Nothing more to say about the Gophers that hasn't already been said. The key for this program is RECRUITING, RECRUITING, RECRUITING! And from the sound of it, if the verbals can stay true to their word, things will definitely be on the up & up for the program.
Today's rant is going to be of the Vikings variety, which is rare for me since I stopped giving a shit about the Vikings after 41-Doughnut at the Meadowlands in 2001. But I am a fan of watching former Gophers, along with all college players hitting the draft. Call it fresh faces & new blood, I suppose, but there's just something about the draft that interests me. With that, I offer what the Vikings "should" do.
I think T. Jack is awful. He has no calmness, is a total spaz, and he can't throw accurately & throw to the right guy to save his life. With that said, if he's healthy, he should be the QB for the rest of the season. The bottom line is 2007 is a wasted season for the Vikings. Even if they went on a role, do you really think they're going to take down Dallas for the NFC? Take your medicine & keep rebuilding. Let's find out for sure on Jackson. Let him play out the entire season. If he sucks, then we know. If he builds a little, then you can go in that direction. But I think the most important thing for the Vikings is this: LOSE EVERY GAME POSSIBLE! People want to look at the way the Vikings ended the season so poorly last year. Yes, it was true, but there was a big time benefit to that: the Vikings were in a #7 draft position and were able to take Adrian Peterson. Do the same thing this year. You can answer your question about Jackson. If he seems to have found it, you can go after an OT in the Jake Long form (or a WR, but I'm not big on this current crop of receivers, except if DeShaun Jackson comes out). If he isn't the answer, there seems to be a decent crop of QB's to look at drafting, including Brian Brohm, Andre Woodson, Matt Ryan, or even a step below with Chad Henne & John David Booty. Build up your young talent base. It's the only way to get better. Cleveland is in the right direction (although giving up the #1 to Dallas may be tough, but they did get Brady Quinn out of it, which isn't that bad a move). They have Quinn, Edwards, & Joe Thomas to build around. They obviously won't be able to answer the RB position this year without the #1 & go after a Darren McFadden, but you can always find RB's a bit later (Marion Barber anyone?). Unless they're able to make a move for a Drew Brees type veteran, find the young core & build. The Vikes need some safety help as they're getting older at the position (perhaps Kenny Phillips if he comes out), I think they need another CB (Griffin would be ok as a nickle, but I'm not sold on him being a #2), need some help on the right side of the OL, and the obvious concerns at WR & QB. Just like with the Gophers & RECRUITING, the Vikings need to RESTOCK & go young.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Scoops's Extended Quick Hits: 10/15/07
It’s been a few weeks, I apologize. I’ll try to give anything & everything that comes to my mind. Another note: Pliers & I are going to try to start a chat every Thursday or Friday & we’ll post the chat transcript on the blog, so that should be of some entertainment. On to a two week edition of “Scoops’ Quick Hits”:
-Gophers: A rough two weeks. I was unable to view the Indiana game, but from the sound of it, I didn’t miss much. There have been some defections and a 21 point blown lead to Northwestern. Here’s my take:
-Offensively-They are getting better & showing signs of life, which is a complete positive. You want to see them take a step each & every week as an improvement. It’s hard to tell because NW is not a great D and they got blitzed by Michigan State the week before as well, but the offense is showing improvement. What I didn’t like was the 3rd quarter INT by Weber. The Gophers D actually came up big & got a turnover. A big 1st down, and Minnesota was up 35-14, in complete control of the game. I said to myself “get out of the 3rd quarter with the same score & at worst, NW having the ball in their territory to start the 4th quarter. But a crucial 1st down INT where Weber tried to toss it over the middle. I don’t get on playcalling that much, because it’s often judged on how successful it was (I’ll always remember when the Vikings in 1999 ran a 3rd & 35 draw to LeRoy Hoard up the middle and he rumbled for 40 yards to get the 1st down and everyone was talking about the brilliant play call because it caught the Broncos off guard. Are you serious? How many times have you seen that same call, which isn’t a bad call, you’re just not trying to turn it over, and it doesn’t work? I’d say about 90% of the time in those situations). But a 1st down, when Weber & Jay Thomas were having a lot of success running the ball, late in the 3rd quarter, a pass down the seam over the middle was not a correct play call. Weber shouldn’t have thrown it, and the play shouldn’t have been called. Other than that, a few blunders here & there, but you can’t expect anything more, at least I can’t. Weber is growing each game and should be a tough stop the last three games for Illinois, Iowa & Wisconsin. Big Wheel came up with is best game as a Gopher, which is good for him. He’s had a nice comeback year this year after being in Mason’s doghouse last year. With Decker only a sophomore, and others like Herndon, Spry & Howell (who didn’t play on Saturday), I like the direction. The short yardage needs to get better, but the offense is heading in the right direction. Improvement from one week to the next, that’s all I look for as a fan of amateur athletics. And the 2 point play was THE RIGHT CALL! Why go when you’re forced to go? And who says that the Gophers are absolutely going to score the next OT? By that line of thinking, the Gophers are absolutely going to score, why not do it when it’s in your control? I thought they would have a bit more savvy of a play, like some sort of option where the RB can toss it as well, but the play they called was a typical 2 point play, so I can’t say it was a bad call. The RT didn’t have his best block, and it looked like the jumped Decker, so I credit Northwestern for making a good play, but it was the right call. You may as well live & die with what got you to that point. One more point, I liked that Valentine & the TE’s, both Simmons & Tow-Arnett, got a bit more involved. Valentine on a few touches short yardage and as a 2nd back blocking, and some passes to the TE’s.
