Dawson’s creativity

[Manfred_Cane]

The td run by Toney vs Indiana to keep us in the game late was a great call. The outside zone call vs Indiana that Fletcher took to the house from 57 yards was a great call because it broke tendency and secondly we had a dummy call on and it fooled everyone on that D outside of Aiden Fischer but nobody would listen to him lol. Actually late in the 3rd and the whole 4th quarter Dawson had figured out Bryant Haines and was taking him to school. After the blocked punt, we threw cation to the wind and played loose and aggressive and Dawson was in the zone as was Beck.

My brother in Christ....


If Beck doesn't throw the INT on the last drive and we score a TD. The narrative post Natty is Dawson figured out their DC and Cigg is a **** poor clock manager who ****ed his team by having 0 timeouts for their last drive.

The alternate universe couldn't handle all of that lmao

 

[Kn[]_[]ckles3o5]

Many have actually argued the opposite, even in our #1 offense season in '24 most games we would start out hot, then I think 2nd qtr would just be nothing once script was over then late in games we would need heroics again..

I chalk up some of the 2nd quarter woes from '24 and '25 to our substitution packages. We put the second team guys in and in many cases they just don't do what they need to do. Drop passes, fail to convert short yardage, play with an overall lack of urgency. It was more problematic in '24 because our defense was **** but in 25 it was a factor in our losses against UL and SMU IMO. Go back and watch the tape. Especially in '24, way too much Lyle and other second team guys mid 2nd quarter when we had chances to extend leads or even put games away.

 

[skyman]

I think it’s easier for most to recognize flaws in a coordinator for offense because if we nit pick our defense like yall do offense it would be some uncomfortable conversations

A&m drove down to the one yard line in bad weather conditions, ole miss scored 27 and had a chance to win at the end while only having the ball for 18 minutes the entire game. It was dawson offense that led the team to take the lead vs A&M, vs ole miss and shut the door vs osu, and gave us a chance to win vs indiana after the blocked punt and indiana offense marching down the field keeping the ball for 36 minutes that game

Its recency bias.. They crowned Guidry also, They loved Dawson after Gattis but then they start to nitpick even after #1 offense (some say its not him, all Cam offense even when it was his platform and in Mensah YT video he says this is his 4th OC and this offense gives him most freedom)..

There are things that can be nitpicked on for Hetherman also, but he gets a pass because he followed a horrible year with Guidry, we will see how it turns because we return ALOT of talent but lose the guys who covered up everything..

 

[Kn[]_[]ckles3o5]

I have had a very favorable opinion of the man since he arrived. You can see when what seems like he is running the same stupid play over and over again how he is really letting the defense come to him. He's always thinking and plotting...I feel that when he overthinks things that's when some things just don't work.

This is what I think most casual fans just don't appreciate. You got to think of the play calling like a boxing match.

Against any decent team you can't just storm out of the corner throwing haymakers that they can see coming from a mile away. You gotta throw some jabs and feints. It imperative that you feel out the other side in some way and not get caught with your pants down. Make sure you got a read on what's on the other side before you cut it loose. Get them anticipating the right so you can bomb them with the left. That means the results of some plays may be underwhelming, **** you may even run some **** you know they are gonna sniff out to get them feeling themselves only to turn around and burn em 6 plays later.

It seemed like last season a lack of speed on the outside and some limitations with Beck's mind muscle connection regarding his arm strength cost Dawson some of his haymaker plays. He and Mario may have gotten a little big headed about our physical advantages in the trenches and underestimated how injuries were affecting the RBs ability to be successful in the same way they had been earlier in the year.

Couple that with the funky substitution tendencies in second quarters (for which at this point I am sure they have a sound and acceptable defense) and it's not a shock that the offense had periods of inconsistency. Throw in some timely zebra nonsense from the ACC and you get the two losses to clearly inferior squads.

I really hope that with the depth we have built that this second quarter substitution drop off no longer exists. We used to hit people with waves of talent in the heyday and early 2000s. It's possible Mario has the blueprint and isn't coming off of it. He demands that we have a second team that is better than the other team's first team and won't stop until that's the way it is. We might be really close with the skill talent we have on offense. There was a time when McGahee would hit the bench in the second quarter when it was 17-3 and Frank Gore would rip a 60 yd TD. So hopefully that's the plan and that is where we are headed.

