Our weaknesses and comparing them to the next three....

[Beretta.sixpack]

I got to thinking yesterday about our next three opponents and if we stood a chance. I think of our defensive weaknesses, and I see that we are very poor at defending the downfield pass, and we have a tough time stopping those small, extremely fast backs out in the flat....please enlighten me if I am wrong......I think of the small guy for UK, and the other one for UF.....Im doing this off the top of my head, so I can't think of their names.....

Alabama is a beast, with Ingram, he fits that mold....don't see them being a downfield passing threat....

Arky scares me a bit, because they have a huge downfield passing threat, and a small, speedy back.....

Mississippi has McCluster, and Snead can pass the ball down field if given the time....

Call me pessimistic, but we don't have very good matchups with arky and mississippi, and bama is bama.....my wooliness is starting to wear off....I hope Mullen has something up his sleeve....

any thoughts that I'm missing here?

 

[Beretta.sixpack]

I got to thinking yesterday about our next three opponents and if we stood a chance. I think of our defensive weaknesses, and I see that we are very poor at defending the downfield pass, and we have a tough time stopping those small, extremely fast backs out in the flat....please enlighten me if I am wrong......I think of the small guy for UK, and the other one for UF.....Im doing this off the top of my head, so I can't think of their names.....

Alabama is a beast, with Ingram, he fits that mold....don't see them being a downfield passing threat....

Arky scares me a bit, because they have a huge downfield passing threat, and a small, speedy back.....

Mississippi has McCluster, and Snead can pass the ball down field if given the time....

Call me pessimistic, but we don't have very good matchups with arky and mississippi, and bama is bama.....my wooliness is starting to wear off....I hope Mullen has something up his sleeve....

any thoughts that I'm missing here?

 

[GBryne4Heisman]

Gonna be tough really, but we're at home for 2 of them. I dont think we're gonna beat Ark and Ole Miss. I think if we really want to go to a bowl game, the Bama game is a must win. Because we could run into the fact that just because we have 6 wins, we still might not get an invitation.

I think our best chances to win are Bama and Ole Miss.

 

[mstatefan88]

We have 9 bowl tie ins now that we added the Gator Bowl, and we will probably get a team in the BCS Championship, so thats 10. If we get left out, that justs messed up to be the only SEC team left out. Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and us all have 4 wins, so I would think that there is a chance that someone besides Vandy doesn't get to 6 wins. However, the unfortunate part is that it looks like we are the frontrunner for the team that will be left out.</p>

 

[GloryDawg]

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I think Ole Miss is a win. I don't believe they can beat Tenn. or LSU and if that's the case they will be down mentally. They will be thinking what could have been. Ole Miss could very well be sitting at home after the egg bowl. I think their post season play will depend on that game, ours as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It will be a good one. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Nutt sux as a coach always has and always will. Could not win the SEC at Arkansas with all the talent he had over the ten years he was there. How in the heck is he going to do it at Ole Miss?
They would not admit to it but I bet many Ole Miss Fans wish they had Mullen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Think how good they would be with all that talent with a highly motivating, and innovating coach like Mullen.
Mullen only mistake so far is the hiring the Defensive Coordinator that he did. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I don't know if it is talent or coaching or a combination of both but our defense has surely fallen off from the past two years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>

</p>

 

[RobbieRandolph]

But there are still 10 places to send a bowl eligible SEC team:

BCS National Championship, Sugar, Capital One, Cotton, Outback, Peach, Music City, Liberty, Independence, Papa Johs,

 

[DerHntr]

They would not admit to it but I bet many Ole Miss Fans wish they had Mullen. Think how good they would be with all that talent with a highly motivating, and innovating coach like Mullen.

mullen has won four games as a head coach so far with wins against JSU, Vandy, MTSU, and Kentucky. yes, the future appears to be bright but don't get too far ahead of yourself.

 

[DirtyLopez]

I doubt they beat tenn. or lsu. But, nutt, while at ark. was known for getting his teams up for rival games (lsu and texas). He did pretty well against them, usually with a weaker team. Now who knows with this egg bowl b/c they will be a favorite and who the hell knows if we are even the rebel's rival anymore. There are so many variables from week to week that I just show up and hope for the best. </p>

 

[rugbdawg]

We won't be able to score 30 like we did against Kentucky.

If the offense had struggled against UK, we would have lost 45-10. The only way we stopped Kentucky in the 2nd half was the fumble, int, and a legit stop on the last second drive. I really, really hate Torbush and what he has done to our defense. Amazingly, we are still 8th in the SEC in defense. But...we are 6th in the SEC in offense. Think if we had the defense we had last year...They could slow down teams when our offense went 3 and out for entire halves.

