Let's talk Bulldog Offense- 2012

[Coach34]

in reading different posters from various boards- it looks as if people think we are going to double our passing numbers from last season. People say Dan gone slang dat rock wit Tyler Russell this Fall. Ol JSizzle had Russell averaging 300 yds/game before we hit the home stretch starting with Bammer this season.

State was 6th in the SEC in passing yards in 2011- 182 yds/game....and most games were in doubt for 60 minutes

In 2012:

I think we move up to 222 yds/game with Russell at the helm, while rushing for 190-200/game.

We are better defensively than in 2011. The OL will be better in 2012 than 2011. These 2 factors will provide us with more 4th quarters leads- and more rushes to run the clock finishing games. And that means less passing yards.

What say ye?

 

[Coach34]

in reading different posters from various boards- it looks as if people think we are going to double our passing numbers from last season. People say Dan gone slang dat rock wit Tyler Russell this Fall. Ol JSizzle had Russell averaging 300 yds/game before we hit the home stretch starting with Bammer this season.

State was 6th in the SEC in passing yards in 2011- 182 yds/game....and most games were in doubt for 60 minutes

In 2012:

I think we move up to 222 yds/game with Russell at the helm, while rushing for 190-200/game.

We are better defensively than in 2011. The OL will be better in 2012 than 2011. These 2 factors will provide us with more 4th quarters leads- and more rushes to run the clock finishing games. And that means less passing yards.

What say ye?

 

[Coach34]

in reading different posters from various boards- it looks as if people think we are going to double our passing numbers from last season. People say Dan gone slang dat rock wit Tyler Russell this Fall. Ol JSizzle had Russell averaging 300 yds/game before we hit the home stretch starting with Bammer this season.

State was 6th in the SEC in passing yards in 2011- 182 yds/game....and most games were in doubt for 60 minutes

In 2012:

I think we move up to 222 yds/game with Russell at the helm, while rushing for 190-200/game.

We are better defensively than in 2011. The OL will be better in 2012 than 2011. These 2 factors will provide us with more 4th quarters leads- and more rushes to run the clock finishing games. And that means less passing yards.

What say ye?

 

[BogeyGolfer.sixpack]

Carmon and Saulsberry are gone and T. Smith is made out of plastic. I had to editbecauseI forgot about losingLawrenceas well....I agree with your posts most of the time, but our O-Line will struggle this year.

 

[OMlawdog]

How do you know the OL improves when you lost 3 senior starters from an OL that struggled at times last year in both protecting the passer and getting first downs on 3rd and less than 3 yards.

I thought last year's OL was the worst of the three of Mullen's offenses, and it had three seniors that started.

Also, doesn't the defense being better depend greatly on two things, Whitley's health and who replaces Fletcher Cox's results. The guy was SEC defensive player of the week I think 4 times, and was just unblockable at times. I think Boyd is damn good, but he isn't Cox, so who replaces his production? Is the JUCO DE the guy? I didn't watch any spring games, will he have a McPhee type impact right away?

I still think MSU will run the ball with Prescott and Russell more than people want to admit. I think Mullen is a run first guy, and it has proven successful. Also, with an unproven OL, as you have said many times, which I actually agree with, its way easier to run block out of this offense than it is to pass block. I think y'all will use Prescott more this year than people realize.

 

[Jake Wimberly]

I do not envision a five wide attack - slinging it as if State became the Texas Tech when Leach was there. I could see State setting up the run more with the pass but Mullen has shown even at other schools as a coordinator that he likes to run the ball.<div>
</div><div>Having an improved D - and a better offensive line will helptremendously.</div>

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I think its on par with last year. The whole offense hinges on the line play and right now I don't see an improvement from last year as far as offense goes. I still think 6-6 or 7-5. Leaning more towards 7-5.

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

...the only Miss. State football figure that received more **** here than Sly Croom was James Carmon.


"Playing out of position" & "horrible footwork" & "gets beat every play" etc. etc.


But now you are going to decry losing him?


