Baylor Football Blog
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
This Saturday Baylor will be facing the Samford Bulldogs for our Parent's Weekend game. This should prove to be a relatively easy win for the Bears, coming off their first road win in 24 tries. Back home, Baylor will seek to polish its offense and use this game as a scrimmage for the first- and second-teamers.
Here's the breakdown:
Defensive Ends
As would be expected for a small school like Samford, the biggest difference in the teams is going to be in the size and athleticism found along the lines. Samfords starting two defensives ends, Steve Wisdom and Jonathan Vance, are undersized against Baylors line. Standing 6-1 and 6-0 and weighing in at 235 and 225 respectively, Samford will likely have to resort to blitzing more than the simply the ends if they have a hope to get pressure. They are each giving up around 80 pounds to the tackle they will be facing. I expect Baylor's line to have another fine night protecting Bell from an inferior opponent (only gave up one sack against SMU) and for passing lanes to be open and clear with little distraction for the passing game. The running game should also have a lot of success, with Mosley facing DEs that are built like the safeties he usually runs over.
Defensive Tackles
Again, Samford is undersized here, though not nearly as bad as at the end position. The starters are Clyde Triplett (6-2 285) and Haris Kovacevic (6-2 275). Interestingly enough, Samfords two-deep is about the same size-wise as SMUs, though I seriously doubt they equal their athleticism. The depth here has an interesting figure. Aidan Clifford is a 6-5 315 offensive lineman that will get some time at defensive tackle. News on the Bulldogs is hard to come by, so I'm not sure if this is a permanent move or not. Aidan is not listed on the two deep for the offensive line, though there is no backup LG listed and the same player is responsible for backing up the right and left tackles.
Baylor should be able to run on this group effectively with the number of offensive linemen we have to rotate. I would look for the Bears to run the ball at least 45 to 50 times this game and for Mosley and Whitaker to get plenty of yards before handing the duties off to Jacoby Jones.
Linebackers
Samfords 4-3 defense incorporates the SS position as a Rover, playing close to the line of scrimmage like another LBer. It gives it a 4-4 look to it, while getting more speed on the field. As such, the rover will be dealt with in this section.
Samfords linebackers are another undersized group. Weakside Linebacker Steve Tennin (6-2 227), Middle Linebacker Calvin Hodge (6-0 222) and Linebacker Bobby Sherman (6-0 230) make up the starting group. The Rover Brad Booth is 6-1 195. Baylor shouldn't have too many problems running the ball on these guys, and our TEs should have a field day catching passes over guys they have 3-4 inches on and 30-40 pounds on.
Mosley will have a good day running them over and then Whitaker will come on and run around them.
Secondary
The cornerbacks are T.C. Myers (5-7 175) and Sean Hill (5-9 170). Free safety Cortland Finnegan (5-11 195) will be the last man in line. Samfords corners will struggle to stay with Baylor's taller receivers, while also giving up a lot of weight. Baylor should be expected to not only complete a very high percentage of passes, but also rack up a lot of YAC yards.
Baylor should be looking to score on each of its possessions for its first team offense. There is almost no reason to be stopped by a defense that is this undersized and overmatched. Baylor fans should look for the offensive line to dominate the trenches and for the two running backs to have their way running the ball. Baylor receivers biggest opponent, it would seem, is their own ability to stay healthy and hydrated. If they can stay on the field, they should be able to rack some yards up and then have a good rest in the second half.
Baylor fans should be concerned if we see a relapse of last weeks first half, with turnovers and a ton of missed opportunities. We need to execute and dominate. A minimum score of 40 points should be expected, and really something in the neighborhood of 60 should be a realistic goal.
We should have a comfortable enough margin to play our backups some serious minutes and prepare them for something closer to a game situation. Terrance Parks should get some snaps and Jacoby Jones should get some carries as well. Look for scoring in all four quarters, as our backup lines should still be able to move the ball effectively against Samford.
Losing this game is not conceivable. ¶ 9/06/2005 0 Comments
Here's the breakdown:
Defensive Ends
As would be expected for a small school like Samford, the biggest difference in the teams is going to be in the size and athleticism found along the lines. Samfords starting two defensives ends, Steve Wisdom and Jonathan Vance, are undersized against Baylors line. Standing 6-1 and 6-0 and weighing in at 235 and 225 respectively, Samford will likely have to resort to blitzing more than the simply the ends if they have a hope to get pressure. They are each giving up around 80 pounds to the tackle they will be facing. I expect Baylor's line to have another fine night protecting Bell from an inferior opponent (only gave up one sack against SMU) and for passing lanes to be open and clear with little distraction for the passing game. The running game should also have a lot of success, with Mosley facing DEs that are built like the safeties he usually runs over.
Defensive Tackles
Again, Samford is undersized here, though not nearly as bad as at the end position. The starters are Clyde Triplett (6-2 285) and Haris Kovacevic (6-2 275). Interestingly enough, Samfords two-deep is about the same size-wise as SMUs, though I seriously doubt they equal their athleticism. The depth here has an interesting figure. Aidan Clifford is a 6-5 315 offensive lineman that will get some time at defensive tackle. News on the Bulldogs is hard to come by, so I'm not sure if this is a permanent move or not. Aidan is not listed on the two deep for the offensive line, though there is no backup LG listed and the same player is responsible for backing up the right and left tackles.
Baylor should be able to run on this group effectively with the number of offensive linemen we have to rotate. I would look for the Bears to run the ball at least 45 to 50 times this game and for Mosley and Whitaker to get plenty of yards before handing the duties off to Jacoby Jones.
Linebackers
Samfords 4-3 defense incorporates the SS position as a Rover, playing close to the line of scrimmage like another LBer. It gives it a 4-4 look to it, while getting more speed on the field. As such, the rover will be dealt with in this section.
Samfords linebackers are another undersized group. Weakside Linebacker Steve Tennin (6-2 227), Middle Linebacker Calvin Hodge (6-0 222) and Linebacker Bobby Sherman (6-0 230) make up the starting group. The Rover Brad Booth is 6-1 195. Baylor shouldn't have too many problems running the ball on these guys, and our TEs should have a field day catching passes over guys they have 3-4 inches on and 30-40 pounds on.
Mosley will have a good day running them over and then Whitaker will come on and run around them.
Secondary
The cornerbacks are T.C. Myers (5-7 175) and Sean Hill (5-9 170). Free safety Cortland Finnegan (5-11 195) will be the last man in line. Samfords corners will struggle to stay with Baylor's taller receivers, while also giving up a lot of weight. Baylor should be expected to not only complete a very high percentage of passes, but also rack up a lot of YAC yards.
Baylor should be looking to score on each of its possessions for its first team offense. There is almost no reason to be stopped by a defense that is this undersized and overmatched. Baylor fans should look for the offensive line to dominate the trenches and for the two running backs to have their way running the ball. Baylor receivers biggest opponent, it would seem, is their own ability to stay healthy and hydrated. If they can stay on the field, they should be able to rack some yards up and then have a good rest in the second half.
Baylor fans should be concerned if we see a relapse of last weeks first half, with turnovers and a ton of missed opportunities. We need to execute and dominate. A minimum score of 40 points should be expected, and really something in the neighborhood of 60 should be a realistic goal.
We should have a comfortable enough margin to play our backups some serious minutes and prepare them for something closer to a game situation. Terrance Parks should get some snaps and Jacoby Jones should get some carries as well. Look for scoring in all four quarters, as our backup lines should still be able to move the ball effectively against Samford.
Losing this game is not conceivable. ¶ 9/06/2005 0 Comments
