What are we lacking?

[CadaverDawg]

We seem to be built similar to Ohio State...so why were we unable to beat Bama?

Dak's inability to throw the deep ball?
Mullen's in game coaching vs Urbans?
Elliot vs JRob?
OSU's OL vs ours?

Or was it simply home field?

How do we get over the hump next season? They lose Sims and who else?

[mstatefan91]

I am convinced that we would have beaten Bama at home this year given the atmosphere we had. Sims would have struggled, and we would have been in the playoff.

Given how everything has gone for the SECW in bowl games, we probably would have lost in the semifinals so yeah...

Edit: To beat Bama, you must dominate the lines. Limit mistakes and if you make mistakes, not get rattled by them.

[bluelightstar]

We seem to be built similar to Ohio State...so why were we unable to beat Bama?

Dak's inability to throw the deep ball?
Mullen's in game coaching vs Urbans?
Elliot vs JRob?
OSU's OL vs ours?

Or was it simply home field?

How do we get over the hump next season? They lose Sims and who else?

Their offensive line was the difference. Ohio State was able to run effectively inside the tackles and was able to get to the edges. Bama's secondary is pretty questionable, but the offensive line gave Jones time to actually test them with the deep ball. Our offensive line was manhandled for most of the first half against Alabama.

We've got to get more talent there. I think that's the biggest difference.

(Oh yeah, it helps that Meyer doesn't think running the QB up the gut is the only way to run the ball.)

[mstatefan91]

Their offensive line was the difference. Ohio State was able to run effectively inside the tackles and was able to get to the edges. Bama's secondary is pretty questionable, but the offensive line gave Jones time to actually test them with the deep ball. Our offensive line was manhandled for most of the first half against Alabama.

We've got to get more talent there. I think that's the biggest difference.

(Oh yeah, it helps that Meyer doesn't think running the QB up the gut is the only way to run the ball.)
Started out testing the perimeters (good speed with a strong RB) and then tested a few deep balls. Finally, they started testing Bama up the middle.

Really a beautiful game plan which worked very well. Ohio State knows it can recruit some QB's. Damn

[Todd4State]

I do think you would have to say that Dan's in game coaching cost us because of the 1A/1B stuff. I do think that homefield was ultimately THE difference. We have the talent right now to beat Alabama.

What we need to do to beat them is not get caught up in the moment and just play our game, and know that it's going to be a war.

I do think our defense needs a shot of energy, and if it is indeed Orgeron who is coming here, I think at the very least he will give us that. The interesting thing about Orgeron when we're talking specifically about Alabama is he knows Lane Kiffin very well. And I'm sure he probably knows what he likes to do and things like that as far as attacking defenses and making adjustments. The other interesting and ironic angle is because Kiffin had his Dad as the DC, he may not know exactly what Coach O would do to counter him. So, if thing go as rumored, that's a short term advantage for us.

[dawgs]

OL imo. Our OL is fine against 80+% of the teams out there, but we can't block consistently enough against the elite DLs (this year that was Bama and OM) to move the ball consistently.

Our playcalling the 2nd half of the season got painfully bland and predictable. 5 wide dak run up the gut works fine on occasion, but if we aren't going to do some different things out of the 5 wide formation more often, it's easy to sit on the QB. Against Bama, we finally started moving the ball when we started using misdirection, play fakes, and got the ball in space, I just don't know why it took us 2.5 quarters to figure out we aren't gonna beat Bama by running between the tackles over and over.

We also seemed to nearly abandon the actual read option later in the season. It was either a straight handoff, or increasingly often, a straight QB run. We didn't make the D make split second decisions on where the ball was going.

[ScoobaDawg]

Oline and Urban superior as a coach. Not to mention having over a month to prepare for a game.
Elliot is a push. Jrob danced behind the lines a lot at times. Elliot not as much. but thats partly a byproduct of line play.

[Bothrops]

Not playing Bama very often helps. They don't have that constant negative hangover, but they remember being beat in the past and it pisses them off enough so they care more. But on the field I think Ohio State has a better OL and a much better defense. There are plenty of differences between us and them. That was proven on the field.

[MetEdDawg]

This year it was our OL and the offensive turnovers. We were too bad in the 1st half to overcome those. We also let Sims beat us with his legs which no Alabama QB has ever done in the last 15 years.

I think we take Bama at home next year if Dak comes back. They lose 3 starting OL, Cooper to the draft and Deandre White to graduation, Yeldon most likely will declare early, Sims graduates, and Vogler graduates. So they lose 8 starters on offense. That's nuts. They should be good on defense again even though DePriest and Dickson graduate, and they lose Perry to graduation and Collins to the draft.

