I was going to wait until after the bowl game to post this, but I got an invite from a friend who is a Notre Dame fan to attend the CFP playoff game against UGA, so, since my team didn't make the cut, I am going to go. Not sure who I am going to root for...but hopefully it will be a fun time. I will break this post down into 3 basic categories, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Ugly (I have decided to go in reverse order)
1. Game preparation - I am going to start here because I believe that all of the things that I will talk about in this category originate from the lack of attention to detail with game prep, particularly offensive game prep. Other than the UGA game, which I thought was a great example of what can happen when our team, coaches, and fans all focus on the same things and pull the wagon in unison, I thought our game prep, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, was downright lazy and lacked imagination and creativity. The playcalling...was at best suspect for most of the season. I am sure the inability to control the LOS and run the ball contributed to this, but dang...we had some calls that made me grab my head in disgust. Did we run a draw play all season? The route concepts that we ran in most of our games were, I thought, simple and failed to use most of the field, particularly the middle. We had no screen game for the most part, unless you want to count throwing the ball quickly to the WR out in space and let him beat his guy 1v1 as a screen. We seemed lost and unsure where to turn when we lost Tre Harris. We had what I (and others) thought was a stable of thoroughbred receivers, but we didn't seem to target our concepts to best accent their talents. Juice Wells, for example, is not completely to blame for his lack of productivity. He is a YAC guy, yet we didn't make bonafide efforts to get him the ball in space and let him cook (I am NOT talking about the ill-fated jet sweeps either). He never seemed to get in sync with the offense, and the offense never seemed to try and dial him into what we were doing.
2. Running game - I just don't know what to write here that has not already been said...again, and again, and again... I will make this point short and concise with one question and one statement.
Question: What in the entire....world... was the Micah Davis thing in the Florida game? I feel for the player. He just did what he was told, and he has taken heat for it somewhat akin to Matt Luke taking heat for being offered his dream job when his resume said he wasn't ready for such a challenge.
Statement: The situation with last year's RB1 probably cost us the playoffs. This may be petty, but I have held to my vow not to say his name on this board this season, and I won't now. I will not root for him nor them (not that I ever did anyway). Honestly, it is just a tragedy for the kid. He would own the school record book and be celebrated and remembered here forever if only he (and his family/handlers etc) had not been so selfish and greedy. What should have been a win/win became a lose/lose as a result of their actions.
3. Kentucky game - I was there at VHS on September 28th, sitting with a friend (thanks @pontguy) who had an extra. It was painful to watch. We played flat, uninspired, and took more than we gave from a physicality standpoint. U-G-L-Y, it didn't have an alibi, it was UGLY! I couldn't help feeling uneasy all day about how the game was playing out right in front of my eyes, but I held out that we would continue to find a way to pull the win out of the fire at home as we had done so many times before during the CLK tenure. The bottom line, the 4th and 7 call that Kentucky converted, coupled with the recovered fumble at the goal line, was just karma for us stealing one from them in 2022. What I mean is, the better team lost both games.
The Bad
1. Offensive Line - We struggled all season long to find any cohesiveness, consistency, and ability to impose our will on anyone who wasn't an FCS opponent (or should be an FCS team). The offensive line is a UNIT position. You must have chemistry with your teammates to be successful. Plugging and playing in this position group is just not a good course of action, IMHO. I thought that the OL had good outings at Arkansas and against UGA. Other than that, I thought we left a lot to be desired. I am not going to get into who played vs who didn't. I have already beaten that horse to death. IMHO, IOT be successful in this position group long term, you must recruit HS talent, develop HS talent together, and keep them together for several years, ala Texas (180+ starts as a unit). The portal should be used to supplement depth and to fill OCCASIONAL UNEXPECTED departures/missed evals.
2. Team Chemistry - I am going to venture into this topic with NO DIRECT KNOWLEDGE of what actually happened, only what I deciphered based on past experience, common sense, etc.
A. RB situation - I have already hit on this topic, but it deserves a 2nd look as to how the failure to establish an RB1 that the team believed in was evident. HPJ did about what I expected him to do, based on his previous stop at OM. He was not physically equipped to handle the pounding of RB1 in the SEC, and eventually, he got hurt. Our failure to utilize other players for any substantive snaps before his injury is a serious dereliction of responsibility by the responsible coaching staff members. The bottom line, our team believed in one guy, and he didn't play in more games than he did. He had the only 100-yard games we had this season. He had the only 2 runs from scrimmage of more than 40 yards. Our coach(es) did not believe in him enough to play him. I have heard stories as to why, and if they are true, It is a serious indictment on the maturity/judgment of our coach(es).
