Improvement
 

I know the Weis detractors will say that the record sucks and therefore Weis sucks. For those people, I present this:

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2012/o...ense/?football

How its recruiting going? Weis is a very solid guy on the chalkboard, but football is still more about Jimmys and Joes than Xs and Os.

Charlie should get a mulligan for this season, but he's going to need to win games next year if he expects to turn it around in four years.

I pulled this from a Phog.net post. The purpose was to illustrate the overall team improvement in various aspects of the game.

KU 2011 (Rank)/KU 2012 (Rank)
Rushing Defense: 239.08 (117)/188.63 (90)
Pass Defense: 277.33 (110)/230.13 (58)
Total Defense: 516.42 (120)/418.75 (81)
Scoring Defense: 43.75 (120)/30.13 (83)
Passes Intercepted: 8 (93)/9 (33)
Pass Efficiency Defense: 164.67 (118)/135.14 (78)
Fumbles Recovered: 10 (57)/8 (35)
Turnovers Gained: 18 (91)/17 (31)
Tackles for Loss: 50 (117)/34 (114)
Sacks: 10 (116)/8 (113)
First Downs Allowed: 306 (118)/159 (52)
3rd Down Efficiency: 51.3 (116)/37.25 (45)
4th Down Efficiency: 64.29 (107)/54.55 (81)
Red Zone Efficiency: 87% (96)/69% (13)

Percent Improvement from 2011 to 2012
Rushing Defense: 21%
Pass Defense: 17%
Total Defense: 19%
Scoring Defense: 31%
Passes Intercepted: 41%
Pass Efficiency Defense: 18%
Fumbles Recovered: 16%
Turnovers Gained: 15%
Tackles for Loss: 2%
Sacks: 17%
First Downs Allowed: 22%
3rd Down Efficiency: 17%
4th Down Efficiency: 15%
Red Zone Efficiency: 21%

The Kansas fans for the most part were just looking for improvement... well, here ya go!

This ought to be good for an argument or four.

Kansas football coach Charlie Weis deserves a share of the credit for Notre Dame revival under Brian Kelly



Third-year Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly has his team undefeated, ranked third in the nation and in contention for a national title.


First-year Kansas coach Charlie Weis, fired by Notre Dame five years into a 10-year contract, can’t be left out of the conversation entirely when discussing the revival of Fighting Irish football. Weis left Kelly with strong talent to develop.


Eight of the 11 starters on offense were recruited to Notre Dame by Weis: Linemen Braxston Cave, Mike Golic, Zack Martin and Chris Watt; tight end Tyler Eifert; wide receivers John Goodman and Robby Toma; running back Theo Riddick.


Eifert leads the Irish in receiving yards (341) and touchdowns (three) and Riddick leads the team in rushing yards and is tied for the team lead with four rushing touchdowns. Senior Cierre Wood, another Weis recruit, ranks second with 467 rushing yards and averages 6.5 yards per carry.


On defense, in addition to high-character Heisman Trophy candidate Manti Te’o, an inside linebacker, defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore, outside linebacker Dan Fox and safety Zeke Motta are Weis recruits.


Weis has some lingering bitterness about getting fired by his alma mater, but that doesn’t mean he’s wishing ill on the Fighting Irish. I asked him at a press conference earlier this month whether he was happy for his recruits.


“I’ll always root for anyone who I ever recruited,” Weis said. “I’ll never, ever root against them, you know, so I find enjoyment in their success.”


Weis won’t have the rich ND football tradition to dangle when he recruits for Kansas, but the ability to judge talent is such an underrated aspect of recruiting.



As well as the Irish offensive line has performed this season, that suggests Weis knows how to evaluate the position. With fifth-year seniors Trevor Marongelli, Duane Zlatnik and Tanner Hawkinson anchoring this season’s line, Weis needs to score big at the position immediately.
***************************************************************


If I recall correctly, wasn't there some info that in Weis' last year or two at Notre Dame, he only had a handful of upperclassmen on the O-line and D-line, as Willingham had done a less than stellar job recruiting linemen, and the linemen he did pull in either tranferred or failed academically, leaving Charlie with something like 5 total upperclassmen on the lines? If I'm wrong, please correct me.

Exactly. Improvement.

Let's just hope the D continues to play as well as they have these last few games. There might actually be a little light at the end of this long, very dark tunnel.

And, then again, we just might get ass-raped...

So far it looks good. But I will admit that it seems to be a little thin at this time. But we still have a few months to go before signing day.

Best evidence has Kansas focused on top JuCo players to fill in the gaps in the line.

