I am not looking forward to Saturday. The masculine version of Helen Hunt might screw up a game call or two, but never against us. Or if he does, something flukey happens and he ends up winning anyway. And as much as I don't like him, he's a really good coach. May need to start pre-gaming now and cancel my Sunday plans to continue with post-gaming. Not feeling the offense will be ready against yet another good defense and the defnese will have their hands full with Miamia's big OL.
I don't think teams have "figured it out" regarding our spread option offense. I think teams we strong d-lines and quick, smart, LBs can stifle any offense. I have spent a lot of time reflecting/researching since the 2010 season, which was a shocker after CPJ came in and, as he had in previous stops, instantly improved the W-L record. I do think we have a jimmy and joes issue, but I don't know that it boils down to a coach being able to recruit/not recruit. It is, however, frustrating that our OL seems to have made little improvement in technique/knowledge from last year. O
We have put an offensive lineman and receivers in the NFL who have played in this "system", which is one of the the criticisms of the offense (Hi David Cutcliffe!). And frankly, up until 2015, I would have said it was more important to get the 4 and 5 star recruits on the defensive side of the ball. I never imagined our defense would improve while our offense really struggled!! Am I the only one who thought, "If we can get some studs on D, particularly the line, and be a top 30-40 defense, LOOK OUT"?
The cheating exposed at UNC, Miami, Auburn,
Ole Miss, etc. and the NCAA's commitment to doing NOTHING about it make me think that we are losing the "arms race". Not that I want us to sink to their level, but I wonder how we can compete with the factories who have gotten very good, imho, at figuring out how to deliver impermissible benefits using boosters, grad assistants, lower level assistant coaches, compliance staff, etc. to allow head coaches, athletic directors, and schools to have plausible deniability. The athletes know who to contact (Tunsil) to get "bills paid". You bet Alabama boosters are "supporting" the program on the side and Nick Saban wants to know nothing about it, even though I doubt he wants them to stop.
CPJ has said our facilities are behind (I have no idea if this is true as I have never looked at the facilities at other schools.... I know we added the indoor practice facility and I thought we upgraded the weight room/meeting rooms for players?).
I don't think I want us to lower our standards. The fact that uGAG lowers theirs and excuses the behavior of their SA's is one of the reasons I despise them. Having met and listened to our student athletes, I am pretty proud of their character and their "Tech DNA". So is this a coaching staff problem, a Tech problem, an NCAA problem for not enforcing the rules that are supposed to encourage a level playing field for amateur athletes?