Always a Rebel

Always a Rebel
Me after a victory in Death Valley back in 2008

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

State of Depression

Athletic Director Pete Boone this past Monday
at Houston Nutt's press conference
Embarrassed. Disgusted. Angry. Miserable. These are just some of the feelings that I was having this past Saturday as I sat in a not-so-crowded Vanderbilt Stadium painfully enduring the lowest point of my life as it pertains to Ole Miss football. Some of you might be saying to yourself, "No way that was the worst, Matthew. Surely there have been lower times over the years. I mean Vandy is still an SEC team." Well let me give you a little background for starters.

I have been going to Ole Miss football games since I was 5 years old, and I mean I have been to many many games. At the present time I have not missed a home game since the seventh grade. I have seen some incredible wins and I have seen the worst of the worst when it comes to losses. In 2003 I was there when we played LSU in Oxford for a spot in the SEC title game only to watch the Groza Award winner that year miss two field goals doubling the amount he'd missed all season. I was in Oxford in 2005 when we lost by ten points to a Wyoming team who won 4 games that season in the Mountain West Conference. I was there when we hosted the mighty Demons of Northwestern State in 2007 and had to hold them off at the end of the fourth quarter for an uneasy 7 point victory. I was there three weeks later in beautiful Starkville, MS as I watched us blow a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter in under 8 minutes to our hated rival resulting in us going winless in conference play that season. Just last season I was in the stands as we blew a 31-10 halftime lead to lowly Jacksonville State losing in double-overtime. But none of that compares to what I had to go through this past Saturday in Nashville. I've been embarressed by teams in the SEC before, all of them. I've seen Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn and LSU among others kick our ass and run us out of the stadium several times before. But, when you get run out of Vanderbilt's 3/4 packed football stadium, you have truly gone through a humbling experience.

At the present moment my beloved alma mater is at a major crossroads as a football program. Over the last ten seasons we have seen moderate success going to four bowl games and winning them all against the likes of Nebraska, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State twice. But, is that good enough? Hell no it's not! It's time to compete with the rest of the SEC. The real question is, what is the source of the problem? What is the reason why we can't excel at more of a national level and compete for conference championships while doing so?
I think Orgeron used more than
energy drinks to fuel his fire
Let's start by taking a look at our last 3 head coaches. David Cutcliffe came in with a great staff that put together a couple of solid recruiting classes and reeled in Eli Manning which was his obvious highlight. He won a few bowl games but his recruiting never matched up to the rest of the conference and his success was limited. Cutcliffe was a solid coach who, at point, had solid assistant coaches around him, but after a 4 win campaign in 2004, he was let go. Next up our administration wanted to go off the radar a bit and take a chance on a guy without head coaching experience. In walks Ed Orgeron, the picture to the left speaks for itself. Known for his top notch recruiting, Orgeron was on the other end of the coaching spectrum from Cutcliffe. The Orgeron years were, how can I say this kindly, absolutely God awful miserable! Apparently you actually have to coach the players after you recruit them, who knew? As most Ole Miss fans already know, it was painfully hard to watch a coach bring in the right players and then not know how to coach them to wins. So after a disastorous 2007 season and compiling no conference wins he was shown the door. At that point our administration knows the fans are on the ropes so a top hire was needed.

In comes Houston Nutt, a proven head coach who kicked our ass for many years while at Arkansas. I'll have to admit, I was just excited as the next person. What more could you ask for? We now had a guy leading our team who had been to Atlanta twice, hey that's two more than we've ever had the joy of participating in. Everything seemed to fit, he looked the part, he talked the part, hell after his introduction as the head coach he had me motivated and ready to play college football myself! Next thing you know we are beating Florida in the Swamp, Arkansas at Fayetteville, LSU in Tiger Stadium and MS State 45-0 prior to kicking a top 10 teams ass in the Cotton Bowl. We had it all, what is there to argue about? The 2009 season came and went, while we saw success with 9 wins and another bowl victory true Rebel fans will tell you it was a disappointing season that did not live up to expectations with the team we had in place.

