Is Auburn really worthy of #2??

[knapplc]

As for the SEC I'll agree a bit that it's not as great as cracked up to be, mainly because Georgia and now Auburn to an extent haven't held up there end of the bargain.

But then I look back to that Tennessee/Cal game and how much of a joke that Cal (which certainly appears to be the best team in the Pac-10 to me at this point) defense was and how much their offense was shut down against a good D and it just makes it hard for me to believe that the SEC is getting significantly more hype than they deserve.

I feel the SEC is still a great conference and probably the best. But Auburn isn't #2, LSU and Georgia isn't #11.

Now in the Tenn / Cal game I just feel Cal was not ready for their first game. They appear to be a different team today than on that day. Not that they would beat Tenn but I feel it would be a better game.

I agree that Cal looks a lot better now and it would be closer if they were playing now instead of then, so does Tennessee though (though not as large an improvement as Cal). I think Cal would be able to do quite a bit more offensively, but defensively it wasn't really gameplanning or anything like that, just beyond awful tackling and bad fundamentals. That's not really something that's fixable in a few weeks.

Actually, I would say that fundamentals and basic skills like tackling are the easiest things to fix week to week. You can't train talent, but you can train fundamentals.

I think running several laps probably went a long way to fixing some of those problems Cal was having with the fundamentals.

[Free Bagel]

I'll have to disagree. When you're giving up big plays because you're missing assignments or getting guys out of position that's fixable. When you can't tackle, you can't tackle. Whenever I see a team that can't tackle (including the teams I follow closely - Gators in college and Dolphins in the pros), if they can't tackle week 2 then they still can't tackle week 12.

[Cowboys 4 life]

I'll have to disagree. When you're giving up big plays because you're missing assignments or getting guys out of position that's fixable. When you can't tackle, you can't tackle. Whenever I see a team that can't tackle (including the teams I follow closely - Gators in college and Dolphins in the pros), if they can't tackle week 2 then they still can't tackle week 12.

I agree with F Bagel here. I feel tackling is a talent. You can either do it or you can't. You can teach guys to get in a better position to make a tackle. But its tough to correct mistackling in just a few games.

Think about Dieon Sanders for a moment. Guy has never been able to tackle in all the years he has been in the nfl.

[1crzydmnd]

I'll have to disagree. When you're giving up big plays because you're missing assignments or getting guys out of position that's fixable. When you can't tackle, you can't tackle. Whenever I see a team that can't tackle (including the teams I follow closely - Gators in college and Dolphins in the pros), if they can't tackle week 2 then they still can't tackle week 12.

I agree with F Bagel here. I feel tackling is a talent. You can either do it or you can't

Think about Dieon Sanders for a moment. Guy has never been able to tackle in all the years he has been in the nfl.

Yeah, but at least he could dance.

[HskrPwr13]

This is why I'm not against scheduling patsies the first couple of games. Theres always kinks that need to be worked out for every team. Cal/Tenn would be a much different game today than it was week1. Yes, teams should be prepared and all of that, but teams do get better and sometimes worse as the season goes on.

[knapplc]

I'll have to disagree. When you're giving up big plays because you're missing assignments or getting guys out of position that's fixable. When you can't tackle, you can't tackle. Whenever I see a team that can't tackle (including the teams I follow closely - Gators in college and Dolphins in the pros), if they can't tackle week 2 then they still can't tackle week 12.

I agree with F Bagel here. I feel tackling is a talent. You can either do it or you can't. You can teach guys to get in a better position to make a tackle. But its tough to correct mistackling in just a few games.

Think about Dieon Sanders for a moment. Guy has never been able to tackle in all the years he has been in the nfl.

Eh. I'm just saying it all depends on the REASON you're tackling poorly. If it's because of lack of talent then no, that's not coachable. But if you have the talent and they're just not getting it done mentally that IS coachable.

Depends on which side of the coin you look at I suppose.

[ShoelessJoe]

I think the SEC is just as strong however the balance of power is just not what we thought it was.

Auburn is not as strong as we thought.
Tennessee is better than we thought.
LSU is about right on par with what everyone thought.
Florida is also right there.
UGA was a bit overrated.
Arkansas with a healthy McFadden and developing Mustain was underrated.

The SEC is still very strong but just not the teams we thought.

Lastly, I don't like the common opponent argument. You can say that USC is better than Auburn because they pounded Arkansas. BUT, Auburn pounded Washington St whereas USC struggled with them and we all know now that USC is most likely the better team even though Auburn kept it closer with Washington St. Certain teams have certain matchups that work better against certain other teams (take the Jags against the Steelers in the NFL for example) and that leads to certain teams owning other teams even though they may not be the better overall team (if that makes sense).