Okay, first off, Mizzou won. Let's say that. Because the thoughts are not going to be reflective of a winning effort.
It’s fair to worry about the passing game now.
I’ve defended it as alarmist the first three weeks. I thought it was good enough. Right now, it isn’t. That doesn’t mean it can’t be or the season’s over. That doesn’t mean I’m benching Brady Cook. But it has to get better. Missouri is no threat to beat anybody deep. If the guy gets open, Cook misses him. If Cook throws a good pass, the receiver doesn’t make a play. Even passing plays that work are often thrown two or three seconds after they should be. It doesn’t look good right now. They need to fix it in the next 14 days.
So what do you do about it?
You ride Nate Noel. He’s the best thing this offense has. And, yes, I include Luther Burden in that. Noel had 24 carries for 199 yards. He’s now averaging 110 yards per game. And when he gets tired, give it to Marcus Carroll. I don’t care about the hype of the receiver room. I don’t care about Brady Cook’s feelings or anybody else’s. This team runs the ball really, really well. It throws the ball relatively poorly. Your goal is to win as many games as you can. Your path to doing that right now is to ground and pound and play good defense.
Is the secondary a problem?
Missouri’s pass defense has mostly been very good this year. But when it’s bad, it’s REALLY bad. Four touchdown passes, three at least 30 yards, all on completely blown assignments where the throw wasn’t even challenging. It’s like a boat that looks really nice and then springs one leak and the whole thing goes down. I think Missouri’s defense is good. But it can’t afford the one or two snaps a game where it is bad to turn into 60 yard touchdowns. Those plays (the exact ones the Missouri offense isn’t making) can make a game that shouldn’t be close close.
What in the world was Drinkwitz thinking before halftime?
Even nearly two hours later I have no defense for the decision to go on fourth down from your own 47 while leaving enough time on the clock for Vandy to get a play and a kick off. Maybe Brady Cook snapped it too soon. Maybe guys didn’t know the play. Maybe a million things. You know how you avoid all of them? You punt the damn ball and thank the heavens above you’re tied in a game you played like absolute garbage for 30 minutes. Instead, Drinkwitz just handed the Commodores three point and a world of momentum. Fortunately, his players—and the fact that Vandy simply isn’t very good—saved him. By a hair.
Did this team read its press clippings?
They’ve said the right things. Something to prove and Vandy plays us tough and we know it’s gonna be a dogfight. But they didn’t play like a team that really believed it was in for a fight. They played like a team that thought it didn’t have to earn a win for the first 30 minutes. That said, they won the game. It wasn’t pretty. If you play that way eight more times you’re in trouble. But Missouri has a bye at a time it could probably really use a bye and Eli Drinkwitz is about to earn a good chunk of that nine million dollar salary in the next 14 days.
It’s fair to worry about the passing game now.
I’ve defended it as alarmist the first three weeks. I thought it was good enough. Right now, it isn’t. That doesn’t mean it can’t be or the season’s over. That doesn’t mean I’m benching Brady Cook. But it has to get better. Missouri is no threat to beat anybody deep. If the guy gets open, Cook misses him. If Cook throws a good pass, the receiver doesn’t make a play. Even passing plays that work are often thrown two or three seconds after they should be. It doesn’t look good right now. They need to fix it in the next 14 days.
So what do you do about it?
You ride Nate Noel. He’s the best thing this offense has. And, yes, I include Luther Burden in that. Noel had 24 carries for 199 yards. He’s now averaging 110 yards per game. And when he gets tired, give it to Marcus Carroll. I don’t care about the hype of the receiver room. I don’t care about Brady Cook’s feelings or anybody else’s. This team runs the ball really, really well. It throws the ball relatively poorly. Your goal is to win as many games as you can. Your path to doing that right now is to ground and pound and play good defense.
Is the secondary a problem?
Missouri’s pass defense has mostly been very good this year. But when it’s bad, it’s REALLY bad. Four touchdown passes, three at least 30 yards, all on completely blown assignments where the throw wasn’t even challenging. It’s like a boat that looks really nice and then springs one leak and the whole thing goes down. I think Missouri’s defense is good. But it can’t afford the one or two snaps a game where it is bad to turn into 60 yard touchdowns. Those plays (the exact ones the Missouri offense isn’t making) can make a game that shouldn’t be close close.
What in the world was Drinkwitz thinking before halftime?
Even nearly two hours later I have no defense for the decision to go on fourth down from your own 47 while leaving enough time on the clock for Vandy to get a play and a kick off. Maybe Brady Cook snapped it too soon. Maybe guys didn’t know the play. Maybe a million things. You know how you avoid all of them? You punt the damn ball and thank the heavens above you’re tied in a game you played like absolute garbage for 30 minutes. Instead, Drinkwitz just handed the Commodores three point and a world of momentum. Fortunately, his players—and the fact that Vandy simply isn’t very good—saved him. By a hair.
Did this team read its press clippings?
They’ve said the right things. Something to prove and Vandy plays us tough and we know it’s gonna be a dogfight. But they didn’t play like a team that really believed it was in for a fight. They played like a team that thought it didn’t have to earn a win for the first 30 minutes. That said, they won the game. It wasn’t pretty. If you play that way eight more times you’re in trouble. But Missouri has a bye at a time it could probably really use a bye and Eli Drinkwitz is about to earn a good chunk of that nine million dollar salary in the next 14 days.
