Dabblin’ With the Cockspur: Me, Myself and I on 2009
posted by Roger Olivieri, 7/27/2009 11:00:00 PM
I’ve done this once before and it was sort of fun. I’m unsure if the medical field refers to it as bi-polar, multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia or just plain weird, but I may feel passionately about one thing now and the complete opposite two hours later.
Either way, in full football mode, here goes:
Optimistic Me:
Stephen Garcia has finally made it through a spring practice and, according to many coaches in the know, this is a key. There is no more battle for the top spot. This is his time, his team, we should expect great things. After all, he’s a tough kid who can run and definitely has the arm. My excitement starts there, but is nowhere near ending.
The receiving core is deeper than many people give it credit for. Spurrier has been publicly saying for two seasons that Joe Hills is going to be a good one and it showed in the spring game. Jason Barnes, though sporadic in his sophomore season, had fantastic flashes of brilliance. Tori Gurley, D.L. Moore, Dion Lecorn and even Moe Brown add depth. Aside from Moe, there isn’t a frail guy here. They are either tall, muscular or both.
The tight end position, though not as deep as 2008, has a shining star in Wesyle Saunders. He may not be Jared Cook, but Cook was the third Tight End taken in the draft so most teams would say the same thing.
Ahhhhh, the offensive line… I have to say, though I appreciate their efforts, I was never a big fan of Justin Sorensen or Jamon Meredith, nor was I a fan of John Hunt. That being said, Jarriel King and Garrett Anderson are leaders on and off the field while T.J. Johnson is a big boy who has been raved about for a year and finally gets his chance. Terrence Campbell started nine games last year and showed flashes. As for Hutch Eckerson, he was named the most improved lineman in the spring. At 6-6, 290, it could be worse.
The running backs are better than anyone has dared predict. After all, there will finally be a “juke” coming out of the backfield this season. There is youth, but also youthful experience in Brian Maddox and Eric Baker. There is flash in Jarvis Giles and Kenny Miles - a guy who was once almost taken off his red-shirt season because Spurrier loved him. These guys, along with one tough cookie named Pat DiMarco, could be very talented in 2009.
Overall, this offense could be the beginning of the Steve Spurrier comeback. Look out.
Defensively, it’s simple. The Gamecocks went from having a talented squad distracted by visions of NFL greatness (no offense intended to Jasper Brinkley as he deserves everything good) to a talented squad led by a man ready to destroy anyone in his path (Eric Norwood, like I had to tell you).
The line, Geathers, Matthews, Pepper, Ajiboye and/or Robertson is simply a hurtin’ waiting to happen. No argument here.
The linebackers are hurting without Brinkley and Sapp, but Norwood is simply a freaking stud and Paulk isn’t chopped liver. Add a couple JUCO guys with talent and a small but tough Shaq Wilson and I think they can hold it together.
The defensive backfield, though depleted, still has hard hitting Akeem Auguste, freshman sensation (according to Steve Spurrier, not me) Stephon Gilmore, DeVonte Holloman, Darian Stewart and that Chris Culliver fella’ who almost decapitated Jonathan Crompton last season.
Regardless, you walk up to Ellis Johnson and tell him his defense is going to let the team down this year – I’m not.
Looking over the schedule and reviewing the team the way I just have, I can see 9-3 with a Top 15 ranking. They’ll lose at Alabama, against Ole Miss and Florida, all of whom will be Top 10 teams.
Pessimistic Me:
This is South Carolina. The offensive line will continue to disappoint like it does every year. Campbell looked good compared to Sorensen and Meredith, but that means nothing. Eckerson will continue to disappoint. Anderson will continue to be a well spoken, hard working average offensive lineman and King has already hit his plateau.
The result of another Swiss cheese offensive line, the running backs will get crushed, Garcia will have time to run for his life and throw ill-advised passes that get picked off like a wallet in Times Square.
The receivers will never have a chance especially without the help of Kenny McKinley. Moe Brown is just not going to develop no matter how many times we refer to him as our “deep threat” while Joe Hills and Jason Barnes remain tall WR who can’t haul in the jump ball.
The defense, though talented, will look like a B.J. McKie run basketball team when he returned for his senior season, only it’ll be Eric Norwood who we all feel badly for.
With this schedule and no one named Brinkley, Jared Cook, McKinley, Munnerlyn or E. Cook, these poor guys will be lucky to win five games.
See ya’ Spurrier (retirement, not fired).
