What will thi year's personel debate be?

[ShotgunDawg]

What use of personel will make you go crazy this year?

2013 was the year of Tyler vs Dak and Perk vs Robinson


My guess is, this year we will continue to rotate backs after one has clearly seperated themselves or Holloway will be running between the tackles on 3rd and 2.

[Lloyd Christmas]

Robinson will get 2 carries for 10 yards each and then Mullen will put in a 145 lb. cornerback to run between the tackles for the rest of the game. All exaggeration aside, his decisions at running back last year were ****ing retarded and one of the reasons I wanted him gone midway through the season. If he ever gets fired it will be because he played an upperclassmen over someone who was more talented but younger. See Tyler Russell vs. Dak Prescott. See Ladarius Perkins vs. Josh Robinson.

[BulldogBear]

Could it come on the defensive side of the ball instead?

[Coach34]

Eulls and Nick James

[ShotgunDawg]

Eulls and Nick James

Good one. Hopefully this one will have us pulling our hair out by week 3.

[engie]

Eulls/James/PJ
Market or Hughes
Redmond vs Calhoun/Love
Cox or someone moved to FS

Right Tackle
Backup Center
#3 QB
Who lines up at fullback? Likely Shump/Griffin discussion...
Outside/Deep Threat receiver

F'n Kicker

[Statefan]

Morrow over anyone

[BeastMan]

Eulls and Nick James

Probably best pick here

[BulldogBear]

Some incoming athlete vs. any "underperforming" personage on the team now***

[SallyStansbury]

My personnel beef is going to be over-using Dak against bullshit teams early in the year. If Dan calls his number more than 10 times per game and forces Dak to absorb hits against teams that we should otherwise have Robinson and Shumpert trucking people with proper balance and appropriate mis-direction sprinkled in to the play calling to keep the opposition off balance....I will be greatly displeased. Just because Dak can pick up that 4 yards on 3rd and 4 against USM doesn't mean that he should.

Dan was bailed out at the end of the year by shitty play calling by the ARK coach, our superior Defense and Dak.....plain and simple. We won those games and it feels good, but I was not overly impressed with Dan's play calling. To overuse Dak early in the year is a real worry of mine.

[TimberBeast]

My personnel beef is going to be over-using Dak against bullshit teams early in the year. If Dan calls his number more than 10 times per game and forces Dak to absorb hits against teams that we should otherwise have Robinson and Shumpert trucking people with proper balance and appropriate mis-direction sprinkled in to the play calling to keep the opposition off balance....I will be greatly displeased. Just because Dak can pick up that 4 yards on 3rd and 4 against USM doesn't mean that he should.

Dan was bailed out at the end of the year by shitty play calling by the ARK coach, our superior Defense and Dak.....plain and simple. We won those games and it feels good, but I was not overly impressed with Dan's play calling. To overuse Dak early in the year is a real worry of mine.

This is my concern as well. You can talk about any other position on the field but if Dan doesn't learn how to use Robinson as a damn running back Dak won't make it through September.

[smootness]

Eulls and Nick James

I don't think anyone will be able to have a legitimate beef here regardless. I'm sure we'll hear some people saying James needs to be playing more, but Eulls was darn good last year and should be even better with more time under his belt at DT.

It will be because people have a certain perception of Nick James, not because Kaleb Eulls isn't playing well.

[smootness]

My personnel beef is going to be over-using Dak against bullshit teams early in the year. If Dan calls his number more than 10 times per game and forces Dak to absorb hits against teams that we should otherwise have Robinson and Shumpert trucking people with proper balance and appropriate mis-direction sprinkled in to the play calling to keep the opposition off balance....I will be greatly displeased. Just because Dak can pick up that 4 yards on 3rd and 4 against USM doesn't mean that he should.

Dan was bailed out at the end of the year by shitty play calling by the ARK coach, our superior Defense and Dak.....plain and simple. We won those games and it feels good, but I was not overly impressed with Dan's play calling. To overuse Dak early in the year is a real worry of mine.

A lot of times, Dak has the option and is pulling it himself and running it. You may think Mullen needs to call more designed runs for the RB, but a large part of our running game is predicated on the offense not even knowing who is going to get the ball so that the defense has no clue. Giving Dak that option is what makes it so dangerous.

