Looking back at the year so far...

klerushund · Nov 15, 2010

Look, I’m just as happy as the rest of you that we are 7-3.
Relf’s running has been integral to our success this year. I’m thankful for his
contribution. I think the staff has gotten as much as we can out of this team without a passing game. That said, what we’ve accomplished this season isn’t as
impressive as you might think.

We’ve beaten three CUSA teams (which we SHOULD beat, every
time)

We’ve beaten Alcorn State.

We’ve beaten the worst Georgia & Florida teams in the
recent history.

We’ve beaten Kentucky.

We’ve yet to win a division game.If we lose to Arkansas and beat Ole Miss (not a given) then
we’ll have played 9 ranked teams in the Mullen era (5 in 2009, 4 in 2010) and
won 1 of those games (2009 Egg Bowl).

We’ve played for two years without a passing threat of any
kind and the league catching on.

Now compared to Croom, this is an obvious improvement. Again,
so thankful for that era to be history. But comparing yourself to the elephant
man doesn’t mean you are good-looking.

I’m not convinced that Russell is the messiah. He very well might be a
bust. But next year, we have to find out.

I do think there is potential for Russell to be the best QB
we’ve had at State in my lifetime. Which wouldn’t be that hard to accomplish
really.

Here is Russell’s freshman year (so far) compared with some
other freshman (sorted by completion percentage):

<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="525" style="width:525.0pt;
margin-left:4.4pt;border-collapse:collapse;mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"><tbody><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">PLAYER</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">COMP</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">ATT</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">PCT</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">YDS</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">TD</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">INT</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB A</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">89</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">142</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">62.7%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1117</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">4</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">4</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB B</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">140</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">240</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">58.3%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1524</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">10</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">8</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">Russell</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">39</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">67</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">58.2%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">635</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">5</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">6</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB C</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">135</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">256</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">52.7%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1749</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">7</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">13</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB D</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">35</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">71</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">49.3%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">350</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">2</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">3</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB E</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">19</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">43</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">44.2%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">232</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">0</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB F</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">32</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">84</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">38.1%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">276</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

As you can see he compares favorably with a lot of these
freshman. 



Who are they?

A – Jason Campbell

B – Matt Schaub

C – Matt Stafford

D – Matt Ryan

E – Drew Brees

F – Tim Couch

I think most anyone would have loved for any of those guys
to have played at State.

To sit any of them for Chris Relf would be laughable.

Will Russell be as good as those guys?

The only way to know is to play him and find out.

After this year’s Egg Bowl, I’m hoping that we never see
Chris Relf at QB again.

I’m sure others will disagree. To you I say:

17
you, just for the hell of it.
That’s
why we have the sixpack, to disagree about State

klerushund · Nov 15, 2010

Look, I’m just as happy as the rest of you that we are 7-3.
Relf’s running has been integral to our success this year. I’m thankful for his
contribution. I think the staff has gotten as much as we can out of this team without a passing game. That said, what we’ve accomplished this season isn’t as
impressive as you might think.

We’ve beaten three CUSA teams (which we SHOULD beat, every
time)

We’ve beaten Alcorn State.

We’ve beaten the worst Georgia & Florida teams in the
recent history.

We’ve beaten Kentucky.

We’ve yet to win a division game.If we lose to Arkansas and beat Ole Miss (not a given) then
we’ll have played 9 ranked teams in the Mullen era (5 in 2009, 4 in 2010) and
won 1 of those games (2009 Egg Bowl).

We’ve played for two years without a passing threat of any
kind and the league catching on.

Now compared to Croom, this is an obvious improvement. Again,
so thankful for that era to be history. But comparing yourself to the elephant
man doesn’t mean you are good-looking.

I’m not convinced that Russell is the messiah. He very well might be a
bust. But next year, we have to find out.

I do think there is potential for Russell to be the best QB
we’ve had at State in my lifetime. Which wouldn’t be that hard to accomplish
really.

