Tigers’ defense should give MU fans reason to pause

[KcMizzou]

Tigers’ defense should give MU fans reason to pause

ST. LOUIS | Well, we know what to think. The problem is, knowing what to feel.

The Missouri Tigers are going to take us on a wild ride this year. We know that. We experienced it Saturday night inside the Edward Jones Dome when the Tigers alternated between dazzling us and frightening us in their football season opener against Illinois.

There were stretches when the Tigers played like national-title contenders, and then there were the stretches in between, the times when Missouri’s cornerbacks ran like offensive tackles and showed the instincts of little-leaguers.

When the roller-coaster grinded to a halt, the Tigers held a 52-42 advantage and left the field feeling more relief than exhilaration.

“When you win, you enjoy the moment,” said Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel, who had to give his team a postgame pep talk. “Am I kind of glad they’re disappointed? Yeah. But when you win, you enjoy it.”

The Tigers were disappointed because they built a 45-20 lead and gave most of it away. They were disappointed because they made Illinois’ inconsistent thrower, Juice Williams, look like Brett Favre. They were disappointed because their best player, star receiver/return man Jeremy Maclin, finished the game standing along the sideline on crutches.

Like us, the Tigers didn’t know what to feel when it was over. Like us, they entered this season expecting a wild ride, but they expected to have more control over the outcome. This game raised as many questions as answers.

For the rest of this month, the ride will be safe. The sixth-ranked Tigers play host to three cupcakes — Southeast Missouri, Nevada and Buffalo — before entering conference play. Maclin, who twisted his ankle in the fourth quarter, should be ready by the time Missouri travels to Nebraska on Oct. 4. The X-rays on his ankle were negative, according to Pinkel.

But will Missouri’s defense be repaired by then?

The Fighting Illini exploited a weakness that might only be repaired by recruiting. Missouri’s defensive backs can’t play man-to-man. At least not based on what we saw Saturday night. Illinois’ receivers had no trouble blowing by Mizzou’s DBs.

Had Juice Williams been more accurate and composed, Saturday’s contest would’ve been a relay race with the last quarterback holding the baton winning the race. Instead, Williams made just enough mistakes to keep Missouri ahead.

With the Illini driving early in the fourth quarter with a chance to cut Missouri’s lead to three points, Williams took a bad sack and then tossed an interception on the next play. He uncorked a pick-6 later in the quarter.

Truth is, his spotty play was matched by Chase Daniel, the Heisman Trophy candidate. Daniel had an interception returned for six points, too. He threw 17 incompletions, a number ballooned by numerous drops by his receivers.

Missouri should’ve scored 70 points. Derrick Washington rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Chase Coffman caught nine passes for 120 yards and a score. Maclin returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. He tacked on a 46-yard punt return that put Missouri in position to score.

This should’ve been a laugher. The Tigers are significantly better than the 20th-ranked Illini. At least that’s what I think I think.

But Missouri’s defensive shortcomings will make any Big 12 opponent a dangerous threat. The Tigers are going to have to be careful about when they blitz. They can’t leave their corners naked. They’re going to have to play more zone defense than they showed in the first three quarters of Saturday’s game.

A savvier, more accurate passer than Juice Williams will annihilate Mizzou’s pass defense. Kansas’ Todd Reesing, Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson and Kansas State’s Josh Freeman all qualify as better passers than Williams, who threw five TDs and for more than 450 yards against Mizzou.

Man, you want to enjoy Saturday’s wonderful ride. Maclin was incredible in the return game. Washington was promising in the run game. Coffman was thrilling after the catch. He hurdled one Illinois defender and barreled upfield for an additional 10 yards. Daniel wasn’t as sharp as he will be later this season, but he was still very, very good.

The Missouri offense reminded me of the St. Louis Rams offense that Dick Vermeil rode to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the Missouri defense reminded me of the Kansas City Chiefs defense that rode Dick Vermeil back into retirement.

http://www.kansascity.com/167/story/775342.html

[KcMizzou]

Honestly, I'm not at all worried.

Our defense looked like shit at the start of last season too.

They'll be fine.

[Mecca]

Illinois is better than every team in the big 12 save Missouri,Oklahoma and Texas.....so yea it's not like they got lit up by some awful team with no talent.

[KcMizzou]

Whitlock's going off half cocked again... much ado about nothing, IMO.

Yeah... we played some pretty shitty D against a good team.

