Was Spurrier Wrong?

[SportyCock]

I don't think Spurrier was wrong to say we could challenge for the SEC this past year. When he said it we had Sidney Rice and Jasper Brinkley, our two best players and potential All-Americans, both. Furthermore, these two could have solved two of our four problems, ie run defense and another receiver besides McKinley. (The O-line would have still been our biggest weakness, and special teams would have still been a disappointment, though Spurrier had reason to expect improvement there.)

These two would have definitely gotten us through Vandy and TN in the SEC, and Clemson. That makes us 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the SEC East, finishing second to GA (6-2) via winning the tiebreaker with TN (5-3 with loss to us).:happycoc:

Brinkley would have also relieved a lot of the stress and pressure, not to mention direct wear and tear (Brinkley making tackles before Cook had to), that eventually broke down our defense with injuries and plain old tiredness. The loss of Nathan Pepper, the disabling shoulder injury to Isaac and the shorter-lived injuries to Cook and Munnerlyn, changed the team's abilities/potential dramatically. Sure every team has injuries/losses, but not usually to so many or to such critical contributors.

I think the cumulative wear and tear that came from the loss of Brinkley and Pepper, compounded by the injuries in the secondary lead to the breakdown in effort on defense that resulted in the blowout games against Arkansas and Florida. Could we have beaten either one of these teams without the breakdown in effort on defense, and with Brinkley at linebacker? Of course we could have. Just one of the two puts us in a tie with GA and we win the tiebreaker.:wink:

Moreover, Rice would have challenged defenses and pulled double coverage, opening up the run as well as the pass. This would have relieved the pressure to try Smelley at QB and kept Mitchell's confidence up. A better performing offense also takes pressure off the defense, which carried us through the first half of the season. If we score more and sooner in games, opponents are forced to pass more to catch up. Do ya think that would have played into our hands?:thumbsup:

I'm sure other teams had injuries and losses to early draft entry, though I doubt any had such critical losses. But the point is that when Spurrier made this prediction, at the stadium upon arriving back from the bowl win, he had very good reasons to make it.

[SNEEZ]

we went 6-6 overall and 2-3 in the EAST

yes I'd say he was wrong.

[jellafever]

you cant go 2-4 in the east.

[Dr. Cock]

Not a bad post, but even Spurrier himself admitted he shouldn't have said that we we're ready to challenge. We have the starting talent in the skill player positions, but we still lack big uglies and even further lack quality depth.

[TheGuitarCock]

I don't see anything wrong. He said we were ready to "Compete" not win. Everyone trys to "compete".

We are at the level where we can...just think, we show up against Vandy, Land on a fumble in Knoxville and Uf is our only loss in the east

[Dr. Cock]

I don't see anything wrong. He said we were ready to "Compete" not win. Everyone trys to "compete".

We are at the level where we can...just think, we show up against Vandy, Land on a fumble in Knoxville and Uf is our only loss in the east

You have to be careful with that logic though. What if E Cook doesn't deflect the endzone pass against UGA? What if UNC catches that Hail Mary pass at the end? It can always go either way. The best thing to do is to just make your breaks, but luck will always be a factor in football. Unfortunately, we are rarely on the receiving end of it. Even further is the fact that we need to learn to capitilize on those oppurtunities we do receive it as well.

[Click]

He may have been wrong in the end, but setting high expectations is something I think is needed at USC because we're capable of doing it. Like SOS said "why not us?"

[TheGuitarCock]

You have to be careful with that logic though. What if E Cook doesn't deflect the endzone pass against UGA? What if UNC catches that Hail Mary pass at the end? It can always go either way. The best thing to do is to just make your breaks, but luck will always be a factor in football. Unfortunately, we are rarely on the receiving end of it. Even further is the fact that we need to learn to capitilize on those oppurtunities we do receive it as well.



:clap:

[roosterrizk1]

Dr Cock,

What if we recover fumbles against UT and don't turnt he ball over 15 times over our last 3 games. Hindsight is 20-20. If we recover the fumble against UT the game was over.

[Spurticus]

He wasn't wrong in the assesment that we could contend for the Eastern Conference Title. He was wrong in believing the players wanted it as much as he did and wrong in believing the players could play football at the level of their potential.

That to me was the most frustrating part of the collapes. Even with Brinkley and Pepper out, there's no way we should have lost to Clemson or Vanderbilt this year AT LEAST.
I saw some disaster looming down the road, but felt even at that, we were an 8-4 team. . . . This team had the potential to win 10 games this season but ended up losing 3 games that were very winable even with the embarassments at the hands of Arkansas and Florida. The biggest one was Vanderbilt. . . . That's a game we should have won with our practice team on the field (say what you want to about Vandy being an improved team, but we've beaten better Vandy teams with FAR less talent than we had on the field this past year). That game gets us in a bowl game dispite the other losses. Clemson and UT were games that reeked of "come take it" and we didn't want to win it.

