Peaking at the right time?...maybe?...

[DawgNatty]

some talk last week and after the game this week of "turning the corner" and maybe starting to gel as a football team.  One thing is for sure, I think we are starting to get an identity as a team.   We are hitting some chunk plays on offense, regularly.  We are getting some runs for more than 3-5 yds, regularly.  The defense is starting to figure out how to pressure the other teams QB.  Kirby has figured out...with some of these discoveries recent, who he can count on.  

Some observations and notes:

- Expect to continue to see more of #10 on offense (duh!).  He's been lighting it up in practice for a while and the way he's blocking right now will guarantee more field time.   He's a huge weapon (no pun intended) in the red zone as well.  
- Expect to see more of #10 on Defense.  He's starting to come into his own as a pass rusher and lord knows we need it.  
- We may have finally unlocked Raylen Wilson.   His best game in the Red and BLack last week.  Thinking he will build on it.  
- I have it on good authority that Nate was told to "stop trying NOT to fumble" on his runs and get back to what he does best.  He has played the better part of the season with the ball clinched to his chest and worried about dropping it.  That made for 3-5 yds on most attempts.  Saturday, he hit the next gear on 4-5 runs and it was obvious.  
- Expect to see a couple of trick/gadget plays this week and maybe a fake.  We've practiced them all season and haven't really used much.  This is the game.  (side note: expect the same and more from Texas.  This is it for them!  It's life or death this weekend and we will get every bit of ammo they have.)
- Don't look now, but ole Gunner is starting to get some Pro buzz.   His style of play is starting to be a thing in the pros.  He gets that throwing motion slightly better and hmmmm.  Still think he stays another year.  

Lastly for now...Thought we'd seen the last of #7 on defense...then he gets some run last week.  #1 needs to get all the snaps possible!  I'll leave it at that.  

There's some more...but, we'll save that for later in the week.

[Tomato Sandwich]

Good stuff, Natty. I think the health of the OL might be the biggest impact the last couple of games. Speaking of, did they ever say why Bobo came out of the game?

[hitdawg]

Good stuff, Natty. I think the health of the OL might be the biggest impact the last couple of games. Speaking of, did they ever say why  Bobo came out of the game?

read somewhere he had a pretty nasty finger laceration

[jmac]

For 10 yrs Kirby's teams have gotten better as the yr goes on. Every single yr. Amazing that people still don't get it. All Bobo's fault

[DawgNatty]

Good stuff, Natty. I think the health of the OL might be the biggest impact the last couple of games. Speaking of, did they ever say why  Bobo came out of the game?

He's good to go.  Nasty cut, but he's practiced all week.  Stitched up, glued, and bandaged.  He's a tough dude!

---

For 10 yrs Kirby's teams have gotten better as the yr goes on. Every single yr. Amazing that people still don't get it. All Bobo's fault

Good morning sir!  Hope you're having a great week and Go Dawgs!

[jmac]

Good stuff, Natty. I think the health of the OL might be the biggest impact the last couple of games. Speaking of, did they ever say why  Bobo came out of the game?

He's good to go.  Nasty cut, but he's practiced all week.  Stitched up, glued, and bandaged.  He's a tough dude!

---

For 10 yrs Kirby's teams have gotten better as the yr goes on. Every single yr. Amazing that people still don't get it. All Bobo's fault

Good morning sir!  Hope you're having a great week and Go Dawgs!

Same to ya my brotha. Horns fucking down

[McDonoughDawg]

GATA

[DawgNatty]

Good stuff, Natty. I think the health of the OL might be the biggest impact the last couple of games. Speaking of, did they ever say why  Bobo came out of the game?

You make a great point, and something I should have put at the top of this list.  The OL might be as good as we've had in a long time right now.  They are flat moving people!  We've got at least 2 subs that are as good (1 better) than the starters.  #73 will be a first round pick.  #71 is finally playing well again after back surgery.   #61 is making himself some money too.

[JC-DAWG83]

Well put Natty. The last three games the offense has looked like it is finally opening up somewhat. Maybe Bobo has gained enough confidence in the team to open the playbook some more or maybe the OL being fully healthy has changed the equation. Nate looked like he was running more "natural" Saturday and Bowers is still impressive. McCray looks like the typical "big stiff back" but he is a load in short yardage situations.

Defense still isn't what I would call elite. DBs still aren't great in coverage. It looks like Schumann/Kirby have figured out that we can't get any pressure rushing four unless we bring a LB.

Texas is going to be tough. They have plenty of talent and their backs are against the wall. Their front 7 on D are as good as any we will see, I don't think screens are going to be much use on Saturday and runs between the tackles are going to be challenging. Arch still has a good arm and is a running threat and we still struggle with running qbs. I am scared Arch is going to pick us apart unless we can get pressure. Our DBs aren't scaring anyone, they either can't cover or they interfere. They rarely make an actual play that prevents a completion.

