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I'd say Florida wants a shootout. If Bama's going to win, they need to take a lot more time scoring than that.

Oh, I hope, I hope, I hope. So, interesting story, and one of the reasons I am glad Fulmer is gone. This is from Arian Foster's brother... Nick Stephens goes to the coaching staff to complain about Josh Briscoe's playing time and effort in games where Stephens was playing QB. (Remember that Briscoe is the player that Stephens chewed on the sideline on National TV after Briscoe gave up a sure first down and proceeded to joke about it during the South Carolina game.) The coaching staff's response? Crompton starts the final two games of the year and Stephens doesn't see the field. Was that the reason for the benching, or is it because Nick Stephens sucks, sucked while he was playing and doesn't have close to the potential of Crompton? I don't know, but there was ample reason without his complaint to bench him. Perhaps that was why he was benched, but I'm not sure you can just assume it.

It's going to be close. They're going to need style points today. Thanks. The way CBS has been talking, it sounds like a done deal so I wasn't sure.

Verne will say anything to make himself hotter for Tebow.

is getting run past by speed and athleticism so far.

Meph, With a Florida win and OU win, is it still likely that UF will be out of the BCS title game?

I never would have thought about them.

Wrong yet again.

I actually like the Army uniforms. Don't know if they'd be good for an entire season, but using them in certain situations (like UGA's blackout jerseys or UT's all-orange) is a good idea.

eric gagne had a 1.47 whip last season bob howry had a 1.46 whip last season 1.53 is pretty much the definition of awful Ok, perhaps I wasn't thinking on that one.

Thanks. That's interesting, hopefully he's right about Coleman but last year's play from all three gives me exactly zero confidence any of them can compete, much less win, in the SEC. Is Phillip Simms related at all to Phil and Chris Simms? I would assume so, but hadn't heard a thing about him. Finally, am I just being paranoid or are we bringing in a bunch of recruiters and no coaches? The more I think about it we've got Lane Kiffin (awesome recruiter, questionable coach), David Reaves (great recruiter, coached the SC QB debacle) and are about to bring in Ed Orgeron (awesome recruiter, terrible, terrible coach). The other names I've heard you mention are in much the same vein as these guys, awesome recruiters but questionable coaches. We saw what a great recruiter and terrible coach can do in the SEC (Ole Miss under Orgeron). Maybe I'm paranoid, but it worries me a bit. No. Phillip Simms is a black quarterback from Virginia. A top QB in 2010. I woulnd't be too paranoid about the coaching staff just yet. Orgeron is actually an excellent defensive line coach. OMC will tell you... great Captain, terrible General. Monte is going to be a stellar coach as well. Truth be told, however, it will likely be 2010 before we really know what we have. If we lose 8 games next year, that will be attributed to the lack of talent left behind. If we win 8, it will likely be due to a weaker schedule. 2010 will tell the story, but I think we've got the right guy. I hope you're right. And I like the emphasis being put on bringing in strong recruiters, I just hope it's not going so far that we forget these guys need to be able to coach, too.

Thanks. That's interesting, hopefully he's right about Coleman but last year's play from all three gives me exactly zero confidence any of them can compete, much less win, in the SEC. Is Phillip Simms related at all to Phil and Chris Simms? I would assume so, but hadn't heard a thing about him. Finally, am I just being paranoid or are we bringing in a bunch of recruiters and no coaches? The more I think about it we've got Lane Kiffin (awesome recruiter, questionable coach), David Reaves (great recruiter, coached the SC QB debacle) and are about to bring in Ed Orgeron (awesome recruiter, terrible, terrible coach). The other names I've heard you mention are in much the same vein as these guys, awesome recruiters but questionable coaches. We saw what a great recruiter and terrible coach can do in the SEC (Ole Miss under Orgeron). Maybe I'm paranoid, but it worries me a bit.

Hopefully this'll be another easy win (though almost certainly not as easy as the win over the Lions) for the Titans. Cleveland will be without Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson and I think that means Ken Dorsey will be the starter. That should make the entire Titan defensive unit excited.

It sounds like bad stuff is going on with higher-ups at Auburn. I don't have a clue what, but my guess would be that there's some shady dealing going on behind the scenes at Auburn and Tuberville got out. Again, though, I don't have any info whatsoever. By the way Hosak, give me a reason, if you would, to not be bothered by Kiffin not wanting Tajh Boyd. We need help at QB and Boyd, though he's not a terrific pocket passer right now, is a talented QB who could likely be as good or better than any QB on our roster. It worries me that Kiffin couldn't tweak his offense a bit to keep the door open for a very good, athletic QB.

This is actually a pretty decent signing. He had a 121 ERA+ last year with a 1.53 WHIP (not that good, but not awful). Plus, he's only 30 so he's not likely to regress right now. Add in that the deal is for one year and roughly a million dollars, I see nothing wrong with it. Not a great deal by any stretch, but nothing wrong with it.

