Monday Morning QB- LSU edition

[Coach34]

1. Disappointed about Saturday- but not shocked. In looking back, it makes sense. As with most everybody, we play much better at home than we do on the road. We played them close last year because we were at home- just like with Auburn last week.

2. Defensively we are better, but we havent arrived by any means. While LSU did have good field position constantly, we couldnt stop them for a 3 and out. That's kinda concerning heading into this Saturday. We hustle, we get to the ball...but we dont lay the wood to anybody when we get there.

3. Tyler Russell did a good job of finishing the series Ralph started and showed some of that "IT" you look for in a QB. He also showed he isnt ready to be a starting QB. After that first drive of his, Chavis decided to bring the funk, and that was the end of Tyler's effectiveness. There are 6 more SEC schools waiting to do the same to him. But it's not all on Tyler- our WR core and OL arent ready for that either.

4. I'm not understanding all the Ralph criticism except for the 2nd INT he threw up for grabs, not to mention the "we miss Dixon" stuff. I'm not surprised by it at all, but if you break down the 3 1st half drives- nothing points to that. Hell, Ralph is completing 56% of his passes on the season. He's not a very good passer, but 56% passing with the way we have been running the ball should be enough. But it's not because we won't stick with the run enough. Anybody expecting Ralph to complete a bunch of 3rd down passes to sustain drives is kidding themselves

1st drive-

triple option- 3 yards (Elliot)
zone counter- 4 yards (Ballard)
triple option- 5 yards (Elliot)

then we throw 3 straight passes- 3rd pass Relf is sacked by unblocked blitzer because we are outnumbered on the right edge...that ****** dose of playcalling is not Ralph's fault nor the RB's. There's no missing Dixon on the 1st drive - we're missing better playcalling

2nd drive-

Ralph pass completion for 21 yards (Ralph was 3-4 passing on 1st down for 32 yards in the game)
Penalty- 1st and 15- Ballard 5 yd run
2nd and 10- Ralph scramble for 9 yards
3rd and 1- triple option 1/2 yard
4th and foot- triple option for 1 yard (picked up 1st down from 1st and 15 by running- where are we missing Dixon???)
1st and 10/LSU 45- triple option out of I formation- Hanrahan -1
2nd and 11- inside zone to Ballard +10 (again- where are we missing Dixon???)
3rd and 1/LSU 36- Play-action pass- everybody is covered- Ralph's pass is 6 inches too high for the WR and Peterson shows why he will be a top 10 pick. Questionable call do to needing to keep the ball and rest our defense not to mention throwing at their best player is not smart. Especially with the way we were running it- why throw there???? LSU had not stopped us from running the football. People may say we miss Dixon here- but we havent been stopped yet- so how do you know? We keep stopping ourselves.

3rd drive-

1st/10/14 yd line- PA pass- Ralph complete +6
2nd/4/20- triple option- Ralph +12
1st/10/32- veer play- Perkins +4
2nd/6/36- bubble to Heavens +5
3rd/1/41- zone read- Perkins +2....1st down...(remind me where we are missing Dixon??)
1st/10/43- PA pass incomplete
2nd/10/43- QB power Ralph +5 (why dont we run this more???)

3rd/5/48- 5 wide set....I tell my wife "no way this ends well"...we motion RB into backfield to pick up backside...LSU outschemes us with MLB blitz and nobody to pick him up- Center, Guard, and Tackle are covered- Mike shoots playside A gap- Ralph had exactly 1 second to get rid of ball. Throws it up for grabs- INT. Bad job by Ralph of just throwing it up- but we were outcoached on this play- LSU checked into this blitz when they saw the 5 wide set. Obviously they saw an easy way to beat our protection from the 5 wide set.


When you break down 3 drives of the 1st half-<span style="text-decoration:underline"> it's what we are doing- not who's doing it</span>. We are doing a ****** job of playcalling. Somebody described it perfectly when they said we are ADD- it's like we are running **** just to run it- we arent setting plays up with other plays. We are getting outcoached on offense, and that is very surprising and discouraging.

I said it last week and I will say it aGAIN-

We need to stick with Ralph and the running game and commit to it more OR we need to start playing Russell, restructure practice to throwing the football, and become a passing football team. We cannot do both. It's got to be one or the other. Until we get an offensive identity, we are going to lose against good football teams.

