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Looking Ahead: Washington


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5 hours ago, AUpreacherman22 said:

If we beat UDubb week one I will be pleasantly surprised.   I’ve seen this whole “high profile OOC game early in the season” situation play out too many times to be optimistic going into this one. 

Win or lose I hope to see us establish clear roles for our RBs, the OL gel, more volume and diversity in the passing attack, and some new guys stepping up in the secondary.   If we answer those questions Week one, we’ll have a very successful season!!!

We're in the optimum position to pull off a win. We have an OC coach who knows how to coach them up. Gus is at his best, early on, when he has a returning QB. The scenario doesn't get any better outside of adding someone like Cam to the team. If we still had Hand and/or were breaking in a new QB, I'd say "at least it's a non-conference game".

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6 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

Except at Missouri, Arkansas and Texas A&M... yea, none of them were good, but we made them all look worse than they were in their house.

117 yards of total offense at Clemson. Blew a 20 point lead at LSU. Got stomped in Atlanta and then went back and lost to a Go5 team. 

 

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34 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

117 yards of total offense at Clemson. Blew a 20 point lead at LSU. Got stomped in Atlanta and then went back and lost to a Go5 team. 

 

 

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I think some of you are downplaying UW, A&M, and Tenn way too much. UW will be ready to play game 1. They will be ready for an SEC game. They got embarrassed the last time they played a SEC team which also happened to be in Atlanta. A&M has always had the talent. That was never an issue for Sumlin. Now they have a real coach. Thinking it will take that talent a few years to gel is naive. The talent was already there. Now they have the coaching. As far as Tennessee goes... Jones also never had an issue getting talent to Rocky Top. Who knows if Pruitt will be a good head coach? He could be a Smart or he could be a McElwain. He could have them rolling year 1 or he could never get it going. He is a question mark, but an automatic win, Tennessee is not. They have too much talent to just ignore. This isn't even considering LSU. Who has talent for days, and normally even the times we do beat them, it isn't by much. The Mississippi schools and Arkansas don't pose much of a threat to us in 18, but to assume we will be undefeated going in to amen corner isn't reasonable. Sure we may be undefeated come UGA, but to assume we will be is setting yourselves up for a big disappointment. Especially considering we will be breaking in a new OL and RB

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1 hour ago, McLoofus said:

117 yards of total offense at Clemson. Blew a 20 point lead at LSU. Got stomped in Atlanta and then went back and lost to a Go5 team. 

So, as Bird would say... 50/50

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6 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

So, as Bird would say... 50/50

100 % losses on the road against quality opponents.

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11 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

I think some of you are downplaying UW, A&M, and Tenn way too much. UW will be ready to play game 1. They will be ready for an SEC game. They got embarrassed the last time they played a SEC team which also happened to be in Atlanta. A&M has always had the talent. That was never an issue for Sumlin. Now they have a real coach. Thinking it will take that talent a few years to gel is naive. The talent was already there. Now they have the coaching. As far as Tennessee goes... Jones also never had an issue getting talent to Rocky Top. Who knows if Pruitt will be a good head coach? He could be a Smart or he could be a McElwain. He could have them rolling year 1 or he could never get it going. He is a question mark, but an automatic win, Tennessee is not. They have too much talent to just ignore. This isn't even considering LSU. Who has talent for days, and normally even the times we do beat them, it isn't by much. The Mississippi schools and Arkansas don't pose much of a threat to us in 18, but to assume we will be undefeated going in to amen corner isn't reasonable. Sure we may be undefeated come UGA, but to assume we will be is setting yourselves up for a big disappointment. Especially considering we will be breaking in a new OL and RB

I agree that Washington will be ready and Fisher at A&M is scary, as several of us have said, but Tennessee has been down for a long time and I just don't see a first time head coach turning a program around in year 1. The only coach I can think of in recent history to pull that off was Gus, and he had two advantages... he basically recruited the team, since he was the OC when they were all recruited, and he had an offensive scheme that no one knew how to defend. Pruitt's a defensive guy. Even Muschamp and Saban couldn't turn around a defense in 1 year, and as a first time head coach, offense is new to him, and his OC is also a first time OC with no SEC experience.

While I agree that there is no such thing as an automatic win in the SEC, Tennessee in year 1 under Pruitt should be about the same level as Mississippi State.

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2 minutes ago, DAG said:

100 % losses on the road against quality opponents.

Sure... if you want to focus on the negative.

