Struggles

22 Responses to “Struggles”

1. BlindHog on September 4th, 2007 8:30 am

   Wow, HogBlogger, I’m pretty surprised to see such candor after just one game. Personally, I believe it is justified but, I also know that it is the best we are going to see. It is all classic Dale. No passing game, poor special teams, poor play calling. These are the issues that keep Dale in the ‘wait until next year’ catagory. After the mistakes of last year it is time for a reckoning. (Yes, everyone loves to argue about which mistakes were made last year and who was to blame but two things no one can say is that we won the SEC and enter 2007 in the top ten with a balanced offense and a tough defense.)

   So, what you see is what you get 10 years in a row. Will it finally be enough? If you can’t do it with Darrren and Felix then when can you do it?

   Can you imagine where Dale would be today without Darren McFadden and Matt Jones? Two once in a generation players back to back. It is really truly amazing. We probably should keep Dale just because of his dump luck.

   This is who he is love him or hate him. What you see is what you get. Based on this week’s performance it is possible that he is headed for his usual 0-2 league start at which time he can get serious because his back is to the wall. Hopefully Bama and Kentucky are just not quite there this year and we can keep the hope alive until Auburn. They certainly looked beatable on Saturday. That gets us all the way to Tenn.
2. HogBlogger on September 4th, 2007 8:47 am

   Blind - I think these guys can and should be good. I understand first game jitters. I also understand we have patterns to our performance that seem to be independent of the talent on the field.

   Candor or whatever you want to call it, last time we had the chance to be way good we totally blew it. So I don’t intend to be on the ‘just as long as we can run we’ll be ok’ page. We have too many case studies in hand that prove that is not the case.

   If you looked at the stats I’ve provided from last year with a critical eye you see that we are about 7 points behind the average top 25 team in points in offense and defense combined. We must improve our scoring by 4 points, and more importantly improve our defense by 4 points. First half defense is a huge issue for us. When you play poor in the first half and great in the second half that is all about preparation, not players. If we get early stops we will score. If we lead at the 6 minute mark of the second quarter we will probably win.

   This team, just like last years, will live and die by the first half defense performance and special team successes/mistakes.

   Herring still has a lot to prove to me. Good offensive coaches abuse him early in games. He catches up quick, but by then it could be too late for a win.
3. BlindHog on September 4th, 2007 8:55 am

   Actually I prefer the 0-2 and the big finish to the fast start and the big crash at the end. But, that’s just me. The boy loves the drama.
4. Dan on September 4th, 2007 9:18 am

   If what you say is true and we need to improve our scoring by 4 points (on offense), then i believe with Alex Tejada, we are 3/4 of the way there. Could be totally there if he hits every PAT.

   Every year Herring has improved our defense, so I’m confident that will hold true. Jerell Norton showed alot of promise, and Michael Grant has been top notch.

   Last season we had a bye right before #2 Auburn, then smoked them. Call it optimistic, but I’m expecting the same this year against Alabama on national TV.
5. BlindHog on September 4th, 2007 9:38 am

   HogBlogger,

   This should be an excellent team, maybe not quite as good as last year, but still very capable. We have holes in the defense that are undeniable and on the O-line and at QB. Darren may have to take over the passing game. We have a tougher road schedule. The only thing this game really suggests is that Lee is not going to have much effect on the passing game. Maybe by midseason he can add an option QB package for Darren although his ball handling must improve a great deal.

   Alabama and Kentucky will tell the tale.

   It is hard to say much about our scoring. Based on Saturday Felix’s long runs will have to replace a passing game. On defense though, I think that that may be the nature of attacking defense. Dale loves the attacking defense. It stops some drives and keeps some drives alive. It wins some games and loses some games. I assume we use it because we cannot recruit the players to run a straight up defense. You would think that bend but don’t break would be more in keeping with our ball control offense.
6. HogBlogger on September 4th, 2007 11:01 am

   Blind - I used to love the ‘attacking’ defense. When Holtz hired Don Lindsey I was way excited. However, where’s Don Lindsey and where’s Monte Kiffin?

   I still remember Miss State making that 4th and 17 when we did an all out blitz with Keith Burns.

