Spring Game thoughts

We are going to be pretty good on defense folks dont let anyone fool you, we've got depth on the DL and at LB. Our safeties are NFL type players and our corners looked better than what I expected and from what I've seen and heard this spring they are much improved. Still gotta prove it on Sept. 3 but very promising. I cant wait to see us turn the dogs loose on D. We wont have to be as good offensively if the D can hold it down. You could really start to see Jonathan Calvin and Will Coleman figure it out down the stretch last year they are gonna give us production and depth on the DL. Our front 7 can play with and stop anyone.


Offensively I think Tiano stood out to me the most he looks solid and composed. He can also tote the rock. Fitz, Tiano, Williams, Staley in that order at QB. I think we will see Fitz start and do some good and bad things like a young QB will do but he will do more good than bad. I expect us to run our QBs more, hopefully get back to a true read option back there. We've got several RBs that can play, Alec Murphy looked good so did Nick Gipson. Still think Aeris will be the guy but we'll see. OL looked improved run blocking but not so much pass blocking. It was hard to get a good read on them because we were mixed and matched up front. I think it will be Clayborne at C, Desper at a G (hes not very good) Calhoun at the other G, Rankin at LT and Senior at the other. Would really love to see Elgton Jenkins take Desper or Seniors spot because Jenkins has some dawg in him. At WR we were missing our best 2 in Gray and Ross but I thought we looked okay. Mixon was up and down, Thomas may be the new stonehands and Jesse Jackson looks really polished. Malik Dear is a beast still think hes out of position but he can play wherever and play well. Holloway is gonna be a good weapon for us, he takes a lot of crap on this board but hes a good football player and is tough as hell.


All in all if we stay healthy no reason to think we cant win at least 8 games. Just my opinion. It will hinge on the OL and as always Dan.

Inconsistent at QB
OL is not very good
Little depth at WR
Secondary looked better because of the lack of talent at WR

6 win team fighting for its life

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coach34

Inconsistent at QB
OL is not very good
Little depth at WR
Secondary looked better because of the lack of talent at WR

6 win team fighting for its life

---

We're just gonna have to agree to disagree

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coach34

Inconsistent at QB
OL is not very good
Little depth at WR
Secondary looked better because of the lack of talent at WR

6 win team fighting for its life

---

It's a 7 win team coach, provided that Fitz progresses and steps up to be the starter we need him to be. Totally different offense with Ross and Gray and their ability to make plays so I don't think you can judge too much based on today.

OL is a question, and I think it's a question of mentality and toughness in addition to personnel. The group just didn't play at the level I would expect in the first half, looked a bit better later in the game. That group needs to know that they are the difference between this team winning 5 or 8 games, it's really that big. They absolutely have to step up and be better. It's one thing to struggle against the Bamas and LSUs of the world, but this group has got to show some dominance against USCe, Auburn (still struggling), A&M and we have to win a couple of these games. I won't even mention the Egg, that should just be a given regardless of where it's played.

Our O should look much better when Gray & Ross return. I worry about our WR blocking and red zone production without Bear's size out there though. RB looks to be much improved, but the OL looks meh again.

We'll go as far as our OL & QB can take us.

Our D looks solid, but slow. Peters and McLaurin are hitters, but they take poor angles when in pursuit, and get run past frequently....can't have that on your back line.

I really like Tiano. He looks like a guy that could win the QB job by 2017

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coach34

Inconsistent at QB
OL is not very good
Little depth at WR
Secondary looked better because of the lack of talent at WR

6 win team fighting for its life

---

I think you are pretty much correct. Our obvious downfall will be the OL, as it has been for the past several years.

