SB Nation - Cordera Eason

UAB 13 @ Ole Miss 48 - Numbers - EDIT: Drive Chart Added

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:30:19 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Mississippi kick returner Jesse Grandy (10) sprints past UAB defender Jim Mitchell (40) on his way to returning the opening kickoff 88-yards for a touchdown.

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Y'all know the deal. We're hardly casual Rebels. On Autumn Saturdays we do things like actually go to the games, eat and drink until we regret it, drink some more to shoo the regret away, and party with you fair readers. As such, we're likely never to have information and analysis immediately after the game and, if we were to, it sure as shit wouldn't be lurid.

So Whiskey Wednesday will give his impressions soon. I'll share some numbers and my thoughts thereon.

DISCLAIMER: UAB IS NOT GOOD. DO NOT LET ANY OF THIS EXCITE YOU TOO MUCH.

We were pretty efficient on third downs, going 8 of 13. I am curious as to how that will translate against an Arkansas team which, as our Rebels, is still pretty hard to figure out.
We had a whopping 150 more yards offensively than the Blazers. Much of their yards came off of Joe Webb scrambles as he tallied 121 yards on the ground. Joe Webb, by the way, may be the single most elusive SOB we're going to play all season. He wiggled out of tough situations as if he were dipped in bacon grease before every play.
The Joe Webb show did allow the Blazers to outgain us on the ground, but they did have several more rushing attempts than our Rebels. Furthermore, we did not have as many big running plays as they. We had a few (Bolden's run comes to mind) but hardly what Joe Webb was able to somehow accomplish.
Joe Webb's pick thrown to Jeremy McGee in the Rebel endzone was the game's only turnover.
Jevan Snead looked pretty good, albeit against the nation's worst passing defense. 15-22, 240YDS, 3TD, 0INT is a good line. It could have been better, had some receivers caught balls that hit them, you know, in their hands. I know it was cold and all, but step it up, Rebel wideouts.
Nathan Stanley also looked damn fine, throwing for 98 yards in the fourth quarter and being a dropped Melvin Harris pass away (the throw was good, Harris only got one hand on the ball though) from having thrown two touchdowns. As we at the Cup have said for the past two seasons now, this guy has great touch on deep routes.
Rodney Scott, thank you. You squatty, muscley, fearless freshman you. Not only has your arrival done things like make Cordera Eason and Enrique Davis play harder, but you have now decided to supplement your presence with a couple of touchdowns on 6.3YPC.

Those are the numbers. Whiskey Wednesday with the strategic, emotional, and cultural observations soon.

EDIT: Drive Chart from Rocky Top Talk added. As you can see, our Rebs sarted out slowly, progressing the drives a bit more each time, before scoring on five straight drives.

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Week Six Preview: #3 Alabama at #16 Ole Miss

outsidethesidelines — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:00:20 -0000

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"Quit throwing so many picks!"

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The Alabama v. Ole Miss series isn't one filled with hatred quite like the Auburn or Tennessee series, nor is it generally a series that has a high degree of relevance on the national level. Nevertheless, over the course of the past four years, no series anywhere in the country has produced as many gut-wrenching, nail-biting contests as what we've seen when the Tide took on Johnny Reb.

The past four games in this series have been decided by a grand total of thirteen points, and that statistic alone does not even begin to adequately describe how close things have been. The 2005 game ended on a time-expiring kick, while the 2006 game ended in overtime. The 2007 game was decided on a controversial penalty with seven seconds remaining, and last year's game also went into the final minute. And most shockingly of all, somehow, someway, all of those contests have fallen in our favor. How we've had the good fortune from the Football Gods to pull all of those games out, I'll never know.

After Ole Miss rallied late last year, this game has been marked for months as one of the games of the year. Of course, though, Johnny Reb effectively wet the bed in its only real test thus far in the 2009 season, and that has knocked a lot of the luster off this game. Ole Miss was clearly overrated as a top five team, and had no real business being ranked that high. That said, however, the Rebels are still a quality team and a very dangerous opponent. This game is likely to be yet another close one that goes down to the wire, so let's take a closer look at the match-ups:

Alabama Offense v. Ole Miss Defense

Even with a slow start in the passing game and some questionable early play-calling against a good Kentucky defense, Alabama nevertheless managed to rack up 38 points and 352 total yards in Lexington. The Alabama offensive juggernaut has seemed to slow with each and every game the past three weekends -- largely because the quality of the defense faced has increased each week -- and things won't get any easier this week when we go to Oxford.

The strength of the Ole Miss defense is clearly at the point of attack. The defensive end rotation of Greg Hardy, Kentrell Lockett, and Marcus Tillman is easily the best we'll see all year long, and while Hardy has not been able to get completely healthy -- and thus he's really no longer an every down player -- he's still a dangerous weapon when he is in the game. The ends are also solid on running downs, and mixed with the size of the interior players, it forms a very difficult run defense up front when these guys show up to play. Interior tackles Ted Laurent and Lawson Scott are both over 300 pounds, and the monster 340 pound Jerrell Powe is quickly starting to show why he was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. You can make all the reading jokes you want, but literacy isn't really a core competency for playing nose tackle, and Powe can at times dominate interior offensive linemen like he's a man among boys.

At linebacker Ole Miss has had more than their fair share of struggles since Patrick Willis went to the NFL, but they've got a solid group there now. The unit is led by Patrick Trahan, the senior linebacker that Houston Nutt signed out of the JUCO ranks in his first class in Oxford. Trahan started his collegiate career as a safety -- he was a former track athlete in high school -- but he kept getting bigger and bigger so he was moved to linebacker. The end result now is a 6'3, 225+ pound 'backer with great athleticism, and he's tough on opposing offenses. He's big enough to play the run, but also versatile enough to play the pass and rush the passer. He's a legitimate three-phase linebacker. Jonathon Cornell and Allen Walker start alongside Trahan, and while they aren't quite the caliber of Trahan, both are upperclassmen who are more than adequate.