Since then we have a grand total of 1 conference wins and a few embarrassing losses that leave me disgusted and angry. So let's go back to the question I posed above; what is the source of the problem? Well I have two people to blame and I'm sure you can guess who they are: Houston Nutt and our wonderful (sarcastic) Athletic Director Pete Boone. Let me give my opinions on Houston Nutt first. During his first two seasons he won and every single Ole Miss fan could not look at anything beyond that because we didn't want to. We didn't care that he wasn't recruiting the best players in the state, we overlooked the team dismissals and suspensions all because he was winning. When you win games nobody asks questions and that's how our fan base was dring the '08 and '09 seasons, me included. After an awful 2010 season things started becoming a little more clear about Nutt but me and others chalked it up to just a bad season and we needed to move on. Now after the disaster in  Nashville last Saturday it's all clear.

Nutt lost the majority of the fanbase, including me, after a
second straight loss to Vandy in Nashville Saturday
There is absolutely no reason on this Earth why Houston Nutt should be the coach to lead the Rebels out of the tunnel next September. People can argue with me all you want on this topic, but I assure you that you are wrong. Watching Houston's press conference after the loss Saturday I saw a man who was defeated, embarrased, and quite frankly just tired. Houston has been a head coach in this league for a long time, 14 years now I believe. But my problem doesn't lie with his tenure in the conference. My problem is that he is not a Rebel. End of story. Houston Nutt is not a Rebel and never will be. After leaving Arkansas he did what was best for himself and that was to stay in the most powerful conference in America and take our opening as head coach. Smart choice for him, not so much for us. Houston is an Arkansas guy through and though. Born and raised in Arkansas, loved in Arkansas, played and coached in Arknsas and I guarantee you when his time here is over he will spend the rest of his days on a ranch in Arkansas. That's not what we need at Ole Miss. We need someone who wants to be here, who wants to prove themselves as a head coach and wants to do so as an Ole Miss Rebel. I firmly believe that Nutt is not that guy nor does he really want to be. If there was ever a time to make a change for the better and build towards the future we must do so behind a coach who is a leader, one that can surround himself with top assistant coaches, and who is ready to prove he is a winner and that Ole Miss can get back to winning ways.

Nutt should've known from Day 1 that this was Pete
Boone's house and he wasn't giving it up
For quite some time now Pete Boone has been on the proverbial hot seat as it is so clearly thought of today. The time has come and there is no beating around the bush on this one, for Pete Boone to go. I firmly believe that he has done some great things here at Ole Miss but his time running our Athletic Department is up. Time for me to cut the BS. Pete Boone is a nuisance. He is like your hot date's friend being a third wheel preventing you from getting what you want. Our fans are tired of him, hell even our coaches are tired of him. Rumors have circled through Oxford numerous times before of confrontations between our top sport coaches and Boone. Boone has been nickel and diming this University about as much as you possibly can, not letting our teams fly to game destinations when they should and that's just the beginning of the problems. That is unacceptable, completely unacceptable! The Athletic Director is supposed to be your coaches best friend plain and simple. He is supposed to work hand in hand with the coaches of the university and provide them with the tools and resources it takes to be successful. Boone is not doing that. He should be on a friendly relationship basis with alumni especially the ones who give a great deal of their hard earned money to our program. Boone is failing in this department as well. When other fans and coaches around the southeast and country for that matter know your athletic director is dragging your program down and coaches do not want to coach here because of him then you know you have a major problem. I see other schools with athletic directors giving full support to their football coaches and then I turn around and watch Boone show to the Ole Miss world and once again prove to me that he holds all the power when he crashed the party at Nutt's weekly Monday press conference. Whatever Nutt had before that wonderful event is now gone and he is just a puppet in Boone's illustrious show.

Do I believe that Pete Boone loves Ole Miss with all his heart? Yes I do. Am I happy with the things he has done for Ole Miss? Yes I am. I think most Ole Miss fans would agree with me on both accounts. They would also agree with me when I say that the time has come to expect better from our football program. It is time to get rid of the old and get some new Rebel blood in here and put them in the position to lead us back into light. The people are out there and I believe many of them want to be here, the time is now to pony up and put an athletic director in office that is willing to do whatever tit takes to win championships, period. We as Ole Miss fans should expect to compete for a victory in every single game we play, not to lose to Vanderbilt 5 out of 7 games. That is unnacceptable and unless we do what is necessary it will only get worse. It is time for our Administration to look at themselves and realize that thay have to step aside for the good of the program and get Ole Miss back to where it should be.

