Completed postgame chat with Jesse Newell

Shortly after the game, Jesse Newell hosted a short chat discussing the KU football team’s 31-14 victory over South Dakota.

jmfitz85

I notice many questions on the play calling, mainly with the wildcat formation not working and continuing to try it, and not letting Heaps throw more. Do you have an insight on why heaps wasnt throwing as much or maybe an opinion of the play calling all together?

jmfitz85

What would you grade our running game, passing game, blocking, defensive pass coverage, run defense, defensive line, and special teams?

KU

Jesse, Dexter Linton seemed to play fast and agressive tonight and seemed to stand out as our best defensive back of the night. Which of our newcomers in the defensive backfield stood out to you?

KU

Marquel Combs? Marquel Combs? Bueller? Anyone? Anyone??

KU

How did Jake Heaps debut compare statistically to Todd Reesing’s first start? How about QB coach Ron Powlus’s first start?

KU

Jesse, I thought our depth and the legendary Holsopple conditioning would show in the 4th quarter and we would dominate. It didn’t work out that way. How many linemen did we play and how many did SD play?

KU

Our kicking game and special teams were markedly improved tonight. In your opinion, did any other unit improve as much as the kicking game?

KU

Jesse, when was the last game KU won wearing the white helmet with the Jayhawk logo prior to tonight? (Personally, I think the smiley Jayhawk needs to be replaced by the angry 1941 version.)

dgless21

What’s up with Combs?

If he played, I missed it.

jjjjjhok

In my opinion, some good things and a bit too many bad things… I’d like to hear a true optimist opinion regarding his biggest disappointment tonight?

Carnahan

Any word on injuries to Pierson and Cox?

WindmillGIANT

The end results aren’t especially impressive, but the team looked improved in several areas. Is it wishful thinking to think that this team has a much higher ceiling than what it ultimately accomplished tonight?

maierbryan

what is the injury situation to Pierson and others?

daverclear

Did I really see Jablonski on kick off coverage? Did he need to hold the ball because of the wind, or is he actually on kick coverage?

daverclear

What were your biggest surprises regarding playing time tonight, both who didn’t play much and who played more than you expected?

Boouk

How worried should the KU defense be about the Rice game next week after struggling against the option and zone read against South Dakota?

CalHawk

Overall, I thought the team looked better, here were my biggest concerns:

1. Penalties
2. Lack of pass rush and when it got there, they didn’t contain very well
3. WR playmaking

Oh, by the way, I got there late, did Combs play at all?

milehighhawk

Three positive signs & three things to be concerned about after the first game?

fox

Jesse, thanks for all of your awesome number crunching analysis all year long. Those are my favorite articles by a long shot.

Do you have any info on why KU games aren’t available on ESPN3.com for replay? I was able to watch a few minutes of the game online live, but it’s not available for replay now. Just curious if it has anything to do with media rights.

fox

I’m Ron Burgandy?

bwag

Wasn’t able to watch but can see Sims’ running totals. How does it stack up given your recent deconstruction of his game and skill set?

bwag

Sims?

CalHawk

How would you rate the pass rush?

How would you rate the receivers?

How would you compare KU’s OK performance against the SDU read option versus how they will translate and adjust for Rice?

iamakufan

Besides Taylor Cox, how is Pat Lewandowksi. Looked like he was hurt right at the end of the game.

bwag

Wasn’t able to watch but can see Sims’ running totals. How does it stack up given your recent deconstruction of his game and skill set?

whatsupjimdine

D-Line grade?

Jesse Newell

OK, let’s get this chat started …

jmfitz85

Knowing Weis as much as you do, what would his post game conversation be like with the team?

Jesse Newell

Weis actually addressed this a bit in the postgame audio (found here if you want to listen to the whole thing: http://www2.kusports.com/podcasts/press_conferences_postgame_interviews/2013/sep/07/ku-coach-charlie-weis/).

Weis said it had been a long time since his players had been able to enjoy a win, so he told his players to enjoy it. He wanted them to spend the rest of the night with their families and joked he wasn’t going to allow them to go to the bars.