Carmon was a stop gap measure that will not be missed.


T. Smith has not played enough to make a difference.


Lawrence & Saulsberry will be missed.


I think Mullen can replace Lawrence & Saulsberry. If he can't, he's in the wrong line of work.

 

[Hector.sixpack]

and our OL better be better than last year...if we want to go to a bowl. The best thing about our upcoming season for our OL is the schedule. I'm not counting on Tobias Smith being healthy for the whole season, so the right side of the line is questionable to me.

 

[Coach34]

Clausell played a helluva lot of snaps in 2011- a good 50% of our offensive plays. 2012 Clausell will be alot better than 2011 Clausell. Clausell has more experience now than Carmon did when he started the season in 2011. Same for Dillon Day.

Gabe Jackson is outstanding
Tobias Smith is a very good offensive lineman. He played a whole season in 2010, and just had bad luck in 2011. I expect him to play most of the season. Siddoway will be solid at RT, and will probably allow Damien Robinson to play some guard.

Almost all of our depth on the OL is now Soph's and Jr's- not a bunch of R-Fr like they were last season. It's also highly unlikely we will have as many injuries as we did in 2011.

Whitley is doing great according to the staff.

Boyd will do a good job replacing Cox. And our depth at DT is the best we've had. Our improved play at DE will be a big factor as well. Autry is a player and will do a better job of rushing the passer- thus helping the Secondary by speeding up opposing QB's. Eulls has a year of starting under his belt. Look for more production out of him.
We also have 3 starting LB's with experience now- and we have depth there. 4-star Richie Brown wont have a chance at cracking the 2-deep and needs to RS- thats how good we are at LB.

We also had a juco in Slay finally figure out what was going on- and he outplayed Broomfield at CB this Spring. Broomfield has been a 3 yr starter and could lose his job- thats how good our Secondary is.

We have 6-7 guys on D that will be drafted in the next few years

 

[maroonmania]

we NEED the Auburn game in the worst way, and if that's the only game we get a healthy Tobias Smith in it would be well worth it. No use in risking him getting reinjured in a game against a SWAC team.

 

[engie]

You expect to be better at LT now that Sowell is gone, don't you?

None of those guys we lost got drafted, and several spent time hurt. They were average OL upperclassmen IMO. And, like you said, it was the worst OL we've had under Mullen. Injuries forced many RS FR to play before they were ready... those guys will be 3rd yr sophs this year, and we should start to see the fruits of the redshirting program(EVERY HS OL under Mullen has redshirted). This will be the first year that Mullen's OL recruits "should" be ready to play...and we've got 6 rs SO on our 2-deep...

All that said, I'm taking a "wait and see" approach on the OL. We could be pretty good, but it will rely on no injuries. We're still one year away for our depth/maturity situation to finally be fully rebuilt, and beginning next season, it should become more of a reloading process for us...

 

[tenureplan]

will 6-7 Defensive guys be drafted like the 4 on our basketball team?

 

[Coach34]

we fired the basketball coach because he was incompetent in those areas

 

[Coach34]

Carmon and Saulsberry are gone and T. Smith is made out of plastic. I had to editbecauseI forgot about losingLawrenceas well....I agree with your posts most of the time, but our O-Line will struggle this year.

he got thrown around quite a bit- a healthy Tobias is better than Saulsberry ever thought about being. But no doubt his health is a worry.

Dillon Day is a mean SOB and will be improved at Center now that he has experience. Clausell will be better. Siddoway and Robinson will be solid.

We will be better upfront in 2012

 

[JackBauer.sixpack]

to see Jonthan Banks, Josh Boyd, Denico Autry, and Nickoe Whitley get drafted.<div>
</div><div>Deontae Skinner, Darius Slay, and Kaleb Eulls all have the ability to get drafted.</div><div>
</div><div>As a side note, we had 9 out of 11 starters from the 2009 defense who have been/will be drafted-Pernell Mcphee, Josh Boyd, Fletcher Cox, Kyle Love, Jamar Chaney, KJ Wright, Chris White, Johnthan Banks, and Charles Mitchell.</div>

 

[kired]

Saulsberry and Jackson started most games. I'm sure smith rotated in and played when Brigone was hurt, but did he really play much when Brigone was healthy? I just know he hasn't started much.

