Pros/Cons after NC State

[CadaverDawg]

Offensive Pros:

- OL blocked a little better
- Playaction/Pump Fake additions helped open things up some
- A few more shots downfield, including TD to Heath
- A little less dink and dunk dependent (not as many RB dumps)

Defensive Pros:

- Run D was incredible against a good running team
- Corners were incredible on open field tackles on short throws (whole D was)
- Not really any totally busted plays like last week that I can remember
- Got pressure on the QB without giving up home runs

Offensive cons:

- Still not much rhythm, no tempo
- OL didn't block well on the running plays
- Dolla Bill is counterfeit
- Will has to be willing to take off every now and then to pick up first downs
- 4th and 1 and we throw it behind the LOS? GTFO with that, Leach.

Defensive cons:

- Susceptible to the deep ball, safeties are suspect, but it's the price we pay to stop the run and pressure the QB
- Shawn Preston Jr (yikes)
- Not many cons, they were phenomenal and the reason we won the game tonight

Special Teams:

Pros - Tulu & Kickoffs through the end zone (Tulu is electric and should touch it way more on offense)

Cons - Tucker Day (What the hell, man? You're a veteran, can't average a few shanks per game. Time to explore the next man up)
- Onside kick

[Commercecomet24]

Pretty good assessment on everything. This defense probably tackles better overall than any I've ever seen at State. And how about Jett Johnson, dude played like a mad man tonight.

[TNDawg35]

I thought the OLine did a great job tonight. Several times Will was pressured, it was his own damn fault for holding it so long or he rolled out. He has got to get better at making a decision quicker. There were several times receivers were open and he held the ball.

The 1st drive of the game, he missed Tulu. when they panned out, there was literally NO ONE around Tulu. He would have run all the way to Memphis un touched if Will hits him in stride.

The D is what it is. It is just plain nasty. We may as well kiss Arnett goodbye after this year. Someone will grab him.

I was pleasantly surprised by the freshman kicker. He looked really good.

Tucker Day looked like shit. We need a punter badly.

Overall it was a good win that none of us thought would happen after last week. We need to clean some stuff up before Memphis. they are gonna stretch the field and put pressure on us next weekend. I think the D can hold them, and they will give up some points. So the offense has to step up.

I was sitting here thinking tonight. Our D is very good, and O isnt right now. Watch what happens. We will loose Arnett and the D will go down hill and Leach will get the offense rolling and it will be the exact opposite in a couple years. We will be sitting here bitching about the defense instead of the offense.

[starkvegasdawg]

They hit those two deep balls and this is a different ballgame. That said, if Rogers hits our RB in stride he walks in so I guess it evens out.

[Cowbell]

Pretty good assessment on everything. This defense probably tackles better overall than any I've ever seen at State. And how about Jett Johnson, dude played like a mad man tonight.

Ari said two weeks ago that Jett shouldn't even be on the roster and I wonder what the heck he was doing wrong. Turns out nothing. He was everywhere.

[Cowbell]

They hit those two deep balls and this is a different ballgame. That said, if Rogers hits our RB in stride he walks in so I guess it evens out.
We honestly made more mistakes abd missed more opportunities than they did.

[OLJWales]

Ari said two weeks ago that Jett shouldn't even be on the roster and I wonder what the heck he was doing wrong. Turns out nothing. He was everywhere.

I hate it when people take shots like that at our players while knowing absolute Dick about said player.

[Hot Rock]

What I am learning is that a Leach coached team is well coached in all aspects.

The defense and special teams are some the best coached I have seen. I mean we have our kicker go down and they have guys ready. Sure Tucker shanks a couple but players make mistakes.

The offense will go as far as Rogers can take them because that OL is starting to come around. If Rogers wants to be the man, he needs to take charge and be that guy. I know he is still young but this team can win a good bit this year if he does.

[FISHDAWG]

Good assessment Cad ... Have we ever taken the opening kickoff 100 yards before? If so, I don't remember

[msstate7]

What I am learning is that a Leach coached team is well coached in all aspects.

The defense and special teams are some the best coached I have seen. I mean we have our kicker go down and they have guys ready. Sure Tucker shanks a couple but players make mistakes.

The offense will go as far as Rogers can take them because that OL is starting to come around. If Rogers wants to be the man, he needs to take charge and be that guy. I know he is still young but this team can win a good bit this year if he does.

