Willis

[PonyPride]

OK, so percentage-wise, he had an otherworldly night -- nobody completes 94 percent of his passes.

More impressive: in the first three games of his college career, he has completed 77 percent, which is pretty much off the charts. Sure, the Ponies will play some better defenses, so to expect those numbers to continue is unrealistic.

Nonetheless -- he's showing a lot of promise.

[ponyboy]

I'm pretty fired up about the fact that we've got him for almost four full years. Hope he avoids injury, knock on wood, and continues to improve. And here's to DeMyron's complete recovery. And to Kennedy's continued usage.

[Treadway21]

Bennett needs to let Willis play. I would rather see him throw a interception thirty yards down field than throw a pass on the line of scrimmage where the receiver gets planted for no yards. Free Willis.

[that's great raplh]

"Willis showed the poise in the backfield that SMU coaches have longed for in previous weeks. He also displayed the potential fans have waited to see since his high-profile recruitment two seasons ago. In the post-game press conference, Willis told of a special practice drill used this week to have him stand in the pocket: defensive linemen would rush at Willis, standing alone in the backfield, to help him determine how much time he had to throw under various rush conditions.

"I saw on the North Texas tape that I had more time to throw than I thought on the field," Willis said."

this is from rivals...

i guess that is called coaching?

[PonyPride]

Yes, Willis has to be allowed to play. But it's smart to get snaps for Slater, too .... just in case.

[PerunaPunch]

Three things:

Though much improved, I still think the play calling was still a bit predictable. If you don't believe me, ask Emmanuel Sanders who got absolutely planted by the SHSU LB about the fourth time we ran that swing pass in the first half.

I'm very glad we're finally throwing downfield. What's the use of recruiting all that speed (Sanders, Givens) if you don't stretch the field? Even SHSU, who got dominated all night, picked up some good yardage when they finally connected on a couple of long passes.

I think Willis decided to plant himself in the backfield no matter what. On that one sack, I think he stood back there about 10 seconds; he went through all his reads twice before they finally hauled him down.

[PonyFan]

Very true (Willis staying in the pocket ... and it worked, obviously).

I never got the sense that we had no interest in throwing downfield. As frustrating as it was, the coaches were right to keep things very simple vs. Texas Tech -- his first game. God knows what the hell happened last week ... I wasn't able to make the trip up there. While there clearly is more room for innovative play-calling, yesterday was a drastic improvement. With a new QB in the game (whether it's Willis or Slater), it does take time before you can open up the playbook more, as they did late last year with Romo and the plays like the end-arounds to Pellerin, etc. I want to see Willis become more comfortable with the basics before the conference games start. Then, as the offense becomes more second-nature to him, then open it up more and more.