It starts on Saturday.
He has given us no reason to think he can have his team ready to beat a decent team on the road, and a lot of what he's said the last two years has proven to just be talk... At the same time, you're playing a team that's at best going to finish 7-5, who hasn't really been competitive in their losses, and who struggled to beat two of the worst teams in the SEC. This is also a program we've had success against since Manziel left (4-1 against them since 2014).
If Joe wants his big, emotional press conferences to be received as anything more than the ramblings of a buffoon who is cracking under pressure... If he wants to silence the doubters about his ability to have his team prepared for a game away from home... this is where you can realistically make a statement. I say realistically because while he could technically make a statement against Bama, there's just no chance of that happening. There is a window of opportunity on Saturday, though.
Should we come out with a clear plan offensively, and then continue this improving trend that we've shown on defense, we will have a legitimate chance to win. Find a way to do that, and then take care of business in our other remaining non-Bama games, that's a little bit of sustained momentum where you've given your fan base some reason for hope and optimism. You can point to a bright future with Shrader and many of our young defensive guys, and you can point to a strong finish as proof that we're improving and that there's reason to think the trend can continue into next season.
But it starts on Saturday. If it's more of the same, the pressure will only continue to grow, and he is essentially coaching for his job against Arkansas and Ole Miss. But find a way to get the job done and maybe, just maybe, this regime has a glimmer of hope. If you made me pick today, I still think we lose by double digits. But even as skeptical as I am, it's only fair to acknowledge that this is a real chance for Joe to restore a little bit of faith.
He has given us no reason to think he can have his team ready to beat a decent team on the road, and a lot of what he's said the last two years has proven to just be talk... At the same time, you're playing a team that's at best going to finish 7-5, who hasn't really been competitive in their losses, and who struggled to beat two of the worst teams in the SEC. This is also a program we've had success against since Manziel left (4-1 against them since 2014).
If Joe wants his big, emotional press conferences to be received as anything more than the ramblings of a buffoon who is cracking under pressure... If he wants to silence the doubters about his ability to have his team prepared for a game away from home... this is where you can realistically make a statement. I say realistically because while he could technically make a statement against Bama, there's just no chance of that happening. There is a window of opportunity on Saturday, though.
Should we come out with a clear plan offensively, and then continue this improving trend that we've shown on defense, we will have a legitimate chance to win. Find a way to do that, and then take care of business in our other remaining non-Bama games, that's a little bit of sustained momentum where you've given your fan base some reason for hope and optimism. You can point to a bright future with Shrader and many of our young defensive guys, and you can point to a strong finish as proof that we're improving and that there's reason to think the trend can continue into next season.
But it starts on Saturday. If it's more of the same, the pressure will only continue to grow, and he is essentially coaching for his job against Arkansas and Ole Miss. But find a way to get the job done and maybe, just maybe, this regime has a glimmer of hope. If you made me pick today, I still think we lose by double digits. But even as skeptical as I am, it's only fair to acknowledge that this is a real chance for Joe to restore a little bit of faith.
