Well, it's all over with but the investigation. Can I say I really don't like Chizik? And, no, I don't know if I've spelled his name right, and I've made the personal decision to not really learn how to spell his name. I've always felt a little bit of a kindred spirit with LSU. I've always kind of viewed them as kind of the UGA of the West. I didn't mind them winning championships. I hate Florida, and I couldn't stand Tebow on so many levels…but I respected him. You knew Tebow did it right, even if you hated the way he did it. And I've never minded seeing Bama win a title. Their fans are way more annoying than their team. But there's nothing to feel good about this Auburn team. Newton is not cheerable. Fairley is not cheerable. Chizik can't answer a question on the podium w/ a straight answer. Just answer the question Gene. I still believe they're cheaters. I'll always think that.
But it's over now, and I'm reminded of a few things. Spread offenses don't work in the SEC. Oregon runs a spread. They have a mobile QB and use multiple formations and motions. Auburn runs the wing T. Florida ran the wing T. The spread that works in the SEC is not with a QB that can run, but with a Running Back that can throw. You don't need Pat White to run the spread in the SEC, you need Charley Trippi. How many times have we seen an SEC D-line absolutely dominate a National Title game? We have one guy that looks like Justin Houston. Auburn has 4-5, and that made all the difference. But can someone please explain to me why Cam doesn't talk to any cameras after the game. That situation over there smells.
Kelley made some ballsy decisions that our guy would never make, but he also made some stupid decisions. He should have gone for the FG on the 1. Get w/in 5 and the TD takes the lead, and who knows what that last drive would be like if Auburn was trailing. Cam looked tight the whole game. But, as I said last week, recruits can make a difference. I don't understand radio guys that poo-poo recruiting. Newton, Fairley and Dyer didn't play for Auburn last year. Those 3 were clearly the difference in the game. They needed all three to win the game. And, boy, Ontario McCaleb is fast, but he gets a lot of pub for not doing much. He always has a few highlights, but he's useless between the tackles. I am curious to see if Richt follows through with his vow to be cutting edge. A fake FG in the Dome would let me know that's true. The thing I like about Oregon is that they expect everyone on the team to be football players
That being all said, things can change real fast. 4 years ago, Stanford was 1-11 and we called that conference the PAC-1. And we joked that no one would ever compete w/ USC. Now USC is on probation, their coach is playing at Soldier Field this weekend, and Stanford and Oregon will finish #4 & #3 respectively. I do really buy what Richt says that he doesn't believe we're not that far off. We're not. Auburn went 8-5 last year. How far off were they? They lost to a bad UK team in Auburn and lost to a bad UGA team. They got boat-raced by LSU and Akansas lit them up. Something changed. Are we capable of it? I know that we'll have the best player at the most important position in almost every game we'll play. The interesting thing is that we'll play our best two QBs the first 2 weeks of the season. But it starts w/ defense, guys. That's it. We've got to get better on defense.
Oh, and S & C means something because Auburn sure does look different in their unis than we do. We've got some work to do, but be encouraged, it's a new beginning. I like my job and I'd work my rear end off it I knew I'd lose it next year if I didn't perform. Bet you'd do the same. Let's hope Mark Richt does the same.
Go Dawgs!
Beat Boise!
Random thoughts:
ReplyDeleteAub title is the sort of thing that could sour casual college football fans on the game.
Mildly surprised at how much better Aub was than Ore. Despite the close score, I thought they were a lot better. And, man for man, Aub is not the most talented team in the SEC. Credit to Kelley.
We are the only one of the Big 6 not to have a Nat’l title in the BCS era (as though you needed reminding)
Kelley did make a stupid decision not to go for the FG, but he’s used to getting away with those types of risks in his league.
We may not be that far off in terms of players, but we may be a long way off in terms of the other things.
Incredible how big a difference one guy can make, e.g. Newton and Fairley. Yes, there are other studs on the Aub d-line, but they look a lot less “studly” without Fairley. If we can get a stud NG, we can look a lot better quickly
Really enjoyed Saban and Meyer last night. Meyer chaffed a bit when hearing “this is the weakness of the spread” and quickly noted “there is a difference between the spread and the single wing” before saying (paraphrase) “we ran a single wing down on the goal line.” In Kelley’s defense, wasn’t the safety run out of the I-formation?
You won’t convince me that Chizik or Miles is a better coach than CMR. It just so happens that he missed his windows of opportunity. Could be a coincidence, but I think it is significant that so many of these coaches have won titles in their second years. Meyer quit before getting to where CMR is (or, at least we don’t know where he would have been in year 10). Miles has had bad years and may be bolting. Saban quit LSU after a 4-loss year and we’ll see how he does from this point forward at Bama. I don’t think Chizik is building a dynasty by any means. BTW, Tressel and Stoops don’t coach in our league. There will be no more “lifers”, especially in our conference. (BTW, this is not an excuse for CMR, but an observation).
Going to have a uneasy feeling if Kirby goes to LSU. I’m sure they will try to hire Pellini first.
Hard to believe Thomas threw for 363 last night. Didn’t seem like it. In fact, Saban seemed to think a huge flaw in Ore plan was not getting the ball down the field more.
McGarity had to watch things last night and think “we could be there in two years” if I play my cards right.
