I think Dan needs to bench Dak for this weekend..

[57stratdawg]

Don't make the kid choose between his family and practice all week. Tell him the team is traveling on Friday, and he has a spot if he can make it. He's excused other than that, but Russell is starting. I don't think you can have Prescott miss 3 or 4 days of meeting/practices, and then expect much from him on Saturday. It's not fair to him or the team.

The whole situation sucks. We can move the ball on A&M with Prescott at QB, but I think this is the best way to handle it.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Everybody handles a loss like this differently. Dak`s mom may have been the kind of lady who would want Dak to go play. If Dak feels that way..gotta let him play. Tough any way you look at it. I hope he`ll find the closure that`s best for him.

 

[aTotal360]

Dak will make the call. Not Dan. Dak may want to honor his mother by playing.

 

[57stratdawg]

I just don't see how you can ask Dak to decide between practice and being with his family. I doubt he'd get more than a day of practice/meetings this week. Why set him up to fail?

This isn't like playing through an ankle injury where you've been in meetings/film study/walk throughs all week, but you haven't practiced.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

because people handle grief differently

Personally, I'd prefer to be on the field busting *** and not thinking about it. Others would prefer to be with family. There's no one size fits all here. Adrian Peterson played what, three days after his son was murdered? Many other players have done similar. Some take time off, some don't take any.

 

[57stratdawg]

A son he had never met.

It's not about handling grief, it's about being mentally ready to play the game. He can't do that in one day. I just watched Dak turn the ball over 5 times last week, and I would be willing to bet he was a little distracted the week leading up to the SC game. Now, we're going to march him back out there in the same spot?

 

[patdog]

From what little I've heard of her, I think she would want him to play. Agree that it's got to be Dak's call completely. Mullen shouldn't try to make that decision for him.

 

[FreeDawg]

Dak will make the call. Not Dan. Dak may want to honor his mother by playing.

Im in agreement with this 100%

 

[SignalToNoise]

To counter all this, Favre torched an opponent for 400 yards and 4 TDs a day or two after his dad passed away. Some people handle it differently. Dak can decide what he wants to do.

 

[57stratdawg]

To counter all this, Favre torched an opponent for 400 yards and 4 TDs a day or two after his dad passed away. Some people handle it differently. Dak can decide what he wants to do.

I knew that was coming. Farve was a profession QB that had played in the same West Coast system for 10 years. He went to the ProBowl in 2009 without going through training camp.

When you have 10 or 15 years of starting experience, you don't need quite the same level of preparation as a 20 year old in his 6th career start.

 

[DerHntr]

Dak should decide but Dan does need to let him know how much practice has to happen for the start. Hopefully Dan already has some sort of general rule in place for practice time and starting. This is the fair way for the team and Dak. This of course wouldn't keep him from playing in the game.

If he doesn't practice all week, it isn't fair to him or the team to let him start.

 

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

1. To those who say Dak should make the call, no he shouldn't. The coach should make the call because that's what he's paid to do. Not one of our players decides when they are going into the game, much less starting.

2. As a coach you simply cannot put it in his hands. You make the call for him. To put it in his hands is to ask him to fail. You tell him to go home and be with his family. You don't want to add grief to grief by forcing him to choose letting his family down or letting his teammates down. I don't see another way to handle it with his best interest at heart.

3. As someone who has lost loved ones (who hasn't really) I'd sit him down and tell him to forget about the game. It's one game. He's a vital member of the team and his teammates have his back. Years from now he will not regret spending time with his family and grieving. He could very well regret spending any time this week thinking about Texas A&M. Saying a proper goodbye to your mom is way more important than any game (BCS championship, Super Bowl included).

4. No matter what happens against A&M, you start him against Alabama (or whenever he comes back to practice). You let the home crowd give him the ovation I know they will give.

That's how I'd handle it.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I don't know that he'll play much just because of practice time this week but if he wants to be with the team and possibly play, that's his decision. Like what's been said already, some people handle grief differently.

 

[biteyoudawg]

From Mullen this morning ........
Mullen said they don’t have a timeline on when Prescott will return football, adding that he hasn’t even thought about that. Once arrangements for his mom are figured out and everything is done, and then when Dak is ready, he said “he’ll have out full support.”

On that note, Tyler Russell, Mullen said, should be 100 percent healthy this weekend, aided by him being able to rest against South Carolina.

 

[ReedDog]

Dak will make the call. Not Dan. Dak may want to honor his mother by playing.

Agreed.

 

[Shamoan]

its not going to matter this weekend, but one thing dak seriously needs to fix is his decision making. its awful. he is young, so im willing to write off most of that due to inexperience which will improve with time. dak has to improve between the ears. how many times have we gotten away with throwing into double or triple coverage only to have the db drop or break up a pass that they should have caught. he is making some risky throws and getting away with most of them....im not saying that all of his passes are risky, just that he is getting away with some really poor decisions and we have been fortunate to not surrender more pics so far. nearly every game a commentator notes some of those decisions. all that to say, if you have a qb that is responsible for 3 turnovers, i just dont know how a head coach can trot that same guy out there to be responsible for an additional turnover. when russell threw his 3rd pick in the gator bowl, it was clear it wasnt just random bad luck...same thing in the carolina game for dak. his decision making just isnt there yet. it might have to do with his mother's passing, and if so, thats fine, but mullen has to make that decision to stop the bleeding...or at least attempt to stop the bleeding...if you toss russell out there and he tosses a pick, you know you are snakebit, but at least TRY to find a solution instead of throwing somebody out there knowing that they are sloppy with ball handling or decision making.

turnover 1: shame on you
turnover 2: lets try that again
turnover 3: ok, you get one more chance, but im keeping my eye on you
turnover 4: shame on me, im an idiot for allowing you to continue to play

 

[RocketDawg]

He shouldn't be "benched" according to the normal definition. But if he wants time off, it should be a no-brainer. But if he wants to make the trip and play, we have to wish him the best.

