Does anyone find it odd that every single final score for the Mustangs this year has ended in 7? 27, 47, 7, 7, and 27 against Rice, Texas State, Texas Tech, TCU, and Tulane respectively. I was not really going anywhere with that, just thought it was interesting.
Other thing interesting things: the Mustangs were 2-12 on third down against Tulane last Thursday, but 2-2 on fourth down. Green Wave QB Kevin Moore had 2 fewer passing yards than Bo Levi Mitchell on 2 fewer completions with 20 fewer attempts.
The Run N Shoot is designed for short quick passes where the receiver makes plays after the catch (the unfortunately named statistic of YAC-Yards After Catch) and Mitchell's numbers seem to show what we have presumed all along and that commenters on Ponyfans need to remember: that June Jones is still installing his offense one game at a time. Mitchell seems to be getting into a rhythm. Remember that Hawaii QB Timmy Chang said that he did not fully get a grip on the offense until the end of his first season. Mitchell made strides in the second half against Tulane, leading the Mustangs on four scoring drives (2 FG in the 3rd quarter and 2 TD in the 4th quarter) to bring them to within one score while the defense finally showed flashes of brilliance and held the Green Wave offense to a single second half field goal.
Expect more from Mitchell this Saturday as the Mustangs travel to Orlando to play a seriously depleted (mostly by graduation) Central Florida team that gave up 58 points and 284 passing yards to a UTEP offense that has had problems getting off the ground and has lost to such luminaries as Buffalo and New Mexico State so far this season. If Mitchell and the receivers are finally on the same page, this could finally be the game where the offense breaks through and takes the pressure off of the defense.
June Jones teams are designed to rely on the offense to make quick scores throughout the game which allows the defense to play from ahead and be aggressive. When the offense is sputtering, the defense is on the field more and has to fall back to a cushion coverage defense instead of the aggressive, blitzing unit that Tom Mason has in mind. In other words, other than Texas State, the Mustangs have not been able to stick to their game plan this season. All rests on the offense performing well and if it fails to, this defense is simply not good enough to hold back the tide. We have seen this in the losses to Rice, Tech, and TCU.
But against a UCF offense that has not figured out its identity yet this season (24 points in an OT loss to South Florida is the high mark to this point), I would expect Tom Mason to finally unroll more blitz packages as the secondary should be able to defend against George O'Leary's offense. As has been the case almost every week so far, the Mustang linebackers will need to step up and help defend against the run this week or the quality of our secondary's defense will not be worth a Beta jersey at McCartney's (it's a greek joke...because Beta was, you know, kicked off campus...*cough*).
I do not usually do predictions (how's that 8-4 season prediction working out for you Ty?) because trying to foretell how this team will continue to develop is both frustrating and ultimately pointless since the first year of a rebuilding job is usually the diciest one. That being said, I'm going to predict that the Mustangs pull out win number 2 on the season: 38-21 over UCF.
Showing posts with label ponyfans commenters need to calm the f*** down. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ponyfans commenters need to calm the f*** down. Show all posts
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Tech Recap: It could have been much worse
For those of you who do not think that that game could have easily been a much bigger blowout, I submit to you the fact that despite handing Tech the ball twice in a row in the first quarter, Harrell and company were only able to muster a field goal. The Ponies' defense held back the tide as long as they could, but in the end Mike Leach's offense and the Mustangs' continued inability to complete tackles led to the game becoming a rout.
Some positives to ponder over this week as the Mustangs prepare to play TCU: Derrius Bell looked good covering the Raiders uber receiver Michael Crabtree for awhile. Bell is not on the same talent level as McCann, but he has learned to reduce the cushion he gives receivers and has improved his timing on hits. The other item of note on defense was how often the lineman--led as usual by Youri Yenga--got to Graham Harrell. Even Patrick Fleming, who doesn't play often, managed to slip past one of Tech's ginormous (and slow) O linemen...that is before he inadvertantly but brutally facemasked Harrell. That bodes well for the TCU game.