I agree I would like to see Dak run a little less and put a greater weight on our RBs, but this offense is designed around the QB being able to pull it down and pick up yards himself. It will always be a big part of the offense.

[slickdawg]

"Man, I wish Perkins was back to run between the tackles" *********

[SallyStansbury]

A lot of times, Dak has the option and is pulling it himself and running it. You may think Mullen needs to call more designed runs for the RB, but a large part of our running game is predicated on the offense not even knowing who is going to get the ball so that the defense has no clue. Giving Dak that option is what makes it so dangerous.

I agree I would like to see Dak run a little less and put a greater weight on our RBs, but this offense is designed around the QB being able to pull it down and pick up yards himself. It will always be a big part of the offense.

Dan to Dak vs USM: "Give the ball to Shump / Robinson!"
Dan to Dak vs Auburn/LSU/Alabama: "Do whatever you can do to get the most yards."

What you have said is completely correct, but Dan needs to do whatever possible to keep Dak from absorbing unnecessary hits against inferior teams early in the year. That includes getting away from sucky, predictable play calling which would allow USM or whomever to hang around 13-10 or something in the 4th quarter where we would even have to have Dak in the game at all. I really don't want to see that.

[War Machine Dawg]

Eulls and Nick James

I could definitely see this. But either way, we're in damn good shape at DT.

[War Machine Dawg]

Morrow over anyone

Another great call. I'm going to blow a gasket if he starts ahead of Bear this season.

[War Machine Dawg]

Dan to Dak vs USM: "Give the ball to Shump / Robinson!"
Dan to Dak vs Auburn/LSU/Alabama: "Do whatever you can do to get the most yards."

What you have said is completely correct, but Dan needs to do whatever possible to keep Dak from absorbing unnecessary hits against inferior teams early in the year. That includes getting away from sucky, predictable play calling which would allow USM or whomever to hang around 13-10 or something in the 4th quarter where we would even have to have Dak in the game at all. I really don't want to see that.

We could let The Kang run our offense against USM and it still wouldn't be close in the 4th. Y'all are underestimating the amount of suck that program is right now. I'd be shocked if Damian Williams doesn't play a large portion of the 2nd half against them.

[CadaverDawg]

Wait until we run a deep fade to Lewis while DeRunnya's big ass is running an 8 yard curl on 3rd and 12. It will happen. One of the more frustrating things to me about Dan, is when we have a giant WR, yet we throw jump balls and deep posts to guys like Bumphis and Lewis, or even worse Joe "Hands of Brick" Morrow. Joe couldn't catch a splinter if he jumped in a wood pile, but we will keep throwing it to him.

[chef dixon]

Wait until we run a deep fade to Lewis while DeRunnya's big ass is running an 8 yard curl on 3rd and 12. It will happen. One of the more frustrating things to me about Dan, is when we have a giant WR, yet we throw jump balls and deep posts to guys like Bumphis and Lewis, or even worse Joe "Hands of Brick" Morrow. Joe couldn't catch a splinter if he jumped in a wood pile, but we will keep throwing it to him.

Yea we've always thrown deep to little guys, but we've usually only had little guys under Dan. I think we gave Wilson a decent number of jump balls last year considering he was a freshman. He was so-so in the air, but I don't think he was really ready for a ton of that last year. Hopefully he's improved in that area and we utilize it more this year.

[CadaverDawg]

Yea we've always thrown deep to little guys, but we've usually only had little guys under Dan. I think we gave Wilson a decent number of jump balls last year considering he was a freshman. He was so-so in the air, but I don't think he was really ready for a ton of that last year. Hopefully he's improved in that area and we utilize it more this year.

True, we haven't had many tall WR's to throw too deep. We finally started going to DeRunnya down the stretch, so hopefully it continues.

[Pollodawg]

DeRunnya was really more learning the position last season than anything, especially early. He came on late in a big way, and I expect even more from his this season.

[Todd4State]

Mine: Why is Morrow starting over Fred Brown?

[War Machine Dawg]

Mine: Why is Morrow starting over Fred Brown?

Brown won't be in the top 3. Those spots *should* go to RoJo, Tubby, and Bear. But he should definitely be one of the next 3 and the "4th" WR in 4-wide sets.

