Scouting Notebook: #1 LSU @ Tennessee

During games periodically, I'll write down thoughts about games as they take place, and share them with you, the readers, to help break down major plays in the games, as well as familiarize you with the players you'll see all season and potentially on Sundays in the NFL.  All the thoughts are in chronological order.

LSU @ Tennessee:

-          LSU CB Tyrann Mathieu is one of the most explosive players in the country.  Every time he gets his hands on the ball, you think it’s going for a touchdown.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a few touches on offense as the year goes on.  He’s impressive defensively too, he hits extremely hard for a 5’9”, 175 lb. corner, and leads LSU in tackles.

-          LSU’s getting dominated on the interior of their line, they’re really missing their starting center, who’s out for the game today.  And Tennessee blocks a field goal!  Until the field goal block is called off due to a delay of game penalty that should have blown the play dead.  Unfortunate for Tennessee, but LSU was clearly about five seconds late on the snap.

-          Tyrann Mathieu got burned, made up for it by jumping out of the building to tip the ball, and Tennessee’s RB Raijon Neal still made a tremendous catch.  The very next play Tennessee tests Morris Claiborne, the other star LSU cornerback deep, and he picks it off, returning it about 90 yards the other way down to the 5.  Wonder if QB Matt Simms and Tennessee learned their lesson yet.

-          LSU calls a HB screen at the perfect time, Spencer Ware runs in basically untouched for a TD.  14-0, and LSU looks like they’ve found their offensive groove.  Time for them to start pulling away.

-          Well, there’s the answer to if Matt Simms learned his lesson yet.  On a solid playaction fake, Matt Simms stares down the outside receiver and forces it into double coverage on a deep post, where safety Eric Reed picks it off for LSU.  Simms had a wide open receiver about 15 yards down the middle of the field.

-          Da’Rick Rogers with a 44 yard reception, one of the first big plays Tennessee has had today.

-          Tennessee’s interior offensive line is dominating the tackles of LSU, Tennessee’s putting together a solid drive. 

-          Great seal block by Tennessee’s right tackle and a solid block by the fullback help Tauren Poole punch it into the endzone.  14-7 LSU, do we have a game now?  I still think not, but Tennessee looks better than expected so far.

-          Freshman WR Odell Beckham Jr. may be every bit as fast as Tyrann Mathieu, Beckham Jr. hits his second gear very quickly.  WRs Odell Beckham, Reuben Randle, Russell Shepard and TE Deangelo Peterson quietly form a very formidable receiving corps.

-          Jordan Jefferson is in now, and is gashing Tennessee on the ground.  He runs a QB power for 10 yards and a first down, then a 6 yard QB power on the next play.

-          Jordan Jefferson has 12 carries for 73 yards, and Spencer Ware 15 carries for 60 yards.  Jefferson runs an option into the end zone to cap a 99-yard TD drive.  This seems like the group of QBs that Les Miles can manage to a national title, just like he did with Matt Flynn and Ryan Perriloux 4 years ago.

-          Great return by Tennessee’s  freshman RB Devrin Young.  That is, until Russell Shepard comes from nowhere and catches him.  Shepard, Beckham, Mathieu, and Claiborne are unreal athletes.  It’s amazing how many great athletes they have. 

-          Spencer Ware is insanely physical.  He seeks out contact, and delivers blows more often than he receives them, that’s how he holds up under the load of carries that LSU gives him and looks unfazed in the fourth quarter. 

-          LSU’s offensive sets aren’t flashy by any means, but they constantly sustain long drives and eat up the clock, which is exactly what they’re gunning for.  LSU wants no part of an offensive shootout where QBs Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson are put in more difficult situations.

-          Great play call by LSU on a WR screen to Russell Shepard.  I predicted 38-7 would be the final score, and what do you know?  It looks like 38-7 will in fact be the final.  LSU’s defense gave up a couple big plays, but nothing all that consequential, and the offense was consistent, scoring on six possessions.  An overall dominant showing by LSU tonight, and just cements the fact that Alabama-LSU will be the de facto national championship game.

