It's time for The Mailbag, presented by The Westin Jackson, where I answer your questions from here and Twitter.
I asked for questions. You delivered. So here we go...
From doresrule: What do you think is the biggest reason for the improvement of the defense?
The biggest reason: The coaching is better. They have a plan. Now, in fairness, they have added some impactful players on that side of the ball and they have a group of kids who are a year more experienced than they were a year ago. But the coaching is night and freaking day, man.
From fbelliott: I know it’s early in his freshman year, but does Plumlee get on the field in some capacity this season? Is he open to playing something other than QB. Don’t want another Spurlock situation where his talent was mainly unused.
I don't know. Right now, he's a true freshman quarterback, so I doubt they're throwing much more at him. I know he wants to play quarterback, but I don't know about his attitude regarding playing something else. It's still really early, as you noted.
From DeuceMccluster22: What's a famous arena or stadium that is no more that you wish you could have visited? For me, it's the old Boston garden.
The Spectrum in Philadelphia. As a kid, I loved those Sixers teams and Rocky fought Apollo there. Dr. J, Rocky, Moses Malone, Apollo -- all the history.
From jfish1288: After owning a truck for a few years, how does Neal feel about people who back into spots now?
I have only backed into a spot twice in the entire time I have driven a truck. I find it to be ridiculous to hold up traffic _ this happens in parking garages all the time _ just to back your truck into a space. I know this is a topic that creates much consternation, but I've just not found it necessary. Hell, I've got neighbors who back their trucks into their driveways religiously. I don't get it. If the zombies are coming to get you or whatever, being able to drive out of and not back up out of your driveway probably isn't going to save you.
From Patrick C Timony: Does Mr. Jeremy Pruitt, Chad Morris and/ or Willie Taggart survive to next season?
Of the three, I'd give Morris the best chance to see next season, but damn, it's got a chance to get ugly.
From North Tampa Rebel: Will you release you and Chase's gameday wear a day ahead of time so the rest of Rebel Grove can dress accordingly?
Very funny. What were the odds? There's no way he'll match what I'm going to wear this Saturday. No chance. It's going to be hot outside and I'm going pretty casual.
From BigDogSaint23: Seems like there was several more players/coaches made available for comment after the game. Both coordinators, Matt, Sam Williams, Corral, Elijah Moore, and Scottie. Any particular reason?
It felt like a normal postgame to me. They got in there quickly, which I appreciated, but the number of players and such felt normal.
From MrSunglasses: All teams created equally, which coach in the SEC would lose the most games?
Based on what I've seen so far this season, I'd have to go with either Jeremy Pruitt or Chad Morris. Pruitt did win at Auburn last season, so I'll have to say Morris. I thought he coached a very poor game in Oxford.
From larryjoe1979: Would you rather wrestle a Yeti nude covered in $240 of vanilla pudding or go on a cross country road trip with Houston Nutt and Jeffrey Vitter and they get to take turns controlling the radio and you can only stay in rooms with 1 queen bed and sofa?
Wouldn't a yeti be so hairy that you wouldn't really know it was nude? I mean, I know what you're saying, but I'm just saying. Would I be covered in the pudding or would the yeti be covered in the pudding? I guess if we were wrestling, that wouldn't be worth debating, as the pudding would likely transfer to whoever wasn't initially covered in the pudding.
I'm guessing Nutt listens to country and Vitter is likely into classical. I'd be fine with that. Nutt wouldn't talk much and Vitter struggles to carry on a conversation, but while it would be awkward, it wouldn't be unbearable, I suppose.
Just give me the damn pudding.
From Naplesbeliever: Have you and Chase considered an in game Facebook live broadcast for an away game? I think it would interesting at the very least
We've talked about it. Maybe we'll try it for the Alabama game.
From roccoreb: Help me with some internal strife. I cannot decide if:A) UT is NEBRASKA EAST OrB) Nebraska is UT WESTPlease discuss and weigh in to help me decide.Thanks
They're the same program, just wearing different colors. They're identical, each living off a long-gone era and fortunate to have brainwashed fans who believe the second coming is near. Hint: It's not.