 

[E1k]

I disagree. Hetherman’s defense did things to Ole Miss offense that no one else did last season. They scored two offensive TDs the whole game. Chambliss finally looked mortal since week 9 vs USCe. Besides Lacy’s 70 strike, their rushing attacked netted 45 yards on 20 carries. 9 of their points came from 50+ yard FGs.

How about OSU? Defense scored a TD, shut down everyone except for Smith. Had a shutout in the first half. OSU scored 14 points their second lowest of the season (vs Indiana).

How about A&M? Forced 3 turnovers and 7 sacks. Gave up 3 points (0 points until 4th). Not to mention, Miami’s offense turned the ball over in a tied game, late in the 4th, at midfield. Remind me, how many points did our defense give up on that subsequent drive? Zero. They gave the ball back to our offense for the GW score.

Finally, how great was our offense vs UL and SMU?

Ole miss was limited mainly because our offense stayed on the field for majority of the game, not saying heatherman was bad but i just think everyone is overrating his impact and Underrating dawson impact. There’s a reason he is the only multi year mario hire besides mirabal and jt

Heatherman out coached everyone he faced besides cig and brohm imo but i think his job was much easier than Dawsons. He inherited probably our most talented defense since 03, two first round edges, thorpe level nickel, two good safeties, top dt, two all conference level corners

Dawson dealt with insane attrition with literally our top6 offensive producers leaving fletch was the only one left, and he still maxed out every ounce of talent we had. Made in season adjustments, his best player was a high school senior, his qb could barely throw over 35 yards downfield consistently, zero te room blocking and receiving wise

I don’t think yall understand how great of a coaching job that was, but i get it the defense led us all season. But all things considered? Dawson had a much tougher coaching job and still delivered

 

[E1k]

My brother in Christ....


If Beck doesn't throw the INT on the last drive and we score a TD. The narrative post Natty is Dawson figured out their DC and Cigg is a **** poor clock manager who ****ed his team by having 0 timeouts for their last drive.

The alternate universe couldn't handle all of that lmao

If ***** bauman blocks his man for two seconds the story is nobody made Indiana defense look like that lol, we probably don’t have dawson right now if bauman blocks and beck doesn’t throw a duck

 

[P-Tizzle]

Ole miss was limited mainly because our offense stayed on the field for majority of the game, not saying heatherman was bad but i just think everyone is overrating his impact and Underrating dawson impact. There’s a reason he is the only multi year mario hire besides mirabal and jt

Heatherman out coached everyone he faced besides cig and brohm imo but i think his job was much easier than Dawsons. He inherited probably our most talented defense since 03, two first round edges, thorpe level nickel, two good safeties, top dt, two all conference level corners

Dawson dealt with insane attrition with literally our top6 offensive producers leaving fletch was the only one left, and he still maxed out every ounce of talent we had. Made in season adjustments, his best player was a high school senior, his qb could barely throw over 35 yards downfield consistently, zero te room blocking and receiving wise

I don’t think yall understand how great of a coaching job that was, but i get it the defense led us all season. But all things considered? Dawson had a much tougher coaching job and still delivered

1. Hetherman and Dawson are both multi year Mario hires. This is Hetherman's second hear (hence, multiple years). This point is invalid.

2. "Ole Miss was limited because our offense stayed on the field for majority of the game"....or Miami's defense held Ole Miss to 2-10 on third down.

3. You're not being honest in your evaluations. Scott was a "Thorpe level nickel" after playing in our defense. Thomas was a "good safety" after playing in our defense. Mesidor was not a first round pick until during and after this season. Yes, Dawson did max out the talent he had, but so did Hetherman. Bryce Fitzgerald led the nation in picks and is a top returning sophomore. Poyser will be preseason All-ACC. We have the best CB room in the country (no one said that before this season), Traore was finally healthy and played like an AA down the stretch.

4. "I get it the defense led us all season". Finally, you agree.

 

[E1k]

1. Hetherman and Dawson are both multi year Mario hires. This is Hetherman's second hear (hence, multiple years). This point is invalid.

2. "Ole Miss was limited because our offense stayed on the field for majority of the game"....or Miami's defense held Ole Miss to 2-10 on third down.

3. You're not being honest in your evaluations. Scott was a "Thorpe level nickel" after playing in our defense. Thomas was a "good safety" after playing in our defense. Mesidor was not a first round pick until during and after this season. Yes, Dawson did max out the talent he had, but so did Hetherman. Bryce Fitzgerald led the nation in picks and is a top returning sophomore. Poyser will be preseason All-ACC. We have the best CB room in the country (no one said that before this season), Traore was finally healthy and played like an AA down the stretch.