Scouting Notebook: Ohio State @ #16 Illinois

During games periodically, I'll write down thoughts about games as they take place, and share them with you, the readers, to help break down major plays in the games, as well as familiarize you with the players you'll see all season and potentially on Sundays in the NFL.  All the thoughts are in chronological order.


Ohio State vs. Illinois:

-          Ohio State QB Braxton Miller runs into RB Dan “Boom” Herron on a running play; he’s still getting the kinks out clearly, being a freshman.  Even as a Wolverines fan, I look forward to seeing how big of a jump forward he takes next year.

-          4 passes were thrown in the first quarter, all by Illinois.  OSU ran the ball 15 times and scored 3 points while keeping the Illini off the scoreboard.  Ideally, they want Miller’s pass attempts under 20 each game at this point.

-          What a tremendous sideline catch on a deep ball by A.J. Jenkins.   Every team knows the pass game is running through him, but no one can stop him.

-          Dan Herron has really added a little bit extra to this offense.  He’s quite obviously their best offensive skill player at this point.

-          Miller’s arm is inspiring absolutely no confidence in the passing game.  His passes are wobbly and he’s not comfortable in the pocket.

-          Ron Zook blows game management 101 again, he had the chance to get the ball back without 40 seconds left in the half and at least attempt to get a field goal, but opts to save his three timeouts.  Someone should tell him timeouts don’t rollover after halftime.

-          Nathan Scheelhaase completely misses a curl route to A.J. Jenkins, picked off by Ohio State.  Dan Herron punches it in and puts Ohio State up 10-0.  Great bounce-out by Herron.  Looks like it’s windy in Champaign, Illinois, as Scheelhaase’s throw floated farther than he anticipated.

-          By the numbers: OSU has run 33 plays. 30 rushes, 3 passes. 

-          A.J. Jenkins is a polished route runner and great pass-catcher.  He snatches everything that comes his way.  He didn’t get much national pub last year as he only had 746 yards, but he had already eclipsed that figure before today’s game on a mere 46 catches thanks to the development of Nathan Scheelhaase.  He’ll be playing on Sundays, and probably for a while.  He doesn’t come across as a #1 receiver, but could definitely profile as a solid #2 receiver down the road.

-          Braxton Miller has dropped back 7 times.  4 times he was sacked, and the other 3 times he threw incompletions.  How does the Illini defense allow him to run for 35 yards on a QB Draw?  Illinois’ players need to know the situation; Ohio State has no passing game whatsoever. 

-          Scheelhaase bobbles a shotgun snap and is tackled at his own 4, because he was looking to his receivers before he even caught the snap.  That should be the end of the Illini’s possession.

o   Except for the fact that they have A.J. Jenkins.  Scheelhaase steps up in the pocket and throws a dart to A.J. Jenkins right at the marker on the sideline, first down Illini.  Big throw by Scheelhaase.

-          A.J. Jenkins with a solid catch, and loses the ball.  OSU recovers the fumble.  Illinois is shooting themselves in the foot right now, with two turnovers in the second half. 

-          By the Numbers: Ohio State has run 42 plays. 39 rushes, 3 passes.

-          Braxton throws a pass, and it’s the first completion of the day, a touchdown to TE Jake Stoneburner.  17-0 Ohio State; that should be it for Illinois’ chances of winning.

-          Illinois finally gets into the endzone.  3 yard pass, 17-7. 

-          Illinois forces a punt and has the ball back near the 50 with about 4 minutes left.  This game isn’t quite over yet as Illinois also has all three of their timeouts.

o   Just as I type that, on the first Illini play, Scheelhaase forces the ball downfield and throws it short of his receiver.  Ohio State CB Travis Howard picks it off, and that may be it for Illinois’ hopes of winning.  OSU forced 3 turnovers in the 2^nd half, which ended up being the key to this game.

Scouting Notebook: #6 Oklahoma State @ #22 Texas

During games periodically, I'll write down thoughts about games as they take place, and share them with you, the readers, to help break down major plays in the games, as well as familiarize you with the players you'll see all season and potentially on Sundays in the NFL.  All the thoughts are in chronological order.

