WMD's Preseason Preview: Offense

[War Machine Dawg]

Gents, my Offensive Preview is available at FWTCT (http://www.forwhomthecowbelltolls.com/2014/8/7/5974063/wmds-preseason-preview-offense-dan-mullen-dak-prescott-jameon-lewis). Check it out and let's talk offense!

[Coach34]

Good stuff. One thing I'd argue but I don't know because I haven't seen enough is that one person told me he thought Fitz was the best pure runner of the group

[drunkernhelldawg]

Great job showing our depth. Major props to Mullen for building this team. Now let's get the most out of it.

Surprised that Bell is out of the FG conversation, but maybe the coaches feel they have enough otherwise.

[LC Dawg]

Good Read. I've been excited about the defense and I'm starting to get more excited about our offense.
One area I'm really excited about is our short yardage offense. The past couple of years its been a lot of Dak behind Gabe for short yardage. This year I'm envisioning bringing in Hutcherson for a two TE package which means we'll have the option of running Dak or Robinson and also have the option of throwing to a 6'-7" TE or a 6'-5" WR. This should be especially beneficial near the goal line. If our O-line is any good our short yardage offense should scare defensive coordinators.

[War Machine Dawg]

Good stuff. One thing I'd argue but I don't know because I haven't seen enough is that one person told me he thought Fitz was the best pure runner of the group

I've heard that, too. And likewise, I haven't seen enough of him and Staley yet to be an accurate judge. Fitz obviously didn't run much in the M&W Game. I just think it would be hard for him to be a better runner than Staley.

One thing that bothers me, and I don't know how I didn't realize before, is that Staley is a lefty. You don't see many of them, and you have to flip your entire offense to accommodate them. Then if the lefty goes down and his backups are all righties, which is likely, your offense is "backwards" for the righty. Lefty just cause scheme problems, to me. But if Staley emerges as the best QB of the young guys, you gotta go with him and figure out the rest. Would love to hear your thoughts on lefty QBs.

[War Machine Dawg]

Good Read. I've been excited about the defense and I'm starting to get more excited about our offense.
One area I'm really excited about is our short yardage offense. The past couple of years its been a lot of Dak behind Gabe for short yardage. This year I'm envisioning bringing in Hutcherson for a two TE package which means we'll have the option of running Dak or Robinson and also have the option of throwing to a 6'-7" TE or a 6'-5" WR. This should be especially beneficial near the goal line. If our O-line is any good our short yardage offense should scare defensive coordinators.

I'm really excited about out 2 TE sets, short yardage options, and red zone packages myself. If you put both Bear and Hutcherson in on the goal line, that's a 6'5" and 6'7" guy you have to account for on D. No way you're covering both of them on the fade. Then if you're the DC, you also have to commit a spy to Dak, which should free up someone like Tubby, RoJo, or MoJo. There are just so many weapons and things we can do with this offense it's ridiculous.

[blacklistedbully]

If this team lives up to it's potential, the benefits for future recruiting are enormous. We have a stable of QB's and a coaching staff that could lead to an extended, ongoing period of QB talent coming into Starkville, something we have NEVER had, and something that has been perhaps our biggest Achilles Heel. Same is true of WR's.

We have always enjoyed a rep for great defense and RB's, so that should continue, especially with Collins as DC. If we compete for the SEC, which means we could compete for a playoff spot, that could be enormous for us, as we'd have a great chance of improving our recruiting on the O-line as well. To me, this year is our best chance ever to finally "scale that mountain" or "get over the hump" in the SEC. Win with this group and we stand a great chance of winning the following year. Do that, and the talent we have waiting in the wings, combined with what we should get going forward could lead to those several-years-in-a-row of success that can put a program on track for being a routine contender.

[War Machine Dawg]

Shameless post-lunch, early afternoon self promotion bump.

[Reason2succeed]

Everyone says "if he can keep his emotions under control" about Fred Brown. What are you talking about? Did something happen that I missed?

[TrueMaroon]

Everyone says "if he can keep his emotions under control" about Fred Brown. What are you talking about? Did something happen that I missed?

He got two personal fouls at the Texas A&M game; afterwards he didn't play much the rest of the year.

[justwin]

~nice writeup

RB: I like Shumpert @ FB over Griffin & Griffin as #2 RB. #1 JRob #2 Griffin with Shump @ Fullback.

OL: Clausell, Clayborn, Day, Malone, Robinson. If Clayborn & Malone our are 2 best OL, I want them flanking Day and protecting Dak from up the middle. I like Beckwith as swing guard as not sure about our 4th guard. Dak's elusive enough to escape pressure off the RT edge. Plus, Robinson will have TEs to help him block

TE: Mojo better have his chit together this year and no more drops. I think it's a given that Hutch is going to get 40% of snaps. If Mojo falters, I can see Walley taking over some of his 60%

[justwin]

I like his swagger...it's needed with our WR bunch. Said differently, if he produces half of what he did in the spring game regularly, I'm all good with a personal foul here and there.



