All the commentary and noise generated by the Hogs loss to Alabama has been interesting to me.

Comments about “not recruiting as well as Alabama” and “got out-coached” have been far too common.  Razorback media and fans rode the pendulum from crazy high expectations to “all is lost” with one football game.

As for me, I was worried, didn’t stop worrying, and had my worry turn into downright fear.  And as it turned out…with good reason.

So what happened and what’s going on?

Alabama more than dominated the Hogs physically as the game progressed.  Football is still a physical game.  The Arkansas coaching staff didn’t get out-coached, they got out-manned.  Offensive line issues combined with the losses on the defensive front puts a team in a position of playing with alternating hands tied behind their back.  Coaching makes no difference when you can’t physically execute.

The defense, all in all, isn’t that bad. Honestly, I’m okay with the defense.  Other than a few plays, the performance against Alabama was pretty solid.  With two men down our line is not what it needs to be, but it wasn’t that bad.  The screen and the two dump off passes worked because we were selling out to the rush and deep coverage and leaving part of the field empty — defensive calls that are understandable, but always carry some risk.

The Hogs special teams play is predictable and can be attacked.  Expect to see more special teams issues in key games at key points in the future.  I warned about this after the Troy game and I’m warning again.

Garrick McGee questioning the ‘competitive spirit’ of the team this week was a bit unexpected. Apparently he has been appointed ‘bad cop.’  But…

Coach Petrino’s comments about looking for an “identity” on offense are especially worrisome at this point.  Especially since we currently DO have a definite ‘identity’ on offense:  short passing because we don’t think we can do anything else.

Without a solid offensive line, it’s difficult to execute any offense.  And the Hogs’ offensive line doesn’t have the experience at this point to be “solid.”  Having said that…

There aren’t enough running plays being called.  I know people will think I’m crazy, but the Hogs need to run the ball more.  Put a battering ram into the game and run a few smash mouth plays.  Don’t worry about looking for yardage, just keep the opponent’s defense honest.  Even no gain stretch plays serve a purpose to set up play-action.

Go double tight ends, put in the fullback and run Kody Walker.  Be physical.  Give’em something to think about other than playing ‘bend but don’t break’ pass defense and knocking the receivers heads off after the catch.

My preseason predictions not only called for a loss to Alabama, but also a follow-up loss to Texas A&M.  My reason for these picks was my concern about the offensive line.  Hopefully the line will be more seasoned by the Auburn game.  If they step it up on Saturday, the Hogs can beat A&M.

We all got totally and unreasonably carried away about the potential of this year’s team.  Perhaps the coaches and the players did, as well.  With that said, there’s no reason for folks to get all negative about the program.  Yes…the Alabama game was bad.  But it shouldn’t be viewed as a commentary on the state of the program.

Sometimes when you get a little too high on yourself, you get brought back to reality.  And reality is that, without an offensive line, lot’s of things can go wrong in a football game.  Reality is that, when you get physically beat up on the football field, the game is probably going to go badly for you in a number of ways.

Everyone needs to get real.  The Hogs have a talented, but inexperienced offensive line.  This is not new news.  Time will correct this.

* – Robin Williams

We were not disappointed.  What a pleasure it is to watch a Bobby Petrino team practice.  Organized, fast-paced, attention to detail…it was all there.

Here are a few of our casual observations made while watching the two hour practice:

– Freshman wide receiver Jarius Wright and running back De’Anthony Curtis were expected to impress…and did not disappoint.  Both look like major contributors.

The newcomer that really surprised me, though, was freshman running back Dennis Johnson of Texarkana.  Johnson (5-7, 195) is cat quick and showed an elusive burst that is going to make him hard to bring down.  For those who have not seen him, just imagine a younger, less experienced version of Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Chip Gregory also looked much improved at running back after his injury-hampered spring.  Running hard and breaking tackles with strength is not a problem.  Hanging onto the ball, however, continues to be as Gregory fumbled again during one of the Hogs tackling drills.

– As for the quarterbacks, Tyler Wilson and Jim Youngblood are good prospects.  Both have strong arms and showed flashes.  But both probably need to redshirt if the Hogs can get by without playing them.

Wilson needs to improve his strength (especially in his lower body) and Youngblood needs to improve his mechanics.  Both of those deficiencies, of course, are pretty typical for most incoming freshman quarterbacks.

Ryan Mallett is just off the charts.  He will be a superstar when his time comes.

Finally, while other units were running their drills, quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee was taking two five-minute periods to work with all the quarterbacks on making the proper pre-snap check (audible) after a defensive shift.  Very interesting and fun to watch.

– On the defensive side, I felt a little better about the linebackers after getting a closeup view of Ryan Powers, Jermaine Love, Jerry Franklin, and Freddy Burton.  These four along with senior captain Elston Forte might be okay as a group, but they are so ‘smallish’ by SEC standards that it’s still an area of concern.

Some of the tackling drills on Saturday seemed to indicate that true freshman Tenarius Wright (6-2, 230) was taking a small step back for the moment.  It’s obvious that junior Wendel Davis needs to get healthy again over the next few weeks.

Heavy rains in the Fayetteville area forced the Hogs inside for the second practice on Saturday.  Expect some shakeups (like the move of Wade Grayson to first team) after the coaches review the film of Sunday’s scrimmage.  It should be a fun week to watch the depth chart.