Justin Willis probably #2 QB

[Nacho]

Come back next weel Matt. We want a bird's eye view of why we lost to UAB by 30.

[SMU Football Blog]

As I mentioned in my blog, I halfway wonder if Copeland will intercede to stop this.

If Willis were going to start and play the whole game, that would be one thing, but to burn a redshirt so the kid could hand the ball off three times after Romo gets a concussion is another.

How well does Willis punt the ball?

In other QB news, we really should have held onto Ricky Joe Meeks. In three games as backup QB, he has a QB rating of over 100, bot only 9-14 passing through three games. AND LAST YEAR, HE PUNTED THE BALL 38 TIMES!!!

As we all know, the quick kick is an integral part of our offense.

[jtstang]

"painfully obvious to all that Phil is not the answer"?

I disagree. I think our recruiting has improved.

How so? Who's coming in in the next class to help? You're doing a commendable job trying to step in to the shoes of an experienced sunshiner like GoRedGoBlue, but please, think before you post.

And for godsake, tack on a "Go Mustangs!!!" or something similar at the end of your posts, rookie.

[PonySnob]

To all the defenders of Phil because he is a nice guy, let it go! He is not getting paid to be a nice guy. He is getting paid to win football games. He gets paid to out coach the opposition. He gets paid to out recruit the other D-1 schools around town. The problem is that he is not able to do any of what he has been hired to do. It is becoming painfully obvious to all that Phil is not the answer and he needs to be gone.

Bravo!!!! It looks like Phil has the best job in America! Don't accomplish anything that you were brought in here to do.....and you get a contract extension!!!

[EastStang]

I meant to keep the Huntington newspaper with the sizes and weights of players, but I suspect that Marshall QB who shredded our defense in the 4th quarter with his scrambles is a bit heavier than Phillips. I suspect that McNeil is heavier than Phillips. Being able to break tackles for a scrambling QB is as important as speed. On the other hand, I don't know if in practice Phillips breaks tackles, I don't know if he's lost a step, I don't know if his throwing is less accurate due to the injury he sustained and I don't know if he knows the offense. I would be leery of burning Willis' redshirt as well. On the other hand, perhaps, Bennett is hoping that by giving Phillips a challenge, he might respond by showing Bennett that he can be the type of QB we all expected. Hopefully that is what is happening in practice this week. If Phillips beats out Willis, I suspect Duke Hasson will remain as #3 QB.

[Nacho]

You are assuming logic has something to do with this ES.

[PerunaPunch]

Stallion,

How do I say this diplomatically...

The issue with Chris Phillips' weight isn't an issue of height/weight ratios. The problem is the KIND of weight Chris put on last offseason.

He got quite plump, didn't show up to summer workouts, which reinforced the perception that he wasn't dedicated and working hard. This perception was reinforced because from a learning standpoint, Chris is still struggling to learn the offense, whereas supposedly frosh QB Justin Willis supposedly has the whole offense down cold after dogging Rusty Burns all last summer. Phillips simply fell behind Willis because Willis put in the time and Phillips didn't.

Now, you obviously can't make an evaluation of a player just by how many plays they've digested. And Chris looks to be in decent shape now. BUT, one thing I've noticed about this coaching staff is that they HATE inconsistency. Case in point: look at Justin Boren. Probably the most dominating OL we had, however, the coaches felt that they couldn't trust him because he'd do great on a number of plays, then take one off. However, one blown assignment can stop a drive... and it snowballs from there... And now he's gone.

I think the larger issues here are the staff's ability to teach and to motivate kids that aren't naturally self-motivated. To some degree, that's philosophical, and starts at the top with Bennett. The problem becomes exacerbated when the team gets down after some tough losses. Or perhaps in the case of Chris, when he's dropped from starter to second or third string.

Where I may disagree with many PonyFans is the need to go ahead and burn redshirts if it'll help us win today. Don't burn them needlessly, but if it'll help put a couple of W's on the board, that has to be first priority.

[Nacho]

Going 2-9 or 3-8 by burning red-shirsts doesn't do a lot for me. It only keeps the never-ending we-are-young cycle alive.

[PerunaPunch]

Agreed. Burning redshirts for W's is only effective if the record improves enough to improve recruiting. That way, you're replacing quality with quality.

[Nacho]

Maybe Willis is the next Donovan McNabb. If he is as I suspect a good player but not a great player then I don't get it. No disrespect to young Mr Willis intended but true freshmen at QB usually invite disaster. The other team will blitz them like crazy. Do we have any true freshmen who can play o-line? That's where we need help.

A school that really wanted to win would have a program in place to fill the needs of next year. They would see that we are thin on the O-line, D-line and LB. Jucos would be brought in to fill needs. Better yet sophs and Jrs would be waiting in the wings to step up. We resort to burning red-shirts. It's like buying a house with an interest only mortage. Sooner or later it will skin you alive.

[Nacho]

Re the O-line here is wher we stabd:

Fr--7
soph--4
Jr--5
Sr--1

We may be in ok shape for next year if any of those freshmen can play. Sooner or later they will have to because we aren't likely to bring in any reinforcements ala the juco or transfer routes.

[Stallion]

now PerunaPunch you have successfully parrotted the company line probably directly from someone close to the Coaching Staff-Congratualations. We've been hearing the same thing from all the Cheerleaders on the board. Now tell me why Eckert who is much less mobile than Phillips at 230 actually started for this team. If a couple of pounds is relevant at all it is relevant to mobility and Bennett started the least mobile QB in recent memory. Or tell me why Darrell Hackney at 265 is the best QB in CUSA. Just go ahead admit he's in Coach Bennett's doghouse and there is no way in hell he is going to play-like Bartel was told- and stop asking us to believe the crap that's coming from the Coaches' office. He is not starting because Bennett is a stubborn [deleted].

[Nacho]

If I may interrupt Stallion here is how oour QB situation looks:

Fr--3
Soph--1
Jr--1
Sr--3(?Nixon)

No too bad if we leave the red-shirst alone.

[jtstang]

Regarding Phillips, whether Stallion is right or PP is right, or a combination of both, one thing is clear. Bennett appears to be putting principle over progress, and that's not a wise thing to do when you've won seven games in four years.

[EastStang]

Is he putting principle over progress, or is he trying to figure out who will be the best QB this week? With regard to Eckert and Romo, they both have three years of experience including JUCO. Eckert was the best pure passer, but couldn't get it done. Romo makes safe decisions like Tate Wallis, but has reduced ability to go long accurately. I haven't seen Phillips and I don't know if he is any better in that category. The question is not Phillips or Romo at this point because the season is not technically "lost". Theoretically, we could win the rest of our games and go to a bowl. So until the math disqualifies us, Bennett's going to start Romo and play him until he's hurt or fails completely. The question is who is #2, if Romo comes out. We'll see if Phillips can outshine Wallis in practice. I hope he does. If not, then we'll see Wallis.