Just the honest truth

[hogblitz]

I want to start off by saying that I am not calling for Bielema's job.  As usual, anytime we lose everybody wants to blame the players and speak of how undermanned we are.   This loss was not on the players.  It was on Bielema/Enos.  The Playcalling was the worst that I have seen since Nutt was here.  Everybody knows what the definition of insanity means and that's exactly what we saw running continuously against their sacked front all throughout this game.   When the game was still undecided, we were passing the ball AT WILL and picking them apart with multiple recievers on obvious passing downs.  (First and ten was virtually always a rush attempt.) Our offensive line blocked pretty well(when the game was still undecided) against their great ends.  It appeared that Bielema just refused to let the pass set up the run.  He wanted the run to set up the pass at all costs.  I know this might not be the case but it appeared he was more concerned with HOW we won rather than doing whatever is necessary to win.  He was just not willing to accept that you cannot run right at them and play to our strengths and their weaknesses.  It's one thing to lose and another to lose because you are being bull headed.  I really wonder if their jerseys said Alabama if he would have continued to disrespect their front against the rush.  I tend to think he would not have.    I am also a big believer in that this is a team game and when the defense continues to see this nonsense and we get stuffed time and time again, it hurts morale and gives the other team extreme confidence.  That's why I believe towards the end of the game the defense looked so bad.  Defense played fairly well for much of the game.  That last goal line stand broke the camels back. It was just a bad situation.  I think Bielema should apologize to the team and accept full responsibility for this loss.  It is squarely on the coaching staff's shoulders.  That is for sure.  I just hope a lesson is learned by the staff.  I have no reason to think otherwise.   Surely, NOW they will accept you have to change when something is not working.  They have done so in the past anyway.  For the most part, Playcalling has been good since Enos has arrived.  Hopefully, this is a one time deal.  I guess we will know in 2 weeks!   

[hog.goblin]

One word:

Paragraphs

[hoghearted]

One word:

Paragraphs

can't disagree

[ricepig]

So, in games where the defense was letting OM and MSU score every trip, should the offense have said, "we give up"? It's a team game, it involves all 125 and every coach, analysts, trainer, GA, etc....

[Ironhawg]

Paragraphs are your friend (and ours.)   

[pfrg999]

One word:

Paragraphs

That is the only thing I saw when I looked at that lump of words...

[hogblitz]

So, in games where the defense was letting OM and MSU score every trip, should the offense have said, "we give up"? It's a team game, it involves all 125 and every coach, analysts, trainer, GA, etc....

I agree.  However, I think it happens. 

[hogblitz]

Paragraphs are your friend (and ours.)   

Sorry guys!  Not used to typing on this phone.  Lol

[3kgthog]

Look at the creativity they pulled out of the bag against TCU and then at how basic and stubborn they went against A&M. Would the real OC please stand up?

[tophawg19]

the gameplan was solid against that defensive front . you had to run to keep them from loading up and going after Allen like they did late in the 2nd half. Their team speed on defense was just better than our offenses . they also had great depth on defense . We should have worn them down with the T O P DIFFERENTIAL. Our O-LINE is young and it showed too often but they did better than i expected

[Inhogswetrust]

That is the only thing I saw when I looked at that lump of words...

I'm sure the OP will blame the coaches for that........

[Inhogswetrust]

Sorry guys!  Not used to typing on this phone.  Lol

I'm sure the coaches can teach you how to do that.......

[Ironhawg]

the gameplan was solid against that defensive front . you had to run to keep them from loading up and going after Allen like they did late in the 2nd half. Their team speed on defense was just better than our offenses . they also had great depth on defense . We should have worn them down with the T O P DIFFERENTIAL. Our O-LINE is young and it showed too often but they did better than i expected

You mention something that is very concerning to me; A&M is building depth that we are never going to be able to match.  They have speed on defense that we cannot match.  I'm just afraid Arkansas is going to continue to fall behind in talent and continue to be a 2nd tier team in this league.

[BR]

tldr:

[farmhawg]

the gameplan was solid against that defensive front . you had to run to keep them from loading up and going after Allen like they did late in the 2nd half. Their team speed on defense was just better than our offenses . they also had great depth on defense . We should have worn them down with the T O P DIFFERENTIAL. Our O-LINE is young and it showed too often but they did better than i expected

Huh, so running on every first down except one was a smart strategic move?

