Just made it in...

[Liverpooldawg]

The good:
1. The stadium is freaking awsome. Well done to the athletic department! It was loud tonight and it's going to be amazing for big games.
2. I know it was only USM but the defense is pretty salty. There isn't much drop off from the first unit to the second one either.
3. Once the rain stopped you couldn't have asked for a better night in August to watch a game.

The bad:
1. Dak made a couple of really bad decisions. It didn't hurt tonight but in a close game it would have.otherwise he played well.
2. This one has been my worry all along and it's why I haven't bought into the hype yet. The offensive line needs work. They looked really bad in the first quarter against one of the weakest teams we will see all year. They did play better as the game went on but in all honesty a good SEC line would just steamroll USM from the get go. Hopefully the improvement as the game went on will continue. I'm still not buying the hype till I see a better game from the Oline.

[MarketingBully01]

Yeah, agreed. The OL needs to play better. It did seem like the OL picked it up after Hevesy's pep talk. It happened after Dak's interception.

[FlabLoser]

I noticed the OL too. Especially Day getting his ass beat in the 1st Q.

Maybe that was this game being USM's Super Bowl. Beats me.

But it looks concerning.

I was also disappointed in Dak's INT in the endzone. Shouldn't have thrown that. Dak also almost tossed a couple pick 6's in the flats.

[UMCDawg16]

Run Blocking looked solid. Pass protection, not so much. Some of that could be from shuffling guys around to different positions. Pass blocking has a lot to do with chemistry and our Oline has to be struggling with Chemistry since we are trying guys out at different positions.

[MarketingBully01]

I noticed the OL too. Especially Day getting his ass beat in the 1st Q.

Maybe that was this game being USM's Super Bowl. Beats me.

But it looks concerning.

I was also disappointed in Dak's INT in the endzone. Shouldn't have thrown that. Dak also almost tossed a couple pick 6's in the flats.

Yeah, I agree on the Dak INT. What sucked is if he just breaks outside the play before the INT he walks in the endzone. The big thing I want to see against UAB next week is to see Dak run more and create/scramble out of the pocket when things break down instead of stay in the pocket and hold the ball. I am sure Mullen told him just to stay in the pocket (which is kind of concerning IMO) and only give to the RB in the spread option but I would like to see that instinct take over. If we can see that next week, I will feel much better about our offense. I know this is nit picking a bit but we need Dak's legs as well and his ability to create if we are going to have the best possible offense we can have.

[mstatefan91]

I think Dak was told not to run for the most part. He had 23 yards rushing I think. He is capable of much more. I think the coaches wanted him to stay in the pocket and try to create from there. Idk for sure though

Also, pass protection in the first quarter was horrendous. As others have said, it got better. Need some better decisions from Dak on the quick read throws as well.

[BulldogBear]

I think Dak was told not to run for the most part. He had 23 yards rushing I think. He is capable of much more. I think the coaches wanted him to stay in the pocket and try to create from there. Idk for sure though

Also, pass protection in the first quarter was horrendous. As others have said, it got better. Need some better decisions from Dak on the quick read throws as well.

I think this is true also, BUT....

I pray it's just strategy to cut down on him taking a beating and not the over coaching and trying "fix" and "tweak" an already productive player (as they already were) and screwing them up instead like you see so much with previous backups taking over as the starter for a season. Don't fix what ain't broken.

[Reason2succeed]

On TV it looked like Dak the receiver was fighting to get behind the CB to catch a fade but Dak figured that the receiver would have noticed that he was already in the end zone and could just come back to the ball. It was a miscommunication issue period.

All in all, I thought Dak was playing tentative and I don't like that. He should play loose and free. That's what made Johnny Manziel so prolific.

[Dawgface]

All in all, I thought Dak was playing tentative and I don't like that. He should play loose and free. That's what made Johnny Manziel so prolific.

I imagine he was told to play conservatively(limit the running) You don't want him getting banged up in a game like that.

[Statefan]

I imagine he was told to play conservatively(limit the running) You don't want him getting banged up in a game like that.

Exactly. What if we had kept pounding it with Dak and he gets injured and misses several weeks? There would be 100 threads on here demanding that Mullen be fired for running Dak in what was an auto win on the schedule.

[KB21]

With this offense, Dak's running isn't the key. It is the threat of his running that opens up the rest of the offense. He ran the ball 7 times or so in this game. Two or three of those were because the pocket broke down, and he had to create something positive with his legs. Still, even if he only runs the ball 5-7 times a game, the defense has to account for him in a way they never had to account for Tyler Russell. Now, opposing coaches have seen that Dak can roll up nearly 300 yards passing in a little over 2 quarters of play with 4 TD passes. Now he's the dual threat that will cause nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators. Do you load up to stop the running game with Dak and Josh and take a chance that Bear, Jameon, Ross, and Johnson hurt you on the perimeter? Do you drop back to stop Dak throwing the ball and run the risk of getting your 6 man front getting gashed by Dak and Josh on the ground?

This offense, really for the first time since Dan has been here, can truly create a numbers advantage.