Things are never as good as they seem, never as bad as they seem.
We were never a pro team that is leagues above the rest of CFB and able to go out and dominate the competition without breaking a sweat. Long winning streaks make you feel invincible. We aren’t. The reason we built a dynasty is a combination of leadership, culture, consistency, great coaching and talent, etc. It’s a fine balance that can change annually. Between the driving arrests, injuries, lack of leadership, and depleted talent at some key positions, the balance is questionable this year, especially with the schedule we have. We very well might be the 3rd or 4th best team in CFB this year.
At the same, the sky isn’t falling. It truly is hard to get up every Saturday, and the psychological edge was completely against us yesterday. Kentucky had just gotten blown out by the Cocks, the media has been spewing rat poison for the last two weeks, the line was -22 and the entire program, fans included, were overconfident. We’ll be a totally different version of ourselves next week, just as Kentucky was last week to this week. This offense isn’t that much different than it was last year. Our WRs aren’t horrible. Our offensive leadership isn’t totally depleted (it’s not like Ladd, Brock, or Mims were the most vocal leaders). Our defense will be better with the injured players back. Bobo certainly is no Monken, but he’s shown much more creativity in game planning than he did yesterday.
So, where does that leave us before Bama? What are our true concerns? Some things will take care of themselves- we’ll have the psychological edge this time, plus some key players will be back from injuries. But we absolutely need a better plan offensively. We have to be more creative and unpredictable. Back when Bobo was OC under Richt, I used to always be able to call the plays before they happened- and I’m no OC! It was like that again yesterday. I absolutely know when we’re going to audible into a run, and the defense does to. Under Monken, we were rarely so predictable.
Also, we have to use our weapons better. Try out some other WRs, like London Humphreys, who got open and caught those clutch passes against Clemson. Get Frazier out on the perimeter on a sweep. Use the TEs, especially Luckie, who seems to get open more often. And we HAVE TO play better and more aggressively in the trenches on both sides. That’s probably the biggest thing.
I think we’ll be okay. But okay this year might mean a 2 loss season, yet still getting into the playoff. I just don’t see us being better than 2-2 against Bama, Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee. But, of course, if we play to our potential, coach better, and get some luck with injuries, anything can happen.
We were never a pro team that is leagues above the rest of CFB and able to go out and dominate the competition without breaking a sweat. Long winning streaks make you feel invincible. We aren’t. The reason we built a dynasty is a combination of leadership, culture, consistency, great coaching and talent, etc. It’s a fine balance that can change annually. Between the driving arrests, injuries, lack of leadership, and depleted talent at some key positions, the balance is questionable this year, especially with the schedule we have. We very well might be the 3rd or 4th best team in CFB this year.
At the same, the sky isn’t falling. It truly is hard to get up every Saturday, and the psychological edge was completely against us yesterday. Kentucky had just gotten blown out by the Cocks, the media has been spewing rat poison for the last two weeks, the line was -22 and the entire program, fans included, were overconfident. We’ll be a totally different version of ourselves next week, just as Kentucky was last week to this week. This offense isn’t that much different than it was last year. Our WRs aren’t horrible. Our offensive leadership isn’t totally depleted (it’s not like Ladd, Brock, or Mims were the most vocal leaders). Our defense will be better with the injured players back. Bobo certainly is no Monken, but he’s shown much more creativity in game planning than he did yesterday.
So, where does that leave us before Bama? What are our true concerns? Some things will take care of themselves- we’ll have the psychological edge this time, plus some key players will be back from injuries. But we absolutely need a better plan offensively. We have to be more creative and unpredictable. Back when Bobo was OC under Richt, I used to always be able to call the plays before they happened- and I’m no OC! It was like that again yesterday. I absolutely know when we’re going to audible into a run, and the defense does to. Under Monken, we were rarely so predictable.
Also, we have to use our weapons better. Try out some other WRs, like London Humphreys, who got open and caught those clutch passes against Clemson. Get Frazier out on the perimeter on a sweep. Use the TEs, especially Luckie, who seems to get open more often. And we HAVE TO play better and more aggressively in the trenches on both sides. That’s probably the biggest thing.
I think we’ll be okay. But okay this year might mean a 2 loss season, yet still getting into the playoff. I just don’t see us being better than 2-2 against Bama, Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee. But, of course, if we play to our potential, coach better, and get some luck with injuries, anything can happen.
