What a tough week to make a call...
I don't think the team can play much worse than they did in the Army game, that's the good news. Further, I think the Army game might have done a good job motivating the defense to perform better against Kansas State, in addition to their propensity to play to their level of competition.
I think Bell will be a bit more motivated by the competition in practice, with Blake Szymanski receiving some snaps with the first team in practice. Those games in which he feels he has to prove himself, like Missouri in 2005 and A&M in 2004, he really comes up big. That might be the biggest boon to having Blake in the game a couple series a half, just to give Bell something to push him.
I think Kansas State is a lot like TCU. They have a good running game, they have a weak (in my opinion) quarterback and they have a tough defense. They are going to try to pound our defense over and over again. They are going to sit back and wait for us to tire so they can rip off 20+ yard runs in the fourth quarter. On defense, they are going to try to blast us and our finesse offense off the field. They have one very good defensive end and a solid linebacking corps. Their cornerbacks aren't anything to worry about, but that's not stopped any defenses from slowing our offense, yet.
It's amazing the similarities to TCU.
The good news is that we really, really ought to have beaten TCU. We held TCU to 2.9 yards per rush. We held them to 11 yards of offense in the first quarter and something like 129 yards in the first half.
We just have to hope that Freeman, their true freshman QB, doesn't come in and start throwing to running backs out of the backfield for 84-yard touchdowns.
This is a game that we can and should win. Our offense, as pathetic as it's been, has improved each game in scoring. Or at least our team has. 7 to 15 to 20 points. I say we take another step forward and manage to grab 24 points of scoring against KSU. The flip side is that we are due a step back offensively, like the defensive one we got against Army, in which case we could be looking at a 7-13 point effort.
Our defense got embarassed and I hope they don't come out with their Baylor faces already on.
Kansas State doesn't have the offensive firepower to blow us out, but we could be embarassed with a 20-7 effort against them.
Mind:
The offense takes a step back and the defense gives up at the half AGAIN (Why should I think anything else? They've done it every game.)
Baylor - 13
Kansas State - 23
Heart:
Bell is motivated by the pressure of the 2nd string QB, and manages at least one more scoring drive, and few three and outs. The defense stays to play for another quarter, not giving up the third quarter score as is their M.O.
Baylor - 24
Kansas State - 16
Just basically flipping the coin, I know.
I'm going with my heart on this one, because this is a must-win game, and I think the team has responded well to situations when they were embarassed. The key to that is that it didn't always necessarily mean a win: Texas Tech in 2005.
Final Prediction:
BAY - 24
KSU - 16
Friday, September 29, 2006
Shawn Bell
After reading through various posts and listening to Baylor fandom, I think we owe Shawn Bell an apology. And no this post isn't a joke.
I'm not a Shawn Bell apologist and have publicly declared that he shouldn't be the QB this year if we are going to run this spread offense. By the time, Bell figures this offense out, he will be gone. Let Szymanski figure it out now so maybe next year, he might be ready. Also, this offense doesn't give Shawn Bell the best chance of succeeding based on his skill set.
All that said, I still defend him somewhat. And here's why I like him. He came in unheralded. No one expected a thing out of him. But, he helped produce the best Baylor football season in 10 years. I think he is scrappy and tough. He's a decent game manager and has been loyal to this football team despite the coaching staff and its fans always ripping him. He has done everything asked of him. Play when called upon. Sit and support the team when benched. Come off the bench and try to bail the team out. Learn a new offense in his last year. And the list goes on.
We have thanked him by repeatedly begging for Terrance Parks last year and the coaches thanked him by benching him at certain times throughout that season. Now the coaches have thanked him by putting him in a situation which does not allow him to succeed.
One last thing: I'm not convinced that there is a lot of talent surrounding him.
So Shawn, thank you for your efforts and your dedication. Now one last thing: Keep being a team player and step aside in hopes that Szymanski learns the offense and can pick up where you left off last year. I know that is a terrible thing to ask for in your senior year - but I'm sure if you are asked by the coaching staff, you will take the high road, pick up the clipboard and support the new QB. And for that, I admire you.
I'm not a Shawn Bell apologist and have publicly declared that he shouldn't be the QB this year if we are going to run this spread offense. By the time, Bell figures this offense out, he will be gone. Let Szymanski figure it out now so maybe next year, he might be ready. Also, this offense doesn't give Shawn Bell the best chance of succeeding based on his skill set.
All that said, I still defend him somewhat. And here's why I like him. He came in unheralded. No one expected a thing out of him. But, he helped produce the best Baylor football season in 10 years. I think he is scrappy and tough. He's a decent game manager and has been loyal to this football team despite the coaching staff and its fans always ripping him. He has done everything asked of him. Play when called upon. Sit and support the team when benched. Come off the bench and try to bail the team out. Learn a new offense in his last year. And the list goes on.
We have thanked him by repeatedly begging for Terrance Parks last year and the coaches thanked him by benching him at certain times throughout that season. Now the coaches have thanked him by putting him in a situation which does not allow him to succeed.
One last thing: I'm not convinced that there is a lot of talent surrounding him.
So Shawn, thank you for your efforts and your dedication. Now one last thing: Keep being a team player and step aside in hopes that Szymanski learns the offense and can pick up where you left off last year. I know that is a terrible thing to ask for in your senior year - but I'm sure if you are asked by the coaching staff, you will take the high road, pick up the clipboard and support the new QB. And for that, I admire you.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
The Truth About Baylor Football
I want to extend a thanks to JudgeChamber for extending the invitation to discuss Baylor football on this blog. I'll try to keep it real and call it like I see it.
For my first post I want to discuss what I think will be the keys to the game. I think it's funny how some people talk about keys to the game. Usually, the first thing someone spouts off is "turnovers, penalties, line play." The next time someone tells you that, punch them in the face. These things are true in every game. It's not insight, it's stating the obvious. The team should show up to the stadium sometime before 6. See, I can do it too.
So without further delay Here are my keys to the game:
For my first post I want to discuss what I think will be the keys to the game. I think it's funny how some people talk about keys to the game. Usually, the first thing someone spouts off is "turnovers, penalties, line play." The next time someone tells you that, punch them in the face. These things are true in every game. It's not insight, it's stating the obvious. The team should show up to the stadium sometime before 6. See, I can do it too.
So without further delay Here are my keys to the game:
- Quarterback (yikes!) must have a GREAT game. Notice I didn’t put he who will no longer be named. This sounds like a no-brainer but the stat line needs to read 300+ , 2+ touchdowns if we are going to have a chance. 200-225 and 1 touchdown on 45 attempts will mean a loss. Count on it. Our defense/special teams will probably give up 13-17 so we need points. I don’t see K-State blitzing all that much. They saw that Army could get to the quarterback with the front 4 and surely they saw that our biggest plays have been off screen type plays. Why would they risk bringing linebackers when they can disrupt without them? Also for the love of all that is holy please throw deep once a quarter. People whine about our running game but when the safeties are lining up 8 yards off the ball you just can’t. Making them line up 12 yards off the ball would make all the difference in the world.
- Terrance Parks in the red zone. I mentioned this before to several people, in our offense when we have 4-5 receivers out there it is like stealing to have him on the inside. The defense can only double team one person (maybe) and it won’t be him. He will be lined up on a linebacker in which case he needs to be running a 6-7 yard out and use his speed to run away from them or if a d-back does cover him he needs to live between the hashes where the defender won’t be able to even see the ball until its too late.
- On defense, it’s all about the front 7. I don’t even think the secondary will be a factor in this game. If the K-State coaches have an ounce of brain cells between all of them, they will run, run, and run some more on us. Their QB is about as scary as ours, why even give him enough rope to hang himself?
- We MUST get a two touchdown lead somehow. This puts K-State in “catch up” mode and plays to their weakness and our supposed strength.
I want to expand on this last point. From what I have seen thus far in this season, the only way we win a conference game is for a game to unfold like the OK-State game last year where our opponent self destructs right in front of us. Our team doesn't have the "onions" to actually trade blows with another team. At the first sign of an opponent getting momentum, our guys have been making the "Baylor face" and from there it's all over. Let's hope a spine transplant happened during the week. You know Ron Prince was telling his team all week: "Just stay in the game, hold onto the ball. Baylor is a ticking time bomb that will go off on itself if you just let it. If we are two scores behind or better, they will find a way to give it to us."
For an ender, to the couple who sits in front of me: Learn the rules of the game, just because the other team ran for more than 5 yards does not necessarily mean there was holding. You're annoying as hell when you scream for penalties that even Pac-10 officials could get right not calling.
Welcome The Dixie Fitz
Baylor Sports Unlimited adds yet another writer, The Dixie Fitz.
TDF lands somewhere in between myself and Cynical_Jeff in his views on Baylor sports.
TDF lands somewhere in between myself and Cynical_Jeff in his views on Baylor sports.
Colorado State Preview
Getting back to a little bit of Basketball, here's the preview of the next opponent on our schedule, Colorado State. We will face CSU in the Pre-season NIT or Tip-Off Classic or whatever it's being called these days. We'll have to beat them to get to Gonzaga in the second round.
Top 3 Returning Scorers:
Jason Smith, F - 16.2ppg
Cory Lewis, G - 10.1ppg
Stuart Creason, C - 7.9ppg
Total Scoring Returning - 41.5ppg (lost 32.5 ppg)
Top 3 Returning Rebounders
Jason Smith, F - 7.3rpg
Stuart Creason, C - 3.8rpg
Cory Lewis, G - 3.6rpg
Total Rebounding Returning - 18.1 rpg (lost 10.6 rpg)
Top 3 Returnings Assists
Cory Lewis, G - 136 (4.53/game)
Jason Smith, F - 70 (2.25/game)
Stuart Creason - 28 (1.04/game)
Total Assists Returning - 276 (8.9/game)
Colorado State lost some very important pieces to their team this year, and it will be interesting to see how they put everything together.
They obviously have a very strong core for their team, as the same three players, across three different positions, are the top 3 leading scorers, rebounders and assist(ers?).
Cory Lewis is a 6' guard who led all MWC guards with 4.53 assists per game, is a former JUCO guard who was playing in his first season at the MWC level.
Jason Smith is CSUs best player and standing 7' tall, he's more of a center than the forward position he's listed at. He'll be a junior coming into this year, but was the MWC Freshman of the Year and an All-MWC Honorable Mention his freshman year as well. He was first-team all MWC last year, averaging 16.2 ppg (on 51.7% shooting), 7.3 rebounds per game, and 2.14 blocks per game.
Stuart Creason is the teams center, and he also stands 7' tall. He only started one game last year, but logged 22 minutes per game in the 27 games he played in. He missed 4 games due to injury. Although not much of a scoring threat (7.9ppg), he does have a presence on the defensive end with 1.41 blocks per game. I'd look for him to have a bigger role on the team this coming year.
Colorado State will have a youth movement similar to Baylors, with 8 of their 15 players on roster being sophomores or freshmen.
Only two of their incoming true freshmen were rated by Rivals, one being a 3* and the other a 2*. While we are aware that the star ratings aren't the end all, be all, for measuring freshmen contributions, it's a good way to start, especially when talking basketball. The 3* player is Jarrel Smith, a 6'7" 185lb small forward, who was ranked #14 in California, but did not make the national list. He was also offered by UC-Santa Barbara and San Diego State, and recruited by OU, Georgia Tech and Illinois.
The 2* player was Jarrel's brother, Jimmy. A 6'5" 185lb guard, Jimmy wasn't as highly recruited as Jarrell, but did get interest from OU, Maryland and Illinois, but didn't receive any offers.
It will be interesting to see how the youth affects the play of the veteran players, especially if the young guards are able to effectively distribute the ball when Lewis is not on the court, or when he is being pressured by Jerrells. If Creason and Smith can't get the ball in their hands, it's going to be difficult for CSU to really get its game going.
Top 3 Returning Scorers:
Jason Smith, F - 16.2ppg
Cory Lewis, G - 10.1ppg
Stuart Creason, C - 7.9ppg
Total Scoring Returning - 41.5ppg (lost 32.5 ppg)
Top 3 Returning Rebounders
Jason Smith, F - 7.3rpg
Stuart Creason, C - 3.8rpg
Cory Lewis, G - 3.6rpg
Total Rebounding Returning - 18.1 rpg (lost 10.6 rpg)
Top 3 Returnings Assists
Cory Lewis, G - 136 (4.53/game)
Jason Smith, F - 70 (2.25/game)
Stuart Creason - 28 (1.04/game)
Total Assists Returning - 276 (8.9/game)
Colorado State lost some very important pieces to their team this year, and it will be interesting to see how they put everything together.
They obviously have a very strong core for their team, as the same three players, across three different positions, are the top 3 leading scorers, rebounders and assist(ers?).
Cory Lewis is a 6' guard who led all MWC guards with 4.53 assists per game, is a former JUCO guard who was playing in his first season at the MWC level.
Jason Smith is CSUs best player and standing 7' tall, he's more of a center than the forward position he's listed at. He'll be a junior coming into this year, but was the MWC Freshman of the Year and an All-MWC Honorable Mention his freshman year as well. He was first-team all MWC last year, averaging 16.2 ppg (on 51.7% shooting), 7.3 rebounds per game, and 2.14 blocks per game.
Stuart Creason is the teams center, and he also stands 7' tall. He only started one game last year, but logged 22 minutes per game in the 27 games he played in. He missed 4 games due to injury. Although not much of a scoring threat (7.9ppg), he does have a presence on the defensive end with 1.41 blocks per game. I'd look for him to have a bigger role on the team this coming year.
Colorado State will have a youth movement similar to Baylors, with 8 of their 15 players on roster being sophomores or freshmen.
Only two of their incoming true freshmen were rated by Rivals, one being a 3* and the other a 2*. While we are aware that the star ratings aren't the end all, be all, for measuring freshmen contributions, it's a good way to start, especially when talking basketball. The 3* player is Jarrel Smith, a 6'7" 185lb small forward, who was ranked #14 in California, but did not make the national list. He was also offered by UC-Santa Barbara and San Diego State, and recruited by OU, Georgia Tech and Illinois.
The 2* player was Jarrel's brother, Jimmy. A 6'5" 185lb guard, Jimmy wasn't as highly recruited as Jarrell, but did get interest from OU, Maryland and Illinois, but didn't receive any offers.
It will be interesting to see how the youth affects the play of the veteran players, especially if the young guards are able to effectively distribute the ball when Lewis is not on the court, or when he is being pressured by Jerrells. If Creason and Smith can't get the ball in their hands, it's going to be difficult for CSU to really get its game going.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Admit it
I don't know who all reads this but if you are a Baylor fan, repeat after me: No Bowl for Baylor. Look, don't be naive, or frankly stupid, to hold out hope for a bowl this season. Let me give you 5 reasons why Baylor won't even sniff a bowl this year.
(1) 5-3 in the Big 12. We have won 8 Big 12 games in 10 years and you think we are going to win 5 this year. It doesn't matter even if the Big 12 is down. Small bottom-feeding private football teams that have poor non-conference showings never, I mean never, recover to do well in their power conference.
(2) QB. Shawn Bell doesn't have the arm to beat more than half the conference. Szymanski is too young. Same with Beatty. Who really knows how good they are anyways. They are backing up Bell after all.
(3) Comparison game, part 1. We love to compare don't we, especially on this blog. Pevoto has thrown x interceptions per game. Our defense has forced y interceptions per game. Thus, we will force xy interceptions this game and will dominate. Stop it. No really stop it. Or well we scored 7 points against TCU and Tech only scored 3 points. We should beat them. Never mind that we played TCU at home. Tech played them on the road. And we play Tech at their place. It's stupid to try and compare, especially when the comparison game doesn't work in our favor. Do you think Baylor could have gone down to Athens and scared the junk out of Georgia? A win at Colorado is by no means a guarantee.
(4) Comparison game, part 2. "Winnable" games. What does that even mean? If Shawn Bell doesn't play like Shawn Bell has for the past three years, if the defense doesn't tire per usual late in games thanks to the offense, if Baylor doesn't shoot itself in the foot with a killer turnover or penalties, then we might win. Not to mention, we have an opponent that generally has a ton more experience winning conference games regardless of who is on their roster. You can claim to have 8 winnable games in conference this year for all I care. But you lose at home to Army - that doesn't help us with our comparison game. And I think it should re-define what a "winnable" game is.
(5) Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma. Boom - three losses. You think we will beat K-State at home. And Colorado and OK State on the road. Well, at least A&M and Kansas will be two easy cheapies . . . yeah, right.
Wake up everyone. The writing is on the wall. Teams that are 0-3 and lose to Army at home have no hope. I don't say this to be mean. I am just trying to keep you from getting hurt yet again by Baylor. Become numb . . . it helps. Trust me.
(1) 5-3 in the Big 12. We have won 8 Big 12 games in 10 years and you think we are going to win 5 this year. It doesn't matter even if the Big 12 is down. Small bottom-feeding private football teams that have poor non-conference showings never, I mean never, recover to do well in their power conference.
