Response by GEoff Collings when asked if he noticed the struggles of 1B against UK

[starkvegasdawg]

"We did, that's the first thing we saw, but we're committed to it. We're committed to those guys playing, we're committed to those guys getting better. The nice thing about the way we've structured things this season is when we need to get stops, regardless of who's on the field, we get those stops."

[MSUDawg4Life]

That's the best solution. Those guys need to get better and they don't get better sitting on the bench.

I think those guys have something to prove this weekend and will hold their own.

[codeDawg]

"The nice thing about the way we've structured things this season is when we need to get stops, regardless of who's on the field, we get those stops."

Read: Our D-Line and LB corp is so good this year that I can dial up a blitz to make up for my shitty 1B secondary.

[HoopsDawg]

When we play Bama, if Cooper is on the field, Redmond better be on the field.

[BeardoMSU]

When we play Bama, if Cooper is on the field, Redmond better be on the field.

This. Just like when we played SC at home in 2011, every time Alshon Jeffrey was on the field, J-Banks was right there with him...up until the very last play, for some reason /wtf...

[Lloyd Christmas]

When we play Bama, if Cooper is on the field, Redmond better be on the field.

F**kin A. I'm fine with 1B getting reps against mediocre competition but we better have the 1A in the majority of that game.

[Lloyd Christmas]

This. Just like when we played SC at home in 2011, every time Alshon Jeffrey was on the field, J-Banks was right there with him...up until the very last play, for some reason /wtf...

You had to bring that up.

[FlabLoser]

Collins isn't stupid. We'll be fine.

You folks need to realize that 1A playing all game long turns into playing like 1Bs in the 4th quarter.

[NCDawg]

Read: Our D-Line and LB corp is so good this year that I can dial up a blitz to make up for my shitty 1B secondary.

Doesn't seem to me that we're all that great at blitzing. Seems like we get a pretty good push, but never can quite get to the QB, and the QB has time to look down field and complete the pass because our DB's don't cover too well. I note that 2 of our defensive linemen, no. 88 and 98, can't seem to get any push whatsoever.

[RougeDawg]

Collins isn't stupid. We'll be fine.

You folks need to realize that 1A playing all game long turns into playing like 1Bs in the 4th quarter.

^^^This^^^. And in crucial situations we have our A's on the field. They know what they are doing. I fully expect split subs and mix and match defense groups against Bama, but against the lesser teams we are letting the group that will be here next year play as one unit. That's the only way they will learn how to play together. The best thing from all of this is that we have such a vast amount of defensive talent and depth, we are able to get our B's quality reps in meaningful minutes during Key SEC games. Not many teams are able to do that and still win, rather convincingly every week. We will be fine.

[TopDog58]

Doesn't seem to me that we're all that great at blitzing. Seems like we get a pretty good push, but never can quite get to the QB, and the QB has time to look down field and complete the pass because our DB's don't cover too well. I note that 2 of our defensive linemen, no. 88 and 98, can't seem to get any push whatsoever.

?????

We lead the SEC with 28 sacks on the year and opposing QBs are barely completing 50% of their passes. What team have you been watching?

[Westdawg]

i also rarely see much more than a basic front 4 getting pass rush.....and that is amazing. I really think we have not shown many blitz packages at all to this point in the season, which is amazing. I didn't say we have not brought more than 4, but not much of it. I think the staff has held a lot of things back even to this point in the season for Bama and Ole Miss.

[Ralph]

Sounds like Mullen has taken the 'just outscorethe opponent" philosophy rather than focusing on margin of victory. He probably feels we can sacrifice defensive performance bc he believes in the offense so much. If the O can keep up that's a pretty good way to build depth. I bet we see more 1a vs bama and om

[codeDawg]

i also rarely see much more than a basic front 4 getting pass rush.....and that is amazing. I really think we have not shown many blitz packages at all to this point in the season, which is amazing. I didn't say we have not brought more than 4, but not much of it. I think the staff has held a lot of things back even to this point in the season for Bama and Ole Miss.

We have brought very few full on blitz packages this year, and when we have we have destroyed the opposing line. That last blitz against KY where we brought 50 off the edge comes to mind. He barely had time to get the ball in his hand before we were on top of him.

This team has not been challenged so far this year. We've been dominating early, then farting around **ahem** building experience for the rest of the game. To Collins' point, when we put ourselves in a corner, we've been able to dial it up and get out except in the last game where that kid ran free on us a few times. I don't think we had prepared for him being able to run around like that, but we still never trailed in that game.

[HoopsDawg]

Collins isn't stupid. We'll be fine.

You folks need to realize that 1A playing all game long turns into playing like 1Bs in the 4th quarter.

No one, and I mean no one suggest playing the entire 1A defense the whole game. You have to rotate D-linemen at the college level in today's game. But we can be much more prudent and selective in how we sub the back 7. Collins isn't stupid but we are helping other teams exploit easy mismatches. e.g. Zach Jackson lined up man to man with a slot receiver.

[1bigdawg]

To Collins' point, when we put ourselves in a corner, we've been able to dial it up and get out except in the last game where that kid ran free on us a few times. I don't think we had prepared for him being able to run around like that, but we still never trailed in that game.