   I’m torn on styles. I just know we need to give up fewer points to be a top 10 team.
7. BlindHog on September 4th, 2007 11:46 am

   I do/have loved the attacking defense as well. We just have not seen ours perform consistently for several years. I think some of that just has to be the coaching, some has to be the play calling. Dale loves to be surrounded by his buddies who we are told are great recruiters. Holtz, Lindsey, and Kiffin have proved themselves as great coaches. This bunch is not there yet. Hopefully, this will be their year.

   My favorite was the South Carolina game a couple of years ago when Superior had only one play remaining in the third quarter with a strong wind at his back. I don’t know if everyone in the stadium knew he was going to throw but I did. Of course he went long for the winning touchdown against a blitz.
8. Carolina Hog on September 4th, 2007 1:18 pm

   Listening to the game I thought we sounded alright. Its interesting to hear that the run blocking was weak because not seeing the game I figured they had done the job up there. Got to get that in order. I believe we will. We tend to take good stuff for granted and I think that is the case with Markuson. Year after year he brings a quality product to the table.
   It hard to argue with much of the assessment here. I have felt that Herring does a pretty good job. Call it setting the bar low but after growing up watching Richard Brothers and Ahmad Carrol bounce off ball carriers I have felt that we have never tackled better than the last two years.
   One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is Kickoff converage. On the radio, that sounded like a major issue that we better address quick. Was this not the case for those at the game
   As for passing, I think what you do is dictated by what you have and in a nasty cycle what you have is dictated by what you do. We can’t move forward in the passing game without the right players and you’ll never get those players if they don’t think they’ll get the ball. Its still too early to tell if we can break the cycle this year. Its hard to wait two more weeks for a game. What a tease. Go Hogs!
9. 10KHog on September 4th, 2007 3:22 pm

   One more thing about the fans. There should be signs posted all around the stadium as you walk in that say: “The Wave is Not Allowed In Here” … and then, after Saturday, it seems we need to put an asterisk at the bottom that says : “*** Especially if you are only ahead by 6 points”.

   Good grief, it amazes me the (in the words of Roscoe P. Coltrane) “dipsticks” we have in the stands, including the student section. If they’d make tickets more than $1 in the student section you’d get real football fans in there. As it is every frat boy, sorority girl, and foreign exchange student who can’t identify an Offensive lineman from a WR are in the stands not paying a lick of attention to the game (Paying more attention to Mr. Jack Daniels or Mr. Wild Turkey) except when one says to the other in a slur “Heeeeyyyy, leett’s shtarth da waves”… and then the band is like “Yeah, that’s how we can change up the same ole routine… no one will ever guess this would be a good time to do the wave!!!!… COME ON EVERYONE, LET’S DO THE WAVE”… as the opponent continues to march down the field.

   Note: There are very knowledgeable football students in the stands… they’re just outnumbered by the ignorant ones.
10. HogBlogger on September 4th, 2007 3:25 pm

    Carolina - speed around the edge by Felix made blocking up-front less important. Dmac used both speed and strength and did have a couple of holes. We do have amazing speed at running back. Also, consider the speed of the competition. By no means did we line up and blow them off the line. Our backs can make a lot out of a little.

    Agree with you on the tackling. However, we still have the holding issues at times that Batman was quite famous for. Herring just gives up a lot of yards in the first half of games. We need to average allowing 12 points a game, so we gave up two games worth of points against one of the ‘gimme’ teams. Not good.

    I agree Markuson will get it better. Also, I don’t think the zone blocking works as well for breaking runs as man blocking and clever play calling. We will have more of a ‘3 yards and a cloud of dust feel’ at times against good defenses.

    As of passing, you don’t what you can do until you give yourself an honest chance to try. Our passing game is like a nervous golf shot. We are so afraid that something bad is going to happen that we make it difficult for something good to happen.

    Kick coverage - just lost contain on that one return. The field is much more open due to moving the ball back. Varva was doing the ‘line drive’ thing early which didn’t help. Later he focused more on hang time and things improved. Hang time on kickoff is much more important than it used to be. What used to bounce in the end zone is now fielded at the three on the run.

