Did anyone see this coming?

[CadaverDawg]

http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/statistics/team/_/stat/defense/sort/sacks/year/2013/id/8/sec-conference

So much for Mayhem. Last in sacks, and near the bottom in INT's. I was actually surprised at this bc I thought the D has looked decent at times. When you have a young secondary....you absolutely have to be pressuring the QB better to have a chance.

[Todd4State]

I think the scheme is OK-we just don't make a lot of "game changing" plays- like sacks and INT's.

[The Croom Diaries]

Regardless of the stats we are more aggressive this year. In this day in age, and especially in this year's SEC, you just need a defense who gives you a chance to win. I think they've done that in every game except LSU - and considering they gave the offense a 1st half turnover in plus territory and a pick 6 put the game out of reach the LSU game is arguable. I give Collins a C+ this year.

ETA: we aren't forcing turnovers this year. Just 4 in 4 SEC games. 3 of them are Whitley INTs and were vs. Auburn. But we don't covert ANY of them into points so I guess it doesn't really matter.

[Dawg61]

Geoff Collins version of "mayhem" is to have the DL stand straight up on 3rd down before the snap. We have to get more sacks and turnovers. Wilson sucked balls but atleast he had a +/- on turnovers that was top 10 in the nation. What does Collins excel at? Can Buddy Stephens the HC at EMCC coach defense? Atleast with him we'd have a recruiting bloodline.

[tcdog70]

I would love to have a blitzing defense that pressures the QB and cause Turnovers and also can score off of turnovers. Now when you do that you are going to give up some big plays. But I would be ok with that.. Sorta like you know----Joe Lee

[CadaverDawg]

I would love to have a blitzing defense that pressures the QB and cause Turnovers and also can score off of turnovers. Now when you do that you are going to give up some big plays. But I would be ok with that.. Sorta like you know----Joe Lee

I agree. I've been saying for some time that I would love for us to find a medium between Collins and Joe Lee. With a young secondary, we have got to get more pressure or we die a slow painful death each game. If you bring heat damn near every play, you may give up some Homeruns, but you force quicker throws and likely stuff the run. It keeps your secondary from having to cover guys like Landry, Beckham, Cooper, Evans, Moncrief, etc., for so long. We need to do something to create more turnovers....and of course it would help if our offense would score off of the few turnovers we DO create.

[BeastMan]

A defense can only be as strong as it's roots and base (tree analogy) which is DTs in the interior. That's the point of attack. The last 4 years we've had the luxury of NFL talent at the point of attack, including last year. This year we have arguably the most unproductive player in MSU history & the other DT has been a disappointment production wise. If it wasn't for Chris Jones, our DTs would be flat-line dead. If you are pinning all your hopes at the point if attack on an 18 year old, you are screwed.

[Dawgface]

I think the D is better. But it has been a long time since we had one getting lot's of turnovers and TD returns.

[Coach34]

http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/statistics/team/_/stat/defense/sort/sacks/year/2013/id/8/sec-conference

So much for Mayhem. Last in sacks, and near the bottom in INT's. I was actually surprised at this bc I thought the D has looked decent at times. When you have a young secondary....you absolutely have to be pressuring the QB better to have a chance.

We are 4th in Total D- so we do have that for improvement

[BeastMan]

Let's add to my previous post:

-Eulls- 0 TFL 0 sacks this year. 4 career TFL and 1 sack in 34 career starts
-PJ Jones- 2 TFL in the opener and nothing since

-Chris Jones- 4 TFL to lead our interior guys as an 18 year old playing his 3rd year of organized football & only his second year of defense.

And are you mofos ready for the kicker? Look at Virges stat line. Why is he not playing more?
Game1-DNP
Game2-3 total tackles,1.5 TFL, 1 sack
Game3-2 total tackles
Game4- 1 total tackle, .5 TFL
Game5-DNP
Game6-DNP
Game7-DNP
Game8-1 total tackle, .5 TFL

Curtis Virges is our 2nd most productive DT as far as disruptive plays and has 4 did not plays! It is as clear as it gets that Virges and Chris Jones need to be our guys.

