Defense

[TownieCat]

I though our front 4 were really good the last two weeks.  Good containment and pressure on passing downs and excellent against the run.  I feel like our lbs have improved in pass protection a great deal (better than last year?).

I was extremely intoxicated during both games though.

The front 7 is getting much better. Roberts is very limited physically, and has probably peaked. We were burned 3 times against Baylor with absolutely no support from the safeties. If I had to pick one, I'd rather be able to stop the run than the pass, but we aren't going to be a good defense until we can stop both with some consistency.

We've played 3 of the top 4 offenses in the league.

Based on what measure?

BU, OSU, and UT are 1, 3, and 4 in both points and yards. How else would you measure it?

[kso_FAN]

I though our front 4 were really good the last two weeks.  Good containment and pressure on passing downs and excellent against the run.  I feel like our lbs have improved in pass protection a great deal (better than last year?).

I was extremely intoxicated during both games though.

The front 7 is getting much better. Roberts is very limited physically, and has probably peaked. We were burned 3 times against Baylor with absolutely no support from the safeties. If I had to pick one, I'd rather be able to stop the run than the pass, but we aren't going to be a good defense until we can stop both with some consistency.

We've played 3 of the top 4 offenses in the league.

Based on what measure? 

YPP/PPP comparisons.

[CHONGS]

Using a (adjusted for quality of opponent) points per possession metric we have played 2 (Baylor and OSU).  Not be too huge of a debbie downer, but by a similar measure our defense is currently the third worst (yes worse than WV and UT will likely improve past us soon).  We give up scores on a very high % of possessions:

% of drives opponent scored against us:
UT   ->  45%   (5/11)
OSU ->  54%   (7/13)
BU   ->  42%   (5/12)

unfortunately against Baylor they were all touchdowns.  It's far too early to say there is a "downward" trend there.

[TownieCat]

Using a (adjusted for quality of opponent) points per possession metric we have played 2 (Baylor and OSU).  Not be too huge of a debbie downer, but by a similar measure our defense is currently the third worst (yes worse than WV and UT will likely improve past us soon).  We give up scores on a very high % of possessions:

% of drives opponent scored against us:
UT   ->  45%   (5/11)
OSU ->  54%   (7/13)
BU   ->  42%   (5/12)

unfortunately against Baylor they were all touchdowns.  It's far too early to say there is a "downward" trend there.

I bet Baylor won't punt 6 times in a game the rest of the season.

[mocat]

Using a (adjusted for quality of opponent) points per possession metric we have played 2 (Baylor and OSU).  Not be too huge of a debbie downer, but by a similar measure our defense is currently the third worst (yes worse than WV and UT will likely improve past us soon).  We give up scores on a very high % of possessions:

% of drives opponent scored against us:
UT   ->  45%   (5/11)
OSU ->  54%   (7/13)
BU   ->  42%   (5/12)

unfortunately against Baylor they were all touchdowns.  It's far too early to say there is a "downward" trend there.

CHUMP and SNOWBRAG are just two friends hanging out with the exact same opinions here, my friend.

Offenses (adjusted for SOS)

Baylor
Texas
Oklahoma
Iowa State
Kansas State
Texas Tech
Oklahoma State
TCU
West Virginia
Kansas

Defenses:

TCU
Oklahoma State
West Virginia
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Baylor
Texas
Kansas State
Kansas
Iowa State

My opinion is that the #1 problem is turnovers.

KSU turns the ball over at the highest rate in the conference (0.0380 TOPP)
KSU causes turnovers at the lowest rate in the conference by far (0.0144 TOPP)

Look how far in last place KSU is in terms of +/- TOPP

1. oSu +.0178
2. ISU +.0145
3. UT  +.0133
4. OU  +.0110
5. BU  +.0074
6. TCU +.0065
7. WVU -.0008
8. KU  -.0025
9. TTU -.0025
10. KSU -.0236

[Cire]

yeah, we're going to have to get creative to try and block kicks/blitz more to force the issue.

our defense isn't going to stop anyone without a turnover.

remember that baylor had some crazy bad drops in the game as well.

[kostakio]

yeah, we're going to have to get creative to try and block kicks/blitz more to force the issue.

our defense isn't going to stop anyone without a turnover.

remember that baylor had some crazy bad drops in the game as well.