But, at the end of the day, no matter how dark and bleak it looks I will always support The University of Mississippi and the Ole Miss Rebels athletics program. Nothing in this world can come between my love for this university and it's athletics and nothing ever will. I'm one of the biggest die hard Rebel fans you'll ever meet and nothing will ever change that. Not even if we lose to Vandy again next year.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

2011 NFL Season Predictions (AFC)

Tom Brady hasn't been to the
Super Bowl since 2008. Can he lead the
Patriots back to title game?
The 2011 NFL season finally gets underway this Thursday nightat Lambeau Field when the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers face off against the 2009 champion New Orleans Saints. Finally! With the nonstop daily news of the lockout filling up the summer on ESPN instead of analysis of the actual season it seems like it has been forever since we last had some NFL football on the tube. This season looks to be yet another promising one. The league has a solid core of teams that are among the elite, a great mix of teams that could potentially be playoff worthy and on the rise as well as its lowly cellar dwellers that we can all laugh at and make fun of. I honestly can say I see 11 teams that can actually win the Super Bowl, which makes for a very interesting season and potentially an exciting playoffs as well.

So on the eve of the season I thought I'd do a little fortune telling and predict the entire 2011 season by divison as well as the NFC and AFC playoffs and ultimately a Super Bowl champion. It will be interesting to see how good (or bad) I do looking back on it at season's end. So here is the AFC side of the league. Enjoy!

*denotes wild card team

AFC East          AFC North       AFC South      AFC West
Patriots      12-4             Steelers     11-5             Texans      10-6           Chargers      12-4
Jets             11-5*          Ravens      10-6*           Colts         10-6           Chiefs            9-7
Bills            6-10            Browns      7-9              Titans        7-9              Raiders         8-8
Dolphins    6-10             Bengals      3-13            Jaguars      6-10           Broncos        4-12

In the East I really like the Patriots to take the division crown for the third consecutive season. With Tom Brady at the helm you can't go too far wrong. I mean they guy had 4 interceptions last year for crying out loud! But, with the additions of Albert Haynesworth, Stevan Ridley, and Brian Waters I think they will yet again reign supreme in the East. I have the Jets just a game behind and a wild card team because I just don't think they are as explosive. I'm not sold on the passing game with the loss of Braylon Edwards and the addition of a now free Plaxico Burress although the running attack should be better with a healthy Shonn Greene. The Bills are still sitting close to the bottom even though they have some solid players in Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller and Steve Johnson. The Dolphins do not impress me at all, I mean if you're gonna have Reggie Bush be your starting RB, well, let's just say I'm not buying it.

Beast, Machine? Call him
what you want
The AFC North is a tough division to win year in and year out but I'll take the Steelers again this year. With Big Ben still behind the wheel you can't go wrong, the guy is the definition of a gamer. I love Rashard mendenhall and look for the speedster Mike wallace to rack up some serious stats this season. Behind them I have their nasty rival, the Ravens, who I also have as a wild card team. The addition of Lee Evans to go along with Anquan Boldin will help Flacco while Ray Rice punds he rock. But are Ray Lewis and Ed Reed losing a step? Next, I have the real McCoys, the Browns, led by improved and impressive Colt McCoy who also has the luxury of handing off to the monster in Peyton Hillis. But, no defense will hurt them. The Bengals, well just ask Carson Palmer how he thinks they'll do.

In the South I have a changing of the guard happening this year with the Texans being my pick as division winner. The offense is loaded with Schaub, Foster, and Johnson. They will be explosive in additon to an improved defense. That's right, I have the Cots missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Peyton Manning will be fine once back from neck surgery but how good are the guys around him? Will Austin Collie get yet another consussion? Have Freeney and Mathis lost a step? An look for Reggie Wayne to be slightly less productive than in years past. The titans have Chris Johnson which will win them some games  and Hasselbeck will do well but with only Britt and Washington cathcing the ball, and I'm not fond of the defense., better luck next year. The Jaguars just cut David Garrard to go with Luke McCown, yeah I don't think so. Not even MJD can help that.