Not sure how much credit leach gets for defense other than making a tremendous hire. Leach doesn't exactly have a great track record on defenses.

Now leach should get credit on the Oline cleaning things up this week.

This was a great win.

[Maroonthirteen]

I think you nail it. Pros: Defense. Wow.

Cons: Offense has to get more consistent. Punting: more consistent. Get the ball away quicker. NcSt got pressure on the punter a few times.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Ari said two weeks ago that Jett shouldn't even be on the roster and I wonder what the heck he was doing wrong. Turns out nothing. He was everywhere.

Jett might be a one-game anomaly. But he was as good as any defensive player we had last night. He was a very pleasant surprise.

[MetEdDawg]

We honestly made more mistakes abd missed more opportunities than they did.

This is very true. Ball on the first drive that went off Walley's hands on the crosser was a TD. They had only 2 guys downfield to stop him and we had 2 receivers. Ball to Dillon Johnson is a TD on the swing pass if he hits him in stride.

My issue is that we can't run block at all. Good teams will never respect the run and will shut our offense completely if we can't do better than 2 yards per carry and Will Rogers never runs it. We don't force teams to commit more to the LOS to open up passing lanes. If you can't make defenses tackle our guys in space, the big play will never open up.

[Catfish]

Week 2 was so much better than week 1. Getting better and better. Let's all stay positive..

[shoeless joe]

Forget head coach, scheme, or whatever….that was a classic Mississippi state win. Do enough on offense but feel like we shoulda blown em out cuz we are inconsistent…defense carries the day while also getting a couple breaks.

I’ve been watchin state for over 30 years and that was as Mississippi state a game as I’ve ever seen.

[Jacknut]

Ari said two weeks ago that Jett shouldn't even be on the roster and I wonder what the heck he was doing wrong. Turns out nothing. He was everywhere.

He certainly played well last night. He has a nose for the ball and tackles well.

[FISHDAWG]

Forget head coach, scheme, or whatever?.that was a classic Mississippi state win. Do enough on offense but feel like we shoulda blown em out cuz we are inconsistent?defense carries the day while also getting a couple breaks.

I?ve been watchin state for over 30 years and that was as Mississippi state a game as I?ve ever seen.

Lol ... lotta truth there. Only one big difference- we did it through the air

[Mjoelner34]

Good post Cadaver.
Here is what I saw:
1. We did not have multiple guys running wide open every play like last week. His yardage wasn't as high this week but I thought Will did a better job overall this week although he flat out missed on a couple that may have been long TD's.
2. Jet Johnson for the 2nd week in a row was all over the place. I mentioned him last week too.
3. Take away the blown coverage and the missed assignment on the run last week and La Tech's O only put 13 on us. The D is solid.
4. After seeing Tulu return kicks in the bowl game, I couldn't believe Tech kicked to him multiple times last week. It absolutely blew my mind when NC State did it.
5. Maybe I was seeing things but in the 4th quarter it looked like we were staying over the ball longer before we snapped it like Will was taking more time making pre-snap reads. It looked like we performed better while doing this. But, that performance could also be due to my next observation.
6. Something I haven't seen mentioned yet is that Leach Beach played a huge role in the 4th quarter last night. NC State was gassed on both sides of the ball and had multiple guys cramp up in the 4th.

[PMDawg]

I'm usually overly negative, so I'll stick to the pros on offense.

2nd half, we utilized play action really well.

1st half, I actually saw us run a zone read play. I think Will should have pulled it but he handed it off, but at least we called it.

We added in some little toss plays too.

Oh, I also saw a few back shoulder throws too.

He basically did all the things I said we needed to do after last week.

1 con for defense is we still had several instances of guys streaking wide open deep. NCST didn't connect, so that was good. Can't keep doing that several times a game though.

[Memphisbulldog]

I thought the OLine did a great job tonight. Several times Will was pressured, it was his own damn fault for holding it so long or he rolled out. He has got to get better at making a decision quicker. There were several times receivers were open and he held the ball.

The 1st drive of the game, he missed Tulu. when they panned out, there was literally NO ONE around Tulu. He would have run all the way to Memphis un touched if Will hits him in stride.

The D is what it is. It is just plain nasty. We may as well kiss Arnett goodbye after this year. Someone will grab him.

