Was it worth it to burn Phillips red-shirt?

[PonySnob]

Given how much Tate has played today, there was not really a need to cost Phillips a year of eligibility.

[newfan]

i agree totally!!!!!! today was a complete injustice to both qbs... neither of them had a chance to get into a rythmn. i also think that the freshman qb got cheated out of a year of eligibiltiy... i think that if u were going to pull a red shirt off a player any player then u need to play them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
these are just my opinions but today was a very frustrating day for the 11 hours total we spent in the car going and coming..... :thumbdown:

[Hoofprint]

I agree and disagree. I'd hate to see Phillips lose his redshirt if today's action was all he gets this year. But if the plan is, as Coach Bennett said, that Phillips will play in the remaining games, I think today was OK. Tulsa plays a goofy defense that's difficult to simulate with the scout team. It was extremely windy, which made passing difficult, to say the least. And it is the first time he's ever seen the speed of the college game. The amount he played today was less than I would have liked, but if it gave him a taste of what to expect and then protected him from the frustration of facing a really unorthodox defense, I'm OK with it. I think he'll actually be better-prepared for Fresno State, even though they're a better team and have a better defense. They're just more traditional in their schemes and formations.

[Stallion]

....god I'm bending over backwards trying to make some semblence of sense in why Bennett continues to play Wallis. I'm down to two-either Wallis has incriminating pictures of Bennett in compromising positions or the jump from private school football to Division 1A is too big to expect Phillips to make without more than 1 week of working with the first string. During one streatch Wallis failed to find a receiver on six straight passing plays and had to scramble without getting off a pass. It was pathetic. He's spooked-he can't read a defense after 2 years of college football so I don't see how Phillips can do any worse. Does Wallis have any(probably 1 or 2) TD drives this year? Phillips had a TD drive in his first attempt and also had a nice drive late in the game. If Wallis gets off the bench again-I'm going to assume that my initial guess of incriminating pictures must be correct.

[FloridaMustang]

Seriously Stallion, the decision making abilities of Bennett are seriously questionable. Phillips was the starter and had a TD drive but was pulled after going 0-2 in the passing dept. What a joke. I think Wallis actually had more snaps. And if the wind was really a problem and was forcing more running, Phillips was doing that more effectively anyway!

0-8. Wow.

From the DMN:

Phillips became the starter last week when sophomore Richard Bartel decided to transfer rather than become the scout team quarterback.

In his first start, Phillips completed two of four passes for 18 yards. The two completions came in the second half. SMU didn't call any dropback passes plays for Phillips. He ran mostly draws and rollouts.

Wallis, the experienced quarterback with eight starts, had his timing thrown off by the second half by a hip pointer and the wind.

He went 4-of-12 for 33 yards.

The offense was also bothered by winds of close to 17 mph that forced the teams to run the ball more. Senior Keylon Kincade gained a career-high 185 yards on a season-high 36 carries as SMU rushed for 245 yards.

"The wind certainly played a factor," Bennett said. "We had some limitations in the passing game. Basically, you could only throw when going south. Tulsa made some things difficult on us as well. We just didn't throw the ball very well."

The offense wasn't solely to blame. The defense gave up 21 second-half points and failed to keep the game close in the fourth quarter.

SMU cornerback Jonas Rutledge picked off a pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown to bring the Mustangs to within 21-16 with 11:47 to play in the game.

But on the ensuing possession, Tulsa quarterback James Kilian completed a 46-yard pass to Romby Bryant, who beat three defenders to the ball and brought the Hurricane to the SMU 26.

On first down, SMU was called for offsides. Four plays later, Kilian threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Mills to make it 28-16.

"Down 21-16, we had two busted coverages," Bennett said. "We absolutely had some self-inflicted problems."

Game notes

Phil Bennett said he's not sure who will start at quarterback next week against Fresno State.

<small>[ 10-26-2003, 12:35 AM: Message edited by: FloridaMustang ]</small>

[LA_Mustang]

I agree, Stallion. Why does Bennett get everyone excited about Phillips and then basically not let him do anything. He throws 4 passes? He only has a couple of drives? That wasnt fair to SMU fans and more importantly, Phillips. I cant tell you how disgusted I got every time I heard Rich and Craig say that Wallis was coming back on the field?? I guess it would be asking too much to let Phillips have a few drives to get comfortable and let us see what he can do?? His first drive the team scores a TD. He gets one more possession and then he's pulled. What in the hell is that? Wallis is NOT a D-1 QB. Has he ever won a game as the SMU QB? That was the biggest waste of a game ever. This program has a lot of questions to answer. And it is really getting harder to care.

[GoRedGoBlue]

He is reaching here and there...it's a weird sort of desperation very unlike Cavan's desperation.

Both desperate, but unique.

Je ne se pas

[HorsePower]

Originally posted by Stallion:
.... or the jump from private school football to Division 1A is too big to expect Phillips to make without more than 1 week of working with the first string....

There you go. That's got to be the answer. As the third-string QB most of the season, he got almost zero reps in practice - just a handful a day. He's got some serious ability, I gather, but his development is just beginning now. Coach Bennett said the remaining games are the best way for Phillips to learn. I think Wallis should get a series or two per game so Phillips can watch how the opposing defense is doing things, but since the redshirt is shot, Phillips should get the vast majority of the snaps.

[Stallion]

seriously it is a huge jump we are asking Phillips to make. I went to St. Mark's and am fully aware of that level of play-we played Lynch every year-I would say Jesuit would be somewhat competitive at 4A, a couple of schools might be able to beat a 3A school, the rest play 2A caliber football-but really come on can a QB read defenses worse than Wallis-that excuse doesn't hold water when you examine that fact.

[HorsePower]

I saw Lynch play Highland Park last year, and Phillips more than held his own - he ran for a couple of scores (long ones) and threw a couple, too. But the talent level he faced on a week-in, week-out basis was lightyears behind what he's going to face for the rest of this season. He has the athletic ability to be a very good D-I QB, but as we all know, it takes a lot more than athleticism. He has great gifts, but also has a lot of learning to do.

[LA_Mustang]

Yeah, but I would rather have him learn by playing instead of watching Wallis hand the ball off to KK and getting sacked every other play.

[FloridaMustang]

Amen. All the freshmen QB's across the country are learning by PLAYING. Bennett is out of his mind if he thinks Wallis actually offers us a better chance of winning. We've SEEN what Wallis can do. Bench the sucker unless Phillips gets hurt. End of story.

[SoCal_Pony]

My complaint is that Tate threw 12 passes, while Chris threw only 4.

Why? What is the worst possible thing that could have happened if Chris threw 12 passes and Tate 4, that we lose by 30 points instead of 20?? If that is the worst possible outcome I will gladly take my chances.

Here is an interesting statistic that I believe illuminates Tate’s effectiveness. Take his net passing yards this season (subtract 40 yards for each interception) and divide by his number of attempts. His net passing yards per attempt is LESS than 3 yards. Subtract his longest completion of the season, and his net passing yards is only slightly over 2 yards per attempt. Try to find another non-option QB in America who averages less than 3 yards every time he attempts a pass. Someone averaging 2 yards may set an NCAA record.

We are 0-8, we have burned a redshirt, take some chances.

[LA_Mustang]

SoCal, that makes way too much sense. We cant expect the coaches to do that.