Fire away

 

[Coach34]

1. Disappointed about Saturday- but not shocked. In looking back, it makes sense. As with most everybody, we play much better at home than we do on the road. We played them close last year because we were at home- just like with Auburn last week.

2. Defensively we are better, but we havent arrived by any means. While LSU did have good field position constantly, we couldnt stop them for a 3 and out. That's kinda concerning heading into this Saturday. We hustle, we get to the ball...but we dont lay the wood to anybody when we get there.

3. Tyler Russell did a good job of finishing the series Ralph started and showed some of that "IT" you look for in a QB. He also showed he isnt ready to be a starting QB. After that first drive of his, Chavis decided to bring the funk, and that was the end of Tyler's effectiveness. There are 6 more SEC schools waiting to do the same to him. But it's not all on Tyler- our WR core and OL arent ready for that either.

4. I'm not understanding all the Ralph criticism except for the 2nd INT he threw up for grabs, not to mention the "we miss Dixon" stuff. I'm not surprised by it at all, but if you break down the 3 1st half drives- nothing points to that. Hell, Ralph is completing 56% of his passes on the season. He's not a very good passer, but 56% passing with the way we have been running the ball should be enough. But it's not because we won't stick with the run enough. Anybody expecting Ralph to complete a bunch of 3rd down passes to sustain drives is kidding themselves

1st drive-

triple option- 3 yards (Elliot)
zone counter- 4 yards (Ballard)
triple option- 5 yards (Elliot)

then we throw 3 straight passes- 3rd pass Relf is sacked by unblocked blitzer because we are outnumbered on the right edge...that ****** dose of playcalling is not Ralph's fault nor the RB's. There's no missing Dixon on the 1st drive - we're missing better playcalling

2nd drive-

Ralph pass completion for 21 yards (Ralph was 3-4 passing on 1st down for 32 yards in the game)
Penalty- 1st and 15- Ballard 5 yd run
2nd and 10- Ralph scramble for 9 yards
3rd and 1- triple option 1/2 yard
4th and foot- triple option for 1 yard (picked up 1st down from 1st and 15 by running- where are we missing Dixon???)
1st and 10/LSU 45- triple option out of I formation- Hanrahan -1
2nd and 11- inside zone to Ballard +10 (again- where are we missing Dixon???)
3rd and 1/LSU 36- Play-action pass- everybody is covered- Ralph's pass is 6 inches too high for the WR and Peterson shows why he will be a top 10 pick. Questionable call do to needing to keep the ball and rest our defense not to mention throwing at their best player is not smart. Especially with the way we were running it- why throw there???? LSU had not stopped us from running the football. People may say we miss Dixon here- but we havent been stopped yet- so how do you know? We keep stopping ourselves.

3rd drive-

1st/10/14 yd line- PA pass- Ralph complete +6
2nd/4/20- triple option- Ralph +12
1st/10/32- veer play- Perkins +4
2nd/6/36- bubble to Heavens +5
3rd/1/41- zone read- Perkins +2....1st down...(remind me where we are missing Dixon??)
1st/10/43- PA pass incomplete
2nd/10/43- QB power Ralph +5 (why dont we run this more???)

3rd/5/48- 5 wide set....I tell my wife "no way this ends well"...we motion RB into backfield to pick up backside...LSU outschemes us with MLB blitz and nobody to pick him up- Center, Guard, and Tackle are covered- Mike shoots playside A gap- Ralph had exactly 1 second to get rid of ball. Throws it up for grabs- INT. Bad job by Ralph of just throwing it up- but we were outcoached on this play- LSU checked into this blitz when they saw the 5 wide set. Obviously they saw an easy way to beat our protection from the 5 wide set.


When you break down 3 drives of the 1st half-<span style="text-decoration:underline"> it's what we are doing- not who's doing it</span>. We are doing a ****** job of playcalling. Somebody described it perfectly when they said we are ADD- it's like we are running **** just to run it- we arent setting plays up with other plays. We are getting outcoached on offense, and that is very surprising and discouraging.

I said it last week and I will say it aGAIN-

We need to stick with Ralph and the running game and commit to it more OR we need to start playing Russell, restructure practice to throwing the football, and become a passing football team. We cannot do both. It's got to be one or the other. Until we get an offensive identity, we are going to lose against good football teams.