Middle of the Road Me:
Starting at the offensive end of things, I can see an improved offensive line helping the team immensely. Unfortunately the outcome will not be immense because everything the line helps in execution, it loses in talent.
Keeping that theory in mind, let’s start at the quarterback. Sure Garcia has plenty of talent and an arm, but let’s be real. Everyone in Columbia saw his long hair a few years ago and immediately saw Steve Tanneyhill. Face the facts; Tanneyhill was already a “great one” by the time his junior year started. Though Garcia may still be a good one eventually, he’s not "Tanneyhill good."
The receivers have all grown, weather it was due to playing time or practice is neither here nor there. The fact remains that this squad has no Kenny McKinley or Jared Cook.
Again, an improved offensive line may help matters, but not enough to compensate for the school’s all-time leading receiver and the best tight end they’ve probably ever had.
What to think of the running backs? There is talent, albeit young. Though Mike Davis may have proven to be a flop, statistic-wise, have you ever stopped to think what he’d have done if he took the Kenny Irons route? I bet you he has wondered more than once. A different offensive line may have made him a different running back.
The defense suffers from a similar plague. Yes, there is talent, but replacing Cook, Brinkley and Munnerlyn in the same year sure is asking a lot. Though Cook and Munnerlyn may have quit on the team, the stats don’t lie. Offenses ran as far away from these three as they could.
Even if they were to achieve the status-quo, it wouldn’t be enough to pick up the slack left over by the offense. Ouch, this sounds all too familiar…
It sounds like yet another typical South Carolina season; they are “in the hunt” for half the season and struggling to earn a good bowl game in the other half.
Who Would I Believe?
It would be easy to say I believe “Middle of the Road Rog” more than the other two. It would be very difficult to agree with “Optimistic Rog” and an unfortunate reality that “Pessimistic Rog” could be right on.
Does that make sense? It shouldn’t. After all, I just wrote an entire BLOG on me, myself and I.
After a good healthy argument with only me in the room, I believe the Gamecocks are improving at a never before seen rate. The size, speed and talent have improved more than even Lee Corso could have imagined, but that schedule… JEEZ!
Though the Cocks are a much better football team with a much better staff, I can see another 7-6 season. Even if they overcome the two-year Vanderbilt hiatus, Arkansas, N.C. State and Ole Miss are all better than they were a year ago.
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I’ve done this once before and it was sort of fun. I’m unsure if the medical field refers to it as bi-polar, multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia or just plain weird, but I may feel passionately about one thing now and the complete opposite two hours later.
Either way, in full football mode, here goes:
Optimistic Me:
Stephen Garcia has finally made it through a spring practice and, according to many coaches in the know, this is a key. There is no more battle for the top spot. This is his time, his team, we should expect great things. After all, he’s a tough kid who can run and definitely has the arm. My excitement starts there, but is nowhere near ending.
The receiving core is deeper than many people give it credit for. Spurrier has been publicly saying for two seasons that Joe Hills is going to be a good one and it showed in the spring game. Jason Barnes, though sporadic in his sophomore season, had fantastic flashes of brilliance. Tori Gurley, D.L. Moore, Dion Lecorn and even Moe Brown add depth. Aside from Moe, there isn’t a frail guy here. They are either tall, muscular or both.
The tight end position, though not as deep as 2008, has a shining star in Wesyle Saunders. He may not be Jared Cook, but Cook was the third Tight End taken in the draft so most teams would say the same thing.
Ahhhhh, the offensive line… I have to say, though I appreciate their efforts, I was never a big fan of Justin Sorensen or Jamon Meredith, nor was I a fan of John Hunt. That being said, Jarriel King and Garrett Anderson are leaders on and off the field while T.J. Johnson is a big boy who has been raved about for a year and finally gets his chance. Terrence Campbell started nine games last year and showed flashes. As for Hutch Eckerson, he was named the most improved lineman in the spring. At 6-6, 290, it could be worse.
The running backs are better than anyone has dared predict. After all, there will finally be a “juke” coming out of the backfield this season. There is youth, but also youthful experience in Brian Maddox and Eric Baker. There is flash in Jarvis Giles and Kenny Miles - a guy who was once almost taken off his red-shirt season because Spurrier loved him. These guys, along with one tough cookie named Pat DiMarco, could be very talented in 2009.
Overall, this offense could be the beginning of the Steve Spurrier comeback. Look out.
Defensively, it’s simple. The Gamecocks went from having a talented squad distracted by visions of NFL greatness (no offense intended to Jasper Brinkley as he deserves everything good) to a talented squad led by a man ready to destroy anyone in his path (Eric Norwood, like I had to tell you).
