Speed

Against my better judgment I decided to watch Michigan-Ohio State 2008 over lunch at the Irish pub that serves as my general purpose sports bar. The result was as expected, but my dismal opinion of this year’s Wolverines kept me from getting depressed about it. As the Buckeyes pulled ahead to 21-7, I took the opportunity to take in the other games on at the time. Once upon a time, it would have been unthinkable for me not to fully lock myself into a Michigan-Ohio State football game. Of course once upon a time, the University of Michigan wouldn’t get beat by both Northwestern University and the University of Akron in the same year.

So while the Big Shame Game was becoming a laugh fest for the Buckeyes and their fans, I watched West Virginia vs. Louisville and Harvard vs. Yale on the neighboring televisions. I always knew that the average on-field speed of the players increased with the level of the program. However it was surprising to see this difference simultaneously. Only some of the guys playing in West Virginia vs. Louisville (both just above average I-A schools) would be fast enough to start for Ohio State or (even this year’s) Michigan, though Rich Rodriguez wishes he could have brought Pat White and the Mountaineer OL to Ann Arbor. Moving over to the next television set, likely nobody playing in Harvard vs. Yale (Harvard is #19 in the I-AA poll right now, though I generally consider the Ivy League in the lower half of I-AA schools) had the speed to start for West Virginia or Louisville. Also evident was a marked difference in QB arm strength. While there are many examples of various gun-armed wonders playing outside of the NCAA’s I-A/BCS schools, in general the speed rules apply here as well: Bigger School, Higher Pass Velocity.

Other Notes from the “All Your Bowls Are Belong to Tressel” Game:
As both a true freshman and a running QB, Terrelle Pryor is a typically sloppy passer. He’s a very smooth runner for a guy his size, but a ways off from being even Troy Smith, let alone Michael Vick or Vince Young.

While I didn’t like how he ended up with the big office at Schembechler Hall or the way the Michigan offense has failed to adapt to his spread option, the rumbling about arranging a buyout for Rich Rodriguez is foolish. I would think this level of change can only be fairly judged after three years.

Brandon Minor looks promising as a RB. I’m not smart enough to figure out of his skills are appropriate for a RB in a spread option.

Speaking of Michigan RBs, I haven’t been paying close enough attention as to why Sam McGuffie lost the starting RB job to Minor and has steadily seen his playing time decrease. I couldn’t find any indication he was hurt, so maybe he hit a “Freshman Wall” or Rodriguez had to discipline him? I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these high school phenoms who become internet sensations need some humbling in college.

I was looking to set up some kind of joke about The Ohio State University team being dependent on the relatives of public figures, but RB Chris Wells ruined it by not being the brother of his back-up Maurice Wells or previous Buckeye RB Jonathan Wells. Chris Wells was coached in High School by Ted Ginn, Sr, but I can’t do anything with that.

Ohio State WR Brian Robiskie, son of veteran NFL assistant (and two time interim HC) Terry Robiskie had a down year. I had some hopes he might end up in the NFL, and with his height (6′3″ allegedly) and heritage (coaches’ sons are considered to be disciplined and have football smarts) he still might, but probably not as high as he could have had Pryor not taken such a big role in the Buckeye offense.

I’ve watched only minimal college football this year, so I can’t personally say what kind of season Ohio State LB James Laurinaitis, son of veteran professional wrestler John “Road Warrior Animal” Laurinaitis has had. However ESPN.com/Scouts Inc. still has him listed as the 23rd best player on it’s draft board. Buckeye CB Malcom Jenkins (sigh… not the brother of former Ohio State CB/WR and Atlanta Falcons WR Michael Jenkins) is listed as 5th best player on that board.

