Does Mullen get more creative this year on Offense?

[War Machine Dawg]

It's OK to be proud of your daughter- and you should be. But no need to run down our football players in the process.

They haven't had any trouble picking up what Dan has asked them to do so far.

Someone missed Mutt's usual satire schtick.

[SallyStansbury]

I think C34 is correct.

IfYouOnlyKnew deserves all the credit and support for what he has done for MSU, but he is not beyond question.

To choke down the offense so blatantly vs Olemiss and Bama is alarming. But those coaches deserve credit for gameplanning for IfYouOnlyKnew's tendencies and stubbornness. Ask Bucky what it is like to be shut down effectively almost 100% by TCU or Ohio State to get destroyed by a well coached but athletically inferior Viginia Tech team. Shit happens. The subject of this thread is legit. Another fear of mine is that IfYouOnlyKnew has his hands all over our defense. I have no way to know this and I hope Diaz gets full control, but history suggests this will not be the case. If we see two ass kicking corners (ours) playing 10 yards off the LSU receivers and Jones and James "eat space" and not get after the QB we will know that Diaz had to kneel down and kiss the ring, and we will see more of the same.

I like C34's suggestion of being less predictable and he even gave examples of what we should sprinkle in....that is what message boards are for.

[gravedigger]

Facts are that Mullen's offenses have been kicked in the teeth by good defenses. We need a little "something else" to get over the hump.

Good gawd i thought i was the only one who thought the focus on defense was bullshit just because it was the party line.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I think C34 is correct.

IfYouOnlyKnew deserves all the credit and support for what he has done for MSU, but he is not beyond question.

To choke down the offense so blatantly vs Olemiss and Bama is alarming. But those coaches deserve credit for gameplanning for IfYouOnlyKnew's tendencies and stubbornness. Ask Bucky what it is like to be shut down effectively almost 100% by TCU or Ohio State to get destroyed by a well coached but athletically inferior Viginia Tech team. Shit happens. The subject of this thread is legit. Another fear of mine is that IfYouOnlyKnew has his hands all over our defense. I have no way to know this and I hope Diaz gets full control, but history suggests this will not be the case. If we see two ass kicking corners (ours) playing 10 yards off the LSU receivers and Jones and James "eat space" and not get after the QB we will know that Diaz had to kneel down and kiss the ring, and we will see more of the same.

I like C34's suggestion of being less predictable and he even gave examples of what we should sprinkle in....that is what message boards are for.

Mullen doesn't tell the DC what to do. That's a terrible msg board rumor that has somehow become passed off as fact.

[I seen it dawg]

Mullen doesn't tell the DC what to do. That's a terrible msg board rumor that has somehow become passed off as fact.

Well last year maybe he should have. And it makes me sick to say it.. End of the year our staff were ****ing moronic idiots. And that's being easy on them. It was a ****ing 4th grade circus.

[Coach34]

Good gawd i thought i was the only one who thought the focus on defense was bullshit just because it was the party line.

No- the defense gave up 500 yards and was shitty...but dont tell me the offense is fine when we scored 3 points in the 1st half on 6 drives. Thats not "fine"- thats crap. How about scoring 17 in the 1st half and be up 17-7 entering the 2nd half???? Our offense needs a little something else- not a major change- but just a tweak. I think with the weapons we have- a commitment to the screen game could be that. A couple bubble screens, a jailbreak screen each week to Wilson, a misdirection screen to confuse the D- things to slow down defenses and make them tentative against us.

[Todd4State]

Well last year maybe he should have. And it makes me sick to say it.. End of the year our staff were ****ing moronic idiots. And that's being easy on them. It was a ****ing 4th grade circus.

I definitely would have liked it if Dan told Geoff to stop with the 1A/1B crap for Alabama and Ole Miss. How many TD's in those two games did the 1B's give up combined? Probably enough to make difference.

[Coach34]

I definitely would have liked it if Dan told Geoff to stop with the 1A/1B crap for Alabama and Ole Miss. How many TD's in those two games did the 1B's give up combined? Probably enough to make difference.

Bama took advantage of the 1B once I remember for the long pass to their top WR when they moved him into the slot. They also moved him into the slot for him to take advantage of Jay Hughes. Thats the kind of stuff I want Mullen to do with Wilson this year. Be creative with what you got and use those weapons

[TaleofTwoDogs]

Agree with Coach that we need to change things up a little. Texas Tech has run the jailbreak screen with a lot of success over the years. Our WR screens never produce more than 3 -4 yards so I think the jailbreak or even the rocket screen would be plays that will catch most SEC defenses off guard. CDM are you reading this thread?

