Bennett

[PK]

football_fan, have you been to any of the games? Have you seen our defensive linemen jumping up and down trying to do any thing they can to maybe block a pass or something because THEY CAN'T GET AROUND OR THROUGH THE OTHER TEAMS O-LINE. In many of the games, the other teams D-line is bigger than our O-line. Yes they are playing over their heads to have done as well as they have given the disparity in size we face every game. And they have done well in most games until they just damn wearout. With the exception of a couple of true freshmen who are playing, these are Cavan's recruits who are out on the field if that makes you feel any better. You can call these kids what you want, but they are not quitters. They work their tails off and if the best you can do is complain about the lack of W's then I can't help you. They're no more happy about the L's then you, but at least they keep coming back and try to get you that W.

[Guest]

Amen PK! Punch, here's the link again: <A HREF="http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=03PA0009000093&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1" TARGET=_blank>http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=03PA000900 0093&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1</A>

If it doesn't work, it's photo 94 (page on the La Tech game page

[This message has been edited by SMUStudent06 (edited 11-07-2002).]

[This message has been edited by SMUStudent06 (edited 11-07-2002).]

[football_fan]

PK, if they were playing over their heads we wouldnt have the 117 ranked offense in the country, we wouldnt be ranked 114 overall, and we wouldnt be last in the wac. looks to me like they are simply playing the game, i wouldnt say they deserve any pat on the back for over overachievement this season.

PK you act as if we are dealing with a team of special olympians here. do you think bennett walks into the locker room and says, Good job guys yall played a hell of game, i dont think yall could have gotten any more out of your god given talent, but rice/nevada/navy/sjsu has an amazing team this year, with some of most talented players in the country. Keep those heads high, no one really expected us to even compete with these guys. (god i hope not)

and yes i have been to a game this year, the la tech game and we actually looked good (so i know they have it in them). however i live 1500 miles away so i cant make to many of the games. however i'm glad to hear that our d line is jumping around and trying real hard to block passes. and if i were able to be in the stands in person i would tell them "good job guys, keep up the good work" (just like i did when i was a special olympics coach, and a dam good one at that). who knew that i could be using those coaching skills to coach a d1a football team.

[fbdad]

It's hard to read some of the posts for this subject because reaction is so slanted to the lack of talent/depth on this team . We were a top ranked defense last year. You experts are going to tell me that because we lost some DL's, that we drop to the worst. Do any of you go to all of the games? I do and what I've seen is evidently different from whats been depicted on this topic. Our true defensive weakness has been in the area of safety's and backup corners. It has nothing to do with size, it has a lot to do with talent.If one were to examine game film, they might be shocked at how many TD's were given up by the safety's and backup corner, Humphries.The line and LB's have busted their as*** only to have safety's wandering all over the field missing cover, unable to chase anyone down and missing tackles giving up critical plays and TD's.PK,Peruna go tell Vic, Bischoff,Adami,et al that they've been playing over their head. That they're really not Div 1 quality players. The most assine post quotes that there's not much talent below the top 20 players.How the hell does this individual know this? Bennett has not played a good number of veterans that were a crucial part of the defense last year.He has committed to only playing certain players for whatever reason regardless of their repetitive poor showings on game day.If some of you are truly interested in the program, make an effort to meet some of the players and talk to them.Get their opinions instead of spouting off with trash, that as I said before,just further tears down the player morale.

[Guest]

I'm split in this argument, but I'd argue that last year we lost playmakers...Aldridge of course, but we also had solid play out of the safety positions. Our defense has regressed this year because we are inexperienced at key positions and lost some senior leadership. Last years team was scrappy and the offense put some points on the board. I think people really underestimate how much that Navy game demoralized the team and how it has lasted throughout the season.

[Smuboy]

Other than watching a practice in September and one televised game, everything I know about the kicking game comes from the media and this site. What I do know is that sitting the bench as frosh redshirt running back is a kid (Matt Young) who kicked a 53 yard field goal as freshman at Memorial High School in Houston, kicked several more 50+ field goals as a three year varsity player, and was the all-district kicker (as well as the overall most valuable player as a running back) in a very good district. He has not kicked in practice and as far as I know there is no plan for that to change. My best guess is that the kid has not volunteered any information about his kicking prowess. Or perhaps Coach Bennett prefers not to have a position player kick.

[PK]

fbdad, I have never said these kids don't have talent, because they do. Perhaps I am not coming up with the right words here to describe what I am trying to say. When I say that they are playing over their heads, I'm not talking about their talent...it's the size disparity that I am talking about. When you have a 260 DL like Adami going up against 320 OL's and doing as great a job as he is doing ...that to me is playing over his head....and doing a damn good job of it, but in the end the size differential is eventually going to take its toll which will show up in the fourth quarter game after game...the guys just wearout. The same thing with our DB's...some of who are 5'-10" to 6'-0" working against 6'-3" and 6'-5" WR's. That's not easy to do, but these guy go out there and do a fairly good job of it most of the time. Ultimately though, if you can't get pressure on the QB, he has plenty of time to pick his recievers...which has hurt us often. Once again...I'm not saying our players don't have D1 talent, but many of them don't have D1 size...at least not yet.

