Where I Come From: Expectations
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Jul 12, 2010 1:04 PM EDT
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It's the final day of SNB's week-long, college network-wide "Where I Come From" series. Today, we've been asked to write about our expectations for the upcoming season as Rebel fans and bloggers. We're going to keep it brief and steer clear of records, schedule, breakdowns, depth charts, and all of the other things you should expect to see here in a month or so, opting instead to just give you a few sentences apiece on what we think should define this year in Rebel football.
So, Ivory tower, what say you?
I will say that I expect a return to the post-season. I expect to be competitive against every team we play. I do not expect, as some may, a 2002-esque 5-1 start that turns into a 6-6 finish. I expect Brandon Bolden to return to his freshman year form that got so many of us excited. Finally, and most audaciously, I expect to beat every team on our schedule that has "State" in their name.
You "will" say that, or you are saying that? Brian Walker's Elbow, your thoughts?
The year will more than likely not end with 9 wins, but I think ole' Houston has a 6 or 7 win campaign up his sleeve. I suspect that Randall Mackey will be the break-out play-maker on the team regardless of where the coaches decide to use him on the field. One really important thing for me that was not that important until last season: beat the fire out of Dan Mullen's Scrubs from Starkville. It is infuriating that we have to listen to that wanna be redneck run his mouth all of the time.
Whiskey Wednesday, what are your expectations for the upcoming season.
Ghost, stop bothering me. Seriously.
Whatever. Deal with this: my expectations. And, yes, I'm gonna blockquote myself.
I expect a defense we can once again be proud of. I expect a return to the postseason. I expect a bunch of stupid bullshit to come out of State and Arkansas fans. I expect a quarterback who won't be flashy or all-SEC caliber, but also won't be a gut-wrenching disappointment. I expect good times in the Grove, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Knoxville.
One Man to Beat?
Cotton should be king again in Mississippi. Raymond Cotton, currently the second string QB for the Rebels, will take over the starting job before the end of the year. Quite possibly the most athletic QB at Ole Miss in a decade. The combination of a great front seven stopping teams from amassing time of possession and a strong running game with a stable of four to five capable backs means more wins than most people will expect.
Interesting approach. I wonder how many folks will agree with that. Not that we wouldn't welcome it, it's just something I imagine few would expect. And, finally, Juco.
I'm predicting more doom and gloom than most fans with whom I speak. I think we'll struggle heavily to pass the ball, maybe doing as poorly as we did while Brent Schaeffer was at Ole Miss. The running game isn't as good as people want to believe it is either. If we win a good number of games this year, it's because the defense has potential to be fantastic. I don't think we'll have as much trouble in the secondary as people seem to believe we will, but I'm also not sure the defense will be good enough to make up for the poor field position supplied for them by the offense. We should be happy with a bowl.
Thanks, Juco.
So, you, reader, what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Feel free to frivolously use blockquotes in your replies.
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Juco's take...
is an interesting one. I agree with his opinion on the RB’s. We are deep at RB, I just don’t think we are deep with running backs. Better to have several mediocre RB’s than a bunch of bad ones though.
Obviously, the defense should be solid (if not spectacular) and the season will hinge on QB and WR play. I think we have some solid wideouts, but QB is a complete unknown right now. If we can just have someone step up and play solid without turning the ball over often at QB, I think we can surprise some people and pick up 7 wins. I don’t think I would bet on it though. The Vandy, UK, and Fresno St. games all scare me as well- games we should probably win, but all three are games we could easily lose.
My bad...
it should say, “We are deep at RB, I just don’t think we are deep with excellent running backs” in the post above. Tried to get fancy and italicize the word “excellent” and it didn’t work out.
+1
Awesome! We have a lot of backs who can’t separate themselves and didn’t look all that good last year anyway.
by Juco All-American on Jul 12, 2010 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I still don't quite understand...
why everyone is all over Bolden this preseason. He was great his freshman year, but we had the good Jevan Snead at QB, a great O-line, and weapons all over the field. This past year, he looked pretty run-of-the mill. Perhaps it had more to do with the O-line than anything else, but I am not sure why everyone is acting like he is a darkhorse Heisman candidate or something along those lines right now. Enrique and the others have potential, but have yet to really show anything in a game situation. So, until proven otherwise on the field, I would have to say this is a mediocre group that has the potential to be great if they have improved over the offseason.
