Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Samford/Sanford/Stanford...it was one of the three

Well, we’re 3-0.  That doesn’t mean much, as we were 3-0 last year and got blasted in Oxford the next week.  It does mean that all our goals are in front of us, and there are a lot of teams that wish they were 3-0.  So I’m grateful.  I feel like it’s a stronger 3-0 than last year.  ND is better than any team we played the first 3 last year.  We haven’t seen a Nichols like performance, and now, looking back, that defensive performance vs. Mizzou was a disaster.  Thanks, Briscoe. 

I’ll finish watching the MSU/LSU game tonight.  I wasn’t overly impressed with the first quarter.  It was 0-0 after 1.  They didn’t just run roughshod over them.

·       Deandre Swift is going to be really, really special.  He reminds me of Hampton.  Slasher, huge cuts.  Before Rodney hurt his kneed in the NFL, that’s what he was.  He as the fast/quick cutting counterpart to Tate and Worley.
·       I want to give Chaney a little slack.  I thought he called a pretty good game.  We attacked the outside, and he’s getting guys open.  We’ve got to hit the passes and catch the balls.  We have a million plays and formations.  It’s not like we’re not trying things.  We’re not that terrible.  We’re 29th in Rushing Offense.  Bama is 24th.  That’s 4th in the SEC behind Miss. St., A&M and Bama.  And we’re just getting rolling.  We have a freshman QB.
·       I felt like Nick got rolling a little bit Saturday.  He looked faster than I’ve seen in a while.  We definitely need to keep handing it to him.  The more he gets it, the more he begins to see the holes and get a feel for the game.  That’s any great back.  We can’t get impatient if he doesn’t bust a big one in his first 4 runs Saturday.  Wear those jokers down and they’ll start popping late in the 3rd.
·       We’re 5th in the nation in rushing defense.  Kentucky is 3rd!!!!!!!!  I can’t imagine Miss. St. gashing us.  I’ll be shocked.  They’ll hit a few, but I’ll be shocked if it’s repeated.
·       Terry Godwin is coming into his own.  I think we’ve forgotten how fast he is.  He was the #1 player in GA coming out of H.S.
·       JR Reed has all the makings of a kind of DB we haven’t really had.  And it sure is fun to have him and Dom roaming back there together.  Would love to get Malcom back for this game.
·       Jake is a freshman.  He’s gonna freshman.  That’s where I get scared heading into the meat of this thing.  He floated a few throws that will be picks in the SEC.  The run and fumble was plain stupid.  With our D and Cam punting, a punt is a mighty fine play.  He and/or Eason HAVE to recognize that.  Let Zo get the ball back for you.  You might just gain 40 yards.  My concern with Jake is playing against a stout D who sells out to stop the run and forces us to throw it 35 times to win the game.  I don’t think he’s ready for that.  We may not have to do that, but that’s what concerns me now.  That’s why I’m hopeful Eason gets back soon.  I also don’t like the idea of getting down in a game and Jake having to bring us back yet.  Maybe we won’t have to worry about it. 
·       Our guys just need to take care of the ball and hit a few plays.  This defense is as good as we’ve ever seen.  They sure are fun to watch.

A game like Saturday also makes you realize how bad we do gameday in so many ways.  We played “Jessie’s Girl” karaoke after the Samford Touchdown in the 2nd.  We play no music while the opposing team is in the huddle, which is, like, gameday 101 stuff at other stadiums.  It was the Lettermen’s game, and we recognized the 1992, 1997, and 2007 teams at halftime…with nary a video clip.  That’s 2 victories over Florida, 2 over Auburn, a citrus bowl win, a sugar bowl win, 3 top 10 finishes, and 3 wins over tech.  We had handdrawn signs with the years on them so the teams knew where to stand.  No mention of Zeier, Hearst, Hastings, Godfrey, Bobo, Ward, Bailiey, Stafford, Moreno or MoMass.  None.  We had Musa Smith and Drew Butler call the dawgs with no pics or clips of them in their career. 

I was looking at ours stadium and thinking…would this be so hard?  I mean, all those concrete facades.  Is this so un-classy?  Does displaying our championships and retired numbers really make the stadium look junky? 

Image result for Clemson stadium championship sign

We are so bad at this portion of athletics that it’s embarrassing.  And I don’t know if anyone knows it, that’s the problem. 

Go Dawgs!
Beat Miss. St.!

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