I remember Rogers taking us down the field in 20 seconds to put us in position to tie the game at Arkansas last year (I was there). That damn sure wasn't boring.
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Which is why we need to run something where we can throw the ball.
I remember Jackie, Croom, Dan most of the time when Dak wasn't the QB, even Joe morphed into a run heavy offense at the end- and every single one of those coaches and offenses it was always "Well, the MSU opponent is going to load up the box with 9 guys and dare MSU to throw it". Which was basically a veiled way of saying all we could do is run the ball. And I did not like that at all. It was soooo frustrating as a fan to watch. And then you would hear the excuses- "well, we can't find players that can run that kind of offense in Mississippi" (Ole Miss, USM, heck JSU and Mississippi Valley could) or the "well we're MSU and that's just not what we do."
Leach has already ruined that narrative. Shoot- we set the SEC record for passing yards in a game with KJ Costello throwing to Osirus Mitchell at Death Valley. Yeah. I think we can throw the ball at MSU.
I'm like you- I'm an Army fan and I love what Monken does with them and their offense. But that's good for them. I don't want MSU to do that and here's why:
1. Passing offenses score more points than run heavy offenses. Mostly because of the clock rules. Also because of the potential for more explosive plays. Most people consider an explosive play for a pass to be 20+ yards or more vs an explosive run being considered 12+ or more for a reason.
2. IMO it's easier to stop a running team than it is to stop a passing team. If you're more physical than the other run heavy team you can load the box and stop them. We can't count on being more physical every game since we're not a blueblood. To stop us now you basically have to run zone and hope that we have a really off day and don't just pick you apart. Or that you're Alabama and have generational talent on defense in which case nothing we would do would work anyway.
3. Because of 2 and the clock rules it's more difficult for a run heavy team to come back from a large deficit. When a team is down they have to pass. We do that naturally. A team like Army would be in trouble. It's not a coincidence that the two biggest comebacks in MSU history happened with Leach. We probably lose to La Tech and probably get blown out by Auburn if Dan or Joe were coaching us last year.
4. Our QB's were always getting beat up when we ran them a lot. Not saying a QB can't get hurt running the Air Raid but it minimizes it about as much as we can because we're in the gun all the time and the plays usually are run very quickly.
5. It helps us overcome our stigma with WR's and QB's in recruiting which is our traditionally most difficult position groups to recruit to. And thankfully we appear to be maintaining out recruiting stature on defense.
You are overly pessimistic have been since we hired leach. You criticized his decisions, his recruiting, hell you been critical of our Tackels ain't you haven't seen them in one practice this year. You have predicted 5-7 6-6 or worse, your words. I hate losing to OM as much as anyone but I don't let that game and the bowl game last year influence my thoughts on this year, especially when we return 17 staters and got some damn good players from the portal.
You are just overly negative about Leach and MSU.
Actually, you make good points, but I think a more balance offense wins championships. Good teams or great teams will do whatever it takes to win, not a force run or force pass, keeping defenses on their toes is the key IMO. If they jam the LOS, you pass, if they back off the LOS you run.
In saying this, I wish two things the Pirate would do, throw the ball down the field just a little more, and run the ball just a little more. Find explosive wide out as well as a running back. I guess I guess I should say I wish we were Alabama! LOL
I honestly believe this all hinges on the QB and his ability to read the defense.
Anyone know why Crumedy missed practice yesterday, not listed on depth chart.
I guess I'm the only one who thinks This offense is doing great...in two years, 24 games, 18 of which are conference games, this offense has only been "out of the game" in five games both Alabama games, Texas A&M and KY in 20 and Tech.... then when you games started by Rodgers, only Alabama and Tech are the only games this offense hasn't been competitive. I'll take that all day long... so as far as I'm concerned we have our coach...and I'll continue to give my money ..
If we had a rb that could break a tackle it would be a fun offense to watch
And you show you can't read because I never said Dooey's did. Stop strawmanning. You're better than that.
I use Prego flavored with meat, ground beef with my seasoning mix, and hunts tomato paste. No ragu over here kid.
But I'll concede. I do love the $1.50 burgers from mickey d's. Great after a long run to eat like 6 of them and fries for $10.