Halfway remembered

It’s been two and a half months since my last post.  I’ve relocated to Brooklyn, NY, where the radio in my apartment, on my wrist or in my office delivers WFAN, and a lesser extent ESPN 1050 on a continual basis.  Now that we’ve reached the halfway point for the NFL season and the three-quarters point for the NCAA BCS/Division I-A season lets take a quick look at my favorite squads:

James Madison University Dukes (8-1, 6-0 in CAA) – The Dukes have been ranked #1 in FCS/Division I-AA for like seven weeks in a row.  They’ve snowplowed a good number of their opponents; QB Rodney Landers is now a legitimate Payton Award hopeful and S Rodney Landers a legitimate Buchanan Award hopeful.

Washington Redskins – After being hopelessly confused in the season opener against the Giants, Jim Zorn has largely figured out how to be a NFL head coach.  He got the team playing over its’ head and in second place in the vicious 2008 NFC East.  My years of barstool and couch-based experience tell me that running a West-coast offense with two short WRs shouldn’t work at all, but here it is working.  RB Clinton Portis is having his best post-Denver year.  QB Jason Campbell still looks confused at times, like he’s thinking a bit too much, but overall has been very efficient.  All this despite a shaky punting situation (rookie Durant Brooks proved to be worse than the embittered Derrick Frost, now ex-Seahawk Ryan Plackemeier has the job) and a mere ten sacks (poster boy Jason Taylor has only one) by the defense.   I won’t be surprised if these good times don’t last, but I hope they do.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Bucs are treading water in the game, if sloppy NFC South.  Earnest Graham has been a steady featured RB, with Carnell WIlliams nowhere in sight.  Jon Gruden created a little bit of QB drama early in the season, resting Jeff Garcia in weeks 2-4 for Brian Greise, before benching Greise for Garcia in week 5.  Healthy and perhaps disciplined by Gruden, Garcia has been in good form.  The defense is still very good, rookie CB Aqib Talib has 3 INTs, DE Gaines Adams has 2 INTs and 4 sacks.  Though at this moment they’re losing to the not quite CFL talent level Kansas City Chiefs.

University of Michigan Wolverines (2-7, 1-4 Big Ten) – My hazy memories tell me that HCs with radically different systems unsuited for the present roster usually go one of two ways in college football: Overachievement or flaming disaster.  Michigan under Rich Rodriguez is going with the latter for 2008.  Given the shady circumstances of Rodriguez recruitment by Michigan, the results look like just desserts for both the Wolverines and their coach.  Anyway, Michigan is guaranteed their first losing season in like 40 years and their 33 year bowl attendance streak is broken.  They’ve even made ESPN’s Bottom 10 list.  Again.

On the upside, RBs Brandon Minor (from Richmond!) and Sam “One of them YouTube stars” McGuffie have looked good.  McGuffie’s got that Warrick Dunn thing going.

Ugggh.

Good thing I don’t do this for a living. In the intervening weeks between my snarky Cedric Benson – Eric Steinbach Boating While Intoxicated post, all kinds of bloggable football stories came out, as well as some stuff from before that I didn’t get around to blogging.  If I were serious about this, I’d blog it in nearly real-time, but really, this is just an excuse to keep my writing skills busy for my own enjoyment.

NFL

The Patriots Spygate came and went. Former team video assistant Matt Walsh met with NFL Commisioner Robert Goodell and turned over his videos of various other team’s signals. The Boston Herald retracted its’ earlier story with the insinuations that there was footage of the Rams pre-Super Bowl XXXVI walk-through. Goodell declared that the NFL done enough and would levy no further penalties on the Patriots. The Patriots insisted they got no extra benefit from the illegal footage. Walsh, interviewed by the New York Times and HBO: Real Sports insists the team did get an advantage from the footage. Senator Arlen Spector (PA) wants an independent investigation. I hope nobody’s taxpayer dollars go into that.

Adam “Pac-Man” Jones got traded from the Titans to the Cowboys and a number of pointless stories, including idle speculation about letting him play some WR emerges.

The NFL owners opted out of the current labor agreement with the NFLPA, opening the possibility of 2010 being an salary-cap free year or a lockout year if no new deal is inked. Details here.