-Defensively: they have ZERO linebackers. It’s almost painful to watch. I think Hightower is the best of the lot right now, and he is the only LB making any plays, but he was completely fooled in OT. Shevlin: what can you say? This guy is awful. He makes bad reads, seems like he has no football sense, and is constantly overrunning & out of position. On the 4th down QB option play, he completely left his gap & overran and allowed the QB to run untouched. If he breaks down & stays at home, he at least has an opportunity to make a play. Along with the ugly LB’s is the fact that they get no pass rush whatsoever, and they have no depth at any position. Dominique Barber is making plays, and I didn’t think the secondary was awful as a whole considering the team they were playing and the pass rush that was provided. But the bottom line is the defense doesn’t have the athletes to make anything happen, mostly at LB, then at the CB & DE positions. And that won’t change until the recruiting aspect gets better. They need more athletes & more depth.
-Coaching: I’ve already touched on the 1st & 10 INT late in the 3rd quarter that was the turning point of the game, so no need to dive in to that anymore. The other questionable call I felt was the 3rd & 5 stretch with a little over 2 minutes left in the game. With 3rd & 5, I thought the right call was a QB draw. And it looked like after the pass routes somewhat broke down, Weber could have taken off and gotten close, perhaps not a 1st down, but no worse than a 4th & 2. But I would have not kicked the FG in that position. I know what Brewster is thinking….44 yard FG, a D-I kicker should be able to hit that, and you hit it, you ice the game. But I had absolutely zero confidence in Monroe or anybody on that team to make that kick. I thought going for it on 4th down was the better option. There was a better chance of lining up Wheelwright 1 on 1 and tossing him a jump ball than Monroe hitting that kick. You want to show confidence in a guy, but they just don’t have anybody that can make that kick. Those two were the only real beefs I had. They tried to blitz a lot, including the 4th down play in regulation, and the LB’s simply got stuffed. Especially Shevlin, it looks like he’s blitzing just to do it. If you’re going to blitz, there has to be a purpose to it, and he has no clue, going back to having zero football sense.
-Overall: If you bet on Minnesota, you made money this weekend, so from that aspect, you can look at the expectations. But this was a game they had won, and to quote the immortal Denny Green, “they let ‘em off the hook!” This program won’t change until the losing attitude & the deer in the headlights look changes. You know it was going through the heads of those players “here we go again” after the turnovers, the NW touchdowns, and the failure to make some plays. I credit the offense for getting back on track, especially in overtime. But you’re not only changing poor talent, you’re having to change a losing culture as well. And if I hear anybody talk about “16 starters back from a bowl team,” I’m going to jam a screwdriver into my ear. First off, they were replacing a new QB, an experience 3 year starting senior QB, with a redshirt freshman QB, putting in a new offense that was built on zone running to one with 3 & 4 wide receiver sets. They’re blowing the whole thing up, so the starters on the offense doesn’t mean that much to me. On defense, the starters were bad in the first place, and it got worse when Daniels, Massey & D Jones got booted off the team. Not only that, but the bad players are getting injured as well (Cooley, Steib & Sherels) so you’re now going to their backups. There is zero CB depth left, and they’re down to true freshmen next to Barber at safety. VanDeSteeg is the only DL player with any talent, and he’s limited right now, so a bad pass rush got even worse in the first place. This team was 6-7 last year with practically the best turnover margin in the country! That is amazing. They had about as efficient an offense last year as you could have, turnover wise, and they still lost more games than they won. Not only that, but they didn’t beat a Big Ten team with a winning record last year. For final proof, just look at the 2003 & 2004 recruiting classes.
