Gents, time to break down the game and lets digest what we saw today on the field.
Atmosphere: We were about as surprised at the initial hype, crowd, and noise to start this game as the Germans were to see the Red Army walk into Berlin... in case you don't remember your World History, that means we weren't very surprised. As predicted by many, USA was initially playing a very tough game and made it difficult for us to do anything, really. Initially, we were struggling to move the ball as USA seemed to be moving it much more efficiently. As we all saw though, that settled down significantly once the game wore on. Once the hype and the emotion filtered its way out, it became pretty clear how much we outmatched them, physically. The biggest series in my mind that got us some much needed momentum was holding USA to a Field Goal after we exchanged fumbles... then answering with 3 consecutive touchdowns (including one after a Will Redmond INT) to make the game 28-3 at the half. As far as the box score is concerned, we didn't look back after that point and USA was never really "a threat."
So, let's look a little deeper. I predicted earlier in the week that USA would give us fits if we let them hang around and made some key mistakes. Truth be told, that would have been the case. USA was only able to connect on 1 of 4 deep balls, despite the passes hitting the receivers right in the mits. We will get to specifics in a bit, but this was the kind of scenario I was speaking of. I never once thought "we look lethargic... don't want to be here... etc." because USA was playing out of their minds in the first quarter, and had we not answered their field goal with 3 consecutive TD drives, we might have been in a dog fight. So the moral of the story, is we did an excellent job seizing the momentum (and thus, seizing the win) when we had the opportunity.
As a side note, this game was scary to me in that it started for South Alabama much like our #WeBelieve game did for us a few years back when we thought we were legit. We played toe to toe with Bama for a few series... until we missed a chip shot FG. After that, it was all downhill. Just some food for thought...
Now, onto specific elements of the game:
Coaching:
1. Dan Mullen erased most all questions of game management, in terms of a revolving door strategy of quarterbacks. He let Dak run the show, and Dak impressed, as usual. HOWEVER, why start Griffin? Why play Holloway and Shumpert as much as we did? My mind wants me to believe that he's protecting J-Rob from injury... I hope that is the case.
2. I wanted to see us let Sobiesk get some reps that aren't at the extra point mark. We had a couple of opportunities in the game to do that. Maybe Mullen thought the outcome of the game was still in question and didn't want to give up momentum with a missed FG? I'm not sure... but I'm still of the mindset that we need to take opportunities to let Sobiesk (assuming he is our starting kicker... looks like he is) to get reps. We might need him in a critical spot and he needs to know that Mullen trusts him.
Special Teams:
3. Fairly uneventful day. Devon Bell did great, our kickoff and punt return coverage was great, and we didn't miss any extra points. I don't think we learned anything new here, but as I stated earlier, I'd really like for Mullen to start giving Sobiesk some reps that aren't extra points. He needs them. Everything else looked great and I have no complaints. Graham definitely needs to be our punt returner. No one else comes close.
Offense:
4. Our offense struggled to get started today, and admittedly, I was worried at first. This game was all about seizing momentum and keeping it for us. The first two series were 3 and outs, and I didn't like starting Griffin, but I don't think it mattered. He opened the game with a nice 6 yard run, and then 2 BS passing calls ensured the 3 and out. The next series was killed from the start by a false start. Not the start I was hoping for.
5. Big Uglies - The O-Line did not show the improvement I hoped they would from last week. They looked about the same, to be honest. Now, give USA's D-Line credit because that was probably their best unit on the field today. BUT, we still struggled to keep them off of Dak, and that is concerning. We also had a LOT of penalties as a result of just brain farts. There were also some key holds that hurt us, as well. We MUST clean that up by next week. LSU is going to be a lot more physical up front than USA was and margins for success/failure next week are razor thin. We can't derp around and kill drives with holds and procedure penalties.
