Todd4State
12-27-2016, 01:32 AM
Great to get a bowl win and I?m always happy when we win even if It wasn?t pretty. I?m not exactly sure what to take from today. Maybe we enjoyed winning the Egg Bowl too much and took Miami for granted because they are a group of five team. Maybe Miami is better than we all thought- and I did think their QB played very well. Maybe it?s some of all the above. At any rate we could and probably should have played better and won by more. The fact that Miami was running a lot of trick plays tells me that they thought that we were a lot better than they were.
As it is, the game management at the end was Les Miles-ish to say the least. I?m not sure why we didn?t try to kick a field goal late in the fourth quarter. Maybe it was because Dan didn?t trust Graves. If that was the case with Fitzgerald out for the play, it seems like we would have called something a little safer to pick up the first down with Damien. Maybe Dan wasn?t aware of the situation and maybe we need someone on the staff to alert Dan that hey, maybe a field goal would be the best course of action here. I know we have several coaches talking and communicating on any given play and I find it odd that kicking a field goal wouldn?t have been brought up- and maybe it was and Dan nixed it. It was a scary moment and could have very well cost us the game. And on first guess if Graves had missed the field goal, I wouldn?t have criticized the coaches. If a coach makes the highest percentage call and it just doesn?t work out, I can live with that. It?s the squirrely things that make me question the coaches.
I thought Nick played pretty well. The drops killed his completion percentage and he had some bad throws including a couple of that probably should have been intercepted. But he also made some outstanding throws as well. Dan pretty much laid out what he needs to do in the offseason to get better- basically put more time into playing the position, work on becoming a better leader and hopefully make great strides in the offseason. I think that is exactly what will probably happen. I have a feeling that the coaches are going to really steer him and push him in that direction to become great. He?s always going to be a free spirit and party- but I?m OK with that. Joe Namath, Kenny Stabler, and John Bond among others were QB?s that partied and were successful. I imagine that they all put in the work to become great though. I did think it was interesting that Cord Sandberg was at the game. I think it?s only a matter of time before he comes back.
I wish we would utilize Dear and Mixon a little more in the passing and running game. That may happen with Ross leaving. Both are great weapons and I?d like to see them get about 2-3 more touches per game. I thought Aeris was solid and one of my favorite plays of the game was when he caught the pass off of the wheel route for a big gain. If he continues to become more versatile the sky is the limit for him and I think he will be a very good SEC back for us. Not having Holloway and Shumpert will only mean more carries for him. I?d also like to see Dontavian Lee moved to H-Back/FB this offseason but I?m not holding my breath. No Hollway and Shumpert also means more carries for him as well as Nick Gibson.
Wide receiver is a concern. Again today Donald Gray had some targets where he didn?t make the play in part because of his size on deep passes. When we threw him a slant and then another short pass, he made the play in space and had a good gain both times. We really need Jamal Couch and Reggie Todd to make a big step forward in their development in the offseason because we are going to need them. If I?m Nick I?m spending a LOT of time this offseason with Gray, Couch, Todd, Jesse Jackson, Gabe Myles and Deddrick Thomas. Farrod Green continues to impress me. He?s one of my favorite players. Green and Justin Johnson are a good duo and then we get to see Dontae Jones next year. I?ll be curious to see if one of the TE?s are moved to WR in the offseason and I think Jones would be the most likely candidate to do so as he continues to lose weight. He came in at 280 but is now pretty close to the same size as Bear Wilson was. We?ll also see if Jordan Thomas stays at TE or is moved to OL. My guess is they are going to try to keep him at TE.
I thought the o-line was OK. I was surprised that they weren?t as dominant as they were against Ole Miss. Obviously this group will have to be re-worked in the offseason and I was a little surprised that Michael Story was looked at center during the bowl practices until I found out he was hurt. To me, he is built most like a center of the players with experience but I?m not sure how he does with line calls and things like that. I definitely would try to keep Jenkins and Rankin together on the left side of the line if at all possible. Deion Calhoun should be back next year and he played a lot as well. All four of those players that I mentioned played pretty well this year at times. I like the fact that Tyre Phillips enrolled early and maybe that gives him a head start at RT and I can?t wait to see Tommy Champion. I don?t think it?s out of the realm of possibility that one or both could start. They both could redshirt as well and it wouldn?t surprise me either. I think Stewart Reese and Greg Eiland will fight for playing time as well.