Fire away

 

[Coach34]

1. Disappointed about Saturday- but not shocked. In looking back, it makes sense. As with most everybody, we play much better at home than we do on the road. We played them close last year because we were at home- just like with Auburn last week.

2. Defensively we are better, but we havent arrived by any means. While LSU did have good field position constantly, we couldnt stop them for a 3 and out. That's kinda concerning heading into this Saturday. We hustle, we get to the ball...but we dont lay the wood to anybody when we get there.

3. Tyler Russell did a good job of finishing the series Ralph started and showed some of that "IT" you look for in a QB. He also showed he isnt ready to be a starting QB. After that first drive of his, Chavis decided to bring the funk, and that was the end of Tyler's effectiveness. There are 6 more SEC schools waiting to do the same to him. But it's not all on Tyler- our WR core and OL arent ready for that either.

4. I'm not understanding all the Ralph criticism except for the 2nd INT he threw up for grabs, not to mention the "we miss Dixon" stuff. I'm not surprised by it at all, but if you break down the 3 1st half drives- nothing points to that. Hell, Ralph is completing 56% of his passes on the season. He's not a very good passer, but 56% passing with the way we have been running the ball should be enough. But it's not because we won't stick with the run enough. Anybody expecting Ralph to complete a bunch of 3rd down passes to sustain drives is kidding themselves

1st drive-

triple option- 3 yards (Elliot)
zone counter- 4 yards (Ballard)
triple option- 5 yards (Elliot)

then we throw 3 straight passes- 3rd pass Relf is sacked by unblocked blitzer because we are outnumbered on the right edge...that ****** dose of playcalling is not Ralph's fault nor the RB's. There's no missing Dixon on the 1st drive - we're missing better playcalling

2nd drive-

Ralph pass completion for 21 yards (Ralph was 3-4 passing on 1st down for 32 yards in the game)
Penalty- 1st and 15- Ballard 5 yd run
2nd and 10- Ralph scramble for 9 yards
3rd and 1- triple option 1/2 yard
4th and foot- triple option for 1 yard (picked up 1st down from 1st and 15 by running- where are we missing Dixon???)
1st and 10/LSU 45- triple option out of I formation- Hanrahan -1
2nd and 11- inside zone to Ballard +10 (again- where are we missing Dixon???)
3rd and 1/LSU 36- Play-action pass- everybody is covered- Ralph's pass is 6 inches too high for the WR and Peterson shows why he will be a top 10 pick. Questionable call do to needing to keep the ball and rest our defense not to mention throwing at their best player is not smart. Especially with the way we were running it- why throw there???? LSU had not stopped us from running the football. People may say we miss Dixon here- but we havent been stopped yet- so how do you know? We keep stopping ourselves.

3rd drive-

1st/10/14 yd line- PA pass- Ralph complete +6
2nd/4/20- triple option- Ralph +12
1st/10/32- veer play- Perkins +4
2nd/6/36- bubble to Heavens +5
3rd/1/41- zone read- Perkins +2....1st down...(remind me where we are missing Dixon??)
1st/10/43- PA pass incomplete
2nd/10/43- QB power Ralph +5 (why dont we run this more???)

3rd/5/48- 5 wide set....I tell my wife "no way this ends well"...we motion RB into backfield to pick up backside...LSU outschemes us with MLB blitz and nobody to pick him up- Center, Guard, and Tackle are covered- Mike shoots playside A gap- Ralph had exactly 1 second to get rid of ball. Throws it up for grabs- INT. Bad job by Ralph of just throwing it up- but we were outcoached on this play- LSU checked into this blitz when they saw the 5 wide set. Obviously they saw an easy way to beat our protection from the 5 wide set.


When you break down 3 drives of the 1st half-<span style="text-decoration:underline"> it's what we are doing- not who's doing it</span>. We are doing a ****** job of playcalling. Somebody described it perfectly when they said we are ADD- it's like we are running **** just to run it- we arent setting plays up with other plays. We are getting outcoached on offense, and that is very surprising and discouraging.

I said it last week and I will say it aGAIN-

We need to stick with Ralph and the running game and commit to it more OR we need to start playing Russell, restructure practice to throwing the football, and become a passing football team. We cannot do both. It's got to be one or the other. Until we get an offensive identity, we are going to lose against good football teams.