Here is Russell’s freshman year (so far) compared with some
other freshman (sorted by completion percentage):

<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="525" style="width:525.0pt;
margin-left:4.4pt;border-collapse:collapse;mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"><tbody><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">PLAYER</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">COMP</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">ATT</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">PCT</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">YDS</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">TD</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">INT</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB A</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">89</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">142</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">62.7%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1117</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">4</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">4</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB B</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">140</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">240</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">58.3%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1524</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">10</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">8</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">Russell</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">39</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">67</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">58.2%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">635</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">5</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">6</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB C</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">135</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">256</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">52.7%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1749</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">7</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">13</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB D</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">35</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">71</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">49.3%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">350</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">2</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">3</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB E</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">19</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">43</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">44.2%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">232</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">0</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1</td></tr><tr style="height:13.0pt"><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">QB F</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">32</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">84</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">38.1%</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">276</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1</td><td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">1</td></tr></tbody></table>

As you can see he compares favorably with a lot of these
freshman. 



Who are they?

A – Jason Campbell

B – Matt Schaub

C – Matt Stafford

D – Matt Ryan

E – Drew Brees

F – Tim Couch

I think most anyone would have loved for any of those guys
to have played at State.

To sit any of them for Chris Relf would be laughable.

Will Russell be as good as those guys?

The only way to know is to play him and find out.

After this year’s Egg Bowl, I’m hoping that we never see
Chris Relf at QB again.

I’m sure others will disagree. To you I say:

17
you, just for the hell of it.
That’s
why we have the sixpack, to disagree about State

Incognegro · Nov 15, 2010

You forgot Florida this season.

was21 · Nov 15, 2010

Todd4State · Nov 15, 2010

we're actually developing a freshman QB instead of throwing him out there before he is ready. Having a freshman QB and throwing him out there before he is ready can ruin him and destroy their confidence.

Think about this vicious cycle- we put Tyler out there and he throws a bunch of picks and is ruined. Then what? We have to turn to ANOTHER RS freshman QB in Dylan Favre, who also will not be ready this time next year. And then after that, then what? We have to turn to ANOTHER RS fr. in Dak Prescott, and on and on and on.

The whole Cam Newton thing sucks for us because he would have been able to bridge the gap between now and when Tyler Russell would have been ready. Once Auburn goes down in flames, I will be better with it.

As far as next year, I think Relf will be the starter in all likelihood to start the season, but I also think that we're going to see more and more Russell next year. At the end of the day, it's going to all come down to how much Tyler improves, and also how much Relf improves between now and the opening game of next year. That's an unknown that none of us know right now. Really, it wouldn't shock me if Tyler did take over at the start of next year, and I think what will more than likely happen is that Relf will start the year as the QB and Tyler will end up being the starter at the end of the year. But that's just my two cents.

I think your stats bear out that most all QB's- unless you have a Peyton Manning- is going to take time to adjust and be ready. The mistakes that Tyler makes are very common for freshmen QB's, but the key is for him to learn from those mistakes and eliminate them, and that just takes experience.

VirgilCain · Nov 15, 2010

I am including bama in top 5 because they would only have 1 loss if not for LSU... and they would be hovering around #5 with the lone SC loss dropping them from the #1 spot.

In my opinion, we have GROSSLY overachieved this year. I think that even including the various lucky breaks we have caught this year. Maybe I need higher expectations.

FlabLoser · Nov 15, 2010

We are doing a little better than I hoped. While our record is way better than I hoped, I'm my B+ refers to how good the team looks. What I like is that we've beaten every team we should have beaten. And we've beaten all the mediocre teams we've played. The QB position looks more competent than last year. The defense has improved a lot.

All that makes us better than mediocre, but still not good. What I'd call a good team is a team that will upset somebody once this season.

OK Dan, Arkansas is here. Impress me.

SLUdog · Nov 15, 2010

we are a GOOD team with a GOOD coach. Most likely, that means we would have lost to Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Arkansas. Those teams are ranked in the top 15 right now. I'll take that every year. If we are 9-3 we are bordering on great by MSU standards. 7-5 is decent but disappointing at this point.

poolot · Nov 15, 2010

If we beat Arkansas and Ole Miss, we'll be 9-3 with no real passing game... in the SEC. That is not bad. Yeah we've gotten some lucky breaks, but we'll be even better next year. With a better passing game we'd be 10-2. Not bad for being 2 years removed from Croom.