 

[BogeyGolfer.sixpack]

I'm notsayingthat Carmon was all SEC but he was good enough to start, so what does that tell you about our talent level? I'm not sold on the fact that Clausell and Day (sophomores)will improve enough to be better thanLawrenceor Saulsberry (seniors), and Siddoway has never played D1 football. Thestatement made was that we will be better in 12' than in 11', I just don't see it.

 

[engie]

Banks #2 CB 2013
Whitley #4 FS 2014
Eulls #11 DE 2015
Arrington #11 SS 2015

Boyd, Lawrence, Skinner, Broomfield, Slay, Autry all have very good chances to get drafted as well depending on their continued improvement...

 

[Irondawg]

so i'll attempt to answer the question with my opinions about the offense.<div>
</div><div>We will sling it more with Russell and I think we have more weapons with him. Morrow as the downfield threat, Lewis and MJ are emerging and Perkins is a very good receiving RB. I think you'll see more throwing to the RB in the flat to try and get Perk in space.But Dan loves the run so I think an improvement to the 215-220 yards per game is the max we can really expect assuming Russell stays healthy.</div><div>
</div><div>I think coach is about right with the ground game numbers, but I'm a little less optimistic and think we'll be in the 180 a game range.</div><div>
</div><div>The OL of course is the big problem. I'm not sure Clausell is really ever going to be more than A. Lawrence was which isn't a terrible thing, but not a great thing either. And the RT area is totally unproven. I think we'll be better up the middle b/c Day is a year bigger and stronger and we're developing a little bit of depth there if Tobias can't make it through the year.</div><div>
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[engie]

I'm notsayingthat Carmon was all SEC but he was good enough to start, so what does that tell you about our talent level?

It says alot about Croom's failure to fulfill future needs in the last 2 recruiting classes, 2008 and 2009... and the fact that Mullen missed on MULTIPLE BADLY NEEDED Juco ot's in '10 and '11. That is ALL it tells you. We had to bridge a gap to our young guys...that was Carmon's only role... and by the end of the season, Clausell was better than him anyway.

We've got MULTIPLE good OT prospects already on roster. They just do NOT come in and play as freshmen. OT is the single hardest position to learn in football outside of QB. The guys that can play this position efficiently out of high school were NOT coached in Ms high schools, were not in MS weight programs, and are NOT ever picking MSU. They go to OL U at Stanford or Alabama.

It takes 3 years MINIMUM of college practice/weight training for the guys that we can and do get to develop enough to perform at an SEC level. There is NO better example out there of this than Derek Sherrod. Go back and watch the 08 Egg Bowl just once(he was a true SO)... such abuse should be criminal!

 

[Coach34]

correctly

 

[anderlin21]

from pistol wing trio. We used that formation almost the entire game when Russell was in last year. We also used it a majority of the time in the spring game.<div>
</div><div>BTW: Are they ever going to put the spring game up on hailstate.com?</div>

 

[missouridawg]

but the 2013 version is going to be outstanding. We will be a real SEC west contender in 2013.

 

[maroonmania]

we converted a DL that was big and physical because we had nobody else we could count on but the guy had no technique because he hadn't played OL since HS.

 

[OMlawdog]

He seemed solid those years.

 

[Coach34]

and Clausell was playing as well as he was at the end of the season

 

[Todd4State]

I thought Day looked pretty good at center. He is nasty- which is a good thing.

Jackson is our best o-lineman, and Tobias Smith is solid when he is healthy. Even if he is not, we added Dylan Holley in the offseason and he can play center or guard, and we have Ben Beckwith who is a very solid reserve. If all of that fails, we can use Devon Desper at center or guard. I would certainly prefer to redshirt him, and I would only use him as a last resort. But, he has SEC size right now and is already a pretty darn good run blocker who is nasty.