I was pleasantly surprised by the freshman kicker. He looked really good.

Tucker Day looked like shit. We need a punter badly.

Overall it was a good win that none of us thought would happen after last week. We need to clean some stuff up before Memphis. they are gonna stretch the field and put pressure on us next weekend. I think the D can hold them, and they will give up some points. So the offense has to step up.

I was sitting here thinking tonight. Our D is very good, and O isnt right now. Watch what happens. We will loose Arnett and the D will go down hill and Leach will get the offense rolling and it will be the exact opposite in a couple years. We will be sitting here bitching about the defense instead of the offense.

Why do you think we lose arnett? If he were to get a head coach job then of course they would leave. But not everyone is head coach material.

He likes coaching for Leach. That counts a lot. I suspect we could match any money offer from 95% of the country.

[dawgday166]

Pretty good assessment on everything. This defense probably tackles better overall than any I've ever seen at State. And how about Jett Johnson, dude played like a mad man tonight.

Man I tell you ... I like never disagree with you but I ain't seeing this one. I think our tackling is poor and opposing players make too many extra yards after contact. Our D line is mucho inferior IMO to what we've had over last few years. When we run into upper-tier SEC it's gonna be ugly. Jett was pretty decent tho.

And this team certainly don't tackle as well as 2018 did. Not even close IMO.

[Commercecomet24]

Man I tell you ... I like never disagree with you but I ain't seeing this one. I think our tackling is poor and opposing players make too many extra yards after contact. Our D line is mucho inferior IMO to what we've had over last few years. When we run into upper-tier SEC it's gonna be ugly. Jett was pretty decent tho.

And this team certainly don't tackle as well as 2018 did. Not even close IMO.

It's all good. I enjoy hearing other folks perspective on here cause I sure as heck don't know everything. It's why I love this board lot of very sharp folks(and a few goobs,lol).I just see a lot of guys running to the football and laying some licks. Our corners don't miss any tackles at all. The interior is definitely not as talented but are playing with a high motor. And I believe we'll get better with Arnetts coaching. Always much respects for your posts, you're a good one.

[dawgday166]

It's all good. I enjoy hearing other folks perspective on here cause I sure as heck don't know everything. It's why I love this board lot of very sharp folks(and a few goobs,lol).I just see a lot of guys running to the football and laying some licks. Our corners don't miss any tackles at all. The interior is definitely not as talented but are playing with a high motor. And I believe we'll get better with Arnetts coaching. Always much respects for your posts, you're a good one.

No worries and appreciate the compliment. I kinda think our corners are not as physical as what we had in 2017/18. I actually also think we were more physical on D last year, especially our Dline. But I am comparing to our better Ds. We'll know more when we get into SEC play and I'm hoping Memphis doesn't trip us up. Have no clue how good they are this year.

[Commercecomet24]

No worries and appreciate the compliment. I kinda think our corners are not as physical as what we had in 2017/18. I actually also think we were more physical on D last year, especially our Dline. But I am comparing to our better Ds. We'll know more when we get into SEC play and I'm hoping Memphis doesn't trip us up. Have no clue how good they are this year.

Agreed and it is still early and while we've played 1 ok team and 1 good team sec play will let us know for sure. Memphis is a mystery, I know they have some fast skill players but their d is suspect. Interesting to see how that one plays out. Need to get 3-0 before sec starts.

[Ari Gold]

Ari said two weeks ago that Jett shouldn't even be on the roster and I wonder what the heck he was doing wrong. Turns out nothing. He was everywhere.

I was wrong for sure.. maybe he read what I said and it pissed him off. Because up until last night he has shown nothing that would make me think otherwise..
He looked great last night.. hopefully that continues ..
so Jett if you read this you suck..**

[Ari Gold]

I hate it when people take shots like that at our players while knowing absolute Dick about said player.

Well this is year 3 maybe even 4 and has contributed basically zero until last night.. saying that I hope the kid leads us in tackles this year.
That better..

[TNDawg35]

Why do you think we lose arnett? If he were to get a head coach job then of course they would leave. But not everyone is head coach material.

He likes coaching for Leach. That counts a lot. I suspect we could match any money offer from 95% of the country.

He literally interviewed for every open D Cord job last year. He is too good for us to keep. A big time program will snatch him up. The only thing that may turn them off is his scheme he runs. Some people don?t like the 3 man front, even tho we know that isn?t what we usually run..

