Is Dan going to be Dan this year - or will he take the next step...

[TUSK]

Saban had some brain farts at the end of the 2013 Iron Bowl. It happens to the best.

Dan and Dak will learn from last year's shortcomings, but both of them will still make some mistakes this year.

Yup, he's also had a "clock mgmt" issue, and has let his OC "get away" from him play callin wise a couple of times....

[Tbonewannabe]

Saban is 1 of the 5 greatest coaches ever but he still makes the same mistakes against spread teams. I understand your point & every coach always can improve.

Saban also kicked a long fg without even thinking of a return even though Auburn put a return man back there. Coaches make mistakes but some coaches have enough talent to overcome when they do something wrong.

[Really Clark?]

I'm saying that if Dan runs Prescott as heavy as he did last year, he won't be 100% for the entire season. That is a fact. It is the job of a top tier coach to understand this. Dak can play his game, get his key carries and be just as successful for us and yet have his number of touches managed better. That is what needs to be done.

How is that a fact when he just did it last year? And who do you think is 100% at the end of the year? Nobody is 100%.

[FISHDAWG]

some folks will never be satisfied ... not even if Vince Lombardi rose from the grave and took over .... this thread is EPIC fail

[5 Star]

Yeah, and we went 10-2 the next year too. Shaking my head.

I'm agreeing with you. I am making fun of the fans who wanted to fire Mullen and hire Hudspeth.

[BulldogBear]

Limiting the number of runs Dak has is stupid. He needs to run the offense a certain way in order to be most comfortable. I'd hate to have Dak take a bunch of sacks against Auburn because he was scared to scramble because of the run limits in 2 of the first 3 games.

What Dan needs to do, is make sure Dak understands that there are many, many situations in football in which a QB can run and not take a hit. Slide, jump out of bounds, don't lunge for the 1st down if it's 1st or 2nd, that kind of thing...

Everyone hates fake punts when they don't work. Had Richie not fell down, everyone would be excited about our special teams. Remember when Brauchle onside kicked against Auburn in 2011 coming out of the half and it worked? It's risk vs. reward. We all complained about Dan not stepping on the throat of LSU three weeks prior to the Auburn game last year... It appears, to me, that Dan was trying to step on the throat of Auburn and if a player hadn't lost his footing, it would've worked and pushed us even further in front.
The blocking ability of Dontavian Lee will determine his snaps much moreso than the performance of Ashton running the ball. Dan highly values blocking ability with his RB... and this year, it's even more important as the RB will be the last line of defense for a blitzing LB trying to hurt Dak.

This^^^

Mullen was just going for the kill. If that play works the game is over right there in the first half and the final likely ends up something like 55-14. Not a great decision but I rank it along the lines of a combo of learning to be aggressive and youth.

[Dawg61]

some folks will never be satisfied ... not even if Vince Lombardi rose from the grave and took over .... this thread is EPIC fail

Critiquing isn't the same thing as not being satisfied.

[Really Clark?]

Critiquing isn't the same thing as not being satisfied.

Depends on what is being critiqued. The idea that the offense is going or needs to limit itself, running the ball with the QB, when that is what this offense is based on and is at its highest level long before Dan came here, is not a logical critique. That is the offense at its best.

[maroonmania]

This^^^

Mullen was just going for the kill. If that play works the game is over right there in the first half and the final likely ends up something like 55-14. Not a great decision but I rank it along the lines of a combo of learning to be aggressive and youth.

Yea, but there is a difference between taking your foot off the gas (LSU) by taking out your starters with 6 minutes still left in the game against a dangerous team at their place and doing something that was just flat out stupid by attempting a fake punt in your own territory when you are up multiple touchdowns. I agree it IS risk vs. reward. There is little risk in having the starters play a little longer to nail down a vital victory but there is MUCH more risk in a fake punt when you already have the lead and the momenturm than there is reward. We could have made that first down on the fake punt as a reward and still have been held in the next series to punt anyway versus the risk of giving Auburn a short field to gift them back into the game. The reward in no way was worth the risk EVEN IF IT HAD WORKED.

[Tbonewannabe]

I'm agreeing with you. I am making fun of the fans who wanted to fire Mullen and hire Hudspeth.

