Which SEC Team Will Have The Most Passing Yards in 2005?

[GeauxTo]

Which SEC Team Will Have The Most Passing Yards in 2005?

Coaching Potential: South Carolina
Talented QBs: Florida, Tennessee, maybe LSU
Surprises: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia
Long Shots: Ole Miss, Vanderbilt
No Chance: Mississippi State, Kentucky, Arkansas

I picked Florida. Leak is something else.
;)

[Jay_Lupo]

Not Arkansas :). I'd say Florida, but I'm not sure how exactly Urban's system works. The Gators certainly have the best QB and some excellent WR's, so I'm going wit dem.

[gopig]

Not Arkansas :). I'd say Florida, but I'm not sure how exactly Urban's system works. The Gators certainly have the best QB and some excellent WR's, so I'm going wit dem.
I have the same opinion, word for word.

[uscballer101]

LSU? Talented QBs? Jamarcus Russell??????Boy YEAH RIGHT!

[uga_alum_93]

Expect us to look like UGA circa 1988 with all the backs we have.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/uga_alum_93/SEC_QBCHAMPS.jpg

[uscballer101]

yeah I definitely went with UF...Chris Leak is going to be awesome...

[uscballer101]

HAHAHA...Who picked Alabama...They have the forward pass there???

[autiger1126]

It's not gonna be us. We had the best QB performance in just about forever out of an Auburn quarterback and we still didn't lead the SEC. Our offense is just to versatile to put up a bunch of passing yards.

[troxel3]

UT will be too balanced to lead in passing. Rushing yds....very possible.

[jneesy]

twasn't me.........i promise

[VOLCANIC]

I would have to say The Gators. Chris Leak throws a pretty pass and they have an all-sec performer in Chad Jackson. If Jamarcus Russell develops more, watch out for LSU though.

[troxel3]

UF will probably have the most.....Urban loves the shotgun. If you ever watched Utah play, you saw them run it almost every play.

[Volnooga]

I was about to say the same thing.

[GatorNation]

I would have to say The Gators. Chris Leak throws a pretty pass and they have an all-sec performer in Chad Jackson. If Jamarcus Russell develops more, watch out for LSU though.

And if Baker and Caldwell also have standout seasons, UF could be near the top of the nation in passing.

Also, Baker got another year.....so, fyi, he's just a junior now.

[JBryant12]

I went with Florida just because of Leak and the awesome WRs yall have.....

[ColonelKurtz]

Though purely a guess given the new Offensive scheme, Florida has always been at or near the top of the SEC Passing yardage numbers, so I gave them the nod.

Looking at the QB situation around the Conference, other than Leak & perhaps the 3-headed monster there at UT, you really don't have a true, & proven thrower with a track record you can hang your hat on to vote for anyone other than FU. Croyle can throw it but with Darby, I see Bama as being more of a 50-50 team like UT, UGA, and LSU, though Meyer may well have the Gators moving towards that philosophy.

[troxel3]

I still have to wait and see Meyer in action in the SEC before I will be a true believer. The guy is hands down a great coach, but I am still not sold that his offensive scheme will be as successful in the SEC as it was at Utah. SEC defenses are too good to be one dimensional and run the shotgun over and over. The teams in the SEC that are succesful all have one thing in common.....a balanced attack.
I would like to see UF get back to the team it was a couple of years ago, as long UT beats them. :)

[GatorNation]

I still have to wait and see Meyer in action in the SEC before I will be a true believer. The guy is hands down a great coach, but I am still not sold that his offensive scheme will be as successful in the SEC as it was at Utah. SEC defenses are too good to be one dimensional and run the shotgun over and over. The teams in the SEC that are succesful all have one thing in common.....a balanced attack.
I would like to see UF get back to the team it was a couple of years ago, as long UT beats them. :)

The gun is just the package, trox....it doesn't mean there's no running game. UF will be balanced with a passing lean because that's where our strength is (Leak and the WRs). But Meyer favors the pass....and if we can exploit teams in the air, that's where we're going. It will be power running out of the gun, if that makes sense, while the option package is designed to keep DLs in read mode and prevent some blitzes.