From larryjoe1979: How many more times does Chase have to show up with the same shirt on as you on the instant anal., before you start googling Assassins to price shop?
I don't want anything to happen to Chase. The last thing I want to do is cover 473 baseball games that all last five hours.
From TX via TN Rebel: You get 3 questions with Mike Sheridan that he has to answer truthfully... what are they?
1. What scripture did Freeze recite during that first meeting that went so poorly?
2. How did you funnel information to Steve Robertson and were you pleased to have him do some of your PR work?
3. If the Freeze altercation never happens, does the whole thing basically dissipate at the very beginning?
From Dallasreb972: if you had to choose between Willie taggart or Charlie strong to ruin a college football program, who would it be?
To ruin it? At this point, it looks like Taggert is the more ruinous coach.
From JohnInOxford: Is there anything other than game experience that will improve our inside running game as far as personnel or scheme changes?
It's all about players. They're looking to recruit taller guys with more versatility. The scheme is good. The coaching is good. They probably would like to be bigger and more athletic on the offensive line.
From OrlandoReb: I know you've read a lot of stuff on the JFK assassination. I'm certainly no expert and I'll pretty much guarantee I've not read as much as you have on it. Having said that, how can you watch the Zapruder film and say the final shot came from behind? I realize I'm just taking that one piece of evidence in a vacuum, but it's a huge piece. In my time, I've shot a LOT of stuff; targets, hunting, etc. I have never once shot something that was knocked back towards me as a result of bullet impact.
I've never shot anything in my life, so I have no personal anecdotal evidence to consider. However, I've read volumes on the assassination, and I have really no doubt Oswald acted alone. As to the final shot, a study published in the journal Helios corroborates that conclusion. Nicholas Nalli, senior research scientist at IMSG, Inc., created a model of the mechanics of the gunshot wound itself to explain where the bullet may have come from.
When Nalli studied the Zapruder film, he noticed that the president’s head snapped forward at the moment the bullet hit his skull. This, he hypothesized, meant the president had been shot from behind.
Nalli’s model took things like the mass and speed of the bullet and measurements into account. He combined that information with the shutter speed of the film that documented the shooting. The model then calculated how the bullet would have acted when it entered President Kennedy’s skull if it came from behind.
It confirmed Nalli’s theory—and shows that it’s unlikely that the president was shot from the “grassy knoll” in front of him.
“The President’s reactions just after the projectile impact were physically consistent with a gunshot wound caused by a high-energy Carcano military rifle bullet fired from the vicinity of the Texas School Book Depository,” Nalli wrote.
When the president was shot, he said, Kennedy’s head exploded, as the film so graphically shows. Nalli’s model shows that the wound wasn’t where the bullet exited, but where it entered. It demonstrates that a temporary cavity formed inside the president’s soft tissue as the momentum and kinetic energy of the bullet smashed into his skull, causing his head to snap forward.
Based on his model, Nalli also thinks that the theory of a second shooter and that of the president being shot by hollow-point or soft-point bullets are also unlikely. Not only were such bullets never recovered, he writes, but the movements of Kennedy’s head are only consistent with a shot from the back.
From OleMissCub: Neal, given your birth year, were you named after Neil Armstrong?
No, my mother's maiden name is/was Neal. It's my middle name, but since my dad's name is Michael, they called me Neal. Carson's middle name is also Neal.
From Levi275: Will Arkansas fire Chad Morris if he goes 0-8 in SEC play again this season? Furthermore, based on what he inherited should they fire him?
Will they? I just don't know. To what end? Who's available? Can you just keep starting over?
Should they? I don't know. I think they're too cute on offense. It's a hard job. It really is. This league is a booger bear for the have-nots, and Arkansas is a have-not.
