Mullen confirmed what I've said for at least 2-3 years...

[War Machine Dawg]

He has a philosophy for D and expects his DC to work within that framework. Bend then break ain't going anywhere, folks. Control freak gonna control freak. Damn it's good to be talking actual football aGAIN.

[GTHOM]

He confirms it every game

[archdog]

He confirms it every game

rep given.

[War Machine Dawg]

He confirms it every game

Obviously. But he acts like it's the fault of the DC then throws them under the bus and fires them every year. At least he finally admitted it's his philosophy. Now the blame can be fully placed on Dan when it goes to shit again this year. Until Mullen has the confidence to hand the keys to his DC then get the hell out of the way, nothing is going to change on that side of the ball. Doesn't matter if we run a 4-3, 3-4, 4-2-5, or the Buddy Ryan 46.

[Maroons]

He has a philosophy for D and expects his DC to work within that framework. Bend then break ain't going anywhere, folks. Control freak gonna control freak. Damn it's good to be talking actual football aGAIN.

I prefer to think in terms of limiting explosive plays and locking down inside the 30. Also, getting off the field on 3rd downs is key. Do those things and your D will allow you to win games. Turnovers are a bonus but are somewhat random and tend to even out over the long-term.

[maroonmania]

Obviously. But he acts like it's the fault of the DC then throws them under the bus and fires them every year. At least he finally admitted it's his philosophy. Now the blame can be fully placed on Dan when it goes to shit again this year. Until Mullen has the confidence to hand the keys to his DC then get the hell out of the way, nothing is going to change on that side of the ball. Doesn't matter if we run a 4-3, 3-4, 4-2-5, or the Buddy Ryan 46.

Yep, and then the DC leaves and we start over with rinse and repeat.

[HSVDawg]

Obviously. But he acts like it's the fault of the DC then throws them under the bus and fires them every year. At least he finally admitted it's his philosophy. Now the blame can be fully placed on Dan when it goes to shit again this year. Until Mullen has the confidence to hand the keys to his DC then get the hell out of the way, nothing is going to change on that side of the ball. Doesn't matter if we run a 4-3, 3-4, 4-2-5, or the Buddy Ryan 46.

I think most people have been laying the blame at Dan's feet for the defense (when warranted) for the past 3 or 4 years at the very least. It should have been obvious when our D's playcalling over the first 3 coordinators didn't change one iota who was really calling the shots on defense. Nothing he said was new information.

[archdog]

Another thing he confirmed once again, the Simmons situation is more than a 20 second edited video. The university did their due diligence on a person that up until that moment, hasn't had an issue as far as I know. I am not in anyway condoning the action, but considering this guy wasn't even an NCAA athlete at the time of the incident, what do people expect. If we turned him down, 13 other SEC schools would have extended an invitation because they know he is a player with an isolated incident. All 13 schools and the media can say whatever they want, but I guarantee you all will be there recruiting him the day after we let him go.

This was a criminal situation not an SEC football situation. The DA didn't press felony charges, so why should we.

Now that said, Mullen did basically say that every student on campus is the university's responsibility. That is the nature of the admittance procedure process. Dan will assume and hasn't shrunk away from responsibility like another coach at UM has over their players actions. Dan's record with discipline and mentorship has been well established though his 7-8 years as a HC. Freeze and others need to take note of that. Especially any coaches at Florida, Georgia, TN, and UM. Violence against the fairer sex is never condoned, but this can be handled without a years worth of suspensions and not allowing this guy to enroll in a university that can help build him into a better man.

Hell make him volunteer 300 hours over the next 3 years at a abused women's facility and be done with it.

[Bama_Dawg]

Another thing he confirmed once again, the Simmons situation is more than a 20 second edited video. The university did their due diligence on a person that up until that moment, hasn't had an issue as far as I know. I am not in anyway condoning the action, but considering this guy wasn't even an NCAA athlete at the time of the incident, what do people expect. If we turned him down, 13 other SEC schools would have extended an invitation because they know he is a player with an isolated incident. All 13 schools and the media can say whatever they want, but I guarantee you all will be there recruiting him the day after we let him go.

