I expected Arkansas to lose yesterday, and it did just that, falling 35-7 in Tuscaloosa in a game that didn’t seem to be that close.
Alabama may have the best team in the country, and could very well be improved at QB despite losing 3-year starter, Sarah Jessica John Parker Wilson. I am impressed with the Crimson Tide to the point that in the preseason I picked them to go undefeated in the regular season and meet up with College Football Baby Jesus, Tim Tebow, and the defending national champion Florida Gators in a SEC Championship/Game of the Centuryish showdown.
But, that said, I didn’t expect to see an Arkansas offense that seemed to be vastly improved rendered pretty much helpless throughout the day by Alabama’s stout defense.
And, while it is easy, and understandable for me to expect the Razorbacks to lose to Bama, the most disappointing aspect of the debacle at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday was that the Razorbacks, themselves, clearly harbored very little hope off winning.
Whether it was Alabama freshman phenom Trent Richardson’s 53-yard touchdown run featuring a handful of missed kill-shot tackles by Arkansas’ best (alleged) tacklers, the Hogs WR corps’ deluge of drops and ducks (from imminent contact) or the weekly Keystone Kops routine in the hapless Razorback defensive backfield, it was clear that this game was one that the guys with the boars on their hats just wanted to get behind them.
That approach won’t do for a fan base that has ponied up the resources to try and make the jump on the national (and frankly, SEC conference) scene from stepchild to prodigal son status.
Instead, Arkansas is going to have to make significant strides, sooner than later, in a number of key (mostly defensive) areas to give its fans, players, and, most importantly, recruits, something to believe in as the season moves forward.
It will not be easy. If the Arkansas defensive cupboard isn’t bare, it’s just a few packages of Top Ramen from it. Offseason optimists, like myself, looked at the fact Arkansas was bringing most everyone back on the defensive side of the ball, along with an injection of talented newcomers in the secondary, and expected the Hogs’ defense would have to be improved.
We were wrong, at least thus far. Junior college transfer and headhunter Anthony Leon, who was expected to help at safety, has been largely ineffective, thanks in no small part to a steep learning curve after missing offseason workouts in his efforts to complete enough coursework to become eligible.
Leon is a top-notch talent, but he doesn’t yet have the knowledge of Arkansas’ system that is necessary for him to go full-throttle. Meanwhile, the prize recruit of the last recruiting class–5-star cornerback Darius Winson of Helena, Arkansas– is languishing on the bench while his secondary mates have been putting on a clinic in incompetence.
The rationale for Winston’s lack of playing time appears to be that he is neither physically, nor mentally, ready for the rigors of SEC football. Guess what? The guys that are playing ahead of him clearly aren’t either. But, unlike Winston, they are at least getting some of the unavoidable growing pains of playing cornerback in the SEC behind them.
It’s time for Winston and Leon to get their chances. They simply cannot do much worse than they guys who are playing, and they would immediately provide some much-needed physical talent, and swagger to the defense.
However, it isn’t quite time to throw the baby out with the bath water, just yet. I have never thought Willy Robinson was the answer as the defensive coordinator, but I also think that it is hard to completely blame a guy for losing a gun fight when he is only armed with cap guns.
I don’t think he will be able to save his job, but if he has any hope of doing so, his squad will have to give the fans, and themselves, hope. A win over an undefeated, but untested Texas A&M squad at JerryWorld next Saturday could be a step in the right direction.
One does not have to look back very far into Razorback history to find an example of a wholly unexpected defensive uprising. In 2005, Arkansas was embarrassed 70-17 in L.A. by the USC Trojans on the way to a miserable 4-7 campaign.
The following season, defensive coordinator Reggie Herring must have had flashbacks when the Razorbacks were whipped 50-14 by USC in the season opener. The Hogs rebounded by winning 10 straight games and coming a muffed punt away from playing in the BCS, and possibly for a national title.
Unfortunately, though, at this point, I don’t see any first-round NFL draft pick caliber talent on this Arkansas defense.
That’s why it’s incumbent upon the UA brain trust to coach up the gifted players they do have on the defensive side of the ball, and make some personnel changes by throwing them into the fire.
Otherwise, another puny defensive effort in the Lone Star State on Saturday by the Razorbacks might just mean change will come from near the top–at the defensive coordinator position.
