A look at news and notes about Jayhawks and upcoming opponents...

• KU athletics game recap
• Game Notes
• Press Conference Quotes
• Kansas Senior Linebacker Corps wraps up a home career
• KUSports recap
• KC Star recap
• Whitlock Column talks about keeping things in perspective.
• KC Star Game Report
• Great Article on some of the Seniors

My Thoughts...The unthinkable happened yesterday, Kansas lost a football game because its offense was inept.  Todd Reesing appeared flustered and incapable of making the plays that we all know him for.  The pass protection was more than acceptable in many cases and there has been a clear improvement over the year with Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes, yet Reesing couldn’t seem to pull the trigger and couldn’t seem to keep the ball out of the dirt.  I say it again, the Kansas offense lost this game and it’s been awhile since I’ve had to say that.

A Senior day inspired defense came out and did everything they could in the first half forcing several punts by the potent offense of the Texas longhorns.  The unit forced a turnover, the defensive backs seemed to continue to get more comfortable in their new positions, and even the defensive line put some token pressure on Colt McCoy.  The problem this week was we couldn’t capitalize from an offensive standpoint.  The longer the game went without us turning the stops into our momentum the more hopeless the cause and eventually it all broke down. 

This was a frustrating game yet again for Kansas fans and it’s clear we still have work to do in the talent department before we take the next step and beat these big time opponents at home.  I talked about it a little yesterday but it’s worth mentioning again, Kansas needs some more time to improve recruiting and development based on the recent success.  This senior class committed to Mangino on the heels of a 4-7 year so while one of the greatest senior classes in terms of on field success ever at the University they probably weren’t the most talented to ever walk through the door.  Hopefully that class is yet to come and when they do on a more consistent basis we’ll begin to turn the next corner.  Nonetheless, we will see a 2^nd straight bowl, we are bowl eligible for the fourth straight year and I believe we’ve got a good shot at Missouri in Arrowhead.

A couple of guys on this team do deserve special mention after yesterday.  Kerry Meier, this guy is a warrior and all hear, we need a few more healthy versions of him on the field.  Dez Briscoe, amazing catch, another great game, and he continues to develop into a star.   Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes, no they aren’t there yet and no they didn’t have the greatest game, but they have shown marked improvement and if we could play South Florida with this current version of these two I think we win the game.  The defensive line, the unit that has been frustrating all year got some pressure and didn’t get pushed around against a usually dominate Texas O-line.  Thornton and Patterson both seem to be developing and getting more comfortable at their new spots and while I hope we get Patterson back on offense, he looks like a serviceable corner. 

Those are a few of my thoughts for positives looking ahead now it’s an extended Missouri week and maybe this team can put together their first full complete game in this one and make us all feel a little better.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

Highlights from today's press conference w/Coach Mangino and KU Players...

Head Coach Mark Mangino

Opening remarks:

“Looking back on last week, Nebraska made more plays than we did to win the game. We had opportunities and didn’t always capitalize. We didn’t make stops when we needed to make stops. We have got to improve our tackling. We have got to play a lot more sound in our inside run game. There were a few bright spots. Dezmon Briscoe had a big day and looked really good. Todd Reesing had a good day, although his numbers didn’t show that he did. James Holt is really playing good defense for us right now.”

“This week we have Texas, who is a very good, ranked, top-five program. They have a lot of weapons on both sides of the ball and on special teams. Defensively they are very stout. They are only allowing 86 yards per game rushing. They have a very athletic defensive line with very quick, athletic guys who can move around. Their linebackers seem to be the heart of their defense. They are an outstanding group of linebackers. Their secondary is very athletic as always.”

“On the offensive side of the ball they run the ball with a number of different tailbacks. Their big playmaker is obviously Colt McCoy at quarterback, both running and throwing the football. He has a bunch of excellent receivers to throw to, led by Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby. Shipley is also a very dangerous player on special teams.”

“It is a very good Texas team that is coming here and we are planning on having a good week of preparation and getting ready to play them. It is an opportunity for us to play a top-five team here at home and we want to play well.”

More Coach and Player Quotes after the Jump...

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We aren't perfect.

