Back to Football coverage

Football

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Keegan

Keegan: Is sky really falling?

By Tom Keegan

Advertisement

The defensive line can't put steady heat on the passer. The offensive line has trouble blowing open rushing lanes and protecting the passer. The running game often crawls. The secondary gets torched regularly. The remaining schedule is as tough as any in the nation.

The sky is falling. The sky is falling.

And the passing game is firing strikes through that falling sky, making all the doom and gloom whispers surrounding the Kansas University football team premature.

You know the whispers: "If South Florida and Iowa State can do that to our defense, what are Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas Tech and Texas going to do to us?"

Score a lot of points, just as all those defenses will have a difficult time keeping Todd Reesing and his gifted pack of receivers from scoring touchdowns.

It's true that the four Big 12 teams ranked ahead of No. 16 Kansas have the advantage in line play, but on at least one side of the ball, Reesing tends to negate that with his remarkable pocket presence and ability to throw accurately on the run, long and short.

No Big 12 offense can match KU's third-down success rate as high as KU's 56.4 percent.

More statistics indicative of how difficult it will be even for four of the nation's top seven teams to slow down Reesing: He ranks third in the country in total offense, completions (28.8) and passing yards (344.8) per game.

That Kansas has done what it's done offensively when three players at key blocking positions (tackles Anthony Collins and Cesar Rodriguez and tight end Derek Fine) who combined for 97 starts have been replaced by three players (tackles Jeff Spikes and Jeremiah Hatch and tight end Tim Biere) who combined for zero snaps coming into the season is a testament to Reesing, offensive coordinator Ed Warinner and a receiving group led by the amazing Kerry Meier (second in the nation with 8.8 receptions per game and 11th with 102.8 yards per game).

"That's a lot of experience we lost," Warinner said. "Not only were they experienced players, they were very good players as evidenced that two of them were on active rosters in the NFL. No question you can't replace that overnight. You can plug in bodies with the same amount of talent, but the experience level, and the game savvy and the ability to adjust in games and emotionally how to get yourself ready every week is something that you learn as you go."

Overall, Warinner has to like what his offense is doing, even though it ranks last in the Big 12 with 118.6 rushing yards per game.

"I'm pretty pleased about the fact that our time of possession is good, we're able to control the clock," he said. "Converting third down is the key to that, staying on the field. We've been pretty efficient on first down, our passing game is completing over 70 percent and we've had a lot of success there. All that's going to spread things out, keep people off balance. I'm happy that we're finding ways to win, finding ways to move the ball, and that we're still having a lot of success. We're working through the growing pains of being young on offense and we're getting better every week, I think."

And they're doing it all under a falling sky.

Comments

njjayhawk (anonymous) says...

Tom, I appreciate your comments, but your logic and conclusions are flawed; I believe you miss the point.

You point to the offense as doing many good things to date - true, but with the exception of USF, the statistics you quote were generated against inferior teams - many of them powder puffs. The point most of us Jayhawks make is the 'great statistics' of the past five games will not tranlate against the likes of OU, TT, Texas, MU. They simply will not.

While the sky may not be falling (yet), at the level of Jayhawk performance we've seen to date against the 'soft side of our schedule', a rude awakening awaits KU as they head into the meat grinder segment of their schedule and take on the elites of the nation, Reesing heroics and talent notwithstanding.

7 - 5 still looks about right.

October 8, 2008 at 6:21 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

emphawker (anonymous) says...

Them boys need to keep sawin' wood. Need to get to 5-1 before we worry about 7-5, 8-4, etc.

October 8, 2008 at 6:40 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

cshjhawk (anonymous) says...

It would not surprise me that the lights come on for some of our key younger players and we defeat at least one of those 4 teams.

October 8, 2008 at 6:49 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JHawk74 (anonymous) says...

njjayhawk,
Your an idiot! KU will not lose any games at home this year. We can't go 7-5 if we don't lose home games! We may lose to OU at Norman, but we not losing at home to anyone this year!

October 8, 2008 at 7:19 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

hawkfan20 (anonymous) says...

We're going to have to improve if we're going to defend our homefield. Reesing has made up for a lot of our shortcomings at this point. Special teams really have to pick it up. Need a little more out of the o-line. D-line needs to raise their play a notch, which will help the pass D. Last year's KU's team would demolish this one by 3 TDs right now.

I feel like we have some talent and you hope to see these guys improve throughout the season. If we can make some strides, we can still have a great year, but if we continue to play like we're playing right now, I doubt we're going to be very pleased at the end of the year.

