Postgame Reaction: Farmageddon
by TB on Sep 20, 2010 7:22 AM CDT
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PrintPostgame Reaction takes the place of the Slate this morning, once again thanks to my crazy work schedule right now.
Every description possible has been thrown out for this game since it ended: ugly, far from perfect, setting the game back "X" years. From a K-State fan's perspective, though, it was exactly what we wanted. Wins are wins this year, and while we can review the things we hope improve down the line, we need to just accept that this team has its flaws, but generally makes up for a lot of them with discipline and effort.
Somewhat along those lines, we need to let go of this notion that Snyder is somehow "holding something back" or "not opening up the whole playbook." I'm pretty sure that at this point, we've seen 99 percent of what we're going to see this year. It's pretty obvious that Collin Klein and Sammuel Lamur are not ready to play at quarterback. It's pretty obvious that we're not going to see Chris Harper line up in the wildcat formation with Daniel Thomas at his side. There might be a wrinkle or two here and there that we haven't seen yet, but by and large this offense has been opened up.
Hit the jump for more...
What I liked...
...Daniel Thomas doin' what he do. A career-high 34 carries for 181 yards and two touchdowns for the best running back in the Big 12.
...good field position most of the day, thanks to William Powell's returns. K-State averaged 29 yards per kickoff return, consistently putting us outside our own 30 yard line to start the drive.
...more good coverage by Terrence Sweeney. At this point in the season, it's pretty clear that Sweeney is our best defender. He went down late in the game and I did not notice if he came back in, nor did I see the injury or a replay. It looked like he was able to walk off the field without much assistance, so let's hope that he's OK. With Emmanuel Lamur likely out for a while, we need every able body in the defensive backfield that we can find.
...another big catch by Brodrick Smith. With Thomas pounding away on the ground, there wasn't much need to go to the air, but Smith made it count when he got the chance. His long catch in the fourth quarter on a horribly underthrown ball by Carson Coffman turned the momentum of the game around and set up K-State's go-ahead score.
What I didn't like...
...another brutally conservative defensive game plan. If possible, it was even more conservative than last week against Missouri State. I don't think I saw five blitzes all game long, and oftentimes we would rush only three. Granted, against a run-heavy team like Iowa State, you're not necessarily trying to get pressure on the quarterback, but with the exception of Brandon Harold's sack and forced fumble in the fourth quarter, we got zero push with the front four. Think about this: Iowa State will be the worst offense we'll face the rest of the season. They have a quarterback who is mediocre-at-best throwing the ball, and no real big-play threats at wide receiver. Despite that, we didn't even make an effort to get pressure on him. In the end, it worked, but an entire season of bend-but-don't-break is going to be more than I can handle.
...leaving points on the field. I don't know who called the fake field goal in the second quarter, whether it was Del Miller, Dana Dimel, or Snyder, but I didn't like that call at all. It was fourth and seven, so it wasn't going to be an easy pickup, especially on an option play. On top of that, we ran the exact same play last week, and I guarantee Iowa State was told all week and prior to that play to be ready for a fake. They were ready, and a possible 36-yard field goal was exchanged for a turnover on downs. Three there would have put K-State ahead 13-7, and would have been big later in the game as we tried to put ISU away. I don't think we can afford to pass up points with this team.
...the pick-six. Not much to say here. It looked like the linebacker dropped into coverage late and Coffman didn't see him. A big mistake that could have led to a loss, but was overcome in the end.
...the turnout at Arrowhead. Less than 40,000 in attendance. I'm loathe to call out other fans, especially in tough economic times, but how is it possible that we put 50,000 in the stands in Manhattan the first two games and can't get more than 30,000 of our own fans to a game in Kansas City?
What it means and where we're going...
As we've been saying after all three games, it means we're on track for the season's goals. We got a conference win that we needed to get, and we're one game closer to bowl eligibility.
Next week presents an interesting challenge with Central Florida coming to Manhattan. UCF is 2-1 on the season, with wins over South Dakota and Buffalo and a loss to North Carolina State. In other words, they're a good enough team to give us a challenge, especially if we're not ready to play, but not so good that we can't beat them fairly easily with a good effort. Sandwiched between the conference opener and the big showdown with Nebraska, getting the players up for this one will be the main challenge.
