2017 Week 11 Game Week Thread (Practice Reports, Press Conference Updates, etc.)
- Thread starter RTR91
- Start date
Phil Savage was on the WJOX morning show today and he basically said what I was thinking about the MSU passing attack. Something to the effect that the only way they're likely to get splash plays is by the arm and body fakes Mullen likes to use with his running quarterbacks. He also thinks this is potentially a big day for Calvin Ridley and the rest of the receivers because Grantham loves to blitz but they don't really have the athletes outside to cope with Ridley, Ruggs, Juedy, or Smith's speed.
I have only watched Miss State play once this year, but I have read the scores and some national stats about them. It is strange they had trouble with U Mass, but they are a very good team. They have played very well except for the Georgia and Auburn games where they got blown out. Both those games were away games for them though. They get us at home. Makes me very nervous, especially with our linebacker situation. I think we will win, but it will be closer than some think. Our offense needs to play it's best game of the year and help keep our defense off the field because Fitzgerald will do lots of running. It will be a much different game than last year because their defense is better than last year.
I will also be pulling strong for UGA to beat Auburn. I do not have a good feeling about our game with Auburn.
Our offense is more similar to Auburn than one might think off hand. If anything, we've got a better QB runner in addition to a similar philosophical approach if not exactly similar schematically.
It all depends on the groupings. I can see Moses getting reps at ILB with regular (if we run it) and nickel. When we go dime with only one guy playing ILB, they call the defense so I don't think the staff will want a TF in that role. I think we'll see Holcombe as the ILB as that's the spot he 'started' in before losing it to mack a few games into the season. In dime Evans either left the field, or slid outside as one of the rabbit rushers. I think we'll protect him this week and he won't get as many of those outside reps with the young guys like Moses picking them up.
Long term though, I don't think Moses will follow the Tim Williams path. I think he'll be much closer to Evans, but he will emerge sooner since he's starting out as an ILB instead of OLB where Evans tried to play for his first two years even though he never had the body mass for it in our scheme. He probably would still slide down into a rush role like Evans does in some groupings.
I’d like to see us go up tempo...we seem to play better when we don’t give the defense all day to look us over before we snap the ball.
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You may be right, but Moses is a freak athlete, not a thumper. He would be totally wasted at ILB.
Yeah, I just don't see ILB when I look at Moses. I see a guy who stalks quarterbacks off the edge and occasionally drops into coverage. I'm glad they've been working him in at that spot considering all the injuries...still, seems odd giving his body type.
IIRC I think he was also considered pretty raw and lacking some of the instincts that great ILBs have. Obviously, he can improve there but from what I remember during recruitment OLB seemed to be a much better fit.
Looking way, way, way ahead.... for a defense that may have to replace 8 starters, we sure are getting a lot of game experience to those who will have to step-in next season.
I've thought the same thing. Does nothing for this year's title run but 2018's D is gonna have a ton of real game experience.
Moses is much closer in body type to ILBs than OLB in our scheme. From the day he stepped on campus he worked with the ILB group primarily, with spot duty in dime packages as a rusher.
Our stud OLB's in recent history have all been in the 255-260+ range (Upshaw, Hubbard, Devall, Anderson, Williams). This year, Mosley and Miller were told they'd have to gain weight (and did) in the offseason to be regular contributors and even then Miller would be situational since he was only 240 with Lewis being more versatile for the role at 255. Remember these guys have got to be able to stand up an OT on the LOS and set the edge. They play just as much like DE's as they do LBs. The body type and size for the OLB hasn't changed that much like it has for ILB.
The old-style thumpers like Mcclain, Donta, depreist are not what the staff looks for in ILB's any more. Even Ragland was seen as a "throwback". The new prototype for ILB for us is EXACTLY what Moses is and what we recruit. Every single ILB on the roster is between 237-232, and Wilson lost 8 pounds to get there. The staff had Foster lose 15 pounds before his senior season. We've changed the type of player we want in the middle. we want guys who can get sideline to sideline because that's what offenses are trying to exploit. CJ Mosley is the new benchmark at ILB, not Donta Hightower.
I am trying to translate this transition. Is this similar to what we were doing with Ralph Staten, Brooks Daniels, and Cornelius Wortham back in the day? Those guys were lighter and fast.
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It has been on-going from some time. With the birth of the dual threat, HUNH offenses there was a bigger need for smaller, faster LB's and DL in some cases. Johnny Football brought it on for Bama.
Good to hear Jonah and Minkah seem to be going full speed.
What do you gurus make of this?
What do you gurus make of this?
And this?
I noticed that the practice report at Tidesports by Ben Jones stated that Lewis and Miller were at practice today. As I understood it they were not participating, but this is the first practice report that I have seen that even mentioned them being there. They may be there every day but none of the practice reports have ever said so.
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