Anyone think Ole Miss can beat Bama this year. I read alot of people saying Miss will suprise people this year. I havent keep up with them much.
They have the best QB in the SEC...better than Tebow - after all Tebow was originally recruited as a linebacker, right? :wink:.
I think they can, or Bama could beat them. OM should be better at QB than Bama, but one of Bama's young QB could get off to a hot start, Snead could get hurt, and, well, anything could happen. Bama needs to find a runner or two, but they should have them. Julio Jones will be tough, if they find someone to get him the ball. But, Bama has top recruiting classes 2 years in a row, finding folks won't be that big of a problem as in recent history. I rate it a toss up for now, will know more after the season starts. (On the back of Snead, I'll make OM a one pt. fav. ).
I'm going to go on record right now and say that Ole Miss will not duplicate last year's success this year. I think it was an anomaly--for a variety of reasons. I'll reserve judgement on Bama until they come out and prove they have an OL and QB who are SEC-ready. And until they come out playing with the intensity they did last season (it's hard to stay that intense for an extended period of time.) I feel that may have been our downfall last year, as LSU had played with great intensity for the entire previous three years of the Miles era; we just didn't seem to have any more gas in the tank in '08. But we ARE filling 'er up for '09. Arkansas is going to be an interesting wildcard this season. I'm eager to see how Mallett does in the SEC in Petrino's offense.
I'm not that worried about Georgia this year for obvious reasons. They're overdue for an LSU shellacking, anyway. Florida WILL still be tough...if not tougher...despite losing Harvin. He was a go-to guy for sure, but their two new speedsters were really what killed us last year. Remember "Tebow left, pithces to (Demps / Rainey), (Demps / Rainey) breaks free.....touchdown!" They ran that play repeatedly and gained chunks of yards from it....repeatedly. They'll do it again if our D isn't quicker to the ball this year. OM wasn't a fluke. They played solid, disciplined, efficient ball and reaped the benefits. They had just enough juice to make big plays but played conservatively when needed. Bama was not as dominant as their record last year, and this year I expect a drop and three losses (LSU, OM, and ?). Someone said something about Crowton "releasing the hounds". That's not gonna happen. Take away the pick-sixes and the horrible defense and the offense was more than enough last year. Playing small-ball and eating clock with balance and a power running game is very important to keep the defense rested and control the pace of the game. Scoring every sixth or seventh play is a good way to tire your defense out and let teams with decent offenses creep back in it. See the Big XII last year if you want an example. At worst...9-3 with losses to Florida, OM, and (?). I'm saying 10-2 and West champions.
That game was the first time Meyer was able to put together a plan for an entire game where those two were a big part of the offense. So 1, the coaches won't be unprepared for those types of plays again and 2, the D will actually know what they're doing this year, and Chavis does not run a "bend but don't break" defense. There's also something to be said for how much defenses had to focus on Harvin even when he wasn't making plays. That is an advantage Tebow, Demps and Rainey will not have this year. I'm gonna go against the crowd and predict today that LSU will win against Florida.
It may not be releasing the hounds, but with Jefferson and Shep on the field at the same time, we will see some exciting plays we have not seen as of yet.
Bama will hurt from the losses at OL. Whether they get it fixed early on will be key. OM will be fired up, I look for them to repeat only because of Snead. Florida will probably pick up more bandwaggoners Georgia.. I'm still undecided I think these will be our toughest games this year. I say we beat Bama and OM. I'm thinking positively here when I say we beat Georgia. And I'm just respecting Florida here when I say it's gonna be close. The system works for Tebow.