    Dmac blasting that guy on Felix’s return was worth the price of admission, and perhaps even the pain of working through the crazy traffic although that is a stretch. The traffic was that bad.
11. GonzoHog on September 4th, 2007 4:20 pm

    I believe it is way too early to judge the overall passing game. I believe if you are going to begin a Hiesman campaign, you have get it in that guys hands. When you replace the starting QB with your Hiesman stud, you escentually break any kind of rythum your QB might be trying to attain. Casey doesn’t have very much game time exsperience, so it shouldn’t be much of a suprise that he might get off to a slow start, having a few pre-season jitters. If I were in his shoes, I would feel enormous pressure to perform, especially with all of the drama that has been floating around since January. Don’t get me wrong, i’m not looking for exscuses to try and smooth everything over, but Casey will come around eventually. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later. I can still remember when I couldn’t stand Clint Storener. I used to call him “stoner”, but I remember when he finally started to look like a pretty good QB his Jr. and Sr. year. By the time we played #1 Tennessee, in the 8th game of the year in ‘98 we were ranked #10 in the AP poll, and could have made a big jump by beating the Vols on thier home ground. After the demoralizing fumble, in which Clint’s foot was stepped on by Brandon Burlswoth, I actually felt sorry for him. He showed great leadership and toughness in a game not many people thought we could win. With the exception of 1 bad luck play, he played great. I often wonder if Casey can become that guy who will rise to the top, after a topsie-turvie beginning. Only time will tell, but we at least owe him that, without the never-ending criticism. We should support these young men, no matter the out come. Stop and think about what it would be like if that guy was your son, and the only people that had any faith at all in him was you, Mom, a hand full of other familie members, and the coaches. If everyone would just stay behind him, instead of blasting him while he is still trying to mature into a solid QB, he might develope the confidence it’s going to take to get there. Just thought I’d throw in a little perspective. GO CASEY!!! and GO HOGS GO!!!!!
12. Tuesday Evening Hodge-Podge | Razorback Expats on September 4th, 2007 11:34 pm

    [...] Looking for in-depth analysis of what went right and wrong on Saturday? The folks at the RazorBloggers Network have broken it all down for [...]
13. BlindHog on September 5th, 2007 9:25 am

    Gonzo, I do hate to see Casey take too much of this to heart. But of course that is part of big time football. If you are going to be a starting QB in the SEC you will recieve plenty of credit and blame. It goes with the position. And, of course that is why coaching QBs is so important. Lou Holtz was a master at it. Steve Superior is the best. IF your head coach is not going to take on the job then you need a first class position coach who has done it before.

    Hind sight tells me that ‘98 was more about Joe Ferguson keeping Clint together than any other single factor. Clint had several bad halves but not a bad game.

    And of course Casey is taking too much of the brunt of the coaching staff promises. It is just like promising it all last year and abandoning it so early. Why they would pull the same stunt this year is beyond understanding.

    As you say, you have to practice and play to develop confidence and a good rhythm. Evidently our QBs don’t get to do either.

    Alabama will be a good test. Saban will have the schemes if not the horses so it should be a good gauge of how the year will go. If he can stop us with 8 and 9 in the box we will see it all year if we don’t make him pay with a few plays down field.
14. BlindHog on September 5th, 2007 10:36 am

    And, I should add, if you are a big time QB in the SEC you should actually want the pressure and the opportunity to show what you can do. YOU are the leader of this team. Every other player on the team rotates on and off. YOu play every down that matters.
15. HogBlogger on September 5th, 2007 11:41 am

    Gonzo - If you check my blogging history you will see that I’ve been a Casey fan since I first saw him in fall practice, so I really have no issue with Casey. I’ve seen him look great in the past. I’ve not seen him look so sharp since his back injury. I feel he’s got it in him.

    There was a lot of passing game that I saw in practices that didn’t make it into the Troy game. Lot’s of stuff that could have been used to build confidence. Good possession types of passes. Our poor passing game happens more because of what do off the field than on it.

    Casey hit RoJo (Waco) right in the numbers. He was on target to Hillis several times. Nice pass to Fish. Truthfully, I don’t feel the issue was with Casey and his confidence. I think he would have been fine throwing a bit more. I continue to be a Casey fan. I was a Clint fan too. I was close enough to him after the Tenn game in Fayetteville to see the tears in his eyes as he hugged Angie on the field. I told them they should sell the movie rights, because it was a great story. (Good thing he checked off into that pass play!)

    I think the confidence issue with the passing game is more with the coaches than the players. The coaches worry about mistakes in the passing game and in punt returns. Last year we had 18 interceptions and the punt return game cost us big in the SEC Championship game. Sometimes the focus on worrying about something actually cause issues instead of preventing them because of the atmosphere of fear that is created. Players come and go, our worry list stays the same.

