Where we are right now....

[MTsumner92]

OK. Our defense is clearly better and that starts with an improved defensive line. I haven't heard anyone say this but I have seen a noticeable improvement in the DL since the new DT coach was hired. They have obviously bought into what he is saying. Our corners are better. I don't know if its coaching but we have brought in better talent at that position. At the end of the day we have the type of defense that can win a conference championship. Coutrer has been a pleasant addition. Haven't seen much of Bailey.

Special teams? Disappointing. We must turn this ship around fast or it could cost us the championship.

Offense. It is painfully obvious that we are struggling with run blocking. I agree with a poster that earlier stated we have gone against some very physical defensive fronts but I believe our OL has not been up to par yet as well. Granted...Darius has been hurt and from one little miniscule tidbit of info that I have heard he should be playing this weekend. I have heard nothing on Carlos. At the end of the day we have not been full speed on our OL this whole season. Chester is still struggling getting the snap to the QB consistently. If we can start running the ball then we are going to hire a statistician because the points will come early and often. Stock has done pretty good and has some zip on his ball that you just can't coach. The future on offense looks bright. The ingredients are there. James and Brewer have been Gems. Brewer has a bright future. All he needs is more muscle and he will be dangerous. What a steal!

We must keep our eye on the prize and that is a conference championship. That is what is most important right now. This weekend is HUGE! It could very well decide who plays in the championship game. Biggest game we have played all year. I hope we are ready.

 

[MTBig Blue]

I'm trying to put things in perspective. Our three losses have come to teams with really good defenses. We can score points as well as run the ball on Western. No doubt about it. The question is can we score enough.

 

[Middle Mike]

I agree that special teams have been very bad. (I sure miss Little Reggie Whatley) With a kicker, punter and long snapper on scholarship, you'd think we'd be more consistent. Punting was horribly on Saturday by the way.
Like the size on both sides of the line, but we just haven't found a defensive end that other teams must account for.

Who is Brewer by the way?

 

[TeKEraider]

I feel like you will see Rhodes and Hale look dominant in conference play. Disappointed Bailey hasn't shown more.

Brewer is the True Freshman Tackle that is beating out seniors to start.

 

[SpaceRaider]

we're a couple of defensive stops, or offensive plays from being 4-1.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

This oughta be good.

 

[TeKEraider]

Memphis misses you and we miss you being a Memphis fan...

 

[FranklinRaider315]

we're a couple of defensive stops, or offensive plays from being 4-1.

OK, I feel better now that MT lost a close one to Vandy and didn't get blown out by Bama or Illinois on the road.

 

[TeKEraider]

OK, I feel better now that MT lost a close one to Vandy and didn't get blown out by Bama or Illinois on the road.

Memphis misses you and we miss you being a Memphis fan...

 

[MidTnBlues]

Memphis misses you and we miss you being a Memphis fan...

 

[FranklinRaider315]

Breakfast in Bowling Green for me this weekend. Go Blue!

 

[SmithO1906]

Offense (C+)we have a good pass game but overall our run game has been a disappointment making us 1 dimensional
Defense ( B-) our defense has been pretty stout. Not finishing the deal against Vandy keeps the grade from being an A
Special Teams( D) missed field goal against Bama missed game winning field goal against Illinois, terrible punts and that stupid onside kick against Charlotte
Coaching (B-) overall not bad too bad
Intangibles( C+) we are very close to being 4-1 this team plays very hard and fights to the end but we have to be able to take advantage of opportunities like not having bad snaps in the redzone or not converting on the goal line or missing game winning field goals.

 

[dukewayne]

Ok, I waited a few days to think about the Vandy game before weighing in with a few thoughts that might or might not be worth much.

For starters, how did Belmont do this past weekend? Er...oh, I forgot.

As with so many things in life, time will tell the accurate tale. For this football team, time will likely be the next season or two. It seems clear to most that the running game is a pretty big problem. With the incredible stable of RBs, I think it's quite likely that the OL is where much of MTSU's problems originate. I'm a firm believer that games are won and lost in the trenches. I've been heartened this year in that it looks like coach stock has been finally making changes this past offseason to build better lines. So far, I think this has shown up on defense. Some credit goes to coach stock to give the def coord to Nix solely. I think another critical move by coach stock was giving the recruiting coord job to one of the other assts. It seems there has been an improvement in the overall recruiting approach. Again, this will take a few seasons to really be proven true or not.

Ok, the defense seems to be improving. The DL is a big factor in that improvement. Although, I'd argue that it seems there's pretty good improvement with every pos group on defense. That's good to see.

Now for the OL. I've been a pretty big defender of coach stock. Like some other folks, I do have concerns about Buster at OC. Coach Stock is not going to make a bunch of excuses about the OL. I think it should be noted though that going into Illinois, MT was down, what? 3 OL to injuries. This includes the 1st Team C-USA O-lineman which had missed the first few weeks of the season. Hearing the loss of contributing OL going into B1G country was disconcerting. I think OL depth was clearly on display at Illinois. With Vandy playing improved defense, the short-handed OL was still a big concern. IMO, that lack of OL push and resultant lack of running game likely cost MTSU the game vs Vandy. Granted, MT's star OL returned vs Vandy, but he had little prep and conditioning in his first action of the season. This lack of OL development and lack of depth hampered MT OL from opening up running lanes or getting a good push. This is especially important playing P5 talent. Returning players with better health should produce improved results this season especially vs G5 opponents. That is IF the OL can get back to reasonably healthy this season.

