Sunday Morning QB- Auburn edition

[Coach34]

1. I am man enough to admit it- this loss crushed me. I had been looking forward to this game since January. I had talked alot of ****. I was a believer. We **** the bed. It's that simple. We had every chance and just didnt get the job done. The officials didnt help, but the stupid penalties and terrible defensive coaching hurt more.

2. 31 1st downs, 531 yards, dominated TOP...one of the best days in school history yardage-wise, and the best 2 game stretch in school history. It should have been enough.

3. That said- 2 plays from the 2??? A Dan Mullen team has got to get that done. No excuses. Why were we under center? When the game is on the line- DO WHAT YOU DO BEST- and it damn sure aint getting under center and lining up the mf'ing I-formation. C'mon Dan. And then- with 10 seconds? We have to throw it on the 1st play. Have to- no f'ing choice. That one was one you Mullen-Koenning. 2 plays from the 2- we have to score- period.

4. Defensively, we had a ****** gameplan. Wilson cant be judged fairly yet- but he has created a helluva lot of doubt yesterday. Our alignment defensively is what was causing us to get burned in the run game. They had people out-flanking us to make blocks on our LB's- thats not the LB's fault- if my man is lining up 2 yards outside of the LB, and we are running outside- if the LB isnt blocked I would go apeshit on my guy for not getting him blocked. Blocking is about positioning and effort- if you have both- the defense should never win.
People defending Wilson have said- "well he made adjustments at halftime, and we only gave up 10 points in the 2nd half"- well, if he had been doing a good job, we wouldnt have had to make many adjustments in the 1st place. It wasnt a surprise as to what they were going to run. The defensive plan was so bad, Mullen even said it to the media. He and I are in agreement.

5. Now then- LSU and Auburn are 2 different animals- LSU runs more of a conventional offense and will be easier to prepare for. Playing LSU will be more about being a man than it is reading and tricks. They are going to line up and run at our ***. We have to outnumber them in the box and play some man coverage. We damn sure cant play "bend but dont break"

6. Ralph missed some passes, but our WR's have to expect to be thrown to every play and run their routes hard. They were to blame also. We have to get a few more big plays in the passing game to win big games. We are better there- but not exactly where we need to be.

7. Jesus- the two positions we replace on the OL get hurt. Day played ok- but Clausell aint ready yet. Hopefully getting some more time will make him better- but if you re-watch the last play- he didnt even fire off- he caught the Auburn defender and hugged him. It was pathetic- it was the reason Ralph had to go deeper into the backfield on the option and cost him the chance to cut it up quicker. Causell also got in the way of the throwback screen that was wide open- costing us a big play there. He has work to do

8. I agree with D@A- the turning point was when we had taken their best punch- down 14- come back to score 21 straight-and then had Aubarn facing 3rd and 13. We had backed up and covered all day to that point and it was working. So what does Wilson do? He decides to bring the heat and play man coverage. We dont get to the QB, busted coverage, big play Auburn. Totally turned the game around. Wilson outsmarted himself there

9. Credit Cheez and Gus- they got those guys ready to play and their crowd was electric. They arent very good on defense still, but made plays when they had to. They will win 8 this year.

10. Now then- pick yourself up, and quit being a whiny *****. being a State fan isnt easy and it never will be. We are still a pretty good team and will still go bowling. How high up the ladder has yet to be determined. We are a good offensive football team- and hopefully we'll get better on defense. Get your *** out there and support us against LSU, be loud and be proud. It will be a good game. They arent going to trick us- and both offenses will move the clock. Its going to be another good, gut-wrenching ballgame.

In Mullen we trust,

Coach34

 

[Coach34]

1. I am man enough to admit it- this loss crushed me. I had been looking forward to this game since January. I had talked alot of ****. I was a believer. We **** the bed. It's that simple. We had every chance and just didnt get the job done. The officials didnt help, but the stupid penalties and terrible defensive coaching hurt more.

