I miss this kind of football
- Thread starter bulldoghair
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Fitz ran a 4.64 forty at the NFL scouting combine. That is fast especially for his size, but his game speed definitely even seemed faster.
I was watching the replay of that game just a few days and was thinking the same. Neither of those teams were very good. The win was not significant other than it was Ole Miss and got us a bowl game against Miami of Ohio, but it’s one of my favorite Egg Bowls from the Mullen era. That style of offense just seems to fit us best. It seemed like common sense to try to replicate it when Mullen left.
Wonder what he might've run had the Oxford lowlife scum-bags hadn't deliberately ruined his ankle.
Great. Great. College QB. Passing game, hurt ankle or not, made sure he was a great college QB.
Great running QB. Passing game sucked. Strong arm but no control or touch. Definitely had a cannon. But why bother to pass when you can break 40 yard runs at will ? If he had been a more accurate passer there is no telling how great he would have been. Just a little better.
It's fine when we're playing a team with similar talent. But turns into a brick wall when playing defenses with Alabama talent. This is well-documented, our genius fanbase consistently tore into Mullen over it. And it's not just Fitz, Dak had issues as well, until his senior year. That is what drove the moves to find a competent passing game, along with the modern day rules that favor that.
Our genius fanbase also wanted to bench Fitz, many times.
All that said, if NIL/portal is allowing more parity, might be possible to go back to a ground-based system. Not as many teams running around with Bama talent of old. But I still think it's advantageous to throw it, overall.
Our genius fanbase also wanted to bench Fitz, many times.
All that said, if NIL/portal is allowing more parity, might be possible to go back to a ground-based system. Not as many teams running around with Bama talent of old. But I still think it's advantageous to throw it, overall.
Fitz was fast and had great vision. He was actually a better runner than Dak.
Regarding 2016, if he starts v USA, we win. Barely but we win.
Regarding 2016, if he starts v USA, we win. Barely but we win.
Fitz reminded me of Matt Jones at Arky. Both could scoot.
You just can't allow any praise of the running game can you. The air raid scored 15 points in three years against Bama. That was some improvement.
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You just can't help but get personal can you? Chill with the butthurt.
I loved Fitz. I actually hope he's a part of that lawsuit, he deserves it more than anyone.
He was a better than runner than any QB who's ever played in the SEC, according to the history books.
Good point. I’m not sure or not if by that point it affected his time. But a 4.64 laser time for a guy his size is fast. That was about it before his injury too I’d imagine. Fitz was another type of QB in a unique system at the time, that if in this day in age wouldn’t have costed as much in NIL because the big boys wouldn’t be trying to buy him from us because he wouldn’t have fit their system.
That wasn't personal. That you took it as such is no surprise. You DID mention Alabama stonewalling our run game back then. To me 15 points in three years is the definition of being stonewalled.
As for Fitz, He was what he was. Mullen knew how to use him, and use him well. I'd go back to those days NOW.
It’s one of everybody’s favorites because we beat the everloving **** out of them after we’d only won once in Oxford since ‘98.
Danny Boy only scored 20 in his first 3 years against them. And let's face it, all 3 were total beat downs.
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't he start and after two three and outs on the first two possessions, Mullen pulled and put Damien Williams in the game?
Google is better than my memory.
You are correct.
Fitz started and was cold. Punt punt
Williams came in 3rd drive and led 3 scoring drives. 20 points.
Offense went cold in the 2nd half. Mustering 3 points. Conservative decision to punt one drive. Missed FGs on two other drives.
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The morale of that offseason (between 2015 and 2016) was just total crap. We actually had some good young talent that year, Mullen just didn't GAF until we got a little momentum going, which of course he saw as his eventual way out of Starkville. He let that QB competition hang around way too long in preseason. Everyone could see in the SC game how much of a freak athlete Fitz was, and that he could carry the offense at times.
I love watching his videos on instagram and fb, mainly the OL play/blocking.
I remember this offense having quite a bit of success against eventual national champion Bama the very next year with this same offense in a game I'm still pretty upset that we/the refs found a way to lose. It was impressive how well we ran the ball that night.
Honest question because I was barely able to watch any of our last 3 games due to kids' events, but can Van Buren run? He seems like a decent athlete from what I was able to see last weekend, but I was a little surprised to see these numbers:
Florida: 5 carries, -5 yds
Texas: 12 carries, -12 yds
Georgia: 5 carries, 15 yds
At the same time, I've seen our O line this year so I do somewhat get it
Florida: 5 carries, -5 yds
Texas: 12 carries, -12 yds
Georgia: 5 carries, 15 yds
At the same time, I've seen our O line this year so I do somewhat get it
I think that's judging him a little harshly. He was still improving his Jr. year but didn't have any WRs. His senior year he had an offense run by slo mo. Certainly he wasn't a good passer, but I think if you give him a decent receiving corp and another year with Mullen and he probably would have been fine.
Danny leaving the way he did is why I’ll never consider him as any type of royalty at MSU. I’ll applaud him, but that’s about it. We probably don’t lose that Egg Bowl if we’re properly prepared. Fitz probably doesn’t get hurt. Then we go into 2018 with all those hurt WRs back plus that Guidry dude, and also Mille would have properly used Aeris and Hill in a complimentary fashion. We still probably go 10-2 max but that team would have been hell. And we’d have still been coach-less for the bowl game.
If you don't consider Mullen MSU royalty then you are just a sad sack. He has the second best record of any MSU football coach ever. You must be directly descended from Wilhelm II of Germany.
Oh, and Fitz got hurt when Ole Miss deliberately rolled up his leg. That had nothing to do with any lack of preparation. Blaming that on Mullen is asinine.
I suppose Dan might have been able to improve his accuracy but the fact remains it never happened. It's a shame too. He could chuck that thing. Might be 10 rows up in the stands or hit the receiver in the helmet and knock him down. He could put some mustard on it. Course that's not good on a screen pass...lol
Back when we had an OL who could clear a Mack-truck sized running lane, even against SEC defenses.
Nick Fitzgerald stats in 3 games vs. Texas A&M:
591 passing yards
375 rushing yards
11 Touchdowns
3wins, 0 losses
591 passing yards
375 rushing yards
11 Touchdowns
3wins, 0 losses
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