A few thoughts on QB:

1. Williams was a lot more productive than the stat line showed. Had a couple of poor reads, but also multiple drops that should have been big gains. I like his toughness and I'm glad we have him for another year (I expect him to grad transfer after this one barring something unusual). I think he'll push the other guys and will make a run at the backup spot.
2. Where was Staley? I don't feel like he's really showing up and competing for the job. He's coming up on his 3rd year rapidly and I don't see what I'd expect to see from him. All kinds of problems and not showing a lot of progression. At some point, we're going to need to stop talking about his potential and start talking about his lack of progression and production.
3. Tiano looked really good. He showed some flashes that make him look competitive as the #2 this year. I will not be surprised if he makes a strong run at the #2 spot.
4. Dan needs to not screw around and try to platoon with these guys. Pick a guy by week 2 and go with him. If there's a bit of competition with USA still and some rotation I can live with that (gotta win the damn game of course), but beyond that don't screw around. 2013 was a year that Dan needs to learn from, he trotted out 2 guys far too often and it hurt us a bit although it worked out by end of the season. No repeats from 2013.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDDawg

It's a 7 win team coach, provided that Fitz progresses and steps up to be the starter we need him to be. Totally different offense with Ross and Gray and their ability to make plays so I don't think you can judge too much based on today.

OL is a question, and I think it's a question of mentality and toughness in addition to personnel. The group just didn't play at the level I would expect in the first half, looked a bit better later in the game. That group needs to know that they are the difference between this team winning 5 or 8 games, it's really that big. They absolutely have to step up and be better. It's one thing to struggle against the Bamas and LSUs of the world, but this group has got to show some dominance against USCe, Auburn (still struggling), A&M and we have to win a couple of these games. I won't even mention the Egg, that should just be a given regardless of where it's played.

---

You have made a good post- but here is what I see are the problems with our OL being like it is:

Our toss-up games are at home- Auburn, A&M, and UPig. All 3 of those teams will be really good on the DL. Auburn has one of the SEC's best DL's- and just signed 3 Jeffrey Simmons level players in Feb. A&M has a top 5 draft pick at DE, a good Secondary, and a good DC in Chavis, and UPig returns 7 of 8 off their 2 deep on the DL. They will be vastly improved after being young last year.

2016 is just going to be a struggle. We'll have the chance to grind thru some wins- we'll see if we are able to

I agree Coach gonna be a long year if the OL doesn't make great strides over the summer and early fall!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coach34

Inconsistent at QB
OL is not very good
Little depth at WR
Secondary looked better because of the lack of talent at WR

6 win team fighting for its life

---

I don't have much V-cash coach, but I'd bet it ALL on 7+ wins

I just don't see an offensive identity that can work. Relf 2.0 requires a good OL and dependable RB of which we have neither.

All the WR talent doesn't mean squat if our QBs are on track to throw 5 INTs per game.

Defense looked good but it would have been hard for them not to.

My present STATE of mind is full fledged panic.

Do you really think that the best we have out of the 4 QBs is equal to Relf? Come on bro, that's plain silly.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Reason2succeed

I just don't see an offensive identity that can work. Relf 2.0 requires a good OL and dependable RB of which we have neither.

All the WR talent doesn't mean squat if our QBs are on track to throw 5 INTs per game.

Defense looked good but it would have been hard for them not to.

My present STATE of mind is full fledged panic.

---

If you could time-warp that Relf offense to now and play them now, they wouldn't be half as effective. The zone read was new then, but now teams know how to defend it. I'm afraid Mullen doesn't realize that, I know most of this board doesnt.

Our offense is in trouble this year. I expect to give up the most sacks in the SEC this year with a poor OL and an inexperienced QB. There's going to be a lot of popcorn to pass around ED after our games in the fall. Here's to stocking up on bourbon now.

We're going to be competing against teams with more depth. We've got a chance to beat any of them, but every mistake we make can be magnified. This season will either be one with a team that wins by pulling together or a team that lets games slip away late. This is more like the teams that state has "traditionally" had. Like the quarterback possibilities, the D, and the running backs. Not crazy about the O line or the WR's. But we've got a shot, so time to start getting excited.

I saw it like C34. Receiver depth was glaring(lack). QB play is worrisome. We have spent 3 years watching Prescott bail us out of bad situations and now we will not have that luxury.

To be honest..
We looked better this spring than we did last spring..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mic

To be honest..
We looked better this spring than we did last spring..

---

I disagree

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mic

To be honest..
We looked better this spring than we did last spring..

---

LOL.

