Sunday Morning QB- We Won Edition

[shoeless joe]

Except for certain analysts. We were 9-0 and ranked #1 and all they could talk about sone times even then in November was the UAB game. This game will be brought up during sec cc pregame if we are there! Some of them live to hate us.

Now as for our folks. All but a few negative Nancy's will forget this game if we win next week.

But did it keep us from being #1 in the polls and in the playoff rankings? Who gives a crap what some idiot talking heads have to say. Where it mattered we were at the top, and if we beat LSU, auburn, and A&M again we'll be there again. However, some things need to be fixed for us to do those things.

[Coach34]

This is simply not true. We 1B'd all night. There were at least 4 series where I counted 9 or more backups in at one time. There were other times with up to 6.

We rotated people- but we never put in a new 11. Have to rotate people in today's hurry-up football. No choice. But 6 subs in doesnt make it 1B

[Coach34]

Tons of even true freshman across the country playing a lot at RB. These guys are RS freshman and they still have too much to learn to get meaningful reps?

This. If Aeris and D-Lee arent ready to play- thats a coaching problem.

[dawgoneyall]

Shump just doesn't have that it factor. His center gravity or something is to high. When he went out of bounds most running backs could have planted and cut back some. He just can't and he goes down too easily on first contact from the side.

[PMDawg]

Yes we played 2nd and 3rd team guys.. But it wasn't 10-11 at one time like previous years..
We had 1's with 2's and so on..

Go back and watch. It was most definitely 9 or more plenty of times.

[defiantdog]

Go back and watch. It was most definitely 9 or more plenty of times.

Yes, in the 4th quarter, we ran with 9 defensive players that were not starters. But our starters rotated in groups for the most part of the first half. There weren't any NHL team exchanges going on this time around. But what did surprise me after rewatching some of the game is seeing G. Green playing in Zach Jackson's rotation. I have a strange feeling that Green may start a few games in place of Jackson this year at OLB. We may even go as far as pulling Leo's redshirt if he can really start progressing.

[Todd4State]

1. This is OUR state. We made them a non-factor for at least the next 25 years.

2. We need Gray or Deddrick Thomas returning punts. Or even Holloway. Dan said we had about nine first year guys on the kick return team. That's irresponsible. And that's where Coman and Zach Jackson (who is already there) need to be.

3. I agree with you about Ross's muffed punt getting in his head and affecting him at slot WR. He needs to just be the slot guy. Let someone else worry about returning punts. And if he keeps dropping passes, we need to move Gray to slot. Oh, but we're going to be cute and let him play outside WR.

4. I agree about letting Dak run and running the ball. But I'm afraid the reality is we are going to throw it a lot more than you like this year. Just get ready.

5. Dak has to quit worrying about the Heisman, the NFL and whatever else and just play ball. To me it looked like he was trying to make the "perfect pass" at times.

6. Who knows? Oh- and Bear in the slot pretty much is a mismatch on anyone in America. We do it once and get 42 yards out of it. It would be nice to see more of that. Like at least five times a game.

7. The reality is Holloway is going to play a lot more than any of us would like. And Lee and Williams are going to play a lot less than any of us would like. It's just what Dan does- and it feared that this would happen all off season. No excuse for the Shumpert fumble.

8. Trying not to run Dak probably actually was in the gameplan. Unfortunately we were sloppy and had to let him run so that we could win. One of the rare times Dan didn't have his head up his ass.

9. And D-line is one of the few units on the team where we actually play and start our best players. It shouldn't shock anyone that they were good. Imagine what would happen if we actually did that with our LB's and safeties rather than play the upperclassmen who work hard in practice and are nice?

10. Zach Jackson needs to sit. Gerri Green needs to play Will. Beniquez needs to play Mike. Richie needs to play Sam. JT Gray needs to play against spread teams. But Zach Jackson has been here for five years, so logically he starts.

11. I have a feeling we will see deep safeties all year. We've this before. Coman is who I said he was. Market is a good player, but he had a horrific injury. Again, Dan needs to get his head out of his ass and play Peters and McLaurin. Even though they are freshmen.

