Tropical Depression
Ok.
Focus.
Look at the keyboard and type. Even I can't read what I'm about to write.
FSU will probably beat the Canes in a couple of weeks.
There. I wrote it.
Here it is, Johnny, my belated response to last season's "call-out" along with a Hurricanes' 2006 Season guess-a-thon. In the newspaper biz they demand efficiency, and here's your two-for-one, double-gut-buster of a review and a preview.
To wit: the Hurricanes were slapped silly in 2005. Beat stupid. A loss to FSU wasn't just some kind of a fluke, it was a heartless, pathetic, effortless effort that served as an excellent barometer for what was to come.
Sure, no one would have guessed the LSU beatdown would bookend the season so perfectly, but suffice it to say, it doesn't take long to realize that what could have been a dynasty is now just a soulless bunch of players who don't care anymore.
Harsh? Maybe. Accurate? Certainly.
And no, it isn't just that the suspensions will rob the Canes of their top running back and a decent, if underachieving, reciever. It's much worse than that. Hell, I LOVE the idea of Brandon Meriweather firing shots during a home invasion. I wish he would've hit someone. It's the most heart I've seen or heard coming from these players in three years.
Blame the 2002 national championship "game" for stealing the momentum from what could have been One For The Other Thumb, but since that awful day, nothing's really gone right for this club.
Anyway, back to the game. FSU's not even that good this year. QB Weatherford's a dud, they've got holes in their running game and even with a tough defense, I'll still take my little sister to make a field goal over their cursed corps. No, what will happen here is going to be an epic battle of the Me-Firsts versus the Gimme-Gimmies. Everyone, it seems, has been sold on the idea of college football as the minor league of the NFL. I resist that notion, it's why I'm proud to write on this blog.
But more and more it appears to me, an outsider, that even the players are drinking that particular Kool-Aid, and what we're left with is Willie Williams demanding playing time now, people immediately referring to reciever Sam Shields as NFL-ready before he's stepped on the field, and the idea of star players staying until their senior season becoming as antiquated an idea as it is in the NBA.
Is it a glitz-and-glam Florida thing? Maybe. I'd have to ask SoCal folks what they think of their Trojans and Bruins, but I do know that since six (SIX!) Canes were taken in the first round of the 2004 draft, the glare of the limelight has me green around the gills.
Anyhow, I'm going to say a 10-2 season, a loss to FSU and one more slip along the way, either to Louisville or some other stupid team like Georgia Tech. The only inspired effort of the season will come in Game 9, against Virginia Tech, which will either precede or proceed a loss.
Yes, it is a bit depressing to think that this team really doesn't have a shot at the national championship, even though they're ranked as such. And it's not for lack of talent, nor is it even poor coaching. It's something worse. Something ingrained in these players' minds, it seems, that manifests itself on the field.
Can it be fixed?
Not this season.
Focus.
Look at the keyboard and type. Even I can't read what I'm about to write.
FSU will probably beat the Canes in a couple of weeks.
There. I wrote it.
Here it is, Johnny, my belated response to last season's "call-out" along with a Hurricanes' 2006 Season guess-a-thon. In the newspaper biz they demand efficiency, and here's your two-for-one, double-gut-buster of a review and a preview.
To wit: the Hurricanes were slapped silly in 2005. Beat stupid. A loss to FSU wasn't just some kind of a fluke, it was a heartless, pathetic, effortless effort that served as an excellent barometer for what was to come.
Sure, no one would have guessed the LSU beatdown would bookend the season so perfectly, but suffice it to say, it doesn't take long to realize that what could have been a dynasty is now just a soulless bunch of players who don't care anymore.
Harsh? Maybe. Accurate? Certainly.
And no, it isn't just that the suspensions will rob the Canes of their top running back and a decent, if underachieving, reciever. It's much worse than that. Hell, I LOVE the idea of Brandon Meriweather firing shots during a home invasion. I wish he would've hit someone. It's the most heart I've seen or heard coming from these players in three years.
Blame the 2002 national championship "game" for stealing the momentum from what could have been One For The Other Thumb, but since that awful day, nothing's really gone right for this club.
Anyway, back to the game. FSU's not even that good this year. QB Weatherford's a dud, they've got holes in their running game and even with a tough defense, I'll still take my little sister to make a field goal over their cursed corps. No, what will happen here is going to be an epic battle of the Me-Firsts versus the Gimme-Gimmies. Everyone, it seems, has been sold on the idea of college football as the minor league of the NFL. I resist that notion, it's why I'm proud to write on this blog.
But more and more it appears to me, an outsider, that even the players are drinking that particular Kool-Aid, and what we're left with is Willie Williams demanding playing time now, people immediately referring to reciever Sam Shields as NFL-ready before he's stepped on the field, and the idea of star players staying until their senior season becoming as antiquated an idea as it is in the NBA.
Is it a glitz-and-glam Florida thing? Maybe. I'd have to ask SoCal folks what they think of their Trojans and Bruins, but I do know that since six (SIX!) Canes were taken in the first round of the 2004 draft, the glare of the limelight has me green around the gills.
Anyhow, I'm going to say a 10-2 season, a loss to FSU and one more slip along the way, either to Louisville or some other stupid team like Georgia Tech. The only inspired effort of the season will come in Game 9, against Virginia Tech, which will either precede or proceed a loss.
Yes, it is a bit depressing to think that this team really doesn't have a shot at the national championship, even though they're ranked as such. And it's not for lack of talent, nor is it even poor coaching. It's something worse. Something ingrained in these players' minds, it seems, that manifests itself on the field.
Can it be fixed?
Not this season.
posted by UN Owen at 10:29 AM
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