2003:
Maurice Alexander
Neel Allen
Tony Brinkhaus
Samad Cain
Adam Galbreath
Paris Hamilton
Jamal Harris
John Jakel
Keith Lipka
Rhys Lloyd
Laurence Maroney
Pete Martinsen
Mark Mullaney
Brandon Owens
Logan Payne
Amir Pinnix
Stephon Rhea
Micah Rucker
John Scroggins
John Shevlin
Steve Shidell
Brian Smith
Desi Steib
Jeff Sundsmo
Justin Valentine
Ernie Wheelwright
Byron Williams
Let’s break it down: you have good players in Brinkhaus, Steve Shidell, Amir Pinnix & Wheelwright, a good player in Valentine that isn’t in a friendly offense, then you have contributors in Jamal Harris, Neel Allen, Desi Steib, & John Shevlin. That’s about it. Your seniors are supposed to be the lifeblood of your program, and this is what you have. They obviously lost Maroney two years ago, and Logan Payne graduated last year, and Brandon Owens had a chance to be good with an unfortunate career ending injury. But after that, look at those names.
2004:
Maurice Alexander
Dominique Barber
William Brody
John Carlson
Matt DeGeest
Adam Ernst
Jason Giannini
Deon Hightower
Leland Jones
Justin Kucek
Tommy Leavitt
Mike Maciejowski
Steve Moore
Tony Mortensen
Everett Pedescleaux
Gary Russell
Johnny Sampy
Sam Scroggins
Hussain Shakir
Jack Simmons
Andre Sloan El
Nhemie Theodore
Will VanDeSteeg
David Wess
I remind you, this is the next class AFTER a 10-3 season & beating a good Oregon team in the Sun Bowl, with Barber, Maroney & Tapeh making national names for themselves. In this class, you have Dominique Barber that is a great player, VanDeSteeg, Simmons, Hightower, & DeGeest contributing, and that’s about it. Russell left school, Mortensen is the backup QB, & John Carlson had a career ending injury. Also, Kucek is the teams current punter. But this is the true senior, redshirt junior class. Look at the names a second time.
In college football, recruiting is getting to be the name of the game and is the lifeblood of the program. You have a down class and it can kill you. You have two down classes, and you feel the effects a few years down the line….have multiple bad classes and you have a 1-6 football team when you’re trying to switch systems. Let’s look at the current verbals that Brewster has already gotten, with a 1-6 team mind you:
Jonathan Dandridge, DB, 6-1, 175, 4.48, Detroit, MI
Roszell Gayden, OL, 6-7, 285, 5.2, 5.5, Robbinsdale, MN
Ryan Grant, LB, 6-1, 215, -, 5.4, Eden Prairie, MN
Vincent Hill, WR, 6-0, 190, -, 5.8, New Berlin, NY
Brendan Kelly, DE, 6-6, 225, 4.69, 5.6, Eden Prairie, MN
Brandon Kirksey, DE, 6-3, 250, -, 5.3, St. Louis, MO
Eric Lair, TE, 6-3, 210, 4.56, 5.6, Houston, TX
Simoni Lawrence, DB, 6-1, 207, 4.45, 5.6, Upper Darby, PA
Sam Maresh, LB, 6-2, 240, 4.7, 5.8, Champlin, MN
John Nance, ATH, 6-4, 185, -, 5.4, St. Paul, MN
Shady Salamon, RB, 5-10, 175, 4.55, 5.5, St. Paul, MN
Padric Scott, DT, 6-1, 285, 5.2, 5.4, Tallahassee, FL
Gary Tinsley, LB, 6-1, 220, 4.6, 5.5, Jacksonville, FL
D.L. Wilhite, ATH, 6-4, 235, -, 5.4, Lexington, KY
Two 4 stars already in Vincent Hill & Maresh, with the possibility of landing Willie Mobley & Michael Floyd, no matter how long a shot they are. And they’re getting players at positions they need: Dandridge will most likely be playing next year as will Gary Tinsley. And the 2 stars they are getting are nice players. Come back to me in 2011 when you’re watching a Gopher game and the name “Padric Scott” gets mentioned as the “Chevrolet Scholar of the Week” during the game with his 3.89 GPA as a pre-dentistry major so you can tell me where you heard it first.
