Now that recruiting is over- today I officially become Playoff34

[LC Dawg]

ANY Bama fan is a proven idiot.

FIFY

[dawgday166]

Hell, call me Playoff34 then. I obviously looked at the wrong sites for this Jan

So now we call you PO34?? Playoff34 or PissedOff 34? *****

Just messing with you dude.

[Dawg61]

My biggest concern is Shoop. We check every other box.

Im just not convinced he can do it, Im 50/50 at best on him

Agree with this. I am worried about Shoop too. Our DL is nasty though so maybe it won't matter.

[TrapGame]

My biggest concern is Shoop. We check every other box.

Im just not convinced he can do it, Im 50/50 at best on him

I think you guys are a little hard on Shoop and it's probably got a little Sirmon in it too. I've heard his defense at Tenn was struggling b/c of injuries to key starters and the fact that Butch is a bat shit crazy asshole that likes to micromanage on the atomic level.

Although Todd G. had a really good defense last year there were several games it got exposed (OM) or downright ass raped (UGA/AU).

[MSUDAWGFAN]

Mississippi State is going to win the SEC Title in 2018. Yep- I said it. I'm saying it loudly and proudly. We will be the best team in the SEC for 2018. I'm not just throwing something out there for no reason- everybody that reads me stuff knows I provide reasons. So here we go:

1. The SEC is a LOS League

4/5 starters return on the OL. Any coach will tell you that is huge for any team. Especially when that OL was considered to be very good the year before. Not only that- that open spot will be replaced by someone that made a couple of starts there last year. So now that new guy for 2018 has starting experience and has been in the fire. There is also depth in the OL with numerous upperclassmen.

Defensive line???? One of the best in the country with talented depth. Simmons? !st round draft pick. Sweat? SEC leader in sacks- 2-3 round draft pick. Chauncey Rivers? Scouts say he is a top 3 round draft talent. And let's dont forget about Spencer, Adams, Kobe Jones, and R-Fr Aaron Odom. Hoyett and Thomas rotated at DT last year and will again. Brown and Autry provide depth at DT. Super talented group that is top 3 in the SEC.

2. Playmaker at QB

Nick Fitz will simply be one of the SEC's best in 2018. He didnt finish in the top 5 of the SEC in rushing due to injury (8th)- but was an animal again in 2017 for the 1st 11 games. He will once again approach 1,000 yards rushing as a QB in 2018. Passing game? Will certainly improve with an infusion of talent and more experience at WR. You are also going to see him in a new system that SEC coaches wont be so familiar with. Then let's add that Fitz is a graduate- who will now have a lighter school load to focus more time on football. This will allow him more film time to scout or improve reads and mechanics. You're gonna see a guy working his craft to become as highly drafted as possible.

Let's also don't forget he has a more than capable back-up in KT. KT will get some game time in most games because he will be ready for it. Not simply garbage time.

3. Quality Skill Players

We have discussed the playmaker at QB and the quality OL- but what about the rest of the offense? The RB's are very good. Aeris Williams has proven that he is a quality SEC RB. Mr. Steady. He is not great at anything but is good at everything. Kylin Hill? NFL talent that has big play potential each time he touches the ball. With a Spring under his belt- he should be vastly improved on the little things RB's have to do. Nick Gibson is a solid #3.
WR will be vastly improved. Malik Dear returns. Mixon is now a veteran. Insert a good juco talent in Guidry. Improved play from other returnees is expected. Can the talented freshman signees make an impact? One would think Jason does after going thru Spring practice. The TE's are very good with depth. Green is considered a top 10 returnee in the country at the position.

9 starters return on offense plus talent added at WR. Exciting times for a guy taking over considered one of the top OC's in the country.

4. Defense Wins Championships

We have already discussed the DL. Bottom line- one of the top groups in the country for 2018 with 2 All-SEC players returning and more being added. That is the foundation of a great defense.
LB's? Errol Thompson proved he can play SEC football. Willie Gay really came on at the end of the season. Really good year from Gerri Green who finally showed that talent was there to match the hype. Leo Lewis wont have such a shitstorm around him off the field in 2018 and should resume playing the way he did as a Freshman.
The Safetys are quality. McLaurin and Abram were our leading tacklers and are enforcers. Bryant had an improved 2017. Strong group
CB has some questions but there are a couple of possible answers in Peters and Dantzler. Brian Cole gets added to the mix in 2018 also- another impact player

8 starters return on D along with plenty of guys that played in 2017. Plus impact players being added in Rivers and Cole. When was the last time you saw a good defense not named Alabama- 10th nationally in Total D- return 14 of its top 16 tacklers plus add more impact players? This is a championship winning D in 2018.