6. QB - Dak is continuing to impress. No surprise here. 148 rushing yards, a passing TD, a receiving TD, and a rushing TD. We seemed to be "clicking" a lot better today than last week, but still not quite where I feel we should be. I'll certainly take the improvement over the alternative. Damian is still a work in progress. I think everyone in the house knew he was going to be running read-options when he finally came in... but he's nowhere near as explosive as Dak. I'm glad to see Mullen managed this part of the game right today.
7. RB - Was it Hanmudog that said "Dak+J-Rob=TD?" Yea... what he said. J-rob had another outstanding day and continues to make the case why he and dak need to be on the field together in EVERY critical situation. Griffin should be our #2... not a bad day, but not outstanding. Holloway is fast... and that's about it... and Shump knows how to run into everyone on the field. 22 yards for all three of those guys and no touchdowns.
8. WR - Jameon quietly had an outstanding day, as did Fred Brown (who is getting a little better each week). Again, nothing groundbreaking here, but I was glad to see us working to get Jameon going. Shout out to Malcolm Johnson for laying the wood on that USA defender on the first TD drive. That was an outstanding block. Gabe Myles is getting there... but he still is having a case for the butter fingers. My guess is by his jr./sr. year, he is going to be a leader on this WR squad. His attitude is outstanding and he has everything there... it's just gotta click.
Defense:
9. Guys, our run defense is incredible. 57 yards TOTAL for USA today, 10 in the first half. These guys can stop the run and defend the perimeter as well as any defense I've seen us have. Defending a deep post... not so much. We did a little better today, but we still got burned a couple of times and that worries me. USA only had about 320 yards of total offense (288 in the air), but 2 DEEP passes right on the mits might have come close to doubling that number had they been caught. Another note is that had they been caught instead of dropped, this game would have not turned out as it did. The injuns were looking after us today in that regard.
10. D-Line - I feel like USM was somewhat of a fool's gold moment for us. Preston Smith and Chris Jones are the real deal, obviously... but I only saw one time today where we were able to get any real pressure on the QB without a blitz. That's a little concerning.
11. Linebacker: Matt Wells showed out today... he was defending the pass, defending the run, and defending the perimeter. Fantastic day for him. BerDrIcK mKCinLey had a great day, too. Benni Brown is all over the damn field. Our Linebacker corps is absolutely the real deal and they put on a clinic today.
12. D-Back: We are struggling to defend the pass... still. I though last week has more to do with scheme than our inability to keep deep patterns from getting open, but today made me rethink that. We've GOT to get better in this area or some of these better teams are going to have a field day against our secondary. We look to be playing on our heels too much.
Overall, it was not a bad day for the Maroon and White. We certainly weren't world-beaters, but we took care of business and got a very nice win in a game that could have easily not been so lopsided. And let's face it... we were a couple of caught deep passes away from that happening. The good news, we are 3-0... the bad news, I don't think there is a game on our schedule (except UT Martin and Vandy... who is absolute garbage) that I feel comfortable winning.
Looking ahead: We are going to have to be firing on all cylinders to have a chance against LSU next week. We all know what kind of environment that is... and it's unforgiving, especially for MSU. Their defense is the real deal. Their offense? I actually think we match up well with. We will have to play out of our minds and have a few good breaks to have a chance in our next 3 games. Nothing tells me we don't have what it takes to beat these teams, but playing at the level we currently are, it will be a very tall order. We need an excellent week of practice and work on cleaning up on the O-Line and in the secondary. We do that, I think we can compete.
Around the SEC: We all know A&M and Auburn are going to be tests for us... and I don't think we match up well with them. Kentucky is much improved this year as well, and look out for Arkansas... they have quietly had some very impressive wins. I'm still waiting to see OM play a tougher opponent to cast judgement. They have tremendous speed, but no size (except their defensive front... which has been very good). I don't see Memphis posing much of a threat, and if Bama can shut down their O again, that game might be very close. Vandy is garbage and UGA is once aGAIN overrated *CLAP CLAP CLAP.*
Overall, we went into a potential trap game, took care of business, and seized momentum when we needed to today... and I'm glad I didn't go to that stadium because it looked like dogshit.
