Whew! What an afternoon!
Count me among those who think we should play A&M or State every year. They bring a big crowd, their fans are great, and their bands are fun.
And *knocks wood* generally an easy win.
The energy outside Legion Field yesterday morning was real and palpable. I don't know when I felt such a pregame vibe. I think I could get used to it. A&M was part of that, because they brought a huge crowd, and every one of their fans I encountered brought a fun, festive mood with them, and God bless 'em.
But here's the thing. There were more fans on the home side as well. And that is damned encouraging.
So, anywho, on to the observations:
The Good
1. Cody Clements. I think he's becoming a much more efficient passer as he continues to settle in. 18/23 for 228 yards. Not shabby. Still not sold on him as a runner, but I do think he's better at it than Briscoe. Clements is settling in nicely in large part due to...
2. Beastly, and I mean BEASTLY tight ends. Nine catches for 174 yards. Wow. Yes, Virginia, that position IS an eligible receiver. Think of the implications. Stuff our run? Jam our wideouts? Well, surprise! Speaking of...
3. 195 yards rushing when they were stacking the box and our starter was out.
4. Aggressive, opportunistic D. We had 3 interceptions (and had a 4th called back on a penalty) and recorded 4 sacks. Without looking it up, I bet we're at or near our 2013 totals in both those stats. Our corners are playing the ball better than I've ever seen us do it before. Our linebackers can run and our front guys are not getting manhandled.
5. Coppertone SPORT SPF 30 and the 2:30 kickoff. I was still peeling from the Troy game at kickoff. This morning, no new ouchies.
6. Blazerwkr's cheeseburger bombs. Good Lord, that man is an evil genius.
7. Mrs. Smaug's dutch oven peach cobbler. Sweet Georgia Brown! 22 years and I still marvel at that woman's skills.
8. The big finish at the end of the halftime show. The Marching Blazers, the A&M band, and maybe another hundred high school kids. Must've been upward of 600 people on the field. Very cool.
The Bad
1. The first 20 minutes of the game. We've got to get off the bus earlier in conference play.
2. If our D has any glaring weakness (and frankly it doesn't have many) it's containment on running QBs. Once their starter went down, it was pretty clear that their backup was not going to stand in the pocket and beat us, but he served up a few headaches with his feet, and kept plays alive longer than we should have let him.
3. A&M's band. God love 'em, they're such a fun and entertaining band, but they played the entire second half. The. Entire. Second. Half.
The Ugly
1. Officiating. It's fashionable to ***** about them after a frustrating loss, but I'm going to do it after a fairly comfortable win. This may be the worst crew I've ever seen. They didn't seem to know WHAT was going on. Offsides on the offense. Inadvertent whistle that I heard loud and clear as JJ was camped under the ball, and I swear I saw him flinch when he heard it, causing the muff. You could see both Clark and A&M's coach chewing on them most of the game.
They were bad, bad, bad.
Where'd THAT guy come from?
DJ Vinson. 25 carries for 106 yards and a school record 5 TDs. He filled in strong when Howard went down. Hell, how 'bout those CCHS Cougars in general? The record Vinson broke was held by 13 Blazers, the most recent, Darrin Reaves. Speaking of, kid brother Marcus got in the game late and ran like a house afire. 6 carries for 47 yards. TJ McCollum was in on a few tackles late, as well.
Where'd THAT guy come from? II
Gerald Everett. 3 catches. 94 yards. 94 angry, shoulder-dropping, knock-your-mouthpiece-out yards. People wonder what we're going to do when Backman starts working Sundays? This may be your answer.
Best Smack of the Day
So, I'm taking pictures of the band at halftime, standing on a concourse lip near one of Birmingham's Finest. When the Marching Blazers break into the Tootsie Roll, the crowd goes nuts. Aforementioned officer just chuckles and said, "They are WAY outside their comfort zone."
So, what does this mean, Barbara?
Maybe not a whole lot. Let's call it what it is: a cruise win over an FCS school. But wait. Think those don't matter? Ask Larry Blakeny about it over his McGriddle this morning.
Bottom line, we sleep-walked through the first quarter, and then pulled it together and put the hammer down. The vibe around the Old Grey Broad was awesome, and I've been to some pretty grim atmospheres there over the years. There was concern that we were squandering it (as we'd done many, many, soul-leaching times before) when we got down 14-0. But then we tied it up and I don't think anyone really doubted we'd be okay.
It's hard to get a team up week in and week out, particularly when you just came out of a street fight with an $EC school feeling pretty good about yourself, and you've got an FCS school on your plate. We can't have that in conference play, but I was pleased by the way we didn't panic (we've done THAT before more than once, as well), found a forward gear and TCB'ed.
We played a lot of guys and really that's as important thing to get done on a day like yesterday as anything.
We get a week off to heal, regroup, and get a few things cleaned up, and then the real season begins. On the whole, I'm still as excited as I've ever been. We matched our 2013 win total on September 13. What a difference a coach makes, huh?
That's all I've got. For now. I think.
/
Smaug's $0.02
