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Comments
' My buddy Scott summed up the game like this: “Bottom line is their DBs outplayed our WRs, their D-line outplayed our vaunted O-line on the run, Fromm had a bad day and we were outcoached by a team with not even half our talent.” '
Exactly.
However, we've come to this fork in the road SO many times before in previous seasons. Losing to a cupcake and simply laying an egg. How we respond for the rest of the season will be the telling tale.
Fromm is not a mobile QB, and it comes back to haunt us every time he is consistently pressured. Like you said Bill, Fromm is 0-5 when he has to throw more than 30 times per game. And our OL has some big boys, but they aren't doing a good job overall.
The worst part of this loss is the coaching. Too vanilla/conservative, not aggressive, and lack of explosive plays.
How does Saban manage his revolving door of coaches year after year and still keep winning? How is he 17-0 against his former coaches? Figure that out and we'll find the winning formula.
Oh yes, and to answer your headline question - the DAWGS were exposed. SC had a perfect defense against us - load the box, stuff the run, pressure Fromm, and make him throw a LOT to a core of inexperienced receivers working against excellent man coverage.
If you were not worried about our offense in the first 5 games you are just not honest with yourself. Yes we beat inferior teams by good margins, but in my opinion we really did not look sharp or anything like other offenses of top 5 rated teams.
Still not convinced ND is that GREAT and we barley beat them now we look like we did against a not so good SC team. SC is not good, look how we played and we still could have pulled it out in the end.
If our offensive coordinator has total control then to me it is obvious Kirby made a mistake with that hire.
Very vanilla and predictable and not willing or capable of making adjustments.
Our defense gave up 10 points and we could not overcome it. How do you think every future opponent is going to play us. Tight man to man and stack the box. If SC can do that and us not adjust how do you think we score on teams with much better defensive personnel and offenses that can actually threaten us.
Yes we had turnovers and take them away we probably squeak that game out but do you think we squeak it out against Florida, Auburn, MO, A & M. Better not turn it over against Kentucky or we will again be trying to squeak it out.
Now we will see if we can make changes or do we keep butting our head against the wall.
It is not our players, most of the offensive line will go to the next level, the QB will go to the next level and Swift will go to the next level, recievers still to be determined but they are talented, it is in the offensive scheme.
In a strange way, the way this game ended was not the biggest disappointment. I think a lot of folks saw this loss coming with the pick 6, when the disappointment of being outcoached, outplayed, and outscored at that point by a 21 point underdog really hit home. Even when their 3rd string QB came into the game, did anyone have a good feeling the offense was going to stop shooting themselves in the foot, or that the receiving game would magically open up? Not me...the dread remained, and it was further exacerbated by this sequence - 1) run up the middle 2) run up the middle 3) incomplete pass on 3rd and long. And if the hold doesn't occur, I doubt seriously that a completion would have occurred on that 4th down play on that game-tying drive. By all rights, it was a miracle that the Dawgs even got to 17 points. The glaring problem is that no one fears the WR group. It says a lot that an injured receiver is the best play-maker...and make no mistake, Cager is the difference between one and two losses right now. He is awesome, a leader, but we need the young guys to get open and make plays. Blame it on the coaching, the play-calling, or just being out of sync...but there has to be a way to bring some fear of the passing game going forward, or it will be a mid tier bowl this year.
With all of that said, what a flub at the end of regulation - you have no timeouts and 8 seconds, and the short-passing game has been atrocious all game...why even try a dangerous side route and chance another pick six or letting the clock run out. You've got the best kicker in the game, and he hit a 50 yd attempt earlier...let him try from 55 yd! I know there is a fear of a kick 6 or a block, but what are the odds compared to Blankenship "winning" the game right there? If he misses it, I doubt seriously it would be short enough to be returned. Even at 60...you saw the guy warming up. These were all first guess thoughts on my part, but we'll never know.
Hopefully this is just that clunker game that precedes better days - Go Dawgs!
Btw Bill, many thanks for your great column. I appreciate it more than any other out there. Thanks