Dennis Dodd: It’s messy in Arkansas, but McFadden is running clean
You couldn’t have written a screenplay to accurately chronicle Arkansas football the past two months. Mustain, the quarterback, transferred — to where, no one knows yet. That was only after his former high school coach, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, left for Tulsa.
Broyles, the iconic AD, resigned (effective in December) under pressure. There was a rumor two weeks ago that Nutt was going to be bought out for $7 million. That’s after winning 10 games and Nutt leading the Hogs to a Jan. 1 bowl for the fourth time in nine years.
That’s where somebody, definitely, screwed up, because the best thing about Arkansas football is currently in that weight room at the crack of dawn.
Dennis Dodd: Malzahn gets to run his full-tilt O now — at Tulsa
Gus Malzahn was asked to give the best examples of his hurry-up, no-huddle offense last season at Arkansas.
Actually, there was only one example.
“The closest thing to it last year was a drive we had against USC when Mitch came in,” Malzahn said. “That was pretty much it.”
Also:
- YouTube Video: Mitch Mustain First Drive
God, watching that drive makes me want to fire Nutt right now. Why didn't they just run the spread all the time? With Dmac and Felix back there think how potent it would have been!!!! Mitch wasn't ready to read defenses? BS!!!!!!!!!!
Mitch wasn't ready to read defenses. If you look back at the USC game, Mitch was playing against 2nd and 3rd string defensive players, with no more exsperiance than him. This is also the very first game of the year, and there was no preparation for this type of offense what so ever. Also, USC had nothing to lose, considering they were up by 36. Mitch has a lot of talent, but his talents have been a product of the HUNH, which he thrives in. He has not been trained to over-come situations without it. This is why he tries to follow Malzahn everywhere he goes. This is also the reason Damian Williams left the program. These kids are just trying to find their identity, and I seriously doubt they will find it any time soon, especially with their parants sticking their noses into every little episode they have with their coach. Growing up and handling your own problems will be the first step for these kids.
There are so many ways to slice and dice this, some of it could have even favored Dale's side of things had he been involved in football instead of politics. Gus was ready to make a huge impact on the offense and had plenty of wonderful weapons except for a quarterback. Two QBs who were never allowed on the field during the year of RJ had transfered. Mitch probably needed a Redshirt and Casey was misdiagnosed and injured. Darren's injury didn't help and probably led to the fumbles that kept us out of the USC game and added the final dose of real pressure on Dale that led to this debacle.
Quarterback is always the issue with Dale and will be again next year. Tailbacks are great and great tailbacks are wonderful but, if the game is called football, the name of the game is Quarterback. Otherwise it's just rugby.
Our future is transferring.
Our future is transferring??? Don't be ridiculous!!! He was totally exposed in the Army all star game as completely overated. Our future is at the U of A right now " Jones & McFadden". The only thing we need to worry about after that is finding someone to fill that role when they leave for the NFL.
By the way the only future that we lost went to Michigan when we signed mitch. That was the biggest loss.
Stop "Jones & McFadden" and you stop the Razorbacks which has already been proven.
There are so many ways to slice and dice this, some of it could have even favored Dale’s side of things had he been involved in football instead of politics.
Just another question to which we may never have the answer, or, in this case perhaps we will. I do think Mitch needed a redshirt year and that at times he showed real talent and touch.
I love Felix and Darren, real quality kids with great talent. I would have loved to see what Gus would have done with them given some freedom. One of the questions we will definately have the answer to very soon is 'can David Lee bring anything from the Cowboys that we can use to loosen up defenses for them?' So don't get your panties in a wad, the truth will out.
Stop McFadden & Jones and stop the hogs has not happened to date. The Need for a field goal kicker has however been proven!!!! Let's hope Tejada will resolve that issue.
Really? Every time that we don't score, it is due to passing or running. We aren't passing every down… so, we must be running some. If we are running some, we aren't scoring every series. If we aren't scoring every series, we must be stopped.
Seriously, go back and look… we were VERY successful running this year. But McFadden was hurt in a couple of games. If he is hurt or stopped, the results are the same – we aren't winning games that we probably could.
My perspective is that assuming that all other functions of the game are the worst (passing, defensive, and/or special teams), running won't win all of the games even if you are the best in the country. So, if you minimize the best option, you HAVE in effect STOPPED McFadden & Jones.
Also, teams are going to gear more towards this even more next year if we don't have a passing game.
