MONDAY ON MY MIND
POST GATOR THOUGHTS: Last year gave us a reprieve and got the 11-loss gorilla off our back but nothing has changed in Gainesville. I’ve seen the script over-and-over. Florida takes maximum advantage of whatever opportunities they get regardless of how infrequently they come around, their defense gets critical stops in the shadow of their goal line and often score. We on the other hand will self-destruct just enough to let it all happen and fail to get proper direction from whoever is roaming our sideline. In short, they will make whatever play and decision they need to win and we will not.
-I’m afraid we’ve learned -again- that Jones’ offense will not work efficiently against SEC-caliber defenses without a QB that is half-RB
-I do think -much like the Georgia Tech game- that both Dormady and the offensive line got better with the game on the line.
-John Kelly and Marquez Callaway are certainly big-time performers
-Thought Kelly’s unsportsmanlike call was hooey. Pure SEC over-officious, Barney-Fife nonsense.
-The shotgun, shifting horse manure on the goal line is ridiculous and we got just what we deserved for employing it.
-Jones and staff should be ashamed of their team’s ineffectiveness in the Red Zone and their refusal to do anything about it. Don’t tell me about efficiency against lightweights Georgia Tech and Indiana State (8 for 9 with 7 TDs). Tell me how you do against SEC teams that you must beat to have special seasons like Florida (1 of 3 zero TDs)
-Having seven plays inside the 5 with ZERO runs is coaching malpractice.
-You just knew when the Gators flipped the field with a great punt to end the 3rd Quarter that their defense would score. I’ve seen the script over & over.
-For the most part -other than some early misses at the point of attack the Vols defense represented themselves well… or Florida’s offense is putrid…or both.
-Until of course we absolutely, positively needed a stop. Then we became the same old give-the-game away unit and the last second 60+ yard TD pass is a program-wide embarrassment.
-Give Justin Martin credit. The play of his career was pure want-to
-There’s something about Florida Field that negatively effects anything in Orange. Even Trevor Daniel had a shank.
-Brent Cimaglia had an impressive first appearance but couldn’t follow it up.
-The last possession of the first half and first two of the second were huge opportunities and coming up empty was inexcusable.
BARE BONES ON JONES: I’m not the one that matters but I believe I know beyond a shadow of a doubt who Butch Jones is. Though my frustration with yet another Florida Field defeat is palpable my evaluation is not based on one painful afternoon but on 4 ¼ seasons of data. Butch Jones is a good man and a fairly good football coach and program leader. He is an excellent recruiter whose kids -for the most part- comport themselves well and play hard until the final whistle. In spite of being lampooned both nationally and locally due to his corn-ball slogans and Mr. Rogers “
everything is alright in the neighborhood” sound bites he will never embarrass the program from a behavioral standpoint. Butch is pretty good at his job. But he is not nor will he ever be an SEC championship level coach. As long as he is here we will always have a “pretty good” program. My question for Big Orange Nation and more importantly the power brokers who shape the future of Tennessee Football is; have we become an “accept pretty good” program?
WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK THREE:
MISSIPPI STATE MOVES UP IN THE PECKING ORDER: Everyone had Auburn and LSU penciled in as the potential threats to Alabama’s dominance in the SEC West. Some even thought Kevin Sumlin could have a bounce-back year and his Aggies could contend. I don’t remember anyone mentioning Mississippi State. Well don’t look now but other than the Crimson Tide the Bulldogs appear to be the most solid team on that side of the conference. With Auburn once again facing major offensive struggles; A&M in the tank, Ed Orgeron at the helm of LSU and Nick Fitzgerald possessing special abilities State may just be in the race for the long-haul. If you want to get waaaaay ahead of yourself Alabama visits Starkville on November 11.
NUMBERS DON’T CONTINUE TO LIE: I’ll admit it. I was one of those on the South Carolina bandwagon after two weeks of the season. The Cocks had beaten both N.C. State and Missouri and neither had occurred in Williams-Brice Stadium. I conveniently ignored the fact that they had been outgained by 247 yards by the Wolfpack and 64 by Missouri. They were finally hosting an SEC game and I was sure the Kentucky Wildcats would be their third conquest. Well the time always comes when the numbers stop lying or at least even up a little. The Cats took a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter that they never surrendered. The Gamecocks actually were more even in the stat category in this game than their first two outgaining the Cats 358-353 with each team turning it over twice. The number that doesn’t lie? Kentucky has now defeated Carolina four consecutive times.
PUT ORGERON BACK IN THE BULLPEN: LSU had dominated their series with Mississippi State winning 16 of the last 17 with their last loss in Starkville coming in 1999. Enter Ed Orgeron as LSU’s “full time” head coach. Orgeron has proven himself to be a solid interim guy at both Southern Cal and LSU but his only other opportunity to truly lead a program was an abject failure going 10-25 and 3-21 in the SEC at Ole Miss. Yes -as Buzz Peterson once told Brian Hartman-
“ah,shoot it’s only one game". But when you’re supposed to be one of the contenders to steal the West crown from Alabama and the Bully-Dogs beat you by 30, something is rancid in the coach’s offices
BOBBY P LIKES IT AT 3: Bobby Petrino is an offensive guru who raises the level of play wherever he coaches. But of late it seems like he has chosen hills so steep third place is his resting place. Remember his time at Arkansas? His teams were very good; sometimes Top-10 good but not good enough to beat Alabama or LSU. Now it looks as though he will forever struggle to get beyond Florida State and Clemson. Oh, I know the Cardinals embarrassed FSU last season to the tune of 63-20 but Petrino is only 1-2 against the Seminoles at Louisville with this season’s game scheduled for October 21st in Tallahassee. Clemson? After last night’s 26-point thrashing in Papa John’s Stadium he’s 0-4 versus the Tigers. Maybe he should take a page from Auburn’s playbook and petition the ACC to move his Cards to the other side of the conference.
FINAL MONDAY MUSING: I think Alex Myers nailed it on the Garza Law Firm 5th Quarter Fan Reaction after another Florida debacle. "Numb" is the best word to describe how I now feel after they occur.
