My Thoughts

[ShotgunDawg]

I was out of the country last week, DVRed the Auburn game, had no idea what happened, found out the score yesterday, read the doom and gloom fire every body rhetoric on the message boards, got home today expecting to watch a debacle, and saw a different game from what I expected.

What I found is that it's actually very helpful to watch a game in which you already know the outcome. It allows you to watch the game from a more objective and less subjective and emotional perspective.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Dak is going to be really really good. He possesses every tool needed to excel in and make Mullen's offense run correctly, and should be the starter.

2. However, Dak is young and inexperienced as a game manager and starter on the road in a hostile SEC environment. I know he played some last year, but it's completely different when you are asked to be THE GUY and manage the game. I believe that most of our problems, that you guys are blaming Mullen's play calling on, can be traced back to Dak's inexperience. Early in the 4th quarter, Dak got tight and began to squeeze the ball and force some throws. When watching the game objectively, it is very clear that Mullen made the decision at that point to not allow Dak to lose the game for us. Because of this, he took his foot off the gas and let it play out. Dak's inexperience also cost us a timeout.

While Mullen certainly has play calling problems to work on, I don't disagree with how he handled our offense in 4th quarter offense. He wasn't going to allow Dak to lose the game for us and destroy his confidence, and I really can't disagree with that decision.

3. Mullen made a huge mistake chasing points in the 1st quarter by going to two. Being up 4 in the 4th quarter instead of 3 could have changed the way we played defense.

4. Auburn essentially got 6 free points. 3 came on Marshall's pass to himself and the 47 yard field goal that resulted from that, and the another 3 came when Marshall recovered the fumble in the 1st quarter that I'm not sure how Jefferson didn't recover.

5. Devon Bell is killing us with these misses. I know Mullen is saying he is trying to hard, but from my experience kickers either have it or they don't. As long as you can kick a 45 yard goal, physical talent really isn't all that much of a factor. I think Bell either gets is together this weekend or we go to someone else.

6. Lastly, you guys that are saying Mullen should be fired are dumb. If you want to fire Mullen, you should have fired him two years ago after he had 2 straight SHIT recruiting classes. I know we are in year 5, but our playmakers are all young. Mullen has recruited better the last two years and those players are the ones making plays for us. However, those young players are going to make some mistakes, but those mistakes are fixable and aren't talent related. If Mullen 2nd and 3rd recruiting classes had been worth a shit, we would probably be pretty good this year. However, we just don't have good older players.

We may only win 5 games this year, but we are a very competitive team and I believe one that is capable of pulling an upset this year on a team not named the bears. Our program in still moving in the right direction, and had we played Auburn at home, we would have won. We are behind Bama, A&M, and LSU at this point, but I truly believe that on any given day we can beat Auburn, Ark, and OM. However, on any given day, they can beat us as well.

We are not a bad team, but rather a completely young and average one. There is clearly two tiers in the SEC West at the point in time, but the division has no bad teams. My guess is that we will take our lumps this year, but next year with more swing games at home and an easier overall schedule, we will bounce right back on track.

Mullen is just in the adolescence of his tenure and he just going to have to have persistence and learn from his mistakes. When I watched the game, I honestly saw a pretty good team that just made some mistakes that cost them a game on the road against a pretty even opponent. Nothing more and nothing less, and with next years schedule, certainly shouldn't be a factor in the long term success of our program.

[Coach34]

very good post- thanks

[chef dixon]

This is what I would have typed if I weren't too lazy. Agree on just about everything.

[Farmdawg]

+1 million

[blacklistedbully]

Bravo

[Drugdog]

That's a fact jack!

[Oxfordawg]

I can go for this, Dak fits Mullen and yes that was the 1st big time start for Dak. I think our Offensive woes will begin to correct themselves with Mullen back to what fits him.

[DownwardDawg]

This was a good post. I've backed down off the ledge. Maybe I need to start watching the games after I already know the outcome. I hope Mullen can somehow win 6 games this year.

[dparker]

I agree with everything you're saying. I'm definitely NOT on the fire Mullen bandwagon. However, I think what most people are frustrated with is the rate of improvement from game to game, season to season. Like you said we were about even with Auburn who had a terrible year last year and is in year 1 of their new coach. Same when you look at the other 'second tier' teams. They all seem to be improving at a rate that if we were on a similar track we'd be making some noise.

