Observations from this week vs Southern Miss

Observations from this week vs Southern Miss

LuCane

Comments (159)

If the run is working, you can expect Gattis to continue to grind out wins all season long. We had a 14 minute TOP advantage over S. Miss. If it were important we could've scored more even with TVD being out of sync. It didn't look like domination but it was. There was never any urgency from Gattis.

TVD is eager to go against TA&M. I think he's going to shine next week. George will help.

Where is Ladson? Thought he'd more of a factor this year.
 
Southern Miss ran some really funky coverage schemes on occasion, and I saw this give TVD problems a few times. One play in particular where he almost threw a pick in the endzone. He actually could've hit the RB wide open or maybe even X for a TD up the seam but he ended up throwing into double coverage.
Those gimmicky coverage schemes don't have much longevity but on occasion they can make a picture really hazy for any QB who hasn't seen them before. This causes the QB to hold onto the ball longer, make bad reads, miss open guys, etc. I think that's what we saw with TVD yesterday.

There's still a huge talent deficiency in this program. OL, WR, DL, LB and CB are mediocre units. We're either void of studs, or the studs are puppies. This program is 2 recruiting classes away. Kids aren't executing.

There's nothing wrong with the defensive scheme. Pre-snap alignment is sound. We're running Cover-3 "Match" versus 2x2 formations and "Stubbie" versus 3x1 formations. (google it)
Those are Saban/Smart/Belichick staples.
I don't think the casual fan realizes how many of the negative plays by Southern Miss were actually dialed up by Steele.
Small little adjustments that lead to a loss/negative play, like playing Cover-2 to the boundary so our CB can tackle the RB flare in the backfield. (forgot which CB did this, I think it was Ivey)
Or sending Stevenson on a CB blitz when he got jet sweep motion coming to his side. (big TFL by Stevenson)
The solo TFL by Flagg was also dialed by Steele via a DE stunt that forced the run to spill outside.

I love the usage of James Williams. He's playing all over the place and performing a lot of duties. He's in the box, covering TE's, covering slots, he's playing high Safety, he's a robber in man coverage/dime situations.

CB's getting beat on the outside is not a scheme issue. We need better players there, period.
Same with DE's giving up contain.
great post. I don't mind us playing slower than last year on offense, I think a lot of those quick 3 and outs put too much pressure on the defense. However, I would like to see some tempo built into this offense on occasion, just to mix it up a little bit.
 
Southern Miss ran some really funky coverage schemes on occasion, and I saw this give TVD problems a few times. One play in particular where he almost threw a pick in the endzone. He actually could've hit the RB wide open or maybe even X for a TD up the seam but he ended up throwing into double coverage.
Those gimmicky coverage schemes don't have much longevity but on occasion they can make a picture really hazy for any QB who hasn't seen them before. This causes the QB to hold onto the ball longer, make bad reads, miss open guys, etc. I think that's what we saw with TVD yesterday.

There's still a huge talent deficiency in this program. OL, WR, DL, LB and CB are mediocre units. We're either void of studs, or the studs are puppies. This program is 2 recruiting classes away. Kids aren't executing.

There's nothing wrong with the defensive scheme. Pre-snap alignment is sound. We're running Cover-3 "Match" versus 2x2 formations and "Stubbie" versus 3x1 formations. (google it)
Those are Saban/Smart/Belichick staples.
I don't think the casual fan realizes how many of the negative plays by Southern Miss were actually dialed up by Steele.
Small little adjustments that lead to a loss/negative play, like playing Cover-2 to the boundary so our CB can tackle the RB flare in the backfield. (forgot which CB did this, I think it was Ivey)
Or sending Stevenson on a CB blitz when he got jet sweep motion coming to his side. (big TFL by Stevenson)
The solo TFL by Flagg was also dialed by Steele via a DE stunt that forced the run to spill outside.

I love the usage of James Williams. He's playing all over the place and performing a lot of duties. He's in the box, covering TE's, covering slots, he's playing high Safety, he's a robber in man coverage/dime situations.

CB's getting beat on the outside is not a scheme issue. We need better players there, period.
Same with DE's giving up contain.

this... this .... and this
 
This O doesn’t fit anyone & is absolutely miserable to watch. If Mario is willing to do anything to win here like most think it will change & change this week. If not it’s a major red flag. No other way around it.

You have determined this after 2 warm up games where we beat opponents by a combined 100-20?

I see issues on both sides of the ball. Our coaches and players have pretty much owned up to them. They need to correct them, no doubt. But my guess is that we haven't even shown two thirds of the playbook yet, and the players are getting their first gametime experience with the new schemes so are working through the kinks. It's way too premature to be making judgment calls on the playbooks or coaches at this point.
 
You have determined this after 2 warm up games where we beat opponents by a combined 100-20?