I'm hoping our OL and our secondary are gelled together by game 10 for Bama next year. If they are, I think we win that game. And the more I look at the teams we play next year, the more and more I like next year's set up. Bama loses a bunch on offense, Auburn loses a bunch on offense and could lose a lot on defense depnding on Frost and McKinzy declaring, Arkansas loses a lot on defense, A&M loses a lot on both sides, and OM loses a bunch on defense. I think it's another wide open race next year and our offense is probably going to be the best returning unit in the West next year.

[msstate7]

Oline and Urban superior as a coach. Not to mention having over a month to prepare for a game.
Elliot is a push. Jrob danced behind the lines a lot at times. Elliot not as much. but thats partly a byproduct of line play.

Elliot > jrob.

Elliot is just as hard to tackle and much faster

[Dawgface]

Ill leave it to the gurus to figure out the details, but we are lacking a lot. OSU would have kicked our ass big time.

[maroonmania]

OL imo. Our OL is fine against 80+% of the teams out there, but we can't block consistently enough against the elite DLs (this year that was Bama and OM) to move the ball consistently.

Our playcalling the 2nd half of the season got painfully bland and predictable. 5 wide dak run up the gut works fine on occasion, but if we aren't going to do some different things out of the 5 wide formation more often, it's easy to sit on the QB. Against Bama, we finally started moving the ball when we started using misdirection, play fakes, and got the ball in space, I just don't know why it took us 2.5 quarters to figure out we aren't gonna beat Bama by running between the tackles over and over.

We also seemed to nearly abandon the actual read option later in the season. It was either a straight handoff, or increasingly often, a straight QB run. We didn't make the D make split second decisions on where the ball was going.

OL is the biggest difference. 348 yards at halftime against Bama? Don't even know what the final total was but I'm sure it was WAY over 500 given they had an 85 yard TD run in the second half. Our OL couldn't even block GT in the run game. Like was said our OL is OK against average to good defenses but we can't block the elite teams worth anything.

[Maroonthirteen]

After watching that game last night......talent.

Those two teams were bigger faster and more physical at nearly every position.

[Smitty]

I think us and the Bears have shown that stars can take you far, coaching em up can take you far, but you need to combine these too to get to the promised land and have the in-game ability to win it.

[Coach 57]

We lost to Bama simply because we couldn't control the interior of our OL. Their NT (#90 from Scooba I think) dominated Beckwith, Day & Malone. He prevented us from running inside the tackles PERIOD! Plus when we dropped back to pass he was a disruptive force as a space eating man-hog (as in it took more than 1 man to block him...actually he beat doubles a lot too) which allowed them to blitz right off his keister and easily get pressure. The reverse of that is that OSU was able to control him (not stop him) enough to get running plays inside. It creates a threat if your a DC because now you must spend LBs to help control interior gap integrity. But then you can run counters, tosses & stretch plays that sell the inside but get OUTSIDE. And then your ILBs are playing guessing games on where to be.

The key to beating Bama is to control their "anchor". Ole Miss didn't have to control him because they work the quick passing game with bubbles & tunnel screens. Our offense isn't built that way really. They (Bama) have a guy like that almost every year. He's the entire lynchpin to their defensive game plan. Control him, and you will have success on offense.

[Really Clark?]

Great points coach. Although it seemed that the initial concentration last night was to the perimeter first. This helped loosing up the middle later. Bama had to respect the fact they were losing the battle on the edges. Bama adjusted to that better later but then the interior was opening up more. I think last night also exposed Bama's weakest link on defense, the secondary. Not that they are terrible but not as good as previous years. A banged up Collins and LB's were also a factor. But it was a good chess match.

[Sacrifice]

I'm gonna go with a DC that is creative in his play calling and has our guys playing out of there minds and then SPEED, SPEED then some more SPEED at safety!!!!

[Barking 13]

We lost to Bama simply because we couldn't control the interior of our OL. Their NT (#90 from Scooba I think) dominated Beckwith, Day & Malone. He prevented us from running inside the tackles PERIOD! Plus when we dropped back to pass he was a disruptive force as a space eating man-hog (as in it took more than 1 man to block him...actually he beat doubles a lot too) which allowed them to blitz right off his keister and easily get pressure. The reverse of that is that OSU was able to control him (not stop him) enough to get running plays inside. It creates a threat if your a DC because now you must spend LBs to help control interior gap integrity. But then you can run counters, tosses & stretch plays that sell the inside but get OUTSIDE. And then your ILBs are playing guessing games on where to be.