On offense there were actually positive aspects too. Yes, there were. You just have to look real hard. As far as Bo Levi goes, it bears repeating that he is a true freshman who was only playing his 3rd collegiate game. He will grow and he will learn. I like to think that, in two years when Bo Levi is featured in some nationally televised game where SMU is winning by 5 touchdowns, that the camera will pan in on him and the announcer will talk about how far Bo Levi has come since he threw 5 interceptions in one game two years prior. One can hope.
The Offense line has continued to excel. It's time to heap praise on Dennis McKnight. He has done an outstanding job of molding a young, inexperienced unit into a cohesive, effective protection front. In case you had not noticed, true freshman Blake McJunkin started in place of junior Mitch Enright (for reasons I still have not heard) and performed admirably, with the exception of two poor snaps that caused Bo Levi to fumble with the ball rather than look downfield for his receivers. Tennyson and Beachum have continued to improve and Vincent Chase has transitioned well from tight end to right tackle. The quarterbacks and receivers will eventually get on the same page, but it will help them get there much faster with a solid line protecting Bo Levi and giving him time to make reads. The future is bright for the Ponies' front 5.
The Mustangs face TCU this Saturday at Ford Stadium. Ty and I will be out on the Boulevard in our usual spot in front of Cockrell-McIntosh (or Cocomo to those in the know) tailgating and drinking the Champagne of Beers. If anyone outside our immediate circle of friends reads this blog, feel free to stop by our tent. It's the huge white one that looks like it could double as a carport.
And no, I do not want to talk about the Astros being forced to postpone Friday and Saturday's games against the Cubs only to go to Milwaukee (a neutral site? fuck that, it might as well have been played in Wrigley. A truly neutral site would've been Seattle) and be no-hit by Carlos "I swear I got tendinitis in my elbow from emailing my brother and not looking at internet porn" Zambrano.
Until Saturday, Go Mustangs, Go Astros, and fuck the Cubs (and Horned Frogs).
Some positives to ponder over this week as the Mustangs prepare to play TCU: Derrius Bell looked good covering the Raiders uber receiver Michael Crabtree for awhile. Bell is not on the same talent level as McCann, but he has learned to reduce the cushion he gives receivers and has improved his timing on hits. The other item of note on defense was how often the lineman--led as usual by Youri Yenga--got to Graham Harrell. Even Patrick Fleming, who doesn't play often, managed to slip past one of Tech's ginormous (and slow) O linemen...that is before he inadvertantly but brutally facemasked Harrell. That bodes well for the TCU game.
On offense there were actually positive aspects too. Yes, there were. You just have to look real hard. As far as Bo Levi goes, it bears repeating that he is a true freshman who was only playing his 3rd collegiate game. He will grow and he will learn. I like to think that, in two years when Bo Levi is featured in some nationally televised game where SMU is winning by 5 touchdowns, that the camera will pan in on him and the announcer will talk about how far Bo Levi has come since he threw 5 interceptions in one game two years prior. One can hope.
The Offense line has continued to excel. It's time to heap praise on Dennis McKnight. He has done an outstanding job of molding a young, inexperienced unit into a cohesive, effective protection front. In case you had not noticed, true freshman Blake McJunkin started in place of junior Mitch Enright (for reasons I still have not heard) and performed admirably, with the exception of two poor snaps that caused Bo Levi to fumble with the ball rather than look downfield for his receivers. Tennyson and Beachum have continued to improve and Vincent Chase has transitioned well from tight end to right tackle. The quarterbacks and receivers will eventually get on the same page, but it will help them get there much faster with a solid line protecting Bo Levi and giving him time to make reads. The future is bright for the Ponies' front 5.
The Mustangs face TCU this Saturday at Ford Stadium. Ty and I will be out on the Boulevard in our usual spot in front of Cockrell-McIntosh (or Cocomo to those in the know) tailgating and drinking the Champagne of Beers. If anyone outside our immediate circle of friends reads this blog, feel free to stop by our tent. It's the huge white one that looks like it could double as a carport.
