Archive for December, 2008

Check out the Complete All-SEC Team at Team Speed Kills!

SEC Power Poll

All-SEC Selections: Safeties

Well, due to a complete lack of judgment on the part of the SEC Power Poll brain-trust, Gate 21 has been selected to announce the Power Poll All-SEC Team selections at safety.  The rest of the defensive positions are being announced today across the blogosphere as well.  Be sure to check them out:

• The Red Solo Cup: Defensive Line
• Garnet and Black Attack: Linebackers
• Save the Shield: Cornerbacks

And in case you didn’t get a chance to catch the offensive selections, they are already available at Team Speed Kills.

The envelope, please…

The 2008 Power Poll All-SEC Selections at Safety are: Eric Berry (Tennessee) and Rashad Johnson (Alabama).  The reasons behind these should be obvious, but in case they aren’t here’s why these two fine athletes are in a class of their own:

Eric Berry • 14

Tennessee Volunteers

5’11” • 195 • Sophomore • Safety

What can you really say about Eric Berry that hasn’t already been said?

This deep-ball predator is the sound of pain to backs and receivers in the open field, and a quarterback’s worst nightmare.  This defensive terror has amassed nearly every accolade possible in his two seasons at Tennessee.  He has broken almost every record for interceptions, some of which had stood for a very long time.  Berry holds records for most interceptions at UT in a single season (which previously stood for 37 years), most career interceptions at UT (39 years), SEC record for most interceptions in a season (52 years) and SEC most career interceptions (59 years).  He was named freshman defensive player of the year in 2007, as well as Freshman All-American.  As of the end of the 2008 season, he is 14 yards shy of breaking the NCAA all-time record for career interception return yardage of 501 yards (which has stood since 1989-91).  Most recently, he also garnered unanimous All-American honors.  On top of all of this he can now add one more prize to his trophy case:

Unanimous Selection: 2008 SEC Power Poll All-SEC Team

Oh, and, yes, he is just a sophomore…

Thus, it is understandable why some are already viewing Berry as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate for 2009 and 2010.  In my Sports Blog Heisman Ballot, I quoted an article which I believe describes Berry’s style of play about as well as any I’ve ever read:

The Vols’ athletic outlier plays the game like it’s on a sheet of ice and he’s the only one that brought skates. … Berry is the flower that’s sprouted in a compost heap of a year.

As a result, of Berry’s punishing style of play, the Vols’ defense finished 4th in the country in total defense, despite having a less than stellar record.

Even more impressive, however, is Berry’s never quit attitude on the field (even when down by 20-plus points) and his ability to dish out some mammoth hits.  But don’t take my word for it just give these a look (or ask Knowshon Moreno)…

Eric Berry vs. Knowshon Moreno

Eric Berry vs. the World

Berry’s statistics through the end of the 2008 regular season are:

I can only imagine what the SEC will see from Berry next season.  Either way, I’d be scared.

Rashad Johnson • 49

Alabama Crimson Tide

6’0” • 186 • Senior • Safety

Rashad Johnson started out as a walk on in Tuscaloosa, played under 2 different coaches, and singlehandedly willed himself into becoming one of the top safeties in the country.  This Alabama native ended with 5 interceptions on the season including the game-winning grab against the LSU Tigers in overtime.  His stats pretty much speak for themselves, and paint a picture of a young man in a hurry … to get to the ball that is.

Johnson capped off his senior season by being named 1st team All-American by the AFCA and 2nd team by the Walter Camp, Sporting News, and Associated Press voters as a safety.  This “converted” running back can now add SEC Power Poll All-SEC to his resume as well.

Now, Johnson has the pleasure of looking forward to an NFL career, as numerous teams have shown an interest.  As one of the senior leaders for Alabama this season, he will be sorely missed in 2009.  For now, however, he’s one of the Pride of the Tide.

