First and foremost, hat's off to the D. They played absolutely outstanding. SCar may have the #3 passing D in the country, but I was much more impressed with our secondary than theirs. Banks has 1st Round potential, imo. I'll be very surprised if Broomfield doesn't play on Sundays, too. And Nickoe Whitley is among the elite hitters in the country. The guy just absolutely brings the lumber. His most impressive hit Saturday was when he met Lattimore at the 5 and Lattimore went flying backwards. It's not very often you're going to see that happen, gents.
Our LBs have made significant improvement. For all the Cam Lawrence haters, the guy is easily our best LB & makes all our calls. He does an outstanding job getting us in position. And his numbers are right up there with anyone in the league's. I'll be surprised if he's not All-SEC, even if it's 3rd team. Deonte Skinner has finally figured it out and is playing the way we all thought he could. I still think we're weak at MLB, but Brandon Wilson is proving to be serviceable. Maye needs to sit and never play again, though. He's just not an SEC player. Proves how weak the ACC is. As I've said 18 million times, if it were up to me, I'd move Cam to MLB & put Wells at the other OLB spot. I think that gets our 3 best LBs on the field. Kinda hard to argue with Wilson's last 2 games, though.
We finally got some pressure & push from the DL. And not surprisingly, it made a huge difference in our D. Cox & Boyd are finally starting to get going. And Eulls is improving every game. It's just a matter of snaps with him.
Overall, I was pleased with our gameplan on D. Having Banks on Alshon was a great decision and an amazing battle to watch. It sucks that we had a brainfart on the TD, but that happens. Broomfield had decent coverage, but at 5'8", he isn't outjumping Alshon. Period. Just shows that 1 play can be enough to beat you. I was incredibly pleased with how well we stuffed the run. Holding USC 100 yards under their rushing average and Lattimore to 39 yards is VERY impressive. We finally played a complete, physical game on D.
Now, to the offense. The OL was better this week. Carmon at LT makes a big difference. I like Clausell, but he just isn't ready yet.
Ballard ran hard all day. I don't recall any dancing. If I'm wrong, remind me. Perkins also had a couple of nice runs. I'm disappointed we aren't using more slip screens to them, especially Perk. With the pressure SCar's DL was getting at times, it seems that a slip screen would help slow down their rush some.
Our WR's aren't very good. Period. Most of them can't catch a cold. After SCar took the lead I told one of my buddies I had no confidence in our WRs to get open. Seriously, name the last time you saw one of our WRs running free or sitting in the middle of a zone all alone? I can't. Meanwhile, opposing SEC WRs are killing us when we zone, which is much too often for my taste. Another thing I said to my buddy: "Our WRs never win vs man. Never." If it's a battle for the ball, our WRs just don't come down with it. Ricco's 2 drops were awful. And Bumphis is beyond overrated. Chris Smith made a hell of a catch in the 4th, but he's inconsistent like the rest of our WRs. Honestly, the only WR I really trust right now is the Secret Weapon. And while I'm on the topic of WRs, what the hell has happened to our supposed depth at the position? Heavens almost never sees the field. Ditto for Carr & Lewis. Speaking of Lewis, he NEEDS more touches on offense. He's about the only WR we have that makes me hold my breath whenever he has the ball because he might break it. Back to Heavens, I think he needs to start taking some of Bump's snaps. Frankly, he's a better blocker. I just don't understand why we can't try some different guys to try to get some production out of that group. It's obvious the same guys aren't getting it done.
Malcolm Johnson needs to start. He's better than Marcus Green. I *think* he's the true pass-catching threat we're looking for at TE. His catches the last 2 weeks have been outstanding. And he's the only guy other than Clark I've seen win versus man. In fairness, Green played better this week. He did a very good job blocking. But frankly, I'd rather play with Hemphill than Green. I just don't trust him. Another overrated guy that keeps playing.
I'd give my left nut for a legit SEC kicker. I won't rip on DePasquale for missing the 53-yarder, but I will for missing the one from 40. You gotta make that in this league. And is it too much to ask to have someone capable of putting it in the endzone on kickoffs? Every other SEC kicker can do it, why can't ours? Bottom line, if we have a legit SEC kicker Saturday, we win.