If we dont beat USCe we suck. We will find out pretty quick I for one think we will be a lot better than some are expecting. As its been stated though if the OL is trash we will get trashed and win 6 games, go to the liberty bowl and no one will care. Honestly no excuse for that in your 8th season with a HC

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mic

To be honest..
We looked better this spring than we did last spring..

---

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...VL._SY355_.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GTHOM

If we dont beat USCe we suck. We will find out pretty quick I for one think we will be a lot better than some are expecting. As its been stated though if the OL is trash we will get trashed and win 6 games, go to the liberty bowl and no one will care. Honestly no excuse for that in your 8th season with a HC

---

Boom and SC are going to be really good on D- they have 8 starters returning. They will be dogshit on offense tho. We just have to make sure we dont turn the ball over and give them easy scoring ops and we will win that game

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coach34

Boom and SC are going to be really good on D- they have 8 starters returning. They will be dogshit on offense tho. We just have to make sure we dont turn the ball over and give them easy scoring ops and we will win that game

---

Yeah, I'm not sold on our D-line yet either. Our offensive tackles can make a lot of DE's look like All-Americans. I don't even know who is starting next to Nick James at DT.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coach34

Boom and SC are going to be really good on D- they have 8 starters returning. They will be dogshit on offense tho. We just have to make sure we dont turn the ball over and give them easy scoring ops and we will win that game

---

If we lose to them we are hot garbage plain and simple. I really think we could win 9 games and not be that good. Win all 4 non conference, USCe at home they suck, A&M at home they are def beatable, Auburn at home, should be a W, and Arky at home, and Kentucky thats 9 and really didnt beat anybody that good

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HoopsDawg

Yeah, I'm not sold on our D-line yet either. Our offensive tackles can make a lot of DE's look like All-Americans. I don't even know who is starting next to Nick James at DT.

---

The DL will be good. Our front 7 will be plenty good enough to keep us in games. We've got quality depth on the DL, some of it from guys that have never seen the field but they can ball, Fletcher Adams, Cory Thomas both young guys who can get after it. Fletcher will play harder than anyone on the team

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GTHOM

If we lose to them we are hot garbage plain and simple. I really think we could win 9 games and not be that good. Win all 4 non conference, USCe at home they suck, A&M at home they are def beatable, Auburn at home, should be a W, and Arky at home, and Kentucky thats 9 and really didnt beat anybody that good

---

Thats just where we disagree

I'll be very surprised if we beat Auburn
USC and their D will give us problems and make it close. Inexperienced QB's with a bad OL can lead to turnovers
A&M has outrecruited us and has better players. I'll be shocked if we beat them
UPig will be tough and it will be a battle to the end.
Kentucky returns alot of starts and is at home. We should win- but we wont be good enough to expect a win against anybody
BYU on the road wont be easy at all

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coach34

Thats just where we disagree

I'll be very surprised if we beat Auburn
USC and their D will give us problems and make it close. Inexperienced QB's with a bad OL can lead to turnovers
A&M has outrecruited us and has better players. I'll be shocked if we beat them
UPig will be tough and it will be a battle to the end.
Kentucky returns alot of starts and is at home. We should win- but we wont be good enough to expect a win against anybody
BYU on the road wont be easy at all

---

Auburn will suck again.

Just like Dan said, we have a bunch of good players spread out and you can't really see what the product is going to be on the field. It a spring game for god shakes. Very vanilla not going to show much and not all the starters are on the same team.


I hope this board doesn't become a bitch board for the next four months about something we don't know whats going to happen. It would be hard to come to it.

To say something positive, I thought Calvin and McLaurin looked very good.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bulldawg28

Auburn will suck again.

---

No way- they will be too good on the OL and DL...Auburn only had like 9 starters returning before last year. Thats not the case in 2016

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bulldawg28

Auburn will suck again.

---

Yeah, I don't see Auburn being much better next year either.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coach34

No way- they will be too good on the OL and DL...Auburn only had like 9 starters returning before last year. Thats not the case in 2016

---

Coach, if they have gotten the cancer out of the locker room you might be right but I think Gus has fostered an atmosphere that won't be easily cleared.

