Mules Report November 6

Mules Report
November 6, 2007

Mules Report Archive

Tough loss on Saturday.

It's difficult to write about a game that, for all intents and purposes, dashed any hopes of post-season play for our favorite football team, however, there is still something to play (and write about) for next week.

PRIDE.

Before I elaborate any further on this discussion, I would be remiss if I did not say congrats to the Griffons of Missouri Western. They had our number Saturday in St Joseph and, for that matter, have had it for 5 years in a row now. That's the longest current win streak against the Mules and ties the longest win streak ever against a Willie Fritz-coached team. The other occurrence was Pittsburg State from '97-'01. Jerry Partridge has done a great job at Missouri Western in 2007, especially given the personnel (both player and coach) he lost from last year's playoff team. Expect Mowest to make some noise in the post-season.

Now, back to the pride thing.

I found myself writing about pride at about this same time last year. It is not the favored topic of a die-hard football fan, because it is really a discussion about character. The character called into question when a team's output has not been up to par with what it's capable of. Nevertheless, it is a topic that should be discussed in light of things to come.

A win this coming Saturday against the Tigers of Fort Hays St. would mean a two game improvement over last year, a 7-4 season, and the 9th time in the past 10 years that Central has won at least 7 or more games in a season.

I could hear the frustration in my friend Wiilie's voice yesterday going into halftime when Greg Hassler asked him what this team needs to do coming out in the second half.

Willie's answer was not only applicable to the upcoming half of football to be played, but hit the nail on the head for what needs to happen to get this team back into real post-season contention.

"This team needs to stop making so many gosh dang mistakes! It's inexcusable".

I'm not just talking turnovers and penalties, and I don't think Willie was either. I agree with Willie and also have a theory that some changes may be made on offense for the 2008 season. In order for positive change to occur, one must look to the past and see where the problems have been. It's not like the MIAA will be getting any easier in 2008.

The Mule defense has actually played quite well, given the amount of injuries they've had to endure, but the offense just hasn't been the same for several years. This used to be a team that could light up the scoreboard. There was always at least one true "go to" player the Mules could count on in the clutch to get those extra yards or make the big play.

It's just not there on offense now; and hasn't been for several years. Sure Toby Korrodi was a great quarterback, but his forte was passing the football and it takes another clutch player for his passing greatness the equate to points on the scoreboard.

With one exception, Toby simply didn't have a playmaker in the backfield with him. The WR corps was weak in '06 and although he had one great WR in '05 (Delanie Walker), by the time we figured out TK should be the starter, we already had suffered the loss (in Topeka) that kept us from the post season that year.

With the exception of the Washburn game, this year's offense hasn't demonstrated the ability to finish against any other playoff caliber teams.

I hope I'm not hurting anyone's feelings in writing this, but something has to change on offense. I'm not calling for any coaching changes, per se, but in all my amateur wisdom, I do know we used to lead the MIAA in scoring and now we're down around the middle of the pack. Perhaps some deep threats on the roster and in the game plan and an offense designed around a more wide open attack? Being conservative just doesn't get it done in this league.

We'll have more time to discuss what's needed in '08 (recruiting, offensive styles, defensive schemes, etc.), but for now, we have a hungry Tiger team coming to Warrensburg. Here's to our Mules "Finishing" with PRIDE!

Bill Steinke is a writer for MulesCentral.com. His Mules Report is published every Tuesday throughout the season. Bill resides in Knoxville, TN.

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