Towles only had nine rushes on the year prior to our game. We had not prepared for that at all. I do think we could have adjusted better.

[maroonmania]

Collins isn't stupid. We'll be fine.

You folks need to realize that 1A playing all game long turns into playing like 1Bs in the 4th quarter.

AS HAS BEEN STATED, its not the 1Bs killing us its the 1B secondary. The 1B secondary should see VERY little action in the Alabama and OM games or fans are going to go off on this defensive staff. There is no real reason from a "staying fresh" perspective to play the 1B secondary players as much as we do. Its liveable as long as we keep winning but there is little room for error if we want to pull off a victory in Tuscaloosa or Oxford.

[Homedawg]

AS HAS BEEN STATED, its not the 1Bs killing us its the 1B secondary. The 1B secondary should see VERY little action in the Alabama and OM games or fans are going to go off on this defensive staff. There is no real reason from a "staying fresh" perspective to play the 1B secondary players as much as we do. Its liveable as long as we keep winning but there is little room for error if we want to pull off a victory in Tuscaloosa or Oxford.
You guys have been pickin on Coman and Evans for a while. Might ought to go back and see who the safetys were on at least 3 td's. The td pass over zach Jackson the safety's were market and cox. The 3 and goal from the ten, when towles ran for his first td run, the safety's were market and Hughes. The td on the qb draw from the 5ish the safety's were market and Hughes. I'm not saying Coman and Hughes are all league players, however, Coman and Evans both defended passes well that would have been td's! I don't think there is a whole lot of difference in the 5 safetys we are playing. Now Redmond is clearly our best corner. Not even close and he should get more snaps. On that I can agree.

[maroonmania]

You guys have been pickin on Coman and Evans for a while. Might ought to go back and see who the safetys were on at least 3 td's. The td pass over zach Jackson the safety's were market and cox. The 3 and goal from the ten, when towles ran for his first td run, the safety's were market and Hughes. The td on the qb draw from the 5ish the safety's were market and Hughes. I'm not saying Coman and Hughes are all league players, however, Coman and Evans both defended passes well that would have been td's! I don't think there is a whole lot of difference in the 5 safetys we are playing. Now Redmond is clearly our best corner. Not even close and he should get more snaps. On that I can agree.

Well Tolando Cleveland (1B) botched the tackle on the first long TD and on the second long TD I don't know why we had Zack Jackson on Blue with no safety help but that was just a mismatch. Hughes and Cox are suppose to be our starting safeties but on most of these long TD passes we give up there is NO safety help for the corner so it really doesn't matter who is at safety I guess.

[Homedawg]

On the td over Jackson we had a safety, it was market , he jumped the outside receiver. So that's as much on him as Jackson. And I'm not digging market, he's been a nice player. But coverage isn't his strength either. As for Cleveland, yea he missed a tackle, but I have no problems w his coverage for the year. He should have made the tackle for sure. Instead of going for a half ass strip. Hughes isn't playing as many snaps as the others, I would assume there is a reason for that.

[TheDogFather]

Doesn't seem to me that we're all that great at blitzing. Seems like we get a pretty good push, but never can quite get to the QB, and the QB has time to look down field and complete the pass because our DB's don't cover too well. I note that 2 of our defensive linemen, no. 88 and 98, can't seem to get any push whatsoever.

WTH?

[Coach34]

Well Tolando Cleveland (1B) botched the tackle on the first long TD and on the second long TD I don't know why we had Zack Jackson on Blue with no safety help but that was just a mismatch. Hughes and Cox are suppose to be our starting safeties but on most of these long TD passes we give up there is NO safety help for the corner so it really doesn't matter who is at safety I guess.

You do realize in some coverages there is no safety help right???

[NCDawg]

WTH?

Just what I'm seeing. Except on a few occasions, we can't seem to quite pressure the QB enough before he gets the pass off to complete the pass. Obviously, some of you disagree and feel we are getting enough pressure on the QB. Maybe you are right, and our pass rush is sufficient. I hope you are right, and we don't give the Arkansas QB enough time to pick us apart.

[MarketingBully01]

Just what I'm seeing. Except on a few occasions, we can't seem to quite pressure the QB enough before he gets the pass off to complete the pass. Obviously, some of you disagree and feel we are getting enough pressure on the QB. Maybe you are right, and our pass rush is sufficient. I hope you are right, and we don't give the Arkansas QB enough time to pick us apart.

Arkansas QB and picking us apart is the dumbest thing anyone has said on this board in a while. Arkansas does not have any WR to pick us apart with. Yes, they have good Tight Ends. Brandon Allen does not run whatsoever and at best is a below average QB. At least the Kentucky QB is going to play on Sundays and can run. We will win this game by multiple touchdowns.

[TopDog58]

Just what I'm seeing. Except on a few occasions, we can't seem to quite pressure the QB enough before he gets the pass off to complete the pass. Obviously, some of you disagree and feel we are getting enough pressure on the QB. Maybe you are right, and our pass rush is sufficient. I hope you are right, and we don't give the Arkansas QB enough time to pick us apart.

