Post game thoughts...

[Dr Death]

You really have to love the Internet... reading some of the posts here both anger me and crack me up. Ridiculous comments that Bo should not have played this year after just one game and June left his magic potion... more on that later... in Hawaii...

Now I admit, I don't know much about Mustang football. I didn't start paying attention until the day you guys hired June, so understand that I can't comment on Willis or understand the pain you fans have felt in the past decade or more... but I do know June Jones and I do know his system, and I do know that tonight is the first step in the right direction.

As for June choosing the Freshman over Willis... how many of you were at every practice? How many of watched film of Willis in the R&S this Spring? How many of you are around Willis every day and can comment on his attitude and how well he's picking up the new system?

June choosing a Freshman is June choosing the right guy to lead his system. The majority of the players here are guys he inherited, he didn't recruit them. It will take him some time to get his players in, but in the meantime a Freshman QB who he did recruit is being given a chance to learn the system now. June knows this will take time. Just as it did in Hawaii. Wouldn't you rather have Bo be right on in two years when June has had three years of recruiting as opposed to Bo learning at that point?

So according to one poster if Willis had started tonight the outcome would have been different. According to the announcers Willis is uncomfortable in the pocket and was indecisive in his decision making, thus he didn't win the job. I can tell you this, as I have stated in the past, in the R&S the two main attributes for your QB to have are accuracy and consistency. Something that from what I heard, Willis doesn't have... at least he didn't in the Spring in this system.

Now... this so-called Magic Potion... do you realize that this magic potion was a lot of hard work and a lot of repetition? Do you realize it was having the team fail, only to learn from their mistakes and get back up and get after it again? Do you realize it was about young men learning to become leaders and learning to overcome adversity? There was no magic potion in Hawaii. It was hard work, repetition, learning from mistakes and trusting the system as well as each other.

I've been around this board enough to know there are some quality people with good football knowledge and people who absolutely love SMU. There are also some people who expect miracles and resort to childish rants when things don't work out as they expected in the first game.

You didn't hire June to beat Rice in week one of the 2008 season. You hired June to turn around your program which has been failing badly for a while now. In time this will happen. There were a ton of positives tonight and many of them from the Freshman QB. I won't go into them now because I get the feeling a lot of you will ignore them.

At some point this year, things will click for Bo Levi Mitchell. By the time he's a Junior you guys will be glad June did what he did. Of course, when that day comes, those of you saying the year is a waste and that Bo should never have taken the field will be on board and you'll be diehard fans. It comes with the territory.

To those of you that are good fans and knowledgeable about what a rebuilding job entails, trust me when I say tonight was the first step... the first step in what will eventually be a successful journey.

[Pweesey]

I agree. But could you do it with less words and less font alterations? It's hard to read that whole thing. You're on the right track.

[LakeHighlandsPony]

We have been told to be patient since Rice kicked our [deleted] in 1989. I do believe June will turn it around but some of us have been going through the drought a long time.

[OC Mustang]

I said so in another post, but the only counter to anything you said (you lay out a strong argument for critics keeping quiet) is that I am not sold on having a system or scheme that is inflexible. I did see some flexibility (he did put tight ends into the game in the slots, and he threw to them), I do have concerns about the wisdom of playing a true freshman. This isn't a Willis fit; it's a belief that upperclassman have a better grip on game speed.

Admittedly, Mitchell showed some brilliance, but he is missing stamina to throw that many passes in a game, particularly deep balls.

Clements and Casey showed what 5th year seniors bring to the table in their system. Frankly, Justin could go to Rice, and he could play that system well. I am not going to take sides on "systems". I simply believe that inflexibility is not a good thing. Coach Jones' take on it is that repetition will win out. Might. But I, for one, don't think he has this season to take for granted. I really don't. And we have $2 million reasons to not expect that.

Just MHO...really. I'm nobody. But as a fan, I don't think my comments are unreasonable.

[Dr Death]

We have been told to be patient since Rice kicked our [deleted] in 1989. I do believe June will turn it around but some of us have been going through the drought a long time.

But you haven't had June since 1989... everywhere he's been, the USFL, the NFL and Hawaii , he's won. He will do so here.

[SMU 86]

Thanks for the post Doc. It would not have mattered who we started at
QB if our defense can't stop anyone. Rice could have put up 70 or more had they not took their foot off the throttle.

[LakeHighlandsPony]

Exactly- Bo Levi does not play defense.

[Pweesey]

dangit you did it again with the bold.

Your posts are good enough without the self-important alterations. We get it. Don't make many of us start ignoring you because of it since I like what you're saying.

[Dr Death]

I said so in another post, but the only counter to anything you said (you lay out a strong argument for critics keeping quiet) is that I am not sold on having a system or scheme that is inflexible. I did see some flexibility (he did put tight ends into the game in the slots, and he threw to them), I do have concerns about the wisdom of playing a true freshman. This isn't a Willis fit; it's a belief that upperclassman have a better grip on game speed.

