TCU football focused on improving these two areas on defense going into K-State game
TCU’s defense has to do a better job of limiting big plays. That’s been an issue early on this season.
Part of those issues may be solved with more physical defensive line play and finishing games better. Those are two specific areas coach Gary Patterson pointed to during the Big 12 coaches teleconference on Monday as TCU prepares to face Kansas State on Saturday.
TCU has only two sacks this season, including no sacks in its 33-31 victory over Texas. It’s not a promising start for a program that had just 22 sacks in 2019, the fewest of the Patterson era.
“We’ve got to grow up,” Patterson said when asked about becoming more physical on the D-line. “I start with me. I’ve got to do a better job of getting us in position, how we’ve been coaching things. We need to tweak some stuff this week to give our guys a better chance to be successful.”
TCU lost its best interior defensive lineman to the NFL Draft when Ross Blacklock left early. The Frogs were without another top tackle, Terrell Cooper, in the season-opening loss to Iowa State.
But Patterson refused to use those excuses. Instead, he’s focused on improving the D-line rotation and using more guys to stay fresher as the game wears on.
As Patterson concluded, “We have better players than what we’ve played so far.”
Staying fresher should also correlate to improved play late in games. Patterson hasn’t been pleased with how his team is finishing games early this season.
Iowa State scored two TDs in the fourth quarter, including a 32-yard TD run by Breece Hall. Texas, meanwhile, was in position for two scoring drives in the fourth quarter but fumbled the ball away at the 1-yard line on a first-and-goal.
On Texas’ drive that ended with a fumble, the Longhorns had marched 74 yards in four plays.
“To be honest with you, we’ve got to play in the fourth quarter,” Patterson said. “We weren’t finishing as much as we needed to and we really haven’t finished the last two games. … We need to finish.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