Look at the stats, and then you can stop using the phrase "picked apart". We have had 309, repeat THREE HUNDRED and NINE passes attempted on us thru 7 games. That is TOPS in the SEC, regardless of number of games played. The next closest team is in the 280s.

We've given up 163 completions, which equates to 52.7% passes completed. 2251 total passing yards. Our yards per attempt given up is 7.28, and yards per completion is 13.81. This is the only number that is too high.

For comparison the 2nd "worst" passing defense in the SEC is Auburn at 242 yards per game (7 games). Their stats: 137 completions, 250 attempts, 1694 total yards. 6.78 YPA, 12.36 YPC.

The SEC's best pass D is LSU. 128 completions, 259 attempts, 158.4 YPG. 1426 total yards. 5.51 YPA, 11.14 YPC.

As you can see, LSU has played NINE games and had 50 less passes thrown against them in 2 more games than us.

As a matter of fact, no other SEC team to date has had 300 pass attempts against. So, are we really being "picked apart"????

[NCDawg]

Look at the stats, and then you can stop using the phrase "picked apart". We have had 309, repeat THREE HUNDRED and NINE passes attempted on us thru 7 games. That is TOPS in the SEC, regardless of number of games played. The next closest team is in the 280s.

We've given up 163 completions, which equates to 52.7% passes completed. 2251 total passing yards. Our yards per attempt given up is 7.28, and yards per completion is 13.81. This is the only number that is too high.

For comparison the 2nd "worst" passing defense in the SEC is Auburn at 242 yards per game (7 games). Their stats: 137 completions, 250 attempts, 1694 total yards. 6.78 YPA, 12.36 YPC.

The SEC's best pass D is LSU. 128 completions, 259 attempts, 158.4 YPG. 1426 total yards. 5.51 YPA, 11.14 YPC.

As you can see, LSU has played NINE games and had 50 less passes thrown against them in 2 more games than us.

As a matter of fact, no other SEC team to date has had 300 pass attempts against. So, are we really being "picked apart"????

I didn't say we were being "picked apart". I just said I hope we don't give the Arkansas QB enough time to pick us apart. Jeez- some of you guys are extremely sensitive. I'm 100% State fan also, and just stating what I'm hoping.

[Really Clark?]

I didn't say we were being "picked apart". I just said I hope we don't give the Arkansas QB enough time to pick us apart. Jeez- some of you guys are extremely sensitive. I'm 100% State fan also, and just stating what I'm hoping.

It's not so much that people are sensitive as it's your statements about what you are "seeing" that are absurd and makes people call you out. When the team leads the league in sacks with fewer games played than several teams and perceive we are not getting enough pressure then you don't know what you are looking at when you watch a game or in fact have not watched a game. We sacked KY QB 7 times last week.

[HoopsDawg]

Look at the stats, and then you can stop using the phrase "picked apart". We have had 309, repeat THREE HUNDRED and NINE passes attempted on us thru 7 games. That is TOPS in the SEC, regardless of number of games played. The next closest team is in the 280s.

We've given up 163 completions, which equates to 52.7% passes completed. 2251 total passing yards. Our yards per attempt given up is 7.28, and yards per completion is 13.81. This is the only number that is too high.

For comparison the 2nd "worst" passing defense in the SEC is Auburn at 242 yards per game (7 games). Their stats: 137 completions, 250 attempts, 1694 total yards. 6.78 YPA, 12.36 YPC.

The SEC's best pass D is LSU. 128 completions, 259 attempts, 158.4 YPG. 1426 total yards. 5.51 YPA, 11.14 YPC.

As you can see, LSU has played NINE games and had 50 less passes thrown against them in 2 more games than us.

As a matter of fact, no other SEC team to date has had 300 pass attempts against. So, are we really being "picked apart"????

We are almost last in the country in passing yards given up. So yes, we have some issues that have to be corrected to reach our goals. It's all about the season for me and it should be for the staff. Find the best 2 safeties and best corners and leave them in against Bama and Ole Miss. They don't need a rest.

[the59dawg]

Towles only had nine rushes on the year prior to our game. We had not prepared for that at all. I do think we could have adjusted better.
Correct. On most if not all of his runs up the middle, there was not MLB there. Either Wells was on a short receiver and the 2 LB's were dropping or we were spread out too far, but the middle was wide open on most of his runs.

[the59dawg]

Well Tolando Cleveland (1B) botched the tackle on the first long TD and on the second long TD I don't know why we had Zack Jackson on Blue with no safety help but that was just a mismatch. Hughes and Cox are suppose to be our starting safeties but on most of these long TD passes we give up there is NO safety help for the corner so it really doesn't matter who is at safety I guess.
It was also one super great pass. Noone could have defended where that ball was placed. Zack ain't turtle slow.

[MabenMaroon]

From the John Feinstein this morning ( CBSSports Radio ) quoting Dean Smith " I was never sad about a one point win " .....

[ScottH]

I think the staff has held a lot of things back even to this point in the season for Bama and Ole Miss.

Very Observant