A lot of people have opinions about what happened and most of those opinions point to coaches. I however don't agree that our coaches were the cause of that trainwreck. . . . . . Decent coaches could have had a much better season doing less with the players that ours have done, but the problem (I Think) is, when coaches instruct, they naturally assume that Players want to win games. . . . Ours do not. It's hard to win consistantly anywhere, but it's even harder to win consistantly in the SEC (more specifically, the SEC East). You have to go way beyond basics and way beyond your best effort to win here and that comes from within. It can be told to your players that they need to reach beyond your limits of endurance, and strength when the game is on the line, but unless the players believe they can . . .you might as well be saying the same thing to the Cheerleaders and waterboys. All coaches can do is keep putting guys in until they find someone who can take "potential" from the practice field, to "maximum effort" on the playing field. . . . . . ie: Deon Lecorn.
He was passed over for reps during the game for pretty much every other receiver on the roster, but when he got his chance, he proved he has GAME. These are the kids we have to find and put on the field. It may be the ones who are so-so during the week, but when the whistle sounds and it's time to hit someone, the light comes on. . . . . the ones with a warrior mentality. Right now, we don't have nearly enough of those guys on the field at the same time.

[Dr. Cock]

Dr Cock,

What if we recover fumbles against UT and don't turnt he ball over 15 times over our last 3 games. Hindsight is 20-20. If we recover the fumble against UT the game was over.

Like I said, it goes either way. We could have recovered that fumble and won the game, but UNC could have caught that pass and we could have lost to them. It always tends to balance itself out in the end more than people think.

However, I will say that luck is simply probability taken a personal level. It can be manipulated and the odds can be increased towards another team's favor, with some situations holding more bearing than others.

[Kendalls Daddy]

I don't think Spurrier was wrong. On paper we had a better team that showed up. 5th year QB(who was suspended), better D Line(lost Pepper and Jordin Lindsay dnp), great LBs(lost Jasper) and good dbs(Munnerlyn may have been a difference vs Clemson). Both Rbs were back and we had a handful of WRs that were gamebreakers(McKinfley and Lecorn were the only 2 that stepped up)..Better Special teams(didn't happen).
Did he know that we would allow 500 yds to Ark on the ground? Probaly not. He probaly thought his players would show up and beat Vandy. We lost to CU and TN on FGs as the last play of the game. Beating UGA at their place is evidence we should've competed. Plus, we won out last year and a W in the bowl game against a good Houston team + a top 5 recruiting class.
He had plenty of reason to make that statement. Now, he should have more questions in the offseason to answer in order to make the same statement next year.

[RHHS8068]

No, he was not wrong.

He didn't say we'd win the East. He said we'd compete. He beat the #2 team in the East in Athens and lost to the #1 team in the East in OT in Knox.

We completed. We just didn't win it.

[Forkcock]

Players have to know in their heart that a coach thinks that they can win.

[OLDCOCK]

No he was not! He just as we thought these kids would progress better than the kids from last yr! Lets start at the beginning. 1st of all he anticipated having Rice back! 2ndly he could not anticipate the loss of Jap which in fact was a killer to the defense! We also lost our biggest and most physical DE Pepper which might have been the biggest loss of the yr!! It caused a chain reaction of moves which weaken us to the point where we could not physically match up with most foes we just diddnt have the depth yet! To make matters worst early probably our best cover guy Issac rehurt a shoulder which limited our sec to the point that C thomas was a main cover guy and he is just not that type player yet. Then in the end we lost Munnerlyn which did cripple us in the sec and actually forced true freshman to have to cover 1 on 1 which they were not ready for! The offensive line was the culprit again early in the season and obc was told by Hunt that it would be much better this yr and would be ready from the git go ! Wrong on both counts!! It was worst and it took longer top get them together and they never really fully reached the level that last yr unit got to! The Qb issues were something I believe to be OBCs fault because Blake was clearly our best option for the start he made a bad call there. The wide reciever issue started when Sid did not come back .Mckinnely clearly was not a no1 at the start and we had a TE for a 2! He hoped some of the fresh wide outs would blossom early and they just were not able to grasp the offense well enough to contibute! It is a pretty complex passing system of time routes and reading defenses. 1 thing after another including the complete collaspe of our special teams which was thought to be in the good hands of Beamer and Chatam turned out to be a complete farce all season long and never got fixed! What we did do is get loads of experience for our younger guys we also had 3 guys make 1st team SEC which I dont believe has ever happened to us! A yr under the belt of all these young guys and a good recruiting effort will only add depth and give us more reason to believe the road we are on is the right 1. I for one dont know how he held it together as well as he did. Our offense will change a little this coming yr because of the yr we just experienced- We will be much better and more prepaired for the tough time any team experiences in the SEC. I believe the building blocks are being put in the correct places and we are headed in the fast lane to championship calibre football . Have faith my freinds we will be there shortly!