[ShotgunDawg]

I agree with everything you're saying. I'm definitely NOT on the fire Mullen bandwagon. However, I think what most people are frustrated with is the rate of improvement from game to game, season to season. Like you said we were about even with Auburn who had a terrible year last year and is in year 1 of their new coach. Same when you look at the other 'second tier' teams. They all seem to be improving at a rate that if we were on a similar track we'd be making some noise.

I completely understand each of your concerns, but lets logically look at each one individually:

1. Are we improving game to game?

We were drastically better on Saturday against Auburn than we were against OK State. Not saying we would have beat OK State on Saturday, because that would have required Dak to manage a 4th quarter game, but had we played against OK State like we did against Auburn, we would've been in a 4th quarter game. If that would've happened, maybe would've won Saturday because Dak would've "been there done that".

Season to Season?

We have better depth than we have had since Mullen has been here, BUT our good players and depth are young. Furthermore, Mullen got caught with a QB that didn't fit his system and compounded that problem with two shitty recruiting classes that left that QB with few older playmakers. My guess is that you'll see us improving at a drastic rate beginning next season. This year, is just that awkward 13 year old that just hit puberty and he has enormous canoes for feet but still a young kid's body.

Why is Auburn improving faster than us?

Auburn has recruited much better than us over the past 3 - 75 years, and they actually had a pretty talented team last year but was coached by the equivalent of little league dad. So Auburn improving quickly shouldn't be much of a surprise, but if we were at home or Dak was a little more seasoned, we would've won the game. I want to make it clear that Auburn isn't better than us. Its just that us, Auburn, Ark, and OM are so close to each other that all of us are pretty good teams that can beat each other on any given Saturday. The ball literally bounced Auburn's way Saturday and exposed every mistake we made as critical.

Are Arkansas and OM improving faster than us?

Not sure we have any evidence that Arkansas is, and OM got really really lucky with Denzel NK and the recruits that followed. I will also go on record saying that while I think Bucky has some flaws that we have yet to discover and has thin skin, he seems to be a pretty good coach and has a good feel for the flow of the game. However, OM has a QB and is running an offense that fits their system. Allow Mullen that same luxury, and I think you'll see drastic improvement. Dak is only going to get better.

[Coach34]

I completely understand each of your concerns, but lets logically look at each one individually:

1. Are we improving game to game?

We were drastically better on Saturday against Auburn than we were against OK State. Not saying we would have beat OK State on Saturday, because that would have required Dak to manage a 4th quarter game, but had we played against OK State like we did against Auburn, we would've been in a 4th quarter game. If that would've happened, maybe would've won Saturday because Dak would've "been there done that".

Season to Season?

We have better depth than we have had since Mullen has been here, BUT our good players and depth are young. Furthermore, Mullen got caught with a QB that didn't fit his system and compounded that problem with two shitty recruiting classes that left that QB with few older playmakers. My guess is that you'll see us improving at a drastic rate beginning next season. This year, is just that awkward 13 year old that just hit puberty and he has enormous canoes for feet but still a young kid's body.

Why is Auburn improving faster than us?

Auburn has recruited much better than us over the past 3 - 75 years, and they actually had a pretty talented team last year but was coached by the equivalent of little league dad. So Auburn improving quickly shouldn't be much of a surprise, but if we were at home or Dak was a little more seasoned, we would've won the game. I want to make it clear that Auburn isn't better than us. Its just that us, Auburn, Ark, and OM are so close to each other that all of us are pretty good teams that can beat each other on any given Saturday. The ball literally bounced Auburn's way Saturday and exposed every mistake we made as critical.

Are Arkansas and OM improving faster than us?

Not sure we have any evidence that Arkansas is, and OM got really really lucky with Denzel NK and the recruits that followed. I will also go on record saying that while I think Bucky has some flaws that we have yet to discover and has thin skin, he seems to be a pretty good coach and has a good feel for the flow of the game. However, OM has a QB and is running an offense that fits their system. Allow Mullen that same luxury, and I think you'll see drastic improvement. Dak is only going to get better.


this guy is on a roll- another really good post

[Fred's Love Boat]

Who is Bucky

[PendingTransaction]

Furthermore, Mullen got caught with a QB that didn't fit his system..

Hell he recruited that QB and he had him for 5 years. How is that getting caught? Blame the player...that keeps hope alive. I get it.