(2) QB. Shawn Bell doesn't have the arm to beat more than half the conference. Szymanski is too young. Same with Beatty. Who really knows how good they are anyways. They are backing up Bell after all.
(3) Comparison game, part 1. We love to compare don't we, especially on this blog. Pevoto has thrown x interceptions per game. Our defense has forced y interceptions per game. Thus, we will force xy interceptions this game and will dominate. Stop it. No really stop it. Or well we scored 7 points against TCU and Tech only scored 3 points. We should beat them. Never mind that we played TCU at home. Tech played them on the road. And we play Tech at their place. It's stupid to try and compare, especially when the comparison game doesn't work in our favor. Do you think Baylor could have gone down to Athens and scared the junk out of Georgia? A win at Colorado is by no means a guarantee.
(4) Comparison game, part 2. "Winnable" games. What does that even mean? If Shawn Bell doesn't play like Shawn Bell has for the past three years, if the defense doesn't tire per usual late in games thanks to the offense, if Baylor doesn't shoot itself in the foot with a killer turnover or penalties, then we might win. Not to mention, we have an opponent that generally has a ton more experience winning conference games regardless of who is on their roster. You can claim to have 8 winnable games in conference this year for all I care. But you lose at home to Army - that doesn't help us with our comparison game. And I think it should re-define what a "winnable" game is.
(5) Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma. Boom - three losses. You think we will beat K-State at home. And Colorado and OK State on the road. Well, at least A&M and Kansas will be two easy cheapies . . . yeah, right.
Wake up everyone. The writing is on the wall. Teams that are 0-3 and lose to Army at home have no hope. I don't say this to be mean. I am just trying to keep you from getting hurt yet again by Baylor. Become numb . . . it helps. Trust me.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
The Great Debate: Quarterback
So the question running through Baylor Fandom these days is what to do with the Quarterback situation.
Let's take a look at our options, shall we?
Shawn Bell -
He led Baylor through part of 2004, most of 2005 and all of 2006. He has struggled from the beginning to be an explosive player, but received high marks for not throwing "the" interception. The one that killed the team.
He struggled to start the 2005 campaign, throwing 2 interceptions against both SMU and Army, but they were (understandably) overshadowed by the win. He improved as the year went on, but that disturbing trend reappeared. And now it's not the DBs intercepting passes, but defensive ends...
Bell again threw 4 interceptions in his first 3 games this year, before turning in a zero-interception effort against Army. The problem is the "1"s. He has thrown for 1 touchdown in each game against a D1-A opponent so far, no more, no less. That's something that has to stop.
Blake Szymanski -
He grew up in the spread offense in high school, came to Baylor and redshirted. His only appearance thus far was mop-up duty against NSU that didn't really show us anything about him. He's got a bigger arm, though accuracy is a question. He's got more athleticism, so he could use his feet to escape trouble if need be.
I'd like to see him get more snaps in live games, preferably in times when the game isn't on the line, but when the snaps are still meaningful.
Tyler Beatty -
Big, strong kid. The coaches really, really like his potential in this offense, but I seriously doubt they'd burn his redshirt to see him in the games. Especially not if Blake isn't even getting on the field.
I expect Beatty to be challenging both Blake and Kinne next spring (assuming Kinne enrolls in January) for the starting position. It should be a pretty significant battle and should lead to us having our best QB corps and depth since before Steele, albeit young players.
As I said, I think Blake needs to be given more opportunities to see what he can do. And he doesn't need to get the Parks treatment where he's thrown in at the end of the game to heave balls deep when the defense knows exactly what's coming. Give him the fourth series of the game (Bell always starts to stall there anyway), and give him two series. Then do the same thing in the third quarter, giving him the 4th and 5th series of the game, assuming we aren't down by more than 1 score.
Washington State has done this and they are grooming their backup to take over. And he's been able to give them a spark. Maybe Blake can do the same thing. Maybe not. But we don't know right now.
And I still think that if Bells sucks it up and makes an effort to get some passes to the next level of the defense, then he can be successful in this offense. I just don't have confidence in his willingness to do that. Prove me wrong, Shawn.
Let's take a look at our options, shall we?
Shawn Bell -
He led Baylor through part of 2004, most of 2005 and all of 2006. He has struggled from the beginning to be an explosive player, but received high marks for not throwing "the" interception. The one that killed the team.
He struggled to start the 2005 campaign, throwing 2 interceptions against both SMU and Army, but they were (understandably) overshadowed by the win. He improved as the year went on, but that disturbing trend reappeared. And now it's not the DBs intercepting passes, but defensive ends...
Bell again threw 4 interceptions in his first 3 games this year, before turning in a zero-interception effort against Army. The problem is the "1"s. He has thrown for 1 touchdown in each game against a D1-A opponent so far, no more, no less. That's something that has to stop.
Blake Szymanski -
He grew up in the spread offense in high school, came to Baylor and redshirted. His only appearance thus far was mop-up duty against NSU that didn't really show us anything about him. He's got a bigger arm, though accuracy is a question. He's got more athleticism, so he could use his feet to escape trouble if need be.
I'd like to see him get more snaps in live games, preferably in times when the game isn't on the line, but when the snaps are still meaningful.
Tyler Beatty -
Big, strong kid. The coaches really, really like his potential in this offense, but I seriously doubt they'd burn his redshirt to see him in the games. Especially not if Blake isn't even getting on the field.
I expect Beatty to be challenging both Blake and Kinne next spring (assuming Kinne enrolls in January) for the starting position. It should be a pretty significant battle and should lead to us having our best QB corps and depth since before Steele, albeit young players.
As I said, I think Blake needs to be given more opportunities to see what he can do. And he doesn't need to get the Parks treatment where he's thrown in at the end of the game to heave balls deep when the defense knows exactly what's coming. Give him the fourth series of the game (Bell always starts to stall there anyway), and give him two series. Then do the same thing in the third quarter, giving him the 4th and 5th series of the game, assuming we aren't down by more than 1 score.
Washington State has done this and they are grooming their backup to take over. And he's been able to give them a spark. Maybe Blake can do the same thing. Maybe not. But we don't know right now.
And I still think that if Bells sucks it up and makes an effort to get some passes to the next level of the defense, then he can be successful in this offense. I just don't have confidence in his willingness to do that. Prove me wrong, Shawn.
Where Do We Go From Here!?
Is the season over already?
Here we are sitting at 1-3 and it almost feels like the Steele years. Is that possible? How could that be?
Under Steele we would grab all our wins in the non-conference and slide down a slippery slope of sucking until the culmination blowouts at the end of the year. Under Morriss, in previous years we've gotten better and better as the year wore on.
So, is the season over?
I hope not.
As a smart blogger, I wouldn't be so dire about the situation, but it's hard for me to muster a lot of optimism right now. As we build to the Kansas State game, I'm going to try and rebuild my belief in this team and this coaching staff.
We can't go back to the Army game to gain any comfort, I already covered that, but we can look to the more distant past and try and gain some perspective.
I believe that Morriss' teams have shown a couple things. They play to the level of their competition almost always. While that hurts them a lot in games against nobodies or weaker teams, it helps in those upsets. I still think we have an upset in us, but the question that rises before me is: Is Kansas State going to be an upset, or is Texas Tech?
But the answer to that question would answer the question about how our season as a whole would go.
Let's review our goal for the year:
Bowl Game.
We need to win 5 more games to get there. 5 Big XII Games.
At the beginning of the year I said that there were 6 winnable games in the Big XII, so we have to over 80% of the winnable games. I believe we will likely be favored in one or two of those games. Kansas State we are already favored in, and we might give some points against Kansas, unless something miraculous happens.
This is a one-game season. Kansas State is the only team that matters. Win against KSU and we are tied for first in the Big XII. Seeing how important this game is becoming, I'm almost certain to be reneging on my unwillingness to go to Waco for the game.
Rant over. Optimism-level rising. Hope in restoration process.
Here we are sitting at 1-3 and it almost feels like the Steele years. Is that possible? How could that be?
Under Steele we would grab all our wins in the non-conference and slide down a slippery slope of sucking until the culmination blowouts at the end of the year. Under Morriss, in previous years we've gotten better and better as the year wore on.
So, is the season over?
I hope not.
As a smart blogger, I wouldn't be so dire about the situation, but it's hard for me to muster a lot of optimism right now. As we build to the Kansas State game, I'm going to try and rebuild my belief in this team and this coaching staff.
We can't go back to the Army game to gain any comfort, I already covered that, but we can look to the more distant past and try and gain some perspective.
I believe that Morriss' teams have shown a couple things. They play to the level of their competition almost always. While that hurts them a lot in games against nobodies or weaker teams, it helps in those upsets. I still think we have an upset in us, but the question that rises before me is: Is Kansas State going to be an upset, or is Texas Tech?
But the answer to that question would answer the question about how our season as a whole would go.
Let's review our goal for the year:
Bowl Game.
We need to win 5 more games to get there. 5 Big XII Games.
At the beginning of the year I said that there were 6 winnable games in the Big XII, so we have to over 80% of the winnable games. I believe we will likely be favored in one or two of those games. Kansas State we are already favored in, and we might give some points against Kansas, unless something miraculous happens.
This is a one-game season. Kansas State is the only team that matters. Win against KSU and we are tied for first in the Big XII. Seeing how important this game is becoming, I'm almost certain to be reneging on my unwillingness to go to Waco for the game.
Rant over. Optimism-level rising. Hope in restoration process.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Let's Get Rid of Those Pesky Silver Linings
It's easy to look back on a Monday morning and think, "Maybe it wasn't so bad!" Let me assure you that it was every bit as bad as you once thought. I know it feels a bit like a dream, like you can't really believe it happened. More than once I've thought, "Didn't we have a bye week like the Cowboys?"
That's called a coping mechanism.
But before we can move on to the rest of the season, we have to deal with our trauma, so let's get rid of any rationalizations we might have constructed since the game ended.
#1. The Defense Only Gave Up 13 Points in Regulation
I heard our very own Super Bill Bradley utter this silver lining. Let's remember that this was an army team who should have been overpowered at every point. We let them run up and down the field against us, and the only reason this went into overtime in the first place was their FG kicker missed two 36-yard kicks. TWO! In the first quarter. Had he done his job, the game would have ended 26-17, or possibly 26-24. I guess there's a chance that we could have gotten the touchdown at the end, then kicked an onside kick, recovered it and then scored again, but based on our incompetence leading up to that point, I just can't believe it would have worked out that way.
But let's not take solace in the fact that their kicker has ridiculously bad range.
#2. Shawn Bell had Great Production
This kills me. I know I've been harsh on Bell, and I know I have said many times in many places that I didn't think he was a good QB at the BCS level. I think he'd be a good WAC QB, or even maybe in the right ConfUSA situation. But he's no BCS quarterback.
But his supporters keep bringing up his completion percentage, his "leadership", his flashes of very good play as justification for the fact that the kid just doesn't make plays. He's the anti-playmaker. He averaged 9.26 yards per completion for the game, after averaging over 12 yards per completion in the first quarter. He averaged 6.9 yards per attempt in the game, after averaging over 9 yards per attempt in the first half.
Bell needs to average over 7.5 yards per attempt. He needs to average over 10 yards per completion. That would have meant throwing for at least 19 yards more this game.
But what's 19 yards passing in this game? Well, in OT, that would have put us on the 2 yard line. Think we could have scored from there with 4 tries. Actually, I don't know, so it might be a moot point.
#3. We held Army to less than 280 yards of offense
We let Army rush for 3.7 yards per carry. Strangely that's the same yards per carry that we allowed to NSU. I don't know if the team approached these opponents in the same way, but that's a startling fact. We gave up fewer yards passing to Army, but we lost the game.
And that's the biggest stat of the evening. "1". As in the number of losses we gained that night. 1.
#4. The Offense Got More Experience
This one is true, but I wonder how much more experience do we need doing the exact same, pathetic thing? This team already knew how to lose. We can stop practicing that now. How about we practice taking that first drive and replicating it over and over again?
That's really all the silver linings I can come up with for the game. I hope it is clear that there is one thing and only one thing that is positive that we can take away from this game. Other than this one thing, this game was a complete negative. And this one thing would have happened no matter the outcome, so it's not really a reflection on the team, the coaches, the performance, etc. What's that one thing?
It's over.
We can move on, because we have much taller tasks ahead of us.
I'm not doing a Top 5 this week, because I couldn't come up with 5 positive things that happened in the game. I might have been able to come up with 5 good plays, but that's too pitiful for me to waste my time on.
Anyone wish we could trade this for another 62-0 blowout by Texas?
That's called a coping mechanism.
But before we can move on to the rest of the season, we have to deal with our trauma, so let's get rid of any rationalizations we might have constructed since the game ended.
#1. The Defense Only Gave Up 13 Points in Regulation
I heard our very own Super Bill Bradley utter this silver lining. Let's remember that this was an army team who should have been overpowered at every point. We let them run up and down the field against us, and the only reason this went into overtime in the first place was their FG kicker missed two 36-yard kicks. TWO! In the first quarter. Had he done his job, the game would have ended 26-17, or possibly 26-24. I guess there's a chance that we could have gotten the touchdown at the end, then kicked an onside kick, recovered it and then scored again, but based on our incompetence leading up to that point, I just can't believe it would have worked out that way.
But let's not take solace in the fact that their kicker has ridiculously bad range.
#2. Shawn Bell had Great Production
This kills me. I know I've been harsh on Bell, and I know I have said many times in many places that I didn't think he was a good QB at the BCS level. I think he'd be a good WAC QB, or even maybe in the right ConfUSA situation. But he's no BCS quarterback.
But his supporters keep bringing up his completion percentage, his "leadership", his flashes of very good play as justification for the fact that the kid just doesn't make plays. He's the anti-playmaker. He averaged 9.26 yards per completion for the game, after averaging over 12 yards per completion in the first quarter. He averaged 6.9 yards per attempt in the game, after averaging over 9 yards per attempt in the first half.
Bell needs to average over 7.5 yards per attempt. He needs to average over 10 yards per completion. That would have meant throwing for at least 19 yards more this game.
But what's 19 yards passing in this game? Well, in OT, that would have put us on the 2 yard line. Think we could have scored from there with 4 tries. Actually, I don't know, so it might be a moot point.
#3. We held Army to less than 280 yards of offense
We let Army rush for 3.7 yards per carry. Strangely that's the same yards per carry that we allowed to NSU. I don't know if the team approached these opponents in the same way, but that's a startling fact. We gave up fewer yards passing to Army, but we lost the game.
And that's the biggest stat of the evening. "1". As in the number of losses we gained that night. 1.
#4. The Offense Got More Experience
This one is true, but I wonder how much more experience do we need doing the exact same, pathetic thing? This team already knew how to lose. We can stop practicing that now. How about we practice taking that first drive and replicating it over and over again?
That's really all the silver linings I can come up with for the game. I hope it is clear that there is one thing and only one thing that is positive that we can take away from this game. Other than this one thing, this game was a complete negative. And this one thing would have happened no matter the outcome, so it's not really a reflection on the team, the coaches, the performance, etc. What's that one thing?
It's over.
We can move on, because we have much taller tasks ahead of us.
I'm not doing a Top 5 this week, because I couldn't come up with 5 positive things that happened in the game. I might have been able to come up with 5 good plays, but that's too pitiful for me to waste my time on.
Anyone wish we could trade this for another 62-0 blowout by Texas?
Sunday, September 24, 2006
We are a Bad Football Team
I should probably wait until tomorrow to let me cool my head, but frankly this team doesn't deserve that.
There is not one player on this team, and not one coach, that has anything to be proud of tonight. I'd be worried that they were going to fold after this loss if I didn't think they already had. This was not a team fighting for a bowl game, this is a team that was going through the motions. They were a 1-2 team strutting around like they were 3-0. Should they have been? Probably. But the fact of the matter is that they were 1-2. And now they are 1-3. And I don't see any reason they won't be 1-4 next weekend. I know I won't be there next weekend. What's the point?
Quarterbacks -
Congrats on the record, Shawn. You've completed more passes to the flats and on 5-yard outs than anyone in Baylor history. There isn't a single QB on the top 10 list that I wouldn't trade for right this second.
Running Backs -
Paul, I'm glad to see you took the blame for us being in overtime to begin with. You turned it on late, but the second and third quarters is where we really could have used you.
Wide Receivers -
I know, you need someone to get you the ball, I know. But you have to realize that the guy taking the snaps is as good as he's ever going to be, and so you have to step up even more. Trent you had a nice game, but you have to make that catch in overtime. That was the season you dropped.
Offensive Line -
If you thought Cameron Craig was a tough block, you're going to be wetting your pants going into the Big XII. You only gave up one sack, but the team averaged 2.2 yards per carry. That's ridiculous against a team that has averaged 227 yards rushing allowed this year.
Defensive Line -
1 sack against a line you outweighed easily. You are supposed to be Big XII players. Apparently that's just a conference association, not a measurement of your talent.