2. 31 1st downs, 531 yards, dominated TOP...one of the best days in school history yardage-wise, and the best 2 game stretch in school history. It should have been enough.

3. That said- 2 plays from the 2??? A Dan Mullen team has got to get that done. No excuses. Why were we under center? When the game is on the line- DO WHAT YOU DO BEST- and it damn sure aint getting under center and lining up the mf'ing I-formation. C'mon Dan. And then- with 10 seconds? We have to throw it on the 1st play. Have to- no f'ing choice. That one was one you Mullen-Koenning. 2 plays from the 2- we have to score- period.

4. Defensively, we had a ****** gameplan. Wilson cant be judged fairly yet- but he has created a helluva lot of doubt yesterday. Our alignment defensively is what was causing us to get burned in the run game. They had people out-flanking us to make blocks on our LB's- thats not the LB's fault- if my man is lining up 2 yards outside of the LB, and we are running outside- if the LB isnt blocked I would go apeshit on my guy for not getting him blocked. Blocking is about positioning and effort- if you have both- the defense should never win.
People defending Wilson have said- "well he made adjustments at halftime, and we only gave up 10 points in the 2nd half"- well, if he had been doing a good job, we wouldnt have had to make many adjustments in the 1st place. It wasnt a surprise as to what they were going to run. The defensive plan was so bad, Mullen even said it to the media. He and I are in agreement.

5. Now then- LSU and Auburn are 2 different animals- LSU runs more of a conventional offense and will be easier to prepare for. Playing LSU will be more about being a man than it is reading and tricks. They are going to line up and run at our ***. We have to outnumber them in the box and play some man coverage. We damn sure cant play "bend but dont break"

6. Ralph missed some passes, but our WR's have to expect to be thrown to every play and run their routes hard. They were to blame also. We have to get a few more big plays in the passing game to win big games. We are better there- but not exactly where we need to be.

7. Jesus- the two positions we replace on the OL get hurt. Day played ok- but Clausell aint ready yet. Hopefully getting some more time will make him better- but if you re-watch the last play- he didnt even fire off- he caught the Auburn defender and hugged him. It was pathetic- it was the reason Ralph had to go deeper into the backfield on the option and cost him the chance to cut it up quicker. Causell also got in the way of the throwback screen that was wide open- costing us a big play there. He has work to do

8. I agree with D@A- the turning point was when we had taken their best punch- down 14- come back to score 21 straight-and then had Aubarn facing 3rd and 13. We had backed up and covered all day to that point and it was working. So what does Wilson do? He decides to bring the heat and play man coverage. We dont get to the QB, busted coverage, big play Auburn. Totally turned the game around. Wilson outsmarted himself there

9. Credit Cheez and Gus- they got those guys ready to play and their crowd was electric. They arent very good on defense still, but made plays when they had to. They will win 8 this year.

10. Now then- pick yourself up, and quit being a whiny *****. being a State fan isnt easy and it never will be. We are still a pretty good team and will still go bowling. How high up the ladder has yet to be determined. We are a good offensive football team- and hopefully we'll get better on defense. Get your *** out there and support us against LSU, be loud and be proud. It will be a good game. They arent going to trick us- and both offenses will move the clock. Its going to be another good, gut-wrenching ballgame.

In Mullen we trust,

Coach34

 

[Hanmudog]

I whined and moped all day yesterday but woke up this morning and said "17 it". We have ten more games to play and we started 1-2 last but things turned out alright.

I think a bit of a reality check is was in order. We are a good but not great team who will probably win 7 games which for MSU is pretty damn good considering out history. Enjoy it and don't miss out on the fun just because we don't have a top 20 team.

 

[atlwebdawg]

Awful decisions. You don't ask Relf what he wants to do. You pass...with options to run and you make sure you get one more play.