Fire away

 

[Coach34]

1. Disappointed about Saturday- but not shocked. In looking back, it makes sense. As with most everybody, we play much better at home than we do on the road. We played them close last year because we were at home- just like with Auburn last week.

2. Defensively we are better, but we havent arrived by any means. While LSU did have good field position constantly, we couldnt stop them for a 3 and out. That's kinda concerning heading into this Saturday. We hustle, we get to the ball...but we dont lay the wood to anybody when we get there.

3. Tyler Russell did a good job of finishing the series Ralph started and showed some of that "IT" you look for in a QB. He also showed he isnt ready to be a starting QB. After that first drive of his, Chavis decided to bring the funk, and that was the end of Tyler's effectiveness. There are 6 more SEC schools waiting to do the same to him. But it's not all on Tyler- our WR core and OL arent ready for that either.

4. I'm not understanding all the Ralph criticism except for the 2nd INT he threw up for grabs, not to mention the "we miss Dixon" stuff. I'm not surprised by it at all, but if you break down the 3 1st half drives- nothing points to that. Hell, Ralph is completing 56% of his passes on the season. He's not a very good passer, but 56% passing with the way we have been running the ball should be enough. But it's not because we won't stick with the run enough. Anybody expecting Ralph to complete a bunch of 3rd down passes to sustain drives is kidding themselves

1st drive-

triple option- 3 yards (Elliot)
zone counter- 4 yards (Ballard)
triple option- 5 yards (Elliot)

then we throw 3 straight passes- 3rd pass Relf is sacked by unblocked blitzer because we are outnumbered on the right edge...that ****** dose of playcalling is not Ralph's fault nor the RB's. There's no missing Dixon on the 1st drive - we're missing better playcalling

2nd drive-

Ralph pass completion for 21 yards (Ralph was 3-4 passing on 1st down for 32 yards in the game)
Penalty- 1st and 15- Ballard 5 yd run
2nd and 10- Ralph scramble for 9 yards
3rd and 1- triple option 1/2 yard
4th and foot- triple option for 1 yard (picked up 1st down from 1st and 15 by running- where are we missing Dixon???)
1st and 10/LSU 45- triple option out of I formation- Hanrahan -1
2nd and 11- inside zone to Ballard +10 (again- where are we missing Dixon???)
3rd and 1/LSU 36- Play-action pass- everybody is covered- Ralph's pass is 6 inches too high for the WR and Peterson shows why he will be a top 10 pick. Questionable call do to needing to keep the ball and rest our defense not to mention throwing at their best player is not smart. Especially with the way we were running it- why throw there???? LSU had not stopped us from running the football. People may say we miss Dixon here- but we havent been stopped yet- so how do you know? We keep stopping ourselves.

3rd drive-

1st/10/14 yd line- PA pass- Ralph complete +6
2nd/4/20- triple option- Ralph +12
1st/10/32- veer play- Perkins +4
2nd/6/36- bubble to Heavens +5
3rd/1/41- zone read- Perkins +2....1st down...(remind me where we are missing Dixon??)
1st/10/43- PA pass incomplete
2nd/10/43- QB power Ralph +5 (why dont we run this more???)

3rd/5/48- 5 wide set....I tell my wife "no way this ends well"...we motion RB into backfield to pick up backside...LSU outschemes us with MLB blitz and nobody to pick him up- Center, Guard, and Tackle are covered- Mike shoots playside A gap- Ralph had exactly 1 second to get rid of ball. Throws it up for grabs- INT. Bad job by Ralph of just throwing it up- but we were outcoached on this play- LSU checked into this blitz when they saw the 5 wide set. Obviously they saw an easy way to beat our protection from the 5 wide set.


When you break down 3 drives of the 1st half-<span style="text-decoration:underline"> it's what we are doing- not who's doing it</span>. We are doing a ****** job of playcalling. Somebody described it perfectly when they said we are ADD- it's like we are running **** just to run it- we arent setting plays up with other plays. We are getting outcoached on offense, and that is very surprising and discouraging.

I said it last week and I will say it aGAIN-

We need to stick with Ralph and the running game and commit to it more OR we need to start playing Russell, restructure practice to throwing the football, and become a passing football team. We cannot do both. It's got to be one or the other. Until we get an offensive identity, we are going to lose against good football teams.

