Baylor Football Blog
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Baylor Defeats Samford
Baylor Defeats Samford, 48-14
Well, it wasn’t pretty. The score looks a lot more dominating than the game actually was and there were plenty of things that could have gone better, but it was a 34 point win, and we’ll take it.
Positives
Turnovers
The biggest positive we can take from this game is the turnovers and what we did with them. CJ Wilson grabbed an interception and Jamal Harper returned a Colin Allred-forced fumble for a touchdown. James Todd also jumped a route for a diving interception. These are the plays that we haven’t seen in Waco for a while. There were two other plays that weren’t ruled turnovers, but should have been after watching the instant replay board. And there were many other opportunities for turnovers that we did not complete, but the defense is definitely improving in this area and it’s good to see their aggressive mentality.
Passing Game
There were fewer drops, no interceptions and three passing touchdowns. Bell still didn’t look as sharp as the Aggie-Killer, but he was better going 16-26 (61.5%) for 166 yards and 2 TDs. He improved his yards per attempt to 6.4 and his yards per completion to 10.4. Terrance Parks came into the game and looked very sharp as well. 3-of-4 (75%) on the night, his only incompletion was a dropped pass that hit the receiver right in the hands. He also threw for a 49-yard TD pass, all 49 yards were in the air. It was beautiful pass. Parks also showed a level of mobility that surprised, just looking at his size. I would hope that he would get more playing time against Army, because he gave the offense a huge shot in the arm late in the game and looked like a fine, developing quarterback.
Running Back Depth
Four different running backs saw time in this game, and Mosley only had to carry 15 times. That rest will do Paul good later in the season. Brandon Whitaker got 5 carries for 21 yards, Jacoby Jones got 9 carries for 48 yards in a very impressive performance for the redshirt freshman. Mario Price rounded out the running backs, carrying 3 times for 10 yards. All the running backs looked good in the way they ran the ball. Mosley disappointed in his yard total, and really should have had a much better game, and is one of the reason that he and Whitaker will show up on the Negatives list in addition to this one.
Negatives
Starting Running Back(s)
I’m including Whitaker in the Starting Running Back(s) group, because we all know he’s going to get some playing time and carries every single game. Both he and Paul had disappointing performances against Samford. They didn’t dominate and Paul especially made some very poor decisions. It seemed that he would forgo a 3 or 4 yard gain up the middle a number of times for a chance to bounce the run out for a longer gain, and end up with only 1-2 yards. This combined to limit his yards per carry, it gave the defense confidence in stopping the run, and most importantly, it didn’t wear down the defense nearly as much. They weren’t feeling Mosley pounding on them over and over again, they were bringing him down from the side all night long. That was what was so refreshing when Jones came into the game: he POUNDED the defense. On his first carry, Jones lowered his shoulder and blew up a linebacker. I could hear the crack from my seat. He only gained three yards, but that linebacker felt all three of those yards, and is probably still feeling them this morning.
Missed Opportunities
Morriss harped on this more than anything in his “Sunday Morning Chat”. There were a number of interceptions that were dropped. Sure they are chalked up as pass break ups, but PBUs aren’t INTs. PBUs stop the play, but interceptions, as Morriss noted, change the game. We needed more of those, and really should have had more of them. Three or four interceptions were dropped and should have been caught.
But the defense wasn’t alone in missing opportunities. I saw Trent Shelton twice and Jason Smith twice wide open in the middle of the field when Bell would throw the ball away or tuck it and run for two yards. Any of these passes would have gone for 15-20 yards, and possibly more. These are the kind of big plays that Bell needs to make in the future to keep the offense alive and running. In Big XII play, these plays are going to be vital to our success and without these types of plays, we won’t win more than one or two games.
Pressure on the Quarterback
Going against a Div. 1-AA team, you would expect our defensive line to get pressure with just the front four against their offensive line. Samford tried to counter that by making the roll-out almost a standard offensive set up, and they also used a number of players to chip the defensive ends. There still should have been more pressure and there still should have been more sacks. There is really no excuse for it. We are supposed to be bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic, better coached, everything. This sort of thing is what can make Vince Young look like Matt Leinart and Zac Taylor look like Vince Young. It’s something that has been a problem for many years, and something that, while improving, still needs a lot of work.