It would be nice to force more turnovers but I think our defense has actually been pretty solid especially these last two games.  If we stop turning the ball over and putting the defense in bad positions we'll be fine.  Five turnovers against Okie State and three of them led directly to scores.  They had three scoring drives of less then 10 yards.   

[Rage Against the McKee]

yeah, we're going to have to get creative to try and block kicks/blitz more to force the issue.

our defense isn't going to stop anyone without a turnover.

remember that baylor had some crazy bad drops in the game as well.

Every team drops a few passes almost every game.

[kso_FAN]

I'm not sure how good our "turnover forcing" can be, but it will likely get "better" just because turnovers are a product of luck as much as they are of skill. I would guess the rest of the season that turnover margin will be even or slightly in our favor and at some point we will have a +2/3 (or better) game in turnovers.

[Trogdor]

The defense has obviously improved through the first games. The line is better at closing gaps and applying pressure to the qb. The LB's have been able to apply heavy support to the run but still could use a little work when falling back into coverage. And the DB's have actually been able to close faster on receivers, allowing only minimal YAC. And my god what did LHC Snyder do to Roberts? He went from pud to semi-stud in the matter of weeks. He had a great game against Baylor IMO. Granted him and the DB's still have a long way to go as the only reason Baylor scored were off of 50+ yards over their heads. It could have been much worse than what it was.

In short, Bill is being Bill and the players are doing what he wants them to do week by week.

[Trogdor]

yeah, we're going to have to get creative to try and block kicks/blitz more to force the issue.

our defense isn't going to stop anyone without a turnover.

remember that baylor had some crazy bad drops in the game as well.

It would be nice to force more turnovers but I think our defense has actually been pretty solid especially these last two games.  If we stop turning the ball over and putting the defense in bad positions we'll be fine.  Five turnovers against Okie State and three of them led directly to scores.  They had three scoring drives of less then 10 yards.   

The poke's should have been ashamed by the way they played. They almost lost and were given that many opportunities.

[mocat]

I'm not sure how good our "turnover forcing" can be, but it will likely get "better" just because turnovers are a product of luck as much as they are of skill. I would guess the rest of the season that turnover margin will be even or slightly in our favor and at some point we will have a +2/3 (or better) game in turnovers.

I agree and I'm not suggesting we can flip a switch and cause more turnovers. But I am pointing to that +/- figure and saying that's probably the main reason we are 2-4.

[mocat]

let me just put it this way:

in 2012 KSU was +.0222 in TOPP, which was #3 best in all of FBS
in 2013 KSU is -.0236 in TOPP, which is #3 worst in all of FBS

there is no other change from 12-13 as drastic as this one

[kso_FAN]

let me just put it this way:

in 2012 KSU was +.0222 in TOPP, which was #3 best in all of FBS
in 2013 KSU is -.0236 in TOPP, which is #3 worst in all of FBS

there is no other change from 12-13 as drastic as this one

I agree that is the single biggest factor (of several) for this year's 2-4 record.

[Cire]

have we had any personnel changes at dline?

 

[PIPE]

Has the true frosh Willis played anymore other than the first game?

[Stevesie60]

I'm not sure how good our "turnover forcing" can be, but it will likely get "better" just because turnovers are a product of luck as much as they are of skill. I would guess the rest of the season that turnover margin will be even or slightly in our favor and at some point we will have a +2/3 (or better) game in turnovers.

You keep coming back to this reason, but I'm not buying it. It sounds like a gambling addict playing slots and saying he's due to win. He's not, it's the same odds every time.

[catzacker]

let me just put it this way:

in 2012 KSU was +.0222 in TOPP, which was #3 best in all of FBS
in 2013 KSU is -.0236 in TOPP, which is #3 worst in all of FBS

there is no other change from 12-13 as drastic as this one

I agree that is the single biggest factor (of several) for this year's 2-4 record.

Certainly, but I’d imagine the route problem is our offense, rather than our defense (as compared to last year).  We typically were playing from in front which (1) forced teams to be somewhat more one dimensional on offense, (2) take more chances on defense, (3) allowed our offense to be more conservative. 

