And now....the rest of the story

[Mitch McConnell]

If you're going to hang Kyle Padron, then you better hang the WRs in the process.

If someone had the time to really break down all 13 games, I really would like to know how many drops Beasley, Haynes, Johnson and Robinson had. If someone had the time to break down all 13 games, I really would like to know how many contested balls were ACTUALLY won by the receivers. I betcha it's less than 10. This quartet does a fine job catching it when there's no one around but competing for a ball is another story.

Then there's that rout running stuff. No doubt, Padron deserves criticism like the first pick against UCF. However, I can tell you on that pick that Padron threw against Marshall at the Marshall 5, it certainly seemed to be on AR because he was the one getting his butt chewed out on the sidelines for that pattern. I was standing 10 feet away from that exchange.

In the UCF game, Padron's first deep ball to AR that was batted away in the end zone is a ball that Robinson has to adjust to and fight for. Yes, it was a bit underthrown and I think his body momentum was taking him away from the ball. However, you need to figure it out, buddy.

Oh, and let's not forget on the opening SMU possession against UCF, Beasely drops a 5-yard rout and then AR follows with a drop of an 8-yard. That's a shame too because the pitch and catch to DJ really was a great answer to the UCF TD. We looked like we were going to take it down and score. By the way, that ball to DJ was a strike.

I'm going to tell you this: That 59% completion business this year would look a helluva lot better if catchable balls were actually caught. SMU has no lead dog in this Corps. AR is a good No. 2 WR. He is not a No. 1. That UCF game is a game where you really miss E Sanders.

Kyle has admitted as much that his deep ball is not his strength. Something he needs to work on. Plus, he knows he's holding it too long. I think partly he's trying to make the perfect play when he just needs to play. So for all of his shortcomings, he's still had the most successful run of any QB here since 1989. He's won 12 games, a bowl game, won a division championship.

BTW, the perfect quarterback Peyton Manning has been intercepted 6 times in the last two weeks.

But I said back in September after the UAB game that Jones is changing this offense. I think he can be a little more balanced he than he was over in the Pacific. I think he realized that during or after that game that, "hey, we can be a pretty decent running team with Line.'' And I think he's going to stick to that as long as he's here. He has better athletes to recruit from. He can run the ball and be successful.

I really don't think we're EVER going to see SMU ever play like Hawaii did. I think that's great. Darryl Fields and K.C. Nlemchi (provided he signs) were not and are not being brought to SMU so they can run for 700-800 yards and catch 30-35 passes. They may catch the ball like that, but I think Jones wants to make the running game more of a priority here. It's still zipping it around. But hey, run the football.

Further proof, that 6-minute possession to finish off the Tulsa game -- best looking possession of the year. Wouldn't be a bit surprised if we saw more of that. I'm not at all surprised what happened this season. A sophomore finally played his first full season of football -- I think ever at any level and had to live with inconsistencies. For those expecting this thing was going to hit at a 70% rate with 4,000 yards and 40 TDs and averaging 38 points, you were over reaching.

As a coach, you never stop learning. You never stop evolving. I think I heard on the OU-NU broadcast about Bob Stoops running down to Alabama to talk to Nick Saban and study they way his program runs its defense. Now, this is defensive guru Bob Stoops, a DC at Florida who won a national title in 1996 and then did it 4 years later at OU. And he went to go talk to somebody? Why was that?

You can still stay with your philosophy, but you never stop tweaking it. If you don't, you're behind because the coaching industry is always advancing and somebody is going to come up with something to try and stop you. You need to be one step ahead.

I just bought my tickets for the Armed Forces Bowl, the second consecutive bowl for SMU to play in after not playing in one for what seemed like forever. See you there.

[Junior]

wow. that took a long time to read, but i agree with most of it.

[sbsmith]

Fine novelization, plenty of blame to go around for SMU's passing game struggles. Let's hope the improvement starts in the bowl game.

[davidpaul123]

While AR is a heck of a speedster he doesnt always seem to play with the same fire that Sanders did. Definately ran some wrong routes in the Marshall game and also was called out by the telecasters in the UCF game for running the wrong route.

[rich59]

MM, nice post. I enjoyed it. Tell you a couple of anecdotes about coaches learning and evolving. Peterson, the coach at Boise State, called Patterson at TCU a couple of years ago and said that they were interested in learning the 4-2-5 defense that TCU uses. Gary said to send down some coaches, which they did. The TCU coaches worked with them and Boise has been using the 4-2 ever since.