Any football team at any level will have their own fair share of issues. Even last year's New England Patriots happened to have some issues; ones that were taken advantage of in the Super Bowl, which led to their demise.

Even last season's Jayhawk team, which seemed to be such a magical group of kids (and it was), had a sizable laundry list of issues. You had the kicking problems, the punting problems, the punt return problems and the lack of defensive pressure. Not the largest of problems, sure, but still some issues to overcome. And that is what is key. The overcoming of the issues.

Really, so much of football can be broken down into two things in determining a winner and loser: who has more issues and who schemes around their issues more successfully? Last season, we were able to hide our deficiencies incredibly well, at least in 12 of the games, which is an incredibly large reason why we were Orange Bowl Champions.

And not to compare last season's team to this year, as this year's product has yet to prove it belongs in the same sentence, but this year's team is much worse in those two aformentioned questions. However, the season is still young and, despite the early-season loss at the hands of South Florida, there is still a chance that this season can end just as well as last year's. Not likely. Like, at all. But if we are to have much success at all, we are going to have to improve. So, here is a rundown of the answers to those questions that, so often, can define a football team and a season. The particular issue will be listed first, then with a potential solution on how to scheme around and/or fix the issue.

These issues have got to be fixed, because no way we even sniff the Big 12 North Title playing the way we have thus far.

Issue #1 :: The Running Game

Yes, we are talking about this again. The topic that has dominated much of the talk thus far in this newly born season, the running game, is back in the forefront. First, we were discussing the excitement that was coming our way in the form of Jocques Crawford, a physical specimen who is both large and can run really fast. Then, we were startled by the poor performances by both the newcomer Crawford and the incumbent slash-RB Jake Sharp, who was to be counted upon to replace much of Brandon McAnderson's departing production. The situation didn't get much better the next game, but there seemed to be a glimmer of hope in Angus Quigley. And while Quigley has played better than the other two have, particularly Sharp was has seemingly been taken out of the rotation entirely, it still hasn't begun to approach the tremendous display of a rushing attack we had last year.

Of course, much of that, if not all of it, has to do with the offensive line and, more notably, the two best and most important players on our offensive line a year ago; Anthony Collins and Cesar Rodriguez. Their replacements, Jeff Spikes and Jeremiah Hatch, haven't played horribly, but they have also repeatedly showcased that they are, in fact, freshman and aren't really ready to be depended upon in the same way we depended upon Collins and Rodriguez. This, combined with the relative averageness of the interior line, has given us little push on the O-Line.

However, whether it is the RBs or the O-Line to blame isn't of terrible importance. Because if it is the RBs, oh well, as we have tried just about every player who could possibly succeed this season. If it is on the O-Line well, then, OK, that sucks, but there likely isn't a better player on the bench. If personnel is the issue, we likely won't be able to fix it until this offseason and its subsequent opportunity for both further player development and the infusion of new talent.

How To Fix the Issue :: Again, we have to move beyond personnel. Taking that into consideration, there aren't a whole lot of solutions. However, there is one, a potential solution I'll call the Andy Reid Solution. Andy Reid, at least in the past years prior to Brian Westbrook's emergence as one of the best RBs in the NFL, ran the ball very little. Instead, Reid used high percentage passes such as shovel passes, screens and hot routes to effectively be his "running game", instead of actually running the ball.

Considering how incredible our QB is and how deep our wide reciever corps is, we definitely have the personnel to put such a strategy into action. We are already kind of creeping towards such a situation, given the differential in pass attempts and rush attempts, but look for the gap to widen even further the more and more the running game struggles.

Issue #2 :: Pass Rush

Oh boy. Honestly, I didn't think a pass rush could get much worse than we had last year. And yet, with the loss of James McClinton, it is substantially worse. Sure, we got in there a handful of times against Sam Houston State. Wow. Against all of the other teams, however, we were lucky to sneak in there once or twice a quarter. Honestly, none of our DTs have showed even a hint at replacing McClinton's pass rush up the middle, although Richard Johnson Jr. did have that one nice play against SHSU. Still, he figures to be awhile away from providing any semblance of a consistent pass rush.