[SangareeCrew]

Spurticus, I think you are dead on with your post. Too many times it seemed as if our guys just didn't want it as much as the other team did.......hopefully this problem can be corrected......i think the coaches now know what to work on, and hopefully the players will be embarrassed enough about how this season went to really step it up next season. I also think having a charismatic leader at QB can help out a lot. Having Brinkley back on defense should provide a similar type leader to that unit, and he will make a great mentor for Norwood, Cook, Munnerlyn, etc. I happen to be optimistic about next season.....I think we will win 8-9 games or so.......really all we have to do is give it 150% every time out.......we complain about not getting the breaks, I say we go out next season and MAKE the breaks go our way...that's what great teams do.

[ConwayGamecock]

He wasn't wrong in the assesment that we could contend for the Eastern Conference Title. He was wrong in believing the players wanted it as much as he did and wrong in believing the players could play football at the level of their potential.

That to me was the most frustrating part of the collapes. Even with Brinkley and Pepper out, there's no way we should have lost to Clemson or Vanderbilt this year AT LEAST.
I saw some disaster looming down the road, but felt even at that, we were an 8-4 team. . . . This team had the potential to win 10 games this season but ended up losing 3 games that were very winable even with the embarassments at the hands of Arkansas and Florida. The biggest one was Vanderbilt. . . . That's a game we should have won with our practice team on the field (say what you want to about Vandy being an improved team, but we've beaten better Vandy teams with FAR less talent than we had on the field this past year). That game gets us in a bowl game dispite the other losses. Clemson and UT were games that reeked of "come take it" and we didn't want to win it.

A lot of people have opinions about what happened and most of those opinions point to coaches. I however don't agree that our coaches were the cause of that trainwreck. . . . . . Decent coaches could have had a much better season doing less with the players that ours have done, but the problem (I Think) is, when coaches instruct, they naturally assume that Players want to win games. . . . Ours do not. It's hard to win consistantly anywhere, but it's even harder to win consistantly in the SEC (more specifically, the SEC East). You have to go way beyond basics and way beyond your best effort to win here and that comes from within. It can be told to your players that they need to reach beyond your limits of endurance, and strength when the game is on the line, but unless the players believe they can . . .you might as well be saying the same thing to the Cheerleaders and waterboys. All coaches can do is keep putting guys in until they find someone who can take "potential" from the practice field, to "maximum effort" on the playing field. . . . . . ie: Deon Lecorn.
He was passed over for reps during the game for pretty much every other receiver on the roster, but when he got his chance, he proved he has GAME. These are the kids we have to find and put on the field. It may be the ones who are so-so during the week, but when the whistle sounds and it's time to hit someone, the light comes on. . . . . the ones with a warrior mentality. Right now, we don't have nearly enough of those guys on the field at the same time.

I agree with this 100%: our offense never really became an effective, disciplined offense. Our defense was the main reason we were 6-1 and 3-1 in the SEC, but our O-line could - or would - never develop into a dependable blocking unit, either for running or passing. Our young WR's were slow to develop into players that could produce anything more than a token reception per game. Our QB position was in turmoil for 60% of the season.

Even with the rushing defense issues, our D held firm for as long as they could. If our offense was able to just play moderate ball, without all the foot-shooting, rally-killing turnovers, penalties and missed assignments, IMO we would've beaten Vandy, Tennessee, and Clemson. We would've finished 9-3 instead of 6-6. And 5-3 in the SEC, instead of 3-5. And the game with Florida would've been a hell of a lot closer than it was, although we still would've lost, IMO. Georgia would've won the East, and we'd be tied with UF and UT for 2nd. We would've competed for the East right up until the last game with Florida, which is what Spurrier predicted we would do.

But like Spurticus said, our players needed to compete, and they didn't on offense. I was tired of seeing our opponents come out for games - even at W-B - fired up and pumped, and then watch our guys just run out onto the field like another day at the office. I was tired of seeing opposing D's keep blocking past the whistle, while many of our guys would stop once they see the play didn't involve them, even BEFORE the whistle. They need to learn to take more pride in what they're doing on the field.

USC led the SEC in QB sacks allowed, and led the SEC in false starts for the O-line, and our run offense was dead last in the SEC, despite having a top RB in Cory Boyd.

[ConwayGamecock]

Although I will say, Spurrier was standing by his comments even through the SEC coach's media day in July, so I don't think the idea that Rice was returning for 2007 played that big a part in his prediction....

