Just throwing this out there...
- Thread starter dawgstudent
- Start date
There was a lot of talk about leading the SEC in rushing last year, and that understandably generated a lot of excitement about your OL, but I think many were simply in denial about Dixon's contribution to those numbers. As an Ole Miss fan, I'm an expert on bad O lines by the way.
is our run game what it was last year? absolutely not. Is it my major concern right now? absolutley not. Pass protection, special teams, and turnovers far outrank them. Hell, I thought we'd miss Dixon the most in short yardage situations, but we've done pretty damn good converting those.
We'd be better with him, but again, its the least of my concerns right now. Solid special teams, fewer turnovers, and good pass protection with the same run game and we are at least 2-1.
We'd be better with him, but again, its the least of my concerns right now. Solid special teams, fewer turnovers, and good pass protection with the same run game and we are at least 2-1.
We have two SEC quality running backs (Dixon and Ducre).
He did play to our strengths. Don't think the line was as good as what we have now, more depth now.
Just an opinion.
He did play to our strengths. Don't think the line was as good as what we have now, more depth now.
Just an opinion.
Dixon was so good last year, he made us think that our OL was a strength. There's a lot of stuff this year, where if we had Dixon, I think our passing game would be a lot better. No one has to respect the run so far. The cause could be playcalling or no Dixon but right now - we aren't really a run threat.
Relf had all day to throw on that 3rd and 1. Russell had all day on his first 2 passes. We just can't pick up a blitz and that's either Hevesey or the RB's for not picking up the blitz.</p>
biggest problem in pass protection is picking up blitzes. Every single time they blitzed on 3 and long Relf had 3 guys in his face immediately. He was forced to make throws off balanced (etc) that just looked ridiculous.
As I said in a recent thread, AD straight up ran people over and had great vision for even the smallest of holes. And then he just barrelled through them. He was also a very underrated pass blocker.dawgstudent said:
and that means that the guys on the o-line are having to pass block more. But, just forcing the defenses to account for Dixon had to have made it easier for us to throw. We have basically the same WR's as last year.
Dixon is the best running back we have ever had and I caught the usual crap. I still believe that statement and yes he did make the line look better than it was but I haven't given up on this bunch yet. Most of the issues are correctable mistakes and I believe we have good coaching so I expect it to get fixed, hopefully this weekend.
I think he gave the OL confidence. I think he gave everybody confidence. Bumphis didn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders, so he played loose. The OL felt like if they got off the ball, AD could make something happen. I think at almost every offensive and maybe just every position on the field, AD gave the team the confidence that made them a better team.
I have come to the realization that we do NOT that the athletes to compete with the big boys yet, especially in the trenches. Both of our lines got physically dominated.<div>
</div><div>Dixon was able to make the defenses play somewhat honest.</div>
</div><div>Dixon was able to make the defenses play somewhat honest.</div>
...I mean, Auburn and LSU....both are very stout on the d-line. We may not play a team that's better on the defensive front the rest of this season...and that includes Alabama.
LSU folks are saying their defensive front this yearis the best they've had since their championship team.
There is no doubt that our offensive line was significantly improved last year. The scheme helps, definitely, because they didn't have to hold their blocks as long last year as they did under crxxm. However, this year we're seeing a lot of longer pass plays being called, and more indecision by the QB (holding onto the ball too long). These, plus the teams we're playing, are contributing to the apparent poor line play. I think they'll be fine.
That said, I'd love to have Dixon here for one more year.
LSU folks are saying their defensive front this yearis the best they've had since their championship team.
There is no doubt that our offensive line was significantly improved last year. The scheme helps, definitely, because they didn't have to hold their blocks as long last year as they did under crxxm. However, this year we're seeing a lot of longer pass plays being called, and more indecision by the QB (holding onto the ball too long). These, plus the teams we're playing, are contributing to the apparent poor line play. I think they'll be fine.
That said, I'd love to have Dixon here for one more year.
Its real simple. Nobody expected us to be 2 and 1 or even 2 and 2 after Georgia. We all thought it was possible and it still is, but only the delusional thought it was a given. This board is about as bad as Genespage sometimes but on the opposite side of the fence.
We've played two great defensive fronts. GREAT until proven otherwise. One of those was in Baton Rouge.
The good: we could have done more with better play calling and a made play here or there. When I say more, I mean we could have beat Auburn and gave ourselves a better chance against LSU.
The bad: The play calling has been suspect, yes, but if we make 1 or 2 of those plays, all of a sudden Mullen is a genius again. Its easy to second guess. We have two guys that could be decent at QB but we don't have a go to player to ease the pressure off of them and when faced with pressure they have crumbled.
When Relf plays:
He can run but we don't yet have an established threat at running back to keep the defense honest. His passing is suspect to say the least. We need to roll him out more and move the pocket to play to his strengths.
When Russell plays:
He has shown pretty good accuracy and even some poise when given a little time to throw. The problem is we are one dimensional without a go to running back to keep the defense honest. They simply turn the dogs loose once he comes into the game.
