I will try not to rehash what Coach covered - I thought he did a pretty good job. If you don't care, don't read. <div>
</div><div>1. Knockback. I heard Trent Dilfer talk about this while analyzing the Eagles, and this is our problem as well. You want to know what "knockback" is? Rewatch LSU's D-line against our O-line. That is what we should have done against LaTech too. There is no push from either line. We tried to run a counter with Ballard at one point and Saulsberry was just laying flat on the ground in our backfield. Ballard had to jump over him and of course was tackled shortly thereafter. Gabe Jackson does an "ole" in the redzone and lets a LB knife into the backfield to absolutely hammer Ballard. How in the world were Cox and Boyd able to cause a little disruption vs. LSU but none vs. Auburn or LaTech? </div><div>
</div><div>2. D-Line continued. It is as if our line is so scared about containment (presumably from practicing all spring and fall against Relf) that we refuse to just rip into the backfield and look for something to destroy. We heard all of this talk from Wilson when he first got here that he was all about the D-line doing whatever it took to get upfield and get to the QB. This is NOT how they have been coached. I am not asking for sacks. Truthfully, they are hard to come by in the college game - especially against a quickfire team such as LaTech. I am asking for pressure. And folks, this is not a new phenomenon. Just consider our pass rush since Wilson arrived. Think about how much McPhee was in the backfield his Junior year as compared to last year. Watch our DE's bullrush the line and make no effort to get past their blocker. Cox and Boyd aren't commanding double teams. Why? Because they are content to just drive the blocker in front of them back, and they really arent succeeding at that. This is coaching, and this coaching philosophy, combined with our soft coverage, is a recipe for disaster. Our ends are not worldbeaters, but they have been coached into a non-factor role. Twist, stunt, spin, rip, speed-rush...anything, just get in the backfield. </div><div>
</div><div>3. Linebackers. I thought the LBs played pretty well overall. How many Cam Lawrence haters do we still have out there? Dude is the unquestioned leader of our defense.</div><div>
</div><div>4. Secondary. Banks and Whitley are ballers. Broomfield has his limitations, but he is definitely not a weakness. The weak link right now is Mitchell. Go back and watch a few games and focus on Mitchell, you will be shocked. For every decent play he makes, he completely misses a play. He peaked hissophomoreyear, when he was fortunate to get a couple of picks and was making plays against the run. He has always been a liability in coverage but a good run supporter, and now he can't make flag football tackles because he is completely missing people. I am pretty sure he has been targeted or shared responsibility on almost every big play we have given up this year. Blake's big TD at Auburn, Randle's TD - was he in coverage on LaTech's TD pass? And yes, I still think Banks should be back at safety. The combination of Whitley's hitting and Banks coverage ability would really shore up the middle of the field. Note that all of Banks' picks (I am pretty sure for his whole career) have been when he is squared up with the QB or coming forward. He is not a track-back corner that will jump a slant in coverage or rob a deep post on the fly (or at least he hasn't shown it yet). What he can do, and maybe better than anyone in the conference right now, is face-up a play, read the QB and make a play on the ball in the air. His pick against LaTech was a centerfield-type pick. He is a very good corner, but I think he could be a great safety. </div><div>
</div><div>5. Special Teams. Swedenburg is saving our butts. Banks and Bump looking good on PR. Still need someone else opposite Jameon on KR. Still can't kick it - that is not going to change this year, so time to stop talking about it I guess.</div><div>
</div><div>6. Offense. I will just speak generally about the offense, since nearly everything has been covered here. Simply put, Relf has been off target. Throwing the ball on the wrong shoulder, throwing it late, etc. He had a few opportunities to throw his receivers open and missed. Seam to Ballard, deep posts to Carr and Clark. If he was on vs. LaTech, it would have been a blowout. Vs. LSU it would have been a lot closer. This has been exacerbated by our inability to run the ball like we want to. Playcalling was odd. It is like we go into every game with a completely different gameplan just for the sake of being unique, instead of just doing what works. Have we seen the conventional double-option since the first play of the LSU game? Tubby Lewis made a great grab over the middle Saturday and has not made a single error that I can think of (outside of special teams) - his snaps need to be doubled. </div><div>