Overall, this is the state of Gopher football. Not a 1-6 record…not being unable to go to the Insight, Champs, or Motor City bowl game….not losing to Florida Atlantic (who game South Florida a game) or Bowling Green….not playing well with Ohio State for a stretch….and not the remaining games. Wins are good & losses are bad, let’s not forget that, but it’s the process I’m after, and it’s going to change only with recruiting, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Other takes:
-Told you about Wisconsin that they were a mirage. And they still have Ohio State & Michigan coming up. And if Minnesota’s offense keeps improving, not even that game is a gimme. You’re looking at 4-4 AT BEST in the Big Ten for Wisconsin.
-Michigan is getting a bit better and may be the only shot to knock off Ohio State.
-Iowa beating Illinois surprised me. Illinois’ players aren’t ready to handle success. Iowa’s still not that good and a winnable game for the Gophers.
-LSU losing wasn’t the shocker of the world, but Kentucky putting up the offensive numbers they did against LSU’s defense was a shocker to me.
-Cal losing to Oregon State was a shocker. Crazy week of CFA.
-I think Ohio State should be in position to lock up one of the championship game bids by default. They haven’t played anyone, that’s the bottom line. But they also have taken care of their business, something USC & Oklahoma didn’t do. You can’t tell me Stanford & Colorado (although they’re slowly turning things around there, piece by piece) are that much better than Purdue & Washington. OSU has taken care of their end, that’s all they can do, and they may get rewarded for it.
-South Florida is a fun story, but they will lose at least a pair before it’s all said & done.
-What may not be certain is Boston College…I think they have the best shot of also going undefeated of the majors. Arizona State will drop one to either Cal, Oregon or USC, and Kansas will as well, to either Mizzou or Oklahoma with a Big XII title game.
-Pro Football: I casually watch the Vikings, but watching Adrian Peterson is FUN! The acceleration is the best in football. Other than Tomlinson, I wouldn’t have any other back in football right now. And think when he picks up the blocking & receiving aspect of the game.
-Hockey: Wild doing what they need to do, and good win for the Gophers this weekend. Those 2 wins will look nice when PWR season is playing out in March.
-Gophers: A rough two weeks. I was unable to view the Indiana game, but from the sound of it, I didn’t miss much. There have been some defections and a 21 point blown lead to Northwestern. Here’s my take:
-Offensively-They are getting better & showing signs of life, which is a complete positive. You want to see them take a step each & every week as an improvement. It’s hard to tell because NW is not a great D and they got blitzed by Michigan State the week before as well, but the offense is showing improvement. What I didn’t like was the 3rd quarter INT by Weber. The Gophers D actually came up big & got a turnover. A big 1st down, and Minnesota was up 35-14, in complete control of the game. I said to myself “get out of the 3rd quarter with the same score & at worst, NW having the ball in their territory to start the 4th quarter. But a crucial 1st down INT where Weber tried to toss it over the middle. I don’t get on playcalling that much, because it’s often judged on how successful it was (I’ll always remember when the Vikings in 1999 ran a 3rd & 35 draw to LeRoy Hoard up the middle and he rumbled for 40 yards to get the 1st down and everyone was talking about the brilliant play call because it caught the Broncos off guard. Are you serious? How many times have you seen that same call, which isn’t a bad call, you’re just not trying to turn it over, and it doesn’t work? I’d say about 90% of the time in those situations). But a 1st down, when Weber & Jay Thomas were having a lot of success running the ball, late in the 3rd quarter, a pass down the seam over the middle was not a correct play call. Weber shouldn’t have thrown it, and the play shouldn’t have been called. Other than that, a few blunders here & there, but you can’t expect anything more, at least I can’t. Weber is growing each game and should be a tough stop the last three games for Illinois, Iowa & Wisconsin. Big Wheel came up with is best game as a Gopher, which is good for him. He’s had a nice comeback year this year after being in Mason’s doghouse last year. With Decker only a sophomore, and others like Herndon, Spry & Howell (who didn’t play on Saturday), I like the direction. The short yardage needs to get better, but the offense is heading in the right direction. Improvement from one week to the next, that’s all I look for as a fan of amateur athletics. And the 2 point play was THE RIGHT CALL! Why go when you’re forced to go? And who says that the Gophers are absolutely going to score the next OT? By that line of thinking, the Gophers are absolutely going to score, why not do it when it’s in your control? I thought they would have a bit more savvy of a play, like some sort of option where the RB can toss it as well, but the play they called was a typical 2 point play, so I can’t say it was a bad call. The RT didn’t have his best block, and it looked like the jumped Decker, so I credit Northwestern for making a good play, but it was the right call. You may as well live & die with what got you to that point. One more point, I liked that Valentine & the TE’s, both Simmons & Tow-Arnett, got a bit more involved. Valentine on a few touches short yardage and as a 2nd back blocking, and some passes to the TE’s.