 

[Dawgbreeze]

I will say this, however, I watched the game again late last night and we actually played a little better defense in the 2nd half and the ball spot and ultimate horrible measurement did effect the outcome. I watched the play 6 times on the ball spot which gave Auburn the first down and not only did they spot the ball too far forward but the tv picture showed clearly there was light between the stick and the ball. The announcers even acknowledged it. Fletcher Cox jumping offsides then killed us and I have no idea why he did. Finally, Ballard either scored on the goal line or the ball was near the goal line. No review, even though Auburn took a time out which is horrible. I think we proved one thing, we can move the ball but I, like you, know we can't win unless we can stop someone and for God sakes find a kicker who cankick it out of the end zone. LSU will be a war and hopefully we can get them to make a few mistakes because they are going to not turn it over with the offense they are running and then play defense. MSU is due and I hope our fans show up and make the place electric. That is what winners do.

 

[sardis]

To have a good chance to win every game we play. The coaches are just like the team, still learning. We can beat lsu.

 

[trumaroon]

Wow Coach! Great post. I will admit this game crushed me more than probably any other game I can remember. As a grown man I nearly found myself tearing up after that last play. However, we didn't play well and the season goes on. I wouldn't put it past Mullen to pull off this game against LSU.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

The fact is we lost the game in the first 5 minutes. That otherBS that occurred later in the game is what has happened to State teams throughouteons when they get down early on the road to SEC teams. The score should have been tied or we should have had a slight lead on that final drive based on the fact the turnover margin was equal and we racked up more offense than they did.

Good post too.</p>

 

[State82]

That is what almost made me break **** yesterday. Under center? WTF? With all the production during the last 2 games and you go under center? We took all the guesswork out of the equation for AU with that stunt. All this other talk ad nauseum about blown calls, conspiracies, ball spots, hitting the pylon or not, headsets, etc. is BS. Get on the ball and run what got you there and has been getting us there all of last year and these first 2 games. Damn, I'm pissed off all over again now. Like Ron White says: "You can't fix stupid." Good points, Coach, nonetheless.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

When you have to fill holes, it's better to have good players from the start. You can coach up players over the years, but when you have to replace a guy, you're probably going to end up with someone not as talented and with no college experience. The experience thing you can't do anything about, but the talent you can by recruiting better. Auburn has managed to plug their holes with better players than we have. We'll grow up this season, but in the future we've gotta start bringing in better players.

 

[mstatefan88]

When you have to fill holes, it's better to have good players from the start. You can coach up players over the years, but when you have to replace a guy, you're probably going to end up with someone not as talented and with no college experience. The experience thing you can't do anything about, but the talent you can by recruiting better. Auburn has managed to plug their holes with better players than we have. We'll grow up this season, but in the future we've gotta start bringing in better players.

I think our starting 22is better than Auburn's. But in the SEC on the road, playing 22 doesn't cut it. It's the quality depth, especially on special teams, that we lack. Auburn has young, big time talent sitting on the bench and only playing special teams. They had a true freshman returning kicks, and a first year startingkicker that has more balls kicked through the uprights on the kickoff than we havetotal touchbacks this year. Our special teams aren't good, and that is a product of these recruiting classes we've brought in.We have to start recruiting deeper classes. Whether you care about stars or not,you can't find 5 diamonds in the rough in every class that are 2 stars with no other D1 offers and expect to compete against the big SEC schools.

I thought what we had was good enough. I was wrong. And if we don't start recruiting better, we will never get past 8 regular season wins without some luck.

 

[AzzurriDawg4]

