Ed Hardy Tackles First College Predictions

SEC Early Barometer

College football is here and so are the hopes and dreams of 124 Division I teams, athletes, coaches and of course the fans. Year after year teams outside of the SEC have been looking for a way to discredit the SEC dominance. Some call the SEC top-heavy though the proof is in the pudding, 7 titles in a row. But a new season brings new home and aspirations starting week 1. Can the rest of the country can make a dent in the SEC with some victories this upcoming weekend? This would help the outsiders not only for bragging rights, but for National Title contention. Alabama's chances could suffer in the long run in the power rankings if they happen to slip up (lose) at some point later in the year(not early at Texas A&M). With pansy scheduling like for Ohio State & Louisville, 1 loss could be detrimental to Alabama or whoever is the SEC top dog, if power ratings come into play.

So it's time to preview some of the SEC Barometer matchups against other conference foes this upcoming weekend.

1.Alabama versus Virginia Tech – this is not the Mike Vick led Virginia Tech squad, this is the worn out Hokies of 2013. Starting a freshman quarterback versus Saban's defense is just plain scary. Even if they had a savvy vet, the Hokie's are small bunch and are going to get pushed around all game long, hit the cancel button on the DVR if your recording this one.

Bama 51 Virginia Tech 9

2. Washington State versus Auburn. The old pirate himself Mike Leach versus Springdale five's Gus Malzahn, they both love to put up points. The big difference here is that Auburn has some athletes on both sides of the ball whereas the Cougars are very limited. Auburn is starving for a fresh start and Leach will try to throw everything at them, however,  in the end, speed kills and Washington State will take it on the chin.

Auburn 38 Washington State 17.

I forgot to mention the playing at the Plains.

3. South Carolina versus North Carolina. The Tar Heels rolling to Columbia with really nothing to prove as everyone is favoring the Gamecocks. Even South Carolina may be eyeing their next week's big matchup versus Georgia. North Carolina should make it a game early and play keep away as much as possible. However the common theme of the Gamecock’s season will be if they can get a decent lead on any opponent of this year, all they will have to do is turn their defense loose for the W. That's what I see will happen here as well, starting in the second half to the poor Tar Heels.

Gamecocks 28 Tar Heels 10

4. Mississippi State versus Oklahoma State. Last but not least, I believe this is the most interesting SEC barometer game over the weekend. Will versus will. The Cowboys want to put up big numbers while the Bulldogs want the ball and control the entire game. I really believe the Bulldogs will throw some new wrinkles towards Oklahoma State's defense. Dan Mullen is a better coach than Gundy. Turnovers will be the deciding factor in this ball game,  meaning Mississippi State better get at least 2 or 3 fumbles/interceptions if they have any prayer of winning this contest. Call me crazy, but I  believe Mississippi State will…………………..nah……………lose, But keep it really interesting.

Cowboys 28 Mississippi State 20.

Well, wish I could Guilbeau you but my predictions went pretty much how the majority sees it. However, if I’m wrong, and if South Carolina or Auburn were to lose (as we know Alabama's not), then the power rankings for SEC teams will take a big hit, especially if an undefeated SEC team were to lose to either SC or Aub. late in the year,  mark my words. But to hell with parody, long live the SEC and its dominance!!!

EH Out.

Ed Hardy: Saints Realist

New Saints defense of coordinator Rob Ryan inherited the worst defense in the league this past year. Little did he know that his two existing outside linebackers would go down (injured reserve for the year Smith & Butler)as well. Again back to the trash heap. But closely observed, is it really the trash cheap? Case in point.

Will Smith would've been a major liability, not only the running game but the short passing game as evident as Matt Shuab made him look like a total goon. And this is not saying much as both Wilson and Gallete have been on the pine yet no one has been able to step up and take the outside linebacker  position for the Saints. So where do the Saints go from here?  OLB Parys Haralson was just signed from San Francisco, as he is a locker room stand out and has some outside linebacking experience, which we desperately lack. But he is not the answer, just a depth guy. Junior Gallete is the real X factor. As evident from the Texans game, opposing defenses will pick on the Saints flats, having Saints linebackers getting burnt with the opposing tight ends day end and day out.

Fortunately , the Saints can overcome with their badass offense. But unlike LSU and other Cowboys fanatics ,I happen to be a Saints realist. We are not going anywhere unless we bow up on defense. I refuse to drink the cool-aide.

Tune into Friday's Tim Fletcher Show, as we will give our NFL breakdown. Also, Fletch and I will give our NFL predictions for the year, so Listen up and be somebody: AM 1130 the tiger & the radioPup App baby.

Ed Hardy out!!!!!

