Are We Rebels Delusional?
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on May 18, 2009 4:40 PM EDT
15 comments
The simple answer is, of course, yes.
But, we're not nearly as bad as these guys or even these guys.
While the SEC is known for its ferverent, passionate fans crazies, we Rebels have cultivated our own special band of lunatic. Just a quick stroll through the Grove or a skimming of the Ole Miss Scout and Rivals forums will allow one to hear the wildest of notions being entertained.
"[White recruit] from [private school] is going to be the next Brett Favre."
"Alabama paid Doyle Jackson."
"My daughter is a fine upstanding student who doesn't drink, swear, or uncross her legs."
If you were to ask some of these fans about Ole Miss football, you would learn that we should be in the hunt for the SEC title every season, Mississippi State is jealous of every single thing Ole Miss has ever done, and that the Landsharks is a perfectly reasonable mascot for a football team in Mississippi anywhere.
But, in the wake of recent accusations of our lunacy, I feel I must defend our oftentimes over-the-top fanbase.
Right now, what are Rebel fans saying about the upcoming football season? If one were to essentially "average" the expectations seen on message boards and overheard at happy hour on the Square, Rebel fans are looking to win the West. Now, whether or not a victory in the Georgia Dome is remotely possible is wildly speculated, but the fact remains that besting LSU and Alabama for the divisional title would be the situation which transforms the 2009 season from "good" to "great."
We're also saying things about a top-10 caliber team, Jevan Snead's emergence as a top-flite quarterback, and a potential BCS bowl berth. How is all of this being received accross these here intrawebs?
-----
"Delusion, thy name is Ole Dork fan." -Arkansas fan by way of Hogville
"No offense to Ole Miss but the west looks like it'll come down to LSU and 'Bama again this season. Bryant-Denny will be rockin'! Should be a great game." - Alabama fan by way of the SEC Rant
"I am not bragging but I actually think we will have the title rapped(sic) up by T-Town Alabama will be lucky to keep this one close.." - LSU fan by way of the SEC Rant
"this is(sic) gotta be a joke! ole miss?wtf? omg ND! this guy has fukn(sic) lost it! not saying my team should be in there, but i counted about seven teams that should be in there! where the #### did the other 18 come from?" - Miami fan by way of ESPN.com
"Schlabaugh is out of his mind on Ole Miss and will look stupid when Vandy makes it 4 out of past 5 on October 3 in Nashville. I only hope that Ole Miss is still in the Top 10 by then!" - Vanderbilt fan by way of ESPN.com (no I'm not kidding)
-----
So, for some reason or another, we shouldn't even be in the conversation with regards to our aforementioned ambitions. Yes, to these fine people, we're being delusional.
Except we're not. Here's the thing, SEC teams outside of Florida: our quarterback is better than yours, our defense is better than yours (push if you're Bama), our offensive playcalling is more diverse than yours, our backfield and defensive line are deeper than yours, our team plays harder than yours, we return every single major statistical leader for this upcoming season. We're in nearly everybody's preseason top-10, projected by many to be BCS bowl bound, and have one of the best signal-callers in the nation leading our high-powered offense.
So, after seeing something like this:
tell me again how exactly we're the ones being delusional by suggesting that this is a very good Rebel football team?
Face it, college football world. If you don't think the Rebels are for real this time, you're the ones being delusional.
So, fear not Rebels. Nine times out of ten, I guarantee that we are the ones being unreasonable, ignorant, and short-sighted. Right now isn't one of those times. We do have a good chance to win the West, enjoy a BCS bowl berth, and establish our quarterback as one of the nation's best.
However, Clayton Moore still isn't the next Brett Favre. Sorry.
0 recs |
15 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Well done, Ghost.
So, fear not Rebels. Nine times out of ten, I guarantee that we are the ones being unreasonable, ignorant, and short-sighted. Right now isn’t one of those times.
Well, you know what they say about eggheads...
