Larry Gude
Strung Out
...long time, so, let's talk some SKINS!!!
To Watch:
Matt Bowen, safety: This kid is looking like a hardcore hitter. This will make Champ and Fred that much better. The secondary is looking great.
Coles, WR: Looks like a faster Mike Westbrook, who will hold on to the ball and make plays and wants to win and is a good team mate and won't do stupid things and...Along with Gardner who started looking like a solid pro second half of last season and if the rookie Jacobs and a few holdovers form last year do good to better than good, WR should be near great. Keep an eye out for Cliff Russell. He was hurt last year before the season started but was causing drool from the ball coach until then.
D line: BIGGEST worry. Losing Big Daddy who, if nothing else, got in the way and was immovable, and Gardner...this is a serious problem.
Linebackers: 3 all pros...nuff said.
O line: Looks great, real great. TE is kind of an afterthought in Spurrier world. Some solid blocking guys there who can catch a few balls.
RB: If you remember Spurriers Gators, though they rightly never got credit for emphasizing the run, Spurrier always had a 1,000 yard back and one of the highest averages per carry in college. The passing game was always such a threat that runs were there all the time. Trung and Watson are looking like those kind of backs. They won't be plowing into the end zone from the 1 much, which is important in the NFL, but they should be ripping off plenty of 3 yard runs that turn into 20 and a nice collection of 5 yard screens that go for big yards.
Special teams: With John Hall the kicking game should be at least fine. All the rest has been so, shall we say, "attention grabbing" that it can only get better. I can't believe I said that. Morton is a faster, younger Brian Mitchell; he really wants to be a RB.
Which leads us to the real issue, QB; Ramsey
He has the backs and wideouts to attack and the line to protect him. QB in pro football is probably the hardest job in pro sports to be really good at. You get hurt all the time. Defenses get so complicated and every thing happens so FAST, it's just hard.
Patrick has already proven tough enough and it is said he has the smarts to pick things up.
It all comes down to that "thing", that "we ARE going to win" that Elway and Montana and Favre and Bradshaw will that shows up time and again no matter if they just threw an INT or somebody dropped the ball or whatever.
Everything is in place except the the D line which, if Noble, Haley and some of the other guys are just physically strong enough to do OK, will be alright, then it all comes downs to the QB.
Spurrier has got the weapons now to just go after it, to be physically faster and quicker than the defenses. He'll keep going for it so that Ramsey won't be in a position where every mistake is critical. He'll get plenty of chances which will accelerate his learning curve.
I think the defense in terms of the LB's and DB's are so good that Spurrier and Ramsey will know first hand in practice how they are actually doing.
I think the D will be good enough scoring wise to keep most everybody at 21 points or less and strong enough to limit those clock killing long drives by the better teams. Again, this will come down to how well they replace Big Daddy (who MIGHT be back???)and Gardner. I think it will be enough.
Absent major injuries this team is good enough to score 30 most weeks and allow 10 less.
That's 16-0 in my book. (which is TWO wins over those gravy sucking pigs from Da...dal...da..."patooey"...Tuna ball or otherwise)
That's home field throughout the playoffs.
That's Tampa Bay going down in the cold at Fed Ex in the Championship game.
That's Texas, Reliant Stadium, February 1.
A Classic matchup between the best defense, the Patriots, vs. the best offense, the Ball Coach. We'll stop them. They can't stop us.
"Fight..for..old..DCeeeeee!!
To Watch:
Matt Bowen, safety: This kid is looking like a hardcore hitter. This will make Champ and Fred that much better. The secondary is looking great.
Coles, WR: Looks like a faster Mike Westbrook, who will hold on to the ball and make plays and wants to win and is a good team mate and won't do stupid things and...Along with Gardner who started looking like a solid pro second half of last season and if the rookie Jacobs and a few holdovers form last year do good to better than good, WR should be near great. Keep an eye out for Cliff Russell. He was hurt last year before the season started but was causing drool from the ball coach until then.
D line: BIGGEST worry. Losing Big Daddy who, if nothing else, got in the way and was immovable, and Gardner...this is a serious problem.
Linebackers: 3 all pros...nuff said.
O line: Looks great, real great. TE is kind of an afterthought in Spurrier world. Some solid blocking guys there who can catch a few balls.
RB: If you remember Spurriers Gators, though they rightly never got credit for emphasizing the run, Spurrier always had a 1,000 yard back and one of the highest averages per carry in college. The passing game was always such a threat that runs were there all the time. Trung and Watson are looking like those kind of backs. They won't be plowing into the end zone from the 1 much, which is important in the NFL, but they should be ripping off plenty of 3 yard runs that turn into 20 and a nice collection of 5 yard screens that go for big yards.
Special teams: With John Hall the kicking game should be at least fine. All the rest has been so, shall we say, "attention grabbing" that it can only get better. I can't believe I said that. Morton is a faster, younger Brian Mitchell; he really wants to be a RB.
Which leads us to the real issue, QB; Ramsey
He has the backs and wideouts to attack and the line to protect him. QB in pro football is probably the hardest job in pro sports to be really good at. You get hurt all the time. Defenses get so complicated and every thing happens so FAST, it's just hard.
Patrick has already proven tough enough and it is said he has the smarts to pick things up.
It all comes down to that "thing", that "we ARE going to win" that Elway and Montana and Favre and Bradshaw will that shows up time and again no matter if they just threw an INT or somebody dropped the ball or whatever.
Everything is in place except the the D line which, if Noble, Haley and some of the other guys are just physically strong enough to do OK, will be alright, then it all comes downs to the QB.
Spurrier has got the weapons now to just go after it, to be physically faster and quicker than the defenses. He'll keep going for it so that Ramsey won't be in a position where every mistake is critical. He'll get plenty of chances which will accelerate his learning curve.
I think the defense in terms of the LB's and DB's are so good that Spurrier and Ramsey will know first hand in practice how they are actually doing.
I think the D will be good enough scoring wise to keep most everybody at 21 points or less and strong enough to limit those clock killing long drives by the better teams. Again, this will come down to how well they replace Big Daddy (who MIGHT be back???)and Gardner. I think it will be enough.
Absent major injuries this team is good enough to score 30 most weeks and allow 10 less.
That's 16-0 in my book. (which is TWO wins over those gravy sucking pigs from Da...dal...da..."patooey"...Tuna ball or otherwise)
That's home field throughout the playoffs.
That's Tampa Bay going down in the cold at Fed Ex in the Championship game.
That's Texas, Reliant Stadium, February 1.
A Classic matchup between the best defense, the Patriots, vs. the best offense, the Ball Coach. We'll stop them. They can't stop us.
"Fight..for..old..DCeeeeee!!