I agree with what most have said about what went wrong. I will add:<div>
</div><div>1. Charles Mitchell might have had the worst game of his career. He left a lot of jock straps on the field yesterday.</div><div>2. Cox needs to be at DE. Let PJ, Jones and Virges rotate opposite Boyd. We can't afford to be that weak off-tackle.</div><div>3. I think Wilson is a worse D-line coach than a DC, and he is not a great DC. Lets think about it for a second. He had what will end up being 3 NFL D-linemen and 2 NFL linebackers last year and we really didn't do a good job of pressuring the QB LAST YEAR. Same story this year, with a bit of a talent defecit, but those guys were going up against a WEAK OL yesterday. I mean Cox and Boyd should have caused so much disruption against a freshman center that it didnt matter what the ends were doing. But on top of that, the ends were getting folded in, out-positioned, and out-muscled. When Trotter dropped back to pass he was not stressed. . I think there is a reason Oklahoma let this guy go without much of a fight. Hell, he was an alum and supposedly a good recruiter and they let him walk? The only explanation about us failing to get pressure is that the players just dont know how to do it. </div><div>4. Maye might as well have stayed at Clemson. Our OLBs are not near as bad as the situation at MLB. Lawrence had a few busts, but he still played well at times. Wells is still learning. </div><div>5. Bumphis needs to be more involved. He has like 3 catches through 2 games. </div><div>6. The only players on defense that deserve some praise are Broomfield and Banks...and maybe Whitley. They played well.</div><div>7. I have a 17-ton more thoughts, but dont have time to post them right now.</div>

 

[patdog]

WTF was Mullen thinking? We were gashing their defense from the spread the whole 4th quarter then we completely get away from our offense a line up under center with 3 tight ends and telegraph exactly what we're going to do. And to not get 2 plays in 10 seconds is inexcusable. Hell, some teams would have gotten 3 plays off in that time if they'd needed it. You've GOT to line up in the spread and throw a quick pass to the end zone in that situation. Then if you don't score, the defense has no idea whether to expect another pass or a run.

That said, it's over. We lost one we had no business losing for the first time since Mullen's been here. It happens. I still think this is an 8-win team if we can get some of our defensive issues straightened out a little. One thing's for sure, we're not going to keep doing the same things we've been doing on defense.

 

[drt7891]

2 touchdowns in the first. However, I didn't ONCE think we wouldn't bounce back, but after an unlucky bounce off an AU defender (in a weird place, at that) and a big run (not to mention we were in a bad position on the field), it was tough. I have no doubt we'll pick ourselves up and bounce back. We lost this game on 2 fronts: The first 5 minutes of the game and poor defensive game-planning. Like coach said, the jury is still out on Wilson, but Malzahn attacked our weakest point all day with 2 backs that can get it done. McCaleb beat us 2 years ago and Dyer did yesterday. I thought we should have passed on that first play from the 1 (just to give ourselves some more opportunity and spread the defense out), but defending Mullen and Relf some, 98 times out of 100, that is a touchdown. Relf should have stretched out as far as he could because at that point, a turnover was not going to cost us the game.

 

[AustinDawg]

I agree with coach, all good points.

One more point, is field position, auburn pretty much always had it, and we didn't.
Their special teams on kickoffs and returns manhandled us. Not only did they get
good returns, but they started most drives with "momentum" from a good return.

And for the love of god, after 2 good returns by Mason, why did we keep kicking to him?

 

[Coach34]

yes, a kicker that can kick it deeper would help- HOWEVER:

Mullen gets a D as Special Teams coach also. On some of the kickoffs, we had guys not staying in their lanes and grouping together- on one, we had 3 guys within 2 yards of each other, one guy blocked our guy into the other two, and Auburn returned the kick to our 40 or so- should have been stopped about the 25. Thats terrible coverage and cant be put on the kicker. And it happened more than once.

 

[Phil Wenneck.sixpack]

Wedidn't just lose the field position battle, we were completely decimated in that area. You can't give an OC like Malzahn a short field timeand time again, I don't care if Rex Ryan is coaching our defense. That said, I still think Wilson needs to either get his *** in gear or he's in for a short stay. No creativity on in his calls, nothing to disrupt Auburn's tempo based offense. I think their QB hit the turf once all game. Relf on the other hand has to be sore today, no doubt about it. He was hit on 75 % of his passes, not to mention all the runs. Makes me uneasy about Thursday to say the least but will be there loud and proud hoping we FINALLY knock the cajuncurse off our backs. You're 100 percent right. People need to get off their ***, get the sand out of their vaginas and get out to the game Thursday. </p>

 

[Columbus Dawg]

Our 4 DE's combined for 2 tackles, 0 sacks, and 0 QB hurries. I would think about starting Cox and Devin Jones at DE. And go with Boyd and PJ at DT. Our pass rush couldn't be any worse and at least we should be able to stop the run. Channing Ward, are you paying attention?