This was a criminal situation not an SEC football situation. The DA didn't press felony charges, so why should we.

Now that said, Mullen did basically say that every student on campus is the university's responsibility. That is the nature of the admittance procedure process. Dan will assume and hasn't shrunk away from responsibility like another coach at UM has over their players actions. Dan's record with discipline and mentorship has been well established though his 7-8 years as a HC. Freeze and others need to take note of that. Especially any coaches at Florida, Georgia, TN, and UM. Violence against the fairer sex is never condoned, but this can be handled without a years worth of suspensions and not allowing this guy to enroll in a university that can help build him into a better man.

Hell make him volunteer 300 hours over the next 3 years at a abused women's facility and be done with it.

We also have a secret weapon and her name is Megan Mullen. I truly believe she loves every one of the kids on the team like a child, and watches over them as such. If allowed, I'm sure she's already sat down with Simmons and talked to him.

...and she used to be in the media and she knows how that plays out too, so she really can give both sides of the story.

[parabrave]

I prefer to think in terms of limiting explosive plays and locking down inside the 30. Also, getting off the field on 3rd downs is key. Do those things and your D will allow you to win games. Turnovers are a bonus but are somewhat random and tend to even out over the long-term.

Yep that really worked in the last couple of Egg bowls.

[Mjoelner34]

He has a philosophy for D and expects his DC to work within that framework. Bend then break ain't going anywhere, folks. Control freak gonna control freak. Damn it's good to be talking actual football aGAIN.

Since Mullen himself has said how difficult it is for an offense to string together 10 or 12 plays and drive 80 yards to score, I wish somebody would ask him: By playing bend-but-don't-break defense and allowing teams to drive to the 50 yard line before forcing a punt, aren't you now putting your offense in a situation where they have to drive 80 yards to score?

[TrapGame]

Since Mullen himself has said how difficult it is for an offense to string together 10 or 12 plays and drive 80 yards to score, I wish somebody would ask him: By playing bend-but-don't-break defense and allowing teams to drive to the 50 yard line before forcing a punt, aren't you now putting your offense in a situation where they have to drive 80 yards to score?

Well, that goes into his post game comments about not executing on offense. He doesn't see that allowing the opposing offense to get to the 50 and punt to pin us in between the 10 and goal line has anything to do with it. Dan is an offensive coach and his view of the defense is they're just there to get him the ball back, that's it.

Let's face it when he took the leash off Manny last season is when we saw some really good defense. But, he was taking the leash off Manny after he allowed the opposing offense to flip the field too many times.

[fishwater99]

Obviously. But he acts like it's the fault of the DC then throws them under the bus and fires them every year. At least he finally admitted it's his philosophy. Now the blame can be fully placed on Dan when it goes to shit again this year. Until Mullen has the confidence to hand the keys to his DC then get the hell out of the way, nothing is going to change on that side of the ball. Doesn't matter if we run a 4-3, 3-4, 4-2-5, or the Buddy Ryan 46.

And we wonder why we can't keep a good DC...

[FISHDAWG]

Another thing he confirmed once again, the Simmons situation is more than a 20 second edited video. The university did their due diligence on a person that up until that moment, hasn't had an issue as far as I know. I am not in anyway condoning the action, but considering this guy wasn't even an NCAA athlete at the time of the incident, what do people expect. If we turned him down, 13 other SEC schools would have extended an invitation because they know he is a player with an isolated incident. All 13 schools and the media can say whatever they want, but I guarantee you all will be there recruiting him the day after we let him go.

This was a criminal situation not an SEC football situation. The DA didn't press felony charges, so why should we.

Now that said, Mullen did basically say that every student on campus is the university's responsibility. That is the nature of the admittance procedure process. Dan will assume and hasn't shrunk away from responsibility like another coach at UM has over their players actions. Dan's record with discipline and mentorship has been well established though his 7-8 years as a HC. Freeze and others need to take note of that. Especially any coaches at Florida, Georgia, TN, and UM. Violence against the fairer sex is never condoned, but this can be handled without a years worth of suspensions and not allowing this guy to enroll in a university that can help build him into a better man.