[CadaverDawg]

We are 4th in Total D- so we do have that for improvement

Yea. I don't doubt the improvement overall. In fact I was really surprised that we were ranked that low in sacks because we have looked good in spurts on the D-Line. BeastMan makes a really good point about Eulls holding our D-Line back. I like Eulls but he is just not an impact player at all.

What are your thoughts on being even more aggressive to try and help our young secondary and create some more turnovers? Obviously, A&M week wouldn't be a time we'd want to do it, but overall what are your thoughts? Would like to hear everybody's thoughts on this, especially former coaches like 34 and 57, and 66 if he's around

[CadaverDawg]

Let's add to my previous post:

-Eulls- 0 TFL 0 sacks this year. 4 career TFL and 1 sack in 34 career starts
-PJ Jones- 2 TFL in the opener and nothing since

-Chris Jones- 4 TFL to lead our interior guys as an 18 year old playing his 3rd year of organized football & only his second year of defense.

And are you mofos ready for the kicker? Look at Virges stat line. Why is he not playing more?
Game1-DNP
Game2-3 total tackles,1.5 TFL, 1 sack
Game3-2 total tackles
Game4- 1 total tackle, .5 TFL
Game5-DNP
Game6-DNP
Game7-DNP
Game8-1 total tackle, .5 TFL

Curtis Virges is our 2nd most productive DT as far as disruptive plays and has 4 did not plays! It is as clear as it gets that Virges and Chris Jones need to be our guys.

Why the hell is Virges not playing then? And why did Jones get so few snaps Saturday against SC?

[engie]

Why the hell is Virges not playing then? And why did Jones get so few snaps Saturday against SC?

Our personnel decisions are still terrible on defense. Better than last year, but still totally terrible.

[tcdog70]

I agree. I've been saying for some time that I would love for us to find a medium between Collins and Joe Lee. With a young secondary, we have got to get more pressure or we die a slow painful death each game. If you bring heat damn near every play, you may give up some Homeruns, but you force quicker throws and likely stuff the run. It keeps your secondary from having to cover guys like Landry, Beckham, Cooper, Evans, Moncrief, etc., for so long. We need to do something to create more turnovers....and of course it would help if our offense would score off of the few turnovers we DO create.

It would help our offense to get a short field every once Ina while. One way to score in the second half would be a pick six or scoop up a fumble. I watch on Tupelo channel Sat morn the 98 (I think )game vs SC where our Joe Lee defense blitzed to crap out of the Cocks, boy was it fun to watch. JJ ran all over them

[CadaverDawg]

It would help our offense to get a short field every once Ina while. One way to score in the second half would be a pick six or scoop up a fumble. I watch on Tupelo channel Sat morn the 98 (I think )game vs SC where our Joe Lee defense blitzed to crap out of the Cocks, boy was it fun to watch. JJ ran all over them

Was that when that Tanneyhill guy was QB for SC? Joe lee's defenses were fun to watch when we had talent at CB.

[BeastMan]

Our personnel decisions are still terrible on defense. Better than last year, but still totally terrible.

They're really not bad anywhere except DL sans Whitley. LB and CB has had a good rotation. I'm questioning what Hughes has to work with at Safety after the injuries. IMO the David Turner hire is looking like a really lazy retread hire. He coached here, left for UK and then we bring him back when that whole staff got canned b/c he knows MS HS recruiting already. I would have much rather had a young, hire energy guy besides the Sylvester Croom's of DL coaches. We must have had zero interest

[Bothrops]

With the type of talent we're supposed to have on defense, we should look more like South Carolina. I'm at a loss trying understand why we've looked this pedestrian on defense in the last two seasons. We've been getting physically whipped far too often at the LOS. This is obviously not a talent issue.

[tcdog70]

No , Sparky Woods was their HC , they had a black QB.

[CadaverDawg]

No , Sparky Woods was their HC , they had a black QB.

Oh ok. Tanneyhill must have been earlier 90's

[DawgsBite34]

Collins is a big improvement from Wilson's sorry ass. He literally cost us some games last year. Had no idea Eulls was THAT unproductive. My God I think some of the people that post on here could do that much ha. Nickoe Whitley has not been the same guy since 2011 he needs to be benched ASAP. I think the defense as a whole is on the verge of really being a stand out unit they can play they've shown flashes. LSU game was a debacle but they have done enough to beat Auburn, SC, OK State and hopefully will keep it up. maybe danny two gloves will actually play to our strengths on offense and help them out some

[CJDAWG85]

For our D to be 4th in the SEC with this young of a secondary is quite the accomplishment. I was very impressed with our 3rd down D last saturday. This is going to be a very good unit next year and years to come.