That's how I saw it... let those comments roll.
Atmosphere: We were about as surprised at the initial hype, crowd, and noise to start this game as the Germans were to see the Red Army walk into Berlin... in case you don't remember your World History, that means we weren't very surprised. As predicted by many, USA was initially playing a very tough game and made it difficult for us to do anything, really. Initially, we were struggling to move the ball as USA seemed to be moving it much more efficiently. As we all saw though, that settled down significantly once the game wore on. Once the hype and the emotion filtered its way out, it became pretty clear how much we outmatched them, physically. The biggest series in my mind that got us some much needed momentum was holding USA to a Field Goal after we exchanged fumbles... then answering with 3 consecutive touchdowns (including one after a Will Redmond INT) to make the game 28-3 at the half. As far as the box score is concerned, we didn't look back after that point and USA was never really "a threat."
So, let's look a little deeper. I predicted earlier in the week that USA would give us fits if we let them hang around and made some key mistakes. Truth be told, that would have been the case. USA was only able to connect on 1 of 4 deep balls, despite the passes hitting the receivers right in the mits. We will get to specifics in a bit, but this was the kind of scenario I was speaking of. I never once thought "we look lethargic... don't want to be here... etc." because USA was playing out of their minds in the first quarter, and had we not answered their field goal with 3 consecutive TD drives, we might have been in a dog fight. So the moral of the story, is we did an excellent job seizing the momentum (and thus, seizing the win) when we had the opportunity.
As a side note, this game was scary to me in that it started for South Alabama much like our #WeBelieve game did for us a few years back when we thought we were legit. We played toe to toe with Bama for a few series... until we missed a chip shot FG. After that, it was all downhill. Just some food for thought...
Now, onto specific elements of the game:
Coaching:
1. Dan Mullen erased most all questions of game management, in terms of a revolving door strategy of quarterbacks. He let Dak run the show, and Dak impressed, as usual. HOWEVER, why start Griffin? Why play Holloway and Shumpert as much as we did? My mind wants me to believe that he's protecting J-Rob from injury... I hope that is the case.
2. I wanted to see us let Sobiesk get some reps that aren't at the extra point mark. We had a couple of opportunities in the game to do that. Maybe Mullen thought the outcome of the game was still in question and didn't want to give up momentum with a missed FG? I'm not sure... but I'm still of the mindset that we need to take opportunities to let Sobiesk (assuming he is our starting kicker... looks like he is) to get reps. We might need him in a critical spot and he needs to know that Mullen trusts him.
Special Teams:
3. Fairly uneventful day. Devon Bell did great, our kickoff and punt return coverage was great, and we didn't miss any extra points. I don't think we learned anything new here, but as I stated earlier, I'd really like for Mullen to start giving Sobiesk some reps that aren't extra points. He needs them. Everything else looked great and I have no complaints. Graham definitely needs to be our punt returner. No one else comes close.
Offense:
4. Our offense struggled to get started today, and admittedly, I was worried at first. This game was all about seizing momentum and keeping it for us. The first two series were 3 and outs, and I didn't like starting Griffin, but I don't think it mattered. He opened the game with a nice 6 yard run, and then 2 BS passing calls ensured the 3 and out. The next series was killed from the start by a false start. Not the start I was hoping for.
5. Big Uglies - The O-Line did not show the improvement I hoped they would from last week. They looked about the same, to be honest. Now, give USA's D-Line credit because that was probably their best unit on the field today. BUT, we still struggled to keep them off of Dak, and that is concerning. We also had a LOT of penalties as a result of just brain farts. There were also some key holds that hurt us, as well. We MUST clean that up by next week. LSU is going to be a lot more physical up front than USA was and margins for success/failure next week are razor thin. We can't derp around and kill drives with holds and procedure penalties.
6. QB - Dak is continuing to impress. No surprise here. 148 rushing yards, a passing TD, a receiving TD, and a rushing TD. We seemed to be "clicking" a lot better today than last week, but still not quite where I feel we should be. I'll certainly take the improvement over the alternative. Damian is still a work in progress. I think everyone in the house knew he was going to be running read-options when he finally came in... but he's nowhere near as explosive as Dak. I'm glad to see Mullen managed this part of the game right today.
