Dale Jones Appreciation Thread

[CoachRob]

I am CoachRob, and I approve this thread.

[BallantyneApp]

The flip side to “their offensive line looked awful” argument is that our really good defense made them look awful. We brought more pressure from blitzes than I can recall ever seeing. I think we brought 8 guys a few times. The bulk of the run yards they got was late when the white flag went up. When we are up 3 scores in the 4th quarter I couldn’t care less about garbage yards allowed. There should be a stat called- yards allowed before the game is decided! I thought Meech looked slow and out of shape in the first 3 games but he was back to a beast last night. Jolly didn’t look good early either but man we have to be rusty in spots. It’s obvious that Clark won’t tolerate putting the ball on the ground. Williams had the one big run, coughed it up and was done for the night. Ark was rolling a safety over onto Henni all night so the others had to get open and they did. Zac’s TD run was crazy. If we can stay COVID free we will be tough to beat. The team I saw last night could have been interesting up in Wisconsin. Man I hope the seniors come back next year.

Yeah that run from Marcus was great to see but putting the ball on the turf killed it for him. If I'm not mistaken, didnt each of the backs have a fumble. Only Marcus lost his though. Seems like we need to see a running back crew walking around campus with footballs in hand at all times ala ESU in the movie "The Program". Just dated myself.

I think we have our sense of fumbling warped because we've been through several years of Jalin and DE who literally never fumbled.

I think our guys get it corrected. Cam had the one fumble against UNCC that was unforced, but IMO both MW fumbles have been perfect plays by the defense rather than him being loose.

Not sure I see how expecting the running back to do their job and protect the ball is warped. Pretty sure thats part of the goal. Why measure turnovers if it isn't important. Jalin and DE did their job well. If you want to say we have been spoiled,, I agree with that...warped not so much.

yeah maybe warped was too strong a word. Spoiled definitely. but again, I think it gets corrected long term.

[NewApp]

It was a very intense effort from both sides of the ball - damn glad to see. Continue like his and we can run table. The layoff allowed for the necessary adjustments be made. I noticed a lot of their players limping, we brought hurt to them. The same team that beat a power 5 week 1
Our defense is noticeably quicker than Coastal, ULL, and Georgia Southern, from what I have watched. Going into last night I was pretty down on our preparation, lack of intensity, errors, and bone headed penalties. Just joking, maybe Covid brought us a cure?
I'm sure this has been brought up before, but our kick off coverage isn't very good, so why not kick the ball into the end zone and let our defense stop them - looks like they've rounded the corner, or can we not? 95% of opponents returns seem to get past the 25 anyway.
I've seen enough of DJ over the years, to say not so fast my friend, but last night was an improvement. I'd say we'd have beaten Marshall last night with that EFFORT from BOTH sides of the ball.
Other questions that have nothing to do with DJ, Why leave ZT in the game late to get a freak injury? Why take our foot off the gas on some series...like the last 48 seconds which would have been good game practice for a possible scenario later against a tougher opponent? and the 3rd quarter running straight into 6 defenders several plays in a row, that only Herschal Walker could have made positive gain?... helped Arky making a game of it again?
Bottom line is last night was APP Football - they proved the doubt out of me.

Taking Z out would have been taking our foot off the gas, wouldn't it?

LATE garbage time - you missed that part - last couple of series inside the 4 minute mark when we were up 4TDS. NOt a teaching moment or practice scenario with 48 seconds left trying to score if you had to.

No matter when you take him out...it's letting off the gas.

[AppDub]

The flip side to “their offensive line looked awful” argument is that our really good defense made them look awful. We brought more pressure from blitzes than I can recall ever seeing. I think we brought 8 guys a few times. The bulk of the run yards they got was late when the white flag went up. When we are up 3 scores in the 4th quarter I couldn’t care less about garbage yards allowed. There should be a stat called- yards allowed before the game is decided! I thought Meech looked slow and out of shape in the first 3 games but he was back to a beast last night. Jolly didn’t look good early either but man we have to be rusty in spots. It’s obvious that Clark won’t tolerate putting the ball on the ground. Williams had the one big run, coughed it up and was done for the night. Ark was rolling a safety over onto Henni all night so the others had to get open and they did. Zac’s TD run was crazy. If we can stay COVID free we will be tough to beat. The team I saw last night could have been interesting up in Wisconsin. Man I hope the seniors come back next year.