The real surprise of the Ole Miss defense to date, however, has been the defensive backfield. Ole Miss was almost universally expected to struggle in the secondary this year, but surprisingly enough they have allowed very little success through the air. That said, however, we really don't know anything about this group because they have yet to face a decent passing attack, so it could be all a paper tiger for all we know, and if nothing else the Alabama passing game will be easily the best this unit has faced all year. What we can safely say is that so far this year Cassius Vaughn and Marshay Green have been solid at cornerback, Johnny Brown and Kendrick Lewis have been more active than usual at safety, and the back-ups have generally been pretty adequate. But, again, we really have no clue as to whether or not this Ole Miss defensive backfield is a contender or a pretender.

Looking at how we match up against Ole Miss, you really have to worry about our running game. We ran the ball well against Kentucky on the meaningful attempts -- i.e. factoring out the garbage time, clock-killing carries late -- but Arkansas still shut us down, and frankly this is easily the best defensive line we've seen all year. Ole Miss shut down our running game last year better than any other team on the schedule -- we had 31 carries for only 107 yards, averaging a meager 3.1 yards per carry -- and it's going to be very difficult to run on these guys again this year. These guys can flat out whip you in the trenches, and we're going to have to show up ready to play at a very high level if we look to move the football on the ground in Oxford.

Hopefully we will be able to take advantage of Ole Miss in a couple of areas. Their defensive line features a solid, deep rotation, but the linebacker corps is very thin. The starting three are good players, and back-up Lamar Brumfield is a solid, versatile player who can play all three positions. After that, though, all you really have is true freshman D.T. Shackelford -- an Alabama native who the Tide passed over last, so extra motivation there -- and while he has been a bit of a freshman sensation, he is also slowed by a high ankle sprain, and he likely won't play a lot against the Tide. So, it's a thin unit already, and both Trahan and Walker also play extensively on special teams, so hopefully we can wear them down and take advantage of their lack of depth. Likewise, the Ole Miss secondary is also a very small unit -- all starters are 5'11 and under, and three starters are 190 and under -- so hopefully we can really take advantage of the size match-ups with the likes of Julio Jones, Mike McCoy, Earl Alexander, and Michael Bowman.

Now, along those lines, I do like how our passing attack matches up against the Ole Miss secondary, but of course success there is predicated upon us being able to protect Greg McElroy against a very good pass rush. If we can give McElroy time, we should be able to move the football through the air. On the other hand, though, if Ole Miss can legitimately rush the passer, this is not going to be pretty. Either way, this isn't going to be an easy assignment for the Tide's offensive line. Ole Miss is tough off the edge, and Nutt will likely be aggressive in blitz packages, so the offensive line has its work cut out for them.

All in all, this one is a tough match-up for the Tide. Hopefully we can have some success running the football and block Ole Miss off the edge, but that's a lot easier said than done. Ole Miss will be tough to run on, and if they can get to McElroy, we're likely to find ourselves in Oxford with an offense that cannot run or throw effectively. It's going to be one heck of a fight, and we're going to have to play very well to move the football against this defense.

Alabama Defense v. Ole Miss Offense

The good news for Alabama is that this match-up favors the Tide a bit more. The Ole Miss offense is no slouch, to be sure, but it is a unit that has struggled early. Jevan Snead hasn't played anywhere near well enough to justify the preseason hype, the loss of Mike Wallace has hurt more than its gotten credit for, and there has been nothing close to a comparable replacement for Michael Oher.

Really, the struggles of this offense have started up front with the offensive line. The run blocking has been good at times, but has also been terrible at times, too. Smashes at the point of attack that spring good gains have been mixed with whiffs that result in tackles for loss. Pass protection, though, has really been the Achilles Heel of this group. Left tackle Bradley Sowell was beaten to a pulp against South Carolina, and right tackle John Jerry hasn't looked very good either. The interior linemen haven't played much better, either. Houston Nutt and company have rotated in a lot of linemen looking for the right mix, but they haven't found anything yet, and making matters worse this bunch simply looks out of shape. When John Jerry was literally begging to come out of the South Carolina game, all that came to mind for me was Mike Dubose, 2000, and the infamous "Pankcake Posse."

With the struggles up front, the rest of the offense just hasn't been able to compensate. Jevan Snead has been decent at times, but he has generally struggled to complete a high percentage of his passes and he has turned the football over a lot -- only a completion percentage of 51% and five interceptions. With Mike Wallace gone, the Rebels really do not have the big vertical threat in the passing game, and while the likes of Shay Hodge, Markeith Summers, Lionel Breaux, and Patrick Patterson form a solid wide receiver corps, they haven't been able to make up for the loss of Wallace. Likewise, Dexter McCluster is a threat, but he has really been more of a cog than a game-changer thus far in conference play.

The true strength of the Ole Miss offense to date has really been in the backfield with the tailbacks. Brandon Bolden has played as well as any back in the SEC to date, and at 5'11 and 220 pounds he is an absolute load. Back-ups Cordera Eason and Enrique Davis were both highly-touted recruits coming out of high school, and with their raw talent they form one of the most potent backfields in the country. Combined with Dexter McCluster's ability out of the Wildcat, this is a very dangerous group if their offensive line can give them any help up front.

