It's going to be inevitable to talk about Missouri in 2009 without talking about losses--Daniel, Coffman, Maclin (probably), etc.  However, there is a potentially strong identity for Missouri to carve out of what is returning...namely, threats in the running game.

Returnees

Derrick Washington (5'11, 215, junior)

Derrick Washington was, to say the least, feast-or-famine in 2008.

• First five games: 67 carries, 500 rushing yards, 10 TDs (plus 9 catches, 92 yards, another 2 TDs) (7.8 yards per touch)
  
• Next two: 15 carries, 28 rushing yards, 2 TDs (plus 8 catches, 70 yards) (4.3 yards per touch)
  
• Next four games: 59 carries, 381 rushing yards, 4 TDs (plus 7 catches, 66 yards) (6.77 yards per touch)
  
• Final three games: 36 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD (plus 5 catches, 49 yards) (4.3 yards per touch)

Thanks to his outstanding receiving ability, his per-touch averages were never really too terrible, but three things were clear regarding Washington: 1) his success took the Missouri offense to a stratospheric level, 2) he struggled mightily against the better rush defenses on the schedule (OU, Texas, Northwestern, OSU), and 3) he didn't look nearly as explosive at the end of the season.  Now, (1) needs no explanation--matching the Daniel-Maclin-Coffman trifecta with an unstoppable running game is just about unfair.  Really, (2) doesn't need an explanation either--better defenses stop good players better.  That's, like, science or something.  However, (3) needed a bit of an explanation...and it possibly just got one:

Why the drop-off in the second half of the season? Was Washington injured? Gary Pinkel never mentioned his tailback in his weekly injury reports, but, for what it’s worth, a relative of Washington’s recently posted on a MU message board that the tailback injured his knee in MU’s second game, which eventually required his knee to be drained to relieve swelling.

Now, this obviously wasn't a tremendously significant injury, as Washington's most productive stretch--Nevada, Buffalo and Nebraska--came after the second game.  Plus, he went for 151 total yards and 2 TDs in frigid temps up in Ames late in the season.  Regardless, it's as good an explanation as anything else to explain why Washington was struggling.  When #24 is on, he exploits even tiny holes and runs through arm tackles.  Against OU and Northwestern in particular, even when there were holes to be exploited, he was only getting 4-6 yards instead of 8-12.

Mizzou's chances for a surprise North title in 2009 rely on Washington being both healthy and productive, and while I'm 90% optimistic he will be both, his late-season struggles prevent me from being 100% optimistic.

De'Vion Moore (5'9, 195, sophomore)

Obviously after one season of mostly junk-time work, it's hard to get a read on De'Vion Moore's potential, but it's tempting to go in one of two extreme directions:

1. Barring one big carry against Colorado, here were his stats during conference play (junk time or no): 19 carries, 69 yards (3.6 per carry), 0 TDs.  Not amazing stuff.  It seems clear early on that he has the ceiling of Marcus Woods and the floor of Earl Goldsmith.  He's shifty but not all that productive.
   
2. Did you see that one big carry against Colorado (4:03 of this video)?  Holy crap!  He got a whole and just exploded away from every defender!  Kid's got some serious jets and could make a nice inside-outside combo with D-Wash in '09.

As always, reality probably lies halfway between the two extremes, but with three years of eligibility remaining, there's still plenty of potential in De'Vion to be exploited.  And he certainly makes for an interesting change of pace with Washington running mostly between the tackles.

Redshirts

Drew Temple (5'10, 190ish, RSFr)

We obviously don't know a ton about Drew Temple at this point, but his Rivals video tells us that he runs a lot like his older brother Tony--stringing runs outside until a hole develops, then trying to explode through it--only, it appears, he maybe seeks out contact a bit more.  How that translates to success at Mizzou, who the heck knows, but for as disappointing as Tony Temple was at times, I think we would all be pretty happy to have a TT proxy in the backfield for another few years, huh?

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Well...the winter break for the Monday Musings is coming to an end.  While there was only football and basketball (of both varieties) played this past week, the schedule blossoms next week into a full-on docket of Mizzou sports.  So, I suppose I am going to take this chance to speak a little longer about a couple of sports as I have the time to dedicate to it.  In the end though, any time I say I am going to keep it short, I go long and any time I decide to go long, it ends up being short, so who the hell knows how this will finish.

Football:

First off, it is rather strange to talk about a football game which happened just about a week ago already.  However, maybe this will be a blessing in disguise, as it should provide some additional perspective which Tuesday did not hold.