</div><div>7. O-Line. Since the Carmon thing has come up, let me just say that it seems a little too late to do something like this. I could understand if Carmon was a career O-lineman that had practiced at multiple positions. In theory it could be a great idea, but with flawless execution already at a premium, it concerns me to have someone else learning a position on the fly. Call me crazy, but Brignone might have been a bigger loss for our particular offense than Sherrod. </div><div>
</div><div>8. Bonehead calls. Mullen is good for about 1 per game. Fake punt, check. He almost made 2 with that last play call. Doing that with the most accurate FG kicker in MSU history on your bench is just crazy. I am glad it worked and I hope it give Relf some confidence going forward, but 17. Not going for the win at the end of regulation? Come on, man. </div><div>
</div><div>9. Speaking of bonehead calls, Thank you LaTech for throwing up a prayer instead of icing the game and kicking a FG. We almost screwed that up by completely squashing the momentum on our ensuing drive. Ballard for 6 yards, pass, pass, punt. Thanks.</div><div>
</div><div>Rest of season:</div><div>UGA - I said I would wait until after Ole Miss to call this one, and this weekend definitely didnt give me warm fuzzies. We will have to see a combination of our offensive output vs. Auburn and our defensive output v. LSU to win this game. Good news is that it is a pro-style offense. I have to say L and hope I am proved wrong. </div><div>UAB - Win. They are not as good as LaTech.</div><div>USC- For now, loss, but we can definitely beat them at home. Win 2 coming into this game and I like our chances. Unfortunately, this team is going to be feast or famine based on Relf's accuracy in each game. Hard to tell when the "feast" is going to occur, but this is a good a time as any.</div><div>UK - Win. They are worse than Ole Miss.</div><div>UTM- Win.</div><div>Bama- ugly. Their defense is the Pittsburgh to LSU's Baltimore. LSU blows stuff up in the backfield. Bama lets you think you have a chance, then murders you at the line of scrimmage or takes away your entire passing game.</div><div>ARK- Loss. You could still see how good Wilson can be despite their result at Bama. Too tall a task on the road.</div><div>Ole Miss - Win. </div><div>
</div><div>6-6. I still dont think we fall below 6 wins, but we will have to see a lot of improvement to get to 7. We got it last year, I hope we do it again. Get to 7 and we could have a pretty cool matchup with the ACC in Nashville, at least that is my hope. Come off this road trip with 2 wins and we are back on track. </div><div>
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</div><div>1. Knockback. I heard Trent Dilfer talk about this while analyzing the Eagles, and this is our problem as well. You want to know what "knockback" is? Rewatch LSU's D-line against our O-line. That is what we should have done against LaTech too. There is no push from either line. We tried to run a counter with Ballard at one point and Saulsberry was just laying flat on the ground in our backfield. Ballard had to jump over him and of course was tackled shortly thereafter. Gabe Jackson does an "ole" in the redzone and lets a LB knife into the backfield to absolutely hammer Ballard. How in the world were Cox and Boyd able to cause a little disruption vs. LSU but none vs. Auburn or LaTech? </div><div>
</div><div>2. D-Line continued. It is as if our line is so scared about containment (presumably from practicing all spring and fall against Relf) that we refuse to just rip into the backfield and look for something to destroy. We heard all of this talk from Wilson when he first got here that he was all about the D-line doing whatever it took to get upfield and get to the QB. This is NOT how they have been coached. I am not asking for sacks. Truthfully, they are hard to come by in the college game - especially against a quickfire team such as LaTech. I am asking for pressure. And folks, this is not a new phenomenon. Just consider our pass rush since Wilson arrived. Think about how much McPhee was in the backfield his Junior year as compared to last year. Watch our DE's bullrush the line and make no effort to get past their blocker. Cox and Boyd aren't commanding double teams. Why? Because they are content to just drive the blocker in front of them back, and they really arent succeeding at that. This is coaching, and this coaching philosophy, combined with our soft coverage, is a recipe for disaster. Our ends are not worldbeaters, but they have been coached into a non-factor role. Twist, stunt, spin, rip, speed-rush...anything, just get in the backfield. </div><div>
</div><div>3. Linebackers. I thought the LBs played pretty well overall. How many Cam Lawrence haters do we still have out there? Dude is the unquestioned leader of our defense.</div><div>
