MSU Armchair QB: Tusked Edition

[War Machine Dawg]

Peeps, the Tusked Edition of ACQB is available at M&WN (http://maroonandwhitenation.com/2016/11/21/msu-armchair-qb-tusked-edition/). I've got some pretty strong comments about the defense and would love to hear your take. Lots of good defensive talking points in general, I think. Fire in the Hole!

[louisvilledawg]

I like it.

The only thing I wasn't a fan of was that you said Williams had a sub par night. If in fact he had 13 carries for 63 yards, that's a 4.85 ypc average, almost a half yard more than you said he had.
I wouldn't call almost 5 ypc a subpar night.

Other than that, i really enjoyed it. Really like your weekly writings!

[War Machine Dawg]

I like it.

The only thing I wasn't a fan of was that you said Williams had a sub par night. If in fact he had 13 carries for 63 yards, that's a 4.85 ypc average, almost a half yard more than you said he had.
I wouldn't call almost 5 ypc a subpar night.

Other than that, i really enjoyed it. Really like your weekly writings!

It's 4.8461 to be exact. That's why I went with 4.8. Rounded it to the nearest tenth since the hundredths was under .05 and wouldn't have rounded up the .8. I felt it was a fair calculation and representation of the stat. .05 isn't a half yard. A half yard would be .5. C'mon, mane. Basic math.

That said, I made sure to emphasize the things Aeris is doing well. Like I said, he's the best choice of the backs Mullen is willing to use. It just sucks it took Mullen so long to commit to using him. Aeris has helped improve the offense for the better, as we all knew he would. What really sucks is knowing Kylin Hill is likely to redshirt next year regardless of how he practices because Mullen gonna Mullen.

[JoseBrown]

Good read. Right on with all points. I've got a question. What if we were to scrap the whole complex of the 3-4 this week? Let Sirmon gameplan using 4 DL and playing one gap defense. I'm assuming most of the players primarily played the 4-3 their entire life. Should be easy for them and easy for Sirmon and Mullen. What do y'all think would happen?

[confucius say]

Good read. Right on with all points. I've got a question. What if we were to scrap the whole complex of the 3-4 this week? Let Sirmon gameplan using 4 DL and playing one gap defense. I'm assuming most of the players primarily played the 4-3 their entire life. Should be easy for them and easy for Sirmon and Mullen. What do y'all think would happen?

I think it's a lot to ask in four days preparation time.

I would simplify the number of calls so guys don't have to think but just go play without hesitation over lining up right and knowing assignments. I heard Derek mason say sat night that vandy ran 4 defensive calls all night. We look lost on defense, so simplify it and fly around.

[louisvilledawg]

It's 4.8461 to be exact. That's why I went with 4.8. Rounded it to the nearest tenth since the hundredths was under .05 and wouldn't have rounded up the .8. I felt it was a fair calculation and representation of the stat. .05 isn't a half yard. A half yard would be .5. C'mon, mane. Basic math.

That said, I made sure to emphasize the things Aeris is doing well. Like I said, he's the best choice of the backs Mullen is willing to use. It just sucks it took Mullen so long to commit to using him. Aeris has helped improve the offense for the better, as we all knew he would. What really sucks is knowing Kylin Hill is likely to redshirt next year regardless of how he practices because Mullen gonna Mullen.

Shump. Aeris had 13 carries for 63 yards, a long rush of just 10, and averaged a subpar 4.4 YPR. Some of that is the OL, but some of that is Aeris himself.

4.8461 - 4.4 = 0.4461 ~ a half yard.

Basic Math that, homie!

[JoseBrown]

I think it's a lot to ask in four days preparation time.

I would simplify the number of calls so guys don't have to think but just go play without hesitation over lining up right and knowing assignments. I heard Derek mason say sat night that vandy ran 4 defensive calls all night. We look lost on defense, so simplify it and fly around.

That's the main thing I'm thinking...simplify it. I just see too many heads bunched up too much. It's like the square peg round hole thing. You're right though, I hope they figure a way to get them playing not thinking for this game..

[West Houston Dog]

T Buckley. Not that the dbs as a positon group are playing any better/poorer than the other defensive position groups. But he can recruit. The D line nor linebackers nor dbs nor safeties groups are playing worth a dang. Running around clueless like a Chinese Fire Drill.

