Willis

[Pony Soup]

Anatomy of a typical play:

A. Willis gets the snap
B. O-line doesnt block
C. Willis RUNS FOR HIS LIFE
D. Willis tries to salvage something...anything...please?
E. Insert occaisional mistake here


He is absolutely one of the better talents on the team. Running backs get the ball and go. QB needs time and relies on everyone else to do his part, which we often don't see from the ponies

[Stallion]

Mapps is a great runner in spece which has always been my observation-he made that Southern Miss defender look silly on his TD. The problem is he doesn't get to run in space enough. He would really have been a great RB in the Texas Tech spread offense where they spread the splits of the offensive line. SMU doesn't really spread its splits like Tech does-guess they don't feel their offensive linemen have the athletic talent to move their feet.

[drs1310]

O that reminds me, he didnt score on that play but got the first down on that awesome cut back and then gets taken out and Dorsey gets put in and fumbles. There comes a point when u find YOUR guy and u stick with him!

[MustangStealth]

What is the real deal? OLine, receivers? He looks like he has regressed to Junior Varsity. I thought he had some pretty good progress last year.

What's really sad is that you can probably count on one hand the number of players who have progressed from year to year to year over the last 5 seasons, but the list of guys who show promise early and never reach their full potential is lengthy.

[BrianTinBigD]

Let me point out that the O-line is just not that good and the receivers we are rolling out there are just not as good as they were last year. Chase, Pellerin, and even Warren were better than their replacements we are rolling out there this year. Throw in the fact that we completely abandon the running game most of the time and you have a QB that is forced to make something happen. His stats this year are still much better when you look at what he is forced to work with.

[giacfsp]

Mapps is a great runner in spece which has always been my observation-he made that Southern Miss defender look silly on his TD.

Except he didn't score a TD. Other than that, you're dead-on.

The problem is he doesn't get to run in space enough. He would really have been a great RB in the Texas Tech spread offense where they spread the splits of the offensive line. SMU doesn't really spread its splits like Tech does-guess they don't feel their offensive linemen have the athletic talent to move their feet.

Tech is the only -- or at least one of very few -- teams that run that wide-split set with its linemen. Don't sit here and suggest that our players are the dregs of the football world because they don't play a formation that virtually no other team plays, either. I realize that's more fun than presenting anything constructive or accurate, but it just doesn't pertain to our line.

[PerunaPunch]

Let me point out that the O-line is just not that good and the receivers we are rolling out there are just not as good as they were last year. Chase, Pellerin, and even Warren were better than their replacements we are rolling out there this year.

What I can't figure is that the only OL was lost last year was Darrin Johnson, and I don't think he ever lived up to his billing. So we shoulda been better at OL this year... theoretically anyway.

With regards to our receivers, we lost Kennedy (basically unused) and Chase (a great receiver, but largely overlooked by Willis) and Pellerin. So yea, we lost a lot of talent there. But basically Willis just threw to Sanders last year. What I want to know is where the chemistry between Willis and Sanders went?

[EastStang]

Willis is not a great QB, but a very good one who gives us the best chance to win in any given week. The touchdown pass to Martin is a classic example. Almost any other QB would have been sacked or thrown it into the stands, he avoided a sack and threw on the run to Martin. He is not going to chuck it 80 yards on a rope, but he can get you moving. He would be a very good QB in a veer or wishbone offense. Consider a backfield, with Martin, Mapps and Dorsey with Willis under center with Sanders and Sledge out wide. But then we need a line that can hold their blocks. Which of course is what BUS and I have consistently said, recruiting season after recruiting season. We need big uglies.

[chillinfool]

Willis will be fine. Just coming back in after that hit on Saturday shows you what kind of competitor he is. The problems he is having this year is:
1. The pressure of always having to score TD's since the defense doesn't stop anybody....PLAY BAILEY & BELL!!! Yes, JW needs to learn to shake off the pressure but remember he's still just a kid and he put a lot on his own shoulders, no thanks to the coaching staff.
2. He has no QB coach that helps him learn to do the small things in practice.
3. He is always playing from behind and the defense knows he has to pass so they just blitz him like crazy and SMU isn't coached well enough to overcome a blitz.
4. Other than the TCU game, they haven't established a running game at all though Martin seems to be running his heart out, they just don't give him the ball.
5. With a new coach next year that actually knows how to call an offensive game, Willis will be fine.

[davidsmu94]

Willis will be fine. Just coming back in after that hit on Saturday shows you what kind of competitor he is. The problems he is having this year is:
1. The pressure of always having to score TD's since the defense doesn't stop anybody....PLAY BAILEY & BELL!!! Yes, JW needs to learn to shake off the pressure but remember he's still just a kid and he put a lot on his own shoulders, no thanks to the coaching staff.
2. He has no QB coach that helps him learn to do the small things in practice.
3. He is always playing from behind and the defense knows he has to pass so they just blitz him like crazy and SMU isn't coached well enough to overcome a blitz.
4. Other than the TCU game, they haven't established a running game at all though Martin seems to be running his heart out, they just don't give him the ball.
5. With a new coach next year that actually knows how to call an offensive game, Willis will be fine.

1. Agree, play Bailey and Bell. I don't understand why we burned their redshirts if we aren't going to play them. I really don't see that what we have on the field is any worse than they are right now.

2. Someone should be shot for this. Especially after all the issues we've had at that position over the last 6 years.

3. We abandon the run way to early. We are also stupid, running our 230 pound back outside the tackles and our 180 pound back inside the tackles.

4. Again, what the heck?

5. And recruit a defense

[Bergermeister]

he'll end up owning most - if not all - of the passing records in SMU history.

What bowl does that get us into?

[ponyinNC]

Willis will be fine. Just coming back in after that hit on Saturday shows you what kind of competitor he is. The problems he is having this year is:
1. The pressure of always having to score TD's since the defense doesn't stop anybody....PLAY BAILEY & BELL!!! Yes, JW needs to learn to shake off the pressure but remember he's still just a kid and he put a lot on his own shoulders, no thanks to the coaching staff.
2. He has no QB coach that helps him learn to do the small things in practice.
3. He is always playing from behind and the defense knows he has to pass so they just blitz him like crazy and SMU isn't coached well enough to overcome a blitz.
4. Other than the TCU game, they haven't established a running game at all though Martin seems to be running his heart out, they just don't give him the ball.
5. With a new coach next year that actually knows how to call an offensive game, Willis will be fine.

1. Agree, play Bailey and Bell. I don't understand why we burned their redshirts if we aren't going to play them. I really don't see that what we have on the field is any worse than they are right now.

2. Someone should be shot for this. Especially after all the issues we've had at that position over the last 6 years.

3. We abandon the run way to early. We are also stupid, running our 230 pound back outside the tackles and our 180 pound back inside the tackles.

4. Again, what the heck?

5. And recruit a defense

Even the CSTV commentators were blasting us for running DeMyron to the outside, saying he is a downhill type guy and needs to run north and south. We have Mapps for those type of plays. It seems once in every series we call that play and D-Mart gets blasted for a 3 yard loss. I do not understand our play calling at all.

[2112]

smu is the only team that could not score a single touchdown against tech.

[Pony_Fan]

Sounds like a combination of things. He just seemed a lot more poised towards the last 1/2 of last season and things were clicking. He did have a lot better defensive support. I wish we would do some better dump off passes and use the TE's (which haven't been utilitzed in Burn's offense)

[Big Easy Pony]

Not only should Bailey and Bell play, but it was nice to see Aldrick Robinson get at least one catch. As fast as that guy is supposed to be, I would think we'd be trying to find a way to get the ball into his hands.