Linebackers -
Nick Moore had a nice game, but we gave up HUGE rushes in the fourth quarter. 51 yards on 4 attempts on one drive, right before they scored. They averaged 12.7 yards per rush on that drive.
Secondary -
The QB hadn't thrown a touchdown pass all year. He'd averaged over 2 interceptions a game. And he's facing our secondary. No problem, right? Wrong. It felt like the Steele years, making average players look like Heisman candidates. 68% completion, 0 interceptions, 1 touchdown.
Special Teams -
Possibly more than anyone, you lost the game. And that's really, really saying something. Daniel, if you need to take some time to get healthy, do it. Right now you're hurting us.
Coaches -
Here's the kicker, the team is talented enough to be 4-0. There's only one reason that this team is NOT 4-0, they chose not to prepare in such a way to be undefeated. There's is far too much talent on this team to be playing this poorly.
Colorado hasn't won a game all year and looked so much better than we did today against a Top 10 team, while we played a 1-2 service academy.
Kansas State has only beaten cupcakse and got trounced by a Louisville team missing their starting QB and starting RB, and they looked better than we did tonight.
We have a very good chance of being 1-5 heading into the tough part of the schedule. And it's all because the team chose to believe that they were good enough to play this game without hard work, dedication and focus.
Don't be surprised if there are fewer than 25,000 people at the game next week. You (and I'm talking directly to the team right now) have a LOT to prove to the fans of Baylor Football that you are worth paying attention to.
There is not one player on this team, and not one coach, that has anything to be proud of tonight. I'd be worried that they were going to fold after this loss if I didn't think they already had. This was not a team fighting for a bowl game, this is a team that was going through the motions. They were a 1-2 team strutting around like they were 3-0. Should they have been? Probably. But the fact of the matter is that they were 1-2. And now they are 1-3. And I don't see any reason they won't be 1-4 next weekend. I know I won't be there next weekend. What's the point?
Quarterbacks -
Congrats on the record, Shawn. You've completed more passes to the flats and on 5-yard outs than anyone in Baylor history. There isn't a single QB on the top 10 list that I wouldn't trade for right this second.
Running Backs -
Paul, I'm glad to see you took the blame for us being in overtime to begin with. You turned it on late, but the second and third quarters is where we really could have used you.
Wide Receivers -
I know, you need someone to get you the ball, I know. But you have to realize that the guy taking the snaps is as good as he's ever going to be, and so you have to step up even more. Trent you had a nice game, but you have to make that catch in overtime. That was the season you dropped.
Offensive Line -
If you thought Cameron Craig was a tough block, you're going to be wetting your pants going into the Big XII. You only gave up one sack, but the team averaged 2.2 yards per carry. That's ridiculous against a team that has averaged 227 yards rushing allowed this year.
Defensive Line -
1 sack against a line you outweighed easily. You are supposed to be Big XII players. Apparently that's just a conference association, not a measurement of your talent.
Linebackers -
Nick Moore had a nice game, but we gave up HUGE rushes in the fourth quarter. 51 yards on 4 attempts on one drive, right before they scored. They averaged 12.7 yards per rush on that drive.
Secondary -
The QB hadn't thrown a touchdown pass all year. He'd averaged over 2 interceptions a game. And he's facing our secondary. No problem, right? Wrong. It felt like the Steele years, making average players look like Heisman candidates. 68% completion, 0 interceptions, 1 touchdown.
Special Teams -
Possibly more than anyone, you lost the game. And that's really, really saying something. Daniel, if you need to take some time to get healthy, do it. Right now you're hurting us.
Coaches -
- Hays, you're looking like a mistake. This was the game to prove you weren't one, and you blew it.
- Morriss, you're team is undisciplined, your line is not good, and you're players have no fire or heart.
- Lancaster, you're special teams units suck, you're running backs aren't playing much better.
- Kinne, you're linebackers need to make more plays.
- Wnek, you're unit is holding the entire defense back. Injuries or no, this was a team we should have dominated and the defensive line wouldn't let us do that.
- Phillips, if this is how you're coaching Bell, you're farther from the tree than I thought. If it's not, it's time to reach to your next option
Here's the kicker, the team is talented enough to be 4-0. There's only one reason that this team is NOT 4-0, they chose not to prepare in such a way to be undefeated. There's is far too much talent on this team to be playing this poorly.
Colorado hasn't won a game all year and looked so much better than we did today against a Top 10 team, while we played a 1-2 service academy.
Kansas State has only beaten cupcakse and got trounced by a Louisville team missing their starting QB and starting RB, and they looked better than we did tonight.
We have a very good chance of being 1-5 heading into the tough part of the schedule. And it's all because the team chose to believe that they were good enough to play this game without hard work, dedication and focus.
Don't be surprised if there are fewer than 25,000 people at the game next week. You (and I'm talking directly to the team right now) have a LOT to prove to the fans of Baylor Football that you are worth paying attention to.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
No more posts tonight.
In the hopes of keeping this a family-friendly blog, I am going to refrain from any more posts after that last "drive".
I will say that Bell makes me want to puke.
I will say that Bell makes me want to puke.
Rush Defense?
51 yards on 4 attempts now on this drive. We have got to get some stops and get off the field. This is when our lack of depth on the defensive line.
Touchdown Army. You've got to be kidding me. I now know how the Aggies felt last week. And I apologize to them for kidding them about their defense. This is pathetic.
I also feel like throwing up for saying this defense was anywhere near Top 15 caliber. I'll settle at Top 50.
By the way, we're up to 10 penalties for 92 yards. But don't worry, there's plenty of time left, I'm sure we can break 100 yards before the game is over.
Touchdown Army. You've got to be kidding me. I now know how the Aggies felt last week. And I apologize to them for kidding them about their defense. This is pathetic.
I also feel like throwing up for saying this defense was anywhere near Top 15 caliber. I'll settle at Top 50.
By the way, we're up to 10 penalties for 92 yards. But don't worry, there's plenty of time left, I'm sure we can break 100 yards before the game is over.
Offense, You are Killing Me!
KILLING ME!!
How many 3 and outs have we had? Well, to answer your question, we are going 3/3 on our drives so far this quarter (3rd quarter). 3 drives, 3 3-and-outs.
How many 3 and outs have Army had? 1 in the third quarter.
Thankfully the defense just forced a turnover so maybe since the offense gets the ball at the 27 we can get a score.
How many 3 and outs have we had? Well, to answer your question, we are going 3/3 on our drives so far this quarter (3rd quarter). 3 drives, 3 3-and-outs.
How many 3 and outs have Army had? 1 in the third quarter.
Thankfully the defense just forced a turnover so maybe since the offense gets the ball at the 27 we can get a score.
Shawn Bell
Let's see, it's 2nd and 1 and I'll take a 13 yard sack.
Let's see, it's 3rd and 24, I'll throw the ball to the flat for no gain.
Hey Genius, at least take a chance down the field!
Somebody put someone on the field that's not wearing a pink skirt.
Let's see, it's 3rd and 24, I'll throw the ball to the flat for no gain.
Hey Genius, at least take a chance down the field!
Somebody put someone on the field that's not wearing a pink skirt.
Fire John Morris
Can the guy get any more excited about the other team scoring? Compare how he sounded on the Baylor score with how he just sounded on the punt return for a touchdown.
I hate the guy's game-calling. He's probably among the worst I've ever heard. My ears bleed with every broadcast.
Oh, and special teams!? Lancaster, I don't care if you are a great recruiter, I don't care if you are married to Morriss' daughter, get your stuff together on here. You're special teams units are pathetic.
I hate the guy's game-calling. He's probably among the worst I've ever heard. My ears bleed with every broadcast.
Oh, and special teams!? Lancaster, I don't care if you are a great recruiter, I don't care if you are married to Morriss' daughter, get your stuff together on here. You're special teams units are pathetic.
It's Halftime
Well, same old, same old...
Offense -
Started off great, with a long drive for a touchdown. But then it seems every drive after that scales it back a bit. We get a field goal (great kick, Ryan!), but then we just keep stalling.
Bell had a good half stat-wise and looks ready to get over the 300 yard mark, along with a great completion rate with 14-18 passing (77.7%). He has the lone touchdown, but despite the 11 yards per completion, it seems that Bell has scaled back his risk-taking in the second half. He did a great job of going down the field in the first quarter, getting multiple gains of more than 15 yards, which is really what opens up this offense. But I didn't hear as much of that in the second quarter.
Hays did a good job of calling running plays, too. It has had varying degrees of success play-to-play, but I think it's a big reason the passing attack is looking a little more explosive. Whitaker has 6 carries for 26 yards (4.33 yards per carry), and Mosley has 4 carries for 9 yards (2.25 ypc).
I hope we see the offense come out in the third quarter and really start going down the field some more and open things up. We gotta score 21 more points in the second quarter to make me look like a genius.
Defense -
What's going on, guys!? Giving up long drives, allowing Army inside our 30 yard line? This is not the defense that held TCU to 2.6 yards per carry or Washington State to less than 60 yards rushing. And Pevoto is completing 66% of his passes, after completing less than 50% of his passes against A&M.
I know that we're missing some defensive linemen, but against this undersized line, we should be getting much more pressure and doing a much better job of shutting down their offense. We've only allowed 136 yards in the first half and 3 points, but we are giving them way too much time on the field. We need to force some 3 and outs to increase the number of chances the offense has and to get the defense some more rest.
CJ, I'm calling on you to intercept a pass. You better get at least one against this guy.
Special Teams -
Ya'll are showing a different kind of "special" than I was hoping to see. Giving up lots of yards, shanking a punt, etc. We have way better athletes than these guys, and we should be able to dominate them on special teams, but it doesn't sound like we are playing with the same level of desire.
Keys to the Second Half:
1. DON'T GIVE UP THE EARLY 3RD QUARTER SCORE!
2. Show some consistency on offense, getting the ball down the field and gaining yards on the ground.
3. Force at least one turnover.
4. Improve the 3rd down conversion rate. (2/6 in the first half, but we also allowed a 4th down conversion)
Offense -
Started off great, with a long drive for a touchdown. But then it seems every drive after that scales it back a bit. We get a field goal (great kick, Ryan!), but then we just keep stalling.
Bell had a good half stat-wise and looks ready to get over the 300 yard mark, along with a great completion rate with 14-18 passing (77.7%). He has the lone touchdown, but despite the 11 yards per completion, it seems that Bell has scaled back his risk-taking in the second half. He did a great job of going down the field in the first quarter, getting multiple gains of more than 15 yards, which is really what opens up this offense. But I didn't hear as much of that in the second quarter.
Hays did a good job of calling running plays, too. It has had varying degrees of success play-to-play, but I think it's a big reason the passing attack is looking a little more explosive. Whitaker has 6 carries for 26 yards (4.33 yards per carry), and Mosley has 4 carries for 9 yards (2.25 ypc).
I hope we see the offense come out in the third quarter and really start going down the field some more and open things up. We gotta score 21 more points in the second quarter to make me look like a genius.
Defense -
What's going on, guys!? Giving up long drives, allowing Army inside our 30 yard line? This is not the defense that held TCU to 2.6 yards per carry or Washington State to less than 60 yards rushing. And Pevoto is completing 66% of his passes, after completing less than 50% of his passes against A&M.
I know that we're missing some defensive linemen, but against this undersized line, we should be getting much more pressure and doing a much better job of shutting down their offense. We've only allowed 136 yards in the first half and 3 points, but we are giving them way too much time on the field. We need to force some 3 and outs to increase the number of chances the offense has and to get the defense some more rest.
CJ, I'm calling on you to intercept a pass. You better get at least one against this guy.
Special Teams -
Ya'll are showing a different kind of "special" than I was hoping to see. Giving up lots of yards, shanking a punt, etc. We have way better athletes than these guys, and we should be able to dominate them on special teams, but it doesn't sound like we are playing with the same level of desire.
Keys to the Second Half:
1. DON'T GIVE UP THE EARLY 3RD QUARTER SCORE!
2. Show some consistency on offense, getting the ball down the field and gaining yards on the ground.
3. Force at least one turnover.
4. Improve the 3rd down conversion rate. (2/6 in the first half, but we also allowed a 4th down conversion)
Friday, September 22, 2006
PREDICTION: Baylor v. Army
It's Friday afternoon and most Baylor fans are getting antsy. Why do we have to wait until 6pm? The fact that it's a night game means I won't be making it to the game, which means I'm in a bad mood.
I hope that the team is in a bad mood. They should be.
Offense -
Pitiful efforts against their D1 opponents. Pitiful. Worse than last year. Somewhere Pease is laughing his way out of his chair looking at ya'll. And he's got good reason to. There's so much room for improvement here, it's been making Baylor fans sick the last three weeks.
Defense -
Played great games against our D1 opponents, but you gave up two long drives, and you gave up an 84-yard TD that were the difference. Morriss told you you were going to have to carry the team at the beginning of the year, and despite a great job, you haven't been good enough to carry the team. You still have a lot left to prove.
Special Teams -
Not quite as bad as the offense, but far from as good as the defense. Fumbles, missed kicks, penalties, poor coverage, etc. There's a lot of room for improvement here.
Here's the kicker, Army is at least as good as Washington State. They might not be as talented, but they play great structured, disciplined football. That's something I haven't seen much of from my own Baylor Bears. If Baylor played with half the discipline that this Army team has, we'd be 3-0 in three dominating, dominating performances.
So what happens when these forces meet? I'll go with my head first and then with my heart.
HEAD:
Baylor's offense is going to continue to struggle as Hays forgets about the running game and Bell refuses to take a chance with the ball going downfield. The defense shuts down the Army rushing game, but gives up a long touchdown pass, and then a long drive for a score at the beginning of the 3rd Quarter (if they don't allow an early 3rd quarter score it will be the first time this year). Let's hope it's only a FG.
Final Score: Baylor 14, Army 10
HEART: (You heard of this, offense?)
Baylor's offense gets a clue, and keeps up the success they've seen early in games. They score a couple TDs and kick a FG in the first half. The defense scores a TD and in the second half they put the game away with at least two more scores.
Final Score: Baylor 31, Army 6
Now, which do I trust more, head or heart? I'm a sucker, so I'm going to choose to believe in the offense. They have the talent, and I have to believe they feel like they have to prove something (ya'll have a LOT to prove, so this shouldn't be too hard).
I'll go with my heart:
PREDICTION:
Baylor 31
Army 6
I hope that the team is in a bad mood. They should be.
Offense -
Pitiful efforts against their D1 opponents. Pitiful. Worse than last year. Somewhere Pease is laughing his way out of his chair looking at ya'll. And he's got good reason to. There's so much room for improvement here, it's been making Baylor fans sick the last three weeks.
Defense -
Played great games against our D1 opponents, but you gave up two long drives, and you gave up an 84-yard TD that were the difference. Morriss told you you were going to have to carry the team at the beginning of the year, and despite a great job, you haven't been good enough to carry the team. You still have a lot left to prove.
Special Teams -
Not quite as bad as the offense, but far from as good as the defense. Fumbles, missed kicks, penalties, poor coverage, etc. There's a lot of room for improvement here.
Here's the kicker, Army is at least as good as Washington State. They might not be as talented, but they play great structured, disciplined football. That's something I haven't seen much of from my own Baylor Bears. If Baylor played with half the discipline that this Army team has, we'd be 3-0 in three dominating, dominating performances.
So what happens when these forces meet? I'll go with my head first and then with my heart.
HEAD:
Baylor's offense is going to continue to struggle as Hays forgets about the running game and Bell refuses to take a chance with the ball going downfield. The defense shuts down the Army rushing game, but gives up a long touchdown pass, and then a long drive for a score at the beginning of the 3rd Quarter (if they don't allow an early 3rd quarter score it will be the first time this year). Let's hope it's only a FG.
Final Score: Baylor 14, Army 10
HEART: (You heard of this, offense?)
Baylor's offense gets a clue, and keeps up the success they've seen early in games. They score a couple TDs and kick a FG in the first half. The defense scores a TD and in the second half they put the game away with at least two more scores.
Final Score: Baylor 31, Army 6
Now, which do I trust more, head or heart? I'm a sucker, so I'm going to choose to believe in the offense. They have the talent, and I have to believe they feel like they have to prove something (ya'll have a LOT to prove, so this shouldn't be too hard).
I'll go with my heart:
PREDICTION:
Baylor 31
Army 6
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Two Receivers Suspended for the First Half
It looks like the Bears will be without Trey Payne and Mikhail Baker for the first half, at least, this coming week against Army. For whatever reason, they were not able to make it to the 6AM receivers extra work this morning, and so will be disciplined.
I, for one, am not all that upset about losing Payne. The kid caught two TD passes against NSU, and other than that game, he's got 1 catch for 2 yards. And about half a dozen drops. I'd let him sit out the entire game.
Baker has 6 catches for 48 yards and 1 TD. He didn't catch a single pass against NSU, so all of his production counts.