Hell make him volunteer 300 hours over the next 3 years at a abused women's facility and be done with it.

Les Miles agrees ...... where was all this concern when LSU had a guy in 5 out of 6 line ups ?
Or when FSU's quarterback was constantly in the news ?
I won't even bring NMU into the conversation

[War Machine Dawg]

I think most people have been laying the blame at Dan's feet for the defense (when warranted) for the past 3 or 4 years at the very least. It should have been obvious when our D's playcalling over the first 3 coordinators didn't change one iota who was really calling the shots on defense. Nothing he said was new information.

I agree with all of that. Just saying it's nice to hear him finally say it on the record to the media. As you say, we all "knew" it for 3-4 years, but Mullen kept pretending it's the DC. Getting him on the record that it's his philosophy is important. It's a topic we can finally address with more than speculation.

[Dawg61]

Must be doing something right since we've had Texas & Florida hire away our DC's.

[smootness]

Every HC has a general philosophy they believe in and want their teams to showcase. There are no (or at least very, very few) HC's who would hire different kinds of DCs and just let them do whatever they want. It makes sense that Mullen has an overall philosophy he likes and goes after DCs who believe the same and then has general guidelines within which he wants the DC to operate.

But our defense has changed with coordinators. It was much more aggressive under Diaz than it was under Wilson, for example. And Collins' first year was more aggressive than his 2nd year, for whatever reason.

'Bend but don't break' is an overall philosophy; there are many ways to go about that philosophy.

[AROB44]

Must be doing something right since we've had Texas & Florida hire away our DC's.


+1....but you really shouldn't bring facts to the table in the middle of a Mullen bashing thread. Mullen being No. 3 on all time wins at MSU is obvoulsy because of blind luck not his ability as a coach.

[Taog Redloh]

So why is this a bad thing?

Every coach does it. Cohen controls his pitching coaches too, that was also bore out this year. A certain pitcher told me that. It's nothing earth-shattering. And the players don't seem to mind, it just is what it is.

I'm glad our coaches have general plans regarding what they want their subordinates to do. It's the proper way. Especially since we have become a pretty good stepping stone job for coordinators. I won't ever complain about that.

[Jack Lambert]

I don't give a shit. We have won a lot of football games the past three years. Just keep winning and I don't care what type of defense they run.

[Maroons]

Yep that really worked in the last couple of Egg bowls.

You're mistaken if you think we've lost the last two EB's because of our D. You need to go rewatch - bad OL play and TO's have been the difference.

[Bothrops]

Our defense sucked last year.

All. Year. Long.

[Johnson85]

Every HC has a general philosophy they believe in and want their teams to showcase. There are no (or at least very, very few) HC's who would hire different kinds of DCs and just let them do whatever they want. It makes sense that Mullen has an overall philosophy he likes and goes after DCs who believe the same and then has general guidelines within which he wants the DC to operate.

But our defense has changed with coordinators. It was much more aggressive under Diaz than it was under Wilson, for example. And Collins' first year was more aggressive than his 2nd year, for whatever reason.

'Bend but don't break' is an overall philosophy; there are many ways to go about that philosophy.

I don't think it's the problem with Mullen's philosophy. Surely most people don't want our players to have to start from scratch every time we have a new DC, which realistically is going to be every three years at best, unless we get into a situation where Mullen let's his personal relationship with a DC prevent him from firing a bad one. For all the bitching about Mullen, there's really only been one time his personality hurt us, which is when Collins hated him, and hated him so much that he checked out before the Egg Bowl when we were potentially playing for a playoff spot. Every other DC has been encouraged to leave (Torbush, Wilson), or left for a "dream" opportunity (Manny to Texas), or left when Mullen was indifferent about him staying (Manny to Miami).

[NCDawg]

Mullen may meddle with the defense but he apparently refrains from meddling with the weakest part of the team, the offensive line. Wonder why that is?