-Defensively: they have ZERO linebackers. It’s almost painful to watch. I think Hightower is the best of the lot right now, and he is the only LB making any plays, but he was completely fooled in OT. Shevlin: what can you say? This guy is awful. He makes bad reads, seems like he has no football sense, and is constantly overrunning & out of position. On the 4th down QB option play, he completely left his gap & overran and allowed the QB to run untouched. If he breaks down & stays at home, he at least has an opportunity to make a play. Along with the ugly LB’s is the fact that they get no pass rush whatsoever, and they have no depth at any position. Dominique Barber is making plays, and I didn’t think the secondary was awful as a whole considering the team they were playing and the pass rush that was provided. But the bottom line is the defense doesn’t have the athletes to make anything happen, mostly at LB, then at the CB & DE positions. And that won’t change until the recruiting aspect gets better. They need more athletes & more depth.
-Coaching: I’ve already touched on the 1st & 10 INT late in the 3rd quarter that was the turning point of the game, so no need to dive in to that anymore. The other questionable call I felt was the 3rd & 5 stretch with a little over 2 minutes left in the game. With 3rd & 5, I thought the right call was a QB draw. And it looked like after the pass routes somewhat broke down, Weber could have taken off and gotten close, perhaps not a 1st down, but no worse than a 4th & 2. But I would have not kicked the FG in that position. I know what Brewster is thinking….44 yard FG, a D-I kicker should be able to hit that, and you hit it, you ice the game. But I had absolutely zero confidence in Monroe or anybody on that team to make that kick. I thought going for it on 4th down was the better option. There was a better chance of lining up Wheelwright 1 on 1 and tossing him a jump ball than Monroe hitting that kick. You want to show confidence in a guy, but they just don’t have anybody that can make that kick. Those two were the only real beefs I had. They tried to blitz a lot, including the 4th down play in regulation, and the LB’s simply got stuffed. Especially Shevlin, it looks like he’s blitzing just to do it. If you’re going to blitz, there has to be a purpose to it, and he has no clue, going back to having zero football sense.
-Overall: If you bet on Minnesota, you made money this weekend, so from that aspect, you can look at the expectations. But this was a game they had won, and to quote the immortal Denny Green, “they let ‘em off the hook!” This program won’t change until the losing attitude & the deer in the headlights look changes. You know it was going through the heads of those players “here we go again” after the turnovers, the NW touchdowns, and the failure to make some plays. I credit the offense for getting back on track, especially in overtime. But you’re not only changing poor talent, you’re having to change a losing culture as well. And if I hear anybody talk about “16 starters back from a bowl team,” I’m going to jam a screwdriver into my ear. First off, they were replacing a new QB, an experience 3 year starting senior QB, with a redshirt freshman QB, putting in a new offense that was built on zone running to one with 3 & 4 wide receiver sets. They’re blowing the whole thing up, so the starters on the offense doesn’t mean that much to me. On defense, the starters were bad in the first place, and it got worse when Daniels, Massey & D Jones got booted off the team. Not only that, but the bad players are getting injured as well (Cooley, Steib & Sherels) so you’re now going to their backups. There is zero CB depth left, and they’re down to true freshmen next to Barber at safety. VanDeSteeg is the only DL player with any talent, and he’s limited right now, so a bad pass rush got even worse in the first place. This team was 6-7 last year with practically the best turnover margin in the country! That is amazing. They had about as efficient an offense last year as you could have, turnover wise, and they still lost more games than they won. Not only that, but they didn’t beat a Big Ten team with a winning record last year. For final proof, just look at the 2003 & 2004 recruiting classes.