Opponent Roundup
UCLA got a big win, dropping the Houston Cougars and injuring both their starting QB (Case Keenum) and their backup (Cotton Turner) in the process. The Bruins are now 1-2 on the year, but face the Texas Longhorns in Austin next Saturday.
Missouri State had a bye.
Big 12 Roundup
Again, I didn't see much of the other games this week, so I'll only comment on what I saw.
Southern Miss 31, KU 16 (Friday)
The beaks got ambushed in Hattiesburg, Miss. USM jumped ahead early and never looked back, and frankly the score could have been worse than it was. Three games in, and we still don't have a clue what KU has.
Colorado 31, Hawaii 13
Didn't see any of it. From the box score, Hawaii led 10-0 at halftime before CU got it in gear. Probably not a ringing endorsement for CU against a Hawaii team whose only win so far was a three-point victory over Army.
Oklahoma 27, Air Force 24
Once again, OU looks poor against a middle-of-the-road opponent. Maybe they really should just schedule big games in the non-conference, because it looks like their players don't care against anybody else.
Nebraska 56, Washington 21
Nebraska ran around, over and through Washington for a big win. While I'm not prepared to say that this is going to be any more impressive of a win at the end of the year than our win over UCLA, the Cornhuskers have something in Taylor Martinez. His zone-read fakes fool the cameramen, and he's as fast as most wide receivers. I didn't see enough of the game to know how much of Jake Locker's ridiculously poor performance was him being overhyped and how much was the Nebraska defense, but make no mistake, Nebraska is good.
TCU 45, Baylor 10
Back to reality, Bears. They're still a tough out with Robert Griffin at quarterback, but at best I still think they barely sneak to bowl eligibility.
Missouri 27, San Diego State 24
This was one of those "WTF" games for Mizzou. I caught bits and pieces on the radio, but couldn't tell what the Tigers' problem was. A win is a win, I guess, but I'm starting to wonder about this Missouri team.
Oklahoma State 65, Tulsa 28
Didn't see a second of it, and have no idea what to make of it. Tulsa clearly doesn't have much of a defense, already having given up 51 points in a loss to East Carolina this year. Okie State is another Big 12 team that is somewhat of an enigma after three games.
Texas A&M 27, Florida International 20
FIU actually led, 20-6, in the second half before A&M got things figured out. The only real question from this one is how many of TAMU's players will be called cowards for their performance.
Texas 24, Texas Tech 14
Quick, name the last time Texas Tech was held below 150 yards in total offense? Yes, that's right, total offense. The Longhorns look ridiculous on defense right now. Their offense is still a work in progress, but if you can hold Tech to 144 total yards, you're going to have a shot against anyone. From the parts of this game I caught, it looked like Tech's line could not stop the UT pass rush.
One other thing I noticed in limited viewing...the officials were atrocious. Texas running back Tre Newton was knocked out of the game on what appeared to be a head-to-head hit as he was going down by a Tech linebacker, but no flag was thrown. The announcers noted that UT safety Blake Gideon got hit with a personal foul for a similar hit earlier in the game. Later, Texas receiver James Kirkendoll blatantly got in the face of a Tech defensive back after a catch, but no flag was thrown. On that very drive, one of Tech's linebackers (I'm very poor at getting names down, sorry), was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for doing the exact same thing after a tackle. We're in for another fun season with Big 12 officiating.
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I agree we need to blitz more
Maybe Hrebec’s lack of speed but good head for finding the ball has something to do with it, but we won’t stop great teams without some mix up pressure on D. The good news is that no one in the Big 12 looks consistently great so far. Nebraska is close, but their D really hasn’t stopped a good team yet and I’m still adament that a Freshman at QB means there will be some costly mistakes down the road. For us, 4-4 in conference likely puts us at 8-4, exceeding expectations and priming us for a great recruiting class and a shot at the conference next year.
Get ready to roll...Go Cats!
pfftt
The only real question from this one is how many of TAMU’s players will be called cowards for their performance.
Couldn’t let that go unnoticed. Well done.
I agree with your assessment of the offense TB
This is what we’re going to get. No fantasy of Harper or Lamur in Wildcat. That being said, Coffman actually ran the option decently so I’m happy about that.
I also really hated the fake field goal attempt. A field goal is huge in a game like that. No more of that crap, please!
Oh yes, and good riddance Arrowhead! At least under the plan of the last two years that game was stupidly organized. As much as I want to see the update Arrowhead, this game didn’t do it for me.