Defensively for the Tide, I'll be brief on the overview because most RBR readers are more than well aware of who we are as a defensive unit, but I will address that the biggest issue we face here is exactly what we will do to replace Dont'a Hightower. Based on the practice reports, it's clear that Cory Reamer will be back at strongside linebacker this week, and we're going to have to be bigger inside to take on an Ole Miss team that will clearly look to be physical at the point of attack and establish the run. Chris Jordan is going to get a lot of playing time this week, and look for both Nico Johnson and Tana Patrick on the field -- even though playing will cost Patrick him a redshirt year.

As a whole, we are going to have a good bit different look defensively this week. Again, Ole Miss is the physical, run-based attack that we've come to expect out of Houston Nutt, and we are simply going to have to play smashmouth football against these guys. Simply put, if our defensive line doesn't show up with more energy and intensity than they did last week in Lexington, it's going to be a long afternoon. This isn't a spread passing attack where we'll constantly be in the nickel; you're going to see a lot of base 3-4 this week with safeties coming into the box to stop the run. The Rebs are far from pass happy.

And with that in mind, Injuries may make an impact on Ole Miss' power running attack. Fullback Andy Hartmann, a senior, is one hell of a lead-blocking load at 5'11 and almost 250 pounds, and he may be the best lead blocker in the conference. However, Hartmann sprained a knee a couple of weeks ago and has missed time. He missed practice on Tuesday, and while he is going to play on Saturday, we don't know how effective he can be and we do not know how much he will be able to play. Likewise, tight end Gerald Harris missed the South Carolina game with a hamstring injury, and while he did return against Vanderbilt, he's probably not 100%. Their back-ups, Dan Hoffman and Ferbia Allen, are a good 20-30 pounds lighter than the first-teamers, so if Hartmann and Harris are at less than 100%, that is going to make it more difficult for Ole Miss to run the football.

Furthermore, we need to use our depth in the defensive front seven to our advantage. Even with injuries to Hightower and Damien Square, plus the suspension of Jerrell Harris, we are still very deep in the front seven, and if the South Carolina game is any accurate indicator, the Ole Miss offensive line isn't in very good physical shape. We need to rotate players all afternoon and wear these guys down. Few things can better insure a 'Bama victory than to have John Jerry once again begging to come out of the game in the second half.

All in all, we're just going to have to line up against Ole Miss and be able to stop the run. That has to be priority #1 going into this game, period. Jevan Snead is overrated, but he can still be a threat, and with Nutt at the helm you have to be adequately prepared for every trick in the book. Nevertheless, those concerns are secondary to stopping the run. Given Snead's turnover issues to date -- which is to say nothing of Ole Miss' struggles in pass protection and the struggles of the receiving corps -- Nutt and company will likely play a bit conservatively here and try to establish the running game. If Ole Miss does that, they can move the football effectively and that will allow them to selectively use Snead and the trickeration to their advantage. On the other hand, though, if we can stop the run, particularly on early downs, we get Ole Miss in a lot of obvious passing situations, which limits the use of the Wildcat and other trick formations, and which also gives our defensive line numerous opportunities to take advantage of their struggles in pass protection and tee off on a quarterback who will be forced to take a lot of seven-step drops while waiting for routes to develop downfield.

Putting It All Together

On the whole, this one looks to be much like the last four contests in this series... a very hard, physical game that goes right down to the wire. Yes Alabama has looked very good to date, and yes Ole Miss wet the bed in their only true test to date. And, yes, Ole Miss was overrated coming into the year, no arguments here. Nevertheless, this is still a pretty good Ole Miss team, and they are a dangerous opponent that is more than capable of pulling off the upset.

Furthermore, the West is still absolutely wide open right now -- three teams are still undefeated, and Ole Miss still controls their own destiny -- and that fact mixed with Nutt's love of playing the underdog role, not to mention the recent acrimony that is surely present in the Ole Miss roster thanks to how this game has turned out the past four years, you can bet your life that Ole Miss will show up to play football on Saturday like men possessed. For all of the talk of Ole Miss wetting the bed, if Johnny Reb can pull off the upset on Saturday, they will quickly vault back into the top 10 and they will once again establish themselves as the front-runners in the SEC West if Florida can beat LSU, as expected. And, of course, rest assured they are well aware of those facts. Make no mistake about it, there is a lot on the line here for Ole Miss, and they will play accordingly. Do not expect Colonel Reb to lay an egg Saturday afternoon.

I do think we are the better team here. We have a tad more top-end talent, and a good bit better quality depth throughout the roster. Nevertheless, again, this is a dangerous Ole Miss team that actually matches up with us pretty well thanks to the strength of their defensive front seven and their ability to rush the passer with a base four-man rush. If you think victory is a near certainty in this game, you really need to drink something other than the crimson Kool-Aid. This should be a close game, and if we play like we did last week in Lexington, we're probably in a lot of trouble. We are a better team here who is justifiably a slight favorite, but nevertheless we are going to have to play really well to go into Oxford and get this victory, and at the very least victory is unlikely to come without one hell of a fight.

Hope for the best.

Post Game: SELA

Whiskey Wednesday — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:41:56 -0000

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KTHNXBAI!!!!!!12

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I'll go ahead and tell you upfront: this one's going to be pretty tame. And why not? I get another dose of Rebel football in four days, one that I'm pretty excited and nervous about. So why get myself going too early writing a post-game report about SELA? There were plenty of things to be excited about, nervous about, and just plain confused about. Hit the jump, unless you're a Markeith Summers fan...

First up, quarterbacks (I'll get to you in a minute, Markeith...). I thought Snead was more than adequate in this game, much, much improved over his Memphis effort. He was still a little bit stubborn about going through his progressions, picking up blitzes pre-snap, etc., but his arm and his eyes were much more effective this week. Catch some easy balls that ended up on the ground, and Snead's stats look much better, and most of the haters don't speak up. Even the throw to McCluster that was picked and negated with the interference call... that was fine. Easiest call of the game. The defender knocked Dex out of the way, with the ball still in the air, no question. It was a perfectly aimed ball, even if a little ill-advised.