[Ari Gold]

He literally interviewed for every open D Cord job last year. He is too good for us to keep. A big time program will snatch him up. The only thing that may turn them off is his scheme he runs. Some people don?t like the 3 man front, even tho we know that isn?t what we usually run..

I think if he leaves it’s for a head job..

[Cowbell]

I was wrong for sure.. maybe he read what I said and it pissed him off. Because up until last night he has shown nothing that would make me think otherwise..
He looked great last night.. hopefully that continues ..
so Jett if you read this you suck..**
Would you please call dolla bill out**

[preachermatt83]

Ari said two weeks ago that Jett shouldn't even be on the roster and I wonder what the heck he was doing wrong. Turns out nothing. He was everywhere.

Lol. Don?t believe everything the so called experts claim around here

[HoopsDawg]

I think if he leaves it’s for a head job..

he doesn't strike me as head coach material, but maybe someone will give him a shot.

[RiverCityDawg]

he doesn't strike me as head coach material, but maybe someone will give him a shot.

Agree. Absolutely love him as a DC, but I would be scared to death to hire him as HC. I think his next stop is blue blood DC. Dan will probably try to hire him if/when he cuts Grantham loose.

[OLJWales]

Well this is year 3 maybe even 4 and has contributed basically zero until last night.. saying that I hope the kid leads us in tackles this year.
That better..

You bring good shit to the board. I just don't like to see individual playas trashed.

[Ari Gold]

Lol. Don?t believe everything the so called experts claim around here

Spoken like a true so called expert..

[Johnson85]

I think if he leaves it’s for a head job..

I think he's probably going to get the chance this year. Just a question of whether it will be a good enough head coaching job. Teams churn through head coaches so quickly it seems like coaches are getting HC offers with less and less of a track record to go on. One thing that may help is all the uncertainty with conference realignment and how that affects the desirability of G5 schools. With the discussion of the expanded playoff with a guaranteed G5 representation, they probably were looking better. But now with the SEC expansion and the AAC and Big12 in flux, I might be a little concerned about what things are going to look like over the next few years. I certainly wouldn't want to go to a Big12 remnant where they have P5 expectations for recruiting but recruits know that they are essentially a G5 conference going forward.

[Johnson85]

Why do you think we lose arnett? If he were to get a head coach job then of course they would leave. But not everyone is head coach material.

He likes coaching for Leach. That counts a lot. I suspect we could match any money offer from 95% of the country.

We can, but there is still the draw for many of coaching for a blue blood school. Bama, Florida, UGA, OSU, Texas, A&M, Oklahoma are all schools that could make it financially painful for us to keep him, and even if we match, there is the thing we can't match, which is a decent chance of being in the playoffs.

[HoopsDawg]

I think he's probably going to get the chance this year. Just a question of whether it will be a good enough head coaching job. Teams churn through head coaches so quickly it seems like coaches are getting HC offers with less and less of a track record to go on. One thing that may help is all the uncertainty with conference realignment and how that affects the desirability of G5 schools. With the discussion of the expanded playoff with a guaranteed G5 representation, they probably were looking better. But now with the SEC expansion and the AAC and Big12 in flux, I might be a little concerned about what things are going to look like over the next few years. I certainly wouldn't want to go to a Big12 remnant where they have P5 expectations for recruiting but recruits know that they are essentially a G5 conference going forward.

He would be at LSU this year if it weren't for his MSU contract. Give Cohen some credit on that one.

[Cowbell]

Spoken like a true so called expert..

Ari - I wasn't calling you dude - appreciate your input - I was concerned about Jet

[Lord McBuckethead]

Jett might be a one-game anomaly. But he was as good as any defensive player we had last night. He was a very pleasant surprise.

Jett may just be a gamer. Who knows? Sometimes people look pedestrian in practice and absolutely dominates when under the lights. Who knows.

[BrunswickDawg]

I know this is a suspect matrix - but I found this interesting -

ESPN's FPI had NCSU at #18 going into our game. We were at #43. They have now dropped to #27 and we have moved up to #34, and are now ahead of LSU. They give us an 83% chance of winning 6 games.

[Extendedcab]

I think if he leaves it’s for a head job..

I think we have a couple of more years before he would jump (assuming we do not treat him right or groom him for the next level).