What Else to Say?

[Arkpony]

Turn out the lights. The seasons over. The lack of posting these days is indicative of the dismal state of SMU's once proud football tradition. Noone cares anymore and that is sad but understandable. Where will it all end? I dread the TCU debacle to close out our most miserable of miserable seasons.

[ponyte]

Miserable it has been. However, Phillps has improved every game. We have not seen that at the QB position in a few years. We have 3 youngster in the O-line returning. A little experience and one more year to put on size wil help. We have some young players getting experience on Defense. That will also show in the future. This has been the worse season ever for SMU football. And yes, wait till next year because it is all we have at this point.

[Mustangs35SMU]

Hey I got faith in SMU now of all!

Garland beat LUFKIN! and South Garland beat my Lobos in OT today so if that can happen my god if Garland can beat Lufkin then we can surely as hell can beat TCU! :devil:

[HixsontoLeVias]

Oh, it's NOT completely over, evidently, RELATIVE STANG is going to run on the field and tackle people, and try to "score on you", (I thought it was a dry county in Mt. Pleasant...??) Oh well, there is PLENTY to look for once RelST comes to town, boning all the way in......

[Charleston Pony]

anyone remember that 1st post death penalty team's 95-21 loss at Houston? Will this game with TCU eclipse that game as the biggest rout in SMU's recent football history? This will be a true test of these guys' character. It will be easy to quit and quit early in this game.

BUT...I agree with those who can see we have some players on this team who will make us proud before their careers here are over. Not unlike that same post death penalty team's 41-16 victory over Houston as seniors.

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

Originally posted by HixsontoLeVias:
Oh, it's NOT completely over, evidently, RELATIVE STANG is going to run on the field and tackle people, and try to "score on you", (I thought it was a dry county in Mt. Pleasant...??) Oh well, there is PLENTY to look for once RelST comes to town, boning all the way in......

Actually, he's out in Mesquite and I'm sure he'll be ready come the TCU game in full gear just like he is in this pic.
<img src="http://home.swbell.net/bigdog24/relativestang.jpg" alt=" - " />

<small>[ 11-16-2003, 08:12 AM: Message edited by: Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex ]</small>

[PonyTales]

Originally posted by ponyte:
Miserable it has been. However, Phillps has improved every game. We have not seen that at the QB position in a few years. We have 3 youngster in the O-line returning. A little experience and one more year to put on size wil help. We have some young players getting experience on Defense. That will also show in the future. This has been the worse season ever for SMU football. And yes, wait till next year because it is all we have at this point. [/QUOTE]

Well said, ponyte - Phillips was amazing yesterday, when you consider that he was in what, his fourth college game? Fifth? I admit I was a little skeptical early on when they didn't call drop-back passes for him in his first couple of games, but now they're gradually opening up the playbook to him, bit by bit -- and based on what we saw yesterday, that's the right approach. He's made more plays each week, and as he gets more comfortable, he's making more correct reads, check-offs, and decisions at the line of scrimmage. How many freshman QBs are out there who would handle the ball as much as he did -- passing and running with it -- behind a suspect offensive line and make zero turnovers? Phillips is not only fast and throws well, he's smart and he's learning. He's provided great encouragement in this nightmare season.

You also talked about the offensive line: while I like the youngsters coming back, I can't wait to see some of the bigger guys who are redshirting this year work their way into the rotation. You take a group like Darrin Johnson, Brad Kieschnick, Bryan Turner, Grant Eidson, Townsend Hargis, Chris Urbanus, Justin Boren, Caleb Peveto, Kenard Burley and add a few more this February - there have to be five good blockers in the group with the necessary size and strength and smarts to keep Phillips in one piece and to open running lanes for Foy Munlin and Richuel Massey (and Fitzgerald, if he stays on offense).

I'm actually looking forward to Spring ball.

[Stallion]

Until yesterday I thought Phillips might have been just recruited on athletic talent alone-after yesterday I'm convinced this guy has more potential than any QB than we've had since the death penalty-he has a gun-he set up nicely in the pocket, good mechanics, he was composed when necessary, he doesn't think run first but he has greath strength to make something happen when things break down. Actually I think he would be more effective if he looked to run more as on several occassions he had at least 10-15 of open field but chose to pass instead-and he completed the pass on every ocassions. Obviously, he wants to be more than just a scrambler-but when he does he is a defense's worst nightmare because of his strength in the open field.

[SamGotti]

I have to agree that Phillips showed real potential and shows that there is hope for SMU in the years ahead.

I realy am excited about SMU football and seeing Phillips play in the seasons to come.

[JasonB]

Yeah, there was only one play I thought he made a poor decision to pass on - on a rollout to his left, he threw to the sideline. his receiver was covered. He still managed to get the ball in there, but the receiver dropped it, and it had a higher probability of being picked than a completion. He had about 10 yards to run on that one.

That said, making one mistake like that for a frosh is really good. I was very impressed with his decision making.

The biggest laugh I had was watching Phillips zing it around to the sidelines all day, and then poor Tate comes in and floats a pass to the sideline. What a difference in arm strength and accuracy!

The other player that stood out for me was Jones. He really had a strong push up the middle. Really impressed by his play.

On the downside, I thought James did a poor job on the option. He had the contain, but he would cover the QB, thinking the inside player would not make his play. That allowed the RB to free up on the pitch, and gave them 7 yards every time down the line. Against the option, you HAVE to play your responsibilities and can't be conserned about other players missing theirs.