Well first off, hello friends.
It's been a minute since I've posted. For that I apologize. Having 2 boys, ages 2 and 4 and a job that requires travel takes a toll on my Sixpack time. I hope to one day get back to That's What Swede Said posts.
dawgstudent's agent and my agent have been going back and forth in intense negotiations to work out a deal. Apparently, TV's and pallets of Dale's are tough items to negotiate. So we'll see.
Let's dive into it.
First off, boy have we looked good that past couple of weeks. Salty defense. Will seems to pick apart the drop 8 defensive mentality. 2 bruising RB's. I really loved our offensive game plan coming into the Arkansas game. Hawgs were in a 3-3-5 a good bit of the game so we just ran the ball. Love it. And that's what we should do against a 3-3-5. So kudos to Leach for putting together a plan that may be a little unorthodox for the air raid philosophy but it worked. That's the kind of coach we want.
For Kentucky - As I thought back to the times I traveled/played in Lexington, I remembered it seemed like we went up there like 3 times while I was playing. Crazy. Two of those were night games with very similar weather to what's expected this coming Saturday. A chill in the air. Wind concerns me with our kickers. Which I'll cover in a second.
I think it's going to come down to what Mississippi State team shows up on Saturday. If the team that played A&M and Arkansas shows up, I think we win handily, maybe with a touch of struggle. If not, it'll be a struggle but close. Maybe one of those where we fart around the entire game and string together 2 drives to get us close/maybe even win in the last part of the 4th quarter.
What worries me is something that I think all of us worry about. We're kinda due for us to come out and crap the bed. We got some hype now. I hope we don't. It being an away game doesn't help in certain aspects. But as a player, it's kinda nice to change up the home game routine we've enjoyed the last two weeks. Player's are typically due at the locker room today around 12-1. So any afternoon classes they have (if any), they'll miss. Knock out some film, maybe a walk through, then you're on the bus headed to the airport.
Side note - to any players or fans in Lexington that are reading this. If the team is staying at the Embassy Suites (I think the one south of town) you need to do one thing while at this hotel. GET THE CORNBREAD. I devoured so much cornbread at that hotel before games it wasn't even funny. Man I could go on and on. They probably don't even have it on the menu. Doesn't matter. Force them to give you the cornbread. Don't get me started on the lack cornbread swag that the Hilton in Starkville has. It's a true tragedy.
Last thing on this away game. It's a nice stadium with a good vibe. It can get loud. But it's not terribly intimidating. We do our job, we'll be fine.
Aight, let's talk kickers. You guys already know, I'm one of the first to defend my fellow fruitcakes 99% of the time. But JIMINY CHRISTMAS. If my kids weren't either napping or within earshot, you'd be able to hear me scream expletives all the way in Starkville from Birmingham. I wish I knew what was going on but I can only speculate.
So bear with me here. The easy line I see everyone take is "There's gotta be a soccer guy on campus we can get" or "We should have tryouts. There's gotta be someone on campus that can kick better". I hear you. It makes sense at a high level. The reality is from a talent and a leg strength standpoint, what we have on the team is likely the best there is in Starkville. And that's not to say we couldn't find someone that could do the job via a tryout. Because it's been done before. In fact when I was at State (and I imagine it's the same way now), open tryouts were held right after fall camp. Anybody that wanted to try out could. My point is it's just unlikely we'll find someone better. Which brings me to my personal theory/opinion on what's going on.
So here's my opinion. It's not a talent issue. It's a mental issue. Wether it's lack of focus or nerves, I don't know. Our kicker actually has a good leg and good form. He CAN do it. I'd be interested to see how he does in practice during the team periods during the week. That'll tell you wether it's nerves or focus.
I don't want to solely place this on our kickers. Some of our snaps and holds haven't been great either. Punt wise, snaps have been good (and punts for that matter). But there's a lot that goes on in a field goal setting. The holder has to place the ball down with surgical precision. The kicker lines up on his "spot" that the holder is responsible for placing the ball on. This "spot" is about the size of a quarter. Maybe even a nickel in some cases. The holder uses his fingers to hold that spot. So when his hands go up to catch the snap, he's gotta have muscle memory or maybe a mark as to where that spot was. If you're off that spot by even an inch, it can drastically affects the kick.
Here's where the snap comes into play. If that snap is is bad enough where the holder has to extend a good bit, you run risk of the holder missing the spot as well just because they're being pulled off their alignment. Lastly, (I tweeted a little about this) the holder has got to turn the laces out (ask Ray Finkle). But seriously, though. It won't affect much on a PAT but as we increase distance, this becomes a factor and certainly affects the kick. This is also on the snapper as well. At that distance, the snapper should be able to snap the ball with the laces already out (our snappers could).
All of that (sorry long winded) to say, we've got to get tighter on the field goal operation. And the only way to do that is with military focus. I'm not saying these guys don't work hard. They do. But there's an extra level you have to hit when it comes game time. I always used my nerves a little to help me get there when I played. A little nerves helped me lock right in. So it could be we're too relaxed during the game. It could be we're too tight during the game. But regardless, we've got to find that middle ground where the snap is on point, the hold is on point, and the kick is on point. Every time. No exceptions.
Lastly, do we have any Pittsburgh dawgs here? I'm doing a boys trip to Pittsburgh this weekend. I welcome any recommendations for bars, restaurants, and the like. I'm also trying to find a bar that'll have our game on as well so I'm certainly open to whatever is suggested. With that said, if you're in the area, by all means PM me and meet us out to watch the game. You'll get NSFW stories of college football. So there, the invitation is out.
Hail. Freaking. State.