Looking at this thread and the one on who's the best QB, it's clear we will win 9-10 games. Why?
1. Total D will be awesome
2. WRs and RBs will be better
3. Fitzgerald and Tiano are both four times better than Dak.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TrapGame

Coach, if they have gotten the cancer out of the locker room you might be right but I think Gus has fostered an atmosphere that won't be easily cleared.

---

We'll see and that why we play the games. My take is that Auburn is significantly better than us upfront- so I will be surprised if we beat them.

Our defense is going to be better, maybe by a long shot. That's encouraging.

Murphy, Gibson and Mixon are playmakers in the making. But we're gonna need Gray to step it up a lot to compliment Ross. Again, missing on two must have WR's is cutting us deep this year.

Adding Mixon to the group of Ross, Gray, Dear and Myles, who is underrated IMO; I just don't see why people would be concerned with that group.

Fitz throws a very good ball as well, especially the deep stuff. The only concern I have is...are we as terrible on the OL as we look?

On the swing games like Auburn, they will be poor offensively but good defensively, can we block them? Arkansas will take a step back offensively as well. We will have to be able to run the ball well to beat A&M.

We will rush the passer well and be good defensively this year, but the difference between 6 and 9 wins will be determined by our OL play.

Our passing stats look better because we threw a shit ton of sideways passes

Mixon caught a nice TD but also had some drops. That's the inconsistency you are gonna get from a R-Fr

Ross and Gray are going to be dynamic receivers this year. Dear has cut some needed weight and looks the part a lot better now. Only issue is that Gray is injury prone, which can cause a serious depth issue. Thomas is going to be great receiver for us once he knocks out the nerves. Mixon will be a good option, but I like him in punt returning the most. I saw Leo toss him like a rag doll during an incomplete pass yesterday. He may get lit up if he doesn't watch out.

Our QB situation scares me the most. Dak didn't throw many INTs last year. We're going to throw a lot this coming season. The inexperience shows in these guys. I feel good about Fitz taking the field next year.... but I'm not sure he knows how to settle down in the position yet. There are going to be a lot of growing pains. 6 wins is our ceiling with the inexperience on the field and lack of depth in key positions.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CadaverDawg

Our O should look much better when Gray & Ross return. I worry about our WR blocking and red zone production without Bear's size out there though. RB looks to be much improved, but the OL looks meh again.

We'll go as far as our OL & QB can take us.

Our D looks solid, but slow. Peters and McLaurin are hitters, but they take poor angles when in pursuit, and get run past frequently....can't have that on your back line.

I really like Tiano. He looks like a guy that could win the QB job by 2017

---

Agree on all accounts! Mainly peters is the one I kept seeing taking poor angles. There was one play where he could have popped Dear on his TD but peters didn't want any. He literally just let him run by him. I don't understand that either cause peters seemed to have that dawg mentality in highschool. We need him and McLaurin blowing people up back there like Nickoe used to do. I've seen McLaurin hit some folks but not so much on peters. Looks timid and like you said takes poor angles. I never saw Bryant do anything yesterday and I don't even think I saw his name called one time. Tiano though is our future at QB IMO. He's the most polished out of all the QBs and Dak even mentioned in his interview yesterday that Tiano was very smart and catches on quickly so he could use that to his advantage.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coach34

Thats just where we disagree

I'll be very surprised if we beat Auburn
USC and their D will give us problems and make it close. Inexperienced QB's with a bad OL can lead to turnovers
A&M has outrecruited us and has better players. I'll be shocked if we beat them
UPig will be tough and it will be a battle to the end.
Kentucky returns alot of starts and is at home. We should win- but we wont be good enough to expect a win against anybody
BYU on the road wont be easy at all

---

I'll put it like this, if we lose to Auburn, USCe, A&M, AND Arkansas at home... it should not be acceptable. I just dont get what you see in Auburn yeah theyve got players but so do we and we're at home. Barring a massive improvement by them offensively I dont see them scoring much at Davis Wade. A&M has had a lot of internal problems they will give us problems up front but with a offensive genius like Dan we should be able to scheme around it. I know its hard to scheme around just getting your asses kicked up front on the OL but you just Got to find a way to win these games thats all there is to it man