[BulldogBear]

No- the defense gave up 500 yards and was shitty...but dont tell me the offense is fine when we scored 3 points in the 1st half on 6 drives. Thats not "fine"- thats crap. How about scoring 17 in the 1st half and be up 17-7 entering the 2nd half???? Our offense needs a little something else- not a major change- but just a tweak. I think with the weapons we have- a commitment to the screen game could be that. A couple bubble screens, a jailbreak screen each week to Wilson, a misdirection screen to confuse the D- things to slow down defenses and make them tentative against us.

Right. I'm with you on the screens. I love 'em. Broke my heart to see a few good ones to Perk light up the enemy only to barely ever run one again.

As to the rollouts.... I still think we should do that a little more, especially in the redzone. I also like the speed option. What I was really getting at is that part of DP's full potential is making the oppotent respect his running ability. I'm not sure an emphasis on staying in the pocket until the last possible moment creates that. Nothing irks me like a QB throwing an incomplete pass when he could've run for the first down. Or when a guy is kind of running but not tucking and throwing the coal in the engine a second or two earlier because he's trying to find someone and ends up running for 5 when could've gotten 15-20 if he'd committed to the run a couple of seconds earlier and not given the D time to contain. I'm just saying I don't really want to see us become more of a hand off or pass team even if it still more or less qualifies as the spread option. That ramps up predictability IMHO when we are not going to be blowing people off the ball with our blocking scheme.

[FlabLoser]

I put the Egg Bowl offensive woes on Dak. He was rattled. Scrambled too soon. Didn't check down. I think that defense & typical Egg Bowl road atmosphere intimidated him.

Maybe some play calling can help him with that, I dunno

[OurState]

We got a FG on our 3rd drive- those were our other 5 drives of the 1st half. Dont ****ing tell me we didnt need to do a little something different

I don't pretend to be a great football mind so will defer to others on this, but my read was a little more basic: there are defenses you beat by running around and defenses you beat by running at. You beat the Bears by running right at them. For some reason we tried to run around them.

Every player on that front 7 (or front 6) except the Mike was fast as hell. Only one of them was strong as hell. They had a DE and an NT that would be big SS's on some teams but are tiny DL. Trying to beat those guys to the sideline was some combination of stupid / crazy / arrogant. They are great at taking angles and running 5-10 yards, they aren't so great at holding their ground for 2 seconds.

As bad as the defense was it seemed more like piss poor execution (missed tackles, leaving the TE open, biting on a HB pass) than a bad game plan. I felt like we came out on offense and tried to do crazy things.

[GreenheadDawg]

I don't pretend to be a great football mind so will defer to others on this, but my read was a little more basic: there are defenses you beat by running around and defenses you beat by running at. You beat the Bears by running right at them. For some reason we tried to run around them.

Every player on that front 7 (or front 6) except the Mike was fast as hell. Only one of them was strong as hell. They had a DE and an NT that would be big SS's on some teams but are tiny DL. Trying to beat those guys to the sideline was some combination of stupid / crazy / arrogant. They are great at taking angles and running 5-10 yards, they aren't so great at holding their ground for 2 seconds.

As bad as the defense was it seemed more like piss poor execution (missed tackles, leaving the TE open, biting on a HB pass) than a bad game plan. I felt like we came out on offense and tried to do crazy things.

I think you're dead on. We tried to get the perimeter and get around them and it's not gonna happen, they are too fast. Their defense is small you have to run right at them. But Dan kept trying to run the edges and we paid for it. And Flab I agree with you also, Dak was visibly rattled. He called his own number way too many times and OM knew it was coming. I would love to see more play action and screens this season

[MabenMaroon]

I just want to see our O-line ( or any O position for that matter ) not flinch and not draw a motion penalty or fail to execute an assignment when we are in the red zone or on drives during the late second/early third quarters. That was my biggest disappointment last year. We took spells during those junctures of the game where we were NOT relentless or lost focus.
Field position hurt us as much as anything in the Bama and UNM games and too often it was a silly procedural penalty ( or a busted play ) that caused us to go into either 2nd/3rd and long situations. If we just execute cleanly we win Bama going away and wouldn't have been in "Dak up the middle" situations against UNM. Keep the execution clean this year and we will eat clock, score with regularity and put the opposition's offense in situations where they have to press the play calling in order to keep up and that will play into Manny's defensive style.

[ShotgunDawg]

I'm usually slower to want to change things on the basis of a few games, due to sample size. It's completely plausible that you were doing things correctly & just played poorly or had bad luck. However, it has become a trend for us to struggle to score points against Bama & show up playing like we are scared & below them.

That's the one thing about Auburn, they don't fear Bama, but we do.