As for David Lee to "lossen up defenses", my guess is that David is going to be marginal in is role where Gus was probably much more signifiicant given their style.
We didn't have a passing game last year. Whether that was the lack of experience at the receiver position, quarterback or our offensive coordinator is the biggest question. Once again I say that our biggest downfall on our team last year was in the kicking game. There was two games that it affected the final outcome, LSU & Wisconsin (Both are wins with a average kicker). With an improved passing game (anything is an improvement over last year) and an effective kicker we will have a chance to make it to a BCS bowl next year.
During the Nutt years we have been the hunted twice, 1999 and 2003. Each team had returning talent after a surprise year and great expectations going into the season. Just like 99, this team will have to handle those expectations with a new offensive line. Just like 03, there is lots of real NFL talent on this squad that is going to need to keep their head in the game and away from their headlines and draft stock. Unlike 99 or 03 this team does not have a proven QB and has a few more holes on defense.
Last year's schedule was a freak. Once we slipped past Alabama (I defy even Bluff to say that we won that game) we caught Auburn and South Carolina the week before they played Florida. Auburn was clearly looking ahead after seeing us play Vandy and Bama and we caught Tenn without their QB or a running game. The real truth about last year is that we were an 8-4 team that caught some breaks just like the year before we could easily have been a 6-5 except that we missed some breaks and didn't play too well when it meant the most.
Those of you looking for a BCS bowl next year are counting on wins over Auburn, Alabama, Tenn, S Carolina, Tenn, and LSU with a new offensive line, a new offense, and no establish QB or a back up QB.
It could happen. A field goal here and there could make all of the difference. Oh, yeah, he's a freshman who has never played in college before, I forgot.
Yeah, and the kicker is one of those Springdale brats too! Yuuuck!
This is so boring. People have obviously chosen which side they're on and neither is going to budge. Neither side makes a lick of sense now. I get so tired of arguing over the same things over and over, but I'll do it one more time….
One thing to note is that drive didn't have "2nd and 3rd teamers" in it. It was their first defense. It is noted that they didn't have time to prepare for it…. so why didn't we do it the whole game?
To say that Mitch Mustain was the savior is probably a stretch, but to say that the Army All Star game or that a couple of games in a true freshman season where he is running an offense he is not familiar with and didn't even practice a whole lot in two-a-days is just as far reaching.
The kid has talent, no doubt. He wasn't the Gatorade Player of the Year for nothing. I wish him well wherever he goes, but to belittle him does nobody any good. I'll guarantee you weren't belittling him when he was woopin' #2 Auburn or throwing for over 200 yds and a game winning TD against Bama (Yeah, I know he threw 3 INT's and that is noted). But, lay off the kid a little… good grief. And if you say you're glad he's gone, I wonder about your sanity.
Hopefully he'll be one with a little character that actually fulfills his obligation, versus crying on mommies skirt tail and being a quitter.
I guess you'll have to question my sanity then. He and his mother were a cancer to our program. Like I said before the biggest travesty of the whole situation is that we lost Mallett to Michigan when we signed an overated mustain.
I would never question anyone's sanity over a football debate. We will never have a Mallett or a Mustain, Arkansas is now the land of the Dicks.
When it is all said and done, considering the talent that we have returning at the RB position, offensive line, receiver and add a decent kicker to the mix, that may not be such a bad thing.
"…,Arkansas is now the land of the Dicks."
And big, swingin' ones they are too! Seriously, don't we have another QB called Chiasson coming in? If Lee means what he says about the offense (i.e. wanting to run more Wildcat but with a bona fide QB instead of a RB) then he's going to need a dual threat QB. Chiasson fits that bill; Casey doesn't, and I'm not sure about Nathan…has he shown any talent as a running QB?
"Arkansas is now the land of the Dicks".
goo done.
Bluff – Call him whatever you want. You're obviously a very mature person from this post and others that I've seen you post. Fact is his "mommie" didn't do anything until the season was over. He never complained one bit and still hasn't complained. It's hard to succeed when so many people (including your coaches) want you to fail. You can question that all you want, but you have your opinion and I have mine. As long as Nutt is here this program will be riddled with drama.