This may not be a popular opinion, but I think Sirmon should probably come back. Yes, I know the stats say that we were horrible and I know that we couldn?t stop Arkansas as well. One thing that stood out to me watching the broadcast was the announcers talking about how Sirmon had to simplify our defense. I think that says a lot right there. We were also very lacking in terms of pass rush and I think that has been addressed. I guess I would just like to see what he does with a presumably full deck with the new JUCO?s coming in and a year of college experience under his belt. And if the defense is still bad next year, then I think you have to let him go at that point. However, if we have a chance to add a guy like Bob Diaco to the staff I think we have to do it. Hopefully the NCAA will allow an extra assistant so that we could possibly make that work. And no, I?m not looking for us to add Diaco. I did notice and I like the fact that we ran some four man fronts during the second quarter. I do think that we should run more line stunts and blitz the linebackers more. It seems like too often it?s just the three down lineman and the viper rushing the passer the vast majority of the time. Where does the line get drawn between creative and too complex? I?m not sure and I do think that?s why we see very simple schemes at times.
The defensive line needs a huge upgrade although I think Simmons has a chance to be a three year guy. Marquiss Spencer is very talented as well. How our season goes next year is going to depend a lot on how Rivers, Sweat, Autry, and Pope do when they get to campus. I do like that two of them have D-I experience and that should hopefully lessen the notorious 6 game JUCO transition period. I am intrigued by the thought that Gerri Green could play DE. He might be a really good replacement for AJ Jefferson. We?ll see if that transition happens in the offseason.
I appreciate Richie Brown and his fumble recovery was huge today, but I also think he was a misfit for the 3-4 defense we run and probably should have been playing Star LB for us. That said, I LOVE Leo Lewis and the way he plays. I see him becoming a leader for us on defense and he could also leave after his junior year. I thought Jung made some nice plays over the course of the year along with Dez Harris. I think Gerri Green is also another leader assuming he stays at LB which he probably will. We also get to see Erroll Thompson and I am looking forward to seeing him play next year. And JT Gray has had his moments as well. I want to see Josiah Phillip succeed and play a role for us because I love his story.
Jamal Peters is an absolute beast and he is only going to get even better. He caused a fumble and he seems to be getting more and more confident. He reminds me some of Walt Harris except a little bit bigger. Smokey seems to be getting better and he came up with a huge INT on fourth down even though he probably should have knocked it down and Giles and Durr are solid corners as well. I like our corners going into next year. Brandon Bryant played better the last two games but he?s still not quite right to me it seems. I just hope that he is able to put whatever is going on with him behind him. Mark McLaurin made some nice plays all year. And now we add Jonathan Abrams and Brian Cole who are two more guys with D-I experience who will hopefully transition quickly for us.
Again, this may not be a popular opinion but I think our fans have been way too hard on Westin Graves. I am giving him a pass because he does have a legit back injury. It was great to see him come back and get what turned out to be the game winning field goal today and I hope he comes back healthy next year and has a great year for us. It was also good to see Logan Cooke punting for us again and I thought he did a good job. The only knock on special teams that I have for this game were the fact that we had a couple of instances where we didn?t have the right personnel on the field and Holloway returned some kicks he probably should have sat on. He did also have a nice 40 yard return and the special teams were ultimately the difference in the game as we blocked an extra point and a field goal so credit should be given there for that. If Graves and Cooke are healthy next year, I think we will be pretty solid. Brad Wall did a good job on kickoffs this year as well. I am excited to see Mixon, Deddrick Thomas, and Dear return kicks for us next year.