His mother's condition could well account for his poor play this past Saturday. I doubt that many of us were aware of what he was going through.

My mother died when I was a freshman at MSU, and I was one of those who needed school as something to think about other than the grief, so I only missed a couple of days. Others are different.

 

[DerHntr]

really? You are making fun of Dak's decision making yet you are doing this....

in a thread that is talking about his mother passing away and how the coach might handle the situation. You bash a guy's abilities while we are talking about what is best for a young man who is grieving and what is best for the team at the same time. Unbelievable.

The irony that you think he needs to make better decisions is not lost whatsoever in your comments.

 

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

Not the time or place. Be better than that. SMH.

 

[121Josey]

Nobody really knows what happens at practice,** but I would love, I would love, I would beg to have Dan just take the reigns off for one game. Just say, "Dak, we're going to hang 50 on these boys today. I'm not going to let up in the 2nd half. We may get beat by 50 but you're going to have one of the greatest offensive performances in the history of this school. This will be one for the ages, one for the whole Prescott family. You've been doing this for 2 years now. You know your game. We'll catch you up to speed with the plays at the hotel. Just be ready to get out there and sling it around."

This team needs something to rally around... desperately.

 

[Shamoan]

no, im questioning dan's decision making for allowing a struggling player (for whatever reason) to continue to play after having had 3 turnovers. im not jumping on dak in any way whatsoever, so if your are reading into what i have said, read again...cause thats not what i am saying. i did zero to "make fun" of any of our players...not sure where you got that. im not bashing anybody, merely pointing out his inexperience as a potential reason for his struggles last weekend. dak HAS made some really bad decisions, but thats not an indictment on his character or what type of player he will be for us in the future, its simply stating the obvious. I have full faith that dak will learn from his mistakes and improve as a player as time goes on. and look, yall might be talking about what is best for the young man, which i appreciate, but im concerned about what is best for mississippi state. the idea that a player should have an opportunity to memorialize the memory of a loved one on the field of play is utterly hogwash. the BEST and MOST CAPABLE player should start PERIOD. if thats dak, so be it, if thats russell, so be it, but lets not get emotion involved in a very cut-and-dried decision.

my point is that dan, as a head coach, should have pulled russell after his 3rd interception in the gator bowl just like he should have pulled dak after his sloppy handling of the football resulting in his 3rd turnover vs south carolina. anyone responsible for 3 interceptions and 2 fumbles in a single game is straight-up not protecting the football. thats not debatable and as a fan, it should be unacceptable. dan has to recognize that dak might not be the best option for whatever reason and make the switch.

again, i did zero bashing. 5 turnovers IS being sloppy with the ball. dak only has a hand-full of starts under his belt and his decision making is NOT where it needs to be and certainly will improve with time. how this got twisted into me bashing the future of our program is beyond me, im merely pointing out glaring truths that some of you want to dismiss. im not blaming dak for anything. each and every one of those factors is out of his control because he is the one dan keeps trotting out. a quarterback that is not protecting the ball will continue to not protect the ball if allowed to continue to play. decision-making is largely based on experience and extended reps. the larger point i am making is that in a thread questioning whether or not to bench dak, the decision needs to be made to pull a qb that has issues with turnovers regardless of who that player is.

i do pray for him and his family and the incredibly difficult time they must be going through. its a total travesty no matter how you look at it. ultimately, if dak is looking the best the morning of november 9th, he should start, if russell looks better, he should get the start...thats the way it should be. if whoever dan goes with shows a propensity to turning the ball over, dan should have a quick hook to give the other a shot in hopes of finding an option that will take care of the football. the fact that dak is going through a personal tragedy (one he regrettably has to go through, as will most of us), should have zero bearing on whether or not he plays. either he is the best option or he is not....simple as that. emotions should have nothing to do with it. that might be a burtal truth, but for a man trying to save his job (mullen), he needs to pull out ALL the stops and figure out a way to win.

 

[DerHntr]

I'll be more clear and to the point.

Time and place for everything. This is neither for you to talk about his decision making skills. Of course you have now done it twice and will likely do it again to respond to me. I guess I am an idiot for responding to you as well.

 

[Shamoan]

i disagree. its a thread about why he should or should not start and NOT a condolence thread. this is the perfect time to talk about his decision making ability especially after his last performance. if i want to reply to your comments, and doing so in a civil way, whats the problem? im not sure why you would be an idiot for expressing your opinion. if you feel like you are "feeding a troll", i assure you im in this for intellectual debate only. its just ridiculous that some of our fans get lost in the moment and say dak should get the choice. we are fans of mississippi state not dak prescott, and thus, our allegiances should be in line with supporting the university not an individual...ideally, they would be mutually beneficial, but in this case, they may not be.

how his decision making ability should not be considered in a thread dedicated to analyzing whether or not he is fit to play is beyond me. this is not a prayers or condolence thread, so his decision making ability and mental state are fair-game. it may not sound like it, but im a dak supporter, but its pretty clear that something is amiss.

 

[SignalToNoise]

Who cares? The point was that some people handle it by being with their teammates and playing the game. Dak can decide what is best for him.

 

[was21]

"When a man's mother dies and, uh, he gets to thinking about her funeral and paying respects. Before he knows it, his mind ain't right. He's got rabbit in his blood and he runs".....Cool Hand Luke

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[DerHntr]

round three. surprise**

nm

 

[Shamoan]

i feel as though i should say something**

dontwanttodisappoint



oh yeah, almost forgot the ...