The key to beating Bama is to control their "anchor". Ole Miss didn't have to control him because they work the quick passing game with bubbles & tunnel screens. Our offense isn't built that way really. They (Bama) have a guy like that almost every year. He's the entire lynchpin to their defensive game plan. Control him, and you will have success on offense.

I know where there is a DC opening...lol

[tupelopix]

Speed! I saw much more speed on the field in both playoff games. We didn't have a single player, particularly a RB who could take it the house at any given moment. And the skill positions on defense were much more solid than what we had.

[bluelightstar]

I actually think we defended Alabama well and don't think that was the difference. They only had 320-ish yards against us at home which was well below what they tended to gain at home.

The real difference will continue to be the offensive line and mental ability to finish. That game turned because Ohio St. broke down the mental barrier and got in the endzone. They had a bad start like we did (down 15, like we were down 19). But that's when their offensive line stepped up and protected Jones, continued to open running lanes, and allowed them to score a TD. We really need an offensive line that can control the game against elite teams or that can at least when more battles then it loses against teams like Alabama or Ole Miss this year.

That's not unique either. If you go back to previous seasons under Mullen and look at our games against top 25 teams, the offense of line has failed to show upin any meaningful fashion in those games. Especially with the quarterback like Chris real for Tyler Russell we were doomed from the start. Dak had really hidden some of the deficiencies in the line, and they're very good line but they're not great line andthat is the next step in my opinion.

[Political Hack]

Dak's turnovers killed the Bama game for us. We were coming back but when you kill 3-4 drives that look promising against a team like Bama, it's over.

We're good enough to win these games now. We're just not good enough to play like shit and win these games.

[thunderclap]

"We also seemed to nearly abandon the actual read option later in the season. It was either a straight handoff, or increasingly often, a straight QB run. We didn't make the D make split second decisions on where the ball was going."

I was wondering if I was the only person who noticed this or maybe imagined it.

[thunderclap]

"We're good enough to win these games now. We're just not good enough to play like shit and win these games."

Yup. You have to bring your A game to the big games. We did not in November.

[klong-dog]

Elliot > jrob.

Elliot is just as hard to tackle and much faster This was the glaring point for me as well. Got to beat Bama with speed on the perimeter occasionally thru the middle. JROB couldn't even get around the edge, due to lack of explosiveness.

[Really Clark?]

This was the glaring point for me as well. Got to beat Bama with speed on the perimeter occasionally thru the middle. JROB couldn't even get around the edge, due to lack of explosiveness.

I agree with this but in this game it was easier to get to the edge with so many LB's hurt for Bama. So it's hard to know if OSU gets the edge like they did if they played the full complement like we did. Holloway is as fast or faster than Elliot he got the edge some but not every time. And later Bama adjusted to stop the perimeter more but that left them open in the middle. Under normal circumstances they wouldn't have to adjust as much just to stop the perimeter runs. Great job by OSU though to exploit Bama weaknesses.

[NCDawg]

It's tough having a good OL when you lose out on almost every good offensive lineman you recruit. Fortunately this year it appears we got one good JC offensive lineman that can play for us. The other offensive lineman that we have committed appears to be a project as most of the lineman we sign are. As we all know, the best offensive lineman is the state is going to Ole Miss. It seems like this is the case year after year. The lack of a good running game caused our losses at Alabama, Ole Miss and GA Tech imo. We gave Robinson no chance to run.

[CadaverDawg]

I think us and the Bears have shown that stars can take you far, coaching em up can take you far, but you need to combine these too to get to the promised land and have the in-game ability to win it.

Interesting, and I agree. All the more reason that getting O on staff may be exactly what the doctor ordered. Mullen will always develop talent...but we need more front end talent to combine with developmental talent that can get us over the hump when we need a big play. Think Fred Ross vs Joe Morrow.....Morrow is developing into a decent receiver, but if we need a clutch play where our guy is just going to out-Athlete someone...we're throwing it to Ross over Morrow. We need more guys like Ross, Redmond, Jones, etc...and we need to get them on the field and involved as much as possible. (Not playing only half the snaps and splitting time with a guy with 1/4 of their talent).

[CadaverDawg]

It's tough having a good OL when you lose out on almost every good offensive lineman you recruit. Fortunately this year it appears we got one good JC offensive lineman that can play for us. The other offensive lineman that we have committed appears to be a project as most of the lineman we sign are. As we all know, the best offensive lineman is the state is going to Ole Miss. It seems like this is the case year after year. The lack of a good running game caused our losses at Alabama, Ole Miss and GA Tech imo. We gave Robinson no chance to run.