We also know that 2 of those games had nothing to do with being on the road and everything to do with bad decisions and/or lack of preparation. I'll give you the SEC Championship game and the Peach Bowl.  Both of those were certainly effected by the lack of energy that the players got from the crowd, but Clemson was 100% on our QB and O-line not being ready to play and LSU was overconfidence topped off by a lack of adjustment.  I would argue that we would have lost those games in Auburn, too.

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5 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Sure... if you want to focus on the negative.

We also know that 2 of those games had nothing to do with being on the road and everything to do with bad decisions and/or lack of preparation. I'll give you the SEC Championship game and the Peach Bowl.  Both of those were certainly effected by the lack of energy that the players got from the crowd, but Clemson was 100% on our QB and O-line not being ready to play and LSU was overconfidence topped off by a lack of adjustment.  I would argue that we would have lost those games in Auburn, too.

How is that negative? That is a reality . I don’t care what excuses you come up with. We were not good onthe road. Even the pundits who were riding us said the same thing. “Boy, Auburn is the best team at Jordan hare, but how are they away from their stadium?” That question was consistently asked. You can argue it all you want. Fact still remains we were bad against quality opponents on the road. 

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11 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

I agree that Washington will be ready and Fisher at A&M is scary, as several of us have said, but Tennessee has been down for a long time and I just don't see a first time head coach turning a program around in year 1. The only coach I can think of in recent history to pull that off was Gus, and he had two advantages... he basically recruited the team, since he was the OC when they were all recruited, and he had an offensive scheme that no one knew how to defend. Pruitt's a defensive guy. Even Muschamp and Saban couldn't turn around a defense in 1 year, and as a first time head coach, offense is new to him, and his OC is also a first time OC with no SEC experience.

While I agree that there is no such thing as an automatic win in the SEC, Tennessee in year 1 under Pruitt should be about the same level as Mississippi State.

Maybe.... I just don't see it. Tennessee has averaged 12th-15th depending on the service in the past 5 recruiting classes, while Mississippi State has been closer to 30. Think of the difference between finishing in the top 5 vs the top 10 over those years (we have averaged around 7th.) Now think of the difference between 12 and 30. Tennessee has twice the talent as MSU. 

I COMPLETELY agree about Gus and recruiting our 2013 team. I also COMPLETELY agree that a defensive minded coach like Pruitt  has less of a chance of turning it around year 1. However Jones left Tennessee with much more talent on their roster for Pruitt than Shula left on Bama for Sabans year 1. 

I'm just looking at overall talent and their potential. Tennessee has the potential to be the #2 team in the East in 18 while we will most likely be predicted as the #2 or #3 team in the West going into next season. I am by NO MEANS saying we will lose or will even probably lose to Tennessee year 1 of Pruitts tenure, but the potential is there simply due to the overall talent on their roster. 

As far as Mississippi State vs Tennessee goes... I look at it like this... Mullin had a difficult time pulling elite talent to State, but he unquestionably coached up the talent he could pull. They had much better coaching. Whereas Jones at Tennessee had no problem pulling talent to Tennessee, he just lacked the coaching ability. It will be determined by Pruitts ability to coach up the talent he already has on the roster. If he is half the coach Mullin is, Tennessee will be #2 in the East and COULD get Tennessee turned around (like we need) and can pull some of momentum away from UGA.

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6 minutes ago, DAG said:

How is that negative? That is a reality . I don’t care what excuses you come up with. We were not good onthe road. Even the pundits who were riding us said the same thing. “Boy, Auburn is the best team at Jordan hare, but how are they away from their stadium?” That question was consistently asked. You can argue it all you want. Fact still remains we were bad against quality opponents on the road. 

Ok, DAG, you're right. We would have totally whipped Clemson and LSU in Jordan Hare with the same game plans. It's all about the location and has nothing to do with preparation or decisions made during the game.

LOL at quoting sports pundits as proof of anything.

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4 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Ok, DAG, you're right. We would have totally whipped Clemson and LSU in Jordan Hare with the same game plans. It's all about the location and has nothing to do with preparation or decisions made during the game.

LOL at quoting sports pundits as proof of anything.

The proof was the games we loss ON THE ROAD.  Stop getting so emotional when people don’t agree with your agenda. Never said we would’ve totally whipped them at JH ( you tend to do that when your back is against the wall). Reality is we didn’t play them there.