[BoomBoom]

Since Mullen himself has said how difficult it is for an offense to string together 10 or 12 plays and drive 80 yards to score, I wish somebody would ask him: By playing bend-but-don't-break defense and allowing teams to drive to the 50 yard line before forcing a punt, aren't you now putting your offense in a situation where they have to drive 80 yards to score?

i would think Mullen thought the last 2 years that his offense could score on anyone, and if the D didn't give up points then we'd win. i can't argue with that the last 2 years, but this year will be different. we'll see if Mullen gets it. but our CBs may be so shitty that it may not matter.

[Jack Lambert]

i would think Mullen thought the last 2 years that his offense could score on anyone, and if the D didn't give up points then we'd win. i can't argue with that the last 2 years, but this year will be different. we'll see if Mullen gets it. but our CBs may be so shitty that it may not matter.

I think our safeties will be better coached and will be in the right position to help the Corners. Me personally not worried about the defense. I am worried about the O Line but I am not losing any sleep over it now.

[Todd4State]

i would think Mullen thought the last 2 years that his offense could score on anyone, and if the D didn't give up points then we'd win. i can't argue with that the last 2 years, but this year will be different. we'll see if Mullen gets it. but our CBs may be so shitty that it may not matter.

I think you nailed it- and in the process probably nailed why Dan goes through DC's so much. Therefore in Dan's mind if we lose it's always the defense's fault.

[Todd4State]

Bend but don't break never made much sense to me. The goal of the defense is to get the ball back to the offense as quickly as possible and with the best field position possible. Not let a team drive down 60-80 yards and get a field goal, eat up time which costs you points or wait until the other team screws up. I think defense's should force the issue and try to confuse the offense and use pressure to force mistakes and disrupt timing- see Buddy Ryan. And sure, you may give up a big play every now and then- but there isn't a foolproof defense or every one would be running it. I think something like a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5 fits the types of athletes that we typically get a MSU much better than bend and break. See Joe Lee Dunn. And that defense stopped working because he went JUCO crazy and stopped getting guys like Barrin Simpson and Pig Prather.

[GTHOM]

Obviously. But he acts like it's the fault of the DC then throws them under the bus and fires them every year. At least he finally admitted it's his philosophy. Now the blame can be fully placed on Dan when it goes to shit again this year. Until Mullen has the confidence to hand the keys to his DC then get the hell out of the way, nothing is going to change on that side of the ball. Doesn't matter if we run a 4-3, 3-4, 4-2-5, or the Buddy Ryan 46.

To be fair, Collins and Diaz both left on their own. While I also believe Collins may have went to UF to get away from Dan it still was dirty. I think we will be good on D this year regardless of what we run but I'm a 3-4, 4-2-5 guy myself. You can be much more creative and difficult to prepare for and block

[War Machine Dawg]

Bend but don't break never made much sense to me. The goal of the defense is to get the ball back to the offense as quickly as possible and with the best field position possible. Not let a team drive down 60-80 yards and get a field goal, eat up time which costs you points or wait until the other team screws up. I think defense's should force the issue and try to confuse the offense and use pressure to force mistakes and disrupt timing- see Buddy Ryan. And sure, you may give up a big play every now and then- but there isn't a foolproof defense or every one would be running it. I think something like a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5 fits the types of athletes that we typically get a MSU much better than bend and break. See Joe Lee Dunn. And that defense stopped working because he went JUCO crazy and stopped getting guys like Barrin Simpson and Pig Prather.

Bingo. I'd trade a couple of more big plays per game for 3 or 4 more 3 and outs. And being an offensive guy, you'd think Mullen would want the ball as often as possible. Historically, we play our best on D when we're aggressive and get after it. This bend then break stuff has been relatively effective, but it certainly isn't doing us any real favors.

And another point: If the bend then break defense is predicated on the philosophy that 18-22 year olds can't sustain 10+ play drives consistently, then why are 18-22 year old defenders expected to be able to stop drives of 10+ plays consistently? That's a sword that cuts both ways, as I see it. How many times have we been on the verge of getting a stop then blown or coverage or had a defender slip or missed the tackle?

That said, so long as we're holding teams under 20 points, we're getting the job done well enough to win. I'm much more concerned with our OL than I am with our D. They have usually played well enough to win.