What to Look for Next Weekend
Increased Pressure on the Quarterback
Baylor needs to figure out what it is going to take to get more pressure on the QB. They need to find some blitzes that work. Army’s offensive line is young, completely inexperienced and they have no depth. This should be a sack fest for the defensive line and linebackers, and if they don’t get a number of sacks and turnovers then Baylor fans should begin to worry.
Young Players Need to Play
Any true freshman that have played so far and have thus lost their redshirt need to play some good minutes in this game. They need to be acclimated to the speed of college football and they need experience executing their roles in real games. This includes Terrance Parks, who needs to get a lot of time on the field. He showed that he can execute the offense and can make plays with his feet when there’s no play through the air, and the coaches need to see if he’s the answer for this team this year. This also includes the young defensive linemen. I would like to see Dan Gay, Vinnie Rhodes and Geoff Nelson get more playing time and see them develop into the linemen the coaches think they can be.
Running Game Dominance
Mosley and Whitaker need another game like they had against SMU. They both need to get 100 yards, but then they need to do something they didn’t get the chance to do against SMU. Rest. They need to have success running the ball early, and then they need to get off the field. Jacoby Jones and Mario Price should be plenty good enough to control the clock in the second half, and there’s no reason they should have enough yards and have allowed the Bears to score enough to justify sitting them.
Other Thoughts
Terrance Parks needs to get major minutes, because it’s clear that QB play is holding this offense up from being truly supercharged. If Parks can show that he can find the receivers and then deliver the ball with velocity, he could conceivably add a few victories for the Bears and send them to a bowl game. He could also keep this team from winning a game or two. But Baylor is in a situation where it needs to take a few risks in order to have some success. Parks adds depth to the offensive gameplan with deep balls that are actually threats, and his running adds another weapon to those already on the field. Ziegler and Shelton need to be more of a focus for whatever quarterback is playing. Those two are the leaders of the receiving corps and they need more than 4 and 5 catches in a game.
The Army defensive preview is up next…. ¶ 9/11/2005 0 Comments
Well, it wasn’t pretty. The score looks a lot more dominating than the game actually was and there were plenty of things that could have gone better, but it was a 34 point win, and we’ll take it.
Positives
Turnovers
The biggest positive we can take from this game is the turnovers and what we did with them. CJ Wilson grabbed an interception and Jamal Harper returned a Colin Allred-forced fumble for a touchdown. James Todd also jumped a route for a diving interception. These are the plays that we haven’t seen in Waco for a while. There were two other plays that weren’t ruled turnovers, but should have been after watching the instant replay board. And there were many other opportunities for turnovers that we did not complete, but the defense is definitely improving in this area and it’s good to see their aggressive mentality.
Passing Game
There were fewer drops, no interceptions and three passing touchdowns. Bell still didn’t look as sharp as the Aggie-Killer, but he was better going 16-26 (61.5%) for 166 yards and 2 TDs. He improved his yards per attempt to 6.4 and his yards per completion to 10.4. Terrance Parks came into the game and looked very sharp as well. 3-of-4 (75%) on the night, his only incompletion was a dropped pass that hit the receiver right in the hands. He also threw for a 49-yard TD pass, all 49 yards were in the air. It was beautiful pass. Parks also showed a level of mobility that surprised, just looking at his size. I would hope that he would get more playing time against Army, because he gave the offense a huge shot in the arm late in the game and looked like a fine, developing quarterback.
Running Back Depth
Four different running backs saw time in this game, and Mosley only had to carry 15 times. That rest will do Paul good later in the season. Brandon Whitaker got 5 carries for 21 yards, Jacoby Jones got 9 carries for 48 yards in a very impressive performance for the redshirt freshman. Mario Price rounded out the running backs, carrying 3 times for 10 yards. All the running backs looked good in the way they ran the ball. Mosley disappointed in his yard total, and really should have had a much better game, and is one of the reason that he and Whitaker will show up on the Negatives list in addition to this one.
