Honestly, I don’t know why programs still pull this petty sort of bullshit. We know how this will likely wind up — media gets ahold of it and after a ton of unnecessary negative publicity, the school relents. What’s the point of the exercise, other than to piss off people?
Remember, too, that comes on top of this genius move. Way to go, fellas.
From The Athletic’s look at Florida’s defense ($$):
If you tried patching all the holes in Florida’s defense last season, the spackle aisle at Lowe’s might need to be restocked.
The damage inflicted, and self-inflicted, gave Todd Grantham’s unit the appearance of mayhem and disorganization, surrendering 30.8 points per game, which represented 1) the worst in program history; 2) nearly double what the 2019 defense allowed; and 3) cause to harangue one of college football’s highest-paid coordinators.
Grantham’s 30-year résumé provides the cachet to survive a terrible season, even one in which the Gators slipped into the bottom half of the FBS in third-down percentage (72nd), yards allowed per play (85th), yards per pass attempt (88th) and pass-efficiency defense (96th). Now comes the offseason retooling to make sure there isn’t a repeat.
Coach Dan Mullen and Grantham, having evaluated the pre-snap chaos that led to misalignments, are revisiting communication methods.
“Do we get the calls in in time? Do we get the calls made to the defense on the field in time?” Mullen said this week. “If the guys make the call, then do we make the formational adjustment in time when you’re seeing no-huddle. Part of it is a little sense of urgency issue.
Dude, poor communication is Grantham’s 30-year résumé.
If I had a dollar for every time a Grantham-coached player looked befuddled before the snap, I’d be a wealthy man. In other words, Dan, good luck getting that fixed this offseason. Maybe Towel Boy can offer a few choice suggestions.
Filed under Gators, Gators..., Strategery And Mechanics
I just…
This is a man who’s got his work cut out for him.
Filed under Georgia Tech Football
Another reader sent me an email, asking for a post inviting y’all to share your ages with us. I can’t say I find that of much interest, but I thought of something that would spice it up — combine telling us how old you are with your first memory of Georgia football.
Have at it in the comments.
Filed under Georgia Football
Paul Myerberg’s SEC preview piece asks one question about every program in the conference. It turns out those questions are a pretty good indication of what’s in store.
It seems like the SEC breaks down into four categories: (1) teams with quarterback questions (Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, TAMU); (2) teams with defensive questions (LSU, MSU, Ole Miss); (3) teams that are in rebuild mode (South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt); and (4) the rest (Georgia).
With regard to category 1, ‘Bama is likely to be just fine and Florida and TAMU will both probably be fine. The rest? Who knows. LSU is a good bet to bounce back on defense, but the future for the defenses at both Mississippi schools is murky. The rebuild schools aren’t going to be a factor in the divisional races, although you’d think just on an any given Saturday basis, one of ’em will probably pull off an upset that will be proclaimed as proof the new coach has turned things around.
It’ll be up to Georgia’s secondary to provide a positive answer to Paul’s question.
Filed under SEC Football
Hey, Auburn’s got to be excited about Bryan Harsin. After all, having won 76% of his games, he’s the ninth-winningest active FBS coach (with more than one year experience).
There is a catch, though.
The issue with that stat is Harsin will now play three coaches annually with better career winning percentages (Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher at 76.8%, Georgia’s Kirby Smart at 78.8% and Saban at 80%).
I’m sure referring to ‘Bama as the “team up north” will soon fix that, though.
Filed under Auburn's Cast of Thousands
I knew I’d wind up finishing this week’s theme with something inspired by this comment. That Modern Lovers album is one of the greatest ever American rock albums ever recorded. I’ve played the crap out of it over the forty-plus years I’ve owned it. Just a straight out classic.
From it, here’s the one and only “Pablo Picasso”.
(More Modern Lovers here.)
This has been fun. Thanks for all your suggestions.
Filed under Uncategorized