Fire away

 

[dawgstudent]

We miss Tyson Lee way more than Dixon...

Your post above, although, is well thought out.

 

[bonedaddy401]

That third and one is a perfect example. I don't think Mullen was %100 percent confident we could get it on the ground. Why we went deep is a mystery to me but you see my point. Last year thats a Dixon dive all day. First down instead of a turnover and who knows what happens after that.<div>
</div><div>And to your point about not sticking to the run like we should I think that has a lot to do with Dixon's absence. We don't feel confident in who's back there now to stick to it like we did with Dixon.</div>

 

[8dog]

I have already pointed out the play by play to someone this morning.

The Dixon stuff is out of control. The running game is our strength. Our problems lie in special teams, turnovers, and pass protection--- and play calling.

 

[AzzurriDawg4]

nm

 

[dawgstudent]

<p class="MsoNormal">Is it the coaching staffs fault for not having the confidence w/o Dixon? Some have said that Ballard has proven he can get the short ydg. </p>

 

[futaba.79]

is proof we don't miss Dixon, even Perkins' 2yd scamper?

 

[BigMotherTucker]

for saying WE NEED TO RUN MORE! It may not be pretty, but its the only thing we do that moves the ball. Of course I'm not saying we shouldn't sprinkle in a few short passes to get the blitz in check but we need to stick with the running game. I honestly think people see a 20 yard pass by Relf and/or Russell and say "see, we need to pass more" but it just doesn't work that way. We can't throw it consistently.

/Run should be our meat and potatoes.
//Pass only to mix it up.
///Your drive chart backs up my point from Saturday perfectly.

 

[SyonaraStanz]

We don't feel confident in who's back there now to stick to it like we did with Dixon.

confidence in our passing game, than our running game, is in need of serious psychiatric evaluation.

We need to focus on running.

 

[8dog]

We are running successfully. No, none of these guys are as good as Dixon.

But look at what we did on the ground. Then look what happened when we stopped running.

We can move the football on the ground. That's the point of his post.

We have been on the goalline 3 times in conference play and run it in 3 times. 4th and 1 the other night? Coverted.

Running is the least of our concerns which is why Im so baffled people are focusing on Dixon so much. Damn, I might rather have someone that can kick it in the end zone right now over Dixon.

 

[rugbdawg]

of the game, we are talking about AT LEAST 100 yards in field position.

 

[futaba.79]

and I wonder if the day will come when some of these 4 yd gains will go for 20, 30 or 40. You know, like Dixon did last year. We can be effective on the ground but we'll have to do itwithout a bigtime threat at RB.

All that said, had C34 not included Dixon in just about every paragraph, I wouldn't have made the post.

 

[coach66]

run the ball more and setup the pass.

 

[davatron]

Someone else needs to step up.

 

[NapoleonDynamite]

Never thought I'd say this, but "Amen" C34...

I keep going back to the Houston game last year where I started to notice Mullen's inability to call run-after-run-after-run. In that game, Dixon was plowing that weak-*** defense for miles of yardage, then for some reason, Mullen would ask Tyson Lee to try to throw long - and I remember one being a drive-killer and one being an interception very deep in Houston territory.

This year, its more of the same, but without Dixon, it seems Mullen is doing it more. I think Ballard is showing he can be a tough RB and can carry 20-25 times a game.

I sure hope we don't have a coach whose ego won't allow him to do the un-sexy stuff - or else its going to be a long year.

 

[boomboommsu]

"There are 6 more SEC schools waiting to do the same to him. But it's not all on Tyler- our WR core and OL arent ready for that either. "

Yes, but are there 6 more SEC schools with equivalent D-Lines to Auburn and LSU?

"3rd and 1/LSU 36- Play-action pass- everybody is covered- Ralph's pass is 6 inches too high for the WR and Peterson shows why he will be a top 10 pick. Questionable call do to needing to keep the ball and rest our defense not to mention throwing at their best player is not smart. Especially with the way we were running it- why throw there???? LSU had not stopped us from running the football. People may say we miss Dixon here- but we havent been stopped yet- so how do you know? We keep stopping ourselves."

