SEC REPORT
by David Waters
Posted July 29, 2009
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SEC EAST QUESTIONS
With SEC Media Days behind us and the start of the season fast approaching, what questions do SEC teams need to resolve in order to have a successful season? This week I'll answer some glaring questions that SEC East teams need to answer to make a difference in going up or down in the standings of the always competitive SEC East.
Florida - How to replace Percy Harvin?
The nation received a glimpse of what Florida can do without "do-it-all" receiver Percy Harvin in the SEC Championship game against Alabama. The Gators managed 358 yards of offense against a stingy Crimson Tide defense while Harvin stood on the sideline and watched the Gators win 31-20.
The Gators only had a week to prepare for that game without Percy Harvin, now they have a whole off-season to get an offense together without the player who carried the Gators to a National Championship with his performance against Oklahoma.
There are multiple ways to fill this "Percy position," and the Gators will experiment with many different players and schemes with the most obvious being incoming freshman Andre Debose. Look for Florida to spread it out amongst many players to fill the 1,304 all-purpose yards they are losing since Harvin chose not to come back for the fun.
Debose has been designated the "Percy" tag ever since he committed to Florida. The six foot, 170 lbs, freshman from Seminole County, along with sophomore Deonte Thompson, will be asked to play the same role as Harvin as being dual-threat receivers that move into the backfield on certain plays, take the hand off and just out run the defense.
Speaking of out running a defense, the return of Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey will also help alleviate the loss of Harvin.. Combined with the power running of Emmanuel Moody, the trio combined for 1, 674 yards and 7.6 YPC. If the running game continues in that direction, those receiver in the backfield schemes maybe become less utilized in order to keep the receivers from getting banged up.
Watch out for tight-end Aaron Hernandez who will be Tim Tebow's main target in the passing game and on those pesky shovel triple option plays.
The match-up against Harvin is what drove defenses crazy in his time at Florida. It may or may not be one player trying to fill the void, but Florida could have one player or every type of player for every type of situation.
Georgia - Can the Bulldogs improve after losing Stafford and Moreno?
Losing two first round draft picks, especially in the offensive backfield, would decimate most team's chances to have a great season in 2009. Could it really be possible though that the Georgia Bulldogs could be better with the departures of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno?
Ever since Mark Richt has arrived in Athens the Bulldogs have been stockpiling talent just as good as anyone in the SEC and possibly the nation. Stepping in for Stafford is veteran Joe Cox. Cox is not as good as Matthew Stafford, but could have a better supporting cast to help ease the transition.
Without the preseason hype of a year ago and the hard luck of a rash of injuries, if the rest of the team can make plays for Cox the Bulldogs could end up being better than the superstar led team of a year ago.
The overall talent of the UGA running backs is top notch. With Moreno gone, the Dawgs will look to the depth at tailback to find a suitable replacement. Caleb King seems like the obvious choice but he has trouble blocking for the quarterback, but is too talented otherwise not to have on the field. After a so-so spring for King, the door opened for Richard Samuel, Dontavius Jackson, and freshman Washaun Ealey. Each back brings something different to the table to help make up for the versatility of Moreno.
The reason the team could be better on offense is because UGA boasts one of the best offensive lines in the nation. The line returns eight players with experience because of all the injuries that allowed younger players valuable playing time. Even though they were young they still paved the way for 148 rushing yards a game and only 17 sacks.
This is the reason Georgia will still be a team to be reckoned with, add the best offensive line in the nation with the best receiver in the SEC, A.J. Green, and Cox has enough help to be just as good as Stafford if he takes care of the ball.
South Carolina- Can the Gamecocks finish the season strong?
Steve Spurrier and South Carolina can never seem to get over the hump. Spurrier has still not been able to find a consistent quarterback, and that has led to collapses to end the last two seasons in Columbia. The defense has always been there, but it can't keep up with an offense that constantly puts them in bad situations.
In 2007 South Carolina had a strong start to the season as the Gamecocks beat a #11 UGA team. They go on to start 6-1, after a loss to eventual National Championship LSU, and rose up to a ranking of sixth in the country. All was good for the Gamecocks, then they go on to lose their next five games by letting their opponents score an average of 33 points a game and missing a bowl game after finishing 6-6.
Last year the team was 7-3 going into the last two weeks of the season against Florida and Clemson. The Gamecocks end up getting blown out by both teams and it carries over into the Outback Bowl against Iowa where Stephen Garcia threw three interceptions that led to a 31-10 loss.
A lot of the Gamecocks' troubles come from how hard the schedule gets toward the end of the season when the Gamecocks play Tennessee, Florida, and Clemson within the last four games of the season. This year they only have 11 returning players, that's second fewest in the SEC.
The offense only scored 21 points per game last year because of the constant inconsistent play of his quarterbacks. If Stephen Garcia can get his head on straight and takes care of the football, South Carolina could be a sleeper to finish behind Florida in the SEC East.