We had more than one INT thrown in a game twice last year…..Baylor (3) and Oregon (2). 

However we did seem to just take care of the ball better in times of “evenness” in the games. 

[kso_FAN]

I'm not sure how good our "turnover forcing" can be, but it will likely get "better" just because turnovers are a product of luck as much as they are of skill. I would guess the rest of the season that turnover margin will be even or slightly in our favor and at some point we will have a +2/3 (or better) game in turnovers.

You keep coming back to this reason, but I'm not buying it. It sounds like a gambling addict playing slots and saying he's due to win. He's not, it's the same odds every time.

I think there is a lot more luck (or lack of control by either team) in turnovers than you think, but there are certainly skills in what causes/doesn't cause them. I think we'll get slightly better at not creating our own (namely decision making in throwing the ball) but I also think we'll get a bit more lucky in forcing/gaining turnovers (ie. the ball bounces to one of our guys instead of not, like the fumbled kickoff vs UT).

[Stevesie60]

I'm not sure how good our "turnover forcing" can be, but it will likely get "better" just because turnovers are a product of luck as much as they are of skill. I would guess the rest of the season that turnover margin will be even or slightly in our favor and at some point we will have a +2/3 (or better) game in turnovers.

You keep coming back to this reason, but I'm not buying it. It sounds like a gambling addict playing slots and saying he's due to win. He's not, it's the same odds every time.

I think there is a lot more luck (or lack of control by either team) in turnovers than you think, but there are certainly skills in what causes/doesn't cause them. I think we'll get slightly better at not creating our own (namely decision making in throwing the ball) but I also think we'll get a bit more lucky in forcing/gaining turnovers (ie. the ball bounces to one of our guys instead of not, like the fumbled kickoff vs UT).

I'm not saying there's not luck involved. I'm not saying we won't get better at hanging onto the ball/making better passes. But the "we should be getting luckier now because we weren't so lucky at the beginning of the season" mentality is just wishful thinking.

[kso_FAN]

Certainly, but I’d imagine the root problem is our offense, rather than our defense (as compared to last year).  We typically were playing from in front which (1) forced teams to be somewhat more one dimensional on offense, (2) take more chances on defense, (3) allowed our offense to be more conservative. 

We had more than one INT thrown in a game twice last year…..Baylor (3) and Oregon (2). 

However we did seem to just take care of the ball better in times of “evenness” in the games. 

Yes, our offense losing the ball is the bulk of it; we already have 3 more turnovers in 6 games than we had in 13 last year. But we've also only forced 6 in 6 games compared to 32 in 13 games.

Per game: 2.5 lost and 1.0 gained compared to 0.9 lost and 2.5 gained, so we've flipped the numbers completely.

[Rage Against the McKee]

I'm not sure how good our "turnover forcing" can be, but it will likely get "better" just because turnovers are a product of luck as much as they are of skill. I would guess the rest of the season that turnover margin will be even or slightly in our favor and at some point we will have a +2/3 (or better) game in turnovers.

You keep coming back to this reason, but I'm not buying it. It sounds like a gambling addict playing slots and saying he's due to win. He's not, it's the same odds every time.

I think there is a lot more luck (or lack of control by either team) in turnovers than you think, but there are certainly skills in what causes/doesn't cause them. I think we'll get slightly better at not creating our own (namely decision making in throwing the ball) but I also think we'll get a bit more lucky in forcing/gaining turnovers (ie. the ball bounces to one of our guys instead of not, like the fumbled kickoff vs UT).

That ball did bounce to our guy, though. He just wasn't good enough to grab it.

[Wildcatsfan4248]

Let's fly in Peanut Tillman for a practice or two.

Fumbles for days.

[kso_FAN]

I'm not saying we won't get better at hanging onto the ball/making better passes. But the "we should be getting luckier now because we weren't so lucky at the beginning of the season" mentality is just wishful thinking.

A bit so, but I also think statistically there is some merit to that thinking. I think it would be a bit of a statistical anomaly for our turnover rate (on both sides of the ball) to continue at the rate it is now, but that doesn't mean it won't.

[kso_FAN]

That ball did bounce to our guy, though. He just wasn't good enough to grab it.

Somebody other than the kicker.