[Cider Jim]

Purple and I left mid-way into the 4th quarter. Not sure how long Ballcoach stayed. It was COLD, and our offense shut down at halftime.

[ballcoach15]

Reference 4 and 23, i was told it had to do with blown coverage.

[LU 57]

Very good team. Well coached. They would beat ole miss.

I was thinking to myself that LSU would not want anything to do with them this year.

[TH Spangler]

Very good team. Well coached. They would beat ole miss.

I was thinking to myself that LSU would not want anything to do with them this year.

Looking forward to seeing which bowl they land in.

[rtb72]

Whew....glad to finally be back home from that. Best part of today was a cold beer and some great Mexican food at La Carreta. Malik is it....all we got and he tries to do too much and makes mistakes in the process of trying to do too much. He seems to have regressed in his decision making, especially under pressure IMO. TJ Green is hopeful I think. O line...well...it sucks. Our D was really good including our DBs. Hard to play when you get called for penalties on good coverage...nearly every time. Although, refs didn't help, LU lost that game. ULL is good...but not Ole Miss good. With 6 TOs....we could make even the worst team look good.

Now...is something going on "in the locker room". I watched some receivers just stand and watch on some runs from MW where there should have been some attempt at blocking. The internal conflict where our coaches are having to separate players on the sideline....is something going on? Serious question here. Generally, you see teams improving as the year progresses....we are certainly not.

[tyndal23]

Whew....glad to finally be back home from that. Best part of today was a cold beer and some great Mexican food at La Carreta. Malik is it....all we got and he tries to do too much and makes mistakes in the process of trying to do too much. He seems to have regressed in his decision making, especially under pressure IMO. TJ Green is hopeful I think. O line...well...it sucks. Our D was really good including our DBs. Hard to play when you get called for penalties on good coverage...nearly every time. Although, refs didn't help, LU lost that game. ULL is good...but not Ole Miss good. With 6 TOs....we could make even the worst team look good.

Now...is something going on "in the locker room". I watched some receivers just stand and watch on some runs from MW where there should have been some attempt at blocking. The internal conflict where our coaches are having to separate players on the sideline....is something going on? Serious question here. Generally, you see teams improving as the year progresses....we are certainly not.

If it is defensive players who have pride in not giving up big plays - I have no problem. Actually would love to see some fisticuffs between our O Line. This O continues to regress and whatever our O coaches did in bye week to “fix” clearly didn’t work. I mean seriously - I could tell Malik to count “1 thousand 1, 1 thousand 2 “ and if pass isn’t there, tuck and run or heave it out of bounds no matter what. That would have won us 2 games alone.

[LU 57]

It seems like we are always trying to force the deep throws. ULL was taking that away. Not sure why we cannot be more satisfied using the middle of the field with the TEs. Mix in some screens. Anything to slow down the rush.

Also, our receivers almost never created any separation last night. Seemed way over matched by the bigger, more physical DBs from ULL.

[TH Spangler]

Willis is not a pocket passer. He rarely steps up into it. He's quick to spin out and retreat. Maybe he doesn't trust it or just trust his running ability more. Takes a lot of courage to stand in the bubble. I wonder how that effects the OL's play. Seems to lead to holding penalties. Willis's style might actually be hard to block for.

[JK37]

Doesn’t Willis have a private QB coach he works with in the off-season? Not being able to work with him in-season explains some regression I believe I’m seeing. Someone else mentioned playing through injury as a possibility, too. Several weeks ago I thought those talking about MW coming back next year were delusional. Now? Might be best thing for him.

The OL is what it is. Did someone mention they were all recruited in the FCS era? So they’re experienced but have a relatively low ceiling. But wasn’t this the group that last year performed much better than we’re seeing. How does one explain that regression? I don’t think they’re competing against much better competition this year as opposed to last.

I do think we have some talent. D seems good and relatively well-coached. A couple WR’s seem solid. TE’s seem ok, although underutilized. Seems OL and ST are the weak spots. And possibly coaching…?

They’re still going to get a bowl. It just feels so disappointing compared to expectations. Maybe that’s the fault of those of us setting expectations based on a fluky prior season - myself included.