And that brings me to the QBs. I was very surprised Russell played the whole way. We still need Relf as a wrinkle to the offense. Hell, I'd rather have him throwing the double reverse pass than Midget Favre. Of course, my personal opinion is that Relf is hurt. I know our coaches won't say it, but he just hasn't looked right since the Auburn game. I can't be convinced otherwise. That said, it was the right decision to start Russell. But at the end of the day, I'm still not entirely sold. As much as people rip on Relf, 11-29 is just as bad as any of Relf's games. It won't beat Bama, UPig, or Mississippi. And it might not beat UK. Furthermore, Russell's 2 INTs were more of the same: Balls thrown up for grabs under pressure. That said, they were definitely some positives. He made some great throws in the 2nd half. And as I said before, had a few drops, a problem for both he & Relf all season. He made some good reads on the option & made some decent runs. There's definitely room for improvement, but it also wasn't the complete disaster his other SEC games have been. At the same time, let's not act like he had some great game. At the end of the day, we still lost. And his 2nd INT was just bad, no matter how you slice it. Hopefully Relf can get healthy over the bye week & we can use both QBs effectively against UK.
I still had some issues with the playcalling this week. I thought our first "drive" of the game was terrible. And I didn't really like our calls from the 5, either. Why not let Vick have it twice down there? We had run the ball pretty well. And frankly, I trust him more than Russell passing right now. I also hated that we didn't go for it on 4th down at all. Say what you will, but Darth Visor pulled out all the stops Saturday. And a big reason they won were the 4th down conversions. There were at least 2-3 times we probably should have gone, but didn't. With the way the D was playing, I understand the decision to punt. But at the same time, I'd show some confidence in both my D & my O by going in a couple of critical 4th down situations. I still firmly believe Mullen is the man for the job, but he's definitely had a few head scratchers this season.
Overall, it was a tough, tough loss. They won because they had the best WR in the country make a play in a mismatch. Until we get a WR like that, we're going to continue to have problems passing. Also, give Shaw some credit. He's much more consistent than Garcia and makes them a better offense. And he's much more mobile than I realized. He really hurt us with his scrambling ability. He'll be a really good QB before he leaves SCar.
I still say we go 6-6 and make a bowl. While it's slightly disappointing considering our preseason expectations, it's still a successful season for us if we do that. Going to a bowl 2 years in a row is a big deal for this program. And it will show we can sustain a little success, which should help in recruiting. Let's beat the Cats in 2 weeks and see what happens from there.
In Mullen I Trust,
SPD
Our LBs have made significant improvement. For all the Cam Lawrence haters, the guy is easily our best LB & makes all our calls. He does an outstanding job getting us in position. And his numbers are right up there with anyone in the league's. I'll be surprised if he's not All-SEC, even if it's 3rd team. Deonte Skinner has finally figured it out and is playing the way we all thought he could. I still think we're weak at MLB, but Brandon Wilson is proving to be serviceable. Maye needs to sit and never play again, though. He's just not an SEC player. Proves how weak the ACC is. As I've said 18 million times, if it were up to me, I'd move Cam to MLB & put Wells at the other OLB spot. I think that gets our 3 best LBs on the field. Kinda hard to argue with Wilson's last 2 games, though.
We finally got some pressure & push from the DL. And not surprisingly, it made a huge difference in our D. Cox & Boyd are finally starting to get going. And Eulls is improving every game. It's just a matter of snaps with him.
Overall, I was pleased with our gameplan on D. Having Banks on Alshon was a great decision and an amazing battle to watch. It sucks that we had a brainfart on the TD, but that happens. Broomfield had decent coverage, but at 5'8", he isn't outjumping Alshon. Period. Just shows that 1 play can be enough to beat you. I was incredibly pleased with how well we stuffed the run. Holding USC 100 yards under their rushing average and Lattimore to 39 yards is VERY impressive. We finally played a complete, physical game on D.
Now, to the offense. The OL was better this week. Carmon at LT makes a big difference. I like Clausell, but he just isn't ready yet.
Ballard ran hard all day. I don't recall any dancing. If I'm wrong, remind me. Perkins also had a couple of nice runs. I'm disappointed we aren't using more slip screens to them, especially Perk. With the pressure SCar's DL was getting at times, it seems that a slip screen would help slow down their rush some.
