My 2000 cents

[SMUPonyFan]

The following might be the longest post ever in PonyFans history.
This is my opinion of the positives and negatives with the Ponies.

First, the negative.

Defense:
Starting with the DE's. Pratt and Aldridge might be the most
talented DE's we have had in SMU history, but I don't know what
their problem has been. Maybe their heads have gotten too big
with the press they received before the season. Whatever the
case, they have not shown me anything this year in games. All
I have seen is missed opportunities. They continue to not wrap
up and miss tackles. I was fortunate enough to see all the Ponies
games this year. NC State was terrible for them. I saw Aldridge
and Pratt in the backfield numerous times...did they get a sack?
NO. Each time they missed, and they had legit opportunity. I
never see the coaches putting them in their place either. This
is just as much the fault of the coaches as the players. Pratt
and Aldridge, show the PonyFans something at Tulane. Their backups
have looked solid. Patman is very consistent and hustles every
play. I have not yet seen Peterson and Hrncir yet.
Next to the secondary. Garrett plays his heart out every play.
He is awesome. Jonas is young, but has made many mistakes.(I
am not counting him out though) Rushbrook is too small and inexperienced
to be playing Safety. I have seen him get plowed by several TE's
and receivers. His size and inexperience is not his fault. I
think he should be redshirted. Orr and Dorsey are experienced
and belong in the game, not as backups. These guys know the Defense
and play very hard. Rushbrook looks like a student on the field.
He gets out played. He needs some time.

Offense:
The major problem with our Offense is they get started too late.
SMU is not a come from behind team. We have to beat a team from
the start, like Kansas. At UTEP and NC State, it took at least
a quarter to get the offense going. Josh looks too timid at the
beginning of the game. Maybe we should run the ball at the start
to get going, then start passing. There is no reason why we scored
0 points at NC State. We killed our selves with turnovers and
penalties.

Positives...
Josh is looking great...once he gets going. I think his decision-making
skills are the only thing holding him back. He has been getting
decent time from the O-line. Josh has shown he can throw the
ball well, and he can run the ball. He just needs to make quicker
decisions. He has improved so much since last season. Just keep
improving Josh, you are a great QB, but you can be an awesome
QB with some more work.
If the O-line stays healthy, we will have a great season. Remember
people, we have lost two games, only one conference game. Do
not panic, our season is a lot easier after Kansas, UTEP, and
NC State. Don't get me wrong, Tulane is great, and so are other
teams we play, but I think we have played 2/3 hardest game this
year. Back to the O-line. We lack depth. They have protected
Josh pretty well, Josh has been hit so much because he has held
on to the ball too long.(My opinion) Keep it up O-line.
Our TE game is awesome. Hampton is having an awesome year. I
think Ford needs some more experience, but he progresses every
game. Remember, he has played this position for about a month.
That is pretty good work. Brown has not seen too many passes.
I think we could catch teams off guard if we use him. We can
have a triple threat at TE, instead of single or double.
Briggs is running great. So is Pipkins. No worries at the RB
position. I think we need to keep a good rotation with Pipkins
and Briggs. Keep them both fresh and keep the D on their toes.
They have similar but different running skills.
At WR, Comet and Cardwell are awesome. It seems like they have
not gotten the ball as much this year. I guess it is because
they were new last year and opponents know about them now, so
they are covering them well. I think it is a disappointment that
McDearman has not seen much playing time at all. What is that
about. Also, Carter had a great UTEP game, where was he at NC
State? We need to utilize ALL of our WR. They are ALL great.
Now to the linebackers. They have been playing well. I don't
think that Bischoff has gotten the respect and credit he deserves.
I think he was the leading tackler at UTEP and NC State. This
is a great player. He might not be a big time play guy, but he
hustles every play and makes no mistakes. Also, Vic is the same.
I think Vic will have a breakout game against Tulane.

