Senior wide receiver London Crawford (broken collarbone) practiced without a yellow, no-contact jersey Tuesday. So what does that mean for the hero of the LSU game last season who has been out of action since the Sept. 5 opener?

“It means we keep an eye on him all week and see how he’s going,” wide receivers coach Paul Petrino said. “But he was able to practice today and not in yellow. That was good to see and we’ll just judge him each day and see how he comes along and make our decision at the end of the week.”

Arkansas' London Crawford pushes thorugh Missouri State's (31) Andre Anderson during the second quarter Sept. 5 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Crawford broke his collarbone in the game. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORTON/Democrat-Gazette)

Other notes from today:

THIS ISN’T YOUR ‘08 OFFENSE
The days of Casey Dick going to his safety valve in the passing game are seemingly over. With Joe Adams, Greg Childs and Jarius Wright leading the passing game, rarely are we seeing passes to tight end D.J. Williams.

The junior set a school record for catches by a tight end last season, but is currently fifth on the team in yards and receptions.

The offense, under quarterback Ryan Mallett, is more dangerous with his cannon arm and precise passes. The Hogs’ three leading receivers are very close in production, with the lowest just 56 yards away from being the leading receiver on the team.

The Hogs even got the screen game going against Texas A&M last week. Even if tailback Michael Smith hasn’t had a breakout game on the ground this season, he is helping the Hogs move the ball. On a 70-yard touchdown drive last week he accounted for 62 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown catch out of the backfield.

“Last year’s offense was one that was two-dimensional,” Smith said. “This one, you never know where it’s going to go. We have different weapons spread everywhere on the field, and that makes play-calling easy for the coach — just to know that whatever he’s going to call, somebody is going to get it done.”

And he’s right. Ryan Mallett’s four touchdown passes last week went to four different receivers.

RECEIVING       GP-GS  No.  Yds   Avg  TDLong Avg/G
—————————————————-
Joe Adams        4-3    16  316  19.8   2   67  79.0
Greg Childs      4-4    16  260  16.2   3   40  65.0
Jarius Wright    4-4    13  297  22.8   2   58  74.2
Michael Smith    4-4    10  117  11.7   1   29  29.2
D.J. Williams    4-2     8  104  13.0   1   40  26.0

DOWNRIGHT OFFENSIVE
What was the difference offensively between the Alabama and Texas A&M games? Well, the Crimson Tide’s defense for one. But Paul Petrino puts a lot of the lack of execution on his own unit.

The Hogs scored 7 points against the Tide two weeks ago on the road.

“Hopefully  we don’t have any more Alabama games and we keep putting points on the board,” Petrino said.

A BUNCH OF BULL
Joe Adams, who led the Hogs with 110 receiving yards against the Aggies, finished with 77 yards after the catch, Petrino said.

But his production wasn’t enough for the receivers to have more YAC than the running backs.

“He didn’t have much help from his buddies,” Petrino said.

Credit Ronnie Wingo for that. Petrino says he picked up 55 yards of his 62-yard touchdown after contact against the Aggies.

The receivers had won the bull yards (YAC) battle in the first three games.

The score stands 3-1 in favor of the receivers.

CHIZIK TALKS ARKANSAS
Auburn head coach Gene Chizik talked about Arkansas today during a press conference. You can read a transcript of his comments by clicking here.

Here are some highlights:

On Arkansas’ offense…
“They are really good. You can’t average almost 450 yards game and not be good at what you do. Their quarterback is very efficient, and if you follow coach Petrino that’s a trademark. It is reminiscent of the quarterbacks he had at Louisville. They have a great overall scheme. They are well coached and play hard, but it is very similar to the things he has done in the past.”

On Ryan Mallett and the pressure he puts on defenses…
“He is an extremely good quarterback. I was at Texas when he was in high school so I knew all about him. He is a big, strong kid with an efficient arm, but also a cannon of an arm. He can throw it across the field 50 yards. He is what makes their passing game go. They also have some great receivers for him to throw to. Many times he puts the ball exactly where the DB can’t get to it. Also, the receivers do a good job of holding on to the ball, and also they do a good job of getting yards after the catch, which is big for us. We have to work on our open-field tackling. He is very efficient and good at what he does.”

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For much more coverage, make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Wednesday editions of the Northwest Arkansas Times and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

— Brandon Marcello