Thoughts on the game...

[BogeyGolfer.sixpack]

1. Defense: The defense looked much better, it was great to see Dantzler and Sweat making plays. We have a ton of talent all over the field on defense. Not only is the talent better than last year, it is obvious even against Ch So that the defense is better coached.

2. Special Teams: Not bad, the one miss from 20 yards or whatever it was pitiful even if it was a bad hold. Missing field goals from 48 plus is just going to happen with most teams. Punting was outstanding, kick returning was good even though I thought Myles should have returned two or three that he called fair catch but Gray's return made up the difference. I say give the freshman kicker more time before melting down concerning place kicking.

3. Offense: I will admit that I was not impressed at all with the O-Line, we have to get better all across the line. If not, LSU, Auburn etc...will live in the backfield. I thought the RB's played well Hill is going to be a star before he leaves campus. WR's we are lacking size, and really enjoyed seeing the tight-ends get work, we need to do more of this. Hopefully Thomas can keep getting better and better we need his size at WR.

4. Side notes: Should we have redshirted Gay? He's going to be great but man we have a lot of LB's that play well. Spencer is a playmaker and I don't think he started. Simmons is a monster on D...

 

[shotgunDawg]

Good lord. What is the deal with our fan base and wanting to red shirt every player.

It's gone insane. Win now and recruit more good players.

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

I think our kicker will be okay. Pretty sure he just had major first game jitters. He was kicking a lot better as the game went on.

I don't think we should have red shirted any freshman that played yesterday. Gay and Hill are just too good. Hill was better than I expected. We'll see more from Gay when the D line isn't making 75% of the tackles.

Overall I was very happy. Defense was great. Offense has many areas to improve. It always seems Mullen can work out the offensive kinks. I think we'll be very good once we hit mid season. Hopefully a little before considering the schedule.

 

[mcdawg22]

I'm pretty sure Myles was told to fair catch everything after around the second quarter. You could tell he was calling for it well before you typically make that decision.

 

[civildawg88]

I'm just now able to watch the game and the OL is not good. Shocker I know, but they will have to improve if we want to win 7-8 games

 

[missouridawg]

I'm pretty sure Myles was told to fair catch everything after around the second quarter. You could tell he was calling for it well before you typically make that decision.

How was this not blatantly obvious to everyone? He was calling fair catch as the punter released the ball to kick it. He was coached to do this so as to not take any stupid injury risks.

 

[BogeyGolfer.sixpack]

I do not understand the fan base that is against redshirting? When you have quality depth, and you want to provide depth in the future you should always redshirt. 1. Time to mature, it provides a 5th year and more experience at the position. I realize many people get caught up in the recruiting process and want to selfishly see a freshman play right away but unless the depth is needed immediately. You should always redshirt.

 

[MaroonNation]

Good lord. What is the deal with our fan base and wanting to red shirt every player.

It's gone insane. Win now and recruit more good players.

I think Mullen has finally put this seniority and red shirting BS to bed. Teams that have "legally" recruited against us all say the same thing to recruits. Mullen favors upperclassmen and if you are a freshman you won't see the field. I was shocked and pleased at the rate he was playing freshman yesterday. Play the best players regardless of their year. I was also pleased that he put KT in for pretty much the whole 2ns half. That will be valuable down the road

 

[thatsbaseball]

What if a 4 star type player says he won't sign unless he plays as a freshman. Me, if he's that good and we need him really bad...I play him if that's what it took to sign him.

 

[MaroonNation]

I do not understand the fan base that is against redshirting? When you have quality depth, and you want to provide depth in the future you should always redshirt. 1. Time to mature, it provides a 5th year and more experience at the position. I realize many people get caught up in the recruiting process and want to selfishly see a freshman play right away but unless the depth is needed immediately. You should always redshirt.

If the player is any good do you think we will ever see a fifth year or a fourth for that matter? If they are great players they will ride the redshirt bench and play for maybe two years and they're gone. If a player is great you play them now and hopefully you get 3 full years of playing time from them.