OT is the concern, but I think Charles Siddoway will be fine, and I will say that I personally am still not sold on Blaine Clausell. He needs to step up and show me something early next year. I hope he does. But, I have a feeling that our OT's are going to be Siddoway at LT and Damien Robinson at RT. I can see Clausell being worked in some, which actually may be better for him and us because it will take pressure off of him and allow him to develop. I could see Daniel Knox surprising some of us and possibly get into the mix as well at both spots.

 

[Sutterkane]

That will mean that we were behind a lot and were trying to come back by airing it out.

I think we stay around 150-200.

 

[studentdawg87]

It could easily be as bad as it was last year. I attended almost every spring practice, and fans, members of the media and athletic department employees all said the same thing about this team: "They could be good, but that offense line..........." Our OL couldn't block anyone in the spring. I know we were doing a lot of experimenting and all, but they didn't exactly inspire confidence.

As of right now, we have Day and Jackson. That is it. And Day still struggles snapping the ball at times. Damien Robinson is 17ing terrible. Seriously. If you're counting on him for depth, you are delusional. Sometimes, in order to get a play off, I'm pretty sure the coaches would have to tell the DE he was supposed to be blocking to just not rush. Everyone would watch Robinson strictly to see how bad he got beat.

Siddoway looked alright, and he should be decent once he gets adjusted to everything.

Malone has a ton of upside and will be a big factor down the road, but he still needs to get stronger. He needs to grow into his frame.

Beckwith, who will provide depth, often got raped by Boyd, which is to be expected.

Clausell is a good athlete and has a fair amount of potential, but I think he is still a year way. He needs to keep getting stronger.

Holley is really undersized and can be over-powered.

Smith, when healthy, is our best OL. Mullen has said as much. His health will have a huge factor on our season. If he rarely plays, our OL will be horrendous. Russell may not survive the season.

We're an 8-4 or 9-3 team with a 4-8 or 5-7 OL. As a result, I think we go 6-6 or 7-5.

As far as OMlawdog is concerned, our DL is actually better from top-to-bottom. We have more depth at DE or DT than we did last year. You never replace a guy like Cox, but our DE play will be better, and we have the most depth at DT we have had in a long time. (Mullen is downright giddy over Nick James' potential. Has called him a freak on multiple occasions.)

 

[aerodawg.sixpack]

Like Coach34 said, the guy would get blown up a lot. I really quit paying attention to him after watching him get destroyed during the Georgia game this year. He was pathetic that game and average most others. If he is really missed then we are in a lot more trouble than anyone thinks.

 

[Coach34]

into Fall practice- which means Smith will be there at RG- and stop all the experimenting- you will see the difference in having 5 guys working together constantly. I watched Clausell play down the stretch last year, and he was 100% better than he was vs Auburn early in the season.

As long as we stay relatively healthy- we will be very good on the inside with Jackson, Day, and Smith. Clausell will get better and better at LT, and Siddoway will get adjusted to SEC speed. Staying healthy early is the key, so the back-ups can get some experience without being thrown the wolves of the SEC full-time down the stretch.

 

[Sauron]

End of story on him. He was never more than a place holder until somebody better was able to mature and take over that spot on the line. Remember the billion false starts he got in the Bama game that constantly cost us field position and put us in a hole?

As far as passing the ball goes, we will be better than we have ever been in that department, or at least better than we have been in a while. I can see Russell averaging about 210-215 yards a game. But Dan will never sacrifice the run entirely. He loves it too much. I could see anywhere from 150 to 180 yards a game in that respect.

Need some receivers to step up bad. Can Chad finally be what we all hope he would when he signed here?

