People, here's the deal on Will

[greenbean.sixpack]

He's a solid college QB, a good person and smart player. As we transition to a new offense and new coaches, he's what we need to get us in the right formations and protect the ball, minimize mistakes and lead the team. He's a "low ceiling" player, his potential for improvement is limited. Going into the season no one should have thought he'd throw frozen ropes or into tight windows or all of a sudden be able to run the ball. As the season unfolds, we'll probably see more of Wright, but barring injury, Will will remain the starter and that's probably the best move. The coaches will make sure the best players are on the field and put them in the best position to be successful.

We're a 7-5 type team and Will can get us there. We were vanilla against SLU intentionally, we'll get better as the season progresses.

 

[civildawg88]

I'm not asking him to be Joe Montana but at least look downfield to pass. If the wr has someone within 5 yards he acts like they are covered up and checks it down. I've never seen a QB so scared to step up in the pocket and take a hit. It's just very frustrating

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

I'm not asking him to be Joe Montana but at least look downfield to pass. If the wr has someone within 5 yards he acts like they are covered up and checks it down. I've never seen a QB so scared to step up in the pocket and take a hit. It's just very frustrating

I agree he needs to start forcing some shots. He needs to take more chances down field, even if it means an INT or two. I think he'll open up as the season progresses.

 

[TaleofTwoDogs]

Rogers' desire for personal safety > the fans satisfaction wants. His future as a coach is at stake.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

I'm not asking him to be Joe Montana but at least look downfield to pass. If the wr has someone within 5 yards he acts like they are covered up and checks it down. I've never seen a QB so scared to step up in the pocket and take a hit. It's just very frustrating

Money Mike is the QB we deserve. Dude never lost the ability to force a pass.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

GTFO of here with that 7-5 crap, we have much better talent than that.

Player talent, anyway. Not sure on coaching.

 

[Rupert Jenkins]

How many times would you like him to go " downfield" and what do you consider downfield ?

 

[patdog]

GTFO of here with that 7-5 crap, we have much better talent than that.

Player talent, anyway. Not sure on coaching.

As usual, many of our fans think our players are better than they are. 247 ranks our roster #28 in the nation. We play 6 teams ranked higher than us.

2023 College Football Team Talent Composite (247sports.com)

 

[jethreauxdawg]

How many times would you like him to go " downfield" and what do you consider downfield ?

More and farther

 

[blitz2Win]

How many times would you like him to go " downfield" and what do you consider downfield ?

I watched Altmeyer for Illinois with under two minutes left. blitzer just creamed him, he hung in the pocket until the last second and threw a 30 yard pass downfield that won the game for Illinois(moved them into FG range), taking a huge shot in the process. Ask yourself when is the last time you ever saw Will do that ?

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

GTFO of here with that 7-5 crap, we have much better talent than that.

Player talent, anyway. Not sure on coaching.

Sir, Vegas has us our win total at 6.5. They are unbiased. I took the over, I think we are 7-5 team with a decent chance to go 8-4. We need to split these 6 games, OM, Ark, Barn, TAMU, UK and USCe. That will be a tall order, but I think we can do it.

 

[thatsbaseball]

I watched Altmeyer for Illinois with under two minutes left. blitzer just creamed him, he hung in the pocket until the last second and threw a 30 yard pass downfield that won the game for Illinois(moved them into FG range), taking a huge shot in the process. Ask yourself when is the last time you ever saw Will do that ?

That's nothing, I saw Doug Flutie......never mind

 

[johnson86-1]

As usual, many of our fans think our players are better than they are. 247 ranks our roster #28 in the nation. We play 6 teams ranked higher than us.

2023 College Football Team Talent Composite (247sports.com)

Aren’t those just based on recruiting rankings though?

I don’t entirely disagree with your point and think the three clearly ahead (bama, lsu, a&m) of us are obviously more talented. But I don’t think Auburn, USCe, and Ole Miss are obviously more talented than us if you rank the players talent based on how they have played in college. We are as good or better than 8 teams on our schedule. A&M has pretty consistently underachieved so that may be a 9th game in play without requiring some crazy upset. Obviously a tall order to not drop a game to any of the teams close to us, but we are not lacking talent.