There isn't a clear-cut superstar halfback in the conference right now, but Brandon Bolden might be the best all-around back in the SEC. Feed him the ball. Nomnomnomnomnom.

Cordera Eason and Enrique Davis both had scampers for scores that made the defense look silly, but both probably would have been eaten up for a loss by a decent team. Again: Bolden. Nomnomnom. 20 carries/game. Do it. Also, Tim Simon still wants to play.

Is losing Hartman for a while a big deal? I can't decide. He can certainly blow up a linebacker or three, but it seems like he misses his assignment sometimes, or doesn't square up properly. You shouldn't see defenders sliding off of the fullback's block so easily to get to the ball carrier. We seem like we have a deep stable of walk-ons from Tennessee private schools with rich parents and attitude problems. Let's give them a shot, and I think we'll be fine.

Receivers... Oh heavens, where to start? You were all pretty terrible, those of you not named Shay Hodge, Jesse Grandy, and Pat Patterson. I suppose that Jesse Grandy needs to prove at some point that he's a threat to catch a pass downfield, because people will start to realize pretty quickly why he's...

WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST TO BRING YOU AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: SHAY HODGE, WIDE RECEIVER FOR THE OLE MISS REBELS, IS A TOTAL BADASS. THANK YOU. WE NOW RETURN TO YOUR REGULAR SCHEDULED PROGRAM.

...and that's how I discovered that Mark May was a transvestite. Where were we? Oh, receivers. Markeith Summers, Lionel Breaux, and Dexter McCluster all had pretty bad drops. Will that happen every week? Of course not. Did Pat Patterson just make Breaux and Summers look a lot less useful? You bet he did. He'll be making layout grabs and offering piggyback rides to defensive backs for a long time.

It was good to see Ferbia Allen earn some of Snead's trust, grabbing a couple of passes when Snead had Shay Hodge downfield with only 3 guys on him. I noticed that Allen and EJ Epperson both lined up more as H-backs at times, which was a look I hadn't noticed with Gerald Harris before. I don't know if that might be indicative of how he wants to use those two down the road, or not.

The offensive line: I wasn't paying attention to you. Every time I try to look at you, I miss a touchdown pass or something. Sorry, no offense, it's just that I like touchdown passes and I don't like fat people. You allowed one sack, and I feel like that was probably Snead's fault, because he looks at linebackers showing blitz, and thinks "yeah, I totally got that guy." Eat your Wheaties this week, because Eric Norwood is pretty good at football.

The defensive line is playing well, but not as well as last year. This has nothing to do with Peria Jerry, really; Powe has been our best lineman this year. This has more to do with the defensive ends over-pursuing and only using outside moves. Stay at home sometimes, guys. Don't try for a sack on every play, because sometimes, the quarterback will hand it to the short, fast, muscle-y guy standing next to him, and he'll run right past where you were two seconds ago. You can ask Coach Nix to tell you what a 'draw' is, though I'm not sure he knows himself.

You know what works against draws? Linebackers! Except not for ours. On any given draw play, our linebackers have erected a table somewhere in the back corner of the field, and are discussing the societal ramifications of the changing demographic landscape of Europe, enjoying a delightful cup of chamomile. With a dash of soy milk. Cream does a number on Allen Walker's sensitive stomach, after all. Seriously though. The draw play. It's killing me. The quarterback slips the ball to the running back, I look up field and I clench: uhohuhohuhoh OHNO SOMETHING'S WRONG!!! Because nobody's there. Fix. That. Shit. The jury may still be out on Stephen Garcia, but by God, he can pretend like he's passing, and then hand it off.

Secondary was fine. Johnny Brown looks like a superhero again, because he's having to tackle running backs all the time because NOBODY ELSE WOULD!

Marshay. Marshay, Marshay, Marshay. You set the record for "amount I've screamed at a player while up a million to 3."

3 botched punts? Really?

Speaking of punts... must we go there? Andrew Ritter and Tyler Campbell want your job, dude.

While that's all I have from the actual game, here are some Grove notes:

Grove etiquette (that means "manners"): Don't walk through someone else's tent, say "Excuse Me!" with an implied exclamation point, as if they are in your way. GTFO.

To the two fellows, also walking through our tent, who tried to start a fight upon being asked to cut the colorful language while in mixed company: I know that orange polo shirts were probably on an awesome sale at Old Navy, and that giant brass fishing hooks look bitchin' when perched on the bill of a camo visor, but please, go crawl back into the dark recesses of Lafayette County from whence you came. And cut the jew-fro; you look ridiculous. Not like a "grown-ass man" as you so eloquently described yourself. I don't fight inbreds in the mud while wearing my nice shoes, thanks.

To the 4 year-old girl who darted through our conversational circle, galoshes caked in mud, distressed look on your face: I hope you found your parents.

Let me know what you thought of the game, the Grove, the 58k we had in VHS for a DII school (crazy, huh?), etc. Have a nice weekend, and Hotty Toddy.

Memphis Prediction

Juco All-American — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:30:18 -0000

Anyone who saw my message board idiots post knows what I think about Memphis. Their football program is a relative joke, and very few of their "fans" care about the sport. Still, they beat us two years in a row in 2003 and 2004., so it's not as if their program is one at whom our program should scoff.

But that's neither here nor there. This Rebel team is out for blood, and they're going to punch Memphis in the mouth in a totally legal and non-Blountian manner.

My analysis follows after the jump.

Instead of going through the matchups, something I did last season that I thought was pretty static and uninteresting, I'm just going to hit some talking points with this post. I think that's probably the best way to go about these for teams I don't really care too much about.

