Baylor Football Blog
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Quarterback Change
Quarterback Change!!
Well, all signs are pointing toward Parks being the starter against Texas, so what does that mean for Baylor’s chances this week?
First off, let’s really look at what Bell does for the team. His job has been to manage the offense and not make mistakes. For the most part, he hasn’t made egregious errors, but he has been so inconsistent with his throws that he just drags drives to a halt. He threw two interceptions in the Tech game, his third game with two interceptions. Two weeks ago he completed 45% of his passes, and this past week he just couldn’t sustain drives or makes big plays. He has shown a propensity for taking sacks and trying to run too often instead of stepping up into the pocket to make a throw.
Parks is more of a mystery. He played an outstanding game against OSU last year, taking over for Bell after his injury. He played a more conservative game against OU the following week, with a very Bell-like stat line (60% completion rate, 130 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs). But he did that without his best receiver, Ziegler, who was sitting out the game with a suspension. In his playing time this year, he hasn’t come into the game before the start of the fourth quarter, yet. And in his two stints against NU and Tech he came in down two scores. In this situation, he tried to push the ball down the field. Obviously he tried to force it in there, and really didn’t need to do it so early, but I think when he was told that he need to “spark” the offense.
Pease has said he’ll try and shape the offense more towards Parks strengths, but also allow him to realize that he doesn’t have to go deep every single time. I think if Parks is able to build some confidence and get comfortable in the offense, we have the talent to be very successful, even against UT.
Now the downside: Parks could melt down. I don’t think he will, but he could start the game off 0-15 with 10 INTs and giving up 10 sacks. He could. Texas is by far the best defense we have faced, and it will be the best defense we will face. They will get pressure from just their front four and they will be able to drop seven back into coverage.
Parks will need to make plays with his arm and with his legs and he will need to take care of the ball. He also needs to step up in the leadership department. He needs to take control of the huddle and let the people on the field know that he is in the game and he believes and is ready to show them that they can win the game. ¶ 11/03/2005 0 Comments
Well, all signs are pointing toward Parks being the starter against Texas, so what does that mean for Baylor’s chances this week?
First off, let’s really look at what Bell does for the team. His job has been to manage the offense and not make mistakes. For the most part, he hasn’t made egregious errors, but he has been so inconsistent with his throws that he just drags drives to a halt. He threw two interceptions in the Tech game, his third game with two interceptions. Two weeks ago he completed 45% of his passes, and this past week he just couldn’t sustain drives or makes big plays. He has shown a propensity for taking sacks and trying to run too often instead of stepping up into the pocket to make a throw.
Parks is more of a mystery. He played an outstanding game against OSU last year, taking over for Bell after his injury. He played a more conservative game against OU the following week, with a very Bell-like stat line (60% completion rate, 130 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs). But he did that without his best receiver, Ziegler, who was sitting out the game with a suspension. In his playing time this year, he hasn’t come into the game before the start of the fourth quarter, yet. And in his two stints against NU and Tech he came in down two scores. In this situation, he tried to push the ball down the field. Obviously he tried to force it in there, and really didn’t need to do it so early, but I think when he was told that he need to “spark” the offense.
Pease has said he’ll try and shape the offense more towards Parks strengths, but also allow him to realize that he doesn’t have to go deep every single time. I think if Parks is able to build some confidence and get comfortable in the offense, we have the talent to be very successful, even against UT.
Now the downside: Parks could melt down. I don’t think he will, but he could start the game off 0-15 with 10 INTs and giving up 10 sacks. He could. Texas is by far the best defense we have faced, and it will be the best defense we will face. They will get pressure from just their front four and they will be able to drop seven back into coverage.
Parks will need to make plays with his arm and with his legs and he will need to take care of the ball. He also needs to step up in the leadership department. He needs to take control of the huddle and let the people on the field know that he is in the game and he believes and is ready to show them that they can win the game. ¶ 11/03/2005 0 Comments
Baylor drops game to Tech
Baylor drops game to Tech, 28-0
In a game that was so much closer than the final score, Tech was able to escape Waco with a big win. Leading 6-0 Tech was handed a huge gift when the refs not once, but twice kept Baylor from scoring a touchdown, when it was clear that we had, in fact, scored. Everyone in the stadium knew it, the announcers on TV knew it, but that didn’t stop them from keeping the points off the board.
The final straw seemed to come when Tech completed a pass to Filani near the sidelines. Filani turned up the field and after taking a single step was blasted by Willie Andrews causing a fumble. The ball was picked up and was being raced to the endzone 30 yards away when a nearby ref came charging in saying the ball was incomplete. The entire Baylor sideline explodes in anger. It was clearly a HUGE blown call, and it was also clear that the refs had decided that Tech needed a little help. Two plays later, with the defense finally realizing that they wouldn’t be allowed to win this game, they faltered. Tech ended up with more penalties, but following the game their penalties came in places that didn’t have a big effect. Baylor’s usually did.
Shawn Bell had a few more plays that make you wonder if the guy is truly a football player, ducking before getting hit, sliding before he gets the first down, etc. It was enough to make Morriss move for a change.