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2 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

Maybe.... I just don't see it. Tennessee has averaged 12th-15th depending on the service in the past 5 recruiting classes, while Mississippi State has been closer to 30. Think of the difference between finishing in the top 5 vs the top 10 over those years (we have averaged around 7th.) Now think of the difference between 12 and 30. Tennessee has twice the talent as MSU. 

I COMPLETELY agree about Gus and recruiting our 2013 team. I also COMPLETELY agree that a defensive minded coach like Pruitt  has less of a chance of turning it around year 1. However Jones left Tennessee with much more talent on their roster for Pruitt than Shula left on Bama for Sabans year 1. 

I'm just looking at overall talent and their potential. Tennessee has the potential to be the #2 team in the East in 18 while we will most likely be predicted as the #2 or #3 team in the West going into next season. I am by NO MEANS saying we will lose or will even probably lose to Tennessee year 1 of Pruitts tenure, but the potential is there simply due to the overall talent on their roster. 

As far as Mississippi State vs Tennessee goes... I look at it like this... Mullin had a difficult time pulling elite talent to State, but he unquestionably coached up the talent he could pull. They had much better coaching. Whereas Jones at Tennessee had no problem pulling talent to Tennessee, he just lacked the coaching ability. It will be determined by Pruitts ability to coach up the talent he already has on the roster. If he is half the coach Mullin is, Tennessee will be #2 in the East and COULD get Tennessee turned around (like we need) and can pull some of momentum away from UGA.

Valid points, but I think it still hangs too much on a first time head coach and a first time OC.  I think Tennessee will end up 4th in the East. Georgia will undoubtedly be 1st (though some speculate with their player losses, that South Carolina might surprise everyone), South Carolina will be right up there, and I see Mullin having enough to build on at Florida to keep them in the top 3. As far as the rest go, if Tennessee isn't better than Vandy, Missouri, and Kentucky, the Pruitt was a VERY bad hire.

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19 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Sure... if you want to focus on the negative.

We also know that 2 of those games had nothing to do with being on the road and everything to do with bad decisions and/or lack of preparation. I'll give you the SEC Championship game and the Peach Bowl.  Both of those were certainly effected by the lack of energy that the players got from the crowd, but Clemson was 100% on our QB and O-line not being ready to play and LSU was overconfidence topped off by a lack of adjustment.  I would argue that we would have lost those games in Auburn, too.

I agree with most of this except for my highlighted part. I put both of those losses on the back of coaching. Clemson being Hands inability to coach anything resembling pass protection, and to a lesser extent the OL not blocking. Putting any of that loss on Stidham i dont understand. Its difficult to do ANYTHING when you are running for your life immediately after the snap the entire game. And to a greater extent LSU being SQUARELY on CGM. I don't feel it had ANYTHING to do with over confidence and EVERYTHING to do with Gus taking his foot off the gas and trying to win with defense alone. But as @DAG said, we lost every road game vs quality opponents. 

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6 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Ok, DAG, you're right. We would have totally whipped Clemson and LSU in Jordan Hare with the same game plans. It's all about the location and has nothing to do with preparation or decisions made during the game.

LOL at quoting sports pundits as proof of anything.

Hmmm... Seems you're on to something here.  :rolleyes:

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Just now, AUsince72 said:

Hmmm... Seems you're on to something here.  :rolleyes:

Is he finally putting the blame on Gus?! 

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2 minutes ago, DAG said:

The proof was the games we loss ON THE ROAD.  Stop getting so emotional when people don’t agree with your agenda. Never said we would’ve totally whipped them at JH ( you tend to do that when your back is against the wall). Reality is we didn’t play them there.

Why do you always claim people are getting emotional when they disagree with you? It's as if you feel like that gives you some kind of leverage in a conversation. More often than not, there is no emotion in the conversations on here, unless, of course, you are dealing with someone who is attacking you, and in my experience, you are above that.

In this case, you're talking in circles, but I've learned long ago that no matter how something is presented to you, you aren't going to change your mind, especially so when talking with me as you do seem to enjoy disagreeing with me. To that end, there's no point in continuing this particular conversation.

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Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I think Jimbo is somewhat of an overrated coach. He’s good, yes, but I don’t see them becoming as good as LSU during Miles’s golden (no pun intended) years. But we should keep an eye on A&M.

As for not beating LSU by much, we’ve given them their two worst losses in the last 20 years. I feel really, REALLY good about that game. We need a 2016 Arkansas game level performance in that one. Remember how Urban Meyer used all his timeouts in the last minute on Georgia in 2008? I would love for Gus to be able to do the same in that one. The DEFINITION of a revenge game.

