There are no words to describe what I watched

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

"Without McNeal, we definitely lose the football game"

YEP....without this guy we lose to SFA!

[OC Mustang]

I have the words.

Defense solid; on the field too long b/c of offense 3 and out. Defense was physical, and they played with confidence. Several 3rd and shorts that they bucked up and got the stop.
Full moon = lot of mental errors
Only one pick was BLM's doing; other was b/c receiver ran wrong route.
Receivers dropped a lot of balls early. Robinson, Sanders, Wilkerson, Johnson...they all had flashes of brilliance, but they were not consistent at all. BLM was dead on the money several times on the first couple of drives...and the balls got dropped. The rest of the time he had indeed lost his range...mostly throwing high or to a spot that forced the receiver to spread out. SFA played their safeties deep...that killed them when McNeal got rolling, but it took the deep ball option in the run/shoot off the table. The first pic was when BLM ignored it and tossed a floater to the flat. The other was BLM throwing to a location...there should have been a receiver there.

Practice reports showed days of receivers and QB being "on" as well as days where they were not at all. So I was surprised a little, but I think BLM felt a little rushed early. The O-line founds its mojo, but it took awhile. I also think BLM did not check down his progressions. He had consistent dump off options to gain 3-5 yards, and he kept going for the 10-15 yard routes or the long sideline ball. I saw that a LOT with Line and McNeal in the backfield. Take what you can get, eat the clock, and frustrate the defense.

The new O-line coach, Klemm, is very different than McKnight (just an observation). He's more calm, and he kept telling the guys, "You're doing your job; it's fine." The left tackle kept getting called for holding. Two of the calls were bullsh-t, and this officiating crew really sucked b/c they kept watching the game instead of looking ahead and behind the play. However, Klemm corrected whatever the LT (Beachum?) was doing, and it got results.

All-in, I am satisfied with the result, even if hopeful that the "getting there" gets there faster and better. Last night should have been much more lopsided in favor of SMU...

The silver lining is that we all know now that McNeal is as advertised. I am uber-pleased with that fact. The guy can raise the level of play of other skill positions as well. I think he's that good.

They know what to focus on now, so I think it'll get better. I also think that they will play up or down to competition, so I am hopeful that Washington State is a better game.

[Charleston Pony]

the biggest positive is that last night goes in the W column, so we can only improve on last year. That's critical to keep the positive momentum going. Gotta find another couple of wins and I think there are several opportunities on this year's schedule.

I agree that Collins did a nice job stepping in as a true FR and Moore did a good job backing up Bell. McNeal and Frazier are immediate impact guys and I would say the same about Darrius...just hope his injury isn't serious. That was one heck of a catch at an important time.

[Bergermeister]

None

Profound.

[SMU 86]

"He had a couple great moments, but he needs to turn his head around on coverage"

This worries me. Yeah we got some int's last night, but in a lot of situations our DB's are not ever looking back and have no idea the ball is about to arrive...I saw this happen countless times last night...the DB is shadowing the receiver nicely but never glances back to see where the ball is and has no idea the ball is arriving thus there is no attempt to break up the pass or get the pick.....is this proper technique?....or are the DB's told to shadow the receiver and not look back?

I saw the same thing. Sterling Moore was the only one to look back when the ball was in the air. He got a break up and an INT for doing so.

[mrydel]

You play the eyes and actions of the receiver. If you turn too soon, the receiver will lose you. You first have to break up the pass and second, intercept if you are able. You are allowed to face guard in college and if that is what it takes to stay on the receiver, then do it. I would rather have the ball bounce of the back of the defender's helmet, than have the defender turn around just as the receiver is cutting left or right. If position is such that he can turn, and he observes the receiver extending for the ball, then do it. I saw much closer coverage and pretty good techniques from all the backs last night, especially Moore. He got beat a couple of times and the receiver was over thrown. That could have been devastating, but all CBs get beat going man to man on occasion.

I would like to also give a high five to Moore for the final block on Sander's punt return. It was mostly Sanders, but Moore got the final one that gave Sanders the end zone.

[ponyscott]

All in all it was a good test for the Db's as the Lumberjacks( what kind of name is that for a team?) were tried and tested and more experinced than SMU and had a good basic plan and used their bigger receivers against our undersized db's in isolation. They threw and threw and put pressure on our younger guys and replacements like Sterling Moore who must have been scared to death to have to cover these guys as a late replacement starter..he made some coverage errors but who wouldn't the amount of time the defense had to spend out there..It was like a marathon for those poor guys...how many times did you see guys asking to come out because they were so winded. That no huddle offense also puts alot of pressure on the set up and the pace of the game.