David Gibbs doesn’t have to be a psychologist to diagnose the tendencies that get Texas Tech’s defenders in trouble.

As he succinctly put it last week: “They’re so used to doing bad and then freaking out and giving up big plays, just going crazy.”

The Red Raiders’ first-year defensive coordinator is trying to cut down on the crazy. His efforts to rebuild this unit get put to the test over the next three weeks against the foes that badly burned Tech in 2014: Arkansas, TCU and Baylor.

David Gibbs says there are no short-term answers for Texas Tech's defense but that his unit will get better if it learns to trust. AP Photo/Sharon Ellman

“We will get better as the season goes on, because we’ll keep doing the same things over and over again,” Gibbs said. “Now the fans might not like it, and the results might not show it, but we will keep getting better. Obviously, in the next three weeks, it might not show up because of who we’re playing. But I’m not a short-term guy.”

He recognizes the challenges he inherited at Tech. Some of Gibbs’ starters have already played for four other defensive coordinators at TTU. They’ve endured countless scheme changes. Fifth-year seniorsPete Robertson and Branden Jackson have experienced 22 games in which Tech gave up more than 40 points.

There’s a long-term funk here that must be broken, and some of it’s mental.

“There’s a tendency of panic. To me, that’s the history of bad defenses,” Gibbs said. “Not only do the coaches panic, but the players panic and they don’t trust the call. It starts up front. The D-line starts peeking in the backfield and switching gaps and the linebackers do the same thing. And shoot, by then your DBs have no chance to fit the run.”

Gibbs knows Tech must reach a point where when he makes a good call, it’s second-and-8 instead of second-and-4. Opponents are averaging 5.6 yards on first down and 6.4 on second so far this season and converting on 45 percent of third downs.

“Statistically, I don’t even want to know or look,” he said. “Because I already know.”

The new DC considered his defense’s struggles against Sam Houston State, in a 59-45 win, a bit shocking. The panic came back, at least a little, for players who didn’t know what they were supposed to do. And Gibbs didn’t see signs of that in the practices leading up to the opener.

“I’m sure Kliff [Kingsbury] would tell you we never walked out of a scrimmage feeling like we were crappy on defense,” Gibbs said. “But I’m not so sure that wasn’t good for us. In a sense of, hey, just because you practice good doesn’t mean you’re going to freakin’ play good. We’ve got to play good.”

But he's seeing progress. After giving up 24 plays of more than 10 yards to an FCS team, Tech did hold UTEP to just eight last week. Next up is the first real test, a trip to Arkansas for a rematch against the offense that rushed for 438 yards and seven TDs on TTU last year. Not a good week to face the Hogs, either. They’ll be angry after their 16-12 loss to Toledo.

Then comes the TCU offense that scored 82 on Tech last year, followed by a Baylor team that’s always good for a shootout at AT&T Stadium. Gibbs is about to find out what he’s working with and which players he can rely upon.

He’s not wasting much time talking about stats. The Red Raiders are sticking to the basics and still in the kindergarten stages of learning this defense. He jokes that it might sound like “generic bullcrap coach talk," but Gibbs can focus on fixing this only one day at a time. Getting through these next three games without pushing the panic button requires making every practice count.

“The pressure is not on us,” Gibbs said. “The pressure on us is to stop them every now and then, get a couple turnovers and let our offense do their thing. That’s why I’m here and that’s the plan.”