I did not have many parameters for the college I wanted to attend when I started looking back in high school.  They needed to have a good journalism program (as it was to be my intended major) and I wanted a big-time college atmosphere because I so enjoyed sports.  Mizzou had both (obviously) with the J-school...and basketball.  Football was different in 1995.  Few my age could tell you of the history of the 60's and 70's, all we knew was we were not good, but it was fun to go to games at Faurot six times a year.  Hell, for all of my well-documented spirit for the Tigers, my first game (against North Texas) saw me sport a navy blue Mizzou sweatshirt.  Football, for better or worse, was social more than anything.

Don't get me wrong...I cheered hard that season.  I always cheered hard, even back in high school when I lived through 10 wins in four years and never a win on homecoming....though we did tie twice.  But expectations in 1995 did not exist, so I was endoctrinated into big time college football by being able to simply go and enjoy everything else, since enjoying the game was not really a steadily viable option.

The years went on and brought the Corby/Olivo/West years of 96-98.  We tore down the goalposts in beating a 4-7 kU squad to end 1996 at 5-6.  I have a piece of that post with the words, "The Corner has been Turned" written on it.  Did I believe that when I wrote it?  Probably, but did I understand what needed to happen for that to actually be true?  Nope...but we went out there and tore them down anyway and I wrote it nonetheless.

I learned a great lesson in November of 1997.  You see, the game against Nebraska was the first time I had seen the Huskers thanks to the transition of schedules from the Big 8 to the Big 12.  The ultimate experience which I always wanted was at my feet.  The chance to take down #1 at home.  I really finally knew what it was to be at a big time college football program.  The lesson learned that night was one of how to stay in the moment and enjoy the game for what it was.  I was able to do that for about 57 mintues that night, but I faltered right at the end.  In the end, I poured my soul into what I was watching and it broke my heart...and still does every time I see that play.  The fact I have a physcial reaction to seeing something 11 years later speaks to that.

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1 - With the 2008 season in the books for Mizzou, what's the single lingering image you take away from this Tiger season?  Doug, I bet I know what your answer is going to be...

2 - What would have been a better finish for Missouri this season--beating OSU or Kansas and losing the Holiday Bowl to finish 10-4, or losing to OSU and Kansas, but winning the Alamo Bowl (albeit it in uninspiring fashion) to finish 10-4?  Which one would have felt more satisfying/disappointing now that all is said and done?

3 - Disappointment or no, Missouri has gone 22-6 in the last two seasons and 30-11 in the last three.  Is this the high point of the Pinkel era, or can he bring Missouri back to this level again now that this batch of seniors (and at least one stud underclassman) have played their last game in Missouri uniforms?

4 - Mizzou plays Georgia on a basketball court in Athens this Saturday.  Georgia needed a buzzer-beater 3 to beat Wofford and has already lost to Loyola-IL and Texas A&M-CC (the A&M cross-country team?  Oh...A&M-Corpus Christi...).  What % chance does Missouri have of losing this game on Saturday?

5 - New Year's Eve plans?

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We were out of sorts all game, Chase Daniel's never played worse, we were falling down in pass coverage, we couldn't run the ball, our "most accurate kicker of all-time" missed a game-ending FG, we were a step behind in our play-calling for much of the game...and we won our 10th game of the season.  How in the hell did this happen??

Thoughts after the jump...

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UPDATE, 12/29: Being that RMN's hits over Christmas were (predictably) down quite a bit, and this has already been bumped pretty far down by other posts, I thought I would bump it back up.  It's all after the jump.

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1 - Who will miss All-Americans Chase Coffman and Jeremy Maclin more next year--the team or the fans?

2 - Lots of stories are coming out Blaine Gabbert's positive development from August through the bowl practices.  What should Mizzou legitimately expect from him in 2008?

3 - Missouri is ranked ahead of Kansas in basketball for the first time in at least five years.  What do you see from these two teams the rest of the season?

4 - Does anybody have a cooler nickname than the Stetson Hatters?

5 - How are you planning on celebrating Christm...uhh, Hanuk...uhh, Kwanz...uhh, Festivus...uhh, your chosen religious winter holiday?

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We have a long-standing rule here at Rock M Nation: win a national award, get your very own 40-comment thread, and get your own set of bullet links.  Therefore...JOHN MACKEY AWARD-WINNING CHASE COFFMAN LINKS:

• Mutigers.com: Coffman Wins John Mackey Tight End Award

  "I’m really honored by this, to win the award that says you’re the best in the nation at your position, it means a lot," said Coffman, who was in Orlando attending the show, as the guest of teammate and friend, Jeremy Maclin, who was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award (tight ends aren’t invited to the show, but Maclin insisted that Coffman come with him anyway because he deserved it).