Our WR's aren't very good. Period. Most of them can't catch a cold. After SCar took the lead I told one of my buddies I had no confidence in our WRs to get open. Seriously, name the last time you saw one of our WRs running free or sitting in the middle of a zone all alone? I can't. Meanwhile, opposing SEC WRs are killing us when we zone, which is much too often for my taste. Another thing I said to my buddy: "Our WRs never win vs man. Never." If it's a battle for the ball, our WRs just don't come down with it. Ricco's 2 drops were awful. And Bumphis is beyond overrated. Chris Smith made a hell of a catch in the 4th, but he's inconsistent like the rest of our WRs. Honestly, the only WR I really trust right now is the Secret Weapon. And while I'm on the topic of WRs, what the hell has happened to our supposed depth at the position? Heavens almost never sees the field. Ditto for Carr & Lewis. Speaking of Lewis, he NEEDS more touches on offense. He's about the only WR we have that makes me hold my breath whenever he has the ball because he might break it. Back to Heavens, I think he needs to start taking some of Bump's snaps. Frankly, he's a better blocker. I just don't understand why we can't try some different guys to try to get some production out of that group. It's obvious the same guys aren't getting it done.
Malcolm Johnson needs to start. He's better than Marcus Green. I *think* he's the true pass-catching threat we're looking for at TE. His catches the last 2 weeks have been outstanding. And he's the only guy other than Clark I've seen win versus man. In fairness, Green played better this week. He did a very good job blocking. But frankly, I'd rather play with Hemphill than Green. I just don't trust him. Another overrated guy that keeps playing.
I'd give my left nut for a legit SEC kicker. I won't rip on DePasquale for missing the 53-yarder, but I will for missing the one from 40. You gotta make that in this league. And is it too much to ask to have someone capable of putting it in the endzone on kickoffs? Every other SEC kicker can do it, why can't ours? Bottom line, if we have a legit SEC kicker Saturday, we win.
And that brings me to the QBs. I was very surprised Russell played the whole way. We still need Relf as a wrinkle to the offense. Hell, I'd rather have him throwing the double reverse pass than Midget Favre. Of course, my personal opinion is that Relf is hurt. I know our coaches won't say it, but he just hasn't looked right since the Auburn game. I can't be convinced otherwise. That said, it was the right decision to start Russell. But at the end of the day, I'm still not entirely sold. As much as people rip on Relf, 11-29 is just as bad as any of Relf's games. It won't beat Bama, UPig, or Mississippi. And it might not beat UK. Furthermore, Russell's 2 INTs were more of the same: Balls thrown up for grabs under pressure. That said, they were definitely some positives. He made some great throws in the 2nd half. And as I said before, had a few drops, a problem for both he & Relf all season. He made some good reads on the option & made some decent runs. There's definitely room for improvement, but it also wasn't the complete disaster his other SEC games have been. At the same time, let's not act like he had some great game. At the end of the day, we still lost. And his 2nd INT was just bad, no matter how you slice it. Hopefully Relf can get healthy over the bye week & we can use both QBs effectively against UK.
I still had some issues with the playcalling this week. I thought our first "drive" of the game was terrible. And I didn't really like our calls from the 5, either. Why not let Vick have it twice down there? We had run the ball pretty well. And frankly, I trust him more than Russell passing right now. I also hated that we didn't go for it on 4th down at all. Say what you will, but Darth Visor pulled out all the stops Saturday. And a big reason they won were the 4th down conversions. There were at least 2-3 times we probably should have gone, but didn't. With the way the D was playing, I understand the decision to punt. But at the same time, I'd show some confidence in both my D & my O by going in a couple of critical 4th down situations. I still firmly believe Mullen is the man for the job, but he's definitely had a few head scratchers this season.
Overall, it was a tough, tough loss. They won because they had the best WR in the country make a play in a mismatch. Until we get a WR like that, we're going to continue to have problems passing. Also, give Shaw some credit. He's much more consistent than Garcia and makes them a better offense. And he's much more mobile than I realized. He really hurt us with his scrambling ability. He'll be a really good QB before he leaves SCar.
I still say we go 6-6 and make a bowl. While it's slightly disappointing considering our preseason expectations, it's still a successful season for us if we do that. Going to a bowl 2 years in a row is a big deal for this program. And it will show we can sustain a little success, which should help in recruiting. Let's beat the Cats in 2 weeks and see what happens from there.
In Mullen I Trust,
SPD