Compared to his Freshman year
Brandon was utilized in a completely different manner last year. This year, he’s slimmed down and gotten faster/stronger. He’ll be more in line with the run-full-speed-and-somehow-get-that-extra-2-yards-for-the-first-down-Bolden we saw in ’08. Also, we should have a system in place that really highlights his strengths as a back.
Question
Who are these solid wideouts of whom you speak?
by Juco All-American on Jul 12, 2010 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions
I would consider Markeith Summers
He definitely had some good moments last year, but mainly was covered up by Dexter and Shay Hodge. I also think Ja-Mes Logan has potential.
Grandy
…made some awesome plays last year.
And Lionel mooned the crowd at the Spring Game. That’s got to be worth something.
by Nerd the Rebel on Jul 12, 2010 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Well
To me, the word “solid” means serviceable and adequate. So, I am not calling these guys incredible, all-league caliber wideouts. Now that I have given that qualifying statement, I think Jesse Grandy, Ja-Mes Logan, Markeith Summers, and Lionel Breaux are all adequate for the routes we run and passes we throw. None of them are Shay Hodge or Mike Wallace, but they aren’t the worst receiving corps in the league by any means.
I'm not on
the Grandy bandwagon yet. I don’t really recall him doing anything other than returning kicks and running some reverses. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see him being that great of a receiver. I hope I am wrong.
by ''POWE''n Noobs on Jul 12, 2010 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Here's your quote:
I want an Egg Bowl victory, and I need another win over LSU. Make it happen.
Prepare to experience Sexual Magic.
by ElectricDreamMachine on Jul 12, 2010 2:33 PM EDT reply actions
I expect another bowl game.
I also expect our defense to be the focal point of our season, with Jerrell Powe having his best year yet. I also expect our team to come out with blood in their eyes fr the Egg Bowl and to garner a win despite a conservative offense.
I just pray to Yahweh that we don't
have another three-headed monster at quarterback. I think there’s already a strong chance that we’ll have Stanley and Mackey splitting duties, and that in itself scares the shit out of me. It hardly ever works (ZOMG TEBOW AND LEAK. Shut up.). I don’t care who it is, but I want one quarterback to be the guy getting all the snaps until he proves he doesn’t deserve it and we need to switch. I don’t want Stanley handing the ball of and coming in on third and long while Mackey does the rest.
Pig Pen this here's Rubber Duck, and I'm about to put the hammer down.
The Ol' Ball Coach said
“If you’ve got two quarterbacks, then you ain’t got one.”
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Jul 12, 2010 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Or something like that.
Y’all get his point ‘n’ shit.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Jul 12, 2010 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions
I mean...I agree with Spurrier, but...
Perriloux/Flynn did it, and neither of them were very good quarterbacks, anyway.
"HOT BOUDIN! COOOOOLD COUS COUS, COME ON TIGAHS, PUSH PUSH PUSH!"
2 QBs can work...
They just have to be two different styles of QBs running 2 different systems. The reason Tebow/Leak worked is because Tebow was a change of pace brought in to run a different system. It was a new completely different set of plays than what Leak ran that year.
If you have 2 QBs running the same system, then you tend to rotate based on who has the hot hand, and that typically leads to a situation where one or both lose confidence at some point in the season knowing that one pick might take them out of the game.
If they’re running different sets, and they are no threat to stealing each other’s snaps at those different sets, it can work. If Mackey primarily runs the Wildcat or some other forms of rollout type offense, and Stanley/Cotton run primarily the base offense, then it’ll be fine. I’m more worried about us being indecisive on Stanley/Cotton than I am Mackey’s influence. I think Mackey will be a package QB this year and nothing more, so I don’t see him upsetting the apple cart. The controversy will come if we bounce back and forth between Cotton and Stanley for the primary offensive sets too much.
by RebelBruiser on Jul 12, 2010 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions
2 QBs can also
advertise what type of play you’re likely to run if they have decidedly different skill sets.
