Still not sure what to think of this team...

[gr8spur]

We could easily be 2-5, or 6-1. So I know I should be happy to be 5-2. But some things still bother me. I was super high on Jake, but he seems to have regressed a bit. The OL keeps changing every week due to the injury bug, and never seems to get a surge/push in short yardage. We have NO 4th and 1 play that works. Our field goal game has been dismal. The DL line is playing better than expected, as is the secondary (except for King). But the running game is lack luster. Rico's injury sucks. Of course, so does Debo's. Glad we have Edwards and company. Anyhow, I just don't know what to think. Maybe we take the Terriers and Commodores. That's 7-5. But surely not a given. Vandy won't quit until the end. That's for damn sure. But if we take those two and upset one of the others, 8 wins would be far more than I was thinking after the heartbreaking UK loss. 8-4 would be very, very helpful to recruiting! Go cocks!

 

[jeff2001]

3-2 in the SEC and the teams we have beaten are 0-10 Ark,UT, and Mizz in the SEC. And we play 0-4 vandy next.

 

[Rod Dangerfield]

 

[adversary2]

[QUOTE="... Our field goal game has been dismal....Go cocks![/QUOTE]

I can't agree that the field goal game has been dismal. I know that statement will look stupid to some, but my reason is because of what we have attempted in our kicking game.

Just to get this out of the way, he is 10/10 on PATs that he has kicked, so while it may appear an adventure at times, that has been rock solid. Bad snap/hold, not his fault.

Now to FGs. On the season he is 7/8 on field goals under 40 yds. He has not missed under 40, since his first made FG. His stats are skewed because we have attempted 2 FG's longer than 50 (0/2), & 5 longer than 40 (1/5). Now, for the kicking game to be considered superior his % made from over 40 yds should certainly be higher, but first year kicker, still finding his way, I'll give him room & time for improvement.

Why would I? Why should we? He was 0-4 before Muschamp named him full time starter on kicks. He has not missed from under 40 since then, & hit his first from 40-49 in the last game. Once he found his rhythm, steps, etc. and hit his first FG under 40, he hasn't missed. He has improved each game. I believe that he will continue to gain consistency. Why?
Because he hit his first FG over 40 yds in our last game. That should bode well for his % on 40-49.

 

[gr8spur]

[QUOTE="... Our field goal game has been dismal....Go cocks!

I can't agree that the field goal game has been dismal. I know that statement will look stupid to some, but my reason is because of what we have attempted in our kicking game.

Just to get this out of the way, he is 10/10 on PATs that he has kicked, so while it may appear an adventure at times, that has been rock solid. Bad snap/hold, not his fault.

Now to FGs. On the season he is 7/8 on field goals under 40 yds. He has not missed under 40, since his first made FG. His stats are skewed because we have attempted 2 FG's longer than 50 (0/2), & 5 longer than 40 (1/5). Now, for the kicking game to be considered superior his % made from over 40 yds should certainly be higher, but first year kicker, still finding his way, I'll give him room & time for improvement.

Why would I? Why should we? He was 0-4 before Muschamp named him full time starter on kicks. He has not missed from under 40 since then, & hit his first from 40-49 in the last game. Once he found his rhythm, steps, etc. and hit his first FG under 40, he hasn't missed. He has improved each game. I believe that he will continue to gain consistency. Why?
Because he hit his first FG over 40 yds in our last game. That should bode well for his % on 40-49.[/QUOTE]
Well, I thank you for taking the time to address my low opinion of the field goal game. Maybe it's not as dismal as I think it is. Anyhow, I'm sure nervous when we send the unit out to attempt one. And that missed PAT could've cost us that game. I do hope things improve from here forward. Also, since White's % is so bad beyond 40, why on earth does WM keep trying them? I'd rather see us go for it.

 

[bogiecock]

I can't agree that the field goal game has been dismal. I know that statement will look stupid to some, but my reason is because of what we have attempted in our kicking game.

Just to get this out of the way, he is 10/10 on PATs that he has kicked, so while it may appear an adventure at times, that has been rock solid. Bad snap/hold, not his fault.

Now to FGs. On the season he is 7/8 on field goals under 40 yds. He has not missed under 40, since his first made FG. His stats are skewed because we have attempted 2 FG's longer than 50 (0/2), & 5 longer than 40 (1/5). Now, for the kicking game to be considered superior his % made from over 40 yds should certainly be higher, but first year kicker, still finding his way, I'll give him room & time for improvement.

Why would I? Why should we? He was 0-4 before Muschamp named him full time starter on kicks. He has not missed from under 40 since then, & hit his first from 40-49 in the last game. Once he found his rhythm, steps, etc. and hit his first FG under 40, he hasn't missed. He has improved each game. I believe that he will continue to gain consistency. Why?
Because he hit his first FG over 40 yds in our last game. That should bode well for his % on 40-49.

