Did Coach Mullen Take the O with him to Miss St.

Seven games into the 2009 season and the sputtering offense is the hot topic. It seems to be the question that Coach Meyer is asked week in and week out now. Last week leading into the Mississippi State game he had this to say about the offense:

“I remember one time, someone said, ‘Coach Mullen is going to catch a lot of heat’ or something like that and I responded, ‘The only person he would get heat from is me’ and no he is fine.  We are just maneuvering through a difficult part of the schedule and trying to get some things worked out.  Anytime there is transition and changes in staff, I’m very pleased with the job Coach Addazio has done.  The wrist above the elbow was a problem.  Chris Rainey probably scores after the unbelievable move he put on the guy.  It wasn’t a freak fumble, it was a great play.  We’re going to be nuts about taking care of the football in practice this week.  We made a film for the guys to watch.  It wasn’t just the balls on the ground.  The catch Deonte Thompson made was holding the ball like this [extends arms and holds them out].  Old habits tend to show up.  That’s coaching.  That was the number one thing we will work on; and red zone production.  We didn’t get stopped, we fumbled the ball.  Over the past few years, we have been very good in those two areas and it did not look that way.  I think we’re leading the SEC in offense; total yards, pass efficiency, third down and all that stuff.  Turnovers in the red zone are critical.”

After the Mississippi State game Coach Meyer continued his message, “I know people are going to take shots,” Meyer said. “I think we’re pressing like crazy. I think the head coach wants to score so #@$% bad. We’re not used to this.”

The Gators problems on offense has even fueled hope for Georgia. UGA has three wins since 1990 in this match up, but them Dawgs could be one of the last major test before the SEC Championship game. The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party could still play a role in deciding the SEC East. Coach Meyer addressed the upcoming game at his Monday press conference:

“Georgia has great receivers, including one of the best in the nation.  He has the ability to go up and over us, like he did last year.  We have to find a way defend him and not be so concerned about him [that] they can run the ball.  Offensively, we will need to do a better job in some areas.  We were not good on third downs and red zone production.  We will spend time on those things early this week.”

Also on the mind of SEC Football fans has been the role of the refs in games this year. There is a good chance Coach Dan Mullen is going to get a letter from the SEC regarding his criticism of the refs. “I don’t even know why we have replay right now in the Southeastern Conference if they’re not going to utilize it,” Mullen said Sunday.

Does he have a point? You be the judge.

Coach Mullen is not the only SEC coach in trouble for his comments on the refs. Lane Kiffin once again gets on the bad side of Mike Slive. Slive said “further violations of SEC policies by Kiffin will subject the coach to additional penalties, including suspension.”

Tim Tebow was able to tie Herschel Walker’s SEC rushing TD record of 49 against Mississippi State. The first thing that many were to point out is Herschel Walker set the record in three years. Tebow tied the record in three and a half years, and oh by the way he is a Quarterback. Mark Bradley over at the AJC still says that Herschel Walker is the best ever (he makes some great points) , but in pointing out “Tebow has demonstrably more talent around him” there is no mention of the “demonstrably” better defense Tebow or any player in the SEC faces now verses the early 80’s.

With his sub-Tebow preferences since the UK game, Tim has now dropped behind  Mark Ingram in ESPN’s latest Heisman watch. Everyone has seen that Tim has held onto the ball longer than he should have when there is no one open, but it seems to me that Tebow’s throwing motion has gotten longer and at times slower than in years past. Two of his fumbles this year have come from defenders knocking the ball out when the ball is as the back of his throwing motion. (looking for photos)

Also a big thanks for the RTs, comments, and general discussion during the game goes to @Pattric, @HankatMarlows, @whitegatorz, @osgators, @LisaHorne, @ThatGuyBama, @deann16, @SirGQHollyWood, @ fuddmain, @DJBobbyV32, @kjhurst15, @AndyR24, @EricMcDonald, @thechodog, @edsbs, @Matti09, @ObiSun, @JrCoram, @Gatrbate, @SwamiG8R, @Sara6590, @guiltyofcraving, @theNFLguy, @GulfCoastGold, @gatormiami, @pixie1212, @1996Gator, @KyleHagler, @wealthdocintl, @rickydee1955, @donwb, @_karthik, @brianjsmith, @Umlat, @_CReX_, @CTiffany24, @dreamscometrue_, @Bgator13, @GOPMichael, @DALLASHALL. Sorry to anyone I missed.