Here’s a few highlights from Johnson’s senior campaign:

How the West was Won: Alabama vs. LSU

Johnson’s statistics through the end of the 2008 regular season are:

The Rest of All-SEC Team

You can check out the rest of the Power Poll All-SEC Team by visiting Team Speed Kills, where the complete team rundown will be posted Friday-ish.

– Go Figure …

Images Courtesy of: UT Sports • RollTide.com

Vols Outlast Marquette

Vols 80, Marquette 68

At least it wasn’t another loss.

It was another start, but fortunately Tennessee was able to fight their way back to a halftime tie Tuesday night in Nashville. As I was sitting watching a halftime show featuring two contestants who hit a combined two three-pointers in 35 seconds (no joke, one guy did not move his feet the entire time, not even jumping), I was expecting a battle in the second half. Honestly, I was excited for the promising outlook of a quality basketball game.

A small band of Marquette students made the trip and perched themselves right behind Section 120. Notice the guy on the left who at first glance appears to be painted completely gold and wearing just a Speedo (I was told it was actually a leotard)...

Well, then the men in striped shirts came out of the tunnel…

Seriously, great win for Tennessee and all, but I drove three hours in a cloudy, misty fog to watch Tennessee and Marquette play basketball, not for the referees to take over the show and call 54 fouls. If this doesn’t count as a “free-throw shooting contest” – 71 combined freebies – then I don’t know what is. And it wasn’t one-sided really or anything like that. It was just atrocious.

OK, enough of that rant. Amidst all the fouling, the game was entertaining to watch. The large Tennessee crowd was into it, and Marquette probably definitely had more fans in the Sommet Center than did Vanderbilt. Marquette is located in Milwaukee; Vandy is five minutes down the road. Fortunately for me, I didn’t get to the arena until the last four minutes of the South Florida-Vanderbilt snooze-fest the preceded the Vols-Eagles game. Even in those four minutes, I might as well been watching a couple D-2 schools…

OK, enough fun at Vanderbilt’s expense (oh yeah, our worst football team ever beat their first bowl team in 25 years…). As Ghost over at 3SIB so eloquently put it, this Tennessee team is frustrating to watch at times. For example, the three or four turnovers on alley-oop attempts that are clearly not there. Missed open and contested threes, which we fans aren’t used to (late first half comes to mind, when Maze had a WIDE-OPEN look from the wing in transition…and missed it). Failure to switch on some pick-and-rolls, leaving open looks at three for the opponent. Heck, even when Scotty Hopson chased down a loose ball right under the basket – and proceeded to not properly secure it and score two easy points – you can’t help but not be a little flustered.

All that said, this team fought through it – the fouls, the poor outside shooting, the stifling Marquette defense on Tyler Smith, the night Wes Matthews had, the late runs Marquette made, the last of which was silenced by this unlikely source…

After feeble and failed attempts at catching something YouTubeable and postable, Josh Tabb makes my night and essentially seals the win over Marquette. So, from all of us here at Gate 21 me, thank you, Josh Tabb.

And also a huge, HUGE thanks to Wayne Chism. Smilin’ Wayne showed up to the tune of 27 points, 11 board, 8-of-11 from the field and the line, and a pair of huge second half threes. After Marquette had made a mini-run to take a 48-46 lead, Chism scored 15 of Tennessee’s next 19 points, to forge the Vols to a 65-58 lead.

Tyler knocking down a pair of free throws from the Dominic James technical

Actually, you could argue that the Dominic James technical foul more or less turned the tide, as Tennessee took a six-point lead thanks to the pairs of free throws converted by Tyler Smith and Chism. After Lazar Hayward hit the three that Tabb answered, Marquette did not score.

As for the judging of Tennessee’s play, the defense was better, if only statistically. Yes, Marquette got too many open looks, a few of which Tennessee was fortunate to have not go down, but the Eagles made 8 threes and only 10 twos, and shot under 40% for the game, and in each half. It may have been a little iffy at times, but there were improvements in that area.