On the outside, we actually might be better off than we were last year. Russell Brorsen is Russell Brorsen, the same halfway-decent pass-rusher off the outside that is a stronger player against the run. He isn't a bad starter by any measure; he just isn't a really solid pass-rusher. However, replacing the lane-stuffing DE John Larson is a trio of pass-rushers in Max Onyegbule, Jeff Wheeler and Jake Laptad. All three of them have shown flashes of pass-rushing ability, particularly Laptad, who has emerged as a really solid starting option at DE.

However, while flashes are nice to project for some future production, it isn't enough to win ball games. And, while Laptad figures to be a good player, we still need more pass-rushing.

The cornerback situation is substantially hurting our pass rush as well. Without Kendrick Harper, we are essentially left with one really solid CB in Chris Harris and another CB slot being filled by a revolving door of freshman (two redshirt, one true) who aren't ready yet to start or play any significant minutes. They are thinking far too much, going through their progressions far too slow to read-and-react to the speed of the college game. They are forced to give extremely large cushions so they don't get beat deep, which then allows the offense to simply take what they can get and find the gaping holei n the middle of the defense.

How To Fix the Issue :: Simply put, we need to blitz more. That is the easiest and simplest way to get to the quarterback more often. Of course, we can't afford to do that because of the CB issue, as mentioned above. Blitzing would leave Isiah Barfield (or Ryan Murphy or Corrigan Powell or whoever) on an island, which is simply a disaster waiting to happen.

With that said, here is my idea. Move Mike Rivera to a DeMarcus Ware/Shawne Merriman-type pure-rusher at DE/LB. I know we don't run a 3-4, which is important for such a position, but we could certainly get creative in lining him up in an effort to get him to the QB without being too short-changed in the secondary. We could also move Rivera to DE straight out, although that would be a radical move. In any case, we are going to have to do something extraordinary to solve the pass rush issue, as simply blitzing or dropping back a bazillion bodies in coverage ain't working.

Just some ideas on how to fix the season. More thoughts coming up throughout the week, as this week should be all about analyzing ourselves and trying to improve for the rest of the season. This bye week should be treated as a turning point in the season; either we continue to play mediocrely and plod along to a 7-5 record or we make some big-time improvements, fix these issues (at least to some extent) and compete for the Big 12 North Title.

If we had a non-special teams weakness last season, it would have to be the defensive ends. Russell Brorsen and John Larson are fine players, sure, and they did their role, but the pass rush always had to come from the middle and James McClinton. Brorsen and Larson were virtually non-existent in rushing the passer. And so, Mangino has made it a priority to recruit some speed-rushers, people who can actually get the quarterback on hia ass.

So, I think this position will be much improved this season. Not as good as it will be next year, when the current crop of speed rushers has another year of development and incoming defensive ends Kevin Young and Tyrone Sellers come in. They are both legitimate speed-rushers, quite possibly some of the better ones in the history of Kansas football.

For the time-being, however, the defensive end situation is interesting. You have the returning starters, Larson and Brorsen, who are solid, dependable, veteran, smart footall players who don't have a whole lot in the way of athleticism or pass-rushing ability (particularly Larson). Then you have their reserves, more athletic, pass-rushing types who will be more inconsistent with Wheeler (who just may start instead of Larson; on the depth chart, they are both listed as potential starters), Laptad and Onyegbule. And then you have the two freshmen, two kids who have incredibly bright futures, although Zlatnik, who has since bumped up to 303 pounds, might have his future at D-Tackle. Both are going to redshirt this season, but both could also be starters in the future; Zlatnik as more a run-stuffing DE and Marshall being the speed-rusher around the edge. That isn't even getting into the incoming recruits in Sellers and Young, who are both more-recruited prospects than Marshall and Zlatnik were, especially Kevin Young.

With all of that said, here is the depth chart over the next three years:

--- Italics denote projected redshirt year

--- Bold denotes EMPTY space on depth chart

Just to make things clear, I'm not predicting, not by any means, that Marshall and Zlatnik will, for sure, be ahead of Young and Sellers in 2010, for example. However, unless I am incredibly confident in something happening or someone's talent, I'm not going to predict someone jumping someone else on the depth chart. This isn't intended to be a "depth chart" in that way, per se, but instead just a overlook at the talent we will have over the next three years.

Player-by-player previews after the jump...

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