Ric Roberts takes a look at UK football after a  2- 0 start.

Let me start out by saying that I am a former student of the University of Kentucky and would like nothing more than for them to win every game in every sport, especially football (unless they play my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes). But when a team that had been a perennial doormat in the SEC East all of a sudden becomes a respectable team by going to three straight bowl games, it is natural for expectations to be elevated.

The problem becomes that while seeing the team continue to improve over the last few years, the view of those expectations can become skewed. There is a fine line between being a fan with high hopes about the potential of this year’s team and being totally delusional to the state of the Wildcats compared to the rest of the teams in not only the SEC, but in all of the FBS.

Here are a few quotes I have seen posted on the Internet and on the local news broadcasts after the 31-27 win over in-state rival Louisville:

“After today’s game, the rest of the nation needs to look out because we proved we are a Top Ten team.”

“The Wildcats are now a legitimate SEC contender.”

“UK showed that they belong in the conversation with the elite of the SEC.”

“After seeing how Florida struggled with Tennessee, Kentucky’s win over Louisville proves that the Gators may be in trouble next week.”

While all of these are meant with the best of intentions and show how deep the love is of the fans, I don’t think that Kentucky’s 2-0 record warrants a total overhaul of the SEC football pecking order just yet. Beating two teams that you are suppose to beat does not a automatically make one a Juggernaut.

Kentucky beat a Miami, OH team that lost its first two games by a combined 90-0, and didn’t score its first points until the third quarter of their third game. The RedHawks still lost that third game 48-26 after the other team called off the dogs in the fourth quarter. Doesn’t make UK’s rout on a neutral field look as impressive as it once did.

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The Troy Trojans have had their own Tim Tebow this week. Redshirt freshman Cory Wilkes has ran the scout team QB for Troy. Still no word yet if Chuck Norris wears Cory Wilkes pajamas.

Troy’s special teams try to prepare for the Gator pressure. The Gators were able to block two punts the last time the Trojans came to The Swamp.

Mother Nature worked with the Gators this week and gave Coach Meyer just what he wanted: Heat! The heat helps Gators prepare for Troy with for an early kick off time of 12:21 pm at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

You would think CBS had the Florida - LSU the way the CBS Sports conference call was building this game up. Jeremy Fowler reports Gary Danielson is giving LSU a lot of love.

“Florida can lose, they can easily lose a game,” Danielson said. “I looked at that LSU team. Their skill players are as good as any players in the country, their receivers, their defensive backs, their running backs, their offensive line and they have a quarterback this year.”

A new wide receiver has made a push for playing time for the Gators. Omarius Hines has proven himself in the last two weeks of practice and was a favorite target for John Brantley in the Charleston Southern game.

“Omarius is the one who has earned some time around here,” Meyer said.

Former Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer said, “Tim Tebow is all of that. He put that team on his shoulder last year after the loss and took them to the national championship.” Rumors are coming out that Fulmer may be in the running for the UVA and Louisville jobs if they come open. Coach Fulmer is now working as an analyst with CBS.

Brent Musberger warns the defending national champs of incoming trouble from the Men of Troy.

2009 SEC Football Week 2

Riley Angel takes a look at Week 2 in the SEC

Week Two begins the start of conference play for several SEC teams. The SEC had a good opening week, going 11-1, with the only loss being Georgia to No. 9 Oklahoma State. Here are the predictions for SEC teams in the season’s second week.

Troy at Florida

Troy came into this season as a projected favorite of the Sun Belt Conference. After a surprising loss to Bowling Green, however, the team comes into Gainesville trying to regain its footing.

The Gators are coming off a romp of lowly Charleston Southern and look to keep their momentum and No. 1 ranking. The Trojans will give it a valiant effort, but Florida will run away with this early, with Myer only resting his starters in the second half to get ready to chew up the Volunteers for their next game.

Final Score: Florida 56, Troy 13

UCLA at Tennessee

The good news for the Vols? They just put up 63 points. The not-quite-bad-but-not-really-good news? Those points came up against Western Kentucky.

Tennessee did look good in its rout of the Hilltoppers, but the Volunteers will face a much tougher test in the Pac-10 Bruins, who are coming in after a win over San Diego State. This game will be a good indicator of how the Volunteers do this year.

