Bo and Blake keep repeating two flawed offensive points........

[Smoked Toag]

1) A running offense and good defense can't win
2) Mike Leach's offense will work but it needs more of a transition

On #1, they basically think you have to be a high-flying passing offense to win, which isn't true. You just have to throw ENOUGH to keep defenses honest. That's it. They keep saying that without the Air Raid we will just be Kentucky......well what offense was that that won big in 2014/2015, and then had the potential again in 2017/2018 had our coach not bailed? And how certain are we that Leach's Air Raid will reach that point here anyway, much less exceed it? I'd give my house for that type of success again. They also keep saying Bama 'adapted' and got better, but when were they not good?? They weren't bad in 2013 when Saban miraculously had this epiphany, they were headed to the ch'ip game until they got kick-6'ed. All the while they bag of Georgia, who absolutely had Bama beaten in 2017/2018 except for Smart got alpha-maled by Saban. Bottom line.

On #2, I've said this 100 times. Slophead had already started this "transition" back in 2018, he was NOT running a road grading offense like Mullen. He did a lot of the dirty work for Leach. He was already teaching all this pass-blocking stuff and sacrificed the whole 2018 season because of it. This was our OL in 2018: Eiland 6'8" 335, Williams 6'2" 310, Jenkins 6'4" 310, Calhoun 6'3" 320, Reese 6'5" 340. This is our current OL in 2021: Cross 6'5" 310, Jones 6'3" 305, Sharp 6'3" 300, Dolla Bill 6'7" 320, Lashley 6'7" 315. We've gotten about an inch taller across the board, and these were good recruits. They also say Will Rogers shouldn't be playing this early. Well am I wrong but we also had a freakin' 4 star QB here that we moved to WR and ended up transferring, that was a fan favorite. Leach's first older QB transfer also sucked, and the one this year isn't working out either. Not to mention we have plenty of WRs now due to Slophead's recruiting.

All this to say - we really should not have to expect another crap year of offensive football. Leach should be on the hot seat next year if we suck again this year. I'm not saying we need to go 8-4, but I'm tired of this 'total rebuild' talk. It wasn't. And if it doesn't work, can we please go back to the dual threat QB run game, you know, the one that produced every successful QB in our history.

 

[paindonthurt_]

It doesn’t matter what offense you run. You have to move the ball and score.

You can argue what offense is better or worse for that but at the end of the day move the ball and score points.

But I do agree a hybrid spread power run with balanced pass is our best bet year in and year out in Mississippi.

 

[dawgstudent]

If Cohen hired a coach where we have to wait 4 years for him to win - he made the wrong hire.

 

[Rezdog]

Bo and Blake are idiots so who cares what they think.

 

[TrapGame.sixpack]

Bo and Blake are idiots so who cares what they think.

He gave OM a ten minute BJ this morning. He can see them finishing 2nd in the West. Plumlee will be "almost unstoppable" in the slot. Corral is the best QB in the SEC hands down. Slurp, slurp, slurp.

 

[The Usual Suspect]

If Cohen hired a coach where we have to wait 4 years for him to win - he made the wrong hire.

Especially if said coach is already over 60.

 

[GloryDawg]

He gave OM a ten minute BJ this morning. He can see them finishing 2nd in the West. Plumlee will be "almost unstoppable" in the slot. Corral is the best QB in the SEC hands down. Slurp, slurp, slurp.

He must be trying to reel in a few sponsors.

 

[Smoked Toag]

Bo and Blake are idiots so who cares what they think.

Nah, they aren't idiots, they are just misguided.

I like the show, though. I don't have to agree to enjoy the show.

 

[The Usual Suspect]

He gave OM a ten minute BJ this morning. He can see them finishing 2nd in the West. Plumlee will be "almost unstoppable" in the slot. Corral is the best QB in the SEC hands down. Slurp, slurp, slurp.

Any comments on their defense?*

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

If Cohen hired a coach where we have to wait 4 years for him to win - he made the wrong hire.

He kicked SloMo to the curb fast but he's going to give the Pirate 4 years? We have fans who may believe that but I'm pretty sure the IB won't be that patient. He will get a mulligan for the Covid season because of the lack of coaching time but if we don't show progress and he senses it's not going to work he will be looking for a coach again.

I personally don't expect too much from this season. We should make some noise but we have a lot of younger players (Covid and Redshirt Freshmen) that make up over half our squad. Some got some playing time last year when we played a couple of games with less players than some of our Texas High Schools did.

