Robert Shields - If Not Next Season, Will It Ever Happen for the Hogs

[Robert Shields]

If Not Next Season, Will it Ever Happen for the Hogs?

Robert Shields

This upcoming football season will be the Year of the Hogs. Lightning will strike. I usually bash my counterparts for pumping up the fans when things are not good, but things should be great next year.

The stars are aligned, and not just because Gus Malzahn showed up, but if he helps get the play-action pass working again like in 1998-99, all the better. I can easily see this Razorback football team having nine or 10 wins heading into a home game against LSU in the Rock with the SEC West on the line. Hog fans will all be glad it's in Little Rock.

There is not a better group of running backs in the country than Peyton Hillis, Felix Jones, and Darren McFadden. Marcus Monk is difficult for any one SEC defender to try to man-up. The defensive line is as deep as the Hogs have seen since the beginning of this millennium. The offensive line has experience. The linebackers are stable in Freddie Fairchild and Sam Olajubutu. Question remains at the safety position, but my money is that Reggie Herring will have it fixed by the time the season starts, and Michael Grant showed promise at the new position by the end of spring practice.

The recruiting also had the look of a nice fix for the season as almost a third of the class was receivers. The Hogs need one burner at receiver to get deep, and maybe one of these guys will do it. Or maybe one of the guys on the roster will finally step up and fill that void.

I also have to feel that Alex Wood and Herring are not long-timers on this staff and will one day move to better pastures. This is a credit to their ability, and I just don't see them as permanent staffers as some have become under Houston Nutt. There is something to be said for stability, but too often anymore it's just the nature of the business -- good assistants move on over time. But the Hogs have them now and can take advantage. Wood, for instance, has already had a positive impact on quarterback Robert Johnson.

I expect the defense to be stingy and the offense to be more explosive than last season, which is good news because the Hogs were in almost every game last year except the USC game. I expect Nutt to get that "one play" that he always seems to be looking for, and it will happen next season in spades. I even expect this team to pound a few opponents that they have not been able too in the past. The 2003 season was also aligned like this coming season, but the 0-for-October dashed hopes.

This year is aligned in many favorable ways for the Hogs with eight home games and just four road games. One of the road games is against Vanderbilt. Situation-wise things are very rosy. I get blamed for being negative, but I am very positive about next season.

A couple of questions remain, though, such as how will the new offensive coordinator and his scheme effect the offense. The majority of the fans believe it will be positive. I have my concerns, but if he can find a way to get the ball in the air deep once or twice a game successfully, his impact will be enormous.

Another question is how the team will respond if it gets pounded at home in its first game by USC. A third question mark is that Razorback Stadium has not provided any home-field advantage since the expansion. There has been no significant SEC wins since, and instead painful losses including Texas 2004 and Auburn 2003. And on top of the painful losses, there were some very humiliating losses to the likes of Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Kentucky. This has to end for the Program to turn it around.

Last, my most interesting question is how Nutt will handle being under the immense pressure that is on him after 5-6 and 4-7 seasons and two flirtations with other Programs. People handle pressure and stress differently. Some become reserved and let the world come to them, thus becoming more conservative. Still others strike out brashly and take enormous if not dangerous risks. We will see how the season plays out and how Nutt reacts.

But if it does not happen next season for the Hogs -- will it ever?



Send your questions about next season to fromthebench@yahoo.com

[Landonhog]

I strangely agree....  Wierd...

[GrizzledHogFan]

Good piece...all except for the "Hog fans will all be glad it's in Little Rock" line.  I'm guessing it would actually kill you to leave out that irrelevant crap when you write?

[GuvHog]

Good piece...all except for the "Hog fans will all be glad it's in Little Rock" line.  I'm guessing it would actually kill you to leave out that irrelevant crap when you write?

Oh Lord, Here comes the Great Stadium Debate Again!


Seriously, Great Post Robert.

[GrizzledHogFan]

Good piece...all except for the "Hog fans will all be glad it's in Little Rock" line.  I'm guessing it would actually kill you to leave out that irrelevant crap when you write?

Oh Lord, Here comes the Great Stadium Debate Again!


Seriously, Great Post Robert.

It's a weekly tradition to rehash the GSD after a Shields column.

[GuvHog]

Good piece...all except for the "Hog fans will all be glad it's in Little Rock" line.  I'm guessing it would actually kill you to leave out that irrelevant crap when you write?

Oh Lord, Here comes the Great Stadium Debate Again!