It will improve... you can count on that.

[Mecca]

It's just one of those, what were you expecting kind of things. I don't think anyone thinks Missouri is going to be win games against top level teams 20-13, it isn't that kind of team.

[TrickyNicky]

I thought Weatherspoon looked like a ****ing stud though.

[Mecca]

Also when you play like Missouri does, you're gonna give up some points, they don't control the clock or worry about TOP and just go right up and down the field.

Right now I think this is a little overblown, if they give up 40 to every single team ok....but I'm sure everyone knows Missouri's offense needs to average 40 points a game.

[Midnight_Vulture]

Mizzou is completely screwed if they actually think they can hang with USC, Georgia or Florida.

Heck, even Oklahoma and probably Texas will beat them as well.

NOT impressed.

[Mecca]

I wasn't really impressed with Georgia either 45-21 with Georgia Southern isn't impressive to me...

I don't really think Missouri fans should be worried about SEC teams they'll all likely beat each other, if Missouri did run the table and ended up playing SC then there'd be serious issues SC is just to athletic for the spread.

[Mizzou_8541]

Mizzou is completely screwed if they actually think they can hang with USC, Georgia or Florida.

Heck, even Oklahoma and probably Texas will beat them as well.

NOT impressed.

We weren't supposed to be able to run with Illinois either, right? Didn't we just cover the spread?

[petegz28]

It was the 1st game, and Juice had a hot hand. t was a shootout and MU won. WTF are people crying about?

I didn't know there were bonus points for how pretty it was?

Then again HTF can anyone call scoring 52 pts ugly?

**** Whitlock.

[eazyb81]

I absolutely LOVE that we've reached the point that everyone - players, coaches, fans - are down after putting over 50 points on a top 20 team and only winning by 10.

We certainly weren't perfect last night, but frankly we still won easily. If the DBs had been beaten all last season like they did last night I would be more concerned, but that's not the case. Our scheme was set up to shutdown the underneath stuff, and Illinois realized this and kept going deep on us.

This is a squad that returns 10 starters from last year's top rated Big 12 defense. Illinois exploited a hole that will be repaired; luckily it happened in a game we still won.

Now, the good stuff. The offense is practically unstoppable - we should have scored 70 last night. Maclin, Coffman, Washington, Perry, and Saunders were awesome except for occasional drops. The offensive line was great all game, which was really my only personnel concern this season. Maclin's injury was negative, so he'll be back in a game or two, and this should give the unheralded WRs and the freshmen some extra game reps.

Also, outside of the secondary, the defense was actually pretty good. Weatherspoon was a beast, Sulak and Chavis were in the backfield all game, and we effectively shutdown their running game and forced them into being one-dimensional.

Overall, we certainly need to work on a few areas, but this is arguably the best offense in the country and the defense probably just played their worst game of the season in beating a top 20 team. Not every game is going to be like the Nebraska or Colorado game last year; sometimes you just have to be happy with surviving and advancing.

[CoMoChief]

I'm not too worried.

People seem to forget how good IL is on offense. They have a couple NFL talent WR's and Juice will also go pro. (Damn he has a ****in hand cannon). One TD was just a complete ****ed up assignment when he thought a safety had his backside when he didn't (gee, that sounds a lot like the Chiefs). And that first passing TD where he drug his foot barely inside the white line was just a hell of a play, nothing you can really do about that because the IL WR (forget his name) was covered very well on that play.

Not to mention when you are down 20 points or so, you pass the ball to try and get back into the game. Especially if its in the 2nd half.

Especially when the MU defense absolutely destroyed their running game.

[Midnight_Vulture]

The thought of USC playing Misery is absolutely comical to me. Seriously, Misery fans dont know what they are getting into.

USC is an NFL factory and could probably beat the Chiefs.ROFL

Mizzou gave up 42 points to Illinois...how much would USC put on them?:eek:

[tmax63]

The secondary had some blown coverages. The idea that Illinois had a -16 yards rushing in the 2nd qtr was encouraging to me. I'm just glad Maclin's x-rays were neg and he has 3 games to heal up until he'll really be needed again. Nothing happened last night that can't be fixed by coaching and questions about the new starters on offense were answered with a "no drop-off in quality" answer.

[Spott]

Illini 40
Misery 26

This time Juice actually plays ALL game and not just a quarter. Sorry Misery fans but the only reason you won last year was due to Illinois having their back up play most of the game (he had like 4 turnovers too).

