The message boards this morning are enough to make me shomit. While browsing the comments and eating my daily bowl of Irish Oatmeal I notice a thread that belongs in the Stupid Hall Of Fame.

The author of the thread simply asks if we can win at Arkansas without Erik Ainge, a perfectly legit question. My opinion is “yes, we CAN but it will be a monumental task”. I think Jonathon Crompton performed well enough to give us a chance against LSU. We certainly were not able to sustain drives and keep our defense off the field for any length of time, however. Look at the time of posession and you will see why we lost that game. If you can’t pick up first downs and keep your offense on the field, you cannot win in the SEC. Our defense was gasping for breath at the end of the game for good reason.

You see, the Cromptonites (see last weeks post for explanation of “Cromptonite”) tend to overlook such logic out of convenience. Remember, these are the people who want Crompton to start regardless of the effect it would have on the team. They are the same people who (in the above referenced thread) say that “there is no dropoff at QB with Crompton in there”. Say what? Could you repeat that for me you insane SOB? One typical moron had the stupidity to post that it was “time to say thanks and goodbye to Erik Ainge” after Saturday’s game. What? Are you serious? Based on what you $*&^&* %^&&^%?? When is the last time we lost the time of posession battle 40 minutes to 20 minutes? The Cromptonites like the way the kid scrambles and runs over defensive backs. Well, so do I. But as a sane person I also know that we have an offense that we have to be able to run, otherwise we are putting the entire game in Ryan Karl’s hands. Ryan is a capable guy, but he ain’t going to light up the scoreboard with points. I will give Crompton all the credit he deserves. I thought his deep passes were absolutely beautiful, especially the first touchdown to Meachem. Nobody can deny that the raw ability with him is obvious. He obviously has a strong arm. But on the rollouts, he seemed a bit rattled and lost his poise, as Phillip Fulmer pointed out on his weekly television show. And although I hear he is a confident youngster, facing those crazy Cajun’s is a nightmare and until you have been through a few of these games it is going to continue to be a nightmare.
It became crystal clear to all sane people watching the LSU game that Ainge is light years ahead of Crompton when it comes to managing the game and running the offense. Crompton is second to nobody in raw ability, but Ainge certainly has loads of talent himself and his understanding of the offense creates a gap that is far wider than any supposed talent gap between the two. Now, if you watched the LSU game and reached the conclusion that Crompton “gives us just as good of a chance to win” and “there is no dropoff with Crompton in the game”, then congratulations……………..you are one of the stupid people I am writing about today!

Disclaimer – I am sure it is hard for some readers to understand that I have no problem at all with Jonathon Crompton. I think he is a terrific athlete and will be a tremendous player. My problem is with the lunatic fringe of the fan base that actually will PRETEND that there is no dropoff at QB when you take out Ainge and put in Crompton.