Everyone says "if he can keep his emotions under control" about Fred Brown. What are you talking about? Did something happen that I missed?

[justwin]

Yes, that's a sick Redzone setup with those big bodies. My takeaway from Billy G's Saturday media speech is that he said they are putting in inordinate amount of time on redzone offense which is what we need. We need TDs vs Bama & LSU in the redzone...not missed FGs.


I'm really excited about out 2 TE sets, short yardage options, and red zone packages myself. If you put both Bear and Hutcherson in on the goal line, that's a 6'5" and 6'7" guy you have to account for on D. No way you're covering both of them on the fade. Then if you're the DC, you also have to commit a spy to Dak, which should free up someone like Tubby, RoJo, or MoJo. There are just so many weapons and things we can do with this offense it's ridiculous.

[justwin]

Fitz needs to play in all of the first 3 games. Matter of fact, he needs to running the option/zone read with Griff & Shump a majority of the 2nd halves of those games.


Good stuff. One thing I'd argue but I don't know because I haven't seen enough is that one person told me he thought Fitz was the best pure runner of the group

[War Machine Dawg]

He got two personal fouls at the Texas A&M game; afterwards he didn't play much the rest of the year.

Multiple "unsportsmanlike" personal fouls after routine catches last season. There were at least 3-4 I remember, but it culminated with the 2 against aTm. I love fiery players, but you gotta be able to channel it.

[War Machine Dawg]

~nice writeup

RB: I like Shumpert @ FB over Griffin & Griffin as #2 RB. #1 JRob #2 Griffin with Shump @ Fullback.

OL: Clausell, Clayborn, Day, Malone, Robinson. If Clayborn & Malone our are 2 best OL, I want them flanking Day and protecting Dak from up the middle. I like Beckwith as swing guard as not sure about our 4th guard. Dak's elusive enough to escape pressure off the RT edge. Plus, Robinson will have TEs to help him block

TE: Mojo better have his chit together this year and no more drops. I think it's a given that Hutch is going to get 40% of snaps. If Mojo falters, I can see Walley taking over some of his 60%

Not a chance. Robinson isn't one of our best 9, much less our best 5. Beckwith was solid last year and there's no reason to believe he won't be this season. And like I said, I wouldn't be shocked if Rufus Warren passes Robinson before the end of the season. If *anyone* other than Malone is going to start at RT, it should be Senior. But I like him as the swing T this season, the same way I like Flowers/Desper to be the swing G.

MoJo will be just fine. His skill set is different than Hutch's skill set. Despite the bashing, MoJo was 2nd on the team in receiving yards last year. The guy can play and is one of the biggest mismatches on the team. He's not going anywhere. Also, it's hard to count on Walley when he has yet to remain healthy for a full season.

[War Machine Dawg]

Yes, that's a sick Redzone setup with those big bodies. My takeaway from Billy G's Saturday media speech is that he said they are putting in inordinate amount of time on redzone offense which is what we need. We need TDs vs Bama & LSU in the redzone...not missed FGs.

Captain Obvious agrees. But seriously, it's interesting that we're focusing on our redzone O. Sounds like Mullen may have something up his sleeve.

[BrunswickDawg]

Good stuff. One thing I'd argue but I don't know because I haven't seen enough is that one person told me he thought Fitz was the best pure runner of the group
He is a great pure runner and for his height has a very quick burst through the line and can kick in a second gear. He also isn't afraid to truck someone. The HS game I saw him in here in BWK he just dominated on the ground. The biggest thing is that his running style looks weird. It is straight up and just looks odd.

I said it all last fall, and I'll say it again - Fitz is the steal of this class.

[justwin]

Clayborn / Malone / Beckwith much better guard combo than Clayborn / Beckwith / Flowers or Desper. Malone can play RT next season once Flowers / Desper have matured, but I'm not a fan of putting that much experience inside to protect Dak this year. If not Robinson at RT, then Senior is fine.

End of the day, Mojo needs to make the routine stuff. No more excuses. He's got the non-routine stuff down pat, but he dropped a bunch of balls last year that swung games. Yep, that's why Walley is my sleeper on offense IF he can stay healthy ~ think Wesley Walls. Beni Brown outplayed Skinner so it's not out of the realm of possibility that MoJo gets passed by a younger guy


Not a chance. Robinson isn't one of our best 9, much less our best 5. Beckwith was solid last year and there's no reason to believe he won't be this season. And like I said, I wouldn't be shocked if Rufus Warren passes Robinson before the end of the season. If *anyone* other than Malone is going to start at RT, it should be Senior. But I like him as the swing T this season, the same way I like Flowers/Desper to be the swing G.

