THE SEC REPORT
The SEC Report: A&M wins huge, Georgia shuts down the Gators, Arkansas packs it in and it's showdown time with Alabama-LSU
Nov 6, 2019, 6:23 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!
LAST WEEKEND
Texas A&M finally had the offensive explosion fans have been waiting for all season. Putting 45 points on poor old UTSA, the Aggies showed promise and gave boosters a glimpse of what Jimbo Fisher can build if given enough time. Georgia meanwhile crushed the playoff hopes of Gator fans nationwide by dominating Florida through the first three quarters before winning 24-17. Mississippi State finished off what is left of Arkansas' season stomping them 54-24.
THREE STARS OF LAST WEEKEND
Jake Fromm, Quarterback of Georgia, finally coming closer to pulling it all together in a tough game that they had to have, threw for two touchdowns and over 250 yards in a game that Swift couldn't get going Fromm stepped up big.
Kylin Hill, Runningback of Mississippi State, this guy went ahead and had a monster game, putting over 230 yards and three touchdowns in the stat box.
Isaiah Spiller, Runningback of Texas A&M, ran for 217 yards and also scored three touchdowns in a game where they looked like they just couldn't be stopped. He literally averaged over 10 yards a carry, that's pretty good if you're curious.
THIS WEEKEND
This coming weekend there is one game the entire nation will be watching, the 2:30 game in Bryant-Denny Stadium on CBS amidst The Red Tide, No. 1 LSU comes to No. 2 Alabama. This feels like the big second act of a movie, where the two forces clash for the first but probably not last time this year. The winner is going to the SEC conference championship game and the playoffs, barring an upset between now and then, but the loser if they finish strong enough is possibly still in the top 4 of the country depending on how it all shakes out and therefore still alive for the playoffs. Missouri comes to Georgia, it's amazing how much a few weeks changes things, from leading their division and in control of their own destiny to 2-2 in conference Missouri can still make things interesting with a win against current division leader Georgia. Vanderbilt comes to Florida in a game that Florida can't afford to lose in order to keep pace with the winner of the Georgia-Missouri game.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Joe Burrow, Quarterback of LSU, here it is. This is the focus of the entire country and if the kid who is proving himself to be The Man has anything to say about it LSU walks away a winner and sealing up the season and all doubters.
Tua Tagovailoa, Quarterback of Alabama. In some ways even after everything I just said about Joe Burrows this game will be about Tua. If he doesn't play then that's going to hang over this game regardless of the outcome. If he does play and they lose then it'll be questioned, if he plays and they win then he's a legend of unimaginable proportions. So yes this is Joe Burrow's game to win, but it's Tua's story that gets written this weekend.
D'Andre Swift, Runningback of Georgia, he literally can run Missouri out of the building this weekend if he performs like he usually does. He's averaging almost 6 yards a carry against SEC teams and Missouri might not be able to stop him from raising that average this weekend.
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.