 

[AlCoDog]

We won't be able to score 30 like we did against Kentucky.

If the offense had struggled against UK, we would have lost 45-10.

The only way we stopped Kentucky in the 2nd half was the fumble, int, and a legit stop on the last second drive.

I really, really hate Torbush and what he has done to our defense. Amazingly, we are still 8th in the SEC in defense. But...we are 6th in the SEC in offense. Think if we had the defense we had last year...They could slow down teams when our offense went 3 and out for entire halves.

So the only way was actually 3 different ways?

 

[rugbdawg]

much to stop them. On that last drive, we almost made a true freshman quarterback look like Brett Favre.

My point is that our defense got exploited last week against a bad offense. Our offense absolutely controlled the second half, but because of our defense, it took until the last drive to determine the outcome.

 

[Ol Blue.sixpack]

We won't be able to score 30 like we did against Kentucky.

If the offense had struggled against UK, we would have lost 45-10. The only way we stopped Kentucky in the 2nd half was the fumble, int, and a legit stop on the last second drive. I really, really hate Torbush and what he has done to our defense. Amazingly, we are still 8th in the SEC in defense. But...we are 6th in the SEC in offense. Think if we had the defense we had last year...They could slow down teams when our offense went 3 and out for entire halves.

Are you saying that the next three opponents are incapable of turning the ball over?

 

[maroonmania]

we beat either of AL or Ark and win against OM to finish 6-6 and 4-4 in the conference. And then let's say OM finishes 7-5 with a loss to us and 3-5 in the conference with 2 wins over FBS schools. Who gets a bowl if someone gets left out? In the past, it seemed like it went by number of wins, but if we finish with a better conference record and a head-to-head victory, I don't see why we should get punished for playing two top 25 teams OOC while Ole Miss was busy playing the little sisters of the poor.

 

[rugbdawg]

Florida's rushing attack. They have the worst defense in the SEC but they can stop the run. How are we going to exploit their horrible pass defense?

 

[AlCoDog]

Are they a really bad offense? I would consider our offense under Croom really bad. Cobb and Locke are both very good. They do have a major QB issue with the freshman, but I disagree that they are really bad. Plus they were at home at night which always gives an extra boost of confidnece, in my opinion. We helped them out with the 2 int's also.

 

[rugbdawg]

is the reason why we are still paying Croom to coach the Rams.

The fact is this. All three teams on our schedule are better than us. The only way we win any of them is if we win the turnover battle by at least 2 in each game. We have an offense that can put up enough points to win BUT we don't have the defense to stop people.

 

[markymark.sixpack]

if he can't do it, Cam Newton will! Don't spend much time reading Ex-C34 posts, do you?

 

[AlCoDog]

Arkansas and Ole Miss are not better than us for a fact. What has either done to be impressive?

 

[rugbdawg]

a Kentucky team that, I'll admit, thought we were going to lose to.

I would be wooly too if I had any confidence in our defense.

 

[diehard4dawgs]

And UK has a much better QB situation than we do. So I would agree in that UK does not have a horrible offense.

 

[KennyPowers]

I don't really look at the record. We could be 8 and 1 right now and we should be 7 and 2 right now. We have lost because the mistakes we make are made at the absolute worst possible time. Its not huge of a problem if you turn it over inside the opponents territory but it is huge when you turn it over in your own territory. We don't have the defense to hold a team back when they always get the damn ball in our territory. We have to be special on special teams. Kick offs are making me sick. The team has 20 yards already give to them. We may not be at the same level on offense and defense that the upcoming teams are so therefore we have to be special at other things..... Turnovers, penalties, special teams. We lost the game to Florida on special teams and turnovers. 1 blocked punt deep in our territory, one failed fake punt deep in our territory and one pick six in our territory. I know the ref blew that call but nonetheless it was a legitimate turnover deep in our territory. It is all coming together soon I feel. It may not be this year but I bet my boat we get 7+ wins next year and 8+ wins the next. We are one competent QB and a defensive coordinator from winning the west this year. If we had that we would be 8 and 1 and maybe 9 and 0. I say when the game is on the line get the ball out of Tyson's hands. He will choke under pressure.

 

[RebelBruiser]

And you have little to no chance with Bama.

Reason being, Arkansas's strength offensively is stretching the field with the passing game, MSU's weakness defensively. And Arkansas played two of its best games defensively against spread running attacks (Florida and Auburn). You have a spread running attack. That's a bad match up for you.

Alabama's defense will give your offense fits just because they are that good, and they will eventually wear you down. Think the Florida game. You got a couple turnovers to keep you in it, but you never really had a chance. Bama will do essentially the same thing to you.