</div><div>4. Secondary. Banks and Whitley are ballers. Broomfield has his limitations, but he is definitely not a weakness. The weak link right now is Mitchell. Go back and watch a few games and focus on Mitchell, you will be shocked. For every decent play he makes, he completely misses a play. He peaked hissophomoreyear, when he was fortunate to get a couple of picks and was making plays against the run. He has always been a liability in coverage but a good run supporter, and now he can't make flag football tackles because he is completely missing people. I am pretty sure he has been targeted or shared responsibility on almost every big play we have given up this year. Blake's big TD at Auburn, Randle's TD - was he in coverage on LaTech's TD pass? And yes, I still think Banks should be back at safety. The combination of Whitley's hitting and Banks coverage ability would really shore up the middle of the field. Note that all of Banks' picks (I am pretty sure for his whole career) have been when he is squared up with the QB or coming forward. He is not a track-back corner that will jump a slant in coverage or rob a deep post on the fly (or at least he hasn't shown it yet). What he can do, and maybe better than anyone in the conference right now, is face-up a play, read the QB and make a play on the ball in the air. His pick against LaTech was a centerfield-type pick. He is a very good corner, but I think he could be a great safety. </div><div>
</div><div>5. Special Teams. Swedenburg is saving our butts. Banks and Bump looking good on PR. Still need someone else opposite Jameon on KR. Still can't kick it - that is not going to change this year, so time to stop talking about it I guess.</div><div>
</div><div>6. Offense. I will just speak generally about the offense, since nearly everything has been covered here. Simply put, Relf has been off target. Throwing the ball on the wrong shoulder, throwing it late, etc. He had a few opportunities to throw his receivers open and missed. Seam to Ballard, deep posts to Carr and Clark. If he was on vs. LaTech, it would have been a blowout. Vs. LSU it would have been a lot closer. This has been exacerbated by our inability to run the ball like we want to. Playcalling was odd. It is like we go into every game with a completely different gameplan just for the sake of being unique, instead of just doing what works. Have we seen the conventional double-option since the first play of the LSU game? Tubby Lewis made a great grab over the middle Saturday and has not made a single error that I can think of (outside of special teams) - his snaps need to be doubled. </div><div>
</div><div>7. O-Line. Since the Carmon thing has come up, let me just say that it seems a little too late to do something like this. I could understand if Carmon was a career O-lineman that had practiced at multiple positions. In theory it could be a great idea, but with flawless execution already at a premium, it concerns me to have someone else learning a position on the fly. Call me crazy, but Brignone might have been a bigger loss for our particular offense than Sherrod. </div><div>
</div><div>8. Bonehead calls. Mullen is good for about 1 per game. Fake punt, check. He almost made 2 with that last play call. Doing that with the most accurate FG kicker in MSU history on your bench is just crazy. I am glad it worked and I hope it give Relf some confidence going forward, but 17. Not going for the win at the end of regulation? Come on, man. </div><div>
</div><div>9. Speaking of bonehead calls, Thank you LaTech for throwing up a prayer instead of icing the game and kicking a FG. We almost screwed that up by completely squashing the momentum on our ensuing drive. Ballard for 6 yards, pass, pass, punt. Thanks.</div><div>
</div><div>Rest of season:</div><div>UGA - I said I would wait until after Ole Miss to call this one, and this weekend definitely didnt give me warm fuzzies. We will have to see a combination of our offensive output vs. Auburn and our defensive output v. LSU to win this game. Good news is that it is a pro-style offense. I have to say L and hope I am proved wrong. </div><div>UAB - Win. They are not as good as LaTech.</div><div>USC- For now, loss, but we can definitely beat them at home. Win 2 coming into this game and I like our chances. Unfortunately, this team is going to be feast or famine based on Relf's accuracy in each game. Hard to tell when the "feast" is going to occur, but this is a good a time as any.</div><div>UK - Win. They are worse than Ole Miss.</div><div>UTM- Win.</div><div>Bama- ugly. Their defense is the Pittsburgh to LSU's Baltimore. LSU blows stuff up in the backfield. Bama lets you think you have a chance, then murders you at the line of scrimmage or takes away your entire passing game.</div><div>ARK- Loss. You could still see how good Wilson can be despite their result at Bama. Too tall a task on the road.</div><div>Ole Miss - Win. </div><div>
</div><div>6-6. I still dont think we fall below 6 wins, but we will have to see a lot of improvement to get to 7. We got it last year, I hope we do it again. Get to 7 and we could have a pretty cool matchup with the ACC in Nashville, at least that is my hope. Come off this road trip with 2 wins and we are back on track. </div><div>
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