Why UGA fans can legitemately be excited!

Over man years many people have found UGA fans to be some of the more, well delusional fans in college football. That group includes myself as well. Throughout the Mark Richt era the bulldogs were the team that was always suppose to make it so far but never came through. Year after year you hear them calling in to Paul Finebaum and other talk shows talking about how it is their year, but it never came to fruition. Well, worry no more Georgia fans as your time may be closer than you think. You went out and hired, former UGA player and heavily sought after assistant, Kirby Smart to turn the tide a little. So finally, after all these years of losing the big one it appears your program is on track to do what people never imagined you could do and that is win the big one!
Do not mistake me here, I am not saying that this year will be the time, but I do expect to see a sudden trend upward in the play of the Bulldogs. Look at who UGA has returning with the likes of Nick Chubb, Blazavich, Goodwin and Thompson. That's also not mentioning the stud recruits coming in, notable Jacob Eason, who can come in and make an immediate difference for a program who has been barely above laughable. You have the coach, you have the players, and apparently you finally have the administration behind you since you are just now getting an indoor practice facility. You are at the point where if success does not come in the near future then you should be worrying if you all did not let a goat into your stadium like the Cubs. So goodluck Georgia fans because you can finally commit to the G having hope.

Ben Simmons Another Anthony Bennett

So the NBA Execs are raving about the future of basketball being Ben Simmons of LSU. Simmons has the height, quickness, finesse and intelligence you want out of a superstar, but could he be high risk as well? When I see Simmons I see a guy who can't decide what he wants to be at the next level. He has strength but can't take on bigs, he has no jump shot ability so he would have to slash against equal athletes, and he also doesn't have the takeover mentality. Today I watched him in person and, just like television games, he has a tendency to let people get into his head. I for one got into his head and you can tell it egged him on to be the great player he can be. But why should it take that for him to be great? Why is it that he doesn't have to dominating mentality of a Kobe or Lebron, especially having the jump shot of a subpar 4 and the defense of someone who will never make the NBA? Long story short, Ben Simmons has a long way to go if he is going to be the stud and future they project him to be. He has handles and ability but his toughest opponent will be his mentality.  Can he go out and win a game or keep others from taking him out the game often at the next level with equal athletes? 

Another Back to scare the NFL

Another year, another running back coming out of the university of Alabama that has a ton of questions about their ability. It is almost becoming a tradition for alabama to produce these great college athletes at running back but not have them all translate well to the NFL. You will see names like Shaun Alexander, Mark Ingram and even as recent as TJ Yeldon have success at the next level. However, you also have to remember it took Ingram years to adapt and Trent Richardson has been considered one of the biggest bust in recent memory. So who is the next big college star that could light up the pros or be out by age 26? Derrick Henry. This kid has monster physical attributes from size alone but what about the intangibles? Can he hit the right whole? Can he avoid people in open field? The simple answer is no. Derrick Henry best reminds me of Richardson but a less agile version. He is not going to make people miss in the open field and he isn't going to hit a juke or spin move against a safety, although I won't back that completely. Derrick Henry is a Mike Tolbert coming out of college. What that means is that he is going straight head and moving a pile, that's it. Derrick Henry, like most Alabama running backs, is a product of a successful offensive line and the stature to strike fear into individuals souls. Can you do that in college? Yes. Will it work in the pros? No. Ask Tim Tebow about that one. 