October 8, 2008 at 8:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

troutsee (anonymous) says...

This week's game is huge. We are surprisingly a 14 point favorite. If we beat those odds, we will be tough to beat by anyone the rest of the year.

We'll see this week if the team comes to play from the opening kick-off. Here's hoping our D is much improved, especially our D-backs in defending the quick outs.

October 8, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jbrownjib (anonymous) says...

I agree with njjayhawk. I appreciate where we are at this point but then again we could not contain South Florida. However, South Florida is not Missouri, Texas or OU. The O and D lines for OU, MU and Texas are maybe the best in the country. I live in the south and every weekend I can only watch SEC football. I believe that MU and OU can stand against LSU, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida but Kansas does not have enough strength on the offensive and defensive lines. I watched as the front four of Ole Miss made swiss cheese of the Florida O-line. Kansas may pull one upset of the Big 12 powers but we still have to beat CU, KSU, and NU. KU must take care of business first.

October 8, 2008 at 9:44 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

JHawk74......njjayhawk isn't an idiot. He's just being realistic about where the team stacks up right now. It's pretty optimistic to say we're not going to lose a home game this year, considering we have TT and UT on the schedule. This team simply hasn't played to the level that can stand up against top competition.....yet.

CU has enough talent that they could make the game Saturday interesting, especially if KU comes out flat like they did in Ames. I think Vegas is crazy having KU a 14 point favorite.

I would be ecstatic if KU played OU within 14 points in Norman.

TT is very talented. If KU has to punt 3 times or turns the ball over, KU will have a hard time winning this game.

UT's offensive and defensive lines can just manhandle KU's units. That's just a fact. Thank goodness this game is in Lawrence.

Missouri is so talented. On the flip side, it's a rivalry game so anything can happen.

I'll be at every home game, cheering on the Hawks. If they can win 2 out of the 4 games against OU, TT, UT and MU I would consider it a great accomplishment.

The real test is whether we can win the games we are SUPPOSED to win: CU, KSU, and NU. If we do, we're 7-5 at worst.

October 8, 2008 at 10:37 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

okjhok (anonymous) says...

I live in the south too, but I see a lot more than just SEC football, including most of KU's games. Try FSN, ESPN, ESPN2, Versus, BTN, ABC, and even NBC (Notre Dame).

Yes, the lines are young and inexperienced, but I trust coach Mangino when he says they're getting better. It's all about matchups

Also, just because the upcoming stretch of games looks tough, is that any reason not to be excited. It's college football, folks. This is what it's all about. I'm not scared of OU and Texas, and I'm sure the players aren't either. They're excited to play. None of us know how the rest of the season will play out, and that's what makes college football so damn fun.

October 8, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

okjhok.....Agreed that I'm excited to play the best of the best to see where we stack up. College football is the greatest game in the world. (I know that's sacreligious talk for a basketball school.) I'm just being realistic. If we had last year's line play on both sides of the ball, we could definitely be in all those games.

October 8, 2008 at 11:05 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

hawk_bred20 (anonymous) says...

C'mon people, I know a lot of you have been going to KU home games for awhile now. Last time we played this schedule, we were in both games at home against UT and TTech and we weren't even close to being as good as we are now. I think TTech and TX should be really worried about having to come into Memorial Stadium and take down KU in 2 games that our players and fans will be VERY pumped for. I think 2-2 against the 4 is very possible and I don't think I'm being overly optimistic (well maybe), but I'm confident that this team will get better every week and defend it's homefield.

October 8, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...

right now we're one of 6 Big 12 teams who are undefeated in conference play. We have to play one game at a time and maybe at the end of the season we'll be in the Big 12 Championship game with a shot at our second straight BCS Bowl appearance.

As long as we take care of business (win the games we're supposed to win), win at home, and whip our rivals in Arrowhead we're in it.

October 8, 2008 at 12:35 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

railer1122 (anonymous) says...

Good point hawk bred... We lost to Texas Tech and Texas by a combined 5 points. And we finished that year 4-7. And Texas then had Vince Young, who is better than anyone Texas has right now on their current team.

October 8, 2008 at 12:53 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

bobsarobot (anonymous) says...

seriously you guys, we are still growing this program. winning the orange bowl and going 12-1 last season was awesome but we did lose some major experience and our schedule is much tougher this year. this team and program are growing, we will improve in many areas by the latter part of the season. we will continue to develop as an overall program. some of you are unbelievable, you go from wanting mangino fired a couple seasons ago (who would replace him was my question) and now you expect KU to be able to reel off 10+ wins a year and never have a drop off or have to develop young talent.

we have come so far, keep the expectations realistic and cheer for your team because they will be in every game they play. they may not win them all but it is a far cry from being down 31-0 at halftime and having no hope in sight.

