1. Game week is finally here.
Camp is over. Ole Miss has shifted its focus to Memphis. The Rebels practiced Sunday and will take Monday off, as classes begin on campus. Ole Miss will practice in pads Tuesday and Wednesday before tapering down in preparation for Saturday's 11 a.m. kickoff at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Late last week, the focus shifted to Mike Norvell's Tigers.
"It's almost like Auburn to me, really," Ole Miss defensive lineman Austrian Robinson said of Memphis' offense. "They do a lot of stuff to get your eyes wrong. But in our 3-4 (alignment), it's just focus on the run, react to the pass second."
Safety Jon Haynes has returned from a hamstring injury. He's one of three junior college transfers, along with linebackers Lakia Henry and Sam Williams, who are being counted on heavily this season.
"I think us three, we're going to have a huge impact on this defense," Haynes said. "I can't wait to see what we're bringing. Be prepared Saturday and we'll see."
Haynes said Memphis tries to fool defenses with multiple formations.
"Most of the time they'll be in an empty set, so we just have to see that, make the calls, make the checks and be ready to play," Haynes said.
One thing that won't be discussed this week is last season. The Rebels are moving forward, complete with several new coaches, two new coordinators and a completely new attitude.
"What can we control? Next year," linebackers coach Jeff Koonz said. "What can we control next week against Memphis? What can we control today at practice? What can we control in this meeting and this drill? You can say it's coach speak and all that, but if you do that, you can block out all the outside stuff and you can block out the past and worry about, 'Ok, this is what I've got to get better at. This is what I didn't get right yesterday. Forget six months ago or a year ago. I didn't get this right yesterday. Can I get it fixed tomorrow?' That's gotta be the focus and that's what I think they've done a pretty good job of in the last three weeks."
2. We on the beat talked to Koonz at length on Friday. I thought it was a fascinating interview, one chock full of interesting insights. I highly recommend you watch.
3. Shon Robinson reclassified last week and signed with Ole Miss a year earlier than previously expected. With Robinson starting classes Monday, Ole Miss' roster is now full.
Only Breein Tyree graduates off the current roster after the 2019-20 season, and Oxford native/UC-Bakersfield transfer guard Jarkel Joiner will move into his scholarship. I expect Ole Miss to sign four-star forward Jaemyn Brakefield in November or April. What does that mean? Several things.
-- Someone is going to get processed, transfer due to lack of playing time, etc.
-- Kermit Davis is going to be able to really coach the way he likes to -- demanding defense on one end and discipline on the other. Yes, Davis coached hard last season, but the roster was limited.
-- Davis and his staff are going to be able to go big-game hunting, if you will, on the recruiting trail. With a full, talented roster in tow, Ole Miss can be choosy with pursuing targets.
In short, Davis has turned the Ole Miss program into an emerging force in just 17 months. It's nothing short of remarkable.
4. The Southeastern Conference schedule has begun, as Florida held off Miami in a wacky opener in Orlando. Here are my rankings of the SEC teams as the season begins for everyone else this weekend:
1. Alabama -- I expect Tua and the Tide to win another title.
2. Georgia -- The Bulldogs' defense promises to be awfully salty.
3. LSU -- I'm not sure why I'm buying the Tigers' hype this preseason but for some reason, I am.
4. Texas A&M -- The Aggies might be a mere year away from contention.
5. Florida -- The Gators were kind of shaky on Saturday night, but I'm trying not to overreact.
6. Auburn -- Can Bo Nix do enough to let the Tigers' defense do its thing?
7. Missouri -- My prediction: Mizzou wins its appeal after the Mississippi State/NCAA sham on Friday.
8. South Carolina -- The Gamecocks are the definition of mediocrity, at least in my mind.
9. Kentucky -- Just a feeling.
10. Mississippi State -- The Bulldogs remain my candidate to be the biggest flop in the league. I'm just glad there are so many journalists in Starkville to chronicle it.