This is a big disappointment to me, because something like this leads me to wonder about their work ethic. I hate that. I was, admittedly, a great apologist for Terrance Parks. That guy proved me wrong, so I'm a bit gun-shy. I want to believe this was a one-time thing that just happened at the wrong time, but they'll have to prove it to me.
Being promoted from scout team is Andrew Heard. He's a walk-on, but has great speed and should do a great job of running a 4-yard hitch route. But at least we don't have to worry about him blocking in the running game. [Yes, that's two jabs out our offense in one paragraph]
The main thing that this move shows me is that Hays is serious about getting the drops and the discipline fixed. Penalties, drops, blown routes all point to a lack of focus, a lack of concentration and a lack of discipline. I'm glad to see him doing something about it.
I, for one, am not all that upset about losing Payne. The kid caught two TD passes against NSU, and other than that game, he's got 1 catch for 2 yards. And about half a dozen drops. I'd let him sit out the entire game.
Baker has 6 catches for 48 yards and 1 TD. He didn't catch a single pass against NSU, so all of his production counts.
This is a big disappointment to me, because something like this leads me to wonder about their work ethic. I hate that. I was, admittedly, a great apologist for Terrance Parks. That guy proved me wrong, so I'm a bit gun-shy. I want to believe this was a one-time thing that just happened at the wrong time, but they'll have to prove it to me.
Being promoted from scout team is Andrew Heard. He's a walk-on, but has great speed and should do a great job of running a 4-yard hitch route. But at least we don't have to worry about him blocking in the running game. [Yes, that's two jabs out our offense in one paragraph]
The main thing that this move shows me is that Hays is serious about getting the drops and the discipline fixed. Penalties, drops, blown routes all point to a lack of focus, a lack of concentration and a lack of discipline. I'm glad to see him doing something about it.
I'm tired . . .
Let me introduce you to me: Cynical Jeff. I guess I earned that name somewhere along the line even though I have accurately been picking how bad the Bears have been the past few years. This year, I predicted 4-7 and no bowl. It’s looking accurate, at least the no bowl part. I’m not so sure about the 4 win level right now. Note I never count bullcrap wins against Division 1-AA opponents in my predictions. Baylor is currently 0-2 in my book.
But let me get to my message this week. After the TCU game, Coach Morriss came out per usual and talked about how tired he is of losing games like this. No kidding, coach. Me, too. I’m tired of a lot of things when it comes to Baylor football – and in no particular order . . . here you go.
(1) Pre-season hype. I’m tired of Baylor fans running down the schedule and figuring out how many games we will win using crazy metrics like we almost beat them in Norman last year and they lost their starting QB.
(2) Over-hyped players and stupid nicknames. My first experience with this was Odell James. Then Greg Cicero, Ben Gay, Terrance Parks, Mosley, Whitaker, etc. There was the Great White hope – which I don’t even know who that was . . . was it Jeff Watson, Cicero or Guy Tomcheck. There was Derek ‘The Trolley’ Lagway. Not very threatening. And then of course Thunder and Lightning which have a combined 97 yards on the ground this year. I’m sure I have missed a few in there, but the new over-hyped player is Mr. Gettis. I’ve heard someone call him a “young Randy Moss.” I’ve heard about his 40 time. But all I know is we run 5 receiver sets and the dude is not on the field while a 275-pound converted QB sits in the slot. Something’s wrong. He’s overhyped.
(3) This new offense. Sure, it takes time for the offense to get integrated but it doesn’t fit our current personnel. You need a QB that can make throws to the outside where the real weapons of Ziegler and Shelton exist. Bell cannot make those throws. He can make some decent throws over the middle. However that is where we stick our average slot receivers (no more Fatty Parks jokes . . . whoops) who cannot make plays with the ball. We have a supposedly decent running back tandem of Thunder and Lightning which doesn’t get used correctly. Lightning gets thrown swing passes with no blockers in front. I could go on, but let me move on.
(4) Shawn Bell. I appreciate what Shawn Bell did last year. I wasn’t one of those screaming for the backup QB now TE (insert your own joke here) last year. But, if we are committed to running this offense, why is he the QB? First, it generally takes time for this type of offense to jell together, right? So let’s put in the hands of a senior QB who is gone next year . . . makes no sense. Secondly, if you are going to put your playmakers on the outside then you have to have a QB who can throw a strike 15 yards across the field and hit the receivers on the move. Not Shawn Bell’s strength.
(5) Losing close games. Hey it could be worse. I remember the Steele era where the games weren’t even close. Hats off to Morriss for fielding a competitive team and getting some decent recruits but it isn’t translating into any bowl games. In baseball, they say that coaches make a difference in 1-run or 2-run ballgames. The same can be said for football if you change it to 3 to 7 point games. Again, I can forgive last year a little bit as our players “were still learning how to win.” As much as I hate that line in sports, I see some truth in it. Well, it’s next year and we have already let two games slip away. You can blame the players or the coach. I choose to blame the million dollar coach. He should know how to win and it is his job to teach those ways to the players.
There will be more things I’m tired of that come out next week but I must end this column for now.
Very disappointing start to the season. We needed three non-conference wins and will now be fortunate to get two, with a scrappy Army team up next. My prediction stands: no bowl for Baylor.
But let me get to my message this week. After the TCU game, Coach Morriss came out per usual and talked about how tired he is of losing games like this. No kidding, coach. Me, too. I’m tired of a lot of things when it comes to Baylor football – and in no particular order . . . here you go.
(1) Pre-season hype. I’m tired of Baylor fans running down the schedule and figuring out how many games we will win using crazy metrics like we almost beat them in Norman last year and they lost their starting QB.
(2) Over-hyped players and stupid nicknames. My first experience with this was Odell James. Then Greg Cicero, Ben Gay, Terrance Parks, Mosley, Whitaker, etc. There was the Great White hope – which I don’t even know who that was . . . was it Jeff Watson, Cicero or Guy Tomcheck. There was Derek ‘The Trolley’ Lagway. Not very threatening. And then of course Thunder and Lightning which have a combined 97 yards on the ground this year. I’m sure I have missed a few in there, but the new over-hyped player is Mr. Gettis. I’ve heard someone call him a “young Randy Moss.” I’ve heard about his 40 time. But all I know is we run 5 receiver sets and the dude is not on the field while a 275-pound converted QB sits in the slot. Something’s wrong. He’s overhyped.
(3) This new offense. Sure, it takes time for the offense to get integrated but it doesn’t fit our current personnel. You need a QB that can make throws to the outside where the real weapons of Ziegler and Shelton exist. Bell cannot make those throws. He can make some decent throws over the middle. However that is where we stick our average slot receivers (no more Fatty Parks jokes . . . whoops) who cannot make plays with the ball. We have a supposedly decent running back tandem of Thunder and Lightning which doesn’t get used correctly. Lightning gets thrown swing passes with no blockers in front. I could go on, but let me move on.
(4) Shawn Bell. I appreciate what Shawn Bell did last year. I wasn’t one of those screaming for the backup QB now TE (insert your own joke here) last year. But, if we are committed to running this offense, why is he the QB? First, it generally takes time for this type of offense to jell together, right? So let’s put in the hands of a senior QB who is gone next year . . . makes no sense. Secondly, if you are going to put your playmakers on the outside then you have to have a QB who can throw a strike 15 yards across the field and hit the receivers on the move. Not Shawn Bell’s strength.
(5) Losing close games. Hey it could be worse. I remember the Steele era where the games weren’t even close. Hats off to Morriss for fielding a competitive team and getting some decent recruits but it isn’t translating into any bowl games. In baseball, they say that coaches make a difference in 1-run or 2-run ballgames. The same can be said for football if you change it to 3 to 7 point games. Again, I can forgive last year a little bit as our players “were still learning how to win.” As much as I hate that line in sports, I see some truth in it. Well, it’s next year and we have already let two games slip away. You can blame the players or the coach. I choose to blame the million dollar coach. He should know how to win and it is his job to teach those ways to the players.
There will be more things I’m tired of that come out next week but I must end this column for now.
Very disappointing start to the season. We needed three non-conference wins and will now be fortunate to get two, with a scrappy Army team up next. My prediction stands: no bowl for Baylor.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Army Preview
Let's take a look at our upcoming opponent, the Army Black Knights.
Quarterback
David Pevoto is a Texas native growing up in Colleyville, TX and is in his junior year at Army. He's been backing up for three years, and is just now getting his shot to succeed. It hasn't started out all that well so far. He has yet to throw a touchdown in his career, and he's thrown 7 interceptions this year. He is averaging 112 yards passing per game on just 14 completions per game.
Going up against our secondary, I almost feel sorry for the kid. He can count on one of two things:
1. Not throwing more than a couple passes, OR
2. Throwing multiple interceptions.
Let me put it this way, if A&M can pick this guy off three times, Baylor's secondary is just going to send him to a mental hospital. If he throws the ball more than 30 times, count on Baylor getting at least 3 and probably more than that.
Running Backs
In their last two game, Army is averaging over 175 yards rushing and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. But that's A&M and Kent State, two schools not exactly known for their defense. In their game against Arkansas State (a defense FAR better than either of those other teams), they only managed 69 yards on 2.6 yards per carry.
In their two games against D1 opponents, Baylor has allowed 98 yards rushing. Total. On 54 carries. That's 1.8 yards per carry. That is outstanding rush defense, and it is coming against teams that have very potent rushing attacks. Our linebackers are playing better and better every game. And Army is going to face this defense ready to make sure that the offense only has to score their average of 1 TD against a D1 opponent in order to win. Look for less than 60 yards rushing on the day.
Wide Receivers
Trimble is a talent, but he's not NFL caliber. He'll be matched up against one of two NFL caliber cornerbacks in Wilson and Arline, and he won't have anyone to take any attention away. Throw in the fact that Pevoto isn't doing a good job of getting the ball to his receivers and these guys are going to have to struggle with the fact that they are not going to be put in a good position to make plays, as well as the fact that they are going to be smothered by one of the better defenses in the nation.
Offensive Line
Army has done an exceptional job protecting Pevoto as far as minimizing sacks. They have only given up two sacks on the year, and they have the fortune of the fact that Baylor has a couple defensive ends sitting out of practice with injuries. I'm not sure if Foreman or Hill will be playing this weekend, but if they are not able to, we will have a practice squad player in the DE rotation.
I'm expecting Baylor to win the battle in the trenches, but we'll have to count on Pevoto to beat himself, because I'm not foreseeing us getting a ton of pressure from our front four. We might see a few more blitzes in this game.
Defensive Line
They are undersized, but they play structured, disciplined football. They don't have the athletes to get pressure on Bell and the size difference should give us our best opportunity to run the ball successfully. They are giving up more then 220 yards per game, and if Baylor ever needed a defense that will give up a ton of rushing yards, this is a great one to face.
Linebackers
There's nothing truly special here, and they are going to struggle to cover both the running game (if we decide to pack it), and the short crossing routes that Parks killed TCU with and Fenty did a good job of exploiting this same problem last week.
Look for the Army linebackers to be a little bit off balance by the confusion of what to focus on, and struggle in both areas.
Secondary
By far the strength of the entire Army defense. Their best player is Campbell, a big, fast, hard-hitting safety. But they haven't faced a team that is really interested in throwing the ball. Their opponents have passed for 291 yards on 27 of 40 passing (67.5%), 1 TD, and 0 INTs. That means their average game is:
9/13 for 97 yards
Army is ready for a serious, serious wake-up call. Baylor is going to double the number of passes Army has seen this year in one game. They aren't used to the quantity, they aren't used to the scheming and they aren't used to the quality of the receivers that they are going to see in this game. It's going to be a mind-job.
Bell should (read: better) have his best game, possibly of his career, at least stat-wise.
Special Teams
Sepulveda is booming kicks, and we out-athlete Army on the coverage units. Throw in the fact that special teams have something to prove this week after some gaffs last week and we should expect a good effort this week from them. I hope that Havens gets the chance to kick a lot of extra points, and isn't forced to kick a lot of long field goals, not because he can't, but because it would mean that our offense is moving well.
Quarterback
David Pevoto is a Texas native growing up in Colleyville, TX and is in his junior year at Army. He's been backing up for three years, and is just now getting his shot to succeed. It hasn't started out all that well so far. He has yet to throw a touchdown in his career, and he's thrown 7 interceptions this year. He is averaging 112 yards passing per game on just 14 completions per game.
Going up against our secondary, I almost feel sorry for the kid. He can count on one of two things:
1. Not throwing more than a couple passes, OR
2. Throwing multiple interceptions.
Let me put it this way, if A&M can pick this guy off three times, Baylor's secondary is just going to send him to a mental hospital. If he throws the ball more than 30 times, count on Baylor getting at least 3 and probably more than that.
Running Backs
In their last two game, Army is averaging over 175 yards rushing and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. But that's A&M and Kent State, two schools not exactly known for their defense. In their game against Arkansas State (a defense FAR better than either of those other teams), they only managed 69 yards on 2.6 yards per carry.
In their two games against D1 opponents, Baylor has allowed 98 yards rushing. Total. On 54 carries. That's 1.8 yards per carry. That is outstanding rush defense, and it is coming against teams that have very potent rushing attacks. Our linebackers are playing better and better every game. And Army is going to face this defense ready to make sure that the offense only has to score their average of 1 TD against a D1 opponent in order to win. Look for less than 60 yards rushing on the day.
Wide Receivers
Trimble is a talent, but he's not NFL caliber. He'll be matched up against one of two NFL caliber cornerbacks in Wilson and Arline, and he won't have anyone to take any attention away. Throw in the fact that Pevoto isn't doing a good job of getting the ball to his receivers and these guys are going to have to struggle with the fact that they are not going to be put in a good position to make plays, as well as the fact that they are going to be smothered by one of the better defenses in the nation.
Offensive Line
Army has done an exceptional job protecting Pevoto as far as minimizing sacks. They have only given up two sacks on the year, and they have the fortune of the fact that Baylor has a couple defensive ends sitting out of practice with injuries. I'm not sure if Foreman or Hill will be playing this weekend, but if they are not able to, we will have a practice squad player in the DE rotation.
I'm expecting Baylor to win the battle in the trenches, but we'll have to count on Pevoto to beat himself, because I'm not foreseeing us getting a ton of pressure from our front four. We might see a few more blitzes in this game.
Defensive Line
They are undersized, but they play structured, disciplined football. They don't have the athletes to get pressure on Bell and the size difference should give us our best opportunity to run the ball successfully. They are giving up more then 220 yards per game, and if Baylor ever needed a defense that will give up a ton of rushing yards, this is a great one to face.
Linebackers
There's nothing truly special here, and they are going to struggle to cover both the running game (if we decide to pack it), and the short crossing routes that Parks killed TCU with and Fenty did a good job of exploiting this same problem last week.
Look for the Army linebackers to be a little bit off balance by the confusion of what to focus on, and struggle in both areas.
Secondary
By far the strength of the entire Army defense. Their best player is Campbell, a big, fast, hard-hitting safety. But they haven't faced a team that is really interested in throwing the ball. Their opponents have passed for 291 yards on 27 of 40 passing (67.5%), 1 TD, and 0 INTs. That means their average game is:
9/13 for 97 yards
Army is ready for a serious, serious wake-up call. Baylor is going to double the number of passes Army has seen this year in one game. They aren't used to the quantity, they aren't used to the scheming and they aren't used to the quality of the receivers that they are going to see in this game. It's going to be a mind-job.
Bell should (read: better) have his best game, possibly of his career, at least stat-wise.
Special Teams
Sepulveda is booming kicks, and we out-athlete Army on the coverage units. Throw in the fact that special teams have something to prove this week after some gaffs last week and we should expect a good effort this week from them. I hope that Havens gets the chance to kick a lot of extra points, and isn't forced to kick a lot of long field goals, not because he can't, but because it would mean that our offense is moving well.
New Writer Joins Baylor Sports Unlimited
For those of you that feel that I am too sunshiney, a new writer will be joining the fray.
Offering commentary from a different perspective, please welcome Cynical_Jeff. A long-time Baylor fan and a good friend of mine, C_J certainly has a different take on the team and the program than I do, and I hope it will add a bit more flavor to the blog.
Welcome, Jeff.
[And yes, he is a real human person. He is not an alternate persona of mine.]
Offering commentary from a different perspective, please welcome Cynical_Jeff. A long-time Baylor fan and a good friend of mine, C_J certainly has a different take on the team and the program than I do, and I hope it will add a bit more flavor to the blog.
Welcome, Jeff.
[And yes, he is a real human person. He is not an alternate persona of mine.]
Monday, September 18, 2006
Time to Move Forward, Again?
TAKE TWO!!
It seems like we were just here, what, two weeks ago..? Another game we should have won, another special defensive effort, and another pathetic showing on offense in the second half.
Let's ignore the fumble on the kickoff return at the end of the Washington State game, it was meaningless. But against TCU and WSU, we turned the ball over three times combined on the opponents end of the field, twice inside the redzone. Not to mention that against WSU we grabbed a whopping 43 yards of offense.
