And LSU scored on 6 consecutive drives without making said error so that logic is out the window. To repeat, they scored 42 points against that type of defense before making a mistake that led to a punt. And the drive they punted, we sent a blitz to speed up the opposing QB.
You guys wanted Napier, you got him. Not saying he can’t turn this program around in 4 years, but he is no wizard. LSU sucks but Brian Kelly will still muster out wins like last night just because he’s a elite coach. Napier is not that guy.
Mullen failed to recruit and develop a single HS WR who can make a difference. Jefferson, Grimes, Shorter were transfers. So is Pearsall this year. Copeland flamed out and is not doing much at Maryland. Too concerned about his NFL future. The only one even close to being somewhat serviceable is X Henderson. He is the third best WR on this team and that is by default as there is absolutely no one behind him to unseat him. Mullen and Gonzalez should be prosecuted for such a terrible job in this department. I’m willing to bet the infamous “We’ll address it in the portal” Mullen quote pertains to our WR room.
It’s 100% true…I’m not. going to unpack the whole thing but I can tell you without question that 2020 season was it mentally for him. For all the posters stating that no coach would lose on purpose they are right. But that’s not what I am saying here. DM has no desire to run a college program, atleast our college program after 2020 and by a lot of accounts it was NFL or bust for him. Not sure how accurate the NFL part is but the rest of it is true and it’s rippling here this season. Ask yourself this, besides Miller named a LB we signed that was decent in the SEC…especially an interior LB. Truth be told the great 2 seasons he had was with Macs guys. Trask, Pitts and Toney were not recruited by Mullen, name some players that really delveloped under mullen, sure there are a few that ended up having decent college careers but nothing significant.
There's a reason why our upcoming recruiting class has 6 defensive line commits and 5 defensive back commits, and we're still trying to get more. Napier knows that side of the ball needs a major upgrade and he's addressing it. In the meantime, we can't pressure the QB, consistently get pushed back on running plays, can't cover and can't tackle.
I expected this to be a rough season. Not sure what to make of the defense, though. Honestly shocked it is worse than last year. I hope it's just a talent issue...
Either of them lose to Kentucky at home? Every one of those teams you mentioned was better than either UK or this LSU team.
Let's see... Trask, toney and pitts really developed under Mullen. Pitts was already committed to Florida but one of the first things Mullen did when he was hired was make sure pitts knew Florida still wanted him before he signed. Toney was nothing more than a guy with super athletic ability who maddeningly was really only good for running 100 yards on a play all in the same horizontal plane. And Trask... That's awfully clear. Yeah, mullens recruiting left a lot to be desired but to say he didn't develop those players is disingenuous.
At the moment it is more. I can tolerate a rough season if the reason we get beat is talent. Our guys are not in position, our schemes are not sound, too many blown assignments, too many repeated mistakes, celebration of routine tackles on 2nd and 4 only to get toasted on 3rd and long, no halftime adjustments, no change in scheme, no willingness to try something new, no thinking outside the box. All those things are coaching. In addition looking at sidelines all the time to know how to line up, substitutions not keeping up with the other team’s tempo, confusion on field, no leadership sans Miller, no dropping the bad habits of the past (perfect example Cox overpursuong all the time), etc. This is also all coaching. The only glimmer of hope is reduced penalties. Every week you can watch games where guys with a fraction of our talent understand things like containment, gap assignment, zone coverage, and other football concepts like proper tackling. Our D is failing in all of those areas. That is 100% coaching.
So you're not bothered by the soft zone that allows qbs to complete around 80% of passes, over 50 third down conversions, rarely getting a 3 and out or get off the field. It's just the bad players. Wow.
It makes sense as Dan quite obviously was great at coaching but either disliked running a program of college students or burnt out. In the NFL you're dealing with professional adults, it has to be a way better environment for someone who wants to just coach. Anyways, I just threw on my old UF hat to start my day off in Knoxville. I heard lots of horn honking, screaming and fireworks around here last night so adding the UF loss to that should make this a fun week here. Can't remember the last time a UT fan had reason to talk smack but I recall how obnoxious they are.