And as far as Meyer's attack in the SEC....sure, we'll have to wait and see. Maybe it'll suck and we'll get a new HC. I doubt it, but anything can happen. But it's funny how most of us are so quick to jump on the Spurrier bandwagon when most people agree that his fun-and-gun attack wasn't as effective toward the end of his career at UF. Maybe usc will have a few more problems than we think.....

[rebeldude]

Though purely a guess given the new Offensive scheme, Florida has always been at or near the top of the SEC Passing yardage numbers, so I gave them the nod.

Looking at the QB situation around the Conference, other than Leak & perhaps the 3-headed monster there at UT, you really don't have a true, & proven thrower with a track record you can hang your hat on to vote for anyone other than FU. Croyle can throw it but with Darby, I see Bama as being more of a 50-50 team like UT, UGA, and LSU, though Meyer may well have the Gators moving towards that philosophy.

Croyle has as good a arm as there is in the SEC, For Darby to be effective bama will have to throw. Croyle will be at the top if he can stay healthy.

[autiger1126]

Isn't it Bama that has never had a QB throw for 15 touchdowns? I doubt they are gonna lead the league in passing

[nooneLT]

ya bama has always been a rushing team first. we do have very talented WRs tho, but i don't think shula's philosophy on offense will change.

[WayzUp]

Leading any league or conference in passing is usually a bad thing cuz it usually means you're passing to catch up in games you're trailing. I hope it isn't USC but from what I've seen of Meyer's O and the players they have in place, you almost have to choose UF. Will that equate to wins? That's the million dollar question now, isn't it? :D

[ColonelKurtz]

Croyle has as good a arm as there is in the SEC, For Darby to be effective bama will have to throw. Croyle will be at the top if he can stay healthy.

This is true about Croyle's arm, but not Bama or anyone else can be too overly reliant on Offense vs. the top D's, that's what has gotten him hurt. Additionally, vs. the top D's, you absolutely must be able to assert either facet for the other to work and that is best evidenced in the closeness of play & margins of victory which has trended recently. How many games have we seen over the last few seasons which were tit for tat knucklebusters which only broke loose with an error most times and on a special teams play the other? (I'm more referring to the battles between the stronger teams here.)

[GTmorris1970]

The gun is just the package, trox....it doesn't mean there's no running game. UF will be balanced with a passing lean because that's where our strength is (Leak and the WRs). But Meyer favors the pass....and if we can exploit teams in the air, that's where we're going. It will be power running out of the gun, if that makes sense, while the option package is designed to keep DLs in read mode and prevent some blitzes.

And as far as Meyer's attack in the SEC....sure, we'll have to wait and see. Maybe it'll suck and we'll get a new HC. I doubt it, but anything can happen. But it's funny how most of us are so quick to jump on the Spurrier bandwagon when most people agree that his fun-and-gun attack wasn't as effective toward the end of his career at UF. Maybe usc will have a few more problems than we think.....

I agree with the announcers during the Carolina spring game. They will be toward the top of the conference in passing yds. IMO, but will not overtake Leak and UF this year. I go with UF. I believe Carolina will be in the top 3 in passing yds, however. :)

[JBryant12]

id say more along the lines of top half of the conferences maybe around 5 or so just because we have a bunch of good RBs in Boyd, Turman, Ashcroft, and incoming freshman Mike Davis so i think it would be stupid not to utilize them...

[nooneLT]

This is true about Croyle's arm, but not Bama or anyone else can be too overly reliant on Offense vs. the top D's, that's what has gotten him hurt. Additionally, vs. the top D's, you absolutely must be able to assert either facet for the other to work and that is best evidenced in the closeness of play & margins of victory which has trended recently. How many games have we seen over the last few seasons which were tit for tat knucklebusters which only broke loose with an error most times and on a special teams play the other? (I'm more referring to the battles between the stronger teams here.)

croyle was hurt in a freak accident when he planted wrong and tore his acl :/

[GTmorris1970]

id say more along the lines of top half of the conferences maybe around 5 or so just because we have a bunch of good RBs in Boyd, Turman, Ashcroft, and incoming freshman Mike Davis so i think it would be stupid not to utilize them...