My only real disappointment this season is our offensive situation. Offensively, I was hoping for a more creative solutions than what we've had with our QB's.

FlabLoser · Nov 15, 2010

SLUdog said:
we are a GOOD team with a GOOD coach. Most likely, that means we would have lost to Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Arkansas. Those teams are ranked in the top 15 right now. I'll take that every year. If we are 9-3 we are bordering on great by MSU standards. 7-5 is decent but disappointing at this point.

I can't accept going WINLESS against top 15 teams EVERY year. We need to be able to win a game we aren't supposed to win. Mullen hasn't done that yet. Here's to hoping that changes this week.

I know 8-4 is a good W-L record. But 8-4 this year is a lot less impressive than 8-4 most years.

What's our SOS this year? Beuhler? Probably not #1 like it was last year.

I'm not complaining. We made a nice improvement this year. Next year needs to go to the next level by adding competent passing attack to our offense.

Todd4State · Nov 15, 2010

SLUdog said:
we are a GOOD team with a GOOD coach. Most likely, that means we would have lost to Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Arkansas. Those teams are ranked in the top 15 right now. I'll take that every year. If we are 9-3 we are bordering on great by MSU standards. 7-5 is decent but disappointing at this point.

A lot of people forget how tough our schedule is. We certainly have some weaknesses here and there, and that's what has kept us from beating a top 15 team thus far. Two of those losses were on the road- LSU and Bama, and then Auburn at home- which is a team that no one has beaten until the NCAA gets a hold of them.

And let's put this in perspective- this is Dan's second year and a lot of our better players are freshmen and sophomores. That's very encouraging. I see no reason why we shouldn't get better.

Coach34 · Nov 15, 2010

klerushund said:
Look, I’m just as happy as the rest of you that we are 7-3.
Relf’s running has been integral to our success this year. I’m thankful for his
contribution. I think the staff has gotten as much as we can out of this team without a passing game. That said, what we’ve accomplished this season isn’t as
impressive as you might think.

We’ve beaten three CUSA teams (which we SHOULD beat, every
time)- however, that has not been the case at Miss State University...let's remember- all-time- we are 12th in the SEC in winning percentage...we have 2 winning seasons in the last 10 years...to act like we suddenly should thrash Conf USA is king of assinine

We’ve beaten Alcorn State.

We’ve beaten the worst Georgia & Florida teams in the
recent history.- Stansbury lost at home to the worst NC team in recent memory- should he be replaced too? We beat Fla and Georgia and this is a bad thing? Jesus man, you are nitpicking...that was the 1st win @ Fla in my lifetime and the first win over Georgia since I was 6 or 7...

We’ve beaten Kentucky. as we do most seasons

We’ve yet to win a division game.If we lose to Arkansas and beat Ole Miss (not a given) then
we’ll have played 9 ranked teams in the Mullen era (5 in 2009, 4 in 2010) and
won 1 of those games (2009 Egg Bowl)- we are still playing with Crooms talent. There are alot of 2-star athletes that start for us. The fact that we are beating these teams at all says alot. We are 3-3 in the SEC right now. Should the SEC East have felt bad for dominating the SEC West in basketball last year???.

We’ve played for two years without a passing threat of any
kind and the league catching on.- the league has known since Day 1...they still have to stop it. Just because Bama shuts us down doesnt mean it's the end of the world. We need better talent on offense- that's been pretty 17'ing obvious for 10 years

Now compared to Croom, this is an obvious improvement. Again,
so thankful for that era to be history. But comparing yourself to the elephant
man doesn’t mean you are good-looking.- but it's still the same talent...aGAIN, we are doing much more with the same talent Crooms couldnt even get above 104th in offense. 

I’m not convinced that Russell is the messiah. He very well might be a
bust. But next year, we have to find out- you must think Dan Mullen is an idiot- because I fully believe if he thought Russell could score more points for us and handle it- Russell would be our QB. Do you think Dan Mullen is an idiot? And Tyler is his signee- not Ralph....