We have potential and could beat GA at home. Panic mode should set it if we don't improve offensively, but not necessarily if we get beat. We need to move the ball better and keep doing what we are doing on defense.
1 and 3 was the realistic setting at the beginning of the season but 6 pack speak is apparently in the emotional phase of PMS right now. The crazy thing is if we win then all of a sudden everyone's mood completely flips.
We've played two great defensive fronts. GREAT until proven otherwise. One of those was in Baton Rouge.
The good: we could have done more with better play calling and a made play here or there. When I say more, I mean we could have beat Auburn and gave ourselves a better chance against LSU.
The bad: The play calling has been suspect, yes, but if we make 1 or 2 of those plays, all of a sudden Mullen is a genius again. Its easy to second guess. We have two guys that could be decent at QB but we don't have a go to player to ease the pressure off of them and when faced with pressure they have crumbled.
When Relf plays:
He can run but we don't yet have an established threat at running back to keep the defense honest. His passing is suspect to say the least. We need to roll him out more and move the pocket to play to his strengths.
When Russell plays:
He has shown pretty good accuracy and even some poise when given a little time to throw. The problem is we are one dimensional without a go to running back to keep the defense honest. They simply turn the dogs loose once he comes into the game.
We have potential and could beat GA at home. Panic mode should set it if we don't improve offensively, but not necessarily if we get beat. We need to move the ball better and keep doing what we are doing on defense.
1 and 3 was the realistic setting at the beginning of the season but 6 pack speak is apparently in the emotional phase of PMS right now. The crazy thing is if we win then all of a sudden everyone's mood completely flips.
1) Invalidated is a word, meaning to invalidate or nullify. Don't know what your quotes around it are about.
2) I'll stand by what I said because he implied that it was early to say we miss Dixon, when that is obviously the case. If our offense can adapt and do things differently by the end of the year, that still doesn't mean we don't miss Dixon. The fact of the matter is that our offense was not nearly as effective Saturday night and we played basically the same defense with basically the same everyone else and did not produce results that were even close.
2) I'll stand by what I said because he implied that it was early to say we miss Dixon, when that is obviously the case. If our offense can adapt and do things differently by the end of the year, that still doesn't mean we don't miss Dixon. The fact of the matter is that our offense was not nearly as effective Saturday night and we played basically the same defense with basically the same everyone else and did not produce results that were even close.
2. I don't disagree with you. I believe we miss Dixon a lot, but I believe his post meant we have a couple of issues, 1 being Dixon. I believe the same thing. Having Dixon makes everything else look better. We can do it without him but we need to design our offense to take the pressure off of Relf/Russell. Relf can't handle the pressure and Russell isnt ready for it.
Just a little extra for you JC. Russell has impressed me when given time to throw. I believe he's going to be pretty damn good by the end of his sophomore year given that we recruit well on the line and at receiver.
Just a little extra for you JC. Russell has impressed me when given time to throw. I believe he's going to be pretty damn good by the end of his sophomore year given that we recruit well on the line and at receiver.
we need someone to stretch the field and we need someone to go up and get balls.
Bumphis and Heavens are great on bubble screens and slip screens, but we need the guys I mentioned above.
We really need Carr to develop for next year and for Morrow to be legit.
Bumphis and Heavens are great on bubble screens and slip screens, but we need the guys I mentioned above.
We really need Carr to develop for next year and for Morrow to be legit.
re-read my post. We aren't running the same plays as last year. Hell, LSU's line last year is not the same line as this year.
You're a dubmass..
You're a dubmass..
...re-read my post. I'm not saying it's too early to say we miss Dixon. I'm saying it's too early to say that our offensive line "improvement" last year was solely due to Dixon.
Reading is fundamental.
Reading is fundamental.
2009: 46 rushes a game for an average of 4.9 yards per rush; 22 pass attempts for game for an average of 6.5 yards per attempt (ran the ball 67% of the time)
2010: 40 rushes a game for an average of 3.9 yards per rush; 26 pass attempts per game for an average of 7.9 yards per attempt (ran the ball 61% of the time)
So we're running the ball 6 less times per game so far and only throwing it 4 more times per game. That's not a big change at all. The running plays we're running are the same plays, it's just Anthony Dixon makes them look a LOT better. We've run that counter that Dixon did so much damage on several times, but now it gets stuffed.
We only had 18 pass attempts on Saturday. We have not abandoned the run at all.
2010: 40 rushes a game for an average of 3.9 yards per rush; 26 pass attempts per game for an average of 7.9 yards per attempt (ran the ball 61% of the time)
So we're running the ball 6 less times per game so far and only throwing it 4 more times per game. That's not a big change at all. The running plays we're running are the same plays, it's just Anthony Dixon makes them look a LOT better. We've run that counter that Dixon did so much damage on several times, but now it gets stuffed.
We only had 18 pass attempts on Saturday. We have not abandoned the run at all.
jcdawgman18 said:
I think this pretty much settles it, we're averaging an entire yard less per carry than last year, and that's WITH Relf playing a lot more than he did last year. When Relf was playing last year, I'd venture to guess our yards per carry while he was in the game were much higher