Play calling

[Kelledr]

I have never liked the play calling, but when we play a good team it becomes evident the offensive coordinator Has no clue. They continue to run the ball with bad results. They move down the field passing at the end of the half, then,
first and goal they run 3 times. And then take a field goal. You are not going to beat OU on field goals. They needed to go for the last two. Only one long pass was called in the first half and we got a PI on that one. The defense played great but the offense no. Coleman catches the last pass and it is 17-13. Mizzou was never out of it, if there was some imagination to the play calling. Take what the defense gives you. Do they ever throw the ball to Hardy. Is there ever a safety valve incase there isn’t anyone open, no and no. We have a great young receiving 3 some, but seldom throw to them. I am worried they might go into the portal so they can get some more action.

[JohnTudor1985]

I have never liked the play calling, but when we play a good team it becomes evident the offensive coordinator Has no clue. They continue to run the ball with bad results. They move down the field passing at the end of the half, then,
first and goal they run 3 times. And then take a field goal. You are not going to beat OU on field goals. They needed to go for the last two. Only one long pass was called in the first half and we got a PI on that one. The defense played great but the offense no. Coleman catches the last pass and it is 17-13. Mizzou was never out of it, if there was some imagination to the play calling. Take what the defense gives you. Do they ever throw the ball to Hardy. Is there ever a safety valve incase there isn’t anyone open, no and no. We have a great young receiving 3 some, but seldom throw to them. I am worried they might go into the portal so they can get some more action.

Agree with most of this. I would say what separates MIzzou from the elite SEC teams:

1. QB play
2. Game prep and play-calling
3. Special teams
4. Overall depth

[bigmike1968]

I have never liked the play calling, but when we play a good team it becomes evident the offensive coordinator Has no clue. They continue to run the ball with bad results. They move down the field passing at the end of the half, then,
first and goal they run 3 times. And then take a field goal. You are not going to beat OU on field goals. They needed to go for the last two. Only one long pass was called in the first half and we got a PI on that one. The defense played great but the offense no. Coleman catches the last pass and it is 17-13. Mizzou was never out of it, if there was some imagination to the play calling. Take what the defense gives you. Do they ever throw the ball to Hardy. Is there ever a safety valve incase there isn’t anyone open, no and no. We have a great young receiving 3 some, but seldom throw to them. I am worried they might go into the portal so they can get some more action.

If the offense could have been even 25% better this is a playoff team. Going into next season the QB position needs to be upgraded and a change at OC needs to be made.

[zuck698]

I have never liked the play calling, but when we play a good team it becomes evident the offensive coordinator Has no clue. They continue to run the ball with bad results. They move down the field passing at the end of the half, then,
first and goal they run 3 times. And then take a field goal. You are not going to beat OU on field goals. They needed to go for the last two. Only one long pass was called in the first half and we got a PI on that one. The defense played great but the offense no. Coleman catches the last pass and it is 17-13. Mizzou was never out of it, if there was some imagination to the play calling. Take what the defense gives you. Do they ever throw the ball to Hardy. Is there ever a safety valve incase there isn’t anyone open, no and no. We have a great young receiving 3 some, but seldom throw to them. I am worried they might go into the portal so they can get some more action.

If the offense could have been even 25% better this is a playoff team. Going into next season the QB position needs to be upgraded and a change at OC needs to be made.

Agreed and hope that we hit the portal for some great defensive players to replace the ones we are losing. This defense was good enough to get us there, but....

[bigmike1968]

I have never liked the play calling, but when we play a good team it becomes evident the offensive coordinator Has no clue. They continue to run the ball with bad results. They move down the field passing at the end of the half, then,
first and goal they run 3 times. And then take a field goal. You are not going to beat OU on field goals. They needed to go for the last two. Only one long pass was called in the first half and we got a PI on that one. The defense played great but the offense no. Coleman catches the last pass and it is 17-13. Mizzou was never out of it, if there was some imagination to the play calling. Take what the defense gives you. Do they ever throw the ball to Hardy. Is there ever a safety valve incase there isn’t anyone open, no and no. We have a great young receiving 3 some, but seldom throw to them. I am worried they might go into the portal so they can get some more action.

If the offense could have been even 25% better this is a playoff team. Going into next season the QB position needs to be upgraded and a change at OC needs to be made.

Agreed and hope that we hit the portal for some great defensive players to replace the ones we are losing. This defense was good enough to get us there, but....