5. Schedule

It's the SEC- it wont ever be easy. We get the swing games at home. Florida, Auburn, A&M, and UPig. Got to win at home. At Kentucky? We are better. At Ole Miss? They are dangerous but their defense will be one of the league's worst. At LSU? No QB for them, we get the week off to get ready, and LSU plays Florida and Georgia the 2 weeks before us. At Alabama? Winner goes to Atlanta. We have to get the job done.

6. Coaching

Here is where things are less cut and dried but we do have a few clues.

JoMo has head coaching experience- Dan Mullen did not. Both considered to be very good OC's when they arrived in Starkville. Mullen made an immediate impact on the offense at State upon taking over. I expect the same from Moorhead- especially with a veteran group of guys. State will also not change alot on offense while making the switch. Both coaches were zone run- RPO coaches so the offense wont see a major overhaul. It will see more downfield throws as compared to West Coast horizontal passes that Mullen preferred.

Defensively, this is where you may see more changes. But when you have the kind of talent State has on D- the fewer chances you have to take. The less pressure you feel to outscheme your opponent. Let those guys ball out and attack. Grantham is a good defensive coach- but Grantham had alot better group on the field than Sirmon did as well. Shoop will have a more talented D than Grantham did- let that sink in.

Bottom line- JoMo has been a HC and wont be surprised by the little things or demands on his time that a HC has to deal with. I expect him to handle his first couple of years better than Mullen did because of it.


SugarBowl34
HailState

I agree with most everything you said here. There's only one variable keeping me from going ALL IN on that. That's the referees. You know that in a close game at Alabama, if Alabama needs a call to get a win, the refs will give them any call they need in order to give them a win. At Auburn this past year comes to mind. I think it might have been even worse than BYU in 2001. Talent-wise - yes we are there. We check all of the boxes.

I eat lunch with someone close to the team and I told them at the beginning of the 2017 year that we were going to be a NY 6 team - at a minimum - in 2018. That person almost seemed to get offended and said we could be a NY6 team this past year.

One thing you have to look at is the level of the competition. Let's look at them:

Auburn - they lose 4 starting OL plus 2 RB, plus some key defenders. Yes, they return Stidham, but it won't look good for him when he is running for his life from Simmons, Sweat, Rivers, Lewis, Gay, Thompson, and Green.

Florida - Don will get them better. As much as I want to pee on him right now, I will admit he will get them competitive. He is a great QB coach and will win games. But, overall they are much less talented than what we have. It will take time. Like I have said about Howland and basketball, results will come. We jsut have to be patient. Florida will get results. The question for Don will be will they be patient enough. There's a chance they might not be.

Arkansas and A&M - A&M made a good hire, but I think it's not as great as they think it is. Plus, Fisher is taking over a team that we completely thumped. Arkansas didn't play the bidding game to go get a great coach, and it will show. Plus, we have them at home. We should win both of these games.

LSU - the talent level is going down there. Guice is gone. They don't have a QB. They have Eddie O as their coach. We make a statement to the critics who named LSU preseason top 15 (or maybe top 10) and leave us out of the top 25.

KSU - I don't expect this one to be a cakewalk, but we have more talent than they do. If we can squeak by here, we will be undefeated going to Tuscaloosa.

Mississippi - They have some talented players they bought. Some of those are gone, and the number of players they bought is going down. The ones that remain won't be able to do it themselves.

UK - we won't lose to UK. This isn't basketball, and they will just be outmatched.

Alabama - as Playoff34 has said - this one is for the SEC. What was impressive to me this past year was that we were able to run right at them. We didn't have to use any trick plays or anything and just lined up right at them. We return most every one of those players, and Bama loses a good bit. Yeah, I know they reload on players, but they didn't have 2 first team All SEC defensive linemen. We do. This game could very well come down to one or two plays. I like that we have a good FG kicker in Christman. It could come down to that. If we win, we will likely face UGA in the SECCG. The advantage we would have in this would be that we don't have Grantham. I am a fan of what Grantham did for us, but he has coached there and they know what he does. That's why they were able to pull off an 80 yard flea flicker on the first play. They won't be able to do that again, if it comes to it.

If we are 12-0 in the regular season and lose to UGA in the SECCG, we are in the playoff. If we lose to Bama and are 11-1 we may get left out. It will depend on what the rest of the teams look like. There's still a good chance we could make it in though. Either way, I'm saving my money for a big trip next January.

