I've been wanting to start a blog for sometime now but in the past I have never really found the time to get all my thoughts down in one place. Now that I am working part time at the house and raising our 6 month old son, I am going to try and fill my time by bringing you a weekly analysis of all things SEC. "The Best Damn Conferene In The Land," is proud to join forces with "SEC Crush" and bring you a mixture of previews, reviews, projections, wagering predictions, random thoughts, and everyting in between. So without further adieu, let's take a look back at week 4 in the SEC.
Bama/Hogs: "He's cut, the Russian is Cut!!!" These are the words that popped into my head immediately after Arkansas took two plays to score their first touchdown. Fortunately for Bama, they had Saban as their coach instead of a butch haired Serbian woman, it certainly wasn't pretty, but I'm sure Bama will take an ugly road win against a top 10 SEC team any day of the week.
This was the first time I can recall seeing McElroy struggle personally, and it was nice to see him find the resolve to shrug things off and finish strong. This mentality was obviously the difference in the game, Arkansas was clearly praying for the game to end, they did not have the confidence and belief to go out and make the plays necessary to put this game on ice. I will say this though, Bama's young secondary looked suspect at times and if they come across an opponent who decides not to self implode, I could very easily see this team getting their first loss. Luckily for Bama, they will not have to worry about facing a passing attack like Mallett's unless they meet the Smurf-ville Southpaw in Glendale.
Terrible, terrible, terrible play calling in the first half! Thank the lord Bama's coaching staff is smart enough to realize they could dominate the line of scrimmage in the second half and keep Mallett on the sideline at the same time. When your defense is young and clearly not as good as last year's, why would you be in such a hurry to get them back on the field as soon as possible? Richardson is a great back, but come on, have you watched Ingram the last two games? Ingram clearly has a cutting ability and vision that sets him apart from Richardson, I pity the fool that has to play against these two guys.
Vols/Blazers: In the words of Tone the Bone, "Go Blazers, Go Blazers, Win for UAB!" It's a shame UAB can't recruit a kicker that can do better than 2/7 on his attempts....Who am I kidding, they are lucky to have a kicker that can make 2 kicks at all. In all seriousness though, UAB played hard and I was impressed with their QB, RB, and TE, but UT ought to be ashamed of themselves celebrating like they just won the superbowl. They carried Denarius Moore off the field Rudy style because he beat UAB in overtime, I don't care how hard they played, this is still UAB people!
I've heard good things about Dooley, and in time, I believe he will get UT turned around, but not this season. I was surprisingly impressed with Sims' arm strength, guy has got a cannon to go along with a veteren receiving core, but I'm not sure how many wins that will translate into this season. It's looking like the UT-UGA matchup will decide the winner of the East this year......Psyyyyyyyyyyyych!!!!
UGA/Cowbells: I'm ashamed to say it, but I have to admit I watched the majority of this game on ESPN 3 solely because I have Vick Ballard on my SEC fantasy football team. I have to agree with the consensus that Richt is treading on some seriously thin ice. I know UGA is playing a freshman QB, but that is no excuse, UGA is playing like a team that knows their coach is done, no passion, no desire, no will to win. Herschel himself couldn't save this team, let alone AJ Green coming off suspension. This surprises me, because in year's past, you could always count on UGA to be a tough out, no matter what the circumstances, you knew you were going to face a well prepared team, but you get the feeling that something is just missing this season. The word that comes to mind is "stale", I think this is the same situation Auburn had with Tubs, when a coach has been in the same place for such a long time, I think administration, fans, players, and coaches simply get bored with one another.
On the other hand, I like what I'm seeing from MSU. Mullins has this team playing hard, and their offense makes just enough plays to keep them competitive. MSU plays tough defense and the spread is a fun style to watch! If Mullins can get some decent athletes into his system, I could see Starkville becoming a tough place to play in future years.
LSU/Couch Burners: Since Miles managed to win a national championship with Saban's players in 2007, I have seen this program gradually decline over the past three years. The guy can recruit incredible talent and play stiff defense, but LSU's offense is the most predictable and vanilla I have ever seen. During the week I imagine this is probably how a LSU coaching meeting would go...'Hey let's try running up the middle a couple of times, then run the rollout option with Jefferson to the short side of the field, then on third and long try throwing one down field for a change and see how that works?" Miles and Gottfried need to team up and start a consulting firm to teach people how to get the least amount of production from their talents. Moving on.
Ole Miss/Fresno: Gimmick, Gimmick, Gimmick! All Ole Miss does is run gimmick plays. I don't know why Nutt insists on taking Masoli off the field to run the wildcat when Masoli IS the wildcat. Note to self, McCluster is gone, you might want to keep your best player on the field as much as possible. Given that, their offense has looked explosive, they can put up some points, but most of their receivers are freshmen, so give them time.
Defense is terrible, anytime you give up 40 to Jax State, 40 to fresno, and 28 to Vandy, I'd say that is a bit of a defensive lapse. Until Ole Miss starts putting some sort of emphasis on defense I have no use for this team. Have fun yelling Hotty Toddy in Shreveport this December!
Gators/Kentucky: I think this is the game where things started to click for the Gators. Up to this point, they have looked woefully inept on offense, and Meyer finally decided to wise up and realize that Brantley is not Tebow and he better start getting the ball to one of the thirty guys on the roster that can run a 4.2 forty. Cobb and Locke are two of the most talented guys in the SEC and they couldn't put a dent in UF's defense, so I don't think UF will get blown out next week, but I don't think they will win either. This team is starting to gel on offense and their defense is good as usual, but luckily for Bama, UF hasn't figured out how to throw the ball down field yet. Bama wins it in the trenches!
Barn/Cocks: Both of these teams have been a nice surprise so far this season. Up to this point, USC has looked like the best team in the East, and Auburn has looked very dangerous on offense. I get the feeling Auburn can't keep relying on Cam Newton night in and night out, as goes Cam so do the Tigers. Some team is going to face the Tigers and be hell bent on stopping him from running the ball and force him to throw. Easier said than done, but if it happens, I don't believe the Auburn defense can keep up. So far Auburn has navigated an extremely tough portion of their schedule and I can't see LSU beating them, so as it stands Auburn and Bama might be fishing the Flemish Cap and heading towards the perfect storm. Would the state of Alabama implode if these two teams met in the Iron Bowl undefeated?
Dyer is a good back, he runs hard and should clearly be getting the majority of the carries for Auburn. For all the things that Dyer brings to the table, Fannin is clearly the opposite. How many chances does one player get in order to prove to everyone that he is a sissy. Ok ok, we get it, Fannin likes to fumble and avoid contact whenever possible. Enough of this experiment already!
Why Spurrier decided to go with a freshman for the final drive of the game I will never know? Garcia managed the game extremely well for three qtrs, and proved that he could move the ball and put up points. I find it hard to believe that after a few mistakes in the 4th qtr, you are better served putting the game in the hands of a freshman, rather than going with an experienced junior QB, but what do I know, I don't throw visors.
On a side note, is there a better receiver in the SEC than Alshon Jeffrey, dude is gonna be a beast in the league, can you say Terrell Owens with hands? Lattimore didn't have a particularly good game statistically, but this guy is the real deal, so far this season he is one of the best freshmen I have ever seen! Florida and Carolina are clearly the class of the East.
I'll get some thoughts together for the upcoming slate of week 5 games, including the highly anticipated #1 Crimson Tide Vs. #7 Gators, which really doesn't mean that much seeing as how they'll just meet again in the SEC Championship game.
No comments:
Post a Comment