 

[kired]

People always say Smith played a lot - and I can't argue against that. I really don't know how much he subbed in for Saulsberry or Jackson. But he only started when Brignone was out.<div>
</div><div>This is the participation list from 2010. I'm pretty sure what we did most of the time was move Saulsberry to LG when we had Smith in at RG, and took Jackson out. Then of course when Brignone was out we had Jackson, Saulsberry, and Smith all in. I'm not sure we ever took Saulsberry off the field.</div><div>
</div><div>http://www.hailstate.com//fls/16800/stats/fb/2010/indgbg.htm#IGBG.PLY
</div><div>
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[AustinDawg]

It would be one of, if not the best passing seasons EVER in MSU history.

Until I see otherwise, I would be skeptical about anything over 200yds per game avg passing.
(If memory serves, we have never had a 2500 yd passer in a season).

That being said, I agree that the OL will be better. We had a couple folks playing young last year, who weren't
fully ready. I also think we are gaining depth, and that was a huge issue last year.

The important point here, is that our coaching staff seems to be "developing" players.

I disagree with Peaches on this:

Tobias is better than Saulsberry ever thought about being. But no doubt his health is a worry.

You can't be better if you aren't on the field. Maybe it's been bad luck, but Tobias is "Joe Glass" on the offensive line (until he demonstrates otherwise).

 

[Coach34]

yes Saulsberry did make the starts- but I found this interesting:

Saulsberry- "graded out at 80% or higher 8 times with 28 knockdowns on the year"

Smith- "posted 10 games of 80% blocking and eclisped 90% 4 times- finished the season with an impressive 36 knockdown blocks"


So yeah, Smith may have only made 1 start, but he played a helluva lot and played well

 

[Todd4State]

I think being more balanced will help the o-line out. Relf made us one dimensional with the exception of a few games where he played out of his mind- pick an Egg Bowl, the Gator Bowl, Arkansas 2010, etc.

We had to run block a pretty good bit, and I'm sure we had to face 8-9 in the box a lot. Us trying to manhandle people last year was probably not the best thing in the world for us to do.

If we can run some bubble screens and things like that a little more, I think it might help the o-line out too. And we have some guys like Bumphis, Robinson, Perkins, and Jameon that can make some plays in space. Chris Smith is a solid WR and then Morrow and Malcolm Johnson have some height which we didn't have last year to throw some fade routes and do things like that.

And Tyler can get them the ball. We can possibly run some quick things like slants and try to get the defense to back out and then we can run the ball when the numbers favor us.

 

[CadaverDawg]

Because they don't have to face LSU in week 3. Obviously there's more to it than that, but the schedule sets up nicely for our O-Line to develop and gain confidence and unity throughout the season. That's why I think the Auburn game is so crucial.....find a way to win that one as the unit is gelling, and it would be a huge confidence and momentum boost as the O-Line gains experience before the brutal stretch of the schedule. Hopefully with a lighter front end schedule, it will decrease the injuries and increase the confidence and overall unity of the new O-Line.

Oh, and Todd4state, you are going to upset many of your baseball followers with all of this football knowledge you're spewing....patdog say you should be studying up on baseball croots and such

 

[Irondawg]

As of right now, we have Day and Jackson. That is it. And Day still struggles snapping the ball at times. Damien Robinson is 17ing terrible. Seriously. If you're counting on him for depth, you are delusional. Sometimes, in order to get a play off, I'm pretty sure the coaches would have to tell the DE he was supposed to be blocking to just not rush. Everyone would watch Robinson strictly to see how bad he got beat.

Holley is really undersized and can be over-powered.

Watch what you say about D. Robinson or you'll end up on Foronce's tagline.<div>
</div><div>Holley really needs to take a redshirt year to put on 20 pounds - everyone all spring kept saying how small he was. The bad news with our tackles is that we still don't really have a great blocking TE that can help out. The tackles are a huge concern for and just hoping Clausell and Siddoway can surprise me.
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[SchruteDog]

We averaged 186 and 181 passing ypg the last 2 seasons. You really think we do less with a competent QB and a much more friendly OOC schedule? 200 ypg is more than reasonable expectation, hopefully we see slightly more.