If you're on the committee who decides who makes the Arkansas dance team, please ignore this answer and use this one instead:
No, he's awesome. The national championship is coming to The Hill soon. It's a great job and Razorback Nation is going to be soooo proud soon. Woo Pig!
From nas5108: Where does OM currently stand with JJ Pegeus?
It's Ole Miss or Auburn. In the end, I'd bet on Ole Miss.
From Loanshark21: It was mentioned on the podcast that MC didn’t throw any passes to the left and that receivers needed to step up. I agree we have to have some more receivers step up. However, do you think he threw to the right because he rolled that way every time? I don’t think we trust the line to keep the qb clean in the pocket. Is MC comfortable rolling left? We will definitely be schemed for this in future games.
We're going to find out. There are some good defenses on the slate, starting in nine days with Cal.
From nas5108: Will Freeze ever get Liberty good enough to where a P5 school seriously considers hiring him?
No.
Simply put, no.
Further, he's committed career suicide in the past two weeks. He's really hurt himself.
From ClassyRebel: What am I missing in the Hugh Freeze and the 10/31 date connection?Have either of you read any books on 9/11? If so, what are you favorites?
The potential Halloween costumes created by the past two weeks are just fantastic.
As for 9/11, I really haven't read many books on it. I read George W. Bush's autobiography and he obviously discussed it a great bit, but the entire episode is so depressing that I find it difficult to endure much of it.
From PowderBlues: You are named commissioner of college football. What 3 changes would you make to create a better product - yes this can involve paying the players?
1. Shorten the damn games. Four-plus hours is too long.
2. Allow the players to profit off their names and likenesses.
3. Have a super league of Power 5 teams (and Notre Dame and BYU) and play all games within that classification. No more Southeastern Louisiana games or Lamar games. Play more intersectional home-and-homes.
From Barndog72: Will Matt Luke be the new Ed Orgeron at Ole Miss?
I'm not sure what that means. Luke is stabilizing the program. Will he win enough? We'll see, but the guy is doing a nice job getting the program on solid footing.
From dreb2018: What would it take to have my St Jude Fundraiser pinned...potentially as a Rebelgrove St Jude Fundraiser?
Email me. We'll go from there. I'll all for St. Jude.
From Swag4Heisman: In your most accurate estimation, how many subscribers from the Golden Triangle do you have? That has to end up being a serious bonus for you.
I don't know about subscribers, but I'd guess, based on analytics, we get 1,000-2,000 listeners a day from that area, and I might be being too modest with that number.
From Swag4Heisman: What percent chance would you put on Phil Fulmer coaching at least one game this season?How many more games do you think Jeremy has left?
If they lose to Chattanooga, 100 percent.
If they beat Chattanooga, I'll say 50 percent.
If he's 1-6 or something, they'll move on.
Let's hope. I'm hoping they put one of those adjustable beds on the sideline and he coaches in his jammies.
Anthony Rendon or Gerrit Cole.
I'd sign Rendon and either trade Bryant or move him to the outfield. However, Cole makes a lot of sense and I know the Cubs have coveted him for years.
Hahahaha. Don't pick on a 12-year-old boy, Greg. :-)
Carson is having a rough sports year.
I'll guess two -- Corral and Grant Tisdale.
The best one I ever saw in person was Cam Newton. He was dominant. Honorable mention: Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Eric Zeier, Johnny Manziel.
Newton was unstoppable in every possible way. He won games by himself.
It's possible, I suppose, but I really think the SEC wants no part of him. So much of the narrative about him turning down SEC offensive coordinator jobs, in my educated opinion, is exaggerated or downright false.
He swears he's not emotionally involved, and I believe him. Maybe it's in the air of the Clark Ford Studio or something because I find it hard to give much of a damn watching my teams play either. Sometimes I miss hardcore fandom.
Why can one park on a driveway but drive on a parkway?
Life's mysteries...
I disagree. I think this class is very solid and has a chance to be quite impactful. I don't think the early signing period helps or hurts. Kids usually know where they're going by December anyway. It hurts programs going through change.
Shoot me.