Negatives
Starting Running Back(s)
I’m including Whitaker in the Starting Running Back(s) group, because we all know he’s going to get some playing time and carries every single game. Both he and Paul had disappointing performances against Samford. They didn’t dominate and Paul especially made some very poor decisions. It seemed that he would forgo a 3 or 4 yard gain up the middle a number of times for a chance to bounce the run out for a longer gain, and end up with only 1-2 yards. This combined to limit his yards per carry, it gave the defense confidence in stopping the run, and most importantly, it didn’t wear down the defense nearly as much. They weren’t feeling Mosley pounding on them over and over again, they were bringing him down from the side all night long. That was what was so refreshing when Jones came into the game: he POUNDED the defense. On his first carry, Jones lowered his shoulder and blew up a linebacker. I could hear the crack from my seat. He only gained three yards, but that linebacker felt all three of those yards, and is probably still feeling them this morning.
Missed Opportunities
Morriss harped on this more than anything in his “Sunday Morning Chat”. There were a number of interceptions that were dropped. Sure they are chalked up as pass break ups, but PBUs aren’t INTs. PBUs stop the play, but interceptions, as Morriss noted, change the game. We needed more of those, and really should have had more of them. Three or four interceptions were dropped and should have been caught.
But the defense wasn’t alone in missing opportunities. I saw Trent Shelton twice and Jason Smith twice wide open in the middle of the field when Bell would throw the ball away or tuck it and run for two yards. Any of these passes would have gone for 15-20 yards, and possibly more. These are the kind of big plays that Bell needs to make in the future to keep the offense alive and running. In Big XII play, these plays are going to be vital to our success and without these types of plays, we won’t win more than one or two games.
Pressure on the Quarterback
Going against a Div. 1-AA team, you would expect our defensive line to get pressure with just the front four against their offensive line. Samford tried to counter that by making the roll-out almost a standard offensive set up, and they also used a number of players to chip the defensive ends. There still should have been more pressure and there still should have been more sacks. There is really no excuse for it. We are supposed to be bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic, better coached, everything. This sort of thing is what can make Vince Young look like Matt Leinart and Zac Taylor look like Vince Young. It’s something that has been a problem for many years, and something that, while improving, still needs a lot of work.
What to Look for Next Weekend
Increased Pressure on the Quarterback
Baylor needs to figure out what it is going to take to get more pressure on the QB. They need to find some blitzes that work. Army’s offensive line is young, completely inexperienced and they have no depth. This should be a sack fest for the defensive line and linebackers, and if they don’t get a number of sacks and turnovers then Baylor fans should begin to worry.
Young Players Need to Play
Any true freshman that have played so far and have thus lost their redshirt need to play some good minutes in this game. They need to be acclimated to the speed of college football and they need experience executing their roles in real games. This includes Terrance Parks, who needs to get a lot of time on the field. He showed that he can execute the offense and can make plays with his feet when there’s no play through the air, and the coaches need to see if he’s the answer for this team this year. This also includes the young defensive linemen. I would like to see Dan Gay, Vinnie Rhodes and Geoff Nelson get more playing time and see them develop into the linemen the coaches think they can be.
Running Game Dominance
Mosley and Whitaker need another game like they had against SMU. They both need to get 100 yards, but then they need to do something they didn’t get the chance to do against SMU. Rest. They need to have success running the ball early, and then they need to get off the field. Jacoby Jones and Mario Price should be plenty good enough to control the clock in the second half, and there’s no reason they should have enough yards and have allowed the Bears to score enough to justify sitting them.
Other Thoughts
Terrance Parks needs to get major minutes, because it’s clear that QB play is holding this offense up from being truly supercharged. If Parks can show that he can find the receivers and then deliver the ball with velocity, he could conceivably add a few victories for the Bears and send them to a bowl game. He could also keep this team from winning a game or two. But Baylor is in a situation where it needs to take a few risks in order to have some success. Parks adds depth to the offensive gameplan with deep balls that are actually threats, and his running adds another weapon to those already on the field. Ziegler and Shelton need to be more of a focus for whatever quarterback is playing. Those two are the leaders of the receiving corps and they need more than 4 and 5 catches in a game.
The Army defensive preview is up next…. ¶ 9/11/2005 0 Comments