I play for keeps.
Well said...
Agree completely. Not that Mackey is not good enough to make the defense look bad even if they know what is coming, but a dual system with one runner and one passer makes it pretty transparent what play will be run.
Post Season
I think a realistic goal for this next season is to get to a bowl game.
Right now, though, I’m a hurricane of emotion with excitement and anxiety. I have dreams where we win the national championship… and then I have dreams where we go 0-8 again. I can envision Bolden making huge plays and Lionel Breaux making phenomenal catches from quarterback X while our top-notch defense forces everyone to go 3 and out each drive. I don’t know what to expect other than Nutt riding out on the field on a saddled black bear.
Ghost,
You said good times were to be had in knoxville. Would these good times be in the form of a RCR tent?
by Greg H on Jul 12, 2010 3:27 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
YES.
At least I intend on there being such.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Jul 12, 2010 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions
If y'all are going to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Knoxville...
there needs to be a tent whenever possible. I’ll be at all those and would be excited to lift a glass with a distinguished RCR bloggeur.
I was born in Mississippi, and I don't take any stuff from you, and if I hit you on your head, boy, it's got to make it black and blue.
I'll be in NOLA, BR, and Fayetteville...
Tents will be up for all of them, at least mine will be. Feel free to group up with mine. Fun will be had.
"HOT BOUDIN! COOOOOLD COUS COUS, COME ON TIGAHS, PUSH PUSH PUSH!"
We will
have a better running game than most think. I’m looking forward to this season more than last. Expectations were toooo high. I like where we are now. BTW, the fullback we recruited out of North Georgia reported in May at 229 and is now 255. Weight gain in chest and shoulders. Coach Decker does a good job.
So you think that
he has gained 26 pounds of muscle in two months?
by Juco All-American on Jul 12, 2010 9:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Well considering that I have gone out backpacking
and gained 6 pounds of muscle mass in 11 days after 120 miles of hiking, that is not too much of a stretch. It would definitely say good things about our players conditioning.
Knowone gains 26 lbs. of muscle mass in only 60 days.
I’ve been involved with weight training/nutrition practically my entire life. Knowone accomplishes such a thing without illegal steroid use if your talking about pure, fat-free, muscle weight.
Too many trips to the pizza parlor can be very decieving for an enamored football fan.
Christopher Martin Gonzalez
I expect
seven regular season wins and a post-season win to go along with one quarterback decapitation by our defensive line.
by ''POWE''n Noobs on Jul 12, 2010 7:05 PM EDT reply actions
My Expectations
I expect to reach the post season, and to play that postseason game somewhere other than Memphis. I expect at least 7 wins, though I honeslty think 9 is possible. I expect Powe and Lockett to destroy the confidence of many a quarterback. I expect to be competitive all year long. I expect good things from Bolden and exciting moments from Korvic Neat (good spring game). I expect a decent receiving corps and a qb that can manage a game. I expect that anyone wearing red, blue, or a tie to be treated like complete shit in Knoxville and Baton Rouge. I expect a sea of jean shorts in Tuscaloosa. I expect New Orleans to be one hell of a good time, and I expect that the fall will take way too long to get here.
I play for keeps.
I'm fairly certain the SEC does not have an independence bowl tie anymore.
Red Cup Rebellion -- Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
by BrianWalker'sElbow on Jul 12, 2010 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Best case scenario: 9 wins if Houston can pull some wins out of his ass like he usually does — and no pressure this year, so that’s possible. I don’t think we lose more than 6. I also don’t think the quarterback situation is going to be as bad as everyone thinks. To say a Shaeffer-like debacle could happen isn’t the most well thought out thing to say.
Schaeffer was the perfect storm off a letdown. He came to Ole Miss in shambles athletically. No, the same Schaeffer we saw on the youtube highlight videos wasn’t the same guy we saw on the playing field. Dude was way out of playing shape, and was in playing shape in those vids. Add in the fact that the guy was batshit crazy and BAM!!!! You’ve got a big fuck up taking snaps under center (why did he take so many snaps from under center????) Kid actually looked semi-decent against LSU running the read option.