Swede
It's been a minute since I've posted. For that I apologize. Having 2 boys, ages 2 and 4 and a job that requires travel takes a toll on my Sixpack time. I hope to one day get back to That's What Swede Said posts.
dawgstudent's agent and my agent have been going back and forth in intense negotiations to work out a deal. Apparently, TV's and pallets of Dale's are tough items to negotiate. So we'll see.
Let's dive into it.
First off, boy have we looked good that past couple of weeks. Salty defense. Will seems to pick apart the drop 8 defensive mentality. 2 bruising RB's. I really loved our offensive game plan coming into the Arkansas game. Hawgs were in a 3-3-5 a good bit of the game so we just ran the ball. Love it. And that's what we should do against a 3-3-5. So kudos to Leach for putting together a plan that may be a little unorthodox for the air raid philosophy but it worked. That's the kind of coach we want.
For Kentucky - As I thought back to the times I traveled/played in Lexington, I remembered it seemed like we went up there like 3 times while I was playing. Crazy. Two of those were night games with very similar weather to what's expected this coming Saturday. A chill in the air. Wind concerns me with our kickers. Which I'll cover in a second.
I think it's going to come down to what Mississippi State team shows up on Saturday. If the team that played A&M and Arkansas shows up, I think we win handily, maybe with a touch of struggle. If not, it'll be a struggle but close. Maybe one of those where we fart around the entire game and string together 2 drives to get us close/maybe even win in the last part of the 4th quarter.
What worries me is something that I think all of us worry about. We're kinda due for us to come out and crap the bed. We got some hype now. I hope we don't. It being an away game doesn't help in certain aspects. But as a player, it's kinda nice to change up the home game routine we've enjoyed the last two weeks. Player's are typically due at the locker room today around 12-1. So any afternoon classes they have (if any), they'll miss. Knock out some film, maybe a walk through, then you're on the bus headed to the airport.
Side note - to any players or fans in Lexington that are reading this. If the team is staying at the Embassy Suites (I think the one south of town) you need to do one thing while at this hotel. GET THE CORNBREAD. I devoured so much cornbread at that hotel before games it wasn't even funny. Man I could go on and on. They probably don't even have it on the menu. Doesn't matter. Force them to give you the cornbread. Don't get me started on the lack cornbread swag that the Hilton in Starkville has. It's a true tragedy.
Last thing on this away game. It's a nice stadium with a good vibe. It can get loud. But it's not terribly intimidating. We do our job, we'll be fine.
Aight, let's talk kickers. You guys already know, I'm one of the first to defend my fellow fruitcakes 99% of the time. But JIMINY CHRISTMAS. If my kids weren't either napping or within earshot, you'd be able to hear me scream expletives all the way in Starkville from Birmingham. I wish I knew what was going on but I can only speculate.
So bear with me here. The easy line I see everyone take is "There's gotta be a soccer guy on campus we can get" or "We should have tryouts. There's gotta be someone on campus that can kick better". I hear you. It makes sense at a high level. The reality is from a talent and a leg strength standpoint, what we have on the team is likely the best there is in Starkville. And that's not to say we couldn't find someone that could do the job via a tryout. Because it's been done before. In fact when I was at State (and I imagine it's the same way now), open tryouts were held right after fall camp. Anybody that wanted to try out could. My point is it's just unlikely we'll find someone better. Which brings me to my personal theory/opinion on what's going on.
So here's my opinion. It's not a talent issue. It's a mental issue. Wether it's lack of focus or nerves, I don't know. Our kicker actually has a good leg and good form. He CAN do it. I'd be interested to see how he does in practice during the team periods during the week. That'll tell you wether it's nerves or focus.
I don't want to solely place this on our kickers. Some of our snaps and holds haven't been great either. Punt wise, snaps have been good (and punts for that matter). But there's a lot that goes on in a field goal setting. The holder has to place the ball down with surgical precision. The kicker lines up on his "spot" that the holder is responsible for placing the ball on. This "spot" is about the size of a quarter. Maybe even a nickel in some cases. The holder uses his fingers to hold that spot. So when his hands go up to catch the snap, he's gotta have muscle memory or maybe a mark as to where that spot was. If you're off that spot by even an inch, it can drastically affects the kick.
Here's where the snap comes into play. If that snap is is bad enough where the holder has to extend a good bit, you run risk of the holder missing the spot as well just because they're being pulled off their alignment. Lastly, (I tweeted a little about this) the holder has got to turn the laces out (ask Ray Finkle). But seriously, though. It won't affect much on a PAT but as we increase distance, this becomes a factor and certainly affects the kick. This is also on the snapper as well. At that distance, the snapper should be able to snap the ball with the laces already out (our snappers could).
All of that (sorry long winded) to say, we've got to get tighter on the field goal operation. And the only way to do that is with military focus. I'm not saying these guys don't work hard. They do. But there's an extra level you have to hit when it comes game time. I always used my nerves a little to help me get there when I played. A little nerves helped me lock right in. So it could be we're too relaxed during the game. It could be we're too tight during the game. But regardless, we've got to find that middle ground where the snap is on point, the hold is on point, and the kick is on point. Every time. No exceptions.
Lastly, do we have any Pittsburgh dawgs here? I'm doing a boys trip to Pittsburgh this weekend. I welcome any recommendations for bars, restaurants, and the like. I'm also trying to find a bar that'll have our game on as well so I'm certainly open to whatever is suggested. With that said, if you're in the area, by all means PM me and meet us out to watch the game. You'll get NSFW stories of college football. So there, the invitation is out.
Hail. Freaking. State.
Swede