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1 minute ago, AUwent said:

Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I think Jimbo is somewhat of an overrated coach. He’s good, yes, but I don’t see them becoming as good as LSU during Miles’s golden (no pun intended) years.

I personally don't think that's wishful thinking at all.

I think aTm basically hired Sumlin 2.0.

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4 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Valid points, but I think it still hangs too much on a first time head coach and a first time OC.  I think Tennessee will end up 4th in the East. Georgia will undoubtedly be 1st (though some speculate with their player losses, that South Carolina might surprise everyone), South Carolina will be right up there, and I see Mullin having enough to build on at Florida to keep them in the top 3. As far as the rest go, if Tennessee isn't better than Vandy, Missouri, and Kentucky, the Pruitt was a VERY bad hire.

1000% agree. But they had to get what they could. At one point they pretty much had the former Rutgers coach all but signed and the fan base went crazy. At the end Kevin Steele was a finalist. They had run out of options.

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Just now, lionheartkc said:

Why do you always claim people are getting emotional when they disagree with you? It's as if you feel like that gives you some kind of leverage in a conversation. More often than not, there is no emotion in the conversations on here, unless, of course, you are dealing with someone who is attacking you, and in my experience, you are above that.

In this case, you're talking in circles, but I've learned long ago that no matter how something is presented to you, you aren't going to change your mind, especially so when talking with me as you do seem to enjoy disagreeing with me. To that end, there's no point in continuing this particular conversation.

Not people, you! Haha I’ve had lots of people who disagree with me but they never go to the extent of putting words in my mouth like you do. You are reaching. I don’t need any leverage . It is okay to say AU was ONE of the best teams in the country and be real as to why they ultimately was not the best. You don’t have to be a negative person to point that out. Only rationale. 

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19 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Sure... if you want to focus on the negative.

We also know that 2 of those games had nothing to do with being on the road and everything to do with bad decisions and/or lack of preparation. I'll give you the SEC Championship game and the Peach Bowl.  Both of those were certainly effected by the lack of energy that the players got from the crowd, but Clemson was 100% on our QB and O-line not being ready to play and LSU was overconfidence topped off by a lack of adjustment.  I would argue that we would have lost those games in Auburn, too.

To the bolded part, isn’t this exactly what DAG is saying.  We are not a good road team when the crowd is not hyping the players up.  On the road, isn’t it the team’s responsibility to hype the crowd up as opposed to the other way around?  If we only perform when the crowd effects the players, isn’t that the definition of home field advantage?  If we want to take it the the next level, our team is going to have to mature into a well rounded team that does not rely on emotion to win games.  I’m not saying emotion is not part of the game, but championship teams are built by doing their job even though they’re are in a hostile environment. 

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Just now, AUsince72 said:

I personally don't think that's wishful thinking at all.

I think aTm basically hired Sumlin 2.0.

Let's hope. But I sure wouldn't put money on that.

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4 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

To the bolded part, isn’t this exactly what DAG is saying.  We are not a good road team when the crowd is not hyping the players up.  On the road, isn’t it the team’s responsibility to hype the crowd up as opposed to the other way around?  If we only perform when the crowd effects the players, isn’t that the definition of home field advantage?  If we want to take it the the next level, our team is going to have to mature into a well rounded team that does not rely on emotion to win games.  I’m not saying emotion is not part of the game, but championship teams are built by doing their job even though they’re are in a hostile environment. 

Yes, but I am only just disagreeing with him just to disagree with him. Remember that (sarcasm).

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2 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

I agree with most of this except for my highlighted part. I put both of those losses on the back of coaching. Clemson being Hands inability to coach anything resembling pass protection, and to a lesser extent the OL not blocking. Putting any of that loss on Stidham i dont understand. Its difficult to do ANYTHING when you are running for your life immediately after the snap the entire game. And to a greater extent LSU being SQUARELY on CGM. I don't feel it had ANYTHING to do with over confidence and EVERYTHING to do with Gus taking his foot off the gas and trying to win with defense alone. But as @DAG said, we lost every road game vs quality opponents. 

And what part of our QB and O-Line not being ready, overconfidence, and lack of adjustment excludes coaching? It's our coaches job to get the QB and O-Line ready, and the coaches are the ones who initiate the adjustments. As for overconfidence vs taking the foot off of the gas, taking the foot off of the gas was BECAUSE we, that we includes the staff, were overconfident. 

You're arguing just to argue in this case, because we're saying the same thing... I'm just going into detail beyond "coaches".

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