Here are the highlights from our weekly chat with Post-Dispatch readers.
Q: Dave, I’m really still impressed with Connor Bazelak, I think it’s important to still give recognition even after a loss, especially as MU fans are so fickle/bandwagonish. Going back to the Brad Smith QB era when I went to school and started paying attention to MU football, I always thought Lock and Gabbert were overrated, good, but always talked about as their NFL caliber arms. I thought James Franklin was underrated and took a lot of comments for caring about his health when injured. Chase Daniel was obviously great, although a lot of unrealistic MU fans (students) would complain he couldn’t win in the big games (Big 12 championship).
Taking into consideration the difference between the weaker Big 12 VS SEC, and difference in receivers, OL, etc. where would you rank Connor Bazelak among these QBs as far as how good they were in college at this point in their work?
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I feel he has the opportunity to be better than Chase Daniel, but needs better/faster receivers, OL, etc. He doesn’t have playmakers/game changers to throw to. He is calm but determined and accurate. How would his numbers look throwing to Jeremy Marlin, etc? Am I crazy for thinking he is one of the best QBs MU has ever had, and just needs players around him to develop?
A: He's not better than Daniel through 10 starts and I don't think he'll ever be close. Now, Chase was surrounded by NFL talent, but he's the best QB in team history and arguably the best offensive player in team history. I'll listen to arguments that he's both the best overall AND most important player in team history. His accuracy, leadership and intelligence were in another galaxy. Go back and watch some of his highlights. His arm was incredible. The offense was a machine with him at the controls. He was also an effective scrambler, especially early in his career. Bazelak hasn’t developed that part of his game.
Brad Smith was in another category all by himself because of his running ability and his role as the guy who made the program relevant again. But I’d say Bazelak has a chance to have better careers than Gabbert, Franklin and Lock, but let's see him win some big games first. Yeah, the LSU win last year was impressive. But that turned out to be a 5-5 LSU team that needed a thrown shoe (Florida) and a defensive meltdown (Ole Miss) to avoid being 3-7. Gabbert beat the No. 1 team in the country. Franklin won the SEC East and led an offense that averaged more yards per game than any offense in Mizzou history. Lock had some empty calorie yards and TDs during the Josh Heupel years, but he didn't have the luxury of playing with NFL receivers and still posted historic numbers.
Q: Dave, it’s my early impression that the offense and special teams are capable of delivering the “hoped for” 2021 season (8-9 wins), but the defense looks like a 6-6 team. How do you view the team after two games?
A: I'd agree for the most part. The offense was good enough Saturday to beat a top-half of the SEC team on the road. Tyler Badie has been incredible. Connor Bazelak has been very solid. I was impressed with his game Saturday. The receivers and the O-line don't feature any superstars, but they're serviceable. In the kicking game, Mizzou's in good hands with the core specialists.
Now, the defense. That's a problem. First game it was tackling. Second game was more of a matter of physicality. It reminded me of last year's game at Tennessee. In both games, Mizzou was never out of the game but Tennessee and Kentucky were always in control because they controlled the line of scrimmage, notably with their O-line. Missouri hasn't been very good at linebacker, and when your D-line can't shed blocks or get penetration that just puts more pressure on those linebackers. Can the Tigers improve in these areas? Well, they can't add any free agents, so they're going to have to figure out with the pieces in place.
Q: So Mizzou defense is 124 out of 130 teams. After two games! Terrible! Steve Wilks was an NFL coach.....is he just not adapting to the college game? Well obviously...but do NFL coaches schemes just not translate to the college game? Are you worried yet? I am!
A: A couple factors here that I think might be making the transition a little trickier than some people considered....
1. It's been more than 15 years since Wilks has coached at the college level, which means for 15 years his defense has had three or four preseason games to "work the kinks out" as he said this week. That’s a major transition.
2. On top of that, NFL training camps are longer than college preseason camps, which have become drastically streamlined through NCAA legislation the last few years. NFL teams can throw a lot more material at their players in terms of schemes and adjustments and scouting reports.
Now, those aren't excuses by any means. Wilks is making more money than any Mizzou assistant coach in the program's history. He was hired to run this defense immediately - not after two weeks of the season. To his credit, Wilks made it clear this week he blames himself for the struggles. He admitted he might have to cut back on the defense's complexities. But sometimes you can't make the right adjustments to your way of doing things until you experience the games and have to manage through some adversity. We'll see if things unfold differently next week. I won't take anything away from the SEMO game, unless of course the defense continues to struggle at the point of attack and give up so many uncontested yards.
