Brandon Spikes Thinks Big 12 D’s are Slow; Gerald McCoy Thinks OU Knows UF’s Offense

Ah, big games. With big games comes big talk. Big talk that usually amounts to nothing more than

“we’re better than you are.”

You can wrap it up anyway you like, but it all boils down to the same thing. One guy says his team is better than the other team and suddenly fans everywhere wet themselves and somehow think the players just got more motivated than they already were.

First of all, if you are among the group that actually thinks these bulletin board statements further motivates a team, do yourself and the rest of the world a favor and put yourself out of your misery. This is the national championship people. The motivation is already there. If an athlete needs a player on the opposing team to make a comment in order for him to get motivated then something’s wrong. There is more than enough motivation to go around.

And second, don’t suddenly think to yourself “I can’t believe he said that, he really thinks all that stuff, now we’re going to kill them.” It’s just a pumped up athlete getting a little carried away in the moment. I’m sure we’ve all said stupid or exaggerated things at one time or another. I know I have. It happens. Sometimes what we say comes true. Sometimes we end up looking dumb. Oh well, life goes one.

But despite all this, we can’t ignore them. And they’re fun to read. So here’s the latest:

Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes has never been one to shy away from the spotlight. He’s got more natural talent in him than most of the other players on the field during any given game and could be the best of a recent string of very good Gator middle linebackers. And he knows it. Spikes is an overly confident player who likes to say what’s on his mind, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone when he recently said Big 12 defense seem “a step slower.” Is he right? Maybe. Do Big 12 defenses appear inferior because the conference’s offenses are so explosive? Maybe. All I know is Oklahoma faced one defense ranked in the top 50 in yards allowed. Texas. Who was ranked 50th. Florida’s is 7th. Whether speed’s a factor or not, this is the toughest defense the Sooners have faced all year. Something’s gotta give.

Of course there are also some comments from the other side, with Sooner cornerback Dominique Franks saying it’s easier to prepare for Tim Tebow than for Big 12 quarterbacks. But the one that really struck me as somewhat humorous was defensive tackle Gerald McCoy’s statement about how well Oklahoma knows Florida’s offense. “I think we’re prepared enough that we’ll know what they’re doing as well as they know it.” Look, I don’t doubt the Sooners have prepared more for this game than any other game they’ve played in recent years. After all, this is the national championship. But to think they know Urban Meyer’s offense just as well as the Gators do? Well, come on McCoy. That’s a little much. But again, it’s just talk and it’s exactly what these guys should be doing.

Regardless of what team you cheer for, don’t you want your guys to be confident bordering on cocky? Many people think cockiness is a bad trait, but I believe the contrary in certain situations. These are football players. They should be cocky. They should think they are the best of the best at what they do and go into every game believing they can win. Obviously you don’t want them saying anything too far off the reservation, but so far, it’s just talk.