AU, Bama, LSU, UF they allreload.At MSU, wereplaced3 NFL draft picks with a walkon, a freshmen, and a lightly recruited player. We have to recruit better. Chris Wilson has to do better, but we have personnel issues.

The play call on 1st and goal should have been a play-action pass. If it's incomplete, you throw a fade on 2nd down. You run out of the shotgun on 3rd and take a timeout. Then you run on 4th down. We could have gotten 4 plays off, we got 2. That's on Mullen.

We ran 97 plays. 5.5 yard gain per play and lost. That's crazy. We averaged about 60 plays per game under Croom. </p>

 

[Nugdawg]

And everyone has had about 24 hours now to whine, *****, moan, and act like a pissy teenage girl. It's time to put your jock back on and get ready for LSU. A loss at Auburn didn't end the season or keep us from a good season. I remember walking out of Tiger Stadium at 1-2 last year and thinking some of the same thoughts I have the last 24 hours except worse....because despite how poorly we played on defense and the errors we made yesterday, we were so far away offensively I thought at the time. I think we have enough athletes on defense that we will figure out schemes and things will be better eventually. We just miss that one really good MLB that can sit in there and make tackles but it starts with our DL doing their job and making 5 damn tackles collectively ain't gettin' it.Iagree with the move of Cox to DE but Boyd has got to get his head out of his *** too.

All of that said, one thing Auburn has that LSU doesn't on offense is Malzahn. So unless our offense or special teams gives them short fields, I feel better about holding back what is a pretty simple LSU scheme. It's nothing fancy and we just have to line up and play base. We got beat in Baton Rouge last year by giving them short fields if you remember correctly. The real question is can our offense that has put up incredible numbers so far against two lesser defenses, put up some numbers against what is probably one of the top 3 defenses in the country.

Funny thing I thought about. If Relf slips 6 inches further and gets the TD, and we either score on the 2 point conversion or win in OT, this board would be lit up with wool and getting ready for LSU. And.....we would have been the same team, just 2-0 instead of 1-1. We would have been the same team that struggled on D, was terrible on special teams, had too many penalties, and everything else we have complained about. But, none of it would have mattered.

Not to get all "rah-rah"....I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna take my *** to Davis Wade on Thursday night to find out if we can move the ball on LSU and I encourage all you other non-quitters to do the same!

 

[GTAdawg]

the personal vendetta you have against Stansbury. Good job.

 

[TTsTowel]

Coach34/Coonassbulldog, how's it going? How much money did you lose on this game? I mean, you said it was easy money after all...

 

[paindonthurt_]

It makes me feel better about our defensive personnel but worse about Wilson. We did the same thing 2 years ago there under Torbush. The outside LB to the play side is blocked before the 17ing play even starts. You get any decent leverage from TE to DE then its a big play. Cornerback is having to take on 2 pulling guards and that isn't going to cut it. You either have to step the back our or the end has to line up outside.

Point #8. 3rd and 13 was def the biggest play. It wasn't man though and we only brought 5. Looked like the corners were in a 3 deep but Mitchell was playing halves. The wrong half.

 

[ThreePack]

that Auburn wins 8 games. I still don't think they are any good and at best win 6 games. if you disagree explain what 6 games left on their schedule they will win.

 

[Mullenation]

The jury is not still out on him. We're going to get torched all year on defense. Our DE's are so unathletic and soft it's a terrible thing to watch. Cam Lawrence was the leader of our front 7... wow. We're not winning any game with a brilliant Chris Wilson gameplan, I wish we could just give Geoff Collins the D-Coordinator job right now. Wilson has 1 year of experience running the show on Defense in his life, at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M..wow.

It's nut up or shut up for our defensive front.. We're just not talented at all outside of Cox and Boyd (and they were virtually a non-factor Saturday). We better play with relentless and incredible effort every single play or get used to teams putting up 25 and 30+.

