2010 Arkansas = 2009 Ole Miss
by bammer on Jul 29, 2010 4:26 PM CDT
Email
Print
Much like Ole Miss in 2009, we are hearing rumblings from sports writers all over the south east claiming Arkansas as the dark horse to compete and even win the SEC West in 2010. And again, just like Ole Miss in 2009 I just don't get it.
Chris Lowe of ESPN has been doing an interesting position break down of all the SEC teams. Mind you Im not a huge fan of Lowe but I feel he's been right on for the most part. Even Lowe has them at #2 preseason. When I was going through each position, one thing jumped out at me...
Arkansas will have a TERRIBLE, not bad but plain ole raunchy (and not in a good way) defense. They weren't exactly good in '09 either. In fact they ranked dead last in the SEC in overall defense. Sad thing is they haven't seemed to progress at all in 2010. Here's where Lowe ranked and his thoughts on the Pigs defense...
D Back's - 12th
The Hogs gladly welcome back junior cornerback Isaac Madison, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. Their pass defense suffered with Madison out of the lineup, and they finished last in the league, allowing 401.2 yards per game. They also gave up 22 touchdown passes. To get more speed on the field, Arkansas moved Rudell Crim to safety during the spring. Ramon Broadway returns at the other cornerback and Elton Ford at the other safety.
Line Backer's- 11th
The Hogs need to improve across the board on defense, and linebacker is no exception. Junior Jerry Franklin has started since he was a freshman and finished with 94 tackles last season. He’s capable of playing in the middle, but Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino wants to leave him at weakside linebacker and give him a chance to make more plays against both the run and pass. The Hogs still need to settle on a middle linebacker. Senior Jermaine Love and sophomore Terrell Williams were battling it out in the spring.
D Line- 10th
The Hogs will be better on defense this season. So says Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, and they’ll need to be better if they’re going to make a run in the Western Division race. The depth should be better, although losing Malcolm Sheppard in the middle is a killer. Junior end Jake Bequette had 5.5 sacks last season and is one of those guys who could really blossom this season. Junior Zach Stadther returns at one tackle. Sophomore Tenarius Wright missed the spring with a foot injury, but will also be a key at the other end position.
Special Teams- 12th
Inconsistency has plagued senior place-kicker Alex Tejada throughout his career, and it reared its head again this spring. The Hogs were also last in the SEC in net punting a year ago. The coverage units have improved with the addition of John L. Smith, the former Louisville and Michigan State head coach, to the staff. Dennis Johnson is one of the more dangerous return men in the league.
Now im no football wiz and I don't claim to know everything about the Arkansas defense but when you were dead last on defense a year ago and did little to bring in better players, its safe to say they will be terrible once again. Add to the mix that they are playing in a league known for running the ball (Alabama, LSU, MSU and Auburn all have a run first offense) and you have a recipe for disaster awaiting the Razorbacks.
Some people might point to the fact that Lowe ranked each Arkansas offensive position in his top 5...And? So they'll score more points but the amount they will be giving up will be their Achilles heel. You don't win in the SEC with offense (it helps of course) and you sure as hell won't win without defense. I can't remember the last SEC Champion or even SEC West champion for that matter, who won on offense alone. Hell, I can't remember the last SEC west team to win games at all without at least a good defense.
Arkansas will scare a few teams, win some games they shouldn't but they won't end up 2nd in the West. Auburn. LSU and MSU have all improved in a year. They still have to face the two headed beast at RB with Alabama. Their only advantage is a terrible weak schedule and thats about it...
My predicition. 8-4 with losses to Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, and Auburn (4th in the west)
FanPosts are just that; posts created by the fans. They are in no way indicative of the opinions of SBN and the authors of Roll Bama Roll.
31 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Only problem with this is Ryan Mallet >>> Jefan Snead
What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.
-Hank Hill
but the
Ole Miss defense was light years better than this years Arky squad…
"You stay bought into it when you see your opponent sucking air and physically failing and you're still fit and ready and you know you own his ass."- Corey Reamer speaking about Coach Cochran
True dat
"High standards come from passion within...." --Coach Nick Saban
by NiceLittleSaturday on Jul 29, 2010 8:31 PM CDT up reply actions
Brandon Avalos > Jevan Snead
"High standards come from passion within...." --Coach Nick Saban
by NiceLittleSaturday on Jul 29, 2010 8:31 PM CDT up reply actions
I think the result maybe the same
9-10 wins, Cotton Bowl birth but I feel like this Ark. team will be a lot more dangerous. I feel like (depending on how LSU does) they could beat LSU, USC and Auburn, but with the SEC it’s so hard to gain separation they’ll still probably lose one of those games. They could also lose to TAMU it’s just really hard to say, but I think they win 9-10 games and finish second or third.