DC needs to be gone Monday morning. no matter what happens Saturday. Yes, it makes it difficult for the returning players w/ another year another DC. But 58 and 660 yds to Pig U. 51 points given up to bama,41 and 620+ yards to Samford...SAMFORD!. 600+ yds vs Kentucky. Auburn pushed us around on our own field to score 35 in the 1st half. gave up bunch of points/yards to Mass....who was statistically one of the poorer offenses in the nation at that point. 23 in one half to lsu, 21 in 2nd half to USA, played well against BYU until last 3 possessions. if we make one stop on last 2 of 3 possessions we win. Couldnt stop them. How the heck did we beat A&M and SC(....defense at least had a clue those 2 days.)thank goodness C Kelly aint playing Saturday because they might hit 60+ points and 600+ yds.

The defense last Sat was as bad as i can remember at MSU. An embarassment for our program. To me.... should be a fireable offense. There have to be quality DC's we can hire who can also recruit. offer/pay the damn quality DC replacement guy Dan/Cohen!

Love to have Eddie O coaching our dline and recruiting for us if LSU doesnt give him head coaching job. Pay the damn guy this time Dan/(and now)Cohen!!!

[Tbonewannabe]

Good read. Right on with all points. I've got a question. What if we were to scrap the whole complex of the 3-4 this week? Let Sirmon gameplan using 4 DL and playing one gap defense. I'm assuming most of the players primarily played the 4-3 their entire life. Should be easy for them and easy for Sirmon and Mullen. What do y'all think would happen?

What would it hurt? The worst thing that could happen is we look exactly the same as the last 2 games.

[Gutter Cobreh]

Hold on West Houston Dog. While we did give up yards at lightning speed and never required the Hogs punter to even sniff the field, I think we have had worst showings just this year on defense. Hell, we let UMASS throw on us at will. I think the Hogs players are a step above the Minutemen....

Regardless, if I remember correctly, Sirmon inherited what talent we have on the field. We suck on defense, but at least the guy should be afforded the opportunity to go through a full recruiting cycle and see what he can make of the talent next year. With the injuries in the secondary before even the first game and having to bring in a half dozen support coaches to round out the group, there is an adjustment period.

If he sucks next year, then can him. I may be the only one that supports giving him a full year, but I do think he has the ability to be a good Def. Coordinator.

[Tbonewannabe]

T Buckley. Not that the dbs as a positon group are playing any better/poorer than the other defensive position groups. But he can recruit. The D line nor linebackers nor dbs nor safeties groups are playing worth a dang. Running around clueless like a Chinese Fire Drill.

DC needs to be gone Monday morning. no matter what happens Saturday. Yes, it makes it difficult for the returning players w/ another year another DC. But 58 and 660 yds to Pig U. 51 points given up to bama,41 and 620+ yards to Samford...SAMFORD!. 600+ yds vs Kentucky. Auburn pushed us around on our own field to score 35 in the 1st half. gave up bunch of points/yards to Mass....who was statistically one of the poorer offenses in the nation at that point. 23 in one half to lsu, 21 in 2nd half to USA, played well against BYU until last 3 possessions. if we make one stop on last 2 of 3 possessions we win. Couldnt stop them. How the heck did we beat A&M and SC(....defense at least had a clue those 2 days.)thank goodness C Kelly aint playing Saturday because they might hit 60+ points and 600+ yds.

The defense last Sat was as bad as i can remember at MSU. An embarassment for our program. To me.... should be a fireable offense. There have to be quality DC's we can hire who can also recruit. offer/pay the damn quality DC replacement guy Dan/Cohen!

Love to have Eddie O coaching our dline and recruiting for us if LSU doesnt give him head coaching job. Pay the damn guy this time Dan/(and now)Cohen!!!

Not many good DCs would be willing to put up with everything you have to working for Mullen. On top of that if Mullen doesn't get an extension then it is working for pretty much a lame duck coach. You might get someone willing to risk it to put a SEC DC job on his resume' but probably not anyone very good. It is the same reason we got Ron Cooper.

[Tbonewannabe]

Hold on West Houston Dog. While we did give up yards at lightning speed and never required the Hogs punter to even sniff the field, I think we have had worst showings just this year on defense. Hell, we let UMASS throw on us at will. I think the Hogs players are a step above the Minutemen....

