Okay, not a lot to say about a 52-3 drubbing but this honestly might have been the most compelling 49-point blowout I've ever seen. Here's what I noticed:
Great tailgating atmosphere.
The Reactor lot was rockin' hours before kickoff. The lot was filled to capacity, which allowed for very little breathing room but gave you the feeling that you were in a town that loves football. You didn't really get that feeling two years ago. I don't know what that place is going to be like come Big 12 season but one thing's for sure, Mizzou football matters.
Attendance was GREAT considering the opponent.
Over 62,000. Gotta be pleased with that. We've come a long way from the days when under 50,000 showed for Brad Smith's final home game. Once again one thing's for sure, Mizzou football matters.
A.O. jersey tribute thing is very cool.
In case you missed it, Brock Christopher was wearing A.O.'s No. 25 jersey during last night's game. Each week a particular senior will be chosen to wear the 25. This is an idea Tommy Saunders apparently came up with in order to honor the late Tiger linebacker who would've been in his senior season. Ever since the tragedy, this team has done everything within its power to ensure that people remember Aaron O'Neil.
Speaking of A.O., does anyone know if MU is planning on removing the "A.O. 25" emblem from the grass on the sideline after this season? If they are planning on getting rid of it then I think Tiger fans should protest to try to get them to leave it. There's no reason to stop honoring him just because his teammates have graduated and moved on. This is something Mizzourah could really galvanize support for so someone please let me know what the plans are for that.
Jerrell Jackson looked solid.
Six receptions for 70 yards. I was just glad to hear his name called after his no-show in St. Louis. Matter, the DeArmonds and the P-D reporters probably were too considering they've been pimping this guy since early August as this season's Danario Alexander.
No reason to comment on the D.
Unless you're a football coach there's probably no way of judging how much the Tigers defense improved this week from last week. But I'm glad Sean Weatherspoon has as many TDs as Chase Coffman and Cheat Code combined.
Decision to play Gabbert an interesting one to say the least.
This was the big storyline from last night that has everybody talking. I think most Mizzou fans (including me) were hoping to see Blaine take a redshirt this season and gear up for the '09 Quarterbackential Election but I guess that's not going to happen.
The one thing to keep in mind is this: I'm sure Gary Pinkel has agonized over this decision since last spring. He's probably been thinking about this in someway shape or form since Gabbert committed last fall. He's probably lied awake many nights thinking about what decision would best benefit the program. If you believe he's a good football coach, which almost everyone does, then you have to agree that he's probably the most qualified person to make this decision. So far be it for me to say he blew this one.
But I am going to scrutinize his choice. First of all, the comparison of the decision to play Gabbert to the one Pinkel made in '05 to play Chase Daniel doesn't really work for several reasons. First of all, as numerous people have pointed out, Daniel was clearly the second best quarterback that year. He might have even been good enough to start and lead a team to a bowl game. Most coaches won't redshirt a quarterback if he's good enough to be a backup. This doesn't appear to be the case with Gabbert. Most people around the program seem to agree that he's not quite where Chase was at as a freshman.
Second of all, the decision to burn the redshirt only makes sense if you're going to give him considerable playing time. I personally think that PT needs to come when something's at stake. Pinkel could do this with Chase because, like I said, he was good enough. Plus he offered a change of pace from Brad Smith and actually added an element to the offense that it didn't have with Brad.
I acknowledge there's no substitute for real game experience. It's impossible to simulate playing in front of 60,000 people. But coming in with a 42-0 lead, even if it's in front of 90,000 people, doesn't put much pressure on a player. I'd argue that Gabbert's already faced more pressure in high school games, when scouts were there and his future depended on his performance, than he did last night.
So to justify burning the redshirt Pinkel needs to get Gabbert into pressure situations. As in letting him play when something's at stake. As in letting him play when the possibility of losing still exists. That's where you have a dilemma because you can't do that because you're playing for a National Championship every week. One freshman mistake could cost you your entire season.
So if you don't play Gabbert in important situations, which you can't afford to do, then you've got to find a way to get him a large amount of snaps in blowouts (even if they're no-pressure situations, something's better than nothing) in order to justify this decision. That also might be difficult considering, as Joe Walljasper pointed out in today's Tribune, Chase Patton only threw 13 passes all last season despite the higher than average number of blowouts Mizzou had.
And Patton presents another problem that Walljasper touches on and Big Head and I discussed in last week's podcast. How are you going to take away snaps from Patton when he's been a model of commitment ever since arriving on campus? If Gabbert were clearly better than Patton then it wouldn't be much of a problem but Patton is clearly the more polished passer. I know college football is a dog eat dog world but it's hard to ask players to be loyal to the program when that loyalty isn't given to them in return.
