Wednesday, October 28, 2009

FLORIDA IS V.B. (Very Beatable)


Starting the season, we heard alot about how the Florida Gators were returning all their starters, and how they were only losing Percy Harvin, and how Superman would lead the way to another Hiesman and championship.
And, truth be told, the mighty undefeated Gators are still in the thick of things, meaning the BCS.
But something happened two weeks ago, that has sparked a belief that the Gators might not make it to Pasadena this year to defend their title.
After a defensive slugfest with LSU , a who-had-the-ball-last-wins battle royale with Arkansas , and a messy mistake-o-rama with Mississippi State , the mighty, mighty Gators look V.B.: Very beatable.
The zebras, I'm afraid, can only do so much.
Tim Tebow is human after all, after throwing 2 picks returned for touchdowns Saturday.
LSU proved that the Gators couldn't throw the ball with ease.
Arkansas proved that the defense was suspectible to the long ball. Ole Miss proved that pressure can bust a pipe.
What will the Georgia Bulldogs prove this Saturday?
You heard it here first: There's no way the Gators go undefeated through the SEC and make it out of the championship game.






Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Did LSU explode against Auburn, 31-10? No way



Saturday night's LSU-Auburn game brought the Tigernation to its feet -- those in purple rose in elation; those in orange and navy got up to leave.
LSU's 31-3,10 win,(okay, you know that last Auburn TD was bogus) was, to some, a long awaited eruption of offensive might, a groundswell of pent-up demand.
Going away, LSU scored 31 points.
They have yet to score more than 32 in a game this season.
What explosion?
Sure, Jordan Jefferson got loose. The super soph finally threw to his elite receivers. As a result Jefferson got most of the praise, accounting for over 310 yards (242 yards through the air on 21 of 31 passes and two touchdowns, no picks) deservedly so, but it was Russell Shepard that stole the spotlight. Shepard's 69-yard run ignited the crowd and left no doubts on who would win the game.
But honestly speaking, LSU's offense bogged down for short periods Saturday. If Auburn would have gotten any semblance of an offensive flow, then I think LSU would have been exposed as usual.
LSU needs to show consistency if they want to be considered an elite program this year. As a team though, they are coming together nicely.
Enough can't be said about LSU's defense. They are really starting to look scary, 2 weeks after holding Florida to 13 points.
Auburn only gained 193 yards total offense, and truthfully they had about 120 until their second-string quarterback (who should be starting, btw) came in and just started flinging it.
Auburn coach Gene Chizik reaffirmed his support for senior signal caller Chris Todd this week as the Tigers get set to play a stout Ole Miss team.
“Yeah, he’s the quarterback, but when it’s third-and-7 and he’s got five guys in his lap, that’s not [on] Chris Todd,” Chizik said.
So, is it on you, Chizik? Huh? Huh? Huh?
LSU has a cakewalk up next, but then prepares to face Alabama, No. 1 in some polls.
The question, then is can the Tigers run the table?






Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Sunday, October 11, 2009

5 Reasons Why LSU Lost to Florida 13-3


There are probably more reasons, some ever so slight, subtle even. But here are 5 reasons why LSU is not 6-0 after going up against the No. 1-ranked Gators.

JORDAN JEFFERSON IS REGRESSING
Jordan Jefferson is obviously afraid to throw when facing zone coverage. The Florida Gators have but to thank the Georgia Bulldogs, who befuddled Jefferson last week with zone blitzes and outright zones before being outran by his agile scrambling. Jefferson becomes shell-shocked, frozen almost, when facing opposing players spread out across the field. Florida went to it heavily in the second half, and it produced instant success as Jefferson was sacked on successive plays for the second straight week.

PENALTIES
LSU seemed to have a case of nerves early, committing crucial penalties that methodically prodded the Gators down the field on their first possession. Both teams had the whistles working - combining for 15 penalties for over 100 yards -- but it was the Tigers that got the brunt of them. Offsides on Rahim Alem on several early plays? Crazy.

TIM TEBOW IS ...
Superman? Well, he played like Clark Kent in Tiger Stadium, and that was just enough for the back-from-concussion superstar. Tebow had a very pedestrian 134 yards in the air (38 on the ground), but it's the third and shorts and get you when you play the Gators. Florida's array of weapons -- Jeffery Demps, Riley Cooper, Hernandez -- makes it difficult to focus just on the Caped One. Still, Tebow made his presence felt, at least two probable-sacks were miraculously eluded during the game, leading to Gator points.