Mizzou is completely screwed if they actually think they can hang with USC, Georgia or Florida.

Heck, even Oklahoma and probably Texas will beat them as well.

NOT impressed.

Your opinion on MU football means absolutely nothing and has no merit.

[tmax63]

And they won't play OU this year unless it's in the Big-12 Championship and it will be for rights to the BCS Championship just like last year.

[eazyb81]

Rivals has a good writeup of the game here:

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=844318

It's funny how Mizzou fans are grumbling a bit over this game, yet I haven't heard any comments from national guys on ESPN or Rivals that are even slightly negative. People need to take a step back and realize we just put 50+ points on a top 20 team that was in last year's Rose Bowl.

[Sully]

I love it when some football moron rolls out that a college team could beat a pro team. It really makes clear their (lack of) football knowledge. It's much like that person posting a sign on their head reading, "Any football opinion I spout out is null and void, as is my reasoning and logic skills."

[Priest31kc]

The thought of USC playing Misery is absolutely comical to me. Seriously, Misery fans dont know what they are getting into.

USC is an NFL factory and could probably beat the Chiefs.ROFL

Mizzou gave up 42 points to Illinois...how much would USC put on them?:eek:

your biased opinion means nothing. mizzou dominated illinois, it wasnt that close at all. so much for illinois winning right?? i havent been on here that long, but you seem like a dumbass right off the bat.

pretty sure everyone knows mizzou can play with the big boys now.

and whitlock is so ****in stupid. it was ONE GAME. one game against a top 20 opponent. the FIRST game. my God. not worried about the defense at all. the offense was amazing without Maclin doing much and D.Alexander out and Perry banged up.

[kcfanXIII]

ididn't catch the whole game. thought what i saw looked good. defense made the stops at the end of the game when it had to. whitherspoon was all over the place. it also seems like MU was the only top ten team that played a ranked opponent yesterday....

[Buehler445]

I'm a Jayhawks fan, and damn Mizzou looked scary. Mizzou's Offense looks unfreakingstobbable. I don't think KU has any talent like Vonte Davis, but hopefully they can play better as a unit than did Illinois. Moreover, KU's offense isn't built to take advantage of the Mizzou Offense like Illinois was, you don't see a tremendous amount of deep balls coming out of KU's offense. But KU laid some lumber to Florida International (40-10), but IMO, the win against Illinois is a little more impressive. I hope our D can show up at the Mizzou game, because they are just flat scary.

As much as I hate Mizzou as a fan of KU, I do acknowledge that their success is legitimate and am very much looking forward to the game at Arrowhead. May the best team win!

I do hope Maclin gets better. I hate it when players get injured. He is truely fun to watch.

[beavis]

We gave up a touchdown on that interception return.

We gave up two touchdowns in the fourth when we were in the prevent.

How bad did we really do? The biggest concern I have is with the blown coverages. I really though we played pretty shitty, and still managed to win by a fairly comfortable margin against a top 25 team and BCS team from last year.

Color me less than concerned at this point.

[Sure-Oz]

The thought of USC playing Misery is absolutely comical to me. Seriously, Misery fans dont know what they are getting into.

USC is an NFL factory and could probably beat the Chiefs.ROFL

Mizzou gave up 42 points to Illinois...how much would USC put on them?:eek:
Let me guess you're a georgia fan, USC fan and a pats fan? Do you get off on pissing people off all the time? Well uhh if zook didn't kick to maclin blah blah, well uhh if mizzou didnt blow coverages like crazy on d this wouldnt have been a game, if chase didnt throw right to their defensive lineman for a td etc etc....you can't even give props on a game you said mizzou would lose...guarantee this is the worst the defense has ever looked from mizzou....they'll be much better the rest of the season and probably solid.

[jjchieffan]

I'm not worried. However, if SEMO puts up 42 points on us, then I will worry. But worry just because Juice and the 20th ranked Illini did it? No. As usual Whitlock has no clue. Oh, and dang you KcMizzou for posting his crap. I refuse to read anything that dipshit writes, but did not know it was his until after I read it. :cuss:

[Mizzou_8541]

I find it humorous that a few Missouri fans are grumbling that we didn't beat a top 20 opponent by a large enough margin. Two years ago that would have been unthinkable. Oh well, I guess that shows that we have improved, right?

[luv]

I hate shit stirrers, whether they write articles or post on BB's.