[CJDAWG85]

Not only are we 4th in the SEC, but 22nd overall in Total D. 21st in Pass D.

[SallyStansbury]

Yea. I don't doubt the improvement overall. In fact I was really surprised that we were ranked that low in sacks because we have looked good in spurts on the D-Line. BeastMan makes a really good point about Eulls holding our D-Line back. I like Eulls but he is just not an impact player at all.

What are your thoughts on being even more aggressive to try and help our young secondary and create some more turnovers? Obviously, A&M week wouldn't be a time we'd want to do it, but overall what are your thoughts? Would like to hear everybody's thoughts on this, especially former coaches like 34 and 57, and 66 if he's around

I think a lot of our Defensive strategy relates back to Mullen's lack of willingness to expose himself to risk. He brings in Collins and says, "Do this.....Run this kind of D......"

The thread above about Jackie Sherril firing Bruce Arians made me think about that. Jackie likes to pound it with huge linemen. Throw to Moulds, one of the best receivers in the NFL must be stupid right? JS was an idiot in that instance, he had his way of doing things and was too stubborn to realize throwing to Moulds might have been a good plan.

I suspect that Mullen is a lot like that with his offense: Perkins @ 190 lbs up the middle out of the gun with no fullback. /Mullen/ it will work if I keep running it, my strategy couldn't be wrong /Mullen/

However how much influence does he have over the defensive side of the ball? Coach 34/57/66 et al. will talk about lanes, zone responsibility, and containment and allowing LB to make plays. I don't really understand all that shit to be truthful, but if you were to get rid of Eulls and replace him occassionally with Quay and say, "Quay, go **** up the QB any way you see fit, seriously hurt him." I bet he would do accomplish that about 1 out of 4 times. That is risky, but if you had Jones doing it from the other DT spot, and the QB didn't know which direction to turn and all of a sudden our DBs might not look quite so bad. That is a different strategy, Clowney is used much in this capacity. We hurt SC by running right past him as he rushed up the field, there are ways to exploit this, but the alternative we choose is to plug in Eulls or Cherrington and then tell everyone how great they are at doing their assignment. Well that sucks. QBs feel no pressure from us and our inexperienced DBs are getting killed. That is how we have chosen to play it. Look at how we played LSU (what I described) look at how olemiss played LSU (risky stunts, rushes, blitz) 3-4 ints. Kimdeechee was out in that game too. Also, how well is explaining responsibilities, zone reads, contain, etc....to Quay and Nick James going about now? I am just guessing here?

If you gave Mullen the choice:
A. A 100% probability of losing to Alabama by 10 points.....OR
B. A 75% probability of getting blown the **** out in embarassing fashion >20 points and a 25% probability of winning.

I bet Mullen would really think about it, because his choices make me think he selects option A. Other teams have figured this out and Mullen seems unwilling or unable to modify his approach. So we get what we get.

[Dawgfan77]

They're really not bad anywhere except DL sans Whitley. LB and CB has had a good rotation. I'm questioning what Hughes has to work with at Safety after the injuries. IMO the David Turner hire is looking like a really lazy retread hire. He coached here, left for UK and then we bring him back when that whole staff got canned b/c he knows MS HS recruiting already. I would have much rather had a young, hire energy guy besides the Sylvester Croom's of DL coaches. We must have had zero interest
I think there was interest BeastMan, but it was a lazy familiar hire for Mullen,no search needed as Turner was out of a Job. There was DL coach less than an hr down the road at EMCC that UK hired....
This is why I dont think if Mullen is retained he will make any staff changes, unless he hires Greg Branndon from New Mexico who was Myer's OC at Bowling Green and was promoted to HC at Bowling Green when Myer left for Utah.

[Schultzy]

Our personnel decisions are still terrible on defense. Better than last year, but still totally terrible.

