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I have not had a chance to read the posts from Saturday night, so if I repeat anything, step in anything, or otherwise waste your time, please remember that you are on an internet message board, so you are supposed to be wasting time.
Pre-game: The Tiger Jack crew remains well prepared and hospitable from the tailgating perspective. They had claimed one the few shady spots in the parking area and were willing to share it. The daughters and I were appreciative.
The eagle flight remains cooler than real cool. Our section gave Spirit's sharp bank and dive onto midfield extra style points.
The band was good. And loud, too. I am not yet too old to have outgrown Aubie.
Game: Actually, it was about what I expected. I thought we would struggle some on offense in the first game. And we did. The first half was mostly boring, except when it was ugly. I was impressed with the halftime adjustments and happy that we did not stubbornly cling to the slip screen and 3 yard out in the second half. The receivers are still below average for the SEC. They do not get open consistently, drop far too many balls, and do not help the QB out very much when the pocket breaks down. Their blocking is not too bad, though. Slaughter needs to start making more plays, because he has quite a bit of raw ability. The drop on the Burns' long ball was disappointing.
I will repeat what I have said more than once: Ben Tate needs more touches. Good things happen when he gets the ball far more often than not. Give him the #badword#ing ball.
I maintain my position that one game is insignificant in evaluating whether this new offensive scheme will work. Frankly, this new offensive scheme was the old offensive scheme in the shotgun for a number of snaps Saturday. We lined up in an Offset I and ran toss sweeps quite a few times. Lead plays, too. I liked that look very much.
When the QB hands the ball off on the read option, he frequently carries his fake out the back side. I noticed that sometimes he runs out into the flat all by himself. I predict Kodi Burns will catch a throwback pass from a running back this year, if we have anyone who can throw it.
I am excited about Eric Smith.
The defense is good enough to keep us in every game we play. I was pleasantly surprised with the secondary play, especially the tackling. Neiko Thorpe could be a player. We also seem to have more depth and ability in the interior line than I thought we would have.
I also think Gabe McKenzie will be an outstanding DE once he gets some experience. He was playing on raw effort and still having a positive effect on many of his snaps.
Our new punter could be very good. Kickoff coverage was a little improved. My new favorite player is Spencer Pybus, no. 39, who recovered the fumble to open the second half after demolishing the wedge 10 yards downfield from the fumble. That guy plays like a crazy man. He nearly broke the LAMO QB in half on one blitz when the 3rd stringer were in the game in the 4th quarter.
I think this season will resemble previous seasons, frankly. We did not try to snap the ball early in the play clock, despite the hype to the contrary. I see us ultimately as a running team that will try to burn clock, play field position, avoid mistakes, and lean on the defense.
That is my favorite style of football because it works.