I have one question for those listening to the company line coming out of the Broyles center about how Lee is going to "revamp" the offense… didn't we hear that last year? Why all of a sudden does anyone think our offense is going to look any different next year? And we've already seen how he can coach mobile quarterbacks, haven't we? Matt Jones, as much as I love him, never threw the ball well and Lee was his QB coach most of the time he was here… Lee goes to Dallas and is "Quality Control" coach – a.k.a. video editor like what we have Graduate Assistants doing here… Tony Romo says he coached him a little, and all of a sudden he's our savior? Good grief. I'm sure David Lee is a great guy and I'm sure he REALLY believes he's going to make a difference here… just like our former O.C. did.
Actually, that was several questions
Dick may one day be the biggest name in Arkansas football. It could have been Johnson if the teen drama queen had given him a chance to prove himself.
Has David Lee EVER had the duties of play caller?
10K, I obviously reading your opinion above. Because unless you are actually in the dressing room and in the coaches head, you could not know that the coach wants anyone to fail. mitch obviously did a little complaining, otherwise Butu & K. Jackson would not have called a team meeting that centered around mitch. According to Butus account of the meeting mitch acted like he really didn't care. Sounds like the kind of guy we really need on our team. Once again i'm glad he and his mother are gone and the cancer can infiltrate another program.
I'm amazed he was even recruited much less allowed to play. Good thing Frank and Houston did everything they could to get rid of him, even if it did cost Frank his job. Imagine how good we would have been without him.
Amen BlindHog!!! Sounds like you are starting to see the light!
No, it only sounds that way. I am no hater, just a fan, a cynical, sargastic fan.
It is an absolute fact that people today expect to be part of the equation, including parents and fans. We are not the subjects of authority that we once were or perhaps will be again. In many ways that is a good thing even for Mitch and his mom.
Now Gus was a better subserviant and he left quietly as they should have done. Damian played it cool as well. And, I will also admit this; Mitch should never have come here, this is no place for a quarterback. He let his heart make the decision and they cheated by hiring Gus who should have know better.
But, responsibility comes with authority and Frank paid the price for that misdeed.
So what you are saying is that you guys aren't concerned with the "potential" upside to any prospect (player, coaches, etc) especially those that have proven abilities and/or records at lower levels.
I guess this means that we should just blindly recruit players to play for us and hope for the best.
Crying over a 10-4 season! Get perspective.
Kicking game? Absolutely, it is an important cog. Most teams do not have a good season, much less an excellent 10-4 season without a better kicker. Hogs excelled even with an average kicker. Hopefully, the kicker is coming that will change change many things in the game. There is so many things in a football game that are caused to be changed if you have an automatic kicker…not one close to perfect, as was the case some years.
Not Yet it hasn't.
Now that you mention it though, for all of our 'attacking' defenses we have not had a defense that wasn't scortched pretty regularly since Houston has been here. We have tailbacks riding the bench but play freshman at cornerback and linebacker.
But, thanks for bringing that up.
10K Hog, I'm not sure which ball game you were watching, but the one I was referring to was USC vs. Arkansas. There was somewhere between 10:00 and 11:00 minutes remaining in the game, with USC leading 43-7. At best, there might have been two to three starters on the defensive side of the ball for Southern Cal. This must have been what you saw, because the rest of those guys were primarily back-ups, and not what USC had used against our 1st string offense for the other 3 an 1/3 quarters of play. People who want to believe that Mitch was our savior because of that drive are clearly not looking at the big picture. I wish Mitch were staying too, because he has the potential to be a great QB, in 2 or 3 more years. He was never going to be a great QB this year, period. I don't care if his coach was Vince Lombardi or whoever. We have 2 great running backs. That part, we all ready know, but what we didn't know was what we were getting with the OC and the QB. This was still untested, and there's no way we can come to the conclusion that Malzhan and Mustain would have led this team to the SEC tital game, running the HUNH. What head coach, in his right mind, would ever jump in with both feet and say, "ok guys, Gus and Mitch are here now, so get ready." "We are no longer going to huddle". "We are not going to reley on the the head coach to coach any longer". " This is Gus's show now" "He will call ALL of the plays, and I will pace the sidelines, twiteling my thumbs behind my back". ( Player) "But coach, I've never had to read SEC defenses by myself before! What ever will I do?" (coach) "Patience son, patience". "By the end of the year, you'll have it down pat, and we might even win 2 or 3 ". (Player) "But coach, it's my senior year!" (Coach) " Hold your toung boy, remember, this is a team, and I will not tolerate you standing in the way of Gus or Mitch!" "Besides, the fans own this team, and we don't want them to write dirty things about us on the internet!"