Speaking of personnel decisions, I wonder how these are affecting team morale (offense and defense) considering the rumors of the team having lost confidence in Mullen.

[SallyStansbury]

In keeping with the title of this thread.........

I would be curious to see some of the poster's face palm moments of the Mullen predictability. I will start and will look forward to additions from other posters.

Following a Dak Prescott run of greater than 10 yards 96% of the time we run Perkins up the gut for a gain of 1 to 2 yrds.

Also, our scripted first series almost always looks great, props, but the second and third series of the game, that "off the cuff" playcalling by Mullen is predictably shitty.

[DawgInMemphis]

http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/statistics/team/_/stat/defense/sort/sacks/year/2013/id/8/sec-conference

So much for Mayhem. Last in sacks, and near the bottom in INT's. I was actually surprised at this bc I thought the D has looked decent at times. When you have a young secondary....you absolutely have to be pressuring the QB better to have a chance.

Mizzou has 17 INT's through 9 games?! Geez.

[DawgInMemphis]

I think we'd all agree that the D is not an issue, and that we're a much improved group over last year.

[starkvegasdawg]

I think we'd all agree that the D is not an issue, and that we're a much improved group over last year.

I think our lack of a pass rush is killing us. In almost every game this season it looks like the opposing QB has enough time to type out a term paper he has due that Monday before finally looking to find an open receiver and throw the ball. Our young secondary has a hard enough time covering receivers for 4 seconds. When the QB has 7, 8, 9 seconds to find a receiver it is over. Deion Sanders in his prime couldn't cover a high school receiver for that long on a consistent basis. Everybody thought that going into this season that our front 4 was going to wreak havoc but they have not come close. CJ appears to be the only consistently viable pash rush and he is double teamed almost every play. Hard for a true freshman to fight through that all the time and remember he is out of position. Then Nick has to be red shirted and Quay is being Quay. Eulls couldn't beat the block of a girl scout right now. I can go on but we all see the results.

[blacklistedbully]

Have you considered opponents played? For example, playing Vandy is a pretty sizable advantage as they've given up 27 sacks so far, Next worse is UF at 21. The average is 15. We've played just 2 of the top 6 in "sacks allowed", 1 of the top 6 in "INT's allowed", where again Vandy leads the pack by a significant amount.

[DawgInMemphis]

I think our lack of a pass rush is killing us. In almost every game this season it looks like the opposing QB has enough time to type out a term paper he has due that Monday before finally looking to find an open receiver and throw the ball. Our young secondary has a hard enough time covering receivers for 4 seconds. When the QB has 7, 8, 9 seconds to find a receiver it is over. Deion Sanders in his prime couldn't cover a high school receiver for that long on a consistent basis. Everybody thought that going into this season that our front 4 was going to wreak havoc but they have not come close. CJ appears to be the only consistently viable pash rush and he is double teamed almost every play. Hard for a true freshman to fight through that all the time and remember he is out of position. Then Nick has to be red shirted and Quay is being Quay. Eulls couldn't beat the block of a girl scout right now. I can go on but we all see the results.

Our pass rush isn't what I thought it would be, but we're top 25 in the nation in total defense, passing yards allowed, and 3rd down converted % allowed. We're average in points allowed, but I think that's more to do with us being totally inept in the second half of games on offense - the D inevitably wears down.

Bottom line I agree that our pass rush could be better - but our D is playing well, and much better than last year. Bama is near the bottom of the SEC in sacks and INT's, but nobody complains about their pass rush. I disagree that QB's are having all day to throw on us. We've done well overall getting pressure on the passer, and I think that shows up in our passing yards allowed.

[Jack Lambert]

http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/statistics/team/_/stat/defense/sort/sacks/year/2013/id/8/sec-conference

So much for Mayhem. Last in sacks, and near the bottom in INT's. I was actually surprised at this bc I thought the D has looked decent at times. When you have a young secondary....you absolutely have to be pressuring the QB better to have a chance.

Not disagreeing but when the receivers get opened fast the QB doesn't have to take much time to pass. Yes you need a good pass rush to help the DB's but when you have Freshman going up against Seniors who know how to get open and run patterns, with a QB throwing to a spot and the DB is still learning how to cover, it doesn't take much time so the QB to dump the ball fast. Say all you want but upper classmen have the advantage with experience.