12. I wonder if Graves was actually better than Sobiesk last year? The way we handle personnel, it wouldn't shock me. His range is obviously a lot better than Sobes.

13. We're going to lose because Dan won't get his head out of his ass and actually play the best people. Probably on special teams mistakes. And I'm already pissed off about it. And as far as the way we played- I thought we were arrogant, cocky, boorish, and just disrespectful to the game of football and Mississippi State University. We have too many people patting our guys on the backs because I guess losing to Alabama, Ole Miss, and your bowl game is acceptable to a lot of our fans. We have a BAD attitude problem.

[Todd4State]

Yes, in the 4th quarter, we ran with 9 defensive players that were not starters. But our starters rotated in groups for the most part of the first half. There weren't any NHL team exchanges going on this time around. But what did surprise me after rewatching some of the game is seeing G. Green playing in Zach Jackson's rotation. I have a strange feeling that Green may start a few games in place of Jackson this year at OLB. We may even go as far as pulling Leo's redshirt if he can really start progressing.

After we lose to LSU because Jackson, Coman, and Market look clueless, there better be some changes.

I wouldn't play Green in Jackson's spot personally- but at least our best LB will all be on the field at the same time.

[dawgs]

Im not so sure about that. We will continue to make hockey style subs vs the coonasses and it will cost us.

the announcers talked about mullen saying the 1a/1b stufff wasn't happening this year. i also didn't notice it throughout the game except maybe in the 4th quarter once the game was in control.

[GreenheadDawg]

1. This is OUR state. We made them a non-factor for at least the next 25 years.

2. We need Gray or Deddrick Thomas returning punts. Or even Holloway. Dan said we had about nine first year guys on the kick return team. That's irresponsible. And that's where Coman and Zach Jackson (who is already there) need to be.

3. I agree with you about Ross's muffed punt getting in his head and affecting him at slot WR. He needs to just be the slot guy. Let someone else worry about returning punts. And if he keeps dropping passes, we need to move Gray to slot. Oh, but we're going to be cute and let him play outside WR.

4. I agree about letting Dak run and running the ball. But I'm afraid the reality is we are going to throw it a lot more than you like this year. Just get ready.

5. Dak has to quit worrying about the Heisman, the NFL and whatever else and just play ball. To me it looked like he was trying to make the "perfect pass" at times.

6. Who knows? Oh- and Bear in the slot pretty much is a mismatch on anyone in America. We do it once and get 42 yards out of it. It would be nice to see more of that. Like at least five times a game.

7. The reality is Holloway is going to play a lot more than any of us would like. And Lee and Williams are going to play a lot less than any of us would like. It's just what Dan does- and it feared that this would happen all off season. No excuse for the Shumpert fumble.

8. Trying not to run Dak probably actually was in the gameplan. Unfortunately we were sloppy and had to let him run so that we could win. One of the rare times Dan didn't have his head up his ass.

9. And D-line is one of the few units on the team where we actually play and start our best players. It shouldn't shock anyone that they were good. Imagine what would happen if we actually did that with our LB's and safeties rather than play the upperclassmen who work hard in practice and are nice?

10. Zach Jackson needs to sit. Gerri Green needs to play Will. Beniquez needs to play Mike. Richie needs to play Sam. JT Gray needs to play against spread teams. But Zach Jackson has been here for five years, so logically he starts.

11. I have a feeling we will see deep safeties all year. We've this before. Coman is who I said he was. Market is a good player, but he had a horrific injury. Again, Dan needs to get his head out of his ass and play Peters and McLaurin. Even though they are freshmen.

12. I wonder if Graves was actually better than Sobiesk last year? The way we handle personnel, it wouldn't shock me. His range is obviously a lot better than Sobes.

13. We're going to lose because Dan won't get his head out of his ass and actually play the best people. Probably on special teams mistakes. And I'm already pissed off about it. And as far as the way we played- I thought we were arrogant, cocky, boorish, and just disrespectful to the game of football and Mississippi State University. We have too many people patting our guys on the backs because I guess losing to Alabama, Ole Miss, and your bowl game is acceptable to a lot of our fans. We have a BAD attitude problem.