  "I’m really happy for my family and especially my Dad (Paul) who taught me so much about football," Coffman said. "I have to give a lot of credit to my coaches over the years, and definitely Coach (Bruce) Walker (MU tight end coach) and Coach Pinkel for giving me the opportunities they have at Mizzou. It’s an individual award, but it’s also something that our team earns, because it doesn’t happen without a great quarterback like Chase (Daniel) and our great playmakers like Jeremy (Maclin) and D-Wash (TB Derrick Washington) who draw attention away from me, and our offensive line which gives Chase time to make the throws. I hope everyone takes some satisfaction in knowing they helped make this happen," he said.

• Dave Matter: Coffman Captures Mackey Award
• KC Star: Coffman wins top tight end award
  

Wow...Dave Matter just joined the mailbag fray, and his first one is a friggin' doozy...in fact, that's right..I think it deserves the graphic...

MAILBAG!!!!

Q: Without Maclin and Coffman next year, will we have a respectable receiving corps? And what do you think about Glazer and Dalton competing with Gabbert at QB? — Roy Johnson

A: Covered the receivers question earlier. There’s not one developed No. 1 option right now. Danario Alexander would be the closest example, but I think he needs a full offseason to get back to where he was before the knee surgeries. If he can get back to where he was before the 2007 season — when he was no less impressive than Maclin in practice, it not more — than he’s the obvious No. 1 weapon. Jared Perry and Andrew Jones can be productive options, but I’d say MU needs significant production out of three or four among Jerrell Jackson, Gahn McGaffie, Wes Kemp, Mike Egnew and Rolandis Woodland.
As for the quarterbacks, I don’t think it’s fair to speculate or evaluate their potential until they’re on campus practicing side by side. Anything else would be premature and wasteful guesswork.

Journalism Bowl Alamo Bowl buzz links!

• Post-Dispatch: Gary Pinkel live from San Antonio in advance of Alamo Bowl
• The Missourian: Pinkel, Fitzgerald begin Alamo Bowl buzz
• KC Star: Northwestern coach has MU connection
• Post-Dispatch: Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald comes a long way fast (weird use of present tense there)
• Chicago Tribune: Northwestern braces for a big challenge vs Missouri

To basketball, where PowerMizzou submits the latest "They're having fun out there" article, the Post-Dispatch talks about the attention Mizzou isn't getting (fine by me), and The Trib's Steve Walentik talks about Mizzou's attendance problems.  Mizzou is 11th in the Big 12 in attendance so far, though I will say...I think the Lloyd Noble Center counts attendance the way the Hearnes Center did...no WAY is OU actually averaging 10,665 in attendance...

...we can add another Winter tradition to the list: Mizzou tight ends getting screwed over by the Big 12 coaches.

That's right, the Coaches' All-Big 12 awards have been announced.

1st-Team Mizzou players

WR Jeremy Maclin
DL Ziggy Hood
LB Sean Weatherspoon
DB William Moore (unanimous)
PK Jeff Wolfert

2nd-Team Mizzou players

RB Derrick Washington
TE Chase Coffman
OL Kurtis Gregory
DL Stryker Sulak

Honorable Mention

QB Chase Daniel
WR Tommy Saunders
OL Tim Barnes
OL Colin Brown
DL Jaron Baston
LB Brock Christopher
DB Castine Bridges (?)
DB Justin Garrett (??)
KR/PR Jeremy Maclin

I realize it's hard to complain too much--a few years ago, it was amazing to see a handful of second-teamers in Mizzou uniforms, much less nine on the 1st- and 2nd-team--and I realize that Jermaine Gresham is by all means a helluva tight end, but...come on.  Not only is Chase Coffman the best tight end in the conference, he's the best tight end I've ever seen.

Then again, this tells you everything you need to know about the validity of these stupid exercises:

* Justin Garrett = honorable mention all-conference
* Carl Gettis = not

Good god, what a waste of time.  Sorry I even acknowledged this with a post.

I'm sorry, but I just can't respect any movie that a) stars Tom Cruise, and b) stars Tom Cruise wearing an eyepatch.  Just can't do it.

Chase Daniel: chippy.

Quarterback Chase Daniel was in an extraordinarily chippy mood during his weekly turn at the podium. When asked about Oklahoma’s defense, Daniel came prepared with some offensive statistics for several of his teammates.

“They’re a great defensive team, but you want to talk about their guys,” he said. “What about our guys? I’ve got some stats right here.”

With that Daniel rattled off several season and career numbers for six of his teammates, reading off from a piece of paper — though he could probably recite them for memory. He mentioned numbers for Chase Coffman, Jeremy Maclin, Tommy Saunders, Jared Perry, Jeff Wolfert and Derrick Washington.