I think we will utilize them, but from what I have seen in practice, they are utilized often out of the backfield catching also. :)

[WayzUp]

id say more along the lines of top half of the conferences maybe around 5 or so just because we have a bunch of good RBs in Boyd, Turman, Ashcroft, and incoming freshman Mike Davis so i think it would be stupid not to utilize them...
I agree JB...I think Coach Spurrier learned his lesson in not running enough in his humility lesson they call his NFL coaching career. I think his offense will still be more on the wide-open side but I think he's learned how running the ball effectively will do to an opposing defense over the course of a game. It'll be interesting to see what we come out with and I'd bet we won't see half the playbook against Central Florida. He's gonna save a lot of his personal favorites for the following week against the Dawgs. :D

[Fadeproof]

Gotta go with LSU on this one. While I do think UF's offense will be right up there with them. Meyer's offense is very complicated and also relies on the run to be effictive (Plus Leak has to learn a whole new offense and be able to read the d accordingly) while LSU's is going through the same I think the teams that they play in the West will be weaker and allow them to rack up more yards through the air.

[nooneLT]

Gotta go with LSU on this one. While I do think UF's offense will be right up there with them. Meyer's offense is very complicated and also relies on the run to be effictive (Plus Leak has to learn a whole new offense and be able to read the d accordingly) while LSU's is going through the same I think the teams that they play in the West will be weaker and allow them to rack up more yards through the air.

aw come on. auburn has the number 1 scoring defense and alabama had the number 1 passing defense last year. if you're talking about miss st or something, just remember the east has kentucky and vandy...

[Fadeproof]

aw come on. auburn has the number 1 scoring defense and alabama had the number 1 passing defense last year. if you're talking about miss st or something, just remember the east has kentucky and vandy...

I agree with Alabama but Auburn is not returning the starters that you are. Still you have to admit that LSU's schedule is not as tough as UF's.

[WDavE]

Auburn's number of returning starters on defense is a facade.

Everyone thinks we lost two DE's, one DT and a CB and safety.

Eddins and Lagenfeld were listed as starters at DE.
McClover and Groves led us in sacks. Then there is Gunn and Browder providing depth. These four played more then the official starters.

The DT (Ratliff) we lost was a senior and a fifth senior replaces him. (Dickens)

Waiting to replace Rodgers at CB is two former juco all-americans and several highly thought of recruits and players.

Safety? You will be surprised here with the number of choices. Bell, Brock and Gandy are just a couple.

Our new coordinator on defense was a very nice pick. We will play more bump and run with man coverage with biltz packages. We will look more LSU then probably the Bengals will this year. Our linebackers are small and very fast and will be very good in coverage. Groves and McClover will move inside some this year to provide some speed rush up the middle.

One of the other forgotten stats this year was how much the backups played last year. Most of our games were well in hand early. Something like 40% of the points scored on us last year came when the second or thrid team was in. It also skewed the defensive stats when we went into prevent.

I think we will be plenty tough to score on again......

[jneesy]

we needed us a good barn homer around here.....welcome dave

[Cincinnatus]

Gators by a wide margin. With Leak and the conferences best WR (no dissing UT on this) the CUM lead orange and blue will put it up early and often. LSU will not be far behind. Coach Miles likes to throw it also. :)

[WDavE]

we needed us a good barn homer around here.....welcome dave

THX! But I have been here a long time .....

I see UAT has its usual number....... The strangest thing about this board is the high number of of USC's.

[GAMECOCK_FAN]

THX! But I have been here a long time .....

I see UAT has its usual number....... The strangest thing about this board is the high number of of USC's.
Yep, lots of Gamecocks on here, but no homers. lol ;)

[jneesy]

Yep, lots of Gamecocks on here, but no homers. lol ;)

BWAAAAHAAAAHAAAAAHAHA!!!!!

breathe.....

BWAAAAHAAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAA
:eek:

[GAMECOCK_FAN]

BWAAAAHAAAAHAAAAAHAHA!!!!!

breathe.....

BWAAAAHAAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAA
:eek:
Thought you'd like that....... ;)

[JBryant12]

i guess USC just has more fans j/k yall need to get your friends to come to the site....we need more diversity here.....

[jneesy]

but a few bama homers sure goes a long way

[uscrebel]

This will be interesting.

Let's get a few things out of the way first.
State...no.
Vandy...no.
Kentucky...Final Four, maybe, passing...no.
Arkansas...no.
Ole Miss...no. (This one was tought, 'cos as an die hard Ole Miss fan, I am simply praying that we complete half of our passes and that our two running backs will get enough help from a young, inexperienced OL to find daylight once in a while.)