[garnet4ever]

All coaches can do is keep putting guys in until they find someone who can take "potential" from the practice field, to "maximum effort" on the playing field. . . . . . ie: Deon Lecorn.
He was passed over for reps during the game for pretty much every other receiver on the roster, but when he got his chance, he proved he has GAME. These are the kids we have to find and put on the field. It may be the ones who are so-so during the week, but when the whistle sounds and it's time to hit someone, the light comes on. . . . . the ones with a warrior mentality. Right now, we don't have nearly enough of those guys on the field at the same time.

I talked about that in a thread during the season. Some guys don't practice well, but once they get on the field they're totally different. Anyone can go through the routines, but can they make it on the field ... glad to see you commented on that ...

[superstar90]

He wasn't wrong in the assesment that we could contend for the Eastern Conference Title. He was wrong in believing the players wanted it as much as he did and wrong in believing the players could play football at the level of their potential.

That to me was the most frustrating part of the collapes. Even with Brinkley and Pepper out, there's no way we should have lost to Clemson or Vanderbilt this year AT LEAST.
I saw some disaster looming down the road, but felt even at that, we were an 8-4 team. . . . This team had the potential to win 10 games this season but ended up losing 3 games that were very winable even with the embarassments at the hands of Arkansas and Florida. The biggest one was Vanderbilt. . . . That's a game we should have won with our practice team on the field (say what you want to about Vandy being an improved team, but we've beaten better Vandy teams with FAR less talent than we had on the field this past year). That game gets us in a bowl game dispite the other losses. Clemson and UT were games that reeked of "come take it" and we didn't want to win it.

A lot of people have opinions about what happened and most of those opinions point to coaches. I however don't agree that our coaches were the cause of that trainwreck. . . . . . Decent coaches could have had a much better season doing less with the players that ours have done, but the problem (I Think) is, when coaches instruct, they naturally assume that Players want to win games. . . . Ours do not. It's hard to win consistantly anywhere, but it's even harder to win consistantly in the SEC (more specifically, the SEC East). You have to go way beyond basics and way beyond your best effort to win here and that comes from within. It can be told to your players that they need to reach beyond your limits of endurance, and strength when the game is on the line, but unless the players believe they can . . .you might as well be saying the same thing to the Cheerleaders and waterboys. All coaches can do is keep putting guys in until they find someone who can take "potential" from the practice field, to "maximum effort" on the playing field. . . . . . ie: Deon Lecorn.
He was passed over for reps during the game for pretty much every other receiver on the roster, but when he got his chance, he proved he has GAME. These are the kids we have to find and put on the field. It may be the ones who are so-so during the week, but when the whistle sounds and it's time to hit someone, the light comes on. . . . . the ones with a warrior mentality. Right now, we don't have nearly enough of those guys on the field at the same time.



That part in bold there is somewhat true in my mind, but the coaches still deserve a good bit of the blame and SOS would admit that in a minute. I really believe Nix had two of the worst gameplans ever in the Ark. and UF game. They all have bad days as coaches, but he really laid an egg there. It's kind of hard as a player to keep going wide open when you lose faith in the play calling. Even SOS had some bad play calling. I saw more this season than the first two combined. SOS seemed determined to do some things when we just didn't have the line to do it, and it cost us. ex: Vandy couldn't stop us from running the ball, but coach decided to put the ball in the air and we never recovered.
I do agree though at times our guys just seemed slow and lazy, but I don't know what the problem is. Most of that lack of effort seemed to come from the Oline, and I believe after 8 or 9 games of the same crappy Oline play it started to wear on the rest of the team.

[bgallup]

I think Spurrier was correct in assuming we could compete for the East. Just like he will next year. If Spurrier thought for 1 second his team was either not able or not willing to Compete for it he would say it. My biggest disappointment the whole year was loosing to Vandy. Saying that, Vandy blew it against UGA and Tenn. The 2 best teams in the league. I'm not even as upset about the Clemson game as most people. I know we really blew the game early with the blocked punts and turnovers. But when it came time to win the game the defensive coaches handcuffed us. Clemson has tons more experience and more talent than we do now. Not saying our guys wont be better one day.

I'm fine with the way the season turned out for the most part. Only because i know we will get better, Having said that, next year we need to see major improvement and the year after. I think we are way better off now than when Spurrier got this team from Holtz!