Well, I thank you for taking the time to address my low opinion of the field goal game. Maybe it's not as dismal as I think it is. Anyhow, I'm sure nervous when we send the unit out to attempt one. And that missed PAT could've cost us that game. I do hope things improve from here forward. Also, since White's % is so bad beyond 40, why on earth does WM keep trying them? I'd rather see us go for it.[/QUOTE]

The pressure on a kicker has to be huge. Maybe all he needed was a little experience in front of 80k screaming fans, and a chance to gain some confidence. On the long tries, he apparently hits them in practice, and confidence is maybe all he needs. He has the leg, we will see if he can get more accurate. I don't know why, but I believe he will turn out to be a really good kicker for us.

 

[cockhornleghorn]

We've been the beneficiary of a relatively easy schedule; let's see how we do against Georgia because Vandy has fallen apart.

 

[lowcountry_cock13]

Very good chance we could win 8 regular season games and with a bowl win it would be a 9 win season...and finish 2nd or 3rd in the East. From 3 wins in 2015 that would be incredible. Just gotta make sure the UGA and Clemson games we hold our own, don’t think we win those but at least not be embarrassed.

 

[RoosterBooster1]

All I need to know is this team plays real hard, is improving and the culture is getting a whole lot healthier for winning. If you've got that, your on the right track.

 

[RaleighGC]

I am encouraged by all the Muschamp and Company recruits that are seeing the field. I too feel we could be 2-5 or 7-0. At the start I thought we would go 9-3, including a win over Clemson and we would end our season in Jacksonville for our bowl game.

 

[Gradstudent]

Jake has said all summer they worked on handling alot of pressure and getting throws out quickly, and now under Wolf the pass protection has been much improved, and he needs to get his feet right and relax and they are working on that.

Makes some sense

 

[cockofdawn]

what i take is despite some Misfortune this Team doesnt give up... Perfect example is could have thrown in the towel and lost to an inferior La Tech team, but didnt give up, Could have looked at last week and gave up on that last play still whining about getting screwed by the clock operator, but they didnt , they played TOUGH Defense. The mounting injuries, but others are stepping up.. Etc Etc.. I like the Fight this team is showing.. NOW having said that, they need to continue and not be happy with Five wins already!! And IF Deebo can come back for the last couple games, well, could be a special season..

 

[rogue cock]

I am encouraged by all the Muschamp and Company recruits that are seeing the field. I too feel we could be 2-5 or 7-0. At the start I thought we would go 9-3, including a win over Clemson and we would end our season in Jacksonville for our bowl game.

Wow....now that was an optimistic prediction. You had to be one of the few that predicted that. Looking at the schedule, I thought 6/7 wins was both realistic and optimistic.

 

[CockofEarle]

We could easily be 2-5, or 6-1. So I know I should be happy to be 5-2. But some things still bother me. I was super high on Jake, but he seems to have regressed a bit. The OL keeps changing every week due to the injury bug, and never seems to get a surge/push in short yardage. We have NO 4th and 1 play that works. Our field goal game has been dismal. The DL line is playing better than expected, as is the secondary (except for King). But the running game is lack luster. Rico's injury sucks. Of course, so does Debo's. Glad we have Edwards and company. Anyhow, I just don't know what to think. Maybe we take the Terriers and Commodores. That's 7-5. But surely not a given. Vandy won't quit until the end. That's for damn sure. But if we take those two and upset one of the others, 8 wins would be far more than I was thinking after the heartbreaking UK loss. 8-4 would be very, very helpful to recruiting! Go cocks!

think 5-2...............& as far as bentley....the old chinese proverb.....sophomore jinx

 

[colforbin22]

The slim margin between being 5-2 and 2-5 is good coaching. There's only so much the offense can do until the offensive line improves. I don't think Jake feels very comfortable in the pocket.

 

[Gradstudent]

I am encouraged by all the Muschamp and Company recruits that are seeing the field. I too feel we could be 2-5 or 7-0. At the start I thought we would go 9-3, including a win over Clemson and we would end our season in Jacksonville for our bowl game.

I thought i was the only one to predict a win over Clemson in the summer I got ridiculed on here some but said Dabo has only won once in a day game in Columbia with a team that played in a NC, and we had the best QB in the game and it was home and went through all the talent Clemson lost, and sited they still had
a defensive line which they do.

 

[jeff2001]

Bentley in my opinion has played well. 1600 yards 12 TDs and only 4 int in 7 games while not great still very solid. You lose your best playmaker. And now your 3 best WRs are a soph and 2 true freshmen.

 

[HI Cock]

View embedded media

Except he didn't

 

[HI Cock]

Jake has said all summer they worked on handling alot of pressure and getting throws out quickly, and now under Wolf the pass protection has been much improved, and he needs to get his feet right and relax and they are working on that.

Makes some sense

Just wondering if it's all OL, or just that we don't have a truestud at RB.
I remember plenty of poor blocking for Marcus, but he was able to get yards anyway.

