Ole Miss Makes Their Debut as a Division-I Football Program
Everything You Want In a Moral Victory
Orgeron protests the Andre Smith, non-clip-tackle-maneuver in the first half
The Rebs showed lots of their new found spunk in one of the best losses at Bryant Denny Stadium eva!!!
Could it be that Orgeron outcoached Shula?
Could it be that Ole Miss is roughly "on the level" with Alabama, at this point and time?
I know that's not saying much, but everybody's gotta start somewhere!
Improvement = No Walk-ons sacrificed at the alter of Orgeron.
Here's a few game defining clips from the Rebel camp:
Thanks 'Dinkyballs'
how bout Shula not calling timeout with 40 seconds to go and 3rd and 3 at about midfield? he had 2 left! instead, we run to the line and throw some crap ass out pass to a double covered DJ Hall that is incomplete and we have to punt. can't blame that on lack of scholarships, talent, depth, etc., that was just pure poor clock management.
ReplyDeleteI thought Shula called a pretty good game overall. This game and the Florida game were the most aggressive games that he's called this year - we just have to do a better job of converting our scoring opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI liked the pass play called to Leron McClain that he dropped on the 2 for an easy score. I also thought that the playaction fake on the 4th down and 2 to Nick Walker was the perfect call in that situation. I think that John Parker just got a little too carried away when he saw how WIDE OPEN Walker was. We cannot afford to let EASY touchdowns slip through our fingers because of poor concentration.
I agree that Shula should have used a timeout instead of rushing a play to the line at the end of regulation. The timeouts are worthless if you don't convert, so make sure you convert before you worry about how many you have left.
The bottom line is that the game shouldn't have been as close as it was. The officiating in the SEC this year has been atrocious - as referenced by the blown holding call on Schaeffer's TD pass that tied the game.
I think that 9 times out of 10 we convert for TD's on Leron's drop and John Parker's overthrown pass. Making plays in those situations results in 31 points scored for Alabama and an easy win regardless of any blown calls by the officials. Oh well, a W is a W and I'll take any we can get. Ole Miss played a tough game and I give them credit for hanging around and giving themselves a chance to win at the end.
Nolan,
ReplyDeleteThe Blown calls went both ways! When Shula actually gets fired up enough to chew out Andre Smith for a clip, then the officials waive if off?!? How do you waive off a clip?!? Was the ball uncatchable? (that play resulted in a big first down and ultimately a field goal)
You know there are some shenanigans afoot.
Russ,
Nice jab! But you know that Bama and Ole Miss are playing at the same level. Ole Miss just plays alot tougher OOC schedule. (Missouri, Wake - Never thought tough would describle those teams)
haha, Except for Nebraska...We caught them at the beginning of the downward spiral.
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't get up for an Independace Bowl, anyway?
erik,
ReplyDeleteI might be thinking of a different play but the play that I remember Shula chewing Andre on the sideline was after a Keith Brown reverse that went for 9 yards. I didn't watch the replay of the game on TV (so I didn't get to really watch the play very closely) but I remembered watching the play live and also watching the replay on the jumbotron. I thought that Shula was chewing out Andre because he gave up on the play after he made his first block instead of continuing down the sideline to finish blocking for Keith downfield on the run.
I know that penalties happen on almost every play and that a lot of them go uncalled, but it chaps me when a defensive lineman gets penetration into the backfield (1:27 on the YouTube clip) only to be taken down by an offensive lineman before he can reach the QB, or at least put more pressure on him, as the QB throws a 50+ yard TD pass. You have to throw the flag on plays like that.
Alabama had a 70+ yard TD pass to Keith Brown called back in the Duke game because of a penalty. I wasn’t mad about it because I saw where the penalty occurred with my own eyes as it happened. Its plays like those that the officials have to be even more aware of what is going on because those scoring plays directly impact the outcome of the game. There should be no excuse for them missing a clipping penalty on a play that only goes for 9 yards, but it's even more critical that they make the right call if the same play goes for 99 yards and a game tying TD in the middle of the 4th quarter.
You'd probably have been just as upset if Ole Miss had the ball with a 7 point lead only to have an Alabama DB tackle an Ole Miss receiver for pass interference, intercept the ball, and then return it for a game tying TD without a penalty flag from the official.
I understand that blown calls go both ways and that Alabama benefited from a few just like Ole Miss did. A single missed call in an entire football game is one too many. It’s even more critical that the missed call does not occur on a play that directly impacts the outcome of the game. If Ole Miss had won that game in OT because of the game tying TD they had scored on that play, I’d be really pissed off right now.
We can argue blown calls that went either way all day, but in the end we’d both agree that the SEC officiating this year has been absolutely awful. I just really hate it for Florida. Regardless of when Chris Leak released that ball or if there was anyone in the area that could have caught it, his arm was moving forward when the ball left his hand, and the ball was never touched by the defender. Leak could have been trying to spike the ball into the ground – which is an incomplete pass – and it would have been completely in his right to do so at the cost of an intentional grounding penalty. Leak’s intent on the play – to spike it or attempt to tuck it – is irrelevant from the standpoint of an official’s ruling. The fact that the replay official upheld the fumble ruling is laughable and it’s a shame that the outcome of the game was directly influenced by that call.