Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech football: 3 ways the Red Raider defense can improve from week one

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 07: Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson of Texas Tech gives instructions during warmups before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the UTEP Miners on September 07, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 07: Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson of Texas Tech gives instructions during warmups before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the UTEP Miners on September 07, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Receiver Josh Sterns #9 of the Houston Baptist Huskies catches a pass during the second half of the college football game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on September 12, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Receiver Josh Sterns #9 of the Houston Baptist Huskies catches a pass during the second half of the college football game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on September 12, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Cut down on mental mistakes

While it is tough to find good news from the Red Raiders’ defensive showing on Saturday, one small bit of optimism can be taken from the fact that many of the big plays HBU had were a direct result of mental errors on the part of Keith Patterson’s defense.  While failing to line up properly or missing a call are crippling blunders, they are also more easily corrected than physical limitations such as a lack of size or speed.

On the first HBU 65-yard TD pass, only one Red Raider defensive back, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, was lined up outside of the right hashes where two HBU receivers were in a stack formation.  Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, there were five Red Raiders covering two Husky receivers.

The second 65-yard TD of the game by HBU was also a mental mistake.  On that play, safety Eric Monroe simply let WR Josh Sterns run free across the middle of the field on a post route.  Instead of going with Sterns, Monroe decided to pick up a receiver who was already covered by corner Adrian Frye.

This is year two of the Keith Patterson defensive system.  Those types of errors should be less common this time around.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case against HBU.

But they can be corrected with practice reps and video study.  If Tech can simply make certain to be aligned properly at the snap and to be in the position they are supposed to be in during the play, it will go a long way towards curing the ills we saw on Saturday night.

Home/Texas Tech Football