Sorry for no Snap Judgments today. I had to DVR the game due to prior obligations yesterday, and let’s just say I didn’t watch much of the second half, so I didn’t feel qualified to make too many judgments without watching the whole game.
However, we did judge many and judge harshly on the latest edition of TRC Unleashed. It’s probably the most feisty episode of TRCU ever, and resulted in the Bucksterr “accidentally” deleting some audio about halfway through.
Among other things, we discuss how turnovers kill, how our special teams still stink, and how we can maybe salvage a little joy out of this season.
I’ve always said conflict makes for the best radio, so listen up, we think you’ll enjoy this edition.
The Rubber Chickens Blog 
We didn’t come to play the only one on the team that showed up was our defense of line. And I thought play calling was awful there is just so much its awful. But we still have a chance to make a BCS game so we gotta keep our heads up! Go Cocks!
I’m a proud alumnus of the University of South Carolina and I will support them win, lose, or draw. Anybody who has read any of my comments on various blogs and fan pages knows that I’m not a “fair weather” fan who trashes the team anytime something goes wrong but as an alumnus that has paid thousands of dollars to the school and has spent money and time to travel to road games, I’m entitled to give some constructive criticism. I made the trip to the swamp this past weekend and fans deserve better from this program. The older fans seem to be content with where the program is now and that is understandable because they were around when our team was the punchline of every joke. As a fan in my mid twenties I’m old enough to remember the 1-21 stretch, so I appreciate what Spurrier has done with our program the past 7 seasons. For the past decade Carolina has been known to put extraordinary defenses on the field. The amount of defenses players that we put in the league is almost on par with elite programs like bama, lsu, and uf. One area that has been inconsistent over the years is our offense. In recent memory, Carolina has never had a complete offense from top to bottom. We usually have a stout defense, and 2-3 good/great players at the skill positions. The past two weeks our offense has been exposed. This year the team has one star player that goes by the name of Marcus Lattimore. His numbers are down from 2010 and 2011 because we do not have a well balanced offense that can relieve him from carry the bulk of the load. Think back to 2010 when we won the east. We had a quarterback who could make all the throws, and a wide receiver who could catch virtually every ball thrown at him, and that opened up the lanes for Marcus. This season we have a QB with tremendous heart but has questionable field vision and limited throwing power. Our best wide out is an amazing punt returner, but average receiver at best. Our O-line has improved tremendously over the past few seasons, but still fails to create running lanes and gives up sacks constantly. With all that being said you have to look at the coaching staff and ask why are we not getting the job done? You can say that the coaches can’t stop the players from turning the ball over, but even without the turnovers Florida still demolished us in the second half. One of the greatest offensive minds of all time cannot recruit an elite qb for some reason and has not put together a well rounded receiving core or offensive line. I think we give Spurrier a pass because he has done an excellent job of building this program into a contender. I appreciate what he has done, but I think his play calling is average and outdated. I’m not saying we should get rid of Spurrier, because he has earned the right to leave on his own terms. I would like for him to give up the offensive coordinating duties completely and let a younger offensive mind take over. If we do not make any changes soon, we will never get over that proverbial “hump” and establish ourselves as an elite program. I would like to hear some opinions from fans and page administrators.
Edward – appreciate you taking the time to comment and really appreciate your passion for the Gamecocks. That’s a lot to process, but let me hit on a couple of things you bring up –
1. I was a season ticket holder from ’92-’07 until distance and family obligations forced me to give them up. I lived ’98-’99, and to see where the program is today is a testament to what Holtz and Spurrier have done for our program. I respect those who say we should be grateful for 8-win seasons, much less 10- or 11-win seasons considering where we’ve come from. There are a lot of people a lot older than me with scars from decades before that are content and satisfied, and that’s fine, I get it. Me? I’m not, but I also understand this is a long process to get us in a position to be competitive year in and year out. I hope it’s that way long after the HBC is gone.
2. QB – there is nobody, and I mean nobody, who can truly explain why Spurrier hasn’t been able to bring in a top-flight QB outside of Stephen Garcia. Maybe his reputation precedes him as being difficult on QBs. Shaw is flawed, but he’s by far the best we have on the roster today.
3. Offense – somewhat perplexing, but then think about the two defenses we’ve played the last two weeks. LSU and UF are deep and supremely talented. There’s not an offense in the country (Oregon included) that wouldn’t struggle most of the time against those guys. I think we’ll bounce back strong the next four games on offense.
4. Spurrier – will never, ever give up playcalling as long as he’s coaching. That’s his passion, and he’d retire before he gave it up. He deserves criticism when the offense doesn’t play well, and he accepts responsibility. I disagree that his play calling is outdated. He has changed his philosophy greatly at USC based on available talent and how defenses in the SEC have changed.
Thanks again, Edward. We’re all frustrated after last Saturday. I’m actually working on a piece now about how I believe a 10-2 season might actually be a disappointment.
But at the same time, I still have the scars of 1-21 like you. Things could be a little better, but they could certainly be a lot worse.
I appreciate the feedback, and I just have a few more things to add. I need to correct myself; his playing calling may not be outdated necessarily but he still has an “old school” mentality and you know what they say about not being able teach an old dog new tricks. He may have adjusted to the personel on this team with the “ground and pound” philosophy, but when we have a little trouble getting yards, he is quick to pull the trigger and go back to “fun and gun” mode. I understand that some of those games we were playing from behind and we had to put the ball in the air, but I’ve seen him pull the trigger even though we had the lead on a few occasions. Something that we always do after winning the coin toss is accept the ball and that is mind baffling. You have to let your defense go out there and set the tone. You never know how the first half will play out, I’m a huge believer of momentum, and I believe having the ball at the beginning of the 2nd half is a huge advantage. Don’t get me wrong I love the HBC, but some minor adjustments can be made to turn us from being 10-2 team in the chick-fil-a bowl to a 11-1/12-0 team in a bcs bowl. “You gotta coach em’ up.”