Yeah that run from Marcus was great to see but putting the ball on the turf killed it for him. If I'm not mistaken, didnt each of the backs have a fumble. Only Marcus lost his though. Seems like we need to see a running back crew walking around campus with footballs in hand at all times ala ESU in the movie "The Program". Just dated myself.

I think we have our sense of fumbling warped because we've been through several years of Jalin and DE who literally never fumbled.

I think our guys get it corrected. Cam had the one fumble against UNCC that was unforced, but IMO both MW fumbles have been perfect plays by the defense rather than him being loose.

Not sure I see how expecting the running back to do their job and protect the ball is warped. Pretty sure thats part of the goal. Why measure turnovers if it isn't important. Jalin and DE did their job well. If you want to say we have been spoiled,, I agree with that...warped not so much.

yeah maybe warped was too strong a word. Spoiled definitely. but again, I think it gets corrected long term.

I agree. I think they clean it up too.

[BurkeGrad]

Anyone else hear that Ark. St. has now been held under 20 points in the last 2 years (2018, 2019, & 2020) by three teams: Georgia, Alabama, and App. State (last nite & in 2019). Pierre Banks & crew mentioned it in the post game show. Cool stuff.

App's D is top notch, and it shows.

You are correct, AppAlum1. Heard the same stat. As an earlier questioner lamented, why send Z.T. back out after the game has long been decided and risk jury? Was he near a school record? Let one or two of the backups get some game reps. They can’t be too happy with decision.

[Mjohn1988]

The flip side to “their offensive line looked awful” argument is that our really good defense made them look awful. We brought more pressure from blitzes than I can recall ever seeing. I think we brought 8 guys a few times. The bulk of the run yards they got was late when the white flag went up. When we are up 3 scores in the 4th quarter I couldn’t care less about garbage yards allowed. There should be a stat called- yards allowed before the game is decided! I thought Meech looked slow and out of shape in the first 3 games but he was back to a beast last night. Jolly didn’t look good early either but man we have to be rusty in spots. It’s obvious that Clark won’t tolerate putting the ball on the ground. Williams had the one big run, coughed it up and was done for the night. Ark was rolling a safety over onto Henni all night so the others had to get open and they did. Zac’s TD run was crazy. If we can stay COVID free we will be tough to beat. The team I saw last night could have been interesting up in Wisconsin. Man I hope the seniors come back next year.

Yeah that run from Marcus was great to see but putting the ball on the turf killed it for him. If I'm not mistaken, didnt each of the backs have a fumble. Only Marcus lost his though. Seems like we need to see a running back crew walking around campus with footballs in hand at all times ala ESU in the movie "The Program". Just dated myself.

I think we have our sense of fumbling warped because we've been through several years of Jalin and DE who literally never fumbled.

I think our guys get it corrected. Cam had the one fumble against UNCC that was unforced, but IMO both MW fumbles have been perfect plays by the defense rather than him being loose.

Not sure I see how expecting the running back to do their job and protect the ball is warped. Pretty sure thats part of the goal. Why measure turnovers if it isn't important. Jalin and DE did their job well. If you want to say we have been spoiled,, I agree with that...warped not so much.

Peoples put it on the ground in this game too and didn’t look anything like the guy who played the Charlotte game. Young man has fought through a lot. Hope he”s really healthy.