[PerunaPunch]

What the heck, I’ll take the bait...

Have I been to any games? Lemme see. I didn’t make any of the road games this year, and I missed one home game due to a work conflict. I’ve been a season ticket holder for 4 years, but have been attending SMU football games fairly regularly since the late ‘70s. I know or have met a half dozen of the current players, and I know or have met numerous players going all the way back to... Don Meredith, who my mom tutored when they were in school. And speaking of, my mom, dad, sister, wife, uncle and I all graduated from SMU. My dad was a 4 year letterman, my uncle earned two varsity letters. I survived the Death Penalty and the soccer homecoming year. So I think that qualifies me as knowing at least a little bit about SMU athletics, both currently and in a historical perspective.

I know we’re all frustrated. Coaches, players, fans. But let’s not let that frustration cloud our objectivity or cause us to blame people unfairly.

Fbdad: From your handle, I’m assuming that your kid might be a current player. Please understand I mean no disrespect. There are probably very few people who appreciate these kids more than PK and myself.

Let me fist explain the premise behind my argument: There are a lot of great players who are not prototypical. Dat Nguyen of the Cowboys (too small). Emmett Smith (too small, too slow). Darrell Green (too short, too old). So nobody is disparaging these guys’ talent or saying they don’t belong on the team. What I am saying, and what should be fairly obvious, is that all these guys have to overcome their weaknesses by being superlative in other areas. If Darrell Green goes up for a jump ball against Randy Moss, he’s going to lose 9 times out of 10. If Emmett Smith tries to outrun a quick safety, he’s going to get caught every time. Now he’s where I’m asking for a little consideration...

It’s not that these guys are bad players. But when your defensive line is giving up 50+ lbs. a man to the opposing offensive line, your DBs are giving up 4” to the opposing WRs, and when you’re starting Freshmen at QB, kicker and safety... For the most part, these kids are forced to play... Yes, you guessed it... OVER THEIR HEADS!

Let’s look at the defensive line. It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out the problem, although it certainly helps. E=MC squared (Energy = Mass times the speed of light squared). I remember back in physics class when we calculated the energy of a Mac truck going 5 mph per hour and a motorcycle going 80 mph. Which would you rather be hit by? Take the motorcycle, because the truck going only 5 mph had several times the energy (destructive force) of the motorcycle. So the laws of physics tell us, that all other things being equal, mass wins by a large margin.

Excepting our big man Croy, last year we lost Aldridge, a 270lb. 3-year letterman, Birdwell, a 280lb. 2-year letterman and Post, a 280lb. 2-year letterman (who could gave Croy a breather last year) off the front line. In short, we lost most of our size off the defensive line. Every one of the guys we lost is at least 30lbs. heavier than our current starters (excepting Croy) at their positions.

Where else are we having problems? Safety?? Oh yes, we also lost Dorsey, a 200lb. free safety who could tackle and O’Neil, another 200lb. safety who was a hitter from last year’s lineup.

Seeing a trend? No?? Well, let me make it REAL obvious. We also lost our top 2 QBs (and all the experience at that most crucial position), our deep snapper (Randle) and our place kicker (Walterscheid).

So yes, I’m telling you precisely that our defense dropped from “top ranked” to last for a number of reasons. I’ll give you the Navy game, where we didn’t make the adjustment, as sub-par coaching. But otherwise, very few of our defensive woes have to do with the coach.
We were the #1 defense in the WAC last year. Sure, I was proud of it too. But just because you’re the number one defense in the WAC, doesn’t automatically make you into some sort of national defensive powerhouse. If you were there, you’d know we were a bend, don’t break defense. Except for the huge BREAKS at safety, which are making us look bad statistically, an many fronts I think we’re playing BETTER defense this year.
Our defense was so good last year that we gave up 36 to La Tech, 38 to TCU, 38 to Hawaii, 35 to Nevada, 38 to Fresno and 37 to Rice. Funny, except for Hawaii (42), we’re holding EVERY opponent to fewer points.
At least we had a little bit of offense last year to help balance the time our defense is on the field. Not having any sort of consistent offense means our defense is on the field a LOT longer. Therefore, there are a lot more opportunities for opponents to run up yardage and make plays. When you combine that with a lack of depth...

So would I tell Adami, Bischoff and Villoria that they’re not D1 caliber players? Don’t be silly.