I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom. - Gen. George S. Patton
Our Defense
Has given up 20+ points to UCLA and even worse a Missouri State squad; We only stopped Iowa State when they shot themselves in the foot. No pressure upfront, gapping holes for running backs, but worse of all is their poor tackling. Just going to be a painful ride in Big 12 play.
The defense is
the weak spot, obviously. Giving up the points to UCLA was a worry – but as with the ISU game this week one of those TD’s was a gimme. UCLA got a 11 yd TD drive due to a bungled snap (the only one of the year I’ve seen so far) and ISU got an INT-TD. The Mo State defensive debacle – no idea on that. The d-line from what I’ve seen so far is undersized and the linebacker’s speed is below what teams need in the Big 12 which means trouble pressuring the QB without blitzing and struggle to cover guys one-on-one underneath (LB’s!!!) if we did blitz and force a hot route pass. The only other option is to use our defense’s best asset which is an average to above-average (to date this season) secondary, like it or not, in a bend-but-don’t-break style. This defense simply lacks the depth, speed, and talent that the old Lynch Mob units had that allowed the aggressive guns-blazing style of play.
That said, a bend-but-don’t-break defense is going to give up field goals in exchange for making the opponent take more plays to get down the field which increases the number of opportunities for interceptions and fumbles (i.e. – shooting themselves in the foot) while minimizing long TD’s and FORCED bad plays such as sack-fumbles and pick-sixes. It is my opinion that the natural abilities of our defensive players puts us into this style of defense and am therefore going to do my conscious best to embrace it – tough as that is going to be for me.
I’m not real sure where you saw poor tackling to the point of mentioning it as “worst of all” – we had a few missed tackles but the opposing offensive players are trained to break tackles and are grown men themselves. None of the few misses I saw led to big TD plays so I feel the tackling is on par with our talent/ability and light years ahead of where Mr. Prince had this team a short time ago.
'Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.' --Jim Halpert
One of the highlights from watching it on tv
was seeing the ISU fan doing the “suck it” motion after a big play. Incredible.
There are idiots in every crowd
I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom. - Gen. George S. Patton
I just thought it was hilarious...
wouldn’t call him an idiot over the deal.
by WillieWannabe on Sep 20, 2010 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions
I disagree a bit with the offense...
TB I have to say that we have not seen all of the “wrinkles” that Snyder has to offer. We know from past experience that Snyder loves to throw screen passes at quick D’s. So far I can’t remember a one. I also can’t recall when a TE has caught a ball over the middle. I’m sure that there are more reverses that include Harper and half back option plays that we have not seen. Believe me there are more plays to be sprung going into the rest of the season.
At this point in the season I think we are getting a good picture of our defense. First, in defense of the defense, it is hard to blitz a read option team. Why? Because you have to be sound in your gap/player responsibilities or you will get burned for huge yards. ISU is a run first, throw second, team. When obvious passing situations came especially late our D was able to apply a bit of pressure. I will say that rushing three looked ridiculous and did nothing to slow the Clones.
Overall our D-line is hard working, undersized, and apparently lacks speed. That being said, they seem to rise to the occasion at the right time thus far. Right now it looks like our corners are better than the safeties which is counter intuitive to what we believed going into the season.
Our special teams are improving. Powell is on the verge of taking a kickoff to the house. Our punt return unit still needs improvement and our kick coverage squads could use a few more reps. Fortunately ISU never posed a huge threat in this department. The PK made all the extra points and field goals attempted which is an improvement from last game. I rarely question Snyder’s play calling but I am not sure about the fake. I don’t remember any game in which Snyder chased points. Perhaps he is setting up future opponents for another special teams “wrinkle” or maybe he made a rare bad decision.
UCF should provide us another opportunity to get better in all phases of the game. They are by no means a sure win and we will have to play soundly to win the game in all aspects. Hopefully 50k will show up and provide the support needed for Willie and the Cats to light up BSFS.
Offensive wrinkles
to me do not include RB screen passes or TE passes over the middle. However, I would consider those bread-and-butter plays of most Snyder teams and I do recall some TE passes in the Mo State game where we threw more than 12 passes (heard that one called on radio only). Screens are best against pass-rushing speed type defenses, true, but I would hardly consider any of the defenses we have faced as speedy or pass-rush oriented.