I do think there is potential for Russell to be the best QB
we’ve had at State in my lifetime. Which wouldn’t be that hard to accomplish
really- he has a long way to go to put up numbers like Kevin Fant and Wayne Madkin.He has done absolutely nothing to this point to suggest he will be any better than those guys. 

Here is Russell’s freshman year (so far) compared with some
other freshman (sorted by completion percentage):

<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="525" style="width:525.0pt;
margin-left:4.4pt;border-collapse:collapse;mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt">
<tbody><tr style="height:13.0pt">
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
PLAYER
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
COMP
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
ATT
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
PCT
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
YDS
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
TD
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
INT
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height:13.0pt">
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
QB A
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
89
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
142
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
62.7%
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
1117
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
4
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
4
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height:13.0pt">
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
QB B
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
140
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
240
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
58.3%
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
1524
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
10
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
8
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height:13.0pt">
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
Russell
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
39
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
67
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
58.2%
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
635
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
5
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
6
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height:13.0pt">
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
QB C
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
135
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
256
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
52.7%
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
1749
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
7
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
13
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height:13.0pt">
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
QB D
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
35
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
71
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
49.3%
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
350
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
2
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
3
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height:13.0pt">
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
QB E
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
19
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
43
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
44.2%
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
232
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
0
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
1
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height:13.0pt">
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
QB F
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
32
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
84
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
38.1%
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
276
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
1
</td>
<td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
height:13.0pt">
1</td></tr></tbody></table>

As you can see he compares favorably with a lot of these
freshman. 



Who are they?

A – Jason Campbell

B – Matt Schaub

C – Matt Stafford

D – Matt Ryan

E – Drew Brees

F – Tim Couch

I think most anyone would have loved for any of those guys
to have played at State.

To sit any of them for Chris Relf would be laughable.

Will Russell be as good as those guys? Omarr Conner was 107-205 his first year as a QB for over 1,200 yards...solid numbers for a 1st year QB...reckon what happened to him?

The only way to know is to play him and find out. If he can earn the job- then play him- we are in agreement

After this year’s Egg Bowl, I’m hoping that we never see
Chris Relf at QB again.- p>sux to be 7-3 doesnt it?? You do realize we have scored more offensive TD's this season than we have in the last 6-7 years?
I’m sure others will disagree. To you I say:

17
you, just for the hell of it.

That’s
why we have the sixpack, to disagree about State

Coach34 · Nov 15, 2010

FlabLoser said:
SLUdog said:

we are a GOOD team with a GOOD coach. Most likely, that means we would have lost to Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Arkansas. Those teams are ranked in the top 15 right now. I'll take that every year. If we are 9-3 we are bordering on great by MSU standards. 7-5 is decent but disappointing at this point.

Click to expand...

I can't accept going WINLESS against top 15 teams EVERY year. We need to be able to win a game we aren't supposed to win. Mullen hasn't done that yet. Here's to hoping that changes this week.

I know 8-4 is a good W-L record. But 8-4 this year is a lot less impressive than 8-4 most years.

What's our SOS this year? Beuhler? Probably not #1 like it was last year.

I'm not complaining. We made a nice improvement this year. Next year needs to go to the next level by adding competent passing attack to our offense.

We are in season 2 of a new coach transitioning a program. Based on our recent history, winning all games except those vs top 15 teams is pretty good. Bad coaching wasnt the only reason we were winning 3 games a year under Crooms- we lacked team talent. Having a few good players doesnt mean you should win 9 games a season in football.

How is beating Florida on the road not winning a game we weren't supposed to win? We were the underdog, and we hadnt won there in 45 years. They have more future pro talent than we do. I don't follow that line of thinking

And we have the 18th toughest schedule in the nation this season...and we are 7-3...how is this a bad thing? Would you like me to count and see how many of the other 100 teams that have an easier schedule than we do but have a worse record? I'm betting that number would be pretty high

SLUdog · Nov 15, 2010

8 games in the regular season?....Wasn't it 1999? Ok, we play 12 games now....MSU has never won 8 regular season games with the 12 game schedule. With our schedule this year....if go 1-4 against the best division in college football and 7-0 against the rest of our schedule...you should be elated. I will be. Can you tell me that last time we beat all the non-conf. teams on our schedule? 2000? that's my guess. 8-4 is GOOD every year at MSU.