Like we have been several times in the last 15 years, we are a really solid team lacking a high end playmaker on offense. You give us a dak type special player at QB, and we’d be extremely dangerous. Not sure how dangerous we will be with will. Will probably depend on if our D is good enough that will being a game manager and not making mistakes is enough. That’s not a knock on Will. I’m hoping he is more than that but if he’s not, it’s not a season killer.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

As usual, many of our fans think our players are better than they are. 247 ranks our roster #28 in the nation. We play 6 teams ranked higher than us.

2023 College Football Team Talent Composite (247sports.com)

We're also older with a ton of multi-year starters. And you know the services notoriously underrate us.

Don't be intentionally dumb. You watched the core of this team go 7-5 and 8-4 the last 2 seasons.

 

[patdog]

Aren’t those just based on recruiting rankings though?

I don’t entirely disagree with your point and think the three clearly ahead (bama, lsu, a&m) of us are obviously more talented. But I don’t think Auburn, USCe, and Ole Miss are obviously more talented than us if you rank the players talent based on how they have played in college. We are as good or better than 8 teams on our schedule. A&M has pretty consistently underachieved so that may be a 9th game in play without requiring some crazy upset. Obviously a tall order to not drop a game to any of the teams close to us, but we are not lacking talent.


Like we have been several times in the last 15 years, we are a really solid team lacking a high end playmaker on offense. You give us a dak type special player at QB, and we’d be extremely dangerous. Not sure how dangerous we will be with will. Will probably depend on if our D is good enough that will being a game manager and not making mistakes is enough. That’s not a knock on Will. I’m hoping he is more than that but if he’s not, it’s not a season killer.

It’s a very imperfect ranking for sure. But probably about the best we’ve got. One thing there can’t be much debate on is Bama, LSU & A&M clearly have a lot more talent than we do. Auburn, Miss, KY, USC & Arky are pretty comparable to us in talent. That usually translates to somewhere between 5 and 8 wins.

 

[patdog]

We're also older with a ton of multi-year starters. And you know the services notoriously underrate us.

Don't be intentionally dumb. You watched the core of this team go 7-5 and 8-4 the last 2 seasons.

I also realize a lot of those close home wins are on the road this year. And many teams on our schedule project to be better than they were last year.

Edit. I won’t be surprised if we go 8-4. I also won’t be surprised if we go 6-6.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I also realize a lot of those close home wins are on the road this year. And many teams on our schedule project to be better than they were last year.

What close home wins, blowouts over Texas A&M and Arkansas? And a blowout in the making where we went to sleep against Auburn?

If we go 7-5 this year, go ahead and fire Arnett because it's not likely to get much better.

This is a roster for an up year at Mississippi State, much like 2014 and 2018. The only thing that can prevent it is coaching, which happened in 2018.

 

[FlotownDawg]

I watched Altmeyer for Illinois with under two minutes left. blitzer just creamed him, he hung in the pocket until the last second and threw a 30 yard pass downfield that won the game for Illinois(moved them into FG range), taking a huge shot in the process. Ask yourself when is the last time you ever saw Will do that ?

Yeah. Altmeyer played so well that Illinois needed a last second field goal to beat freaking Toledo at home. I’d like to see the reaction by our fans if we need a last second field goal to beat Southern Miss later this season.

 

[patdog]

What close home wins, blowouts over Texas A&M and Arkansas? And a blowout in the making where we went to sleep against Auburn?

If we go 7-5 this year, go ahead and fire Arnett because it's not likely to get much better.

This is a roster for an up year at Mississippi State, much like 2014 and 2018. The only thing that can prevent it is coaching, which happened in 2018.

Auburn was a home OT win. And Arkansas was without their star QB. A&M is a wild card. If their coaches ever get their heads out of their asses, they could be a top 10 team. But just as likely to go 4-8.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Auburn was a home OT win. And Arkansas was without their star QB. A&M is a wild card. If their coaches ever get their heads out of their asses, they could be a top 10 team. But just as likely to go 4-8.

Again, you're being obtuse. We were markedly better than those 3 teams last year. 2 blowouts and up 21-3 on Auburn. Facts. Then came back and beat them when we woke up, answered exactly when we had to.

