*... as he prepares to devour alive the coaches who insultingly voted him second-team preseason All-SEC. I'm not going to argue that Spikes, McCoy, Ellerbe, and Beckwith aren't fine players or that we've seen the best of the Little Ball of Hate just yet ... but this the first season of Tray Blackmon's Auburn career that he won't (knock on wood) approach hobbled, or suspended, or generally dealing with things that aren't bludgeoning the opponent's internal organs into submission. If he remains healthy, his nose stays clean, and Auburn's defense performs the way it has essentially every year under Tubby's watch, there's no way Blackmon isn't a first-team All-SEC player at the end of year. There's just no way.
Now, yes, those are big enough If's that I can't blame the SEC's coaches for sliding him to second team. But even if they're excused, it doesn't mean they're right.
I'm with Jay Tate (at the link above) on two other quick points: first, that Coleman on the third team is likely an even worse oversight than Blackmon on the second team, though I have a hunch a media-voted team might look very different; and second, where have the SEC's running backs gone? The five non-Moreno guys on the All-SEC teams were Arian Foster, Ben Tate, Anthony Dixon, Terry Grant, and Keiland Williams. These are all more-than-serviceable players and here's where I make the obligatory mention of how hard Tate runs and how productive he's been when given the opportunity ... but none of these guys are exactly Heisman candidates, either. I'd take Brad Lester over the lot of them, to be honest, but even his presence doesn't change the fact that this looks like a down year for RBs in the SEC.
The next question: is the downtick in star tailbacks due to the SEC becoming a more pass-happy league, or is the SEC becoming more pass-happy because it isn't finding as many star tailbacks?
HT: TWER
3 comments:
"as he prepares to devour alive the coaches who insultingly voted him second-team preseason All-SEC."
Funny, my impression was that Blackmon is more of a drinker than a devourer. I'll believe it when I see him stay out of his own way for a whole season.
Have to say I don't see being hurt as getting in his own way, but it's true Blackmon has yet to put in a full season's worth of work. I'm optimistic that after his quiet offseason third time's the charm. We'll see.
i'd say the pass happy nature is reflective of the fact that it takes a good qb to win in college football these days and also USC is hoarding all the good runningbacks and won't share them with the rest of us.
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