ShotgunDawg
11-12-2016, 04:28 PM
Well, that was about what I expected but certainly not what I was hoping for, but we have a HUGE game at home next week & need a great crowd & atmosphere.
Here are some thoughts on today's game:
1. Out classed in talent in every way. We'll never recruit at the level Bama, but we've got to get taller at WR. Having Bear & Fred Brown could've really helped today. Due to short receivers, there's too small of windows for a QB to be expected to consistently hit. We've simply got the recruit at a high level. Anyone know how we can do that without cheating?
2. I thought our OL played as well against Bama today as any team has all year. Sure, Fitz got rocked some, but for the most part, he had a reasonable amount of time to throw & we got some surge in the run game, especially on 1st down. Additionally, I thought Aeris build on last weekend & showed the ability to pound the ball for tough yards. He's going to be good. I believe if our OL & Aeris play the rest of the season like they did today, we've got a good chance of imposing our will in the run game. Simply, no team is CLOSE to what Bama is on the DL.
3. Fitz certainly made tons of mistakes, but I thought there was some real positives as well. First off, Fitz is talented as hell & isn't scared to stand in the pocket & deliver the ball down field. Even though his accuracy, feet, & ability to go through progressions is a long way away & must improve, his arm strength & agility stressed the Bama defense at times gives you a chance as he grows mentally. He should have more success in the running game in the last two games, but he's got a HUGE off season ahead of him. If he can improve how quickly he makes his reads & improve his feel & touch for the short to mid-range passing game, our offense has a chance to make big strides next year.
4. Receivers we awful. More on that later
5. Our defense is deplorable & FUBAR. There is simply no way else to put it. They don't know where to line up & don't tackle. The second level tackling & angles taken by this team is an insult to mankind & seems to be getting no better week by week. I don't get it & have no clue how to fix the problems on that side of the ball. They can't line up, avoid physicality, & take poor angles that, at times, seem purposeful so they don't have to make a tackle. Easily the worst defense of the Dan Mullen era & an embarrassment to what the historical strength of this football program has been built on. I'm not in the facility or at practice everyday, so I don't believe I'm qualified to say if people need to fired on that side of the ball or if another year in this system will make things drastically better.
6. Our special teams is FUBAR. Watching Georgia & Auburn right now, & their kickers & punters are just bigger, stronger, better athletes than what we have. Mullen's recruitment at these positions is embarrassing, & it's not like your going head to head with national powers for these guys. It's simple laziness that we are forced to run Graves & the other completely weak minded wusses out there that lack any semblance of mental toughness. Even Logan Cookes has had struggles this year. It's embarrassing. If we can't out recruit Bama or LSU, let's try to be super aggressive & make our kickers & punters better.
7. Not one to usually complain about officiating & I don't think it had anything to do with the outcome of today's game, but officiating today was awful. There were simple holding calls missed in the middle of the field time & time again, targeting head to head calls missed time & time again, & somehow Bama DBs get to play under 1975 pass interference & illegal downfield contact rules. Time & time again, their DBs grabbed shirt & shoved our WRs in the middle of their routes. There was also a ridiculous facemask call made while their RB has ahold of our DB's facemask. Just a poorly officiated game all the way around. I don't believe in Bama referee conspiracies, but I also don't understand why the way games are officiated changes so much when they play. If you look at the way the BYU game was officiated vs this one, it's almost a completely different sport.
8. Lastly, Mullen has to change the way he prepares his team to play Alabama. I for one believe the play calling today was pretty damn good. I loved the way we attacked Bama & used Fitz's arm strength to stress their defense. However, it didn't work because our players find a way to play their worst games of the year against Bama & lack the ability to simply execute or catch the football. What Bama does is that they take you our of your comfort zone. If you ever played sports at a reasonably high level, you'd know that you accustom to the game being played at a certain speed & pace. If your a high school hitter, you get used to facing 86-88 mph fastballs, or, if your a high school short stop, you develop an internal clock of catching a ground ball & throwing it to first base in around 4.5 - 4.8 seconds. However, when you go from high school baseball to professional baseball, your internal clock has to adjust & for many players that takes time to get used. In pro baseball, your now facing 95 mph fastballs & you have to get the ball to the first baseman in 4.2 - 4.4 seconds as a shortstop. Many times when the game speeds up the best hitters & best fielders begin making elementary mistakes that aren't due to a lack a talent but rather because they are taken out of their comfort zone. I say all that to say that, in Mullen's tenure it feels like when we play Bama our team is taken out of their comfort zone & struggle to adapt to the speed of the game. Everything seems rushed & the speed of the game causes good players to begin making elementary mistakes. Conversely, due to the way Ole Miss runs a high tempo offense, I believe their players become more accustom & comfortable playing at a faster pace & under constant stress. For their players, playing Bama feels normal because they are accustom to playing. It's not Ole Miss' uptempo offense necessarily that gives Bama fits, it's that Ole Miss is used to the speed of the game that Bama plays with because they train for it by practicing fast everyday. We are currently outmatched by Bama & have no chance of winning eitherway but there will come a day in the next two year where we have a punchers chance &, in order for Mullen to capitalize on that, he needs to change the way our team practices & prepares for the season from day 1 of Fall practice. We must practice fast & get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Anyway, sorry it's kind of long, but we have a HUGE game next weekend & need a packed house next Saturday. One of the best ways for days like today to stop happening is for us to make a bowl game, get some momentum in the off season& build on that.