I saw somebody say that UT would be balanced. I prefer to think of it as boring. I think that the reason they are so successful is because opponents fall asleep the week before a game watching film. So, UT...no

Obviously Spurrier is going to try to toss the ball around, but I think that it will take a year of discipline for his guys to really start putting up numbers.

I am praying for LSU to start Perriloux at least once, so that he can get a quick lesson in humility. My guess is that The Bengals will be near the top in passing, but may have a problem keeping it set up. I am not impressed with their backfield. They will be tough, though.

Auburn could do it if the new kid catches on to the offense. Most likely, he will put up decent numbers, but toss a fair number of interceptions.

Georgia...hmm? Close, but Richt has never lived and died by the passing game. I would be surprised if the Bulldogs have 200 yards in interception return yards and that much in sack yardage as well.

Bama. Who knows? I still haven't figured out what the heck Shula is doing. I don't think that he has either. I don't mean this as a smartass remark. I realize his start has been difficult...the Price thing, the Brody Croyle thing, etc. I just would not venture to guess how often they will put the ball in the air.

That leaves...Florida. Leak is a very good athlete. He should adapt to Meyer's spread offense fairly quickly. He still has good wideouts. The trick will be whether or not his backs can catch the rock on occasion. The difference maker will be whether or not he can make things happen the way Alex Smith did. I mean Smith gained over 600 yards as a quarterback and averaged 10 yards a toss. I think Leak can do it. Yep....I go with Florida for passing yards. They may not win the East or the SEC, but I think they will be back in the Sky Commander's Chair for the coming year.

[troxel3]

This will be interesting.



I saw somebody say that UT would be balanced. I prefer to think of it as boring. I think that the reason they are so successful is because opponents fall asleep the week before a game watching film. So, UT...no

.

First, UT will be very balanced, probably more so than they have been in 4 or 5 years....

Secondly.....I'm not sure I get the "boring and falling asleep" assesment.....can you elaborate?

[autiger1126]

we needed us a good barn homer around here.....welcome dave
That isn't homer-speak that is fact. Everything that he said was true of last season. Can you say otherwise?

[1000x]

Florida will have the most passing yards. Most teams in the SEC will primarily use the run to win. Florida will attempt far more passes than anyone else, and that will lead to more passing yards.

[uscrebel]

Georgia...hmm? Close, but Richt has never lived and died by the passing game. I would be surprised if the Bulldogs have 200 yards in interception return yards and that much in sack yardage as well.


Let me correct my typo here, what I meant to say was "I would NOT be surprised if the Bulldogs have 200 yards in interception return yards and that much in sack yardage as well." My observation is that with the kind of defense they are capable of putting on the field, they won't be hurt by a bad day on the offensive side of the ball.

[uscrebel]

Secondly.....I'm not sure I get the "boring and falling asleep" assesment.....can you elaborate?

Don't get me wrong, I like the Volunteers. I love Neyland Stadium. I could probably do without all the orange jerseys, but hey some folks don't think I should be allowed to wear the colors I wear.

As to boring, I'm not sure that I can elaborate more than that. Tennessee has never impressed me as being the home of offensive innovation. They have been explosive in games, but that is because Fulmer puts a bunch of studs on the field, teaches them fundamental football, and they go from there. It's basic football, nothing special.

The average margin of victory last year was 9.2 points. Heck, if you take out UNLV and LaTech the average drops to 5.25 points. I personally believe that the Notre Dame game was an aberration and that the second Auburn game was what the first should have looked like. The bottom line is that when Fulmer starts getting a little antsy, he sits on small leads and runs the ball. It's winning, but it ain't pretty! The final part is this. Do I want pretty or a 10+ win season every year. I'm no fool. Give me the wins.

Tennessee football under Fulmer, however, is like warm beer...nobody really likes it, but it gets the job done.

[GeauxTo]

This will be interesting.

Let's get a few things out of the way first.
State...no.
Vandy...no.
Kentucky...Final Four, maybe, passing...no.
Arkansas...no.
Ole Miss...no. (This one was tought, 'cos as an die hard Ole Miss fan, I am simply praying that we complete half of our passes and that our two running backs will get enough help from a young, inexperienced OL to find daylight once in a while.)