I have faith in Drink as a recruiter. I am confident that he will continue to bring in SEC level talent as long as he is here. My issue is game day coaching and some of his staff. If we just focus in on the OC, it has now been 2 years in a row that the offense has underachieved despite having the talent to be a dynamic offense. Something that bothers me is that this offense isn't very creative and does not find ways to get the ball in the hands of its best playmakers.

[Mizzoufan443]

I have never liked the play calling, but when we play a good team it becomes evident the offensive coordinator Has no clue. They continue to run the ball with bad results. They move down the field passing at the end of the half, then,
first and goal they run 3 times. And then take a field goal. You are not going to beat OU on field goals. They needed to go for the last two. Only one long pass was called in the first half and we got a PI on that one. The defense played great but the offense no. Coleman catches the last pass and it is 17-13. Mizzou was never out of it, if there was some imagination to the play calling. Take what the defense gives you. Do they ever throw the ball to Hardy. Is there ever a safety valve incase there isn’t anyone open, no and no. We have a great young receiving 3 some, but seldom throw to them. I am worried they might go into the portal so they can get some more action.

Agree with most of this. I would say what separates MIzzou from the elite SEC teams:

1. QB play
2. Game prep and play-calling
3. Special teams
4. Overall depth

Yup, plus clock management and penalties.

[zuck698]

I have never liked the play calling, but when we play a good team it becomes evident the offensive coordinator Has no clue. They continue to run the ball with bad results. They move down the field passing at the end of the half, then,
first and goal they run 3 times. And then take a field goal. You are not going to beat OU on field goals. They needed to go for the last two. Only one long pass was called in the first half and we got a PI on that one. The defense played great but the offense no. Coleman catches the last pass and it is 17-13. Mizzou was never out of it, if there was some imagination to the play calling. Take what the defense gives you. Do they ever throw the ball to Hardy. Is there ever a safety valve incase there isn’t anyone open, no and no. We have a great young receiving 3 some, but seldom throw to them. I am worried they might go into the portal so they can get some more action.

If the offense could have been even 25% better this is a playoff team. Going into next season the QB position needs to be upgraded and a change at OC needs to be made.

Agreed and hope that we hit the portal for some great defensive players to replace the ones we are losing. This defense was good enough to get us there, but....

I have faith in Drink as a recruiter. I am confident that he will continue to bring in SEC level talent as long as he is here. My issue is game day coaching and some of his staff. If we just focus in on the OC, it has now been 2 years in a row that the offense has underachieved despite having the talent to be a dynamic offense. Something that bothers me is that this offense isn't very creative and does not find ways to get the ball in the hands of its best playmakers.

Yes, sometimes it feels like Helen Keller in the booth with the play calls.

Agreed. Luther should have had his hands on the ball a ton more than what he did for those 2 years. I figure M.Johnson will be gone next year, and I wouldn't blame him. Hope we don't lose #1 in the portal either.

[Rvrartst]

It's particularly amusing to read the comments on the game thread, as well as on here. This team has multiple problems on offense, and it does NOT start with the quarterback. Pribula is not an elite quarterback by any means, but he would be at least an average one when healthy...IF Mizzou had an offensive line that could pass block, an offensive coordinator who had some creativity in calling plays, and a receiving corps that could actually get some separation once in a while. Geez, how many times did we see the same plays being called, over and over, long after OK had figured out the running game? Did we see ANY screen passes? Any slants? Any passes to the running backs? How many passes over the middle of the field?

But it all starts with the offensive line, whether that's lack of talent, lack of depth, or lack of coaching. I watch other games, and the pocket is often so much wider and the backfield much more open with good offensive line play. The Mizzou qb, no matter who it is, is always being crowded in the pocket, with big bodies surrounding him at arm's length. The pocket is always collapsing around him. And no adjustments to that. I don't know all that much about the game, but it's pretty obvious if you watch some other games.

Plus, this is NOT a good run blocking line, either. Their deficiencies have been masked against weaker teams because Hardy and Roberts, especially Hardy, are so good at breaking tackles. But there have been WAY too many runs for no gain against good tackling teams. Get Hardy into the secondary and he's going to go for a lot of yards, but this line just can't open up the initial hole consistently.