11. Ole Miss -- The Rebels must get off to a good start.
12. Arkansas -- I do think the Hogs are going to be better this season in Year 2 under Chad Morris.
13. Tennessee -- I'm just not a believer.
14. Vanderbilt -- Maybe the Commodores will be better than I expect, but they'll have to show me first.
5. I could never be objective enough to have an Associated Press ballot, but if I did, mine would look like this today:
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. Utah
7. Texas
8. Oregon
9. Notre Dame
10. LSU
11. Washington
12. Texas A&M
13. Iowa
14. Florida
15. Penn State
16. Wisconsin
17. UCF
18. Auburn
19. Michigan State
20. Michigan
21. Stanford
22. Syracuse
23. Boise State
24. Northwestern
25. Iowa State
6. I know you've waited on this for weeks, so here are my NFL playoffs and Super Bowl predictions:
AFC
Wildcard round:
Cleveland over Pittsburgh, L.A. Chargers over Houston
Divisional round:
Kansas City over L.A. Chargers, New England over Cleveland
AFC Championship Game:
Kansas City over New England
NFC
Wildcard round:
L.A. Rams over Carolina, Philadelphia over Seattle
Divisional round:
New Orleans over Philadelphia, Chicago over L.A. Rams
NFC Championship Game:
New Orleans over Chicago
Super Bowl LIV:
New Orleans over Kansas City
7. Several years ago, I went searching for an NFL team. For a while, I picked the Indianapolis Colts.
There were two reasons. One, those uniforms are straight fire. Seriously, royal blue and white, done with no frills, is just beautiful. Those all-white road uniforms are simply gorgeous. Two, I admired everything about Andrew Luck. The Colts' quarterback marched to his own beat, I felt, and I thought he'd carry Indianapolis to one playoff run after another. If I were going to jump on a bandwagon, why not that one?
Then Luck got hurt. He simply couldn't stay on the field, and my burgeoning crush faded. Still, I cheered for Luck. His comeback season was fun to follow. Suddenly, the Colts looked like they were coming back. They looked like a team with a bright future. Luck looked like he was having fun. Kansas City beat Indianapolis in the playoffs, and I remember thinking that might be the start of a fun AFC rivalry.
It wasn't meant to be. Instead, Luck's body broke down. Football, we all know, is a violent game. We all love it. We plan our weekends around it. We plan trips to see our kids in college around it. Grown men wear jerseys to NFL games on Sundays and no one thinks anything of it.
But the game is violent. It destroys bodies and humbles even the biggest, strongest gladiators on the field.
Luck walked away from it Saturday night. He walked away from millions, away from fame and away from a career that once looked so promising.
Luck, of course, is different. He isn't defined by money and he never seemed to do anything more than begrudgingly tolerate the fame. He played football for the love of it, and when all of the pain and all of the rehab took the fun away from the sport, he left it.
I admire that. Something tells me Luck will go lead an incredibly successful life off the field. Football was a part of his life and he'll be fine apart from it. (Side note: See, it's not difficult to properly use apart and a part in sentence form. Take note, grammar abusers.)
Those of us who admired his career will always wonder what could have been had Luck stayed healthy. We'll also be reminded to enjoy watching the players we admire while we can.
8. With Luck retired, Jacoby Brissett, I suppose, will be Indianapolis' starting quarterback. The Colts will almost certainly peruse the waiver wire and explore whatever options are available to acquire another signal-caller. Luck's decision, and the timing of the decision, should mean a greater opportunity for former Ole Miss star quarterback Chad Kelly.
No one doubts whether Kelly has the talent to play in the NFL. He does. There are some who doubt whether he has the discipline to stay out of trouble and become the face of a franchise. Frankly, that's fair.
I do know this about Kelly: He has surrounded himself with some good people, people who desperately want what's best for him on and off the field. Some (hand raised) doubted Kelly would ever get another chance after his embarrassing episode in Denver. Thankfully, it appears I was wrong.
Kelly still must serve a two-game suspension, so the Colts, even if they wanted to, can't count on him, even as the backup, right away. However, it stands to reason the Colts knew Luck's retirement was possible when they brought Kelly in this summer. It looks like he's going to get another chance to fulfill his NFL dreams.
Here's hoping he capitalizes on it.