Out west it's time the Chargers turned all the wonderful stats into W's on the shcedule and this year I think they do in a big way. Phillip Rivers is the best QB in the league without a Super Bowl victory and has some great weapons to thrown to. The loss of Darren Sproles will hurt but they will be fine.. In second I have the Chiefs. I am a firm believer in Jamaal Charles, guy is a beast and will only get better but the Chiefs need more consistency on the defensive side of the ball. The Radiers are well, the Raiders, and as much as I love McFadden and Bush running the ball I don't think jason Campbell is the answer at QB even though the defense will be solid. The Broncos are in last becuse well they are not good. Even with Moreno running the ball and some decent passing game attacks the defense will be bad again. Good thing they didn't waste a first round pick two years ago on their third string QB right? Idiots.

Wild Card Round                                            Divisional Round
Patriots and Chargers receive byes
W (6) Ravens @ (3) Steelers                                                            (6) Ravens @ (1) Patriots W
(5) Jets @ (4) Texans W                                                                  (4) Texans @ (2) Chargers W

                                                      AFC Championship
                                                    (2) Chargers @ (1) Patriots W

I believe this years Super Bowl run started last season but with another botched playoff attempt after a succesful regular season the patriots will learn from last years mistakes and make their way through the treacherous AFC playoffs. The Chargers offense will slow in the blistery cold weather in Foxborough, Massachusetts and I sense a game winning field goal kick. That just seems to be the way the Pats like to do things up there. The question now is will Brady get revenge on his 2008 Super Bowl loss? Will the Patriots return to their championship years of the early 2000's? Stay tuned to find out.


This is the AFC version of the season, the post below is about the NFC ALONG with my Super Bowl pick and analysis. Keep reading!!!

2011 NFL Season Predictions (NFC) & Super Bowl

Is Matt Ryan still scratching his head about that home
playoff loss to the Packers last season? Or are the
Falcons ready to soar even higher in 2011?
The NFC has laid claim to 3 of the last 4 Super Bowl champions and seem to have several legit contenders for it again this year. The NFC West is the only division where I do not see a potential Super Bowl contender, but that doesn't mean there arent others. Philly, Dallas, Green Bay, New Orleans and Atlanta are the teams where the NFC champion will come from. The question is who? Well being more of an NFC guy I have really delved into the top teams of the conference to see what I like and don't like about their teams.

The question is whether the NFC is finally ready to prove to the football world that they are just as tough, and good,  as their counterparts in the AFC. it has long been thought by some that the AFC is the toughest of the two divisions but I sincerely disagree. The NFC plays some real football as well and have made strong arguments about being the best conference.

In my previous post I predicted the outcomes of each division in the AFC and now I will do the same for the NFC. Afterwards I will shell out my NFC playoff predictions and then ultimately y Super Bowl 46 analysis.
So here's what will happen, maybe, in the NFC this season. Enjoy!

*denotes wild card team

NFC East           NFC North          NFC South        NFC West
Cowboys   10-6         Packers        11-5          Saints         11-5         Rams             8-8
Eagles        10-6*       Bears             9-7           Falcons         11-5*     Cardinals      8-8
Giants         8-8          Vikings          8-8           Buccaneers   7-9        Seahawks     7-9
Redskins    5-11        Lions             7-9           Panthers       3-13      49ers            4-12

In the East I have the Cowboys sticking it to the "Dream Team" of the Eagles and winning the tie breaker to become division champions. Tony Romo is back from injusry and will be rested and ready to go and as one of my Cowboy buddies convinced me, and after some further research, watch for Felix Jones to have a breakout season alongside an improved defense now under Rob Ryan. Right behind them and making the wild card are the Eagles. They had a great offseason with many solid additions to their team but I think teams are starting to figure out Michael Vick more just like when he was in Atlanta, but they're still very solid. Behind them I'll take the Giants. I lvoe the offense but they have had a bad case of the injury bug in the pre-season and I think it ultimately hurts them. Lastly, we have the Redskins. Rex Grossman, how are you still in the league.

