Mizzou chat with Dave Matter
Bring your Tigers basketball and football questions, and talk to Mizzou beat writer Dave Matter in a live chat starting at 11 a.m..Thursday.
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Football attendance is trending down across the nation. This is not unique to Mizzou, though it must be a concern for Sterk to see that a rebound season can't push ticket sales the following year. There's not a lot of excitement about a team that for lots of reasons should be Mizzou's best since 2014. I don't quite understand it, but MU lost some fans in the wake of 2015 and didn't help its cause with such a sluggish start in 2017.
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It was easy to blame some of last year's end-of-game breakdowns on ball-handling but those were hardly the only contributors to those losses. More often than not, MU lost games when it didn't play great team defense. That was certainly the case against Arkansas and Ole Miss, when Geist got all the (public) blame for last-second missed shots, neither of which were caused by ball-handling. The West Virginia game sticks out in everyone's mind, but he's hardly the first point guard to struggle against the best press in the nation. He has to improve in his decision-making, no doubt. I expect him to be more well rounded this year.
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I'm not sure how to respond. Barry has never been a real magnet for media attention, and in fairness, neither was Pinkel through his first couple years at MU. There will be more coverage next week during SEC Media Days, but MU shares the same afternoon session as Alabama, so the national spotlight will shine on Saban and the Tide.
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Being a normal adult I follow most of the bball players on instragram and read into their posts. I noticed Pinson was out of town and looked like he was just hanging at home recently when the team was doing the etiquette class and team bbq. He seems to leave Como a lot. Any concern here like a Blake Harris type situation? Understand it is summer, he is a 18 y/o kid that probably is adjusting to being away from home, that the bball coaches wouldn't share their thoughts if they were concerned, but I don't want to have no point guard depth again. Do you know much about Pinson?
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I'm told by a team spokesman that Pinson is back home tending to a personal matter and is expected back in Columbia soon. At the time I don't know more than that. I'd hate to speculate on any reasons, but at this point I don't sense it's a major concern. Cuonzo Martin and Cornell Mann have been complimentary of him this summer.
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I'm skeptical. He's got the talent. He's got the size. Does he have the toughness? Does he have the drive? He wants to be great. There's no doubt about that. Was this back injury just a bump in the road or will it define his career? He's still so young and has lived a different lifestyle as a boy and teenager than a lot of his peers. How will he handle NOT being the best player on his team? So many questions. But so much upside, too. That said, it all comes back to the back. I wouldn't be shocked if he misses a good chunk of his rookie year.
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Hard to say because my view of spring ball is limited to a few practices. And, it's spring ball. Not close to the same as the live bullets of the regular season. There's great depth and versatility up front with the glut of D-tackles. I'd be concerned about the edge pass rush. I'm high on the inside linebacker tandem of Hall and Garrett. They won't get much preseason buzz around the league, but it's a strong duo inside. I'm not sold on the safeties yet, which is nothing new for this program. That was obvious when I was putting together the program's All-SEC Defense from the past six years. Other than Braylon Webb, this team hasn't produced a safety who's even in the discussion for All-SEC honors since joining the league. I liked what I saw from Adam Sparks at corner last year. He's got some fight in him for a little dude. Acy has the tools to be a strong corner. Holmes, too. Can they put it all together? Their job on the back end is a lot easier with a potent pass rush up front, but teams probably won't be afraid to pick on the secondary on first and second down - until the back end proves it an hold its own.
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I'm all for Drew Lock getting Heisman looks and him bolstering his potential #1 pick draft stock, but it seems to me that the legs of Crockett and Rountree could be the path to success for this football team this year? They obviously won't run the number of plays a game that they did under Heupel, but I'm not so sure that we need to be about 60/40 run to pass?
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I've never known a coach who goes into a season with a strict plan when it comes to run-pass ratio. So much hinges on matchups, game situations, defensive schemes, injuries, etc. Dooley wants to run the ball. There's no doubt there. And he's got two capable SEC backs to get that done. He's also got a quarterback who's already proven he can throw 44 touchdowns and has an NFL arm - so he's not going to ignore that reality. I would think they'll strive for balance, and if out of that they win a lot of games and Lock puts up strong numbers, the postseason awards will take care of itself. But they won't call plays just to build his Heisman candidacy. These coaches have their careers on the line.
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More hyped? I'm not sensing much hype.As I wrote earlier, there's no reason this team shouldn't be MU's best team since 2014. That team was loaded up front defensively with Ray, Golden and Brantley. Mauk was erratic but with Sasser, Hunt, Hansbrough and Murphy they had enough playmakers to get the job done. That was an 11-win team.This 2018 team has more firepower offensively. Not nearly as much established talent and depth on defense. Plus a tougher schedule. Georgia wasn't a nationally elite team heading into 2014. Alabama wasn't on the schedule in 2014. South Carolina is better now. Florida, too. Memphis is as good as any non Power 5 team that MU has played in nonconference play since .... San Diego State in 2010?
