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Mizzou Links, 8-30-10

By Bill Connelly

So Dave Matter asked a pretty good question on Twitter last night:

Big picture question here: Is a disciplinarian coach defined by his response to rule-breakers or by not having them in the first place?

My response: I've always leaned toward the former.  When it comes to football, you're basically babysitting 100 20-year olds -- they're going to be stupid no matter how hard you try to convince them not to be.  You can't keep from having a few rule-breakers, but how you respond to them defines your program.

Of course ... in theory, if you respond correctly to rule breakers, eventually they don't break the rules as much.  Of all the strengths Gary Pinkel has, I've always considered his disciplinarian style to be one of the biggest.  But you have to re-up your credentials every now and then, and Pinkel needs to get this team under some semblance of control.  Never mind the Derrick Washington thing -- in the last two months, he's had a potential starter get arrested for shoplifting (from Spencer's) and two strong role players get DWIs.  Oh, and no matter how stupid the circumstances, he's had a coach arrested for DWI as well.

Now, to be sure, most of this falls well inside the "This happens everywhere" arena (though the Spencer's part was certainly creative, as was the "Mizzou assistant gets DWI while waiting for a cab" bit).  Most good programs have offseasons like this at one point or another.  But it hasn't happened to this degree for a Gary Pinkel team yet.  How the team responds is a complete unknown.  This is where this team either bands together and thrives, or falls apart and misses an opportunity thanks to poor leadership (from the players themselves even more than the coaches).  Which is it going to be?

Brinkley

Washington Odds & Ends

Mizzou Football Links You Might Actually Want To Read

  • MUtigers.com: Mizzou Names Randy Moehlman New Public Address Announcer (so ... being named Randy was one of the qualifications?)
  • Post-Dispatch: Dome-field advantage pays off for Mizzou
  • Football Outsiders (Doug Farrar): Cover-3: Empty Bandwagons
    I remembered that Drew Brees didn't just break the bias against short quarterbacks, he also sidestepped the spread offense knock with two different NFL teams. He did so with a surprisingly good arm that seemed to get stronger with NFL experience. Nobody questions the ability to make the downfield stick throws into tight windows that separate the starters from the perpetually inactive in the NFL. Saints head coach Sean Payton knows a thing or three about quarterback development himself, and given Chase Daniel's impressive preseason performance against the Texans, I wanted to know if Daniel attained characteristics that might make him another outlier in the long run. ...

    Daniel is predisposed to rolling out, but that works in this offense. Payton loves to send Brees out of the pocket right off the snap to accentuate his mobility and ensure that his height isn't a liability when he needs to see his targets. Daniel seemed conversant with two styles of Saints play action. First, there was the quick fake to rollout or dropback, and then there was an elongated play action that seemed effective off a typical zone stretch run like the Colts so often use. He also made two very impressive longer throws.

    The first came with 8:40 in the second quarter with the Saints facing third and 14 at their own 45. Daniel took the snap from underneath center, went with the quick play-action, waited for Marques Colston to run a deep square-in between four zone defenders, and hit him right on target, 20 yards downfield. It wasn't the definition of a tight window, as Colston had yardage on each corner of coverage, but I can think of at least two Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks who would have hosed that play up something fierce last Monday.

    The second throw came on the Saints' next drive, from their own 21 on second and 6 with 2:57 left in the first half. More play-action out of an I-back set (a little bit "stretchier" this time), and Daniel threw deep downfield to receiver Adrian Arrington, who had beaten safety Eugene Wilson. It was a professional throw -- great trajectory, excellent timing, and the ball hit Arrington in stride. It was about here that I starting thinking of Daniel as potentially more than just another NFL washout.

     

  • KC Star: Neighborhood fishing hole has Missouri's Gabbert hooked (Um ... the picture in this article is not Blaine Gabbert. You're telling me nobody realized this?)
  • The Missourian: Jimmie Hunt gets football education while out with injury
  • KC Star: Mizzou can stop trash talk by winning
  • PowerMizzou: 2010 fall camp awards
  • PowerMizzou: Camp rewind: Offense
  • PowerMizzou: Camp rewind: Defense

Big 12 Football Links

  • National Football Post: 2010 Big 12 Preview
  • Daily Oklahoman: Whatever happened to redshirting players in college football

    "Coaches today in the current college football landscape are starting to understand, they have to win now, in order to keep their jobs," said ESPN college football analyst Jesse Palmer. "Gone are the days when a coach has a long tenure and juniors and seniors are entitled to playing time, where freshmen come in, redshirt and wait their turn. Coaches are realizing they need to win, or they will get fired, or they will get bought out."