How about asking Adami how it feels to draw a double team from two guys that weigh 340 each to his 260? Ask him how he feels Sunday morning after having to contend with that all day! How about asking Adami how he’d feel if we had another 300lb. monster that we could line up next to Croy, so he could move out to strong side DE where he belongs? If he’s going to stay at DT, how about asking him if he thinks he’ll be better suited next year and the year after when he’s a junior or senior and 30 pounds heavier and stronger? How about asking Bischoff and Villoria how it feels when they stuff somebody on 1st and 2nd down only to watch the safety blow a tackle that lets the offense move the chains?

[football_fan]

seems like everyone can agree that our players arent big enough to compete in d1a football, however yall are also saying that doesnt mean they arent good enough. hate to break it to yall but if you got d1a talent, but dont got d1a size, then what you do have is a classic d1aa football player. you see you need that rare combonation of both size and talent, not one or the other in order to play d1a football.

to say our guys have the talent to play d1a football but not the size, is like a 6 foot guy like myself saying i should be in the nba because i can make a layup just as often as shaq.

so basicly when you say they dont have the size, you are also saying they arent good enough.

[football_fan]

seems like everyone can agree that our players arent big enough to compete in d1a football, however yall are also saying that doesnt mean they arent good enough. hate to break it to yall but if you got d1a talent, but dont got d1a size, then what you do have is a classic d1aa football player. you see you need that rare combonation of both size and talent, not one or the other in order to play d1a football.

to say our guys have the talent to play d1a football but not the size, is like a 6 foot guy like myself saying i should be in the nba because i can make a layup just as often as shaq.

so basicly when you say they dont have the size, you are also saying they arent good enough.

[football_fan]

seems like everyone can agree that our players arent big enough to compete in d1a football, however yall are also saying that doesnt mean they arent good enough. hate to break it to yall but if you got d1a talent, but dont got d1a size, then what you do have is a classic d1aa football player. you see you need that rare combonation of both size and talent, not one or the other in order to play d1a football.

to say our guys have the talent to play d1a football but not the size, is like a 6 foot guy like myself saying i should be in the nba because i can make a layup just as often as shaq.

so basicly when you say they dont have the size, you are also saying they arent good enough.

[fbdad]

Peruna, I can't argue with your points on size of DL's. One could argue that our line men should be and are faster than the 300# plus monsters but as you say, they get tired.Why not play other players. We do have,if limited some depth at DL including the DE's.I wholehartedly agree with your comment on Vic and others busting their butt only to have safeties bust the next play. I think it was the most salient point of my post.Both Cavan and Bennett were and are guilty as far as I'm concerned of not developing the depth required to play a full game against a good opponent. Bennett told team members in the spring that first string would play entire games and he's held to that promise. First string get a majority of snaps in practice. It makes little difference on this team whether you are second string or on the scout team, you won't play unless someone is injured.If we had nothing but super stars I could understand this concept. We don't have super stars. Screwing up does not get one tossed from games or not starting the next which is foreign to me.There is talent on this team and it needs to be developed and played while we wait for our new recruits to get up to speed.I just hope that we win the final two games so morale gets a boost. These guys don't need to go into the spring feeling as bad as they do now.

[Higher Authority]

I went to the alumni breakfast with Coach Bennett, and I came away with the idea that he, like the rest of us, is disappointed with how the season has unfolded. But he clearly is not discouraged about the future. With what I've read about the recruits who have committed to SMU, I'm not discouraged, either. The future is looking brighter every day.

[sam]

Punch,you wrote such a long statement that some people might mistake your arguement as truth. The fact is most D1 schools have gone to the smaller quicker D-linemen i.e. Oklahoma's d-line the ends average aroun 260 and the Tackles around 280 so much for your E=MC2 theory.And I don't believe for one minute that Adami was ever doubled up on by two 340 pounders.I have said for weeks now that this team is not well coached but now I am changing that to this team is poorly coached and I feel bad for the team and the seniors that have had to go through this.Many of the games we have lost this year were because of bennett and his staff,I would say that a good cooach would have won 4 or 5 more games. The weakest links are the D-backs coach,and the DC and whoever coaches the special teams, and I am not going to end with those,bennett needs to go because he hired these guys.I'm going to let the OC slide because I think his game plans are being altered.I going to stand in fwdad's corner,I do not think bennett is a very good judge of talent and his recruiting is not a proven commodity yet.It is alot easier to recruit at K State than SMU. And other than the QB's his class so far is not much better than other coaches that had to deal all the pye restrictions. And by the why I go to all the games and have seen first hand his bad decisions.Good coaches win bad coaches lose it is as simply as that.And don't start throwing out all that this coach lost in his first year and now he is great.Just as many first year coaches won with the players they were dealt. And before I go I need to add that Copeland should be fired. Bye

[No Cal Pony]

Everyone has some good points, but as I've recently noted, we cannot expect to suddenly turn around 15 years of institutionalized handcuffing of the program. Support the kids, coaches, and school, or get off the boat.

GO PONIES!