[DancingRabbit]

A lot of times, Dak has the option and is pulling it himself and running it.

Dak will do a better job of protecting himself this year. Sure, things can happen and we hope it doesn't. If things are out of hand in our favor get Dak out.

In high school one time our #1 and #2 QB got hurt. We were leading by 2 TDs midway 4th quarter. Our #3 QB was our RB. He was great at taking a handoff and running around and over folks, but wasn't too bright. For a whole series it was QB sweep right, QB sweep left, QB sneak. Then start all over again. He didn't know the plays well enough or was afraid to hand off. We worked our way down the field, but he was hyper-ventilating in the huddle and everybody else was laughing.

Dak needs to pick his spots and protect himself.

[Bo Darville]

Eulls and Nick James

I agree that this could be a discussion. It is compounded by the fact that many on here don't understand defensive line play and simply look at stats such as tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks. With a defensive lineman, those stats don't necessarily tell the story of their play.

[Johnson85]

Robinson will get 2 carries for 10 yards each and then Mullen will put in a 145 lb. cornerback to run between the tackles for the rest of the game. All exaggeration aside, his decisions at running back last year were ****ing retarded and one of the reasons I wanted him gone midway through the season. If he ever gets fired it will be because he played an upperclassmen over someone who was more talented but younger. See Tyler Russell vs. Dak Prescott. See Ladarius Perkins vs. Josh Robinson.

This is why I don't think we'll have a problem this year. I can't think of an upperclassman like Russell or Perkins, who do everything the right way and have a more talented or at least a guy that fits better behind them.


My only guess would be Nick Griffin. Josh Robinson is already apparently not a favorite of Mullen, so I could see somebody like Nick Griffin taking snaps from him. And it will be an easy enough decision to justify, because I think if he were healthy, it would be a tough decision between the two. It could be just like last year, with us asking a banged up running back to do things that are not in his skill set while Robinson sits the bench. The only difference would be this year would involve us throwing a lot of swing passes and wheel routes to Griffin. ETA: I haven't heard anything about Griffin not being healthy or not being fully recovered, I'm just guessing at a possibility.

My next guess would be Robinson over whatever new guy we hope will be better at RT. If Robinson has busted his ass for four years in practice and his lack of progress is solely a result of his physical limitations, then that would be another upper classman Mullen wants to reward for doing things the right way, but while I haven't heard anything about Robinson being lazy, I also haven't heard about him being driven or anything, so I think this is unlikely. If he starts, it will be because we failed to find an adequate replacement for siddoway.

Eulls and Nick James is another possibility, but Eulls dose plenty well at tackle, and I think we rotate DL enough that both will get plenty of snaps. Any complaints will be regadring the situations they play in.

Morrow and Wilson is another, but I don't think Morrow is a workout warrior and it seems Wilson has already surpassed him.

The other possibilities I think are in the secondary. We are deep enough that if an upperclassman blows a couple of plays, there will be plenty of younger options that look better. But it's a lot harder for fans to judge defense than it is to judge offensive skill positions, so I'm not sure if this will be as frustrating for msot fans.

[smootness]

I don't think Robinson is 'not a favorite of Mullen'. Perkins was a really good RB for us. He obviously wasn't completely the same guy for much of last year that he had been, and we stuck with him for too long. But I think Mullen felt like he was a more complete RB (especially in catching passes and pass protection), so they could run more things with him in the game.

Robinson ran plenty last year. Was it as much as he probably should have? No, he was more effective running the ball than Perkins last year. But he definitely ran it enough for me not to believe Robinson was in Mullen's doghouse or that Mullen somehow doesn't like him.

I think we'll see a ton of Robinson this year. He's the #1 guy, and as we've seen in the past, once someone becomes the #1 guy at RB for us, they run it a bunch.

[PassInterference]

Its going to be keep using our FG kicker vs hold open tryouts for FG kicker.

[engie]

Robinson ran plenty last year. Was it as much as he probably should have? No, he was more effective running the ball than Perkins last year.

Here's my thing -- Robinson was WAY more effective 2 years ago as well against defenses with a pulse. I went through and showed the stats vs top 30 run defenses in 2012 -- and it was eye popping how much better a chance Robinson gave us in the every down role -- not that we couldn't all see that on the field anyway.

