Ole Miss Grades - Report From The Tire Store

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An excellent set of grades, Commissioner, as was deserved by an excellent effort from the Alabama football team.  It was not an easy report to write.  After everyone correctly analyzing what happened in the Swamp as a whipping, and Vandy as domination, it was a puzzle how to describe this one.  It was certainly beyond those terms.  Make no mistake, Mississippi is a team in complete disarray right now.  Two years ago the then-Rebels were the media darling to upset everyone and win the SEC championship.  Getting Houston Nutt from Arkansas was supposedly a steal and the Glory Days of Ole Miss football (the Archie Manning era, I guess) were about to return.  It, uh, hasn't quite worked out for them.  They are a beaten football team, apparently now with off-field shenanigans going on, a coach who is probably looking for a soft place to land, and two Cotton Bowl appearances a distant memory.

 

Speaking of memories, we have painful memories of the Lost Years between Stallings and Saban.  In the interim, even the few 10-win seasons smacked of a feeling that with the right leadership, perhaps there would have been more than 10 wins.

 

Alabama should have beaten Mississippi badly, and did.  It is a little bit shocking to say that you hung half a hundred on an SEC team AND that it could have been much worse.  But in this instance, it is exactly the case.

 

Down at the Tire Store we share your concerns about the kicking game.  Informal reports indicate Foster may have suffered a concussion.  Saturday presented a new issue, as it was not just the depth of the kicks but the kick coverage itself that was weak.  We purposely did not look up Mississippi's average starting field position after kickoffs.  In fact, the coverage looked suspiciously like it did two years ago, but that seemed to work out ok.  What will not work out is letting teams with more offensive talent than the Rebel Black Bears work on a short field.

 

Lots of people, Coach Stallings being my favorite, would always respond to those "how are you going to win the game?" questions by saying "Run the ball, stop the run, and don't turn the football over."  You can win an awful lot of football games if you do those three things.  Right now, Alabama is mastering those three aspects.  Continuing to do so will lead this team to realize its potential.  And this team's potential is growing every week.

 

It's Tennessee week, look for a reminiscence from the Tire Store later in the week.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store