[Dominicanhog]

It boils down to red zone execution..... 6 trips in the zone and 17 points... we get 30+ and the game would have been different.. not saying we would win but we don't know how A&M responds down a couple of scores and we continue going on long drive after long drive for points..

Though talent is the biggest ingredient for success and they do have more of it... our guys are big enough, fast enough to compete with A&M.. we just have to find that identity of who is going to make the red zone play/block/run/catch.... 

[Sivad]

I want to start off by saying that I am not calling for Bielema's job. 

Whew. That's a relief.

[Ironhawg]

It boils down to red zone execution..... 6 trips in the zone and 17 points... we get 30+ and the game would have been different.. not saying we would win but we don't know how A&M responds down a couple of scores and we continue going on long drive after long drive for points..

Though talent is the biggest ingredient for success and they do have more of it... our guys are big enough, fast enough to compete with A&M.. we just have to find that identity of who is going to make the red zone play/block/run/catch.... 

Our o-line is not ready to line up and knock people off the ball, especially very talented defenses like A&M.  Don't know where they'll be by the end of the year, but they're just not there right now.  IMHO the defense has issues rooted in both scheme and personnel.

[go hogues]

You mention something that is very concerning to me; A&M is building depth that we are never going to be able to match.  They have speed on defense that we cannot match.  I'm just afraid Arkansas is going to continue to fall behind in talent and continue to be a 2nd tier team in this league.

Thank goodness we let them in the league though! Remember, it was a GREAT thing for the UA and our recruiting!!!.......

[Dominicanhog]

Our o-line is not ready to line up and knock people off the ball, especially very talented defenses like A&M.  Don't know where they'll be by the end of the year, but they're just not there right now.  IMHO the defense has issues rooted in both scheme and personnel.

Yep, all true about OL but that's CBB's identity... I bet he sees the inefficiencies, lack of experience and even maybe lesser talent, better than most of us... on D, we've seen the same type of problems, mainly the long play.. from all of Robb's teams... but we also see very good defensive efforts in big games that get let down by an inefficient offense and then they break, which goes to your assessment of personnel and maybe even scheme.

[HoopS]

I thought the main area of concern and needing a look at, is the use of goalline sets. We made it simple to load the box and impossible to run. To me, that cost us a lot of points and momentum. And I think they will keep using it.

[ChitownHawg]

Sorry guys!  Not used to typing on this phone.  Lol

Clue - "Enter" will create the paragraphs for you. Just every other keyboard in the world.

[hogrocker]

The Aggies have a much better defense than we gave them credit for before the game.  Chavis has made all the difference for them.

[Beaverfever]

I think the staff has to take some blame for the failure of their philosophy of "wearing teams down with long possessions".  We had a ten minute drive in the third quarter and aTm's offense came out and scored three two consecutive touchdowns immediately and owned the game from their.  I'm not going to act like I knew any better but the plan failed and honestly it failed against TCU we just managed to beat them in a shootout.  We were unstoppable throwing the ball in both games and we averaged 26 points in regulation in the two games.  We were outscored 56-22 in the two second halves combined.

[Arthur pigby sellers.]

Before the game the Aggies were 4th in FBS in Red Zone defense. I'm guessing they are probably first in Red Zone defense now. That's after playing probably the hardest strength of schedule to date of any team. So a lot of our problems in the red zone come from playing the best red zone defense in the country.

[PorkSoda]

Before the game the Aggies were 4th in FBS in Red Zone defense. I'm guessing they are probably first in Red Zone defense now. That's after playing probably the hardest strength of schedule to date of any team. So a lot of our problems in the red zone come from playing the best red zone defense in the country.

yeah, TAMU proved they are a top tier team.  we can still have a good season.  we just aren't there yet

[Pigsknuckles]

That is the only thing I saw when I looked at that lump of words...

Like they were poured out of a bucket...

[reddogjcss]

Players played there hearts out, bad game plan and did not adjust to any changes A&M made

[bphi11ips]

Paragraphs or no paragraphs, playcalling from the 2-yard line and closer was mind-boggling.  Shades of 2014 and Chaney, but this time it's Enos.  Two OC's known for creativity.  Deja vu all over again. The common denominator is the head coach.  Nothing but runs into goal line two-deep until the jet sweep straight into two unaccounted for defensive backs.

