Missouri 31, Tennessee 3: Two post-game thoughts

This is one pretty good doggone football team.

1. Drip, Drip, Drip

This is not the classic mammoth offensive line that you might normally associate with a wear-you-down metaphor. Yet that's exactly what it does. It wears on defenses, like a slow drip on a rock. The group can play with power, but more to the point, it can do a bit of everything. Short and wide zone runs. Pull the guard, tackle, and center to get to the edge. It's also a very good pass blocking line. This is a difficult line for defenses to deal with. South Carolina did it by gambling on being disruptive, shooting the gaps and blitzing often.

The offense came out flat against Tennessee. It seemed that the weight of expectations might make this one of "those" games. But, like a pitcher that can throw all of his pitches for strikes, the line kept Tennessee off-balance all game. For all the well-deserved plaudits the defensive line gets, this offensive line may be the best unit on the roster.

2. Baggett

Most kickers slump at some point. So I don't usually worry too much about a few misses, especially when I see issues with snaps and/or holds. A good chunk of a kicker's value comes from creating field position on kickoffs, anyway. My concern with Andrew Baggett is that, to the naked eye at least, he appears to have lost some distance on kickoffs. The coverage the past two games has been sufficient to limit big plays. However, at one point, back when Baggett was leading the nation in touch backs, he had value regardless of mediocre accuracy. If Baggett loses kickoff distance, that's a problem. I'll take mediocre accuracy with a big leg as long as the leg shows up on kickoffs.