U
Unregistered(d)
Guest
The 2003 season got off to a disappointing start for Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs fell to Oregon 42-34. This week, the General will take a look at that game, and determine what preseason hype was fact, and what was fiction. I know that you cannot make sweeping predictions based on one football game, however, some things were clearly improved over last year, while others are still lacking. Lets address each issue individually.
Hype-Kevin Fants play will be greatly improved.
This is fact. Fant looked a far cry better than any game from the 2002 season. He seemed a lot more at ease in the pocket, and made some great throws. The one knock I would have is that I noticed a few times where he tried to force a throw, when the pocket had collapsed and the opportunity to run was there. But all in all, it is certainly hard to argue with the numbers Fant put up Saturday night. If he keeps up this pace, and he may need to for MSU to be successful this season, he will be a lock for postseason honors.
Hype-Steve Campbell will work wonders with the MSU line.
Fact aGAIN. For MSU to put up the kind of offense they did Saturday night despite missing both starting guards was impressive. For the most part, the line looked good, and when Johnny Wadley and Brad Weathers return, it should only help. David Stewart was the most impressive, although special recognition should go to Otis Riddley, for holding his own in his first start. My question is about Chris McNeil. What has happened to him, that he cant even start over Will Rogers, who saw the field for the most playing time ever in his four years here? Has he not fully recovered from injury, or has his play declined for other reasons? This guy was supposed to be the next great MSU lineman when he signed, and now he cant seem to get on the field. This is either a great statement about our depth, or there are some issues that the MSU fanbase is not familiar with.
Hype-Guy Holliday is the answer to dropped pass problem.
The strongest of the facts yet. The receivers played great, finally showing what a talented group they are. I counted only 3 drops, 2 of them by McKinley Scott, so I can forget those in light of that great catch he made in the fourth quarter. What surprised me were some of the tough catches. Fant threw some passes into tight coverage, but our guys fought to make the grab. Ray Ray Bivines finally showed some of his elusiveness. I also dont think Im alone when I say Tee Milons needs to play more. He seems to be a Larry Huntington type, productive, but doesnt see the field enough. If Antonio Hargro can get on the field for more than 4 plays, and show off the talent we heard about all fall, then MSU has the firepower to outscore anyone.
Hype-Morris Watts offense will be a strength.
Hate to waffle, but its too soon to tell. Did we rack up yards and points? Most definitely. Did we rack them up against looser defenses that were looking to preserve a lead? Yes to that as well. Until we see Watts call the plays without being in a 14-0 hole 3 minutes in, we cant say anything for sure. However, I did some encouraging things. We only used the option for one play, but it was effective enough to know we should see it aGAIN. The passing game was predicated entirely around the deep ball. We made good use of both Norwood and Turner. However, there were some problems. It looks as though tight end will be ignored for the 13th year running. I also did see as many passes to the backs as I would have liked. With elusive open field runners like we have, I would like to have seen more screens, although the fullback screen was a well designed play. All in all, it does look like this offense is more tailored to our strengths that last years, and that is a good thing. Now if we can avoid falling behind by so much so early, we should be in decent shape.
Hype-The defensive line will be much improved.
This is fiction so far. Yes, they got some tackles, and it was good to see the front four put some pressure on the QB, but we were run on all night. It is easy for guys like Tommy Kelly to get seven tackles when he is on the field as much as the defense was. This group needs to get it together quickly. I only hope Kamau Jacksons ineligibility was the problem, otherwise, teams like Auburn and LSU will set new school records for rushing. On the plus side, Willie Evans looks like he may be a great player before his career ends, and Kelly showed signs of emergence. Lets hope this unit comes together before the Bayou Bengals come to town.
Hype-The linebacking corp will be our greatest strength.
