All eyes on the secondary

By Ryan Wood     Oct 7, 2006

Nick Krug
When a cornerback does his job, it looks a little like this, with KU's Anthony Webb (20) breaking up a pass intended for Nebraska's Frantz Hardy on the final play of regulation.

It’s all about the eyes, Aqib Talib says.

Too many times, Kansas University’s football team has been knocked out by the home-run ball – a pass play that goes for big gains and makes a big impact on the game.

Just last week, three touchdown passes by Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor went for more than 75 yards – and each burned an inexperienced member of KU’s secondary for six points.

“It’s us putting our eyes where they shouldn’t be on every one of them,” said Talib, KU’s star cornerback. “Your eyes should stay on your receiver. When you break on the ball, your eyes should stay on your receiver. When you take certain drops, your eyes should be on the receiver.

“Sometimes we were dropping and looking in the backfield at the quarterback and forgetting where our receiver was. It turned into a big play.”

Nick Krug
When he doesn't do his job, it can look like this, with Webb getting burned by Terrence Nunn for a 75-yard TD pass on the second play of the game, which Nebraska won, 39-32, Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.

And it ultimately has made KU’s pass defense a big liability through five games. Talib’s return after a two-game suspension to start the season was a boost, but he’s only part of it. Two first-year starters have rotated at the other corner spot, and two more are splitting time at free safety.

Pass unhappy

The bottom 10 teams in NCAA Division I-A against the pass:

Team Yards per game

110. TCU 259.0

Nick Krug
Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib strips the ball from Missouri receiver Brad Ekwerekwu during the third quarter of the teams' meeting last season. Talib says the Jayhawks' struggles in the secondary are nothing to worry about.

111. Kentucky 260.6

112. Kansas 264.2

113. SMU 268.6

114. Tulane 272.8

115. Northern Illinois 272.8

116. Purdue 291.0

117. Central Florida 297.75

118. Ball State 310.8

119. UTEP 313.3

And besides, Talib’s not claiming to be innocent with his eyes.

“Even I did it in the game,” Talib said of losing his receiver. “It just so happened that when I did it, they didn’t throw my receiver the ball. It happens. Every defensive back in the Big 12 probably does it. You’ll never go out there and play a perfect game.”

Getting better

Even so, KU’s secondary has improving to do. Heading into today’s game with Texas A&M, the Jayhawks’ pass defense is dead last in the Big 12 Conference and 112th out of 119 Division I-A teams, giving up 264.2 yards per game.

Of the bottom 10 pass-defense teams in Division I-A, three have played Texas Tech, a prolific passing offense that puts up numbers on a whole different scale.

KU has played good passing teams – particularly Nebraska, South Florida and Toledo – but only the Huskers are ranked in the top 30 nationally throwing the ball.

Nebraska outdid even the 377-yard passing effort by Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 9. Last week, NU quarterback Zac Taylor threw for 395 yards and four touchdowns against the Jayhawks, repeatedly throwing passes way downfield with alarming success.

The second play of the game illustrated the youth of KU’s secondary, which is growing up – almost painfully – in front of our eyes.

Freshman Anthony Webb, anticipating an out route after Terrence Nunn broke left, glanced back toward Taylor looking for a ball. Nunn did a double-move instead and zoomed downfield. He caught the ball on the fly, almost 10 yards ahead of Webb, and scored a 75-yard touchdown.

Webb also had trouble on a 36-yard completion to Maurice Purify and immediately left the game in favor of junior Blake Bueltel.

Bueltel, though, was covering Frantz Hardy on a 78-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. He was subsequently replaced by Webb, who is considered the starter once again.

“Webb is the guy, and he’s earned that position,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “He gets better every day because he’s got a good attitude about learning and getting better.”

KU’s secondary might get a slight break with Texas A&M today. The Aggies are the Big 12 Conference’s best team running the football, and it plays into the strength of the KU defense.

Aggie quarterback Stephen McGee is an option quarterback with an arm. He has thrown just one interception in 110 attempts and is fifth in the conference in pass efficiency.

But the Aggies statistically use the passing game only to complement the run. McGee is eighth in the Big 12 in passing yards per game, with 184.6 yards.

Still, the KU secondary knows it can’t expect any sort of off day. That’s when you become vulnerable, and the offense then has a feast.

“It’s more of the secondary staying focused during the game, staying disciplined and just staying on their receivers,” Talib said. “They’re going to try and run it, run it, run it, and then they’re going to throw a play-action. We’ve just got to stay focused and stay in the game.”

The attitude

The defensive backs have a thankless job, unless they’re making acrobatic interceptions with the game on the line.

While a missed block can be absorbed, a missed tackle is oftentimes forgotten and a dropped pass is shaken off immediately, a defensive back getting burned can mean six points with the snap of the fingers.

That’s where a cocky confidence can be crucial. Take Talib, one of the Big 12’s best cornerbacks who never once has fallen short on the sureness scale.

Talib was asked this week if opposing offenses were throwing away from him.

“I feel like I got a lot of balls on Saturday,” Talib said. “I had quite a few balls thrown at me. As a matter of fact, I had the most important ball thrown at me in overtime. I don’t find that a problem at all.”

Catch that? Talib only considers it a “problem” if offenses aren’t testing him.

Certainly, KU’s young cornerbacks can learn a thing or two from Talib, even if it’s only the right attitude on the field – and the right mind-set that the next play is the most important.

Talib, for one, wouldn’t mind being a leader if called upon. He just insists that he hasn’t been needed yet – even after the secondary’s struggles at Nebraska.

“It was already out of their mind,” Talib said. “I didn’t really have to say anything. They were all right.”

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