I don’t understand comparing Stanley and Cotton to Schaeffer. These kids have nothing common athletically, nor mentally.
Nutt has said repeatedly that he doesn’t have a problem with a two-headed monster at quarterback…and I think that could possibly work for a season (don’t be stupid and compare stanley/cotton to the three-headed disaster that was Schaeffer, Lane and Flatt).I think Cotton is probably more suited for this offense, and I really like the fact that the fucker can throw the ball 80 yards down the field (no lie). But Stanley’s decent too.
The only part of the team where I am worried about is the wideouts. I actually have faith in our No. 1 guy Markeith Summers. I really think he will have a breakout season. Grandy is a playmaker too, but I don’t see him taking too many hits over the middle.
I have more confidence in Dan Mullen shutting the fuck up than I do with Lionel Breaux. Just don’t think the guy has it. Ja’Mes drops balls, seen it happen a lot. The one freshman on offense that makes an impact is Vincent Sanders. Talked to several coaches and people in the know and this kid has it together, but needs to gain some weight. Just because he went to Noxubee doesn’t mean he’s pat pat incarnate. Multiple people have told me he’s a different kid and I believe ’em.
I'm not saying
that either of those guys = Schaeffer. Simply that our passing game could be that bad. We have five receivers on scholarship. Five. One of those five has proven he can catch passes… sometimes.
by Juco All-American on Jul 13, 2010 7:23 AM EDT up reply actions
Also,
while I reference the “Schaeffer years” I was thinking more of the Seth Adams year than the actual 1400 passing yards and 47% completion rate debacle that was Brent Schaeffer.
by Juco All-American on Jul 13, 2010 7:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Warning - Old guy comment
I’m expecting a seven or eight win regular season (that includes a Cow Pie High smack down – take that Dum Mullet), plus a bowl victory.
BUT – all of that hinges on the o-line play – which I get the impression is short on depth and experience. Without the O-line the QB / reciever discussion is inconsequential.
The result will be that our D will play stellar for 3 quarters, and then give out as the O continues to go 3 and out.
Stuck in outpost Atlanta (no longer a southern city), wanting to come home.
by Barefoot in the Delta on Jul 13, 2010 9:12 AM EDT reply actions
"Dum Mullet?" You can do better than that.
That’s like a State fan calling our head coach “Pooston Butt.”
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Jul 13, 2010 9:37 AM EDT up reply actions
"Old guy comment" doesn't necessarily mean
“unclever comment.” All I’m saying is that he can be a bit more clever with his Dan Mullen insults and not resort to the same jokes everyone else uses. I feel this is a fair stance.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Jul 13, 2010 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions
So
Mullet is not to be used? It sounds good and irritates puppy fans.
Does it really irritate them? Does TSUN really irritate us?
I call him “Mullethead” but only as a satire of unoriginal Ole Miss fans.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Jul 13, 2010 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions
Seems to,
but most things I say to them irritates them. I’ve never used mullethead.
Fair point. The existence of Ole Miss
irritates them. If Ole Miss scientists discovered the cure for cancer, that’d irritate them.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Jul 13, 2010 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
I have noted Ghost and
I give myself a -1. I vow to spend the next few evenings cupless and with a dictionary.
But still – I like the insult “Cow Pie High” (try to say it without shooting adult beverage out your nose); where a hayride is the preferred limousine service.
Stuck in outpost Atlanta (no longer a southern city), wanting to come home.
by Barefoot in the Delta on Jul 13, 2010 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions
As per our past discussions...
…regarding my football season OCD’s…
I am seriously considering buying an entire set of 12-13 to use this year. One for each week. Also, seriously considering buying 11 (already have one, so that’s 12 total) pair of our navy blue color Hanes boxer/briefs.
Gotta get rid of that negative mojo.
Also looking to the possibility of watching “Century of Heroes” every week to pull some of that positive energy in from Johnny Vaught.
Will it work? I don’t even know, but I always believe that winning is a team effort and I gotta do my part!
Back in the day I even quit smoking in order to secure a victory over Georgia (Reid Hines catches one for the win). X-P
"Happiness is riches, complaint is poverty, and the worst I ever had was wonderful." Brother Dave Gardner
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