[huskie3]

I enjoyed seeing APP football again

[AppStFan1]

First I would like to start of by being honest and saying I was not thrilled when Dale Jones was hired. Also I am still very hesitant as I am typing this. With that said what I saw last night was a Master Class performance from our Defensive Coordinator. We held a high octane offense that came into the game EN FEUGO through the air to 295 passing yards, no passing TDs, 2 ints. In the first half it really looked like he was giving each QB their own look and it was confusing them, the second half anytime momentum was trying to swing their way the heat was turned all the way up. What blew me away the most was the series after the onside kick. It was as if Dale Jones was offended his D had to go back out on the field, they down right punished Ark St for the onside kick. They literally had zero chance to do anything positive on that drive. By the end of the game when the cameras would pan to Bonner and Hatcher on the bench they shared the same look "coach don't make me go back out there". Our D flat out took their heart last night and it was great to watch. Yeah I know Adams had a bunch of yards but they were empty calories in my book, all catch and tackles nothing running free and nothing in that painted area. Also in the red zone our D turned two of the best WR in college football into ghosts, heck Green was a non factor for the whole game! Again I know it's just one game but I was very impressed with the game plan and play calling on the defensive side of the ball. Oh and Mr. Jones if you are reading this (I know you are not) you have now set the bar for how I will judge your D, great show last night!

I think the concern early on is fair but those who buried him and thought this was the worst pick were speaking quite early. The panic after the first couple games was funny because we know a team can turn things around. It is why I am not a big fan of polls until 5-6 weeks in to a season.

We have too much talent not to expect any DC who is just decent to put together a good unit. We have a ton of talent in the starting lineup and a lot of backups and first-year starters showing out. We could still lose a couple more games for sure but we could also win out.

There are still things to clean up. We have to continue to improve at protecting the ball on offense and still need to not have a mental lapse here and there on defense. We have the speed and skill talent to be very good. I was really glad to see Demetrius Taylor wake up and move better. With some of these young guys stepping up and then getting some production from Taylor I feel like this unit should be tough. We had 2 or 3 young guys who had not played until this year who have shown they are going to be really good as well. Just up front on the DL alone I feel like Earle and Paillant are going to be future stars.

[WASU 93]

The flip side to “their offensive line looked awful” argument is that our really good defense made them look awful. We brought more pressure from blitzes than I can recall ever seeing. I think we brought 8 guys a few times. The bulk of the run yards they got was late when the white flag went up. When we are up 3 scores in the 4th quarter I couldn’t care less about garbage yards allowed. There should be a stat called- yards allowed before the game is decided! I thought Meech looked slow and out of shape in the first 3 games but he was back to a beast last night. Jolly didn’t look good early either but man we have to be rusty in spots. It’s obvious that Clark won’t tolerate putting the ball on the ground. Williams had the one big run, coughed it up and was done for the night. Ark was rolling a safety over onto Henni all night so the others had to get open and they did. Zac’s TD run was crazy. If we can stay COVID free we will be tough to beat. The team I saw last night could have been interesting up in Wisconsin. Man I hope the seniors come back next year.

Yeah that run from Marcus was great to see but putting the ball on the turf killed it for him. If I'm not mistaken, didnt each of the backs have a fumble. Only Marcus lost his though. Seems like we need to see a running back crew walking around campus with footballs in hand at all times ala ESU in the movie "The Program". Just dated myself.

Peoples would have lost his, except for a very fortunate bounce. Harrington's fumble was on the sideline.
I've actually wondered if we changed football brands this season.
In 2019, we only fumbled 9 times and only lost three (Raykwon Anderson on his first carry of the year vs. ULM, Corey Sutton on a Non-Contact Injury and ZT on a 3rd Q sack in the Championship Game). Hence, our running backs lost 1 fumble in 14 games.
In 2018, we only fumbled 10 times and only lost 5 (three ZT fumbles, one by Clifton Duck on a punt return against Georgia Southern and one by our defense after an interception against Charlotte, when we turned it back over to them) in 13 games.

2018, over 380 carries by our Running Backs with no lost fumbles.
2019, over 460 carries by our Running Backs with no lost fumbles, except for a first carry ever by a freshman RB

That's amazing.