OK, so now let's let it go.
The fact of the matter is that we are 1-2. We have a chance to get back to .500 against Army, and then it's into the conference schedule. What do we have to do to get back to our hopes for a bowl game this year?
1. Running Game
2. Passing Game
Yeah, so the offense.
And YES, I know that this is a pass-oriented scheme, but that doesn't "pass-oriented" doesn't mean "pass-only". Texas Tech rushed over 300 times in their first year in the system. They averaged 66.4 yards per game. That's not an overwhelming total, and they did only average 2.6 yards per carry, but the attempts themselves made the opposing defense make even an small effort at remembering that there is a rushing attack. This year Texas Tech is averaging 93 yards per game on 19 rushes per game. 12 of those rushes each game are by the starting running back.
And we have good running backs. It isn't showing up as much, but when you are only giving Mosley and Whitaker have combined to average 8.33 carries per game you can't exactly expect them to be setting the world on fire. If Mosley/Whitaker were getting an extra 3.66 carries per game, that equates to an extra 13.5 yards per game, and 39.5 yards overall. That might not sound like much, but each of those extra attempts is also another opportunity for Whitaker or Mosley to take it for a longer gain than their average of 3.6 yards per attempt.
And what about the passing attack?
Looking only at our D1-A opponents, the leading receiver is Zeigler with 50.5 yards per game on 4.5 catches. Brandon Whitaker is second, averaging 45 yards per game on 6 catches. Shelton comes in third with 43 yards per game on 5 catches. So what? That means that our three most productive receivers are combining for just 133.5 yards per game. Well, Texas Tech is averaging only 25 yards more than Baylor through the air, but their top three receivers are averaging 221.4 yards per game. And it's been a down year for them with a new QB (RSSO, not a senior).
The leading receivers, even in this offense, are what drives the consistency. And that might very well be one of the reasons we are having trouble moving the ball throughout the game. It IS important to spread the ball around, but we also need to get the ball to those that are producing the best for us, or who can produce the best for us.
Apparently the offensive captains called a team meeting on the off-day and they spent time watching film. That's fantastic news. It shows that they are willing to put some effort in off the field. Let's hope that translates into something on the field.
We desperately need something. The fan base is tearing itself apart (read: chicken little), we are quickly losing the grasp on what should be a very special season for us (and still can be), and we need to put the first three games behind us (don't pretend that NSU was all that pretty, either) and move forward.
The best way to do that is to simply dominate Army. I'm not talking a repeat of the NSU game. That won't make anyone feel any better. And I'm not saying it should be a perfect game. It's ok if Bell throws an interception. It's ok if he gets sacked. It's ok if the defense gives up a big play. But those need to be the exceptions to a great game.
We've got a Parent's Weekend crowd coming, meaning that it will likely be north of 40,000 people (I know I'll be there), and that's a lot of people to impress. In order for the game to be a full success, we need to:
I also want to make something clear here:
I believe that Shawn Bell is our best option at QB. I in no way am calling for him to be replaced. I do think he needs to step up his game, and I'm glad he took responsibility for the Washington State game, whether or not it was his fault. He wasn't alone in responsibility, that's for sure, but it's a good sign of leadership for him to step up like that.
Tonight or tomorrow I will take a look at Army. I'm still trying to do an in-depth look at the running game, but I don't know when or if I'll be able to get to that this week.
It seems like we were just here, what, two weeks ago..? Another game we should have won, another special defensive effort, and another pathetic showing on offense in the second half.
Let's ignore the fumble on the kickoff return at the end of the Washington State game, it was meaningless. But against TCU and WSU, we turned the ball over three times combined on the opponents end of the field, twice inside the redzone. Not to mention that against WSU we grabbed a whopping 43 yards of offense.
OK, so now let's let it go.
The fact of the matter is that we are 1-2. We have a chance to get back to .500 against Army, and then it's into the conference schedule. What do we have to do to get back to our hopes for a bowl game this year?
1. Running Game
2. Passing Game
Yeah, so the offense.
And YES, I know that this is a pass-oriented scheme, but that doesn't "pass-oriented" doesn't mean "pass-only". Texas Tech rushed over 300 times in their first year in the system. They averaged 66.4 yards per game. That's not an overwhelming total, and they did only average 2.6 yards per carry, but the attempts themselves made the opposing defense make even an small effort at remembering that there is a rushing attack. This year Texas Tech is averaging 93 yards per game on 19 rushes per game. 12 of those rushes each game are by the starting running back.
And we have good running backs. It isn't showing up as much, but when you are only giving Mosley and Whitaker have combined to average 8.33 carries per game you can't exactly expect them to be setting the world on fire. If Mosley/Whitaker were getting an extra 3.66 carries per game, that equates to an extra 13.5 yards per game, and 39.5 yards overall. That might not sound like much, but each of those extra attempts is also another opportunity for Whitaker or Mosley to take it for a longer gain than their average of 3.6 yards per attempt.
And what about the passing attack?
Looking only at our D1-A opponents, the leading receiver is Zeigler with 50.5 yards per game on 4.5 catches. Brandon Whitaker is second, averaging 45 yards per game on 6 catches. Shelton comes in third with 43 yards per game on 5 catches. So what? That means that our three most productive receivers are combining for just 133.5 yards per game. Well, Texas Tech is averaging only 25 yards more than Baylor through the air, but their top three receivers are averaging 221.4 yards per game. And it's been a down year for them with a new QB (RSSO, not a senior).
The leading receivers, even in this offense, are what drives the consistency. And that might very well be one of the reasons we are having trouble moving the ball throughout the game. It IS important to spread the ball around, but we also need to get the ball to those that are producing the best for us, or who can produce the best for us.
Apparently the offensive captains called a team meeting on the off-day and they spent time watching film. That's fantastic news. It shows that they are willing to put some effort in off the field. Let's hope that translates into something on the field.
We desperately need something. The fan base is tearing itself apart (read: chicken little), we are quickly losing the grasp on what should be a very special season for us (and still can be), and we need to put the first three games behind us (don't pretend that NSU was all that pretty, either) and move forward.
The best way to do that is to simply dominate Army. I'm not talking a repeat of the NSU game. That won't make anyone feel any better. And I'm not saying it should be a perfect game. It's ok if Bell throws an interception. It's ok if he gets sacked. It's ok if the defense gives up a big play. But those need to be the exceptions to a great game.
We've got a Parent's Weekend crowd coming, meaning that it will likely be north of 40,000 people (I know I'll be there), and that's a lot of people to impress. In order for the game to be a full success, we need to:
- Win
- Be able to move the ball consistently and explosively
- Score 35+ points
- Pass for 300+ yards
- Run for 100+ yards
- Hold Army to less than 100 yards rushing and 200 yards passing
- Three or more turnovers
I also want to make something clear here:
I believe that Shawn Bell is our best option at QB. I in no way am calling for him to be replaced. I do think he needs to step up his game, and I'm glad he took responsibility for the Washington State game, whether or not it was his fault. He wasn't alone in responsibility, that's for sure, but it's a good sign of leadership for him to step up like that.
Tonight or tomorrow I will take a look at Army. I'm still trying to do an in-depth look at the running game, but I don't know when or if I'll be able to get to that this week.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Top 5
I'm going to alternate between Positive and Negative this week, because otherwise by the time I reach Negative #3 I'll have slit my wrists and you'll never see this post.
Negative #5 - Heart On Offense?
What's one of the least worst things that happened this week? I have to say Heart on offense. Where is it? I know it's not at QB. Where's the passion? Where's the intensity? I don't need any players talking like CJ (Love ya, baby!), I don't need them mouthing off because they've done nothing to show even the potential for backing it up. But how about acting like you are something when you are on the field? How about even APPEARING that you believe in yourself? I haven't seen that once this year.
Positive #5 - Coaching
I'm probably going to get torn apart for this, but I really think the coaches did a great job getting a game plan together. We held WSU to 17 points, in a very hostile stadium, which if you recall is only 3 points more than Auburn allowed AT HOME. The scheme sounded solid, but the players weren't executing. Dropped passes killed plays that would have been big. Penalties before the snap put us in very difficult positions to move down the field. If the players execute a little better, (and yes I said this after the TCU game, too) we win this game going away.
Negative #4 - Drops
Where are our receivers? I was one of the many that thought that we would have one of the best receiving corps in the conference. Oops. I couldn't have been more wrong. These guys will be lucky to average 10 yards per catch as a corps, and I would be shocked if we had anyone gain more than 800 yards this season (that's only an average of 67 yards per game).
Positive #4 - Kickoff Returns
Yeah, I might be reaching for some of these. But really, Teasley and Baker did do a good job on the kickoff returns. 4 returns for a total of 116 yards is an average of 29 yards per return. We are pickup up at least 10 yards more than a touchback would give us, assuming that every kick lands at the goalline. That's very important for how very, very poor our offense has performed.
Negative #3 - Turnovers
Two interceptions, two fumbles. Jerry Hill noted that half of Bells interceptions have been by defensive linemen. This is the problem with having a 5'11" QB. The turnovers came at the WSU 16 (RED ZONE!!! ARRGH!!), the BU 34, the WSU 48 and the WSU 49.
Positive #3 - Daniel Sepulveda
Great day on Saturday. 8 punts, 47.8 yards per punt. Daniel got the defense out of some of the messes the offense seemed to try to put them in.
Negative #2 - Offensive Line
You better be glad for Shawn Bell, or you would have run away with the #1 position. Illegal procedures, holding, false starts... Do ya'll not care that you are costing this team wins? Baylor should be 3-0, knocking on the door of the Top 25, but instead we are 1-2 and about to lose our dream of a bowl game because we can't stand still before the ball is snapped. We can't protect the QB for an entire game. We can open some holes for the running attack. This wasn't a great or even good defense we were facing. Pitiful effort.
Positive #2 - Linebackers
I was really worried about the WSU running game. But Nick Moore, Antonio Jones, and Joe Pawelek really showed up yesterday. Combining for 19 tackles, including 11 solo stops, 1 FF and 1 FR. And while tackle stats are nice, the most important stat is this: 1.5 yards per rush. Woolridge only gained 54 yards rushing, which is about 60% of what he did to Auburn in ONE HALF of football.
Negative #1 - Shawn Bell
Sorry, Shawn. The QB is what makes this offense go. Yes, there were drops, but our inability to go down field, 12-play 30-yard drives, 5.33 yards per attempt... I mean, IDAHO passed for 220 yards. 256 is nothing. No less than 300 yards should have been acceptable, unless it came with a win.
Positive #1 - CJ Wilson
He is still tied for 1st in interceptions with 4. There are only two players with 4 interceptions at this point. There are 6 players with 3 interceptions at this point. He grabbed an interception against WSU, did a great job of defense, grabbed 6 tackles, and while I'm not sure how much he was lined up against Jason Hill, I do know that he wasn't against him on the TD pass, but Hill only had 72 yards on 6 catches, which is well below his regular average.
Well, I don't want to slit my wrists, but I do want to throw up. I gotta take a break.
Negative #5 - Heart On Offense?
What's one of the least worst things that happened this week? I have to say Heart on offense. Where is it? I know it's not at QB. Where's the passion? Where's the intensity? I don't need any players talking like CJ (Love ya, baby!), I don't need them mouthing off because they've done nothing to show even the potential for backing it up. But how about acting like you are something when you are on the field? How about even APPEARING that you believe in yourself? I haven't seen that once this year.
Positive #5 - Coaching
I'm probably going to get torn apart for this, but I really think the coaches did a great job getting a game plan together. We held WSU to 17 points, in a very hostile stadium, which if you recall is only 3 points more than Auburn allowed AT HOME. The scheme sounded solid, but the players weren't executing. Dropped passes killed plays that would have been big. Penalties before the snap put us in very difficult positions to move down the field. If the players execute a little better, (and yes I said this after the TCU game, too) we win this game going away.
Negative #4 - Drops
Where are our receivers? I was one of the many that thought that we would have one of the best receiving corps in the conference. Oops. I couldn't have been more wrong. These guys will be lucky to average 10 yards per catch as a corps, and I would be shocked if we had anyone gain more than 800 yards this season (that's only an average of 67 yards per game).
Positive #4 - Kickoff Returns
Yeah, I might be reaching for some of these. But really, Teasley and Baker did do a good job on the kickoff returns. 4 returns for a total of 116 yards is an average of 29 yards per return. We are pickup up at least 10 yards more than a touchback would give us, assuming that every kick lands at the goalline. That's very important for how very, very poor our offense has performed.
Negative #3 - Turnovers
Two interceptions, two fumbles. Jerry Hill noted that half of Bells interceptions have been by defensive linemen. This is the problem with having a 5'11" QB. The turnovers came at the WSU 16 (RED ZONE!!! ARRGH!!), the BU 34, the WSU 48 and the WSU 49.
Positive #3 - Daniel Sepulveda
Great day on Saturday. 8 punts, 47.8 yards per punt. Daniel got the defense out of some of the messes the offense seemed to try to put them in.
Negative #2 - Offensive Line
You better be glad for Shawn Bell, or you would have run away with the #1 position. Illegal procedures, holding, false starts... Do ya'll not care that you are costing this team wins? Baylor should be 3-0, knocking on the door of the Top 25, but instead we are 1-2 and about to lose our dream of a bowl game because we can't stand still before the ball is snapped. We can't protect the QB for an entire game. We can open some holes for the running attack. This wasn't a great or even good defense we were facing. Pitiful effort.
Positive #2 - Linebackers
I was really worried about the WSU running game. But Nick Moore, Antonio Jones, and Joe Pawelek really showed up yesterday. Combining for 19 tackles, including 11 solo stops, 1 FF and 1 FR. And while tackle stats are nice, the most important stat is this: 1.5 yards per rush. Woolridge only gained 54 yards rushing, which is about 60% of what he did to Auburn in ONE HALF of football.
Negative #1 - Shawn Bell
Sorry, Shawn. The QB is what makes this offense go. Yes, there were drops, but our inability to go down field, 12-play 30-yard drives, 5.33 yards per attempt... I mean, IDAHO passed for 220 yards. 256 is nothing. No less than 300 yards should have been acceptable, unless it came with a win.
Positive #1 - CJ Wilson
He is still tied for 1st in interceptions with 4. There are only two players with 4 interceptions at this point. There are 6 players with 3 interceptions at this point. He grabbed an interception against WSU, did a great job of defense, grabbed 6 tackles, and while I'm not sure how much he was lined up against Jason Hill, I do know that he wasn't against him on the TD pass, but Hill only had 72 yards on 6 catches, which is well below his regular average.
Well, I don't want to slit my wrists, but I do want to throw up. I gotta take a break.
Offense, You Owe the Defense an Apology!
Defense, you can sit this rant out for the most part. I'm incredibly proud of your efforts yesterday.
To everyone else, what a pathetic effort.
I think the worst thing (and that is saying a LOT with this game) was the 12-play, 30-yard drive that started with 36 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, and went into the fourth quarter. 12 plays and 30 yards. That's 2.5 yards per play.
Shawn Bell averaged 5.33 yards per attempt, about 2 yards short of what he should be shooting for as a minimum. He also averaged about 8.25 yards per completion. Again, AT LEAST 2 yards short of what he should be shooting for.
Defenses know that they can pack the box with men and have no fear for retribution from the offense, not because Bell can't throw it 25-30 yards down the field, but because he won't. Bell doesn't have the arm for the 35-50 yard passes (that's why Parks threw that pass to Whitaker), but he can make the 25 yard passes as well as anyone else. But he won't. Why? I can't say for sure, but I'd say it's the same reason he didn't try and run over the defender at OU last year, or why he slid short of the first down marker, or why he's been labelled soft by so many people. He's scared. If he throws it down field, it might get picked off, it might fall incomplete, it might show that he doesn't have a really strong throwing arm, whatever. If he can complete the 5 yard pass, then it shows that it wasn't his fault. "Look at my 60+% completion percentage!"
I don't think that this is necessarily something he has at the front of his mind, but I think it's in there somewhere. Morriss said after the TCU game that he wanted more of a "gunslinger" mentality from Bell. Well Guy, I just don't think the boy has it. Wait 'til next year.
The problem is, we can't wait for next year. THIS is one of the best opportunities Baylor has had for a bowl game in a LONG time. There is a lot of expectation being sunk in this year. Morriss said he didn't want to back into a bowl game, that he wanted to win 7 or 8 games. And he thought we could. Well, we could have, but wins #7 and #8 turned out to losses #1 and #2.
And that's what's killing fans. We are a good enough team to win against both TCU and WSU. There is only one way we lose those games, and we did it. We screwed around and made mistakes and blew opportunities again and again and again and again and again.
The defense says it's their fault. And frankly, I think that's one of the reasons they are so much better than the offense. They take responsibility. They weren't perfect, in fact they made two huge mental errors on the day that conceivably could have changed the game, both of them personal fouls that came on WSUs two TD scoring drives. Strangely this is a problem that seems to carry over from last year, when at A&M we let a personal foul continue a TD drive that allowed A&M to stay in the game.
