We certainly learned one thing about the Missouri Football team on Saturday, following their near choke job against an Illinois team led by a backup quarterback: the play calling hasn't gotten any better.
For those of you who look at the 40 points that the Tigers posted and say, "well, forty points, the play calling must have been decent."
WRONG.
Consider these bonehead play calls by Gary Pinkel and his challenged coaching staff.
***A failed two point conversion in the SECOND QUARTER. Had the Tigers simply kicked the extra point, the smart play, they would have held a four point lead with 14:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, following an Illinois touchdown, rather than a one position, three point lead. Kicking the PAT would have also relieved some pressure down the stretch as the Tigers would have been leading by 7 as opposed to 6 in the closing minutes.
The bottom line is that you don't freak out, panic, and decide to attempt a two point conversion in the second quarter when you had a chance to take a 15-6, eight point lead. This call must have been made by a mentally challenged piece of the coaching personal.
***There isn't an easier way to explain the double reverse call in the third quarter with a 17-point lead either. A double reverse with a 17 point lead? Are you kidding me? Why? This brings forth a very frustrating aspect of the Tiger's play calling, why the hell do we spend half of the game in the back field?
Every SINGLE play starts with a three to four yard loss due to Pinkel's retarded shotgun scheme. First down and goal from the one, the ONE, in the first quarter and Pinkel calls four consecutive shotgun plays. FROM THE ONE. I understand he gets a hard-on for the shotgun, and I also realize he's said that his offense will play out of the shotgun the entire season. But, c'mon. Any idiot is smart enough to put at least one play that starts under center for situations like these. Why not line Martin Rucker up as fullback and have Tony Temple complete the I formation and just pound the ball across the line with one of those two guys. We saw today that Rucker can play out of the backfield, as well as move a pile of seven guys. Why not use him?
You want another example...how about the third and one shotgun pass with 12:31 remaining in the fourth? Um...for crying out loud.
***This brings me to another point concerning Tony Temple. You have to feel bad for this guy. I mean really bad. Chances are good that he could be a conference leader in yards from scrimmage if only he didn't have to gain four yards before he gets back to the line of scrimmage. EVERY SINGLE carry poor Tony Temple has to start four yards in the red. This is terrible coaching. Not to mention, every single running play takes an hour and a half to develop. The kid has no chance.
Dammit Pinkel. Get your boy under center and let's play some old school football and get this pansy ass, softball crap out of here.
OTHER NOTES:
*You have to like the way Chase Daniel (37-54, 358 yds, 3 TDs) looked from series to series. He made some pretty impressive escapes today and, for the most part, was dead accurate...considering this was the season's first game.
*Martin Rucker is a superstar. Bottom line. Getting him involved in the game early was crucial. This offensive squad has so many weapons, as shown today (Rucker, Chase Coffman, Sweat William Franklin, Danario Alexander, Tommy Saunders, and Jeremy Maclin). With this corp group of recievers and tight ends, Daniel will be able to keep defenses on their toes the entire season.
*Speaking of Alexander and Maclin...what pleasant surprises. Big games for each.
ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL:
*Somebody needs to dress up as a dirty pig and be at next week's game. How about the game Pig Brown had? Two fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown) and a goal line interception with the game on the line. A nice start.
*The ESPN2 announcers, I'm not sure who they were, quoted Gary Pinkel as saying that freshman defensive back Carl Gettis is the "best defensive back I've ever seen." High praise for a kid who played on the other side of the ball up until this year.
***It looks to me like the bottom line is simple. This team has talent on both sides of the ball, if the play calling gets better (which it won't) the Tigers have a chance to do some pretty impressive things this year. As it is, however, with an ignorant shotgun format on offense and an idiot calling plays on the side line, expect a couple frustrating losses to teams the Tigers should beat...costing them the Big 12 North.
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You have to understand that this is Pinkels system. This is his offense. I do question the play calling a bit, but this is what he thinks will work. And it does. You talk about how Daniel has a great game, yet you knock on the offense. What do you think causes him to have a good game? It is because he runs a very effective offense. It allows for a undersized QB to do a lot of things and be very productive. You cant just get into the I down on the goaline, The other team is just going to load the box. and if you do not use the I a lot that means that you do not have very many plays and your opponents will pick up on that. The blocking scheme that they use now is totally diffent then the blocking scheme used for running formations. Aslong as the offense doesnt make many mistakes, you can score at will with this offense.
I question some of the play calling as well. Something that you have to understand is that every coach carries a chart with them that has all the situations on it and tells you whether or not you should go for two. The chart said to go for two. Later it was found out that the chart was wrong for that particular situation. It is not uncommon for coaches to use the chart. I do not agree with the reverse, but it was open had the young reciever not fumbled the ball. I take this game with a grain of salt, and I was very happy to sit a couple rows from the field. I think that as long as their D holds up they will win 9 games
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