OldVol
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- Jan 7, 2005
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I'll be the first to admit that this is a very disappointing season to this point. We all had great expectations and those have been dashed. We stand no chance of the SECC and a NC is only a distant dream at this point.
We should gain some perspective from the reality of this seaon's expectations vs. the reality.
Expectations were high, but to be honest, I think the most of us suspected that we might be looking for too much. We knew Ainge had great potential based on his performance as a freshman, and we knew Clausen had good back-up written all over him. What no one did expect was that our offense could not run the ball against a good defense.
To be perfectly honest, if the O had been able to run against GA, Clausen played well enough for us to have won the game. He hit some passes downfield, made good decisions that did not put us into trouble, and had several passes dropped. The same was the story for Florida.
Our defense has just been outstanding. If our O had played reasonable we'd be 5/0 right now. I think the key to our failure against GA and FL -has been run-blocking. Riggs is obviously a good back but he's had no where to run.
I believe that can be fixed, even this season. It will mostly hinge on what type of attitude the team has about the losses and how hungry they are regarding the remainder of the season.
There's also going to have to be some changes in the play-calling. When you're not doing the things well that you're noted for, running the ball, controling the line of scrimmage with your Oline, and keeping special teams special, then you have to do some things that are out-of-the-box. If this doesn't happen we will lose at least 2 more games.
Now, my thoughts on the remaining games.
Bama- They've had a good season but I do not believe they are as good as the win over Florida appears. They struggled mightily against MTSU 9-7 at the half. They had to come from way back to beat Southern Miss, so this is a very beatable Bama team. The emotions of this game will play a big part in the outcome. It's anyone's game.
USC- I think this one depends on how well we bounc back with Bama.
Notre Dame- If we're 4-3 the Irish will win. If we're 5-2 we should be able to beat them.
Memphis Vandy and Kentucky should all be wins.
The Bama game is critical. Not just for this season, but for the overall, and long term image of the program. If we go 7-4 it will be hard to sell kids on coming here unless we make major changes in the staff.
If we go 9-2 we'll continue as is, bring in a top 10-15 recruiting class and likely be in store for several more years of disappointment.
I wish I had the answers.
We should gain some perspective from the reality of this seaon's expectations vs. the reality.
Expectations were high, but to be honest, I think the most of us suspected that we might be looking for too much. We knew Ainge had great potential based on his performance as a freshman, and we knew Clausen had good back-up written all over him. What no one did expect was that our offense could not run the ball against a good defense.
To be perfectly honest, if the O had been able to run against GA, Clausen played well enough for us to have won the game. He hit some passes downfield, made good decisions that did not put us into trouble, and had several passes dropped. The same was the story for Florida.
Our defense has just been outstanding. If our O had played reasonable we'd be 5/0 right now. I think the key to our failure against GA and FL -has been run-blocking. Riggs is obviously a good back but he's had no where to run.
I believe that can be fixed, even this season. It will mostly hinge on what type of attitude the team has about the losses and how hungry they are regarding the remainder of the season.
There's also going to have to be some changes in the play-calling. When you're not doing the things well that you're noted for, running the ball, controling the line of scrimmage with your Oline, and keeping special teams special, then you have to do some things that are out-of-the-box. If this doesn't happen we will lose at least 2 more games.
Now, my thoughts on the remaining games.
Bama- They've had a good season but I do not believe they are as good as the win over Florida appears. They struggled mightily against MTSU 9-7 at the half. They had to come from way back to beat Southern Miss, so this is a very beatable Bama team. The emotions of this game will play a big part in the outcome. It's anyone's game.
USC- I think this one depends on how well we bounc back with Bama.
Notre Dame- If we're 4-3 the Irish will win. If we're 5-2 we should be able to beat them.
Memphis Vandy and Kentucky should all be wins.
The Bama game is critical. Not just for this season, but for the overall, and long term image of the program. If we go 7-4 it will be hard to sell kids on coming here unless we make major changes in the staff.
If we go 9-2 we'll continue as is, bring in a top 10-15 recruiting class and likely be in store for several more years of disappointment.
I wish I had the answers.