You can see the improvement. It would be nice to break this damn conference losing streak.

Lol, no offense, but that's the lamest thing I've ever seen. Unless you're improving on the Ws and Ls, then these numbers don't mean anything. It's like saying the Chiefs are improved this year because they average more points and yards per game.

They absolutely do mean something. It means we have a huge hole to climb out of and it was never going to happen in one or two years.

Now post the offensive numbers.

Haven't seen them. As I stated, I copied them from a post from Phog.net. I'll go nose around, I suppose.

Link

Under Campo, Kansas starting to play defense again



LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP)

Dave Campo has a national championship, three Super Bowl rings and 23 years of NFL experience.


So what's he doing at Kansas?


Taking on the challenge of his life.


A year ago, the Jayhawks were ranked 120th nationally in total defense. Eight games into this season, Campo's defense has climbed to 81st and is ranked 58th against the pass.


''As bad as it is being the head coach, I think the worst job in the Big 12 is to be a defensive coordinator,'' said Kansas coach Charlie Weis, who made hiring the former Cowboys coach one of his priorities when he took over a program that had won just twice last year.


''I mean, you should just sign up for gray hair, you know, because it's a tough job.''
Perhaps the biggest improvement under Campo has been in the red zone. While the Jayhawks are still just 1-7, and 0-5 in the Big 12, they've been in a handful of games into the fourth quarter due in large part to a defense that is only allowing teams to score 69 percent of the time.


That statistic is a conference-best and ranks 13th in the nation.
Kansas held Oklahoma State, the No. 1 offense at the time, to 20 points. Last Saturday, the plucky Jayhawks held Texas to 21 points - less than half of its season average.


''We've improved in a lot of areas on this defense and I think we have a lot more we can improve on,'' said linebacker Toben Opurum, one of the team's top defenders.
This is the third coaching staff for Opurum and the rest of the Jayhawks' seniors. And judging by the fact the defense already has come up with nine interceptions and forced eight fumbles, it appears to be the most effective.


''His knowledge of the game has earned respect from the players,'' Weis said of Campo, with whom he shares a long history dating to their days in the NFL. ''He is a good teacher.''


Campo said he realizes how much Kansas has struggled in the past, and he also knows that he's basically starting from scratch after working with polished professional players. But he's also keen on tackling the challenge of making the Jayhawks relevant again.


''I only know how to do it one way: Make sure we're grinding on our guys and making sure that they know we have to be disciplined and do the things we are doing,'' he said, ''and not throwing in the towel and saying, `We're not good enough.'''


The next step is for those improved defensive numbers to add up to victories.
''I don't know that our guys really understand what it takes to win right now, and that's what we're pushing and that's what's got to happen,'' Campo said. ''It is still a process.''


It sounds easy enough to change the atmosphere, but competing in the Big 12 comes with challenges, even for someone with Campo's resume.


''This league is a unique league from the standpoint of the firepower offensively,'' he said, ''and I think that's an area where we have to get good athletes and better athletes as we go and put the best athletes on the field.''


With wide-open offenses, four ranked teams and Heisman Trophy candidates in Kansas State's Collin Klein and West Virginia's Geno Smith, there are no breaks for a defensive coordinator.


''He really loves the game of football and I can't say that he has enjoyed going against these defenses every week,'' Weis said, ''but it really challenges you to try to take your players and what they can do and try to figure out the best way to minimize what they do.''


Since Campo arrived in January, players appear to have bought into his style. Weis lets him completely control the defense, and so far the system has been working - or at least, has Kansas moving in the right direction.


''You've got to do whatever it takes to win whether it's drawing up some new things on the board or calling different plays, you've got to be willing to do whatever,'' he said.

How in the hell did Kansas come so close to beating Texas while only completing three passes for 39 yards? I don't know if that's good or bad if you're Kansas.

Kansas fans...would your team be better this year if Webb hadn't left?

The recruiting hasn't been spectactular, but there are a couple of notables going to help the defense in a large way. They are JUCO transfers with more talent than darn near anyone on the current roster. DE Andrew Bolton and LB Marcus Jenkins-Moore both will step in and start next year without question.

This whole roster was so devoid of high level talent or depth that it's embarassing.

If we're going to compete consistently in the BigXII the recruiting is going to have to improve drastically overall. Right now he's filling out a roster that had walk-ons starting, simply because there was no one else... and he's had less than a year. I think this next year will be more telling on the recruiting front. If we aren't able to get higher level talent in quantity, then we've got something to worry about.

