Is Matt Luke the Real Problem?

[barrwayne]

I know everyone is pointing towards Tunsil being benched, but what about the fact that our O line is constantly injured? Are they poorly conditioned and more importantly poorly coached? Missing assignments regularly has nothing to do with Tunsil being benched.....

The O line was a huge issue last year, and obviously is a huge issue this year....the common thread I think is the O line coaching....something is amiss.

I wonder if we need an O line coaching change ASAP.

 

[GoodOReb]

A history of improvement in rushing yardage on teams where he previously coached, along with no improvement in our running game in past four years, would lead one to believe a change is necessary. However, as you said, injuries and poor conditioning indicates problems in our strength program as well. Lastly, we a change in our recruiting philosophy to recruit to "needs" rather than "balance". Our "needs" are OL, LBs, and RBs.

 

[ashlin]

Ole Miss problems is no one single persons fault. We have had some truly outstanding recruiting classes. However, injuries, NCAA issues, player personal problems, lack of depth and having a big bulls eye on our back have all contributed to a near perfect storm. These matters are not going away anytime soon. There is no quick fix for the offensive line. Tunsil's return will help but it is only a small part of the answer. NFL agents need to be put in their place and severly punished for interfering with college players. Talk about being exposed. Everyone of our coming games will have studied the Fla. films and know just how and where to attack us. Our defense looked beat from the first quarter. Did the Alabama game take that much out of our team? More than we think. The rest of the season will likely be the greatest challenge faced by our coaches and players in their careers. We need to support them. They will get enough criticism from writers, other teams and others from everywhere in sports.

 

[TheVaught]

Yes, we miss Tunsil, but why has the situation on the OL been allowed to deteriorate to the point where one player's absence makes the difference in winning a game (in which we are favored by over a TD!!!!) and a blowout defeat. And what SEC team that is any good at all NOT have a "big bullseye" on its back? If our intent is to be a perennial also-ran that sneaks up on teams to get some upsets and to end up in the WhoCares.com bowl, then we should consider leaving the SEC and joining an also-ran conference. As for depth, we have the depth. We have the best talent we've had since the Vaught era. The problem is the lousy coaching of the OL and the focus on a gimmicky (sorry, "innovative" is what I meant to say) offense at the expense of a commitment to a running game by Freeze and his staff. That's quite obvious.

 

[ashlin]

I DON'T THINK THAT THE FACTS SUPPORT YOUR STATEMENT THAT "WE HAVE THE DEPTH". Two freshmen playing in the OL doesn't indicate depth to me. Saying that Ole Miss should consider leaving the SEC is frustration not sound logic. Lousy coaching of the OL was never mentioned in the Alabama game. The OL in that game was outstanding and Tunsil was not missed. The breakdown of the OL and the defense in the FLA game is truly unexplainable to me. The FLA defensive backs dominated our recievers. The OL was bad but so was our defensive backs and Fla runners had an easy time of weaving in and around them. They missed tackles and and were caught flat footed several times. You are right, where is the running game. Ole Miss was overpowered by Fla in just about every aspect of the game. Ole Miss was not as good as they could have been or should have been or have been. Some are saying that the Alabama players are right by saying that Ole Miss didn't beat them they beat themselves. I don't believe it. The Ole Miss OL is showing themselves to be a serious problem but they are not alone. The problem is not just the coaching of the OL. Our recievers and defensive backs left a lot to be desired in their play as well. The question is WHY? I certainly don't know the answer to that question. Hopefully, the coaches can provide some insight and the players as well.

 

[pratt12200]

Some here would love to see us line up in an I with a full back and 2 tight ends and play 3 yards and a cloud of dust. That will win us maybe 5 games a year. Get over it. You don't have to have a running game to win games. You DO however have to execute in your plays and have a better game plan than we had against Florida. We took one deep shot and it would have gone for 6 if it wasn't over thrown by about a foot. Freeze gets tight in big games. He tries to play it safe to keep from making mistakes and it hurts. He was loose this year at Bama cause he beat them last year. When he opens it up and throws caution to the wind we win usually. When he tries to grind it out we lose. Plain and simple.

 

[GoodOReb]

Some here would love to see us line up in an I with a full back and 2 tight ends and play 3 yards and a cloud of dust. That will win us maybe 5 games a year. Get over it. You don't have to have a running game to win games. You DO however have to execute in your plays and have a better game plan than we had against Florida. We took one deep shot and it would have gone for 6 if it wasn't over thrown by about a foot. Freeze gets tight in big games. He tries to play it safe to keep from making mistakes and it hurts. He was loose this year at Bama cause he beat them last year. When he opens it up and throws caution to the wind we win usually. When he tries to grind it out we lose. Plain and simple.

You don't have to have a running game to win (some) games, but you do have to have a balanced attack to win championships. Being one dimentional on offense is a recipe for disaster against great defenses.

 

[pratt12200]

How would a running game have changed the outcome of saturday night? We got behind early trying to run the ball. A short pass/ screen game does the same as a run game does.

 

[Fishing123]

Yes, we miss Tunsil, but why has the situation on the OL been allowed to deteriorate to the point where one player's absence makes the difference in winning a game (in which we are favored by over a TD!!!!) and a blowout defeat. And what SEC team that is any good at all NOT have a "big bullseye" on its back? If our intent is to be a perennial also-ran that sneaks up on teams to get some upsets and to end up in the WhoCares.com bowl, then we should consider leaving the SEC and joining an also-ran conference. As for depth, we have the depth. We have the best talent we've had since the Vaught era. The problem is the lousy coaching of the OL and the focus on a gimmicky (sorry, "innovative" is what I meant to say) offense at the expense of a commitment to a running game by Freeze and his staff. That's quite obvious.

So True..

 

[SPXrebel]

How would a running game have changed the outcome of saturday night? We got behind early trying to run the ball. A short pass/ screen game does the same as a run game does.

Disagree. A running game takes time off the clock, calms a hostile crowd and takes energy out of the building, and helps you flip the field.
We couldn't communicate to our line, yet we had to continue to line up in shotgun because we have no other option.

You want to get a hostile crowd more into a game - allow a sack, throw a pick or snap a ball over your QB's head.

4 quarters of pushing a a defense backwards is demoralizing. We need a running game to complement our passing attacking.

 

[pratt12200]

Well get use to it cause we aren't going to start lining up in the I or going under center. If you want a pro style offense you need to start pushing for Freeze to be fired cause thats not his offense.

 

[SPXrebel]

Well get use to it cause we aren't going to start lining up in the I or going under center. If you want a pro style offense you need to start pushing for Freeze to be fired cause thats not his offense.

He doesn't need to be fired. We run the same offense as Auburn and when they are going right, they run the shit out of the ball. And they do it well.
We need better player up front and we need an RB that can get north and south.
Luke on the other hand, may need to be replaced.