[DawgNatty]

Well put Natty.  The last three games the offense has looked like it is finally opening up somewhat.  Maybe Bobo has gained enough confidence in the team to open the playbook some more or maybe the OL being fully healthy has changed the equation.  Nate looked like he was running more "natural" Saturday and Bowers is still impressive.  McCray looks like the typical "big stiff back" but he is a load in short yardage situations. 

Defense still isn't what I would call elite.  DBs still aren't great in coverage.  It looks like Schumann/Kirby have figured out that we can't get any pressure rushing four unless we bring a LB.

Texas is going to be tough.  They have plenty of talent and their backs are against the wall.  Their front 7 on D are as good as any we will see, I don't think screens are going to be much use on Saturday and runs between the tackles are going to be challenging.  Arch still has a good arm and is a running threat and we still struggle with running qbs.  I am scared Arch is going to pick us apart unless we can get pressure.  Our DBs aren't scaring anyone, they either can't cover or they interfere.  They rarely make an actual play that prevents a completion.

JC - I don't know if this is going to make you feel better or worse...
Bobo has commented Texas is his favorite defense to coach against.   

Kirby coaches our DB's (and insists the staff do so) the, for lack of a better term "face guarding" method.  When was the last time you saw one of our DB's "get their head around" on a long pass?  Never right?  They are coached to watch the receiver's eyes and not let them catch the ball.  THIS is one of the major reasons you don't see a ton of INT's.  They only time we get one is usually when a safety jumps a route, or a ball is overthrown. 

IF (notice the caps) we can keep them from getting off to the, what seems like it's routine against us, fast start...I think we beat them fairly easily.  We've played several teams that have a better running QB than Arch...many with better arms too.  Arch, as much as he's improved, is closer to Jackson Arnold than he is to Ty Simpson.   And, I think our running game is going to be HARD to stop.  Having said that, this may be one of those games where whoever's defense truly shows up, wins.  I would feel good saying whoever scores 30 pts wins this game.

[jmac]

Well put Natty.  The last three games the offense has looked like it is finally opening up somewhat.  Maybe Bobo has gained enough confidence in the team to open the playbook some more or maybe the OL being fully healthy has changed the equation.  Nate looked like he was running more "natural" Saturday and Bowers is still impressive.  McCray looks like the typical "big stiff back" but he is a load in short yardage situations. 

Defense still isn't what I would call elite.  DBs still aren't great in coverage.  It looks like Schumann/Kirby have figured out that we can't get any pressure rushing four unless we bring a LB.

Texas is going to be tough.  They have plenty of talent and their backs are against the wall.  Their front 7 on D are as good as any we will see, I don't think screens are going to be much use on Saturday and runs between the tackles are going to be challenging.  Arch still has a good arm and is a running threat and we still struggle with running qbs.  I am scared Arch is going to pick us apart unless we can get pressure.  Our DBs aren't scaring anyone, they either can't cover or they interfere.  They rarely make an actual play that prevents a completion.

JC - I don't know if this is going to make you feel better or worse...
Bobo has commented Texas is his favorite defense to coach against.   

Kirby coaches our DB's (and insists the staff do so) the, for lack of a better term "face guarding" method.  When was the last time you saw one of our DB's "get their head around" on a long pass?  Never right?  They are coached to watch the receiver's eyes and not let them catch the ball.  THIS is one of the major reasons you don't see a ton of INT's.  They only time we get one is usually when a safety jumps a route, or a ball is overthrown. 

IF (notice the caps) we can keep them from getting off to the, what seems like it's routine against us, fast start...I think we beat them fairly easily.  We've played several teams that have a better running QB than Arch...many with better arms too.  Arch, as much as he's improved, is closer to Jackson Arnold than he is to Ty Simpson.   And, I think our running game is going to be HARD to stop.  Having said that, this may be one of those games where whoever's defense truly shows up, wins.  I would feel good saying whoever scores 30 pts wins this game.

I think you're gonna see something similar to tenn 2022 saturday night. The crowd is gonna be yoked. They were terrified of bama and it showed in the noise level. It was subpar at best. I don't think texass has the qb to win this game, not in this environment. Lay the pts.

[Toasty B]

[quote="Tomato Sandwich" pid="56887" dateline="1762867174"]
s.  #73 will be a first round pick.  #71 is finally playing well again after back surgery.   #61 is making himself some money too.

#61? You mean #63?

[Tomato Sandwich]

For 10 yrs Kirby's teams have gotten better as the yr goes on. Every single yr. Amazing that people still don't get it. All Bobo's fault

Not so sure about last year

[JC-DAWG83]

Well put Natty.  The last three games the offense has looked like it is finally opening up somewhat.  Maybe Bobo has gained enough confidence in the team to open the playbook some more or maybe the OL being fully healthy has changed the equation.  Nate looked like he was running more "natural" Saturday and Bowers is still impressive.  McCray looks like the typical "big stiff back" but he is a load in short yardage situations. 

Defense still isn't what I would call elite.  DBs still aren't great in coverage.  It looks like Schumann/Kirby have figured out that we can't get any pressure rushing four unless we bring a LB.

