He really thinks the kicking game is ok doesn't he??

[mstatefan91]

http://hailstatebeat.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/live-blog-dan-mullen-press-conference-for-south-alabama-week/

[MSUMatt]

http://hailstatebeat.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/live-blog-dan-mullen-press-conference-for-south-alabama-week/

He's just backing up his players when they are obviously having a mental block regarding kicking. I think it would only get worse if he threw them under the bus.

[Goat Holder]

His actual quote:


On the kickers, Mullen says: "We believe in them. You can't buy into the negative stuff surrounding them."

Unless you're a female, look at actions, not words. He was rotating them all game just to find someone who wouldn't succumb to the pressure. He may have SAID he wasn't worried at the post game presser, and he SAID this quote above, but damn, he's just trying to be positive. Obviously he's trying to fix it. Whether he can or not is up for debate, but you all sound like dipshits when you say he's not trying.

[DawgInMemphis]

He's just backing up his players when they are obviously having a mental block regarding kicking. I think it would only get worse if he threw them under the bus.

I agree. Publicly demeaning these guys isn't going to help with their performance or confidence.

[shoeless joe]

I don't disagree with him overall about kicking. What's he gonna say? "We suck...I can't coach kickers"?

It's definitely psychological with these guys so no need to blast them in the media. But there's no doubt that some things in that area need to be fixed.

[mstatefan91]

His actual quote:



Unless you're a female, look at actions, not words. He was rotating them all game just to find someone who wouldn't succumb to the pressure. He may have SAID he wasn't worried at the post game presser, and he SAID this quote above, but damn, he's just trying to be positive. Obviously he's trying to fix it. Whether he can or not is up for debate, but you all sound like dipshits when you say he's not trying.

Would rather him come out and say that the kicking game isn't what we expect and that we are working on it. Not well the guys had x,y,z excuses and they practice really well.

He blasted the secondary pretty good. What's the difference between them and the kickers on saying something needs to be worked on.

I don't actually think he believes it. Guess you need sarkasterisks in the titles of threads now. I would just rather he own up to the fact that our kickers are not producing and that something needs to change.

[DawgHouseUnited]

We were griping about how Teh Rev throws players under the bus, I'm glad to see that CDM isn't doing the same.

To tack on to what Goat quoted:

He said kicks across the board Saturday were wonky, including kickoff. Said, “It was like Tiger Woods going out there and Happy Gilmore-ing it.”

But outside of that, he says, “they’re doing a pretty darn good job overall.” Says there has been a negative aura, accidental toe balls, botched snaps or holds and just a series of little things which have made things look worse than they are.

We need a few little things to go our way and change that negative aura; it's pretty bad when we're missing PAT's.

[codeDawg]

botched snaps or holds

I'm no special teams coach, but I refuse to believe these guys that kicked well enough in HS to get to MSU and kick well enough in practice are all just falling apart under pressure. Sure, kickers are going to have mis-hits, but bad snaps and holds are going to amplify those mistakes and kill confidence.

There has to be more to this problem, and I would bet it's 80% before the kicker gets to the ball.

[BulldogBear]

To slightly misquote the Duke of Wellington: "What the Mullen says and what the Mullen intends sometimes is night and day."

[War Machine Dawg]

Would rather him come out and say that the kicking game isn't what we expect and that we are working on it. Not well the guys had x,y,z excuses and they practice really well.

He blasted the secondary pretty good. What's the difference between them and the kickers on saying something needs to be worked on.

I don't actually think he believes it. Guess you need sarkasterisks in the titles of threads now. I would just rather he own up to the fact that our kickers are not producing and that something needs to change.

Nailed it. You can address the situation head-on without throwing players under the bus. It isn't that hard. But we all know what really needs to happen is for Mullen to swallow his damn pride and hold open tryouts. These guys are so mentally screwed there's no chance of fixing them. Just watch their body language every time they step on the field in a game.