Regardless, if I remember correctly, Sirmon inherited what talent we have on the field. We suck on defense, but at least the guy should be afforded the opportunity to go through a full recruiting cycle and see what he can make of the talent next year. With the injuries in the secondary before even the first game and having to bring in a half dozen support coaches to round out the group, there is an adjustment period.

If he sucks next year, then can him. I may be the only one that supports giving him a full year, but I do think he has the ability to be a good Def. Coordinator.

I have no clue if he will be a good DC but there is a bigger problem than just the playcalling.

[Gutter Cobreh]

I have no clue if he will be a good DC but there is a bigger problem than just the playcalling.

I don't doubt that, yet this same staff were touted as being great recruiters when hired. Should they not get the opportunity to prove that?

If I were to replace anyone, it would be Linguist. Isn't he the supposed "passing game coordinator" and over the safeties?

[yjnkdawg]

If we had the defensive backs that Vandy has, then I don't think we would be having (at least not as many) the problems as we have had. Vandy's DB's were all over OM's receivers, and frustrated them. If we had defensive backs that could stay with receivers, we shouldn't have to play 10 to 15 yards off them. That allowed Vandy's d line and linebackers to put a lot of pressure on Patterson, and rattle him. With our defensive secondary, we would probably get torched, moreso than we already do.. That's probably why our coaches play the soft coverage, because they know they will be burned if they lock up on the receivers ( like Vandy did). I think Sirmon needs another year, because this backside coverage weakness, probably doesn't allow some things to be done up front, and could cause a domino effect on poor play.

[War Machine Dawg]

I think it's a lot to ask in four days preparation time.

I would simplify the number of calls so guys don't have to think but just go play without hesitation over lining up right and knowing assignments. I heard Derek mason say sat night that vandy ran 4 defensive calls all night. We look lost on defense, so simplify it and fly around.

Exactly. Simplify it to what you absolutely know the kids know and can do and turn them loose. Then switch back in the offseason. But for Northern Miss, the best bet is to K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid.

[War Machine Dawg]

I don't doubt that, yet this same staff were touted as being great recruiters when hired. Should they not get the opportunity to prove that?

If I were to replace anyone, it would be Linguist. Isn't he the supposed "passing game coordinator" and over the safeties?

This. These guys were all supposed to be badass recruiters when they were hired. You give them at least one offseason to see what they can do.


Not many good DCs would be willing to put up with everything you have to working for Mullen. On top of that if Mullen doesn't get an extension then it is working for pretty much a lame duck coach. You might get someone willing to risk it to put a SEC DC job on his resume' but probably not anyone very good. It is the same reason we got Ron Cooper.

Don't know why more people aren't talking about this when we discuss DC. I bet I spent 800 words talking about this very thing. We had to settle for Sirmon in the first place because Mullen can't keep a DC. And he micromanages them but throws them under the bus when the D fails to perform. All while running the #CountryClub on his side of the ball. Things like that get out in the coaching community. If we fire Sirmon after one year, what does the pool of coaches look like? It looks worse than the last pool that gave us Sirmon. It damn sure won't be a Charlie Strong. I'd kill for Eddie O, but you can bet it won't be him, either.

[blacklistedbully]

How can we honestly judge any of our DC with Mullen calling the shots/micro-managing?

Name me one DC ANYWHERE, including the NFL, who you would bet your house would be successful at MSU under Dan?

[maroonmania]

How can we honestly judge any of our DC with Mullen calling the shots/micro-managing?

Name me one DC ANYWHERE, including the NFL, who you would bet your house would be successful at MSU under Dan?

I no longer believe Mullen micromanages the defense. If he does, why is this one defense so much worse than any other defense we've ever had under Mullen? Our personnel is MUCH better than how we are playing so it has to fall on the coaching. Like I said, if Mullen is controlling everything then this defense shouldn't be this bad given we've never had a defense anywhere near this bad since he's been here.

[blacklistedbully]

I no longer believe Mullen micromanages the defense. If he does, why is this one defense so much worse than any other defense we've ever had under Mullen? Our personnel is MUCH better than how we are playing so it has to fall on the coaching. Like I said, if Mullen is controlling everything then this defense shouldn't be this bad given we've never had a defense anywhere near this bad since he's been here.

Cumulative effect of rotating DC's makes it worse for the players.

Change of scheme has made it even worse due to learning curve.

Manny's D wasn't quite as bad because, at least it was familiar, and Diaz had a lot of NFL talent to coach.

