All things to all men

You know, I’m really digging this whole Urban-Meyer-is-so-going-to-run-the-I-formation meme that’s been making the rounds of late.

Spencer Hall chimes in.

… If throwing the I-formation in every three series keeps defensive coordinators from zeroing in on your tendencies, do it.

Yes, please.

Listen, I was as skeptical as anyone about whether Meyer’s offense could be successfully imported into the SEC, but after last year, when his team averaged more points per game in conference play than it did in non-conference games, it’s obvious that it’s clicked.  Now whether that’s due to the scheme or to the fact that the GPOOE™ is, well, the GPOOE™, it seems to me that grabbing ahold of an offensive formation that’s fairly alien to what Meyer’s been accustomed to running for the last decade as a life preserver is sort of doubling down on making sure that 2010 isn’t going to be the raging success that last year was.

But, hey, if that’s what you guys want, don’t let me stop you.

Of course, the truly cynical side of me suspects there’s another agenda at work here.  Another agenda?  Let’s just say I’d love to get Jesse Scroggins, he of the “They said they’re changing the offense after (Tim) Tebow graduates to a more drop back style offense and they brought in Scott Loeffler to be the OC there and that’s the kind of offense he has always run so I know it will be a good fit for me” quote, and Solomon Patton in a room together to discuss the Gator offense of the future.

Why Patton?  He’s Florida’s latest commitment, about which Chris Low has to say this:

… The other thing of note with Patton is that he’s one of those prospects who sees himself playing the “Percy Position” that Percy Harvin made famous in the Gators’ spread offense. It’s a recruiting tool that figures to keep on giving for the Gators, especially with critics of the spread saying some recruits might shy away from that offense because it’s so different from what most teams are running in the NFL.

I don’t know how the man keeps his stories straight, but he’s obviously good at it.

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Tuesday morning buffet

I’m trying, I’m trying.

• David Hale relates the story of Brandon Bogotay.  It’s been a fast rise.
• We tend to believe that the soft OOC schedules we see for the majority of SEC teams are justified because of how tough the conference is.  How do you like that argument when it’s applied to the Big XII?
• If you’re Damon Evans, it’s got to be a little troubling to see that football accounted for nearly 80% of all athletic department revenues in the last fiscal year.  Of course, since the football program finished second in the country in revenue, the news could be a lot worse.
• If you’re looking for a basic explanation of the differences between the wildcat formation and the spread, particularly from a NFL perspective, here you go.
• Speaking of strategery, here’s what Gus Malzahn has to say about the SEC:  “It’s probably one of the last conferences to have a little bit of an open mind as far as doing different things on offense.” Still?  Really?  Wasn’t Malzahn on the staff at Arky when the Wildhog was unleashed?  Even HP would agree that more than half the teams in the conference run something other than a traditional pro set the majority of the time now.
• Vacating wins at ‘Bama has opened up an entirely new line of attack, it appears.
• It looks like we’re going to test the theory that there’s no such thing as wretched excess when it comes to Georgia gameday radio broadcasts:  “Including the game broadcast and a postgame show of about two hours and 15 minutes, the broadcast programming window would grow to at least nine hours…” Whew!
• Dennis Dodd reports that the BCS commissioners are about to tell the Mountain West to take a hike, son, with regard to its postseason proposal.  In response, the MWC will keep everyone on the edge of their seats about whether it will sign the new contract with ESPN.  “We will have a decision to make as to whether we will sign the agreement for the next four years or not sign it.” Yeah, sure you’re not going to sign, guys.

The fifth stage is acceptance.

Honestly, this made me laugh out loud.

… As a result of NCAA sanctions announced last week that requires Alabama to vacate 21 of its 23 victories during the 2005-07 seasons, the Crimson Tide soon will be saddled with a 44-48 record for the 2000s. The university has until June 26 to decide whether it will appeal the ruling, which will change Alabama’s 10-2, 6-7 and 7-6 records to 0-2, 0-7 and 2-6.

“It’s still better than Vanderbilt,” said Roger Shultz, who played center for the Crimson Tide from 1987 to ’90.