I still don't get this criticism (from nearly everyone). Assume that 1.) you want to run the PA pass at least once, probably several times, to keep the D honest, and 2.) you're in 4 down territory; then why the hell wouldn't you choose then to try it? When could possibly be a better time?

You say later "we arent setting plays up with other plays", but isn't that exactly what that play was? Plus, i thought we were giving to the FB out of the option to open up the outside later. Seems like set-up playcalling to me.

 

[bonedaddy401]

ridiculousto me. Perkins is a situational guy, Elliott has no explosive potential. Ballard has made the most of his chances.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

their front seven is very good...they held Arkansas to 2.3 ypc, South Car to 3.5 ypc and ULL to 0.5 ypc. Anyone with ANY sense will stack the box for the rest of the season and make us throw. We're going to probably have to win the turnover battle also.

 

[BigMotherTucker]

boomboommsu[/b]]"3rd and 1/LSU 36- Play-action pass- everybody is covered- Ralph's pass is 6 inches too high for the WR and Peterson shows why he will be a top 10 pick. Questionable call do to needing to keep the ball and rest our defense not to mention throwing at their best player is not smart. Especially with the way we were running it- why throw there???? LSU had not stopped us from running the football. People may say we miss Dixon here- but we havent been stopped yet- so how do you know? We keep stopping ourselves."

I still don't get this criticism (from nearly everyone). Assume that 1.) you want to run the PA pass at least once, probably several times, to keep the D honest, and 2.) you're in 4 down territory; then why the hell wouldn't you choose then to try it? When could possibly be a better time?

Yep,you and Mullen seem to be the only onewho understood that play call.

This is what the restof us idiots saw: inaccurate passer+ shortreceiver+ best cover corner in college football =low percentage pass/pick

 

[skb124]

Just saying but that 3rd and 1 was a great play call and we have a touchdown if relf throws it in front of clark. Peterson was beat and if the throw is on the inside its 6. Im not gonna fault a coach for surprising the defense and passing in an obvious run situation. The play worked. Execution was poor. After saying that, though, I will say that it is pretty obvious that our QB game is not up to par so you cant necessarily expect that pass to be completed, which makes that play a gamble. With a better QB than Relf that play is a touchdown.

 

[Sutterkane]

There are several plays you can run that will beat a blitz even if there are unblocked defenders.

Another thing about getting beat on a blitz: SOMEBODY has got to start recognizing this. I don't care if it's Koenning in the booth, Mullen on the sidelines or one of our QBs that apparently can't make a read at the LOS; somebody has got to see this coming and audible for it.

For all the talk about who isn't ready and such, NEITHER quarterback at this point are making LOS reads.

I also don't know why we don't run delay draws or roll the pocket.

 

[8dog]

you already know Relf will be the one making that pass, which is then a low percentage pass considering its 30 yds downfield. The coaches have to put our guys in the best position to succeed. Relf throwing 30 yds downfield is about the worst thing we do as a team.

You can blame every single play on execution no matter what. But in the end, coaches have to maximize your chances for execution.

Saturday night in Tiger Stadium, you are already on the 36, 3rd and 1----move the chains.

 

[TXDawg.sixpack]

but let's not kid ourselves by saying that Ralph's pass was only 6-inches off target.

Clark was open; he had a step on Peterson. If Ralph throws that ball 2-yards closer to the middle of the field (AKA - leading the receiver), it's an easy catch for Clark and Mullen looks like a genius. The play was there; we have to assume that Ralph has demonstrated the ability to throw that route in practice; he just didn't get it done in the game. I have a hard time blaming bad play calling when the play is there for the taking but players fail to execute.

Also, I'd like to hear your thoughts on Russell's running ability. He'll mever set any land speed records, but he seemed to do a servicable job running the read option on the TD drive. I haven't looked at the play charts, but I remember him running for positive yards more than once.

 

[Coach34]

by running the ball. If we werent, then there would be concern and all the Dixon crap could be easily proven. As Azzuri said- we could use Dixon of course, but losing him isnt why the offense is struggling

 

[Coach34]

but let's not kid ourselves by saying that Ralph's pass was only 6-inches off target.

Clark was open; he had a step on Peterson. If Ralph throws that ball 2-yards closer to the middle of the field (AKA - leading the receiver), it's an easy catch for Clark and Mullen looks like a genius. The play was there; we have to assume that Ralph has demonstrated the ability to throw that route in practice; he just didn't get it done in the game. I have a hard time blaming bad play calling when the play is there for the taking but players fail to execute.