Pretty much spot on. But guess who will be out there getting run over on saturday? Jackson. Our safeties haven't gotten one **** hair better. They are absolutely horrible. Everytime I saw the statement.. Coman will be our best safety I just cringed. Congrats, he's the tallest midget. Play Peters and McLaurin because they can't be any worse

[ShotgunDawg]

12. I wonder if Graves was actually better than Sobiesk last year? The way we handle personnel, it wouldn't shock me. His range is obviously a lot better than Sobes.

13. We're going to lose because Dan won't get his head out of his ass and actually play the best people. Probably on special teams mistakes. And I'm already pissed off about it. And as far as the way we played- I thought we were arrogant, cocky, boorish, and just disrespectful to the game of football and Mississippi State University. We have too many people patting our guys on the backs because I guess losing to Alabama, Ole Miss, and your bowl game is acceptable to a lot of our fans. We have a BAD attitude problem.

12. I wonder if Graves was actually better than Sobiesk last year? The way we handle personnel, it wouldn't shock me. His range is obviously a lot better than Sobes.

13. We're going to lose because Dan won't get his head out of his ass and actually play the best people. Probably on special teams mistakes. And I'm already pissed off about it. And as far as the way we played- I thought we were arrogant, cocky, boorish, and just disrespectful to the game of football and Mississippi State University. We have too many people patting our guys on the backs because I guess losing to Alabama, Ole Miss, and your bowl game is acceptable to a lot of our fans. We have a BAD attitude problem.

As for the last two points:

12. Graves certainly has a stronger leg than Sobes. We'll have to see if he can handle the pressure. I liked what I saw last night with him.

13. I don't think there is an attitude problem, but potentially a lack of intensity problem. That being said, there is no better cure than 63,000 maroon fans & a hostile environment next Saturday night. If you think about the Ole Miss game, GT game, & USM, they were all on the road in less than hyped atmospheres. Every team has to find it's own identity & I think ours finds their next Saturday night. We haven't played a big home game in a long time. Really since Arkansas last season

[Todd4State]

As for the last two points:

12. Graves certainly has a stronger leg than Sobes. We'll have to see if he can handle the pressure. I liked what I saw last night with him.

13. I don't think there is an attitude problem, but potentially a lack of intensity problem. That being said, there is no better cure than 63,000 maroon fans & a hostile environment next Saturday night. If you think about the Ole Miss game, GT game, & USM, they were all on the road in less than hyped atmospheres. Every team has to find it's own identity & I think ours finds their next Saturday night. We haven't played a big home game in a long time. Really since Arkansas last season

To me, intensity is a component of attitude. I want guys that are going to be ready to kick some ass if they're playing Coahoma CC on the road. If you are playing an in state team and you're MSU- I don't care if it's Valley, Alcorn, JSU, USM or Ole Miss- I expect our guys to be ready to represent us well. NOT treat it like a f******* scrimmage. The guys in the NFL somehow manage to do it for 16+ weeks in a row. We only have to do it for 12.

[dawgs]

To me, intensity is a component of attitude. I want guys that are going to be ready to kick some ass if they're playing Coahoma CC on the road. If you are playing an in state team and you're MSU- I don't care if it's Valley, Alcorn, JSU, USM or Ole Miss- I expect our guys to be ready to represent us well. NOT treat it like a f******* scrimmage. The guys in the NFL somehow manage to do it for 16+ weeks in a row. We only have to do it for 12.

you're wrong if you think guys in the NFL approach all 16 weeks with super bowl-like intensity.

[Todd4State]

you're wrong if you think guys in the NFL approach all 16 weeks with super bowl-like intensity.

Do they take turns deciding which game to half-ass? No wonder Tommy Kelly has made it so long.**

No, I don't think they treat every game like the Super Bowl, but I guarantee you that they don't go through the motions during regular season games either.

[ShotgunDawg]

you're wrong if you think guys in the NFL approach all 16 weeks with super bowl-like intensity.

This. We can all "wish" our team would play with intensity every week, but it's simply not possible.

Every team only has so much in the gas tank & when it's spent, it's spent.

It's why coaches preach consistency, doing your job, & creating good habits on daily basis. So that when you don't play with intensity, you still win.