+1

Just because our yearly offensive numbers looked good, doesn't mean we have an OL capable of holding their own against the best defenses on our schedule. We have GOT to improve OL recruiting. Especially with our offensive scheme. In Mullen's scheme, if you can't run you can't win. Dak throwing 25-30+ times is a loss damn near every time.

[Big4Dawg]

OM only ran for 76 yards against Bama and they somehow ended up winning.

[msstate7]

+1

Just because our yearly offensive numbers looked good, doesn't mean we have an OL capable of holding their own against the best defenses on our schedule. We have GOT to improve OL recruiting. Especially with our offensive scheme. In Mullen's scheme, if you can't run you can't win. Dak throwing 25-30+ times is a loss damn near every time.

I think rankin was a very good start. If rankin can lock down LT, we will have a strong side to run behind with him and Malone. If clayborn can handle the mental aspects of center, I expect us to run with authority left next season

[Liverpooldawg]

We seem to be built similar to Ohio State...so why were we unable to beat Bama?

Dak's inability to throw the deep ball?
Mullen's in game coaching vs Urbans?
Elliot vs JRob?
OSU's OL vs ours?

Or was it simply home field?

How do we get over the hump next season? They lose Sims and who else?
Elite offensive line
A big running back that also has breakaway speed
A competent defensive secondary.
We had a really good team, those areas are what we lacked to take the next step. The thing that was the most disappointing in the Egg Bowl amd the Orange Bowl was the tremendous amounts of missed tackles. You can't beat good teams missing that many tackles.

[Bama_Dawg]

I think alot of stock is being put into Rankin, and unfairly too. I have my reservations about him. This year at Gulf Coast was not stellar for him (yeah, I know...he's the best juco lineman out there). After Campbell bolted to...damn, some school in Arkansas, I can remember which...the OL play at GC got worse. OL and SB Blocking took many steps back. I have a feeling next year Rankin will play and start, but not be very good until late in the season (which may work out well). He's gonna have to sure up his fundamentals, or we will be in big trouble at LT (if he ends up there).

[dawgs]

Elite offensive line
Breakaway speed at running back
A competent defensive secondary.
We had a really good team, those areas are what we lacked to take the next step. The thing that was the most disappointing in the Egg Bowl amd the Orange Bowl was the tremendous amounts of missed tackles. You can't beat good teams missing that many tackles.

God the missed tackles the last 2 games. I don't remember that many blatantly bad missed tackles in ganes 1-11, but we couldn't go 5 plays without whiffing badly on a tackle in the egg bowl and orange bowl. What changed? That's not a schematic thing, that's just basic fundamentals.

[JDog13]

Tackling, in game adjustments, half time adjustments, post game(shit we need to figure out where we fd up) adjustments, aggressive on their throat offense and defense, special teams, 1st down blitzes, special teams, a focused RB worried about the school and not his stats, left versus right handed special teams......

I have been so thrilled to have JRob as our RB. I see him goofing off and stuff and that's fine, but he has disappeared the last few games. Was he on Mullen's shit list? Was there friction with Josh and Dan because Josh wouldn't do what it took to be successful? Seriously anyone know? He isn't ready for the NFL imo, which isn't worth a damn anyway....I just felt he was was using the moment selfishly, and maybe Dan brought that on by being Dan....Saying ok, I wish him well. Anyone have a clue?

Other than that, I think our lack of aggressive plays at key times. I mean sometimes you just gotta pull the ole tin cup and go for glory. Take shots, but don't go full retard. Get rid of this conservative offense. Play with balls. Show the other team you aren't afraid to go for the win. Blitz on first down, find the electrifying kick returner, use a got damn full back if your oline can't get it done. Play your best players 90 percent of the game like everyone else does. Yeah our players were fresh, but did they ever get into that dominating frame of mind, only to be pulled as soon as they got there. Rhythm, why don't we try letting the team get into one. Screw the 1b's. Put your best 11 on the field every play except for injuries and breathers.

Use more two back sets, less 5 wide, try the diamond I kept seeing everyone talk about. I believe in Mullen, Dak, Shump, Bear, Gabe, and Stone Hands(finally). We got the personnel now, lets get crunk on O.

My x's and o's arent half of what some of you guys have, but it's what I would like to see. I may be wrong. Sorry if its hard to read or understand what i typed, I'm doing several things at once.

[thunderclap]

Tackling, in game adjustments, half time adjustments, post game(shit we need to figure out where we fd up) adjustments, aggressive on their throat offense and defense, special teams, 1st down blitzes, special teams, a focused RB worried about the school and not his stats, left versus right handed special teams......