4. "I get it the defense led us all season". Finally, you agree.

1. You know exactly what i mean lmfao

2. I didn’t say heatherman wasn’t good vs ole miss but the main reason we won was our offense controlling the ball and sealing it late. They scored 27 in 18 minutes bro lol

3. All of the players you named were good before coming to us besides bryce of course. They played better with us but I don’t only credit that to heatherman, point still stands that he inherited a supremely talented defense and he maxed it out but i need to see it year to year. And i do believe he will keep it up too but i have seen dawson do it already

4. Never was on the other side of the defense not leading us lol you may be missing the point. My point is i have seen dawson get the most out of a bad qb, a great qb, a mid qb. All of them different styles, needed different tweaks to the offense and he maxed out each one. That to me makes him our best coordinator right now

 

[caneforlifeforreal]

Honestly, I get why some people think he’s coming off as arrogant in those but I actually don’t feel that way at all. I think he comes off of aware of what the scuttlebutt is through whatever means he’s finding out and he’s just being a little playful and tongue in cheek with some of the guys Asking the questions.

I actually love his interaction with the media. It isn’t always pure coach Speak bull****.

Because you sir actually have intelligence and recognition.

Alot of dumb dumbs out there

 

[P-Tizzle]

1. You know exactly what i mean lmfao

2. I didn’t say heatherman wasn’t good vs ole miss but the main reason we won was our offense controlling the ball and sealing it late. They scored 27 in 18 minutes bro lol

3. All of the players you named were good before coming to us besides bryce of course. They played better with us but I don’t only credit that to heatherman, point still stands that he inherited a supremely talented defense and he maxed it out but i need to see it year to year. And i do believe he will keep it up too but i have seen dawson do it already

4. Never was on the other side of the defense not leading us lol you may be missing the point. My point is i have seen dawson get the most out of a bad qb, a great qb, a mid qb. All of them different styles, needed different tweaks to the offense and he maxed out each one. That to me makes him our best coordinator right now

Those players were good? Get out of here. You didn't even know who Jakobe Thomas, Zechariah Poyser, Keionte Scott, or Mo Traore were until they started playing for Miami. Stop it. Case in point. Below is a screenshot of a comment you made last year prior to Spring practice. Your comment was in response to another poster hyping up the depth chart before the Spring portal opened and going into the opening game vs ND. The poster you were replying to was optimistic about our squad, but judging by your comment, you either were not optimistic or at least. you had a "wait and see approach" because of how in the past we boosted players stock but they didn't pan out during the season. If you were high on Mo, Keionte, Jakobe, Poyser as you claim (i.e., you said, "they were good before coming to us", you sure didn't ******* act like it in your response back when they first got here during the Spring of last year.

 

[rsa coral gables]

When you look at totality of everything, especially with Beck being soo limited (having to completely strip RPO offense out, arm not able to take shots, complete elimination of intermediate pass offense, etc) and having to design an offense with no explosives whatsoever (when every OC will tell you explosives and turnovers are keys to a good offense) I thought he did as best he could with what he had..

Disclaimer: He took wayyy too long to adjust in TAMU game and first half in championship game was not good enough and I wish someone would atleast ask a question about that to get an understanding but that will never happen..

Having watched every snap of Mensah and our 2024 offense, I expect the rpo stuff to come back, the intermediate offense to be a major piece again, a much more explosive offense, and the narrative on Dawson to change when we are must see tv rockstar top 5 offense again.. (our fans are crazy, I still remember the narrative last season of Mario getting rid of Maribal, I didnt forget)

i think we will return to near Cam Ward offensive production.

 

[rsa coral gables]

One thing Ive heard about Dawson that recently is he is extremely open to suggestions from assistants and staff, and in fact, values it. Apparently hes not as arrogant as he comes off in interviews.

i've met him a few times at whip and dip and elsewhere. exact opposite of arrogant. country boy from louisiana. when people started questioning the A gap runs, he got testy not arrogant. i think this was in part because mirabal the run game coordinator might have made him run A gaps more than Dawson wanted. who knows. but i don't think he's ever been arrogant, just testy, a little butt hurt.

 

[rsa coral gables]

I don’t care how much I want to swim in his dimples, he will only redeem his gross mishandling of key situations last season if I never see a Mali-Cat formation again.

when did miss bank make it to the lighter side?