Check out this box score from a couple years ago.

http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303102306

No.

A fairly significant player on the offensive side of the ball is friends with some of the people in our tailgate group. He always comes by after games to share with us some player insight from the game. He told us that Charlie stated during the first practice of the week that we would not throw more than 5 passes all game. We were going to win or lose running the ball regardless of whether UT stopped us or not.

We also got on the subject of KState after the game last week. He said that in his four years at KU, Colin Klein is the best player he has seen on a field.

5 INTs by Texas and 260 yards rushing helps.

True.

Texas has just been a soft team for the past few years. I was there that night and it was just a train wreck for Texas. We only attempted 4 passes, completed 2 for 9 yards, and obliterated them.

We weren't a particularly good team in 2010.

Run the ball like last week to limit BU possessions and the result will be a win today. On the road.

Nice thought, but probably not going to happen. Line Baylor by 17.

It's basketball season now.

I'd like to believe, but jeez this team has no speed on defense and even worse depth. We have guys starting that shouldn't be BCS level players let alone starting... behind them there is nothing. As we saw in the 4th quarter against texas, they just don't have the gas to hang the entire game with anyone having talent and depth.

Funny how that overlap thing works, isn't it. I've got tix to Iowa State.

I've got tix to the Iowa State football game, too. Looking forward to it.

Just our luck. Get an interception when we are ****ing offsides.

I've got tix for that game too. Hope its a good one.

I'm about to give up on all football this year. JESUS!!

F.

Oh ****.

Horrible so far..grrrrrrrrrrr

By the time we get going we'll be down 35 points at this rate.

3 and out. Where the **** was that in the first 5 minutes.

Go SIMS!!!!!! TD!!!!!!!!!

Very nice run, Mr. Sims!

Of course, they would pick up a fourth down.

Cummings is shit today.

Run game is working. If only it would have worked on the first drive this would be a different game.

Two huge penalties so far in this game. Wiping out a turnover and a TD.

That PI was BULLSHIT!

We know who we are. We're not going to go to any place in Texas and get an even break on calls.

Cummings doesn't make me come when I see him play. Next please.

It looked like the defender initiated the contact, total ****ing bullshit!

3 and out. Damn it.

Maybe I'm not as big a fan as you are but I have never had that reaction from watching football. NTTAWWT.

3 pt game, should be KU lead with correct officiating.

Cummings may be hurt. Do not want Crist.

Looks like he's ok.

Baylor guy steps out of bounds then comes back in and catches it right in front of the official.... no call.

I liked the pop the D put on Florence when he delayed the handoff.

WTF ANOTHER BULLSHIT CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


WHY NOT JUST GIVE BAYLOR 7 POINTS YOU HOMER ASSHOLE ZEBRAS!!!!!

That call was weak.

D needs one play to make the stop though.

That was a bs call.

FG bitches.

Great Defense despite the POS officiating crew, unfortunately it cost us a minute of time for the offense.

Sims only needs :10.

Im real happy with the progress our team has made this year. It hasnt translated into wins yet but i think once we get some more talent we could be back to a bowl.

Meh, give me 2 minutes please....1 minute isn't enough time for a running team. Oh wait nice return. :)

It took Snyder more than a few years to get K-State respectable. We need to be patient.

I'm content with Charlie, I never had this feeling with Gill.

Yep the progression should be:
Year one - be more competitive. Check!
Year two - win a few game(4-5)
Year three - make a bowl.

i'm peeking in every few minutes really fast to see what's going on


trying to not jinx them.

Please wait 37 gametime seconds.

Going nowhere fast, meh.

click over just in time to see the long incompletion

:(

Well the first half was respectable.

oh well, halftime.....I believe we get the ball first.

How does this Baylor team not have a conference win?

their defense sucks


our passing game just sucks worse

Let's hope Charlie can change that in the next couple of years.

We are already far more competitive then we ever were under gil. Turner Gil was KU's Herm Edwards

We should be winning right now. Iffy penalty calls are messing our shit up.

I'll take Herm over the shit we have now.

Weather delay. WTF? I'm going to have to leave before the games over. Damn it. Friend is throwing an LSU vs Bama watch party.

I hope not, because then there would be room to get worse from him.

But does that make Weis our Haley? Who's going to be our Romeo?

A watch party for a midseason SEC game that will no doubt result in another Alabama win? Must be Bama fans.

F That.

Actually he is an LSU fan. I'm just going to drink beer and watch football. It should be better than the shit I've had to watch lately.

forgive me for saying this but **** the SEC!!!!!!!!!