Seriously, Great Post Robert.

It's a weekly tradition to rehash the GSD after a Shields column.

Funny HA! HA!, good comeback GMB!

[Landonhog]

Good piece...all except for the "Hog fans will all be glad it's in Little Rock" line.  I'm guessing it would actually kill you to leave out that irrelevant crap when you write?

Oh Lord, Here comes the Great Stadium Debate Again!


Seriously, Great Post Robert.

It's a weekly tradition to rehash the GSD after a Shields column.

HA!  You're right though... He was doing so good, till he stuck that one little thorn in there....

[SultanofSwine]

Gus' impact will not be flinging it deep 3 or 4 times a game, it will be in working with AW in the box to identify what the defense is dong and get us into the plays that give us the greatest opportunity for success rather than just putting our heads down and plowing foward with the same 4 or 5 running plays. Diversity in the game calling will be where Gus makes his mark along with player preparation.

[HognotinMemphis]

I strangely agree....  Wierd...

How does one "strangely agree"? And, it's "weird".

[Flatline]

I find it strange that I agree with Shields.

[HognotinMemphis]

If Not Next Season, Will it Ever Happen for the Hogs?

Robert Shields

This upcoming football season will be the Year of the Hogs. Lightning will strike. I usually bash my counterparts for pumping up the fans when things are not good, but things should be great next year.

The stars are aligned, and not just because Gus Malzahn showed up, but if he helps get the play-action pass working again like in 1998-99, all the better. I can easily see this Razorback football team having nine or 10 wins heading into a home game against LSU in the Rock with the SEC West on the line. Hog fans will all be glad it's in Little Rock.

There is not a better group of running backs in the country than Peyton Hillis, Felix Jones, and Darren McFadden. Marcus Monk is difficult for any one SEC defender to try to man-up. The defensive line is as deep as the Hogs have seen since the beginning of this millennium. The offensive line has experience. The linebackers are stable in Freddie Fairchild and Sam Olajubutu. Question remains at the safety position, but my money is that Reggie Herring will have it fixed by the time the season starts, and Michael Grant showed promise at the new position by the end of spring practice.

The recruiting also had the look of a nice fix for the season as almost a third of the class was receivers. The Hogs need one burner at receiver to get deep, and maybe one of these guys will do it. Or maybe one of the guys on the roster will finally step up and fill that void.

I also have to feel that Alex Wood and Herring are not long-timers on this staff and will one day move to better pastures. This is a credit to their ability, and I just don't see them as permanent staffers as some have become under Houston Nutt. There is something to be said for stability, but too often anymore it's just the nature of the business -- good assistants move on over time. But the Hogs have them now and can take advantage. Wood, for instance, has already had a positive impact on quarterback Robert Johnson.

I expect the defense to be stingy and the offense to be more explosive than last season, which is good news because the Hogs were in almost every game last year except the USC game. I expect Nutt to get that "one play" that he always seems to be looking for, and it will happen next season in spades. I even expect this team to pound a few opponents that they have not been able too in the past. The 2003 season was also aligned like this coming season, but the 0-for-October dashed hopes.

This year is aligned in many favorable ways for the Hogs with eight home games and just four road games. One of the road games is against Vanderbilt. Situation-wise things are very rosy. I get blamed for being negative, but I am very positive about next season.

A couple of questions remain, though, such as how will the new offensive coordinator and his scheme effect the offense. The majority of the fans believe it will be positive. I have my concerns, but if he can find a way to get the ball in the air deep once or twice a game successfully, his impact will be enormous.

Another question is how the team will respond if it gets pounded at home in its first game by USC. A third question mark is that Razorback Stadium has not provided any home-field advantage since the expansion. There has been no significant SEC wins since, and instead painful losses including Texas 2004 and Auburn 2003. And on top of the painful losses, there were some very humiliating losses to the likes of Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Kentucky. This has to end for the Program to turn it around.

Last, my most interesting question is how Nutt will handle being under the immense pressure that is on him after 5-6 and 4-7 seasons and two flirtations with other Programs. People handle pressure and stress differently. Some become reserved and let the world come to them, thus becoming more conservative. Still others strike out brashly and take enormous if not dangerous risks. We will see how the season plays out and how Nutt reacts.

But if it does not happen next season for the Hogs -- will it ever?