Three-point shooting is going to be an issue all year. Honestly, Renaldo Woolridge might be the most consistent guy in that aspect. He’s certainly not afraid of shooting. We’ve seen Cam Tatum go off. Still awaiting Scotty Hopson to have a “breakout” game with his beautiful, rainbow, nearly-hitting-the-center-hung-scoreboard it’s-got-so-much-arc J. It was good to see Tabb, the defensive stopper (kudos to him on guarding James most of the night), hit a big three in a tough spot.

Offensively, the Vols had no answer to Marquette’s trapping 1-3-1 zone until they started to attack it with the dribble. I think having J.P. Prince, who’s value as an experienced wing player and defender should no longer be underestimated, likely would have helped in that regard. Bobby Maze still isn’t quite there yet, but his play Tuesday was better than Saturday.

Yes, the JumboTron was high-quality, but showed NO replays all night, though I am not totally sure why...

But finally, back to Wayne. He has the upside, he just now needs to put solid performances together. And I wish people would quit groaning everytime he lines up a three. Like it or not, it’s part of the offense, people. He hits one of his four or five attempts each game, which is about what the other guys are doing anyways. That said, I think he needs to utilize his post game more, and look to earn trips to line, because he’s obviously worked on his free-throw stroke.

The Vols now have two home games to close out 2008, against Belmont Saturday afternoon and Louisiana-Lafayette the 29th. Then of course is the 2009-opening trip out to Lawrence to play Kansas January 3rd. I would say that’s the next test, but let’s not sleep on those Bruins. Just in the last week, Cleveland State won at Syracuse, Texas struggled with two in-state schools and Memphis beat Arkansas-Little Rock by all of 8 points. Let’s hope the young Vols can build off this W…

Vols getting pumped up before the game

This is simply too good not to post.

The inimitable LSUFreek having a little fun with Photoshop:

Auburn Tigers‘ AD Jay Jacobs taking a shoe-shot  after announcing Gene Chizik as new Tigers’ head coach.

• via: LSUFreek — Smash South Sports

Absolutely Priceless…

Marquette-Tennessee Mini-Preview

As I mentioned Sunday, I am about to head up a possibly icy I-40 to Nashville (from Memphis) to watch the SEC-Big East Invitational, which of course includes the Vols, off the rather embarrassing loss at Temple Saturday, and Baldy’s Commodores (unfortunately, I’ll be there someday as well).

If you thought Temple was good, there’s plenty of reason to think Marquette is plenty better. The Golden Eagles, out of the Big East (although I wouldn’t call Milwaukee as being in the East), are 8-1, with a notable win over Wisconsin at home, and a loss to Dayton in Chicago in a preseason tournament.

All you basically need to know about Marquette are the three outstanding guards: Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. James has seemingly been there forever, and turned down the NBA Draft last year to return. Matthews is the leading scorer at just under 20 ppg, and actually second on the team in rebounds (6 rpg). McNeal is the second-leading scorer and is also averaging 5 boards/game. Though it might seem that Marquette has no inside game, Lazar Hayward does average a double-double at only 6-foot-6. That said, the only players taller than 6′8” on the roster have played as many minutes as I have this year (that would be zero).

So obviously Tennessee should be able to exploit Marquette inside, right? Well, the recent play of Brian Williams and Wayne Chism should have you a little nervous if you’re a Tennessee fan. Those two have to come to play tonight and control the boards and take advantage of the lack of defenders that are bigger than they are.

Now I don’t mean to throw Big Baby and Weezy (Chism’s an asthmatic) under the bus since the recent struggles haven’t been totally their fault. The perimeter defense will be under quite a bit of pressure tonight with those Marquette guards. Don’t expect too much press tonight, or at least I don’t. I know it’s a staple of Tennessee under Bruce Pearl, but I have little reason to think Marquette will have too much trouble with it.

Another thing to point out is that after James, McNeal, Hayward, and Matthews, the next player in ppg is Maurice Acker, who has scored in double figures all of once this year. Marquette does go 9-deep, but there isn’t much scoring after the big four. I also don’t expect J.P. Prince to play either.