 

[RoosterBooster1]

The coaches seem to trust in the 3 RB rotation with the players we have and it does seem to be working for the most part, we aren’t breaking any records rushing but we might be getting close to maximum from the guys we have. I’m not sure why we don’t have any dominant running back performances, but it is probably the result of many factors including talent, OL and playbook. It usually rears it’s ugly head when we play very strong running defenses, obviously, but in those circumstances we seem to get stonewalled.

 

[lowcountry_cock13]

Just wondering if it's all OL, or just that we don't have a truestud at RB.
I remember plenty of poor blocking for Marcus, but he was able to get yards anyway.

Agreed, but Marcus was also getting 30-40 carries per game....none of these backs are getting near that amount of touches.

 

[BigTomE]

Bentley has played well overall, but it may appear as if he has regressed because he is being asked to do so much more this season. He's reading defenses pre snap, he's checking out of plays, he's shifting coverages. Last season he ran the play that was called, so he didn't have so much to think about pre snap.

 

[Rod Dangerfield]

Except he didn't

Huh?

 

[DeepfriedCock]

I think BOOM has done a great job. Look at the guys that are making most of the plays, their his guys. We have good discipline not many penalties. I think our strength an conditioning is good as anybody's in the country. I'm excited where this program is going.

 

[RaleighGC]

I thought i was the only one to predict a win over Clemson in the summer I got ridiculed on here some but said Dabo has only won once in a day game in Columbia with a team that played in a NC, and we had the best QB in the game and it was home and went through all the talent Clemson lost, and sited they still had
a defensive line which they do.

I thought the win would be attributed to Clemson's downfall, not our uprising. I didn't expect Clemson to be this successful at this point in the season

 

[gr8spur]

Bentley has played well overall, but it may appear as if he has regressed because he is being asked to do so much more this season. He's reading defenses pre snap, he's checking out of plays, he's shifting coverages. Last season he ran the play that was called, so he didn't have so much to think about pre snap.

I agree with most of what you're saying, but I expected a more apparent improvement. He still throws early sometimes, and into 2-3 coverage on occasions. Don't get me wrong. I am a Bentley fan. In fact, I talked him up big time in the off season. I just wanted to see steady progress. Also, is it just me...or do others think his vision down field improves when he rolls out?

 

[luvmygamecocks]

Bentley is the 4th highest rated qb in the SEC so far and that is with losing his all American receiver plus his 2nd best tight end. Hasn't helped having to play so many offensive lineman due to injuries either, as lines need consistency to perform at a high level. Gotta be impressed with the development of the defense under TRob and Muschamp.

 

[Art__Vandelay]

Bentley has frustrated me at times, but think back to Connor Shaw in his first year as the starter. He wasn’t lighting the world on fire and he probably had a better surrounding cast and definitely had a better OLine.

I think we had unrealistic expectations for Jake, and he’s really done pretty well for a true sophomore.

 

[HOOVERCOCKFAN]

We have some holes, but this team plays hard and doesn't quit. That's moving in the right direction.

 

[cockyferg]

We've been the beneficiary of a relatively easy schedule; let's see how we do against Georgia because Vandy has fallen apart.

Vandy will find some way to get their stuff together against us

 

[TheReelEss]

I agree with OP on most points. We are not vastly better than most of the teams we've beaten. That speaks to coaching for me. We've got an offense doing just enough to get by most of the time and a much better defense. I really expect the OL to get better next game as we have all the options back.

 

[coxman]

Agreed, but Marcus was also getting 30-40 carries per game....none of these backs are getting near that amount of touches.

I only remember one time that Marcus had over 30 carries.

 

[Rod Dangerfield]

I only remember one time that Marcus had over 30 carries.

I remember it fondly.

 

[world famous 3rd base hecklers]

I have to admit, there is no quit in this team...

But we still need to fire ROPER!

 

[HI Cock]

Agreed, but Marcus was also getting 30-40 carries per game....none of these backs are getting near that amount of touches.

No one in SEC is any more. Too dangerous.

 

[lowcountry_cock13]

I only remember one time that Marcus had over 30 carries.

Little over-exaggeration...he had a few games over 30 but most were upper 20s. I think one game he did have 40 though.

 

[Rod Dangerfield]

But we still need to fire ROPER!

This!

 

[Gamecockben1979]

Little over-exaggeration...he had a few games over 30 but most were upper 20s. I think one game he did have 40 though.

Don’t back down. 37 against UGA in 2010 and 40 against Florida. That was just one season and not including pass receptions. The man was our work horse

 

[JOEFANATIC]

We've been the beneficiary of a relatively easy schedule; let's see how we do against Georgia because Vandy has fallen apart.

have you seen what NC state and A&M have been doing.

 

[JOEFANATIC]

All I need to know is this team plays real hard, is improving and the culture is getting a whole lot healthier for winning. If you've got that, your on the right track.

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