I just want to see progress when we play this year. Win or lose I don't want to things go backwards. That's all. I hope the Pirate can do it. Not just for we fans but to give a big bird to all the prognosticators that are predicting our doom.

 

[Rezdog]

Nah, they aren't idiots, they are just misguided.

I like the show, though. I don't have to agree to enjoy the show.

Maybe, but misguided is saying Corral is one of the best QB's in the SEC. But only an idiot says OM will win 10 games and a failed QB will be unstoppable in the slot.

 

[o_Hot Rock]

1) A running offense and good defense can't win
2) Mike Leach's offense will work but it needs more of a transition

On #1, they basically think you have to be a high-flying passing offense to win, which isn't true. You just have to throw ENOUGH to keep defenses honest. That's it. They keep saying that without the Air Raid we will just be Kentucky......well what offense was that that won big in 2014/2015, and then had the potential again in 2017/2018 had our coach not bailed? And how certain are we that Leach's Air Raid will reach that point here anyway, much less exceed it? I'd give my house for that type of success again. They also keep saying Bama 'adapted' and got better, but when were they not good?? They weren't bad in 2013 when Saban miraculously had this epiphany, they were headed to the ch'ip game until they got kick-6'ed. All the while they bag of Georgia, who absolutely had Bama beaten in 2017/2018 except for Smart got alpha-maled by Saban. Bottom line.

On #2, I've said this 100 times. Slophead had already started this "transition" back in 2018, he was NOT running a road grading offense like Mullen. He did a lot of the dirty work for Leach. He was already teaching all this pass-blocking stuff and sacrificed the whole 2018 season because of it. This was our OL in 2018: Eiland 6'8" 335, Williams 6'2" 310, Jenkins 6'4" 310, Calhoun 6'3" 320, Reese 6'5" 340. This is our current OL in 2021: Cross 6'5" 310, Jones 6'3" 305, Sharp 6'3" 300, Dolla Bill 6'7" 320, Lashley 6'7" 315. We've gotten about an inch taller across the board, and these were good recruits. They also say Will Rogers shouldn't be playing this early. Well am I wrong but we also had a freakin' 4 star QB here that we moved to WR and ended up transferring, that was a fan favorite. Leach's first older QB transfer also sucked, and the one this year isn't working out either. Not to mention we have plenty of WRs now due to Slophead's recruiting.

All this to say - we really should not have to expect another crap year of offensive football. Leach should be on the hot seat next year if we suck again this year. I'm not saying we need to go 8-4, but I'm tired of this 'total rebuild' talk. It wasn't. And if it doesn't work, can we please go back to the dual threat QB run game, you know, the one that produced every successful QB in our history.

As far as patience: Mississippi State tried that run first style of offense for all my life and never won a dang thing. I am willing to wait to year 5 if need be myself if I can see it how it will work.

There wasn't a singe WR on the roster that was ready to play when Leach got here. One of the first things Leach noticed when he got here is how poorly we caught the ball. He said at one point that maybe 2 out of the 5 people out in a route would be doing it correctly. They have been working with that group and brought in more guys and the talent level at WR is vastly improved already and its just year two. They had to try and fix the mess without an offseason or spring training.

QB - As much as I liked the QB's that were here, none of them could pass accurately enough to be a Leach QB. They had heart and I loved watching them play but they were not accurate passers, nor had they ran a system even comparable. He had to get a transfer QB to run his offense and then had a to turn to a true freshman for the first time in his career. They will be better there and will go as far as Will Rogers can take them.

The OL last year started to play better toward the end and I expect it will be better this year too. It's not just pass blocking techniques that they had to learn, these wide splits are something different, every OL has to be able to pass block well without help, it's not just your tackles. Again, no spring, no summer workouts, just a weird fall camp and go.

RB - Did you forget Kylin Hill left the team and two true freshmen RB's were forced into playing? Those guys are looking much better than they were last year. Woody Marks has gotten bigger and stronger and Johnson has lost a few pounds and gotten quicker. The addition of Hargrove with his speed can be a game changer even as a freshman. They will be better and expect better numbers there.

I fully expect a 6 to 10 point improvement per game. (LSU game last year was nuts but we got some OOC games this year to offset that game. He does not play an up tempo offense which taxes your defense but runs a more deliberate offense so don't expect 40-50 point games against good opponents.

If you need more evidence of just how much better this team can be, look on the other side of the ball.