[Acockolypse Now]

Decent coaches could have had a much better season doing less with the players that ours have done, but the problem (I Think) is, when coaches instruct, they naturally assume that Players want to win games. . . . Ours do not. It's hard to win consistantly anywhere, but it's even harder to win consistantly in the SEC (more specifically, the SEC East). You have to go way beyond basics and way beyond your best effort to win here and that comes from within. It can be told to your players that they need to reach beyond your limits of endurance, and strength when the game is on the line, but unless the players believe they can . . .you might as well be saying the same thing to the Cheerleaders and waterboys. All coaches can do is keep putting guys in until they find someone who can take "potential" from the practice field, to "maximum effort" on the playing field. . . . . . ie: Deon Lecorn.
He was passed over for reps during the game for pretty much every other receiver on the roster, but when he got his chance, he proved he has GAME. These are the kids we have to find and put on the field. It may be the ones who are so-so during the week, but when the whistle sounds and it's time to hit someone, the light comes on. . . . . the ones with a warrior mentality. Right now, we don't have nearly enough of those guys on the field at the same time.

That might be the best post of the year.

Amen, I'd watch Cory and wonder what our team would be like if they all had his heart and desire.

[Hopefultiger]

Dont be too hard on your guys. It's got to be hard to play at your best week after week. USC is not alone. Clemson played to lose vs USC as well. Looking around Div I you see every top 10 team got beat by someone ... usually someone they were better than.

[willy]

Of course he was wrong. If he had been right then we would have a much better record than 6-6.

[Will4144]

He wasn't wrong. Florida was the only SEC East team that handed us our arses. We should've beaten Vanderbilt and Tennessee. If we would've played like we were capable of, we'd be 8-4 and going to a bowl as we would've been third in the SEC East behind Georgia and Florida.

But we didn't play big in every game, so let's just hope our team learned its lesson.

[snoopcockycock]

he definitely was NOT wrong!!! we did challenge for the title. we were number six in the bcs, on top of the sec east, half way through the season. not only were we challenging for it, we were leading for it. but with the injuries we faced, which caused us to put extremely young and inexperienced players, at positions that they do not play, we lost what we had going.
remember, for those of you who say don't make injuries an excuse, this is the first and only year i have ever seen a spurrier coached team, who not only did not improve as the season went along, but actually regressed. i have never seen that, ever! so i think the injuries we sustained are not an excuse, but a reality.

[SC Sandlapper]

Silly question. He was embarrasingly wrong.

[willy]

He wasn't wrong. Florida was the only SEC East team that handed us our arses. We should've beaten Vanderbilt and Tennessee. If we would've played like we were capable of, we'd be 8-4 and going to a bowl as we would've been third in the SEC East behind Georgia and Florida.

But we didn't play big in every game, so let's just hope our team learned its lesson.


Yes and if frogs had wings

[crowcutta]

we should have competed for the east title even with the injuries. we blew the tenneessee and vandy games by committing just enough turnovers and having just enough dumb mistakes to make it difficult to win.
then maybe we go out and play a little better against arkansas and florida, since either of those games clinch the sec east. or maybe we get thrashed again, who knows. 2008 is hopefully the year we stop doing what ifs

[Ga_Gamecock]

We are at the level where we can...just think, we show up against Vandy, Land on a fumble in Knoxville and Uf is our only loss in the east
Great point. The season wasnt as bad as the record shows. if we edge vandy and comeback to beat UT our fans would say "good teams find a way to win. we are obviously a good team" regardless how bad we would have played in each of those games ...

Plus rice was a big missing piece of the puzzle. i said that losing him would cost us at least 2 games this year simply due to us missing his playmaking ability and the way Ds would have to shift focus to him. guys like that change the game.

but even with his departure we were a few plays away from SECE contention ... that bodes well for our future IMO

[mickeyrivers]

Dont be too hard on your guys. It's got to be hard to play at your best week after week. USC is not alone. Clemson played to lose vs USC as well. Looking around Div I you see every top 10 team got beat by someone ... usually someone they were better than.
go watch the clemson game... watch mike davis attempt to "block" the guy rushing the kicker on the first punt block. that is the kind of crap we need to get rid of in the football program.

i can handle losing games. being a gamecock fan i'm used to it. what gets under my skin is watching players go through the motions.

[uscnoklahoma]

I don't see anything wrong. He said we were ready to "Compete" not win. Everyone trys to "compete".

We are at the level where we can...just think, we show up against Vandy, Land on a fumble in Knoxville and Uf is our only loss in the east
You can just about say that for every year we have fielded a football team. Look at 2005 for exhibit A, 2006 for exhibit B, and several 1980 something years for exhibit C

[bigmuthafooka]

i think he was right, i mean we should have beatin Vandy and Tennessee, but it did'nt happen, so that 2 losses there, we played LSU in LSU, and now they are in the NC game, we played a good Florida team, and we upset a really good Georgia team, we had the talent we just did'nt have the work ethic

[GVegasCock]

No way he was wrong. I think he was being optimistic; he expected to improve this year and we did not. To those who say he was wrong, what do you think he will say at next year's SEC media days? I surely do NOT expect him to say that we aren't ready to COMPETE for the SEC title. We were very competitive with UGA and UT; had bad games against Vandy and UF. I expect to beat Vandy and UT next year. I expect to be competitive with UGA and yes, even UF. LSU will be tough.