After getting the standard, “When do you move on from this win?” question, Weis said the team deserved to enjoy it for a while.

He’ll be up around 5 a.m. breaking down the team film and picking apart mistakes then, but I think 11 straight losses had him wanting his players to enjoy this feeling at least for a few hours.

pepper_bar

Was something wrong with the field at Memorial today? Maybe it’s just me, but footing looked like a real problem for both teams.

Jesse Newell

I don’t believe so. It definitely wasn’t wet from precipitation, and having FieldTurf as opposed to grass makes you believe that conditions should be about the same each game.

Nick Krug has a great photo in his gallery on the site of Dexter Linton sliding on rubber, by the way:

KU

Jesse, I was disappointed that KU didn’t use Pierson the way WV used Tavon Austin tonight. How much of that is trying to keep Rice from seeing our whole playbook and how much of it is that we don’t really have bubble screens, inside screens, and jet sweeps in our playbook?

Jesse Newell

Earlier in the week, Weis said he wasn’t going to “save” much of his playbook for later weeks, as he knew the South Dakota game was important.

Then again, he also said that the playbook builds upon itself as the season goes along. KU men’s basketball coach Bill Self does the same thing, if you were wondering. You start with the basics of the playbook then can tinker and add once you get the foundation down.

I think we saw some similarities on plays between Austin and Pierson tonight. Pierson averaged 9.4 yards per carry (5 for 47) so the big-play potential is still there, and I’d assume when future games are in doubt, Weis won’t hesitate to use him more with handoffs.

KU

Marquel Combs? Marquel Combs? Bueller? Anyone? Anyone??

Jesse Newell

Weis didn’t directly mention Combs after the game, but he did say he believed the team’s ceiling was much higher because some of the players have a lot of room to grow this year. Weis mentioned WR Rodriguez Coleman specifically and said he believed, by the end of the year, he’d have a big impact.

I’m going to assume Combs belongs in that discussion as well, though his lack of playing time certainly was a surprise considering his accolades. Weis was blunt earlier in the week when he said Combs had been beaten out by other players for a starting spot, and it appears he has more work to do to contribute in KU’s defensive line rotation.

stupidmichael

Not a lot of short passes from Heaps tonight. He seemed to be going for broke. Play calling? Or was Heaps forcing it?

Jesse Newell

I noticed the same thing, and it’s something I’ll probably track later this week to get more concrete data.

I know it’s a copout, but I would guess maybe a little of both? I’m sure Weis wanted to see how Heaps would perform in a game situation on deep throws, and this is basically KU’s only game to tinker before the tough schedule hit. Having said that, Heaps seemed to be focusing mainly on his deep reads instead of checkdowns. I remember one specifically in the first half when Pierson was wide open in the flat, and Heaps decided to try to force it into coverage over the middle instead. I believe Justin McCay’s TD was the same way, with Heaps electing to put it into traffic.

Still, considering there were a handful of drops and throwaways, I think Heaps’ effort would have to be considered an encouraging first step.

pizzashuttle

Did Combs play? If not, do you know why?

Jesse Newell

Just looked at the stat sheet, and Combs did not play a snap. I’d be shocked at a red shirt, but I guess that’s technically still in play.

Kingfisher

How is Taylor Cox?

Jesse Newell

Weis said after the game that the team wasn’t sure of the severity of Cox’s injury and that further testing needed to be done. Weis was hopeful it was just cramps, but he thought it was either that or a “tweaked” hamstring. Weis said he was confident that Cox did not have a pulled hamstring, as that injury would have been more severe and easier to diagnose.

mikehawk

How did the pass protection of Jake Heaps look?

Jesse Newell

The pass protection was not as good as the run-blocking, that’s for sure. Weis, though, said he only had one complaint after the game: When he told the offensive line that a blitz was coming and that they needed to be ready for it before a drive, on the next play, KU had a miscommunication and allowed a sack.