I don't have a problem with our intensity last night, because you can't fool players, they knew they were playing against USM (who they beat 49-0 last year), & they knew they had LSU next week. My biggest problem with last night was the lack of fundamentals on things that don't require intensity. Fred Ross' dropped passes and punt had nothing to do with intensity, not being ready for an on-side kick had nothing to do with intensity, Shump fumbling had nothing to do with intensity, being off side on two 3rd downs has nothing to do with intensity. All this has to do with focus & should have been better.

With all this being said, LSU is an "intensity" game & I expect us to play much much better next Saturday night. You don't want your team wasting intensity on USM. Alabama gave up 12 points USM last year at home. If Ross doesn't drop the punt, we do the same.

[ShotgunDawg]

Do they take turns deciding which game to half-ass? No wonder Tommy Kelly has made it so long.**

No, I don't think they treat every game like the Super Bowl, but I guarantee you that they don't go through the motions during regular season games either.

True, but they are 25 year old professionals that are being paid to play, want to keep their job, & know people will take their job if they stink. This is why competition is so important on a team. Fred Ross & Bear knew they could stink last night & no one was good enough to take their jobs.

[Todd4State]

This. We can all "wish" our team would play with intensity every week, but it's simply not possible.

Every team only has so much in the gas tank & when it's spent, it's spent.

It's why coaches preach consistency, doing your job, & creating good habits on daily basis. So that when you don't play with intensity, you still win.

I don't have a problem with our intensity last night, because you can't fool players, they knew they were playing against USM (who they beat 49-0 last year), & they knew they had LSU next week. My biggest problem with last night was the lack of fundamentals on things that don't require intensity. Fred Ross' dropped passes and punt had nothing to do with intensity, not being ready for an on-side kick had nothing to do with intensity, Shump fumbling had nothing to do with intensity, being off side on two 3rd downs has nothing to do with intensity. All this has to do with focus & should have been better.

With all this being said, LSU is an "intensity" game & I expect us to play much much better next Saturday night. You don't want your team wasting intensity on USM. Alabama gave up 12 points USM last year at home. If Ross doesn't drop the punt, we do the same.

This to me is part of my definition of intensity. Because to me, if you don't have intensity you're not going to do those things right. It's not so much about coming out "fired up". Be ready to come out, do your job and kick ass.

[Todd4State]

True, but they are 25 year old professionals that are being paid to play, want to keep their job, & know people will take their job if they stink. This is why competition is so important on a team. Fred Ross & Bear knew they could stink last night & no one was good enough to take their jobs.

Personally I thought Bear played well. He had a big catch and run the one time he was actually thrown a catchable ball and he made several key blocks on running plays. The way Bear plays is the way I want ALL of our players to play. Yeah, no one is going to take his job. But it didn't matter to him- he still went out and performed at a high level. That's why he is going to the NFL assuming he stays healthy.

[CadaverDawg]

1. This is OUR state. We made them a non-factor for at least the next 25 years.

2. We need Gray or Deddrick Thomas returning punts. Or even Holloway. Dan said we had about nine first year guys on the kick return team. That's irresponsible. And that's where Coman and Zach Jackson (who is already there) need to be.

3. I agree with you about Ross's muffed punt getting in his head and affecting him at slot WR. He needs to just be the slot guy. Let someone else worry about returning punts. And if he keeps dropping passes, we need to move Gray to slot. Oh, but we're going to be cute and let him play outside WR.

4. I agree about letting Dak run and running the ball. But I'm afraid the reality is we are going to throw it a lot more than you like this year. Just get ready.

5. Dak has to quit worrying about the Heisman, the NFL and whatever else and just play ball. To me it looked like he was trying to make the "perfect pass" at times.

6. Who knows? Oh- and Bear in the slot pretty much is a mismatch on anyone in America. We do it once and get 42 yards out of it. It would be nice to see more of that. Like at least five times a game.

7. The reality is Holloway is going to play a lot more than any of us would like. And Lee and Williams are going to play a lot less than any of us would like. It's just what Dan does- and it feared that this would happen all off season. No excuse for the Shumpert fumble.