MoJo will be just fine. His skill set is different than Hutch's skill set. Despite the bashing, MoJo was 2nd on the team in receiving yards last year. The guy can play and is one of the biggest mismatches on the team. He's not going anywhere. Also, it's hard to count on Walley when he has yet to remain healthy for a full season.

[justwin]

It's going to be nice to have JRob/Griffin/Shump move the pile in the redzone this year unlike LP.


Captain Obvious agrees. But seriously, it's interesting that we're focusing on our redzone O. Sounds like Mullen may have something up his sleeve.

[HoopsDawg]

Not a chance. Robinson isn't one of our best 9, much less our best 5. Beckwith was solid last year and there's no reason to believe he won't be this season. And like I said, I wouldn't be shocked if Rufus Warren passes Robinson before the end of the season. If *anyone* other than Malone is going to start at RT, it should be Senior. But I like him as the swing T this season, the same way I like Flowers/Desper to be the swing G.

MoJo will be just fine. His skill set is different than Hutch's skill set. Despite the bashing, MoJo was 2nd on the team in receiving yards last year. The guy can play and is one of the biggest mismatches on the team. He's not going anywhere. Also, it's hard to count on Walley when he has yet to remain healthy for a full season.

Robinson is probably going to be our starting RT in game 1.

[War Machine Dawg]

Clayborn / Malone / Beckwith much better guard combo than Clayborn / Beckwith / Flowers or Desper. Malone can play RT next season once Flowers / Desper have matured, but I'm not a fan of putting that much experience inside to protect Dak this year. If not Robinson at RT, then Senior is fine.

End of the day, Mojo needs to make the routine stuff. No more excuses. He's got the non-routine stuff down pat, but he dropped a bunch of balls last year that swung games. Yep, that's why Walley is my sleeper on offense IF he can stay healthy ~ think Wesley Walls. Beni Brown outplayed Skinner so it's not out of the realm of possibility that MoJo gets passed by a younger guy

More of the "Dak is injury prone" mindset, I see. You start your best 5 on OL. Our best 5 is Clausell, Clayborn, Day, Beckwith, and Malone. Flowers/Desper will be just fine. The guy we're missing that likely could've provided depth is Joc Johnson. Dak will have plenty of protection from my starting 5 and the swing players in Senior and Flowers/Desper. They're ready to play the 30% of the snaps we ask our swing OL to play, and I'd be comfortable with Senior starting if need be. It just makes no sense to weaken your RT so much by moving one of your 3 best OL out of position to OG because of some ridiculous idea that your QB is injury prone.

[Dawgcentral]

Heard on the radio today that Griffin is working harder than any other RB right now. Showing lots of confidence in the knee. We've all heard he's our best blocking RB in pass protection. Call it inverted wishbone or diamond formation, but I can see this being very effective inside the twenty. Those swing pass routes open up really nice when you have good hands coming out of the backfield.

[War Machine Dawg]

Robinson is probably going to be our starting RT in game 1.

Not a chance. He isn't one of our 9 best OL, much less our best 5. If Robinson starts at RT, my head is going to explode. Hell, you guys might have to put up my bail for murdering Mullen in front of a sold out DWS.

[justwin]

easy tiger.

So the coaches have had Malone @ RG for 2+ years and you're saying having him @ OG is out of position? How do you come up with that logic? Our offense is built on elite OG play via traps, pulls, and just mauling folks. Malone, like Gabe, Tobias, etc, before him & possibly Clayborn following him, is an elite OG or at least that's what the coaches think since they've played him there for 2 years. Why do you think the read option with Dak up the middle is so successful?

You can't tell me that Malone at guard and some combo of Robinson/Senior @ RT is that much of a dropoff from Beckwith @ OG with Malone @ RT. You're basically going to put Malone @ RT during fall camp for the first time in 2 years before the most anticipated season under Mullen? Why risk that when he's proven that he's a proven RG? That doesn't sound like adequate time for him to get adjusted. From what I saw in the spring game, I don't see Flowers/Desper trumping what Beckwith can do as a swing guard THIS year. Next year, maybe. Either way, I think the whole RT is a very low concern so the discussion is moot.