Give them an inch and they’ll want the whole damn ruler.
one of "the ghost"'s better works
nice job on this article, i guess i’m late on this news but i’d love to get some info on the transfer from indiana.
by the love IS gone... to omaha on May 18, 2009 7:00 PM EDT reply actions
Here’s the thing, SEC teams outside of Florida: our quarterback is better than yours, our defense is better than yours (push if you’re Bama), our offensive playcalling is more diverse than yours, our backfield and defensive line are deeper than yours, our team plays harder than yours, we return every single major statistical leader for this upcoming season. We’re in nearly everybody’s preseason top-10, projected by many to be BCS bowl bound, and have one of the best signal-callers in the nation leading our high-powered offense.
okay as a Bama fan I’ll concede that Ole Miss D versus our D is a “push” for now, based soley on the loss of Rashad Johnson. Yes your Offense is more diverse than Bama’s but we won’t really need to be considering how we win games, and I’ll take Alabama’s running backs against anyone’s in the leagues right now, but all of that is debatable.
but your team “plays harder” than my team? You mean the team with an angry midget mutant of pure hate and coaching determination?
Every part of that last bit was a logical argument except the whole “playing harder” bit
Oh and for the record I’m scared to death that an Ole Miss team finally figured out how to beat Bama. I seriously hope the Houston Nutt being favored curse takes this talented team down with it. I’m more scared of going to Ole Miss than of LSU coming here.
Granted, the whole "playing harder" thing isn't really quantifiable
or even tangible, but I still (somewhat) stand by my argument because Houston Nutt may be the single greatest motivator in the country. He’s not the best X’s and O’s guy and he’s not the best recruiter, but he can rah rah the hell out of his team.
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on May 18, 2009 8:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Very.
Yessir.
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on May 19, 2009 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Brewer
I don’t buy that myth either. It was true about Billy Brewer though. He was a great motivator too and was great as a ‘dog, but couldn’t win for shit as the favorite.
But as for Houston Nutt, he pretty much shot down every criticism Hog fans had last year: can’t win the big game, can’t recruit, can’t win a bowl game, etc., etc. I expect this last myth to be shot down in 2009.
He's never really had this kind of preseason hype with a team as far as I can tell*
In 2007 the hogs were only ranked in the top 25 (#21), and finished out of the polls only after losing their bowl game after firing Nutt.
It doesn’t appear that they were ranked in the preseason in their two SEC championship game appearances – 2002 and 2006.
So really its an unknown, but the Hog fans forget that we got a coach with 10 years of SEC experience under the belt and I think a little bit of a chip on his shoulder.
Ole Miss should expect to contend for the West.
As in be in the mix until the last week of the season.
But so should LSU and Bama.
And it’s not completely out of the question that Arky could surprise people. At this point the only teams that I think have ZERO shot are State, and Auburn.
You make some decent arguments, but you use words like “better” and “best” when in reality you should be using words like “as good as” or “predicted to be better”. Let’s go through them one by one.
our quarterback is better than yours
Snead was very good last year, and most predict that he will be great next season. Jefferson, has shown a lot of improvement, Saban wins with QB’s like McElroy, and Petrino is going to surprise people with Mallet. So yes the easy prediction is Advantage Ole Miss, but I don’t think it is a insurmountable advantage.
our defense is better than yours (push if you’re Bama)
Bama YPG 2008 – 263.5 | NCAA rank 3 | SEC rank 1| PPG 14.3 | 7 | 2
Ole Miss YPG 2008 – 308.2 | NCAA rank 20 | SEC rank 5 | PPG 19.0 | 20 | 5
LSU YPG 2008 – 325.5 | NCAA rank 32 | SEC rank 9 | PPG 24.2 | 57 | 9
I won’t get into Auburn’s defense because we can probably all agree they aren’t much of a factor next year but they were good last year, and should be decent this year. However, I want to make one point about LSU’s defense. Let’s pretend that instead of Jarrett Lee throwing a record breaking (and statistically impossible) 7 pick 6’s, that he threw a more average number of one… LSU’s PPG number becomes about 21.5. If we also assume that Chavis will have a positive impact on the team, suddenly Ole Miss’s defense doesn’t look a whole lot better than LSU’s. In fact, I will be shocked if LSU’s defense isn’t at least 4th in the conference next year, and I bet it will be better than Ole Miss’s. Ole Miss’s defense was closer to being LSU-like than Bama-like last year, and my argument is that Ole Miss lost more important players off of their ’08 D than LSU did.
our offensive playcalling is more diverse than yours
No one will ever beat Nutt on this. Except Crowton. Push. Besides, Nutt won’t be able to take as many chances this year with high expectations. He looked like a moron after the Bama game when he pressed the panic button too early and cost you guys the game.
our backfield and defensive line are deeper than yours
Backfield, nope, push. And I bet Bama fans will have a gripe about the backfield as well. D-line, you guys probably have the best D-line in the west next year. Although, let’s see what happens when the SEC’s leader in sacks last year, Rahim Alem, becomes a starter.
our team plays harder than yours
Nutt’s teams are great at playing hard when they are flying under the radar and his quirky calls work. Ask Arkansas about the flip side of that coin. Push. Go watch the 2008 LSU-Bama game. By the time LSU played Ole MIss, yall were playing in the super bowl, and we were playing in the toilet bowl. It’s true.
we return every single major statistical leader for this upcoming season.
