Disrupt Houston Passing Game

[Mustang98]

Given that our pass defense is a little behind our rush defense, does anyone know if there are some ways we can shake up the Cougars passing game? It would be nice to disrupt Kolb's timing, so our secondary isn't worn out by halftime. Is our defensive line capable of getting in Kolb's face?

[The Q]

Hopefully we can rush the passer like we did toward the end of last season -- being all over the QB with pressure from only the front four. That way, you get Kolb running for his life and drop seven into coverage. They don't run the ball a hell of a lot at UH, anyway, pressuring Kolb (to me) is the biggest key to winning the game.

Go SMU!

[SMU Football Blog]

Defensively, we are healthy at the right time. The D-line is healthy for the first time since the start of the UTEP game and that showed against UAB. Kolb moves better than you think. They have allowed 18 sacks, which is pretty middle of the road. The keys will be to (i) get good, constant pressure; (ii) control the clock.

[Mustang98]

I think you are right. Somebody said that Art Briles' offense is very dependent on the run working well. I heard that if Houston's running game suffers then they can't do things in their passing game. The only thing I worry about is what ECU did to us. ECU didn't run very well, but they passed well enough to win the ball game just on that alone.

[MustangIcon]

Defensively, we are healthy at the right time. The D-line is healthy for the first time since the start of the UTEP game and that showed against UAB. Kolb moves better than you think. They have allowed 18 sacks, which is pretty middle of the road. The keys will be to (i) get good, constant pressure; (ii) control the clock.

They don't allow a ton of sacks partly because many of the plays are designed for quick passes. On slower plays where Kolb has to wait for receivers routes to develope, UH is very susceptible to pressure up front. You are right that Kolb is pretty athletic- he avoids a great deal of sacks with his feet and pocket pressence.

On another note, while the Cougars do not run a lot, it is still very important to their offense. If you shut the UH running game down they really seem to struggle more on offense in spite of the fact they pass so much. I think our D-Line is a huge advantage for us in this game and will make things easier on our DBs.

[mrydel]

Apparently if history is a lesson, we will gear up to stop the run and be surprised if they come out passing.

[MustangIcon]

I think you are right. Somebody said that Art Briles' offense is very dependent on the run working well. I heard that if Houston's running game suffers then they can't do things in their passing game.

You are correct but I think the strength of our D-Line allows us to not have to "gear up" to stop the run. Haywood has been an absolute beast in the middle along with Bonds. Rogers has been absolutely great and Muse being back and healthy for us is a huge difference maker (see UAB game). My hope is we can still play a pass oriented defense while the D-Line continues to control the trenches. Maybe I am overoptomistic but I think we have a good chance against UH. However, if we play like we did against UAB, it won't matter how good the D-Line plays.

[SMU Football Blog]

You are correct but I think the strength of our D-Line allows us to not have to "gear up" to stop the run. Haywood has been an absolute beast in the middle along with Bonds. Rogers has been absolutely great and Muse being back and healthy for us is a huge difference maker (see UAB game). My hope is we can still play a pass oriented defense while the D-Line continues to control the trenches. Maybe I am overoptomistic but I think we have a good chance against UH. However, if we play like we did against UAB, it won't matter how good the D-Line plays.

This makes so much sense and I have thought the same thing all year. Now, then, why did didn't Bennett think the smae thing going into the ECU game?

[MustangIcon]

You are correct but I think the strength of our D-Line allows us to not have to "gear up" to stop the run. Haywood has been an absolute beast in the middle along with Bonds. Rogers has been absolutely great and Muse being back and healthy for us is a huge difference maker (see UAB game). My hope is we can still play a pass oriented defense while the D-Line continues to control the trenches. Maybe I am overoptomistic but I think we have a good chance against UH. However, if we play like we did against UAB, it won't matter how good the D-Line plays.

This makes so much sense and I have thought the same thing all year. Now, then, why did didn't Bennett think the smae thing going into the ECU game?

I guess thats why he gets paid to coach football and we get paid do something else (and post on ponyfans.com while at work). There must be some reason for it, but hopefully we can pull out a W this weekend with the D-Line being a major contributor.

[mrydel]

You are correct but I think the strength of our D-Line allows us to not have to "gear up" to stop the run. Haywood has been an absolute beast in the middle along with Bonds. Rogers has been absolutely great and Muse being back and healthy for us is a huge difference maker (see UAB game). My hope is we can still play a pass oriented defense while the D-Line continues to control the trenches. Maybe I am overoptomistic but I think we have a good chance against UH. However, if we play like we did against UAB, it won't matter how good the D-Line plays.

This makes so much sense and I have thought the same thing all year. Now, then, why did didn't Bennett think the smae thing going into the ECU game?

I guess thats why he gets paid to coach football and we get paid do something else (and post on ponyfans.com while at work). There must be some reason for it, but hopefully we can pull out a W this weekend with the D-Line being a major contributor.

I am confident the DL will be fine. The LBs will make the difference against Houston. They did improve Tuesday night as compared to ECU.

[The PonyGrad]

Actually our D was MUCH better vs. UAB. See my thread on props to the D.

Did I see us playing some nickel? That could help.

[SApony]

It is all about tackling for our D and being aggressive. The D-Line will do their job, but the secondary and outside linebackers have to stop the 3 and 4 yard passing routes from turning into 9 and 10 yard gains. I am glad McCann is getting more playing time, he is a big play waiting to happen.

[The PonyGrad]

Were you guys watching the same game? The tackling at the point of reception was much better. As a result we allowed just 3.7 yards per attempt and 7.4 per completion and made 8 pass break ups.

[SMU_is_bowling]

SAPony is right, to many arm tackles and not finishinig against a weak UAB team . . . that has to stop!