[SC Sandlapper]

If if if, woulda, coulda, shoulda. Nobody cares what we almost did.

Spurrier and the Gamecocks need to do their talking on the field and not in the media, making bold predictions we can't back up.

Here's my bold prediction: He won't make the same mistake next season.

[uscnoklahoma]

6-6= failure....not even close to competing...some of you guys absolutely crack me up. I would not wanting you running our education system...that's for damn sure. I can see some of the bird brain excuses already... "Well we have almost developed some smart kids for the last century but the heat went out over at Chester High and it caused the rest of the schools to fail... But you just wait till next year...we will have that heat back on"

[TalkingHead]

If if if, woulda, coulda, shoulda. Nobody cares what we almost did.

Spurrier and the Gamecocks need to do their talking on the field and not in the media, making bold predictions we can't back up.

Here's my bold prediction: He won't make the same mistake next season.

I bet he won't either.

[snoopcockycock]

that is just crazy! i know a couple of you don't want to hear excuses, so i have a question for you.

can either of you name one team, either in the ncaa or the nfl, who could win a championship after losing their starting "all conference" middle linebacker(with only an undersized olb, or a rookie to fill the position), a starting defensive end( with true freshmen to replace him, or robbing the lb position to fill in), a true freshman (who normally plays de) starting at olb (playing several games with a cast on his hand), losing both of your starting safeties (at one time or another both isaac and cook missed games, and played several other games hurt), your top three cornerbacks (stoney, carlos and capt all missed games due to injury)???

...add to that, the fact that we lost both of the linsay's ( who are proven playmakers), and at one time or another, started two true freshman (adjeboye and ellis) at dt! while a lot of these guys are very talented, they are extremely young and inexperienced. that means that they are going to make a lot of mistakes while trying to learn the system.

i'll be waiting on your answers, but in the mean time, try lightening up on the team. i HATE what happened to the end of our season, but you have to look at the facts, no matter how much they sound like excuses, they are facts! they did happen. and trying to overcome such unjuries not only hurts that position, but it also hurts other positions that you have to rob, in order to try to sure up those positions. when you have to put very young and inexperienced players on the field, there are going to be some growing pains. but when you have to put them in positions, that they have never played, or have very little experience with, then that can be disasterous.
so things that look like excuses on the surface, might actually have some merit.

[uscnoklahoma]

that is just crazy! i know a couple of you don't want to hear excuses, so i have a question for you.

can either of you name one team, either in the ncaa or the nfl, who could win a championship after losing their starting "all conference" middle linebacker(with only an undersized olb, or a rookie to fill the position), a starting defensive end( with true freshmen to replace him, or robbing the lb position to fill in), a true freshman (who normally plays de) starting at olb (playing several games with a cast on his hand), losing both of your starting safeties (at one time or another both isaac and cook missed games, and played several other games hurt), your top three cornerbacks (stoney, carlos and capt all missed games due to injury)???

...add to that the fact that we lost both of the linsay's ( who are proven playmakers), and started a true freshman at dt!

i'll be waiting on your answers, but in the mean time, try lightening up on the team. i HATE what happened to the end of our season, but you have to look at the facts, no matter how much they sound like excuses, they are facts! they did happen. and trying to overcome such unjuries not only hurts that position, but it also hurts other positions that you have to rob, in order to try to sure up those positions. when you have to put very young and inexperienced players on the field, there are going to be some growing pains. but when you have to put them in positions, that they have never played, or have very little experience with, then that can be disasterous.
so things that look like excuses on the surface, might actually have some merit.
New England loses their whole team every other year, including coaches, and they seem to do okay....you asked :rotfl: Yes, I know they are the exception. :lol:

Now a serious question...do you really think we are the only team that has injuries? I seem to remember LSU playing without Doucet and winning. Every team has injuries...what separates the pretenders from the contenders is how you handle them...we don't. We use them as a crutch to say that's whats holding us back....that being said...what's our excuse for the other 99 years? Is it injuries as well or something else? I would think its the latter.

Sorry, I know Jap is all world but from what I saw in the first game...it really woludn't have mattered in the majority of games...the UT game is the only game I think it would have mattered. LALA had a field day against our defense...that tells me all I need to know. There was no drop off against the run...the fact is we haven't stopped it in 3 years.