Now, here are my problems with coaching. Why did Keylon Kincade
play? He is a great player, but he have two awesome RB already.
Redshirt Kincade, give him experience, and he will have two years
at SMU without Briggs or Pipkins. We have wasted a year of him.
Also, why is Rushbrook playing? I think the coaches are concerned
about getting a winning season. TOO SHORT TERM. Look long term
coaches. Don’t play freshman that are still learning. Let them
learn then play them. You are wasting years of their eligibility
so they can play mediocre. This makes no sense to me. Also. I
don’t know what the atmosphere is like in the locker rooms before
the game, but SMU looks flat before every game. PEP THINGS UP!

Now, to the fans. Don’t get so negative. We are not even a quarter
into the season yet. People are calling for Cavan’s head. People
are too fair weathered. We have played three tough games. He
have hope and talent. SMU is back home this weekend. The weather
should be nice, not too hot. No excuses. Go support the team.
They need you more than you think. Our support was pitiful at
Kansas. Let’s not disappoint the team again.

I thank you for listening to me. I am ready to hear your opinion.
Understand I know I am not a genius, otherwise I would be the
coach. This is how I see it.

------------------
Go Red, Go Blue, Go Mustangs, S M U

[jettison]

That's a fairly in-depth critique of the team, but the only thing I don't necessarily agree with is the redshirting idea. I think the staff would love to have the depth and talent at each position to redshirt all incoming freshman each year, but right now that's not the case, and won't be for a while. If you redshirt Rushbrook, who is going to take his place? There may be somebody to put there, maybe Dorsey, O'Neill, but there is absolutely nobody behind them.

And now, with every opponent exposing the lack of depth we have in the defensive backfield, there really are limited choices back there. You need lots of rotation and nickel and dime packages to keep the players fresh, and that means having a corps of 7-8 players active in each game.

I believe with Kincade, the coaches still have an option to redshirt, as long as they do not go over a certain limit in quarters or minutes played. I'm not up on those rules, but I do know of at least one player last year that was redshirted after the Tulane game, AFTER playing a few series in games.

Unfortunately, I was not in NC, but it doesn't appear I missed many bright spots. But, the key for any team to win is to not play yourself out of the game before the first quarter. The same thing that happened to Kansas happened to SMU in games 2 and 3, and nobody can afford to make many early mistakes.

Hopefully, the team as a unit can be better prepared and execute better offensively and defensively from the start. This comes down to coaching, a player's nerves and psychological state, the fans' unconditional support, and of course the right talent in the right roles. We have the talent to compete, it's just keeping ourselves in a position to compete.

[PonyGirl]

I disagree - the offense's biggest problem is the line. Josh McCown is a pretty decent runner, but he was just hoping to survive the other day against N.C. State. How often was he sacked - seven times? That doesn't cut it.

Kincade plays because he's the second-best ball-carrier on the team, after Kris Briggs. Pipkins is a great guy and works hard, but Kincade has more talent and more potential in the long run.

[SMUPonyFan]

PonyGirl-
I disagree with you. Pipkins is a much better runner than Kincade. Not trying to take anything away from Kincade, but Pipkins has had the game experience. He gave SMU many sparks in the NC State game. He has shown he is a very powerful tool. Even if Kincade was better, suit him up for games, just don't play him. If he needs to come in for an injured RB then fine, forget the redshirt, but don't use him to finish games out. That is a waste.

Also, I saw the NC State game and the line did a fine job. Josh was sacked a lot, but look at the time the O-line was out there, without subs. Also, many of the times Josh was sacked was due to holding on to the ball for a little too long.

------------------
Go Red, Go Blue, Go Mustangs, S M U

[PonyGirl]

I'm not saying Pipkins is bad - I just think Kincade is better.

[SMUPonyFan]

I have a feeling Josh is going to have it together on Saturday. It will be a Kansas style game for him!

------------------
Go Red, Go Blue, Go Mustangs, S M U