Thursday morning buffet

Here are a few tempting morsels to whet your college football appetite.

• Aron White plays the “woulda, shoulda” card regarding the Florida game:  “My hat’s off to them because they’re a great team, but I don’t feel that they’re unbeatable by any means. I feel like if we’d have come and had a little more focus, we could have came out with a ‘W.’ ” Oy.
• The Locksley punch-out story gets stranger and stranger.
• So does the Slick-Rick-gets-ripped-on-Facebook story.
• What happens if Diddy picks Chuck Amato to succeed Mickey Andrews as the FSU defensive coordinator?  ‘Cause I’m betting that the Chest ain’t Jimbo’s first choice.  Or his fifty-third, for that matter.
• If this is accurate, shame on every D-1 school that’s turned Boise State down.
• If you haven’t seen this yet, take a minute and watch.   It’s pretty damned cool.
• Oh, puhleeze.
• Mark Richt channels his inner Vince Dooley with this classic quote about Tennessee Tech:  “Just looking at the film throughout the year, they might be the best-coached kick return team we’ve played…”
• Speaking of Mark Richt, Joe at Coaches Hot Seat Blog has some advice for him regarding strength and conditioning.

Advertisement

Things that make you go hmmm…, continued

I’ll no doubt be accused of beating the proverbial dead horse, but I’ve read and re-read this post of David Hale’s and all I can do is scratch my head.

Specifically, compare this passage…

Freshman Washaun Ealey got the starting nod at tailback for two straight weeks, but a missed block against Florida will likely cost him that role this week. While Ealey continues to run the ball well, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said pass protection remains a concern that’s too big to ignore.

“It’s always a big concern with young backs,” Bobo said. “I do know he knows what to do, he just did not execute the proper techniques of how to block. It was costly in (the last) game … but I think he’ll improve. He’s just got to trust his technique and execute it properly.”

Bobo said Ealey has gotten plenty of advice this week from the Bulldogs’ expected starter, Caleb King.

Last year, King missed a key block against Florida as well and then-running backs coach Tony Ball benched him for the next few games. The punishment was tough, but the lesson was learned, and King improved dramatically during the offseason.

Ealey won’t be benched, he just won’t start. Unlike last season, Georgia’s need for a strong runner outweighs any benefit a stint on the sideline might offer…

… with this one.

Baccari Rambo has earned more playing time each week, too, but has so far been unable to push senior Bryan Evans from the starting lineup at safety. While Rambo said he would love the starting job, he said he respects his coaches for giving the veterans a chance to turn things around.

“I think by Coach Richt supporting the veterans, when I get my time, that’ll happen to me,” Rambo said. “When they make mistakes, I try to learn from them. I think it’s a great thing how Coach Richt supports the veterans and lets them try to get better and correct their mistakes.”

So to recap – if you’re a young running back who screws up handling a secondary function in a game against the toughest opponent you face all season (a game in which you’ve got plenty of company in terms of teammates making mistakes), you’ll suffer the immediate consequences of a benching or a demotion, but if you’re Bryan Evans and you, well… play like Bryan Evans all season, you’ll serve as an inspiration to your backup.

I really want to think I’m missing something here, that it’s not some glaring double standard smacking me in the face, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what that is.

The truly weird thing is that there isn’t even a hint in Hale’s post that any player or coach has a problem with this.  Maybe that’s one reason why this season has been such a disappointment.