What a collapse. I knew they werent worthy of a top 20 ranking, but I thought Smith was better than that.

they addressed a problem early in the game when the announcers brought up that Smith wasnt allowed to scramble during practice. He had many chances to scramble for first downs but instead was forcing throws. It was weird watching him force throws on third and short instead of running for the first down. I think if this mindset isnt changed, Missouri s North Division hopes and Smiths Heisman s hopes are in big time trouble.

I understand perfectly well why he wasn't allowed to scramble. The whole idea of the "New Age" QB is finally starting to wear thin. They want him to stay in the pocket and force him to make decisions. In the NFL, the only thing that will bring you wins as a QB is your arm. Your feet should always come second, and with Vick's injury last year, and the Falcons moving to a West Coast Offense, it's proof positive that you aren't going to be drafted on the fact that you can scramble alone.

So to Brad Smith, I'm from Missouri too! SHOW-ME your arm big man. And THEN I will consider you for the first day.

Hey, with all due respect to Brad Smith, decisions are a part of being a good QB. You have got to be the total package in the NFL. As far as the Heisman goes, I don't really care about that. Congradulations, you won the Heisman, now go on to a MEDIOCRE at best NFL career. Yeah, good job.

No question. He does have the physical ability to be a star. But his indecisiveness is what is in question. You all laughed at me when I told you that a key ingredient to a NFL Caliber QB is INTELLIGENCE. That's where that comes in. He may lack the "ability to adapt" to move ahead to the next level.

Let's face it, Ryan Leaf had all of the Physical ability to play at the NFL level. But that means nothing if you don't have the total package. Physically sound and intelligent. One without the other makes no difference.

Whats Miller say about all this?

You're totally off topic here Mr. Bryant.

The difference between Rick Mirer and Ryan Leaf is this, Mirer never had the tools, he never had the accuracy to play at the next level. Leaf did, but he wasn't mature enough and smart enough to hang around. If there is one thing that can be said for Rick Mirer it's that he has consistently been on a roster for each of the past 10 years. He started after being drafted to Seattle, and since he's become a journeyman, but so what? Where is Ryan Leaf? He's probably coaching High School ball in his Hometown.

Getting back on topic, Brad Smith does have all the tools physically. His arm strength has been questioned in the past, but he obviously cleared up those misconceptions in week 1. Good for him, but after seeing him this past week, I've come to the conclusion that this kid is just not NFL ready right now. And it would definitely behoove him to hang around for his Senior year and learn more about the position that he plays.

NFL Scouts are REALLY, REALLY, good at what they do. If he entered the draft tomorrow, he wouldn't be picked in the first day. He's too high risk. We've seen what can happen to extreme scramblers, and look what happens when the coach tells him not to scramble...THEY LOSE! What a surprise.

This kids abilities as they stand right now do not meet NFL criteria. And I hope he can learn how to be comfortable IN the pocket. Until he does, he won't be a successful QB. If you look at a guy like Matt Leinart, or a Tom Brady on the pro level, you see that they have NO need to scramble for 8-10-12-20 yards. None. Because they can move around the pocket and see the defenders well enough to be comfortable THROWING the ball. That's what QB's are supposed to do.

When Brad Smith spends so much time flaunting his ability to run, I think, he forgets how to move around in the pocket. All that goes through his head is "Time to go!" And you can't have that mentality. That's why I think it's going to be so interesting to see Mike Vick this year.

I agree that Brad Smith has the ability to grow into a superb NFL QB but nobody cares when its 4th and 4 against Troy(minus the State now) and instead of running for 5 you force a pass 4 feet above a guys head. His intermediate passing game is pretty accurate already. But once Troy realized he wasnt going to scramble after the first two possessions they were able to get comfortable in their defensive scheme and stick with their receivers instead of keeping an eye on Smith and what he was doing. This effected their RBs game as well. Since Smith wasnt threatening to run much, the defense keyed in on the RB s on the running plays out of the shotgun were Smith would sometimes fake a handoff and keep it himself.

Smith not running had very little to do with the NFL and a lot to do with Coach Gary Pinkel wanting to have a better offensive team instead of one great player. Smith has been THE offense for the last 2 years and Pinkel realized one player is going to never elevate your team to the next level. You need a couple of different options to be a upper tier team. Obviously Missouri isnt there yet. Smith is there best weapon by far and to lose to a team like Troy is simply ridiculous because you dont want him running.

Lee Corso actually said something intelligent last night. He brought out Pinkel is 2-21 when trailing at halftime. He said needs to learn to adjust at halftime if things arent working. Well they didnt and they lose to Troy.

Also the Missouri team was not at all ready for the 99 % humidity. Troy played tough football and this Tiger team looked wiped out before halftime.

I hate to say I saw this coming, but after watching Mizzou practice, you just got the feeling they are overated.

I am not a big fan of Gary Pinkel and I never will be. The media is all over him about how great of a coach he is. Well, he got outcoached last night. I believe someone brought up the no scramble thing and that's true. Brad is not allowed to run the ball in practice. Even if the play breaks down, he has to throw it away. They are handicapping themselves by doing this and will only continue to lose games until Smith is unleashed in the running game.

I think Pinkel needs to let his QB play the way he did last year when they were a winner. Smith is this team. They have two good runningbacks in Damien Nash and frosh Tony Temple, but their receivers are overrated. Their D is too. They'll crumble under the pressure of facing a good offense. Look at what Troy did to them and imagine what KState or Oklahoma St will do.

Man, just reading the this thread confirms we really do have a great group of writers on this site. Compare this debate to the childish nonsense that you read on most NFL draft-related sites...'nuff said...