I was not surprised by the offense and what they did to a slightly above average Houston defense. If you have been paying attention you could see things start coming together at the West Virginia game. The offense has been making strides but yesterday was the first time that I thought the whole package clicked.
Daniels got things going with the QB draws, some option mixed in, they ran wildcat, and took some deep shots. And then Daniels looked elusive on the few times he was pressured and created something out of nothing. That looked like the JD of old but you could see some of that all coming together in recent weeks.
I have been told several times that Daniels is knocking the rust off and getting back in the groove and I will be honest, there were times I wasn't buying that excuse. But the more I think about it, the more I believe it and will go one step further. I think Daniels starting to look better over the last few games has helped Grimes settle into a game plan and play-caller.
When Daniels gets it all going it allows Grimes to dial up things that are in the playbook with confidence. Yesterday the tight ends were wide open. The QB draw came back into play. When KU gets all of that going it really puts stress on a defensive coordinator. I think early on when Daniels was struggling with certain areas, it makes it harder what to call. But recently, Grimes is starting to open things up like we saw the past two seasons.
KU's offense is now ranked 5th in the Big 12 games averaging 414 yards a game. Like I said, and have been saying, since West Virginia it has started to look better and better.
While I am dishing props to Grimes, the same needs to be done for Borland. They blitzed Houston with different looks yesterday. They brought blitzes from LB, CB and safety. Grant got a sack on a blitz. Cobee got a TFL on a blitz. Listen when you have 12 TFL and six sacks you are doing things to create pressure and confusion. Mix in the fact Houston's OL is bad and that is a recipe for disaster for an offense.
Houston was doomed once they fell behind. They are not a good offensive team and their vertical pass game is as bad as anyone in the league. But credit KU for taking advantage of that.
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I was confused watching K-State last night. I swear the OC must have been out of the office and someone else was calling plays. First off, their run game struggled which you don't see often. Giddens got hit hard and the West Virginia front four was physical. I didn't see Giddens do much. Then I thought I was having an outer body experience because I rarely saw Johnson leave the pocket or run the ball. Then I went to look at the stats this morning to see how many rushes he had. Guess how many?
Zero. That shocked me, but watching live I noticed he wasn't running.
KSU will load the box and something will give against KU. The KSU defense is only giving up 85 rushing yards a game. Daniels is going to have to hit on some passes. And Grimes will have to get creative in the run game like they did last year. I'm sure he will study the tape from last season. They beat KSU up on the ground, but it was out of multiple looks.
That night game will make it tough.
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Before the season I said losing OU and Texas would make this a regional league. It would lose a lot of appeal with national coverage but it would still produce entertaining games for people who follow the league. And it has done just that.
Listen, the football isn't great compared to other games on. When you watch Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, Texas, etc those games are played on another level. They are just better teams and games. The Big 12 is stacked with a bunch of teams barely above average and a little below average. But it has made it fun to follow because any team can get beat on any Saturday (or Friday).
I guarantee teams like KSU, ISU and BYU who are fighting for the league title right now, look at KU on film and know they can present problems. I have said KU isn't a bad team. They just played bad football at the wrong times. The Jayhawks are capable of beating anyone and I think they can give BYU and Iowa State a lot of problems. I haven't made my mind up on KSU yet because they might be a taller task.
Daniels got things going with the QB draws, some option mixed in, they ran wildcat, and took some deep shots. And then Daniels looked elusive on the few times he was pressured and created something out of nothing. That looked like the JD of old but you could see some of that all coming together in recent weeks.
I have been told several times that Daniels is knocking the rust off and getting back in the groove and I will be honest, there were times I wasn't buying that excuse. But the more I think about it, the more I believe it and will go one step further. I think Daniels starting to look better over the last few games has helped Grimes settle into a game plan and play-caller.
When Daniels gets it all going it allows Grimes to dial up things that are in the playbook with confidence. Yesterday the tight ends were wide open. The QB draw came back into play. When KU gets all of that going it really puts stress on a defensive coordinator. I think early on when Daniels was struggling with certain areas, it makes it harder what to call. But recently, Grimes is starting to open things up like we saw the past two seasons.
KU's offense is now ranked 5th in the Big 12 games averaging 414 yards a game. Like I said, and have been saying, since West Virginia it has started to look better and better.
While I am dishing props to Grimes, the same needs to be done for Borland. They blitzed Houston with different looks yesterday. They brought blitzes from LB, CB and safety. Grant got a sack on a blitz. Cobee got a TFL on a blitz. Listen when you have 12 TFL and six sacks you are doing things to create pressure and confusion. Mix in the fact Houston's OL is bad and that is a recipe for disaster for an offense.
Houston was doomed once they fell behind. They are not a good offensive team and their vertical pass game is as bad as anyone in the league. But credit KU for taking advantage of that.
----------
I was confused watching K-State last night. I swear the OC must have been out of the office and someone else was calling plays. First off, their run game struggled which you don't see often. Giddens got hit hard and the West Virginia front four was physical. I didn't see Giddens do much. Then I thought I was having an outer body experience because I rarely saw Johnson leave the pocket or run the ball. Then I went to look at the stats this morning to see how many rushes he had. Guess how many?
Zero. That shocked me, but watching live I noticed he wasn't running.
KSU will load the box and something will give against KU. The KSU defense is only giving up 85 rushing yards a game. Daniels is going to have to hit on some passes. And Grimes will have to get creative in the run game like they did last year. I'm sure he will study the tape from last season. They beat KSU up on the ground, but it was out of multiple looks.
That night game will make it tough.
-----------
Before the season I said losing OU and Texas would make this a regional league. It would lose a lot of appeal with national coverage but it would still produce entertaining games for people who follow the league. And it has done just that.
Listen, the football isn't great compared to other games on. When you watch Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, Texas, etc those games are played on another level. They are just better teams and games. The Big 12 is stacked with a bunch of teams barely above average and a little below average. But it has made it fun to follow because any team can get beat on any Saturday (or Friday).
I guarantee teams like KSU, ISU and BYU who are fighting for the league title right now, look at KU on film and know they can present problems. I have said KU isn't a bad team. They just played bad football at the wrong times. The Jayhawks are capable of beating anyone and I think they can give BYU and Iowa State a lot of problems. I haven't made my mind up on KSU yet because they might be a taller task.