The punting game is a terribly huge problem. I didn't see that coming this season. Even before the blocked punts, the weak short punts were a big concern. Don't know what's going on there, but something needs to be done with punting ASAP. I'd be having every player on the team see if he can punt better (distance, hang time, etc) than the current punter. If so, that guy would have the job. With the exception of a couple of decent kicks, it seems most of the punts struggle to get 30 or 35 yards downfield. It's painful to watch.

Regarding the OL again, it should also be noted that just before the season started MTSU lost a Jr 6-5 310 OL who had been a significant contributor the past couple of seasons. He has some sort of career ending injury just before the season??? My point, MT's really been down 3 or 4 OL early this season. That can be a problem for the running game. Even with these circumstances, MTSU must develop further depth through recruiting and player development. Play calling has it's roll as well. IMO, this stuff can't drag out forever. There needs to be some substantial improvements over the next season or two in the run game. If so, MTSU's offense could be scary good. If not, MTSU lingers in mediocrity.

Before I call for any coaches scalps, there really needs to be continued improvement and depth along the OL and good run game production to bolster the passing game. Also, Brent Stockstill is really impressing me. His potential seems through the roof. In his very early going, he's looking to me like he might be the best QB I've seen in my 20 years at MTSU. Admittedly, it's still way to early to declare that as an official statement. But doggone, he does stuff that only comes with being a natural. All of this with a busted up OL! He moves around under pressure to create just enough time to unload the ball. A lot of "prolific" passers drop in accuracy and effectiveness if they have to move around under pressure. Just one of Brent's many many many positive attributes.

 

[bigbadjohn45]

Ok, I waited a few days to think about the Vandy game before weighing in with a few thoughts that might or might not be worth much.

For starters, how did Belmont do this past weekend? Er...oh, I forgot.

As with so many things in life, time will tell the accurate tale. For this football team, time will likely be the next season or two. It seems clear to most that the running game is a pretty big problem. With the incredible stable of RBs, I think it's quite likely that the OL is where much of MTSU's problems originate. I'm a firm believer that games are won and lost in the trenches. I've been heartened this year in that it looks like coach stock has been finally making changes this past offseason to build better lines. So far, I think this has shown up on defense. Some credit goes to coach stock to give the def coord to Nix solely. I think another critical move by coach stock was giving the recruiting coord job to one of the other assts. It seems there has been an improvement in the overall recruiting approach. Again, this will take a few seasons to really be proven true or not.

Ok, the defense seems to be improving. The DL is a big factor in that improvement. Although, I'd argue that it seems there's pretty good improvement with every pos group on defense. That's good to see.

Now for the OL. I've been a pretty big defender of coach stock. Like some other folks, I do have concerns about Buster at OC. Coach Stock is not going to make a bunch of excuses about the OL. I think it should be noted though that going into Illinois, MT was down, what? 3 OL to injuries. This includes the 1st Team C-USA O-lineman which had missed the first few weeks of the season. Hearing the loss of contributing OL going into B1G country was disconcerting. I think OL depth was clearly on display at Illinois. With Vandy playing improved defense, the short-handed OL was still a big concern. IMO, that lack of OL push and resultant lack of running game likely cost MTSU the game vs Vandy. Granted, MT's star OL returned vs Vandy, but he had little prep and conditioning in his first action of the season. This lack of OL development and lack of depth hampered MT OL from opening up running lanes or getting a good push. This is especially important playing P5 talent. Returning players with better health should produce improved results this season especially vs G5 opponents. That is IF the OL can get back to reasonably healthy this season.

The punting game is a terribly huge problem. I didn't see that coming this season. Even before the blocked punts, the weak short punts were a big concern. Don't know what's going on there, but something needs to be done with punting ASAP. I'd be having every player on the team see if he can punt better (distance, hang time, etc) than the current punter. If so, that guy would have the job. With the exception of a couple of decent kicks, it seems most of the punts struggle to get 30 or 35 yards downfield. It's painful to watch.

Regarding the OL again, it should also be noted that just before the season started MTSU lost a Jr 6-5 310 OL who had been a significant contributor the past couple of seasons. He has some sort of career ending injury just before the season??? My point, MT's really been down 3 or 4 OL early this season. That can be a problem for the running game. Even with these circumstances, MTSU must develop further depth through recruiting and player development. Play calling has it's roll as well. IMO, this stuff can't drag out forever. There needs to be some substantial improvements over the next season or two in the run game. If so, MTSU's offense could be scary good. If not, MTSU lingers in mediocrity.

Before I call for any coaches scalps, there really needs to be continued improvement and depth along the OL and good run game production to bolster the passing game. Also, Brent Stockstill is really impressing me. His potential seems through the roof. In his very early going, he's looking to me like he might be the best QB I've seen in my 20 years at MTSU. Admittedly, it's still way to early to declare that as an official statement. But doggone, he does stuff that only comes with being a natural. All of this with a busted up OL! He moves around under pressure to create just enough time to unload the ball. A lot of "prolific" passers drop in accuracy and effectiveness if they have to move around under pressure. Just one of Brent's many many many positive attributes.

One heckuva post there, dukewayne. I agree with you, and believe you're spot-on with your overall analysis of where we're at as a program.

--BBJ

 

[dukewayne]

One heckuva post there, dukewayne. I agree with you, and believe you're spot-on with your overall analysis of where we're at as a program.

--BBJ

Why, mighty kind of ya to say sir.