THE SEC REPORT
LSU exploded and Tennessee disappointed this weekend; big games for A&M, Tigers this week
Sep 3, 2019, 6:04 am
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Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
LSU debuts their new Run-Pass Option offense and for the first time in several years, they have an offense that could make them a top team this year.
Week 1 has come and gone and there weren't a ton of surprises although there were a few disappointments. Most notably among the let downs was Tennessee losing to Georgia State, who while not a total cupcake shouldn't be beating top level programs, which means Tennessee isn't a top-level program. Perhaps most impressive this week was LSU debuting their new offense and scoring an angry 55 points. The biggest oddity of the week was Alabama's woeful first half against Duke before turning on the football and finishing the game in the third quarter.
The Three Stars of last weekend were:
Tua Tagovailoa, the quarterback of Alabama, who in one third quarter reminded everyone why he's on the short list for the Heisman this year.
D'Andre Swift, the running back of Georgia, ran for almost 150 yards in under 20 carries. That's a monster of a game.
Bo Nix, quarterback of Auburn, the true freshman got to live out every freshman quarterback's dream and lead a comeback against a top 15 opponent in the closing minutes of a game to save the season, on week one.
Coming up
This weekend, every true college football fan is watching Texas A&M and Clemson on Saturday, this game helps shape the whole season with big time implications if Texas A&M can knock off the reigning National Champs. Saturday night LSU and University of Texas are playing, and this game will be one of the brightest feathers in the cap of the winner and the reason why the loser isn't in the four-team playoff at the end of the year probably.
The Three Players to Watch this week:
Joe Burrow, quarterback of LSU, this is his first real test of the season after coming off of five touchdowns last week. He can throw it, but now can he throw it against another big time ranked opponent in a hostile environment.
Kylin Hill, running back of Mississippi State, who posted almost 200 yards and is the proverbial work horse. The battle of Mississippi will be decided by Hill and his performance.
Jajuan Jennings, wide receiver of Tennessee, if Tennessee has any hope of righting their season it's going to have to start here against BYU where yet again they are the favorite and it's going to take a big game from their leaders like Jennings.
Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.