[kcchiefsus]

Mizzou is completely screwed if they actually think they can hang with USC, Georgia or Florida.

Heck, even Oklahoma and probably Texas will beat them as well.

NOT impressed.

Wasn't impressed with your crappy team either. Put a barrell in your mouth now.

[kcchiefsus]

your biased opinion means nothing. mizzou dominated illinois, it wasnt that close at all. so much for illinois winning right?? i havent been on here that long, but you seem like a dumbass right off the bat.

pretty sure everyone knows mizzou can play with the big boys now.

and whitlock is so ****in stupid. it was ONE GAME. one game against a top 20 opponent. the FIRST game. my God. not worried about the defense at all. the offense was amazing without Maclin doing much and D.Alexander out and Perry banged up.

Exactly. I will take our close win over what happened to #9 Clemson or #17 Virginia Tech.

[triple]

the game wasn't that close if you subtract the trash time points. after the first quarter, illinois was never in a position to win the game.

Juice Williams is terribly overrated. a good QB would have had no problem winning that game. chase daniel would have carved up a secondary playing like missouri's did for 400 yards. williams is a guy who, if not for his legs, would not be playing QB. missouri has serious problems at corner.

[KcMizzou]

The thought of USC playing Misery is absolutely comical to me. Seriously, Misery fans dont know what they are getting into.

USC is an NFL factory and could probably beat the Chiefs.ROFL

Mizzou gave up 42 points to Illinois...how much would USC put on them?:eek:That's alright. Nobody asked you to be impressed. Just know that you were flat-out dead wrong as usual. :)

[SAUTO]

the game wasn't that close if you subtract the trash time points. after the first quarter, illinois was never in a position to win the game.

Juice Williams is terribly overrated. a good QB would have had no problem winning that game. chase daniel would have carved up a secondary playing like missouri's did for 400 yards. williams is a guy who, if not for his legs, would not be playing QB. missouri has serious problems at corner.

didnt juice carve up that d for OVER 400 yards? chase shouldve gotten 700 yards against our d

[SAUTO]

and it was a real impressive game but the play of the dbs is REAL scary

[KcMizzou]

didnt juice carve up that d for OVER 400 yards? chase shouldve gotten 700 yards against our dIt was the first game.. against a very good Illinois team. Our D struggled at the start of last season too, and got much, much better.

We've got three cupcakes lined up now... nearly a month to get it fixed. We'll be fine. I'm just glad we survived.

[kcpasco]

The thought of USC playing Misery is absolutely comical to me. Seriously, Misery fans dont know what they are getting into.

USC is an NFL factory and could probably beat the Chiefs.ROFL

Mizzou gave up 42 points to Illinois...how much would USC put on them?:eek:

I'm sure even our Chiefs no matter how bad they may be this year would beat USC.

Its like a teenage son trying to challenge his father to a fight.

[KcMizzou]

I'm sure even our Chiefs no matter how bad they may be this year would beat USC.

Its like a teenage son trying to challenge his father to a fight.Yeah, that didn't go so well when I tried it.

[Skip Towne]

I don't think you ca beat Missouri without some type of ball control game. You have to keep their offense off the field and Illinois's 2.3 ypc certainly didn't get it. Maybe a short passing attack like the WCO might work but they didn't do that either.

[Sully]

I'm not even terribly worried about the DBs, especially the CBs. The blown coverages, to me, looked like miscommunications, and not playing their spots. If the safety doesn't get over on Cover 2, then the CB looks like he got beat like a drum. If you make a mental mistake, that can be fixed. Ultimately, I didn't see that they were physically outmatched, just that they weren't mentally there, yet.
A couple of the TD passes to #15 were simply great throws and catches with good coverage.

[beavis]

I don't think you ca beat Missouri without some type of ball control game. You have to keep their offense off the field and Illinois's 2.3 ypc certainly didn't get it. Maybe a short passing attack like the WCO might work but they didn't do that either.

Our style of offense does not manage the clock at all. They huddle and get to the line so quickly, that even on an 8-10 play drive, we don't take more than 5 minutes off the clock. We're almost too good for our own good, leaves the defense out on the field for long periods of time.

[beavis]

I'm not even terribly worried about the DBs, especially the CBs. The blown coverages, to me, looked like miscommunications, and not playing their spots. If the safety doesn't get over on Cover 2, then the CB looks like he got beat like a drum. If you make a mental mistake, that can be fixed. Ultimately, I didn't see that they were physically outmatched, just that they weren't mentally there, yet.
A couple of the TD passes to #15 were simply great throws and catches with good coverage.