I see issues on both sides of the ball. Our coaches and players have pretty much owned up to them. They need to correct them, no doubt. But my guess is that we haven't even shown two thirds of the playbook yet, and the players are getting their first gametime experience with the new schemes so are working through the kinks. It's way too premature to be making judgment calls on the playbooks or coaches at this point.
honestly, im not doing the playbook thing again every time someone new comes in. we did w enos, Rhett, richt, and on and on. ill wait and see what happens this week bc there is no hiding anything.
 
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Ok, haven't re-watched, but I take notes during the game. I'll unload them here:

TVD.
Most have mentioned it wasn't TVD's best game. He was 21/30 for 263 yards, but frankly, what stood out to me was how late his trigger was on a handful of throws. Supposedly, he mentioned he's going to go throw tonight. He'd know better, but it didn't necessarily seem like his mechanics were at issue. He's not moving his feet in the pocket as well I hoped, but what it seemed like was a massive anticipation/timing issue. Even with a clean pocket, he held the ball a tick or two longer than necessary. The two plays that stand out are (1) the INT that got called back for offsides and (2) the incomplete pass to Key Smith on our sideline. The called-back INT was a poor/late toss. The incomplete pass looked like TVD may have seen a ghost.

- The WRs who were said to be dropping passes in camp haven't dropped a pass (unless I missed one?). But, TVD looked like he struggled to get his timing and rhythm down. This was talked about all offseason. *It is a different type of passing offense.* My biggest fear is that, sure, while it may help TVD's development for the NFL, he wouldn't be playing in a wide open system with a ton of RPOs to help him make quick, predetermined decisions. Let's see what we do next week. Would really love to see more RPOs for TVD's rhythm.

- The RBs are in a **** of a spot on our team. I counted over 15 carries for Parrish where he had to bounce or cut. Overall, he and Thad combined for 35 carries and approximately 4.5 a pop. They grind out yards.

- If this offense is going to look like what it has so far (and I have to suspect it changes some), we cannot win important games unless our RBs pop longer runs. Unfortunately. It probably shouldn't have to be that way, but we ran 81 plays at a 5.5 yards/play clip. Last week's 9 yards/play is irrelevant, IMO. It will not be sufficiently explosive. I can only guess we will make the necessary changes to resolve what we've seen so far. Maybe my guess is just hope. Is Gattis holding stuff back? I doubt many really know. We'll see.

- I don't think we can be "successful" if we run our pass offense through our slot (Restrepo and Smith). I'm sure there are more vertical routes there to be seen, but there just won't be enough pop to the offense. Our longest pass play of the day was to Key Smith, but it was a flea flicker.

- I believe Arroyo has been underutilized so far. The vertical routes Mallory has gotten should go to Arroyo, IMO. On an incomplete pass to Mallory up the seam, I actually think TVD anticipated it decently well and threw tighter to the hash. I'd have to re-watch, but from the endzone view, that looked like it was on Mallory not tightening up his route.

- I'd love to see more of Brinson, Key Smith, and a returning George.

- There will be plenty of threads and posts about our CBs. Almost everyone got punched in the mouth today. Clearly, teams are picking on players.

- Was a pleasure to see a defense with both Wesley and Chase lined up next to each other. Watching Chase anticipate a route and beat the opponent to his spot should stand out on film. Watching Wesley get to spots on the field other players just cannot was fun.

- If I were our opponents, I'd continue to scheme for clearouts for my QB to run wild.

- So far, we've not blitzed as much as I expected we might. I can only guess we will next week? We haven't created enough pressure with our Edge rushers so far.

Let's see how we adjust a number of things going into a monster game next week.
Spot on. Hopefully, a healthy Rooster and having George back can spark the offense some. I am also wondering if we are holding back some of the offensive looks that will be implemented this week and going forward in ACC play. Also, they have DJ Ivey playing so far off the ball in fear he's going to get beat deep, Its just painful to watch teams dink and dunk on him all game.
 
Southern Miss ran some really funky coverage schemes on occasion, and I saw this give TVD problems a few times. One play in particular where he almost threw a pick in the endzone. He actually could've hit the RB wide open or maybe even X for a TD up the seam but he ended up throwing into double coverage.
Those gimmicky coverage schemes don't have much longevity but on occasion they can make a picture really hazy for any QB who hasn't seen them before. This causes the QB to hold onto the ball longer, make bad reads, miss open guys, etc. I think that's what we saw with TVD yesterday.

There's still a huge talent deficiency in this program. OL, WR, DL, LB and CB are mediocre units. We're either void of studs, or the studs are puppies. This program is 2 recruiting classes away. Kids aren't executing.

There's nothing wrong with the defensive scheme. Pre-snap alignment is sound. We're running Cover-3 "Match" versus 2x2 formations and "Stubbie" versus 3x1 formations. (google it)
Those are Saban/Smart/Belichick staples.
I don't think the casual fan realizes how many of the negative plays by Southern Miss were actually dialed up by Steele.
Small little adjustments that lead to a loss/negative play, like playing Cover-2 to the boundary so our CB can tackle the RB flare in the backfield. (forgot which CB did this, I think it was Ivey)
Or sending Stevenson on a CB blitz when he got jet sweep motion coming to his side. (big TFL by Stevenson)
The solo TFL by Flagg was also dialed by Steele via a DE stunt that forced the run to spill outside.