This should be a home game for Tennessee for all intents and purposes, and it provides a great chance to repair the damaged reputation from Saturday’s blowout loss to Temple. Hopefully I’ll have some photos and videos from tonight’s game that I can put up here. I will not say that I’m expecting a Tennessee loss because I never, ever pick against Tennessee or think our hoops team will absolutely 100% lose a game (football…not so much…), but this will be a very tough test for the Vols. Nevertheless, it should be a fun game to watch and be at, so obviously I’m looking forward to that

GO VOLS!!

“This is our world. If I can speak freely here, it’s about pride, it’s about commitment, it’s about trusting everybody next to you.  So, to walk your ass out of here is about as bad a deal as you could possibly do to that group of guys.“

Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable on Lane Kiffin hiring staff away from the Raiders

• via Raiders Blog and Q&A: Kiffin raids the staff

• HT to the Right Honorable Senator Blutarsky of Get the Picture

Now, I guess Tom Cable not only has to coach the Raiders, but also has to do Davis’ laundry.  Oh well…

I suppose a new tradition is beginning.

Heh…

Well, in case you were so overcome with joy at the news that “Kiffin the Elder” (a/k/a “The Full Monte”) would be joining Coach Kiffin next Fall in Knoxville—and I can completely understand why you might be—the news out of Auburn is much less pleasant.

Apparently, “War Eagles” are cannibals because at present, the Auburn Tigers are voraciously eating their own…

First of all, I want to make it absolutely clear that I am not purporting to offer any thoughts on whether Gene Chizik was a good hire from a “football” perspective.  First, aside from my remembering that Chizik was on the Auburn staff as a defensive coordinator in the 2004-ish era, I really don’t know enough about the man’s essentials to assess him one way of the other.  I have never been (nor do I plan to become) a devoted follower of the Iowa State Cyclones either, thus I also lack the knowledge to weigh whether Chizik’s 5-19 record as the head coach in Ames really means that much or not.

Second, as a Tennessee fan, I have little room and even less desire to point out the shortcomings of other programs at this particular point in time (“ahem… pot, meet kettle”)…

Third, I don’t have to really even get into the substance of Chizik’s qualifications to realize that all hell has broken loose on the Plains.

There are some very restless natives in Auburn.

Since Gene Chizik’s announcement as the new head coach, the Tiger faithful have literally declared a civil war on a scale which boggles the mind and confounds reason.  The only reaction I have been able to draw thus far is that, based purely upon the reaction of the fans, alumni, and talking heads—completely irrespective of his abilities—Gene Chizik is going to have a very tough time winning at Auburn.

The reason for this is that, with the exception of Auburn AD Jay Jacobs, and perhaps Kirk Herbstreit, there appears to be no one among the Tiger faithful who is, was, or believes that they will ever be happy with this hire.  Of course, this is an understatement of prodigious proportions—somewhat akin to saying that GM is undergoing a “minor financial adjustment” or that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has made some “unpopular decisions.”  Only two words accurately describe the situation among the Aubies:

Cataclysmic Meltdown.

For example, listen to the guy ranting and raving in the background as Jay Jacobs returns to Auburn after sealing the deal with Chizik over the weekend.

Jay Jacobs Gets a Welcome Back to Auburn

Wow, now that is some serious fan support!

Now, mind you this is occurring before the official announcement has even been made.  This was not, however an isolated incident.

This pretty much sums up the thoughts in Auburn

Over at Track ‘em Tigers, the reaction was enough to induce vomiting (you simply have to read through some of the comments), and I am pretty certain that a few of the commenters have since committed suicide.  In particular, the guy who wrote this letter:

Mr. Jacobs

I have no words to express how I feel about the hiring of Chizik as the head football coach at Auburn University. How can anyone be this devoid of wisdom. I have been an Auburn fan for 40 years. I went to school during the Barfield years for goodness sake. During this entire period I have never once even considered wavering in my allegiance to Auburn.