Oklahoma State – Texas:

-          A huge run up the middle by Texas RB Malcolm Brown followed by a 20 yard run and catch off a quick curl in the middle of the field on Texas’ 2^nd drive.  Oklahoma State’s linebackers are nowhere to be found right now.

-          Oh hey, there they are.  Poor read by Texas QB David Ash who throws it right to a linebacker in what’s clearly a Cover 2 defense for his first interception.  Great ball skills by OSU LB Caleb Lavey.

-          Beautiful throw over the top of double coverage by Brandon Weeden to Josh Cooper.  After two runs, the Texas defense was sucked up close to the line of scrimmage.  The Cowboys’ up-tempo offense really forces defenses to cheat a lot or play vanilla coverages; there’s no time to keep switching personnel.

-          David Ash hits Mike Davis on another short curl route and throws to him again on a comeback route on the next play.  It’s clear Mike Davis is Ash’s go-to receiver.  Oklahoma State should really be double covering him at this point.

-          Oklahoma State’s defensive line is getting great push so far, Ash hasn’t looked all that comfortable in the early going here.

-          Malcolm Brown is a load to bring down, he runs upright, but still breaks a lot of arm tackles.  He brings back memories of Cedric Benson, as he doesn’t have breakaway speed but runs through quite a bit of contact.

-          Brandon Weeden forced a deep ball to Justin Blackmon, silly decision.  Texas’ DB Carrington Byndom catches it and barely lands out of bounds, so Oklahoma State gets a lucky break.  Weeden makes the same decision the next play, and Byndom almost picks it off again.  Texas looks comfortable putting Byndom 1-on-1 against Justin Blackmon.  No matter how good a receiver is, you can’t force it to him this badly.  I understand what they’re doing though.  Texas will eventually pay for leaving Blackmon single-covered.

-          AGAIN, Texas WR Mike Davis runs a comeback/curl route and gets a first down.  It doesn’t seem that complicated to anticipate, but Oklahoma State can’t seem to stop it.

-          Blackmon gets the ball on an end around and takes it for 23 yards, Oklahoma State will get the ball in Blackmon’s hands, however they can.

o   Including a 4^th and 9 conversion later on the drive on a 17-yard pass.  He’s already got 5 receptions with about 40 minutes left in the game.

o   Three straight throws to Justin Blackmon, and I think the single coverage on him is about to end. 

-          Mike Davis has 6 of Texas’ 7 receptions thus far, this is getting a bit ridiculous.  He’s open 8-10 yards downfield constantly.  Texas may be trying to set up a deep ball to Davis. 

o   Davis catches a screen.  Make it 7 catches. 

-          David Ash looks like he runs a legit 4.5 40, he’s got serious speed for a QB, and he’s been quite accurate on his short throws actually.  That 23 yard scramble was big to keeping their drive going.

-          Weeden has a gun for an arm, and is really a pro at running this spread attack.  He goes through his progression so quickly, and has so many reliable options.  Justin Blackmon, Tracy Moore, Josh Cooper, and Hubert Anyiam are all reliable receivers.  Outside of LSU, I don’t know that any defense can stop this group of playmakers and Weeden for four quarters.

-          4^th and inches from the Texas 30, and Oklahoma State loads up a Heavy Pistol formation to go for it.  Somehow, Texas’ defense wasn’t ready as they had less players in the box than Texas in the box than Oklahoma State.  Oklahoma State very rarely runs from any formation other than the Pistol, so why the Longhorns were so baffled beats me.  One linebacker that was at the line botched his assignment and Jeremy Smith took the ball 30 yards for a TD.

-          Oklahoma State CB Justin Gilbert returns the 2^nd half’s opening kickoff for a touchdown, his second kick return TD of the year.  Yet another playmaker on this team.  He already has 4 kickoff TD returns in his career, and he’s only a sophomore.

-          Are you kidding?  Fozzy Whittaker returns Oklahoma State’s kickoff for a TD!  What an answer to the Cowboys’ big special teams play!  Also shows a lack of discipline on both special teams units.  3 Oklahoma State players took bad angles on Whittaker and converged 5 yards behind him as he raced to paydirt.  This is Whittaker’s second consecutive game with a kick return TD.  What a fun start to the second half.