Fiction, big time. The backers looked terrible, and they were a big part of the career night Terrence Whitehead had. They were unable to make any tackles at the line of the scrimmage, and it burned us all night. How many 2nd and 4s did we see? The second touchdown, how many tackles did Whitehead break? The linebackers played way below what I had expected. My preseason All SEC pick of TJ Mahwhinney looks like a bust, he is simply too slow to be a linebacker. When Jackson returns, Clark needs to go to the middle, and TJ can back him up. Otherwise, it will be a season filled with tackles 7 yards downfield. On the bright side, it was great to hear Clarence McDougals name called.
Since there wasnt a whole lot of hype for the secondary this offseason, I dont have a fact or fiction comparison for them. I will say this however, if this group doesnt improve, and I mean by the next game, the Bulldogs will not win more than 3 games this season. I have never seen worse secondary play in my life.
Hype-Jackie Sherrill is more focused than ever.
This isnt merely fiction, its ********. A focused coach does not kick a 50 yard field goal down 21 points in the fourth quarter. A focused coach doesnt go for 2 down 15 points. A focused coach plays for overtime at home. Jackie gets harder to defend with every passing game. Luckily for me, Im on the other side, so I guess you could say he gets easier to nail for me. Its getting to the point where you actually have to question how he won so much earlier in his career, were the players and assistants at Pitt and A&M smart enough not to listen to him. Continued calls like the ones Saturday night will lead to Phil Fulmer earning the Dean of the SEC title.
Hype-The turnaround is just around the corner.
Fiction for now. No team can play defense as poorly as we did and hope to win consistently. The Bulldogs need to use the bye week to re-evaluate exactly what they are doing on defense, because Plan A was a bust. Lets hope Cooper isnt as inflexible as Joe Lee Dunn was, or it will be a long season. Offensively, the Dogs just need to stay with what works, utilizing Turner and Norwood on the edges, and throwing underneath to allow Bivines, Jenkins, and Milons to run after the catch. If the defense can become merely adequate, then 6-7 wins isnt out of the question. But it will take a 180 degree turnaround from week 1.
Next week, The General will give you his analysis and prediction for the Tulane game. Then the General Consensus will be on one week hiatus, as I will be on vacation. But fear not, I shall return. The LSU Consensus will be half preview, half detailing why exactly it is that I loathe the Tigers. However, all that will have to wait. Until next Wednesday, this is the General. Dismissed.
Hype-Kevin Fants play will be greatly improved.
This is fact. Fant looked a far cry better than any game from the 2002 season. He seemed a lot more at ease in the pocket, and made some great throws. The one knock I would have is that I noticed a few times where he tried to force a throw, when the pocket had collapsed and the opportunity to run was there. But all in all, it is certainly hard to argue with the numbers Fant put up Saturday night. If he keeps up this pace, and he may need to for MSU to be successful this season, he will be a lock for postseason honors.
Hype-Steve Campbell will work wonders with the MSU line.
Fact aGAIN. For MSU to put up the kind of offense they did Saturday night despite missing both starting guards was impressive. For the most part, the line looked good, and when Johnny Wadley and Brad Weathers return, it should only help. David Stewart was the most impressive, although special recognition should go to Otis Riddley, for holding his own in his first start. My question is about Chris McNeil. What has happened to him, that he cant even start over Will Rogers, who saw the field for the most playing time ever in his four years here? Has he not fully recovered from injury, or has his play declined for other reasons? This guy was supposed to be the next great MSU lineman when he signed, and now he cant seem to get on the field. This is either a great statement about our depth, or there are some issues that the MSU fanbase is not familiar with.
Hype-Guy Holliday is the answer to dropped pass problem.
The strongest of the facts yet. The receivers played great, finally showing what a talented group they are. I counted only 3 drops, 2 of them by McKinley Scott, so I can forget those in light of that great catch he made in the fourth quarter. What surprised me were some of the tough catches. Fant threw some passes into tight coverage, but our guys fought to make the grab. Ray Ray Bivines finally showed some of his elusiveness. I also dont think Im alone when I say Tee Milons needs to play more. He seems to be a Larry Huntington type, productive, but doesnt see the field enough. If Antonio Hargro can get on the field for more than 4 plays, and show off the talent we heard about all fall, then MSU has the firepower to outscore anyone.