I'm not saying playing Gabbert was the right decision or the wrong decision. Only time will determine that. I'm just saying it's difficult to find the logic in it and it's probably not what I would've done. But I'm not exactly qualified to make that decision.
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5 comments:
Regarding Gabbert:
I think you are rather significantly underestimating the amount of pressure that is put on anyone in a game situation like that, especially when a first impression is at stake. The difference between good players and great players is the standards to which they hold themselves. Gabbert wouldn't be in the position that he's in now if he didn't hold himself to high standards, and that means he puts more pressure on himself than you or I can imagine. I completely agree with Pinkel's decision, even if Gabbert doesn't play again until next August.
Regarding Patton:
Yes, he's a great player. He could be a starter at a lot of other FBS schools (and even some Big 12 ones). He has been extremely loyal and a complete class act from top to bottom. If Daniel went down against Nevada, I would still have BCS hopes for Mizzou because of Patton. Despite all this, loyalty to the future of the program is much more important than loyalty to any single player. It may suck to be Chase Patton for a little while, and it may even suck to be Blaine Gabbert, but playing Gabbert over Patton in some situations is absolutely the right thing to do. I think Pinkel and co. found a nice diplomatic compromise in alternating the two on Saturday.
Regarding #25 and the AO:
Normally, I wouldn't want to sound like a callous, heartless, douchebag, but I recently found out that I am a callous, heartless, douchebag, so I'm ok with it now. MU needs to move on at some point, and the perfect time to do that is after this season, when Aaron would have graduated. Yes, what happened was a tragedy, but there are students who die every year at MU, and it's just as tragic. Next time you're in MU's Memorial Union, go look at the plaques across the hall from the north end of Stotler Lounge. You'll see one for Aaron, but you'll see scores of others as well. Why should he be remembered in such a public way just because he was on the football team? Also, with any college or university, the institutional collective memory is about 4 years. If that mark stay on the field, it won't be long before people start saying: "What the heck is that doing there?" Also, what happens when MU gets a new football coach and AD? Traditions like this come and go all the time in college football, and I think it's ok for this one to go now.
Regarding the game:
I'm finding it a bit harder to be optimistic about the secondary this week, but it's hard to be to critical of any game in which the opposition was so resoundingly outscored. The box score certainly isn't the prettiest with all of those yards against the defense, but at the end of the day, the game isn't decided by yards, it's decided by points, and no matter the reasons, SEMO only had 3. So I tell myself, no reason to freak out. Also, with the first team offense as efficient as it was on Saturday, it's hard to be to disappointed with the outing as a whole.
Good points all around. Points I don't necessarily agree with but good nonetheless.
In response to your points about Gabbert:
I'm sure Gabbert and most division one athletes do hold themselves to ridiculously high standards. But if that's the case then he's also holding himself to an extremely high standard every day in practice. Granted, there's a huge difference between playing in an actual game (even if it's SEMO) and merely practicing. But are the benefits he gets from playing in front of a crowd in blowouts worth giving up a whole season for? I'm not sure. I'd have preferred to just give him snaps throughout the season against the No. 1 defense in practice.
In response to your points on Patton:
Valid points that I agree with. I wouldn't have redshirted Gabbert just because of Patton. Just pointing out that it's something to consider.
In response to your points on A.O.:
I see your point but totally disagree with it. A.O. essentially died on the football field at MU. That's what separates his death from those of most other students at MU. No, it doesn't make it any less tragic but if say an engineering student died while working on a class project while on campus I'd think a memorial at the engineering building (or something along those lines) would be perfectly appropriate. The point of leaving the mark on the field is so you don't have people asking "Who's Aaron O'Neil?"
Regarding the game:
Like I said, hard to analyze considering the opponent. I'm still concerned about the defense and not really concerned at all about the offense. We'll know more next week.
Thanks for the comment.
Good write up, Son. I didn't get to watch the game, so your post did me some good. I'm also surprised that Gabbert wasn't redshirted. And I don't think anyone could blame Patton if he walked out (wasn't he considering it earlier? Something about dental school?).
And I've always thought the A.O. tribue was great. I hope they keep it up for years to come.
There were rumors about Patton considering leaving but they were nothing more than that. Patton has publicly displayed nothing but 100% commitment to the program and his coaches and teammates have backed him up on that.
Patton is a redshirt senior, which means he graduated awhile ago. I wouldn't have blamed him if he went off to dental school instead of coming back to backup. But, I am very glad that he is back.
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