ESPN B12 Chat - Jake Trotter

[rifram09]

Baylor could start off 7-0 and then finish 0-5

This looks far less likely after 4 games. The 7-0 still looks likely, but the 0-5 would really surprise me. In fact, if they finish any less than 9-3 pre bowl game I'll be really surprised. But that has as much to do with a down B12 as it does a good Baylor team. Frankly, their rise this year couldn't come at a better time (assuming they actually do rise when the rubber meets the road).

 

[Despite the odds Frog]

If Baylor had any of TCUs luck since coming in the Big 12 they would lose their RB against WVU but still win. Then the game vs. KSU they lose their QB for the season dropping a big L on that game. Because of the loss of the QB Iowa state somehow beats BU. Kansas becomes a dog fight and they lose 2-3 def starters barely coming with a W. The rest of the schedule then becomes a hard arse schedule while BU knows what it had with Petty but the rest of the conference saying same ol' Baylor, always on the bottom.

 

[abell2do]

This is Baylors year and they will continue to get better. Briles does not believe in winning by one, and all he needs is an average defense. If he gets a great defense nobody beats Baylor. If you're going to be a top tier team you have to put up a lot of points. TCU should be working on the future, and that begins with Boykin at WR.

 

[IamFroglash88]

Please

 

[cheese83]

Please RG3 was a heisman winner & has been better than any QB since. His team was stacked. Baylor is very beatable.

 

[cdsfrog]

Please RG3 was a heisman winner & has been better than any QB since. His team was stacked. Baylor is very beatable.

 
To be fair it's not 2011. Their offensive line is better, WRs are at least equal, they have a much better run game and they appear to have a better defense. Maybe it's luck the way they have played 8 of the last 9 games but I doubt it.

 

[sheetman]

Having a good defense with Baylor's style of play is impossible due to the fact that the offense is not on the field long enough and the defense wears out.
 
Don't be fooled by the amount of points they are giving up, their defense has been average at best against Buffalo/ULM. The reason the points allowed were low is because both teams decided to go for it on 4th down each time in Baylor territory and came up short and also turned the ball over. If Baylor's defense can't force turnovers or 4th down stops, it will get ugly for them.

 

[cdsfrog]

How exactly will it get ugly for them if they have the best offense in the big 12? Not saying they do yet, zero proof but assuming they do at worst it would be a shoot out. Compare their early games to last years, big difference right now.
 
Defending Baylor feels wrong but it seems like a lot of people are trying to discredit them since we have played poorly since LSU. We had potential in that game but since have looked horrible offensively and made painful mistakes on defense.
 
One thing I did like from Kevin White was his comments on the Tech game. If he doesn't give up that TD on 3rd and 16, we would be talking about how great he played. He should have had safety help too. That play still boggles my mind. I have watched it numerous times and still cant understand what the hell we were thinking. Not saying White will ever be as good as Verrett but he has potential to be a lot better. He made a ton of big plays in the Tech game.

 

[sheetman]

It will get ugly for the defense.
 
Buffalo only scored 26 points despite 5 overtimes against Stony Brook so their offense is bad.

ULM was shut out by Oklahoma.
 
Baylor hasn't faced any good offenses yet. Last year at this time they had faced SMU, SHSU and UL-Monroe, all better teams than what they have faced so far.
 
By get ugly, I mean their defense will allow 40, 50, 60 points like they did last year.
 
Wait until they face a team that forces their offense into back to back 3 and outs and then the opponent offense goes on a long 11 play 80 yard drive to really wear out the defense.

 

[pgdaly84]

It's really hard to gauge how good the defenses of teams like Baylor, Oregon, and Ok State really are because their offensive schemes are designed to score as quickly as possible. Baylor has an insane number of scoring drives that are a minute or less. Oregon is dead last in TOP but still blowing people away. I think you have to judge defenses like this on a sliding scale based on turnovers forced and the number of 3 and outs they can produce, not yards allowed. When your defense is on the field for 2/3 of the game you're bound to give up yards. Ok State gave up a bunch of yards in 2011, but they forced a ton of turnovers, so they were actually a good defense for their scheme. That's what Baylor needs to aim for. We'll see if they can do it.

