Ole Miss Grades

Total Offense: B-

20 first downs, 6-13 3rd downs, 316 total offensive yds, 225 passing (5.9 avg), 95 rushing (2.9), 1 passing TD . 34 mins TOP

Synopsis: We put up 300+ yards against an SEC team. Moved the ball effectively. Did not capitalize on drives, but it was never in question whether or not we could move the ball. (individual grades below)



Defense Overall Grade: A

144 yards passing, 64 yards rushing. 2 forced fumbles, 1 TD.

Just a fantastic job by the defense. They both won the game literally and metaphorically for the Cougs. Just solid play, all around. (individual grades below)



Special Teams: D+

Shanked punt putting the opponent at your 30 yard line.

Missed 30 yard field goal.

50 yard punt return.

Really the only thing keeping this from a total F grade, is the kickoffs and kickoff coverage, which were both an A grade. Also, the Falslev return, which was a good one.





QB: C

Jake was rushing throws, and made some bad decisions. I would have given him a lower grade, but imo the o-line was terrible at snapping the ball for a majority of the game, and the wr's didn't get fantastic separation. He was just average. Looked great sometimes, looked terrible sometimes.



24/38 - 225 yds - 1 INT 1 TD



RB: A-

111 gross yards is great against an "SEC defense". Also, I count more than 100 yards receiving coming from the RB position. I gave them a lower overall grade, because the pass protection by the running backs wasn't very good at all. Any time Heaps got pressure it was from the outside on a blitz, and that is completely the RB/FB responsibility. For some reason they were running into the middle to help a lot, and the o-line had it handled. Great effort running and catching. The screen play and play option screen were unbeatable.



WR: B

Good play by the WR's, and by WR's I mean Ross Apo. Everyone else was so-so. I am giving them a higher grade, because Heaps threw a lot of uncatchable balls, and that should have boosted their numbers up a bit. Their separation was just average.



TE: A-

4 catches for 44 yards was big in this game. Also, the blocking was pretty spot on. Nothing to complain about here.



O-line: C-

The O-line did a FANTASTIC job blocking, and a GREAT job opening up for the run. Heaps had all day. The overall grade is an "A+" for blocking, and an "F" for snapping. I would give an F-minus if that were possible. The snapping was horrific. I actually saw an end-over-end snap at one point today. When was the last time you saw that? (If you ever have... I'm not sure that I have before today.) The snapping is a big deal when you are in the shotgun offense so much. QB's are counting on the ball in a tight spiral to the chest so that they can go through their reads properly. Just a BAD, BAD job there. Also, a few super-unnecessary/unusual "lining up incorrectly" calls on the line (hence the minus).





Defense

D-line: A+

really, in a 3-4 the only job for a lineman is to take up space, occupy as many bodies that you can, and don't get pushed around. Anything above that is just gravy. They were making tackles in the backfield, plays on screens, etc. Just a great job. Went above and beyond expectations.



Linebackers: A-

They made plays all day. Got good pressure. JP would have made a couple more plays if the officials (who did a great job, btw) called a holding or illegal block in the back for the FIRST 3 QUARTERS ON EVERY OTHER PLAY! :angry:

Enough can't be said about the pressure they created or the passes that they broke up, and the tackling they did on the RB's.



Secondary: A-

Did a great job. A lower grade just because they let the "3rd string" qb come in and move the ball against them. But I'm not really complaining, we could find some things here and there, but it would just be nitpicking. Some of the passing goes on the linebackers too, but no worries all around. Didn't give up the big play all game long.

Total coaching grades:



Offense: C-

Goods: Good playcalling. Offense looked great.

Bads: Burned timeouts, guys lining up wrong, delay of game penalties



Defense: A

Goods: Great playcalling. Defensive was monstrous!

Bads: Allowed a few more passing yards than I like against a 3rd string, but no biggie.



Special Teams: C-

Goods: All the playcalls were "right," managed game very well. Great kickoffs and kickoff coverage against some of the fastest guys we'll see this year. A couple good punt returns.

Bads: Where to start... HORRIFIC punting, bad punt coverage, bad FG kicking, just bad everything, all around. :angry:

I just want to point out that Jake was 10-21 in the 1st half, 14-17 in the 2nd. The adjustments made at half time on offense were AWESOME, and we looked like the team we all expected to see in half 2. We moved the ball on the ground and through the air in the 3rd and 4th quarters. We were the team that got stronger in the heat and humidity and got it done late. The coaching staff got it done today. This team was ready to battle and played 60 minutes with great spirit. Was awesome to see in person.

Did I forget one?



As lawboy pointed out



Pickle Juice: A+++++



;)

:D :lol: :D :lol: :D :lol:

No pickle juice required. They did IVs Friday night and pregame and a couple at half, but not many because they were not required. How do I know? My cousin is a team doc, and my little bro who is an anesthetist was on stand by to help at half to assist with IVs if needed. He wasn't. They were ready.