Send your questions about next season to fromthebench@yahoo.com

Bobby, nice to see an optimistic, "could be" piece from you. However, Nutt will choke like he always does. If Nutt is involved, the results won't be good. If the first long ball is picked off, you won't see another one for years. It will be more smoke draws and 1 receiver routes. He will control and limit Malzahn and Malzahn will quit after next year unless Nutt is fired.

I don't care how many starters return and the experience factor means next to nothing if the experienced players are not very good - I'm talking about the linemen on both sides of the ball. This team that was 4-7 and 2-6 in SEC last year is not suddenly going to beat USC and turn a 2-6 record into a 5-3 record in conference. They'll be lucky to be sitting at 6-5 going into the LSU game.

[Tomhog™]

Nice article, Robert.  I don't have enough to disagree with to make mention in the thread.  I'm just as optimistic about this season as you...

[Big Papa Satan]

Another question is how the team will respond if it gets pounded at home in its first game by USC. A third question mark is that Razorback Stadium has not provided any home-field advantage since the expansion. There has been no significant SEC wins since, and instead painful losses including Texas 2004 and Auburn 2003. And on top of the painful losses, there were some very humiliating losses to the likes of Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Kentucky.

Good read as usual, Robert, but one thing.

Arkansas' last loss to Ole Miss in Fayetteville was in 2000.  The stadium expansion wasn't completed until 2001.  I'm assuming you mean painful losses in RRS.  The only time Ole Miss has beaten Arkansas since the stadium expanded was in 2003 at the end of that 0 for October swing, 19-7, when we ran out of tailbacks.

OM's played there twice since then and taken drubbings both times, 48-28 in 2002, and 35-3 in 2004.

[AFWarrior83]

HIM, many teams in the past have had back to back down years, and then make a big bowl game. I believe even Arkansas under Brolyes and Lou had bad seasons then came back and had 9+ win seasons.  :razorback:

[Big Papa Satan]

Bobby, nice to see an optimistic, "could be" piece from you. However, Nutt will choke like he always does. If Nutt is involved, the results won't be good. If the first long ball is picked off, you won't see another one for years. It will be more smoke draws and 1 receiver routes. He will control and limit Malzahn and Malzahn will quit after next year unless Nutt is fired.

I don't care how many starters return and the experience factor means next to nothing if the experienced players are not very good - I'm talking about the linemen on both sides of the ball. This team that was 4-7 and 2-6 in SEC last year is not suddenly going to beat USC and turn a 2-6 record into a 5-3 record in conference. They'll be lucky to be sitting at 6-5 going into the LSU game.

Probably so.  I wouldn't be surprised to see that occur.

I used to be cautiously optimistic before the start of every season.  After last year, it's all pessimism.

[Aftershave]

Good post R Shields!

I guess by now you've come to expect that cry babys are everywhere, including this board ,but it must get old hearing the "lowing herds" whine about how great Rey-Razorback Stadium is on game day.

Even the ACTUAL players would rather play in LR.

25-1 in War Memorial last 7 years. Similar record in Fay & the Hogs are SEC Champs several times.

[Big Papa Satan]

Venue did not and would not matter.

Really now?

Then why bother to play games in the Glorified Tomb that is RRS?

Winning must not matter, either.

[HognotinMemphis]

HIM, many teams in the past have had back to back down years, and then make a big bowl game. I believe even Arkansas under Brolyes and Lou had bad seasons then came back and had 9+ win seasons.  :razorback:

Gee, I did not know that. Thanks for the history lesson. I would never have known this otherwise.

The flaw in your thinking is that Arkansas isn't under Brolyes or Lou now...the team is coached by a Nutt.

[Rey Pygsterio]

I guess by now you've come to expect that cry babys are everywhere, including this board ,but it must get old hearing the "lowing herds" whine about how great Rey-Razorback Stadium is on game day.

I like that new name for the stadium. I'll print up the T-shirts.

[clew]

[sarcasm] maybe UALR should field a football team and play all their home games in WMS [/sarcasm]