Q: Has Coach Drinkwitz ever explained why he chose to punt on the fourth quarter 4th & 4 (near midfield) vs. going for it? Given how our defense was struggling to stop UK, it felt like a crucial time in game to take the ball out of our offense’ hands.
A: I didn't ask him, but here's how I'd guess he'd answer.
There were almost nine minutes left. That’s a little early to start risking possessions in a one-possession game. Mizzou still had its timeouts. The ball was in MU territory. You're giving UK a relatively short field if you don't get the first down. MU's defense had been playing better, forcing punts on two of the last three series. On the road with plenty of time left, the prudent move is to force Kentucky to march the length of the field to make it a two-possession game. Punter Grant McKinniss was having a good game.
Q: Are the Razorbacks that good or are the Longhorns that bad? You can't answer both...
A: I'd buy stock in the Hogs. It's a veteran defense with some proven players in Grant Morgan, Bumper Pool, Jalen Catalon and Tre Williams. It's year two in Barry Odom's defense. They're tough and physical. The O-line has played pretty well. KJ Jefferson is growing into the starting QB role. He's got some weapons around him. That doesn't mean they still won't finish last in the SEC West. It's a brutal division, and other than LSU everyone is undefeated. Mississippi State has an impressive win over NC State. Ole Miss is a legit top 25 team and now has a credible defense. Auburn is still a bit of a mystery because of the weak schedule but has a huge credibility game at Penn State on Saturday.
I haven't watched Texas closely, but if one of the QBs develops quickly, they can still win eight or nine games in the Big 12.
Q: Scheme or talent? What's the biggest reason the defense has struggled so much?
Related question, is Kentucky a more talented team than Mizzou?
A: Kentucky is absolutely more talented than Missouri. I don't think that's up for debate. If we're looking at recruiting rankings, UK's average class from 2015-21 was, on average, six spots higher than Mizzou's average class (No. 33 to No. 39). It's one thing if you have one or two classes that are better, but if over seven years you're on average six classes better, that's quite a discrepancy. Also, MU's classes over that time came in a wide range, as high as No. 25 and as low as the 50s. UK's classes ranged from No. 25 to 38. The Cats have been way more consistent.
UK's experienced transfers are better players and came from Power 5 programs: Levis (Penn State), Robinson (Nebraska), Rosenthal (LSU), compared to Mizzou's transfers from Rice, Tulsa and Montana State. (MU also has Mookie Cooper from Ohio State, but he never played there.)
From 2015-21, Kentucky signed 27 four-star players.
Mizzou signed 12 — and just five who are still on the team. (This is per 247Sports.com's national composite rankings — so not just one site's ratings.)
As for the scheme or talent question, I brought up some of the NFL-to-college transition issues that I think might be factoring into the struggles. But more than anything, this appears to be a talent issue. Let's not pretend that all these Mizzou D-linemen returned to college because they love the college life so much more than what they could be doing in the NFL. There's just not obvious NFL talent on that line.
Q: Eli Drinkwitz made a point to preach patience after the game. I get that, and agree that we have some talent opportunities. However, two weeks in a row we are behind in the 1st quarter and aren't really able to establish much on either side of the ball. If they don't score early and often against SEMO, is that maybe more proof that this is still a 6-6 style team?
A: Possibly. But, like I wrote this week, he's not preaching patience internally. His message to players is all about improving this week to win Saturday's game and play their best. He wants more guys to practice better so they can earn playing time. The patience message is for the fans who expect instant results on the field. I understand his point there. There's a lot of enthusiasm for what he's done on the recruiting trail, but that doesn't translate into wins now.
Put it this way. I'd be pretty excited if my neighborhood planned to open a Dunkin Donuts across the street from my house that only my neighbors and I could use. I'd tell all my friends about it and post lots of happy thoughts on social media. I might even buy some DD stock. But it would be unrealistic for me to expect to walk across the street and enjoy tasty donuts and coffee as soon as the plans were announced. I'd have to wait for DD to build the store, hire staff and make the donuts before I could expect results.
Make sense?
Now, to play devil’s advocate, if you were good enough to beat Kentucky in 2020, do you need to be preaching the patience narrative after losing to Kentucky by a touchdown on the road in 2021?