5 safeties went out for one reason or the other last year. A guy that started at safety in 2019 can't even make the two deep these days. The safety group was our biggest weakness last year and this year it should be a strength.

You just hide and watch, I bet you will see a huge jump this year even with an OL that only has one guy starting at the same position he played last year.

I could go on, but it's probably a waste of my time, you won't read.

 

[messageboardsuperhero]

God, please let us play an actual football game… Saturday can’t get here fast enough.

 

[messageboardsuperhero]

If Cohen hired a coach where we have to wait 4 years for him to win - he made the wrong hire.

Obviously we will have our answer before year 4-5. I think we take a noticeable step offensively this season (about 30 PPG and 400+ YPG), then another step in 2022 and have a good offense going forward for the duration of the Leach era.

If that happens, great. If not, bring on the search. Please let the season get here so we can quit beating the hypothetical horse.

 

[Felonious Junk]

I obviously have no clue how the future will play out but if the past is an accurate predictor we should see a massive increase in offensive production year 2 and 3.

*See Texas Tech and WSU

 

[paindonthurt_]

I don’t know who Blake is but Bo isn’t a football guru by any means.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Plumlee is exceptionally fast for a QB…. Not exceptionally fast for a slot receiver.

 

[IPMdawg]

Defenses were down last year for the whole conference. Corral and Kiffin’s offense may be lights out again, but Corral will be under a lot more pressure this year and may become a pick machine again.

 

[The Maroon Pug]

Who?

 

[NOATLDAWG]

THIS was always my biggest prob with the hire. Leach isn't a long haul hire... Right now, he is already in Key West half the year... How long is he really engaged in this was ALWAYS my problem.

 

[Bulldawg77]

Maybe, but misguided is saying Corral is one of the best QB's in the SEC. But only an idiot says OM will win 10 games and a failed QB will be unstoppable in the slot.

ESP one who can't catch.

 

[Ralph Cramden]

I tend to be in the same boat with Hot Rock. Leach has proved himself at TT and WS and to some extent Kentucky. Will it be an 11 point per game improvement like WSU had in their second year ? Idk...but I feel confident we will be better and continue to get better. And I would not say complete rebuild but what Leach got was a hot mess after Slow Joe. Not even sure i would call this year two but thats what it is.

 

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

I can’t believe people think Leach should be on the hot seat. I mean he’s only won everywhere he’s been. We’ve had one Covid-shortened season for crying out loud. I’d give him a very long leash because he’s earned it. If he just does what he did at his previous 2 spots he’ll be in the running for the best coach we’ve ever had.

 

[047Dog]

We didn’t have a 2500 yard passer in school history until Tyler Russell. 2012. In HISTORY. NOW THAT IS PATHETIC. We finally got a 3000 yard passer 2 years later.

We have to find inventive ways to move the ball and maybe this will work out. If it doesn’t then who the hell knows. We aren’t beating the big boys with a running game.

Somebody texted Wyatt’s show the other day and said MSU would be fine if we had 100 yards rushing and 250 passing per game. I guess they just got thawed out after being frozen 20 years ago because that crap doesn’t work in the SEC, especially at MSU. If we had even had a capable passing game in Jackie’s tenure we would have made it to a couple more championship games.

I’m sick of having no passing history at MSU. Weve got to do something different because we aren’t beating LSU, Bama, A&M, Georgia or Florida playing smash mouth football with 3 star players.

 

[patdog]

We have to get away from this “long-term” hire mentality. You make the best hire you can. If/when it doesn’t work out or he leaves, you make the best hire you can again. Who says Leach isn’t a long-term hire anyway? He was at Texas tech 10 years and Washington st. for 8. I think this is probably his last hurrah, and it could easily last 8 years if he wins. That’s a long time for a football coach at one job.

 

[Maroonthirteen]

I agree. They seem to take a very exaggerated stance on passing and States offensive talent level. It feels as if this is purposeful message.

The takes on Coral and OM are just smart business takes.

Other hot takes, all Bama QBs are a product of the Bama system and are really bad.... we shall see. But Mac Jones is looking good. Tua may well make it.

Smart and Fischer are bad coaches. Lots of other people disagree.

I enjoy the show though. Bo does a good job with guest and interesting topics.

 

[G-Dawg]

We have to get away from this “long-term” hire mentality. You make the best hire you can. If/when it doesn’t work out or he leaves, you make the best hire you can again. Who says Leach isn’t a long-term hire anyway? He was at Texas tech 10 years and Washington st. for 8. I think this is probably his last hurrah, and it could easily last 8 years if he wins. That’s a long time for a football coach at one job.