Fight on, fight on, fight on men! Remember the Rose Bowl, we’ll win then.
AU's offense
will light up Arky’s D. But i could see Arky scoring 50 on them. It really all comes down to their offense scoring enough points AND sustaining long drives (keeping that terrible defense off the feild)…If they put up 30+ I could 9- 10 wins…
"You stay bought into it when you see your opponent sucking air and physically failing and you're still fit and ready and you know you own his ass."- Corey Reamer speaking about Coach Cochran
so that road trip to Arky
for us will turn out be a good one!
"You stay bought into it when you see your opponent sucking air and physically failing and you're still fit and ready and you know you own his ass."- Corey Reamer speaking about Coach Cochran
by bammer on Jul 29, 2010 7:13 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Maybe...
they’ll break out some form of black jersey. I’ve come to relish it when teams do that when they’re playing us.
PLEASE let this happen!
Red Out or something! All our team needs is a little motivation….
"You stay bought into it when you see your opponent sucking air and physically failing and you're still fit and ready and you know you own his ass."- Corey Reamer speaking about Coach Cochran
Mallet is better than Snead....
Mainly because Bob Petrino doesn’t have regressive QBs like Houston Nutt
Fumbles. It was always Fumbles
Sad thing is they haven’t seemed to progress at all in 2010.
What?? Did I miss kickoff?! Why didn’t you guys tell me the season had started?!!
i guess they
could play better. but the overall talent actually took a drop from last years team. The only addition in terms of talent is a DB that got hurt last season…and thats about it.
"You stay bought into it when you see your opponent sucking air and physically failing and you're still fit and ready and you know you own his ass."- Corey Reamer speaking about Coach Cochran
Where have you been?
Ingram already has over 1,000 yards rushing and has the TD total record.
"No man, I majored in Jounalism, it was easier" Joe Namath answering a reporter who asked if he majored in basket weaving
by Slow Hand Row on Jul 30, 2010 1:58 PM CDT up reply actions
Thank you!
I was saying the exact same thing yesterday! I agree Mallett is better than Snead, but what has he done to warrant all the hype? You’d think he was the Heisman frontrunner to hear the talking heads blowing smoke. Sh*t, LSU worries me a hell of a lot more than Arky. The Bayou Bengal tigers may have a coach with the IQ of peat moss, but they still have twice the talent that the hogs do (except for at QB, of course).
Dr. BamaFrazier is IN!
You made a good point in your reply
in keeping the Arky defense off the field. The problem with that is that they are an arial attack offense and can’t burn up time by pounding the ball on the ground. I think they will score a lot of points but the D will also be on the field a heck of a lot of the time. With little depth they will tire and once again give up tons of points in the second half of games.
"Defense"
and you just pointed out the flaw in the ointment
Its been said the best defense sometimes is a good offense….Thats only true though when your offense grinds out 70+ td drives and eats up the clock like Mt. Cody at an AYCE buffet.
So in Arkys case, scoring a lot of points, really quick will do more harm then good.
"You stay bought into it when you see your opponent sucking air and physically failing and you're still fit and ready and you know you own his ass."- Corey Reamer speaking about Coach Cochran
FLY in the ointment...
"You stay bought into it when you see your opponent sucking air and physically failing and you're still fit and ready and you know you own his ass."- Corey Reamer speaking about Coach Cochran
All you can...
…engorge….
"High standards come from passion within...." --Coach Nick Saban
by NiceLittleSaturday on Aug 1, 2010 3:20 PM CDT up reply actions
It's a really popular chain
where I’m from.
"Let's go be champions, boys!" - Greg McElroy
(Formerly SugarBowl93)
by RememberTheRoseBowl on Aug 1, 2010 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions
The 10th or 11th defense in the SEC
still might be a close to average defense overall. That might be all you need on defense to have a really good season if your offense is top notch and playing consistently well.
Somebody...
…get this man a kool aid….
