Kate in DMN: SMU Maddlingly [sic] Melts Down

[RGV Pony]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 49f66.html

[George S. Patton]

Like it or not, you gotta play thru the calls.

[westexSMU]

Look, the fact is since a great player like CB Sterling Moore got hurt a few weeks ago, SMU is 1-3. We have no depth at CB after two of last year's back up CBs did not make their grades this spring. Basically the starters are not very talented now or to short. We are in worse shape at CB then at any time in the last 10-15 years. This lack of depth has just about killed our season hopes. I hope we never allow ourselves to get in this situation again....Next year ? I would make it a PRIORITY to recruit at least two more JUCO CBs, who can make their grades, and hopefully contribute next year. Don't count on true freshmen next year. They seldom have the maturity to play. We need help now.

[450fan]

Look, the fact is since a great player like CB Sterling Moore got hurt a few weeks ago, SMU is 1-3. We have no depth at CB after two of last year's back up CBs did not make their grades this spring. Basically the starters are not very talented now or to short. We are in worse shape at CB then at any time in the last 10-15 years. This lack of depth has just about killed our season hopes. I hope we never allow ourselves to get in this situation again....Next year ? I would make it a PRIORITY to recruit at least two more JUCO CBs, who can make their grades, and hopefully contribute next year. Don't count on true freshmen next year. They seldom have the maturity to play. We need help now.

Hard to figure that we have about 20 DB's on the team and can't seem to find more than 4-6 that play.

I struggle to believe they don't have the talent or ability to contribute.

[The Q]

There are several who will be good, or who might be good. But they're not there yet. Acker and Parks, for instance, seem to have a lot of physical talent, but they're very raw. That's not an indictment of their ability, just a fact about their current stages of development.

Sterling Moore's injury not only cost us an experienced player who can make plays all day long, it also handcuffs the front seven because it limits the blitz option, because you don't want to leave CBs in one-on-one coverage unless you have a stud back there like Moore.

[westexSMU]

Its not about how many DBs we have on the team. Its only about the cornerbacks on the team. A lot of safeties don't have the speed etc. to play cornerback. We need to recruit a lot more CBs. Its a numbers game for us now. SMU needs more to choose from. We can't afford to have quality CBs flunk out again also.

[westexSMU]

As I have said before and correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't remember a true freshman CB, besides Bryan McCann, coming in here and even playing well or starting their true freshman year at some point in the year and doing a good job. We need JUCO recruits for next year unless they are 4 Star type recruits.

[Big Hoss]

As I have said before and correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't remember a true freshman CB, besides Bryan McCann, coming in here and even playing well or starting their true freshman year at some point in the year and doing a good job. We need JUCO recruits for next year unless they are 4 Star type recruits.

Right with you. We are beyond thin at DB. But what would help is if our more talented front 7 put more pressure on the QB. A rushed QB is likely to make more mistakes, thus lowering his ability to test our porous secondary.

[JasonB]

If we continued to pressure the QB like we did before Moore got hurt, we would be getting bombed constantly. How many drops of deep balls did Tulsa, Houston and UTEP had? The coaching staff wants to blitz, but right now that will just kill us. The teams have also dialed up scrreens to beat our blitzes.

The defense is predicated on being able to run man on the outsides. The CB position is really, really hurting us right now.

[EastStang]

If we score only 14 points, we deserve to lose. And undisciplined penalties late in the game don't help. I'm seeing a lot more issues on offense than on defense.