 

[ImwithBU]

It's really hard to gauge how good the defenses of teams like Baylor, Oregon, and Ok State really are because their offensive schemes are designed to score as quickly as possible. Baylor has an insane number of scoring drives that are a minute or less. Oregon is dead last in TOP but still blowing people away. I think you have to judge defenses like this on a sliding scale based on turnovers forced and the number of 3 and outs they can produce, not yards allowed. When your defense is on the field for 2/3 of the game you're bound to give up yards. Ok State gave up a bunch of yards in 2011, but they forced a ton of turnovers, so they were actually a good defense for their scheme. That's what Baylor needs to aim for. We'll see if they can do it.

 
Winner, Winner. Thank you.  Who cares about how many yards BU gives up.  For our defense its all about a bend but dont break mentality.  Teams know that field goals wont beat us if our offense is on that day. This is why team are going for it on fourth down.  We have scored defensive TDs in every game, yea I know terrible competition but it still helps.  We dont need to get turnovers on every defensive possesion, but if we hold a team to 3 punts a game and a couple of field goals instead of TDs I like our chances.  I understand we havent played anybody, and people keep saying we will should go 7-0.  Well the reason we should go 7-0 is because our team is simply better than those other teams.  I get tired of the WVU comparison.  There is a huge difference between winning in spite of your defense and winning with some defense.   Yes West Virgina started hot last year, but did they really.  We gave up 70 to them, but guess what they gave up 63 to us.  They scored 48 on UT but gave up 45.  We knew our defense was terrible last year and so was the WVU defense.  Although our first 3 games are not the same opponents as last year, they are the same caliber of teams.  Last year we gave up 20+ points to all and 42 to ULM.  This year has been a different story.  In the end things will play itself out as the season goes on, but in all honesty I dont mind people doubting us. Im sure you guys had doubters during your Rose Bowl season and Im just hoping my Bears can pull of a BCS win as well.

 

[UberBear]

That 2012 WVU team also gave up 34 to Marshall and barely got by a bad Maryland when their offense and namely Geno Smith struggled. They started getting hyped after their game with us when Geno, Austin, and Bailey dropped 70 on us. Baylor was horrible at the beginning of last year, I remember us being down by two scores to both Sam Houston State and ULM. We then went on a losing streaking getting dropped by you guys, Texas and even to an Iowa State that lost to Tulsa in its bowl game.
 
Ever since the KSU game we have been on a diferent level, ending with a convinving win over the pac-12 south champs. This year our defense has scored more points than we have allowed. This year we have the senior experience of Dixion, Hager, Lackey, with added raw talent/power of Oakman and Andrew Billings. Billings is already drawing double team allowing our guys to put pressure on the QB and even with the double team he has been able to pressure the QB. Our defense now should be worlds apart compared to our defense at the beginning of last season. However our secondary still remains very suspect and both ULM and Buffalo were able to pull of some big plays in our secondary.
 
Our offense is much more balanced this year due to our improved run game with both Glasco Martin and Lache Seastrunk, our backup Shock Linwood isn't too shabby either. Our receivers are scary good, thats all I have to say about that. Our QB is playing at an insane level. However he did get out of rythym somehow (and that is with amazing protection from our stout Oline) during the ULM game and his efficiency dropped dramatically so I am not sure how he would perform when under pressure of after taking a few hits.
 
Our level of play has remained VERY consistent despite our opponents getting better: Wofford (hung with SCar last season) > Buffalo (Hung with OH forcing them to play their starters all 4 quarters) > ULM ( who we beat by only 5 last season).
 
In conclusion: I think Baylor fans should be optimistic with our level of play especially given how down the big 12 is this year. However I don't think we should be claiming that we will win the b12, way too early for that. True we have not been tested yet but this is the best start I have ever seen Baylor had, both on offense and defense. Lastly I think it will be TCU, not OSU nor OU nor Tech(lol) that will give us the most trouble. Your defense is just a nightmare when trying to establish an offensive rythym, Verrett is phenomenal and Fields cannot be ignored when he comes back from his injury. Hope we have you guys at full strength so that Baylor can deal you guys the heart break that your team dealt me last season.