"High standards come from passion within...." --Coach Nick Saban
by NiceLittleSaturday on Jul 30, 2010 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions
umm
he’s swimming in it already ;)
krnxprs. You’re right to a degree. But its not like SEC offenses are known for lighting up the score board either. What you do need in the SEC is a defense that can stop the run. This is where Arky is weakest at and will be their undoing. Teams will know thier offense will score points, so the simple way to defeat a good offense is by keeping said offense off the feild. Watch LSU, Bama, Auburn, MSU etc do what they do best and grind out long, time cunsuming drives keeping that “vaunted” and yet to be proven Arky offense on the sideline.
"You stay bought into it when you see your opponent sucking air and physically failing and you're still fit and ready and you know you own his ass."- Corey Reamer speaking about Coach Cochran
I’m not making any prognostications. My point was that Arkansas’ relative rankings on defense in the SEC don’t necessarily tell you just how bad the defense is in absolute terms. I know they were awful last year, but just getting anywhere close to average this year can result in an improved win total, and I think that is what Razorbacks would consider a good year.
AR showed little defense last year except --
— against Auburn. Weird, I thought they’d brought in ringers or something, after watching what GA did to AR. If the Hogs can run, too, they will be dangerous with the ball. But they’ll have to win 35-34 most of the time.
There’s a history of QBs lighting it up in the SEC, then coming back as seniors and… struggling. Mike Shula? Gary Hollingsworth? I’m sure there are others, too, besides Jevan Snead. Rare exceptions like Peyton Manning come to mind.
Why? Defenses are too good, too fast, defensive coordinators are too good and have a year or more of film to work from.
This is why I say Malzahn’s offense at Auburn will either evolve or die — my money’s on die. They can’t make themselves into the Texas of the SEC West and live on offense alone. Score lotsa points? Sometimes. Get to SEC title game? Maybe. Win it? Probably not.
I know this is comparing apples to oranges,
but Akry somewhat reminds me of the 2008 Saints. Brees was a PI short of breaking Dan Marino’s single season passing record, but they still finished 8-8 and last in the NFC South. You can have all the offensive talent in the world scoring 27ppg, but still end up with a mediocre season when you’re giving up 24ppg. (actually closer to even when you throw out the 42-7 victory over winless Lions)
"Yeah, it's Tennessee, that's the way it is sometimes." - Corey Zickefoose, Pulitzer Prize winner and robbery victim
"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." - Dean Martin
by Thomas Walker Esq on Aug 2, 2010 1:09 PM CDT reply actions
The
Saints D was hardly much of an improvement in 2009 as they gave up gobs of points per game just as they did in 2008. Where they really improved was in the turnover dept. If Arkasnas only mildly improves on D, I think they can be dangerous. But your overall point is valid.
"A demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots." -H. L. Mencken
You're right on the turnover margin
The Saints D was better last year b/c of a) Darren Sharper and b) they blitzed almost 60% of the time. You simply can’t blitz as much against a mobile QB, of which Arky will face a few, and without any legitimate pass rushers, of which Arky has none.
"Yeah, it's Tennessee, that's the way it is sometimes." - Corey Zickefoose, Pulitzer Prize winner and robbery victim
"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." - Dean Martin
by Thomas Walker Esq on Aug 2, 2010 6:15 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't know
but when you were dead last on defense a year ago and did little to bring in better players, its safe to say they will be terrible once again.
Isn’t that a little dismissive of Experience Gained? Which is kinda ironic for me, given I usually rail against previews that unnecessarily talk about the players who are not on the upcoming year’s team. You cite a lot of low rankings from last year, but also note a good number of players coming back.
But the biggest reason Arkansas 2010 >>>> than Ole Miss 2009 is the coaching staffs. It’s been duly noted that Petrino is far greater than Nutt at developing QBs (and at proficient offenses in general) and that Mallett has more potential than Snead, but I’d argue the same superiority exists on the defensive side of the ball as well. I trust Will Robinson (and John L. Smith even!) to continue to develop those three returning linebackers and generally provide a more professional approach to defensive schemes than Tyrone Nix (former South Carolina Dco).
Anyway, I see the surface similarities, but Arky’s gonna be far more legitimately dangerous this year than Ole Miss was.
Ohio State has the worst fans in the Big Ten. Bar none. And it’s not even close. Humorless in defeat. Condescending in victory. Generally insecure all the time. I’ve partied and had fun with fans of every team in this league, save Ohio State.
You had me...
…until you said, “I trust Will Robinson….”
"High standards come from passion within...." --Coach Nick Saban
by NiceLittleSaturday on Aug 2, 2010 10:02 PM CDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