October 8, 2008 at 12:55 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

Is it just me or did nobody else watch the game last week? So far this year it seemed as if our team hadn't woken up and started playing. It was as if they had lost the fire that got them playing so hard last season, and couldn't find a good spark to rekindle it.

People are still talking about this team as if the second half of the Iowa State game never happened. In the second half of that game KU out scored them 35 to 13. That's on pace for a 70 to 26 victory.

Everybody is talking about this team as if all they saw was the final score. Are you telling me that none of you sensed what I sensed in the second half of that game?

- The offensive line gave Reesing plenty of time to make throws.
- There were holes open for Jake Sharp to run through.
- Sharp was taking much cleaner and faster handoffs, and hitting the hole fast.

- The defensive line started getting pressure with a four man rush.
- Our blitzers got through and blew up several plays in the backfield. (the linebackers woke up)
- Though some of them were still caught, every pass was contested in the air.

I saw a fire in them that I hadn't seen all year, and if our team had been playing that way the whole game, Iowa State would never have been in it. We were in a tough situation in that game not only because of the deficit, but because we had also given them hope and confidence that they could outplay us. I give Iowa State credit for standing up to the onslaught as well as they did and playing us tough in the fourth quarter to make it a game.

Playing from twenty points down against a confident team in their own stadium is no small feat. You're not going to stop everything against a team like that, and it's amazing to knock them in the teeth hard enough to get them to sit back on their heels for a quarter like we did. This year's team hadn't played like that before, and what I saw looked a lot like the way that last year's team would have handled the situation.

To put it simply, I think the second half woke up a monster that is not easily put back to sleep.

October 8, 2008 at 1:11 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabio (anonymous) says...

Good point JBurtin. I would be upset with everyone for being so pessemistic, but the fact is we now have another oppurtunity to play the underdog role again this year. I love being the underdog myself.
We just won a conference road game and everyone is panicing. When was the last time that happened at KU? Iowa State is a good football team folks. Dont believe me? Watch them the next 3 weeks as I predict Iowa State will win their next 3 conference games.
Keep on underestimating the Fighing Manginos. I love being a KU Football fan.

October 8, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sava12 (anonymous) says...

The O-line has some inexperience - no doubt about it. The kids will learn with every game. We saw some good blocking last week and maybe that will translate over to CU. The Buffs will be more physical up front and faster on the ends so it will be interesting to see how the kids respond. The experience will come - this year will be fun and next year will be more fun.

October 8, 2008 at 2:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jwliddell (anonymous) says...

What if the slim chance that the hawks win out the rest of the season is realized? You would have to think that's a BCS bid after defeating 4 top 10 teams.

I know it's completely unlikely, but crazier things have happened, and I don't think Mangino is chalking up any game as a loss before it's played.

Just some food for thought, our schedule could actually help us.

October 8, 2008 at 3:22 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

crzykufan987 (anonymous) says...

Look JBurtin, the way you broke down the second half is like looking at the glass half full to an extreme. Yeah, there's a lot to be excited about with that second half and all, but it still isn't like the first half didn't happen. It's not the first it has happened this year either, take the USF game the first half AMAZING, the third quarter- well you know, and the fourth quarter was AMAZING. How about we play an entire game like we can. The thing is, maybe we can't. I completely agree with the waking up part. I feel as though we're a Colorado blowout away from feeling like a top ten team.

October 8, 2008 at 3:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kusportsfan (anonymous) says...

if we blow out cu we are legit again...if we fall asleep again it isnt goin to look to good from here

October 8, 2008 at 6:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

Everyone on here has had great points.

The way I see it, it's simple: in the two biggest games of the year so far for us (USF and ISU), we haven't been able to put two good halves of football together. That's the absolute key.

At USF, the first and fourth quarters we played good football. At ISU, we played well the second half. And although I'd like to just focus on the spectacular comebacks in both games, you can't just ignore the fact that we put ourselves in comeback situations to begin with.

The 'hawks HAVE to come out firing on all cylinders and KEEP THEIR FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL ALL GAME from here on out.

Can they do it? That's what is so great about the state of the program now -- from '97-'02, and, some may argue, '04, the answer would have been a resounding NO. However, now it's a maybe, the same maybe that applies to USC, OU, LSU and the like when they play competitive conference foes--you just never know with college football. Mangino and his hard working players have leveled the playing field, and I CAN'T WAIT for the remainder of the season because if anything else I know we'll be competitive. ROCK CHALK!!