B. OL - Again, already talked about. The situation with Micah Pettus reared its ugly head again this year. Who is in charge here, the horse, or the cart? We had 4 of 5 starters back from last year, but they didn't seem to be good enough to play this year, even when they got seemingly healthy. Insert shoulder shrug gif (with frustrated facial expression) here.
C. DL - There were some rumblings of prima donna/jealousy activity with this group early on, but whatever happened to work it out, seemed to work, at least from a productivity standpoint. I am not sure what happened at halftime of the Oklahoma game, but it was different from that point on. A potential setback turned into a comeback in this group, at least on the surface.
D. QB - There is no bigger fan of JD on this board than me. That said, he did not seem to be himself early. Again, I have no direct knowledge, but it seemed that he got a little complacent and lacked true chemistry with the receivers on the team not named Tre Harris. He seemed to return to his old DOG self during the 2nd half of the Oklahoma game.
E. Coaching/personnel decisions - Wrap all of the aforementioned potential chemistry issues up with this point. I was going to save this for a future post dedicated strictly to coaching, but I will say it now. CLK is the BEST COACH Ole Miss has EVER HAD!!! We are living in the good ole days, primarily due to his presence in Oxford. That said, he does things that make my head spin sometimes. He reveres Nick Saban, understandably. However, he has not proven that he has learned the nuances of tempering expectations and reigning in egos IOT get everyone focused on the task at hand. CNS was a master at keeping guys with huge egos who were used to hearing how good they were reigned in and playing with the same intensity against Kentucky that they did against Georgia. Last statement about this point: Most of our team drama occurred on offense this season. ???
3. The schedule - 4 cream puffs to open the season was about the worst thing that could have happened to this team, as it turned out. We could have used a good punch to the mouth before we played Kentucky on September 28th. As it was, Kentucky was the 1st punch to the face, and we weren't ready to respond properly. The LSU game in Baton Rouge on October 12 to close out 7 straight games with no open date to start the season was not helpful either.
4. Injuries - Tre Harris, stop. I don't need to say more. We had several other key, untimely injuries (Princely vs LSU, Jordan Watkins, several OL at different times during the season etc) that hurt, but Tre Harris was the biggie. That is all I have to say about that.
The Good
1. UGA game - We brought it that game. Everyone. It was a look at what our team, coaches, staff, fans, etc could be if we could consistently reach that level of focus and intensity. It was the most fun I have had at an Ole Miss game in a long time (LSU 2023 was right up there too, but still). We just dominated them. 28-10 was the LEAST the score could have been. Against eventual SEC champion UGA. Let that sink in.
2. The USCe game - I am going to put this here because it was the road trip that the Nettleton Legend and I made this year in our quest to hit all SEC stadiums and it was a big win. We presented a lot of matchup problems for USCe and our defense really dominated USCe that day. I don't think they could score a touchdown on us if we were still there playing that game right now. The game turned on a couple of USCe turnovers early, the fake punt and the fumble by backup QB Ashford. We converted both into TDs and the game was pretty much over from that point.
3. The Defense - The most fun I have ever had watching an Ole Miss defense. It felt really good to know that we had a chance in every game because we had a defense that could line it down with anybody! Walter Nolen is so disruptive. That guy is what I thought Big Rob would be here. Give me Nolen all day every day. JJ..., love that guy. Glad he came home and cemented his legacy. He will be fondly remembered. Ivey, Princely, Harris, Brown, Stone, etc. What a DL!
Poo Paul, what an intense LB! I have heard he is not a particularly good practice player. That can really frustrate a coach, but all is usually forgiven when the player turns it on with the lights on! Dottery was solid all year, particularly against the run. Perkins is a freak! STUD!
Amos was a true shutdown CB. I agree with @tsiskey about Canady. He is a player. He just got better and better as the year wore on. Washington and Saunders were solid but unspectacular. That is a good thing. Banks was making a solid contribution to the team until he got hurt at Florida. Hopefully, Hamilton will build on his performance against MSU.
I reiterate what I said in a previous post about CPG and the defensive staff, BEST. ASSISTANT. HIRE. EVER. Insert Teddy KGB gif here.
4. Special Teams - Masin and Davis deserve a mention in the good category. Masin consistently flipped the field when called on and Davis, other than a couple of misses that happened to be in big moments, was consistent and was huge in his ability to kickoff into the end zone.
5. QB1 - I am not sure what level of praise I can heap on JD that would be higher than what I have said about him already. He won the job in 2022 when he arrived here, beating out a player I have a personal connection with (Go Illini), and immediately won me over. I think it was the play at Georgia Tech where he ran right over a defender when most would have stepped out of bounds. Yeah, I think that is where he got me. Intense, Passionate, Leader, Warrior, Legend, Winner. Dog. Take your pick, because they all fit JD. Thanks for the memories.