FlabLoser · Nov 15, 2010

7 points? 10 points?

By game-we're-not-suppose-to-win, I mean some team that is ranked 15-20 spots ahead of us.

I'll give ya this - with Mullen at the helm and us having improved as much as we have - there aren't exactly many games where most of the nation says "oh hell there's no way they'll win that". I think there is not a game out there that would be a bigger upset than Croom's Maine team beating Florida.

Seriously not-supposed-to-win = major upset, not just a game where we're underdogs by some modest margin.

Todd4State · Nov 15, 2010

which is actually depressing.

FlabLoser · Nov 15, 2010

Folks, again, #1 I'm not complaining. #2 its not our record. Its that we aren't competing against really good teams.

I guess I'm romanticizing (ie: remembering the good times, for getting the bad times) of the past. In Jackie's better years, even when we lost to good teams we still had a chance to win and didn't pull through. But hey at least we aren't getting beat by Troy or tying Arkansas State.

And I have to say this might be the only year I can EVER remember where we lost no games to any underdogs. That's a big, big plus. Good teams beat the teams they are supposed to beat.

I just want to see us scare the elite teams, and beat one of them now and then. We haven't done that this year. Well...ok, we did play Auburn real close. And certainly could have won. But let's face it, Auburn today isn't the Auburn we played in week 2.

Coach34 · Nov 15, 2010

FlabLoser said:
7 points? 10 points?

By game-we're-not-suppose-to-win, I mean some team that is ranked 15-20 spots ahead of us.

I'll give ya this - with Mullen at the helm and us having improved as much as we have - there aren't exactly many games where most of the nation says "oh hell there's no way they'll win that". I think there is not a game out there that would be a bigger upset than Croom's Maine team beating Florida.

Seriously not-supposed-to-win = major upset, not just a game where we're underdogs by some modest margin.

We beat a team in Fla that we were a 9.5 point underdog, that had won a national title just 2 seasons ago, in a stadium we hadnt won in since 1965...you call that just a modest upset?

That was clearly a game werent supposed to win. Our team had has had a losing record for 8 of the last 9 seasons...we 17'ing suck as a program. What we are doing this season is very good and some of you need to enjoy it

Todd4State · Nov 15, 2010

I wonder how many top 15 teams Jackie beat? I know Florida in 2000 and 1992, maybe Arkansas 1998, Auburn 1997?, Alabama 1996. I may have missed a few hear and there, but I don't think it was an annual occurance. And all of those except for Auburn were at home.

Jackie beat his share of "down" teams too- heck the 1999 team was widely criticized because of it.

KurtRambis4 · Nov 15, 2010

sure that most people thought we'd lose to UF.

FlabLoser · Nov 16, 2010

[No message]

paindonthurt_ · Nov 16, 2010

And this comment has me wondering..........." Its that we aren't competing against really good teams.".

Please define competing.

Auburn 17-14 and probably should have won.
LSU on the road 29 to 7. We outgained them in total yards but had 5 TOs to 1. They beat easily b/c of that but we were competing. Protect the ball and we are a pretty good team.
Alabama on the road 30 to 10. We controlled the LOS for most of the game on both sides of the ball. 3 big plays killed us. Sure that gets you beat, but we competed.

thunderclap · Nov 16, 2010

some of you have forgotten what a complete cluster17 Mullen walked into. If we are 8-4 this year, with road wins at Florida, Houston,and OM (it should happen), and a whisker's miss against BCS leader Auburn, with a QB who can't read defenses in the passing game, then it is nothing short of miraculous.

dawgstudent · Nov 16, 2010

[No message]

FlabLoser · Nov 16, 2010

paindonthurt said:
And this comment has me wondering..........." Its that we aren't competing against really good teams.".