    When you perform ‘afraid to make a mistake’, tendency is that you do.
16. HogBlogger on September 5th, 2007 11:45 am

    By the way folks, this has been a good thread. I appreciate everyone’s comments and thoughts.
17. Defense Wins Championships on September 5th, 2007 2:58 pm

    I would not call it candor, but call it “mixed up” and uninformed. Only a mixed up mind like or similar to Wally ’s can come up with things that deserve to be in the garbage heap!. One has to realize that HogBlogger gets his “mind feeds” from Wally or they are one and the same person. One article one way and then spring a reverse! To me,that is pure babble mindedness.

    Someone mentioned the great(?) Don Lindsey. Don may have been great at USC when Holtz hired him to return to Arkansas but he was everything but great at Arkansas. Believe at one time he was at Ole Miss….one time in Honolulu, but not sure where he is now. If he coached elsewhere as he did at Arkansas, you can look in the unemployment line for him. He started out great against Houston Cougars and Arkansas smashed them. Bill Yeomans said after the game that Lindsey’s D was so unsound that someone would make Arkansas pay for it. He was right. Arkansas paid and paid that season until Lindsey was no more. I saw run after run after run with no one within 30 yards of the opponent’s runner for a bunch of games after Houston. Outstanding coaches, like Ken Hatfield and Houston Nutt, can take what players they have and fit the offense and defense to the talent. Apparently, Lindsey could not do that at Arkansas just as inexperienced high school coach Malzahn could not blend his system with the outstanding running backs of McFadden, Jones, and Hillis. [He even had to let the running backs coach come up with the suggestion of the WildCat (i.e. WildHog). He was so out of it that he could not even think to name the WildHog correctly from the gitgo instead of the WildCat. Apparently, his mind was with another college.] It is the measure of a great coach whenever they can take the talent that they have (as Nutt and Hatfield did upon arrival) and create their system around them.
    Would be interesting to see where Lindsey is now if he is still in coaching. Fred Goldsmith is head coach at a D-II school with App. State (and I am sure that he is not looking forward to that game with App. State). And kinda amusing, our new LadyBacks asst. basketball coach’s husband will face App. State in 3 weeks. I feel for Coach Carr at Michigan for rotten fans will not remember that Carr won a national championship at Mich. but will want his head on a platter just like a few rotten Hog fans with our distinguished Houston Nutt.
18. Defense Wins Championships on September 5th, 2007 3:26 pm

    Oh yes…Monte Kiffin. One of the best D coaches that we have had at Arkansas…but he had the talent. Talent turned over to him and Holtz was outstanding…witness their shutting down of U of Ok. in Orange Bowl.

    Kiffin has done well in the pros…and last I read was with Tampa Bay Bucs. His son of course is new HC with Oakland and is said to be a great one when he was at USC.
19. HOGFAN23 on September 5th, 2007 6:51 pm

    Can someone tell me what has happened to Ben Cleveland. He seemed to have a pretty good year last year and could probably help our passing game a little, but it seems that he’s dropped off the face of the earth. Anyway, I am struggliing to keep faith in Coach Nutt, but a very good point was made on ESPN radio yesterday, judge great coaches by bowl wins not regular season wins. I hope this year turns out well, but I am cautiously optimistic at best.
20. HogBlogger on September 6th, 2007 8:36 am

    Defense - Kiffin is the guy that formulated the “Tampa 2″, more regularly known as the “Cover 2″ defense that is probably the most used defense in the NFL today. He’s had as much influence as anyone in the past 20 years in the evolution of defensive strategies. Considering your deep expertise regarding Don Lindsey (which, by the way, I totally agree with), I thought you’d have a bit more than ‘last I heard’.

    Thanks for the rant. Also for the example of cohesive flow to writing that you provided. Without people like you to set us straight no telling what foolishness we might all think. And for the record, I pay little attention to Wally. About as much as I’m going to pay to you in the future.

    HOGFAN23 - Ben Cleveland has a nerve problem in his neck and is out for a while it appears.
21. Defense Wins Championships on September 7th, 2007 8:39 pm

    Yeah Wally!
22. Hogdog on September 10th, 2007 4:54 pm

    Hogblogger - I don’t think we were at the same game in 1998. I was in Knoxville in the middle of the TN Alumni section when Clint fumbled the ball. The Alumni were very quiet after that game.