The various mini-camps and (Not That) Optional Team Activities are in process. A variety of guys miss part or all of these to protest various contract and job related things. Most amusingly, Redskins rookie TE Fred Davis oversleeps and misses the Sunday portion of mini-camp.

Former Panthers LB Dan Morgan retired. Former Bucs’ RB Michael Pittman signs with the Broncos for a shot at being the 2008 1K Bronco RB. Overhyped Boston College QB Matt Ryan signs bizarrely early for the top QB and number three overall pick with the Falcons.

Saints DE Charles Grant is indicted for involuntary manslaughter after a February bar fight. Grant was stabbed in the neck during the fight.  The Bengals released long-time knucklehead LB Odell Thurman. It seems a bit unfair, supposedly he missed mini-camp to be at his grandmother’s funeral, but he should be able to find work elsewhere.

The Dolphins and Jason Taylor are surly with each other. Taylor finishes, I think second, on Dancing with the Stars.  The Redskins trade a conditional seventh round pick to the Vikings for DE Erasmus James.

Former Bucs OL Tom McHale, who last played with them in 1992, the year I arbitrarily chose Tampa Bay as my ‘B’ team, dies after using Xanax and cocaine.  Steelers rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall gets mugged in Chicago.

Indianapolis gets the Super Bowl XLVI (46).

College

The BCS quietly passed on a limited playoff system.  Yawn.

Clemson gives Terry Bowden a new contract good through 2014.

The West Virginia – Rich Rodriguez legal war goes to mediation.  Should that fail, the case returns to the judge on November 10.

The NCAA approved applications for two badly needed bowl games to take up late December air-time on ESPNU.  They take place in the homes (but not stadiums) of my two favorite NFL teams: The St. Petersburg Bowl (Big East vs. C-USA) at Tropicana Field, home of MLB’s Rays and the Congressional Bowl (Navy vs. ACC), at either RFK Stadium or Nationals Park.

I didn’t think such a thing was possible, but the NCAA actually rejected an application for a bowl in Salt Lake City.

CFL

Marcus Allen’s younger brother, QB Damon Allen, who had been playing in the CFL for like 800 years, announced his retirement.  Much like Steve DeBerg in the NFL, I think Allen played for most teams in the CFL and probably a couple that have gone out of business.

Arena

Huey Lewis and the News are your Saturday Night entertainment for the Arena Bowl XXII.  The league used pink-striped footballs on Mother’s Day, I guess like MLB used pink bats to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.

In an odd game I actually watched back on like May 1, Philadelphia Soul DB Eddie Moten intercepted Dallas Desperadoes QB/OC Clint Dolezel three times.  Moten’s previous three INT game was also against Dolezel, back in 2006.  IIRC the broadcasters said Moten has eight career INTs against Dolezel.  Dallas should try to trade for Moten.

The Chicago Rush have filmed a This is SportsCenter commercial for their “parent” company, ESPN.  There have actually been a lot of ads featuring Arena League players, only shown during AFL games of course.  It’s like all the African-American only cast ads I see when I watch the Bayou Classic.

af2

Somehow the af2’s National Conference, Southwest Division has become a pool of mediocrity.  That or the teams are really good and killing each other in division play.  The Corpus Christi Sharks (had some 400 lbs. OL on the roster) and Rio Grande Valley Dorados are tied for first place at 4-4, trailed by the Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings (best af2 team name) and Austin Wranglers (which I think used to be an AFL franchise) both at 3-5.  Dreadfully bringing up the rear of the division are the Texas Copperheads at 1-8.  Good work at having played one more game than the rest of the division and losing it anyway.

