- inflated early season ranking inflates players' egos
- inexperienced and non-cohesive offensive line plays in front of a freshman quarterback
- receivers that can't consistently get separation
- and playing against a team with absolutely nothing to lose
Absolutely nothing.
And that's where I want to start. Because you have to tip your cap to the Nicholls Colonels. As much as I hate seeing my team struggle, I always really enjoy seeing an underdog rise to the occasion. It's what makes college football great. Those guys were tremendously undersized. Tremendously! They barely had enough scholarship players to fill one bus. Just one! And they gave a bunch of four and five stars all they could handle.
And that's where I want to start. Because you have to tip your cap to the Nicholls Colonels. As much as I hate seeing my team struggle, I always really enjoy seeing an underdog rise to the occasion. It's what makes college football great. Those guys were tremendously undersized. Tremendously! They barely had enough scholarship players to fill one bus. Just one! And they gave a bunch of four and five stars all they could handle.
Now, take a step back from the ledge and bear with me now. Read the last sentence of that last paragraph again. Because that's a good thing. I mean, right? There's no question the guys in Red read those press clippings last week and grinned a little too big last week. There's no question they came out the tunnel at Kirby's first home game having already lost whatever pregame direction the coaches' had given.
And there's no question they struggled to regain their composure the next 60 minutes of the game clock.
That's what young teams do y'all. Think about all the young players we're putting out there. All over the field. Even at quarterback, the most important position on the team. Plus, you even have experienced guys like McKenzie making crucial mistakes and even Chubb fumbling the ball...just a weird day. Real, real weird.
So here's how the coaches fix this:
- Keep Eason in. No one is going to respect Lambert deep and running backs need some room. Keeping 10 in there keeps the safeties deeper and helps the offensive line grow up.
- Unleash Rocker and Pittman this week. If I were Kirby I'd tell them to chew ass from dawn til dusk. SEC play starts Saturday night and SEC wins come from the trenches. Those guys need to eat space and eat pancakes.
- Get McKenzie and Godwin more touches. Those guys can neutralize some other mistakes with their speed.
And hey, the kickers played well yesterday. Otherwise we're the headline on ESPN for 24 hours as having lost to an FCS team. Anyone remember Appy State? No, not that one. This one. I really, really like that we trotted Ham out there for the 53 yarder and he nearly delivered. Even though he missed it, it still shows necessary confidence. Necessary.
Granted, a little surprised Blankenship prefers non-fake turf. But then again, so do I. Especially when it's Sanford's.
Two more things y'all. First, hearing a lot of uncomfortable comparisons to Saban's first loss to UL Monroe. Or whatever. Last time I checked we do our goddamn business in Athens GA. Who are y'all, Travelocity.com?
Look, we just need to chill. Stop bitching and moaning and comparing and trying to make this game fit so nicely into your cerebral cortex. Yesterday wasn't as fun as we'd hoped. We should've known better. The coaches should've known better. The players definitely should've known better. But I'm always reminded of how new seasons go when there's a new coach, new philosophy, new procedures, new everything:
Before the season starts, I just ask that y’all support your team. It’s a new era. Many of y’all ain’t experienced this yet. (1/3)— Bernie (@BernieDawg) September 3, 2016
Not always easy. But we’ll get there together, thru the ups and downs. Go Dawgs! (2/3)— Bernie (@BernieDawg) September 3, 2016
Okay, speaking of pancakes. Shout out to Smokewagon for borrowing ol' Russ Tanner's variable speed rotary griddle thing, which happens to be the most amazing invention I've ever ever ever experienced. It fed a legion of hungry Dawg fans pancakes, bacon, sausage, and eggs. If only it would pour my beer faster...That said, we’re gonna run unc out of Atlanta like he’s a 21st century Tecumseh Sherman. Go Dawgs! #DawgsOnTop (3/3)— Bernie (@BernieDawg) September 3, 2016