Promotion From Within

So the new growing trend in sports that seems to be taking over the NFL is promoting from within the organization. You see places like Tampa Bay and Missouri keeping in house names to become the head of their program or team. From an outside and inside view you would think this would be a great move to keep cohesion among your players and staff. However, when is it a good time to keep an in house name versus going out and finding someone to bring in a new form of thinking? First, I want to turn to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an example. In Tampa Bay they promoted Dirk Koetter to become their new head coach, replacing Lovie Smith. This move was shocking yet expected from them. Yes, Koetter has done a tremendous job developing Jameis Winston and the Bucs offense but you take a guy with no head coaching experience and expect him to manage someone with a combustable personality. Yes, Jameis has leadership qualities that are rare to find but he also has a knack for making poor decisions both on and off the field.
Lovie Smith has always had a way of controlling his players and being a no nonsense coach which is what have saved the Buccaneers a lot of drama these past few years. I guess the point I'm trying to make is, was it good to keep Koetter and promote him just because he was good at coaching offense or should you have just gone out and got someone who could keep the players under control and also coach them up. Let's be honest no matter where you think your team should be, it does not get much better than Lovie Smith when it comes to coaching.
Shall we now turn to Missouri? Barry Odom, a man who took over the reins of your defense and is a Missouri alum. Sure this one also looks great inside close doors but I can't help but think they overlooked someone more qualified and who has the same attributes. I am talking about the man who developed the Michael Sam, Shane Ray, Kony Ealy, and others who are playing on Sundays. Dave Steckel worked at Missouri for a very long time and pretty much gave Missouri a chance to compete in the SEC. Not to take away from Gary Pinkel's coaching pedigree, because it is a hall of fame resume', but should you really give Odom credit for serving one year as coordinator? To me that's like offering me a head coaching gig after coming in one year and coaching Alabama's freakish defense. All I'm saying is that you can't instantly be considered a great coach when you take over an already talented roster. Time will tell if he really is that man or if they missed out on a sure fire hire.

Saban's traditional style the reason for success

Well it is set in the history books and it looks like a carbon copy of previous years, Nick Saban and Alabama on top of the college football world again. Just like in previous years they do it with average at best quarterback play but dominate defense and running games. So what is it that makes Nick Saban's traditional form of football so unstoppable? Exactly that, it is traditional. We can talk all day about how boring his style can be but that's what it takes to overcome people these days. With so many people going to uptempo offenses, defenses are looking to get lean and athletic. That becomes a problem when you line up against the brute, unstoppable force that is the Alabama offense. They do not want to spread you out and play sideline to sideline, they want to line up and pound you in the jaw time after time. It is rare you find a team these days who even line up under center or play at a slower pace but it is getting to a point where those teams are hurting themselves. Yes no huddle offenses gas a defense quickly but so does 4-5 minute drives where they are constantly having to maul with lineman shoving them down the field and wearing on their bodies. The formula to Nick Saban's success isn't flashy, he sticks to what works. By going against the trend in college football he is becoming a match up nightmare defenses. Speed can win you 9 or 10 games but it will not win you all of them when you are playing Alabama.

Avery Johnson Doing What Couldn't Be Done

I know that this isn't the biggest news on TV but last night my university, The Alabama Crimson Tide, was able to pull of an upset that never seemed possible a few months ago. Coming into this season many people expected painful loss after painful loss with us losing so much talent. We had Avery Johnson coming in but a man can only do so much with a talentless roster right? Wrong. What the Crimson Tide have been able to accomplish this season has already been nothing short of astonishing. Following the biggest loss in years for the program coach Johnson has somehow been able to turn the whole outlook of the team around. With last night's victory the Crimson Tide now has 3 victories over ranked teams and a quality win over a Clemson squad who has been pulling off upsets of their own. Those wins aren't even including a near upset over a very impressive and gamed Oregon team in Birmingham that had it not been for a 2nd half collapse might have truly had Alabama raging with confidence. A roster, sub-par at best compared to the rest of the SEC, has truly taken on its coach's personality and it shows. They don't do it with talent and skills, each player plays his role perfectly and when they do that it forms a very dangerous team. SEC be on the look out because they tide can start rolling at any second and you might be next on their upset list. 

Chip Kelly the Right Move?

Today the San Fransisco 49ers hired Chip Kelly to replace Jim Tomsula. Now we all recognize the instant downfall the 49ers had after Jim Harbaugh (Yes JIM FREAKING HARBAUGH) was fired for "wanting to dip into everything" and "wanting too much control". Okay now pause! You go from firing a successful coach (something you hadn't had in years btw) to hiring someone WHO IS KNOWN FOR HIS EGO AND PRIDE! So my question is that if you can't get along with JIM HARBAUGH, WHO TOOK YOU TO A SUPERBOWL, what makes you think you can get along with Chip Kelly? May I remind you that Chip Kelly ran off many players and has been called out multiple times for being a liar, a bully, and not to mention a narcissistic douche bag (excuse the language). So that brings me to the main point I want to make... I give this relationship 2 to 3 years before Chip Kelly is chewing out Ned York the same way he chewed out Jeffery Lourie. They are still arguing whether Chip was the GM even though he is listed under personnel control. Way to go San Fran welcome back to the days of being a catastrophe in the front office.