But it does seem as though Dan has a chilling effect on DC's. Collins appears to be doing much better after getting away from Dan.

[War Machine Dawg]

I no longer believe Mullen micromanages the defense. If he does, why is this one defense so much worse than any other defense we've ever had under Mullen? Our personnel is MUCH better than how we are playing so it has to fall on the coaching. Like I said, if Mullen is controlling everything then this defense shouldn't be this bad given we've never had a defense anywhere near this bad since he's been here.

I think you're missing what we mean when we discuss Mullen micromanaging. What we're talking about is Mullen demanding our D play a certain way and use certain defensive concepts, i.e. no man press/CBs give 8-30 yards of cushion or 1A/1B. He's not necessarily involved in the direct play calls and/or day-to-day coaching aspects, although he does know the defensive calls (which is why he wears the headset). Basically, he just won't hand full control to his DC and trust the guy he hired to get the job done. It's just not in Mullen's DNA to relinquish control.

[ShotgunDawg]

Your article makes a lot of good points, but overall it's an over reaction (not the defense part. There is no overreacting to that). This is nowhere near "Croomtastic". This team is more like Texas Tech with better defensive talent. Comparing what's going on right now to the Croom era is a failure of logic.

Additionally, 2-4 wins next year? Really? This "Croomtastic team" in your words would have 7 wins this year if they had a kicker. I realize there are swing games on the road next year, but 4 non conference & Kentucky are not. Saying we are a 2-4 win team next year, with Fitz at QB, ruins credibility & shows that you overly emotional about your posts.

Again, lots of good things in here, but it's clear that your overreacting & wrote this while you emotionally miserable & thus continue to the tradition of MSU fans thinking it's cool to be negative.

[AROB44]

Your article makes a lot of good points, but overall it's an over reaction (not the defense part. There is no overreacting to that). This is nowhere near "Croomtastic". This team is more like Texas Tech with better defensive talent. Comparing what's going on right now to the Croom era is a failure of logic.

Additionally, 2-4 wins next year? Really? This "Croomtastic team" in your words would have 7 wins this year if they had a kicker. I realize there are swing games on the road next year, but 4 non conference & Kentucky are not. Saying we are a 2-4 win team next year, with Fitz at QB, ruins credibility & shows that you overly emotional about your posts.

Again, lots of good things in here, but it's clear that your overreacting & wrote this while you emotionally miserable & thus continue to the tradition of MSU fans thinking it's cool to be negative.

I thought this was the main premise of this message board.....

[War Machine Dawg]

Your article makes a lot of good points, but overall it's an over reaction (not the defense part. There is no overreacting to that). This is nowhere near "Croomtastic". This team is more like Texas Tech with better defensive talent. Comparing what's going on right now to the Croom era is a failure of logic.

Additionally, 2-4 wins next year? Really? This "Croomtastic team" in your words would have 7 wins this year if they had a kicker. I realize there are swing games on the road next year, but 4 non conference & Kentucky are not. Saying we are a 2-4 win team next year, with Fitz at QB, ruins credibility & shows that you overly emotional about your posts.

Again, lots of good things in here, but it's clear that your overreacting & wrote this while you emotionally miserable & thus continue to the tradition of MSU fans thinking it's cool to be negative.

You're acting like QB solves everything. I laid out exactly why next year won't be much better. We're graduating 19 seniors, almost all of them key contributors on the 2-deep. Do you feel confident about any of our current players replacing them? And most importantly, who's going to block on the OL? Odds are that group is worse, not better, next season. Fitz & Co. can't do jack if Fitz is constantly running for his life or on his back.

As for the Croomtastic remark, it was solely based on the defensive display the last two weeks. You cannot deny it's been that bad. You're right that with a kicker we're probably at least bowl eligible right now. But we don't have a kicker or our $4M dollar man is too stubborn to try a different one or knows the backup sucks worse than the one we're using.

We might be better than I think next season, but we're losing a whole lot of experience and production. Next year we really will be the "young team" that Mullen claims we are this year. That has to be factored into any talk of next season.

I'm also basing my comments off the idea that we will have no major staff changes and the #CountryClub remains intact. If that changes, I obviously reserve the right to change my mind about any improvement next season. Especially if we break up the #CountryClub and by some miracle bring in a Charlie Strong or Eddie O to run the D.

Just trying to explain my logic on this. 11 games into the season, you are what your record says you are.