I like that we're carrying additional running backs yearly now -- so we don't end up with another scenario where you've got a 4th yr JR backed by 2 rsFR that aren't ready yet. Us being unprepared/underrecruiting the RB position post Ballard is what actually forced us to attempt making Perkins something he wasn't IMO -- and we took away his primary threats in doing it...

[Irondawg]

Its going to be keep using our FG kicker vs hold open tryouts for FG kicker.

exactly what I was going to say. I think for the most part the pecking order at most places is set although I think we'll see some talk about DL rotation and safety rotation. Possibly RB usage, but the kicker is going to potentially be an issue all year long

[Johnson85]

I don't think Robinson is 'not a favorite of Mullen'. Perkins was a really good RB for us. He obviously wasn't completely the same guy for much of last year that he had been, and we stuck with him for too long. But I think Mullen felt like he was a more complete RB (especially in catching passes and pass protection), so they could run more things with him in the game.

Robinson ran plenty last year. Was it as much as he probably should have? No, he was more effective running the ball than Perkins last year. But he definitely ran it enough for me not to believe Robinson was in Mullen's doghouse or that Mullen somehow doesn't like him.

I think we'll see a ton of Robinson this year. He's the #1 guy, and as we've seen in the past, once someone becomes the #1 guy at RB for us, they run it a bunch.

I don't think Robinson was necessarily in Mullen's doghouse, except for the game he didn't play at all in the first half (Arkansas?), I just think Perkins was from all accounts a coach's dream as far as putting in work in the weightroom, practicing with intensity, being a good leader, etc. I think it's understandable that coaches would have a soft spot for players like that, and I could see a similar soft spot for somebody like Griffin, who has fought back from two tough injuries. I don't actually expect to see this happen, I was just trying to guess a situation where it might; as I said, I don't think we have any likely candidates this year.

But I don't think you'll see Robinson get the same treatment as Perkins as the #1 back. Whether it was fondness of Perkins causing a blindspot or a conscious decision to play Perkins because he wanted other players to see the payoff for working out and practicing hard, Mullen sacrificed some game performance to stick with Perkins last year when it was pretty clear Robinson was the better option against good teams. I don't think you'll see Robinson consistently being asked to do things that another player is better suited for. But I don't think we'll ever know because I don't think we have somebody behind him that just offers up a different skill set the way Robinson did with Perkins.

[Pollodawg]

No, I think Robinson will be an every down back and will be damn good at it. The man average almost six yards a carry last year. Let him tote the rock.

[smootness]

I don't think Robinson was necessarily in Mullen's doghouse, except for the game he didn't play at all in the first half (Arkansas?), I just think Perkins was from all accounts a coach's dream as far as putting in work in the weightroom, practicing with intensity, being a good leader, etc. I think it's understandable that coaches would have a soft spot for players like that, and I could see a similar soft spot for somebody like Griffin, who has fought back from two tough injuries. I don't actually expect to see this happen, I was just trying to guess a situation where it might; as I said, I don't think we have any likely candidates this year.

But I don't think you'll see Robinson get the same treatment as Perkins as the #1 back. Whether it was fondness of Perkins causing a blindspot or a conscious decision to play Perkins because he wanted other players to see the payoff for working out and practicing hard, Mullen sacrificed some game performance to stick with Perkins last year when it was pretty clear Robinson was the better option against good teams. I don't think you'll see Robinson consistently being asked to do things that another player is better suited for. But I don't think we'll ever know because I don't think we have somebody behind him that just offers up a different skill set the way Robinson did with Perkins.

Good post, and I agree with your overall point.

There definitely are times that coaches/managers make a decision for its intangible benefit even at the expense of some on-field productivity. Fans generally hate this because all we really see most of the time is what happens on game day, and if a certain player is having more success than another, it makes no sense to us why we keep doing something that isn't working as well.

And there's definitely some validity to that. You can't make too many decisions that sacrifice productivity or you just end up not being as good. But perhaps it was in our long-term benefit to reward somebody like Perkins as an example for the rest of the team. Who knows, maybe Robinson will be even better now that he has seen someone get rewarded for going about things the right way.

This is mostly speculation, and I still think we didn't run Robinson enough last year, but it's usually not quite as simple as, 'Player X is producing more when in the game, so he should play more'.