I love the usage of James Williams. He's playing all over the place and performing a lot of duties. He's in the box, covering TE's, covering slots, he's playing high Safety, he's a robber in man coverage/dime situations.

CB's getting beat on the outside is not a scheme issue. We need better players there, period.
Same with DE's giving up contain.

Coach Cozza's defense used to do that against jet (fly) motion or when there was quick motion from the old load option packages you'd see back in the day.

Then, when the offense will clue onto it, he'd run a cover deuce robber, and if there was a key buster call with a throw to the curl, well .... all the QB could do was watch the guy in the striped shirt throw his hands in the air as the DB housed it for 6.
 
You have determined this after 2 warm up games where we beat opponents by a combined 100-20?

I see issues on both sides of the ball. Our coaches and players have pretty much owned up to them. They need to correct them, no doubt. But my guess is that we haven't even shown two thirds of the playbook yet, and the players are getting their first gametime experience with the new schemes so are working through the kinks. It's way too premature to be making judgment calls on the playbooks or coaches at this point.
Hopefully you’re right.
 
You have determined this after 2 warm up games where we beat opponents by a combined 100-20?

I see issues on both sides of the ball. Our coaches and players have pretty much owned up to them. They need to correct them, no doubt. But my guess is that we haven't even shown two thirds of the playbook yet, and the players are getting their first gametime experience with the new schemes so are working through the kinks. It's way too premature to be making judgment calls on the playbooks or coaches at this point.
People scoff at the "restricting the playbook" argument, but why would you show all your formations vs teams you should be able to line up and beat with vanilla play-calling? Go back and watch Michigan last year, they were dynamic in their play calling when they needed to be. Kind of like the flea-flickr we threw in a pivotal time in the game.
 
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Are the corners giving too many free releases or space off the line (depending on the coverage call) at times? Seems that as the game goes they have gotten better (dropped INTs or giving up jump balls aside).
We play press almost every snap.
Some of our guys simply aren't that good.

Our scheme is basically predicated on locking up the outside WR's and playing zone versus the inside guys.

The CB's are man-to-man on the outside WR's unless they run under/immediately inside. This is called 'MOD' technique. (Man On Deep) It's a Saban staple.

You need long, physical, sound CB's for this scheme.
 
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I think Mario's rigorous preparation "hurt" us vs. So Miss in that they came out in the first half passing and calling a lot of unexpected formations on both sides. We had a series of chess maneuvers planned out and our opponent went off script. I think our coaches made a lot of adjustments and we had a much stronger second half.

I'm hoping we're less rigid and predictable vs. A2M. I can see Steele making the right adjustments. Jury is still out on Gattis. I "believe" he has been holding back, especially on deep balls and passing to the TEs and RBs on outs, screens and slants. I sure hope so.
On Joe Rose this morning, Mario pretty much admitted they probably over prepared and weren’t expecting SMiss to start a Fr QB.
 
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One problem with our pass rushers is that they aren't very flexible finishers. Guys like Agude have the twitch to get pressures but they can't break down and change directions to finish with a sack.

Mesidor and Taylor are the two exceptions. We need those guys to eat on Saturday.
 
Man I’d REALLY like to see what the O looks like with Chaney or Citizen, let alone both. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Parrish and think he’s had a strong start, but talent wise there are a couple levels beyond what Parrish brings, and given how we’ve played things so far, that would make a difference in the long run. Maybe a big one.
 
We play press almost every snap.
Some of our guys simply aren't that good.

Our scheme is basically predicated on locking up the outside WR's and playing zone versus the inside guys.

The CB's are man-to-man on the outside WR's unless they run under/immediately inside. This is called 'MOD' technique. (Man On Deep) It's a Saban staple.

You need long, physical, sound CB's for this scheme.
So Keeping Couch on the inside is best for now and maybe switch Blades back to CB and have him compete with Ivey (since both are tall corners with long arms) and hope Ivey somehow becomes consistently good?

I know Ivey has his bad moments. I thought he played better vs Southern Miss than Bethune despite the dropped INT.

He can certainly be more physical as evidence by one of those amazing WR catches but he was there to make a play on the ball.

I hate having to depend on him because he’s been here 5 years. He was exposed super bad vs Bama last year but we aren’t playing Bama every week.

What does the game film show? Watching him live it doesn’t always look bad.
 
We play press almost every snap.
Some of our guys simply aren't that good.

Our scheme is basically predicated on locking up the outside WR's and playing zone versus the inside guys.

The CB's are man-to-man on the outside WR's unless they run under/immediately inside. This is called 'MOD' technique. (Man On Deep) It's a Saban staple.

You need long, physical, sound CB's for this scheme.
I see a lot of issues with pre snap alignments, especially third downs. There’s multiple plays where the db’s are playing at the sticks on third and 9-10. Then the lb bails out after lining up over the center. We were defeated before the ball was even snapped. Its a layup for offenses.
 
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