Not that Parks performed all that well in the game. He completed fewer than 50% of his passes with an interception. But it was clear that there was rust present, and as he had more time on the field he improved his play. And even the sub-50% completion rate is misleading as there were at least 3 passes that hit the receivers hands, all would have gone for at least 10 yards, but they dropped the pass. I don’t know if it’s because Parks puts more on his throws than Bell or what, but it hurt the offense.
Mosley ran hard, but there wasn’t a lot of room, with Tech stacking as many as 10 in the box at a time. If Parks can hit more of his throws down the field and loosen up the box a little, I think Mosley is going to have a breakout game soon.
The defense play AMAZING! It was astounding watching them dominate Techs offense. It was simply incredible. If the offense was given that touchdown making the game 7-6, I truly think that we would have won the game by that score. Just having those points on the board would have let them know that the offense was doing something to help us win the game. But they got no such support, and we lost another game due the offenses ineptitude.
Is it just the quarterback? No, of course not. But the quarterback has the most impact on the game of any position on the field and we are not getting enough production. Is Parks better than Bell? We don’t know. There is evidence for both sides, but not nearly enough to make an educated decision. It has to come from the gut. And right now, my gut gets tight when I think about Bell stepping back under center for us. It’s that sickening despair that I felt whenever a Steele-coached team took the field.
I’ll have a different tightness this Saturday morning when Parks takes the field, but I’ll also have some hope. While Parks has only started one game in his short career, and only attempted 31 passes this year, he has the tools to be a great quarterback. He’s only a sophomore and he has a lot left to learn, but he could learn a lot about himself this weekend.
I’ll leave this post with the pictures that define why I think the move to Parks is a good one. First, it’s Bell, sliding before he reaches the first down marker so he doesn’t have to take a hit. The second is Parks getting his helmet ripped off, and then rolling out and running down the field with his head exposed and looking to complete a pass down the field. If the play hadn’t been blown dead, Parks could have completed the pass to Ziegler for a touchdown. The first picture makes you sad and sick. The second makes you proud. ¶ 11/03/2005 0 Comments
In a game that was so much closer than the final score, Tech was able to escape Waco with a big win. Leading 6-0 Tech was handed a huge gift when the refs not once, but twice kept Baylor from scoring a touchdown, when it was clear that we had, in fact, scored. Everyone in the stadium knew it, the announcers on TV knew it, but that didn’t stop them from keeping the points off the board.
The final straw seemed to come when Tech completed a pass to Filani near the sidelines. Filani turned up the field and after taking a single step was blasted by Willie Andrews causing a fumble. The ball was picked up and was being raced to the endzone 30 yards away when a nearby ref came charging in saying the ball was incomplete. The entire Baylor sideline explodes in anger. It was clearly a HUGE blown call, and it was also clear that the refs had decided that Tech needed a little help. Two plays later, with the defense finally realizing that they wouldn’t be allowed to win this game, they faltered. Tech ended up with more penalties, but following the game their penalties came in places that didn’t have a big effect. Baylor’s usually did.
Shawn Bell had a few more plays that make you wonder if the guy is truly a football player, ducking before getting hit, sliding before he gets the first down, etc. It was enough to make Morriss move for a change.
Not that Parks performed all that well in the game. He completed fewer than 50% of his passes with an interception. But it was clear that there was rust present, and as he had more time on the field he improved his play. And even the sub-50% completion rate is misleading as there were at least 3 passes that hit the receivers hands, all would have gone for at least 10 yards, but they dropped the pass. I don’t know if it’s because Parks puts more on his throws than Bell or what, but it hurt the offense.
Mosley ran hard, but there wasn’t a lot of room, with Tech stacking as many as 10 in the box at a time. If Parks can hit more of his throws down the field and loosen up the box a little, I think Mosley is going to have a breakout game soon.
The defense play AMAZING! It was astounding watching them dominate Techs offense. It was simply incredible. If the offense was given that touchdown making the game 7-6, I truly think that we would have won the game by that score. Just having those points on the board would have let them know that the offense was doing something to help us win the game. But they got no such support, and we lost another game due the offenses ineptitude.
Is it just the quarterback? No, of course not. But the quarterback has the most impact on the game of any position on the field and we are not getting enough production. Is Parks better than Bell? We don’t know. There is evidence for both sides, but not nearly enough to make an educated decision. It has to come from the gut. And right now, my gut gets tight when I think about Bell stepping back under center for us. It’s that sickening despair that I felt whenever a Steele-coached team took the field.
I’ll have a different tightness this Saturday morning when Parks takes the field, but I’ll also have some hope. While Parks has only started one game in his short career, and only attempted 31 passes this year, he has the tools to be a great quarterback. He’s only a sophomore and he has a lot left to learn, but he could learn a lot about himself this weekend.
I’ll leave this post with the pictures that define why I think the move to Parks is a good one. First, it’s Bell, sliding before he reaches the first down marker so he doesn’t have to take a hit. The second is Parks getting his helmet ripped off, and then rolling out and running down the field with his head exposed and looking to complete a pass down the field. If the play hadn’t been blown dead, Parks could have completed the pass to Ziegler for a touchdown. The first picture makes you sad and sick. The second makes you proud. ¶ 11/03/2005 0 Comments