The 2008 NFL Draft

I was busy on Saturday with a wedding and picking my mother up at the airport, so I spent Day One of the NFL Draft trying to pick up the signals of various sports radio stations between Washington DC and Martinsburg, WV broadcasting the draft.  No existing players (Shockey, Taylor, Johnson) were traded, but teams swapped picks right and left to reposition themselves.  I spent part of Day Two flipping between the ESPN and the NFL Network coverage to take in the differences when I wasn’t watching the Wizards lose to the Cavaliers.  So for my spambot readers, my takes on what happened:

Washington Redskins – I’m not as bent out of shape about the Redskins burning their first three picks on two WRs and a pass catching TE.  Thomas Boswell in The Washington Post and Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin on Clear Channel’s Sports Talk 980 were quite angry about the moves, particularly the repetition of filling needs, or spending a higher pick for depth only.  If one of those picks had been in the first round (the Redskins traded their first round #21pick to move back), I might be as upset.

Michigan State WR Devin Thomas and Southern California TE were decent “value” picks where they were taken.  I would have preferred Notre Dame DT Trevor Laws in place of Thomas, but whatever.  It’s worth noting that two guys I would have liked to seen drafted by Washington, Clemson DE Philip Merling and Laws, were drafted two picks and one pick, respectively, ahead of the Redskins spots.  Perhaps this is what passes for Plan B for them.  The selection of Oklahoma WR Malcom Kelly was gratuitous, but well, these are the Redskins.  I’m just happy they didn’t trade all the picks for old kick return specialists.  Even this is a great improvement.

The only Day Two picks I want to talk about are Georgia Tech P Durant Brooks and University of Hawaii QB Colt Brennan.  The Redskins just resigned their meh quality P Derrick Frost, but he’s disposable.  My real hope if Brooks beats out Frost for the job, is that Brooks can kickoff.  Ever since Chip Lohmiller appeared in a McDonald’s commercial and his career fell apart, the Redskins have had neither kicker nor punter capable of consistently deep kickoffs.  PK Shawn Shuisham’s kickoffs are dreadful.  During the short time Frost had
the kickoff job he was a little bit better, but his mediocre punting degenerated into bad.

I don’t like Brennan as an NFL QB.  I dislike his arm strength and decision making.  The decision making can be fixed and combined with his mobility (which should not be confused with actual running ability) that might make him a serviceable CFL QB.  It’s not a guarantee though, June Jones’ previous disciple at Hawaii, Timmy Chang, was quickly benched after starting for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last year.  A 34.7 QB rating (on 89 attempts) will do that to you.  If all Brennan does is hold a clipboard, do good work on the scout team and get the Redskins a player from the British Columbia Lions in a few years, it’s OK.  What, NFL and CFL teams can’t trade?  Ohh, maybe not.  In all seriousness, I wouldn’t be surprised if former Maryland QB Sam Hollenbach, currently on the roster as a minicamp arm, beats out Brennan during training camp.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - First rounder CB Aqib Talib (University of Kansas), fourth rounder DT Dre Moore (University of Maryland) and sixth rounder LB Geno Hayes (Florida State) are typical athletic Buc reloads for the defense.  I have no other comments of worth.

WR Dexter Jackson of Evil Appalachian State was the Bucs second round pick.  He’s the classic 5′9″ kick-returning, reverse running, screen pass catching, Hell-on-Earth-with-the-ball-in-space guy.  The Bucs need all kinds of competent WR help, so if he can do any of that at the NFL level (embarrassing last year’s bewildered University of Michigan team is only a start) he’ll have been a good pick.

As speculated before the draft, the Bucs got University of San Diego QB Josh Johnson in Round 5.  I didn’t know that San Diego’s program had jumped up to Division I-AA, but against that competition Johnson put up insane (68.8% completion rate, 113TDs to 16 INTs) numbers and had the best 40 yard dash time (4.55 seconds) and vertical leap (33.5″) of any QB at the combine.  Interestingly, Johnson was not listed as a top performer for the 20 yard shuttle run or the three cone drill.  Anyway, the downside for Johnson is that he is in Tampa and might get forgotten along with the three other youngish QBs nominally on the Bucs roster.  One of the draftheads on TV said Gruden knows how to develop QBs.  Whom has he done that with since ascending to HC?  As a HC, Gruden’s best QBs have been Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, Brad Johnson and Brian Griese, all veterans with previous success.