[Ga_Gamecock]

Now a serious question...do you really think we are the only team that has injuries? I seem to remember LSU playing without Doucet and winning. Every team has injuries...what separates the pretenders from the contenders is how you handle them...we don't. We use them as a crutch to say that's whats holding us back....that being said...what's our excuse for the other 99 years? Is it injuries as well or something else? I would think its the latter.

Sorry, I know Jap is all world but from what I saw in the first game...it really woludn't have mattered in the majority of games...the UT game is the only game I think it would have mattered. LALA had a field day against our defense...that tells me all I need to know. There was no drop off against the run...the fact is we haven't stopped it in 3 years.

Every team has injuries, its just that most (IMO) have more depth than we do. UGA, UT, LSU ... they have been getting top 10 classes for decades. We have had one 'true' top class over the last few years and those guy are still Fr

JMO ... not an excuse, thats how it is. most of our SEC foes are better, deeper programs than we are. and we need to get to that level so we can sustain injuries and keep the forward momentum...

[uscnoklahoma]

Every team has injuries, its just that most (IMO) have more depth than we do. UGA, UT, LSU ... they have been getting top 10 classes for decades. We have had one 'true' top class over the last few years and those guy are still Fr

JMO ... not an excuse, thats how it is. most of our SEC foes are better, deeper programs than we are. and we need to get to that level so we can sustain injuries and keep the forward momentum...




So what you're saying is we need to get more 4 and 5 star players in here...well shut your mouth. The posters on here say we need those diamond 2 star kids. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Nah man I agree with you and that is why I am disappointed with this year and this upcoming class....we needed another top 10 class and we aren't going to get it unless some drastic happens. We will finish behind the Big 3 in the East again. We take 1 step forward and 2 steps back. We needed to win 8 or 9 this year to show recruits we were headed in the right direction...that didn't happen.

[Gamecock History]

So what you're saying is we need to get more 4 and 5 star players in here...well shut your mouth. The posters on here say we need those diamond 2 star kids. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Nah man I agree with you and that is why I am disappointed with this year and this upcoming class....we needed another top 10 class and we aren't going to get it unless some drastic happens. We will finish behind the Big 3 in the East again. We take 1 step forward and 2 steps back. We needed to win 8 or 9 this year to show recruits we were headed in the right direction...that didn't happen.

I am actually pretty pleased with the way our recruiting class will end up this year. I think we are getting some good playmakers in this class and adding some MUCH needed QUALITY depth at several positions.

I have said all along that 2008 was our year to really show the country and recruits what Spurrier can do at USC and I still think he will. That will line up nicely for recruiting next year because we have already offered some of the best players in the nation for next year and they are including us in their top schools. Usually we get on these kids late and never really make a run at them, but the 2009 class is looking VERY promising and with a strong 2008 season I think we will legitimately have a shot at the #1 class in the nation.

[jstrom]

Umm....I didn't read every post in the thread, but just thought I'd drop my thought on the thread topic anyway. Didn't we actually compete this year for the East?? I believe we were in first place for a long time and throttled that KY team that gave everybody else fits. There are tons of "what if" plays and calls that never happened, but regardless...we did compete and had a chance to win the friggin' thing. Spurrier wasn't wrong about that, no.

[TalkingHead]

Umm....I didn't read every post in the thread, but just thought I'd drop my thought on the thread topic anyway. Didn't we actually compete this year for the East?? I believe we were in first place for a long time and throttled that KY team that gave everybody else fits. There are tons of "what if" plays and calls that never happened, but regardless...we did compete and had a chance to win the friggin' thing. Spurrier wasn't wrong about that, no.

We finished next to last in the East. That is hardly competing for the title. We were tied for first before the season started too.

As Coach Spurrier himself said, he was wrong when he said we were ready to compete.

[acjuf]

Yes, he was wrong. He even said he was.

South Carolina was not competative this year, even though they started off well.

They played well on the road in a loss against LSU.

A loss to Vandy? Competative teams don't lose to Vandy.

They had to hang on for dear life in an ugly win against a below average North Carolina team.

Losses to Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, and Clemson. Losing to any one of them is nothing to be ashamed about, but losing to all of them? That's bad, and shouldn't happen for a team ready to compete.

[Freehawk]

I talked about that in a thread during the season. Some guys don't practice well, but once they get on the field they're totally different. Anyone can go through the routines, but can they make it on the field ... glad to see you commented on that ...

True, and if you don't practice well it is hard to get on the field. Unfortunately you also have the opposite -- practice warriors -- who don't play as well in games. This is a hard part of a coaches job.

Hopefully we get everybody back we are expecting. B52, Kmc11, Lindseys, Pepper, Captain etc. I think some other players, such as Marque Hall with more time after his injury, will also play better. I think the returning OL players will get stronger. We need to figure out those WRs after 11 and 18.