 

[patdog]

The ONLY reason to redshirt a player is if he's not good enough to be in the 2-deep depth chart. Well, I guess medical and academic redshirts are other reasons, but those aren't voluntary. Redshirting does have its place, and for some players its a great benefit. But if you can contribute today, you don't redshirt. Period.

 

[boatsandhoes]

I agree with this. I have bitched at him for the favoring upperclassmen who aren't your best players.

I say play them all. Willie gay is a bad ***, and we are going to need him in conference. You have to have talented depth in the SEC. i hate to use Gibson/Murphy/Lee if your going to play hill. Redshirt one of them.

The defense is dirty in the front 7. the back half, I don't know. They were not tested at all.

Oline is by far the weakest position group. I'll withhold judgement until I see them handle, or don't handle LSU.

 

[BogeyGolfer.sixpack]

I will reply to both you and thatsbaseball in this one post, as far as the recruiting process is concerned, when a prospect is wanting playing time right away to sign etc...I think you tell the recruit hey, look we think you are great enough to compete for the job and have the OPPORTUNITY to play. Promising a recruit playing time could be tricky, the jump from most Mississippi ( or any high school program) to the SEC is enormous. I will base PART of my argument on two examples: Dak and Mckinney both redshirted, I think that was the right choice, wouldn't you agree?

 

[BogeyGolfer.sixpack]

All good point, but if they are great, I think they will be a better player after the redshirt. It's different for all players, I know we tend to generalize but overall I think if redshirting is possible, that's what you do. But you do make good points...

 

[thatsbaseball]

In a perfect world what you're saying is 100% correct but trying to convince highly rated recruits to come sit on the bench at MSU will lose you..... a lot of highly rated recruits. As for Dak, he wanted to play QB in the SEC and his options were limited. The fact of the matter was Dak was sharp enough to understand what his best route was and stuck with the program. This is just not a "one size fits all" problem and player development is a must BUT in the end it's hard to substitute for the size, speed and skill that many of the 4 star type kids bring to the program.

 

[the dog is on the loose]

Wouldn't it be nice for a change that if Mullen/hevesy could recruit good enough OL that we could start from game 1 and be good and not have to wait till mid season to actually jell? It gets very old every year to start the first three or four games playing crappy on OL before they start playing worth a crap. Overall I'm pretty pleased with our effort even if it was CS. Good teams take care of lesser teams when they're supposed to.

 

[patdog]

Dak wasn't ready to contribute as a true FR. not even close. So yeah, that was the right decision.

 

[NTDawg]

After watching the first half on replay

The Good

1. Defense. Yes it was Charleston Southern but they looked good. I never said that last year regardless of the opponent. Despite how well they did yesterday I am still nervous about our pass defense. I cannot get out of my mind the passing numbers that SaMford put up last year.
On the topic of redshirting. Simmons looked even better this year, glad we didn't redshirt him last year. He is better this year partly because he played last year and at this rate he isn't staying for 4 years. There isn’t one correct answer for every player and I think Mullen has made the correct decision on who to redshirt and who to let play.

2. Running Backs. I feel better about this group than I have in a while

3. Wide Receivers. As a whole they looked better than I expected, granted my expectations weren’t too high. Yes there were a few drops but I like how the ball was spread around.

4. Punting and Kickoff. Cooke did a very good job

5. Over all we just look more athletic this year.

The Not Good

1. OL. I was worried about this group and they looked worse than I expected. Have to get better recruiting OL.

2. Fitz. Maybe I'm being too critical but I had really high expectations related to improvements in his passing. Too many bad passes. He got away with several passes that he won't get away against SEC competition.

3. FG. I'm not giving up on Day but I am tired of missing easy FGs.

Fans or should I say fan. Stay the 17 at home if can’t handle people having fun and enjoying the game. Enough said about that.