Given WeePo’s similarities to a Sproles-type running style I would like to see him on some RB screen plays in some passing-down situations!
I’m right there with you on “defense of the defense” – see above post.
This season to me is a schedule of 12+ (thinking positively here) games with none of the remaining being gimme’s yet none of them so far out of reach I would feel like a win is a miracle (UT is at home, NU is at home, and OSU is at home). Get me 6 wins then I’ll raise my realistic expectations (I presume until we lose every Wildcat believes undefeated is still possible – albeit a longshot).
'Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.' --Jim Halpert
Better than last year
I feel much better about our team and our prospects than 12 months ago. As far as last weekend, IMO I think the most overlooked point is how much better Iowa State has gotten in the last 5 years. They will give other Big 12 schools trouble.
Agreed that the D is slower than we’d like and that there probably isn’t too much unseen with plays and formations. But to compare how we all feel today with how we felt 2 years ago, its nice to know that we have a team that we see getting better instead of a team that we see getting worse.
Very true
A year ago the Cats were 1-2 after that embarrassment in Louisiana and losing to UCLA. i like this season a lot more.
I would give ISU more credit if I didn’t think they’re going to be 2-6 here before too long. ISU has a nightmare schedule coming. Sure, they’re better, but not enough to challenge the big boys yet.
I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom. - Gen. George S. Patton
Special teams...
First off, I agree with pretty much everything that has been said so far.
What I am the most concerned about is special teams. Special teams has always been a big deal for the Wildcats. Even when RP was leading us down a path of defensive non-existence, our special teams was better than most. I am just not seeing anything so far that makes me think great thoughts about our special teams unit. Yes, a Wildcat has been named special teams player of the week for 2 out of 3 weeks so far, but for what reasons? Two made field goals and 4 touchbacks against UCLA, and an average of 29 yards per return on 4 returns against ISU. I mean, it is great that Wildcats are being recognized, but to me, those stat lines are not what I would consider “outstanding”. That makes me wonder if the special teams play is pretty lackluster across the conference as a whole, or if I am completely missing something about KSU’s special teams that makes it so “special”.
I'm beginning to be concerned that it's an indictment of our overall talent level.
We simply might lack the speed and power to be an effective return/kick blocking team. That’s a frightening prospect, because we really need those “extra” points to knock off some of the ranked teams that will be paying us a visit in October and November.
So I must not be seeing the same thing as everyone else.
Powell is #14 in the nation in kickoff returns. Think about that a moment. There are only 13 better players right now in that department. After watching the first few games it is clear that we are on the verge of taking a kickoff to the house. Why are we so impatient? The difference this year is that we didn’t play Tenn Tech. What Brandon Banks did that day is an anomaly not the standard in FBS. Our competition has been more stout and disciplined in the special teams and the yardage gained shows. Even VT is not experiencing the same level of success this year with its special teams.
For me the question is our punt return average which seems to be woeful at this point. Now a lot of things go into success in this department. These factors include: weather, field situation (i.e. short field), opposing punter quality, blocking and the other teams cover squad. So far I think we have been on the negative end of all these factors through our first 3 games. I can’t think of any true return opportunities that should have resulted in better field position.
As with the QB position this is a work in progress and the jury is still out. At least we can look at it this way, so far no one has torched us for a TD on special teams. Let’s take our special teams on a game by game basis as well.
by Catbacker98 on Sep 21, 2010 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions
After writing this, I had a blinding flash of realization the next day.
Snyder doesn’t WANT us to block punts or return them for significant yardage.
Think about it: Our entire game plan is predicated on controlling time of possession and the line of scrimmage, grinding the ball and eating up the clock.
To do that effectively, you need yards to work with. If you start every drive inside the 50, you just can’t run that much clock.
The deficiencies of our defense and the strength of our running attack dictate what we’re doing on the punt team. Once we have a lead, we really don’t need the extra points if they’re just going to be traded away once our defense comes back out and gives up a score.
Now, you take kick blocks and returns wherever you can get them. The ideal drive is 60-70 yards, so you want Powell getting decent yardage. And blocked kicks keep points off the board — you never turn those down.
Am I on to something or am I just crazy, trying to rationalize something that might just be a severe weakness we can’t do anything about?