Hype-Morris Watts offense will be a strength.
Hate to waffle, but its too soon to tell. Did we rack up yards and points? Most definitely. Did we rack them up against looser defenses that were looking to preserve a lead? Yes to that as well. Until we see Watts call the plays without being in a 14-0 hole 3 minutes in, we cant say anything for sure. However, I did some encouraging things. We only used the option for one play, but it was effective enough to know we should see it aGAIN. The passing game was predicated entirely around the deep ball. We made good use of both Norwood and Turner. However, there were some problems. It looks as though tight end will be ignored for the 13th year running. I also did see as many passes to the backs as I would have liked. With elusive open field runners like we have, I would like to have seen more screens, although the fullback screen was a well designed play. All in all, it does look like this offense is more tailored to our strengths that last years, and that is a good thing. Now if we can avoid falling behind by so much so early, we should be in decent shape.
Hype-The defensive line will be much improved.
This is fiction so far. Yes, they got some tackles, and it was good to see the front four put some pressure on the QB, but we were run on all night. It is easy for guys like Tommy Kelly to get seven tackles when he is on the field as much as the defense was. This group needs to get it together quickly. I only hope Kamau Jacksons ineligibility was the problem, otherwise, teams like Auburn and LSU will set new school records for rushing. On the plus side, Willie Evans looks like he may be a great player before his career ends, and Kelly showed signs of emergence. Lets hope this unit comes together before the Bayou Bengals come to town.
Hype-The linebacking corp will be our greatest strength.
Fiction, big time. The backers looked terrible, and they were a big part of the career night Terrence Whitehead had. They were unable to make any tackles at the line of the scrimmage, and it burned us all night. How many 2nd and 4s did we see? The second touchdown, how many tackles did Whitehead break? The linebackers played way below what I had expected. My preseason All SEC pick of TJ Mahwhinney looks like a bust, he is simply too slow to be a linebacker. When Jackson returns, Clark needs to go to the middle, and TJ can back him up. Otherwise, it will be a season filled with tackles 7 yards downfield. On the bright side, it was great to hear Clarence McDougals name called.
Since there wasnt a whole lot of hype for the secondary this offseason, I dont have a fact or fiction comparison for them. I will say this however, if this group doesnt improve, and I mean by the next game, the Bulldogs will not win more than 3 games this season. I have never seen worse secondary play in my life.
Hype-Jackie Sherrill is more focused than ever.
This isnt merely fiction, its ********. A focused coach does not kick a 50 yard field goal down 21 points in the fourth quarter. A focused coach doesnt go for 2 down 15 points. A focused coach plays for overtime at home. Jackie gets harder to defend with every passing game. Luckily for me, Im on the other side, so I guess you could say he gets easier to nail for me. Its getting to the point where you actually have to question how he won so much earlier in his career, were the players and assistants at Pitt and A&M smart enough not to listen to him. Continued calls like the ones Saturday night will lead to Phil Fulmer earning the Dean of the SEC title.
Hype-The turnaround is just around the corner.
Fiction for now. No team can play defense as poorly as we did and hope to win consistently. The Bulldogs need to use the bye week to re-evaluate exactly what they are doing on defense, because Plan A was a bust. Lets hope Cooper isnt as inflexible as Joe Lee Dunn was, or it will be a long season. Offensively, the Dogs just need to stay with what works, utilizing Turner and Norwood on the edges, and throwing underneath to allow Bivines, Jenkins, and Milons to run after the catch. If the defense can become merely adequate, then 6-7 wins isnt out of the question. But it will take a 180 degree turnaround from week 1.
Next week, The General will give you his analysis and prediction for the Tulane game. Then the General Consensus will be on one week hiatus, as I will be on vacation. But fear not, I shall return. The LSU Consensus will be half preview, half detailing why exactly it is that I loathe the Tigers. However, all that will have to wait. Until next Wednesday, this is the General. Dismissed.