 

[tired]

All good point, but if they are great, I think they will be a better player after the redshirt. It's different for all players, I know we tend to generalize but overall I think if redshirting is possible, that's what you do. But you do make good points...

A player is going to get better by playing, not sitting on the bench. And if said player is only going to be here 3 years anyway, & can help you win now, you play him. You can not have too much quality depth in SEC play.

 

[Yellowbob]

You don't keep players the caliber of Gay and Hill on the bench when they make the team better. We've got a much improved chance to win more games this year because they're playing. Let the future take care of itself. I'm not nearly as concerned about 4 years from now when they've moved on. Win Now!

 

[thatsbaseball]

Question for recruiting guys. How many 4 star players red shirt ?

 

[KurtRambis4]

To me, the only

reasons a kid should redshirt are if he isn't physically or mentally ready. Sure, there are exceptions, but more often than not, this is the norm.

 

[TBone.sixpack]

I want to hear more about the no fun fan.

 

[MaroonNation]

I think the problem lies in applying the red shirting logic to different schools. Alabama can red shirt (and grey shirt) players all they want to because they have just as good or better talent playing ahead of the incoming talent. Smaller schools just don't. Alabama has Paganis, Lambos, Ferraris and Nissan skylines. That Nissan is going to redshirt till he becomes a Ferrari. We have Audis, BMWs, a raggedy Mercedes and a early model Testerossa. Everything ahead of that Ferrari has been serviceable and dependable. You don't even know if that Ferrari will crank. But if you want to wreck **** you throw caution to the wind, hop in that 17'ing Ferrari and wreck ****.

 

[thatsbaseball]

That's a good point

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

Dak and McKinney needed a redshirt year. Hill and Gay were day one ready. You are comparing apples to oranges.

I wouldn't have a problem if Dan promised playing as a freshman to Hill and Gay. They are good enough players you can do that.

 

[BogeyGolfer.sixpack]

Dak and McKinney are excelling in the NFL, that is rare talent. Gay and Hill may very well play in the league time will tell but to say they do not need a redshirt I think is questionable.

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

Just because they are in the NFL now doesn't mean they didn't need to redshirt. Dak and McKinney needed to be in the weight program for a bit before they played.

Here is a pic of McKinney in HS. Boy needed a steak.
View attachment 7767

Dak needed as much time as possible with Mullen to develop as a passer. Also Dak was a 3 star and McKinney was a 2 star. Dan didn't have to promise them playing time.

 

[1sam4msu]

Until Hevesy is gone the O line will be our weakest group. We have had a few over the years that have been good in spite of his inability to coach them but as a whole he is as big a failure as a coach as we have had under Dan. I'm guessing he has pictures of someone that involves livestock???


The Not Good

1. OL. I was worried about this group and they looked worse than I expected. Have to get better recruiting OL.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

I will reply to both you and thatsbaseball in this one post, as far as the recruiting process is concerned, when a prospect is wanting playing time right away to sign etc...I think you tell the recruit hey, look we think you are great enough to compete for the job and have the OPPORTUNITY to play. Promising a recruit playing time could be tricky, the jump from most Mississippi ( or any high school program) to the SEC is enormous. I will base PART of my argument on two examples: Dak and Mckinney both redshirted, I think that was the right choice, wouldn't you agree?

I can promise you before the season is over, you will be glad we let Gay and Hill play.

Hill especially, he gives us one more weapon that opposing teams have to prepare for.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

You don't keep players the caliber of Gay and Hill on the bench when they make the team better. We've got a much improved chance to win more games this year because they're playing. Let the future take care of itself. I'm not nearly as concerned about 4 years from now when they've moved on. Win Now!

Hill is not going to be here four years unless he has injuries (knock on wood). The game announcers were already talking about him being the prototypical NFL back if he learns to pass block well. He is also going to be a big gear shift in the offense when he comes into the game.

Gay may not be here four either the way he looks.

ETA: It was 17ing great to see RBs not go down at first contact Saturday.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

I thought the OL started bad but improved by the end of the game.