my one complaint against Mullen.... The "cutesy" plays

[MemphisMaroonClubDog]

I bring this up after reading Marcello's article at the top and rewatching the video of the end of last year's Auburn game.

One of the things that was missed on that play is the fact that we had Fletcher Cox in there to play TE on the strong side. Now, Fletcher is a beast but he doesn't know 'how' to block. He is lost on that play. If a true blocking TE is in the game on that play, he keeps his head up and at least get a piece of the safety that makes the play. If he just brushes that safety, Relf scores with ease. Fletcher is turned around looking in the backfield watching his man make the tackle. *edit to add* Fletcher actually goes for the FB's assignment.

Putting a player in that is not accustomed to playing that position helped kill that play. Even if you have a mediocre blocking TEin there on that play, chances are, he knows where to expect his assignment to come from.

This, along with the random half back pass to mini-favre or Bumphis are plays that I think Mullen needs to eliminate. We are not a team that can give away plays. If we are churning 3-4 yards a play, you cannot give up a play...

Just my 2 cents. Love me some Mullen and I hope he continues to mature. Its easy to forget that he is just entering his 4th year of HC. I think he just has to know that assistant coaches love those plays but head coaches have to be the one to say "nope"

 

[maroonmania]

1. Trick plays never seem to work when we use them
2. Trick plays always seem to work when used against us

For example, fake punts. Its almost a given we get stopped short of the first down marker whenever we call one while I can hardly ever remember us actually stopping anyone else short of a first down when they call one against us.

 

[thf24]

It seems to me to make plays like that work with anything resembling consistency you either have to have several exceptional and versatile athletes, or dedicate enough practice time to them that they account for a large part of your offense like Boise State did during their rise to prominence. Also, I feel like Mullen could be sending a negative message to the players by calling those plays in key situations, maybe seeming to them like he's questioning their ability to make the play conventionally.

 

[KurtRambis4]

agitated at the trick plays, too, but Relf has got to execute and get in on that (didn't use excel, just opinion).

 

[Foronce]

we don't exactly have the players to line up and hit SEC powers in the mouth and win... even if we did beat "SEC powers" now, then ...they have gotten better than when croom was here.

3runThenPunt not effective either.

 

[MemphisMaroonClubDog]

but still I do not really blame relf as he sees the goal line and thinks he can get there... and prob should even without the block from Cox. But, its still an issue of thought process to me to have Cox in there on that pivotal play

 

[MemphisMaroonClubDog]

At Auburn, we had a perfect chance to play our new style of football. We had a chance to line up and smash them in the mouth. We got a bit too cute and lost the opportunity.

We are very close. We have the players toplay with most teams and beat most. What we do not have is the ability to do it while giving away plays. We MUST make the most of every one of our plays

 

[kimmer]

We only got one play off in like the last 14 seconds. We should have done a pass/run rollout that we could have stopped the clock on if it was not open and saved the all or nothing play for about 3 or 4 seconds to go.

To that end the level of frustration at that game was off the charts. 31 first downs, 300 freaking yards on the ground, 500 yards of total offense, kept the ball for 36 minutes and lost. Two controversial plays, one right before our last play where I thought our RB got in the endzone and one surreal moment where the ball was blatantly inched forward during a measurement to continue an AU TD drive.

 

[Foronce]

had more to do with the outcome of the game than that last play did.

You can sit here and say we lost that game because we should lined up and went right them, rather than go offtackle or run a "cutesy" play as you put it.

we had a perfect chance to play our new style of football. We had a chance to line up and smash them in the mouth.
how many smash mouth teams run 70% in shotgun; use motion every snap; and run 1back sets 85% of the time

 

[Seinfeld]

I can remember one offseason that was either before the '00 or '01 season, and JWS mentioned that we were going to finally add some trickery to our playbook. Well... during the first home game of the year, we pulled out some sort of flea flicker during the first few plays and it looked like some kind of pee wee football BS. We tried something else a little while later and I think on both plays, Madkin ended up running for his life to the sidelines and ended up having to just throw it away before he got killed. I believe that those ended up being the only two trick plays that we ran that season.