2003:
Maurice Alexander
Neel Allen
Tony Brinkhaus
Samad Cain
Adam Galbreath
Paris Hamilton
Jamal Harris
John Jakel
Keith Lipka
Rhys Lloyd
Laurence Maroney
Pete Martinsen
Mark Mullaney
Brandon Owens
Logan Payne
Amir Pinnix
Stephon Rhea
Micah Rucker
John Scroggins
John Shevlin
Steve Shidell
Brian Smith
Desi Steib
Jeff Sundsmo
Justin Valentine
Ernie Wheelwright
Byron Williams
Let’s break it down: you have good players in Brinkhaus, Steve Shidell, Amir Pinnix & Wheelwright, a good player in Valentine that isn’t in a friendly offense, then you have contributors in Jamal Harris, Neel Allen, Desi Steib, & John Shevlin. That’s about it. Your seniors are supposed to be the lifeblood of your program, and this is what you have. They obviously lost Maroney two years ago, and Logan Payne graduated last year, and Brandon Owens had a chance to be good with an unfortunate career ending injury. But after that, look at those names.
2004:
Maurice Alexander
Dominique Barber
William Brody
John Carlson
Matt DeGeest
Adam Ernst
Jason Giannini
Deon Hightower
Leland Jones
Justin Kucek
Tommy Leavitt
Mike Maciejowski
Steve Moore
Tony Mortensen
Everett Pedescleaux
Gary Russell
Johnny Sampy
Sam Scroggins
Hussain Shakir
Jack Simmons
Andre Sloan El
Nhemie Theodore
Will VanDeSteeg
David Wess
I remind you, this is the next class AFTER a 10-3 season & beating a good Oregon team in the Sun Bowl, with Barber, Maroney & Tapeh making national names for themselves. In this class, you have Dominique Barber that is a great player, VanDeSteeg, Simmons, Hightower, & DeGeest contributing, and that’s about it. Russell left school, Mortensen is the backup QB, & John Carlson had a career ending injury. Also, Kucek is the teams current punter. But this is the true senior, redshirt junior class. Look at the names a second time.
In college football, recruiting is getting to be the name of the game and is the lifeblood of the program. You have a down class and it can kill you. You have two down classes, and you feel the effects a few years down the line….have multiple bad classes and you have a 1-6 football team when you’re trying to switch systems. Let’s look at the current verbals that Brewster has already gotten, with a 1-6 team mind you:
Jonathan Dandridge, DB, 6-1, 175, 4.48, Detroit, MI
Roszell Gayden, OL, 6-7, 285, 5.2, 5.5, Robbinsdale, MN
Ryan Grant, LB, 6-1, 215, -, 5.4, Eden Prairie, MN
Vincent Hill, WR, 6-0, 190, -, 5.8, New Berlin, NY
Brendan Kelly, DE, 6-6, 225, 4.69, 5.6, Eden Prairie, MN
Brandon Kirksey, DE, 6-3, 250, -, 5.3, St. Louis, MO
Eric Lair, TE, 6-3, 210, 4.56, 5.6, Houston, TX
Simoni Lawrence, DB, 6-1, 207, 4.45, 5.6, Upper Darby, PA
Sam Maresh, LB, 6-2, 240, 4.7, 5.8, Champlin, MN
John Nance, ATH, 6-4, 185, -, 5.4, St. Paul, MN
Shady Salamon, RB, 5-10, 175, 4.55, 5.5, St. Paul, MN
Padric Scott, DT, 6-1, 285, 5.2, 5.4, Tallahassee, FL
Gary Tinsley, LB, 6-1, 220, 4.6, 5.5, Jacksonville, FL
D.L. Wilhite, ATH, 6-4, 235, -, 5.4, Lexington, KY
Two 4 stars already in Vincent Hill & Maresh, with the possibility of landing Willie Mobley & Michael Floyd, no matter how long a shot they are. And they’re getting players at positions they need: Dandridge will most likely be playing next year as will Gary Tinsley. And the 2 stars they are getting are nice players. Come back to me in 2011 when you’re watching a Gopher game and the name “Padric Scott” gets mentioned as the “Chevrolet Scholar of the Week” during the game with his 3.89 GPA as a pre-dentistry major so you can tell me where you heard it first.