And you say they are projected to be better, well, anybody who understands football and rosters knows we are as well.

But there's no question that it can easily be screwed up by mismanagement of the offense, just like Moorhead did.

 

[blitz2Win]

Yeah. Altmeyer played so well that Illinois needed a last second field goal to beat freaking Toledo at home. I’d like to see the reaction by our fans if we need a last second field goal to beat Southern Miss later this season.

I did not say altmyer played well, what I said was he was willing to take a big hit without fear to win the game for his team. I think that accepting The fact you are going to get drilled but stepping up in the pocket anyway to deliver the ball down field is Something will struggles with. That’s part of the reason he doesn’t look downfield at Times.

 

[Rupert Jenkins]

I watched Altmeyer for Illinois with under two minutes left. blitzer just creamed him, he hung in the pocket until the last second and threw a 30 yard pass downfield that won the game for Illinois(moved them into FG range), taking a huge shot in the process. Ask yourself when is the last time you ever saw Will do that ?

So is that once ?? Would the 33 yard td have satisfied you if he had gotten hit after releasing it ?

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

What close home wins, blowouts over Texas A&M and Arkansas? And a blowout in the making where we went to sleep against Auburn?

If we go 7-5 this year, go ahead and fire Arnett because it's not likely to get much better.

This is a roster for an up year at Mississippi State, much like 2014 and 2018. The only thing that can prevent it is coaching, which happened in 2018.

So you've evaluated those to teams to see if they upgraded rosters, coaches, etc? Or if they had some injuries against us last year (I know Ark did). Did any of those teams "go to sleep" on us last year?

 

[tired]

How many times would you like him to go " downfield" and what do you consider downfield ?

I have 5 stills, to name a few, of WRs open downfield. Those 5 times I would have liked for him to throw it downfield. Instead he checked down, or ran sideways. The pocket was there on 4 of those.

Consideration would be over 20 yards, & a couple was 35-40 yards. Will had an opportunity yesterday to pass for over 400 yds, with 4-5 TDs, but his unwillingness to step up into the pocket wouldn't allow it.

It's got nothing to do with "a new offense" Will is just scared of contact. There is mountains of evidence to prove it.

 

[onewoof]

20 for 29 for 227 yards might be the worst performance in &tate history. Bench him.

 

[Rupert Jenkins]

I agree. Bench him. Hard to imagine only scoring on 7 of 10 possessions. If Barbay knew as much about offensive play as SPS posters he would do it. I saw all that too when I was cutting film of the game this morning

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

If the wr has someone within 5 yards he acts like they are covered up and checks it down. I've never seen a QB so scared to step up in the pocket and take a hit. It's just very frustrating

Will knows his limitations. He is simply not accurate beyond 10 yards.
Even then, he consistently puts the ball behind receivers where they have to contort their bodies or stop their routes to catch one of his passes. He damn sure needs to be sure there is no defender within 5 yards because the chances are the pass will be intercepted.
He's got no elite-level-QB zip on the ball. Every out route he throws is a risk. He and the coaches know it.
He can not run and he can not take a hit.
So standing tall or stepping up in the pocket is not in the cards.
But he's a gamer, a team leader, and, at least, he doesn't suck.

It would be great to see us turn the offense over to Wright starting the next game to see what happens.
But we've got two more years of Will "the-not-so-thrilling" Rogers. Let's hope he finds away to get us to six more wins.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

I watched Altmeyer for Illinois with under two minutes left. blitzer just creamed him, he hung in the pocket until the last second and threw a 30 yard pass downfield that won the game for Illinois(moved them into FG range), taking a huge shot in the process. Ask yourself when is the last time you ever saw Will do that ?

We didn't win the game but maybe Arkansas 2 years ago.

 

[blitz2Win]

We didn't win the game but maybe Arkansas 2 years ago.

Maybe, I’d forgotten that one. That’s a big part of being a good qb, you have to be willing to take a hit to make the throws.

 

[OopsICroomedmypants]

I understand the frustration, but I’m going to sit back and try to enjoy this season. We have the oldest team in our history. That’s a positive and means we did a decent job of recruiting positions. Yeah we’re not winning the SEC, but that’s nothing new.