Please define competing.

Auburn 17-14 and probably should have won.
LSU on the road 29 to 7. We outgained them in total yards but had 5 TOs to 1. They beat easily b/c of that but we were competing. Protect the ball and we are a pretty good team.
Alabama on the road 30 to 10. We controlled the LOS for most of the game on both sides of the ball. 3 big plays killed us. Sure that gets you beat, but we competed.

We did compete against Auburn, who wasn't nearly as good then as they are now.

22 point loss to LSU = not competing
20 point loss to Bama = not competing

Competing = late in the 4th and the game is still undecided. There was no way we were going to shutout LSU or Bama 3 TDs to zero in the latter parts of the 4th quarter.

Sherrill's 7-win teams could go to Tuscaloosa on occasion and play them down to the wire.

Again folks, I am not complaining. We're better than mediocre, Wee beat all the mediocre-to-decent teams we played. I wouldn't say we're good. Maybe that means I have a higher standard for what good is.

I just want to see us have a fighting 4th quarter chance against a Bama, LSU, or Arkansas this weekend.

klerushund · Nov 16, 2010

"Again folks, I am not complaining. We're better than mediocre, Wee beat all the mediocre-to-decent teams we played. I wouldn't say we're good. Maybe that means I have a higher standard for what good is."<div>
</div><div>Exactly!</div><div>
</div><div>There isn't a single one of our seven wins that looks good. You can talk about the history of Florida but they flat out suck this year. Plain and simple. So does Georgia (especially without Green).</div><div>
</div><div>How long do we lick our wounds from the Croom years? We were bad. I get it. But let's not go and start licking each other's popsicles because we're 7-3 when we haven't beaten a single team that will be ranked at the end of the year. Who are we? Southern Miss for God's sake?</div><div>
</div><div>
</div>

DawgWild · Nov 16, 2010

The fact that Mullen has taking Croom's talent and will probably be 7-5 at worst 9-3 in just his second season is fantastic if you look where we have come from. Rome wasn't built in a day. Making good programs takes time. We are doing what we have to do to win with what we have. If we do that then recruits will come and the program will get better. One day at a time gentlemen.

paindonthurt_ · Nov 16, 2010

is absurd.

If we go 8 and 4 and 4 and 4 in the SEC thats good. 7 and 5 and 3 and 5 is decent although i'll be disappointed with that.

I disagree about competing with Bama and LSU. I look at the trenches to judge a football teams talent and our fronts on both sides are pretty damn good.

Pat Pat · Nov 16, 2010

Sutterkane · Nov 16, 2010

Simply because that means that we aren't major underdogs ever again. If we're major underdogs in multiple games, we are not having a good season. Look at the major programs...do they hope for major upsets every year? We haven't been big underdogs (except bama) this year because we're simply a better team and people expect us to win more games (see: respect). I like that and you should too.

Pat Pat · Nov 16, 2010

before clamoring for championships n ****. Idiot.

Temple of the Dawg · Nov 16, 2010

How long do we lick our wounds from the Croom years?

We haven't even completed our second season under Mullen. We don't have a single senior starting at the skill positions on offense. Not one. In fact, we have only two JRs starting at skill positions on offense; one that is a very good Juco RB in his 1st year, and the other at QB who still hasn't completed his first season as a starter. We do have some experience & talent on the OL, but the lack of experience at the skill positions on offense is HUGE in this league, especially against the heavyweights in the division.

Furthermore on defense, it is more of the same. We have two SRs at LB who are very good, one SR starter at LB who is a former walk-on who has played well, one SR on the DL who starts and is good, and one JR in the secondary who is very good. Unless I have forgotten someone, every other starter is a RS So or younger. I know we have some 2nd stringers that are JRs & SRs, but overall we are young on defense as well.

Frankly, I have been very, very pleased with the play of this team this year in light of the youth, inexperience, and it being only our 2nd year after Croom. In reality, we have exceeded what most reasonable people expected this year. We are 7-3 & ranked. Unless I am mistaken, we haven't been ranked since 2000 or 2001. You simply don't just jump up & start upsetting top 15 teams who have been stockpiling 4 & 5 star talent when you are coming off a decade of craptastic football.