Overall, this is the state of Gopher football. Not a 1-6 record…not being unable to go to the Insight, Champs, or Motor City bowl game….not losing to Florida Atlantic (who game South Florida a game) or Bowling Green….not playing well with Ohio State for a stretch….and not the remaining games. Wins are good & losses are bad, let’s not forget that, but it’s the process I’m after, and it’s going to change only with recruiting, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Other takes:
-Told you about Wisconsin that they were a mirage. And they still have Ohio State & Michigan coming up. And if Minnesota’s offense keeps improving, not even that game is a gimme. You’re looking at 4-4 AT BEST in the Big Ten for Wisconsin.
-Michigan is getting a bit better and may be the only shot to knock off Ohio State.
-Iowa beating Illinois surprised me. Illinois’ players aren’t ready to handle success. Iowa’s still not that good and a winnable game for the Gophers.
-LSU losing wasn’t the shocker of the world, but Kentucky putting up the offensive numbers they did against LSU’s defense was a shocker to me.
-Cal losing to Oregon State was a shocker. Crazy week of CFA.
-I think Ohio State should be in position to lock up one of the championship game bids by default. They haven’t played anyone, that’s the bottom line. But they also have taken care of their business, something USC & Oklahoma didn’t do. You can’t tell me Stanford & Colorado (although they’re slowly turning things around there, piece by piece) are that much better than Purdue & Washington. OSU has taken care of their end, that’s all they can do, and they may get rewarded for it.
-South Florida is a fun story, but they will lose at least a pair before it’s all said & done.
-What may not be certain is Boston College…I think they have the best shot of also going undefeated of the majors. Arizona State will drop one to either Cal, Oregon or USC, and Kansas will as well, to either Mizzou or Oklahoma with a Big XII title game.
-Pro Football: I casually watch the Vikings, but watching Adrian Peterson is FUN! The acceleration is the best in football. Other than Tomlinson, I wouldn’t have any other back in football right now. And think when he picks up the blocking & receiving aspect of the game.
-Hockey: Wild doing what they need to do, and good win for the Gophers this weekend. Those 2 wins will look nice when PWR season is playing out in March.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Lesson #1: You lose $ with $coops!
What a crazy weekend in college football.
-Florida going down to Auburn: I figured that would be a Gator lock, were they looking ahead to LSU or does Auburn have the Gators' number? Anyway, what cool veins by the Auburn kicker, despite the always "classy" Urban Meyer trying to pull the dirty late time out. They should totally stop that on FG attempts, almost like a "no more bets" hand washing at the roulette table. You need last second Time Outs for QB's if there's something they need switched or the play clock goes down and with defense in case they don't have enough players out there. But FG attempts? No reason to have to call a time out. Just my beef.
-Texas getting slammed by Kansas State AGAIN! I did think Texas wasn't as good as advertised and they were going to get what was "supposed" to be coming to them in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl next weekend, but the way they lost AT HOME was embarassing.
-Oklahoma choking a 24-7 lead at Colorado. In firm control, the Sooners let their hands off the wheel in cruise control to blow it to an average at best Colorado team. That suddenly makes the Red River Shootout next weekend rather less interesting.
-Rutgers losing: Doesn't shock me as much; I did say Rutgers was going to lose a cheap game eventually.
-West Virginia losing at South Florida: Look, I know USF is much improved and the crowd was totally geeked up, but if West Virginia wants to be taken seriously as a national title contender, they can't lose games like this. The yardage discrepency was scary in favor of West Virginia, yet turnovers & big plays killed the Mountaineers. I don't care how many 1 loss seasons & beating Georgia in a BCS bowl game wins they have; YOU CAN'T LOSE TO SOUTH FLORIDA IF YOU WANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY AS A NATIONAL TITLE CONTENDER!
-Cal & Oregon's great game: I did feel Oregon would squeak it out since it was in Eugene, but Cal got it done. If you want to watch an athlete, watch a replay of DeShaun Jackson's TD reception as he just bolted by the Duck defender down the sideline to tie it up. And fumbling at the 1 into the endzone? You may as well change his name to "Byner" while he's still on campus.
Other takes:
-Wisconsin continues to get lucky, this time because too many MSU idiots are left over from the John L Smith era for Dantonio to work with. I think their luck runs out because of Juice Williams this weekend.
