CMR – agreed with Munson about those old rivalries as they discussed several
of them one at a time. This is a reminder that you have to be ready to play
every single week. Michigan thought Ohio State might not be a threat and found
out the hard way. Also, CMR thought Fla-FSU would be evenly matched. Vandy just
about got everyone excited near the end but couldn’t finish it off, and
Auburn
was feeling pressure for the first time in awhile.
We practiced hard Tuesday & Wednesday, then had some academic stuff on Thursday.
So we set practice up to look like mat drills then took them over to the pool
like we did last year.
CMR will be interested how Ware and Reggie Brown look tomorrow. Don’t expect
either to get contact but they could if needed. Tyson Browning should be fine
also.
When healthy, GT has had a good running attack. We’re not sure what their situation
is there. Also, they’ve been a good defensive team and are very dangerous. Ball
has been the key to their season. When he plays well, they’re very good. But
they are –14 in turnovers. Without that, they may have won a couple more games.
CMR also noted in reply to my comments on Tech’s inconsistency that he saw or
heard a comment on how Tech seemed to play well and not so well in alternating
games. All we can do it take care of the Tech game and that’s what we’re focused
on.
Omar in Waycross noted this is CMR’s first four year class – only Gibson &
Pollack of guys in CMR’s first class, the others were already here. We hope
to do a better job of getting the ball to Fred more this game. Auburn did a
good job of giving Fred more attention since they’d had an off week.
James in Crandall liked the “unfinished business” statement from one of our
juniors and named Michael Adams his “turkey of the year” for how he handled
the situation with Dooley. CMR liked the strategy of the game when he first
got into it, and now its more the relationships with the players as he gets
a little older.
Jonathan in Gainesville – asked about the Boise St. game next year. Some may
not have understood when that game was put on the schedule but now everyone
does.
Tommy in Richmond Hill – how are Brock & Miller progressing? Also commented
on how nice Russ Tanner was to his son. Miller is feeling great and is lifting.
Brock’s shoulder hasn’t come around quite as quickly; we took another look at
it and everything is OK structurally. We hope both can give it a go in the spring.
Mark in White Oak – how about our bowl picture given who lost yesterday. Ours
will come down to what the CapOne does? They might take
LSU since they haven’t
had them in awhile. Then the Outback and Cotton have to decide. All that is
predicated on whether we win or not. If not, the Peach might have some interest.
Tommy in Marietta – are our guys in a funk after losing to Auburn and not attaining
our season goals? (He had heard Buck Belue comment on this.) CMR thinks
we’re getting over it and the open date was healthy. Tuesday was a physical
day; they started out in a funk but you better get it together during inside
drills. Wednesday was something of a “morale” day. CMR expects us to be ready
to play Saturday.
Mitchell in Calhoun pointed out our players laid it on the line to win that
Florida game, and compared it to the old Ali-Frazier fights. He also thinks
our DBs want to play the WRs more than the ball. CMR said sometimes we’re in
coverages designed to play the man more than the ball, and strip his hands when
he starts to look for the ball. Other coverages are designed to watch for the
ball more. Good example was Jennings in the LSU game last year, where he was
in perfect coverage but peeked into the backfield and got beat for the winning
TD.
Jake in Athens – very glad to see Reggie got up from that hit in the Auburn
game. Also, how is Raley recovering from the shoulder injury? CMR is pleased
with WR play and hopes the seniors have a big game Saturday. We expect Raley
to fresh, healthy and ready to go next fall.
Ray in Athens is concerned with fundamentals breakdown as the season goes along.
CMR hates to admit it, but it is hard without practicing it every day. Plus
we’ve played some pretty good backs in Fason, Cadillac and R. Brown who can
make you look bad.
Mitchell in Athens congratulated CMR on a good season and looks forward to next
year, and asked about the JV game. CMR said that no longer exists. The problem
is if you have kids you’re redshirting one of those games can cost them the
year.
Jake in Augusta notes defense was pulling the team early in the year, then the
offense came on while the defense sputtered. But he notes the special teams
have not been as strong as in the last two years. We have blocked a couple of
kicks this year but not as many as in others. In other years those were instrumental
in winning games. You have to find guys who can do it and pick the right time.
We probably took more chances the first year but haven’t this year because we’re
stronger on offense and defense. We’ve got to get our best people on these special
teams without wearing out our top players. We should be stronger next year since
we’ve got a lot of young guys who can run and hit.
Jeremy from Memphis had recruiting questions – DL, LB & WR. We’ve got to
gain depth in the DL, replace some WRs who are leaving and have some good commitments,
and will be looking hard at the LB position. We’re moving right along in the
recruiting area.
Jeff in Anderson, SC says the 2002 defense is the best we’ve had asked CMR to
comment on two guys who committed on TV this week. CMR agrees 2002 was a great
year and last year statistically was better. We’re still top 10-15 in some categories
this year but haven’t quite sustained it. We’ll have a chance this week to get
those stats back in line. CMR told the caller he could not comment on specific
recruits right now.
Jason in NC gets uneasy every time he sees Spurrier and wants CMR’s comments.
CMR isn’t sure that is official but thinks there are lots of good coaches in
the league. Spurrier is probably the most successful in the last 20 years. Just
another team who’ll be that much tougher that we have to compete against.
Wayne in Atlanta wants to know about our chances of getting into the BCS. CMR
doesn’t think there is much hope there, especially since Utah won last night.
We may be as close as you can get without getting in. CMR is unsure if Auburn
will get a shot at the national championshp.
Steve in Athens played behind Charles Dudish at Avondale HS (back in the
1960s) and joked about getting his degree but never playing in college.
If Shockley plays QB next year, could we consider a slot or T at times next
year? CMR says we’ll just figure out what Shockley can do best. As for running
option, CMR doesn’t like it because it is a chance for a defender to legally
tee off on a QB. Most option QBs get banged around pretty good. There will be
some QB running aspect.
Tom in DeKalb Co. – mentioned the Lady Dawgs are winning and wondered how we
let Fason get away from LaGrange. Fason is not from LaGrange, Skyler Thornton
is. About rankings, we moved back up to 7 in one and 8 in the other.
Bob asked why we haven’t run the QB sneak behind MJG. CMR isn’t a big fan of
it because there is often a big wad of bodies and sometimes its hard for the
officials to figure out where to mark the ball. Tech running the QB draw with
Ball will be something we have to watch for. We’ll have to mix up man &
zone coverage.
Munson & CMR noticed the Tech-Virginia game was very physical. CMR reminds
us again Tech is a very good defensive team.
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