Gotta disagree with the special teams play, I'd bump the grade up a bit. Falslev, Johnson look like they can actually break one loose. BIG improvement over last year. But the kicking game (first punt and the FG) were pretty bad.



I'd also disagree with the offense being graded a B-. A solid C because they finally got one in the endzone when it mattered but they underwhelmed, were lackadaisical, and Heaps either had bad jitters or needs to practice some accuracy and look off drills. I'm hoping for a LOT of improvement from the offense. I can't see a justification of a B- if you have to rely on a defensive touchdown and don't get a point on the board in the first half.



Really can't give the defense enough credit or praise. They were dominant. A thing of beauty



Fun game, BYU dominated,

Heaps was 24-38 for 225. I'd give that a B- as well. 2nd half he was 14-17 for about 150, which is an A-. ANd our Oline was really good. WE just do not havea game breaker RB. They are solid, but not spectacular.



By the way, Q sat 2nd half with a migraine. Not a concussion.

declocoug wrote:
Gotta disagree with the special teams play, I'd bump the grade up a bit. Falslev, Johnson look like they can actually break one loose. BIG improvement over last year. But the kicking game (first punt and the FG) were pretty bad.



Fun game, BYU dominated,

I have to admit, I was blanking on the Falslev return when I gave the overall grade. I will bump them up a half grade just for that. Good point. (I knew it happened, just focusing on the negative too much. My bad, and good point.)

Lawboy wrote:
Heaps was 24-38 for 225. I'd give that a B- as well. 2nd half he was 14-17 for about 150, which is an A-. ANd our Oline was really good. WE just do not havea game breaker RB. They are solid, but not spectacular.



By the way, Q sat 2nd half with a migraine. Not a concussion.

Heaps looked OK today. A lot of drives sputtered after he missed a guy or turned a RB around who was the intended receiver. Extend 1/2 those drives and BYU scores 30+. Hopefully just first game jitters.

And as far as lower than a B- , what grade do you think?



If we are doing it by halves, I would go anywhere from a B+/A- for the second half, and a C-minus - ish for the first half. They moved the ball, just didn't score or execute. That will come.

BlueIsBetter wrote:
And as far as lower than a B- , what grade do you think?



If we are doing it by halves, I would go anywhere from a B+/A- for the second half, and a C-minus - ish for the first half. They moved the ball, just didn't score or execute. That will come.

Fair enough. For me the offense grade be proportional to the points on the scoreboard (the real indicator of success), and the offense only got 7 of em up there today. I don't care how it's done, just get points. Glitzy stats (14/17 and 150 yards or RBs that get 150+ yards) mean jack squat if you've got no TDs or can't even get in field goal range. And you could have cut those offensive stats in half if BYU's defense didn't play lights out and get the offense back on the field after a 20 second breather.



BYU's offense was just spinning their wheels today. But it's the first game. I'm hoping for more next week. And what was with the lack of energy on the offensive side of the ball??? I was hoping that Doman would infuse Boise State style excitement into the players. But, we got the same old "I'm a stick in the mud" personality from the offense. Everything about the offense shouted, "Hey, I'm here but not really excited about it" to me. Where was the hurry up, in your face, stop us if you can attitude???



My grades (I'm a little harder on my team)

Defense A (they won the game)

Offense C (did enough to not loose the game)

Special Teams C+ (nice returns, shanked punt, gave up big return, also had some good coverage)



Coaching

Solid B for everyone. Bronco gets A for Awesome, and for the defense.

I give Bronco an A for how he managed the game and made adjustments in the second half. Something he's very good at.



Heaps gets a B-, more like a C+ given he still has yet to learn touch and how to lead the receiver more. A couple of times Apo was behind the secondary and the ball just didn't get there where Apo could take advantage of it. Then Heaps would throw the ball too hard at times when a softer touch was needed.



Running game hurt when Juice sat with the headache. I was thinking, Can we suit up Hine and get him on the edge? :) :) :) I give the running backs a C+ because of the missed blocks in the first half. Otherwise, it would have been a low B.



The offensive line gets a B. Solid, but still didn't exert their will on the defense when it was time to eat up the clock.



Receivers and TEs get a B also. TEs blocked and caught balls when needed. Apo and Hoffman beat the corners at times, if only Heaps had is timing down. We win by 3 TDs.



The kicking game was schizo. Horrible first punt, gave up a big return that lead to a score, then got the TB when we needed it in the 4th quarter and Falslev had a fine return when we needed it too. So it balances to a C+, which is better than they deserve, but we did win today.



Linebackers get an A as do the Dlinemen. Corners get a B- because Missi's only offensive threat was the passing game as we stopped the run rather well.



Doman gets a B-, which isn't bad for a first game.



