Column:
Gabbert needs time to get healthy
Published Oct. 27, 2009
OK, I know I said I was going to do grades this week, but I'm saying, "Screw it, I'll just wait until the end of the semester to give final grades."
Instead, I'm going to do something I don't usually do, and that's question the coach.
Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel has a lot on his plate — manage the whole team, prepare them for powerhouses like Texas, do seatbelt and motorcycle commercials — most men would go crazy.
College coaching is not easy.
But Pinkel has to step back, take a deep breath and think about what he's doing, especially with sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
Gabbert needs to sit. He needs to let the ankle heal. He needs to be 100 percent when he goes back on the field.
I'm not questioning the kid's toughness. He's as tough as they come. He just wants his team to win.
But when the injury in question is handicapping the entire team, you have to know when to say enough is enough.
The injury is obviously hobbling Gabbert.
He can't get any push off of that ankle, completely depleting any accuracy he has in his throws.
The only complete passes he threw in the Texas game were screen passes and dump-offs. Nothing downfield.
The scrambler we all fell in love with after the Illinois game is dead and gone, at least until he gets his ankle healed up.
I don't blame Pinkel for leaving him in — well, I do — but I see where he's coming from. The depth at quarterback is almost laughable.
But when you're risking permanent injury to your quarterback of the next two years, you have no choice.
Sit him down. Let him heal. Do what you planned to do at the beginning of the year. Run the football.
It should work against the cupcake of a schedule we have the rest of the year. If the defense plays the way it should, then sitting Gabbert shouldn't be a problem.
Right now, he doesn't give you the best chance to win. He can't make the throws he needs to.
With sophomore quarterback Jimmy Costello, the downfield threat is at least a possibility.
I think Pinkel is a little flabbergasted right now. His team is in a tailspin. The Big 12 North is still mathematically winnable, but one slip-up and it's all over. Not that it matters.
It'd be ugly even if we won the North.
I think you have to start preparing for next season. Groom the players you want for next season. Don't risk anything.
Maybe if things go well, Gabbert can come back for the Border War against Kansas on Nov. 28. But you have to think about what's best for him in the long run.
Just be smart about this.
Sit him down.
Comments (3)
3:31 a.m., Oct. 28, 2009
steve said:
Hear Hear, It's about time someone said this. If Pinkel would have set him down in the Nebraska game, Gabbert would be in great shape now.
1:33 p.m., Oct. 28, 2009
JMO said:
I agree. gotta rest the kid for the rest of the year, should have thrown costello out there to get slaughtered instead of gabbert to let him rest his ankle.
7:52 p.m., Oct. 27, 2009
BJ Tyler said:
Finally, someone points out the obvious to Coack Pinkel. He is about to do serious damage to the best athlete MU will return next year. How can Pinkel be so foolish to think that team had a chance against Texas, MU has not been in the league of Texas or Oklahoma for decades. He should have sat against Texas and got heathly for the remaining weak Big 12 North schedule. Now, he will be hurt this weekend for Colorado, a team we normally would have beat by 3 touchdowns. When will someone begin to hold him accountable for his coaching ability?