Dougherty's Diatribe

Dougherty’s Diatribe

Couch Time:

Much has been made of Tennessee’s many breakdowns in all facets of the game in week one against a wildly inferior opponent, who is an eight point underdog Saturday to BYU. And, much should be made. There is no reason for a team better than its opponent at arguably every position on the field to come away with a loss.

UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow was the hero for the Bruins. Confronted with a quarterback who was getting pounded five to seven steps deep in the pocket while throwing four first half picks, Chow adjusted. The second half solution was simple. Three step drops, get rid of the ball quickly and throw short passes in front of soft corner coverage. That was the obvious design. The outcome was predictable if Tennessee refused to respond to that adjustment defensively. The young rattled QB completes some passes, gains confidence and leads an amazing second half rally.

The only way Chow’s adjustment works is if the Vols continue to utilize conservative corner play. They did, and it did. I’m no expert, any coach will tell you that. But it makes too much sense not to be true. It’s not football it’s psychology. If you’re facing a clearly shaken quarterback with no track record of success at the level which you are playing who has thrown almost as many completions to you as he has to his own guys, do you choose to play soft coverage hoping the aforementioned QB makes a mistake if drives are extended? Or, do you smell blood; get your corners to jam inferior UCLA athletes at wide-out throwing off the timing of an already proven dysfunctional offense while also knowing that if your corners do get beat, you have the nation’s best safety tandem behind them? The choice was clear. Instead, the choice bent and broke.

• Quick side note: Tennessee will have fun Saturday and I still stand by my pre-season pick. The Vols will beat the Gators. More on that next week.

Needed FG?

Florida scored quickly after obtaining great field position in its week two match-up with the Miami Hurricanes, but did not get back into the end zone until the fourth quarter. Florida defeated Miami 26-3, but many came away impressed with how hard the Hurricanes fought a superior team leading many I’m sure to take note as to how quickly Miami might get back to national prominence. The talk after the game, however was not about the game at all. It was about Urban Meyer’s decision to kick a late game field goal though the points were certainly not needed; on the surface anyway.

Up 23-3, with under a minute to go, Florida Coach Urban Meyer elected to try to tack on three more points. Was the decision made because the coach felt like he need three more points to secure victory? No.

Conspiracy guy might point to the 21 ½ point spread with the Gators up by 20 at the tome the decision was made and with countless alumni watching things like that. Up 20 before the short kick, up 23 after the short kick. Is that the reason for the meaningless field goal? No.

Urban Meyer understood that he has a an inexperienced kicker who needs to swing his leg in the friendly confines of the Swamp for the first time in 2008, rather than waiting for what is sure to be a raucous environment the next time the Gators play. Jonathan Phillips did kickoff once in 2007 and even attempted one extra point – which he missed. The chance presented itself to get a player some confidence before 108,000 plus are screaming in his ear.

Enough of that, it matters not why the ball was kicked or even if the kick was made. What matters is what happened after the game. The story is the reaction to the kick by Miami Coach Randy Shannon. If the Canes Coach is that upset about a meaningless field goal in an already decided game, then Gator wide receiver Louis Murphy was right. Miami is no longer the “U!” Teams sign up to play forty minutes. Would it not be more of an insult to Miami for Florida to simply sit on the ball? Suck it up Coach. The better team won and I don’t think you want to give your players the idea that you want other teams to take it easy on you, do you?

Heisman Showcase:

A week three game that was thought coming into the season to be a National Championship qualifier for USC and Ohio St. and a Heisman showcase for Buckeyes running back Chris Wells has turned into a possible boat race. The Trojans are a double digit favorite and they should be. We have a Buckeye blowout blueprint. If the Buckeyes can’t match the speed of whatever SEC team comes their way at the end of the year, how are they going to run with the So-Cal boys? They won’t. USC wins 31-13. And, the game turns into a Heisman showcase for Trojans QB Mark Sanchez.

PickUpdate:

I was 6-1 overall in week two, the only loss coming as Wake survived a Rebel scare. 4-3 was the record ATS.

Total: 15-4 overall

11-8 ATS

Week Three SEC Picks

Rice at Vanderbilt – The Commodores are favored by seven and should be alright with that.

The Pick: Vandy wins 30-17

Auburn at Mississippi St. – Auburn is the more talented team, but Croom still remembers his Tide days for this one. Auburn wins, but not by eleven.

The Pick: Auburn wins 20 Mississippi St. 10

South Carolina at Georiga – This is typically a dangerous game for the Bulldogs and certainly could be this year despite South Carolina’s second consecutive loss to Vanderbilt. USC’s D is good enough to give Georgia fits. Georgia wins in a Dawgfight.

The Pick: Georgia 20 South Carolina 13

Others:

Texas 38 Arkansas 10

Alabama 34 Western Kentucky 7

Kentucky 27 Middle Tennessee 17

LSU 41 North Texas 3

Tennessee 38 UAB 6

Thanks for reading. Happy footballing! -Brent.