And no, I do not want to talk about the Astros being forced to postpone Friday and Saturday's games against the Cubs only to go to Milwaukee (a neutral site? fuck that, it might as well have been played in Wrigley. A truly neutral site would've been Seattle) and be no-hit by Carlos "I swear I got tendinitis in my elbow from emailing my brother and not looking at internet porn" Zambrano.
Until Saturday, Go Mustangs, Go Astros, and fuck the Cubs (and Horned Frogs).
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Rice Recap: It wasn't really that bad guys...
Ok, so naturally we were hoping for a better debut than a 56-27 defeat doled out by Rice. The score and the loss notwithstanding, there are some positives to take away from last Friday's game. One thing is certain, the new uniforms are kick ass.
First of all the, offensive line held up well in its first game. No one is going to confuse Rice's defensive line with a bunch of Reggie White clones, but given that Chase was playing a new position, Tennyson, Boyd, and Beachum were all in their first collegiate games, the line performed as well as could be expected of it. Dennis McKnight has done well at folding two returning starters (Enright and Lobo) in with a converted TE (Chase), a returning reserve (Poynter) and a mixture of red shirt and true freshmen (Beachum, Tennyson, Boyd). The real test is still two weeks away when the Ponies play Texas Tech, but the early results are good. I also thought DeMyron and McKinney blocked well and seemed to fit their new roles nicely. DeMyron was always a tailback to be used on occasion--his performance against TCU in 2005 aside. I think he'll flourish in this offense, particularly as the QB (be it Bo Levi, Turner, or whoever) gets more comfortable in the offense as well.
Bo Levi Mitchell...He's a freshman who was making his first start ever at the collegiate level. What did we expect? The picks were bad decisions made based on fatigue. Not much to add to that except that he will get better. Logan Turner looked great in his brief time in at QB. His arm slot when throwing is remeniscent of Vince Young during his UT days. I sincerely doubt Turner has anything like Young's mobility though. Prove me wrong Logan!
The defense was....well it was a familiar sight unfortunately. McCann shut down Jarret Dillard in the first half for the most part, only to have the Rice coaches move Dillard to the other side where he was just too much for Derrius Bell. McCann, who played well all game, until the fourth quarter when, after having his great play pointed out by the ESPN crew, he was immediately owned by Dillard on a slant through the end zone...thanks ESPN guys (who the hell were those guys by the way?) The pass rush still needs some work. Elizee was double teamed by the Rice O line all night and so couldn't get to Clement (other than the one side swipe in which Clement appeared to hurt his hand). Dizer, Sowe and Handy were all fighting the humidty induced cramping. Dizer already had hammy issues coming into the game and his mobility wasn't helped by the amount of moisture and heat in the air. Rock Dennis is going to be good. You heard it here first. He needs to get a little more discipline though (the hit out of bounds was a major mental error which gave Rice even more momentum). It was also good to see Banjo get some playing time.
Sanders looked great and Robinson has great promise (Aldrick if it hits both of your hands that you mean you should have caught it). If there was any doubt that they will put up huge Crabtreean numbers in this system, then Friday night put away those doubts. It's going to be fun and frustrating to see this offense continue to develop.
The Mustangs welcome Texas State to Ford Stadium this Saturday. Ty and I will be on the Boulevard tailgating. I'm looking forward to seeing those new home uniforms. In the meantime, everyone stay patient with this team and with JJ.
