Say what you will, Saturday was a must win for us if we wanted to go bowling. And we won.
Defense played great aGAIN. Chris Wilson is slowly winning us over. But I'm kinda like Mullen, our "bend but don't break" philosophy drives me a little nuts. If I never see a State team play soft zone aGAIN, it would be too soon. But it allows us to minimize big plays, so I guess I can't really complain too much. But damn, I'd give my right arm just to see us blitz the hell out of someone when we're up big and really shut them down.
Our DL is steadily improving. Eulls is really starting to play well as he gains snaps. Cox and Boyd are finally playing the way they're capable.
LBs are where we need them to be overall. But I agree with C34, Brandon Maye needs to sit. If it were me, Bohanna needs to get his snaps. Bohanna has looked good in his limited snaps. And it would behoove us to get him ready for next season.
Offense was solid. Our OL is really starting to gell. Having the same 5 guys every week is big. The bye week hit us at the right time time, too, that gave them some extra time to work together.
Vick & Perk were solid. Not really much to evaluate with them this week.
WRs played better. They're hanging onto the ball better the last couple of weeks, and it's making a difference. I just wish they'd be consistent the whole season. Seeing Carr come up with a big catch was nice. I still want to see Heavens & Lewis more involved.
Green & Malcolm Johnson are definitely providing us an extra dimension at TE. Green's leaping catch was a thing of beauty. I've ripped him, and rightfully, most of the season. But his production has really improved the last few weeks. The emergence of Malcolm Johnson has really helped him, imo. Speaking of Johnson, we need to see more of him. I still think he can be that true pass catching TE we've been looking for so long. And he's nearly the only guy I've seen out-fight his man and win a 1-on-1 for the ball this season.
The QB platoon really worked this week. Relf finally looked healthy. He was running hard & making good throws. To repeat myself, I'll always believe Relf has been playing hurt since the end of the Auburn game. There's just no explanation for the difference in his play and our protective play calling in the run game. I was really happy to see him be the redzone QB. He provides an extra dimension in that area of the field that really expands the offense. As for his INT, the throw wasn't as bad as Mullen made it out to be. If you'll check the replay, Green stopped running on the route for a moment. Relf's throw went to where Green would have been if he hadn't stopped & restarted his route. Good decision, poor throw, poor effort lead to a pick.
Russell was very solid. Easily his best game in SEC play. I could be wrong, but I think it's the first time he hasn't thrown a pick in SEC play. He made good decisions most of the night & really helped stretch the field vertically in the passing game. Hopefully he's starting to develop into the QB we all think he can be. Maybe he'll finally break the MSU QB curse and put up the kinds of numbers other SEC QBs do. I would certainly love it if he could. We need someone to do it so we can continue to recruit high profile QBs.
Mullen calling the plays was a big difference maker. The first TD drive was a thing of beauty. I loved the option to Stone Hands Bump. It was the perfect use of him. Get him to the edge in space and let him use his speed. We definitely played a little conservative in the 2nd half, but that's ok. Our D was playing well and their O wasn't really doing much. I personally wish we'd have run it up a little bit to help give our guys a little extra confidence in SEC play, but I understand why we didn't.
Now, let's go run it up on UTM and clear the benches. Play a lot of guys, stay healthy for Bama in 2 weeks. If we can come out of that healthy, we'll have a shot at Ark. I'm sticking by my prediction of 6-6 with an outside shot at 7-5.
In Mullen We Trust,
SPD
Defense played great aGAIN. Chris Wilson is slowly winning us over. But I'm kinda like Mullen, our "bend but don't break" philosophy drives me a little nuts. If I never see a State team play soft zone aGAIN, it would be too soon. But it allows us to minimize big plays, so I guess I can't really complain too much. But damn, I'd give my right arm just to see us blitz the hell out of someone when we're up big and really shut them down.
Our DL is steadily improving. Eulls is really starting to play well as he gains snaps. Cox and Boyd are finally playing the way they're capable.
LBs are where we need them to be overall. But I agree with C34, Brandon Maye needs to sit. If it were me, Bohanna needs to get his snaps. Bohanna has looked good in his limited snaps. And it would behoove us to get him ready for next season.
Offense was solid. Our OL is really starting to gell. Having the same 5 guys every week is big. The bye week hit us at the right time time, too, that gave them some extra time to work together.
Vick & Perk were solid. Not really much to evaluate with them this week.
WRs played better. They're hanging onto the ball better the last couple of weeks, and it's making a difference. I just wish they'd be consistent the whole season. Seeing Carr come up with a big catch was nice. I still want to see Heavens & Lewis more involved.
Green & Malcolm Johnson are definitely providing us an extra dimension at TE. Green's leaping catch was a thing of beauty. I've ripped him, and rightfully, most of the season. But his production has really improved the last few weeks. The emergence of Malcolm Johnson has really helped him, imo. Speaking of Johnson, we need to see more of him. I still think he can be that true pass catching TE we've been looking for so long. And he's nearly the only guy I've seen out-fight his man and win a 1-on-1 for the ball this season.
The QB platoon really worked this week. Relf finally looked healthy. He was running hard & making good throws. To repeat myself, I'll always believe Relf has been playing hurt since the end of the Auburn game. There's just no explanation for the difference in his play and our protective play calling in the run game. I was really happy to see him be the redzone QB. He provides an extra dimension in that area of the field that really expands the offense. As for his INT, the throw wasn't as bad as Mullen made it out to be. If you'll check the replay, Green stopped running on the route for a moment. Relf's throw went to where Green would have been if he hadn't stopped & restarted his route. Good decision, poor throw, poor effort lead to a pick.
Russell was very solid. Easily his best game in SEC play. I could be wrong, but I think it's the first time he hasn't thrown a pick in SEC play. He made good decisions most of the night & really helped stretch the field vertically in the passing game. Hopefully he's starting to develop into the QB we all think he can be. Maybe he'll finally break the MSU QB curse and put up the kinds of numbers other SEC QBs do. I would certainly love it if he could. We need someone to do it so we can continue to recruit high profile QBs.
Mullen calling the plays was a big difference maker. The first TD drive was a thing of beauty. I loved the option to Stone Hands Bump. It was the perfect use of him. Get him to the edge in space and let him use his speed. We definitely played a little conservative in the 2nd half, but that's ok. Our D was playing well and their O wasn't really doing much. I personally wish we'd have run it up a little bit to help give our guys a little extra confidence in SEC play, but I understand why we didn't.
Now, let's go run it up on UTM and clear the benches. Play a lot of guys, stay healthy for Bama in 2 weeks. If we can come out of that healthy, we'll have a shot at Ark. I'm sticking by my prediction of 6-6 with an outside shot at 7-5.
In Mullen We Trust,
SPD