[Coach34]

I'm no special teams coach, but I refuse to believe these guys that kicked well enough in HS to get to MSU and kick well enough in practice are all just falling apart under pressure.

http://kohlskicking.com/weekly-game-stats-athlete/2606/Evan/Sobiesk?order=field_num_punts_value&sort=desc

[NCDawg]

To slightly misquote the Duke of Wellington: "What the Mullen says and what the Mullen intends sometimes is night and day."

Similar to our former coach, Jackie Sherrill.

[Goat Holder]

I'm no special teams coach, but I refuse to believe these guys that kicked well enough in HS to get to MSU and kick well enough in practice are all just falling apart under pressure. Sure, kickers are going to have mis-hits, but bad snaps and holds are going to amplify those mistakes and kill confidence.

There has to be more to this problem, and I would bet it's 80% before the kicker gets to the ball.

Well, they do use a block in HS. The really good kickers still kick off the ground though, so who knows if that's really the problem.

The way they are pushing the ball off to the right tells me that they aren't turning through the ball. Similar to a golfer's push slice. They aren't putting their power into the ball in the right way. Good kickers have a slight draw, just like good golfers.

[codeDawg]

http://kohlskicking.com/weekly-game-stats-athlete/2606/Evan/Sobiesk?order=field_num_punts_value&sort=desc

Exactly. How does that guy go from making all those 40+ yard kicks to this? It can't just be him under the lights, especially when the other guys are having the same problems.

[maroonmania]

I don't disagree with him overall about kicking. What's he gonna say? "We suck...I can't coach kickers"?



No, he certainly shouldn't say that..... although both sentiments in the quotes are definitely true.

[codeDawg]

Well, they do use a block in HS. The really good kickers still kick off the ground though, so who knows if that's really the problem.

The way they are pushing the ball off to the right tells me that they aren't turning through the ball. Similar to a golfer's push slice. They aren't putting their power into the ball in the right way. Good kickers have a slight draw, just like good golfers.

Right, but what if the ball isn't where it's supposed to be at the time it's supposed to be there? Or what if placement is inconsistent? How good would your draw be if someone had to put the ball down as you started your swing, and they put it in a different place every time? Something is up.

[Dawgheadcheese]

You don't "coach" kickers to kick anyway. It's like trying to teach a basketball player how to become a 3 point shooter when he gets to college. By the time these kids get to college, they either have it or they don't. A coach can help tweak some in the details, and maybe improve a player's success somewhat. But for the most part, you damn well better bring in kids that can already do whatever you are going to expect them to do.

[DudyDawg]

I also don't like dak being the holder. Almost every NFL team uses a punter and I would bet the majority of college teams use the backup. Not that that would fix our kickers, just don't like seeing him hold.

[mstatefan91]

I also don't like dak being the holder. Almost every NFL team uses a punter and I would bet the majority of college teams use the backup. Not that that would fix our kickers, just don't like seeing him hold.

I don't recall seeing him hold this past Saturday. Looked like Bell from where I was

[DudyDawg]

Good. I know he did game one. Didn't check this one. I'm glad. No reason for him to be out there.

[yjnkdawg]

I saw an article where Arizona was having kicking issues last year. So they went out and got the best Juco kicker in the country to either push their kicker or take over the position. The article said the former Juco missed two of three field goals against Stanford, so now they are back to the original kicker they had last year. So, you really can't predict how a kicker will do once they get to D1. I just wonder if a Psychologist could possibly help our kickers, concerning the mental part, to help get their confidence back? I think we used one, in the past, in our athletic program, but I can't remember what the reason was.

[mstatefan1010]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned.... I assume it has, but Starkville High's kicker drilled a 54 yarder last Friday night and has yet to have a KO not result in a touchback. It would be a real shame if this kid leaves Starkville to play college ball.


I know kicking off of the block in high school(if they still do that) adds about 4-5 yards, but that leg strength shouldn't go unnoticed.