The next game will be more like a midterm than a pop quiz. I hope they will be ready.

CougarPeasant,



I'd give the running backs a B+, they adjusted and made the blocks and churned out some good yardage against a pretty tough Defense. Sure, they didn't have any huge plays, but they were moving the ball pretty consistently.

What about the WR's? I didn't see any dropped passes.

On offense, several things stood out:



1. The TE is back - Holt and Wilson did a nice job - totaling 4 catches.



2. The play action pass - roll out to left was outstanding - RBs, H backs and TE open all day. Ole Miss was flat-footed and caught off guard everytime we ran it.



3. Michael Alisa offers versatility at FB - had several nice catches out of the backfield for nice gains. Mendenhall was a beast when put in for blocking - opened up some very nice holes.



4. JJ is a great all purpose back - can catch and run, has quick feet and is quick for short bursts.



5. RBs and tackles need consistency on picking up blitzes - the pressure from Ole Miss DEs and MLBs put a lot of pressure on Heaps and he overthrew and underthrew lots of passes in the first half - especially inside the 30.



Temperature was very pleasant for the south - high 80s; low 90s and cooled off with a breeze as game wore on due to heavy rain in the south which brought lots of cloud cover. Didn't have much of an impact on players.



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You forgot one!!! BYU fans came and made lots of noise in a SEC stadium. Very impressive showing by the BYU faithful!!!



I was also concerned about the defensive backs covering long routs. They were getting beat but Ole Miss didn't have a QB who could deliver the goods so we got over.



Go Cougs!



L Hatton

Louisville, KY

Lawboy wrote:
I just want to point out that Jake was 10-21 in the 1st half, 14-17 in the 2nd. The adjustments made at half time on offense were AWESOME, and we looked like the team we all expected to see in half 2. We moved the ball on the ground and through the air in the 3rd and 4th quarters. We were the team that got stronger in the heat and humidity and got it done late. The coaching staff got it done today. This team was ready to battle and played 60 minutes with great spirit. Was awesome to see in person.

Jake did improve but remember the pick 6 was in the 2nd half and he never even tried to tackle the guy. And as the announcers continued to point out, he was locking onto targets which caused the int. I do not recall hearing objective, third party, announcers as critical of a BYU OC and QB as they were in this game. And sorry Blue, they did not harp all game long about receivers not etting fantastic separation, they harped about Heaps missing wide open receivers. To Jake's credit, he did recognize who was open - as the announcers said often as did the ones on BYU TV later, he was rifling it early and not consistently accurate. THe receivers caught the passes that were thrown where they were supposed to be. And your deduction for RBs not blocking - Heaps never got much pressure all night. It is not like he kept getting sackied or was scrambling for his life.

TOo harsh on linebackers. Caused a fumble and scored the winning TD and were in the backfield all night including hitting the ball causing a horrible throw and etc., etc.

Although the offense moved the ball well (at least when Heaps was accurate) the fact remains that the offense got us 7 points and gave up 7 points. Any way you look at that it was a weak performance. You shouldn't have to rely on the defense to outscore the opponent's offense. Thank goodness ours did!!! That deserves an A+++.



But, the play calling was good. The execution and timing was way above what's expected in the first game. Really if Heaps would have just been on target the first half the game wouldn't have been close. He was the weak link today, until the 4th quarter.



I think the real Heaps that came alive in the 2nd half will have a great season (A grade when all is said and done) but tonight he was too erratic



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Lawboy wrote:
Heaps was 24-38 for 225. I'd give that a B- as well. 2nd half he was 14-17 for about 150, which is an A-. ANd our Oline was really good. WE just do not havea game breaker RB. They are solid, but not spectacular.



By the way, Q sat 2nd half with a migraine. Not a concussion.

including the INT amd no attempt to tackle the guy/



Heaps stunk in the first half. He may have deserved a B- in the second half.



Where is our PER guy. There are measurements you know.



And, remember - he got all the snaps this year and is a Soph. No excuses. Heaps needs to be more accountable if he is going to lead this offense. Heaps was the main problem with the offense. The OL did have too many miscues. That hurt too. Yes we do not have a Marshall Faulk. JJ was rock solid and Kariya was when called upon. Look at JJ as a receiver as well. Look how many wide open backs and receivers were missed in the short game when opportunity for yac was at hand. Hopefully things will be tighter vs Texas, who were not rock solid but did eventually pull away from Rice.

Heaps was a different person first 3 quarters vs last quarter. First three he locked in on primary receiver, and was anxious in the pocket - not setting his feet and delivering the ball on target. He didn't get sacked a lot but he felt the pressure all night long from the edge. Good thin is that Doman makes adjustments at half and we do have a balanced attack. We played against a very, very athletic team with speed and held our ground. I believe this game will serve as a wakeup call for need to improve - it was a perfect tune up for TX.



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