-Minnesota: I actually didn't think they played horrible. Weber had his worst game yet, but I think that was due to Ohio State's defense. OSU's defense IS AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED! Not one player jumps out (including Animal); they all can run & tackle.
-USC eeked it out in Seattle. If you look at the USC dynasty run, they always seem to have one of these games (2003 L @ Cal, 2004 tight win in the fog @ Oregon State, 2005 @ Arizona State). If it becomes habit, I'd worry if I was a USC fan. Usually, it's not. But trips to Oregon & Cal won't be a picnic.
-Rough week ATS going 3-7. And think about it....two of those wins were Minnesota & Indiana! Was only really super off on the Texas-Kansas State game. Wisconsin once again does me in, and Purdue & Michigan were close. The PSU-Illinois game was a back & forth one for me all week.
Next week had so much potential with the Red River & LSU-Florida game.....now? I do think the LSU-Florida game will still be great as it will be the first time LSU plays against a good defense that won't be facing a short field all game. I do think Texas is a step below Oklahoma. We'll also find out a bit more about both Ohio State & Purdue, although traditionally with these teams, this is where OSU shines & Purdue tends to bow down.
-Florida going down to Auburn: I figured that would be a Gator lock, were they looking ahead to LSU or does Auburn have the Gators' number? Anyway, what cool veins by the Auburn kicker, despite the always "classy" Urban Meyer trying to pull the dirty late time out. They should totally stop that on FG attempts, almost like a "no more bets" hand washing at the roulette table. You need last second Time Outs for QB's if there's something they need switched or the play clock goes down and with defense in case they don't have enough players out there. But FG attempts? No reason to have to call a time out. Just my beef.
-Texas getting slammed by Kansas State AGAIN! I did think Texas wasn't as good as advertised and they were going to get what was "supposed" to be coming to them in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl next weekend, but the way they lost AT HOME was embarassing.
-Oklahoma choking a 24-7 lead at Colorado. In firm control, the Sooners let their hands off the wheel in cruise control to blow it to an average at best Colorado team. That suddenly makes the Red River Shootout next weekend rather less interesting.
-Rutgers losing: Doesn't shock me as much; I did say Rutgers was going to lose a cheap game eventually.
-West Virginia losing at South Florida: Look, I know USF is much improved and the crowd was totally geeked up, but if West Virginia wants to be taken seriously as a national title contender, they can't lose games like this. The yardage discrepency was scary in favor of West Virginia, yet turnovers & big plays killed the Mountaineers. I don't care how many 1 loss seasons & beating Georgia in a BCS bowl game wins they have; YOU CAN'T LOSE TO SOUTH FLORIDA IF YOU WANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY AS A NATIONAL TITLE CONTENDER!
-Cal & Oregon's great game: I did feel Oregon would squeak it out since it was in Eugene, but Cal got it done. If you want to watch an athlete, watch a replay of DeShaun Jackson's TD reception as he just bolted by the Duck defender down the sideline to tie it up. And fumbling at the 1 into the endzone? You may as well change his name to "Byner" while he's still on campus.
Other takes:
-Wisconsin continues to get lucky, this time because too many MSU idiots are left over from the John L Smith era for Dantonio to work with. I think their luck runs out because of Juice Williams this weekend.
-Minnesota: I actually didn't think they played horrible. Weber had his worst game yet, but I think that was due to Ohio State's defense. OSU's defense IS AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED! Not one player jumps out (including Animal); they all can run & tackle.
-USC eeked it out in Seattle. If you look at the USC dynasty run, they always seem to have one of these games (2003 L @ Cal, 2004 tight win in the fog @ Oregon State, 2005 @ Arizona State). If it becomes habit, I'd worry if I was a USC fan. Usually, it's not. But trips to Oregon & Cal won't be a picnic.
-Rough week ATS going 3-7. And think about it....two of those wins were Minnesota & Indiana! Was only really super off on the Texas-Kansas State game. Wisconsin once again does me in, and Purdue & Michigan were close. The PSU-Illinois game was a back & forth one for me all week.
Next week had so much potential with the Red River & LSU-Florida game.....now? I do think the LSU-Florida game will still be great as it will be the first time LSU plays against a good defense that won't be facing a short field all game. I do think Texas is a step below Oklahoma. We'll also find out a bit more about both Ohio State & Purdue, although traditionally with these teams, this is where OSU shines & Purdue tends to bow down.
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