Next week could be brutal. What gives me hope is the D seems to still be hanging on. And it’s Senior Day. (That used to matter.) Anyway, a team spiraling vs. the Triple Option feels like a recipe for disaster. They better all find something to play for. With the bowl game somewhere already in the bag, I’m not sure what that could be. I’ll be there, watching and supporting, but I’m starting this game week with a baaaaad feeling.

[LU Grad 11]

Thankful for Malik! Not always about wins and losses, but how you respond. That's why I'm so passionate about Liberty athletics. Champions for Christ.

[stokesjokes]

Willis is not a pocket passer. He rarely steps up into it. He's quick to spin out and retreat. Maybe he doesn't trust it or just trust his running ability more. Takes a lot of courage to stand in the bubble. I wonder how that effects the OL's play. Seems to lead to holding penalties. Willis's style might actually be hard to block for.

I was thinking this last night- hard to block for a QB when you don’t know where he’s going to go. Even on designed rollouts last night, he would cut back the other way instead of taking the quick hitter in front of him.

On the other hand, I saw at least two plays where an o-lineman stood there not blocking anyone while a d-lineman went past him into the backfield untouched. The o-line must not communicate well or know their assignments. That’s on coaching IMO.

[LU 57]

Willis is not a pocket passer. He rarely steps up into it. He's quick to spin out and retreat. Maybe he doesn't trust it or just trust his running ability more. Takes a lot of courage to stand in the bubble. I wonder how that effects the OL's play. Seems to lead to holding penalties. Willis's style might actually be hard to block for.

I was thinking this last night- hard to block for a QB when you don’t know where he’s going to go. Even on designed rollouts last night, he would cut back the other way instead of taking the quick hitter in front of him.

On the other hand, I saw at least two plays where an o-lineman stood there not blocking anyone while a d-lineman went past him into the backfield untouched. The o-line must not communicate well or know their assignments. That’s on coaching IMO.

Saw some backs not do too well at protection as well. 17 was living in our backfield…

[Purple Haize]

It sounds like some of you are coming around to my post Ole Miss conclusion on MW draft stock.

[ballcoach15]

I told Ciderjim after #17 had a sack, that 1 lineman should go to ticket office and buy a ticket, if he wants to watch the game.

17 had 3 sacks i recall, maybe 4

[TH Spangler]

I was glad to see some fire in the belly of HF at halftime. Officials were very friendly to Cagins at key moments.

[LU 57]

I told Ciderjim after #17 had a sack, that 1 lineman should go to ticket office and buy a ticket, if he wants to watch the game.

17 had 3 sacks i recall, maybe 4

4 confirmed.

[LibertyMan]

On the bright side, Freeze isn’t going anywhere

I don’t know. He may be the best we’ve had but I’m not impressed with his coaching this year. He’s got a lot of proving to do next season. Outside of COVID season, he’s currently a 7-5 season coach (excluding bowl). HCTG was a 6-6 season coach. So far, not much better, barring FCS/FBS transition.

HF is light years better than TG. Where is TG coaching now? How long do you think HF would be unemployed if we fired him tomorrow? Maybe 15 minutes.
We have not played well the last several games. Teams have figured out we can't run the ball, because we have no RB's and our OL is playing horrible.
Will not be surprised to find out, after the season, that MW has been playing hurt.
Also expect some new coaches on offense.
Hard to watch for sure.

Come on Flameshaw...you can't blame the RBs when the offense is focused on the QB. RBs outperformed MW, and the Ole Miss RBs, against Ole Miss. If you can run against Ole Miss, you can run against anyone in FBS (maybe except Georgia). The O-line actually gave Willis good protection in this game. I counted plenty of 1001s, 1002s, 1003s and Willis still had the ball in his hands. On the contrary, the defense has remained steady all season. I just hope we don't loose our DC next year! He's done an amazing job with these kids! HCHF is better than HCTG but, outside of COVID season, he has yet to prove it at Liberty. Even if he goes somewhere else next season (I'll bet my farm he will), it does not mean he will build a championship team at his next destination. For things to change, he has to change. Next season will be interesting!

