Spiteful Sports Tripe
After some thought – I suppose "obsessing" would be more accurate – I've come to this conclusion about U of L's now-moot football season:
We are gonna regret the day we didn't fire Bobby Petrino when we had the chance, free and clear.
It's not just that this creep – who tried to stab a friend and mentor in the back and then lied publicly about it until he just got plain busted – has robbed me of the typical fan-boy delusions about sportsmanship, hard work, epic struggle, blah blah blah. At Papa John's, it's all about winning and the money that comes from it. I'd hope the University doesn't have the gall to scold us fans for turning sour on this character, when it was Jurich and the Development Office who wrote the cynical rules that apply here. But if I hoped that, I'd be disappointed again.
No, my main worry is just this:
I know what offensive play Bobby P. is gonna call next.
Well, most of the time – I still haven't figured out why he went away from Tinch over the middle in the second half against West Virginia.
But more often than not, I can predict with alarming accuracy the next rollout pass on 3rd-and-2, the next deep shot after a crossing route gains 14 yards (seven on the ground; draws up the safety), the next little semi-draw that grabs nine yards at mid-field. I'm no football genius, mind you – in fact, I still get a little confused by blocking patterns.
But I have been watching Petrino's offense for 2 ½ years now, and I see patterns. Oregon State and North Carolina don't watch every game, I suppose. South Florida does, and they knew what was coming, too. West Virginia has a stake in knowing what's coming, and they are well on the way to figuring this stuff out.
After the "shock and awe" wears off, what we have left is a gimmicky offense that can't reliably pop a 250-pound tailback off-tackle for two yards, and a defense that reflects the head coach's obsession with offensive homeruns by playing scared of them on the other side of the ball.
My prediction: 9-3, with the final loss probably coming at UConn to end the regular season, then a unsatisfying bowl win over some mid-tier Big Ten school that isn't gonna see it coming.
I said 8-3 at the start of the season, by the way (I have witnesses). But I didn't predict how crappy that would taste.
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4 comments:
Amen to that! We should have let Petrino go when we could have. 3-2. What a joke. If he spent more time preparing defensive schemes in December instead of entertaining other job offers, how much better off might we be?
First off, let me venture that it's not really that important whether or not your opponent knows what play is coming next.
The great teams are able to impose their will on the opponent. For instance, it was no surprise to the Bengals yesterday that the Steelers were going to run the football early and often. But it didn't make a damned bit of difference: Pittsburgh ran all over Cincinnati anyway. I'm not sure that the Cardinals' offense last year was all that tough to figure out, either. However, last year's team was simply able to execute better than this year's team.
This year's Cardinals are incredibly talented but very young and inexperienced, and suspect on defense. If they can improve the secondary, they should return to the Top 10 and make a BCS bowl next season.
As it stands this year, I think they they have lost their final regular season game, although at Connecticut and improving Pittsburgh will present serious challenges. That would mean a 9-2 record and a likely Gator Bowl matchup with somebody like Florida, which would be an appropriate reward if the Cards can win out.
One final thought: Look for the U of L basketball team to be much the same as the football squad: Gifted but young and inconsistent. They will drive you crazy by losing games in stupid ways, but will also win a lot of games by the end of the year.
-Sparky
we're damn sure glad you wanted him gone. We're VERY glad to take him here at Arkansas!!! GO HOGS!
Arkansas will lose recruits over this. To support a coach who isn't even man enough to say inform his employees in person that he is leaving makes Arkansas a laughingstock in college football. I can't imagine a recruit looking Petrino in the eye when he tells them, "Arkansas is here to win, and I'm here to help you do that." It's despicable, and Petrino should be ashamed of himself.
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