Final Score: Tennessee 31, UCLA 20

Mississippi State at Auburn

Both of these teams are looking to score more in this years rematch of the now-infamous 3-2 game when Auburn beat Mississippi State on the road last season.

Both teams have new coaching staffs, with each hoping to display new-found offensive prowess. Malzahn leads the offensive staff for Auburn under head coach Gene Chizik, while new head coach Dan Mullen leads the Bulldogs. They both had wins over less than stellar competition and hope to use this game as a launching point for a successful season.

That being said, the name of the game in the SEC is defense, and this game will be no different. While there will be more than five points, fans will be left wondering if their programs made the right hire with a defensive struggle.

Final Score: Auburn 17, Mississippi State 6

FIU at Alabama

Alabama showed why it deserved its No. 5 ranking last week with a hard-fought win over Virginia Tech in a game that the Tide dominated statistically, but were trailing heading into the fourth quarter. Alabama hosts FIU, who will be playing their first game of the season.

Final Score: Alabama 42, FIU 0

Vanderbilt at LSU

After giving up over 475 yards of offense last week to a team that was considered to be the worst in the FBS last season, LSU fans should be wary of an upset loss to the Commodores this week.

Vandy had an impressive offensive showing against Western Carolina and wants to prove that going to a bowl last season was no fluke. If LSU can’t fix its problems on defense, look for the Commodores to come out of Baton Rouge with possibly their most important win in school history.

Final Score: LSU 27, Vanderbilt 24

Upset Alert!: South Carolina at Georgia

Georgia comes into this game after a disappointing loss to Oklahoma State and will be hoping to have a relatively easy win with the Gamecocks rolling into town. South Carolina had a poor offensive showing in last week’s 7-3 win over the Wolfpack of NC State. Spurrier will have his boys ready to take on the Bulldogs with one of the top defenses in the SEC and will shock the opposition in Athens this weekend.

Final Score: South Carolina 17, Georgia 14

South Carolina vs. NC State

Thanks to our friends over at The ACC & SEC Blog

NC State vs South Carolina
Thursday, Sept 3 Raleigh, NC
Line: NCST -4

The college football season kicks off with an ACC vs SEC matchup at Carter-Finley Stadium as the Wolfpack of NC State look for redemption against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Last season, South Carolina thumped the Wolfpack 34-0 in Columbia aided by 171 yards on the ground, their highest total against an FBS opponent all year.

NC State Offense vs South Carolina Defense…

NC State returns ACC Freshman of the year Russell Wilson at QB. Wilson was knocked out of the game last year when the Wolfpack were still in contention. His pinpoint accuracy is very unusual for a young player and he has wheels to make plays with his feet. But expect the sophomore to stay in the pocket more this year because those hits he took on the run contributed to his numerous injuries last year. Redshirt freshman Mike Glennon is backing up Wilson this year and drew rave reviews in the Spring.

The Wolfpack return the core of their offensive line that improved as the year went on. With continued improvement, this unit could be one of the best in the ACC. Last year, NC State was breaking in several lineman that had been switched over from the defensive side of the ball. In their last six regular season games, State ran the ball for 149 yards or more in each game.

Wilson’s top targets look to be receivers Owen Spencer and Jarvis Williams who combined for over 1000 yards last season. But I am guessing State’s main mode of transportation in this game will be on the ground with Toney Baker and Jamelle Eugene. Baker is coming off a two year absence but has shown explosiveness in his twelve career starts.

Looking to stop the Wolfpack is a South Carolina defense that smothered NC State in the opener last year allowing just 138 total yards. Coming off the edge will be two really good pass rushers in Eric Norwood and Cliff Matthews. The Gamecocks allowed 133 yards per game on the ground last season which was about middle of the pack for the SEC, but they allowed an average of 237 over their final three.

South Carolina’s secondary is replacing 100 career starts. The back four will need the front four to put some pressure on NC State’s QBs.

Russell Wilson will contend for ACC Player of the Year, if he stays healthy
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Take a Look at The Tide

Alabama Preview by Jimmy Reno

Gone is running back Glen Coffee and his 2,458 yards and 16 touchdowns. Gone is quarterback J.P. Wilson, the record holder in almost every single University of Alabama passing category. Gone is left tackle Andre Smith, the All-American, Outland Trophy winner.