Admittedly, Mitchell showed some brilliance, but he is missing stamina to throw that many passes in a game, particularly deep balls.

Clements and Casey showed what 5th year seniors bring to the table in their system. Frankly, Justin could go to Rice, and he could play that system well. I am not going to take sides on "systems". I simply believe that inflexibility is not a good thing. Coach Jones' take on it is that repetition will win out. Might. But I, for one, don't think he has this season to take for granted. I really don't. And we have $2 million reasons to not expect that.

Just MHO...really. I'm nobody. But as a fan, I don't think my comments are unreasonable.

June has been running this system since the 1970's... as a QB and a coach. It produces. And it wins. Trust me, in time you will love the passing and you will love how confusing it is for teams trying to stop it.

As for Bo throwing so many passes... glad you brought that up, because I forgot to mention this earlier. What is Bo... 18? Do you really believe an 18 year old is going to get a tired arm throwing the ball 43 times in one game? He's probably thrown about 5000 passes since the Spring. He's 18... he's in good shape... his arm is not going to wear out. This isn't like a baseball pitcher.

As for June taking this year for granted... I guarantee you he wants to win. But he also inherited this team. The people who hired him better be smart enough to let the man recruit his type of players and have his system in place. Once that happens you will see here what he's done everywhere he's been; you will see wins.

[OC Mustang]

I said so in another post, but the only counter to anything you said (you lay out a strong argument for critics keeping quiet) is that I am not sold on having a system or scheme that is inflexible. I did see some flexibility (he did put tight ends into the game in the slots, and he threw to them), I do have concerns about the wisdom of playing a true freshman. This isn't a Willis fit; it's a belief that upperclassman have a better grip on game speed.

Admittedly, Mitchell showed some brilliance, but he is missing stamina to throw that many passes in a game, particularly deep balls.

Clements and Casey showed what 5th year seniors bring to the table in their system. Frankly, Justin could go to Rice, and he could play that system well. I am not going to take sides on "systems". I simply believe that inflexibility is not a good thing. Coach Jones' take on it is that repetition will win out. Might. But I, for one, don't think he has this season to take for granted. I really don't. And we have $2 million reasons to not expect that.

Just MHO...really. I'm nobody. But as a fan, I don't think my comments are unreasonable.

June has been running this system since the 1970's... as a QB and a coach. It produces. And it wins. Trust me, in time you will love the passing and you will love how confusing it is for teams trying to stop it.

As for Bo throwing so many passes... glad you brought that up, because I forgot to mention this earlier. What is Bo... 18? Do you really believe an 18 year old is going to get a tired arm throwing the ball 43 times in one game? He's probably thrown about 5000 passes since the Spring. He's 18... he's in good shape... his arm is not going to wear out. This isn't like a baseball pitcher.

As for June taking this year for granted... I guarantee you he wants to win. But he also inherited this team. The people who hired him better be smart enough to let the man recruit his type of players and have his system in place. Once that happens you will see here what he's done everywhere he's been; you will see wins.

BLM got tired. Period. I don't care how many passes he has been warming up with. All of his picks were off of ducks. That's not bad decision making. It's fatigue.

I believe firmly that Coach Jones wants to win. But the game of coaching in college football means that sometimes, you inherit teams. To his credit, he didn't act like Bennett and say how terrible Cavan's recruits were.

As for the system, we've seen the run/shoot before. Perhaps not as Coach Jones runs it, but I watched 89,90,91,92,93, and 94 with the run/shoot. It is exciting. SMU still got beat using it. I'm used to that too. That's why I don't feel my criticisms are overheated. I'm behind Coach Jones, but that doesn't mean everything is perfect with run/shoot system. Ask Georgia about that.

[PlanoStang]

"A running QB can be great, look at Vince Young."


"First of all, when Willis wasn't completing passes last year, his only
option was to run or get his head knocked off due to poor OLine
play(It wasn't a lack of trust in his OLine it was a reality as to how
often they caved in). "


Under Tom Rossley, our last run n shoot coach, he realized scrambling
running was Ramon Flannigan's great gift like Roger Staubach. He even
put in a QB draw play. Ramon is a record setter for SMU offense.

June Boy is sounding like a one trick pony who wants to retire in 5
years.

[PonySnob]

We have been told to be patient since Rice kicked our [deleted] in 1989. I do believe June will turn it around but some of us have been going through the drought a long time.

We looked pretty similar to how we did in the 1989 game!!!

[couch 'em]

One game and we're already attacking our own. Typical.

Why is it half the people on this board can cheer a contract extension for Bennett when he had done nothing but suck, but we get one game into a new coach and already the pitchforks are out?

[Junior]

Exactly- Bo Levi does not play defense.

Well, not yet at least.