[ShotgunDawg]

Furthermore, Mullen got caught with a QB that didn't fit his system..

Hell he recruited that QB and he had him for 5 years. How is that getting caught? Blame the player...that keeps hope alive. I get it.

Do you think that he had a choice as to whether or not to recruit Russell?

The overall point is that our problems this year are somewhat due to that, but it doesn't matter after this season. After this season we no longer have to have this discussion because Mullen has only recruited QBs that fit his system. So, if you want to lose hope this year, I really can't blame you, but I'm just telling you that its a one year predicament and next year we should really begin to click.

Hell, if Dak continues to start, we may really show signs of great improvement by the end of this season. With Dak starting, we will continue to get better. Our program isn't getting worse, its getting better. The problems that are affecting this season were caused by actions 3 and 4 years ago when everyone was in love with Mullen. However, he has corrected many of those problems but it won't show on the field till next season.

[Fred's Love Boat]

We need Dak on the field. He's our only hope at getting to a bowl game beating TSUN

[MemphisDawg]

"We may only win 5 games this year,"

"Our program in still moving in the right direction"

Will we win more games than last year?

Will we finish ranked higher in the sec than we did last year?

Will we have a better bowl game than last year?

Will we have a better recruiting class than last year?

When this season ends will the general fan base be excited or disappointed?

If you have positive answers for at least 3 out of those 5 then we are headed in the right direction. If not then we are not. As simple as that.

[Coach34]

Furthermore, Mullen got caught with a QB that didn't fit his system..

Hell he recruited that QB and he had him for 5 years. How is that getting caught? Blame the player...that keeps hope alive. I get it.

1) Mullen got here in January and all we had was Relf and Tyson Lee- who was going to be a Sr. He had to sign Russell

2) He missed on a few targets that would have fit the system better- thus us never having to play Russell

3) I agree that he never bought into Russell and changed the offense to suit him the best.

[Coach34]

"We may only win 5 games this year,"

"Our program in still moving in the right direction"

Will we win more games than last year?

Will we finish ranked higher in the sec than we did last year?

Will we have a better bowl game than last year?

Will we have a better recruiting class than last year?

When this season ends will the general fan base be excited or disappointed?

If you have positive answers for at least 3 out of those 5 then we are headed in the right direction. If not then we are not. As simple as that.


There are ebbs and flows to every program not coached by Saban. Nobody stays on a constant upward trajectory

We are one of only 7 SEC teams to go bowling the last 3 years- that screams right direction. That screams we have had consistentcy. That screams we have recruited ok.

[Coach34]

Who is Bucky

troll gonna troll

[Coach34]

Do you think that he had a choice as to whether or not to recruit Russell?

The overall point is that our problems this year are somewhat due to that, but it doesn't matter after this season. After this season we no longer have to have this discussion because Mullen has only recruited QBs that fit his system. So, if you want to lose hope this year, I really can't blame you, but I'm just telling you that its a one year predicament and next year we should really begin to click.

Hell, if Dak continues to start, we may really show signs of great improvement by the end of this season. With Dak starting, we will continue to get better. Our program isn't getting worse, its getting better. The problems that are affecting this season were caused by actions 3 and 4 years ago when everyone was in love with Mullen. However, he has corrected many of those problems but it won't show on the field till next season.


the average fan is too shortsighted to recognize things like that

[PendingTransaction]

Glad to know that all is well and we are building a Dynasty. And thank God for Kentucky.

[ShotgunDawg]

Well, this is a little arbitrary since 3 of your questions are basically the same question, and you made up 3 or 5 for some reason that I'm not sure about.

Will we win more games than last year? No, tougher schedule and swing games on the road

Will we finish ranked higher in the sec than we did last year? Same question as above

Will we have a better bowl game than last year? Same question as above

Will we have a better recruiting class than last year? Could be close. Will be our best QB class in recent history, so while the class could be ranked lower, it could have a very positive impact on our program

When this season ends will the general fan base be excited or disappointed? No way to know yet. If Dak starts and continues to progress like he should, I think people will end excited since we could beat Ark and OM.

If you have positive answers for at least 3 out of those 5 then we are headed in the right direction. If not then we are not. As simple as that.[/QUOTE]

[dparker]

However, he has corrected many of those problems but it won't show on the field till next season.