First of all the, offensive line held up well in its first game. No one is going to confuse Rice's defensive line with a bunch of Reggie White clones, but given that Chase was playing a new position, Tennyson, Boyd, and Beachum were all in their first collegiate games, the line performed as well as could be expected of it. Dennis McKnight has done well at folding two returning starters (Enright and Lobo) in with a converted TE (Chase), a returning reserve (Poynter) and a mixture of red shirt and true freshmen (Beachum, Tennyson, Boyd). The real test is still two weeks away when the Ponies play Texas Tech, but the early results are good. I also thought DeMyron and McKinney blocked well and seemed to fit their new roles nicely. DeMyron was always a tailback to be used on occasion--his performance against TCU in 2005 aside. I think he'll flourish in this offense, particularly as the QB (be it Bo Levi, Turner, or whoever) gets more comfortable in the offense as well.
Bo Levi Mitchell...He's a freshman who was making his first start ever at the collegiate level. What did we expect? The picks were bad decisions made based on fatigue. Not much to add to that except that he will get better. Logan Turner looked great in his brief time in at QB. His arm slot when throwing is remeniscent of Vince Young during his UT days. I sincerely doubt Turner has anything like Young's mobility though. Prove me wrong Logan!
The defense was....well it was a familiar sight unfortunately. McCann shut down Jarret Dillard in the first half for the most part, only to have the Rice coaches move Dillard to the other side where he was just too much for Derrius Bell. McCann, who played well all game, until the fourth quarter when, after having his great play pointed out by the ESPN crew, he was immediately owned by Dillard on a slant through the end zone...thanks ESPN guys (who the hell were those guys by the way?) The pass rush still needs some work. Elizee was double teamed by the Rice O line all night and so couldn't get to Clement (other than the one side swipe in which Clement appeared to hurt his hand). Dizer, Sowe and Handy were all fighting the humidty induced cramping. Dizer already had hammy issues coming into the game and his mobility wasn't helped by the amount of moisture and heat in the air. Rock Dennis is going to be good. You heard it here first. He needs to get a little more discipline though (the hit out of bounds was a major mental error which gave Rice even more momentum). It was also good to see Banjo get some playing time.
Sanders looked great and Robinson has great promise (Aldrick if it hits both of your hands that you mean you should have caught it). If there was any doubt that they will put up huge Crabtreean numbers in this system, then Friday night put away those doubts. It's going to be fun and frustrating to see this offense continue to develop.
The Mustangs welcome Texas State to Ford Stadium this Saturday. Ty and I will be on the Boulevard tailgating. I'm looking forward to seeing those new home uniforms. In the meantime, everyone stay patient with this team and with JJ.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Bo Levi to start against Rice?
It's not exactly set in stone yet--though Quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison went as far as saying that Bo was #1 and Braden Smith was #2--but June Jones announced today that Bo Levi Mitchell will be competing against Smith for the starting QB position. Which one of them will be lining up under center on August 29 against Rice? More than likely Bo Levi, given the amount of repetitions he's been getting in practice the past few days and the fact that he is JJ's 'guy' (he decommitted from Hawaii and followed JJ to SMU in January).
I think this has been in the back of most pony fans minds since July, but to actually see Justin Willis--he of a 7-15 record as a starter but also with 51 TD passes--relegated to third on the depth chart behind two true freshmen is still quite shocking. I think most of Mustang Nation expected Bo Levi to get his looks but that the orthodoxy of a returning and successful starter in JW to get the final nod. This clears up any misconceptions that there may have been that June Jones would sacrifice his judgment for that of the previous regime's.
We'll have more posts on this and the upcoming season soon; including a much delayed post about the new uniforms, which Ty will tackle after the annual football kickoff luncheon on August 20.
I think this has been in the back of most pony fans minds since July, but to actually see Justin Willis--he of a 7-15 record as a starter but also with 51 TD passes--relegated to third on the depth chart behind two true freshmen is still quite shocking. I think most of Mustang Nation expected Bo Levi to get his looks but that the orthodoxy of a returning and successful starter in JW to get the final nod. This clears up any misconceptions that there may have been that June Jones would sacrifice his judgment for that of the previous regime's.
We'll have more posts on this and the upcoming season soon; including a much delayed post about the new uniforms, which Ty will tackle after the annual football kickoff luncheon on August 20.
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