8. Trying not to run Dak probably actually was in the gameplan. Unfortunately we were sloppy and had to let him run so that we could win. One of the rare times Dan didn't have his head up his ass.

9. And D-line is one of the few units on the team where we actually play and start our best players. It shouldn't shock anyone that they were good. Imagine what would happen if we actually did that with our LB's and safeties rather than play the upperclassmen who work hard in practice and are nice?

10. Zach Jackson needs to sit. Gerri Green needs to play Will. Beniquez needs to play Mike. Richie needs to play Sam. JT Gray needs to play against spread teams. But Zach Jackson has been here for five years, so logically he starts.

11. I have a feeling we will see deep safeties all year. We've this before. Coman is who I said he was. Market is a good player, but he had a horrific injury. Again, Dan needs to get his head out of his ass and play Peters and McLaurin. Even though they are freshmen.

12. I wonder if Graves was actually better than Sobiesk last year? The way we handle personnel, it wouldn't shock me. His range is obviously a lot better than Sobes.

13. We're going to lose because Dan won't get his head out of his ass and actually play the best people. Probably on special teams mistakes. And I'm already pissed off about it. And as far as the way we played- I thought we were arrogant, cocky, boorish, and just disrespectful to the game of football and Mississippi State University. We have too many people patting our guys on the backs because I guess losing to Alabama, Ole Miss, and your bowl game is acceptable to a lot of our fans. We have a BAD attitude problem.

Todd, you know i like you, man....but this is a "WTF?" Post. You always think you know more than Mullen about personnel. Personally i think you get too caught up in the next big name. You wanted R Dixon to play "HB" all year last year, saying "you would give him touches" if it were you....well he's no longer even on the team. You say you would play Jenkins over Warren, though you've never even seen Jenkins play...youre admittedly going off of hearsay as to whom you would start at LT. Think about that. Now you're saying you would throw 2 true freshmen in at Safety, which Diaz says is the most crucial position on our defense?

Sorry man, but clearly if you were our coach, YOU would be the one playing all of the wrong people. Whether you wanna admit it or not, they know more than you about who needs to be starting.

We cant let a game against USM make us lose total faith in a coach that won 10 games last year. Especially when we likely played extremely vanilla. At least let Mullen play his chosen starters against a real team before telling him he needs to start a completely different, and unexperienced 11! Ha.

Not trying to be a dick, i promise....I just think it's silly for you to act like we should just throw Peters, McLaurin, Jenkins, Gray, etc in the game when you havent even seen them take one single snap of live action. You simply want them in there because "you heard they looked good". C'mon mane.

[GreenheadDawg]

Todd, you know i like you, man....but this is a "WTF?" Post. You always think you know more than Mullen about personnel. Personally i think you get too caught up in the next big name. You wanted R Dixon to play "HB" all year last year, saying "you would give him touches" if it were you....well he's no longer even on the team. You say you would play Jenkins over Warren, though you've never even seen Jenkins play...youre admittedly going off of hearsay as to whom you would start at LT. Think about that. Now you're saying you would throw 2 true freshmen in at Safety, which Diaz says is the most crucial position on our defense?

Sorry man, but clearly if you were our coach, YOU would be the one playing all of the wrong people. Whether you wanna admit it or not, they know more than you about who needs to be starting.

We cant let a game against USM make us lose total faith in a coach that won 10 games last year. Especially when we likely played extremely vanilla. At least let Mullen play his chosen starters against a real team before telling him he needs to start a completely different, and unexperienced 11! Ha.

Not trying to be a dick, i promise....I just think it's silly for you to act like we should just throw Peters, McLaurin, Jenkins, Gray, etc in the game when you havent even seen them take one single snap of live action. You simply want them in there because "you heard they looked good". C'mon mane.

So you think Peters and McLaurin could be any worse than what we have out there now? I'm asking a serious question and not being a smartass. I think we can all agree that Peters and McLaurin are the most talented but obviously lack experience. But Tony Connor didn't have any experience and he adjusted just fine after a couple games. I know that Peters is on the same talent level as Connor. I'm looking for a serious answer, Could they be any worse?