LSU game should be a close game and we better damn come out fired up and ready to play.

 

[markymark.sixpack]

In 27 games under Mullen, we have yet to show much offense against good defenses. Auburns defense is not good. LSU will be one of the top 3 or 4 defenses Mullen will have seen while at MSU. Until we can prove otherwise...I will, unfortunately, be shocked if we score much more than 17 (the number, not the expletive) Thursday night. However, you are right; I will be glued to my TV Thursday night hoping against hope for the best.

 

[thunderclap]

and, let me add to your thoughts, that the first half was as unprepared as I've ever seen a Mullen team. Sloppy offensively, and clueless defensively.

 

[maroonmania]

believe me if we can't beat THAT Auburn team that was on the field yesterday with all the new players and freshmen playing we may not beat them for a LONG time. They are bringing in Top 5 to Top 10 classes while we are bringing in Top 40 classes. Hard to coach and develop enough players up to match that. You can only max out of a guy the talent and potential that is already within him. And I'm now thinking by far the biggest personnel loss from last year is Manny Diaz. Yes we lost some good players but a lot of what was burning us yesterday from Auburn's run game (which USU handled VERY well) should have been adjusted to quickly and wasn't.

 

[maroonmania]

regarding the play calling with 10 seconds left and no timeouts from the 2 yard line. You can't sacrifice an extra play because you THINK you might have a play that will work. Play action pass with 10 seconds and tell Relf if the receiver is not immediately open then just throw it away. Then on the next play, which would have been the last of the game, we could have run the same play that got stopped at the 6 inch line and I could have lived with it. But by sacrificing the extra play down there it will always eat at me.

 

[dogfan96]

they know that Boyd and Cox are the strength of the front 7 so they schemed to take them out of the game.. the few times they tried to run inside, there wasn't much going on. And they only passed for 150 yards (and a big chunk of that came on one play) so there wasn't much opportunity for them to make any impact in pass rushing situations.

 

[tenureplan]

We definitely zoned on that play. The DB in front of the reception got caught flat footed.

Good synopsis on the rest of it though

 

[klerushund]

This loss is a season killer because there simply won't be a better opportunity to beat them. Next year we lose a ton, and they'll return next to everyone. If you are Mullen and you're serious about building the program and getting to Atlanta, then Saturday was a must win. We lost and now we're headed to a lesser bowl, moving backwards and losing a ton of players for 2012. I'm trying not to be "whiny" but I just don't see how this wasn't a complete season killing loss. Hope I'm wrong. Doubt I am.

 

[Coach34]

zone or not- we busted the coverage- no excuse for a WR being that wide open

We did 2 things defenses cant do or they will have a **** day:

1. We didnt stop the run
2. We didnt get any pressure on the QB

When you dont do those 2 things- it's rare you are going to win a ballgame</p>

 

[Buford T. Justice]

1. Kickoff killed us. We consistently started on the 20 due to their guy kicking it deep into the end zone. We could kick it to the 5 and had trouble covering. The field position difference hurt. Many blasted Croom for offering a scholarship to a long snapper.
However, Feld didn't make a bad snap in four years. Out of 85
scholarships, I will gladly give one to a great long-snapper, a great
field goal kicker, a great punter, and a great kick-off specialist.
Those guys can win or lose games. The difference in our kicker and
their kicker was huge. Their kickoff guy was
worth 15 yards in field position.

2. Cam Lawrence is not a future NFL player, but to call him the worst defender on the field Saturday (as some on this board have) is just wrong.

3. We need some defensive ends.

4. Mullen and staff have outcoached many of the teams we played. That didn't happen Saturday.

5. Suspensions. Clausell really could have used some mop-up time against Memphis to get ready for Auburn. He didn't get it due to suspension. First play he looks like a deer-in-headlights by catching a pass.

6. Bumphis is always good for a drop or two.

7. I want a pass catching tight end like Aaron Hernandez at Florida when Mullen was there. Will Walley be that guy one day?