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Unfortunately, last year Mizzou schedule was the one they should have capitalized on. This year will be tougher. LY we lost to Purdue at home, this year it's at Purdue. As you said, Memphis is tough. At SC, FLorida and Alabama (all L's). Georgia, Arkansas and Wyoming at home (Georgia L and Wyoming was an 8 win team LY). I am struggling to even find 6 wins. What you say?
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Wyoming has been barely competitive against Power 5 teams in the last decade. And they lost their quarterback. Mizzou should be no less than a 14-point favorite. That's two wins when you count UT-Martin.Kentucky and Vandy should be wins. They're home games against programs that aren't trending in the right direction - though MU hasn't beaten UK since 2014.Arkansas and Tennessee are in rebuild mode. Maybe they're playing better by the end of the year under new staffs, but on paper in July those should be wins.Memphis and Purdue aren't gimmes. But when you come off a 7-win season and have a possible first-round NFL quarterback those are games you should expect to win.Alabama and Georgia are preseason top-five teams. Tough, tough games.If you can split the two games at Florida and South Carolina - difficult but hardly impossible - you're in position for a nine-win season, maybe more.
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Dave, thanks for the weekly chats. Being a mid-MO raised kid, I like to read both the KC Star and Post Dispatch. Sam Mellinger does a similar weekly chat for the Star (just not live). I believe he started as a beat writer and is now a columnist. Any plans/desire to leave the MU beat and be a columnist?
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Probably Washington-Auburn. The Huskies should be a playoff contender. Maybe Auburn too. Two really good quarterbacks in that game. Second, I'd go with. Michigan-Notre Dame. Who has Harbaugh beaten? Big road test for the Wolverines. Notre Dame should be top 20 preseason. Miami-LSU is a good test for a young LSU team.
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Make sure you listen to this week's Eye on The Tigers Podcast with Ben Fred and I talking to Georgia beat writer Chip Towers.
Eye on the Tigers podcast: It's all about the quarterbacks when Georgia comes to Mizzou
Episode 34 -- Missouri senior Drew Lock is not the only SEC quarterback in the way-too-early Heisman conversation. Georgia sophomore QB Jake Fromm will bring a loaded Bulldogs team to -
First a comment, then a question:
I live in GA, many Bulldog fans make the trek to CoMo for the game. The vast majority of the comments have been positive, especially referencing the Mizzou fans and hospitality.
The question: Josh H based his game plan on speed, seldom adjusting plays or match ups in game. do you expect to see more in game adjustments with DD? (I do)
Like all the other readers, I appreciate your time and coverage -
Thanks for the note. I'm not sure I'd agree that Heupel didn't adjust plays or matchups. It's not like they ran the same plays in the same order every game. It was a fairly simplified attack in terms of what each receivers were asked to do, but he broke out different looks and attacked different parts of the field more than others in certain games. As for Dooley, he doesn't have a track record as a play-caller, so there's no way to really project how exactly he'll adjust mid-game. I saw a lot of variety when it came to formations, especially with the tight end position(s), but we'll obviously know more once the real season begins.
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He's helping the UMKC chancellor as a consultant while the school hires a new AD. I don't believe this is a full-time job change for Mike. He did the same thing at Louisiana-Lafayette a couple years back. He continues to take his MU students to Vietnam several times a year. He just returned recently. Either way, why is it bad for Mizzou if he's helping out at UMKC?
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Santos can help this team in a few different areas. I'm not sure he's a prolific scorer this year, but he'll rebound on both ends, play defense and stretch the floor. Not sure how much Braun will play this year. Martin doesn't generally play a very deep bench. He could get some minutes here and there.
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I'm also skeptical. Unless a great pass rush emerges, I'm not sure how well they'll hold up against a really good passing game. Here's the good news: They don't play Jared Stidham (Auburn) and Josh Allen (Wyoming) is in the NFL. Memphis is a dangerous passing team. South Carolina has a veteran QB in Bentley. I'm fairly certain Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee and Vandy will put quarterbacks on the field, but we're not talking about elite passers on those teams - at least not in July. Florida will have a more competent passing game under Dan Mullen. Alabama can usually do what it wants against anyone. So, for the most part, there's not a lot of potent, proven passing offenses on the schedule.
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If you're coming off a 7-win season and you get two high-profile juniors to return to school instead of entering the NFL draft, a 6-win regular season is an absolute disappointment and a step backward.Now, granted, other factors can contribute, like injuries. But if this staff can only take MU to six wins with Drew Lock at quarterback, with Terry Beckner at D-tackle, with Albert O at tight end, Hall at receiver, Hall at linebacker, five returning starters along the O-line and two SEC-caliber running backs ... then what should Sterk expect moving forward?
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