I can’t comment too much for bama, but they didn’t lose a whole lot. They lost some key players, but not a lot of players. LSU returns,our leading rusher, our leading receiver, our leading tackler, our sack leader, and our INT leader. I would say our leading passer, but that is a moot point.
So, should Ole Miss fans be excited? Sure. But no more so than LSU or Bama fans.
Snead was very good last year, and most predict that he will be great next season. Jefferson, has shown a lot of improvement, Saban wins with QB’s like McElroy, and Petrino is going to surprise people with Mallet. So yes the easy prediction is Advantage Ole Miss, but I don’t think it is a insurmountable advantage.
You’re comparing a 2,500+ yard passer to three quarterbacks who have “combined” for a whopping 73 passes in SEC play. And yes, I realize that all 73 of those attempts belong to Jefferson; that’s exactly my point. I realize that Saban wins with ok quarterbacks who are really just there to not fuck everything up but that still doesn’t change the fact that Snead > every QB Saban has ever coached. And yes, Ryan Mallett has all of the potential in the world and could really shine in Petrino’s system, but that doens’t mean the jury can issue a verdict just yet. Jordan Jefferson could be great and he’s definitely got the receivers (LSU always does) so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Bama YPG 2008 – 263.5 | NCAA rank 3 | SEC rank 1| PPG 14.3 | 7 | 2
Ole Miss YPG 2008 – 308.2 | NCAA rank 20 | SEC rank 5 | PPG 19.0 | 20 | 5
LSU YPG 2008 – 325.5 | NCAA rank 32 | SEC rank 9 | PPG 24.2 | 57 | 9
Alabama has a great defense and I’m not denying that. However, I think it’s important to note that, due to our team’s mid-season developments, statistics are going to be skewed against us. We let Chris Freakin’ Smelly threw for 300+ against us a week removed from the Florida victory. We were horribly inconsistent until the last part of the season. Alabama did an excellent job of stopping Georgia but performed just a hair better than Ole Miss against Florida. Also, neither Bama nor LSU played the Texas Tech Red Raiders which has to count for something.
All three teams have great defensive players, but I’m really high on our DL, starting LB’s, and quick secondary.
However, I want to make one point about LSU’s defense. Let’s pretend that instead of Jarrett Lee throwing a record breaking (and statistically impossible) 7 pick 6’s, that he threw a more average number of one… LSU’s PPG number becomes about 21.5. If we also assume that Chavis will have a positive impact on the team
Great points. I do feel that if Chavis can get your secondary to not suck you’ll be in great shape.
No one will ever beat Nutt on this. Except Crowton. Push. Besides, Nutt won’t be able to take as many chances this year with high expectations.
In the Cotton Bowl, we ran the option, I-Formation, Wildcat (Wild Rebel, whatever), spread, ace, and shotgun formations. We also threw in a fake punt. Kent Austin calls plays like he’s using an XBox controller. Crowton may have a thick playbook, but I’d put Kent Austin up against him 9/10.
Backfield, nope, push. And I bet Bama fans will have a gripe about the backfield as well.
Backfield, yep, ours. Ole Miss was 2nd in the conference in rushing last year and we return every one of our top four rushers, a claim which Bama cannot make. From SECSports.com
RUSHING GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
D. McCluster 13 109 697 42 655 6.0 6 40 50.4
Cordera Eason 13 140 660 13 647 4.6 3 28 49.8
Brandon Bolden 13 98 565 23 542 5.5 5 44 41.7
Enrique Davis 11 64 258 14 244 3.8 3 62 22.2
You have a feature back in Charles Scott and a talented spell in Kieland Williams. We have two feature backs (Eason and Bolden), a spell (Davis), and a scatback (McCluster) who all get the ball very, very regularly. While Scott and Williams are hosses, we’ve still got the depth advantage.
D-line, you guys probably have the best D-line in the west next year. Although, let’s see what happens when the SEC’s leader in sacks last year, Rahim Alem, becomes a starter.