Back to Johnson, he may be a bit scrawny (height is 6′3″ but weight is anywhere from 198 to 213 lbs.) and he’ll have to adjust from playing “low” I-AA ball in the Pioneer League.

Stupid Jets - Ownership, coaches, management changes, but for the fourth time in sixteen years the Jets saw fit to spend a first round draft pick on a TE, Purdue’s very fast and formerly (IIRC he was 6′1″ at the combine, now he’s 6′3″?) very short Dustin Keller.  It was the 30th pick, so at least it wasn’t a high pick, like Kyle Brady with the 9th pick back in 1995.  The Jets got modest, if useful play out of the TE spot last year from Chris Baker, so adding the second coming of Byron Chamberlain (20 more catches, 3 more TDs, 200 more yards?) doesn’t seem worth a first round pick.

Anecdotally, I remember driving up to New York at the end of the Jets appalling 1996 season when it was obvious the number one overall pick (ultimately Keyshawn Johnson) was headed their way.  WFAN wise-guy host Steve Summers said the obvious choice was “the All-American from Rutgers, TE Marco Battaglia.”

Better Run Bastards Up North (Ravens) - Ozzie Newsome is a Hall of Fame TE and a great GM.  His main inability is (in conjunction with “genius” ex-HC Brian Billick) finding QBs.  After spending the 19th pick in the 2003 draft on a QB who should be a H-back, Kyle Boller, the Ravens reached a bit to get the University of Delaware’s cannon-armed Joe Flacco.  Flacco is very talented, but will have to make a multi-level adjustment to NFL defender speed, and my worthless gut instincts thought he was a second rounder.  Hue Jackson, once upon a time saddled with the thankless job of OC for the Steve Spurrier Redskins, gets to “coach up” Flacco to the NFL game.  In the meantime, some combination Kyle Boller (probably too slow these days to be returning kicks) and Troy Smith (anonymous Heisman trophy winner) will hold things down in Baltimore, meaning handoff and pitch to Willis McGahee.  Flacco is growing, I think ESPN.com College Football had him at 6′4″ at the end of the season, ESPN.com Scouts Inc. had him at 6′6″3/8 for the draft and now NFL.com and the Washington Post have him at 6′7″.  How long before he starts challenging Mark McGwire’s brother Dan (6′9″) for tallest QB to play in the NFL?

The Purple and Black Birds also drafted two interesting safeties, Notre Dame’s Tom Zbikowski in round three and University of Cincinnati’s Hideki Nakamura in round six.  Zbikowski was previously mentioned on this blog as a guy I thought graduated two years ago.  He’s a pretty good punt returner, a ferocious hitter and I think a Golden Gloves boxer and minor league baseball player.  Nakamura I only saw once last year and I can’t recall anything special about his play.  I’m a humorously sad that he’s not some Japanese guy who hopped off a plane to play football in Cincinnati, but just some guy with a Japanese father who grew up in Ohio.

In the Navy Army – Finally, the Lions used a seventh round pick on West Point S Caleb Campbell.  Campbell is large (6′2″ 223lbs.), fast (4.5 allegedly) and the U.S. Army is giving him an exemption from service to play in the NFL.  It’s actually described over at Campbell’s NFL.com draft profile as a reserve recruiter assignment with an option for buyout.  The deal sounds vaguely similar to that given by the U.S. Navy to David Robinson for the NBA and Napoleon McCallum for the NFL.  The theory is that Campbell’s on field work, if he makes the team, will help Army recruiting enough to compensate for his absence in the actual officer corps.  He’s the subject of piece on ESPN’s maudlin E:60 news magazine, which I’ll have to watch some time.