The Alabama offense has some huge holes to fill in 2009 if the team has any hopes of a repeat trip to Atlanta to play in the SEC championship game.

Quarterback

Redshirt junior Greg McElroy surprised many when he grabbed the starting job and didn’t look back. McElroy has been solid through the spring and in the beginning of fall camp.

McElroy showed flashes of his potential last season. His 34-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Maze in the annual Iron Bowl game against Auburn ignited the excitement of Alabama fans everywhere.

In McElroy’s first season as a starter at Carroll Senior High School in Southlake, Texas, he threw for 4,636 yards and 56 touchdowns. Clearly, he knows how to pass the football.

McElroy is a very accurate passer and a student of the game. He’s a very smart player who has put in extra work in the film room.

Redshirt freshman Star Jackson, blue chip freshman A.J. McCarron, and walk-on Thomas Darrah have battled for the No. 2 position on the team.

Jackson, an athletic, mobile player, has struggled to completely pick up on some aspects of the offensive schemes. Still, coach Nick Saban has praised the quarterback in recent days for his leadership, effort, and athletic ability.

McCarron, a true freshman with a strong arm, is a bit undersized and needs to bulk up to take the pounding of a full SEC schedule. Reports out of spring and fall camp have indicated McCarron has been very impressive in his passing ability. He’s displayed a strong arm and nice accuracy.

Darrah, a walk-on player, has a really strong arm, but has struggled with consistency.

Jackson appears to be the leader for the number two position, while coaches hope McCarron can have a redshirt year to learn the offense and have a year under the strength and conditioning program to add some size to his 6′4″ frame.

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Erik Kuselias and Rod Gilmore discuss which teams could pose a problem for Florida in the SEC.

SEC Blogger Chris Low breaks down the conference as he sees it.

COACH URBAN MEYER

THE MODERATOR: We will continue with our final coach of the day, Florida head coach Urban Meyer. Coach, welcome.

2009 SEC Media Day Gators Wrap Up

COACH MEYER: Thank you all for coming. Honored to be here and represent the SEC and the University of Florida. Also here to clear up that mystery that I’m the guy that didn’t vote for Tebow.

Good to be here. Have a very good football team. Very appreciative of the leadership of our program. It’s as good a summer as I’ve been around in coaching as far as dealing with our guys and watching our strength staff work, talking to them about the professionalism. That was the key word throughout the month of January as we prepared for the championship game and December preparing for the SEC game. That has continued through spring practice and the summer.

The key is let’s get to August 6th. I’ve never been more anxious to coach a football team.

With that said, I’ll open it up for questions.

Q. There’s a lot of expectations for your team. What are your expectations for this team?

COACH MEYER: Well, I want to get through these next two weeks. We go real hard for a week, then they have a week off and we start camp. I don’t look much past that.

This time last year, we had some real tough injuries. So we’ve given a lot of thought to how we’re going to practice to keep that edge, to make it a very difficult training camp, yet safe, make sure we can get to the show, and that’s our first game.

Expectation as far as the season, our goals are always the same as it was in 2005, as it is in 2009, and that is we want to do everything we can to get to Atlanta. That’s our whole we wake up every morning to try to achieve that goal.

Q. Would you talk about during this off season, I know you intended to make it the most difficult that Florida has ever had. Are you satisfied they did have that?

COACH MEYER: Well, I’ll find out when we get ‘em. We get them Coach Marotti turns over the team to me on August 6th. According to our players, who I have great confidence in, when they communicate to me, it has, we’re not finished with it. You can usually tell once we get started in training camp what kind of off season they’ve had. We’ve had good ones, not so good ones. According to our players and strength coach, this has been one of the best, if not the best.

Q. With so much depth, how have you kept everyone happy so far?

COACH MEYER: I think we’ve really promoted the competition and we’ve promoted team first. Great things happen when you have an unselfish team. Last year’s was arguably the most unselfish I’ve been a part of. They got to wear a championship ring, compete in the SEC championship game. That’s what we have going for us right now. I really believe our guys love it at Florida. More importantly, I really believe they care for each other. It’s a good situation right now in that locker room, in the weight room, and when they’re together. That’s not easy.