The Ugly (I have decided to go in reverse order)
1. Game preparation - I am going to start here because I believe that all of the things that I will talk about in this category originate from the lack of attention to detail with game prep, particularly offensive game prep. Other than the UGA game, which I thought was a great example of what can happen when our team, coaches, and fans all focus on the same things and pull the wagon in unison, I thought our game prep, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, was downright lazy and lacked imagination and creativity. The playcalling...was at best suspect for most of the season. I am sure the inability to control the LOS and run the ball contributed to this, but dang...we had some calls that made me grab my head in disgust. Did we run a draw play all season? The route concepts that we ran in most of our games were, I thought, simple and failed to use most of the field, particularly the middle. We had no screen game for the most part, unless you want to count throwing the ball quickly to the WR out in space and let him beat his guy 1v1 as a screen. We seemed lost and unsure where to turn when we lost Tre Harris. We had what I (and others) thought was a stable of thoroughbred receivers, but we didn't seem to target our concepts to best accent their talents. Juice Wells, for example, is not completely to blame for his lack of productivity. He is a YAC guy, yet we didn't make bonafide efforts to get him the ball in space and let him cook (I am NOT talking about the ill-fated jet sweeps either). He never seemed to get in sync with the offense, and the offense never seemed to try and dial him into what we were doing.
2. Running game - I just don't know what to write here that has not already been said...again, and again, and again... I will make this point short and concise with one question and one statement.
Question: What in the entire....world... was the Micah Davis thing in the Florida game? I feel for the player. He just did what he was told, and he has taken heat for it somewhat akin to Matt Luke taking heat for being offered his dream job when his resume said he wasn't ready for such a challenge.
Statement: The situation with last year's RB1 probably cost us the playoffs. This may be petty, but I have held to my vow not to say his name on this board this season, and I won't now. I will not root for him nor them (not that I ever did anyway). Honestly, it is just a tragedy for the kid. He would own the school record book and be celebrated and remembered here forever if only he (and his family/handlers etc) had not been so selfish and greedy. What should have been a win/win became a lose/lose as a result of their actions.
3. Kentucky game - I was there at VHS on September 28th, sitting with a friend (thanks @pontguy) who had an extra. It was painful to watch. We played flat, uninspired, and took more than we gave from a physicality standpoint. U-G-L-Y, it didn't have an alibi, it was UGLY! I couldn't help feeling uneasy all day about how the game was playing out right in front of my eyes, but I held out that we would continue to find a way to pull the win out of the fire at home as we had done so many times before during the CLK tenure. The bottom line, the 4th and 7 call that Kentucky converted, coupled with the recovered fumble at the goal line, was just karma for us stealing one from them in 2022. What I mean is, the better team lost both games.
The Bad
1. Offensive Line - We struggled all season long to find any cohesiveness, consistency, and ability to impose our will on anyone who wasn't an FCS opponent (or should be an FCS team). The offensive line is a UNIT position. You must have chemistry with your teammates to be successful. Plugging and playing in this position group is just not a good course of action, IMHO. I thought that the OL had good outings at Arkansas and against UGA. Other than that, I thought we left a lot to be desired. I am not going to get into who played vs who didn't. I have already beaten that horse to death. IMHO, IOT be successful in this position group long term, you must recruit HS talent, develop HS talent together, and keep them together for several years, ala Texas (180+ starts as a unit). The portal should be used to supplement depth and to fill OCCASIONAL UNEXPECTED departures/missed evals.
2. Team Chemistry - I am going to venture into this topic with NO DIRECT KNOWLEDGE of what actually happened, only what I deciphered based on past experience, common sense, etc.
A. RB situation - I have already hit on this topic, but it deserves a 2nd look as to how the failure to establish an RB1 that the team believed in was evident. HPJ did about what I expected him to do, based on his previous stop at OM. He was not physically equipped to handle the pounding of RB1 in the SEC, and eventually, he got hurt. Our failure to utilize other players for any substantive snaps before his injury is a serious dereliction of responsibility by the responsible coaching staff members. The bottom line, our team believed in one guy, and he didn't play in more games than he did. He had the only 100-yard games we had this season. He had the only 2 runs from scrimmage of more than 40 yards. Our coach(es) did not believe in him enough to play him. I have heard stories as to why, and if they are true, It is a serious indictment on the maturity/judgment of our coach(es).
B. OL - Again, already talked about. The situation with Micah Pettus reared its ugly head again this year. Who is in charge here, the horse, or the cart? We had 4 of 5 starters back from last year, but they didn't seem to be good enough to play this year, even when they got seemingly healthy. Insert shoulder shrug gif (with frustrated facial expression) here.