Here are some thoughts on today's game:
1. Out classed in talent in every way. We'll never recruit at the level Bama, but we've got to get taller at WR. Having Bear & Fred Brown could've really helped today. Due to short receivers, there's too small of windows for a QB to be expected to consistently hit. We've simply got the recruit at a high level. Anyone know how we can do that without cheating?
2. I thought our OL played as well against Bama today as any team has all year. Sure, Fitz got rocked some, but for the most part, he had a reasonable amount of time to throw & we got some surge in the run game, especially on 1st down. Additionally, I thought Aeris build on last weekend & showed the ability to pound the ball for tough yards. He's going to be good. I believe if our OL & Aeris play the rest of the season like they did today, we've got a good chance of imposing our will in the run game. Simply, no team is CLOSE to what Bama is on the DL.
3. Fitz certainly made tons of mistakes, but I thought there was some real positives as well. First off, Fitz is talented as hell & isn't scared to stand in the pocket & deliver the ball down field. Even though his accuracy, feet, & ability to go through progressions is a long way away & must improve, his arm strength & agility stressed the Bama defense at times gives you a chance as he grows mentally. He should have more success in the running game in the last two games, but he's got a HUGE off season ahead of him. If he can improve how quickly he makes his reads & improve his feel & touch for the short to mid-range passing game, our offense has a chance to make big strides next year.
4. Receivers we awful. More on that later
5. Our defense is deplorable & FUBAR. There is simply no way else to put it. They don't know where to line up & don't tackle. The second level tackling & angles taken by this team is an insult to mankind & seems to be getting no better week by week. I don't get it & have no clue how to fix the problems on that side of the ball. They can't line up, avoid physicality, & take poor angles that, at times, seem purposeful so they don't have to make a tackle. Easily the worst defense of the Dan Mullen era & an embarrassment to what the historical strength of this football program has been built on. I'm not in the facility or at practice everyday, so I don't believe I'm qualified to say if people need to fired on that side of the ball or if another year in this system will make things drastically better.
6. Our special teams is FUBAR. Watching Georgia & Auburn right now, & their kickers & punters are just bigger, stronger, better athletes than what we have. Mullen's recruitment at these positions is embarrassing, & it's not like your going head to head with national powers for these guys. It's simple laziness that we are forced to run Graves & the other completely weak minded wusses out there that lack any semblance of mental toughness. Even Logan Cookes has had struggles this year. It's embarrassing. If we can't out recruit Bama or LSU, let's try to be super aggressive & make our kickers & punters better.
7. Not one to usually complain about officiating & I don't think it had anything to do with the outcome of today's game, but officiating today was awful. There were simple holding calls missed in the middle of the field time & time again, targeting head to head calls missed time & time again, & somehow Bama DBs get to play under 1975 pass interference & illegal downfield contact rules. Time & time again, their DBs grabbed shirt & shoved our WRs in the middle of their routes. There was also a ridiculous facemask call made while their RB has ahold of our DB's facemask. Just a poorly officiated game all the way around. I don't believe in Bama referee conspiracies, but I also don't understand why the way games are officiated changes so much when they play. If you look at the way the BYU game was officiated vs this one, it's almost a completely different sport.
8. Lastly, Mullen has to change the way he prepares his team to play Alabama. I for one believe the play calling today was pretty damn good. I loved the way we attacked Bama & used Fitz's arm strength to stress their defense. However, it didn't work because our players find a way to play their worst games of the year against Bama & lack the ability to simply execute or catch the football. What Bama does is that they take you our of your comfort zone. If you ever played sports at a reasonably high level, you'd know that you accustom to the game being played at a certain speed & pace. If your a high school hitter, you get used to facing 86-88 mph fastballs, or, if your a high school short stop, you develop an internal clock of catching a ground ball & throwing it to first base in around 4.5 - 4.8 seconds. However, when you go from high school baseball to professional baseball, your internal clock has to adjust & for many players that takes time to get used. In pro baseball, your now facing 95 mph fastballs & you have to get the ball to the first baseman in 4.2 - 4.4 seconds as a shortstop. Many times when the game speeds up the best hitters & best fielders begin making elementary mistakes that aren't due to a lack a talent but rather because they are taken out of their comfort zone. I say all that to say that, in Mullen's tenure it feels like when we play Bama our team is taken out of their comfort zone & struggle to adapt to the speed of the game. Everything seems rushed & the speed of the game causes good players to begin making elementary mistakes. Conversely, due to the way Ole Miss runs a high tempo offense, I believe their players become more accustom & comfortable playing at a faster pace & under constant stress. For their players, playing Bama feels normal because they are accustom to playing. It's not Ole Miss' uptempo offense necessarily that gives Bama fits, it's that Ole Miss is used to the speed of the game that Bama plays with because they train for it by practicing fast everyday. We are currently outmatched by Bama & have no chance of winning eitherway but there will come a day in the next two year where we have a punchers chance &, in order for Mullen to capitalize on that, he needs to change the way our team practices & prepares for the season from day 1 of Fall practice. We must practice fast & get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Anyway, sorry it's kind of long, but we have a HUGE game next weekend & need a packed house next Saturday. One of the best ways for days like today to stop happening is for us to make a bowl game, get some momentum in the off season& build on that.