Monday, October 22, 2007

Picture tells it all. Got pushed around, just not legally.





Why did it take me two and a half days to post following the "Breakdown in Old Drunk-Denny" on Saturday? Well it didn't this is just the one that finally made it to the publish button. I have about five other drafts that I typed up, but then cooler heads prevailed before I put them up here for all you good people to read. I have family and in-laws that do read this, and I want to keep them coming back here, so I will leave my screaming and cussing for when the Phillip Fulmer show comes on. (Actually it already has, and apparently if you spin the remote as it leaves your hand, the screen of the TV does not break, or dent. Remember that in the future Megan.) Besides , I am not supposed to blog while eating, and there has been a lot of crow to eat. I have had many friends ask me for my take on the game. I am an open and very opinionated person, it gets me in trouble often, ask my wife. So instead of spewing my hatred for the Bionic Coach and the legions of Sheep, (Man if I can figure out a way to put Saban and Sheep together and make it work, somebody be working on the artwork for the shirt, I'll get back to you......Sabeeps? nah, Sheebans?...) I will do my best to give you an objective look at the third Saturday in October. Um.... Well... Ok I tried, sorry sheep you get the real me. And I bleed Orange, so I can not objectively look at you, you bunch of....... Family, I know, I know. Well I will try.






This past game week was like no other Third Saturday, or Fourth Saturday for those years, that I can remember. Bammer Sheep spent the better part of the week trying to make everyone believe that they really did deserve to win against "O YO YO YO YOO YO YOO YO Miss" last weekend. It took someone posting a picture from Google Earth or something to try to justify it. Bottom line you were given the win. The call was overturned, there was not indisputable evidence to support that. Bottom line, blown call, gift. The sheep were more worried about that call than the tradition that was the third week in October. Had a weird feeling all week. Saturday morning on gameday, the first one I have even watched all year, they never even mentioned bammer in their predictions for the game except for saying who the Vols were going to beat. I told Jim Friday night during the Jacks High School show that I had a bad feeling about the game. That I had the same comfortably confident feeling that I did before the Cal game. Bad. Have become very superstitious over the past couple of seasons. Not sure why.






I made the decision not to go to the game to stay in good standings with the wife. She just could not believe I could go without getting into it with some sheep. Hindsight.....Good call hun. Truly my better half. Instead I decided to go to good ol' BWW in Trussville. I knew my buddy Jay would be bar tending and there would be plenty of sheep to harass. So when I get a text message from a friend saying that he heard that five players were suspended from bammer I was plum giddy. Felt ten foot tall and was only on my first beer. Newcastle was the one of choice, help me remember that, never drink Newcastle on game day. Kick off...............



It goes downhill from there. believe me you guys don't want the play by play.






Here are the things that I want to point out as being the conversation points of the game.






Bold move on the Onside kick call. Fulmer's quote on his show was that we should have recovered it. "We practice it every week, shouldn't have been a problem." ummm ok coach.






Why was the defense so predictable. JPW is not Manning. He is not the best one at dissecting a defense. But if we went man, our true freshman DB's were toasted. If we went zone, it was either a run or a slant for eight or nine. Were we calling it out? Were we that bold that we were telling them what we were going to run, daring them to beat us? A lot of the time it looked that way. Either way they picked us apart. Plain as that.






OK you knew I could not write this and not bring it up. Officiating. There were six penalties that came on third or fourth down that allowed the Alabama drive to continue. The offsides on the dramatic shift, I give you. My man got played like a banjo. The roughing the passer??? Come on, I have hit my great grandmother harder. He touched him. The pass interference call when we made the interception in the end zone. You are kidding me right? Watch the replay. slow it down the receiver was not impeded, pulled , nothing. both hands are still outstretched. He acted surprised when he realized a flag had been thrown. I had seven text messages after that call. Auburn fans, Clemson fans, Lsu fans, MSU fans, and BAMA fans telling me to calm down that the play was CRAP!! That is when in my opinion the momentum changed. Not the interception Ainge threw, that is just the play when someone actually did something. The sheep cannot say, "The game changed when the officials gave us the ball back when we turned it over." And I know what you are saying, what about the fumble that TN got back. Fulmer said they told the officials that they were going to run the shovel pass, reverse type thing. It was a STUPID play, with POOR execution. The running game was working why get cute? That is why we got the ball, was an incomplete pass.






If there was any momentum left we lost it when we kicked the ball straight to Arenas to start the second half. But in my opinion the coaches had already packed it in. Fulmer plays this game not to lose. He does not PLAY TO WIN. his punting the ball away in the fourth quarter proved that. We have always been able to get two or three yards. Hell every pass play in our offense starts with a two yard route. Nice call Coach.






Daniel Lincoln was once again the bright spot. Has missed one kick all year. Honorable mention to the O-line. Didn't give up a sack, but it wasn't from lack of effort, Erik was pressured all day, just really good at getting rid of the ball. But he had two INTs so......






The Vols have some injuries to overcome. Our #1 receiver Lucas Taylor had a foot injury that held him back with only two catches on the day. Josh Briscoe suffered a concussion when his helmet bounced off the turf. He came back in for one more catch, but did not remember even being in the game. Then there is Monterio Hardesty. He is the number two running back. Did not see the field. Fulmer said it was because he did not catch the ball as well out of the backfield. Yet on third down he put Creer into the game. Rumors are that he was not present at practice on Sunday night. Not a good thing.






I think the Vols will win one more they are not supposed to. But think they will lose at least two in the stretch.






Bammer has given fans something to cheer about. It has now starting to sound delusional again. SEC champs and even National title Contenders. In this crazy season who knows, if they do I will move to an Island and take up Cricket. I hear it is big over in Starkville, maybe it is worth looking in to.