[WASU 93]

The flip side to “their offensive line looked awful” argument is that our really good defense made them look awful. We brought more pressure from blitzes than I can recall ever seeing. I think we brought 8 guys a few times. The bulk of the run yards they got was late when the white flag went up. When we are up 3 scores in the 4th quarter I couldn’t care less about garbage yards allowed. There should be a stat called- yards allowed before the game is decided! I thought Meech looked slow and out of shape in the first 3 games but he was back to a beast last night. Jolly didn’t look good early either but man we have to be rusty in spots. It’s obvious that Clark won’t tolerate putting the ball on the ground. Williams had the one big run, coughed it up and was done for the night. Ark was rolling a safety over onto Henni all night so the others had to get open and they did. Zac’s TD run was crazy. If we can stay COVID free we will be tough to beat. The team I saw last night could have been interesting up in Wisconsin. Man I hope the seniors come back next year.

Yeah that run from Marcus was great to see but putting the ball on the turf killed it for him. If I'm not mistaken, didnt each of the backs have a fumble. Only Marcus lost his though. Seems like we need to see a running back crew walking around campus with footballs in hand at all times ala ESU in the movie "The Program". Just dated myself.

I think we have our sense of fumbling warped because we've been through several years of Jalin and DE who literally never fumbled.

I think our guys get it corrected. Cam had the one fumble against UNCC that was unforced, but IMO both MW fumbles have been perfect plays by the defense rather than him being loose.

Not sure I see how expecting the running back to do their job and protect the ball is warped. Pretty sure thats part of the goal. Why measure turnovers if it isn't important. Jalin and DE did their job well. If you want to say we have been spoiled,, I agree with that...warped not so much.

Peoples put it on the ground in this game too and didn’t look anything like the guy who played the Charlotte game. Young man has fought through a lot. Hope he”s really healthy.

Peoples didn't have any holes to run through. Our rushing attack made some big plays, but we really were not dominant last night:

We carried the ball 44 times for 305 yards.

Harrington had a 55 yard TD. ZT had a 60 yard TD. Williams was credited with 53 yards (It was a 39 yard run, that rolled for an additional 14 yards) towards the total of 305 yards. If you subtract those 3 runs (thankfully, we made the plays), we had 41 carries for 137 yards. 3.34 Yards Per Carry. (We had 33 carries for 96 yards against Marshall 2.91 per Carry)

I think the Blueprint against us is to Load the Box (as Marshall did and Ark. State did last night) and make us beat them with the passing game. It's not our offensive scheme, but I'd love to see us run some plays with two of our premier backs in the backfield and run some misdirection to see if we can loosen up the D.

[MAD Doctor]

Yeah that run from Marcus was great to see but putting the ball on the turf killed it for him. If I'm not mistaken, didnt each of the backs have a fumble. Only Marcus lost his though. Seems like we need to see a running back crew walking around campus with footballs in hand at all times ala ESU in the movie "The Program". Just dated myself.

I think we have our sense of fumbling warped because we've been through several years of Jalin and DE who literally never fumbled.

I think our guys get it corrected. Cam had the one fumble against UNCC that was unforced, but IMO both MW fumbles have been perfect plays by the defense rather than him being loose.

Not sure I see how expecting the running back to do their job and protect the ball is warped. Pretty sure thats part of the goal. Why measure turnovers if it isn't important. Jalin and DE did their job well. If you want to say we have been spoiled,, I agree with that...warped not so much.

Peoples put it on the ground in this game too and didn’t look anything like the guy who played the Charlotte game. Young man has fought through a lot. Hope he”s really healthy.

Peoples didn't have any holes to run through. Our rushing attack made some big plays, but we really were not dominant last night:

We carried the ball 44 times for 305 yards.

Harrington had a 55 yard TD. ZT had a 60 yard TD. Williams was credited with 53 yards (It was a 39 yard run, that rolled for an additional 14 yards) towards the total of 305 yards. If you subtract those 3 runs (thankfully, we made the plays), we had 41 carries for 137 yards. 3.34 Yards Per Carry. (We had 33 carries for 96 yards against Marshall 2.91 per Carry)

I think the Blueprint against us is to Load the Box (as Marshall did and Ark. State did last night) and make us beat them with the passing game. It's not our offensive scheme, but I'd love to see us run some plays with two of our premier backs in the backfield and run some misdirection to see if we can loosen up the D.

