patient he's been through three games.
*And this was also the first game where I really saw his growth from the offense shine through on the field, starting with his ability to audible, as I already stated. However, the thing that stuck out to me the loudest was the way he manipulated the safeties to go where he wanted them to in order to make the throws he wanted to, which is a sign of a veteran, heady QB. There were numerous times he used his body language, his eyes, and his body to shift the watching safeties, prime among them being on the play-action slant throw to Giles to make it 14-3. He looked left, which shifted the safety playing centerfield over and away from Giles' slant route, which pried open a window for Mahomes to come back right and make the fastball toss for the TD. He's just really, and quite simply, growing up before our eyes. If he plays like this every week, it's gonna be real, real hard for anyone to slow this offense down.
*Receivers, I'll go ahead and give you boys a round of applause. This was one of the best performances I've watched from Tech's wideouts as a whole in a long, long time. They ran good routes, were physical, didn't drop balls, and played with some real ferocity and determination after the catch. Whether it be Giles, Cantrell, Batson, Willies, or anyone else in the primary rotation, each receiver made at least one really good play. I'm also now convinced this is the most talented group across the board that I've watched since at least 2006 or 2005. Just such a savvy, veteran, talented group.
*How about Jonathan Giles? All offseason, we heard about his growth, and he put it on prime display against La Tech. Over the top, underneath, in blocking, or whatever, he was fantastic. Hos speed is noticeable in the open field, and he's quietly developed into arguably the most dependable option for Mahomes, much of it having to do with his hands. I think it's very clear that he's far and away the front runner to be Pat's top pass catcher this year as a true sophomore, and I'm excited to see how he keeps growing with nine games left on the year.
*Speaking of reliable, I think Giles and Dylan Cantrell have become the two biggest safety blankets for Mahomes. Both made some big catches on the night, and Cantrell notably made most of his catches when the Red Raiders really needed to keep moving the chains. It's a good duo to have as the go-to, need-a-play pass catchers, too.
*Derrick Willies is going to break out at some point this year, of this I'm sure. We got our first taste of his potential on Saturday night, and he's simply gonna keep getting better and better. For a player of his size, I think it's pretty wild to see him already be the best tunnel screen receiver for this team since Michael Crabtree. He does it differently, however, as he's going to try and bulldoze a few guys instead. I think you'll continue to see him start at X, and I think you'll continue to see him become a bigger part of the passing game as the weeks go by.
*Oh, DaMarcus Felton. Hey there, buddy. It became very clear to me after seeing him take only a handful of consecutive handoffs to make the conclusion that this needs to be your every down back this fall. He's decisive, fluid, shifty, and has such a natural knack for feeling out his blocking and knowing how to run to open space. If you make a hole, he's gonna find it, and often for big chunks when defenses lose him because of his small stature, which is to his advantage. I think it's very clear, to me anyway, that Felton should be the starting taiilback for what this team needs in the running game: A reliable runner between the tackles that's always going to get at least a handful of yards. That's what DeAndre Washington was last year, and that's what Felton can be to a slightly lesser degree.
*This was far and away the best game the O-line has played this fall, without question. They gave Mahomes more time than they had against SFA and Arizona State, and it was easily their best showing in the run game. This group is becoming much more physical and really starting to gel together, an encouraging sign this early in the year. It's even more impressive when you consider the fact that Steele left so early on in the game. I'll go ahead and give Madison Akamnonu a gold star for holding up so well on the fly at left tackle, too. If this group takes a step forward each week like they have so far this year, they're going to be a really damn good O-line by the time we reach the final stretch of the year.
*Now, on to defense. After my second watch, I'll be honest: This group played a little bit better than I thought after Saturday night. I'm not saying they were good, but they certainly did what they have to do at the very least: Get key stops when the absolutely had to. That was something the team didn't do against ASU, so it's, at the very least, a step in the right direction. I thought linebacker play was better, too, which is an encouraging sign. But, I also thought this was the worst game the defensive line has played so far. So, let's get into it a bit.
*Once again, you get so frustrated with this group because you see some real signs of good mixed in with the bad, and I've come to accept that's just how it's going to be most of the year. It's just going to be Jeckyll and Hyde for most of the season as the solid veterans are mostly solid, the young talented guys are inconsistent, and the rest is somewhere south of that. They'll play well in stretches where they get a bunch of stops and play fundamental football, as they did for the majority of the first half. They really were solid for most of it outside of the two touchdowns, which were win the roof caved in. This group is either not talented enough or not experienced enough depending on which players it is. It's just very simple.