After driving 6 hours just to get back to the state of Arkansas let me assure you that I don't mind a 3 hour drive to get to Fayetteville from my parent's house in White Hall, nor do I mind the 45 minute drive to WMS.  There is nothing worse than the drive from Austin to Dallas.  It sucks (three straight hours of torture), coming and going.  I don't understand all the bickering between NWA and LR.  I'm from southeast AR and live in TX now.  I'm just happy to get back when I can--believe me, either side of the Ozarks beats being stuck on the Texas side of Texarkana.  It sucks to see people at each other's throats just because of some elitism on both sides of the fence.  From my limited point of view, it looks like NWA is a little too high on itself (and I prefer NWA to LR although the attitude coming from that side of the Ozarks is getting a little shrill and annoying).  Yes, it's a great place to live.  Yes, the people there are probably a little more affluent.  Yes, the scenery is probably a bit better.  But, it really sucks to see elitism.  It's like NWA is the house in the gated community on the golf course and LR is the shanty on the wrong side of the tracks.  We're all freaking Arkansans (except the yankees moving into OUR hills).  We should be hating on Texans rather than each other.  What, in the grand scheme of things, does it matter if we play a few games in LR?  GET OVER IT.  It will be okay.  If you'd focus your frustration on things that matter, like kids starving in Africa or orphanages in Russia, or something a little closer to home, education in our great state, life would be a lot more tolerable for those of you in angst over the GSD.  Older people have a harder time making it from McGehee to a Fayetteville game than to a LR game.  Give them a shot to go to a game.  What if it was your parents?  Likewise, don't begrudge Fayetteville the games on it's slate because it is the actual campus of the University of All of Arkansas.  Why can't we all just get along???  This debate is tired, old, and needs to die.  GO HOGS GO!  and i don't give a rat's arse whether you're from NWA or LR.  That (GO HOGS GO) is something we all cheer. 

[DukeOfPork]

25-1 in War Memorial last 7 years. Similar record in Fay & the Hogs are SEC Champs several times.

Outside of LSU once every two years, we generally only play sh*t teams in Little Rock.

You know as well as I that our WMS record is a fraud.

[AFWarrior83]

HIM, many teams in the past have had back to back down years, and then make a big bowl game. I believe even Arkansas under Brolyes and Lou had bad seasons then came back and had 9+ win seasons.  :razorback:

Gee, I did not know that. Thanks for the history lesson. I would never have known this otherwise.

The flaw in your thinking is that Arkansas isn't under Brolyes or Lou now...the team is coached by a Nutt.

We were not the only school to do this either, but I'm sure you knew that too...

[HognotinMemphis]

HIM, many teams in the past have had back to back down years, and then make a big bowl game. I believe even Arkansas under Brolyes and Lou had bad seasons then came back and had 9+ win seasons.  :razorback:

Gee, I did not know that. Thanks for the history lesson. I would never have known this otherwise.

The flaw in your thinking is that Arkansas isn't under Brolyes or Lou now...the team is coached by a Nutt.

We were not the only school to do this either, but I'm sure you knew that too...

What? No!  I didn't know that. Wow.

[Robert Shields]

25-1 in War Memorial last 7 years. Similar record in Fay & the Hogs are SEC Champs several times.

Outside of LSU once every two years, we generally only play sh*t teams in Little Rock.

You know as well as I that our WMS record is a fraud.

If the same games were played in Razorback Stadium the record would not be 25-1.  It would be much worse.  Vanderbilt and SC would have been victories in WMS last year.  The Hogs beat a top ten South Carolina team and a top twelve Missippi State team during that time period.  The Miracle on Markham happens at WMS.  At Razorback Stadium only disappoint follows and really that is the history of the stadium going all the way back to 1969 in the Great Shoot Out.  I hope all that changes this season.

[Aftershave]

Who sent those "s**t" games to LR?

25-1 in War Memorial last 7 years. Similar record in Fay & the Hogs are SEC Champs several times.

Outside of LSU once every two years, we generally only play sh*t teams in Little Rock.

You know as well as I that our WMS record is a fraud.

[dishhog10]

No doubt this years team is going to do some special things, starting by beating USC to start the season.

[Aftershave]

What, are you in the third grade? If you had an IQ above double digits I'd argue the point based on the record, but I won't dual with an obviously unarmed man.

Who cares anyway???!!!

Shut up already about how LR is better than NWA.  It's just a continuation of the GSD that was settled years (now) ago.  You lost....live with it.
[/quote]

[werehog]

What about NEArk fans. It's a long schlepp for them to get to RRS. WMS is much more accessible by car from the Delta.