That might be the case, and sure the ones where there wasn't a guy within 20 yards were miscommunication, but on a couple of those plays, the corners just got torched.

[Coach]

Mizzou is completely screwed if they actually think they can hang with USC, Georgia or Florida.

Heck, even Oklahoma and probably Texas will beat them as well.

NOT impressed.

Hey, I got a little tip for you. Why don't you go f*ck off and go f*ck the blender that is sitting on your kitchen counter?

They can hang with USC, Georgia and Florida, becuase their talent level is there.

Goddamn, you're really showing your dumbassery intelligence in College Football, in other words, you don't know a goddamn thing about football in general, it's a f*cking disgrace. :shake: It's ILLINOIS, who is very talented, and they ARE CAPABLE OF SCORING 30+ POINTS becuase they do run the spread offense, along with Juice Williams. They will cause trouble in the shittty Big 10. Jesus F*cking Christ, it's not that hard to comprehend. Most people in here believed it was going to be a close game, and rightfully so.

[eazyb81]

I just posted this on the draft board, but after last night's game, Vontae Davis is near the top of my big board for next year's draft and I would love to see him end up in KC. I think he has the potential to be an elite CB at the next level.

[ChiefClint]

Mizzou is completely screwed if they actually think they can hang with USC, Georgia or Florida.

Heck, even Oklahoma and probably Texas will beat them as well.

NOT impressed.

Funny because I'm not impressed with you. Missouri plays exactly...one of those teams this year which is Texas. Get a clue.

[Frazod]

That might be the case, and sure the ones where there wasn't a guy within 20 yards were miscommunication, but on a couple of those plays, the corners just got torched.

While I'm as concerned as the next guy, I would also point out that Williams probably played the best game of his life last night, and a couple of those touchdown passes were so perfectly placed that nobody could have defended them.

But still.... yeah, I'm very concerned.

[HolyHandgernade]

I only got to see the game in bits and pieces, but I saw two plays, one where Juice overthrew a wide open receiver for a touchdown and another where he hit the wide open receiver for a touchdown. Still, it's an opening game, and maybe these things are correctable with coaching. But if Whitlock is right, and it's a talent thing, you should be concerned.

-HH

[Coach]

While I'm as concerned as the next guy, I would also point out that Williams probably played the best game of his life last night, and a couple of those touchdown passes were so perfectly placed that nobody could have defended them.

But still.... yeah, I'm very concerned.

I wouldn't. When you are playing a solid talented team in the likes of Illinois, there'll be plenty of breakdowns, becuase Illinois is a very solid team, despite being in the Big 10.

If it was somebody like Montana State or Southeast Missouri State, then yeah, I'd be really concerned if I were you.

[Reaper16]

So there were a couple of TD's against the prevent, and one TD that was an INT return. THEN, like two or three other TD's were the direct result of piss-poor communication between the DB's (The insanely long bombs).

The DB play mistakes are very much correctable. Get the communication shored up, and MU's defense will be right where it wants to be.

[jjchieffan]

Our style of offense does not manage the clock at all. They huddle and get to the line so quickly, that even on an 8-10 play drive, we don't take more than 5 minutes off the clock. We're almost too good for our own good, leaves the defense out on the field for long periods of time.

Wow. After reading this I looked at thie TOP in the game stats. over 36 minutes by IU, under 24 by Mizzou. You don't win a lot of games that way.

[Rausch]

I wouldn't. When you are playing a solid talented team in the likes of Illinois, there'll be plenty of breakdowns, becuase Illinois is a very solid team, despite being in the Big 10.

If it was somebody like Montana State or Southeast Missouri State, then yeah, I'd be really concerned if I were you.

Sure you expect a few big plays. Sure you expect a few undefendable passes when you face a rocket-armed QB who runs like a HB.

You don't expect 42 pts worth. No matter how you slice it giving up 42 pts is not good defense...

[eazyb81]

Wow. After reading this I looked at thie TOP in the game stats. over 36 minutes by IU, under 24 by Mizzou. You don't win a lot of games that way.

We won 12 games last year that way.