“Neglect Among the Action” – College Football Edition

Spring Games have been afoot recently. I watched part of the University of Florida game featuring Tim Tebow. This is strange from a guy who used to watch Redskins pre-season scrimmages, but I’m vaguely uncomfortable with ESPN being present for a Spring Game. I know the games, which are controlled scrimmages, often draw big five-digit audiences, particularly in SEC and Big-12 country, but I have an undefined displeasure at these being made national events.

Rich Rodriguez was hired to bring a new vision for University of Michigan football. While the vision comes in to place, he has brought drama:

• The great lawsuit war between Rodriguez and West Virginia University continues. I really need to sit down and figure out who is suing whom and all the sordid accusations that have been leaked to the media.
• OL Justin Boren, of whom I know nothing, has announced he is transferring to Ohio State a move made only slightly less shocking by the fact he grew up in Columbus, Ohio. His official reason is that the olde tyme Maize and Blue ‘family values have eroded.’
• QB Ryan Mallett, who performed competently as a Freshman filling in while Chad Henne was hurt, has transferred, since he’s not up to running Rodriguez’s spread-option offense.
• Other Big Ten coaches, specifically Purdue’s Joe Tiller and Ohio State’s Jim Tressel have criticized Rodriguez’s recruiting ethics.
• Rather naturally, the Wolverines are getting adjusted to Rodriguez’s schemes: the spread-option on offense (from the I-formation, used for generations at UM) and a variable front defense (from the 4-3, which I think has been run at UM for 15 or so years).

Three members of the U.S. House of Representatives have asked the Department of Justice to look into whether the BCS violates anti-trust laws. The three, whose names are unworthy of mention, are likely pandering to their respective constituencies as victims of the BCS, those being Hawaii (University of Hawaii), Georgia (University of Georgia) and Idaho (Boise State University ). Good thing there isn’t a war on or anything. I immensely dislike the BCS, but this is stupid. It reminds me of the time a couple of years ago a legislator in the R.O.C. Taiwan proposed a bill asking the New York Yankees not to send Chen-Ming Wang back to AAA. These politicians either do not or choose not to understand big money sports.

Georgia was angry at being hosed out of the Rose Bowl and/or the National Championship Game, so they destroyed Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. Hawaii fans spent much of the season grousing about not being ranked higher in the BCS rankings, but the abuse they took from Georgia would seem to indicate they’re only BCS worthy by statute. They’re probably also bitter about being humiliated on national broadcast television by Georgia. I’m not sure what BSU would be crabby about, their 2007 BCS victory in the Fiesta Bowl over Oklahoma was memorable and historical. The Broncos were not BCS quality this year.

The usual number of players were kicked off of their teams for the usual range of arrests: robbery, domestic violence (attention college football players! Do not hit your women, do not move in with them), drug and weapons possession, sexual assault, various fighting related charges.

Reader Service Stewart and Rancher

Apparently this blog is drawing search engine hits for Auburn University FB Carl Stewart and University of Massachusetts WR Rasheed Rancher and their hopes in the NFL draft. Considering I’ve mentioned each guy once, I have to give credit to WordPress for getting that into the search engines.

I can’t say I saw Stewart play at all this year (his posted stats are typical for a blocking FB) and there’s little point in my regurgitating his draft evaluations from Scouts, Inc. (supporting ESPN) or NFLDraftScout.com (supporting NFL.com). He posted good combine performances at the 225lbs. bench press, vertical and broad jumps, so maybe he can audition for American Gladiators. It’s mathematically possible we have another Franco Harris situation (Harris was mostly a blocking FB at Penn State and had a Pro Football Hall of Fame career as a RB), but I’d guess if Stewart gets into the NFL, he’s got a career of special teams goonery ahead of him. Still a lucrative, if painful way to make a living. Get read up on investing Carl, you’ll make six figures but it’ll be touch and go with your roster spot.