I am looking forward to next year and seeing how this team improves. Dan said that he is going to be harder on the team during the offseason, so that should be interesting to see. Maybe we will see some Navy SEAL training again since Cannizarro is doing that with the baseball team. I can?t see 10 wins because there are too many unknowns and I think we lose to Alabama, Auburn, and LSU no matter what. If we do win 10, I will not complain and I hope it plays out like that. Hopefully we will improve enough to score 70 on Ole Miss and shut them out on defense if we can?t win 10.
As it is, the game management at the end was Les Miles-ish to say the least. I?m not sure why we didn?t try to kick a field goal late in the fourth quarter. Maybe it was because Dan didn?t trust Graves. If that was the case with Fitzgerald out for the play, it seems like we would have called something a little safer to pick up the first down with Damien. Maybe Dan wasn?t aware of the situation and maybe we need someone on the staff to alert Dan that hey, maybe a field goal would be the best course of action here. I know we have several coaches talking and communicating on any given play and I find it odd that kicking a field goal wouldn?t have been brought up- and maybe it was and Dan nixed it. It was a scary moment and could have very well cost us the game. And on first guess if Graves had missed the field goal, I wouldn?t have criticized the coaches. If a coach makes the highest percentage call and it just doesn?t work out, I can live with that. It?s the squirrely things that make me question the coaches.
I thought Nick played pretty well. The drops killed his completion percentage and he had some bad throws including a couple of that probably should have been intercepted. But he also made some outstanding throws as well. Dan pretty much laid out what he needs to do in the offseason to get better- basically put more time into playing the position, work on becoming a better leader and hopefully make great strides in the offseason. I think that is exactly what will probably happen. I have a feeling that the coaches are going to really steer him and push him in that direction to become great. He?s always going to be a free spirit and party- but I?m OK with that. Joe Namath, Kenny Stabler, and John Bond among others were QB?s that partied and were successful. I imagine that they all put in the work to become great though. I did think it was interesting that Cord Sandberg was at the game. I think it?s only a matter of time before he comes back.
I wish we would utilize Dear and Mixon a little more in the passing and running game. That may happen with Ross leaving. Both are great weapons and I?d like to see them get about 2-3 more touches per game. I thought Aeris was solid and one of my favorite plays of the game was when he caught the pass off of the wheel route for a big gain. If he continues to become more versatile the sky is the limit for him and I think he will be a very good SEC back for us. Not having Holloway and Shumpert will only mean more carries for him. I?d also like to see Dontavian Lee moved to H-Back/FB this offseason but I?m not holding my breath. No Hollway and Shumpert also means more carries for him as well as Nick Gibson.
Wide receiver is a concern. Again today Donald Gray had some targets where he didn?t make the play in part because of his size on deep passes. When we threw him a slant and then another short pass, he made the play in space and had a good gain both times. We really need Jamal Couch and Reggie Todd to make a big step forward in their development in the offseason because we are going to need them. If I?m Nick I?m spending a LOT of time this offseason with Gray, Couch, Todd, Jesse Jackson, Gabe Myles and Deddrick Thomas. Farrod Green continues to impress me. He?s one of my favorite players. Green and Justin Johnson are a good duo and then we get to see Dontae Jones next year. I?ll be curious to see if one of the TE?s are moved to WR in the offseason and I think Jones would be the most likely candidate to do so as he continues to lose weight. He came in at 280 but is now pretty close to the same size as Bear Wilson was. We?ll also see if Jordan Thomas stays at TE or is moved to OL. My guess is they are going to try to keep him at TE.
I thought the o-line was OK. I was surprised that they weren?t as dominant as they were against Ole Miss. Obviously this group will have to be re-worked in the offseason and I was a little surprised that Michael Story was looked at center during the bowl practices until I found out he was hurt. To me, he is built most like a center of the players with experience but I?m not sure how he does with line calls and things like that. I definitely would try to keep Jenkins and Rankin together on the left side of the line if at all possible. Deion Calhoun should be back next year and he played a lot as well. All four of those players that I mentioned played pretty well this year at times. I like the fact that Tyre Phillips enrolled early and maybe that gives him a head start at RT and I can?t wait to see Tommy Champion. I don?t think it?s out of the realm of possibility that one or both could start. They both could redshirt as well and it wouldn?t surprise me either. I think Stewart Reese and Greg Eiland will fight for playing time as well.
