Schaeffer, Ole Miss offense take steps forward

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi quarterback Brent Schaeffer needed a boost. Coach Ed Orgeron thinks he may have gotten it as the Rebels prepare to play No. 15 Arkansas.<br> <br> Schaeffer, a highly prized recruit for Ole Miss, came out of a spiral of poor play Saturday as the Rebels nearly knocked off Alabama in a 26-23 overtime loss. The junior is not where Orgeron would like him to be yet, but he didn&#39;t lose the game for Ole Miss either.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s a beginning,&#39;&#39; Orgeron said during his Monday news conference. ``There&#39;s some things that he needs to get better at. There&#39;s some things that Alabama gave us that we could&#39;ve took advantage of that we didn&#39;t. There&#39;s some things that he did take advantage of. But as far as being the leader, the general, he still has a ways to go.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Schaeffer completed 13 of 20 passes for 163 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown that sent the game to overtime. He didn&#39;t turn the ball over, something Orgeron said helped cost the Rebels (2-5, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) victories at Kentucky and against Georgia.<br> <br> Orgeron said the key for Schaeffer was sticking to short, easy passes to build his confidence. The deep 55-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace that tied the game midway through the fourth quarter was one of the few deep shots Ole Miss took.<br> <br> ``I told coach that I think we can get them deep,&#39;&#39; Schaeffer said after the game. ``We had been throwing a lot of short, quick passes and they were coming up on them, and I told coach we could take a deep shot on them.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Rebels will need another strong performance on offense to have a chance against the Razorbacks (5-1, 3-0 SEC), who started the season with a 50-14 loss to Southern Cal but have won five straight since.<br> <br> Orgeron thinks the attitude on the team is changing. And like Schaeffer, the offense under offensive coordinator Dan Werner continues to take steps in the right direction even if the Rebels aren&#39;t there yet.<br> <br> ``I think we&#39;re just hitting a rhythm,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I think you saw last week us really call plays within the philosophy of our offense, Dan being comfortable that our guys knew what to do. You saw a little more variety in our offense and that&#39;s having success.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The one hitch is the health of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, the SEC&#39;s leader in total rushing yards (627). Green-Ellis was held out of most of the fourth quarter and overtime against Alabama with an undisclosed injury, but Orgeron believes the junior will be ready for the Razorbacks.<br> <br> ``BenJarvus is going to be fine,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I think that he&#39;s going to play. He&#39;s banged up a little bit like good tailbacks get during the middle of the season in SEC football. It&#39;s nothing unusual.&#39;&#39;