ClockworkOrange
Electric Sheep
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2009
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And I got watch some FOOTBALL. Thoughts:
- I wasn't expecting many true Frosh to contribute, but several did. Doneiko Slaughter had some good plays, Morven Joseph got a tackle, and then there was Tyler Baron....
- Speaking of Tyler Baron - my goodness, this dude is going to be a good one. He just flat gets after it and was in the Gamecock backfield repeatedly, registering 2 tackles for loss. I especially loved that one where he grabbed the running back and simply hung on by the ankle till "a host of Volunteers" arrived. Going to be great fun watching him.
- I had to grab my roster to see who #51 was on the DL. He only registered one stop, but he seemed to be around the ball a lot to my untutored eyes and looks really nimble and quick for a guy that size. It turned out to be redshirt frosh Elijah Simmons. Another one to watch.
- 2.5 sacks for Deandre Johnson.
- You might have noticed I've only mentioned the D so far. Well....
- Saw some bright spots in our young receivers, as well as Brandon Johnson's steady Sr. presence. Loved that one-handed grab.
- Still don't understand the maddening tendency we have to pass pass pass at times when it seems like we should run. Yes, the ground game struggled at times. But I was amazed at that series with about 8 minutes to go when we had a short field to work with and could have ground up some clock, but instead pass pass pass.
- Another tendency -- chunking the ball downfield on fades, etc., when we only need like 2 yards on 3rd down. Hmmm...
- JG still seems hit or miss. And the relatively short throws can be scary with that laser-like delivery. When he did the bow and arrow thing following that bomb for a TD, I couldn't help remembering Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous words from the poem "The Arrow and the Song" -- "I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to Earth I know not where..." (which was also referenced in a famous Twilight Zone episode called 'The Gift' -- hmmm....). But I will cut him a bit of slack considering lack of practice time, spring ball, familiarity with new guys, etc.
- The eternal optimist in me still hopes JG can be a serviceable QB, if we are going to insist on using him. I'm not the hater type - simply not a good vibe to throw out to the universe. I will root like heck. Just hit the guy when he's wide open. A game manager like a McCarron or Fromm likely would have won that game by a couple scores. For a change we have enough talent and depth around him to roll up yardage, no gun-slinging required. Though I suspect his current backups are gun-slingers too. Come on, Bailey! Hoping we get up on Mizzou by enough to at least give somebody else like Shrout some snaps to see how far they have come.
- Had to wonder what a difference Cade Mays might have made lined up next to Trey.
- Actually pleased with a lot of things considering COVID, the lack of practice time, etc. We're not chopped liver anymore.
- Neat to see another true frosh ice the game with that heads-up play on that last punt - Jimmy Holiday. Got the feeling from Pruitt's comments that his heart was in his throat on every special teams play. Nice to see them slam the door on USC.
- The vets like Henry TT and others showed up. Loved seeing him shove the DB to the ground and force his way toward the end zone on the pick six.
- Chandler 6.6 yards per carry.
- I love WINS however they come. I'll take beating USC on the road under the lights, or any SEC opponent, for that matter, however I can get it.
Edited to add: - I didn't mean to make it sound like JG's TD throw was a gift -- it was right on the money! That's the thing about JG. He makes some fabulous throws on some of the tough passes and then those short ones make you scratch your head. Here's hoping he rips Mizzou a new one.
- I wasn't expecting many true Frosh to contribute, but several did. Doneiko Slaughter had some good plays, Morven Joseph got a tackle, and then there was Tyler Baron....
- Speaking of Tyler Baron - my goodness, this dude is going to be a good one. He just flat gets after it and was in the Gamecock backfield repeatedly, registering 2 tackles for loss. I especially loved that one where he grabbed the running back and simply hung on by the ankle till "a host of Volunteers" arrived. Going to be great fun watching him.
- I had to grab my roster to see who #51 was on the DL. He only registered one stop, but he seemed to be around the ball a lot to my untutored eyes and looks really nimble and quick for a guy that size. It turned out to be redshirt frosh Elijah Simmons. Another one to watch.
- 2.5 sacks for Deandre Johnson.
- You might have noticed I've only mentioned the D so far. Well....
- Saw some bright spots in our young receivers, as well as Brandon Johnson's steady Sr. presence. Loved that one-handed grab.
- Still don't understand the maddening tendency we have to pass pass pass at times when it seems like we should run. Yes, the ground game struggled at times. But I was amazed at that series with about 8 minutes to go when we had a short field to work with and could have ground up some clock, but instead pass pass pass.
- Another tendency -- chunking the ball downfield on fades, etc., when we only need like 2 yards on 3rd down. Hmmm...
- JG still seems hit or miss. And the relatively short throws can be scary with that laser-like delivery. When he did the bow and arrow thing following that bomb for a TD, I couldn't help remembering Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous words from the poem "The Arrow and the Song" -- "I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to Earth I know not where..." (which was also referenced in a famous Twilight Zone episode called 'The Gift' -- hmmm....). But I will cut him a bit of slack considering lack of practice time, spring ball, familiarity with new guys, etc.
- The eternal optimist in me still hopes JG can be a serviceable QB, if we are going to insist on using him. I'm not the hater type - simply not a good vibe to throw out to the universe. I will root like heck. Just hit the guy when he's wide open. A game manager like a McCarron or Fromm likely would have won that game by a couple scores. For a change we have enough talent and depth around him to roll up yardage, no gun-slinging required. Though I suspect his current backups are gun-slingers too. Come on, Bailey! Hoping we get up on Mizzou by enough to at least give somebody else like Shrout some snaps to see how far they have come.
- Had to wonder what a difference Cade Mays might have made lined up next to Trey.
- Actually pleased with a lot of things considering COVID, the lack of practice time, etc. We're not chopped liver anymore.
- Neat to see another true frosh ice the game with that heads-up play on that last punt - Jimmy Holiday. Got the feeling from Pruitt's comments that his heart was in his throat on every special teams play. Nice to see them slam the door on USC.
- The vets like Henry TT and others showed up. Loved seeing him shove the DB to the ground and force his way toward the end zone on the pick six.
- Chandler 6.6 yards per carry.
- I love WINS however they come. I'll take beating USC on the road under the lights, or any SEC opponent, for that matter, however I can get it.
Edited to add: - I didn't mean to make it sound like JG's TD throw was a gift -- it was right on the money! That's the thing about JG. He makes some fabulous throws on some of the tough passes and then those short ones make you scratch your head. Here's hoping he rips Mizzou a new one.
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