You have 105, 120, 18 to 22 year olds from every stretch, some overrecruited, some underrecruited, some overrated, some underrated. And to keep those guys happy and motivated, that certainly a difficult task. The only way to get it done is with great leadership on our team and our staff does a heck of a job.

Q. Is Riley Cooper returning?

COACH MEYER: I’ll know that today. Is today Wednesday?

Q. Thursday.

COACH MEYER: I’m going to know it by the end of the week, or the weekend, is what I’m hearing.

Q. Everybody knows you grew up idolizing Woody Hayes. In the heart of Alabama, did you ever study Bear Bryant, read anything about him, take anything from his coaching philosophy?

COACH MEYER: Well, a great story, my first season as coach of Florida, walking in that stadium, I’m standing near the goalpost. They flip that scoreboard on. Bear Bryant is right there talking to me. I’ll never forget that. That guy is not supposed to be here any more.

Up north it was Woody Hayes. Had great appreciation. Read the Junction Boys. Obviously followed Bear Bryant. However, Earle Bruce would often talk about Coach Bryant. That was one of his sources of information and sources of expertise. He would often talk about Coach Bryant. Of course, I have. Not to the same degree of Woody Hayes.

Q. You joked about Tebow and the All SEC team. What do you think of the story that’s become this week?

COACH MEYER: First of all, Pat Dooley told me to do that. Second of all, no one laughed, so it wasn’t a very funny joke. Someone asked me if that’s going to motivate Tim. Whoever asks those questions, don’t know Tim. Tim has a lot of things to motivate him. That’s not one.

Didn’t mean much by it.

Q. There’s been some concern about Tebow not getting under center enough in the past, especially concerning his future in the NFL. Do you see he’ll get under center a little bit?

COACH MEYER: There’s a lot made of that. The concern is not from the professional coaches that I have a lot of conversation with. That never comes up. Tim Tebow, we can’t make this more complicated than what it is. If you want Tim Tebow under center, teach him to get under center, he’ll probably do it better than anybody else.

Are we going to place him under center? A lot of it depends on the quality of our tailback. To play an under center offense, you better have a monster back there at tailback that can take the pounding involved in that style of offense. I was involved in an offense I think 15 years. So we know that offense. Coach Addazio was very familiar. A great offense.

It’s very personnel based on your fullback, on your tailback, your tight end. We’ve not had that luxury. This year, if T.J. Pridemore comes back, is a good fullback, we have three quality tailbacks. If they develop, it helps us win a game, we’ll do that.

We are certainly not trying to, because someone said Tim needs to be under center to enhance his draft status. I assure you, him playing under center has nothing to do with his draft status with the programs we talked to. If it did, we would help him because he earned that. It’s not that different.

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For the—wow I’ve lost count—time, the new super staff at Tennessee is going to have to self report their program for breaking the rules. This time because Head Coach Lane Kiffin’s Twitter account mentioned by name an unsigned recruit:

“It’s a beautiful day in Knoxville, Tennessee today. I was so exited to hear that J.C. Copeland committed to play for the Vols today!”

Twitter Gets Kiffin in Trouble...Again

They use again the standard “new” employees in the office. I don’t think I would let a new employee have access to my Twitter account.

“It was one of Lane’s personal assistants, and it was his first day on the job,” Hamilton explained. “He posted the message on Lane’s Twitter account without asking compliance. It was an inadvertent error, but it’s still a violation and one of those things where you’ve got to know what the deal is. We’ll report it.”

This super staff doesn’t seem to learn from its mistakes either. This is the second time they have reported themselves for mentioning an unsigned recruit by name. While on the radio in February, Kiffin talked about Bryce Brown on the air.

Coaches you may want to look at this. If you have a Twitter account just post it yourself. If you don’t have time to write 140 characters in a day, then you don’t need to have an account for some entry level office assistant to post about the weather and what color of shirt you are wearing.

This coming off a day when Kiffin buckled and called Pahokee High School and made a public apologized for insulting the whole community.

This is great theater and I love watching old tried and true Vols fans try to justify the Kiffman and his crazy shenanigans.

Stay tuned till next week when we see Boy Blunder and his League of Super Coaches mess up on the simplest things before they even coach a SEC game.

Quote by Athletic director Mike Hamilton was first reported by the Knoxville News Sentinel.