Analyzing #4
I was a skeptical about all the information that poured out of Kansas State this summer regarding how much of an athlete Arthur Brown was proving himself to be. I knew he had the speed of the best LBs out there, but that doesn’t always translate to a great football player as any coach will tell you. I also couldn’t shake the horror of last season’s defense memories which made me think maybe Brown was looking way better than he really was because of who he was practicing along side of all summer and spring. 3 games into the season, I have no more doubt. ABrown has proven himself to be a man among boys and one of the nation’s best at his position. Continue reading to see some video evidence of what makes him so great and some bonus footage of other plays from the Miami game you might enjoy.
Exhibit A: Leading up to last Saturday’s the story was whether or not K-State could match Miami’s speed. Overall the Wildcats did much better than expected but ABrown showed he can keep-up with anyone. Early in the 1st quarter, Miami’s halfback Lamar Miller (who owned Ohio State 2 weeks ago) lined up and took a sweep play to the right to utilize his 4.3 second 40 speed. Sweeps and pitches are designed to exploit a defenses lack of speed. The pitch is more a one-on-one matchup while sweeps assume the RB, FB, and pulling OL are all at an advantage with their speed over the defense. Both plays are a race to the edge and the fastest team wins. Watch the video clip and see how fast ABrown is in a footrace to the edge the shows his straight up sprint speed. Notice he even gets tripped up but still has enough to get a hand on Miller and start the tackle. (The video will open in the same window so just click the back arrow to return to the post. The video might take a bit to load for you.)
Exhibit B: So if straight 40-time speed isn’t what makes a football player great what does? Let’s go to another clip. In this play, Miami’s Jacory Harris drops back to pass. As the play unfolds you’ll notice Harris is forced to step up in the pocket (good job DLine!) and then has to make a rushed decision. The reason? First, focus on the Miami’s slot receiver and watch as ABrown completely owns him as he tries to make his way across the middle while the front four are doing their job. Then, witness how quickly Brown closes the gap between him and Harris as Harris steps up. Harris’ option to run has been taken away by Brown’s speed, and his options to throw are gone because of great coverage and the fact that one of his targets is just getting up off the dirt. That’s the football speed coaches speak of and the football speed that makes me extremely happy to have this guy in a K-State uniform.
Hopefully as the season continues I’ll have plenty more film to add some more examples of what could be a Butkus Award winning season. In the mean time check out these extras.
The next two clips are going to present two polar opposites. In this first clip, pay attention to Brodrick Smith at the top of the screen. This is K-State’s first touchdown of the game and Smith demonstrates every coaches dream. His effort is above and beyond but shows exactly how the Wildcats came prepared to play.
On the other hand, here’s an example of every coach’s nightmare. I hate to pick on Bryce Brown right now, but this pretty much sums up why he isn’t succeeding at K-State yet. I’m hoping he gets it together but watch him in the backfield as the blitz is shown early and he still completely misses his assignment resulting in a sack for Miami.