[triple]

didnt juice carve up that d for OVER 400 yards? chase shouldve gotten 700 yards against our d

well probably. i just mean that juice williams is not a good QB. he's a mistake prone QB. a non mistake prone QB would have beaten missouri yesterday

[Frazod]

Wow. After reading this I looked at thie TOP in the game stats. over 36 minutes by IU, under 24 by Mizzou. You don't win a lot of games that way.

Sort of reminds me of a certain pro team I like, circa 2003.

[Coach]

Sure you expect a few big plays. Sure you expect a few undefendable passes when you face a rocket-armed QB who runs like a HB.

You don't expect 42 pts worth. No matter how you slice it giving up 42 pts is not good defense...

Oh I agree. However, it's hard to judge that if some of those points were given up in garbage time, like the last drive that Illinois did. In other words, meaningless points.

[beer bacon]

We were selling out against the run for most of the time. Our coaches obviously didn't think Juice would be able to make those throws.

The first long TD passes down the right sideline were not even that bad of plays by the defense. We had solid coverage on both plays, although on both plays the CB played the WR and never made a play on the ball. Juice made excellent throws and the WRs made good catches on both of those.

The last two were different, on both plays the WR was very open, and didn't take a great throw by Juice to finish the play. The safeties were much too eager to cheat up for that late in the game with a three score lead. We do need to coach those guys up so they don't make the same mistake in Big 12 play.

[SAUTO]

also juice missed at least two WIDE OPEN DEEP wr's on the right side at other times

[King_Chief_Fan]

First game of the year and with a ranked opponent. Good test and identified some areas for improvement for sure. It was better than playing some patsy team (yes KU) just to get in the W column.

[Reaper16]

First game of the year and with a ranked opponent. Good test and identified some areas for improvement for sure. It was better than playing some patsy team (yes KU) just to get in the W column.
To be fair, MU will be playing "some pasty teams" next.

[SAUTO]

yeah and illinois wasnt that good when the series started

[KChiefs1]

Mizzou was dominating at halftime in score & by yardage....they were up 45-20 with 2mins left in the 3rd quarter. Of course it's nice to see that the players were disappointed in their performance...only good things this year my friends!

[SAUTO]

and the game ended up 52-42 so we got outscored 22-7 from then on reason for disappointment

[Bowser]

The thought of USC playing Misery is absolutely comical to me. Seriously, Misery fans dont know what they are getting into.

USC is an NFL factory and could probably beat the Chiefs.ROFL

Mizzou gave up 42 points to Illinois...how much would USC put on them?:eek:I bet even the water tastes like sour grapes to you this morning, huh? That, and a shit sandwich.

yeah and illinois wasnt that good when the series startedNeither was Missouri. They were OK, but certainly not "good".

[KChiefs1]

Wow. After reading this I looked at thie TOP in the game stats. over 36 minutes by IU, under 24 by Mizzou. You don't win a lot of games that way.


I believe Mizzou won 12 games with similar TOP last year. When you score in less than a minute your defense doesn't get much time to rest. I do think a lot of this is overblown. Chase threw a pick-6 & the Illini scored with no time in the game too along with Tommy Saunders fumbling the ball at the Illini 5 yard line(21 point turnaround). Score should have been about 66-28...the Illini are a Top 25 team & have a chance against Ohio State this year.

Anyone with any knowledge of football last night knew that Mizzou totally DOMINATED that game in every sense of the word.

Do I believe that Pinkel had the defense concentrating on one of the best running games in the NCAA last night? Yes. Do I believe the coaches decided to let Juice beat them with his arm instead of his legs? Yes. Do I think all of these are correctable? Yes. This is the same defense that led the Big 12 last year.

No worries. As a matter of fact I like the way it played it's way out....this leaves the coaches a lot of room to tell the guys they need to do better.

[beer bacon]

and the game ended up 52-42 so we got outscored 22-7 from then on reason for disappointment

Actually, it is more like 15-7 since our players just stopped playing on the last play of the game. There were five ILL receivers in the endzone, and our guys were already done.

[beer bacon]

One thing I didn't like was that failed QB sneak on the 4th and 1 late in the game. If we are going to run that play, we should do what Florida has done. Rush Daniel up the middle, but have a receiver also drift over the middle that Chase can toss it to if he is about to get stuffed.