October 8, 2008 at 7:24 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

hawk_bred20 (anonymous) says...

Good point bmcmich1.

This team just has to figure out how to put a whole game together. I was watching highlights of last year's season a few minutes ago and saw Talib out there running around crazy like he always did. Is it possible the corners from last year are missing that swagger that Talib brought to the secondary? Can Harris step up and be the leader of the group? Might be something to think about. Time will tell.

October 8, 2008 at 8:10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

crzykufan987

I would agree with you except that I disagree that any quarter of the USF game was amazing. I think Reesing and a few others made some great plays here and there, but by and large I think USF played scared in the first half (similarly to the way we played against ISU) and allowed us to creep out to a lead. Once they settled in and realized that KU wasn't really playing all that well, they started dominating us.

Even in that game our line play was lousy throughout and it took miracles from experienced guys like Reesing and Meier to keep the game close.

I am positive about the ISU game because I finally saw a defense that didn't look lethargic, and an offensive line and running game that were taking their part of the load.

But more than anything, what I saw was a spark that hadn't been there in any game this year.

My belief is that the second half finally got a good fire burning, and I think it will continue to burn in weeks to come. I'm just surprised that nobody else senses the same thing.

October 8, 2008 at 8:56 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

tkeegan (Tom Keegan) says...

njayhawk, Most teams stats to this point have come against inferior competition, including the defensive stats of the four Big 12 powerhouses. Those numbers haven't come against QBs and receivers as talented as Reesing, Meier, Briscoe, etc. Look at Texas' pass defense numbers and see if you don't think Reesing has the potential to have a big day. He'll face a lot of heat against those teams, but the guy has incredible pocket presence. I just think he's an equalizer. And I agree with those who think Kansas showed more confidence in the second half than in quite some time. -- Tom Keegan

October 8, 2008 at 10:12 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kvskubball (anonymous) says...

bmcmich1,

I think you are the most on track so far. Play a full game, or CU may beat us.

tk,

Reesing is an equalizer, but if the ground game doesn't improve, he will face so much heat that all he'll be doing is laying on his back dazed, looking up at the sun or the moon depending on day/night game. Also the D needs to step up, last I checked Reesing doesn't play defense. Except for USF, we haven't played a team that has anywhere near the talent of OU, UT, TT, MU.

Overall we have vastly improved over the years when we weren't much better than an IM team. Last year was super. Coach had recruited well and players with talent had matured into a great TEAM, hey they even reminded me of our basketball team! Developing that winning ability CONSISTENTLY, for most every play of every game of every year should be our next goal. We've had to replace some talented guys and the new men in the blocks haven't been up to the task yet.

We had USF where we wanted them and then we coasted, went flat, whatever you want to call it, and got going again, but couldn't get back in front. In the ISU game it was like the whole team missed the wake-up call, but was able to turn it around. I hope it is an indication that the team is improving, and not that ISU just wore down. Unfortunately I can't get too excited over having to come back from 20 down to the team likely to finish last in the Big XII. I'm reserving my judgement until we've played CU.

Three things are working against our team this year. First, last year's success creates monster expectations, not only in the fans, but I'm sure the players feel it too, which might make it difficult to play it one play at a time. Second, we lost talented players, we miss Aqib, Brandon, our OT's, those areas haven't come around for us yet this year (pass defense, running game, semi-sized wholes to run thru). Third, the schedule is much tougher this year, and other teams are taking us more seriously. So, just as we should have expected to do well last year (weaker schedule), although certainly not as well as we did! We should be expecting to struggle some this year.

Everyone gets caught up in W/L record. I think it's important for our program to be competitive in each game, and get a winning Big XII record this year. If we do, we might not be as happy as we would like in the short term (If we don't win as many games as we think we should), but we should be able to recruit better, and Coach has shown he CAN get great effort and results. Then all of us will be able to be as proud of our Fball team as we are of our BBall team. If we start winning 9 or more games a year consistently that will be great. Last year was a foundation year, but this year is a bridge year. I hope it is a bridge to consistently competitive football.

Rock the Buffalo this week!!!

PS: I hope they change the chant. Let's be classy!

October 9, 2008 at 3:41 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Hawkish4bigM (anonymous) says...

Those home games look pretty significant right now. Will be fun to watch. Hope that defense starts taking more risk.

October 9, 2008 at 9:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )