Gamecocks defense fail causes quick fall, shocks, angers fans!

Clowney has left the building, but
same ol' defensive woes have not. 

Three weeks ago, South Carolina fans were promised a good team in 2014. Pundits and publications

had picked the Gamecocks, the program that finished 2013 at No. 4, as the best in the SEC East.

Now, 11 days later, South Carolina, nosediving in the polls, is a home dog to a Georgia team that lost five games last year.

Based on one of the most embarrassing defeats of the Spurrier era to Texas A&M, and a porous defense against a good mid-major, ECU, all the respect has evaporated from around USC.

There is NO reason for that level of a fall.

If you are a South Carolina fan, you should be infuriated.

You have milk-fed the program through the bad, mediocre to get to a point where two-digit win totals are automatic.

You heard Steve Spurrier say after the ECU win that his receivers are playing the best fundamental football he has seen since he's been at the school. The O-line gave QB Dylan Thompson time, and he showed that a Spurrier offense can be highly effective, and stun opponents with a quick-strike, or grind them down with Mike Davis, then a fresh Brandon Wilds run game.

While so much has become Prime-Time at South Carolina, an old, ugly and recurring problem is stealing the best of the Spurrier years.

Defense!

Why is it that every year, South Carolina fans have to endure a work-in-progress on the defensive side of the ball? Why is there always coaching-decision issues, poor-tackling, assignment-missing claims and charges that the unit has no fire?

It has started off poorly before, but improved. Usually in the always-present learning curve, the Gamecocks lose to some lesser -program, and all-but eliminate the chances for something that was expected, and really big.

This year, the hideous loss came in game one, for all the college football world to see.

The horror of the defense can be addressed. Maybe Spurrier will move a coach or two from somewhere else, to go tend to the job others are being paid to do.

But when is Spurrier going to get this right?

He likely wants to hire a defensive coordinator, and not have to worry about the job getting done. And that's how it should be if you are hired by Spurrier.

But because Spurrier seems to have made a bad decision in defensive coach hiring, all of his work is blemished.

And fans are left to wonder; can they EVER be left to assume the most elementary level of talent is evident in the defensive coaching staff?

This year, like others, the answer is “NO.” And it's getting old. The Gamecocks could have solved the problems with the defensive coaches in the off-season, before embarrassing the team. But they did not.

How mad will fans have to get, before they don't have to endure the painful process of seeing the defense get coached-up during the season, instead of before it?

Hopefully the quick fall in 2014 will scream to Spurrier that he has a problem on D, and it must be fixed, to move up in the SEC-East.
In the meantime, fans are left to stew.