Still predicting 8-4, but less confidant......
Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:46 amI was at the game just behind SMU’s bench, but I left after Bennett decided to kick a FG in the 4th with his team down by 5 TD’s???? I then went home and watched the game on TiVo. I was hopeful SMU would make a good showing, and must admit I was disappointed at the outcome, but looking at the bigger pictre, there are some positives.
Willis played average at best, but was more of a victim of the play calling and you could visibly tell he was upset about it. As I posted before, in the first half they ran weak running plays twice on 3rd and less than 5, both resulted in losses, with one of the times Willis almost getting killed. Then throwing deep in the second half on third and less than 5?? The play calling of the OC boggles the mind and is as much to blame as anyone else for the loss. Bennett’s big thing about Willis this year was for him to manage the game and get them into manageable 3rd down situations, well, he did that yesterday only to be let down by the play calling.
On the plus, Willis appeared to be more accurate, a few passes got away but most were right on, even the 2 deep balls which were unfortunately covered very well. And Willis took some big hits and DIDN'T fumble!!!
Also, as they said on ESPN, on the running plays why does Willis just hand off like a statue and doesn’t even try to sell a misdirection or do a pump fake??? It might just confuse 1 defender to run the wrong way or hesistate to read the play, which is one more than their confusing now!! That is poor QB coaching, no question about it! Also, if Willis would throw in a pump fake every now and then, especially on the long passes, that would be a nice change.
I was impressed by Martin, he ran hard and made some extra yards. He will get 1,000 yards this year. Mapps ran well too as a change of pace back.
The OL hung well, and yes, Willis got some pressure at times but they still gave him time to throw. They were better than I expected.
The WR’s, well, just catch the ball. Also, I was wondering if they threw to Sledge more yesterday just to not show too much from Givens and Sanders for their upcoming opponents(?) They were almost non-existent.
Morestead could become a late round NFL draft pick at K or P. Coverage team was weak early but then seemed to figure it out.
The big thing about the DL is they were outmanned and according to ESPN, gave up 4 inches in height and 80 pounds per man against the Tech OL, your not going to control the line giving up that much physically. Overall, I was actually impressed the way they played, they never gave up and Tech couldn’t run at all on them, unfortunately they only pressured Harrell a few times. I think Smart is going to be a player, just needs some experience but would rather see him at OLB at times. Muse looked good the few plays he was in.
LB and Backs were a disappointment, tackling was weak and they were burned a few times, but in their defense (pardon the pun), they did have to stay in coverage for way too long since Tech had all day to throw.
Overall, I saw both good and bad yesterday. Again, I felt the play calling by the coaching staff was questionable at best. I did like seeing the team coming out loose after halftime, they still felt they had a chance to win. Willis will be just fine, Martin will have a good year, and the offense will be in sync. As for the defense, Tech, and obviously TCU, will be the toughest games. I am interested to see how the secondary looks next week against NTU before I make a final judgment on them.
I am still sticking to my 8-4 prediction, but not nearly as confidant as I was last week.
Willis played average at best, but was more of a victim of the play calling and you could visibly tell he was upset about it. As I posted before, in the first half they ran weak running plays twice on 3rd and less than 5, both resulted in losses, with one of the times Willis almost getting killed. Then throwing deep in the second half on third and less than 5?? The play calling of the OC boggles the mind and is as much to blame as anyone else for the loss. Bennett’s big thing about Willis this year was for him to manage the game and get them into manageable 3rd down situations, well, he did that yesterday only to be let down by the play calling.
On the plus, Willis appeared to be more accurate, a few passes got away but most were right on, even the 2 deep balls which were unfortunately covered very well. And Willis took some big hits and DIDN'T fumble!!!
Also, as they said on ESPN, on the running plays why does Willis just hand off like a statue and doesn’t even try to sell a misdirection or do a pump fake??? It might just confuse 1 defender to run the wrong way or hesistate to read the play, which is one more than their confusing now!! That is poor QB coaching, no question about it! Also, if Willis would throw in a pump fake every now and then, especially on the long passes, that would be a nice change.
I was impressed by Martin, he ran hard and made some extra yards. He will get 1,000 yards this year. Mapps ran well too as a change of pace back.
The OL hung well, and yes, Willis got some pressure at times but they still gave him time to throw. They were better than I expected.
The WR’s, well, just catch the ball. Also, I was wondering if they threw to Sledge more yesterday just to not show too much from Givens and Sanders for their upcoming opponents(?) They were almost non-existent.
Morestead could become a late round NFL draft pick at K or P. Coverage team was weak early but then seemed to figure it out.
The big thing about the DL is they were outmanned and according to ESPN, gave up 4 inches in height and 80 pounds per man against the Tech OL, your not going to control the line giving up that much physically. Overall, I was actually impressed the way they played, they never gave up and Tech couldn’t run at all on them, unfortunately they only pressured Harrell a few times. I think Smart is going to be a player, just needs some experience but would rather see him at OLB at times. Muse looked good the few plays he was in.
LB and Backs were a disappointment, tackling was weak and they were burned a few times, but in their defense (pardon the pun), they did have to stay in coverage for way too long since Tech had all day to throw.
Overall, I saw both good and bad yesterday. Again, I felt the play calling by the coaching staff was questionable at best. I did like seeing the team coming out loose after halftime, they still felt they had a chance to win. Willis will be just fine, Martin will have a good year, and the offense will be in sync. As for the defense, Tech, and obviously TCU, will be the toughest games. I am interested to see how the secondary looks next week against NTU before I make a final judgment on them.
I am still sticking to my 8-4 prediction, but not nearly as confidant as I was last week.