In 1972, when Dave Smith was the head coach at OSU, during spring training their offense stunk. Dave called Emory Bellard at A&M and Emory sent some coaches to OSU to teach them the Wishbone. Dave installed it the last week of spring training and that fall OSU won seven games and beat three bowl bound teams, which meant someting in those days.

I am sure everyone is familiar with the story about Darrell Royal sending coaches to teach Bear Bryant and his staff the Wishbone.

Any way, I hope you are right about JJ incorporating more Run into the Run and Shoot. It does seem to be trending that way.

[San Antonio Mustang]

MItch I do not disagree with anything you said and I still say if we are going to advance to the next level we have to have better quarterback play.

[planoponyfan]

Great analysis. I think we have a tendency to lose sight of an important factor: Padron is a Sophomore. He's playing very well for someone with his experience level. Next year he should be better. Hopefully next year teams will see our running game as a threat and that will take some of the pressure off the passing game too.

[Stallion]

We are in better shape at QB for the next 2 years than we have been at QB in any single year since the Death Penalty. Not worried about QB as much as I am about CB, deep threat WR, adding a LB to replace Fleps and generally adding depth across the board. Keeping all our players academically eligible and getting some back would be next concern. But really compared with the past that list is relatively short. We have a lot of experience coming back and they will have 2 years of bowl experience. I still don't think we'll be taking down any BCS teams or TCU and I don't think we are really that close to be a Top 25 caliber team but 2011 was the year I thought we would start to make our move-and if those weaknesses are addressed then we should be in good shape at the CUSA level.

[mustangbill67]

cannot believe I am saying this , but very insightful post, MM. I am also on the Padron bandwagon and believe you have to look at his experience, his physical health and all the pieces of the offense before making a judgment. The best is yet to come. Hopefully, another Dandy Don!

[ponynut]

Thanks Stallion for an excelent analysis of 2010. I agree with it completely and was getting a little tired of all the critizism put on Padron. Right now he is the best we have and he needs all the encouragement he can get. I too, have already received my tickets having ordered them before SMU was announced as a participant. Looking forward to it with great enthusiasm. I have been a season ticket holder for 30 years and have done enough suffering and this upswing is so welcome.

[Dukster]

Spot on Mitch and Stallion. This program is still growing and will improve with more experience. Losing the conference championship game is an experience they'll learn from and want to avoid next year. Playing 13 and 14 games a year indicates success at some level. True SMU fans recognize this. Others, well................

[RE Tycoon]

AR is not Sanders, but I guarantee everyone that is blaming him now will be lamenting his loss to graduation and big play presence next year. I can't speak to the first half of the year because I can't remember the details that far back, but the last 6 games Padron missed AR, over threw AR or under threw AR, more than AR ran the wrong route.

I'm not advocating to replace Padron, I think he's our best option for the next two years, but we do need to see him improve dramatically if we want this program to reach the BCS busting echelon. Better decisions, getting rid of the ball quicker and trusting what he sees would be my three keys to improvement next year. I think if he does those things the long ball problems will sort itself out.

I would also agree that our WR's are not always competitive for the ball when they are contested heavily by a DB. I would like to see that improve next year. Part of that is having bigger bodied WR's instead of 5'10, 165 guys at every receiver position.

[ponyte]

Unlike other years since the DP, we don't have a glaring starting deficiency to fill. For years we struggled to find a QB. Not anymore. We have D linemen and O lineman for a change. A solid set of receivers and running backs. We have s solid LB corps and acceptable secondary.

Oh yes we have some folks that will need to be replaced (Especially on D) but this happens every year in college football. Unlike years past, we actually have kids that have played some and shown some talent. We don't lose someone and have nothing in the stable that can replace them.

This isn’t to say we are there yet. But we are light years ahead of where we were as a team just 4 years ago.

We will have a lot of experience next year. Better depth at all positions and an improving stable of athletes.

We are not there just yet but this is a much better situation now than when Jones took over.

[kull]

the receivers have improved
Padrons footwork had improved until the ankle
the line is opening holes for Line, and giving sufficient time for KP
defense has played well

heal and prepare for the bowl game. bring the war to the Army.

[PoconoPony]

While AR is a heck of a speedster he doesnt always seem to play with the same fire that Sanders did. Definately ran some wrong routes in the Marshall game and also was called out by the telecasters in the UCF game for running the wrong route.

AR totally failed to use his head on the last drive in the Navy game with time running out when he caught a first down pass near the side line and failed to go out of bounds and ran the ball back into the center of the field. His bone headed play costs us at least 18 seconds on the play clock. We were on Navy's 20 when we ran out of clock. I think AR needs to work on his head as his routes.