I withdrew failing from my only philosophy course...so, who cares? We won, And it was spectacular! Congrats to Coach Smart, his staff, the fans, and especially all the players. Great start to the 2016 season!
Other thoughts:
- We knew Chubb was a grown ass man. Now we know he's a recently reconstructed grown ass man.
- Credit North Carolina for being prepared to make Eason be the man. Noticeable difference in their defensive approach when Lambert was in versus when Eason was in.
- Kirby and Chaney saw that and trusted the kid. And that's why we won. That last hole Chubb created wouldn't have been there in the first quarter.
- And I think I'd spend the next week making both 10 and 11 even more confident in practice. Going to need them both in Oxford and possibly in Cola West the week before.
- Which brings me to my main point. I thought Eason should've started. Mentioned that back in May. At the time I had the big picture in mind. What I lacked was the expertise to make the best decision for the team. The coaches know 10 isn't ready for the full meal. They knew he was ready for chunks and they put him in when it helped the team. When they needed Lambert they put him in because he can run the late half offense better.
And you know what? It worked, they were right. I was wrong. If Eason starts that game we probably don't win. He either makes an insecure throw down the middle for an INT (which is what he did in the scrimmages and what they had him avoid last night) or he fails to read something because he's carrying the full load. Instead Chaney, Smart, the sweet Lord baby Jesus...whoever...knew a better way to balance the load in the huddle while also finding a way to beat a ranked team in the Dome in game one.
I love it. That's on Smart because he's the head honcho now. You have to feel good about the direction of the program. In January and February we knew that he could recruit. Now we know he and his staff can also win a big game, even when we're down late and need to make plays to come back.
- Again, I love it. Let me pour one more victory bourbon and then come back and hit a few more points...
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- SLURP!
- My God where is our pass rush? Was texting with SmokeWagon during the game because we both were like WTF man? Coach Rocker isn't going to eat a Mrs. Rocker home cooked meal for the next several days because he's gonna be full up on the ass that he's chewing.
- Am I wrong? Is UNC's offensive line that much better than expected? I don't think so. I think we need some hungry hearts in there that have bad intentions and speed around the edge.
- Holy crap Maurice Smith!! If Chubb doesn't break that long last run to seal the baby blues' fate, then I think #2 is right there in the running for player of the game. Now we know now why Saban had such a hard on for keeping the kid.
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| Man crush... |
- Someone comment below with an update to Isaiah Wynn. I'm already worried about our offensive line depth. I mean, even more worried than I was before this game.
- Did the second FG attempt sway Ham's confidence after the first one? Even the made field goal seemed to have a low trajectory. Then again I needed a tutor in Geometry. So...
- Can I say any more words about 27? It really seems I need to, but then again you already know. He's a magnificent beast who gives us yards, hope, touchdowns, and Glory. I remember when he was a freshman. I will miss him when he's gone. I will cherish his every carry. Always. Forever.
- I promise. Promise!
- How do you feel about the defense? I think I feel okay as long as Coach Rocker doesn't kill every defensive lineman with his glare on Monday.
- And how do you feel about special teams? So much is going to be written this week about the offense. But if we are to build on what happened last night then we're going to have to be consistent in our holds, kicks, catches, and assignments on special teams. Not sure that I saw enough last night to make me feel absolutely 100% confident.
But I did see enough to make me confident in the future. It's time to hunker down and give our schedule an ear full. Go Dawgs!