The Good:

Our run blocking has not suffered. Only our pass blocking has. We can still run very well. - Memphis might be able to get pressure on Jevan, but they're not going to be able to bottle up the run. Last year, we struggled running up the middle against Memphis, but I think that was just because our offensive line was still adjusting to new schemes, etc. Brandon Bolden, Cordera Eason, Dexter McCluster, Enrique Davis and Tim Simon should all get carries, and I think all of them will have some success. We're going to have to be able to rely on our running game early in the season while our new offensive linemen adjust to pass-blocking.

Jevan Snead escapability and quick release - While jevan will probably have more pressure put on him than he did last year, he's a good QB under pressure. Jevan's combination of mobility in the pocket and a Marino-like quick release allow him to get plays off before pockets collapse. This strength of Jevan's is going to go a long way in masking what could be a big hole on our offensive line.

Dexter McCluster is "undefendable" with Memphis' roster of defense - Even Tommy West admits that no one on their team can consistently tackle Dexter McCluster. Dexter's level of athleticism is totally unmatched by Memphis, and I expect us to exploit that. I think he'll see at least 14 touches on offense. It could be even more than that if we go to the Wild Rebel a good bit. It's so difficult to predict how often we will use that formation.

Memphis replaces four OL starters and three DL starters - Yeah. You read that right. They have one starter returning on each line. I pity the Memphis offensive line. They're about to get rocked. Oh, also, if we haven't harped on this enough, their starting right tackle weighs 265 pounds. That's smaller than Marcus Tillman. Our DL is going to have a lot of fun.

Last season's game - Last year, we killed Memphis. Chris Bowers played most of the fourth quarter, and the Tigers were able to make the score look a bit more respectable. Remember, we had not come together as a team yet at that point. We looked pretty bad against Samford only two weeks later. If we had played Memphis in November, we would have beaten them by at least 21 points.

Ed Orgeron was 3-0 against them - Don't forget this. Ed Orgeron, who many people claim was the worst coaching hire in SEC history, never lost to Tommy West. West even had DeAngelo one of those years, but he couldn't get it done. Curtis Steele is a pretty good halfback for Memphis, but he's no DeAngelo Williams.

Houston Nutt is 11-0 in his last eleven games against non-BCS opponents - Houston Nutt gets it done in games against vastly inferior teams. While many people have pointed out that he loses some games he should win (a point I don't dispute), he doesn't lose those games to teams that have no business being on the same field as his team. He loses them to BCS conference schools.

The Bad:

Carlos Singleton and Duke Calhoun are freakishly tall. - There's really not a corner on our roster who could compete with Calhoun or Singleton when a well-placed floater dropped into coverage. However, that's probably not too big of a concern with Hall at quarterback. While, he's certainly not bad, I don't see him handling pressure well when waiting for the few deep routes Memphis calls to develop. That brings me to another point. Tommy West doesn't use the right. He throws bubble screens to a 6'8" receiver who isn't shifty and asks him to make a big play. I read that this year West will finally put both of those guys on the field at the same time to stop safeties from cheating over to whichever one of them is on the field. That should help them a lot, but I don't think it's enough to make up for improper use.

Their offensive line isn't as important to their offense as ours is to us. - Memphis runs a quick-release offense, and they don't rely on their offensive linemen holding up for 3 or 4 seconds. However, Texas Tech showed that even quick release offenses can be screwed up with pressure. While we may not get many sacks, I don't thin Hall will feel comfortable in the pocket, and that's the last thing you want in a quarterback who is prone to making poor decisions.

The Prediction

Rebs by 14. Starters rest sporadically during the fourth; for good for the last 5 minutes.

That's my prediction. What's yours?

TLV #86 - Greg Hardy Edition

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:04:43 -0000

You know, like his jersey number? Fine, whatever, just click the jump.

You've been soaking it all in for the last few months now. Whether propagated by ESPN, your drinking buddies, or every body's favorite Ole Miss Rebel sports blog, you've become inundated with the idea that this upcoming Rebel football season could be one of the greatest ever. There's talk of finally making the trip to Atlanta for the SEC championship game, an SEC Title (ok maybe not so much), and a Heisman Trophy for Jevan Snead (slow down, dreamer).

And why not? These Rebels have talent all across the board, a coaching staff as competent as any we have had in Oxford in decades, and a very favorable schedule. Despite the best efforts of our Rebels' detractors, this is a damn good football team.

But, how good?

When people think of the greatest Rebel teams of recent memory, two should readily come to mind: this one, and the 2003 version of our Rebels. As most of you should recall--we understand if you don't--2003 saw a Rebel team led by Eli Manning fall a lousy three points short of a berth to a very winnable SEC Championship game. A few miscues throughout the season kept the 2003 Rebels from legitimately running the table. That was a good Rebel squad; there is no doubt about it. However, despite the high level of success achieved by Eli and company, they were not nearly as complete a squad as we will see on Saturdays this fall.

Yes, we are suggesting that the 2009 Rebels are better than the 2003 Rebels.

While difficult, if not impossible to prove before the season starts, let's do our best to objectively look the upstart 2003 Rebels and the talented 2009 Rebels position-by-position. Go:

Defensive Line: Strong Advantage 2009

By far the easiest assessment to make, the 2009 Rebel defensive line will go down as one of the most effective unit of angry-ass skull smashers to ever play ball in Oxford. The 2003 unit wasn't too bad, but they certainly weren't a strength of the team.

Linebackers: Slight Advantage 2009
The linebackers in 2003 left a lot to be desired in terms of speed. While Patrick Willis was technically on the team, he was having a year of eligibility thrown away on special teams in David Cutcliffe's seniority-based depth chart. Patrick Trahan, Allen Walker, and Jonathan Cornell form a solid unit, and there's a little more depth here than people think.