 

[rifram09]

The great irony is that everybody knew Baykor would run the score up in these bad teams an would get all this hype. Everyone on this board called it. I doubt anyone is going to get caught up in the hype around here. We've known the minute the schedule came out that Baylor's season doesn't start until Nov. Everything is playing out just as expected. The only surprise will be if Baylor loses a game before they reach 7-0. They'll be top 15 maybe top 10 by that point. OSU, OU, and at least one other team will beat Baylor. Hope it is us.

 

[cdsfrog]

The great irony is that everybody knew Baykor would run the score up in these bad teams an would get all this hype. Everyone on this board called it. I doubt anyone is going to get caught up in the hype around here. We've known the minute the schedule came out that Baylor's season doesn't start until Nov. Everything is playing out just as expected. The only surprise will be if Baylor loses a game before they reach 7-0. They'll be top 15 maybe top 10 by that point. OSU, OU, and at least one other team will beat Baylor. Hope it is us.

 
Baylor Beat OSU last year and almost OU in Norman. Hope you're right but I don't think it's a guarantee they lose 3 games this year. Mainly because the big 12 is so bad this year

 

[UberBear]

Here are the links to our games thus far. Being that I am far more worried about you guys then OU and OSU, feel free to comment on how our two teams would match up. Been lurking a while so I know some of you are very knowledgable when it comes to football, would love your thoughts/analysis.
 
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=baylor+vs+wofford+2013&oq=baylor+vs+wofford&gs_l=youtube.1.1.0l3.1398.7631.0.10371.21.11.2.8.9.0.60.514.11.11.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.HmG_C4dEAHA
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIhSzzdbOfE
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzkELji2GuA
 
Hah shot of our tarp, lame.

 

[UberBear]

Another reason why I am so excited. This man down here.
 
After Baylor’s 70-7 win over Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday, Briles was asked if it’s hard to keep his team humble, given how well they’re playing.
 
The response was classic Briles: “No. Lord, no. If you’re in this business, you know humble. Humble is not just behind you. It’s in front of you, to the side of you and behind. It’s all right there.”
“These teeth aren’t real,” the Baylor coach continued. “They’ve been kicked in a few times.”

 

[SoonerBredCD]

Another reason why I am so excited. This man down here.
 
After Baylor’s 70-7 win over Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday, Briles was asked if it’s hard to keep his team humble, given how well they’re playing.
 
The response was classic Briles: “No. Lord, no. If you’re in this business, you know humble. Humble is not just behind you. It’s in front of you, to the side of you and behind. It’s all right there.”
“These teeth aren’t real,” the Baylor coach continued. “They’ve been kicked in a few times.”

 
That man will be lurking the sidelines in Austin this time next year.... Just my opinion.

 

[rifram09]

 
Baylor Beat OSU last year and almost OU in Norman. Hope you're right but I don't think it's a guarantee they lose 3 games this year. Mainly because the big 12 is so bad this year

 
I'm not guaranteeing anything.  Who knows with an offense like that?  If they get thrown out of sync (like they did against us last year), the whole thing crumbles.  We'll see.
 
Maybe they just completely run the table... but they haven't been hit in the mouth yet.  And I don't think last year's performance against OSU and OU has anything to do with this year.  OSU went through a weird skid last year.  They shouldn't have been beaten by Baylor.  That's just my opinion, Baylor won fair and square.

 

[cdsfrog]

 
I'm not guaranteeing anything.  Who knows with an offense like that?  If they get thrown out of sync (like they did against us last year), the whole thing crumbles.  We'll see.
 
Maybe they just completely run the table... but they haven't been hit in the mouth yet.  And I don't think last year's performance against OSU and OU has anything to do with this year.  OSU went through a weird skid last year.  They shouldn't have been beaten by Baylor.  That's just my opinion, Baylor won fair and square.

 
No disagreement there. Their last 5 games is a brutal stretch

 

[UberBear]

Sooner, for some reason I have a nagging feeling that that may come true based on how he avoided the UT question during an interview. Briles is an honest man and didn't give any indication that he wasn't considering the job. I just hope to God that the horns get someone else higher up on their list.