[RougeDawg]

May I reiterate for about the 5th or 6th time, why we have continued to have kicker's struggles. As I have stated in the past and was told to me by one of our former kickers, Dan likes to tinker with our kickers more than he likes to tinker with our offense in OOC games. Dan attempts to change multiple aspects of our kickers mechanics all at the same time and does not work on one at a time. Thus, in turn we have kickers who don't know which way is up when they attempt to kick a FG of XP. This is why we look so bad. Dan thinks he a kicking guru and screws everyone up with his "Brilliance".

[TrapGame]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned.... I assume it has, but Starkville High's kicker drilled a 54 yarder last Friday night and has yet to have a KO not result in a touchback. It would be a real shame if this kid leaves Starkville to play college ball.


I know kicking off of the block in high school(if they still do that) adds about 4-5 yards, but that leg strength shouldn't go unnoticed.

Devon Bell was doing the same thing in HS. Now he can't make a 30 yarder to save his life. WTH happened?

[RougeDawg]

Devon Bell was doing the same thing in HS. Now he can't make a 30 yarder to save his life. WTH happened?

Read my post below.

[pdawg10msu]

I don't recall seeing him hold this past Saturday. Looked like Bell from where I was

We were probably rotating holders.***

[Bubb Rubb]

I'm no special teams coach, but I refuse to believe these guys that kicked well enough in HS to get to MSU and kick well enough in practice are all just falling apart under pressure. Sure, kickers are going to have mis-hits, but bad snaps and holds are going to amplify those mistakes and kill confidence.

There has to be more to this problem, and I would bet it's 80% before the kicker gets to the ball.

This is part of special teams too. It has go get fixed.

[codeDawg]

May I reiterate for about the 5th or 6th time, why we have continued to have kicker's struggles. As I have stated in the past and was told to me by one of our former kickers, Dan likes to tinker with our kickers more than he likes to tinker with our offense in OOC games. Dan attempts to change multiple aspects of our kickers mechanics all at the same time and does not work on one at a time. Thus, in turn we have kickers who don't know which way is up when they attempt to kick a FG of XP. This is why we look so bad. Dan thinks he a kicking guru and screws everyone up with his "Brilliance".

I would also ask if Mullen has stepped out of that role now, or has he just done it in title.

[War Machine Dawg]

I would also ask if Mullen has stepped out of that role now, or has he just done it in title.

You don't have to ask, we all know the answer. We saw him "coaching" our punters on the SEC Network.

[justwin]

those HS stats are why we need to go with Sobiesk.....lesser of two evils. After Grave's shanked the PAT, it was all Sobiesk going forward which is good by Mullen.

Sobiesk's college career stats:

Freshman (2013): 3/6 FGs, 15/16 PATs
Spring game: 2/3 FGs including game winner which team carried him off the field. The one he missed was bobbled for several seconds.
Soph (2014): 0/0 FGs, 9/10 PATs

I think the more he kicks, the better he'll be knowing it's his job. His misses are a consistent push. For the most part, his kicks have a consistent makeable ball flight.

We went for it at least twice last weekend on 4th down and converted both in a 40+ yard FG attempt so our offense is capable of converting



http://kohlskicking.com/weekly-game-stats-athlete/2606/Evan/Sobiesk?order=field_num_punts_value&sort=desc

[DawgInMemphis]

May I reiterate for about the 5th or 6th time, why we have continued to have kicker's struggles. As I have stated in the past and was told to me by one of our former kickers, Dan likes to tinker with our kickers more than he likes to tinker with our offense in OOC games. Dan attempts to change multiple aspects of our kickers mechanics all at the same time and does not work on one at a time. Thus, in turn we have kickers who don't know which way is up when they attempt to kick a FG of XP. This is why we look so bad. Dan thinks he a kicking guru and screws everyone up with his "Brilliance".

How complicated can kicking mechanics be? It's not like they're fumbling around with a new golf swing.