The TD Pod

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

1:20 — Some brief Super Bowl talk 4:10 — Lessons learned from 2022 / Travis asks the longest question of all time 13:00 — When will Baylor name a starting QB? 16:20 — How did teams learn to defend Blake Shapen? 20:45 — “It’s Blake’s fault” vs “It was the WR’s fault.” 24:45 — Blake Shapen in the context of college QBs 26:35 — Blake has to improve his footwork in the pocket 28:45 — The issue with baseball players at QB 32:30 — Evaluating Sawyer Robertson 43:00 — If you had to bet, who will be the starting QB? 46:05 — Replacing Ron Roberts with Matthew Powledge 56:00 — The tension between maximizing some players while not putting too much on others 61:20 — Portal adds 70:30 — What is a reasonable minimal win expectation for 2023? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

After a long hiatus, Travis and Jeff return. No show notes this time, having to rush this out. Please enjoy! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

2:30 — If you could distill it into one thing for each side of the ball, why did Baylor lose at BYU? 8:00 — Shapen didn’t falter alone, it was the passing game as a whole. 10:00 — Blake Shapen is not Haynes King. 13:05 — La Tech cancelling the opening game of the year probably really hurt Baylor early against BYU. 17:00 — Baylor’s OL started to play really well by the second half. 19:30 — Baylor’s still figuring our their running back room. 21:40 — Young receivers tend to struggle against press coverage. 24:05 — Part of RVO means building around running wide zone in critical situations. 25:40 — Baylor’s OL has made significant improvements since last season. 30:00 — Is Baylor a team who needs to fix a lot of small things, or do they have glaring holes? 34:27 —BYU and Baylor both look like top 10 teams, and BYU would be the Big 12 conference favorites right now. 37:45 — Iowa State will be a great litmus test next week. 39:10 — Is there anything we’ll learn from playing Texas State? 43:10 — What we’ll learn from Baylor’s defense against Texas State. 46:33 — Baylor needs their defensive front to start winning their 1v1 pass rush matchups. 51:17 — Baylor’s culture came through strong at BYU. 54:45 — A&M sucks. 55:50 — This is a great staff and they’ll maximize this roster. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

2:10 — What is the core identity of Baylor’s 2022 offense? 7:20 — Will Baylor face any elite defenses this year? And how does the impact the offense. 10:25 — How good does the offense need to be to probably make the Big 12 title game? 17:00 — Best, expected, and worst case scenarios for Baylor’s offense. 26:15 — The Iowa State game will help us learn a lot about Baylor’s passing game. 27:50 — Should we expect Baylor’s 2022 defense to look like a more fleshed-out version of how they finished in 2021? 32:50 — Best, expected, worst case scenarios for Baylor’s defense. 42:40 — Should Baylor be the preseason Big 12 favorite? 43:55 — What 3 games stand out to Jeff and I on Baylor’s schedule? 1:05:20 — What record would be a disappointment? 1:07:45 — The Big 12 is going to be very competitive with more close games than any other conference. 1:09:20 — It’s really difficult to predict one or fewer losses because college teams tend to always have a few clunkers. 1:15:30 — Baylor’s defense sets the floor so high. 1:16:50 — Baylor is going to get the benefit of the doubt this year because national media likes Aranda. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

Instead of pretending we know everything about all of the Big 12 teams, Jeff and I did a brief “vibes check” for each. We’ll revisit our thoughts after Week One when we have much more information. Enjoy this abbreviated version of the pod, 23 minutes may never happen again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

1:25 — Why Jeff has believed since the end of 2021 that 2022 Baylor can be Baylor’s best ever team. 10:45 — How Baylor’s defense transformed from a top 25 unit to a top 10 unit by the end of 2021. 20:25 — What makes Aranda special is that he knows how to implement complicated scheme in a way that his players can understand. 28:30 — Is it an anachronism to run your offense through an offensive line instead of skill talent? 43:00 — How the OL allows Shapen to operate within the offense. 46:20 — Has Shapen’s internal clock been sped up due to facing such a good pass rush in Fall camp? 50:35 — How a staff manages getting in defensive pressure packages while allowing the offense to get their feet under them. 54:10 — What does it mean to be a disciplined team and how does a coach craft one? 1:00:45 — Contrasting Aranda’s meticulous style to Briles’ “gotta go fast” style; i.e., teams do what you practice. 1:03:10 — How does the team respond to adversity on the road? 1:05:10 — The offense expanding for Blake Shapen. 1:10:45 — Wide receivers “naming themselves the starter.” 1:16:20 — Does Shapen command the respect of the team? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