More of the "Dak is injury prone" mindset, I see. You start your best 5 on OL. Our best 5 is Clausell, Clayborn, Day, Beckwith, and Malone. Flowers/Desper will be just fine. The guy we're missing that likely could've provided depth is Joc Johnson. Dak will have plenty of protection from my starting 5 and the swing players in Senior and Flowers/Desper. They're ready to play the 30% of the snaps we ask our swing OL to play, and I'd be comfortable with Senior starting if need be. It just makes no sense to weaken your RT so much by moving one of your 3 best OL out of position to OG because of some ridiculous idea that your QB is injury prone.

[GreenheadDawg]

easy tiger.

So the coaches have had Malone @ RG for 2+ years and you're saying having him @ OG is out of position? How do you come up with that logic? Our offense is built on elite OG play via traps, pulls, and just mauling folks. Malone, like Gabe, Tobias, etc, before him & possibly Clayborn following him, is an elite OG or at least that's what the coaches think since they've played him there for 2 years. Why do you think the read option with Dak up the middle is so successful?

You can't tell me that Malone at guard and some combo of Robinson/Senior @ RT is that much of a dropoff from Beckwith @ OG with Malone @ RT. You're basically going to put Malone @ RT during fall camp for the first time in 2 years before the most anticipated season under Mullen? Why risk that when he's proven that he's a proven RG? That doesn't sound like adequate time for him to get adjusted. From what I saw in the spring game, I don't see Flowers/Desper trumping what Beckwith can do as a swing guard THIS year. Next year, maybe. Either way, I think the whole RT is a very low concern so the discussion is moot.

I agree, If Malone was moving to RT then it would have already happened and we would have heard about it. Mullen and Co. obviously feel ok about the RT position if they haven't moved Malone by now

[War Machine Dawg]

easy tiger.

So the coaches have had Malone @ RG for 2+ years and you're saying having him @ OG is out of position? How do you come up with that logic? Our offense is built on elite OG play via traps, pulls, and just mauling folks. Malone, like Gabe, Tobias, etc, before him & possibly Clayborn following him, is an elite OG or at least that's what the coaches think since they've played him there for 2 years. Why do you think the read option with Dak up the middle is so successful?

You can't tell me that Malone at guard and some combo of Robinson/Senior @ RT is that much of a dropoff from Beckwith @ OG with Malone @ RT. You're basically going to put Malone @ RT during fall camp for the first time in 2 years before the most anticipated season under Mullen? Why risk that when he's proven that he's a proven RG? That doesn't sound like adequate time for him to get adjusted. From what I saw in the spring game, I don't see Flowers/Desper trumping what Beckwith can do as a swing guard THIS year. Next year, maybe. Either way, I think the whole RT is a very low concern so the discussion is moot.


I agree, If Malone was moving to RT then it would have already happened and we would have heard about it. Mullen and Co. obviously feel ok about the RT position if they haven't moved Malone by now

Uhhhh.....Malone has been practicing at RT since the spring. This move has been planned for some time. The reason he started out at G is because Hevesy teaches our OL the offense from the inside out. He's always had the body of a T. 6'7", 340 pound guys usually don't make good Gs. It's hard for guys that tall to get low enough to be effective at G. Most of your Gs are in the 6'4"-6'5" range.

I also don't understand your disdain for Beckwith as a starter. The guy stepped right in for someone you're claiming is an elite G in Malone, and we never missed a beat. If anything, we actually improved. Why demote him to put a guy in his place who'd help the OL more at a different position? Beckwith flat got it done whenever we needed it last year. No coach in his right mind would take him out of the lineup after the success he had.

[Dawgfan77]

Per hev and some others Malone is staying at guard and look for senior to be your starting rt

[Johnson85]

You can't tell me that Malone at guard and some combo of Robinson/Senior @ RT is that much of a dropoff from Beckwith @ OG with Malone @ RT. You're basically going to put Malone @ RT during fall camp for the first time in 2 years before the most anticipated season under Mullen? Why risk that when he's proven that he's a proven RG? That doesn't sound like adequate time for him to get adjusted. From what I saw in the spring game, I don't see Flowers/Desper trumping what Beckwith can do as a swing guard THIS year. Next year, maybe. Either way, I think the whole RT is a very low concern so the discussion is moot.

Yes, you can. If Senior has stepped up and is ready to be our staring RT (which it sounds like is the case from Hevesy's comments about keeping Malone at G), then it may not be that much of an upgrade. But if Robinson is the best returnign option at RT, then you can't go into, as you said the anticipated season under Mullen, without trying to get some more talent at RT.

It's hard to know what's really going on because our coaches are so tight lipped and also because they like to reward upperclassmen for doing things the right way, but I think it's pretty safe to say that barring a switch being flipped in Robinson after his fourth year in the program (certainly possible if not likely), the coaches are doing what they can to find a better option at RT, and if they can't find one, then everybody is in for a disappointing season.