But in both the WSU and last years A&M game, the story of the game was offensive incompetence.
In the first half of the game, the defense allowed a touchdown off of a Baylor fumble 34 yards from the endzone. Prior to that, WSU had gained 79 yards on 30 plays (2.63 yards per play). After the TD, they allowed 17 yards on 3 plays before intercepting the ball, giving it back to the offense with 40 seconds on the clock at the WSU 49 yard line. Three plays, zero yards.
I'm trying desperately to find a silver lining on the offenses performance. Justin Fenty was a nice surprise, Trent Shelton continued his streak, Zeigler averaged 15 yards per catch, but even those things aren't enough to overcome the negatives. Fenty also dropped two passes, including a 3rd down pass that would have continued the drive after the first WSU touchdown; Shelton only gained 25 yards on the day, on 5 catches; Zeigler only caught 3 balls on the day.
WHERE ARE OUR PLAYMAKERS!!??
Right now, we are looking at a 4 win team, if that. The defense is Top 15 caliber, in my opinion. But the offense is looking like a D2 school, and I KNOW that we have more talent than that.
A few more games like this and it's time to bring in Romo, err... Szymanski.
To everyone else, what a pathetic effort.
- 9 penalties for 75 yards
- 6 of 16 on 3rd down
- 3.9 yards per play
- 9 (of 12) drives lasted 6 plays or less
- Those same 9 drives went for no more than 21 yards and none lasted for more than 3 minutes
I think the worst thing (and that is saying a LOT with this game) was the 12-play, 30-yard drive that started with 36 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, and went into the fourth quarter. 12 plays and 30 yards. That's 2.5 yards per play.
Shawn Bell averaged 5.33 yards per attempt, about 2 yards short of what he should be shooting for as a minimum. He also averaged about 8.25 yards per completion. Again, AT LEAST 2 yards short of what he should be shooting for.
Defenses know that they can pack the box with men and have no fear for retribution from the offense, not because Bell can't throw it 25-30 yards down the field, but because he won't. Bell doesn't have the arm for the 35-50 yard passes (that's why Parks threw that pass to Whitaker), but he can make the 25 yard passes as well as anyone else. But he won't. Why? I can't say for sure, but I'd say it's the same reason he didn't try and run over the defender at OU last year, or why he slid short of the first down marker, or why he's been labelled soft by so many people. He's scared. If he throws it down field, it might get picked off, it might fall incomplete, it might show that he doesn't have a really strong throwing arm, whatever. If he can complete the 5 yard pass, then it shows that it wasn't his fault. "Look at my 60+% completion percentage!"
I don't think that this is necessarily something he has at the front of his mind, but I think it's in there somewhere. Morriss said after the TCU game that he wanted more of a "gunslinger" mentality from Bell. Well Guy, I just don't think the boy has it. Wait 'til next year.
The problem is, we can't wait for next year. THIS is one of the best opportunities Baylor has had for a bowl game in a LONG time. There is a lot of expectation being sunk in this year. Morriss said he didn't want to back into a bowl game, that he wanted to win 7 or 8 games. And he thought we could. Well, we could have, but wins #7 and #8 turned out to losses #1 and #2.
And that's what's killing fans. We are a good enough team to win against both TCU and WSU. There is only one way we lose those games, and we did it. We screwed around and made mistakes and blew opportunities again and again and again and again and again.
The defense says it's their fault. And frankly, I think that's one of the reasons they are so much better than the offense. They take responsibility. They weren't perfect, in fact they made two huge mental errors on the day that conceivably could have changed the game, both of them personal fouls that came on WSUs two TD scoring drives. Strangely this is a problem that seems to carry over from last year, when at A&M we let a personal foul continue a TD drive that allowed A&M to stay in the game.
But in both the WSU and last years A&M game, the story of the game was offensive incompetence.
In the first half of the game, the defense allowed a touchdown off of a Baylor fumble 34 yards from the endzone. Prior to that, WSU had gained 79 yards on 30 plays (2.63 yards per play). After the TD, they allowed 17 yards on 3 plays before intercepting the ball, giving it back to the offense with 40 seconds on the clock at the WSU 49 yard line. Three plays, zero yards.
I'm trying desperately to find a silver lining on the offenses performance. Justin Fenty was a nice surprise, Trent Shelton continued his streak, Zeigler averaged 15 yards per catch, but even those things aren't enough to overcome the negatives. Fenty also dropped two passes, including a 3rd down pass that would have continued the drive after the first WSU touchdown; Shelton only gained 25 yards on the day, on 5 catches; Zeigler only caught 3 balls on the day.
WHERE ARE OUR PLAYMAKERS!!??
Right now, we are looking at a 4 win team, if that. The defense is Top 15 caliber, in my opinion. But the offense is looking like a D2 school, and I KNOW that we have more talent than that.
A few more games like this and it's time to bring in Romo, err... Szymanski.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Prediction Time
I've been dreading this all week, because I don't think I can predict a Baylor victory here.
I know a lot of reason the Bears CAN win this weekend, but I don't have those reasons why they WILL win. Washington State is the more established team, both in terms of scheme and experience.
Baylor COULD see its offense come together, and if that happened, then I think Baylor would surely win. But to predict that is going to happen on the road, after a 10 hour plane ride, in a strange field, against a team of about equal talent seems like a stretch. I think it's more likely that we see some good things from the team, and that we see a lot of struggles as well.
Washington State versus our defense is another interesting call. I love our secondary and I think we are going to be ok against the pass. I'll put CJ Wilson up against any receiver in the nation and feel ok about it. And Anthony Arline is a #1 CB playing in a #2 position. And the guys on the bench are pretty good, too.
I think our defensive line has a lot to prove, though. They have to show the ability to shut down the running attack (they looked good against TCU, with 2.9 yards per rush, but lackluster against NSU), and probably more importantly, the ability to pressure the QB.
I'm hoping that Bradley has got some tricks up his sleeve to get after WSUs QB in this game and maybe get him rattled. If we can get him to throw up some ducks, and we can turn them into turnovers, then we'll be giving our offense a much better chance to help us win the game.
Right now, I see WSU getting a couple long drives together and making key plays on offense to put some points on the board.
I see our offense struggling to do the same, although we might get a couple long plays sporadically.
I'm calling it (and I really, really hope I'm wrong):
Washington State - 27
Baylor - 16
I know a lot of reason the Bears CAN win this weekend, but I don't have those reasons why they WILL win. Washington State is the more established team, both in terms of scheme and experience.
Baylor COULD see its offense come together, and if that happened, then I think Baylor would surely win. But to predict that is going to happen on the road, after a 10 hour plane ride, in a strange field, against a team of about equal talent seems like a stretch. I think it's more likely that we see some good things from the team, and that we see a lot of struggles as well.
Washington State versus our defense is another interesting call. I love our secondary and I think we are going to be ok against the pass. I'll put CJ Wilson up against any receiver in the nation and feel ok about it. And Anthony Arline is a #1 CB playing in a #2 position. And the guys on the bench are pretty good, too.
I think our defensive line has a lot to prove, though. They have to show the ability to shut down the running attack (they looked good against TCU, with 2.9 yards per rush, but lackluster against NSU), and probably more importantly, the ability to pressure the QB.
I'm hoping that Bradley has got some tricks up his sleeve to get after WSUs QB in this game and maybe get him rattled. If we can get him to throw up some ducks, and we can turn them into turnovers, then we'll be giving our offense a much better chance to help us win the game.
Right now, I see WSU getting a couple long drives together and making key plays on offense to put some points on the board.
I see our offense struggling to do the same, although we might get a couple long plays sporadically.
I'm calling it (and I really, really hope I'm wrong):
Washington State - 27
Baylor - 16
Thursday, September 14, 2006
What does a Win/Loss mean for the team?
The real answer for this question is always going to be: it depends. It depends on how we win/lose, it depends on what happens within the game and why we won/lost the way we did. Let's look at a couple scenarios that I think are possible, if not likely.
Baylor Loses a Close One
If Baylor loses a close one in which the defense possibly gives up a couple more scores than we would like, but the offense operates at a high level, then I think we can be optomistic about the rest of the season, despite a 1-2 start. If we lose a close one because the offense continues to shoot itself in the foot and fall apart in the redzone, then the outlook will continue to be gloomy.
Baylor Wins a Close One
Most of me says it doesn't matter how big or small the win, it's HUGE. But if we win a close one because of a particularly strong defensive effort and the offense does just enough to get us the win, I think we can be cautiously optomistic. Very cautiously. Full-blown optomism should be held back until the offense performs strongly against a D1 opponent, preferably a strong D1 opponent.
Baylor Blows WSU Out
There is no downside, and it would likely hallmark a 4-0 run through the rest of our non-conference and into conference play leading up to the Texas game.
Baylor Gets Blown Out
Back to square one. If the defense can't stop WSU, and our offense just continues to hinder us rather than help us, then this is a team headed for a 4-8 season.
Then again, there are always the injuries, and fluke turnovers/scores that can change all that. If WSU has their QB and RB go out on the first series (or BU, knock on wood), then that will dramatically change the way we look at this game.
Tomorrow can't come fast enough!
Baylor Loses a Close One
If Baylor loses a close one in which the defense possibly gives up a couple more scores than we would like, but the offense operates at a high level, then I think we can be optomistic about the rest of the season, despite a 1-2 start. If we lose a close one because the offense continues to shoot itself in the foot and fall apart in the redzone, then the outlook will continue to be gloomy.
Baylor Wins a Close One
Most of me says it doesn't matter how big or small the win, it's HUGE. But if we win a close one because of a particularly strong defensive effort and the offense does just enough to get us the win, I think we can be cautiously optomistic. Very cautiously. Full-blown optomism should be held back until the offense performs strongly against a D1 opponent, preferably a strong D1 opponent.
Baylor Blows WSU Out
There is no downside, and it would likely hallmark a 4-0 run through the rest of our non-conference and into conference play leading up to the Texas game.
Baylor Gets Blown Out
Back to square one. If the defense can't stop WSU, and our offense just continues to hinder us rather than help us, then this is a team headed for a 4-8 season.
Then again, there are always the injuries, and fluke turnovers/scores that can change all that. If WSU has their QB and RB go out on the first series (or BU, knock on wood), then that will dramatically change the way we look at this game.
Tomorrow can't come fast enough!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
What's with all the drops!?
The last two games, Baylors new offense has been plagued by the worst thing possible in a pass-heavy scheme: drops.
What's the dealio!?
I've heard lots of explanations: not enough talent, new scheme, not enough focus, nerves, and on and on.
So what is it?
I don't know. I know that by having this blog, I'm supposed to be an expert or something (not really), but it seems to me that it's very likely a combination of many of these things.
I think learning the new scheme has a lot to do with this. They aren't used to going full speed against a live opponent. The receivers are trying to figure everything out, and they know that Bell knows the playbook forwards and backwards, so the onus is on them to make the right decision. The concentration thing plays into this as well. If they are concentrating on simply getting the right routes run, by the time the ball is on the way to them, it's hard to shift that focus or to just slide back into what's natural.
The good news is that this facet of it should be clearing up by now. They've had two games under their belt, they are bound to be more relaxed and ready to go, and they've got guys behind them breathing down their necks for playing time.
I think the Northwestern State game drops had something to do with the fact that with Zeigler out, we were not only counting on guys not used to getting as much playing time, but Bell didn't have Zeigler as a security blanket and had to find other guys. I think this is actually going to be a big bonus the rest of the year. Here's why...
I said earlier on the Baylor Football Blog that Bell was going to have to learn to not be so dependent on Zeigler, or he was going to get into trouble. I'm hoping that after this game when the ball got spread around so much, that Bell is aware that there are more people on the team that can help him out. Zeigler is a great receiver and deserves his looks, but maybe instead of 18-20 looks a game, Bell can cut it down to 12-14 and give those 6 other looks to guys like Baker, White, Teasley, Sims, Smith, Gettis, etc.
Trent Shelton also established himself as a great option in this offense. I've been confused why Shelton wasn't a bigger part of the offense last year, but recently I've learned some thing about the previous OC that gave me an idea about it. Whatever the case, Trent is getting the looks now and he's producing, averaging over 100 yds/game and 7 catches a game. Yes, it's early, but there's reason to believe that Trent can put up another 7 catches for 100 yards against WSU with their secondary. I think Trent is more of a natural fit for this offense than Zeigler, though that is to take away nothing from Zeiglers excellent talent and abilities.
And that brings us to the talent quesetion... Is our wide receiver corps as good as we think it is? And why do we think it's such hot stuff?
Let's take a look at the guys that we've got out there:
Dominique Zeigler -
I don't think there's any question that DZ is a great possession receiver with great athleticism and a guy that can catch the ball.
Trent Shelton -
As I said, he's averaging 7 catches for more than 100 yards a game, and he's got great size and speed.
Terrance Parks -
Still making the transition from QB, he's only a JR which is good for Baylor. He's got great size and even with his heft (270lbs!), he has shown he can move, get open and catch the ball. He's made some of the best catches so far this year in traffic.
Mikhail Baker -
Great speed, improving hands, he caught the only TD against TCU, and should be a fixture in this offense for the next two and a half years.
Ernest Smith -
Great size, great feet, and if he could be more consistent catching the ball, he'd likely be one of our top three receivers. After the catch, he has no problem making people miss.
David Gettis -
The true freshman that people thought was going to set the world on fire. It hasn't happened yet, but I think the hype might have gotten hold of him and he's trying to live up to it too much. If this guys gets going, though, watch out. Look for him to get more opportunities this weekend at WSU. Let's hope for a breakout game.
Carl Sims -
We haven't seen as much from Carl as I expected. I'm not sure why that is, but I'd love to know why that is. I thought he had a lot of potential in this offense and his absence is bewildering to me.
Quieto Teasley -
A heck of an athlete, with great speed. He's been in the doghouse, apparently, for not giving much effort, and taking the spring off for track didn't help, either. If he can show a good enough work ethic and get on the field, he'll be a star. He's one of the fastest receivers on the team, if not the fastest.
Thomas White -
A guy with a track background, he made the most of his appearance last week with NSU to take 2 of his 3 catches for touchdowns. Showing himself to be very comfortable running the screen plays, he should get more playing time against WSU. Give us a couple more TDs, will ya White Chocolate!?
I don't think there's any doubt that we've got talent on the field at wide receiver. We need Gettis to step up to make the corps everything we thought it would be, but Parks has been playing better than I think most people thought he would at the IR position.
The drops have to stop, but as Hays said, if they don't then the guys dropping passes will be on the sidelines wearing a baseball cap, and someone else will be on the field catching passes. There's too much depth to sit around and wait for someone to do their job.
And honestly, I have to believe that some of the drops were guys thinking that since they were playing a D1-AA school, they had a chance to take every catch for a touchdown, and they were thinking about that instead of focusing on just catching the pass to begin with. I think that's why Trent had such a good day, he is a veteran that knows what he needs to do and he does it.
All in all, I think we learn a lot about our team this weekend at WSU. I can't wait to get started!!
What's the dealio!?
I've heard lots of explanations: not enough talent, new scheme, not enough focus, nerves, and on and on.
So what is it?
I don't know. I know that by having this blog, I'm supposed to be an expert or something (not really), but it seems to me that it's very likely a combination of many of these things.
I think learning the new scheme has a lot to do with this. They aren't used to going full speed against a live opponent. The receivers are trying to figure everything out, and they know that Bell knows the playbook forwards and backwards, so the onus is on them to make the right decision. The concentration thing plays into this as well. If they are concentrating on simply getting the right routes run, by the time the ball is on the way to them, it's hard to shift that focus or to just slide back into what's natural.
The good news is that this facet of it should be clearing up by now. They've had two games under their belt, they are bound to be more relaxed and ready to go, and they've got guys behind them breathing down their necks for playing time.
I think the Northwestern State game drops had something to do with the fact that with Zeigler out, we were not only counting on guys not used to getting as much playing time, but Bell didn't have Zeigler as a security blanket and had to find other guys. I think this is actually going to be a big bonus the rest of the year. Here's why...
I said earlier on the Baylor Football Blog that Bell was going to have to learn to not be so dependent on Zeigler, or he was going to get into trouble. I'm hoping that after this game when the ball got spread around so much, that Bell is aware that there are more people on the team that can help him out. Zeigler is a great receiver and deserves his looks, but maybe instead of 18-20 looks a game, Bell can cut it down to 12-14 and give those 6 other looks to guys like Baker, White, Teasley, Sims, Smith, Gettis, etc.
Trent Shelton also established himself as a great option in this offense. I've been confused why Shelton wasn't a bigger part of the offense last year, but recently I've learned some thing about the previous OC that gave me an idea about it. Whatever the case, Trent is getting the looks now and he's producing, averaging over 100 yds/game and 7 catches a game. Yes, it's early, but there's reason to believe that Trent can put up another 7 catches for 100 yards against WSU with their secondary. I think Trent is more of a natural fit for this offense than Zeigler, though that is to take away nothing from Zeiglers excellent talent and abilities.
