As the Oklahoma Sooners seek to rebound from another poor defensive performance, Alex Grinch focuses on accountability to correct poor play.
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The Oklahoma Sooners defense hit a low note on Saturday against Kansas as the Sooners appeared to have mental lapses and effort issues particularly in the first half of their 35-23 win over the Jayhawks. It was a troubling display that saw several Jayhawks have the best game of their 2021 season against a Sooners’ defense that’s been struggling in recent weeks.
Injuries have played a part in the poor performance of a defense that was expected to take a step forward in 2021. Speaking to the media in his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Alex Grinch admitted that the defensive performance hasn’t met expectations.
But how do the Oklahoma Sooners turn it around on the defensive side for the ball nine weeks into the season? As Pro Football Hall of Fame Head Caoch Bill Parcells once said, “you are what your record says you are.” And while the Oklahoma Sooners have a perfect 8-0 record, the performance on the defensive side of the ball has been far from perfect.
But what can be changed at this point in the season? Grinch mentioned weeks ago that there are players on his unit that don’t seem to value practice. And at times it shows because players are coming into games appearing unprepared or mentally checked out as they did against Kansas.
For Alex Grinch, it all starts with accountability.
I think if you’re a competitor at all… you get the outcome but you don’t get the how and the standard in terms of how you play right over the course of several weeks, I think if you’re a competitor at all, you’re motivation coming into the following week, the following Monday, the following Tuesday… should get cranked up another level, another level. I don’t know that I’ve seen that over the last couple of weeks. So to assume we’re just going to do that now, what’s the breaking point? What is that line in the sand?… In the end you gotta get a group of guys over it and actually perform up to a standard. To assume now’s the time to change behaviors because we’re fatigued with poor performance would be an understatement. It’s long overdue. And so, I think for us right now it’s just from an accountability standpoint. Every guy in the program, specifically the defense, has to look at it through the lens of ‘it’s my issue.’
What’s the breaking point? That’s a fantastic question that has yet to be determined. Typically, in the Lincoln Riley era, the Oklahoma Sooners have already been dealt a loss by this point in the season. Those early-season losses likely created a sense of urgency in the program, understanding that a second loss would eliminate them from College Football Playoff contention. It’s great that the Oklahoma Sooners have learned how to come back from second half deficits to get wins. At the same time, it’s problematic that they continue to find themselves playing from a deficit.
Nine weeks into the season, with just four games remaining in the Big 12’s regular season, Grinch admitted that this team is running out of time to get things right while also stating there’s a sense of urgency while also taking ownership of the deficiencies of the defense.
‘There’s a sense of urgency. There has to be,” Grinch stated. “And I think for our guys as you go through a Tuesday practice, I thought there was more intentional work today. It pains me to say that nine weeks into the season to finally see more intentional work. What are we doing wrong as coaches? How am I not landing a message? Again, it’s all of our fault, cool, but I’m the one talking so it’s my fault. It’s my fault that I can’t inspire and motivate to get guys to play at their best. So you teach scheme. The scheme’s installed and obviously, there’s adjustments over the course of each individual week. But the chief job of the coach is to inspire and motivate guys to play at an elite level and continue to fail to do that as the defensive coordinator.”
Grinch is right that as the leader of the defense, he’s the one most accountable for the performance of the defense. At the same time, unless there’s an internal drive to be great from each individual player, it’s hard to motivate. They’ve got to want it too. A coach can only say so much.
If the performance against Kansas didn’t wake up the Oklahoma Sooners’ defense to the reality that they need to be locked in each and every practice rep and each and every snap, then it’s not so much on Grinch as it is on the players to find that next gear.
As the Oklahoma Sooners get set for the stretch run of the season, they need to find an edge that can carry them through some tough games over the next six weeks. If they don’t show up from the first snap and play a full sixty minutes in any of their games the rest of the regular season, they’ll get beat.
Now’s the time for the defense to turn it up in practice so that when game-time comes, they’re ready to go from the first whistle.
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