Texas is going to be tough.  They have plenty of talent and their backs are against the wall.  Their front 7 on D are as good as any we will see, I don't think screens are going to be much use on Saturday and runs between the tackles are going to be challenging.  Arch still has a good arm and is a running threat and we still struggle with running qbs.  I am scared Arch is going to pick us apart unless we can get pressure.  Our DBs aren't scaring anyone, they either can't cover or they interfere.  They rarely make an actual play that prevents a completion.

JC - I don't know if this is going to make you feel better or worse...
Bobo has commented Texas is his favorite defense to coach against.   

Kirby coaches our DB's (and insists the staff do so) the, for lack of a better term "face guarding" method.  When was the last time you saw one of our DB's "get their head around" on a long pass?  Never right?  They are coached to watch the receiver's eyes and not let them catch the ball.  THIS is one of the major reasons you don't see a ton of INT's.  They only time we get one is usually when a safety jumps a route, or a ball is overthrown. 

IF (notice the caps) we can keep them from getting off to the, what seems like it's routine against us, fast start...I think we beat them fairly easily.  We've played several teams that have a better running QB than Arch...many with better arms too.  Arch, as much as he's improved, is closer to Jackson Arnold than he is to Ty Simpson.   And, I think our running game is going to be HARD to stop.  Having said that, this may be one of those games where whoever's defense truly shows up, wins.  I would feel good saying whoever scores 30 pts wins this game.

I love hearing Bobo likes coaching against Texas.  I really want Bobo and the offense to be an unstoppable machine, I really do.  I haven't watched a ton of Texas this season but what I have seen shows me their DL is big and strong.  I like our talent at RB and our OL has come around to be a great unit, so the running game should be interesting.  I don't see us blowing them off of the ball but if we can create some seams and get to the edge, I think we can run the ball on them.

The DBs not getting their heads around is causing a lot of PI calls.  Refs are calling PI on contact that wouldn't normally get noticed because the DB isn't looking for the ball.  Kirby isn't going to change so I guess we will have to deal with it.

Arch isn't the superstar ESPN wanted him to be but he is still physically talented and he can get the ball to wide open receivers.  Unfortunately, we have provided opponents with lots of wide open receivers this season.  He isn't the runner Taylor at MSSt is but he can run well enough to give us problems.  

I think this is a game the D is going to have to win.  I don't mean we won't be able to score but I don't think we can spot them 21 points to our 3 in the first half.

[DawgNatty]

s.  #73 will be a first round pick.  #71 is finally playing well again after back surgery.   #61 is making himself some money too.

#61?  You mean #63?

Sorry!  Yep 63 Glover.

---

Well put Natty.  The last three games the offense has looked like it is finally opening up somewhat.  Maybe Bobo has gained enough confidence in the team to open the playbook some more or maybe the OL being fully healthy has changed the equation.  Nate looked like he was running more "natural" Saturday and Bowers is still impressive.  McCray looks like the typical "big stiff back" but he is a load in short yardage situations. 

Defense still isn't what I would call elite.  DBs still aren't great in coverage.  It looks like Schumann/Kirby have figured out that we can't get any pressure rushing four unless we bring a LB.

Texas is going to be tough.  They have plenty of talent and their backs are against the wall.  Their front 7 on D are as good as any we will see, I don't think screens are going to be much use on Saturday and runs between the tackles are going to be challenging.  Arch still has a good arm and is a running threat and we still struggle with running qbs.  I am scared Arch is going to pick us apart unless we can get pressure.  Our DBs aren't scaring anyone, they either can't cover or they interfere.  They rarely make an actual play that prevents a completion.

JC - I don't know if this is going to make you feel better or worse...
Bobo has commented Texas is his favorite defense to coach against.   

Kirby coaches our DB's (and insists the staff do so) the, for lack of a better term "face guarding" method.  When was the last time you saw one of our DB's "get their head around" on a long pass?  Never right?  They are coached to watch the receiver's eyes and not let them catch the ball.  THIS is one of the major reasons you don't see a ton of INT's.  They only time we get one is usually when a safety jumps a route, or a ball is overthrown. 

IF (notice the caps) we can keep them from getting off to the, what seems like it's routine against us, fast start...I think we beat them fairly easily.  We've played several teams that have a better running QB than Arch...many with better arms too.  Arch, as much as he's improved, is closer to Jackson Arnold than he is to Ty Simpson.   And, I think our running game is going to be HARD to stop.  Having said that, this may be one of those games where whoever's defense truly shows up, wins.  I would feel good saying whoever scores 30 pts wins this game.

I think you're gonna see something similar to tenn 2022 saturday night. The crowd is gonna be yoked. They were terrified of bama and it showed in the noise level. It was subpar at best. I don't think texass has the qb to win this game, not in this environment. Lay the pts.

I think you're on to something!

[jmac]

For 10 yrs Kirby's teams have gotten better as the yr goes on. Every single yr. Amazing that people still don't get it. All Bobo's fault

Not so sure about last year

yeah maybe so. but we were beat the hell up last yr. we really had no business winning the SEC, but fuck em all, we did. Thank God for Jalon Walker. absolute beast

[ugafan49]

Good job Natty, Thanks.