If we has Slay and Banks this season think how good or defense would be.

[Maroonthirteen]

Yes. We lost two cornerbacks and a linebacker to the NFL from a defense that wasn't that good as a whole.

This year.......Except the LSU game, I think they have performed slightly above what I expected. However, I expected our offense to be much better, keeping the defense off the field more.

[Irondawg]

It is perplexing because when I watch I see us using a variety of blitzes and zone blitzes but we're never confusing the OL and getting a free rusher. So that screams scheme to me. I don't see stunts or delayed blitzes designed to hit a gap created by the rush angles of the other guys. I just don't know.

Eulls is a mystery. I don't notice him being bad but he's not making any good plays either. Honestly he might should have been moved to OG two years ago. PJ Jones showed some good skill early in his career but he's been invisible this year as well.

To beat a dead horse at this point our DT's were supposed to be Quay and James and they both continue to not do what they need to do to get on the field. But IF they get their stuff in order next year we look at a line of Jones and Preston at DE and James and Quay at DT. There is no lack of talent there and AJ and Jones and the other DT's give you solid depth.

On Turner I didn't think he was anything special the first time around and that appears to be the case now as well unless he reels in a big recruiting fish late.

[CadaverDawg]

I think a lot of our Defensive strategy relates back to Mullen's lack of willingness to expose himself to risk. He brings in Collins and says, "Do this.....Run this kind of D......"

The thread above about Jackie Sherril firing Bruce Arians made me think about that. Jackie likes to pound it with huge linemen. Throw to Moulds, one of the best receivers in the NFL must be stupid right? JS was an idiot in that instance, he had his way of doing things and was too stubborn to realize throwing to Moulds might have been a good plan.

I suspect that Mullen is a lot like that with his offense: Perkins @ 190 lbs up the middle out of the gun with no fullback. /Mullen/ it will work if I keep running it, my strategy couldn't be wrong /Mullen/

However how much influence does he have over the defensive side of the ball? Coach 34/57/66 et al. will talk about lanes, zone responsibility, and containment and allowing LB to make plays. I don't really understand all that shit to be truthful, but if you were to get rid of Eulls and replace him occassionally with Quay and say, "Quay, go **** up the QB any way you see fit, seriously hurt him." I bet he would do accomplish that about 1 out of 4 times. That is risky, but if you had Jones doing it from the other DT spot, and the QB didn't know which direction to turn and all of a sudden our DBs might not look quite so bad. That is a different strategy, Clowney is used much in this capacity. We hurt SC by running right past him as he rushed up the field, there are ways to exploit this, but the alternative we choose is to plug in Eulls or Cherrington and then tell everyone how great they are at doing their assignment. Well that sucks. QBs feel no pressure from us and our inexperienced DBs are getting killed. That is how we have chosen to play it. Look at how we played LSU (what I described) look at how olemiss played LSU (risky stunts, rushes, blitz) 3-4 ints. Kimdeechee was out in that game too. Also, how well is explaining responsibilities, zone reads, contain, etc....to Quay and Nick James going about now? I am just guessing here?

If you gave Mullen the choice:
A. A 100% probability of losing to Alabama by 10 points.....OR
B. A 75% probability of getting blown the **** out in embarassing fashion >20 points and a 25% probability of winning.

I bet Mullen would really think about it, because his choices make me think he selects option A. Other teams have figured this out and Mullen seems unwilling or unable to modify his approach. So we get what we get.

Damn, Sally. Great post. I agree completely.

[MarketingBully01]

I agree DawginMemphis and the defense is not why we lost on Saturday. Turnovers are. When South Carolina had to drive the field, they had three and outs. When we turned it over and gave them a short field, they scored. Simple as that. I thought David Turner was a great hire. I think our DL is greatly improved from last year. Having caused four turnovers though is disappointing but overall the D has done well. Our defense actually kept us more in it. As far as pressure on Saturday, we did get to Shaw several times and force bad throws. Jones would have a ton of sacks if he wasn't held on every freaking play. Trust me. When he gets another year in him and learns more technique from Turner, it won't matter they are holding.