My Vols fan neighbor came over today and asked me what our staff was thinking on those goal line possessions.  All I could do was shake my head.

[WilsonHog]

Paragraphs or no paragraphs, playcalling from the 2-yard line and closer was mind-boggling.  Shades of 2014 and Chaney, but this time it's Enos.  Two OC's known for creativity.  Deja vu all over again. The common denominator is the head coach.  Nothing but runs into goal line two-deep until the jet sweep straight into two unaccounted for defensive backs.

My Vols fan neighbor came over today and asked me what our staff was thinking on those goal line possessions.  All I could do was shake my head.

At least publicly, the players have bought into it. Ragnow said after the game that if we can't overpower the d-line and score in that situation, "it's going to be a long year."

[Youngsta71701]

Reed fumbled hand off 3 or 7 points lost
Williams fumble at the goal line 3 or 7 points lost
Coley penalty on 3rd down gives them free first down with was converted into a field goal 3 points given to them
1st and goal from the 2 field goal
1st and goal from the 2 turnover on downs

That's a total of 31 points possibly lost. I'm sure I missed something else.

The blame goes both ways in this game. 50/50 players/coaches

[Youngsta71701]

At least publicly, the players have bought into it. Ragnow said after the game that if we can't overpower the d-line and score in that situation, "it's going to be a long year."

I can agree with that statement. But at least use a hard count or change the snap count to slow them down. Or spread the field to get some of the defensive players out of the box then overpower less players. Something anything other than what we did. It was way to predictable. I think too much pride came into play there.

[hawgtime]

Paragraphs or no paragraphs, playcalling from the 2-yard line and closer was mind-boggling.  Shades of 2014 and Chaney, but this time it's Enos.  Two OC's known for creativity.  Deja vu all over again. The common denominator is the head coach.  Nothing but runs into goal line two-deep until the jet sweep straight into two unaccounted for defensive backs.

My Vols fan neighbor came over today and asked me what our staff was thinking on those goal line possessions.  All I could do was shake my head.

that is my gripe too.  every time they stuffed us, you saw them grow in confidence and we just shriveled.  come on to something to SCORE. we left 21 points on the board.  they were hitting us so hard that we went down.  we had to wrap them up to get them down.  run hard and hit them like a TRAIN!!!

come on HOGS. you can do this.

[gawntrail]

It seems we quickly err on the side of ultra-conservative concepts. 

AA was making great throws AND standing in the pocket til he let it fly.... taking it right in the lips from a darn good pass rush. 

We may need to simplify the run blocking concepts and narrow the play calling until the OL gets better.  Getting stoned as much as we did inside the 5 is unacceptable.  Compressing the formation(s) and then not be able to plow holes is THE sign to open the formation, create some space, and try something a touch more finesse. 

[Hawgphish]

Recruiting is not an exact science.  But programs that finish in the top 10 in recruiting usually finish in the top ten.  There are those occasional years where a roster full of 3 star players finish in the top ten.  It happens.  However, in our current placement in the SEC West, a realistic expectation is too finish with 7 wins most years and maybe 9-10 wins once every 10 years.  Also, we can expect to finish out of bowl contention every now and then, maybe once or twice in a ten year period. 

[Pork Ranger]