As of now I will turn in my tickets. (scholarship) I will not send another dime of support to the University, and I will join all efforts towards the removal of you and everyone else involved in this ridiculous hire.

You and Dr. Gogue may think you can sit in your ivory towers protected by the powers that be, (and you know to whom I am referring) but you forget Auburn is a grassroots university. Hard working men and women made Auburn the great university it is today. I hold fast to the belief that it is the spirit that lives in these same men and women which will cause us to band together and throw you and the rest of your crowd out on your ears.

It cannot happen soon enough!!!!

• via: Track ‘em Tigers — WarEagle99

The comments over at al.com’s Gold Mine Blog were fairly similar in their lack of … excitement.  My personal favorite was:

Excuse me while I go take down generations of Auburn memorabilia and burn my diploma.

• via: al.com — BigBlueHey

Of course, we all know that comments are often submitted in the heat of the moment, and are less than well thought out—I’m as guilty of that as anyone.  The bad news is that, by and large, even the cooler heads have shown strong misgivings at the hiring of Chizik.  One such “cooler head” is that of Will Collier at From the Bleachers who writes:

All that stuff about “don’t panic” and “they sky is not falling” and “Auburn will hire a good coach?” Never mind all that. Dogs and cats are, in fact, living together in the luxury suites of Jordan-Hare Stadium.

* * * * *

Gene Chizik is almost certainly the worst candidate interviewed during this utter farce of a coaching search. He is a poor recruiter who has completely failed to date as a head coach. Chizik’s own friends in the coaching community openly scoff at the idea of him being a head coach for a major program.

For Auburn’s program, he will be the equivalent of Mike DuBose, although hopefully without the cheating.

* * * * *

I don’t say this lightly, but, Fire Jay Jacobs. And while you’re at it, fire his buddy Tim Jackson, who inexplicably was invited along for the interviews, despite the fact that Jackson is Auburn’s… ticket manager. That makes as much sense as asking a halfwit greenskeeper to sit in on interviews for a corporate CEO.

• via: From the Bleachers

Two more particularly well done pieces can be found at The War Eagle Reader and The Pigskin Pathos as well as some ranting and raving from A Lifetime of Defeats.

All of this begs the question, when does exercising your constitutionally (and in my opinion morally) protected “bitching license” leave you in the proverbial Catch-22?  It seems to me that even if Gene Chizik were the second coming of Vince Lombardi or (to put it more into context) Shug Jordan, that he is now doomed to fail.  In other words, no matter how good he is as a coach, he is already disliked by the fanbase before a single down of football has been played.  I understand that the Auburn faithful are not happy with the hire, and that many feel Tommy Tuberville was essentially fired for no good reason, but at the end of the day if you are an Auburn fan, if you don’t rally around your new coach, it is all but assured that the program will implode for at least 2-5 years, if not more.

Fortunately for Auburn, some of those in the blogosphere have recognized this, including Joe Cribbs Car Wash and Fields of Donahue who writes:

Alright, our new head coach is Gene Chizik.

We’re not happy.

It sucks.

The only thing to do now is support him. I don’t care if he was miserably bad at Iowa State. He is our coach now, and we need to get behind him…

• via: Fields of Donahue

I feel for the Auburn folks.  The Tennessee Volunteers are just coming out of the gloom of what is, without question, the single most difficult football season I’ve ever lived through.  All season long Orange Nation spent a great deal of time ripping one another to shreds before Smiling Mike Hamilton and the Great Punkin finally quieted things.  Like it or not, at least Smiling Mike had the decency and good sense to address the issue with Fulmer in as transparent and public a manner as was probably possible.  That helped start the healing process, and probably accounts for the general sense of excitement surrounding the ascendancy of the Blackjack General as Tennessee’s new football coach, despite the fact that many still have questions about his experience.  That is also precisely why Auburn AD Jay Jacobs is currently public enemy number one down on the Plains.  Still the situations are really not all that dissimilar.