9. After a week off, Jonathan Howard is back with the drink of the week. Here's Jonathan:
This week I want to take a moment just to tip my cap to Andrew Luck. It took some big stones to walk away from the NFL at 29 years old with so much possibility ahead for him. He took his own health into his hands and thought about the rest of his life. He had splashes of greatness, so to use prohibition slang, he might have been the Bee’s Knees, which is your drink of the week.
Not much is known about this drink other than it is like many prohibition-era cocktails in that the Bee's Knees was invented as a way to hide the scent and flavor of poor-quality homemade spirits, in this case, bathtub gin. The addition of honey was considered bizarre by some at the time, since sugar is more usual. The honey sweetens the drink and may make it palatable to people who do not normally like gin. Today the drink is one of the most popular shaken gin drinks in fine bars in the world. It is a simple, bright and complex drink.
The drink is in the sour family meaning it contains spirit, sweetener and citrus. I prefer a floral gin with this drink like a Bombay Sapphire or Hendricks. However, if you can get your hands on the Barr Hill Gin, it is hands down the idea base spirit, as it is a honey-based gin.
The honey is another cool option. You can use clover honey, of course, but you can also play around with Acacia and Blackberry. Just cut it in half with an equal amount of water and add it to the concoction with some freshly squeezed lemon juice and you’ve got a really tasty treat.
CHEERS!
Bee’s Knees
2 oz. Bar Hill Gin
¾ oz. Honey Syrup
¾ oz. Lemon Juice
Directions: In a small mixing tin, place all ingredients, add ice and shake. Fine strain into a cocktail glass and finish it by expressing a lemon peel over it.
9b. At times, I've used this content piece as a journal of sorts. I've written about family stuff, about personal thoughts and feelings, etc.
Many of you have encouraged me to continue to do so. Others have pushed back, often vocally and vehemently.
Frankly, it's made me reluctant to do much of it, so I won't go into detail in this space today. I'll simply say I had one of those weekends where I'm reminded that all that matters is family. My dad, Mike McCready, turned 77 Friday, and I got to see him Friday morning at the Oxford High School pep rally, where Caroline performed with the OHS Chargerettes.
On Saturday morning, I live-streamed Bid Day at the University of Arkansas and got to see my daughter, Campbell, joyfully accept a bid to Chi Omega, the sorority she had hoped for pretty much the entire week.
She celebrated with her sister and her mom, sending us pictures while Carson and I traveled to Jackson, Tennessee, for a soccer tournament.
So many people, including some I met through this site and our podcast network, helped Campbell through the rush process and we are grateful to each and every one. You know who you are. Thank you.
Caroline posted on her Instagram story a video of Campbell's reaction to opening her bid card. I watched it approximately 200 times Saturday. She was exuberant, happier than I've ever seen her. I laughed and cried and then laughed some more.
Like I said, that's enough personal fluff, so I'll stop, but the weekend was a reminder, in case I needed one, that nothing makes one happier than seeing one's children experiencing joy and bliss.
Have a great week.
10. We'll have coverage of game-week, Ole Miss at Memphis, recruiting and whatever else comes up this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully to you _ for your reading pleasure:
Doyel: Colts QB Andrew Luck shocks world by retiring, and for his sake I hope he's right
No. 8 Florida Edges Miami, but Buzz Surrounding Top-10 Ranking Dissipates
Welcome to the Conference of Pioneers
Behind the Scenes as SEC Refs Get a Unique Primer at Georgia Camp
Inside stories of the Bears' wild kicker competition | SI.com
The Franks Connection: How a Brothers' Bond Aided the Breakthrough Florida's QB Needed
MLB warns sexual enhancers may include PEDs - espn.com
Astros bar reporter from clubhouse at Justin Verlander’s request - mlive.com
I was a bird-flipping Little League menace -- and it’s time to come clean | Politi - nj.com
Yu Darvish and Cubs Studio Host In Riveting Baseball Stat Nerd Debate | The Big Lead
His bat handle says what?! 10 of the most hilarious and unforgettable baseball cards
New Polls Show That Trump Should Be Afraid. Very Very Afraid. - The Bulwark
The 25 Pinot Noirs to Drink If You Want to Be a Real Expert | Food & Wine - foodandwine.com
These Bizarre Ripoff 'News' Sites Have Turned Plagiarism Into A Business | HuffPost