You're dead on. You can't go hire the best coach...you have to hire the best coach available.

 

[TaleofTwoDogs]

I’m sick of having no passing history at MSU. We've got to do something different because we aren’t beating LSU, Bama, A&M, Georgia or Florida playing smash mouth football with 3 star players.

News Flash, we aren't beating those teams on a consistent basis with 3 star players regardless of the offense we run.

 

[Bulldogg31]

Corral won’t even make it through the season as the starter.

 

[Motodawg]

Some real HOT TAKES in this post.

 

[Smoked Toag]

We have to get away from this “long-term” hire mentality. You make the best hire you can. If/when it doesn’t work out or he leaves, you make the best hire you can again. Who says Leach isn’t a long-term hire anyway? He was at Texas tech 10 years and Washington st. for 8. I think this is probably his last hurrah, and it could easily last 8 years if he wins. That’s a long time for a football coach at one job.

Yeah, he definitely is a long term hire in regards to how long he stays here. I don't see him going anywhere, unless we fire him.

 

[Smoked Toag]

News Flash, we aren't beating those teams on a consistent basis with 3 star players regardless of the offense we run.

We did under Mullen. Guess we'll see if we can do it with the Air Raid too.

Did we beat Bama, the gold standard? No. But we almost did.

 

[msstate7]

Corral won’t even make it through the season as the starter.

Huh? He put up a 177 passer rating last year. That's freaking outstanding

 

[SirBarksalot]

This thread has made Bo and Blake’s week….if not year. Fire up the grill and pour a bourbon…y’all.

 

[047Dog]

News Flash, we aren't beating those teams on a consistent basis with 3 star players regardless of the offense we run.

No we aren't, consistently. I meant that if we aren't running a creative offense, we have ZERO chance of beating those teams with our 3 star talent.We have to be inventive and we are at least giving something else a shot. Maybe, if this doesn't work out, we can go back to some form of the spread option, but we HAVE to have a capable passing game. A 3000 yard passer every year should be a given. Hell, we had people a few years ago yelling for the triple option. That crap is NOT going to work at MSU. We HAVE to have a modern passing offense. You now have Bama and LSU passing for 4000+ yards. The game has changed. People that think we can run a 1980s offense and even have a chance to compete are delusional.

 

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

We did under Mullen. Guess we'll see if we can do it with the Air Raid too.

Did we beat Bama, the gold standard? No. But we almost did.

Mullen vs. LSU: 2-7
Mullen vs. Bama: 0-9
Mullen vs. A&M: 3-3
Mullen vs. UGA: 1-2
Mullen vs. UF: 1-1

Show me the consistent winning here. Even if you remove Bama, we have a losing record in those games. So no, we were, in fact, NOT beating those teams on a consistent basis under Mullen. Get out of here with that.

 

[johnson86-1]

We have to get away from this “long-term” hire mentality. You make the best hire you can. If/when it doesn’t work out or he leaves, you make the best hire you can again. Who says Leach isn’t a long-term hire anyway? He was at Texas tech 10 years and Washington st. for 8. I think this is probably his last hurrah, and it could easily last 8 years if he wins. That’s a long time for a football coach at one job.

Any coach that lasts longer than 5 years is probably a successful hire.

 

[johnson86-1]

Huh? He put up a 177 passer rating last year. That's freaking outstanding

I think that was a guess that he's going to get injured. I don't think anybody thinks they have a backup that is going to take his place.

 

[FreeDawg]

It’s wild folks still believe JoMo did us favors. He didn’t transition a damn thing. All he did was ruin culture. I guarantee you the transition from Mullen to Leach would have been much smoother b/c the culture/discipline would have been consistent. The first thing Leach had to do was clean up JoMo’s hatchet job of running a program. If you don’t think Hevesy taught pass blocking, I don’t know what to tell you.

 

[Smoked Toag]

Mullen vs. LSU: 2-7
Mullen vs. Bama: 0-9
Mullen vs. A&M: 3-3
Mullen vs. UGA: 1-2
Mullen vs. UF: 1-1

Show me the consistent winning here. Even if you remove Bama, we have a losing record in those games. So no, we were, in fact, NOT beating those teams on a consistent basis under Mullen. Get out of here with that.

I addressed Bama. And yes, we were beating them as much as we really ever have in our history. Roughly 40% is pretty consistent for us. It works in the egg bowl.

Time will tell if this gamble pays off. I hope it does.