Secondary: Slight Advantage 2009

Texas Tech's BJ Symons passed for 661 yards against the 2003 Rebel secondary. That is the third highest passing total of any quarterback in any college football game EVER. While the 2009 secondary may be better--because it couldn't be worse--it's certainly not by much. It's funny to say this, considering how much Ole Miss fans despised him, but Von Hutchins was a good corner. He was just undercoached in a terrible, terrible defensive system.

Special Teams: Push
Johnathan Nichols, when not playing LSU, was perfect. Joshua Shene is the conference's best placekicker, but he still hasn't shown that he can be what Nichols was. What 2009's special teams may "lack" in kicking, it more than makes up for in athleticism and innovation. Remember, Special Teams Coordinator, James Shibest, won National ST Coordinator of the Year in 2008. He can scheme with the best of them.

Offensive Line: Strong Advantage 2003

Three of Eli Manning's five blockers are still playing ball in the NFL. Enough said. If the 2009 unit still somehow had Michael Oher, this would be a push.

Running Backs: Strong Advantage 2009

In 2008, the combination of Brandon Bolden, Cordera Eason, Dexter McCluster, and Enrique Davis was the 2nd most effective rushing attack in the SEC. The 2009 Rebels return every single one of them. In 2003, the Rebels struggled to find an identity when running the football, causing many once reasonable fans to urge Cutcliffe and Company to let Eli throw on every single down.

Wide receivers: Slight Advantage 2009

Yes, we know that we're all supposed to be good Rebels and fawn over Chris Collins, Mike Espy, and Bill Flowers. They were all good receivers, but imagine replacing two of those three with Shay Hodge and Dexter McCluster. Yeah, thought so.

Quarterbacks: Slight-to-Strong Advantage 2003

Well that was an easy choice. Jevan Snead is good; there is no doubt about that. He is big, strong-armed, and became a very good decision maker towards the end of last season. He has also shown great leadership abilities and proven to be fearless, even when facing superior competition. However, he's not a Manning. Eli Manning was the 2003 Rebels. Quick, without looking, how many other skill players from the 2003 Rebel squad were drafted into the NFL. If you answered zero, you're correct. Jevan Snead has already lost one of his offensive companions, speedy wide-receiver and overall badass Mike Wallace, to the 3rd round of last year's NFL draft, and will likely join a few others when he eventually makes that jump. Eli Manning was truly a once-in-a-generation type of player surrounded by an experienced roster of "pretty" goods and "alrights." Jevan Snead is a once-in-a-decade type player surrounded by several "goods" and a few "very goods." If these quarterbacks were to switch places, the 2003 Rebs would have ended up with an 8-5 record whereas the 2009 Rebs would be the preseason pick to win the SEC. I know it's a wild and crazy hypothetical, but what in the hell else are we supposed to be doing with nearly a month left in the offseason?

Wow. In looking back up at that, I never realized how truly woolly we Cuppers had become. Yeah, we're calling it: the 2009 Rebs are, when all positions are considered, better than the 7-1, Cotton Bowl Champion 2003 Rebs. Enjoy the rest of your summers while you can because, come September 6th, we will all be waist-deep in the throes of insane fandom. This season is sure to be one of the most interesting Oxford has ever seen and we are more than happy to share it with you.

Stack-Ups: You Know What I Like About {Blank} Edition

Ivory Tower — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:11 -0000

We all know what makes him happy.

RUNNING BACKS. Hit the hole.

In a league that is, generally, proud of its defenses, I submit to you that there is only one position about which every team in the SEC West is, at least, satisfied - and that position is running backs. Moreover, I think it is no stretch to say that every team in the SEC West ought to be excited about its running backs (a position which has held remarkably true in recent history). Every team except the Rebels return at least one player who has recorded 800 or more yards in a previous season. Arkansas and LSU return 1,000 yard rushers. And of 2008's Top 10 backs in the SEC, all five returning are from the SEC's Western Division. The division is a Brandon Bolden breakout season away from potentially having a 1,000 yard back at every school. To-wit:

ALABAMA

Running behind a depleted, but still talented offensive line will be, likely, Mark Ingram with a more than sufficient back-up in Terry Grant. Ingram complemented Glen Coffee's thousand-yard effort with 728 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 5.1 per carry. Julio Jones is the sophomore about which all Tiders rave, however, a solid season by Ingram is that thing which will draw defenses away from Jones.

ARKANSAS

Michael Smith returns with more yards per game than any other back in the conference at 107.2 (which is only a hair behind the overall 2008 leader, Knowshon Moreno, at 107.8). In 2008, The Cup predicted Arkansas to trail its Western brethren in rushing prowess. Technically, this was a fairly accurate assesment, since the rest of the team only average 6.3 rushing yards per game. With the offense figuring to focus on Ryan Mallett's arm, Smith, who tore a hamstring against Mississippi State but was recently declared "one hundred percent," might take a step back this season. Even if he doesn't, the 'Hogs will need true freshman Knile Davis to be his complement, and this writer is not in the business of relying on true freshmen.

AUBURN

Someone can likely find where this writer predicted high times for Auburn when its backs had the ball in 2008. That never, so much, panned out. Blame Tony Franklin, it's what everyone else is doing. Between Brad Lester, Mario Fannin, and Ben Tate, it seemed that Auburn would find a go-to guy, but they never did. Now, Fannin and Tate are back (now coached by The Great Malzahn) with a feel that is not quite McCluster/Davis or McFadden/Jones, but certainly some talent and the odds-on-favorite to be the centerpiece of the War Eagle offense. If nothing else, Ben Tate ought to be able to handle a lot of carries en route to a yeoman's millenial mark, while Fannin provides some occasional spark.

