2/3/05
Next Time You See Here
They times they are a-changin’ in the
cutthroat world of SEC football.
The impending version of the conference
looks to be drastically different than previous
years. From coaching to players to sanctions:
the SEC has undergone more alteration and
modifications than Pam Anderson.
The Visored Devil has returned to traipse
about SEC sidelines…this time in Gamecock
crimson. The nation’s highest paid coach has
left and been replaced by Les Miles. David
Cutcliffe was (however foolishly) fired and
replaced by a native son of Dixie, Ed Ogeron.
Zooker found himself wallowing in a quagmire of
scandal in The Swamp and was shown the door,
only to be replaced by the apple of the Irish’s
eye.
Georgia’s duo of dynamic Davids has
graduated, leaving the school without a cult
figure-without a face. The garage in Auburn is
devoid of Cadillac and Escalade and Campbell,
leaving the school without any offensive
firepower. In stark contrast to the fates
suffered by AU and UGA, Tennessee and LSU (both
teams with a core comprised of freshmen and
sophomores) will enjoy reaping the benefits of
having nearly their entire two deep return. All
this positive karma extends even to Alabama, in
spite of suffering through forty days and forty
nights of torrential rain they ‘re bringing in a
potential top 10 recruiting class.
Look out SEC: here come the Vols.
The offense can do what it wants-good ole
fashioned Tennessee football: punishing the
defense with Gerald Riggs, David Yancey, and
hometown hero LaMarcus Coker. Or Randy Sanders
could slap a visor and his head and spout out
sophomoric one-liners and run a spread with SEC
Freshman of the Year Ainge throwing to Bret
Smith, Robert Meachem, Jayson Swain, Chris
Hannon, and the kitchen sink. Not to mention
James Banks, if-big if-he gets his head out of
his ass and starts concentrating on what he
should be doing (no James, not guzzling down
Coors in a parking lot).
We saw this versatility in the Cotton Bowl.
Rick Clausen looked like The Peyton Manning
and all the wideouts looked like the next Willie
or Peerless that day.
Riggs and Houston ran like Jamal used to.
And Sears anchored the line like…no one
else. From what we saw of Arron Sears this
season, he looks to be in a class by himself.
The defense in spite of its inconsistencies
looks to come together this season. And
bringing in some of the top DBs in the country
doesn’t hurt either. The D-line looks like it
could be Dixie’s Wild Bunch, a star studded cast
led by Parys Haralson, Jesse Mahelona, and (from
my adopted home state of New Jersey) Turk
McBride. And maybe, just maybe Kevin Simon
going down wasn’t that bad after all-having him
back along with Poe, Gaither, Mitchell, and
Mitchell could make all the difference.
Oh yeah.
Jason Allen's staying home.
Maybe you've heard of him.
The secondary looks like it could be the
best in the country. The defensive backfield
will be led by Allen, John Wade, John Hefney,
and Corey Campbell but it doesn't stop there.
Incoming frosh Demetrice Morley and Adam
Meyers-White could push for time. Youth in the
secondary looks to beget youth in the secondary.
Doug's Pre-Recruiting Top 10
USC
LSU
Michigan
Tennessee
Louisville
Virginia Tech
Florida
Texas
Ohio State
Iowa
12/4/04
Rocky Top Toddlers
The first thing most of us notice when looking at
the latest edition of the Tennessee Volunteers is their
ability to win ugly (and by ugly I mean Hunchback of
Notre Dame ugly, Keith Richards ugly). A six point win
over vaunted Kentucky, a five point win in the Big House
(Vanderbilt), a four point win against the reviled Tide,
a four point
win against a very inspired Ole Miss Rebels. Alas!
This is another story for another day folks. There is
another story, one not so immediately obvious but
equally intriguing, a-brewing in Knoxville. A story
centered around the bumbling, yet heartwarming
adventures of a few young boys lost in the Tennessee
hills…
Emphasis on young.
Sophomores and freshman and bears oh my! The
youngest defense in the SEC, starting three true frosh
in the secondary and two sophomores on the defensive
line; two true freshman quarterbacks; countless
youngsters in the wide receiver corps; a sophomore
fullback; and a pair of sophomore guards anchoring the
offensive line! It seems that every other starter is a
19 year old kid. Yet each and every one of these
underclassmen, in spite of their utter dearth of
experience, have contributed greatly to the Vols success
this season. For any team to play in the conference
championship game with a core made of sophomores and
freshman is by itself an impressive feat, even more so
in the cut throat world of the Southeastern Conference.
Such a young
roster as this is more than open to be doubted, who
would have thought that Aaron Sears could step in for
Mike Munoz at left tackle and treat David Pollack like
he was a rag doll? Ainge thrived on the pressure of
that last ditch drive against Florida, unreal!
Meacham's grab against the Rebels, for a second I
thought he was Willie Gault. And one cannot forget
the violence and sheer hate shown by the defense
against…darn, there just had to be a caveat, didn't
there?
It has not been all bad news for the defense, the
showings against the Dawgs and then against Bama would
have made even the mighty Steve Spurrier sweat bullets.
The past two weeks have been absolutely atrocious. Even
worse than the points they've let up (which is bad
enough) is the manner in which they've done it.
The Vols defense has had dead zero intensity, the
very foundation of defensive football, at Nashville and
against the Wildcats. No tackling, no big hits, scarce
were the times that Tennessee could do so much as
provide a solid rush! How could the same defense that
held Georgia to fourteen points Between the Hedges give
up sixty-four points games against the Vanderbilt
Commodores and the Kentucky Wildcats? (The 'Dores don't
even have an athletic director for the love of God!)
This defense, so wrought with burgeoning talent, is
inconsistent to the nth degree. Take this for example:
in the second game of the season the Vols dominate
Florida from half-time to the final whistle; whereas in
the second to last game of the season they make Kentucky
look like a legitimate football team! The aggression
and intensity shown in the Georgia and Notre Dame games
was totally absent against Vandy and UK. Even Kevin
Burnett-Ray Lewis in a gorgeous shade of orange!-looked
half asleep at times. The defense Jay Cutler and Shane
Boyd saw certainly won't beat Auburn on Saturday.
Then again, the defense David Greene saw can play with
anyone in the country. Such schizophrenia can only
stem from one of two things: poor coaching or
inexperience.
Youth, youth, youth, it all comes back to the youth
on the defensive side of the ball! While its easy to
get motivated for a game against the number three team
in the nation, it isn't so easy to get motivated for a
game against the number three BASKETBALL team in the
country. The veterans no doubt understand that, which
could explain why Jesse Mahelona and Parys Haralson
persist in making plays , but the first time
starters-and there are many of them-do not. But, having
seen past blowouts, the younger guys no doubt figured
that this year would be a walk in the park.. Attitudes
like that lose football games. Tennessee's youngsters
have yet to realize that; they have yet to realize that
anything can happen in the SEC. Mississippi State can
beat Florida, LSU can get blown out by Georgia,
Tennessee can get embarrassed at home!
Defense is equal parts athleticism and fire.
And these Rocky Top toddlers have all the
athleticism in the world…and when they want to they can
be as vicious as a pack of wolves. Whichever defense
the Vols put on the field on Saturday will decide the
fate of the SEC title. If these boys, for they are mere
boys, show up with the passion they've shown before than
it will be a long night for Auburn.
For Questions/Comments, email Doug Mennen at
ramsfan1221@aol.com
|