[SAUTO]

Actually, it is more like 15-7 since our players just stopped playing on the last play of the game. There were five ILL receivers in the endzone, and our guys were already done.

agreed but still mizzou needs to grt that killer instinct

[SAUTO]

One thing I didn't like was that failed QB sneak on the 4th and 1 late in the game. If we are going to run that play, we should do what Florida has done. Rush Daniel up the middle, but have a receiver also drift over the middle that Chase can toss it to if he is about to get stuffed.

my father in law(HUGE MU GUY) complains that they dont have a play in the book designed to get one yard

[beer bacon]

agreed but still mizzou needs to grt that killer instinct

MU showed killer instinct last season. We had already had several starters go down with injuries. The first game of the season is all about survival.

[Bowser]

my father in law(HUGE MU GUY) complains that they dont have a play in the book designed to get one yard

Sure they do. Unfortunately, it's almost exactly like the play designed to get 12 yards.

[beer bacon]

Sure they do. Unfortunately, it's almost exactly like the play designed to get 12 yards.

Chase has scored a lot of short TDs and converted a lot of 3rd and 4th downs on rushes. Most of the time, our wide split OL opens up a whole somewhere, and Chase is smart enough to find it. On that specific fourth down yesterday, Illinois did an excellent job of just causing a huge mess. They Chase no where to run. It would be good to have one receiver out there that Chase can pull back and throw to in situations like that.

[KChiefs1]

One thing I didn't like was that failed QB sneak on the 4th and 1 late in the game. If we are going to run that play, we should do what Florida has done. Rush Daniel up the middle, but have a receiver also drift over the middle that Chase can toss it to if he is about to get stuffed.


Just run DERRICK "F___KING" WASHINGTON!!!!!:cuss:

That kid is better than Tony Temple.:D

[beer bacon]

Just run DERRICK "F___KING" WASHINGTON!!!!!:cuss:

That kid is better than Tony Temple.:D

He was amazing yesterday. Our O-line as a whole was damn good.

[Bowser]

He was amazing yesterday. Our O-line as a whole was damn good.

That was the best part of that game yesterday. The line looked outstanding against a Big Ten team that made a BCS game last year. Big reason for hope as the season goes on.

[Bearcat]

First game of the year and with a ranked opponent. Good test and identified some areas for improvement for sure. It was better than playing some patsy team (yes KU) just to get in the W column.

And after which 2-9 season by Illinois did you decide to call them up so you renew the rivalry and strengthen your schedule?

Mizzou's next opponent beat Southwest Baptist 35-28 in OT this weekend. The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats beat their MIAA cellar-dwelling foe Southwest Baptist 86-13 last year.

Good luck.

[Bearcat]

It was a good game last night... glad I got to watch some of it. Speed kills, and Mizzou has a lot of it.

[Pitt Gorilla]

One thing I didn't like was that failed QB sneak on the 4th and 1 late in the game. If we are going to run that play, we should do what Florida has done. Rush Daniel up the middle, but have a receiver also drift over the middle that Chase can toss it to if he is about to get stuffed.Absolutely. That should have been a run/pass option.

[Stewie]

Totally unimpressed. And good God is Daniel short. No wonder they have to run such a wide spread O-line... he's barely taller than my little niece. And that D is sooooo bad.

[Bowser]

Totally unimpressed. And good God is Daniel short. No wonder they have to run such a wide spread O-line... he's barely taller than my little niece. And that D is sooooo bad.

LMAO

[Bowser]

Totally unimpressed. And good God is Daniel short. No wonder they have to run such a wide spread O-line... he's barely taller than my little niece. And that D is sooooo bad.

Quick, tell us how KU beat a vaunted Va Tech for the Orange Bowl! Again!

[KChiefs1]

I'm not even terribly worried about the DBs, especially the CBs. The blown coverages, to me, looked like miscommunications, and not playing their spots. If the safety doesn't get over on Cover 2, then the CB looks like he got beat like a drum. If you make a mental mistake, that can be fixed. Ultimately, I didn't see that they were physically outmatched, just that they weren't mentally there, yet.

Pinkel stated as much on This Week in Mizzou Football.

He said that there were several communication problems during the game between the CB's & S's in what coverage they were in. He said everything is correctable & he didn't act too worried IMHO. I was kinda surprised by his attitude to be honest. He seems to know that he has a good secondary & everything would be correctable.

After watching the highlights again I have to say the 1st half was totally dominated by the Tigers. Score should have been 45-6 at halftime.

[Bearcat]

Score should have been about 66-28...

Score should have been 45-6 at halftime.

Mizzou looked good, but let's not go overboard... :doh!:

[KChiefs1]

He was amazing yesterday. Our O-line as a whole was damn good.