The line, Geathers, Matthews, Pepper, Ajiboye and/or Robertson is simply a hurtin’ waiting to happen. No argument here.
The linebackers are hurting without Brinkley and Sapp, but Norwood is simply a freaking stud and Paulk isn’t chopped liver. Add a couple JUCO guys with talent and a small but tough Shaq Wilson and I think they can hold it together.
The defensive backfield, though depleted, still has hard hitting Akeem Auguste, freshman sensation (according to Steve Spurrier, not me) Stephon Gilmore, DeVonte Holloman, Darian Stewart and that Chris Culliver fella’ who almost decapitated Jonathan Crompton last season.
Regardless, you walk up to Ellis Johnson and tell him his defense is going to let the team down this year – I’m not.
Looking over the schedule and reviewing the team the way I just have, I can see 9-3 with a Top 15 ranking. They’ll lose at Alabama, against Ole Miss and Florida, all of whom will be Top 10 teams.
Pessimistic Me:
This is South Carolina. The offensive line will continue to disappoint like it does every year. Campbell looked good compared to Sorensen and Meredith, but that means nothing. Eckerson will continue to disappoint. Anderson will continue to be a well spoken, hard working average offensive lineman and King has already hit his plateau.
The result of another Swiss cheese offensive line, the running backs will get crushed, Garcia will have time to run for his life and throw ill-advised passes that get picked off like a wallet in Times Square.
The receivers will never have a chance especially without the help of Kenny McKinley. Moe Brown is just not going to develop no matter how many times we refer to him as our “deep threat” while Joe Hills and Jason Barnes remain tall WR who can’t haul in the jump ball.
The defense, though talented, will look like a B.J. McKie run basketball team when he returned for his senior season, only it’ll be Eric Norwood who we all feel badly for.
With this schedule and no one named Brinkley, Jared Cook, McKinley, Munnerlyn or E. Cook, these poor guys will be lucky to win five games.
See ya’ Spurrier (retirement, not fired).
Middle of the Road Me:
Starting at the offensive end of things, I can see an improved offensive line helping the team immensely. Unfortunately the outcome will not be immense because everything the line helps in execution, it loses in talent.
Keeping that theory in mind, let’s start at the quarterback. Sure Garcia has plenty of talent and an arm, but let’s be real. Everyone in Columbia saw his long hair a few years ago and immediately saw Steve Tanneyhill. Face the facts; Tanneyhill was already a “great one” by the time his junior year started. Though Garcia may still be a good one eventually, he’s not "Tanneyhill good."
The receivers have all grown, weather it was due to playing time or practice is neither here nor there. The fact remains that this squad has no Kenny McKinley or Jared Cook.
Again, an improved offensive line may help matters, but not enough to compensate for the school’s all-time leading receiver and the best tight end they’ve probably ever had.
What to think of the running backs? There is talent, albeit young. Though Mike Davis may have proven to be a flop, statistic-wise, have you ever stopped to think what he’d have done if he took the Kenny Irons route? I bet you he has wondered more than once. A different offensive line may have made him a different running back.
The defense suffers from a similar plague. Yes, there is talent, but replacing Cook, Brinkley and Munnerlyn in the same year sure is asking a lot. Though Cook and Munnerlyn may have quit on the team, the stats don’t lie. Offenses ran as far away from these three as they could.
Even if they were to achieve the status-quo, it wouldn’t be enough to pick up the slack left over by the offense. Ouch, this sounds all too familiar…
It sounds like yet another typical South Carolina season; they are “in the hunt” for half the season and struggling to earn a good bowl game in the other half.
Who Would I Believe?
It would be easy to say I believe “Middle of the Road Rog” more than the other two. It would be very difficult to agree with “Optimistic Rog” and an unfortunate reality that “Pessimistic Rog” could be right on.
Does that make sense? It shouldn’t. After all, I just wrote an entire BLOG on me, myself and I.
After a good healthy argument with only me in the room, I believe the Gamecocks are improving at a never before seen rate. The size, speed and talent have improved more than even Lee Corso could have imagined, but that schedule… JEEZ!
Though the Cocks are a much better football team with a much better staff, I can see another 7-6 season. Even if they overcome the two-year Vanderbilt hiatus, Arkansas, N.C. State and Ole Miss are all better than they were a year ago.
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Roger Olivieri. Roger began working with GamecockCentral in December of 2007. He currently serves as the site's chief videographer. He may be reached by email at roger(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.