[clew]

[sarcasm] maybe UALR should field a football team and play all their home games in WMS [/sarcasm]

After driving 6 hours just to get back to the state of Arkansas let me assure you that I don't mind a 3 hour drive to get to Fayetteville from my parent's house in White Hall, nor do I mind the 45 minute drive to WMS.  There is nothing worse than the drive from Austin to Dallas.  It sucks (three straight hours of torture), coming and going.  I don't understand all the bickering between NWA and LR.  I'm from southeast AR and live in TX now.  I'm just happy to get back when I can--believe me, either side of the Ozarks beats being stuck on the Texas side of Texarkana.  It sucks to see people at each other's throats just because of some elitism on both sides of the fence.  From my limited point of view, it looks like NWA is a little too high on itself (and I prefer NWA to LR although the attitude coming from that side of the Ozarks is getting a little shrill and annoying).  Yes, it's a great place to live.  Yes, the people there are probably a little more affluent.  Yes, the scenery is probably a bit better.  But, it really sucks to see elitism.  It's like NWA is the house in the gated community on the golf course and LR is the shanty on the wrong side of the tracks.  We're all freaking Arkansans (except the yankees moving into OUR hills).  We should be hating on Texans rather than each other.  What, in the grand scheme of things, does it matter if we play a few games in LR?  GET OVER IT.  It will be okay.  If you'd focus your frustration on things that matter, like kids starving in Africa or orphanages in Russia, or something a little closer to home, education in our great state, life would be a lot more tolerable for those of you in angst over the GSD.  Older people have a harder time making it from McGehee to a Fayetteville game than to a LR game.  Give them a shot to go to a game.  What if it was your parents?  Likewise, don't begrudge Fayetteville the games on it's slate because it is the actual campus of the University of All of Arkansas.  Why can't we all just get along???  This debate is tired, old, and needs to die.  GO HOGS GO!  and i don't give a rat's arse whether you're from NWA or LR.  That (GO HOGS GO) is something we all cheer. 

If you will check back over the weeks, it's a loud, bitter minority FROM LR that starts these cat fights.  I get sick of their spewing ill-will toward NWA.  So if you have to serve up the facts to dispell their griping and moaning it looks like arrogance, when in reality, it is just facts.  It's an effort to get them to abandon their endless attempt to deify LR at the expense of NWA. 

Who cares anyway???!!!

Shut up already about how LR is better than NWA.  It's just a continuation of the GSD that was settled years (now) ago.  You lost....live with it.

I'll assume you directed that at someone else, because if that was at me, you entirely missed the point.  Thanks for playing, though.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not biased one way or the other...I love both the northwest section of the state and the rest of it, too.  This state is underappreciated.  I love coming home and remembering how nice people in Arkansas are--much nicer overall than the people here in Texas (in general).  It's too bad that I'm seeing our great state divided by such a petty arguement.  Each person on this board is a representative for the state of Arkansas.  I'm sick of the GSD, the people who continue to push their agenda wrt the GSD on this board, and the ignorance that fuels both sides of the debate. 

Why does someone have to "lose"?  This is exactly the point I'm trying to make.  This is not (SHOULD NOT) be a competition between central Arkansas and northwest Arkansas.  A house divided cannot stand.  Like it or not, Arkansas does include an area south and east of Fort Smith, and a lot of those people are Razorback fans.  I'm not here to rehash the debate because it's so stale, but why can't people be satisfied that we (rightly) play most (and the biggest other than LSU) games in Fayetteville and a smaller number of games in Little Rock?  People from LR/Central Arkansas need to understand that we have a better record in LR because of the competition we have played there.  We're not magically better just because we're in the Rock.  I'm not going to argue game-day atmosphere, etc.  If we played all of our games in LR, I don't think our record would be any better than it was.  Plus, like it or not, the University is in Northwest Arkansas.  We should play most and the best games there.  Period.  End of debate.  I don't see anything wrong with the current setup (other than WMS needs an overhaul).  Otherwise, we're no better than Alabama/Auburn.  Man, those people hate each other.  I don't want that situation.  I'd rather everyone be equally behind the Razorbacks.  There is no reason to say "you lose" to any area of arkansas.  That's not only devisive, it's also incredibly short sighted and narrow-minded.  None of those words has a positive connotation.  Let's just be Razorback fans, Fayetteville or Eudora, Texarkana or Wilson.  This "you lose" crap is for the birds. 

[Richard_white]

HIM, many teams in the past have had back to back down years, and then make a big bowl game. I believe even Arkansas under Brolyes and Lou had bad seasons then came back and had 9+ win seasons.  :razorback:

True but usually when you have consecutive losing seasons, you fire the HC.

[Chinese Emperor]

What's the matter, HIM?  Still po'd about your boys getting thumped in the regional?  I bet you've arrested at least once for beating the wife also.  Go bother somebody else, would ya'.