Thoughts on the First Two Games and AU
This isn't organized in any way, just a stream of thoughts. It might tend to be negatives, but that is just because one has a tendency to remember the bad longer. Just the way it is so keep that in mind.
-The offensive line desperately needs Derek Sherrod back. They've been above average in their pass protection but run blocking is another matter. The holes just aren't there as consistently as you would like. While they aren't terrible in run blocking, I'd like to see better. Sherrod is supposed to be getting back to 100% and should start against Auburn. That'll help.
-Dixon is hitting the hole harder, but still tries to bounce too much to the outside. At this point I don't think he is going to change. Ducre is the same Ducre of last year. Same type of back as Dixon, not as talented, but is good at picking a hole and hitting it full speed. I think the coaching staff outsmarted themselves against Tech and got away from what the team is good at, riding Dixon and Ducre to a win. Hindsight is 20/20 though.
-I've mentioned it briefly before, but Carroll is the QB. Tyson Lee is a nice little backup and seems to be careful with the ball, but he struggles to move the team down the field. Yes Carroll turned it over too much against Tech but he clearly doesn't get rattled as easily and can move the football down the field. This shouldn't be surprising considering the experience edge. He bounced back nicely last week going 15/23 for 158 yards and 2Tds.
-Carroll's arm is significantly better than last year, but he still struggles with the deep ball. You keep the throw around 15 yards or less and Carroll is fairly accurate and makes good decisions. Where he gets into trouble is when you start asking him to connect on 25+ yard passes. Carroll is more of a playmaker this year though, its just the deep ball isn't his strength. Probably never will be.
-This WR group has surprised me. They're actually a pretty decent bunch. Brandon McRae has been the biggest surprise, catching 12 passes for 132 yards and 2Tds in the first two games. Color me impressed. Aubrey Bell did have a key drop against Tech but has been more than adequate overall. Co-Eric Riley only has 4 catches so far but both of his catches against SLU were in traffic and he got punished but held onto the ball. A little bit of toughness is great to see. True freshman Delmon Robinson looked like the best WR on the field against La Tech 5 passes for 63 yards. He showed good hands and the ability to pick up yards after the catch with his quickness.
-While the wide receivers have impressed me as a whole, Jamayel Smith has not. He used to be reliable but has been anything but in the first two games. He is dropping passes, fumbling the football, and is plummeting down the depth chart. I don't know if his confidence is just shaken or what, but its a disappointing start when he was supposed to take over the #1 receiver role. Hopefully he bounces back.
-That special teams performance against La Tech is one of the worst you will ever see. Every single phase of special teams was pathetic. The return of Derek Pegues means Mississippi State now has a returner that actually knows how to field a punt. Great, but that's only one area. The fact is McAdams is average on a good day and those don't happen often. Carlson is good on short to midrange field goals but doesn't have the leg to be consistent on longer ones. Where this really shows up even more is on kickoffs. He struggles to get the ball to the ten yard line, and you can forget about touchbacks. That just won't happen. Now don't get me wrong, I don't blame Carlson or McAdams. Both Carlson and McAdams practice as much as you'd want and give it everything they've got come gametime. They're just not that good at what they do and that isn't their fault.
No, this is all on Croom. How Croom is stuck with McAdams as the punter and Carlson on kickoffs is beyond me. These guys are 4th and 5th year seniors too. Croom has seen them every day since he has been here and has not done a thing to improve this glaring weakness. On top of that, out of 83 scholarship players, there is apparently only one on the entire team that can field a kick, Pegues. That is pathetic and is entirely on the coaching staff. This isn't anything new: 2004: Special teams were pathetic, 2005: Sucked, 2006: Even worse than the previous two, 2007: Average, 2008: its early, but it looks like terrible yet again. One decent year in five. Obviously Croom just doesn't put any emphasis on special teams. This is even more boneheaded when it seems Croom wants this team's identity to be that of a running team that slows the game down and plays a game of field position. You can't play field position when your punter averages 35 yards. I really hope La Tech opened his eyes. Special teams is a crucial part of the game, even more so to a team like Mississippi State. Until Croom figures this out and starts treating it as such instead of sweeping it under the rug, Mississippi State will lose games every year because special teams kills them.
-The defensive backs are a strong group just as expected. Rewatching the Tech game, Zach Smith was all over the place. While the group is good overall, Washington still has a tendency to get burned deep. He bit on a double move 10 yards out on a 3rd and 21, allowing the receiver to blow by him. Come on Washington, don't jump on a 10 yard route when they need 20 yards.
-The defensive line has very little pass rush. This forces Harbison to bring linebackers regularly to get any kind of pressure on the QB. I'm afraid this is going to bite this defense in the butt against tougher competition. While I'm on the DLine, Sean Ferguson doesn't need to be starting. I don't know what they saw from the true freshman in practices, but he isn't doing anything in the games. Rotate him in as a backup.
-The defense allowed just 148 yards against SLU, 70 of them coming on one play. Even against SLU that is impressive.
This game against Auburn is huge. DWS will be rocking: SEC opener, night game, nationally televised, and the #9 team in the country. I'm already seeing people gather in the Junction on the gameday cam.
Its not a must win, but it needs to be a close game at least. No, I don't believe in moral victories, at least not in year 5. What I mean is if this is a blowout, Mississippi State is no good and will be 1-4 after LSU. Take it to the bank. 1-4 and the season is virtually over.
Be there, scream your heads off, and ring those cowbells. I really do expect a better performance than we saw against La Tech, I just think Mississippi State is better than what they showed that game. Even so, I don't know if that will be enough against Auburn.
