I have no clue what to think about South Carolina football right now.
Three games into the season, I believe I know less about this team than I did before it ever played a game.
The coaches or the players can’t be blamed.
This is a team without a true identity.
The injury to quarterback Connor Shaw has kept anyone from seeing what this offense really is. The defense has looked dominant at times, but the competition its faced, as well as injuries, makes it difficult to compare this unit to last year’s, which was ranked third nationally.
The Gamecocks are ranked seventh in the Associated Press poll this week. Using the old eye test, are they really among the nation’s top 10 teams right now?
Honestly, it’s hard to say.
USC has talent; that’s obvious. But this team has yet to put it all together for a complete 60-minute game, and it feels like something is just off.
Coach Steve Spurrier has said after all three contests this season that the Gamecocks aren’t were he wants them to be and they must improve.
And they’ve won the last two games by a combined 81 points.
Obviously, the quarterback situation is difficult to dissect: Is this team better with Shaw or Dylan Thompson?
First off, it’s not a fair argument because Shaw’s hurt; to say there’s a quarterback controversy is ridiculous.
Yes, it’s easy to compare stats and what you’ve seem from Thompson the last two weeks, but that’s come against two schools from Conference USA, not the SEC.
Thompson’s a great kid with a big heart and maybe an even bigger arm.
I remember two springs ago I saw him thread a needle in practice during red-zone drills. No other QB on the team made the throw during that workout — that includes Shaw and former signal caller Stephen Garcia.
However, Thompson didn’t go 7-1 down the stretch as the starting QB last season.
Shaw did, and he’s played less than a half of football healthy in 2012. You can’t assess his play or the offense when he’s in there with such a small sample size.
The offense as a whole is a work in progress, and the playcalling is all over the place because of it.
On one drive, this team looks like a running team behind All-SEC back Marcus Lattimore.
On another, the Gamecocks are airing out like the 1996 Florida Gators, hitting deep passes down the field.
The defense is the strength; there’s no doubt.
Jadeveon Clowney’s playing at an incredible level right now. He’s a really dominant force who won’t be stopped when USC plays bigger, stronger teams. Clowney is just that good.
The Gamecock secondary looks like a hard-hitting, ball-hawking bunch at times. During others, opposing receivers run free because of busted coverages.
This all means one thing: I have no clue what to expect for the next seven weeks.
There will be a long, telling run of SEC games, beginning with Missouri on Saturday. The Tigers have much more team speed than USC’s faced the last two weeks.
I wouldn’t be surprised if both QBs get a chance Saturday; maybe Shaw can play pain-free and clear up some of the questions.
By Oct. 6, the Gamecocks could be a completely different team against Georgia.
In fact, that might be the surest statement to go on for now.
link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d8vKW?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=south-carolina-football
Three games into the season, I believe I know less about this team than I did before it ever played a game.
The coaches or the players can’t be blamed.
This is a team without a true identity.
The injury to quarterback Connor Shaw has kept anyone from seeing what this offense really is. The defense has looked dominant at times, but the competition its faced, as well as injuries, makes it difficult to compare this unit to last year’s, which was ranked third nationally.
The Gamecocks are ranked seventh in the Associated Press poll this week. Using the old eye test, are they really among the nation’s top 10 teams right now?
Honestly, it’s hard to say.
USC has talent; that’s obvious. But this team has yet to put it all together for a complete 60-minute game, and it feels like something is just off.
Coach Steve Spurrier has said after all three contests this season that the Gamecocks aren’t were he wants them to be and they must improve.
And they’ve won the last two games by a combined 81 points.
Obviously, the quarterback situation is difficult to dissect: Is this team better with Shaw or Dylan Thompson?
First off, it’s not a fair argument because Shaw’s hurt; to say there’s a quarterback controversy is ridiculous.
Yes, it’s easy to compare stats and what you’ve seem from Thompson the last two weeks, but that’s come against two schools from Conference USA, not the SEC.
Thompson’s a great kid with a big heart and maybe an even bigger arm.
I remember two springs ago I saw him thread a needle in practice during red-zone drills. No other QB on the team made the throw during that workout — that includes Shaw and former signal caller Stephen Garcia.
However, Thompson didn’t go 7-1 down the stretch as the starting QB last season.
Shaw did, and he’s played less than a half of football healthy in 2012. You can’t assess his play or the offense when he’s in there with such a small sample size.
The offense as a whole is a work in progress, and the playcalling is all over the place because of it.
On one drive, this team looks like a running team behind All-SEC back Marcus Lattimore.
On another, the Gamecocks are airing out like the 1996 Florida Gators, hitting deep passes down the field.
The defense is the strength; there’s no doubt.
Jadeveon Clowney’s playing at an incredible level right now. He’s a really dominant force who won’t be stopped when USC plays bigger, stronger teams. Clowney is just that good.
The Gamecock secondary looks like a hard-hitting, ball-hawking bunch at times. During others, opposing receivers run free because of busted coverages.
This all means one thing: I have no clue what to expect for the next seven weeks.
There will be a long, telling run of SEC games, beginning with Missouri on Saturday. The Tigers have much more team speed than USC’s faced the last two weeks.
I wouldn’t be surprised if both QBs get a chance Saturday; maybe Shaw can play pain-free and clear up some of the questions.
By Oct. 6, the Gamecocks could be a completely different team against Georgia.
In fact, that might be the surest statement to go on for now.
link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d8vKW?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=south-carolina-football