SAINTS PRE-SEASON GAME 2 PREVIEW WITH SNEAK PEAK OF THE PROJECTED 53 MAN ROSTER

MATCHUP:

Saints versus Raiders in the Dome, Friday August 16, 2013.  Probably the worst opponent (Raiders) you could have to obtain a true assessment of how this new Saints Defense can play , versus someone else’s #1’s, for about a half. Could the Saints defense have rebounded in the next series if Alex Smith were to stay on the field last week? Or would they fold just like they did all of last year 2012? We’ll never know as the Raiders are still a train wreck sans Al Davis and LSU’s Matt Flynn will not surprise anyone. However, if the Raiders stack the box this week like the Chiefs did last week, I believe Coach Payton will say screw it, abandon the run, and light the scoreboard up!! This will delight the masses on hand, Drew Brees and get all of these new receivers seasoned up. Also, fat boy DC Rob Ryan will probably dial up a medley of blitzes, unlike the vanilla approach week 1.

3 THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE ON:

1.      The Saints Defense- don’t be expecting the 1985 Bear D anytime soon but more like the 2009 Saints D, a lot of blitzing, bending but not breaking. The breaking part is guaranteed due to our opponent otherwise, I would not know what to tell you. But since I’m aware of the Raiders, I do see the Saints making some strides.  In the Williams regime, the defense would bounce back on occasion after getting toasted, whereas they would lay down and die under Spags. I hope they lean more towards Williams’s way. One person in particular to keep your eye on is Cam Jordan. With all of this outside 3-4 LB edge rush, Jordan will get a slew of 1 on 1 matchups, thus I expect him to be very disruptive tomorrow evening.  Also, there will be a fierce linebacker and safety battle, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see some jaw dropping licks and perhaps an INT, courtesy of S Jim Leonard. Just a hunch.

2.      Team Discipline- coach Payton fell on the sword last week and said himself, his coaches need to do a better job But what he went on to say and really mean was that the offense needed to do a better job of getting to the line of scrimmage, getting the alignment right and communicating better. Look here, we take our offense for granted sometimes, but you know that this Payton-Brees machine is all about precision, adjustments and execution. Nothing pisses Payton off more than missed assignments. Personal fouls are one thing, but illegal procedure or God forbid having to burn a precious time out, drives Payton insane. So keep an eye on how quickly the offense gets to the line of scrimmage and snaps the ball, after Brees makes his last minute reads. A lot of pressure will be on these rookie wide-outs to be in sync with Brees as even though the Raiders D sucks, it’s typically week 2 when the gloves come off for the defense.

3.      Coverage Units and Hartley-this seems like a boring topic but the Saints were awful in special team’s punt and kickoff coverage. We simply can’t afford to give the opposition another 15-20 yards against our D, because our D is well, ourrrrr D. This will be a journeyman fullback, veteran linebacker or rookie free agents dream, as the Saints staff WILL KEEP YOU on the 53 man roster if you really succeed in special teams play (see Roby). Speaking of Roby, he’s hurt and guys like LB Humber and S Bush will be playing more with the starting D so whoever else steps up & shinestomorrow night in ST, may have a roster spot waiting on them. Hartley is so hot and cold. He hasn’t been stellar whatsoever in training camp so far. I know he’s not going anywhere but I would really like to see some 40-50 yard attempts on the hash marks if all possible.

PRE-SEASON WEEK 2 GAME PREDICTION

Saints 34 - Raiders 20. 

 

EARLY BIRD SAINTS 53 MAN ROSTER PROJECTIONS AS OF 8/15/2013

1.    Brees

2.    McCown

3.    Collins

4.    P Thomas

5.    Ingram

6.    Sproles

7.    Cadet (K Robinson on Pr Squad)

8.    Colston

9.    Moore

10.  Toon

11.  Stills

12.  Parker

13.  Tanner (on to let Roby heal and out of Pr Sq options)

14.  Roby

15.  Graham

16.  Watson

17.  Higgins

18.  Brown

19.  Strief

20.  Armistead

21.  Jones

22.  Grubbs

23.  Evans

24.  Puente

25.  Olsen

26.  Hartley

27.  Morestead

28.  Drescher

29.  Jordan

30.  Hicks

31.  Foster

32.  Richardson (T Johnson can’t stay healthy)

33.  Bunkley

34.  Jenkins

35.  Gallette

36.  R Johnson

37.  Hawthorne

38.  Martin

39.  Wilson

40.  Will Smith (almost left him off, I will next week if he stinks vs. Oak)

41.  Humber

42.  Chamberlain

43.  Reddick (special team surprise)

44.  Lewis

45.  Greer

46.  White

47.  Robinson

48.  Harper

49.  Jenkins

50.  Vaccaro

51.  Bush

52.  Leonhard

53.  Carr (vet leadership)

On bubble: Herring, Abdul-Quddus, Tiller, Breaston

Ed Hardy

OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Control

Control: To exercise authoritative or dominating influence over, to adjust to a requirement, to prevent the spread of.