And that brings us to the talent quesetion... Is our wide receiver corps as good as we think it is? And why do we think it's such hot stuff?
Let's take a look at the guys that we've got out there:
Dominique Zeigler -
I don't think there's any question that DZ is a great possession receiver with great athleticism and a guy that can catch the ball.
Trent Shelton -
As I said, he's averaging 7 catches for more than 100 yards a game, and he's got great size and speed.
Terrance Parks -
Still making the transition from QB, he's only a JR which is good for Baylor. He's got great size and even with his heft (270lbs!), he has shown he can move, get open and catch the ball. He's made some of the best catches so far this year in traffic.
Mikhail Baker -
Great speed, improving hands, he caught the only TD against TCU, and should be a fixture in this offense for the next two and a half years.
Ernest Smith -
Great size, great feet, and if he could be more consistent catching the ball, he'd likely be one of our top three receivers. After the catch, he has no problem making people miss.
David Gettis -
The true freshman that people thought was going to set the world on fire. It hasn't happened yet, but I think the hype might have gotten hold of him and he's trying to live up to it too much. If this guys gets going, though, watch out. Look for him to get more opportunities this weekend at WSU. Let's hope for a breakout game.
Carl Sims -
We haven't seen as much from Carl as I expected. I'm not sure why that is, but I'd love to know why that is. I thought he had a lot of potential in this offense and his absence is bewildering to me.
Quieto Teasley -
A heck of an athlete, with great speed. He's been in the doghouse, apparently, for not giving much effort, and taking the spring off for track didn't help, either. If he can show a good enough work ethic and get on the field, he'll be a star. He's one of the fastest receivers on the team, if not the fastest.
Thomas White -
A guy with a track background, he made the most of his appearance last week with NSU to take 2 of his 3 catches for touchdowns. Showing himself to be very comfortable running the screen plays, he should get more playing time against WSU. Give us a couple more TDs, will ya White Chocolate!?
I don't think there's any doubt that we've got talent on the field at wide receiver. We need Gettis to step up to make the corps everything we thought it would be, but Parks has been playing better than I think most people thought he would at the IR position.
The drops have to stop, but as Hays said, if they don't then the guys dropping passes will be on the sidelines wearing a baseball cap, and someone else will be on the field catching passes. There's too much depth to sit around and wait for someone to do their job.And honestly, I have to believe that some of the drops were guys thinking that since they were playing a D1-AA school, they had a chance to take every catch for a touchdown, and they were thinking about that instead of focusing on just catching the pass to begin with. I think that's why Trent had such a good day, he is a veteran that knows what he needs to do and he does it.
All in all, I think we learn a lot about our team this weekend at WSU. I can't wait to get started!!
Key Matchups: Baylor v. WSU
Baylor will get on the road in two days and head up to Seattle, but what should we be focusing on heading up to gametime?
I think there are a few very important matchups in this game.
V. 
1. Jason Hill v. CJ Wilson -
Hill is an All-American caliber receiver and Wilson is an All-American caliber cornerback. Here are both teams best players and they are going to match up in a battle that will go a long way in determining the winner. Wilson is leading the nation in interceptions with 3 INTs in two games, and Hill is averaging over 18 yards per catch with one TD.
Edge: Wilson. I usually like to give the receiver the edge, but despite his excellent average, Hill has only caught 6 passes all year, and Brink (WSUs starting QB) has thrown for less than 300 yards in both games this year.
V. 
2. Baylor DL v. WSU OL -
Washington State has good starters on the line, though without a lot of depth. Baylor's defensive line has been a weakness for many years, and despite a lot of seniors on the line, they continue to be the weakness. The ends are going to have to manufacture some sort of push against WSUs very good tackles, and our defensive tackles are going to have to hold up against their interior line as WSU will try to cram the ball down our throats. Baylor held TCU to 2.9 yards per rush, so there is a chance that we will be able to contain the WSU attack, but we will have to give a big effort here to win.
Edge: WSU OL. Baylor's DL is going to have a lot to prove in this game. Let's hope they are up to the challenge.
[Vincent Rhodes and Charles Harris pictured]
V. 
3. Woolridge v. Jones/Pawelek/Moore -
Baylor's linebackers are going to have to step up this week to control Washington State's starting running back Woolridge. He's a small back, but he has great speed and was racking up big yardage (over 80 yards in the second quarter) against Auburn before going down with a deep thigh bruise. He didn't play against Idaho, so he'll be rested and ready to go this week against Baylor.
Edge: Woolridge. Jones, JoePa and Nick are talented, but they have shown their inexperience this year. They will have to play much better to contain this back.
[I know, I know, that's Colin Allred, not any of our current Linebackers, but hey, you try and find a picture of Jones, Pawelek or Moore. It's a no-go!]
V. 
4. Zeigler/Shelton v. WSU Secondary -
Shelton is coming off of a 9-catch, 158-yard game and Zielger got some much needed rest for his shoulder last week and should be ready to return to action. With the offense struggling a little bit, Bell will likely look to these two dependable receivers when push comes to shove. WSUs secondary is not that good. They gave up 220 yards passing to Idaho last week, and 191 yards to Auburn on opening day, while those totals might not sound bad, they are giving up 16.44 yards per completion (411 yards on 25 completions). Facing a team that is going to throw it 40+ times with a QB that is completing his passes at a 63.6% clip, that is not good news.
Edge: Zeigler/Shelton. I don't expect Baylor to average 16 yards per completion, but the big plays should be there for the taking, if the Baylor receivers can hold onto the ball.
That's two for Baylor, two for WSU. I have to say, I feel really good about our receivers against their secondary, and I feel really worried about their OL against our DL. I'm having a hard time convincing myself to predict a Baylor victory, honestly. I believe we CAN win, but I have no idea what to expect out of the team.
BUT! No need to worry about a prediction, yet. There's plenty of time for that yet.
I think there are a few very important matchups in this game.
V. 
1. Jason Hill v. CJ Wilson -
Hill is an All-American caliber receiver and Wilson is an All-American caliber cornerback. Here are both teams best players and they are going to match up in a battle that will go a long way in determining the winner. Wilson is leading the nation in interceptions with 3 INTs in two games, and Hill is averaging over 18 yards per catch with one TD.
Edge: Wilson. I usually like to give the receiver the edge, but despite his excellent average, Hill has only caught 6 passes all year, and Brink (WSUs starting QB) has thrown for less than 300 yards in both games this year.
V. 
2. Baylor DL v. WSU OL -
Washington State has good starters on the line, though without a lot of depth. Baylor's defensive line has been a weakness for many years, and despite a lot of seniors on the line, they continue to be the weakness. The ends are going to have to manufacture some sort of push against WSUs very good tackles, and our defensive tackles are going to have to hold up against their interior line as WSU will try to cram the ball down our throats. Baylor held TCU to 2.9 yards per rush, so there is a chance that we will be able to contain the WSU attack, but we will have to give a big effort here to win.
Edge: WSU OL. Baylor's DL is going to have a lot to prove in this game. Let's hope they are up to the challenge.
[Vincent Rhodes and Charles Harris pictured]
V. 
3. Woolridge v. Jones/Pawelek/Moore -
Baylor's linebackers are going to have to step up this week to control Washington State's starting running back Woolridge. He's a small back, but he has great speed and was racking up big yardage (over 80 yards in the second quarter) against Auburn before going down with a deep thigh bruise. He didn't play against Idaho, so he'll be rested and ready to go this week against Baylor.
Edge: Woolridge. Jones, JoePa and Nick are talented, but they have shown their inexperience this year. They will have to play much better to contain this back.
[I know, I know, that's Colin Allred, not any of our current Linebackers, but hey, you try and find a picture of Jones, Pawelek or Moore. It's a no-go!]
V. 
4. Zeigler/Shelton v. WSU Secondary -
Shelton is coming off of a 9-catch, 158-yard game and Zielger got some much needed rest for his shoulder last week and should be ready to return to action. With the offense struggling a little bit, Bell will likely look to these two dependable receivers when push comes to shove. WSUs secondary is not that good. They gave up 220 yards passing to Idaho last week, and 191 yards to Auburn on opening day, while those totals might not sound bad, they are giving up 16.44 yards per completion (411 yards on 25 completions). Facing a team that is going to throw it 40+ times with a QB that is completing his passes at a 63.6% clip, that is not good news.
Edge: Zeigler/Shelton. I don't expect Baylor to average 16 yards per completion, but the big plays should be there for the taking, if the Baylor receivers can hold onto the ball.
That's two for Baylor, two for WSU. I have to say, I feel really good about our receivers against their secondary, and I feel really worried about their OL against our DL. I'm having a hard time convincing myself to predict a Baylor victory, honestly. I believe we CAN win, but I have no idea what to expect out of the team.
BUT! No need to worry about a prediction, yet. There's plenty of time for that yet.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Angelo State University Preview
Baylor's first opponent this year in a game that counts is Angelo State. ASU has a new coach and is going to be in a bit of transition as they will have to replace two of their top three scorers, and their 6th leading scorer as well. They also lose their leading rebounder from a year ago. All told, they lose 30.2ppg (40%), 15rpg (39.2%), 97 total assists (26.7%), and 56 steals (26%).
The good news is that they return talented junior Quinn Barfield. Barfield is a G/F that was the leading scorer (15.4) last year, second on the team in rebounds (5.4) and steals (29) and blocked an astounding 24 shots. He shot better than 50% from the floor as well.
The question will be, who else is going to be on the team to help him?
Nobody else returning averaged more than 10 points/game. One player who came close, averaging 9.4/game, is Ontario McKee, a 5-11 PG. He'll be a senior and likely counted on to get the offense rolling. And despite only playing in 22 games (of 27 possible) and starting only 15, McKee racked up 93 assists and 34 steals.
Angelo State is going to be very undersized compared to Baylor. Their tallest players are 6-7, and only one of those players saw time last year. Of the players that averaged 15 or more minutes a game last year, there is one player at 6-5, and two at 6-4.
Angelo state went 8-19 overall last year, and 0-12 in the Lone Star Conference. Their new head coach has been an assistant coach at Memphis and most recently UNT. He was hired in April 2006, and has said he will install pressure defense and an up-tempo offense.
Curiously, Baylor does not appear on the Angelo State University Men's Basketball schedule. It does show two exhibition games against UT-Arlington and UT-San Antonio prior to the date given on our schedule for the game, so they will have at the least seen some game action by the time they come to Waco.
The good news is that they return talented junior Quinn Barfield. Barfield is a G/F that was the leading scorer (15.4) last year, second on the team in rebounds (5.4) and steals (29) and blocked an astounding 24 shots. He shot better than 50% from the floor as well.
The question will be, who else is going to be on the team to help him?
Nobody else returning averaged more than 10 points/game. One player who came close, averaging 9.4/game, is Ontario McKee, a 5-11 PG. He'll be a senior and likely counted on to get the offense rolling. And despite only playing in 22 games (of 27 possible) and starting only 15, McKee racked up 93 assists and 34 steals.
Angelo State is going to be very undersized compared to Baylor. Their tallest players are 6-7, and only one of those players saw time last year. Of the players that averaged 15 or more minutes a game last year, there is one player at 6-5, and two at 6-4.
Angelo state went 8-19 overall last year, and 0-12 in the Lone Star Conference. Their new head coach has been an assistant coach at Memphis and most recently UNT. He was hired in April 2006, and has said he will install pressure defense and an up-tempo offense.
Curiously, Baylor does not appear on the Angelo State University Men's Basketball schedule. It does show two exhibition games against UT-Arlington and UT-San Antonio prior to the date given on our schedule for the game, so they will have at the least seen some game action by the time they come to Waco.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Washington State up Next
Play time is over and the biggest test of the non-conference is here. Washington State has an offense that is going to put a strain even on Baylor's very good secondary, and enough defense to give our sputtering offense problems. This game is going to be tough for Baylor to keep close and tougher to win. But it IS a winnable game.
Washington State has a good QB in Alex Brink leading the offense and he's got a very good corps of wide-receivers including future first-day pick and All-American candidate Jason Hill. CJ Wilson will get his biggest test so far in this game and will have to come up big in order to simply contain him. The silver lining, I guess, is that he'll have some balls thrown his way so he should have opportunities for more interceptions! On the other side, Chris Jordan will keep Anthony Arline busy as well. And the linebackers and safeties are going to have their hands full with Cody Boyd, a 6-8 257-lb TE target. He only had 14-catches last year, but he already has 3 catches for 61 yards and a 50-yard TD pass in the first two games.
Something that I find very interesting is that Brink has only thrown 39 passes in two games, completing 23 of them (59%). I know he played very little in a blowout of Idaho, but that's not very many passes at all. And he's only thrown for 298 yards this year. Brink has been sharing time with Gary Rogers at QB, and the two of them combined have thrown for 443 yards, but Brink only managed 67 yards and 45.8% passing against Auburn in the opening game. Rogers managed 6/9 passing for 83 yards, and played a lot against Idaho, too, so we will likely see Rogers as well.
Rogers is a 6-5 QB that has a huge arm. He doesn't have a lot of mobility, but can put the ball anywhere. He only attempted 5 passes last year, but as I said above he's getting snaps this year.
The running back situation is an interesting one to watch and with games against #3 Auburn and Idaho, it's hard to get a read on what's really going on there. Woolridge, WSUs starting RB, is in the Darren Sproles mold. He's 5-8, stout and fast. Against Auburn he only had 9 carries, but took them for 86 yards. He had a long carry of 42 yards, so his 9.6 average is a bit misleading. He didn't score any touchdowns on the day, though. Darrell Hutsona is another running back for WSU, a JUCO transfer and WSUs top recruit last year. He's another smaller, fast back at 5-10 185-lbs. Hutson had 30-yards on 6 carries against Auburn, with half of those yards coming on one carry.
Against Idaho, the running backs had a much, much better day. Woolridge doesn't appear to have played, but Dwight Tardy had 15 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown, with a long carry of 22 yards. Hutsona had 68 yards on 9 carries with a long of 27 yards. Christopher Ivory only got 3 carries, but took one of them 80-yards for a touchdown late in the game.
The fact that Woolridge didn't play and that WSU played so many players, I'm not sure that Idaho is the best gauge for what their offense is going to do against our defense.
Washington States offensive line is very strong at the tackle position and while inexperienced, they are talented inside. They have a serious lack of depth at the OL, but the starters are very good. Our defensive line better come to play this game, or they are going to be pushed around and put too much stress on our linebackers and secondary to make plays in the running game.
The thing to remember is that this is an explosive offense we are going up against. We can't afford to miss tackles or assignments, because almost anyone that touches the ball can take it the distance. The secondary is going to have to be at their best in not only covering the receivers, but in coming up in run support to contain these runners. It's going to be a heavy task and will be a good measuring stick for just how good this defense is.
Next up is the Washington State defense and how we will likely fare against them.
Washington State has a good QB in Alex Brink leading the offense and he's got a very good corps of wide-receivers including future first-day pick and All-American candidate Jason Hill. CJ Wilson will get his biggest test so far in this game and will have to come up big in order to simply contain him. The silver lining, I guess, is that he'll have some balls thrown his way so he should have opportunities for more interceptions! On the other side, Chris Jordan will keep Anthony Arline busy as well. And the linebackers and safeties are going to have their hands full with Cody Boyd, a 6-8 257-lb TE target. He only had 14-catches last year, but he already has 3 catches for 61 yards and a 50-yard TD pass in the first two games.
Something that I find very interesting is that Brink has only thrown 39 passes in two games, completing 23 of them (59%). I know he played very little in a blowout of Idaho, but that's not very many passes at all. And he's only thrown for 298 yards this year. Brink has been sharing time with Gary Rogers at QB, and the two of them combined have thrown for 443 yards, but Brink only managed 67 yards and 45.8% passing against Auburn in the opening game. Rogers managed 6/9 passing for 83 yards, and played a lot against Idaho, too, so we will likely see Rogers as well.
Rogers is a 6-5 QB that has a huge arm. He doesn't have a lot of mobility, but can put the ball anywhere. He only attempted 5 passes last year, but as I said above he's getting snaps this year.
The running back situation is an interesting one to watch and with games against #3 Auburn and Idaho, it's hard to get a read on what's really going on there. Woolridge, WSUs starting RB, is in the Darren Sproles mold. He's 5-8, stout and fast. Against Auburn he only had 9 carries, but took them for 86 yards. He had a long carry of 42 yards, so his 9.6 average is a bit misleading. He didn't score any touchdowns on the day, though. Darrell Hutsona is another running back for WSU, a JUCO transfer and WSUs top recruit last year. He's another smaller, fast back at 5-10 185-lbs. Hutson had 30-yards on 6 carries against Auburn, with half of those yards coming on one carry.