I think a lot of people, myself included underestimated how well Mullen's offense works with the right QB. Also it looked horrible against good to great defenses with the wrong type of QB.

[BulldogBear]

Yea, but there is a difference between taking your foot off the gas (LSU) by taking out your starters with 6 minutes still left in the game against a dangerous team at their place and doing something that was just flat out stupid by attempting a fake punt in your own territory when you are up multiple touchdowns. I agree it IS risk vs. reward. There is little risk in having the starters play a little longer to nail down a vital victory but there is MUCH more risk in a fake punt when you already have the lead and the momenturm than there is reward. We could have made that first down on the fake punt as a reward and still have been held in the next series to punt anyway versus the risk of giving Auburn a short field to gift them back into the game. The reward in no way was worth the risk EVEN IF IT HAD WORKED.

Oh, I'm not for calling the play, I'm saying that I'm not worried by the fact that he did.

[maroonmania]

Oh, I'm not for calling the play, I'm saying that I'm not worried by the fact that he did.

Yea, that was the only play for the year last year that when it happened I turned to the guy next to me at the game and said "What the he!! is Dan thinking with that?"

[Pollodawg]

Do you all realize that at MSU, a team that didn't go a bowl or win more than three games in a single season between 2001-2007, was the #1 team in the country last year for almost half of the season and hasn't had a losing season in five years. Let's think about that for a minute the next time we (me included) flip out over a bone head call.

[Coach34]

I'm saying that if Dan runs Prescott as heavy as he did last year, he won't be 100% for the entire season. That is a fact. It is the job of a top tier coach to understand this. Dak can play his game, get his key carries and be just as successful for us and yet have his number of touches managed better. That is what needs to be done.

To run our offense effectively, the QB has to run the ball 15 times per games- unless we just overmatch the other team. As we saw with Russell- it just doesn't work without a mobile QB

[Dawgheadcheese]

How is that a fact when he just did it last year? And who do you think is 100% at the end of the year? Nobody is 100%.

No Clark, he didn't do it last year. Prescott was not the same player the last few games as we was agains LSU, Auburn and Texas A&M. That is because he had been ran too much and taken too many hits. Nobody can take the hits I watched every game and be able to make it through 12/13 games. If we don't want to see a repeat of that, Mullen has to do a better job of pacing Prescott. He has to be more aware of the damage he is taking each week. It isn't rocket science. Coaches do it all the time.

[Dawgheadcheese]

Do you all realize that at MSU, a team that didn't go a bowl or win more than three games in a single season between 2001-2007, was the #1 team in the country last year for almost half of the season and hasn't had a losing season in five years. Let's think about that for a minute the next time we (me included) flip out over a bone head call.

I would trade that #1 ranking for a 100% Prescott against Bama and OM last year - but that's just me. As for the 5 winning seasons, I have higher aspirations than winning 7 games a year.

[Dawgheadcheese]

To run our offense effectively, the QB has to run the ball 15 times per games- unless we just overmatch the other team. As we saw with Russell- it just doesn't work without a mobile QB

Actually, Dak had the following number of runs / game:

LSU (22)
Texas A&M (23)
AUB (21)
ALA (22)
OM (24)

I agree that in our system the QB has to run it 15 times a game - but he is running it a whole lot more than that and it adds up over a season.

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

Every coach makes boneheaded mistakes. Nick Saban makes boneheaded mistakes. Nick Saban just has the talent to cover up most of the errors he makes.

[Really Clark?]

Actually, Dak had the following number of runs / game:

LSU (22)
Texas A&M (23)
AUB (21)
ALA (22)
OM (24)

I agree that in our system the QB has to run it 15 times a game - but he is running it a whole lot more than that and it adds up over a season.

He averaged 16.15 runs per game. You can't pick and choose only certain games to fit your agenda. It's never, in the history of any sport, where you will have an exact number of plays you run every game.

[5 Star]

Starting to think we are getting trolled in this thread.

- DawgheadCHEESE (Sounds like a bear-tard made up name)
- Concern trolling about Dan Mullen (specifically taking the 'next step', something they would probably be insecure about regarding Hugh Freeze)
-

I would trade that #1 ranking for a 100% Prescott against Bama and OM last year - but that's just me. As for the 5 winning seasons, I have higher aspirations than winning 7 games a year.

Hmmmm