[uscnoklahoma]

I am actually pretty pleased with the way our recruiting class will end up this year. I think we are getting some good playmakers in this class and adding some MUCH needed QUALITY depth at several positions.

I have said all along that 2008 was our year to really show the country and recruits what Spurrier can do at USC and I still think he will. That will line up nicely for recruiting next year because we have already offered some of the best players in the nation for next year and they are including us in their top schools. Usually we get on these kids late and never really make a run at them, but the 2009 class is looking VERY promising and with a strong 2008 season I think we will legitimately have a shot at the #1 class in the nation.

I have had 2008-09 circled as well...however I have tempered my enthusiasm some since we will have a new QB and a new O-Line.

About the recruiting class...we will have to see how it pans out. Right now it isn't that special....at least I don't think it is. But it's in the eye of the beholder.

[Gamecock History]

I have had 2008-09 circled as well...however I have tempered my enthusiasm some since we will have a new QB and a new O-Line.

Well, IMO the change in QB will be a DRASTIC improvement, and the only change in the OL will be the loss of Web Brown. Why would you say a new Oline? I actually think this will be the strongest OL since the Phil Petty days. We should have 3 seniors (Sorenson,Meredith,Thind) 1 junior (Anderson) and 1 sophomore (Batchelor) playing with several other guys with quality playing experience.

[Gamecock History]

And I think Whitlock, Miles, Auguste, and 1 not yet committed receiver will be big time players for us next year as soon as they step on the field. I think we are going to get a handful of playmakers, but more importantly we will be adding quality depth. Not just depth, because in years past we seem to just go after the big name guys and then fill the rest of the class with guys that don't have much opportunity to contribute. But looking at how this class is shaping up I think we will be filling out the team nicely. We don't need a team full of superstars, we need some quality role players as well to go along with the playmakers.

[cocky2007]

I don't think Spurrier was wrong to say we could challenge for the SEC this past year. When he said it we had Sidney Rice and Jasper Brinkley, our two best players and potential All-Americans, both. Furthermore, these two could have solved two of our four problems, ie run defense and another receiver besides McKinley. (The O-line would have still been our biggest weakness, and special teams would have still been a disappointment, though Spurrier had reason to expect improvement there.)

These two would have definitely gotten us through Vandy and TN in the SEC, and Clemson. That makes us 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the SEC East, finishing second to GA (6-2) via winning the tiebreaker with TN (5-3 with loss to us).:happycoc:

Brinkley would have also relieved a lot of the stress and pressure, not to mention direct wear and tear (Brinkley making tackles before Cook had to), that eventually broke down our defense with injuries and plain old tiredness. The loss of Nathan Pepper, the disabling shoulder injury to Isaac and the shorter-lived injuries to Cook and Munnerlyn, changed the team's abilities/potential dramatically. Sure every team has injuries/losses, but not usually to so many or to such critical contributors.

I think the cumulative wear and tear that came from the loss of Brinkley and Pepper, compounded by the injuries in the secondary lead to the breakdown in effort on defense that resulted in the blowout games against Arkansas and Florida. Could we have beaten either one of these teams without the breakdown in effort on defense, and with Brinkley at linebacker? Of course we could have. Just one of the two puts us in a tie with GA and we win the tiebreaker.:wink:

Moreover, Rice would have challenged defenses and pulled double coverage, opening up the run as well as the pass. This would have relieved the pressure to try Smelley at QB and kept Mitchell's confidence up. A better performing offense also takes pressure off the defense, which carried us through the first half of the season. If we score more and sooner in games, opponents are forced to pass more to catch up. Do ya think that would have played into our hands?:thumbsup:

I'm sure other teams had injuries and losses to early draft entry, though I doubt any had such critical losses. But the point is that when Spurrier made this prediction, at the stadium upon arriving back from the bowl win, he had very good reasons to make it.

I think it was a mental game he was trying with the players. We were so close in many games in 06 and he might have thought that we weren't making crucial plays because we didn't believe we were supposed to win. Saying this changed the players' thought processes. It worked for the first half of the year.

[uscnoklahoma]

Well, IMO the change in QB will be a DRASTIC improvement, and the only change in the OL will be the loss of Web Brown. Why would you say a new Oline? I actually think this will be the strongest OL since the Phil Petty days. We should have 3 seniors (Sorenson,Meredith,Thind) 1 junior (Anderson) and 1 sophomore (Batchelor) playing with several other guys with quality playing experience.

Why would I say new O-Line...well we have rotated in and out all year so any offensive line we field next year will be new. It's been this way for the last 3 years so why expect us to put the best ones out there to start with this coming year....especially when history dictates that won't happen.

[BuCockyfan]

I thought this year was our best year for a run at the East. Next year, with UF and UGA being ranked in the top 5, I think our chances are slim to none.