I have been so thrilled to have JRob as our RB. I see him goofing off and stuff and that's fine, but he has disappeared the last few games. Was he on Mullen's shit list? Was there friction with Josh and Dan because Josh wouldn't do what it took to be successful? Seriously anyone know? He isn't ready for the NFL imo, which isn't worth a damn anyway....I just felt he was was using the moment selfishly, and maybe Dan brought that on by being Dan....Saying ok, I wish him well. Anyone have a clue?

Other than that, I think our lack of aggressive plays at key times. I mean sometimes you just gotta pull the ole tin cup and go for glory. Take shots, but don't go full retard. Get rid of this conservative offense. Play with balls. Show the other team you aren't afraid to go for the win. Blitz on first down, find the electrifying kick returner, use a got damn full back if your oline can't get it done. Play your best players 90 percent of the game like everyone else does. Yeah our players were fresh, but did they ever get into that dominating frame of mind, only to be pulled as soon as they got there. Rhythm, why don't we try letting the team get into one. Screw the 1b's. Put your best 11 on the field every play except for injuries and breathers.

Use more two back sets, less 5 wide, try the diamond I kept seeing everyone talk about. I believe in Mullen, Dak, Shump, Bear, Gabe, and Stone Hands(finally). We got the personnel now, lets get crunk on O.

My x's and o's arent half of what some of you guys have, but it's what I would like to see. I may be wrong. Sorry if its hard to read or understand what i typed, I'm doing several things at once.

Think that covers it well. I think a lot of us would like to see a little more hair on fire.

[IMissJack]

To me the biggest issue is they kept Amari covered, we cannot. Also, their OL is better than ours.

[BHildreth3]

Simple- go back to Relf offense (find a good lead blocker /RB or TE) - you can't just call running plays for 1 RB or Dak.

Split shotgun formations and more pistol (with a true TB and TE/RB) with quick play action screens and occasionally throwing deep and we have more success.

Then in the redzone, throw in some 2 TE I formation and a dash of wishbone, sometimes and you get the running game you need to win. This goaline one-back shotgun shit has got to go.

[ShotgunDawg]

To me the biggest issue is they kept Amari covered, we cannot. Also, their OL is better than ours.

I wonder if some of you actually watch the games.

Cooper had 88 yards and 1 TD against us and 71 yards and 2 TDs against Ohio State.

Simply... he wasn't the problem and had nothing to do with why we lost and Ohio State won.

[CadaverDawg]

Simple- go back to Relf offense (find a good lead blocker /RB or TE) - you can't just call running plays for 1 RB or Dak.

Split shotgun formations and more pistol (with a true TB and TE/RB) with quick play action screens and occasionally throwing deep and we have more success.

Then in the redzone, throw in some 2 TE I formation and a dash of wishbone, sometimes and you get the running game you need to win. This goaline one-back shotgun shit has got to go.

I agree, we have gotten away from what we did best with Relf. Not saying we need to go full blown Relf offense....but we need to get back some of that power attack. Or is our OL not talented enough? And I love the FB and 2 TE idea. We used to run much more option....now our only option play is a guaranteed pitch play, so not really an option. It almost seems like we ran a Tyler Russell offense later in the season, except for the "run straight in to a brick wall" QB draw play that became totally unproductive.

I'm not in favor of a ton of changes, bc our offense was successful overall...but we have to find a way to run the ball more against good defenses. Dak can't throw 50 passes and us expect to win.

Good thoughts, man.

[dawgs]

Simple- go back to Relf offense (find a good lead blocker /RB or TE) - you can't just call running plays for 1 RB or Dak.

Split shotgun formations and more pistol (with a true TB and TE/RB) with quick play action screens and occasionally throwing deep and we have more success.

Then in the redzone, throw in some 2 TE I formation and a dash of wishbone, sometimes and you get the running game you need to win. This goaline one-back shotgun shit has got to go.

I used to hate the shotgun stuff inside the 5 yard line too, even before we started running it. But I've come around on it not being a problem. Our problem is the plays we run out of it.

[Offshore Dawg]

I would think that we are lacking 5* athletes. Dawgs get one, & we are all ecstatic about it. Bamma & LSU have them covering the bench just waiting their turn.

[dawgs]

I would think that we are lacking 5* athletes. Dawgs get one, & we are all ecstatic about it. Bamma & LSU have them covering the bench just waiting their turn.

Oregon's recruiting is not significantly better than ours. But oregon uses things like tempo to their advantage better than us. I know someone pointed out the plays run star in here, but when you account for the fact that more of our games were in contention into the 4th while oregon was often running clock in the 4th, I think it's clear we don't play that fast.