[LibertyMan]

So no one knows why The Pride of Appomattox was in street clothes the 2nd half?
Anyone know why #4 and #23 (defense) about came to blows and had to be pulled off each other and separated by coaches in the 4th?
These are the questions we need answered @ASOR Forums Admin

All I know is that #4 has been getting creamed against tall WRs for past 2 seasons. It was good to see him not out there. On the contrary, #23 did not do any better...Go figure!

[rtb72]

I'm hesitant to post this, but I must say it's crossed my mind a couple times, and more profoundly after last night. I mean...these kids are human, so...

Could it be there is a "split locker room"? Those who are more "pro Malik" and those who might be less motivated in the "pro Malik" offense?

[Dalegarz1]

I don't even know where to begin. In mathematics vernacular, there are too many variables to solve. When you watch Brady carve up a defense with quick hitters and proper reads, you realize you don't need a QB to be running all over the place. I'm not saying a mobile QB doesn't have advantages but there is another offensive approach that would be better to keep the chains moving. How many times are we working behind the chains?! Perhaps the success we had at the beginning of the year has had a long term effect on play calling. IMHO, MW's legs should not be the first option. Let's develop a short passing game (which can open up the deep ball as the defensive backs cheat up) mixed in with some screens and runs. The long developing routes, more times than not, have not ended up well. How we finish next week (I will be in attendance) and our performance in a bowl game (assuming we get invited) will set the stage for recruiting and the mindset entering the off season. Let's turn this around!!

[paradox]

It sounds like some of you are coming around to my post Ole Miss conclusion on MW draft stock.

You're in the stadium. I'm not. Are guys getting open before things break down?

[olldflame]

So no one knows why The Pride of Appomattox was in street clothes the 2nd half?
Anyone know why #4 and #23 (defense) about came to blows and had to be pulled off each other and separated by coaches in the 4th?
These are the questions we need answered @ASOR Forums Admin

All I know is that #4 has been getting creamed against tall WRs for past 2 seasons. It was good to see him not out there. On the contrary, #23 did not do any better...Go figure!

#4 is CB Chris Megginson. #23 is S Cedric Stone. At 6'0", Chris is our tallest/longest CB, and in general the best we have against tall receivers. They don't play the same position. The guy who got beat on both of their TD fade routes was Duron Lowe (#29) who is 5'10".
[/quote]

[TH Spangler]

It sounds like some of you are coming around to my post Ole Miss conclusion on MW draft stock.

You're in the stadium. I'm not. Are guys getting open before things break down?

Last night no. Good coverage, even a bunch of interferences ignored by refs.

Last night we played a better team. Same with the previous game. We knew coming into the season we stood a good chance of losing our last three. That's why we needed every win we could get early. Let's not lose 3 in a row, let's bring it all next week and beat Army for Navy because I don't think Navy can .

Just keep recruiting and hang on to staff as long as we can.

[paradox]

Well, if that's the case, he can just throw it out of bounds like people say. But that's gonna happen on nearly every play. Can't win that way. It's just too easy to say get rid of it, when it's constant.

I'm curious as to why we don't put five receivers out on the line. Spread them out. The D has to commit at least 5 or 6 in the secondary to cover that. If they go 5, then they rush 6....but Malik can throw a one-on-one to his best match-up. If they leave 6 back in coverage, then they can rush only 5...our 5 against their 5....they'll be pressure.....but no added pressure. Right now, we're adding more pressure with our schemes.

[Ill flame]

Well, if that's the case, he can just throw it out of bounds like people say. But that's gonna happen on nearly every play. Can't win that way. It's just too easy to say get rid of it, when it's constant.

I'm curious as to why we don't put five receivers out on the line. Spread them out. The D has to commit at least 5 or 6 in the secondary to cover that. If they go 5, then they rush 6....but Malik can throw a one-on-one to his best match-up. If they leave 6 back in coverage, then they can rush only 5...our 5 against their 5....they'll be pressure.....but no added pressure. Right now, we're adding more pressure with our schemes.

Our offensive line regularly gets beat when opposing defenses rush 4. If they rush more we would need a RB to help block. It doesn't matter how many receivers are open if Malik can't get the ball to them before getting pressured.