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

We have to do something to get some better players in. This year is looking like more of the same. One 4-star out of 18 current commits. Auburn has 14 commits and 10 or 11 (depending on site) are 4-stars. Other schools also similarly look better than us. Even Vandy has more 4-stars than us. Sure, you get a great 2-star and a bad 5-star many times, but on the average more stars equals more success. And when you get 20-25 recruits every year, you pretty much can go with what the average is to determine your success. Mullen can coach up our players and probably get us to a bowl every year, no doubt, but I want to see us in Atlanta at least once in the next decade and if this train stays on its current track the Peach Bowl may be our best Atlanta chance. You can't win in this SEC West going 8-4 or even 9-3 in the regular season, no matter how good that season may be by Mississippi State historical standards.

 

[paindonthurt_]

As you said earlier our alignment was horrible. They killed us on the perimeter due to that. The bright side? We were able to stop them some with ****** alignment so maybe that means our backers are a little better than we thought.

We need to create a pass rush.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

This loss hurt. A lot. I'd almost rather get stomped than lose close like that. And don't get me started on the refs. But we oughta know by now, when you go to Auburn, Bama, etc. there's going to be plenty of home cooking. You gotta play well enough that those "mistakes" don't make a difference in the outcome. But the 4th down call that eventually led to their game winning TD was a back breaker. No way around it. You could literally see the D deflate when they gave them the first down.

I'm disappointed we forgot about Ballard during the 3rd quarter. Totally inexcusable. Perk should have been more involved, too. His TD run on the option was a thing of beauty.

Yes, Relf wasn't as accurate as we'd like. But his WR had a bunch of drops on catchable balls. Marcus Green needs to step it up. He's a huge mismatch when he's on. Also, why didn't we go to the Secret Weapon more? The guy has been our best WR for the last year. He's not the most talented, but he doesn't drop the ball & fights for the ball better than anyone we have right now. A couple other guys who need to be more involved are Ricco Sanders & Michael Carr. Whoever said Bumphis needs more touches is crazy. He's been a huge disappointment to this point in his career. His 2 consecutive drops on the bubble screen were junior high awful. I was literally screaming "STOP THROWING IT TO STONEHANDS!!!!" Then he goes and makes the spectacular 3rd down catch. He's talented, but way too inconsistent to be featured in a prominent offensive role. If it were me, I'd switch his role with Carr's. Let him run the WR sweep so he doesn't have to catch the ball. Also, where was Jameon Lewis? The guy is electric with the ball in his hands. He needs some touches. He's got game changing speed and quickness and the talent to be a SEC FotY candidate.

I know the "official" word on Carmon is he doesn't need surgery and could be back, but I don't see it. Judging from the amount of pain he was in when they carted him off, his knee is torn up something fierce. I hope I'm wrong and he comes back quickly, but I think he's done for the season. Thank God Saulsberry's injury isn't serious. Losing him AND Carmon would have been devastating. We just don't have nearly enough OL depth yet. You can thank Crxxm for recruiting "quality" linemen like Sam Watts, who hasn't lettered in 3 seasons.

It was inexcusable to come out flat Saturday. That had me VERY upset. You know what's on the line and how big this game is. Thankfully, we recovered quickly, but you can't spot an SEC opponent 14 on the road and expect to win too often.

I agree the play calling in general, and the goal line sequence at the end, was bad. As others have said, I have no clue why we were in the I. I was literally screaming at the tv for us to get in the shotgun. You go with what you do best in that situation. And what we do best isn't pounding people in the I-formation. We're best in the shotgun letting Relf and Ballard create. And we certainly should have tried one pass before we ran it. Of course, Relf scores 9 times out of 10 on that play. This just happened to be the one time he didn't. And give Auburn a little credit, their defender made a hell of a tackle to stop him short. Still, if Relf had just stuck his arm out, he'd have scored. It was that close.