That’s the odd thing.  From where I am sitting—from a purely “factual” perspective—both Tennessee and Auburn are looking at largely untested and unknown head coaches putting on their headsets next fall.  The only difference is that Tennessee is doing everything it possibly can to help boost their new skipper to success, while it seems that Auburn is obliterating every possible chance for their new hire to enjoy the same.  Both men have a tough road and a lot of work ahead of them, but—as things currently stand—it would appear that Kiffin has a much better chance of success simply because the fanbase is uniting behind him.

Right now, I am really appreciating Smiling Mike…

Hopefully, the Tennessee fans out there who are quick to attack will pay attention to this debacle at Auburn and learn.  Sometimes you have to come together, sometimes you have to put differences aside, sometimes you have to bite your tongue.  That is what it means to be part of a team or, as I have described it, a family.  Establishing a tradition always requires unity and sacrifice.

Learn from this, Orange Nation, lest you follow the Tigers down that bitter primrose path…

– Go Figure …

Image Courtesy of:  Joe Cribbs Car Wash

Check out the Full Poll Results at Garnet and Black Attack!

SEC Power Poll All-SEC Team

Well, my good friends over at Garnet and Black Attack—who bring you the SEC Power Poll—have decided that the Power Poll voters have just as much right to name an All-SEC team as we do to rank the SEC teams on a weekly basis (that would be none, but we do it anyway).  Thus, soon the first ever SEC Power Poll All-SEC team will be released for all to admire.

Either way, here’s my ballot for the SEC Power Poll All-SEC Team.  Feel free to enlighten me if you think I have missed someone or been led astray…

In all its radiant glory:

Offense:

• QB:   Tim Tebow (Florida)
• RB:   Knowshon Moreno (Georgia)
• RB:   Glen Coffee (Alabama)
• WR:  Julio Jones (Alabama)
• WR:  Mohamed Massaquoi (Georgia)
• TE:   Jared Cook (South Carolina)
• C:     Jonathan Luigs (Arkansas)
• OL:   Anthony Parker (Tennessee)
• OL:   John Jerry (Ole Miss)
• OL:   Herman Johnson (LSU)
• OL:   Phil Trautwein (Florida)

Defense:

• DE:   Rahim Alem (LSU)
• DE:   Robert Ayers (Tennessee)
• DT:   Terrence Cody (Alabama)
• DT:   Peria Jerry (Ole Miss)
• LB:   Patrick Benoist (Vanderbilt)
• LB:   Jasper Brinkley (South Carolina)
• LB:   Rolando McLain (Alabama)
• CB:   D.J. Moore (Vanderbilt)
• CB:   Trenard Lindley (Kentucky)
• S:     Eric Berry (Tennessee)
• S:     Emanuel Cook (South Carolina)

Special Teams:

• K:     Colt David (LSU)
• KR:   Brandon James (Florida)
• P:     Brian Mims (Georgia)
• PR:   Javier Arenas (Alabama)

Coach of the Year:

Not that anyone asked me, but for my two cents I believe that the Right Reverend Houston Nutt has more than earned SEC Coach of the Year honors.  I’ll also give Nick Saban an honorable mention at second place for this award.

Totals by Team:

Here are the total number of selections by team from my ballot, with Alabama coming out far ahead of everyone.

	Alabama Crimson Tide	6		Ole Miss Rebels	2
	Georgia Bulldogs	3		Vanderbilt Commodores	2
	LSU Tigers	3		Arkansas Razorbacks	1
	South Carolina Gamecocks	3		Kentucky Wildcats	1
	Tennessee Volunteers	3		Auburn Tigers	0
	Florida Gators	2		Mississippi State Bulldogs	0

The Rest of the Power Poll

Now that you have wasted your time looking at my ballot for the SEC Power Poll All-SEC Team, go check out what everybody else is saying over at Garnet and Black Attack, where the final poll results will be posted in the coming days.

– Go Figure …