OrangeSquid
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Wrong. The reason neither of them got a single sack this past Sat, against a mid-major team, was because we had NO interior push/rush...and both DE's kept blowing by Johnson as he stepped up in the pocket. If he can't step up, he gets sacked and the DE's have a field day.
It goes hand in hand. I'm sure Bowling Greene was thankful they didn't have to face neither K-Mac or Tuttle much, in the game.
Dobbs couldn't hit a stationary net during fall camp last year so that's a weak argument. You've seen some practice clips and declare that McKenzie and Tuttle are the best DTs we have. Obrien held his own against OU last year and had a sack against BG Saturday. Just trust the coaches that they're going to do what's best to win.This "invincible staff" worship is getting old too. I like Butch as much as anyone, but sometimes coaches make decisions they wish they could take back. Holding Dobbs out most of the year proved to be one of those occasions.
Holding Tuttle and K-Mac back because they are freshmen has the potential to be as critical of a mistake as that one was.
I noticed every time BG's Johnson threw the deep strike, he was able to step up into a clean and cozy pocket.
The secondary needs to really get its act in gear, but even Butch said it, himself....there was no pass rush, and that contributed to them giving up the big plays downfield. There is no pass rush when the DT's can't collapse the pocket up the middle so the QB can step up to avoid the DE's.
We just don't have the size to do that, without K-Mac and Tuttle. Even the few snaps Khalil got, on Sat, you could see that he pushed his man back into the pocket a few steps. They then turned to double-teaming him. That always seemed to result in a negative play because they other DL were able to penetrate and blow up the play.
I'm going to get flamed here but the OP has every single right to question Butch after he literally cost us two wins last year by choosing experience but lesser talent in Justin Worely over Dobbs early on.
Some coaches just like Fulmer stubbornly stick with experience over talent. That doesnt always mean its the right decision though.
If Kmac is so out of shape that he gets gassed after two plays then he has never played football before.... No way he's in that bad of shape.
If his hype is real, he should be good enough to contribute early like Barnett and Sutton did as freshman.
I'd also like to see Kirkland out there more over Colton Jumper.
I'm not trash talking Butch, but he did in fact prove to make a mistake last year with starting Dobbs so late when we really needed early on. No coach is above questioning as they are human and make mistakes like everyone else.
But a fast rangy athletic MLB like Darrin Kirkland would. No excuse for starting Colton Jumper over him. We need him against Oklahoma.
Seriously. Are we really pinning our hopes to beat a top 20 team and national powerhouse program like OU on 2 true freshman defensive tackles who have zero starts, zero experience? If so, we're in worse trouble than I thought.
i think since Kmac and Tuttle arrived on campus, and videos and pictures popped up every day seemingly showing how "dominant" they were, collectively, Volnation has talked themselves in to believing that these two true freshmen were game ready already.
eh, i have mixed feelings here. my initial gut reaction is similar to yours here. especially in regards to last year.They probably are ready. Remember this is the same staff that had Marlin Lane starting over Jalen Hurd at the start of last season. I just watched a replay of the Oklahoma game from last year and couldn't believe how many upperclassmen were given cermemonial nods over the more talented freshmen.
Butch and the staff have played this hand before. They seem to like slow-playing our studs early in the year. Hopefully it doesn't cost us any games. I personally will be heated if Colton Jumper gets beat on a play knowing that Darrin Kirkland would've made it.
Pretty much. Who else is there? They were thinking that the DT group was 5 strong when the season started... now those two make up half of what's available.
I imagine that they'll go to that package where Weatherd lines up at a DT spot standing whenever down and distance allow.
and with OU, ARK, GA in the front of the schedule...that's a tough way to cut your teeth.Agree with you that the numbers are the numbers and that's why I was cautioning people on here all through the summer who wanted to say that our DL was gonna one of the top DLs in the SEC. We have been thin and now are even thinner at the position as we rely on a mediocre senior, a converted DE who's never played the position before Saturday and 2 true freshmen.
The sooner we can quit relying on true freshman in the trenches, the better off we'll be. You can throw some in at WR, special teams and maybe RB. There's no substitute for a year in a college football strength and conditioning program and going against real men in the trenches at practice for a full year for these linemen.