IMO, to beat them this year, Mullen & the team will have to not fear losing, not fear Bama, & go for it. I thought we would do that last year, but, just like in past years, we showed up at Bryant Denny Stadium & played like their servant. I think that attitude starts from top down & that there is too much respect & respect in the football building for Bama. In order to beat them, you must not give a 17 & go out there guns a blazing & take the fight to them. Instead of doing that, we usually wait for them to punch us in the mouth & then try to hit them back.

We play Bama like a PGA golfer at the US Open that constantly leaves putts short. We simply can't win with that attitude. The same goes for playing on the road at Ole Miss. THIS MUST CHANGE!!

Last year at LSU, the team played free, easy, & was having fun...

If fixing this problem involves incorporating more screens, then I'm all for it. Most of all, we need an attitude change on what it takes to win on the road in hostile environments

[dotcomdawg]

MSU's 2014 offense ranks 4th all-time in the SEC in total offense- over 513 yards per game.

Dak Prescott trails only one player- Johnny Manziel- in total yards for a season in the SEC playing the 17th toughest schedule in the country.

DeRunya Wilson (11 games) vs Treadwell (9 games) side by side in 2014

Treadwell 48 receptions, 632 yards, 5 TDs, 13.2 yds per catch
Wilson 47 receptions, 680 yards, 9 TDs, 14.5 yds per catch

Wilson had less receptions for more yards and almost double in the only stat that truly matters- points scored.

MSU was the fastest-paced offense in the SEC in 2014 based on adjusted tempo. MSU runs a play every 21.3 seconds.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-foot...astest-slowest

On the money plays and critical downs DP was second among all rushers and first among quarterbacks on third down with seven touchdowns in 2014.

I don't know if I would consider screens to be "more creative". Actually, I don't think we need more creativity at all.

Last year, we had the best offense in the conference - at Mississippi State. Think about that. This is a conference that includes Steve Spurrier and Kevin Sumlin who many knowledgeable people consider to be offensive geniuses.

We don't need more "creativity". What we need to do is to execute the offense we have at a higher level. I think speeding up the offense is a good idea on Mullen's part. All we really need to do from that point is to execute on a high level. Crisp blocking. Great route running. Sure catches. Hard and explosive runs. Accurate passes. Minimize mistakes. Those are the things we need.

Instead of trying to get fancy, if we could just perfect the fundamentals of the offense we have we will again be the best offense in this conference and among the best in the country.

[Pollodawg]

I don't know that I would change the offense drastically, but I would def. throw in some wrinkles to soften the D up. We started the Bama and OM's games with our butts so tight (from the coaches down) that you couldn't have shoved a stick of double mint up there. It was ridiculous, and some of that falls on Dan, and some of it doesn't. I am almost positive that Dan didn't call Jrob over before that drive and tell him to dance around in the endzone for three seconds until he costs us 2.

That said, I think we should throw in some screens, maybe a wheel route with Holloway. Let him peel out of the back field and get down field. Then its up to Dak to try and hit him. Maybe throw in a flea flicker with Gabe, since he used to be a former QB, and should be able to make the throw with some practice. Let Malik or Lee take a direct snap here and there to throw the D off some. There's a myriad of things you can do.

[cbrunt29]

That said, I think we should throw in some screens, maybe a wheel route with Holloway. Let him peel out of the back field and get down field. Then its up to Dak to try and hit him. Maybe throw in a flea flicker with Gabe, since he used to be a former QB, and should be able to make the throw with some practice. Let Malik or Lee take a direct snap here and there to throw the D off some. There's a myriad of things you can do.

I would like to see us use Gabe like we did Jameon in 2013. Throw a screen to Gabe and have him throw it back to Dak, and he usually just walks in. That play worked pretty well, especially in the red zone.

[thf24]

I would like to see us use Gabe like we did Jameon in 2013. Throw a screen to Gabe and have him throw it back to Dak, and he usually just walks in. That play worked pretty well, especially in the red zone.

Ran it with Gabe against A&M, good for 10-11 and a first down but their defense still had it sniffed out. It might be good for one use this year, but I don't think it'll ever be good for a homerun again like it was in 2013 and early 2014 since there's several pieces of film out there on it now.

[Dawgtini]

I don't know if I would consider screens to be "more creative". Actually, I don't think we need more creativity at all.

Last year, we had the best offense in the conference - at Mississippi State. Think about that. This is a conference that includes Steve Spurrier and Kevin Sumlin who many knowledgeable people consider to be offensive geniuses.

We don't need more "creativity". What we need to do is to execute the offense we have at a higher level. I think speeding up the offense is a good idea on Mullen's part. All we really need to do from that point is to execute on a high level. Crisp blocking. Great route running. Sure catches. Hard and explosive runs. Accurate passes. Minimize mistakes. Those are the things we need.

Instead of trying to get fancy, if we could just perfect the fundamentals of the offense we have we will again be the best offense in this conference and among the best in the country.

+1