    Another major reason is to win recruiting battles. Especially among the blue-chip prospects.

    "Being on the scout team all year is never any fun," said OU center Ben Habern, who saw time as a true freshman in 2008 even though the Sooners had all-conference center Jon Cooper. "I don't think any player wants to come in and redshirt."

    Would Adrian Peterson have gone to OU if he thought he was going to redshirt? Or Dez Bryant at OSU?

    "There's no doubt about it, coaches are getting away from redshirting players," said ESPN college football analyst Desmond Howard, who won the Heisman Trophy at Michigan in 1991. "I remember talking to (former USC coach) Pete Carroll, and one of the things he tells freshmen is, you will have a chance to compete for a starting position. You're not telling him you're going to play or you're going to start, but you will have an equal opportunity to practice and compete for a starting job."

  • Dallas Morning News (Chuck Carlton): Compelling story lines could make for wild ride as Big 12 football kicks off
  • Baylor
    Houston Chronicle: 'The sky's the limit' for Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III
  • Kansas
    KC Star: Turning point: Gill brings new style of coaching to KU
  • Kansas State
    KC Star: No mystery: K-State is going to run with Daniel Thomas
  • Nebraska
    Corn Nation: Should Nebraska Schedule Colorado for a "Money Game"?
  • Oklahoma State
    Cowboys Ride for Free: OSU Football Game Pods and Predictions
    Daily Oklahoman: Preparation is in Brandon Weeden's background
  • Texas
    SI.com (Andy Staples): Texas lost to Alabama, but found QB of future in Garrett Gilbert
  • Texas A&M
    Houston Chronicle: A&M's Jerrod Johnson strictly about business of winning
  • Texas Tech
    Dallas Morning News (Chuck Carlton): Tuberville quick to make his mark at Texas Tech
    Houston Chronicle: Texas Tech to take different approach under Tuberville

Basketball

Mizzou Volleyball

  • Mizzou 3, Maryland 0
    MUtigers.com: Missouri Volleyball Starts Season with a Win
    The Trib: Nothing underhanded
  • Mizzou 3, Nevada 0
    MUtigers.com: Tigers Sweep Nevada, Improve to 2-0
  • Mizzou 3, Utah Valley 0
    MUtigers.com: Volleyball Wins Tiger Invitational
    The Missourian: MU volleyball opens season with tournament title
  • The Trib: Brimmage plays above net

    The volleyball net at the Hearnes Center is set at 7 feet, 4 inches.

    Missouri junior Brittney Brimmage, the most explosive jumper in program history, can touch 10 feet, 11 inches.

    "Getting her elbow over the basketball rim, basically," Coach Wayne Kreklow said.

    The 6-foot-3 middle blocker also holds a team record in the power clean. Ask MU’s opponents how blocking her goes.

    Brimmage, who only picked up volleyball in high school and once jokingly considered herself the "worst player ever," helped lead an overpowering but efficient front as Missouri swept through the Tiger Invitational yesterday at the Hearnes Center.

    ...

    [P]erhaps no player stood out more than Brimmage.

    Despite playing solely in MU’s front-row rotations, the East St. Louis, Ill., native closed the day with 15 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.

    It’s why Wayne Kreklow considers her the team’s most improved player and Wilson called her development "amazing."

  • KBIA.com (our very own UribeAuction): One-handed Kreklow leads Mizzou volleyball to undefeated weekend

Mizzou Soccer

  • Duke 3, Mizzou 1
    MUtigers.com: Tigers Fall to No. 19 Duke
  • North Carolina 6, Mizzou 1
    MUtigers.com: Missouri Drops to No. 1 North Carolina

Other Mizzou Links

  • Mizzou Baseball
    SimmonsField.com    : Mizzou Baseball in the Majors: Max Dominates the Missouri Way
  • Mizzou Women's Basketball
    The Trib: Pingeton fixated on recruiting

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