Again, we’ll have more data later in the week, but the left side of KU’s line seemed to be opening up a lot of holes in the run game.

stevemize

I am working tonight and did not have the opportunity to see any of the game. I did however, keep up with the game thru various online outlets. Based on the dismal performance in the passing game against this level opponent, do you see KU winning any other games this season?

Jesse Newell

Yeah, I touched on this earlier, but Heaps’ stats (10-for-20, 110 yards, TD, no INTs) were a bit misleading. He started 0-for-5, and at least three of those were drops. Without the exact numbers in front of me, I’d guess six or seven of his incompletions were drops or throwaways.

What Heaps did show was the potential to squeeze the ball in tight spots and the accuracy to hit an outside receiver on a deep corner route. Afterwards, Weis lauded Heaps for one pass in particular, which was an accurate throw that dropped into Pierson’s hands between two defenders about 25 yards down the field.

I wouldn’t label Heaps’ effort as outstanding, but I would say it was encouraging. I’ve been saying this a lot, but if KU’s passing offense can go from “dreadful” to “kinda bad/average” this season, that could be a huge leap.

iamakufan

Your overall impressions? What was better than you expected? Worse than expected? About what you expected? Thanks.

Jesse Newell

Probably slightly worse than expected. The defense played well at times but allowed too many long drives. Though there was some better pressure on the quarterback, defensive linemen seemed out of their lanes quite a bit, which allowed USD QB Vander Maten to get out of the pocket quite a bit.

Offensively, KU didn’t play well in the first half, and it’s not going to get easier. A big problem might be the Jayhawks’ lack of big-play ability. Obviously Pierson has that, but who else can break a game-changing play for KU? It’s hard for teams to have 10- or 12-play drives … mistakes happen. Big plays obviously are important, and we’ll see if any others besides Pierson emerge for KU.

namohcan_99

Given the play from our receivers tonight, do you think Weis may go more run heavy in Big XII play?

Jesse Newell

He’s said a few times this year his goal is for a 50-50 split. Having said that … you saw what happened in the third quarter. KU’s offensive line started to overwhelm USD’s line, so it only made sense to run it.

To be most effective, KU needs more balance than a year ago. Having Pierson out wide will help, while Josh Ford also had a nice game. I think Jimmay Mundine also is a better player than he showed in the opening game and should lead KU in receptions this year.

Jesse Newell

OK, lightning round. Let’s get in a few more …

acsgreens

Jesse, I was only able to listen to most of the game on the radio. How was the 0-line doing with opening holes and pushing them off the line?

Jesse Newell

Very well, especially late. If my math is correct, the Jayhawks rushed 27 times for 210 yards in the second half (7.8 yards per carry). Again, to my untrained eye, it appeared lots of runs were going left.

iamakufan

How about the crowd? Was there a good crowd? Did most of them stay the entire game? Couldn’t tell much on TV.

Jesse Newell

Great crowd. 41,920 was the official attendance, but the only empty spot in the stadium at kick was around the South Dakota fans. Student section was 100 percent full just after kick and about 85 percent full after halftime. Especially for a scorching hot day, that was a better turnout that I expected.

Kingfisher

What was the thinking on declining the holding penalty in the 4th quarter?

Jesse Newell

Weis said he knew USD was going for it on fourth and 4 at that stage in the game. He took the 15-yard penalty to try to make it a tougher fourth down if the Coyotes decided to go for it again.

For what it’s worth, I think that’s the right call. If you give up 25 on third and 19, it’s a pretty major breakdown.

jmfitz85

I asked last chat who you think the offensive player and defensive player of the game would be … I have the same question now that the game is complete.

Jesse Newell

Tough to name an offensive MVP. Probably Jake Heaps because of a lack of good candidates. James Sims red-zone fumble takes him out of the conversation. From my untrained eye, I thought Josh Ford and Trent Smiley blocked well, while Ford also had the nice catch and run.

Defensively, I’ll give it to Keon Stowers for the interception and runback, though Victor Simmons and Dexter Linton both had very strong performances for Week 1.

Jesse Newell

Thanks for all the questions, and be sure to check out all our coverage of the game in the coming hours …