Fugly (Signifying Nothing: how does saying nothing at all become so loud?)

Saturday, 26 November 2005

Fugly

Update: More thoughts from BigJim. Is it a “gots-to-go situation” for Coach O? Probably not immediately, but with disgruntled players continuing to bolt and ineptitude that goes well beyond the parts of the game under the control of the allegedly-already-fired OC Noel Mazzone, the Orgeron honeymoon is going to be shortlived. That may be bad for Orgeron’s career prospects in Oxford, since it’s likely his legendary recruiting prowess won’t even yield substantial dividends on the field until the 2007 season due to redshirting.

And the $64,000 “what-if” questions surrounding the firing of ex-coach David Cutcliffe probably aren’t going away either. Would QB “guru” Cut have gotten more out of Spurlock, Flatt, and Lane? I don’t know, but if things turn around in Knoxville next year (and, realistically, they probably will; a team with UT’s talent almost never goes under .500 in college, no matter how poorly they are coached) a lot of the credit will go to Cutcliffe.

One final thought: a lot of the Rebel’s woes can be traced to two positions on the field: place kicker and punter. Thirty-yard punts and regularly missed field goals don’t add up to scoring or good field position. Kicking may be the Rebels’ most glaring deficiency, even if it seems to be lost in the discussions over the revolving door at QB.

6 comments:

Any views expressed in these comments are solely those of their authors; they do not reflect the views of the authors of Signifying Nothing, unless attributed to one of us.

1. jim wrote @ Sat, 26 Nov 2005, 8:52 pm CST:

pathetic.

2. Robert Prather wrote @ Sun, 27 Nov 2005, 12:56 am CST:

Not so much for me. We have to win sometimes.

3. Chris Lawrence wrote @ Sun, 27 Nov 2005, 1:09 am CST:

I believe The Rock said it best: “Know Your Role.”

4. Robert Prather wrote @ Sun, 27 Nov 2005, 1:25 am CST:

Said role wouldn’t be “loser”, would it? I think that fits Ole Miss better this year.

5. Chris Lawrence wrote @ Sun, 27 Nov 2005, 1:48 am CST:

Indeed. Though, in our defense, we haven’t lost to any I-AA teams lately.

6. Alfred Sumrall wrote @ Sun, 27 Nov 2005, 10:21 am CST:

You’re right, Chris. The honeymoon is over. However, he leaves today on a three week recruiting trip. Last year, we didn’t have a full recruiting season and O was forced to sign players he either (a) didn’t recruit or (b) didn’t have time to get to know before offering them a scholarship.

Yes, this is the lowest point in Ole Miss football in a VERY long time. Even the 1994 team that was ravaged by the worst NCAA probation since SMU got the death penalty won 4 games. But I think that once O gets the players and coaches to buy into his system, the ship will be righted.

I just hope, for O’s sake and that of season ticket holders, it’s sooner rather than later.

As down as the SEC was this year, it won’t take THAT much improvement to be a 6–5 team.

You bring up a great point about special teams. Good special teams is normally worth 1–2 wins per year. It definitely cost us the Alabama game this year.

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