WHERE WAS SHEP?
Wildcat-quarterback Russell Shepard played nary a down Saturday, to the chagrin of Tiger fans everywhere. Why? He almost broke the Georgia game open with several wildcat runs, but against Florida he didn't even get the chance. It's not like Jefferson was in a zone or anything. As bad as LSU needed an offensive spark, Shep should have played. Period.

O FOR CHAVIS?
Maybe LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis just can't be Florida, even with purple in gold instead of popsicle orange. The man had a decent scheme, don't get me wrong, but with LSU's brawn I thought we needed a little more of a Chess match with Urban Meyer, not mano-a-mano. Maybe the Gators are just the one team Chavis can't master. Everybody has one.

Bottom line: LSU got whipped. We'll take it like men and try to win the rest of 'em. Florida fans, hope to see you in Atlanta.




Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Tiger Fans Calling Gator Players - AGAIN


If you needed any more omens that Saturday night's contest between No. 4 LSU and No. 1-ranked Florida was more than a football game, ask any number of Gator players. Evidently, LSU fans are literally calling some of them to spook them out before Saturday's game at Death Valley.
ESPN reports that even coach Urban Meyer has gotten texts, and that this is not new, but went on last year as well.
"They haven't been bad," said second-string quarterback John Brantley, who will likely start Superman himself, Tim Tebow, can't go due to his week-old concussion. ""[The calls are] just a little annoying," Brantley said.
But just a little annoyance is all the Tigers may need to pull off the upset.
I'm going with my Tigers-- and my gut -- on this one: LSU 21-Florida-17







Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Jefferson or Lee: Who's the Better LSU QB?


Aaaah, you know the debate had to start in earnest once the season began to take shape: LSU's sophomore signal caller, Jordan Jefferson has shown signs of confusion and downright incoherence during the game. Quite honestly, he was shut down last game (against Georgia). And we simply can't have that this weekend against the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, Florida.
Would the Tigers be better off starting Jarrett Lee? Lee, who definitely had a myopic condition when looking in the middle of the field, has been reduced to a bench-rider this year. But should he? Yeah, he know about the 16 TDs and 14 INTs, but dude beat Auburn. That's GOT to count for something, right?
I for one kind of miss Lee, who exhibited leadership and intangibles in the face of considerable adversity and criticism.
Under center last year Lee showed an ability to actually win with his arms and the gusto to take risks. The problem was many of them were unnecessary risks.
Jordan, confused as he looks at times, has simply not given a game away. Yet. When he does then he can be vilified accordingly, but until then, let's let this thing play out. Literally.





Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Is Alabama Beatable?


Nick Satan, er, Saban has honed the 2009 edition of the Crimson Tide into a sleek, powerful gridiron machine. Led by running backs Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, they run well; led by quarterback Greg McElroy they pass well. And let's not even talk about the defense, who limits oppenents to around 15 points a game, with arguably the fastest front four in the SEC.
Is Bama, who has yet to even trail this season, even beatable?
The Tide has shown signs of waywardness but not weakness.
Ingram, the featured back season after Glen Coffee bolted to the League, is the cog that makes the offensive engine go: He churned out 150 yards against a stout Virginia Tech defense in the season opener and has been one tackle from glory several times.
Junior quarterback McElroy has thrown only one pick this season and is in the game-manager mode rather than gunslinger. But when he has to go deep he has, arguably, the best receiver in the SEC at his disposal, Julio Jones.
Jones, who has been slowed by injury this season -- he has just one touchdown and 9 receptions -- has drew a constant doubleteam from opposing defenses after lofty expectations from 2008.
If the Tide has a weakness it will probably be their inability to get the ball to Jones. The flip side of that issue is that they seldom have needed to, especially with the emergence of tight end Colin Peek.
Bama still faces the teeth of their schedule with this week's showdown with Ole Miss, but they look better than No. 2 Texas and No. 1 Florida (who still hasn't played anybody [sorry Vols)]. Also awaiting are the Auburn Tigers and LSU Tigers.
Will the Tide trip up along the way? Time will tell.
But, make no mistake about it, LSU will not doubleteam Jones (Look how they played Georgia's A.J. Green). If they can play Jones straight up, then McElroy will have to beat the Tigers with his arm.
If Ingram doesn't with his feet.






Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Sunday, October 04, 2009

5 Reasons Why Georgia Lost to LSU



Last night's game between formidable foes LSU and Georgia started as a defensive stalemate and evolved into a shootout at the very end. While LSU prevailed 20 -13 there were only a few reasons why they won, namely the legs of senior tailback charles Scott. The referees certainly made terrible calls but I can't say they directly caused the end result. Here are the main 5 reasons why the Bulldawgs didn't come up with the victory.

(1) Not enough Ealey
When Washuan Ealey came into the game in the second half, UGA was nursing a goose egg and badly searching for momentum. After Ealey touched the ball, the Dawgs were driving toward the endzone, converting an improbable 4th and inches for the touchdown. UGA's other running backs, Caleb King and Richard Samuel, combined for 18 yards on 17 carries. Ealey, in two drives in the second half, rushed for double that amount, 33 yards on only 8 carries. Fans will never know what would have happened if he'd have gotten the ball earier and much more often.

(2) Not enough A.J. Green
Outside of Alabama's Julio Jones, the 6-4 sophomore has no equal in the SEC. He is not only tall, but he can jump too. But he only caught 5 passes for 99 yards against LSU. He was targeted at least 3 more times, but no more, because Joe Cox just didn't throw to him enough. It's a shame too, because, LSU could hardly handle a big game from Green. From an offensive perspective, he single-handedly won the game with his awesome jump-catch in the corner pocket of the endzone with 1:09 left. But he, like Ealey, didn't see the ball enough. You can credit LSU's defense, but the more likely culprit was offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Bobo failed to turn Green loose -- no end-arounds, no quick slants -- and that leads us to No. 3.


(3) UGA's penalties hurt
Georgia, habitually one of the most penalized teams in the nation, lived up to their reputation Saturday night. While they didn't get a whole lot of penalties, the ones they got -- and the times they got them -- were huge. The excessive celebration penalty on Green? Crazy. So crazy that I refuse to believe it was on Green; it had to be on another UGA player. Green did next to nothing for the 1.3 seconds he had to himself before being mobbed by teammates. Not only did the penalty give LSU 15 more yards on the kickoff (which Trindon Holliday took back 41 yards), but a 5-yard penalty was added when UGA lined up wrong on the kick. Did it hurt? Absolutely.



(4) Georgia played it conservative
Georgia has shown little imagination this year on offense, due either to Bobo's reliance on the defense and special teams to make plays (which they can and have) or his lack of faith in quarterback Cox. Georgia suffers, more than most teams, from an inability to be decisive on offense. One minute they try to play power-ground-game, the next they try to play pitch-and-catch with Cox and Green. Can they have it both ways? Sure, if the statistics showed that they could score both ways. But surely this squad is at its most dynamic when Cox and Green are playing wild and loose (did you see the UGA-Arkansas game?). Sure, defense dictates what you can do most of the time, but does it have to? Playing not to lose has caught up with you, Bobo. Let the Dawgs out.


(5) Well, see 4 reasons above
Honestly, there aren't 5 reasons why Georgia lost. I believe if they would have corrected any of the 4 reasons above, things would have been different.

Do you agree?








Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Thursday, October 01, 2009

LSU vs. Georgia: First Team to 33 Pts Wins


Well, well, well, the Georgia Bulldogs are supposedly licking their chops at the chance to topple a No. 4 seed at Sanford Stadium.
Do they really want some?
In all seriousness, this game will be the first contest between two SEC powerhouses, and it should be a good one.
LSU comes into the game unable to score while the Bulldogs enter it unable to stop anybody.
From UGA's perspective they've got to like their chances: If they score more than 32 points they will probably win.
The Tigers have yet to crack a game wide open offensively (the No. 4 team in the country has not scored more than 32 points in any of its four games) and haven't faced a defense nearly as fast and strong as Georgia's (UGA held its last oppenent to 17 points, of course the two before that combined for 78).
Quarterback Joe Cox is a helter-skelter signal caller if ever you've seen one: One minute he's a gunslinging, ably hefting the ball 50 yards down the field; the next he's Jarrett Lee all over again, lobbing an interception to an opposing linebacker.
Truth be told, both squads should have lost last week. Arizona State did everything but finish a splendidly gift-wrapped victory, while LSU literally came up inches to the good against Mississippi State.
This time, it'll go to however scores more than 32 points.





Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , , ,
Newer Posts Older Posts Home
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Related Posts with Thumbnails
 

Minibox 3 Column Blogger Template by James William at 2600 Degrees