This may not be a popular opinion, but I think Sirmon should probably come back. Yes, I know the stats say that we were horrible and I know that we couldn?t stop Arkansas as well. One thing that stood out to me watching the broadcast was the announcers talking about how Sirmon had to simplify our defense. I think that says a lot right there. We were also very lacking in terms of pass rush and I think that has been addressed. I guess I would just like to see what he does with a presumably full deck with the new JUCO?s coming in and a year of college experience under his belt. And if the defense is still bad next year, then I think you have to let him go at that point. However, if we have a chance to add a guy like Bob Diaco to the staff I think we have to do it. Hopefully the NCAA will allow an extra assistant so that we could possibly make that work. And no, I?m not looking for us to add Diaco. I did notice and I like the fact that we ran some four man fronts during the second quarter. I do think that we should run more line stunts and blitz the linebackers more. It seems like too often it?s just the three down lineman and the viper rushing the passer the vast majority of the time. Where does the line get drawn between creative and too complex? I?m not sure and I do think that?s why we see very simple schemes at times.
The defensive line needs a huge upgrade although I think Simmons has a chance to be a three year guy. Marquiss Spencer is very talented as well. How our season goes next year is going to depend a lot on how Rivers, Sweat, Autry, and Pope do when they get to campus. I do like that two of them have D-I experience and that should hopefully lessen the notorious 6 game JUCO transition period. I am intrigued by the thought that Gerri Green could play DE. He might be a really good replacement for AJ Jefferson. We?ll see if that transition happens in the offseason.
I appreciate Richie Brown and his fumble recovery was huge today, but I also think he was a misfit for the 3-4 defense we run and probably should have been playing Star LB for us. That said, I LOVE Leo Lewis and the way he plays. I see him becoming a leader for us on defense and he could also leave after his junior year. I thought Jung made some nice plays over the course of the year along with Dez Harris. I think Gerri Green is also another leader assuming he stays at LB which he probably will. We also get to see Erroll Thompson and I am looking forward to seeing him play next year. And JT Gray has had his moments as well. I want to see Josiah Phillip succeed and play a role for us because I love his story.
Jamal Peters is an absolute beast and he is only going to get even better. He caused a fumble and he seems to be getting more and more confident. He reminds me some of Walt Harris except a little bit bigger. Smokey seems to be getting better and he came up with a huge INT on fourth down even though he probably should have knocked it down and Giles and Durr are solid corners as well. I like our corners going into next year. Brandon Bryant played better the last two games but he?s still not quite right to me it seems. I just hope that he is able to put whatever is going on with him behind him. Mark McLaurin made some nice plays all year. And now we add Jonathan Abrams and Brian Cole who are two more guys with D-I experience who will hopefully transition quickly for us.
Again, this may not be a popular opinion but I think our fans have been way too hard on Westin Graves. I am giving him a pass because he does have a legit back injury. It was great to see him come back and get what turned out to be the game winning field goal today and I hope he comes back healthy next year and has a great year for us. It was also good to see Logan Cooke punting for us again and I thought he did a good job. The only knock on special teams that I have for this game were the fact that we had a couple of instances where we didn?t have the right personnel on the field and Holloway returned some kicks he probably should have sat on. He did also have a nice 40 yard return and the special teams were ultimately the difference in the game as we blocked an extra point and a field goal so credit should be given there for that. If Graves and Cooke are healthy next year, I think we will be pretty solid. Brad Wall did a good job on kickoffs this year as well. I am excited to see Mixon, Deddrick Thomas, and Dear return kicks for us next year.
I am looking forward to next year and seeing how this team improves. Dan said that he is going to be harder on the team during the offseason, so that should be interesting to see. Maybe we will see some Navy SEAL training again since Cannizarro is doing that with the baseball team. I can?t see 10 wins because there are too many unknowns and I think we lose to Alabama, Auburn, and LSU no matter what. If we do win 10, I will not complain and I hope it plays out like that. Hopefully we will improve enough to score 70 on Ole Miss and shut them out on defense if we can?t win 10.