Snyder, coaches playing K-State pop-a-mole

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A few days after his Kansas State Wildcats fell 23-9 to UCLA in California and dropped to 1-2 on the season, head coach Bill Snyder offered up his latest dose of reality to K-State fans and supporters who might have hoped that the team’s deficiencies were fixable in the short term.

“We’re in a position where we’ve been around these youngsters long enough to understand some of the shortcomings that maybe don’t show up on game day one week but will on the next,” Snyder said during Monday’s Big 12 coaches’ teleconference.  “So, you kind of get exposed from game to game in certain areas.  But, I think those are things, for the most part, that we probably haven’t explained that we are certain that exist.”

One of those “things” was the offensive line.  Much of the blame for K-State’s offensive woes through the first two games had been attributed to quarterback play.  Some criticism is warranted, but to be fair, a number of blocks and assignments have been missed, forcing Carson Coffman to hurry decisions and throws that he may or may not have made given enough time to do so.

Snyder referenced the line on Monday.

“We’ve struggled with our pass protection and gotten exposed in terms of numbers,” Snyder said.  Going into the UCLA game – [against] a very formidable front four, some very, very fine pass rushers – and we had six sacks in the ballgame.    So, it’s not as though we didn’t see it coming, but we had been able to circumvent that up until that point in time.

In other words, the coaching staff knew some time ago this team has its shortfalls, and enough of them, apparently, that the staff feels like it is playing some K-State football version of pop-a-mole as it prepares each week.

Smash one problem down (finding more ways to use Daniel Thomas*), and another (pass protection) immediately rises.

*K-State opened up the playbook on occasion, lining Thomas up in different positions and showcasing his talents as a runner.  The problem that cropped up, however, especially in crucial second-half situations, is that the Wildcats didn’t give the ball to Thomas enough as he had just 15 carries for 54 yards and 20 touches overall.

Some issues are completely outside the team’s control, like the rash of injuries that has inflicted starters on both sides of an already thin two-deep.  Lack of depth was perhaps the single biggest issue facing the team before the year began, and after a pair of offensive linemen (Brock Unruh, Trevor Viers) and two defensive ends (Brandon Harold, Kadero Terrell) went down, the problem has multiplied at rabbit’s pace as Josh Moore played last game with an unspecified injury substantial enough that Snyder called his best corner’s effort “courageous.”

Linebacker Alex Hrebec didn’t play a single down against the Bruins, and Thomas, the lone bright spot offensively thus far, has already been slow to get up on multiple occasions, making you wonder if it is just a matter of when, not if, he suffers an injury causing him to miss game action (anybody want to envision what that would look like in terms of production?).

All the while, the coaching staff with well more than a century of combined experience continues to get back to work on Sunday’s*, trying to find a plan that can put the players in position to win a ball game.

*or Monday this week as Snyder said the entire team officially had the day off after arriving back in Manhattan from Los Angeles just before six on Sunday morning. (I wonder if Sunday would have been a mandatory workday for everyone had Tennessee Tech not been next on the schedule.)

“Like anything else in life, you’ve got to circumvent your shortcomings the best you can and think that you can improve on them,” Snyder said.  “That’s our intent – is to try to get better in each of those areas and see or project what those areas are.” 

While areas of improvement have cropped up and the season a quarter of the way complete, Snyder also said much remains for him in terms of completely understanding his ’09 team.

“Well, yes, it’s an ongoing process, I think,” Snyder said.  “I learn a little bit more each week, each day of practice, and certainly a great deal on game day.  And, I’m quite convinced there’s still more to learn.”


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