This is what we all hope. We've been saying that since 2010. I still haven't seen a big recruiting push for offensive line and that seems to be a long standing issue. Doing that alone would have caused Russell to have more success in the system and it's not like we couldn't have used them when going back to a dual threat QB.

[Coach34]

Glad to know that all is well and we are building a Dynasty.

LINK? I missed someone saying that- but feel free to respond to something that was actually said

[Coach34]

I still haven't seen a big recruiting push for offensive line and that seems to be a long standing issue. .

Last year we signed the two best OL from Mississippi- this year we have 2 good ones from Georgia committed plus jucos. I can see us trying to get better there

[PendingTransaction]

LINK? I missed someone saying that- but feel free to respond to something that was actually said

Go back and read shotgun's posts. That my interpretation. Or maybe it means there is one program in this State on the rise....

[chef dixon]

"We may only win 5 games this year,"

"Our program in still moving in the right direction"

Will we win more games than last year?

Will we finish ranked higher in the sec than we did last year?

Will we have a better bowl game than last year?

Will we have a better recruiting class than last year?

When this season ends will the general fan base be excited or disappointed?

If you have positive answers for at least 3 out of those 5 then we are headed in the right direction. If not then we are not. As simple as that.

So is this the widely-accepted algorithm for program development? If so, we need to get rid of Mullen and get a coach that the year after he wins 8 games, he wins 9. Then the next year, 10. And so this continues until we win a national title. We all realize that things are far from perfect, but in the Croom era our "down years" we were losing to Auburn by 40. I'll take this as a down year and be excited watching all our young guys compete this year and continue to get better.

[ShotgunDawg]

Go back and read shotgun's posts. That my interpretation. Or maybe it means there is one program in this State on the rise....

WHAT are you talking about? If thats what you interpreted from my post then you have reading comprehension problems.

I am simply saying that we are still moving in the right direction in building a solid foundation of success in which to continue to build. I am under no illusions that we are close to competing for the west, but if we can win 7-9 game per year with the occasional dip and occasional peak, we can build a tradition, stadium, recruiting base, facilities, and pride to build bigger and better things.

Every great program had to, at some point, stand on the shoulders of giants to achieve their greatness. We are currently just trying to build the giants on which we can stand.

Its a step by step process, and from my, somewhat educated opinion, that process is still headed in the correct direction. Frustrating as hell and sometimes I hear a creaky lug nut, but it's still going in the correct direction. Mullen just has to visit the mechanic to straighten a few things out.

[Barking 13]

Thanks Shotgun, for being the voice of reason... I still think he needs an "attitude adjustment"....

[HIGHDOG]

i can handle ANYTHING MISS STATE this year, EXCEPT losing to tpun!!!...the scheduling of osu was a blueprint for a down year....jmho...tom

[SignalToNoise]

Well I admit Saturday night I was calling for gallows to be built because I was not happy about the way we lost that game, but I calmed down the next day.

I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I'll say it again (Re: Improvement game-to-game):
Watch how the bears improved last year from game to game and that should give you an idea of what we need to do to become bowl eligible. I agree it starts with Dak getting better, as well as our green receiving corps. Let's not forget about the defense too- a unit that is already pretty solid should improve with each week, too. By the time November rolls around things could look very different. Let's claw our way to 6 wins and set up for somethign special next year, with the stadium expansion opening, better schedule, and depth chart of DT QBs.

Also, earlier this week I looked at the 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes. They would have to improve just to be mediocre. Lots of non-contributors in those classes.

[ChupacabraDawg]

First time posting, but I've been on the pack and here for quite some time.

I haven't seen much posted about our complete lack of tackling ability. That to me has been a killer on a good number of drives. We seem to do a ton of arm tackling or just leading with the shoulder but never wrapping up. I just don't see that as being a legitimate way to go about business in the SEC.

[chef dixon]

First time posting, but I've been on the pack and here for quite some time.

I haven't seen much posted about our complete lack of tackling ability. That to me has been a killer on a good number of drives. We seem to do a ton of arm tackling or just leading with the shoulder but never wrapping up. I just don't see that as being a legitimate way to go about business in the SEC.

Yea we were really bad in the first quarter tackling. That was the main reason we fell in the hole. But I think by the end of the game we were doing a lot better job... I think we just had too much nervous juice at the start. Last year we could tackle no one.