| 19 October 2009
So I spent all morning writing this shit only to have it deleted the second I tried to post it. I was already struggling to get through it because lets face it, these things aren't much fun to write after losses. So this is salt in the motherfucking wound. Yeah, there might be a few more expletives thrown in when I'm writing this the second time around. There's also probably going to be some typos. Fucking deal with it asshole.
Anyways, another tough loss for the Tigers on Saturday. This has obviously led to the typical overreaction from Tiger Nation along the lines of "FIRE PINKEL! BENCH GABBERT! GET A FULLBACK!" Unfortunately, mixed in with that bullshit is some legitimate concerns that we should have for this team.
-We'll start with Gabbert's bum ankle. After the Tigers' opening drive I tweeted that they might want to go with Jimmy Costello if Blaine can't move around better than that. Now I've never seen JC play more than a few snaps so maybe Gabbert at 50 percent (or whatever he's at) is better than a completely healthy Costello. I don't know. I don't really have a problem playing Gabbert hurt since despite the injury he was still able to make enough plays to give the Tigers a chance to win. I just think you need to adjust the gameplan accordingly. But...
-The Mizzou coaching staff did not do that. Instead of letting the other playmakers on the roster step up and make plays (which I thought they looked ready to do) it looked like Yost relied even more heavily on Gabbert. When he can barely move is it really smart to call what appeared to be a designed QB run inside the 5-yard line on third and goal? Seriously?
I wouldn't be against cutting our losses and sitting Big Blaine next week. It looks like Mizzou is probably screwed against Texas (even though the Horns are looking less than impressive) regardless of how healthy Gabbert is and the only way that ankle is going to heal is to rest it. Might be better off taking a beating next week and making sure he's ready to go once the schedule lightens up.
-I have no idea why the Tigers' coaching staff bailed on the run in the second half. Check out these numbers, if my math is correct Mizzou rushed for 64 yards on 15 carries (I'm not counting an 11 yard loss that I believe was the result of a Gabbert fumble) in the first half. That's not great but it was obvious the O-line was playing better than it had in recent weeks. I though it looked like a commitment to the run game would eventually lead to some big runs by D-Wash and D-Moore just like it did against Bowling Green. The holes were there and Washington especially looked to be running better than he has been in quite a while.
But instead of keeping a balanced offense, which with a hurt quarterback is pretty important to do, Yost elected to completely air it out once the second half started. In the third quarter when the game was either a seven or 10 point game the Tigers ran nine pass plays compared to only two runs. And several of those runs were with an empty backfield. What was the reason for that? The weird thing is I've yet to read a quote from Pinkel or Yost as to why they went that direction? Surely Matter, DeArmond or one of the other slew of quality reporters didn't just forget to ask that question. What gives?
-Outstanding game by Danario Alexander. It's starting to look like he's got a future catching passes on Sundays. We're going to go ahead and award him this week's Shakespeare's Pizza Playa of the Game.
-Unfortunately the rest of the receivers left a bit to be desired. I thought Jared Perry played well even though his stats don't really reflect that. He was overthrown multiple times and also showed some guts by going up and taking some brutal shots from the Okie State DBs. But Jerrell Jackson continues to slide further into the doghouse and that Wes Kemp dropped pass late in the second quarter was a major momentum swing. At the time I told a buddy that Kemp's drop might have been the worst dropped pass since Pig's would-be INT in Norman a couple years back. The offense seemed to be developing a groove and that catch likely would have led to some points and a Tiger halftime lead. Instead it was dropped and there was a 14 point swing in the opposite direction. Up until that point I couldn't stop thinking about what a great job Yost was doing by getting that much production out of his passing game despite Gabbert looking like Willis Reed. Then things went up in flames after that. That hurts. And does Mizzou even have a tight end anymore?
-I gotta rant about the officials for a bit because they were beyond awful. I'm not going to compare this game to '91 Colorado or '06 Iowa State but I will liken it to the '06 Sun Bowl because while there wasn't one blown call that you can say absolutely cost Mizzou the game there were still several obvious calls that if called correctly could have been momentum swinging plays. Mizzou lost this game because of their own mistakes, but if one or two of those calls are made correctly — the 4th down stop (still not sure why that spot wasn't reviewed), the multiple botched fumble reviews, etc.— then this thing could have turned out completely different. So go to hell zebras.
-The defense is starting to look very pedestrian. They look like a unit that isn't going to single-handedly lose you games like last year's group, but they just don't make many big plays. I know in the off-season the coaching staff placed a major emphasis on forcing turnovers and we're not seeing results right now.
-So next week Texas comes to town and the Tigers are more than likely going to be 4-3 this time next week unless something ridiculous happens. But we really shouldn't be jumping off the bandwagon just yet. I admit I'm concerned about some of the things I'm seeing from the coaching staff. But this is a rebuilding year whether we want to admit it or not. I know we all wanted Mizzou to to establish itself as the class of the Big 12 North but it's obvious there isn't quite enough talent on the roster to do that this season. (I realize something fluky could happen and the Tigers could get back into the race but I'm not getting my hopes up. Sorry, I'm a realist.)
But this team should still win eight games and with a little luck nine wins is still entirely possible. That's still an incredible rebuilding year regardless of how bad the conference is this season. If you wouldn't have taken nine wins at the start of this season then you're expectations for the program are a little too high.
Pinkel and his staff have proven to be pretty damn good at their jobs. There are also still some weaknesses that GP has that do hold the program back at times. He's proven to be great at locking down most of the top talent in the state and fostering a winning atmosphere around the program. He's not always so good at gameplanning and making in-game adjustments. You have to take the good with the bad.
If Gary Pinkel and I are in a metaphorical marriage then we're currently having a fight. We're nowhere close to thinking about a divorce and I still want to spend the rest of my life with him. But it's just that he keeps leaving the toilet seat up and I can't get him to mow the lawn. He needs to be a little more considerate about my needs every once in a while. But when push comes to shove I'm still backing the guy. And if I haven't creeped out the majority of our readers yet then I don't know what I have to do.
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