We have:

A four year starter at QB. That’s enough to not lose a game when we should have won.

A great RB and several good backups

Good receivers that I don’t close my eyes before the ball reaches their hands

A big and old O line

Plenty of talent young and old on defense

2 kickers

We don’t really have a weakness unless it’s in the secondary, so this is one of the most well rounded teams we ever had. If it gets us 6-7 wins so be it. Just remember there was a time when some dumbass coach moved Omar Conner to receiver from QB. I’m glad we are griping about minor issues.

 

[johnson86-1]

20 for 29 for 227 yards might be the worst performance in &tate history. Bench him.

A 7.8 yards per pass attempt over the course of a season would have put him around 50th last year out of FBS qbs from what I can tell. That’d be pretty solid if paired with a high completion rate and low turnovers. I don’t know how to feel about that stat line versus SELA. certainly nothing wrong with it but with almost 300 yds rushing, would have loved to see him make some big plays off play action.

 

[Anon1683496745]

As usual, many of our fans think our players are better than they are. 247 ranks our roster #28 in the nation. We play 6 teams ranked higher than us.

2023 College Football Team Talent Composite (247sports.com)

I agree! We will know more after this weeks game.

 

[Perd Hapley]

We're also older with a ton of multi-year starters. And you know the services notoriously underrate us.

Don't be intentionally dumb. You watched the core of this team go 7-5 and 8-4 the last 2 seasons.

I think we’re 7-5 / 8-4 at best, talent wise.

One thing I always find interesting is how people think having a bunch of 6th year super-seniors in the SEC is a good thing. It’s no different than if you had an SEC baseball team where 80% of your regulars are seniors. It means you don’t have much talent if all those guys saw fit to come back to school. It’s still better than having neither talent nor experience, but we’re playing teams every week that are loaded with sophomores / juniors who will only start for 1 year before hearing their names called early in the NFL draft.

 

[Southern Law Dawg]

Yeah. Altmeyer played so well that Illinois needed a last second field goal to beat freaking Toledo at home. I’d like to see the reaction by our fans if we need a last second field goal to beat Southern Miss later this season.

That dude is a rebel. Look at his time spent and post history.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I think we’re 7-5 / 8-4 at best, talent wise.

One thing I always find interesting is how people think having a bunch of 6th year super-seniors in the SEC is a good thing. It’s no different than if you had an SEC baseball team where 80% of your regulars are seniors. It means you don’t have much talent if all those guys saw fit to come back to school. It’s still better than having neither talent nor experience, but we’re playing teams every week that are loaded with sophomores / juniors who will only start for 1 year before hearing their names called early in the NFL draft.

Football is much different than baseball. Before COVID anyway.

Once the draft was shortened, guess who the first two teams were that benefitted? Two teams who got players back who normally would have signed.

Here is another fact. We sold out our season tickets this year. That means a ton of people believe in this team and expect a big year.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

I agree he needs to start forcing some shots. He needs to take more chances down field, even if it means an INT or two. I think he'll open up as the season progresses.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Just one adjustment I suggest. When Wright comes in just sub Will out. DON'T SEND HIM OUT TO WR. We are never going to be dumb enough to throw him the ball out there and I don't foresee a flea flicker. Any team falls for that they are special ed kids.

 

[Ranchdawg]

I watched Altmeyer for Illinois with under two minutes left. blitzer just creamed him, he hung in the pocket until the last second and threw a 30 yard pass downfield that won the game for Illinois(moved them into FG range), taking a huge shot in the process. Ask yourself when is the last time you ever saw Will do that ?

Why are you talking up Altmeyer? Land Shart?

 

[RotorHead]

“Will probably depend on if our D is good enough…”

always comes down to the D being good enough….

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Just one adjustment I suggest. When Wright comes in just sub Will out. DON'T SEND HIM OUT TO WR. We are never going to be dumb enough to throw him the ball out there and I don't foresee a flea flicker. Any team falls for that they are special ed kids.

Yes!

I'm assuming Mike will see a lot more of the field (and on consecutive plays) as the season progresses. Hopefully, we won't need to show too much against Arizona.