A few RBN tidbits from around the web.
– The guys over at the Roll ‘Bama Roll blog have issued an early warning to Crimson Tide fans: Expect war in Fayetteville on September 25th.
“[...] Rest assured that the Hogs can smell the proverbial blood in the water at the thought of Alabama having to travel to Fayetteville to attempt to use a thin and inexperienced secondary to stop Bobby Petrino’s complex aerial assault.”
As you might expect, the fan reaction to the post in the comments section is the typical Alabama mixture of either acknowledgement or arrogance.
But blogger Outsidethelines also makes an interesting point that Razorback fans are likely to “feel very confident about their chances against LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.”
Of course, an argument could be made that there’s a little too much fan confidence when it comes to the outcome of those games in 2010. The record does show, however, that the Hogs have played very competitively against those teams in recent years. And with a veteran Razorback team returning, it’s hard to imagine this season being any different.
– As for the wars waged in Little Rock — at War Memorial Stadium, of course – what should’ve been an nice opportunity to announce a new sponsorship with a global telecommunications provider on Wednesday turned into another public example of why the WMS Commission is still clueless.
After announcing a “big” new naming rights deal with AT&T, surely one of the commissioners realized that the gathered media might actually ask for the exact amount of the deal? “Uh…no comment.” And so now the banner headline screams: “War Memorial strikes secret deal with AT&T!”
Hmmm…we’ve already rehashed the old “Arkansas to Big 12″ argument this offseason. Maybe it’s time to once again food fight over playing more games on “Frank Broyles Field” instead of “AT&T Field?”
Brenda Scisson strikes again.
I think all the Finebaum mess is directed at stirring the rivalry as well. Arkansas has had Bama's number more than any other top tier team in the SEC. Now the Bobby Petrino era is about to come of age. There has got to be some real curiosity in Alabama.
I haven't been this excited about a football season since… last year. We saw last year that our games go as our quarterback goes. If our defense get even a little better (which I think it will be), and Ryan Mallett can play good each week, we can beat anyone. Lets just hope our boys play with intensity and confidence not tentativeness and over-confidence.
Mallett to a great degree and Petrino to a lesser one have got to be committed to balanced offense. SEC defensive Coords. will shut you down if you revert to tendencies. You can't win the big game without keeping the opposing defenses off balance. Despite all the great throws, it was DJs 125 yards on the ground that made the Florida game so close. Defense has to get better, worse is unthinkable.
One sidebar. As a veteran I love "War Memorial Stadium". I hate naming rights!
They can stick their names all over the scoreboard and around the stadium. They should reserve the field for special recognition only.
I'm not a veteran seabee but I have the highest respect for the men and women who have and do serve each of us via duty in the armed services. Despite all the game day hpye and excitement, I always think of our veterans, each time I attend a game at War Memorial Stadium. I think a lot of other people do the same. The dollar can only control so much. Let them buy and spend and name things whatever they want. It won't change how a lot of us feel about our veterans and about the stadium that honor them.
The defense doesn't worry me like the STs do. Kickoffs and punts will determine our team sucsess this season as much as anything.
We CANNOT shank punts for short yardage gains, drop punts on the recieving end or kickoff to the other teams 15 yardline after scoring.
All of these things put our defense at a serious disadvantage.
If the field position consistantly sucks, how can we expect our defense (which is still trying to build quality overall depth) to be efficient enough to win the SEC West?
Gonzo: well put. If the STs just becomes ordinary, I think that the HOGs may well compete for the National Championship or at the very least, for a BCS game. I have to mildly disagree with Golfhog, SEC coordinaters were not in the dark about Petrino's propensities. From what I saw with the HOGs recievers last year: their speed and especially their ability to fight for the ball, I think that SEC defensive coordinators are going to have their hands full, balanced attack or not. It's hard to believe that the receivers will not be as good, or more likely, better. The key will be the defense. Arkansas can score so quickly with the long balls that the defense will not have time to catch their breath, which may be the biggest arguement for a balanced attack.
I hope your are right. Certainly you were against all but the best teams last year. Maybe this year we will be so good balance won't matter. I hope your are right but I fear that that is a recipe for the one that got away.