-          Oklahoma State starts the half with two 3-and-outs on offense.  Texas has been able to get pressure to Weeden recently. 

-          Malcolm Brown shows exceptional balance on the sideline to stay in bounds for the long rushing touchdown.  This is his best game of his collegiate career thus far with over 100 yards and 2 rushing TDs.  David Ash carries out a great playfake as well on the Statue of Liberty play.  Texas offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin got Boise State on the national scene with the same play against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl a few years back.

-          Weeden stares down WR Hubert Anyiam on a crossing route in double coverage, and fires an absolutely perfect pass to get the first down conversion.  Can’t emphasize this enough, he’s really got a strong arm.  

-          Josh Cooper makes a phenomenal catch on a ball thrown behind him by Weeden.  Josh Cooper, Hubert Anyiam and Justin Blackmon may all get drafted in 2012, it’ll be interesting to watch.

-          Texas is getting far more pressure on Brandon Weeden here in the second half. They make a big goal line stand and hold Oklahoma State to a field goal, 31-24.

-          To continue on Malcolm Brown, he’s not hesitant whatsoever today. He’s hitting the right hole every time he gets the ball.  Decisiveness is often a problem with freshmen, so that’s good news for Texas.

-          Jeremy Smith inserts himself into the runningback conversation, helping Oklahoma State score on two straight carries, the second of which was a 74 yard TD run.  Texas’ defense was really spread out, no one had a chance to catch him.  Smith and Randle have done an admirable job of replacing RB Kendall Hunter, who’s now in the NFL with the 49ers.

-          Texas goes for it on 4^th and goal, and David Ash underthrows Fozzy Whittaker on a flat route, who fell inches short of the goal line.  Oklahoma State runs the ball and barely gets out of the endzone, then Brandon Weeden takes a shotgun snap 7 yards deep in the endzone, and in his drop back, he steps out of the endzone.  38-26 Oklahoma State, so Texas gets some points out of their drive, and will get the ball back.  Texas really needs to get a TD here to make it a one possession game.

-          Texas’ CB Quandre Diggs makes a fantastic play on a Weeden pass on 3^rd down, and nearly picked it off, but didn’t.  Texas needs to finish these types of plays if they want to win big games like this one.  They’ve got an outside shot at taking down Oklahoma State, which would be the fourth upset of an undefeated team today.

-          David Ash is making a living on these short routes, and is averaging under 3.3 yards per attempt, which is pretty pitiful, but understandable in his first start.  He’s really settling in though as Oklahoma State is playing prevent defense.  They look far too comfortable giving Texas short completions, as Texas is moving the ball pretty efficiently.  Oklahoma State has only scored 10 points on offense in the second half, so it’s not crazy to think Texas can get the ball back. 

-          Ash is 7/8 for 48 yards on this drive, he’s looked far more comfortable, as the Longhorns are getting the ball out of his hands quickly.  ESPN just showed his passing chart, which showed that Ash is 23/32 on passes under 15 yards, but 0/5 on any pass longer than 15 yards.  Right on cue, he throws a deep seam route to a spot on the field where no one is. 

-          Ash fumbles, and the game may be over.  A nickelback blitz on Ash’s backside got to him, and had he seen the blitz, the backside slot WR was wide open streaking down the field on a seam route.  Texas’ hopes of winning are dashed now, but they still can hang their hat on staying close with Oklahoma State all game. 

-          Oklahoma State will take some worries away from this game, as their offense was completely stagnant in the second half other than Jeremy Smith’s two carry TD drive.  Texas got far more pressure on Weeden in the second half and forced errant throws.  On the defensive side, they let the Longhorns run all over them on the ground, and David Ash actually looked fairly efficient towards the end of the game, although that was probably more by Oklahoma State’s design.  They were playing a mild prevent defense, giving up the short 5-6 yard routes to Texas in exchange for time burning off the clock.  Overall, the pass defense was solid against the freshman Ash, but the run defense which surrendered 217 rushing yards is a major problem.