1:10 — Why Madden has poisoned our minds for what pass coverage is. 4:42 — What are the differences between “pure zone,” “man-match,” and “zone-match,” and why does Aranda love zone match? 12:35 — Broad overview of the basic Aranda/Roberts coverages: Cover 1 and 3, Cover 2, and Quarters. 24:25 — What makes a great corner in Cover 2 and quarters? AKA, why Al Walcott was so good in this scheme despite his speed limitations. 28:30 — What does the modern strong safety look like? 31:45 — What are you looking for in a free safety in middle of the field (MOFC) coverages like Cover 1 and 3? 34:00 — What is a frat bro free safety? 35:25 — You need linebacker-level instincts to play as the solo free safety. 36:45 — What made JT Woods so good. 38:15 — Sidelines never missed a tackle / the McPlay 40:40 — What is Baylor’s DIME package going to look like in 2022? 46:05 — You need your solo inside backer to be great when you play DIME, can Doyle do it as well as Bernard did? 50:00 — Baylor’s insanely talented corners. 56:00 — Devin Neal, will he be Baylor’s best safety in recent memory? 58:12 — Baylor’s starting free safety, Devin Lemear, Jeff’s future best friend. 1:01:15 — Why you can still play good pass D with slower defensive backs. 1:06:48 — Baylor will probably be able to sit back in 2 high safeties against every offense they face. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

Welcome back! Jeff has a new mic. It’s glorious. Between that and us having an actual, legitimate audio recorder now, things are really looking up for the TD podcast. In this week’s episode we deep-dive Baylor’s offensive passing game. Topics of note … 2:15 — 2021 Baylor’s offensive passing game 5:20 — Why Baylor didn’t drop-back pass much in 2021, why we can expect more 11:15 — Blake Shapen’s strengths and weaknesses 23:15 — Does Baylor’s offensive identity shift in 2022? 26:00 — Why did Baylor ultimately choose Shapen? 32:05 — Wider variety of passing concepts 34:00 — Why we love new WR coach Dallas Baker 39:15 — Baylor’s new WR room 42:00 — What makes an X receiver? 47:15 — Hal Presley and Armani Winfield 54:00 — Baylor using more empty formations 59:10 — Great WR play will help keep Shapen from getting injured 1:03:10 — Seth Jones 1:04:00 — Baylor’s base case, worst case, and best case scenarios for their passing game 1:09:05 — Some teasers for future episodes 1:11:30 — Me solo discussing the remaining WRs This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

Welcome back! I’m using a new audio program, and it seems to have done the trick. In this episode, Jeff and I deep dive Baylor’s defensive front, which is probably the best Baylor ever has had, and very well could be the best they ever have. The starting unit is awesome, but what really makes this unit special is how deep it is. Chidi Ogbonnaya is your 3rd string NT. That’s insane. As usual, while this podcast is discussed through the lens of Baylor Football, it is valuable for all football junkies alike, as we dive into schematics, personnel, and how you build a defense. In particular, I love Jeff’s historical context for why the TITE front developed and what problems it is attempting to solve. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

Some good and bad news: To start with the good, I was able to record an hour+ with Cameron, and he was terrific. The bad is that the audio was only good for the first 20 minutes. It was a scenario where the audio sounded fine to both of us as we were talking, but the program I was using to record had some sort of mess-up. I’ve now purchased an actual, legitimate recording software so that this never happens again. Because this is incredibly frustrating. But in the meantime, here are the first 20 minutes. Be on the lookout over the next week or so for me to develop an article from all of the unusable audio. Thanks everyone. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

