Front 7

[ponyte]

Our starting front 7 can play with anyone in the country. Against TCU they have to step up and have the game of their careers.

I have been pleased to see so many backups play all year at the front 7 positions. Defense is so demanding physically that we need the depth to rest our personnel. That has been a very pleasant surprise this year that we can rest our starting front 7.

Given the secondaries youth and inexperience, the front 7 really have to step up and relieve some pressure on the secondary.

In person, I was a bit disappointed in our D play. Watching the game replayed on TV, I am a bit more enthused about the Ds play. There were some big mistakes. Especially late in the game with a freshman corner covering like a freshman corner. He will learn that in college the speed and intensity of receivers is a different thing than in high school. Until the younger secondary develops, we ned the front 7 to really take control defensively.

Our front 7 has been studs against the run regardless of the opponents. Now if they can take it up just a notch against TCU and make consistent pressure on the QB in the passing game we can contain the TCU attack.

Our defense can win some games for us this year. And that is the basis for championship football.

[GeorgiaMustang]

I completely agree with you. I think that through the first 3 games we have something like 10 sacks. Not too shabby, especially considering how much we struggled last year to pressure the QB

[mrydel]

We need to start getting some turnovers.

[davidpaul123]

We need to start getting some turnovers.

well said. Id like to see JG cause some fumbles!

[ponyte]

We need to start getting some turnovers.

Strange how last season tunovers defined our D. Plenty of turnovers that set up the offense. This season, the D is just flat stopping folks. IF we start to get turnovers, man, this would be a super season. One wonders if the lack of turnovers and the long field our O faces is affecting the offense's production. A short field sure makes scoring easier.
I love our stuff 'em D this year but you are correct, turnovers make the wins so much easier.

[BUS]

So far this year, we have played four people at the NG position. M. Frazier has gone down and out once in each of the last two games.
Mason is doing a great job... I can not reason it out on paper but he is having the guys in the right place at the right time.
Don't get me wrong, we need more depth but I like seeing more people get into the rotation. We also have 5 guys getting in at DE.

Our LB's are fast and LOVE to hit. That really helps.

[S....M....U]

agreed. our dline is doing a great job getting to the backfield and not overrunning the QB or getting pushed past him. Our LB's are doing a great job with pressure too. I'm more than pleased with the pressure Davis is putting on the QB, whether or not he gets a sack. he is forcing qbs to make quicker decisions...as our secondary gets better, this should turn into interceptions. maybe Mason will work on punching and swiping techniques and we can get that ball on the ground a few times. Great stuff though. I am very happy with the progress this Defense has made. No one expected it to happen this quickly. Go mustangs!

[soccermom]

Yes, our Dline had a great 2nd half and they were impressive. Most definitely have to play the whole game Friday like they did the 2nd half of Saturday's. I am worried about the secondary and I hope Kyle doesn't hang on the the football too long---he may have to learn how to throw it out of bounds some. I don't want to see him get banged up anymore.
KICK 'EM MUSTANGS!!

[rich59]

Interesting and incisive posts. I am amazed at the number of people who are getting into the game for SMU and applaud those decisions by the coaches. The SMU front seven is pretty good. If Hunt keeps improving he will definitely play on Sunday. Hope that Davis can get his education at SMU.

One thing that is interesting to me is how well our defense tackles. Bob Davie talked about, during the TT broadcast, how SMU did little scrimmaging in two a days and that would probably result in poor tackling. Not so! I think the good tackling is the result of the defense understanding the defensive schemes better and being able to just react instead of thinking about where to go. Thus they are in better position to tackle. We are getting a lot of people around the ball also.

If Jerry decides to make a change at the top of the Cowgirls, hope he does not come after JJ and his staff. Just kidding, (I hope.)

[StallionsModelT]

Minus Sterling Moore we are seriously lacking a playmaker in the secondary. Banjo and Smith are solid but just not really dynamic playmakers. Crawford is meh.

[fivemon]

crawford looked alot better this week end

[mrydel]

I have yet to see solid pass coverage from our safeties. They support the run very well, but they need to get a little better on helping out in the secondary.

[kull]

random crap below, a few thoughts/guesses on our offense:
Oregon State demonstrated an effective blue print to beat their defense.
the choice/option routes for the slots will be open, they will bait the intermediate routes.
the big slots will be effective as possession receivers, the scats will get limited YAC.
the ability of holman and AR to get vertical will open the middle further.
we will likely see the stop fade because of their speed on D.
bubble screens will only be effective if executed perfectly.
the running game will remain basic; tampa left, right, etc.- we may see the stretch with Fields.
we will see the shovel pass when TCU's d pins their ears back.
if TCU calls delayed blitzes, the running backs need to step up and make plays.
KP is practicing sprint outs, half and 1/4 roll outs.
KP needs to get his footwork back to remedy his ball speed issues.
Subtle changes in the OL protection scheme and pocket depth/shape will be seen.