Okay, @Majost, this is mainly for you. But if I’m putting in the time to comprise these numbers, I’m not burying it deep in a hair ripping thread, damnit!
The argument that Drew Lock, and this offense, as a whole, hasn’t been good enough to win several more games than they have the last two years is an old, lazy argument, with little foundation to base it on. These are the numbers to show why, and I’m comparing 2016-17 versus the handful of seasons most here will remember fondly, which I call Mizzou’s benchmark seasons: 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014. I’ve included every game in these, minus bowl games.
Without further ado, here’s a broad stroke look at how each season broke down, from a purely W-L and Off. PPG, Def. PPG standpoint. Numbers are rounded up to the nearest whole number:
2007 - 12-2 (Chase Daniel)
Off. PPG - 40
Def. PPG - 25
2008 - 10-4 (Chase Daniel)
Off. PPG - 43
Def. PPG - 28
2010 - 10-3 (Blaine Gabbert)
Off. PPG - 30
Def. PPG - 15
2013 - 12-2 (James Franklin)
Off. PPG - 39
Def. PPG - 23
2014 - 11-3 (James Franklin)
Off. PPG - 27
Def. PPG - 21
2016 - 4-8 (Drew Lock)
Off. PPG - 31
Def. PPG - 32
2017 - 2-5 (Drew Lock)
Off. PPG - 33
Def. PPG - 39
It’s pretty easy to see that, on the surface, the biggest difference in the 2016-17 Tiger football teams versus the benchmark years is the defense (duh). I know there will be some saying the production is skewed by the blood donors the 2016-17 teams have played. And while, offensively, that may be true, the defense has also had the benefit of those same blood donors.
Delving further into these numbers, there are two big bullet points that stand out to me: 1) the 2016-17 teams would be much, much better, if paired with the defenses from the benchmark years, and 2) the 2010 and 2014 teams would, IMO, be the most different, if paired with the 2016-17 defenses.
The 2010 team won several fairly low-scoring games: 23-13, 14-0, and 27-24 (SDSU). Hand them the 2016 defense and you’re likely looking at 3 losses, instead of wins.
On the flip side, give that 2016 offense 2010’s defense, and we can almost assume losses to UGA (28-27), MTSU (51-45), Tennessee (63-37) are wins, or in UT-‘16’s case, at least much, much closer. Same goes for 2017’s offense, with its losses to UGA and Kentucky.
Overall, the gist here is that these last two teams have their problems, but far too many people are looking at the wrong side of the ball when placing their blame.
The argument that Drew Lock, and this offense, as a whole, hasn’t been good enough to win several more games than they have the last two years is an old, lazy argument, with little foundation to base it on. These are the numbers to show why, and I’m comparing 2016-17 versus the handful of seasons most here will remember fondly, which I call Mizzou’s benchmark seasons: 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014. I’ve included every game in these, minus bowl games.
Without further ado, here’s a broad stroke look at how each season broke down, from a purely W-L and Off. PPG, Def. PPG standpoint. Numbers are rounded up to the nearest whole number:
2007 - 12-2 (Chase Daniel)
Off. PPG - 40
Def. PPG - 25
2008 - 10-4 (Chase Daniel)
Off. PPG - 43
Def. PPG - 28
2010 - 10-3 (Blaine Gabbert)
Off. PPG - 30
Def. PPG - 15
2013 - 12-2 (James Franklin)
Off. PPG - 39
Def. PPG - 23
2014 - 11-3 (James Franklin)
Off. PPG - 27
Def. PPG - 21
2016 - 4-8 (Drew Lock)
Off. PPG - 31
Def. PPG - 32
2017 - 2-5 (Drew Lock)
Off. PPG - 33
Def. PPG - 39
It’s pretty easy to see that, on the surface, the biggest difference in the 2016-17 Tiger football teams versus the benchmark years is the defense (duh). I know there will be some saying the production is skewed by the blood donors the 2016-17 teams have played. And while, offensively, that may be true, the defense has also had the benefit of those same blood donors.
Delving further into these numbers, there are two big bullet points that stand out to me: 1) the 2016-17 teams would be much, much better, if paired with the defenses from the benchmark years, and 2) the 2010 and 2014 teams would, IMO, be the most different, if paired with the 2016-17 defenses.
The 2010 team won several fairly low-scoring games: 23-13, 14-0, and 27-24 (SDSU). Hand them the 2016 defense and you’re likely looking at 3 losses, instead of wins.
On the flip side, give that 2016 offense 2010’s defense, and we can almost assume losses to UGA (28-27), MTSU (51-45), Tennessee (63-37) are wins, or in UT-‘16’s case, at least much, much closer. Same goes for 2017’s offense, with its losses to UGA and Kentucky.
Overall, the gist here is that these last two teams have their problems, but far too many people are looking at the wrong side of the ball when placing their blame.