I Agree. Our success has been built on establishing the running game. By stacking the box, defenses are playing the odds that it’s more likely one person (qb) has a bad game, rather than seven lineman and backs. Tony and the Offense have to be ready to adjust, and this week, it looked like they were.

[bigdaddyg]

The only stat that truly matters is the one on the scoreboard. We won that one going away. Whatever it takes.

[WASU 93]

The only stat that truly matters is the one on the scoreboard. We won that one going away. Whatever it takes.

I agree and it was a great bounce back win after a long layoff.

However, I’ll throw one more stat at you in relation to the original subject. Our defense has now given up 20, 17, and 17 against three FBS opponents with good offenses (and I’d venture to say that Arkansas State and Marshall are better than average offenses). That’s a solid output.

[fjblair]

I enjoyed seeing APP football again

Me too. I was actually kind of shocked at what I saw. This was not the same team that played the first three games. At all. From the sidelines to the field this was an App State team playing App State football(turnovers noted). It's a beautiful thing.

[AppAlum1]

I enjoyed seeing APP football again

Me too. I was actually kind of shocked at what I saw. This was not the same team that played the first three games. At all. From the sidelines to the field this was an App State team playing App State football(turnovers noted). It's a beautiful thing.

This!

[BambooRdApp]

Agree, great to see App St football. In the DJ appreciation tour, IMO, I believe these evaluations should be a season long idea... After we play better teams CC, UL, GaSo. Ark coaching staff over thought creativity in red zone or near red zone a couple of times. With that said, App St definitely held them well below season total yards average. If evals and decisions made on individual games, Bateman would not have been coaching Heels yesterday after the Noles debacle. I am definitely glad for progress, however more difficult part of schedule is still yet to be played.

[APPdiesel]

Amazing the difference in the Dale Jones and Ted Roof threads.

[Yosef84]

Yeah that run from Marcus was great to see but putting the ball on the turf killed it for him. If I'm not mistaken, didnt each of the backs have a fumble. Only Marcus lost his though. Seems like we need to see a running back crew walking around campus with footballs in hand at all times ala ESU in the movie "The Program". Just dated myself.

I think we have our sense of fumbling warped because we've been through several years of Jalin and DE who literally never fumbled.

I think our guys get it corrected. Cam had the one fumble against UNCC that was unforced, but IMO both MW fumbles have been perfect plays by the defense rather than him being loose.

Not sure I see how expecting the running back to do their job and protect the ball is warped. Pretty sure thats part of the goal. Why measure turnovers if it isn't important. Jalin and DE did their job well. If you want to say we have been spoiled,, I agree with that...warped not so much.

Peoples put it on the ground in this game too and didn’t look anything like the guy who played the Charlotte game. Young man has fought through a lot. Hope he”s really healthy.

Peoples didn't have any holes to run through. Our rushing attack made some big plays, but we really were not dominant last night:

We carried the ball 44 times for 305 yards.

Harrington had a 55 yard TD. ZT had a 60 yard TD. Williams was credited with 53 yards (It was a 39 yard run, that rolled for an additional 14 yards) towards the total of 305 yards. If you subtract those 3 runs (thankfully, we made the plays), we had 41 carries for 137 yards. 3.34 Yards Per Carry. (We had 33 carries for 96 yards against Marshall 2.91 per Carry)

I think the Blueprint against us is to Load the Box (as Marshall did and Ark. State did last night) and make us beat them with the passing game. It's not our offensive scheme, but I'd love to see us run some plays with two of our premier backs in the backfield and run some misdirection to see if we can loosen up the D.

Your points are valid, but I would just point out that the blueprint for playing App has been to load the box for several years now. Even in years when our offense has been more balanced than others, we've always been run first. Most defenses are going to choose to stop the run and make you beat them through the air because more things can go wrong in the passing game. Also, there is some value to excluding outliers in analyzing stats, but almost every game with high rushing yardage contains those "big plays." The fact that we had three "explosive" running plays would indicate that we were, in fact, pretty dominant, especially given that they were stacking the box for a good part of the game.

[Rekdiver]

Speaking of appreciation....TD Roof played well!!!