If this is true...seriously, this is quite encouraging to me.
I can see Freeman picking your D apart in a couple of weeks then.
I think just about any ku fan will tell you their biggest point of concern coming into this season was how well our DE's step up. Against the run, our line has been solid to this point; we get a good push on the line (both CMU and Toledo had respectable size on the lines) filling the holes and not leaving much running room. The run defense shows signs of being just as stout as it has been the past couple of years.
However, ku hasn't been good about getting the sack with their pass rush, which is the same issue as last year. ku has been better about getting into the backfield; they are also collapsing the pocket well and it's obvious that ku has been stronger then the opponents lines. However, ku's defenders seem to consistantly be a half step slow or seem to just miss getting the QB in their grasp. We've gotten plenty of QB hurries, but they just aren't sealing the deal. Part of that may be due to the dink and dunk nature of the opponents' offenses to this point. The other teams are getting rid of the ball quickly. ku has pretty good pass efficiency defensive numbers... their opponents simply haven't been able to pass downfield. Since this seems to be ksu's strategy on offense as well- many short passes supplemented with a running game, it's safe to assume ku might struggle to get to Freeman as well. Of course the short passing game hasn't really worked against ku so far (and yes, ksu will be a better barometer) and we are pretty solid against the run. Should be an interesting match up at least.
The jury is definately out on ku's DE's- while they show some promise, they absolutely have plenty of room to improve. Heading into Big XII play, when we won't be able to simply overpower the competition, that is by far this ku fan's biggest worry. I'm not sure we have enough speed off the edge from our starters.