If we are still having this problem in year 4, you may have a point. Right now, you just sound foolish.

Coach34 · Nov 16, 2010

upfront- we played very well with Bama...and that's a really good sign

Where did we lose it? We don't have a McElroy, Julio Jones, or Marquis Maze...we're good enough at RB, but we just don't have a WR that can catch the ball consistently, as well as take it 50 yards to the house...nor a QB that can function well enough in the passing game.

What did we say a thousand times a big key to our season was offensively? Can Ralph complete enough passes to keep defenses honest? Well, he hasnt really- but it just hasnt been his fault- our WR's have been disappointing as well. Whenever we finally do transition to Russell as the QB, our WR play is going to have to get alot better.

FlabLoser · Nov 16, 2010

Coach34 said:
Whenever we finally do transition to Russell as the QB, our WR play is going to have to get alot better.

Don't think you think Russell and these WRs need to get more PT so we can get there one day? I think we have more to gain by getting Russell 25% of the snaps against Arkansas and Ole Miss than we do by giving him his token 3-5 snaps.

Pat Pat · Nov 16, 2010

BecauseA - we're trying to win those games. It's fact that Relf gives us our best chance to win ballgames unless we're playing Memphis.

2- Experience getting their asses kicked isn't good experience. I'd rather them develop more through practice reps than have that happen.

and D - Mississippi State has some of the dumbest fans in the United States of America. If we do throw Russell in the mix significantly, our idiot fans will probably start calling for Dylan Favre once he throws his first pic against Ole Miss.

Coach34 · Nov 16, 2010

the WR's are getting playing time- they just aren't all that good. We have a little talent there- but none of our WR's scare anybody.

Russell doesn't need to play until the bowl game. I'd have him a little bowl game package running a hurry-up with maybe 6 plays...do it as a change of pace to see how he handles it and to also drum up some excitement for Spring practice...bowl games are a reward and that would be a good one there

Then in Spring practice, keep working them and see where we are at the end of it. Everybody keeps saying the key to next year is how much Russell improves during the Spring- but I think it's just the opposite. The key to next year is how much Ralph improves over the Spring- if he can improve more like he did this past Spring- the job will be his and it won't be close because of what he brings in the running game.

markymark.sixpack · Nov 16, 2010

spend the ?15?extra practices focusing on the passing game (with both QBs). 75% of the work should be focused on getting better at passing the ball. I think we've got the running game down pat. We can spare the reps. While I'd love to win the bowl game, it's simply not as important as developing our passing game. The offense will be virtually the same personnel next year, so we need to start working on our pass game ASAP. Work on it during bowl season, give it a trial run during the bowl game, then focus on it again in the spring and fall. We have the potential to be a lot better next year, but only if we can throw the ball (and catch it) better. I'm not saying abandon the run, we should still be a running team, but we can't be Georgia Tech lite. We have to be able to throw the ball to beat the top 20 teams. Our balance needs to be 60/40 instead of 75/25. I think we're solid enough in the run game now that we can focus less on practicing that part of the offense and more on the passing. Starting on Nov. 28, but not a day sooner.

TilloDawg · Nov 16, 2010

doing so with a lot of Croom's talent. That's something Croom could not do.....with any team we faced.

FlabLoser · Nov 16, 2010

Relf did improve a LOT in the spring.

How about this fall? Does fall practice + games = a lot more reps than spring practice?

From where I'm sitting, it looks like Relf has plateaued. Since he got not better during months of work this fall, I can't see what weeks in the spring are going to do for him.

Coach34 · Nov 16, 2010

you work alot less fundamentals in the Fall not to mention a lot less drills to work on specific weaknesses...most of Fall practice is spent game-planning your opponent and getting those plays and timing down...each practice is started with basic fundamental drills, but nothing to enhance real growth as a QB

The progress Ralph has made since last November is actually quite significant...can he make the next step and continue that growth? Not sure. But we'll see in the Spring

Looking back at the year so far...

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