- South Carolina has finally implemented a seat licensing donation program similar to our Hartman Fund. Unfortunately for them, one booster is going to court because of the initiative. He apparently bought a lifetime membership to the Gamecock Club that includes a $100,000 life insurance policy donation to the school in exchange for not having to pay this sort of fee. SC is welching on his deal. This is all part of the broader clownish management of the SC Athletic Department. When I read about the way they are run from a fiscal standpoint and compare it to what Damon is doing in Athens...it's like comparing the Boston Celtics to the Washington Generals. (ht - FanBlogs)
- Dr. Saturday looks at the merits of potentially dangerous animal mascots. The footage of Ralphie running nuts in Boulder is comedy. Two years ago, there was a great bogus rumor going around that Bama was going to bring in a live elephant for their games. I checked with someone who has some level of expertise on the subject of elephant management. He informed me that once an elephant decides to wreck your stuff, it's not going to be stopped. You just have to wait until the rampage is over....or he flies away.
- Blutarsky has a quick thought on GT's recruiting. They ended their relationship with a commited prospect after he visited Auburn. That's not overly interesting, but as the Senator points out the "Whys" behind this story are intriguing as it relates to the triple option.
February 3, 2009
Quick football headlines
A few tidbits around the dial:
8 comments:
Do you think it will be easier to get season tickets this year? Because of the economy and Stafford and Moreno leaving.
This is why Tech's hire of Johnson is actually a capitulation by the athletic department that they cannot win on the national level. The only schools that run super-gimmicky offenses like the option that are the ones that hope to gain a uniqueness edge because they cannot compete in recruiting the best players--Air Force and Hawaii are good examples.
Tech may have beat us this year, and Johnson may win eight games a year, but they have hit their ceiling already. CPJ's hire is a clear admission that they'll be happy with annual trips to the Gator Bowl.
I recall the "spread" being considered gimmicky and how it could never win at a real conference. I think that Texas and Florida have sufficiently shot that theory to hell.
I will admit that I really like the option.
Winning a national title is something that to some extent is out of a team's control, but winning a conference title is not. Maybe aiming to win the ACC every few years is the goal.
Also, no matter the style of offense, if your team is winning fans will come and donations will be made. At the end of the day, filling the stadium and raising money is what sports are all about.
"He informed me that once an elephant decides to wreck your stuff, it's not going to be stopped."
I know this is hyper-technical, and I realize that this is no doubt a correct statement if all we are talking about is a couple of handlers with ropes, but seriously, has no one ever heard of tranquilizer darts? It would seem like even the Ralphie/Bevo/Mike the Tiger folks would have the sense to have a Neidermyer wannabe handing with a loaded rifle in case of emergencies.
I would like to see an elephant on the sidelines at Bryant-Denney; it would just add to the circus atmosphere.
skidawg, the difference is that the spread was NEW. The option is the equivalent of the Princeton weave: everyone knows it will not contribute to your development for the pros. The jury was still out on that with the spread.
When the spread offense reaches its end, it will be thrown on the junk heap just like the run and shoot, the single wing, and the triple option were. Running an outdated offense, again, is a way to guarantee schematic victories because there is not enough time to opponents prepare for something they have not seen and cannot duplicate in practice.
But make no mistake--the best players will go elsewhere and Tech's wins will be limited despite possibly always being decently good.
I think in Tech's case where the nerdbone is really going to catch up with them is on their defense actually. We always hear about how hard is it is to prepare for that offense in a week. Well, it's hard for their defense to prepare for a balanced, pro-style offense when they don't have the personnel on their team to go up against.
Under Gailey and John BLITZ!! Tenuta, you knew it was going to be hard to score points, but Tech still lost a lot of low scoring games. Going forward, I expect Tech to lose a lot of shootouts.
Excellent point, tri guy, and yet another example of how Tech has given up on championships in exchange for consistent winning records--also why Paul Johnson had not had a major college job until now. Really, the school that should grab him is Vanderbilt, but the timing wasn't right or they probably would have.
Tech may have gotten a fluke win over us in 2008, but I have full faith that Willie Martinez will have our D ready to defend the option this year. That crap might fly at Georgia Southern and Navy, but when it comes to big boy (read: SEC) football, the triple option is just as worthless as Paul Johnson. Just look its effectiveness against the adequately prepared defense of LSU.
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