The Gamecocks can't lose to Vanderbilt for the third year in a row, and must find a way to beat four of their last six opponents, which will be tough to do when the opponents are: Alabama, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, and Clemson.
Looks like another late season struggle for Spurrier and the Gamecocks.
Tennessee - Can the Vols get better quarterback play from Jonathan Crompton?
To say the 2008 Tennessee Volunteer offense was bad is an understatement.
When a team has bad quarterback play in the SEC, the defenses take everything else away and make that quarterback try and beat them. Jonathan Crompton struggled mightily last season, so then defenses could concentrate on the Vols running game. The abysmal offense ultimately led to the firing of Phil Fulmer and brought in Lane Kiffin to turn things around in Knoxville.
Kiffin immediately started on the offensive side of the ball. Kiffin came in a installed a more simpler, easier offense. Crompton needs to be able to show his arm strength and that comes from being comfortable in an offense. This is fourth different offensive coordinator for Crompton and with this new scheme Kiffin has promised that it will get more talent on the field and all this added together will give him more confidence this season.
All reports were that Crompton had a solid spring behind what looked like a return to the power running game of Tennessee past. The talent is there on the offensive line for the stable of backs to be better, if the quarterback play is better. The Vols are using more deep routes and bootleg action plays to spread defenses out and give Crompton some more confidence by doing things he feels more comfortable with.
If the Vols can't get more than the 1,750 yards, eight touchdowns, and nine interceptions out of the quarterback position this year, the Vol Navy might just put Kiffin on a boat and let it drift away.
Junior Nick Stephens is still in contention for playing time if Crompton cannot get the job done.
Vanderbilt - Can Vanderbilt make it to a second bowl game in a row?
In 2008 Vanderbilt finally broke through last season to finish a season at .500 and make it to their first bowl game since 1982. The Commodores took advantage of a somewhat down year in the SEC and won games they would have lost in the past.
Surprisingly, Vanderbilt rose up to #13 in the rankings last season and then came back down to earth and needed a seven point win over Kentucky to become bowl eligible. Vanderbilt lost some close games they probably should have won against Mississippi St. and Duke and won some games they had no business winning against Boston College in the Music City Bowl.
Can the Commodores keep it going?
It may sound weird but this year's Vanderbilt team will be better than last year's team, but their record will be worse. The 'Dores return 17 starters and lose only 15 letterman from last year's bowl team.
The offense must be better as it was last in the SEC (117 in the nation) in total yardage per game last year, but will look different as a new no-huddle offense will be led by sophomore Larry Smith. This type of offense is suited for Smith as he ran it in high school. Smith started the Music City Bowl and completing 10-of-17 passes for 121 yards and showing great leadership in leading Vandy over Boston College.
Look for the running game to be lead by three freshman who come in with some lofty expectations to bolster a mediocre attack from a year ago.
Nine starters return from a defense that held every team besides Florida to 24 points or less. Put an offense behind the defense that is led by four All-SEC players in linebackers Patrick Benoist and Chris Marve and defensive backs Myron Lewis and Ryan Hamilton and Vandy could surprise once more.
The factor that will lead to Vandy's downfall this year though will be their schedule. Besides the usual suspects in the SEC East, they have to play Ole Miss and LSU out of the SEC West and out of conference foe Georgia Tech. There are a guaranteed four wins on the schedule, but mix in these opponents and it's easy to see why Vanderbilt will have a very tough time making it back to post season play.
Kentucky - Will Randall Cobb have a defined role on offense?
It may seem like a common theme in the SEC, but if a team has a good quarterback in the conference, they have a really good chance at doing something special. Kentucky rose up to number seven in the ranking in 2007 behind superstar quarterback Andre Woodson, then fell back to reality last season with Mike Hartline leading the Wildcats.
After Hartline struggled at times last season head coach Rich Brooks decided to throw sophomore Randall Cobb at the helm for four games as a true freshman. The do-it-all playmaker accounted for 1,140 yards of rushing, passing, and receiving. This needs to change if Kentucky wants to have a more successful season in 2009.
Mike Hartline needs to be a constant playmaker and not just a game manager this coming season. The steady Hartline threw for 1, 666 yards and eight touchdowns last season, but needs to pick that up as it was a significant drop off from what the Wildcats received from Andre Woodson in 2007. There is nowhere to go but up.
If Hartline can be the consistent player that Brooks wants him to be that will open up the door for a successful "Wildcat" scheme for Cobb.
In Kentucky's dream scenario Cobb (played quarterback in high school) will line up at receiver, then move into the backfield to recapture some of that 2007 magic that last year's Kentucky team only saw when Cobb was making plays all over field. Cobb is great, but not great enough to do it by himself.
If Kentucky wants a quarterback that can put pressure on a defense, then Cobb is their man, but if the Wildcats want to win games they need to get Cobb in the open field at receiver and use the "Wildcat" to showcase his best talents. He is best when he can run and throw it when defenses are not expecting it.
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