Honestly in my perfect football world we would be balanced. My favorite offense of all time is the Bill Walsh West Coast Offense from the 80's and early 90's. It was pass first but they could also run the ball. Some of the philosophies that Walsh had are similar to Leach and the Air Raid guys- short passes resulting in long gains with YAC (Jerry Rice) and passes that were extensions of the running game. Attacking space. Some of it of course if very different with the Air Raid.
My hope is that once Leach leaves we will have a good enough handle on the passing game and have that established enough that we can be more balanced with the next coach whoever that is. Realistically speaking we're not going to find coach that throws more than Leach anyway. Even if it is an Air Raid guy.
I agree with attacking downfield more. I think that may improve now that Will has more experience. Will is actually quite accurate on deep passes. So the opportunity is there. Along with that more wheel routes to give us match up advantages. I know that jet sweeps with WR's were in the playbook at one point in time with Leach. We definitely motion into it at times. Tulu or Calvin could be pretty good at running those I would think. Maybe now that we have a more experienced team we'll see some of those things.
I don't necessarily disagree with any of this except that our main problem has been talent (or coaching), not the offense we have run. Certainly the air raid is going to be more attractive to most receivers because there are just more opportunities to catch the ball, but Dan's playcalling and personality were a bigger impediment to us getting WRs than the fact that he ran a power spread offense. Had we had a different play caller that was also less opposed to catering to wide receivers (and turning a blind eye), we would have gotten better receivers and had more passing plays/yds.
I will nitpick about stopping rushing versus passing offenses. I think that's more about having big play receivers. Even if you have an elite RB that can punish a Bama or UGA, it's still hard for them to get in the end zone. Too many people to run past so you have to string together a lot of good plays. You have an elite WR, you may not be as good at moving the ball, but you have a much better chance of beating one CB and safety and taking it to the house. You pair that with a good defense, and a couple of big plays/lucky breaks lets you beat a team that is much more physically gifted than you on average. That's how Ole Miss beat Bama twice (well, that and Lane Kiffing passing a lot while his RBs averaged 6 yds a carry).
If we had an elite WR to pair with a solid line and QB/RB attack, I'm not sure Dan's offense wouldn't be great against Bama. The one time we had a good QB and a couple of good WRs even if no homerun threats, we moved the ball pretty well against Bama. We just got tight on the road and couldn't overcome that and the Bama ref treatment. Of course, you have to have a QB that can run, take a punishment, and also throw the deep ball. Dak wasn't great on deep balls. I think Fitzgerald was kind of like Nick Marshall. He actually threw a pretty good deep ball compared to how he was as a passer overall, Nick just didn't have the WRs to give him any margin. Not sure how hard it would be to consistently have a break out threat, a good enough running game to put pressure on a Bama or UGA, and a Qb that could take advantage. Mullen obviously couldn't do that.
I do think the air raid will make it easier for us to move the ball on Bama in years when we aren't really good. But we still have to have 5 OL that can hold there own. We haven't had that yet against Bama under Leach. I'm not expecting us to have that this year either. I think Leach can develop OL enough that we will be able to have that reasonably consistently in the future, but don't know yet.
I ageee on the missing ingredient for Leach being talent. Tech dominated our OL and DL that was the difference in the game. Anyways....
People recall Jackie's offense being 3 yards and a cloud of dust. However my favorite offense was that 1994 team. That team could move the ball. Davis, Bouie and McCrary punishing defense with the run. Then when the defense had to roll everyone up, boom over the top to Moulds. That team was talented offensively.
Okay, what's up with Forbes?
The word is Crumedy and Forbes both out until LSU. Mainly as a precaution however.
OL and special teams are my only concern (assuming injuries are avoided). WRs have some things to prove but lord knows they'll get the chance.
New Fall Fan Fest starts in the Junction tomorrow at 11:00am, scrimmage open to public at 1:00pm, volleyball vs. Louisiana at 4:00pm. I plan to attend with my MSU Sr son and will post an "expert analysis" of the FB scrimmage as I played two years of HS FB, 71 - 73 and have watched hundreds of State games since then.**** Hail State!