I'm in the minority I'm sure, but I personally consider Auburn to have won a National Championship in 2004. It's the SEC homer in me, I suppose. It was one of the biggest travesties the BCS has wrought yet. It should have been USC and Auburn in that game. Why? Because Oklahoma ended up getting beat down in the title game? I don't remember anybody complaining about Auburn getting left out of the title game (in terms of them being more deserving, not that there should be a playoff) before it happened. Also, if Oklahoma loses that game by a touchdown, nobody is complaining either. USC and Oklahoma were regarded as the top two teams in the nation going into the year and everybody wanted to see the matchup between the two at the end of the year. Also, people thought Auburn deserved to get a share of the National Title, they would have gotten plenty of first place votes. Instead, they got 3 in the AP poll and none in the Coaches Poll. USC the year before (when they were the 1-loss team that got left out) got 48 of the 65 AP votes and was ranked first after the bowls. Well they got none in the Coaches poll because that poll has a committment with the BCS. Whoever wins the BCS Title game gets a unanimous vote for the best team in the final Coaches poll. That said, I agree with you. I think it was pretty evident that USC and Oklahoma were the two best teams in the nation all year long that season. It wasn't until after the BCS Title Game (or right after Mark Bradley did one of the dumbest things I've ever seen a football player do) that people were clamoring for Auburn to get their fair share. I was clamoring for Auburn to go over OU long before the BCS Title Game and I heard plenty of people (both around me and nationally) questioning why OU was going over Auburn.

you didn't talk to me apparently. i said all year that auburn was better than oklahoma. the biggest advantages they had were in the backfield, o-line and secondary, and jason campbell was better than white (though most people didn't think so at the time). Yeah, I was saying quite a bit that OU would likely get beat down by USC and the only team that year that could stand a chance was Auburn. That Auburn team was really, really good.

I was trying to remember if you were a Charger fan. Obviously I knew you were an Eagle fan, but couldn't remember if you cheered for SD too. I don't hate Norv Turner (as long as he stays far, far away from the Titans and Vols - except as an offensive coordinator), but I find it hilariously awesome that he replaced any coach at all - much less one as great as Marty Schottenheimer. i think schottenheimer is the reason i hate norv turner - i have always been a defender of marty, especially when people were saying that anyone would be better than him after they lost to the patriots (when some moron fumbled on an INT return - marty's fault apparently). Yea, I've always liked Marty and never understood the general hatred for him. He's a terrific coach who's hit some bad luck in the playoffs. It's a little like saying Dan Marino isn't a great QB because he never won a Super Bowl. You're completely disregarding that he put up some of the greatest stats of all-time. Similarly, Marty has won a ton of games in the NFL in his career, and yet he was fired for Norv freaking Turner because he lost a playoff game.

The classic matchup of futility: Norv Turner's coaching vs the Oakland Raiders Whose attempts to lose the game will fail? LT won't let Norv's stupidity make the Chargers lose. San Diego hasn't lost to the Raiders since Sept 28, 2003 and has won 10 straight matchups. I guess the Raider incompetence is a bit more widespread than just the head coach/general manager.

I figured either the Cowboys or the Raiders would jump all over him. With both Dallas and Philly likely interested in him, though, would the Giants release him? Or would they try to trade him? Al will trade for him (probably a first round pick) then will either cut him after a few weeks as Plaxico mopes on the sideline and gets 15 catches in 9 games or he'll trade him and get a 6th round pick in return. Sounds about right.

I believe he was all but fired after the 2003 season. If I recall correctly, Tuberville was basically fired after the year and Petrino was set to be hired. Then, for whatever reason, Petrino backed out or Auburn boosters decided not to go through with it or something. Thus, Tuberville remained the head coach and went 13-0 the next season and got screwed out of a national championship berth.

I understand that's likely what they're trying to claim, but if they truly wanted a better character coach they would have hired almost anyone else. The problem with that is that it in reality, Nutt was fired because they just wanted him GONE. Even the most diehard Hog fan will tell you that their planning was poor, to put it mildly. But that is how bad thay wanted him gone, and to tell you the truth, both sides needed to go their own way. The Petrino hiring came much later down the road after a few job offers. At that point they just wanted a head coach, and yes, he is a good coach even with the baggage. It was not meant to be a good character hire to contrast Nutt, it was to hire ANYONE else. Honestly, you can ask alot of Arkansas ppl and they will tell you they are glad Nutt is gone no matter what the record would be this past season. OK, there's a Louisiana perspective on the Arkansas Razorbacks. That they wanted him gone sounds a lot more plausible than the were looking for a coach with more character and hired Petrino. It's still a dumb reason (much like Tennessee fans wanted change for the sake of change with Fulmer), but at least it's plausible.

Except Rashard Mendenhall apparently.

And I'm not arguing that you should hire according to character. But if that's a team's goal, they shouldn't consider Bobby Petrino.