Ahhh the good ole SEC West, what a crap shoot. Yes Bocephus, I certianly am READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!!
Without a consistent receiving corps, no. Ole Miss ain't flying under nobody's radar coming into this season. Depends on whether Snead declares after this year. Unless he starts recruiting with the big boys, no. I don't care if Bama's D is the reincarnation of the '85 Bears, if they're on the field 40-45 minutes a game, they're gonna lose those games. If Lee and Jefferson couldn't be, what makes McElroy so special? No, opposing D's will give them the same treatment we got last year with 7-8 in the box. Realistically we drop at least 2. (Is UGA really a contender without Stafford?) As usual, too many variables. The potential is there for Jefferson/Lee to be a formidable combination with Shepard coming in on designed plays, but that ties into who steps up at WR and defense, injuries, etc. The D will be good enough to stop good, but not elite, offenses. My hunch, however, is that we'll see some players step up on D this season. They'll score the occasional upset, but Auburn and State start from scratch, and Arkansas doesn't have the overall talent to make a run at it. Honestly, I think LSU will surprise some folks this season with a fairly potent offense and a drastically improved defense.
Seems some of you have questions about JJ. Reasonable, I guess...but I think I have fewer questions about him than some of you. Also, seems some of you see JLee in the picture. I don't. I think the QB duties belong to JJ, with RS coming in on designed plays. Lee seems to me the backup this season...period. - On topic, I agree that the top 3 are Bama, Ole Miss, and LSU. In what order? I dunno.:huh: Lots of good comments, but no real answers for about 70 days at least. Will be interesting to see Bama/VT, but I just can't forget what happened in '07 when VT opened against an SEC power. Thing is, I bet VT hasn't forgotten either...and may have that as a motivator.
Bama will be dangerous. Jarrett Lee's implosion last year does not mean Bama will have a similar QB experience. Bama has been recruiting very, very well. They'll be very good in the middle of SEC play unless injuries and QB play are atrocious. Ole Miss - high expectations based largely on a really solid QB and a couple of studs still on the roster. I think the opposite of Bama - they start out strong, then their lack of quality depth neutralizes any advantage they have with Snead. LSU - Red hit it - tough, tough sched. The flip side is that, if LSU can hang on and stay close, there are enough playmakers on offense to make things happen against UF, UGA and Bama. I think LSU returns to pre-2008 form and will be in the mix. Biggest obstacle will be defensive scheme and, IMO, DT and LB. Offense should be talk of the SEC by mid season. Auburn? :shrug: On paper, they should be average at best. Arky will be good, not great - dangerous. Miss St will have a frustrating year. Final Standings 1. Bama 2. LSU 3. Ole Miss 4. Arkansas 5. Auburn 6. Miss St Let it be written... :rolleye33:
i agree with you, anyone doubting JJ after last season is maybe being a bit paranoid. i don't know, i think the OQ situation will be better this season. that's not saying too much, but it's something i can be sure of. LSU sure struggled last season at the position, but a lot of it was terrible luck. was jarett lee really that bad? i don't think so. maybe a bit of it got into his head, maybe. but he was still a competitor. moot point still, as i think the defense is what cost us (most of) last season. chavis will tighten things up. we have some good talent and chavis did wonderful things with similar talent at tennessee. we were good enough offensively to beat Bama and Arkansas. maybe the same could be said of UGA and UF. the defense was definitely not the same type that LSU has prided itself on in the past. maybe the coaches were a little too worried about offense and let the defense slip a bit? who knows. last year was an anomaly more than likely. bama... well, again, who knows? saban can coach. that much we know. defense wins championships. yadda yadda. i think we'll be OK. it will be one helluva an accomplishment for whomever wins the west.
Lots of good analysis, but I agree with Bandit about McElroy. He may turn out to be OK...he's throwing to Julio Jones. We all wish Bama the same luck we had with an inexperienced QB, but who really knows. I hope we beat 'em, that's for sure.
Folks, every year on this forum, several of you claim that USCe is going to be the dark horse...they are going to beat some SECW team that has to go there and play. Please, enough. USCe SUCKS!!!!!!! Every year these predictions are made, and every year, they're .500 or so. They SUCK!!! - It's early, and I'm just trying to stop it before it gets out of hand this year. Sorry for the rant.
I really don't see Ole Miss putting something together for more than a season or two, simply because I don't see them being able to pull in the athletes that LSU and Bama are able to. Look at that school, that town, and the tradition is there, I suppose, but they haven't had a standard of winning like the other SEC West programs. They'll be competitive with Nutt there- he always fields teams that seem to scrap together good seasons with an occasional great one (by their standards) but I really see Ole Miss being just like Arkansas was under Nutt.
Dude, they hadn't even been mentioned in the thread until now!! Sure hope you feel better getting that off your chest!:hihi:
Pay attention, son. And if the thought is that they might lose to South Carolina, then they don't belong in this discussion...because as stated, SOUTH CAROLINA SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!:lol:
