FAYETTEVILLE — Due to technical difficulties, last week's Ryan Mallett Show was mostly knocked off the air.
Two games ago the University of Arkansassophomore quarterback set school passing records of 408 yards and 5 touchdown passes versus zero interceptions completing 21 of 39 in the 52-41 SEC loss to Georgia on Sept. 19. However, in last Saturday's 35-7 SEC loss at Alabama, Mallett floundered 12 for 35 for 160 yards with 3 sacks and a pick versus his lone touchdown in last Saturday's 35-7 SEC loss at Alabama.
Mallett blames the drop-off on technical difficulties. Alabama induced technical difficulties reminding the quarterbackthat technique fundamentals apply even when harassed by perhaps the best defense in college football.
"When you get out there," Mallett said Monday,"and everything is moving and sometimes you aren't even thinking about that [technique] but that's something you have got to stick to. I wasn't thinking about that because I was just thinking about trying to make plays and get my team back in the game. But in the realization, if I had stuck to my technique I would have hit a lot of throws that we missed."
Just setting his feet would have foot the bill on many, Mallett believes.
"I wasn't getting set in the pocket and wasn't setting my feet," Mallett said. "I didn't give my team a chance to win. I hurt the team by the way I played and I can't do that anymore."
Bobby Petrino concurs. But the Arkansas coach also says there has never been a quarterback - even the greatest in the game - who didn't come away from some game some time with the regrets Mallett took homefrom Tuscaloosa.
"Where the pass rush and the movement and the blitzes distract your concentration and your vision and your ability to set your feet," Petrino said. "There's never been one quar terback that hasn't been through that. He just has to understand that and come back from it."
Mallett gets his first chance to come back when the Razorbacks (1-2, 0-2 SEC) step out of conference against former Southwest Conference rival Texas A&M of the Big 12 in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. ESPN2 televised game at Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' spanking new colossus otherwise known as Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
"We can't wait," Petrino replied when asked about playing in the world's currently most discussed football field. "Never been in the Taj Mahal before."
Mallett, Arkansas born in Batesville and early raised in Lincoln, but Texas high school bred at Texarkana's Texas High, certainly looks forward toplaying in the newest of the Dallas Cowboys' stadiums.
"I have played in the other stadium three times in high school," Mallett said of Texas Stadium, the Cowboys' former home in Irving. "So that was pretty neat. But this I have heard it's a great venue and we are ready to go down there and see it, but we are ready to go down there as a business trip for us."
Doing business against Texas A&M's young defense should be less hectic than against the nationally third-ranked Crimson Tide.
Then again, the Aggies (3-0) have harassing pass rushers itching the feet of quarterbacks who would be better served staying in the pocket. In fact, A&M Jack linebacker Von Miller's eight sacks makes him the national sack leader to date.
"They are athletic," Mallett said. "They like to get after the quarterback. We have to do a good job of protection and again we have to run the ball better this week to have a chance."
Coming off a 35-7 loss, doesn't cause fans to buy into a team's "improvement," but Petrino asserts defensively "we made a lot of improvement from the Georgia game to the Alabama game."
"We improved stopping the run," Petrino said. "We still have to eliminate big plays. On their one 52-yard touchdown run, I think we missed four tackles. Other than that play, we tackled pretty well most of the game. Our scheme was ver y good. That game is about the offense keeping in there. Offensively, we're a much better football team than that."
On either side of the ball, Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman expects to see a better, faster team than the Aggies have faced beating combined 2-9 New Mexico, Utah State and Alabama-Birmingham.
"As I told them this morning," Sherman said Monday at his press conference in College Station, Texas, "the speed of the game is going to be greatly enhanced when we line up against Arkansas."
Sports, Pages 9, 10 on 09/29/2009