Jermichael Finley is back
this season with a vengeance
The North is the home of last seasons two NFC championship game teams and the Super Bowl Champion. I fully expect the Packers to win this division. They have so many weapons with Grant, Finley, Jennings, Hawk, and of course, Aaron Rodgers. They'll be back in the playoffs. Behind them I have the Bears because of their solid defense that always seems to come to play, but with a speculative offensive line and immobile Jay Cutler I'm not sold on them this season. Behind them by 1 game are the Vikings. Adrian peterson keeps his legs churning for some wins and Donovan McNabb will keep them in games but not enough to be playoff bound. Lastly, but closely behind, I have the lions. I really like what they've done on the defense with Fairley and Suh and Calvin Johnson is possibly the best receiver in the game. They are on the rise.

Next, the NFC South was the only division in football last year where 3 teams had double-digit wins, not too shabby. A very powerful, QB strong division will be very close this season with the Saints edging out the Falcons in a tie-breaker. With the addition of Mark Ingram their running game is, in my opinion, better than it was when they won it all in 2009. Drew Brees has many weapons to throw to and will be deadly. The Falcons drafted Julio Jones and this will help the other weapons in their arsenal, Roddy White, Gonzalez and Douglas. Oh yeah and Michael Turner can run the ball. Behind them are the Buccaneers led by up and coming QB Josh Freeman. They are a young team that will win some games but last eyar they didn't win a single game against a big team. They're not there yet. Lastly, the Panthers. Cam Newton will struggle and their RB duo will not be able to carry them.

Last year I don't think this division even deserved a playoff team, but was proven wrong when the Seahawks upset the Saints. I expect to see an improved Rams team this season especially Sam Bradford who is on his way to being a solid QB in this league. But questions still remain on defense and I think they can win this division with a .500 record. Behind them I'll take the Cardinals. With possibly the best receiver in the game and an improved QB they can definitely still win this division. Kevin Kolb takes the reigns and has some quality weapons around him. In third place I'll go with the Seahawks. In my opinion they had a downgrade in QB losing Hasselbeck and adding Tavaris Jackson. They still have holes on defense that will hurt them. Lastly, we have the 49ers who can't figure out their QB situation at all. Vernon Davis and Frank Gore are solid but without a QB I have little confidence.

Wild Card Round                                                    Divisional Round
Packers and Saints receive byes
(6) Eagles @ (3) Cowboys W                                                           (3) Cowboys @ (2) Saints W
W (5) Falcons @ (4) Rams                                                               W (5) Falcons @ (1) Packers

                                                       NFC Championship
                                                      (5) Falcons @ (2) Saints W

I have the NFC South renewing their most fierce rivalry in the NFC Championship this season. The Battle of "Who's Dome is Better" will take place in New Orleans with the Saints prevailing. These two teams are insanely close in my opionion. Their talent levels are closely matched and are both led by top QB's. Home field will play a factor in helping lead New Orleans to another Super Bowl. I think the Saints have a more balanced running game than the Falcons even though the Falcons receiving core is more star studded. The X-factor in this game is Saints tight end Jimmy Graham who will catch 2 TD's en route to a 31-27 win.





My Super Bowl 46 pick is the New England patriots vs the New Orleans Saints. The game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. This should be a very exciting game with many notable names taking part. Drew Brees and the Saints hope to benefit from being in a dome for the big game utilizing their speed and passing attack. Tom Brady leads the Patriots into the game hoping for a bruising running attack mixed with timely passing and a stout secondary to slow down the Saints. The Patriots get off to an early start and hold a 17-10 halftime lead. Sean Payton elects against the onside kick thos time around but Brees hits Lance Moore for a strike to tie the game. Early in the 4th, the Saints opportunistic defense picks off Brady and gets it down to the red zone where Mark Ingram punches it in. Down 7, Brady leads his team down the field and BenJarvus Green-Ellis pounds one into the endzone. Now late in the 4th quarter the Patriots come up with a big stop and get Brady the ball back with 2 minutes to go. Driving them down the field, Gostkowski kicks a 47 yard field goal to win the Super Bowl 27-24 over the Saints and Brady once again reigns supreme on top of the NFL mountain.


 Feel free to drop a comment and let me know what you think, any opinions are welcomed. Enjoy the 2011 NFL season!