I want to start off by saying that I am not calling for Bielema's job.  As usual, anytime we lose everybody wants to blame the players and speak of how undermanned we are.   This loss was not on the players.  It was on Bielema/Enos.  The Playcalling was the worst that I have seen since Nutt was here.  Everybody knows what the definition of insanity means and that's exactly what we saw running continuously against their sacked front all throughout this game.   When the game was still undecided, we were passing the ball AT WILL and picking them apart with multiple recievers on obvious passing downs.  (First and ten was virtually always a rush attempt.) Our offensive line blocked pretty well(when the game was still undecided) against their great ends.  It appeared that Bielema just refused to let the pass set up the run.  He wanted the run to set up the pass at all costs.  I know this might not be the case but it appeared he was more concerned with HOW we won rather than doing whatever is necessary to win.  He was just not willing to accept that you cannot run right at them and play to our strengths and their weaknesses.  It's one thing to lose and another to lose because you are being bull headed.  I really wonder if their jerseys said Alabama if he would have continued to disrespect their front against the rush.  I tend to think he would not have.    I am also a big believer in that this is a team game and when the defense continues to see this nonsense and we get stuffed time and time again, it hurts morale and gives the other team extreme confidence.  That's why I believe towards the end of the game the defense looked so bad.  Defense played fairly well for much of the game.  That last goal line stand broke the camels back. It was just a bad situation.  I think Bielema should apologize to the team and accept full responsibility for this loss.  It is squarely on the coaching staff's shoulders.  That is for sure.  I just hope a lesson is learned by the staff.  I have no reason to think otherwise.   Surely, NOW they will accept you have to change when something is not working.  They have done so in the past anyway.  For the most part, Playcalling has been good since Enos has arrived.  Hopefully, this is a one time deal.  I guess we will know in 2 weeks!   

I don't care if you use paragraphs or not. And I completely agree with everything you said

[bphi11ips]

At least publicly, the players have bought into it. Ragnow said after the game that if we can't overpower the d-line and score in that situation, "it's going to be a long year."

There are no pictures on the scoreboard.  Stylepoints don't count.  Points are points.  Where were the bootlegs,  RPOs, fades, etc.?  In 2014, Booger McFarland asked why we just didn't let BA bootleg left and slip Henry out in the flat.  It was so obvious a caveman could see it. 

AA and the team fought like hell last night and deserved better than that.  It's my only complaint about an otherwise good effort. 

[MuskogeeHogFan]

It seems we quickly err on the side of ultra-conservative concepts. 

AA was making great throws AND standing in the pocket til he let it fly.... taking it right in the lips from a darn good pass rush. 

We may need to simplify the run blocking concepts and narrow the play calling until the OL gets better.  Getting stoned as much as we did inside the 5 is unacceptable.  Compressing the formation(s) and then not be able to plow holes is THE sign to open the formation, create some space, and try something a touch more finesse. 

I don't disagree with this. If you are an O-Lineman you of course want to go mano-a-mano with the guys across from you and beat them, but if you are on the 2 and they "submarine" you gaining leverage, you aren't driving anyone backwards. Of course you also hope that the formations and plays that are called will give you some help instead of loading everyone on defense between two TE's that are aligned tight.

To me, and in all fairness I have no idea what the coaching staff's thought process was at that time, that just seems like "ego" taking over in play calling. But I could be wrong.

[Youngsta71701]

There are no pictures on the scoreboard.  Stylepoints don't count.  Points are points.  Where were the bootlegs,  RPOs, fades, etc.?  In 2014, Booger McFarland asked why we just didn't let BA bootleg left and slip Henry out in the flat.  It was so obvious a caveman could see it. 

AA and the team fought like hell last night and deserved better than that.  It's my only complaint about an otherwise good effort.

I agree 100%. The bootleg or QB waggle works almost every time for us in running situations because most teams expect us to run the ball on most short yardage plays.

[rljjr]

I love all these "honest" threads.

[Cmheinley]

It's like they still had the our O-Line can out big and out physical anyone in the country mentality. Unfortunately, that just simply isn't the case this year. Surely the staff knows that. Those goal line fails just added up to too much to overcome from a point perspective and momentum perspective.

[Razorbackers]

You mention something that is very concerning to me; A&M is building depth that we are never going to be able to match.  They have speed on defense that we cannot match.  I'm just afraid Arkansas is going to continue to fall behind in talent and continue to be a 2nd tier team in this league.

You mean a team in Texas is able to recruit better than us after having a heisman winner and having the other dominant program in the state collapse for a little while?

Arkansas will never...EVER...get the amount of 5 star players that TAMU, Bama, LSU, UF, UT, or UGA get on a consistent basis. It's almost impossible. We don't have the in state guys to bolster our numbers. We build our depth with 3 star guys.

Development is how Arkansas wins games against TAMU and Bama, and this season we're starting a lot of new guys on offense that are still developing. It sucked to watch them crumble in the 4th, but I'm not dreading the future. Bielema has recruited well, especially when you look at star rankings.