7. RB - Was it Hanmudog that said "Dak+J-Rob=TD?" Yea... what he said. J-rob had another outstanding day and continues to make the case why he and dak need to be on the field together in EVERY critical situation. Griffin should be our #2... not a bad day, but not outstanding. Holloway is fast... and that's about it... and Shump knows how to run into everyone on the field. 22 yards for all three of those guys and no touchdowns.
8. WR - Jameon quietly had an outstanding day, as did Fred Brown (who is getting a little better each week). Again, nothing groundbreaking here, but I was glad to see us working to get Jameon going. Shout out to Malcolm Johnson for laying the wood on that USA defender on the first TD drive. That was an outstanding block. Gabe Myles is getting there... but he still is having a case for the butter fingers. My guess is by his jr./sr. year, he is going to be a leader on this WR squad. His attitude is outstanding and he has everything there... it's just gotta click.
Defense:
9. Guys, our run defense is incredible. 57 yards TOTAL for USA today, 10 in the first half. These guys can stop the run and defend the perimeter as well as any defense I've seen us have. Defending a deep post... not so much. We did a little better today, but we still got burned a couple of times and that worries me. USA only had about 320 yards of total offense (288 in the air), but 2 DEEP passes right on the mits might have come close to doubling that number had they been caught. Another note is that had they been caught instead of dropped, this game would have not turned out as it did. The injuns were looking after us today in that regard.
10. D-Line - I feel like USM was somewhat of a fool's gold moment for us. Preston Smith and Chris Jones are the real deal, obviously... but I only saw one time today where we were able to get any real pressure on the QB without a blitz. That's a little concerning.
11. Linebacker: Matt Wells showed out today... he was defending the pass, defending the run, and defending the perimeter. Fantastic day for him. BerDrIcK mKCinLey had a great day, too. Benni Brown is all over the damn field. Our Linebacker corps is absolutely the real deal and they put on a clinic today.
12. D-Back: We are struggling to defend the pass... still. I though last week has more to do with scheme than our inability to keep deep patterns from getting open, but today made me rethink that. We've GOT to get better in this area or some of these better teams are going to have a field day against our secondary. We look to be playing on our heels too much.
Overall, it was not a bad day for the Maroon and White. We certainly weren't world-beaters, but we took care of business and got a very nice win in a game that could have easily not been so lopsided. And let's face it... we were a couple of caught deep passes away from that happening. The good news, we are 3-0... the bad news, I don't think there is a game on our schedule (except UT Martin and Vandy... who is absolute garbage) that I feel comfortable winning.
Looking ahead: We are going to have to be firing on all cylinders to have a chance against LSU next week. We all know what kind of environment that is... and it's unforgiving, especially for MSU. Their defense is the real deal. Their offense? I actually think we match up well with. We will have to play out of our minds and have a few good breaks to have a chance in our next 3 games. Nothing tells me we don't have what it takes to beat these teams, but playing at the level we currently are, it will be a very tall order. We need an excellent week of practice and work on cleaning up on the O-Line and in the secondary. We do that, I think we can compete.
Around the SEC: We all know A&M and Auburn are going to be tests for us... and I don't think we match up well with them. Kentucky is much improved this year as well, and look out for Arkansas... they have quietly had some very impressive wins. I'm still waiting to see OM play a tougher opponent to cast judgement. They have tremendous speed, but no size (except their defensive front... which has been very good). I don't see Memphis posing much of a threat, and if Bama can shut down their O again, that game might be very close. Vandy is garbage and UGA is once aGAIN overrated *CLAP CLAP CLAP.*
Overall, we went into a potential trap game, took care of business, and seized momentum when we needed to today... and I'm glad I didn't go to that stadium because it looked like dogshit.
That's how I saw it... let those comments roll.
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