Edit: There is a significant issue with Jeff’s microphone on this episode. I’m leaving the episode up because while the issue is very bad, it’s still “listenable.” I’m going to attempt to see if I can fix it later but at this time, I think this is what it is. My deepest apologies. Welcome back to another edition of the TD podcast with Jeff (not Jefferson) Davis and Travis Roeder. A couple of weeks ago we tackled Baylor’s running game primarily discussing their offensive line. This time we dive into the tight ends and running backs. As always, while this podcast is discussed through the lens of Baylor Football, we primarily discuss scheme, organization, player traits, etc. There’s something to learn for all football fans. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

Welcome back. It was a delight to record this. Every week before the season starts, Jeff Davis and I are going to deep dive a specific topic of Baylor. This week, it’s Baylor’s offensive line and run game. However, as always, while this episode is discussed through the lens of Baylor, this podcast has a “football overall” lens that should be enjoyable and useful for all football fans. In this episode we dive into: * Why Jeff Grimes and Eric Mateos elected to hone in on wide zone in year one. * Why we expect Baylor to use quite a bit of interior run changeups this Fall. * What is a constraint play and why they’re really about the defense. * Expectations for Baylor’s run game this Fall. * Is Travis insane? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

Sorry no show notes on this one, gotta get back to the real job. But here’s the episode! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

Jeff Davis and I are back talking Baylor football on this week where Baylor is at TCU. This podcast has something for everyone. Texas fans will be interested to hear what went wrong for them in their game, TCU fans will want to hear Jeff’s great perspective on how a coach as good as Patterson can falter, and of course Baylor fans should enjoy the weekly deep dive of the team. 0:00 — Intro, Jeff and his veteran father going to Army - Air Force this weekend 3:00 — Baylor’s defensive line is reaching another level 10:25 — What did we learn about Baylor’s offense from the Texas game? 15:00 — Baylor beat Texas using base offense 21:00 — Jeff respects Gary Patterson, what made him special, what made him innovative, how his defense works 37:00 — How can an organization lose focus even when its head coach is all in? 40:30 — Baylor TCU preview 54:00 — it’s hard to play good defense when your defensive front is bad 56:15 — should we be worried about Gerry Bohanon throwing more interceptions as the year goes on? 1:03:15 — Does Baylor pay special attention to TCU WR Quentin Johnson or do they just live with big plays every so often like they have the past few weeks? 1:07:20 — Predictions! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

For those that don’t know, Jeff (@penland365 on twitter) and I are two college football junkies who love to talk football. In this episode we look at who Baylor and Texas are as teams and then preview how they match up against one another. Spoiler, I’m more optimistic about this one than Jeff is ... Highlights * 1:30 — Where is this Baylor team at compared to your preseason expectations? * 7:30 — do Baylor and Iowa State have a leg up in the conference race because they’re more balanced than Oklahoma and Oklahoma State? * 11:00 — Travis loves the Baylor defensive line * 13:00 — Jeff thinks Sark is doing a great job at Texas so far * 19:30 — Jeff explains what makes Sark different as an offensive coach and why it could tie into the 4th quarter struggles * 23:00 — How practice time limits what you can do as a college coach * 29:00 — The biggest mismatch in this game is the QB differential * 30:00 — Baylor’s offense vs Texas’ defense * 45:00 — Does Texas come out respecting Gerry Bohanon’s ability to beat them deep? * 52:00 — Abram could make or break this running game * 54:00 — Baylor’s defense vs Texas’ offense * 1:07:00 — Predictions! * 1:11:45 — Jeff: “If ______ happens this game, Baylor is gonna win out.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com

Jeff Davis—@Penland365 on twitter—is easily the smartest Baylor fan I know. In this episode we discuss: — how he came to learn so much about the game (1:15) — what makes football a truly unique sport (3:30) —what made Baylor’s offense so bad in 2020 (10:00) — how they’ve improved in 2021 — and of course, a very thorough breakdown of the Baylor - Iowa State game this Saturday. You’ll want to give this a listen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit travisroeder.substack.com