Christian D'Andrea runs the excellent "
Anchor of Gold" blog. He and I swapped question and answer
sessions relating to tomorrow's game.
Christian is a Rhode Island native and will attend the game at Gillette. Thanks to him for helping out with this interview.
#1. Vandy had to open its
season with two tough teams: Ole Miss and South Carolina. How will
the two opening losses impact the Commodores' chances of winning the
SEC East? Is the West Division the stronger division this year?
Winning the East is still possible with two SEC losses, but that's
going to take a lot of work. Not only would Vandy have to beat
Georgia, Texas A&M, and Florida (all in a three week span!), but
they'd also have to hope that a very good South Carolina team would
lose two more league games. It's technically possible, but I'm not
holding out much hope for it.
The West is certainly the stronger division, though the East is
still very good. Georgia/S. Carolina/Florida could make up the upper
tier of most of the other BCS conferences, but I don't think it's a
stretch to say that Alabama/Texas A&M/LSU is the tougher
triumvirate at the top right now.
#2. How will losing Chris
Boyd affect Vandy's offense? Any info on his replacement?
Boyd was an excellent player who took pressure off of All-American
wideout
Jordan
Matthews in the passing game. Without him, an already shallow
receiving corps has had to ask a pair of role players to step up.
Jonathan
Krause is an excellent punt returner who can fill in as WR2, but
he's not a consistent threat like Boyd was.
Jordan
Cunningham, a true freshman and high four-star recruit in 2013,
has also gotten the call to take Boyd's snaps. he's shown flashes of
the ability to get open and make plays, but he's still learning the
game. Unfortunately, neither one can provide the combination of good
hands, great size, and red zone awareness that Boyd brought to the
table.
#3. Tell us about the
offense in general. Jordan Matthews looks like he's going to have an
All-SEC year. The Commodores seem to practice running backs by
committee. Is that right? Who else should we look for?
Matthews has 100+ yards in all three Vandy games this season, and
he'll likely add to that total on Saturday. That's not a knock
against your secondary, it's just a testament of how good Matthews
has been this year. Teams are double and triple-teaming him in
coverage and he's still coming down with the ball in key situations.
The running back stable is a committee of players who are trying
to replace record setting tailback Zac Stacy.
Wesley
Tate is the power runner and presumptive starter,
Brian
Kimbrow has the most pure speed, and
Jerron
Seymour, despite having to sit on a phone book to drive a car, is
a combination of the two, running like a pinball caroms off bumpers.
It's a talented group, but no alpha dog has emerged from that fray
yet.
Otherwise, the offense has been...nondescript.
Steven
Scheu seems to be the team's biggest weapon at tight end, but
he's underused.
Austyn
Carta-Samuels is a perfectly competent quarterback who does many
things well but is a master of none of them. And we've already
covered the non-Matthews receivers in question 3.
#4. Both UMass and Vandy
play 3-4 defenses. The Commodores have given up 79 points in their
first three games. Does that reflect the quality of the opponents or
problems with the defense?
It's a little of both (but hey, we did hold Austin Peay to three
points two weeks ago!). Vanderbilt has been garbage against mobile
quarterbacks, and Ole Miss and South Carolina exploited that in big
scoring efforts. The absence of captain
Chase
Garnham (lower leg injury) amongst the LBs is also troubling, as
he was the fastest linebacker we had and big part of this defense's
ability to pursue runners. The 'Dores have a solid secondary and the
players to put together a very effective front seven, but they get
caught off guard too easily, and they can be exploited by smart
offensive coordinators.
#5. Looking at the
Commodores' game notes, it seems as if special teams are a real
strength for the team. Comments?
Carey
Spear is our lunatic kicker. He can make 54-yard field goals and
he can do this:
http://www.anchorofgold.com/2013/8/15/4622330/vanderbilt-football-2013-position-primers-kicker-carey-spear-hit-gifs.
Darrius Sims, a true freshman, has also been electric on both sides
of the ball as a gunner and kick returner. Special teams have been a
bright spot in what has been a disappointing season so far.
#6. Obviously, this has
been a tough year for Vandy fans. However, the Commodores have an
excellent recruiting class coming in. Do Vanderbilt fans still
believe that Commodores are on track to be a power in college
football's toughest league?
Absolutely. James Franklin
turned a group of Bobby Johnson recruits - mostly two and three-star
guys - into a nine-win squad last year. Now, he's got his hand-picked
players coming in - guys in the high three to high four-star range.
His playcalling isn't airtight, but his ability to get his players to
believe in themselves and put together great performances is. I have
faith that this season can still turn into an eight-win campaign, and
that the sky is the limit in the future. After pulling together the
things he has on the recruiting trail and coaxing a once-in-a-century
season out of Vanderbilt, I'm pretty much forced to believe in
Franklin until he gives me a reason not to.