Elvis eased a lot of my fears last night. The vaunted Illini D-Line didn't provide much pressure last night at all.

[KcMizzou]

Totally unimpressed. And good God is Daniel short. No wonder they have to run such a wide spread O-line... he's barely taller than my little niece. And that D is sooooo bad.Shocking.

[Reaper16]

Totally unimpressed. And good God is Daniel short. No wonder they have to run such a wide spread O-line... he's barely taller than my little niece. And that D is sooooo bad.
I have a reading suggestion for you: http://www.amazon.com/Football-Dummies-Sports-Hobbies/dp/0470125365/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220218836&sr=8-1

[KChiefs1]

Mizzou looked good, but let's not go overboard... :doh!:

Well...the score was 31-13 at halftime.

If you take away the pick-6 by Chase the score becomes 31-6...add in Tommy Saunders fumble at the Illini 5 yard line & you have 38-6...add in the dropped pass by Perry that would have been a td...45-6. Not Overboard

I'm saying if the Tigers played perfect last night the score would have reminiscent of the MU vs CU game last year.

The Mizzou OL was supposed to be their weakness this year along with replacing Temple. I think those questions were answered last night too. The secondary has 4 returning starters so I'm not concerned with that area much right now. It's all good.

[beavis]

Elvis eased a lot of my fears last night. The vaunted Illini D-Line didn't provide much pressure last night at all.

Thats what I was most concerned about going in, I'm no where near as concerned at this point.

[Bearcat]

Well...the score was 31-13 at halftime.

If you take away the pick-6 by Chase the score becomes 31-6...add in Tommy Saunders fumble at the Illini 5 yard line & you have 38-6...add in the dropped pass by Perry that would have been a td...45-6. Not Overboard

I'm saying if the Tigers played perfect last night the score would have reminiscent of the MU vs CU game last year.

The Mizzou OL was supposed to be their weakness this year along with replacing Temple. I think those questions were answered last night too. The secondary has 4 returning starters so I'm not concerned with that area much right now. It's all good.

I know that's what you were saying, and I still think it's overboard... of course Mizzou could have played better, but Illinois could have, too. It's a lot like the Kansas game and Illinois games last year.... Mizzou was in control, but the final score didn't necessarily indicate that. Take away a few mistakes from the other team, and Mizzou could have lost those games. Better teams will take advantage of that, such as OU in the regular season game last year.

Just sayin'....

[Frazod]

The thought of USC playing Misery is absolutely comical to me. Seriously, Misery fans dont know what they are getting into.

USC is an NFL factory and could probably beat the Chiefs.ROFL

Mizzou gave up 42 points to Illinois...how much would USC put on them?:eek:

Well, God knows Missouri is no Oregon State.....

LMAO

[Chiefs Pantalones]

I don't think the Tigers have anything to worry about.

This day and age, as long as they're scoring 40 points a game and coming up with a few stops here and there, they should be, at least, BCS title game bound and possibly National Champions (sadly though because I'm a KU fan).

I know it's different leagues, but look at the Colts in 06. They had the WORST rushing defense, and still won the Super Bowl.

[El Jefe]

I don't think the Tigers have anything to worry about.

This day and age, as long as they're scoring 40 points a game and coming up with a few stops here and there, they should be, at least, BCS title game bound and possibly National Champions (sadly though because I'm a KU fan).

I know it's different leagues, but look at the Colts in 06. They had the WORST rushing defense, and still won the Super Bowl.

I'm not an MU fan but I did say I thought they would make it to the NC. If their offensive can keep putting up big numbers they will be hard to beat. It's the teams like Oklahoma, USC, Florida, Georgia, that are the teams that will be hard for Mizzou to beat if their O has an off day.

[CoMoChief]

I don't think the Tigers have anything to worry about.

This day and age, as long as they're scoring 40 points a game and coming up with a few stops here and there, they should be, at least, BCS title game bound and possibly National Champions (sadly though because I'm a KU fan).

I know it's different leagues, but look at the Colts in 06. They had the WORST rushing defense, and still won the Super Bowl.

The Cols rushing defense went from like worst to first in a matter of a couple weeks in the playoffs. They turned it up bigtime defensively. It's not like their defense sucked in the playoffs, because it didn't .....they had a good defense come playoff time.

Partially because of Herm ****ing Edwards and his wonderful playcalling.