I’ll see your Alem and raise you a Hardy. He is our non-starting sack machine from the past three seasons and has been an all-American of some sort in all three of them. Once again, according to SECSports.com, Alem had 8.0 sacks last season. Hardy had 8.5. I don’t know where you read or heard that Alem was the SEC’s sack leader but that information is false. I’m pretty sure Florida’s Carlos Dunlap led the conference in sacks (10 or so).
Nutt’s teams are great at playing hard when they are flying under the radar and his quirky calls work. Ask Arkansas about the flip side of that coin. Push. Go watch the 2008 LSU-Bama game. By the time LSU played Ole MIss, yall were playing in the super bowl, and we were playing in the toilet bowl. It’s true.
As an LSU fan, does that not upset you at all? Under O, our teams were prone to going out there and not giving a shit. While you can do the whole “well it’s Ole Miss yadda yadda” stuff, the fact is you’re admitting to your team not getting fired up to play a rival in the last home game of the season.
So, should Ole Miss fans be excited? Sure. But no more so than LSU or Bama fans.
We should all be excited. My point wasn’t that LSU and Bama fans shouldn’t be excited. My point was that the droves of ignorant college football fans who are just writing Ole Miss off because “tehy r OLE Pi$$ lmao” are a bunch of stupid dipshits and for them to call us crazy is a pot/kettle type of situation. This fall will see one of the most intriguing, nationally scrutinized, and hard fought battles for the SEC Western Division. Just to be a part of that should give all three fanbases something about which to be thrilled.
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on May 19, 2009 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Jordan Jefferson could be great and he’s definitely got the receivers (LSU always does) so we’ll just have to wait and see
exactly what I said…
Great points. I do feel that if Chavis can get your secondary to not suck you’ll be in great shape.
Our linebackers and secondary were constantly out of position last year. Chavis works magic with LB’s and many think that Ron Cooper is the best DB coach in the conference. Chavis had a great defense at UT last year with a good D-line and an all everything safety. I think LSU has those same type of play makers plus some. I think our D will be back to dominant form next year.
You have a feature back in Charles Scott … we’ve still got the depth advantage.I’ll put up Charles Scott, Keiland Williams, Trindon Holliday, RIchard Murphy, Stevan Ridley, and Michael Ford up against your bunch any day. This is a push, and there are just no two ways about it. And Bama’s bunch of Ingram, RIchardson and Upchurch are going to be really good as well.
I don’t know where you read or heard that Alem was the SEC’s sack leader but that information is false.
I didn’t look it up, but Alem was the leader at one point in the season. He must have gotten passed up in the bowl games. Still, I think you guys will have the better D-line next year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if LSU’s or Bama’s ended up being better. They are all good.
As an LSU fan, does that not upset you at all?I guess I’d like to give the token answer of “you have to give it 100% every game, and that yeah we should have played hard all season”. But the truth of the matter is, as a huge LSU fan, I couldn’t have cared less what happened after the Bama game, so long as it didn’t hurt recruiting. And therefore I can’t really blame the players for not being focused, or the coaches for whatever it was that they did wrong, if anything. A team coming off a national championship who has aspirations to win their division and having that goal go up in smoke with 3 games to play is going to be hard if not impossible to motivate. I mean really, the cotton bowl is a great aspiration for a team who didn’t win a conference game the year before, but in my opinion, and many other LSU fan’s opinions, you either win the west or the season was a failure. Nobody wants to lose, but I promise the losses to UF, UGA and Bama were much much harder to take than the losses to Ole Miss and Arkansas.
I think Ole Miss will be really good next year, but I also thought y’all would be really good last year. Most of the people who are saying “Ole MIss is kidding themselves” are morons. But I also think that playing a season with a target on your back is different than playing a season as an underdog and surprising people. And you are right that Nutt is a great motivator, but that only takes you so far, and Nutt hasn’t been too successful when he can’t play the disrespect/underdog card to motivate his team. Since Bama, and Ole Miss will both have targets on their back this year, I expect it to be a little tougher for both teams than it was last year. Having said that, it is going to be a really fun year, and it appears that is going to be quite a dog fight until the last weekend of the season.
Losing a QB is a huge strike...
And coming in from an undefeated regular season is hard to raise expectations…
So, I’d say that LSU is in a better position to look forward to next season…
That being said, Ole Miss is DA SHIT and should win the west because I said so.
I put oooooon. I put on for tennessee.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 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.
