Aug. 6 Practice recap

Monday morning's practice saw the addition of shoulder pads, and the debut of a term (according to Footblog at MUTigers.com) I hope to see a lot of heading into this season:

"Defensively-controlled"

Allow me to recover for a second...

I was absolutely estatic to hear all the focus isn't all offense this summer, as any true Mizzou fan can tell you this team will go as far as its defense will allow. Everyone knows the ifs: If Ziggy Hood and Lorenzo Williams shut down the run, if Stryker Sulak and Tommy Chavis improve the pass rush, if Brock Christopher and Sean Witherspoon can step in at linebacker, if [insert names here] can [insert defensive jargon here], etc. Daniel and the offense will spend the season swimming in media praise and points, but whether or not Mizzou is swimming in wins and swimming at Sea World in San Antonio after the Big 12 Championship depends solely on defensive output.

Among the day's highlights according to different accounts were transfer Justin Garrett's hit on Danario Alexander and solid play (including a pick-six) from converted LB Connell Davis. One disappointing note: LB Michael Keck and DB Darnell Terrell did not participate in full contact drills.

Once again, the Trib's Dave Matter was on top of all things Tigers. Matter had this outstanding tidbit from Pinkel:
“I thought the 1 and 2 defense dominated the offense in almost everything. Every drill,” Pinkel said. “That’s good. Maybe the offense is reading the papers too much. And the defense is, ‘Hey, we’re pretty good, too.’ That’s healthy. But I thought it was just total domination today by the defense.”

Matter notes Castine Bridges' push for playing time (especially with the injury to Terrell), Tommy Saunders' lead in the punt returner race, tough hits by Pig Brown and Hardy Ricks forcing rare drops from Mizzou's dynamic TE duo, and Pinkel's impressions of the linebacker corps so far.

The Tigers hit the practice field again Tuesday morning at 8:15. ETS promises to wish it could be there.