Like you said, though... if anyone else runs them against us, it seems like they make us look like fools 90% of the time

 

[MemphisMaroonClubDog]

not the type of play we ran. That cost us on that play. Having someone who did not understand the full grasp of what he was doing cost us on that play. That play happened to cost us 7 points which would have tied the game. Yes, there are tons of other plays that you can look at in that game but that one stings the worst because it was the LAST play.

Also, didn't we tie the game up after 'spotting' them 14-0? Didn't they also 'spot' us a TD on an int return?

 

[kired]

I agree on the cutesy stuff, but it's well documented that we had been practicing Cox at TE from time to time. Marcus Green was in on the play. Only option for a second TE (other than Cox, the most freakish athlete on our team) was Malcolm Johnson or Brandon Hill, neither of whichhad stepped on the field as a TE at that point in the season (at least not that I'm aware of).

I'm completely fine with Cox in on that play because we had obviously been practicing it. But I get your point, and agree.

Fletcher is such a gifted athlete that in an interview with <span style="COLOR: #0000ff"><span style="COLOR: #0000ff">Brandon Marcello</span></span>, HC Dan Mullen said that he would be comfortable putting Cox “anywhere on the field”. Mullen went on with a strait face, “He could probably play corner for us, he’s that athletic.” While the thought of a near 300 pounder playing corner sounds like a bit of a stretch, Cox has been seen lining up at tight end and fullback in goal line formations at practice.

http://thebasementdweller.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/players-to-watch-in-2011-mississippi-state/

<div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff; COLOR: #000000; OVERFLOW: hidden; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; TEXT-DECORATION: none">On DT Fletcher Cox working with the offense (fullback, tight end): "That's something that we work with to get him ready, just to have another big body back there, whether it be a tight end or fullback, just because he's so athletic. He can catch and probably can run."

Read more: [url=http://nems360.com/pages/insidemississippistatesports_full/push?blog-entry-Preseason+Cak-

 

[boomboommsu]

Sometimes it's worth it just to get the D playing a bit more honest.

Even if you do have the personel to line up and smash ahead all game, you still want some plays to keep the D honest. And Lord knows people on here ***** about the lateral pass enough as is.

 

[aTotal360]

[No message]

 

[MemphisMaroonClubDog]

He was worried about blocking the first person he saw. He did not understand that the man he blocked was the FB's responsibility. His responsibilty was 1) chip block on the 7 technique 2) move to the second level and get a LB crashing 3) move to the third level and get the safety

He does well on the first one but he should have let the LB go across his face. His only responsibility on LBs is to get one that is crashing right at him.

Again, a typical TE that is running this play 20 times per day during training camp knows where his possibilities are. Being incredibly athletic does not mean that you can literally do anything on the field without the practice. Fletcher probably got 10 reps on that play... and those were structured...

Its not a huge thing but it showed up on that play.

 

[FlabLoser]

I remember Kenny Roberts taking a reverse (is a reverse a trick play) to the house @ Auburn to beat them on a late 4th Q possession.

Then there was the time...well, wait. But there was...no. OK, you're right.

More frustrating is how well trick plays work against us. Was it LA Tech or Tulane we played in Shreveport and lost to? I think it was Tulane. Their punter, who had probably never thrown a pass in a game, threw a fade route that would have made Drew Brees proud - just into the outstretched hands of the gunner who was hauling down the sideline.

Then there was somebody, I forget who...Arkansas? Alabama? ...wait, I think it was So Carolina that threw a halfback pass for a TD against us at home. The RB couldn't even see his receiver. He just hurled it downfield towards the opposite sideline and found his receiver.

For some reason I can handle not executing trick plays. But when anybody from aspiring CUSA bottom-dwellers to mid-range SEC teams seem to be able to crap in a swinging jug on our home turf....that ticks me off.