*But no matter how good or bad it is, I'll tell you one thing: Jordyn Brooks is gonna be a damn ball player sometime in the near future. Watching him let it loose, especially with his lateral speed and physicality, is something else. He moves better sideline-to-sideline than any linebacker I've watched in a long time, and he's so physical when he's not thinking too much. And there's where his current hang up is: He's still piecing together how to play DI linebacker, and that's as expected. However, when he does have those lightbulb moments, which are becoming more frequent, he's really good. And I think you all are going to love watching him become the tackle hoarder on this unit when he does put all the pieces together.
*The defensive line was a pretty mixed bag in this one, and mostly not good. Granted, La Tech has far and away one of the most veteran heavy, savvy O-lines that the Red Raiders will play all year, which is part of the problem when Ondre Pipkins is really the only truly veteran guy among the entire D-line, which is something I think we forget about a lot. Fehoko, Hill, Moore, Gilmore, Washington, and Wallace is a group I really think you can grow old with here over the next few years, but they're still learning a lot, and that was prevalent against the Bulldogs, who often out-leveraged and out-worked the Tech D-line. If Tech is going to be solid against the run, these guys simply have got to get off more blocks and quit falling into the pit traps set up by O-lines to completely turn them out of the play and get embarrassingly out-leveraged. But, there are flashes of good for each of the guys I mentioned where they'll make plays. They have to stay sound, stay smart, and for Pete's sake, they have to quit getting their shoulders turned away from the line of scrimmage.
*Let's talk a little bit about the blitz packages that David Gibbs has started pulling out of his pocket on third downs. I like the move to be a bit, and sometimes a lot more, aggressive on third downs with different blitz looks out of different packages, including some radar/psycho packages, which are packages without any down linemen that you use to try and confuse the protections for an O-line. The blitzes were particularly effective in the first half, getting the Red Raiders a number of key stops. It's also very interesting to me how GIbbs is using his corners, safeties, and even sliding down Kevin Moore and Payton Hendrix from safety to linebacker in blitz packages to either be speedy rushers or more reliable coverage options than some traditional linebackers. I get the idea behind the blitzes, too: You're not gonna consistently stop anybody right now, so you might as well bring pressure, gamble a little bit, and give yourself a better chance at getting a few more stops. You'll lose a handful of times for big gainers against good quarterbacks and O-lines with this strategy, but you'll also win more than you were before, IMO. Good move by Gibbs that I think you'll see evolve as we get deeper into the schedule.
*In coverage, things when from really good in the first half to woof in the second half. The Red Raiders essentially shut down La Tech all-world receiver Trent Taylor through the first quarters, much of that having to do with Justis Nelson, who played great against the receiver in the first half. However, the roof caved in a bit after halftime once both La Tech made adjustments and Keenon Ward went out with injury. There were a number of blown coverages and assignments, which is going to happen this early in the year when you have so many young guys out there in the secondary facing a veteran group of skill players like La Tech.
*I thought Douglas Coleman was surprisingly good for a bunch of this contest. La Tech chose to pick on Nguema most of the time over the true freshman, which I thought was interesting. He was good in zone coverage, only making a few rookie mistakes from time to time, and I think his natural ability shined through as an elite athlete with speed. Bright future for Coleman, who I really, really like from a potential standpoint.
*Thierry Nguema simply can't miss a coverage like he did on that long, wide open touchdown early on in the second half. He just whiffed the assignment, and it as easy of a touchdown as you're gonna get in college football. And Karl Scott let him know it, too. If you're a senior, you simply can't have that kind of mental lapse in the game. It's that simple. Doing that consistently will get you benched, especially with a guy like Paul Banks likely playing against Kansas next week.
*If the Red Raiders will play defense like they did for much of the first half against La Tech, they'll be much better off as a group. They played more sound football than they have much of the year so far, and they tackled well other than on the two TD drives. The margin for error is just so thin for this defense right now. They simply can't make mistakes, and it's just part of it.
OFFENSE:
Positives: Efficient, determined playmaking, good blocking in the run and pass, Mahomes made good decisions, best run game has looked this year
Negatives:Too many penalties, need to clean up a few botched blocks on the O-line
DEFENSE:
Positives: Blitzing was mostly effective, shut down Trent Taylor for the first half, Brooks is growing up
Negatives: Too many missed assignments, bad leverage play by the D-line at times, missed tackles, too many botched coverages
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