One would be a fool to suggest that a college football head coach with a record of 113-42 does not have control of his programs. Proof is in the pudding; if it ain't broke don't fix it. All of these are nice clichés, however, Coach Les Miles is on a very slippery slope. His 2013 margin for error is extremely razor thin after 2 consecutive seasons, as the team as faltered. And what has brought him so much success, his stubborn control, has not fully worked in the past several campaigns. Thus Miles is conducting an extreme departure from what has made him who he is during his coaching tenure at LSU.  The strange thing is that Les Miles has been so predictable lately, the unpredictability we all knew and loved that led into some serious success in the past has vanished. Whether it be a blindfolded over the back pass to a placekicker, consecutive fourth-down attempts or going for the touchdown with seconds left at home for the victory, the Mad Hatter knows how to shock and awe. But lately when not getting the good old Mad Hatter weren't getting somewhat resembles Mr. Safety hatter .  And you know what, for the most part it has worked. The keep away, field position war, with the ball on the ground has proven to be extremely successful for the Tigers no matter who the opposition was in the regular season. However, that same conservative, boring Big Ten, run at no end mentality has caused colossal failures in the postseason, most notably: the Alabama championship game.  So just when you think Les has gone soft and placid, he goes in hires his old buddy can Cameron to  take over the offense. Miles will "supposedly" change the game plan mindset.  Let me explain.

John Chavis’ assembles dominating defenses year-to-year in Baton Rouge .  Now he does have a good crop to choose from but what he does with that crop makes him elite. But keep in mind, the LSU offense, while much ridiculed, does its part by playing field position constantly, chewing on the clock but more importantly putting LSU's defense in favorable positions to get after it. Just because the offense doesn't put more points on the scoreboard doesn't mean Coach Miles boring offensive game plan doesn't fit the entire “big picture” of how to win ballgames, as it does. Though this model has prohibited this team to win the big enchilada, all being versus the nation’s elite. His seat is not hot however Miles sees the writing on the wall and is going back in the phone booth to get the Mad Hat back. In comes Cam Cameron.

If you listen to The Tim Fletcher Show on Monday Wednesday and Fridays, you frequently will hear my skepticism of new offense of coordinator Cam Cameron ug.He did get just fired from Baltimore, who later won the Super Bowl. He sucked as a head coach. He is a good coordinator though. A noted control freak who puts a ton of pressure on his quarterback and star skill position players. Although, I'm not arguing anything with that, as LSU needs a new direction, and criticism. Can pre-madonna Zac Mettenburger, handle the pressure? But most importantly, will Coach Miles stay true to his word when the game is on the line?  That my friend is the number one question going into the season. The Flagship University has bent over backwards hiring new offensive coordinator's year in and year out to no avail, to help the offense get over the slumps (not hump), yet Miles keeps going back to small ball. So does it really matter who they bring in at offense coordinator? According to the national media and most Bayou Bengals, the answer is yes because Cam Cameron is different. Not only was he an NFL head coach he also is in Miles extreme inner circle as being a groomsman in his wedding. So maybe they are correct when the populous says this is a different hire.

Coach Miles did say LSU will be up-tempo and stretch the field as much as possible in 2013. He has given control, for now, to his old pal coach Cameron. The best case scenario for this offense in 2013 is to put up leads against elite opponents early and then kick back and let the defense do what it does best. The worst case will be that this young defense will be left on the field too often, whether it be from offensive turnovers or from lack of offensive production, which will allow other teams to get back in the game. If the Defense tires, it will be a rough season in Baton Rouge. Bottom line is that LSU's defense has been the reason their record has been so damn good the past several seasons, but to beat Goliath   , smash football mouth wins, with a sprinkling of explosive offensive game plays & execution. LSU has lacked the explosive game plays and execution which hopefully Cam Cameron will provide. We will see very shortly how this new system works, however I still am skeptical and I fully believe Les will be Les. The Mad Hatter will still meddle in the offensive game plan when the game is on the line, bank on it! I foresee Les secretly takes over and will somehow pull out another major upset WIN in 2013, when LSU’s season is on the line after a loss.  Coach Cam will be marginalized on the sidelines once again and takes another coaching gig in 2014. Though publicly, neither will ever admit it.  Only to see, wimpy team playing, Ohio State and Louisville skate to the championship.  And Miles saves face once again, as he re-claims control.

Think I’m wrong? We’ll see.

Eh Hardy Out!!!