LSU

Charles Scott stormed the SEC in the first half of 2008, but cooled off down the stretch, leaving ~~many~~ ~~some~~ apparently nobody wondering if he will again rush for 1,000 yards. This team also still has notable Orgeron almost Keiland Williams on the bench, either of whom will be running behind Ciron Black, the First Team All-SEC Left Tackle. But Scott earned 10, 28, and 65 yards in his last three games. Makes me wonder if somebody else will be taking the carries for the haberdasher in '09.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

I have great scorn for Anthony Dixon. It all started in 2007 when Dixon, after a decent game in a win over Ole Miss, was invited to the Conerly Trophy presentation along with Titus Brown, who ought to have won, and Southern Miss doofus Damien Fletcher, who did actually win. Thus, Benjarvus Green-Ellis was deprived of a meaningless honor (that last season went to a quarterback from Millsaps over two first-round draft picks) his senior season, and I was bitter. Still am. Also, Anthony Dixon is ugly. He will, though, I expect, rush for over 1,000, lending credence to the oft-repeated misconception that offense exists in Starkville.

OLE MISS

Between Cordera Eason, Enrique Davis, Brandon Bolden, and Dexter McCluster, many of us are excited. We return every bit of the second-ranked rushing attack in 2008. Our offensive line will take a step back, but there is more than enough reason to remain undaunted in your Rebel rushing enthusiasm.

On a conclusory note ...

The SEC West is as stacked in the backfield as it has ever been, even though there is no Cadillac or D-Mac in the group. Making this, perhaps, the most difficult stack-up to guage. Nevertheless, what follows is a best-guess sort:

1. Alabama

2. Ole Miss

3. LSU

4. Mississippi State

5. Auburn

6. Arkansas

SEC 2009 // Ole Miss Aspires to Old Heights

Year2 — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:00:12 -0000

TENTH IN A SERIES :: The 2008 Ole Miss Review

Hoddy Toddy, gosh almighty, what a year for the Rebels.

The early season was a bit disappointing, with a last-second loss at Wake Forest and a loss at home to Vanderbilt. No one thought that a week later they'd upset Florida (in the Swamp, no less), nor did anyone suspect they'd build on that by dropping their next two to South Carolina and Alabama (okay, maybe the Bama loss was expected).

The fall in Tuscaloosa would be the final for Ole Miss though, as the Rebels ran off six straight wins with an especially impressive final four: 59-0 over UL-M, 31-13 over LSU, 45-0 over hated Miss State in the Egg Bowl, and 47-34 over then-No.7 Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl. It was enough to have Kirk Herbstreit pick Ole Miss as his preseason No. 5 team in his post-national title game rankings.

Ole Miss as this offseason's trendy team has raised a few eyebrows and caused some concern among the faithful. The Rebels haven't been a consistent national title contender in nearly 50 years, and yet here they are, expected by many to be right in the hunt. Houston Nutt did a remarkable job at turning the corner in the second half of 2008 which, when combined with the Florida win early in the season, makes as compelling a case for the legitimacy of those expectations.

Many things had to come together for last year's success to happen, from the transfer of Jevan Snead from Texas the year before to the concurrent down years of LSU, Auburn, and Arkansas. LSU and Arkansas will be better and Auburn might be, but Snead will still be around. First round NFL draft picks Michael Oher and Peria Jerry will not though, which has caused some concern for doubters. Greg Hardy's presence on defense should stabilize the line some, provided he finally puts together a full season of full effort.

Despite not having David Lee around on his staff, Nutt is still one of the Wildcat offensive series' biggest adherents and users. Dexter McCluster is about as dangerous as anyone from it, so expect to see him running it as much as ever. McCluster is also the headliner of a very nice set of skill position players around Snead, which also includes receiver Shay Hodge and running backs Brandon Bolden and Cordera Eason. Enrique Davis certainly has potential to be a playmaker if his light turns on too.

With a pillowy soft non-conference schedule (Two I-AA teams? And you thought a signing class of 37 was shameless) and neither Florida nor Georgia on the conference slate, the year certainly does look promising. Now, I know that the schedule making process was hung up by ESPN and there were talks with TCU before the Frogs cut them off, but really guys, at least find a Sun Belt team or one of the directional Michigan schools.

Anyway, things are looking up for the Team Speed Kills Team of the Year for 2008. I can't guarantee that the Rebels will win another national title, much less the SEC West even. However, Ole Miss one way or another figures to be one of the most compelling stories of the 2009 season. With the exception of the Eli Manning era, when's the last time anyone was saying that? Perhaps that fact alone might make the Ed Orgeron years worth it.

Maybe.

Previous Previews: Mississippi State, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia, LSU.

Post-Spring Previews: Ole Miss

Gamecock Man — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:52:43 -0000

The fourth week of the season brings the heavily hyped Ole Miss Rebels to Columbia for a Thursday night game. The Rebels open the season against Memphis and Southeast Louisiana, so they should be undefeated and ranked fairly highly for this game. If we beat NC State and UGA (keep your fingers crossed), we will likely also come in as a top 15 team, setting up an early season matchup of ranked SEC squads. In any event , this will be a huge game for both teams; for Ole Miss, it's a necessary hurdle to prove they're ready to meet expectations, and for South Carolina, it's an opportunity to establish ourselves as a surprise team.

Let's see how we stack up against Ole Miss.

Offense

Quarterback

The Rebels return junior quarterback Jevan Snead. Snead is widely regarded as having one of the best arms in college football and could very well be the top overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft if he has a good year. While I have high hopes for Stephen Garcia this year, it would be hard to say that any signal caller not from Gainesville, Austin, or Norman doesn't have a strong disadvantage against Snead, who comes into this season as a dark horse Heisman contender.

