Thoughts from Section 105

MeanGreenWithEnvy · October 16, 2015

Last night was definitely the best showing of the season; I know, I know, low bars and low hanging fruit and all.

When Mac was fired last week, I remarked to a couple of Mean Green friends that I hoped to see a lot more Smith & Wilson from here on out and less McNulty & Jimmerson. As a person who loves this university and who respects the hard work that these guys put in to get on the field, I do not mean anything personal in writing that about McNulty & Jimmerson; by every account that I've read and heard, both are hard workers. We all saw the difference last night between hard workers and the best players to be on the field at this point in time. Smith is rough around the edges, but he's electric; Wilson is so much fun to watch run and given the line difficulties, he's a guy who doesn't depend solely on the line to create opportunities for him.

DaMarcus Smith can be a great QB; only first team practice reps and game time will tell if he will live up to his potential. He's raw, as evidenced by his dismal completion percentage last night. He reminds me a bit of a guy I watched QB A&M my sophomore year there back in the early 90s: Jeff Granger. Cannon of an arm but no touch on throws of 15 yards or less. Unlike Granger, a guy who was always more of a pitcher than a QB, I think DaMarcus can improve enough on those short passes to get his completion percentage up to a respectable level.

Jeffrey Wilson is the kind of back this offense needs right now, a guy who can create on his own without a lot of help from his line. He's also one hell of a north/south runner; he hits the hole with purpose and authority; even when he's stuffed for no gain or a short gain, defenders are getting walloped when they hit him.

I loved seeing Smith work with Goree. That could be one heck of a special pair.

Defense...well...I don't know that there's much that can be done at this point in the season. The only substantive thing I'd like to see changed is how far off the line the corners play on almost all downs. Several times last night the corners were 8-10 yards off the line in 3rd and short situations. Doughty ate us up on those plays, as should any decent or better QB. I understand the fear is getting beat down the field, but given the grievous problems the defense has with putting pressure on the QB, I'd rather see them at least press a little and try to disrupt the easy plays than to sit back and get converted on at will.

Hated seeing Willie Ivery get injured. Did he come out of the locker room for the 2nd half? I was looking for him but did not see him. He was very frustrated and demonstrative on the trainers' table after coming out of the game; when you see a guy that frustrated and upset, it's usually bad news.

Finally, a tip of the Mean Green cap to Chico. I loved seeing him call a time out and gather all the guys around him late in the game and tell them to get off their asses (his words, not mine) and get up on the sidelines and support the team.

ADDENDUM: A final comment on DaMarcus Smith: on that final TD throw to Carlos Harris, he stepped into pressure to make that throw and got lit up. That's the kind of play that ought to earn him some good will from his teammates.

Edited October 16, 2015 by MeanGreenWithEnvy

Matt from A700 · October 17, 2015

The student section last night was very uninspiring, and you could not hear our side until kickoff, except for one instance: and it was when DaMarcus Smith was announced as the starting QB. Everyone erupted.