C. DL - There were some rumblings of prima donna/jealousy activity with this group early on, but whatever happened to work it out, seemed to work, at least from a productivity standpoint. I am not sure what happened at halftime of the Oklahoma game, but it was different from that point on. A potential setback turned into a comeback in this group, at least on the surface.
D. QB - There is no bigger fan of JD on this board than me. That said, he did not seem to be himself early. Again, I have no direct knowledge, but it seemed that he got a little complacent and lacked true chemistry with the receivers on the team not named Tre Harris. He seemed to return to his old DOG self during the 2nd half of the Oklahoma game.
E. Coaching/personnel decisions - Wrap all of the aforementioned potential chemistry issues up with this point. I was going to save this for a future post dedicated strictly to coaching, but I will say it now. CLK is the BEST COACH Ole Miss has EVER HAD!!! We are living in the good ole days, primarily due to his presence in Oxford. That said, he does things that make my head spin sometimes. He reveres Nick Saban, understandably. However, he has not proven that he has learned the nuances of tempering expectations and reigning in egos IOT get everyone focused on the task at hand. CNS was a master at keeping guys with huge egos who were used to hearing how good they were reigned in and playing with the same intensity against Kentucky that they did against Georgia. Last statement about this point: Most of our team drama occurred on offense this season. ???
3. The schedule - 4 cream puffs to open the season was about the worst thing that could have happened to this team, as it turned out. We could have used a good punch to the mouth before we played Kentucky on September 28th. As it was, Kentucky was the 1st punch to the face, and we weren't ready to respond properly. The LSU game in Baton Rouge on October 12 to close out 7 straight games with no open date to start the season was not helpful either.
4. Injuries - Tre Harris, stop. I don't need to say more. We had several other key, untimely injuries (Princely vs LSU, Jordan Watkins, several OL at different times during the season etc) that hurt, but Tre Harris was the biggie. That is all I have to say about that.
The Good
1. UGA game - We brought it that game. Everyone. It was a look at what our team, coaches, staff, fans, etc could be if we could consistently reach that level of focus and intensity. It was the most fun I have had at an Ole Miss game in a long time (LSU 2023 was right up there too, but still). We just dominated them. 28-10 was the LEAST the score could have been. Against eventual SEC champion UGA. Let that sink in.
2. The USCe game - I am going to put this here because it was the road trip that the Nettleton Legend and I made this year in our quest to hit all SEC stadiums and it was a big win. We presented a lot of matchup problems for USCe and our defense really dominated USCe that day. I don't think they could score a touchdown on us if we were still there playing that game right now. The game turned on a couple of USCe turnovers early, the fake punt and the fumble by backup QB Ashford. We converted both into TDs and the game was pretty much over from that point.
3. The Defense - The most fun I have ever had watching an Ole Miss defense. It felt really good to know that we had a chance in every game because we had a defense that could line it down with anybody! Walter Nolen is so disruptive. That guy is what I thought Big Rob would be here. Give me Nolen all day every day. JJ..., love that guy. Glad he came home and cemented his legacy. He will be fondly remembered. Ivey, Princely, Harris, Brown, Stone, etc. What a DL!
Poo Paul, what an intense LB! I have heard he is not a particularly good practice player. That can really frustrate a coach, but all is usually forgiven when the player turns it on with the lights on! Dottery was solid all year, particularly against the run. Perkins is a freak! STUD!
Amos was a true shutdown CB. I agree with @tsiskey about Canady. He is a player. He just got better and better as the year wore on. Washington and Saunders were solid but unspectacular. That is a good thing. Banks was making a solid contribution to the team until he got hurt at Florida. Hopefully, Hamilton will build on his performance against MSU.
I reiterate what I said in a previous post about CPG and the defensive staff, BEST. ASSISTANT. HIRE. EVER. Insert Teddy KGB gif here.
4. Special Teams - Masin and Davis deserve a mention in the good category. Masin consistently flipped the field when called on and Davis, other than a couple of misses that happened to be in big moments, was consistent and was huge in his ability to kickoff into the end zone.
5. QB1 - I am not sure what level of praise I can heap on JD that would be higher than what I have said about him already. He won the job in 2022 when he arrived here, beating out a player I have a personal connection with (Go Illini), and immediately won me over. I think it was the play at Georgia Tech where he ran right over a defender when most would have stepped out of bounds. Yeah, I think that is where he got me. Intense, Passionate, Leader, Warrior, Legend, Winner. Dog. Take your pick, because they all fit JD. Thanks for the memories.
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