The Butler Did It–Change Willy Needs
Posted by Adam Butler on September 27, 2009
I expected Arkansas to lose yesterday, and it did just that, falling 35-7 in Tuscaloosa in a game that didn’t seem to be that close.
Alabama may have the best team in the country, and could very well be improved at QB despite losing 3-year starter, Sarah Jessica John Parker Wilson. I am impressed with the Crimson Tide to the point that in the preseason I picked them to go undefeated in the regular season and meet up with College Football Baby Jesus, Tim Tebow, and the defending national champion Florida Gators in a SEC Championship/Game of the Centuryish showdown.
But, that said, I didn’t expect to see an Arkansas offense that seemed to be vastly improved rendered pretty much helpless throughout the day by Alabama’s stout defense.
And, while it is easy, and understandable for me to expect the Razorbacks to lose to Bama, the most disappointing aspect of the debacle at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday was that the Razorbacks, themselves, clearly harbored very little hope off winning.
Whether it was Alabama freshman phenom Trent Richardson’s 53-yard touchdown run featuring a handful of missed kill-shot tackles by Arkansas’ best (alleged) tacklers, the Hogs WR corps’ deluge of drops and ducks (from imminent contact) or the weekly Keystone Kops routine in the hapless Razorback defensive backfield, it was clear that this game was one that the guys with the boars on their hats just wanted to get behind them.
That approach won’t do for a fan base that has ponied up the resources to try and make the jump on the national (and frankly, SEC conference) scene from stepchild to prodigal son status.
Instead, Arkansas is going to have to make significant strides, sooner than later, in a number of key (mostly defensive) areas to give its fans, players, and, most importantly, recruits, something to believe in as the season moves forward.
It will not be easy. If the Arkansas defensive cupboard isn’t bare, it’s just a few packages of Top Ramen from it. Offseason optimists, like myself, looked at the fact Arkansas was bringing most everyone back on the defensive side of the ball, along with an injection of talented newcomers in the secondary, and expected the Hogs’ defense would have to be improved.
We were wrong, at least thus far. Junior college transfer and headhunter Anthony Leon, who was expected to help at safety, has been largely ineffective, thanks in no small part to a steep learning curve after missing offseason workouts in his efforts to complete enough coursework to become eligible.
Leon is a top-notch talent, but he doesn’t yet have the knowledge of Arkansas’ system that is necessary for him to go full-throttle. Meanwhile, the prize recruit of the last recruiting class–5-star cornerback Darius Winson of Helena, Arkansas– is languishing on the bench while his secondary mates have been putting on a clinic in incompetence.
The rationale for Winston’s lack of playing time appears to be that he is neither physically, nor mentally, ready for the rigors of SEC football. Guess what? The guys that are playing ahead of him clearly aren’t either. But, unlike Winston, they are at least getting some of the unavoidable growing pains of playing cornerback in the SEC behind them.
It’s time for Winston and Leon to get their chances. They simply cannot do much worse than they guys who are playing, and they would immediately provide some much-needed physical talent, and swagger to the defense.
However, it isn’t quite time to throw the baby out with the bath water, just yet. I have never thought Willy Robinson was the answer as the defensive coordinator, but I also think that it is hard to completely blame a guy for losing a gun fight when he is only armed with cap guns.
I don’t think he will be able to save his job, but if he has any hope of doing so, his squad will have to give the fans, and themselves, hope. A win over an undefeated, but untested Texas A&M squad at JerryWorld next Saturday could be a step in the right direction.
One does not have to look back very far into Razorback history to find an example of a wholly unexpected defensive uprising. In 2005, Arkansas was embarrassed 70-17 in L.A. by the USC Trojans on the way to a miserable 4-7 campaign.
The following season, defensive coordinator Reggie Herring must have had flashbacks when the Razorbacks were whipped 50-14 by USC in the season opener. The Hogs rebounded by winning 10 straight games and coming a muffed punt away from playing in the BCS, and possibly for a national title.
Unfortunately, though, at this point, I don’t see any first-round NFL draft pick caliber talent on this Arkansas defense.
That’s why it’s incumbent upon the UA brain trust to coach up the gifted players they do have on the defensive side of the ball, and make some personnel changes by throwing them into the fire.
Otherwise, another puny defensive effort in the Lone Star State on Saturday by the Razorbacks might just mean change will come from near the top–at the defensive coordinator position.
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