Against Idaho, the running backs had a much, much better day. Woolridge doesn't appear to have played, but Dwight Tardy had 15 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown, with a long carry of 22 yards. Hutsona had 68 yards on 9 carries with a long of 27 yards. Christopher Ivory only got 3 carries, but took one of them 80-yards for a touchdown late in the game.
The fact that Woolridge didn't play and that WSU played so many players, I'm not sure that Idaho is the best gauge for what their offense is going to do against our defense.
Washington States offensive line is very strong at the tackle position and while inexperienced, they are talented inside. They have a serious lack of depth at the OL, but the starters are very good. Our defensive line better come to play this game, or they are going to be pushed around and put too much stress on our linebackers and secondary to make plays in the running game.
The thing to remember is that this is an explosive offense we are going up against. We can't afford to miss tackles or assignments, because almost anyone that touches the ball can take it the distance. The secondary is going to have to be at their best in not only covering the receivers, but in coming up in run support to contain these runners. It's going to be a heavy task and will be a good measuring stick for just how good this defense is.
Next up is the Washington State defense and how we will likely fare against them.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
After a Nights Rest
Baylor won 47-10. It wasn't the prettiest or most dominant game, but we did win by 37 points and the game was never in question. This is a far cry from the Texas State game we won 24-17 on a late drive in the fourth quarter for the win.
There are definitely things that we need to improve. The two main things are offensive fluidity and a pass rush. I'm starting to believe that Bell is scared to go deep because he knows he doesn't have a strong arm. I haven't seen any video of the game, but from numerous people that were there, Bell opted not to try for a longer route and would throw it to a safer, shorter option on a number of occassions. I believe this is what Morriss was talking about when he said Bell needed more of a "Gunslinger" mentality.
The pass rush was pathetic. Only 3 sacks on the night, and only 7 TFL. That is what I would expect against a good D1 team, not a D1-AA team. Kansas gave up 217 yards passing and 62 yards rushing to NSU for a total of 279 yards. Baylor gave up fewer passing yards (182 yards), but way more rushing yardage (147 yards).
Our tackles have got to be more of a force. Yes, I know that MT Robinson was sitting out and that would be a big deal if he was a first-day draft prospect, but he's not. He's a solid player, but so are Ford, Shoals, Jenkins, Rhodes, etc. We had plenty of guys that should have been able to not only control the line of scrimmage, but destory it and rebuild it in their backfield every down.
And yes, the T.O.P. was against the defense. And I could give them somewhat of an understanding nod to that at the end of the halves, but at the end of the half they forced two 3 and outs and a 5 play, 13-yard drive that ended in a punt. It was at the BEGINNING of the 2nd half that they allowed to drives totalling 16 plays and 135 yards for 10 points. Did Bradley have the defense running wind sprints in the lockerroom or did he put them through a quick weight-lifting workout to even things up?
And from the reports I've received it had nothing to do with being tired, it was a serious lack of passion. The only people that showed a lot of energy on the day, from what I've heard, were CJ Wilson and Trent Shelton. And shockingly, they both had big games! Imagine if the whole team came to play the way they did... We'd have that 77-0 victory with over 600 yards of offense that everyone is clamoring for. Don't tell me we don't have the team to do it, either.
Shoot. I started this entry with the intent of it being a positive one. We got the win, we got a big margin, we got some playing time for younger players, and we did it without three starters. The focus should be better next week against Washington State, the offense and defense both should be better in their third week of work, and hopefully the coaches will have a clearer picture of what they need to do with our players.
I still think we can beat Washington State. I think if the defense plays inspired football like they did against TCU, they can be very successful against WSU. I think if the offense takes another step forward, then we'll be able to put up points against them. But they are going to show that they are able to play to their potential, because as someone used to say to me, "Potential is just something you haven't shown you can do yet".
There are definitely things that we need to improve. The two main things are offensive fluidity and a pass rush. I'm starting to believe that Bell is scared to go deep because he knows he doesn't have a strong arm. I haven't seen any video of the game, but from numerous people that were there, Bell opted not to try for a longer route and would throw it to a safer, shorter option on a number of occassions. I believe this is what Morriss was talking about when he said Bell needed more of a "Gunslinger" mentality.
The pass rush was pathetic. Only 3 sacks on the night, and only 7 TFL. That is what I would expect against a good D1 team, not a D1-AA team. Kansas gave up 217 yards passing and 62 yards rushing to NSU for a total of 279 yards. Baylor gave up fewer passing yards (182 yards), but way more rushing yardage (147 yards).
Our tackles have got to be more of a force. Yes, I know that MT Robinson was sitting out and that would be a big deal if he was a first-day draft prospect, but he's not. He's a solid player, but so are Ford, Shoals, Jenkins, Rhodes, etc. We had plenty of guys that should have been able to not only control the line of scrimmage, but destory it and rebuild it in their backfield every down.
And yes, the T.O.P. was against the defense. And I could give them somewhat of an understanding nod to that at the end of the halves, but at the end of the half they forced two 3 and outs and a 5 play, 13-yard drive that ended in a punt. It was at the BEGINNING of the 2nd half that they allowed to drives totalling 16 plays and 135 yards for 10 points. Did Bradley have the defense running wind sprints in the lockerroom or did he put them through a quick weight-lifting workout to even things up?
And from the reports I've received it had nothing to do with being tired, it was a serious lack of passion. The only people that showed a lot of energy on the day, from what I've heard, were CJ Wilson and Trent Shelton. And shockingly, they both had big games! Imagine if the whole team came to play the way they did... We'd have that 77-0 victory with over 600 yards of offense that everyone is clamoring for. Don't tell me we don't have the team to do it, either.
Shoot. I started this entry with the intent of it being a positive one. We got the win, we got a big margin, we got some playing time for younger players, and we did it without three starters. The focus should be better next week against Washington State, the offense and defense both should be better in their third week of work, and hopefully the coaches will have a clearer picture of what they need to do with our players.
I still think we can beat Washington State. I think if the defense plays inspired football like they did against TCU, they can be very successful against WSU. I think if the offense takes another step forward, then we'll be able to put up points against them. But they are going to show that they are able to play to their potential, because as someone used to say to me, "Potential is just something you haven't shown you can do yet".
Early Returns on NSU
Well, I'm finding it hard to figure out why I am so frustrated with a 47-10 win. Well, maybe it's not so hard to figure out, but you'd think a Baylor fan would be thankful for a blowout like this since it hasn't happened in so long.
It'd be healthier for me to just deal with the positives, but let's look at the things that are really getting to me (and I think those that have been reading for a while will know what #1 is going to be):
1. Shawn Bell
OK, the receivers had a lot of drops, and I don't blame the interception on him (and I didn't blame him last week either). And I do know that he completed more than 60% of his passes (60.9%). But I just find it so hard to find a 288-yard performance against a D1-AA school something to cheer about. And remember, ESPECIALLY in this offense, it all starts with the quarterback, so I don't want to hear about how it's not his fault. He'll get the credit for the wins he's responsible for (he's been living on the 2004 A&M game for 2 years now), but he needs to take some of the heat for the games we don't win because of his incredible averageness. Honestly, I like Bell in this offense, and I DO think things are going to get better as the year goes on, but right now this is definitely an area of frustration. So readers, if you think I'm being too harsh on Bell, you're probably right, but I'll be his best friend (hopefully) later in the year when the offense is rolling.
And if you want to know exactly where my frustration stems from, it's the period of time from 7:34 in the 2nd quarter to 2:35 in the 2nd quarter, when Bell went 0/5 with a sack. Bell was lucky on the first drive that he got ridiculously good field position and Whitaker broke off a 20-yard run to put them in FG range. On the second drive, he wasn't so lucky and we had to punt it. I'm glad we got points on the first drive, but against a AA school, that should be a touchdown.
2. Defensive line
I think you could also title this section "Defensive concentration"... Let me be clear, I think we have a pretty salty defense, and I really like having a defense that believes they can shut anyone down, but for some reason this defense of ours just tries to put themselves in the worst possible situations. I don't know if they just have a flair for the dramatic, or if they believe that they are always going to come up with the big turnover or what, but this is getting out of hand! We had 7 drives that went 5 plays or longer, and 5 drives that went for more than 25 yards, three that went for more than 40 yards. Worst of all was the TEN play drive for EIGHTY yards and a TOUCHDOWN! COME ON!! This included 6 rushes for 26 yards (4.3ypc) and 3/4 passing for 50 yards and a touchdown. That's ridiculous.
3. Penalties.
10 penalties for 130 yards. NSU was complaining about their penalties (20 for 139 yards), but we got nearly the same yardage in half the penalties. TOO many mental mistakes on the line. We have got to get that stuff figured out by next week.
4. Running Game
I don't think the running backs are bad. I think Whitaker and Mosley are very talented. But when one of them is out, you don't just cut out their carries. This isn't on the players, it's on the coaches. If the running game isn't doing what you want it to, figure out how to make it effective, you don't just stop running the ball. Here's an idea, go deep a few times and get the defense to stop loading up the box. Whitaker touched the ball six times tonight. Six. 4 rushes, 2 passes. Total yardage = 37 yards. So, he's averaging 6 yards per touch, but big deal if he's only touching the ball 6 times a game. Give him at least 10 carries and at least 6 pass opportunities a game, please! If you want someone to respect a threat, you have to make them respect it.
There are positives, too. They don't make me as excited, because we got them against a D1-AA team, but they are positive nevertheless.
1. CJ Wilson
CJ is my favorite player. If he wasn't among the favorites for the Thorpe award before, he should be getting there soon. I know it was a D1-AA team, but the guy has 3 INTs on the season already, with one returned for a TD. He's a great defensive back who like to joke around, but seems genuinely humble when really talked to. I don't know why people throw towards him still, but I don't think it will take long before they stop doing so.
2. Trent Shelton
The guy might not want to be a star receiver, but he's there. 9 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. You kidding me? THAT's what you're supposed to do against D1-AA opponents. That is a great performance.
3. Shawn Bell
"Huh?" you ask. Yes, Bell was a positive and a negative tonight. That, sadly, equals out to a 0, which I guess is the minimum we ask of our quarterbacks after living with Greg Cicero, Aaron Karas, etc, etc. Bell did what I have said I want him to do. Average over 7 yards per attempt (7.02ypa), and over 10 yards per completion (11.5ypc). He threw 4 TDs against 1 INT, and the interception was off another tipped ball (this one by a Baylor receiver, not a DL).
4. Joe Pawelek and Antonio Jones
The kids came to play. They got the start at linebacker, and really put on a performance. 9 tackles, .5 TFL and a QB hurry for JoePa, and Jones wasn't bad either (6 tackles, .5 TFL). I need to see the two of them against WSU and Army, but I really like these young linebackers.
5. Trey Payne and Thomas White
I called Trey out yesterday saying he needed to catch the ball, and I think he heard me (I'm kidding). Payne and White both only grabbed 3 passes each, but both made them count with 2 TDs a piece. Payne only got 30 yards, but they were very valuable yards coming in the redzone. White got one of his scores from farther out (27 yards), but also got a redzone score. Great job, guys!
There are more positives, Jake LaMar and Blake Szymanski chief among them. Jake grabbed an interception and Blake went 2/3 for 42 yards and a TD pass. Jordan Lake forced a fumble and recovered it.
Here are some other things I wonder about:
Terrance Parks - Where did he go?
David Gettis - Where is the man?
Mikhail Baker - Are you with Terrance?
Braelon Davis - When did James Todd pass you up?
Coach Bradley - Where are the adjustments at half time?
Coach Morriss - Is the OL coach going to be fired if the lineman can't keep from fidgeting pre-snap?
That's all I got tonight. All in all, a good win. Let's get ready for Washington State!
It'd be healthier for me to just deal with the positives, but let's look at the things that are really getting to me (and I think those that have been reading for a while will know what #1 is going to be):
1. Shawn Bell
OK, the receivers had a lot of drops, and I don't blame the interception on him (and I didn't blame him last week either). And I do know that he completed more than 60% of his passes (60.9%). But I just find it so hard to find a 288-yard performance against a D1-AA school something to cheer about. And remember, ESPECIALLY in this offense, it all starts with the quarterback, so I don't want to hear about how it's not his fault. He'll get the credit for the wins he's responsible for (he's been living on the 2004 A&M game for 2 years now), but he needs to take some of the heat for the games we don't win because of his incredible averageness. Honestly, I like Bell in this offense, and I DO think things are going to get better as the year goes on, but right now this is definitely an area of frustration. So readers, if you think I'm being too harsh on Bell, you're probably right, but I'll be his best friend (hopefully) later in the year when the offense is rolling.
And if you want to know exactly where my frustration stems from, it's the period of time from 7:34 in the 2nd quarter to 2:35 in the 2nd quarter, when Bell went 0/5 with a sack. Bell was lucky on the first drive that he got ridiculously good field position and Whitaker broke off a 20-yard run to put them in FG range. On the second drive, he wasn't so lucky and we had to punt it. I'm glad we got points on the first drive, but against a AA school, that should be a touchdown.
2. Defensive line
I think you could also title this section "Defensive concentration"... Let me be clear, I think we have a pretty salty defense, and I really like having a defense that believes they can shut anyone down, but for some reason this defense of ours just tries to put themselves in the worst possible situations. I don't know if they just have a flair for the dramatic, or if they believe that they are always going to come up with the big turnover or what, but this is getting out of hand! We had 7 drives that went 5 plays or longer, and 5 drives that went for more than 25 yards, three that went for more than 40 yards. Worst of all was the TEN play drive for EIGHTY yards and a TOUCHDOWN! COME ON!! This included 6 rushes for 26 yards (4.3ypc) and 3/4 passing for 50 yards and a touchdown. That's ridiculous.
3. Penalties.
10 penalties for 130 yards. NSU was complaining about their penalties (20 for 139 yards), but we got nearly the same yardage in half the penalties. TOO many mental mistakes on the line. We have got to get that stuff figured out by next week.
4. Running Game
I don't think the running backs are bad. I think Whitaker and Mosley are very talented. But when one of them is out, you don't just cut out their carries. This isn't on the players, it's on the coaches. If the running game isn't doing what you want it to, figure out how to make it effective, you don't just stop running the ball. Here's an idea, go deep a few times and get the defense to stop loading up the box. Whitaker touched the ball six times tonight. Six. 4 rushes, 2 passes. Total yardage = 37 yards. So, he's averaging 6 yards per touch, but big deal if he's only touching the ball 6 times a game. Give him at least 10 carries and at least 6 pass opportunities a game, please! If you want someone to respect a threat, you have to make them respect it.
There are positives, too. They don't make me as excited, because we got them against a D1-AA team, but they are positive nevertheless.
1. CJ Wilson
CJ is my favorite player. If he wasn't among the favorites for the Thorpe award before, he should be getting there soon. I know it was a D1-AA team, but the guy has 3 INTs on the season already, with one returned for a TD. He's a great defensive back who like to joke around, but seems genuinely humble when really talked to. I don't know why people throw towards him still, but I don't think it will take long before they stop doing so.
2. Trent Shelton
The guy might not want to be a star receiver, but he's there. 9 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. You kidding me? THAT's what you're supposed to do against D1-AA opponents. That is a great performance.
3. Shawn Bell
"Huh?" you ask. Yes, Bell was a positive and a negative tonight. That, sadly, equals out to a 0, which I guess is the minimum we ask of our quarterbacks after living with Greg Cicero, Aaron Karas, etc, etc. Bell did what I have said I want him to do. Average over 7 yards per attempt (7.02ypa), and over 10 yards per completion (11.5ypc). He threw 4 TDs against 1 INT, and the interception was off another tipped ball (this one by a Baylor receiver, not a DL).
4. Joe Pawelek and Antonio Jones
The kids came to play. They got the start at linebacker, and really put on a performance. 9 tackles, .5 TFL and a QB hurry for JoePa, and Jones wasn't bad either (6 tackles, .5 TFL). I need to see the two of them against WSU and Army, but I really like these young linebackers.
5. Trey Payne and Thomas White
I called Trey out yesterday saying he needed to catch the ball, and I think he heard me (I'm kidding). Payne and White both only grabbed 3 passes each, but both made them count with 2 TDs a piece. Payne only got 30 yards, but they were very valuable yards coming in the redzone. White got one of his scores from farther out (27 yards), but also got a redzone score. Great job, guys!
There are more positives, Jake LaMar and Blake Szymanski chief among them. Jake grabbed an interception and Blake went 2/3 for 42 yards and a TD pass. Jordan Lake forced a fumble and recovered it.
Here are some other things I wonder about:
Terrance Parks - Where did he go?
David Gettis - Where is the man?
Mikhail Baker - Are you with Terrance?
Braelon Davis - When did James Todd pass you up?
Coach Bradley - Where are the adjustments at half time?
Coach Morriss - Is the OL coach going to be fired if the lineman can't keep from fidgeting pre-snap?
That's all I got tonight. All in all, a good win. Let's get ready for Washington State!
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