“You look at their weapons. Well, I want to look at ours and what we have to bring to the table,” he said. “I feel good about our guys.”

...

A couple things at play here: Daniel’s got something for the Sooners. That’s obvious. He grew up a Texas fan, so no surprise there. But over the last three years, Daniel’s been more than willing to discuss and dissect the defensive players for every other team on MU’s schedule. Just not Oklahoma.

“We want respect, and it’s not going to be given to us,” he said. “We just have to go out and get it.”

I love the attitude, but I'm scared enough about poking the bear that...yeah...back it up, Chase, and I'll love you to pieces...the KC Star has more.

Big 12 Championship Links!

• Mutigers.com: official release

  Oklahoma has won 18 of the last 19 games in the series, dating back to 1984, and if you take it back to 1970, they’ve won 30 of the last 33 meetings between the two schools. Since 1946, the series stands in OU’s favor by a whopping 49-7-1 margin – that’s when the separation really began by the Sooners from the Tigers, as in 1945, a Mizzou 14-6 win over OU evened the series at 16-16-1 at the time.

• Soonersports.com: Sooner Scouting Report
• The Trib: Tigers vs Sooners: The Sequel
• PowerMizzou: Tigers know few have faith
• Post-Dispatch: Missouri not distracted as it focuses on OU and Big 12 Title Game
• Bryan Burwell: Missouri has a chance to defeat Oklahoma, but it is a slim one
• Tulsa World: Sooners' depth will be tested
• Daily Oklahoman: Bob Stoops addresses Sam Bradford injury, Missouri
• Daily Oklahoman: Tigers way short of expectations
• Daily Oklahoman: Thumbs up for OU quarterback Sam Bradford

Naturally, Gary Pinkel is pretty happy about Dave Christensen's promotion (they've been working together since 1980!), as are Christensen's players...

In football recruiting news, it looks like Mizzou sent out a new offer for 2010: Blaine Gabbert's younger brother, Tyler.

Mizzou Basketball links!

• KC Star: Freshman Paul fits in at Missouri
• Mutigers.com: UA-Pine Bluff official release
• Steve Walentik: Goodbye Oral Roberts, hello Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Finally, it's time to get fully into 2003 Kansas State mode...live it, love it...

I'm sure Ross will post some thoughts at some point as well, but in the meantime...

* This just wasn't the season we thought it would be.  Plain and simple.  One thing I hate doing is determining blame, so I'll leave that to others.  As a fan, all I can say is, the bounces didn't go our way in big moments this year, and while Mizzou fans should almost never be disappointed with 9-3, this was the one year where 9-3 felt like a bit of a failure.

* Of course, next week we get a chance to make everybody forget this moment by doing something amazing.  It probably won't happen, but that is a good reminder of something else: we won our second straight North title this year.  Bears mentioning.

* I don't know why our blitz hasn't worked this year, but...our blitz hasn't worked this year.  Our defensive line generates a decent pass rush, but I can't think of many times where a big blitz produced a big play.  Today was obviously no different.  Strategically, I think blitzing on 4th-and-7 was the correct aggressive play.  But it's hard to completely agree with the call since the blitz has been so ineffective.  I'd like to think our blitz gets better next year with missiles like Ebner and Gachkar getting more familiar with the defense and more involved, but...we'll see.

* I've already seen other sites saying how Mizzou "choked" this game away.  I just don't see it.  We sucked in the first half, held it together, came back in the second half, and it became a "who gets the ball last?" situation.  Todd Reesing outdueled Chase Daniel, KU played its best game of the year and won a big rivalry game at the last second...I guess I just reserve the word "choke" for more extreme situations than this.

* I can't give Todd Reesing enough credit for this effort.  He was pretty damn mediocre the last couple of times I saw him play, but he was on tonight.  What makes it more impressive is, we hit him...a lot.

* Chase Coffman = balls.  A couple of times, instead of trying to slow down once he started running, he just fell down.  He was clearly in pain...about half-speed...and he caught six balls and 2 TDs.  I'm really gonna miss the Flying Nunchuk.  Clearly he's not going to be 100% next week (for the second straight Big 12 title game), but I just hope he's healed for the bowl game...just so I get one last chance to watch him fly around.

* I wrote a lot about 2009 earlier this week, and I'm at least partially optimistic about Mizzou's chances thanks to the OL and Derrick Washington...but obviously Reesing/Briscoe/Meier (and Stuckey) will have something to say about that.

* Does this mean we can retire the gold jerseys?