[CadaverDawg]

Where you been man? Good to see you posting!

I?ve been around, just not posting a ton. Work has been busy. Thanks for the kind words. You guys are keeping me entertained!

[Commercecomet24]

I?ve been around, just not posting a ton. Work has been busy. Thanks for the kind words. You guys are keeping me entertained!

Glad you doing alright. It?s definitely been entertaining. Drop a post on us every now and then.

[TUSK]

I?ve been around, just not posting a ton. Work has been busy. Thanks for the kind words. You guys are keeping me entertained!

I think you suck for not making more time for us......*

[CadaverDawg]

I think you suck for not making more time for us......*

[Todd4State]

I agree with most everything you said here. There's only one variable keeping me from going ALL IN on that. That's the referees. You know that in a close game at Alabama, if Alabama needs a call to get a win, the refs will give them any call they need in order to give them a win. At Auburn this past year comes to mind. I think it might have been even worse than BYU in 2001. Talent-wise - yes we are there. We check all of the boxes.

I eat lunch with someone close to the team and I told them at the beginning of the 2017 year that we were going to be a NY 6 team - at a minimum - in 2018. That person almost seemed to get offended and said we could be a NY6 team this past year.

One thing you have to look at is the level of the competition. Let's look at them:

Auburn - they lose 4 starting OL plus 2 RB, plus some key defenders. Yes, they return Stidham, but it won't look good for him when he is running for his life from Simmons, Sweat, Rivers, Lewis, Gay, Thompson, and Green.

Florida - Don will get them better. As much as I want to pee on him right now, I will admit he will get them competitive. He is a great QB coach and will win games. But, overall they are much less talented than what we have. It will take time. Like I have said about Howland and basketball, results will come. We jsut have to be patient. Florida will get results. The question for Don will be will they be patient enough. There's a chance they might not be.

Arkansas and A&M - A&M made a good hire, but I think it's not as great as they think it is. Plus, Fisher is taking over a team that we completely thumped. Arkansas didn't play the bidding game to go get a great coach, and it will show. Plus, we have them at home. We should win both of these games.

LSU - the talent level is going down there. Guice is gone. They don't have a QB. They have Eddie O as their coach. We make a statement to the critics who named LSU preseason top 15 (or maybe top 10) and leave us out of the top 25.

KSU - I don't expect this one to be a cakewalk, but we have more talent than they do. If we can squeak by here, we will be undefeated going to Tuscaloosa.

Mississippi - They have some talented players they bought. Some of those are gone, and the number of players they bought is going down. The ones that remain won't be able to do it themselves.

UK - we won't lose to UK. This isn't basketball, and they will just be outmatched.

Alabama - as Playoff34 has said - this one is for the SEC. What was impressive to me this past year was that we were able to run right at them. We didn't have to use any trick plays or anything and just lined up right at them. We return most every one of those players, and Bama loses a good bit. Yeah, I know they reload on players, but they didn't have 2 first team All SEC defensive linemen. We do. This game could very well come down to one or two plays. I like that we have a good FG kicker in Christman. It could come down to that. If we win, we will likely face UGA in the SECCG. The advantage we would have in this would be that we don't have Grantham. I am a fan of what Grantham did for us, but he has coached there and they know what he does. That's why they were able to pull off an 80 yard flea flicker on the first play. They won't be able to do that again, if it comes to it.

If we are 12-0 in the regular season and lose to UGA in the SECCG, we are in the playoff. If we lose to Bama and are 11-1 we may get left out. It will depend on what the rest of the teams look like. There's still a good chance we could make it in though. Either way, I'm saving my money for a big trip next January.

I agree with everything you said. I would add that Ole Miss is going to miss Wilkins a lot. I think he actually was more of the reason why they "got better" than Ta'Amuu because it made them less one dimensional to make Shea's Dad happy. If they don't find a running back, they're screwed.

Also, Joe is going to I hope play the best players or at least find ways to let the younger ones contribute more than they were allowed to under Dan. Thinking about Kylin Hill specifically here. Also there would be very little guarantee that guys like Heath and Whop would possibly start because Jesse Jackson and Jamal Couch "know the system better". Those two may or may not contribute a ton but at least I feel like they will be given a more fair chance to do so under Joe.

I'm not worried about Shoop one bit. I think he will run a 4-3 against teams that are more pro style like LSU and maybe Alabama and then we'll see more of a 4-2-5 look against spread teams.