Our defense isn't very good. Our DBs are great, but you back end can't make all the plays or it'll be a long day. I'm highly disappointed Cox & Boyd didn't have an impact. We need to get better at DE in a hurry. Eulls is young and should get better. Ferguson had a decent day, but not what we need.

As for our LBs, I don't understand our rotation. I know it's SPS cool to hate on Cam Lawrence, but the guy was maybe our best defender yesterday. And he's definitely not slow. I'm sure some of you will blast me, but I'd suggest moving him to MLB. I'd trust him to get us in the right sets and positions more than any other LB we have. Gotta have some smarts at MLB. Keep Wells outside at one OLB position. My third starter would be Deontae Skinner. The guy is a beast. And Ferlando Bohanna needs more PT. He looks fast. Maye is a huge disappointment. I don't know if it's adjusting to a new scheme or what, but he just doesn't look like he could be all-CUSA, much less all-ACC. Brandon Wilson had one great play, but won't ever be a consistent SEC caliber MLB.

Side note: Banks & Broomfield are tied for the NCAA lead in active career INTs returned for a TD. Who thought we'd see that aGAIN?

I'm definitely not sold on Chris Wilson. He's still got a lot to prove. I didn't understand naming him DC instead of Geoff Collins when it happened, and I continue to question that decision. As long as he's DC, we better be prepared to see some shootouts.

Mullen is definitely pissed we don't have a kicker capable of a touchback. He said as much on the postgame show Saturday. I don't know why we don't pull a Mike Leach & go find a soccer player who can do kickoffs. It's embarrassing to not even have a CUSA caliber kickoff guy. I miss The Kang's special teams.

Field position was the biggest difference Saturday. We constantly had to drive the length of field in order to score. Sure, we're capable, but it's a whole lot harder on an offense. Meanwhile, Auburn got to play on the short field all day. Stupid penalties also killed us.

Screw it, it's over. Gotta get ready for the annual skull-dragging that is the LSU game. They look scary good, but we're definitely due to win one against those Corndog Cajuns. Plus, there's no way a Mullen team will come out flat 2 games in a row, is there?

See you peeps in Starkville Thursday night. Go Dawgs!

 

[jb1020]

Where was the 17ing jump pass?

Was that too predictable in the situation? Auburn was selling out on the run.

 

[AzzurriDawg4]

Those two drops on the swing passes were not as bad as the announcers were making it out to be. Both were off his fingertips with his arms fully extended. It is not like the throws were in his bread basket. Then he came back and caught two straight passes, one swing pass that was finally on the money and one corner route that was a tough grab. <div>
</div><div>Agree on Lawrence, although I really think it is Skinner that needs to be at MLB. We may face some growing pains getting it switched up, but if it were me, my starting front 7 would look like this:</div><div>DE: Cox</div><div>DT : PJ Jones/Virges</div><div>DT: Boyd</div><div>DE: D. Jones/Ferguson</div><div>OLB: Lawrence</div><div>MLB: Skinner</div><div>OLB: Wells</div>

 

[War Machine Dawg]

He's a JR and I have yet to see him live up to the hype. No one in their right mind denies his potential, but he isn't nearly close to the production he should have. And it's not like yesterday was the first time he's had drop problems. It's been a consistent problem in his career.

I could roll with your front 7. But I still really like Eulls and think he deserves a chance to prove himself. He's just a RFR, so getting snaps will be a big key to his development. I would like to see Cox at DE in some situations, though. He'd be a huge mismatch. And I likewise really like Virges & PJ Jones in our rotation. Trevor Stigers might be one of the most frustrating guys in a long time. The coaches love him, and he apparently dominates in practice, but he never produces in an actual game.

The reason I like Cam at MLB, as I stated, is I believe he's the LB that's most capable of the job mentally. Skinner's size is definitely more ideal there (if that's your reason for putting him there), but Cam has the experience under his belt. And everyone agrees he's one of the hardest workers on the team. Frankly, I just trust Cam more at MLB than anyone else we have right now. I agree we might have some growing pains with the moves, but to me, it'd get our best unit on the field all the time.