Like most answers in life
it is probably somewhere between the two points – a severe weakness we cannot control AND an overall gameplan at work. We want yards to work with, yes, but if Powell has a chance to take ANY kick to the house we should be trying because the best response possible by the opposing offense is simply an equal trade in points, 7 for 7. However it is likely that at least some of the time after a special teams score the opposing offense will goof and turn it over or have to punt without scoring at all! I imagine to this point Snyder is not worried about the mostly un-special special teams play as it is still “sufficient” for what strengths the team does possess – a stellar ground game and *knocks on wood desk * decent-decision QB play…
'Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.' --Jim Halpert
Fake field goal
And yeah, I don’t like anything about that fake field goal. In my opinion, we didn’t need to attempt a single trick play in that game at all. Maybe Snyder was trying to really shake things up and get some momentum going, I don’t know. One thing it definitely did, though, is to make all of our future opponents even that more cautious (read: prepared) from here on out.
This is somewhat off topic, but not terribly. It has to do with trick plays at least. :)
Do you ever think we will see Snyder run multiple trick plays in the same game? I am trying to remember a game where Snyder has used multiple trick plays in the same game. I am sure you all know why I am asking this…For all the awfulness that RP brought our way, one thing I WILL give him credit for is his “bold and daring” plan of attack against Texas in 2006. Half back pass play was a good play to call in that instance. The BRILLIANT part was calling the exact same play on the very next snap. Who does that?!?! And who expects anyone to do that?!?! I’m guessing that is exactly why it worked, because Mack never expected the same trick play to be run two snaps in a row.
All of that being said, does anyone think that Snyder would ever consider that “strategy” this season as an attempt to make something happen (say in a close game against Nebraska or Texas)?
Defense is going to be a concern throughout the year. Prince left the cupboard virtually barren, and Coach is going to need a little time to rebuild the Lynch Mob. If Coffman can develop a little each week, this is a good football team. Not ready for B12 contention just yet, but I’d call this season a disappointment if there was no bowl game.
I’d give the team a B for Saturday.
"Jason Heyward was a Greek philosopher reincarnated as a baseball player." - Don Sutton
Growing up in Michigan
I remember a year where every UofM game came with a heart attack and a lot of complaining from the faithful that this or that needed to improve or we were doomed, DOOMED!
It was 1996, they lost 4 games and the next year they were undefeated and National Champs.
Just sayin’.
When I heard Coffman talk about the pick 6 on the postgame radio...
…there was talk that it came out of his hand funny, or that it slipped. Said that he meant to throw it ‘over’ the LB, for whatever that’s worth.
From what I saw on TV, that’s a hard sell to me…
screw this, I should be sleeping anyway.
It was such a bad throw
that it had to be something. There was absolutely no Wildcat who could have caught that ball.
Surgeon General's Warning: K-State-Mizzou basketball may increase the risk of high blood pressure. Please consult your doctor prior to watching any of these games.
There was a Cyclone
with a lean and clear path to the goal line, however. :-( I give him a pass as we won (isn’t hindsight great as a fan?) and it was his first INT of the year. But getting better each week hopefully involves eliminating more and more of those “oops-ies” – like the interception and even the completion to Smith (47-yarder that was woefully underthrown, not evidently on purpose to my eyes).
3-0 is 3-0 for a team with very very very minimal (read: no realistic?) NC aspirations – only the BCS cares much about MOV/etc… right?
'Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.' --Jim Halpert
Good writeup
This echoes most of my thoughts from the game, although I am starting to come around on the “soft” defense as I realize that recruiting whiffs and injuries have left this D a shell of what the coaches were hoping for back in April.
There were so many damn broken plays in the Prince era that I guess I’m OK with playing soft coverages to prevent them, even if it means we can’t ever get the D off the field in less than 5 minutes.
Which makes it all the more imperative for the offense to run the ball well and give the D plenty of rest.
We do have a pretty decent
rushing offense/setup… :-)
'Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.' --Jim Halpert
Great analysis by the group
I appreciate all the insight I’ve been reading. My only exposure to Saturday’s game was play by play on my phone while sitting through a youth baseball doubleheader. Glad for the win, a bit disgusted at having to settle for 3 after the big Harold fumble recovery, and also for letting them get into TD range on the last drive, but a win is a win, and it looks great in the conference. I look for us to get all the issues ironed out before heading into the real conference season. Hopefully we’re developing the other QBs to be ready to take over in case CC is totally ineffective passing after teams load the box against DT.
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