We saw, we read and we wrote about all that lead to this loss. No need to beat the dead horse any more. The question is: what did we see that give us hope for the remainder of this season and the future. What I saw was a superior team beat a good team. When we lost our bread and butter; running, we resorted to passing. When we went to pass, we faced one of the most fierce rush from corners and middle. here we found the biggest positive our QB. He stood there until the last fraction of second and delivered accurately for first downs after first downs. If it wasn’t for that, we would not have a game to play. Our offense dominated by controlling the ball 39:45 to 20:15 and moved the ball to scoring position time after time, only to come short at goal line. The defense kept their strong passing game in check most of the game. Their receivers were covered and the QB had to improvise (the lack of safety in the middle prove costly). We kept their running game in check to the point that they had none until and after the Onside kick. The short field position, the long run, slammed the door on us. We have a good team. A good QB, good set of runners, good set of receivers, and an improved & improving offensive line. On defense, we are improved much over last year and I see visible improvement on secondary which has been our Achilles hill for years. The defensive front is putting a good rush up front. We are defending well. The Special team stopped them around 20 most of the time and one field goal try was made. In conclusion I feel that we have a good team, good coaching staff, great recruiting and future is bright. We are good now and will be great in the next couple recruiting years.
I thought our kicking game was a lot better.
Whaley looked really good. He has that step and that burst.
Allen is one tough SOB.
I thought we did a great job of minimizing the damage from their stud DE for most of the game
[quote=“GentryRzrbk”]
I thought our kicking game was a lot better.
Whaley looked really good. He has that step and that burst.
Allen is one tough SOB.
I thought we did a great job of minimizing the damage from their stud DE for most of the game
[/quote]Yes, I was surprised by our pass protection for the majority of the game. A. Allen, he looks as tough as Tyler Wilson who played when Alabama could still hit you in the head ---- legally I guess, back then. Allen has to be a top 5 QB, in the SEC anyway – and that is conservative. If the offensive line comes together, and get our RB’s a crease, especially Whaley, he can break one. Hope to see him a lot this next game. But Williams is the workhorse. Was never going undefeated and we have a great chance to have a really good year. I am still excited.
Among other things, AR needs some speed in the backfield. D. Whaley is got it. They got to let him loose sooner than later.
I agree, just that threat of breaking one help’s your offense. Everybody was calling the last game as his coming out – but I believe it is going to be Alcorn — just in time for AL.
Also, if the game is under our control, we should give Ty Storey some real-time experience at this level. If AA had gotten hurt, we would have to bring him in cold turkey. That was a bloody battle that would have been over his head. We need to bring these young talents around quickly. We need all their talents to survive the brutal SEC West.
Hopefully, Ty can get some meaning playing time, some with the 1st teamers, along with Whaley and even Hammonds. I would also like to see Deon Stewart on the field with rest of the 1st team, give our WR’s a little rest.
On defense, like to see some backup LB’s out there more this week, we are going to need more trusted depth there asap.
I do not have a full depth chart, other than the top two players. Certainly any potential talent that we can develop is a good thing.
There are lots of positives, but they are over shadowed by the buildup of the game and results. Our secondary is playing quite well, LB’s play good until fatigue sets in, and the Dline is quite good. Our Defense held us back last year, but this year it is our Oline. I hope the OLine is embarrassed into a sense of Urgency. We will look back on this LOSS differently in a few weeks, because I think A&M is the real deal with Knight at QB. He’s a SR, Garret will leave etc so next year’s A&M will be different.
I would like to see us get AA out of the game after a few snaps to recognize the wrinkles and hand it over to Ty
I want to see Kraus, Gragg and O’Grady get snaps at TE
I want to see Stewart and Pettway at WR (we lose 4 SR’s)
On defense I want to see LB’s Harris, Eugene, Josh Williams, Josh Harris and Hackett
I want to see Nate Dalton and Byron Keaton at CB
There is no reason that AA should be in the game after the first drive…unless we play down to Alcorn St.
Don’t think AA and any 1st teamers come out until we hit a comfort zone. Usually 28 pts+ and they aren’t slinging it down the field on our D and game looks to be decided.
I said on Sunday, this is the most encouraged I’ve been about the Hogs at this point in the season since CBB arrived. There is a lot to like about what we’ve seen so far…DL is deep, secondary is improved, Williams and Whaley are gooing the be just fine (and soon), love our punter, and most importantly… we have a QB that our team will follow. I should also add that while areas of concern include OL development and LB depth, there are reasons to be envoy aged there as well since the youth at those positions will undoubtedly improve with experience. We are 4 games into a season that I believe still has much promise… how much promise depends on how they improve as the season progresses… and that is something we’ve seen each year from CBBs teams. Should be fun to watch…Go Hogs!
I see a lot of positives from A&M game, as well. AA is an extraordinary QB! Williams is a fumble away from being everything we dreamed of at RB1 and Whaley shows flashes of the RB2 (we need to see that breakaway speed soon!). Wallace was a stud on the Oline for most of the game (we need all 4 qtrs.). Our defense showed it can defend elite talent, we just need to eliminate breakdowns (4 plays combined for over 200 yard of offense and 3 TDs,…4 plays). Kicking game could have killed us and looked very much improved last week.
FOR ALCORN STATE:
We need to see some of the LBs get experience - Brooks and Dre can’t carry it all year. (2nd qtr and 3 qtr: we need to see 2 deep LBs for at least one to two series in each qtr in order for Brooks and Dre to finish strong in the 4th). This will be a must for us to win in conference play.
Other than that, The O-line…I know Raulerson knows the offense, but he is not going to cut the mustard with SEC defenses. We need a bigger body in there quick to gel with the other linemen before we get into the heart of SEC play. Froholdt needs to start grading out in the high 80’s against SEC opponents and in the 90’s versus the likes of Alcorn State. Skipper and Ragnow hold their own especially on pass protection, but we need others to step in for that ‘push’ that CBB is looking for. Wallace has that push, but needs to last 4 quarters. I hope there are less growing pains on the Oline, but I feel as if more are coming…
This is our last chance to get some players feet wet before the storm. I hope we do well enough that we can put them in. From AL game on, any experience is going to come at a cost.