I saw somebody say that UT would be balanced. I prefer to think of it as boring. I think that the reason they are so successful is because opponents fall asleep the week before a game watching film. So, UT...no

Obviously Spurrier is going to try to toss the ball around, but I think that it will take a year of discipline for his guys to really start putting up numbers.

I am praying for LSU to start Perriloux at least once, so that he can get a quick lesson in humility. My guess is that The Bengals will be near the top in passing, but may have a problem keeping it set up. I am not impressed with their backfield. They will be tough, though.

Auburn could do it if the new kid catches on to the offense. Most likely, he will put up decent numbers, but toss a fair number of interceptions.

Georgia...hmm? Close, but Richt has never lived and died by the passing game. I would be surprised if the Bulldogs have 200 yards in interception return yards and that much in sack yardage as well.

Bama. Who knows? I still haven't figured out what the heck Shula is doing. I don't think that he has either. I don't mean this as a smartass remark. I realize his start has been difficult...the Price thing, the Brody Croyle thing, etc. I just would not venture to guess how often they will put the ball in the air.

That leaves...Florida. Leak is a very good athlete. He should adapt to Meyer's spread offense fairly quickly. He still has good wideouts. The trick will be whether or not his backs can catch the rock on occasion. The difference maker will be whether or not he can make things happen the way Alex Smith did. I mean Smith gained over 600 yards as a quarterback and averaged 10 yards a toss. I think Leak can do it. Yep....I go with Florida for passing yards. They may not win the East or the SEC, but I think they will be back in the Sky Commander's Chair for the coming year.

Very informative. Good post.
I do want Perrilloux to PLAY once or twice to get some "humility," but I don't want him to start because that would mean that Russell was not getting the job done. I think Russell's strong arm, the veteran offensive line, and the half-a-dozen FINE WRs (all with speed to burn) will be an imposing passing attack. The running game may be much better than you think with Addai, Broussard, Vincent, and Carey carrying the brunt, with solid depth waiting to get playing time. The passing game will also be augmented by passing to Vincent and Addai out of the backfield. The Tiger offensive machine will be very hard to stop in 2005!
;)

[vandy23]

Vanderbilt will have more passing yards in the SEC becouse they do not have a running back with jay as the QB lots of passing yards

[troxel3]

OK, who wants this one?

[JBryant12]

Its all yours Troxel.....LOL hahaaha

[Fadeproof]

OK, who wants this one?

To easy you go ahead.

[troxel3]

Shunanicapalisticrapalastic.

[Fadeproof]

Shunanicapalisticrapalastic.

LMAO. Ok this thread is done its pretty evident that it will either be UF or LSU. Lets move on to a most running yards thread.

[Neo]

Vanderbilt will have more passing yards in the SEC becouse they do not have a running back with jay as the QB lots of passing yards


Believe it or not, Jay Cutler does have a decent shot. Before someone says something crazy, let me explain.

1. Jay Cutler is a very dangerous passer in the SEC.

2. Cutler finished 5th in the SEC in passing for 2004.

TOTAL OFFENSE Team Cl G Rush Pass Plays Total Yds/G
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. Chris Leak.......... UF SO 12 79 3197 460 3276 273.0
2. Matt Jones.......... AR SR 11 622 2073 347 2695 245.0
3. Jason Campbell...... AU SR 13 30 2700 328 2730 210.0
4. David Greene........ UG SR 12 -67 2508 322 2441 203.4
5. Jay Cutler.......... VU JR 11 349 1844 350 2193 199.4
6. Shane Boyd.......... UK SR 10 297 1328 365 1625 162.5
7. Omarr Conner........ MS SO 9 115 1224 273 1339 148.8
8. Ethan Flatt......... UM SO 10 -60 1530 242 1470 147.0
9. Marcus Randall...... LS SR 12 247 1269 241 1516 126.3
10.Newton,Syvelle...... SC SO 11 262 1093 235 1355 123.2

[QuackAttackVan]

I don't think its any question in my mind.

Leak

[vandy33]

Yes, it is possible. And don't forget Cutler's stats were down last season. He played hurt for the last half of the season. But unfortunatly whatever our coaching staff needs to do they will do the complete opposite. Like running the option to much and getting him hurt. I hope we use the gamplan we had for the UT game as a starting point. We have one of the best QB's so let's pass.