You're dead on about Kirby. I don't want him at LSU. LIke you said, it was really clear that Auburn just had way better players. I'm an SEC snob, but we really do play a different game down here. On the whole , the talent level is off the charts.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right abotu Chizik and Miles, and that's what's so frustrating. Everyone knows that Richt is a better coach than them, but they got extremely lucky and are very good recruiters. If John Navarre's final pass finds a maize and blue receiver the Saturday before Thanksgiving in '02, I will always wonder how we would view Richt then. The truth is, Meyer and Miles haven't don't anything Richt hasn't done. Saban and Chizik did. It's all about timing. But there is something to winning the game you know you have to win when it's all on the line. Auburn beat Bama in T-town down 24-0 w/ everything on the line. Florida beat Bama in the SECCG w/ everything on the line. LSU beat UGA in (twice) w/ everything on the line in '03. Bama beat Superman on Peachtree St. We lost to South Carolina ('07) and to Florida ('02) with everything on the line.
We might be far off in a lot of areas, but I'd say every team that makes a run was the year before. I'm one that thinks players make all the difference. When we had KM, we'd run a toss sweep on 3rd and 4 and get it. Bobo wouldn't dream of calling that now because he knows we have no prayer of getting it. A special back and a competent line will change that. Mark Richt went for it on 4th and 1 against Clemson in '02 because he believed in Jon Stinchcomb and Musa Smith. I think he'd do the same if he believed in our guys now. There's a lot to go into that.
The greatest question is Richt. He can fix everything. He can return the edge that we've lost. We played angry in Atlanta in '09 becaue our head man was angry. We played evil to run out the '07 string because we had Evil Richt leading the way. I so want him to do it because he IS a good man. And he's got a chance to be a lifer. Having said that, I wonder if anything short of an SEC title will save his job next year. I really believe in McGarity's mind that he's thinking 2 things:
-Win the SEC
-Beat Florida and win 10 games
If we go 9-3 and lose to Florida, I really think he's fired. I really do. If we go 10-2 and lose to Florida...It's a push.
What would be great is to have Senior Day next year and be so proud of those seniors (Glenn, Houston, Boykin) for being the guys that wanted to be a part of the solution instead of guys that are part of the problem. I'm sure you heard Janoris Jenkins (McShay's #11 overall prospect) is staying at Florida. We've got to have some of that on our side.
I think it will be interesting to see LSU next year. I don't think there is any reason Mettenberger could not beat out Jefferson or Lee. If LSU goes on a run next year with him at QB and we don't do any of the things we believe CMR needs to do to keep his job, we may not be as close as we think with Richt at the helm. How ironic and unfortunate would that be. I don't think Mett would have beat out Murray, but how bad would it be for UGA if LSU makes a run and we lose 3 or 4 games...
ReplyDeleteAuburn nearly lost 4 games with the 3 new guys that carried them. They won a natty with the 55th overall defense in the country. They most likely lose Fairley and Newton, which is basically their team....
Alabama loses their big 3 plus a new QB, a fan favorite backup....who knows how that id reacts to being the man for the Crimson Tide.
Arky loses Mallet and maybe those WRs, they probably become irrelevant.
Enter Mettenberger and LSU....and possibly Mississipi State and Mullen, (whom McGarity loves per sources in the UGAAD).
2011 is going to be very interesting around the conference.
Well, that's kind of the point. We're not that far off, or we are, depending on how you look at it. But it has nothing to do with things like players, money, fan support and facilities. No one w/ the resources and talent base that we have is that far off. The issue is, rather, how far off is Richt. All it takes is a few strategic decisions. Can Richt do it? The encouraging thing is that even if we stink, we're still not that far off. Florida was in shambles when Meyer took over. Bama was a train wreck of Biblical proportions. Auburn was coming off 5-7 and the whole thing just looked ugly. Enter new coaches...National titles in 2-3 years. There's something to be said for the kind of fire you have at the beginning and being able to sustain it. Most can't. Meyer made it 2 years w/ out Tebow (05 and 10). What if he wouldn't have gotten that kid to come to Gainesville?
ReplyDeleteIf Richt does turn it around and we start winning again, then he's a leader like we haven't seen in a long time in the SEC, and maybe college football. If he's not, we're not doomed forever. Any good coach get get it turned around very quickly. If Richt tanks, we could still be winning big by 2013, Murray's senior year.
You contrast that w/ Spurrier at South Carolina and Mullen at MSU. It will take them a lot longer to get those ships turned around because they just don't have the talent, facilities and, well, EVERYTHING, to do it fast. That is not the case at the big 6 schools.
-Donnan went 10-2 in '97 and beat Florida in year 2
-Richt went 13-1 and won the SEC and Sugar Bowl in year 2
We've seen it happen before and we'll see it again. Let's hope it's in year 11 this coming fall.
For what it's worth, Damon took over at the start of the '05 calendar year, and apparantly, Richt had a lot more admin duties because of it. Did that make a difference?
I do know that the last effective fake punt we ran was Gordon in '05 vs. UK. I remember that in '02-'04 we used to run strategic trick plays and fake punts and block punts. Now? Not so much. Coincidence? We'll see. He's certainly got no excuses this year as McG has 'freed him up.'
Good stuff, fellas.
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