 

[rsa coral gables]

It's hard to judge him because I don't know what his marching orders are. I do know that when he stopped being so ******* predictable we seemed to do a lot better. SMU game, I was ready for Dawson to go away. Season ended up great but I'm not forgetting the offense was hobbled and cost us against a couple mediocre acc teams. Not sure he deserves a crown yet, I need to see a long term change in mindset.

mario asserts that the players changed after SMU. he's right, but what i have not heard him say is so did the coaches. it was like a drug addled rock bottom.

 

[Applecane]

If ***** bauman blocks his man for two seconds the story is nobody made Indiana defense look like that lol, we probably don’t have dawson right now if bauman blocks and beck doesn’t throw a

1. Hetherman and Dawson are both multi year Mario hires. This is Hetherman's second hear (hence, multiple years). This point is invalid.

2. "Ole Miss was limited because our offense stayed on the field for majority of the game"....or Miami's defense held Ole Miss to 2-10 on third down.

3. You're not being honest in your evaluations. Scott was a "Thorpe level nickel" after playing in our defense. Thomas was a "good safety" after playing in our defense. Mesidor was not a first round pick until during and after this season. Yes, Dawson did max out the talent he had, but so did Hetherman. Bryce Fitzgerald led the nation in picks and is a top returning sophomore. Poyser will be preseason All-ACC. We have the best CB room in the country (no one said that before this season), Traore was finally healthy and played like an AA down the stretch.

4. "I get it the defense led us all season". Finally, you agree.

Heatherman's D kept Mississippi 10 pts under their season average, I believe, and if the DBs didn't drop 3-4 interceptions he'd look even better...

 

[SWFLSWAGG17]

There is a lot to like, however my one gripe is him constantly splitting a TE out who was not a threat in the pass game.

 

[E1k]

Those players were good? Get out of here. You didn't even know who Jakobe Thomas, Zechariah Poyser, Keionte Scott, or Mo Traore were until they started playing for Miami. Stop it. Case in point. Below is a screenshot of a comment you made last year prior to Spring practice. Your comment was in response to another poster hyping up the depth chart before the Spring portal opened and going into the opening game vs ND. The poster you were replying to was optimistic about our squad, but judging by your comment, you either were not optimistic or at least. you had a "wait and see approach" because of how in the past we boosted players stock but they didn't pan out during the season. If you were high on Mo, Keionte, Jakobe, Poyser as you claim (i.e., you said, "they were good before coming to us", you sure didn't ******* act like it in your response back when they first got here during the Spring of last year. View attachment 359038

I don’t see the lie in what i posted lol..i was super low on our offense entering the year but thought our db room would be great

 

[TrumpyCane]

Ole miss was limited mainly because our offense stayed on the field for majority of the game, not saying heatherman was bad but i just think everyone is overrating his impact and Underrating dawson impact. There’s a reason he is the only multi year mario hire besides mirabal and jt

Heatherman out coached everyone he faced besides cig and brohm imo but i think his job was much easier than Dawsons. He inherited probably our most talented defense since 03, two first round edges, thorpe level nickel, two good safeties, top dt, two all conference level corners

Dawson dealt with insane attrition with literally our top6 offensive producers leaving fletch was the only one left, and he still maxed out every ounce of talent we had. Made in season adjustments, his best player was a high school senior, his qb could barely throw over 35 yards downfield consistently, zero te room blocking and receiving wise

I don’t think yall understand how great of a coaching job that was, but i get it the defense led us all season. But all things considered? Dawson had a much tougher coaching job and still delivered

TrumpyCane is pretty sure he didn't inherit any of those

He's the one who turned them into those

What he did last year was much tougher/impressive than anything Dawson has done

 

[SinisterCane]

I like Dawson.



But sometimes, he'll get creative, it'll work, and then doesn't go back to it lmao it drives me ******* nuts.

Nothing was more infuriating than watching Fletcher get hot in a running game and watching Dawson start getting cute with wildcat and trick plays

 

[FrancisSawyer]

My brother in Christ....


If Beck doesn't throw the INT on the last drive and we score a TD. The narrative post Natty is Dawson figured out their DC and Cigg is a **** poor clock manager who ****ed his team by having 0 timeouts for their last drive.

The alternate universe couldn't handle all of that lmao

My brother in Christ.......

Well done fine sir! Well done I say....