Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Monday (Tuesday) Morning Look Back

After 46 beers, a few pounds of barbecue, and a whole lot of football viewing, I finally bring to you the Monday Morning Look Back (or Tuesday thanks to Labor Day):

* Is there a better weekend than opening weekend of college football? If so, please fill me in.

* Auburn looked good - I thought the offense struggled to get into a rhythm, but they still managed 40 points and just under 500 yards. The defense played some strange formations (not indicative of what we will see), but held a potent offense to only 14 points and completely shut down the Brink - Hill connection. AU needs receivers to step up.

* Kenny Irons is very good. Brad Lester is good. Carl Stewart has the build of an amazing back, yet I haven't been impressed with him.

* LSU was completely dominant (as they should have been) against overmatched opponent, Louisiana Lafayette. JaMarcus Russell looked very good. AU - LSU in two Saturdays will be huge.

* What has happened to Justin Vincent since he torched OU in the Sugar Bowl?

* UGA is going to need a lot of improvement before they are going to hang with Florida and Tennessee this year.

* Vanderbilt actually showed some team speed on Saturday (if Michigan still has the talent that it should).

* Though they will always struggle in the SEC, I sense Bobby Johnson is building something at Vandy to remove them from its SEC doormat position.

* John Parker Wilson was impressive in his debut at Bama after a rugged start.

* Bama's running game struggled against Hawaii - doesn't appear to be a good sign for the Tide.

* Is Cal the most overrated team in the country this year or is UT back? I think it's a little of both. UT will be in the hunt for the East all year. Florida - UT in two Saturdays is huge.

* After a slow start, Florida and Chris Leak looked very impressive once they got into their groove.

* Rich Brooks will be joining Houston Nutt in the unemployment line at year's end.

* Brent Schaeffer was good in his Ole Miss debut. His stats were not off the chart, but he had a good command of the offense.

* BenJarvus Green-Ellis is a huge step-up for Ole Miss in the running game.

* Dexter McCluster had a great game, but Ole Miss will need more than one receiver to catch a pass if they are going to make any noise in the SEC (which they still are several years away from doing).

* Patrick Willis is very good.

* Joe Lee Dunn is not a good defensive coordinator. His schemes are down right terrible.

* After week 1, my pre-season thoughts on Arkansas and their qb situation are remarkably accurate.

* A high school coach calling offensive plays is going to struggle in the SEC and against the likes of USC.

* Louisville and Virginia Tech are must win games for Larry Coker.

* Florida State and Miami are no longer in the nation's elite.

* Bill Curry is painful to listen to. Since he has a new high school gig, can ESPN not can him?

* I don't really dig Mike Patrick. I didn't like him in the NFL booth and the same goes for college.

* How about Hampton and Grambling putting together one of the more exciting games on Saturday?

*My Preseason SEC Predictions:
After week 1, I still like my top 3 in the West. I think Auburn will be better than 5-3, but will still finish behind LSU. The Auburn-LSU game is clearly for the right to play in Atlanta. No way State finishes 4-4 in the conference and Ole Miss may notch 3 wins. In the East, I'd have to move Florida and Tennessee ahead of UGA. I'd also swap places with Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

1 Comments:

At 12:44 PM, Blogger Tom said...

I like what Croom is doing at State and I think they are better than what we saw on Thursday. The QB loss was an amotional blow for that young team to handle within a game situation. Related... Bama would be much better with Croom than Shula and after this year I think they'll realize that mistake.

I'm not sold on LSU over Auburn. In true Tuberville fashion I think we were rather vanilla on Saturday for an openner. I am concerned with our tackling - thank god WSU's RB got hurt - and youth in the secondary but I believe our offense is what will define this team this season.

Did you see the polls - USC jumps into the top 3?!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home