Verdict: Strong advantage Ole Miss

Running Backs

Ole Miss returns a plethora of talent for what should be a tailback by committee approach. Cordera Eason, Brandon Bolden, and Enrique Davis are all backs that can run for both speed and power, and all will see time on the field. And none is was the Rebels leading rusher last year. That honor would go to Dexter McCluster, who is a receiver but lines up under center in the "Wild Rebel" formation, from which he often runs the ball. McCluster is the fastest of this group. All of these options are good news for Houston Nutt, a master at coordinating effective running attacks. I expect a much improved running game for the Gamecocks this year, but it won't be as good as what Ole Miss brings.

Verdict: Slight advantage Ole Miss

Wide Receivers and Tights Ends

Although they lose Mike Wallace, the Rebels return a set of big play receivers in McCluster, Shay Hodge, and Markeith Summers. This group has tons of speed and Ole Miss as a team averaged over 15 yards per completion last year. That's scary against our young secondary. I like the Rebels here.

Verdict: Slight advantage Ole Miss

Offensive Line

This is the big question mark for what is an otherwise star-studded Ole Miss offense. Star left tackle Michael Oher and both guards are gone, leaving big shoes for the new crop of players to fill. The Rebels have talent coming to play, including tackle Bradley Sowell, who will take over for Oher. However, they won't have much time to gel before playing us (again, we're their first big-time opponent), and an injury to Sowell or right tackle John Jerry could spell disaster. I would say we have a slight advantage here if our guys continue to improve.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Defense

Defensive Line

Although they lost Peria Jerry to the NFL from a unit that led the SEC in tackles for a loss, Ole Miss has what is probably the league's best defensive line. Greg Hardy and Jerrell Powe are the two everyone is talking about, but Marcus Tillman and Kendrell Lockett are also pretty good. I like our defensive line a lot this year (although I worry about depth), but I think Ole Miss has a slight advantage here.

Verdict: Slight advantage Ole Miss

Linebacker

Ole Miss graduates its best players at the linebacker positions, Tony Fein and Ashlee Palmer. The Rebels do return some solid players with significant experience, such as Patrick Trahan. However, this is a question mark area for them; they certainly don't have anyone like Eric Norwood. If we can hold their linemen at bay, I like our chances to run the ball against these guys as well as to set up mismatches in the short to mid-range passing game.

Verdict: Strong advantage South Carolina

Secondary

Although they return some experience at these positions, there are concerns here for the Rebels, as Ole Miss's secondary was the weak link in an otherwise stout Ole Miss defense last year. This isn't to say they're a horrible unit. They played well at times, such as in the Cotton Bowl against a high-flying Texas Tech offense. However, Ole Miss was usually a team you could pass against if you could protect your QB long enough; don't forget, this is a team that Chris Smelley more or less torched. While we have some questions here due to departures, we have some talented players returning and some good incoming talent that should give us a slight advantage here.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Special Teams

The Rebels return one of the conference's better placekickers in Joshua Shene. Their main return guys last year were Marshey Green and the departed Mike Wallace; both of the punt and kickoff return units were better than average last year, but losing the speedy Wallace leaves a hole to fill. Their coverage units were also pretty good. With a lot of question marks to answer after losing Ryan Succop, Captain Munnerlyn, and coach Ray Rychleski, I'd say we're at a disadvantage here until we prove otherwise, although I do like our return units when Chris Culliver has the ball.

Verdict: Slight advantage Ole Miss

Head Coach

In the wake of Ole Miss's surprising 2008, pundits everywhere have proclaimed the greatness of Houston Nutt and have derided Arkansas for ever letting him get away. I can't say I agree with this sentiment. Nutt is certainly a good coach and has no peer in terms of motivating his teams to win big games. However, he has some shortcomings that have kept him from the top despite the fact that he had the talent in place with his last two Arkansas teams to win the SEC. First of all, the guy seemed afriad of the forward pass at Arkansas, even when he had Mitch Mustain under center. To his credit, he seems to be embracing post-1960s football these days at Ole Miss. Second of all, his bickering with coaches and off-field shenanigans cost him Mustain, a few other players, and talent offensive coordinator Guz Malzahn for the 2007 season, which could have been a big one for Arkansas. Finally, although he brought some good players to Arkansas, for the most part he's been a very average recruiter, unless you call signing 35+ players this past year at Ole Miss the sign of recruiting prowess. Lest we forget, Nutt's success in Oxford has come courtesy of Ed Orgeron's recruiting talents. This isn't to say that Nutt isn't a better coach than Orgeron; he is. I just don't think he's the genius everyone is saying he is right now. A couple of years ago, before he upset number one LSU in Baton Rouge, nobody was saying this stuff. I'd call comparing him to Spurrier, who has a great legacy but hasn't produced as of late, a push.

Verdict: Push

Overall

My general impression when comparing these teams is that we should have a slightly better defense than Ole Miss, while they should have a much better offense than us. This isn't necessarily to say that we won't have a good offense this year; the fact is, Ole Miss projects to have a truly great one if they live up to expectations. The thing I like about how we match up against them, though, is the Ole Miss offensive line / USC defensive line matchup. We should be able to get some pressure on these guys, which could be key to keeping them from scoring 30+ against us. Of coure, the battle between our o line against their d line will be important, as well; if we can't contain Hardy and Powe, we could be looking at one of those five sacks, four turnovers games we've grown accustomed to. The other thing I like about this game is that it's in Columbia on a Thursday night. All in all, I think the Rebels are probably a slightly better team than us, but I think we'll manage to pull out an upset here.

Prediction: Gamecocks by a field goal

P. S. This prediction has homer written all over it; expect this game to be brutally tough to win.