Your best shot in my opinion is against us. Our weakness defensively is against teams that spread and out and try to run the ball (see MSU). And our weakness offensively is against teams that have one solid pass rushing DE (McPhee) that can match up with our weakness (Sowell) and therefore force us to adjust our entire offensive gameplan.

That's just how I see it, and that's the way it goes for everyone in the middle of the SEC pack. Every team has a weakness, and every team has a strength. Who beats who depends on how those strengths and weaknesses meet up and who turns the ball over on that given day. Crazy as it sounds, I like our chances against LSU better than our chances in the Egg Bowl right now.

 

[mabtsdawg]

is that forwhatever reason, since 1991, when we play them, we approach the game with supreme confidence. Since 1996 we are 6-7 against them. They have been far superior on paper in about 8 or 9 of those games, and they have been favored in all but just 3 or 4. Now, the reason why many here think we have no chance against Ark is that, for whatever reason, we don't beat Ark, producing some of the ugliest, most lethargic efforts of SEC football history.

My one reason for hope against Ark passing attack, is that, since we made the changes in our secondary, WHEN WE BRING PRESSURE, something that Torbush is very reluctant to do, we have been tremendously successful. Of course, when we just rush 3 or 4 and play zone, UK's freshman QB does look like Farve, even though we were covering pretty well.
On UK's last drive, they faced three 3rd and longs. We brought no pressure. They converted. On the last series, we brought pressure, it wasn't even close.

If Torbush tries to defend Mallett by dropping 7 or 8 in zone, he'll throw for 500. This is the history of MSU football. The only time in our history that defensive stunts became ineffective was when JLD kept doing the same thing over and over after everybody had figured out how to deal with it.

Against Bama, we have no choice but to line up to stop the run. Against Ark, if we bring pressure on Mallett and he still lights us up, I don't see how anybody can complain. But we've got a chance against both Ark and UM if we employ an aggressive defensive gameplan.

 

[GloryDawg]

And you have little to no chance with Bama.

Reason being, Arkansas's strength offensively is stretching the field with the passing game, MSU's weakness defensively. And Arkansas played two of its best games defensively against spread running attacks (Florida and Auburn). You have a spread running attack. That's a bad match up for you.

Alabama's defense will give your offense fits just because they are that good, and they will eventually wear you down. Think the Florida game. You got a couple turnovers to keep you in it, but you never really had a chance. Bama will do essentially the same thing to you.

Your best shot in my opinion is against us. Our weakness defensively is against teams that spread and out and try to run the ball (see MSU). And our weakness offensively is against teams that have one solid pass rushing DE (McPhee) that can match up with our weakness (Sowell) and therefore force us to adjust our entire offensive gameplan.

That's just how I see it, and that's the way it goes for everyone in the middle of the SEC pack. Every team has a weakness, and every team has a strength. Who beats who depends on how those strengths and weaknesses meet up and who turns the ball over on that given day. Crazy as it sounds, I like our chances against LSU better than our chances in the Egg Bowl right now.

Your weakness is your coaching staff. I think they have lost the team. They don't seem to be playing for the coaches right now. Ole Miss has not been able to beat any Div I A teams that has a winning record. I think Auburn was the stick that broke the back. I don't think Nutt or anyone on Ole Miss coaching staff will be able to get Ole Miss fired up. It's going to take some leadership from the players and I have yet to see any of that leadership on the field. Ole Miss only hope is LSU, for what ever reason they can get fired up for that game, but it is a double edge sword for them. If they lose that game, it is over!

 

[el capitan]

If they lose to Tenn. and LSU and the Egg Bowl becomes the game that determines who is bowl eligible, I think that is a major advantage for us. OM's morale will be way down considering they came into the season so highly ranked and now they're playing for low-level bowl eligibility. On the other hand, our boys will be jacked because nobody expected them to be in that position. I really think it's probably a win anyway, but that would just give us that much more of an edge.

 

[gtowndawg]

Now, the reason why many here think we have no chance against Ark is that, for whatever reason, we don't beat Ark, producing some of the ugliest, most lethargic efforts of SEC football history.

It's all about when we play them. Between Bama and Ole Miss. It's that's simple.

 

[Agentdog]

It's all about when we play them. Between Bama and Ole Miss. It's that's simple.

Exactly. I wish we would play a FCS between Bama and OM. Move Arkansas up in the schedule.

 

[Thick]

Our real rivals (Bama) are really good defensively, but their offense is suspect. Stop/slow down Ingram, and force McElroy to make the plays. We play them very tough every year for whatever reason. ARK is a team that if we blitz the fire out of Mallett we have a chance to beat them. Our last 3 games are winnable, more lean to the last 2, but all are still winnable.