Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz met with the media on Tuesday to discuss why there haven't been more explosive plays, needing to clean up the penalties and more.
Drinkwitz was pretty forthcoming about things he expects this week. So, there aren't too many things that need to be unlayered, but there are a couple of things.
Being efficient in the passing game but not explosive:
What Drinkwitz said: "I think that's a sign of growth and maturity from all of us on the offensive side of the ball. We all want it now. We're instant gratification. We all want explosive plays. You'd rather be on SportsCenter for that rather than for three yards and a cloud of dust or five-yard hitches. But the reality of what we're figuring out is that teams don't really want to give up explosive plays versus our wide receiver core. So, we have to be willing to make them defend us in a different manner."
What it means: Missouri is fifth in the country in first downs with 58. But a lot of that has been without completing a deep pass. Quarterback Brady Cook has completed just one pass that went 20 or more yards through the air, and that was a 39-yard pass to Theo Wease in Week 2.
It has been taking what the defense gives them, which isn't always easy with the offensive firepower Mizzou has. For years, Drinkwitz has wanted to be able to pass the ball deep. Last season, Mizzou was able to do that and it caught some teams off guard by being able to do that. This year, Buffalo and Murray State made sure that the Tigers weren't going to beat them over the top. Those teams saw the film. If Marquis Johnson is on the field, he's probably running a deep route. That's not going to surprise teams this year and Mizzou has had to take what is available underneath.
Cleaning up the penalties and what he's seeing on tape:
What Drinkwitz said: "The holding penalties. We've got to learn to let go. When the ball is out-leveraged, just when a defender is broken away, we cannot continue to engage with the jersey of the defender. There were three of those that were clear calls, easy calls that are something that we have to correct. You appreciate guys playing with effort and energy, but they've got to know when it's crossing the line into a penalty. The other ones? The other ones we will be all right."
What it means: Drinkwitz started this answer by saying the alignment penalties are his fault. He took 100% of the blame for the illegal formation penalties the Tigers have had this season.
When it came to talking about the holds, Drinkwitz actually paused and smirked. In his postgame presser after the Buffalo game, Drinkwitz made a sarcastic comment about how Mizzou had 11 penalties (all on offense) and Buffalo had just two (both on defense). So, this could be what the smirk was referencing back to. Reading between the lines, he might think some of the penalties the team was flagged for weren't penalties. Or at the very least, didn't warrant being called since there could be a flag on almost every single play in a game.
Missouri was called for five holds, two ineligible man downfield, two false start, a facemask and an illegal formation in Week 2. So, outside of holding and illegal procedure penalties, he still thinks the team is in a good spot.
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