Also, I'd like to hear your thoughts on Russell's running ability. He'll mever set any land speed records, but he seemed to do a servicable job running the read option on the TD drive. I haven't looked at the play charts, but I remember him running for positive yards more than once.

and it may be 4 inches and not 6- the ball just barely went over Clark's fingertips...could it have been thrown to the inside more? Sure. But the ball was 4-6 inches over Clark's fingertips and Peterson, who was behind him, tipped it up and picked it off

 

[TXDawg.sixpack]

could it have been thrown to the inside more? Sure.

If it's thrown inside where it belongs, Peterson doesn't have a play. The six inches of overthrow aren't what resulted in the INT. It was the six FEET too far outside.

 

[57stratdawg]

It needs to hit him in the chest, if that ball is 4 inches above his OUTSTRETCHED arms then that ball is 2 or 3 feet off the mark. Not only that, he lofted that ball in there. Relf needs to zip that pass in there, not loft it soft and high.

That's pretty much the worse possible throw in that particular situation, and the reason they went deep on 3rd was because he knew he was going to go for it on 4th.

If Relf throws that in his chest and on a line it could be Dick "Nighttrain" Lane or Champ Baily behind AClark and it would have been a 1st down MSU on the LSU 5 yard line.

 

[boomboommsu]

never running PA pass = not winning.

 

[maroonmania]

is it DM or is it LK? I would assume Mullen is at least signing off on it but my understanding was that Les is actually calling the plays.

 

[Johnson85]

with a qb that is a mediocre (at best) passer. That was a great time to run PA, and it wasn't a horrible play call as it is, but if we're going to put Relf in the position of making a play like that, I'd rather us try to avoid challenging patterson.

 

[Coach34]

but in that instance- it was really more important for us to go ahead and get the 1st down and keep the football to rest our D than it was to chance the quick-strike against the best CB in the nation. We scored against Memphis on that play, but LSU isnt Memphis.

The play chart dont lie

 

[FlabLoser]

"There are 6 more SEC schools waiting to do the same to him. But it's not all on Tyler- our WR core and OL arent ready for that either. "

Yes, but are there 6 more SEC schools with equivalent D-Lines to Auburn and LSU?

It wasn't a matter of the DL blowing up the OL. It was LSU bringing blitzers that we weren't picking up.

Maybe Ralph isn't smart enough to change the protection to stop that kind of thing. A number of times, Russell made protection audibles. I didn't notice Ralph doing that much.

 

[davatron]

If you're MSU, get the first down and keep the drive alive.

 

[Fresno Bob]

...and it's not even close to me. I saw a lot of the AU and LSU games none of Memphis. Perkins is quick but Ballard brings way more to the table in my estimation. Can he catch the ball out of the backfield and pick up the blitz?...don't recall. If so, he should be in there a lot more for sure. I see no great value in Elliott vs. the others but he may be good at blitz pick up which means more than some people think and is a point of contention for sure from reading this thread. I never paid attention enough to know one way or another.

I'll add that Relf is the best back but Ballard is the best RB for sure.

 

[boomboommsu]

of course none of us will ever know, but i doubt the play was designed specifically to throw on Patterson. if it was, i agree with you, bad playcall. but it seems to me like it was a good call, executed passably but not well, and Patterson got away with interference AND made a great play on the ball. it happens, but you don't improve your team by putting too much emphasis on outliers.

 

[boomboommsu]

to the question of "when do we throw then", your answer seems to be: after we've run for a TD (or multiple TDs) on possibly the best DL in the nation? Okay, Croom

i think we're overemphasizing the INT. if you call plays worried about INTs, then you've already lost. if it's just an incompletion, then you run for the 1st down on 4th and 1. If you're worried about being able to convert in with only 1 try (and we should, we'd been stuffed multiple times already), thenyou should be worried enoughabout getting it in 2 tries that you consider the PA pass. I don't think we beat LSU by being conservative.

Though i will say that situation screams for a roll-out play, rather than the dropback.

</p>

 

[8dog]

and there is nothing wrong with continuing to run when it is working.

Croom was trying to run out of the I with a TE and move people back. We just didn't have those capabilities.