UT just announced their first move in the post Sanders era; they're benching Clausen in favor of Ainge.
Yeah, that'll work.
OK, we're going in to Notre Dame and there's a couple of things we know right off the bat. First, we have to establish a running game. This is a necessity if we want to have any hope of winning. Unfortunately, offensive line play has been spotty and it looks like our only options at tail back will be Cory Anderson, the starting fullback, or a freshman walk on.
This is not a recipe for a great ground game.
Lacking a ground attack, the next best option is a strong short passing game. Once agan, we have problems there as well. Not only do our receivers have a hard time catching the ball when it hits them in the hands, the touch pass is not exactly the strongest part of Ainge's game. (Which of course begs the question, "What is the strong part of his game?") It seems to me that in this situation, you'd want the guy who reads defenses best and who can deliver the short pass in at quarterback.
And last and certainly least, we come to the deep passing game. This is Ainge's one advantage over Clausen; he can overthrow the receiver by 30 yards instead of 10.
So, it appears that our game plan come Saturday will be run for 2 yds, run for 1 yard, run for minus 4 yards and/or get a penalty, then hurl the ball downfield as far as possible and hope an orange jersy comes up with it.
I'm not too optimistic about our chances.
Posted by Rich at November 2, 2005 12:13 AM | TrackBack