Play calling is the other problem, but what I said before about the comments from others...before the game, it was "run it down their throats!" "Don't even pass, just run it!" Well, we saw how that worked. If the passing game isn't there, good coaches and defenses will quickly figure out how to stop the run, especially since Mizzou's "bread and butter" inside zone is so well known (and predictable).

This is a playoff quality defense matched with a bottom feeder offense at this point, and without the injury to Pribula it would have been maybe a mediocre offense. Elite offensive linemen aren't easy to find; coaches know they need to keep good linemen, so the portal isn't necessarily the answer. Hiring an innovative coordinator might help a lot; maybe such could figure out how to work around deficiencies in the o-line. Moore isn't the answer, and that should be abundantly clear at this point. Neither are the special teams coaches; the blocked field goal was inexcusable after the try before was nearly blocked in exactly the same way.

Next year could be scary. Much tougher schedule. How easy will it be to improve this offense through the portal and keep guys like Olegbude with this putrid play calling and subpar quarterback play? Sorry to say, this year may be the beginning of a decline unless Drink stays BUT gets some better assistant coaches and pulls a couple rabbits out of the hat on the o-line. If he leaves, then no matter who they get to replace him there will be a couple down years at least.

[Armchair QB]

Moore seems to not know what he’s doing. But Drink has never had an imaginative, high octane offense. So I wonder if he’s the common denominator.

I think Drink is the coach to get us to the top of the mountain. We’re close. But the offensive coaching is just not good enough. Too late to install a bunch of new plays now. But it’s not too late to get more aggressive with what we do have. Changes need to be made in the off season.

[JackBolly]

It's particularly amusing to read the comments on the game thread, as well as on here. This team has multiple problems on offense, and it does NOT start with the quarterback. Pribula is not an elite quarterback by any means, but he would be at least an average one when healthy...IF Mizzou had an offensive line that could pass block, an offensive coordinator who had some creativity in calling plays, and a receiving corps that could actually get some separation once in a while. Geez, how many times did we see the same plays being called, over and over, long after OK had figured out the running game? Did we see ANY screen passes? Any slants? Any passes to the running backs? How many passes over the middle of the field?

But it all starts with the offensive line, whether that's lack of talent, lack of depth, or lack of coaching. I watch other games, and the pocket is often so much wider and the backfield much more open with good offensive line play. The Mizzou qb, no matter who it is, is always being crowded in the pocket, with big bodies surrounding him at arm's length. The pocket is always collapsing around him. And no adjustments to that. I don't know all that much about the game, but it's pretty obvious if you watch some other games.

Plus, this is NOT a good run blocking line, either. Their deficiencies have been masked against weaker teams because Hardy and Roberts, especially Hardy, are so good at breaking tackles. But there have been WAY too many runs for no gain against good tackling teams. Get Hardy into the secondary and he's going to go for a lot of yards, but this line just can't open up the initial hole consistently.

Play calling is the other problem, but what I said before about the comments from others...before the game, it was "run it down their throats!" "Don't even pass, just run it!" Well, we saw how that worked. If the passing game isn't there, good coaches and defenses will quickly figure out how to stop the run, especially since Mizzou's "bread and butter" inside zone is so well known (and predictable).

This is a playoff quality defense matched with a bottom feeder offense at this point, and without the injury to Pribula it would have been maybe a mediocre offense. Elite offensive linemen aren't easy to find; coaches know they need to keep good linemen, so the portal isn't necessarily the answer. Hiring an innovative coordinator might help a lot; maybe such could figure out how to work around deficiencies in the o-line. Moore isn't the answer, and that should be abundantly clear at this point. Neither are the special teams coaches; the blocked field goal was inexcusable after the try before was nearly blocked in exactly the same way.

Next year could be scary. Much tougher schedule. How easy will it be to improve this offense through the portal and keep guys like Olegbude with this putrid play calling and subpar quarterback play? Sorry to say, this year may be the beginning of a decline unless Drink stays BUT gets some better assistant coaches and pulls a couple rabbits out of the hat on the o-line. If he leaves, then no matter who they get to replace him there will be a couple down years at least.

I saw one slant and one throw to a back coming out - both worked real well. But that was it for the game.

[dhsux]

Yes, two of the more successful passes that never saw the light of day after.

No fan of Moore, he has to go.

However, as I look at this game, I see one huge play the D gave up which is understandable but then a complete failure of special team play kicking and punting the football.

Actually, they lost the year when Craig went down.