Rancher was a bullet off my first ever post and his case is more interesting to me. His career numbers are unexceptional for a college starter. Averaged a little over 20 catches a year, 16.X per catch average, 3-4 TDs, as a red-shirt sophmore and junior (couldn’t beat out Brandon Hasselbeck for playing time?), then made the big jump as a senior to 49 catches, 20.6 yards per catch, 9 TDs.

However, Rancher is very (6′5″) tall. The NFL loves tall receivers. Yet Rancher merited neither a NFL Combine invite nor did he make the ESPN.com draft prospect list. He was on none of the rosters for the big post-season all-star games, the Senior and Hula Bowls, the East-West Shrine Game and the Texas vs. the Nation game. What did Rancher do wrong not to warrant at least a look? Is he really slow in ways a fan like myself can’t see? Does he really suck after watching his gamefilm? Is he sick of football and wants to do something else? All quite possible, but I’m puzzled. There are a number of other tall WRs in this year’s draft class, but it’s not like the class is overflowing with them. For what it’s worth, according to the ESPN list Indiana University WR James Hardy is 6′5-1/2″ (not 6′7″ as he was at one point) and their tallest receiver is Stanford’s Evan Moore at 6′5-3/8″.

University of Richmond WR Arman Shields, who like Rancher played in the CAA, got an invite to Combine and he was out most of last year with injuries. He had 14 catches in three games for 125 yards. His previous season numbers are better than Rancher’s but not exceptional. He’s 6′1″, a bit above NFL average but not dramatically so. Now Shields did very well at the combine, tied (among WRs) for second in the vertical leap at 37.5″ and eighth in 40 yard dash at 4.44 seconds, so he’s worth taking a look at. But not Rancher? Maybe a undrafted free-agent mini-camp invite then?

I’ve never understood the logic of who gets scouted as a good prospect. Perhaps if you show enough flaws that your measurables don’t help, you never make the lists we in the general public see. About ten years ago, back when tall pocket passing QBs still had value, North Carolina’s QB was a guy named Chris Keldorf. UNC ran a reasonably pro-like system and Keldorf was (at least by UNC stats, so have salt ready) 6′5″and 240lbs. After his senior season, when UNC was 11-1 and Keldorf was Gator bowl MVP, he never got much mention as a prospect. Never turned up in any pro football league I followed. Did he have flaws? From what I can dimly remember, yes. But what was wrong about Keldorf that wasn’t wrong in back-up QB to the stars Matt Cassel? Cassel who backed-up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at Southern Cal is now on his fourth season in the NFL backing up Tom Brady. Us amateurs have barely seen this guy play when a game mattered, but he can make it. As Jim Mora, Sr. was famously quoted as saying about those of us outside “You don’t know and you’ll never know.”

Flapdoodle and Bosh

So College Signing Day passed a couple of weeks ago. I can’t even feign an interest in high school football and I never pay much attention to how Michigan, JMU or Maryland did in recruiting. The only thing making this period interesting for me was the kid in Nevada who faked being recruited to Oregon and California and was caught.

Listening to one-dimensional college sports fans is a Lake Wobegon experience: everybody has one of the top college recruiting classes. This is inevitably brought up when fans bitch about their coach “we had one of the top recruiting classes in the country, but now they all suck!” I have a friend who is a JMU sports cultist (even in I-AA football and mid-major men’s basketball this exists) who regularly proclaims this about our alma mater.

In a similar vein, the NFL Combine is now upon us. I do watch this. The spectacle is amusing enough and it’s always fun to file away spectacular performances to impress your friends later. As much time as they spend covering it, even the NFL Network guys admit that this is just running and jumping in spandex and that real game play is more important.

Another thing I like is the official height and weight measurements are published. You can go back and see how much college sports information staffs lie about their players during the regular college season. At the height of his junior year Heisman push, Heath Shuler grew to 6′4″ before showing up in Washington at 6′2″. Despite the linking of combine and draft information is on various internet sites this still happens some, except for running backs. It’s less likely these days to see RB sizes make the “consensus drift” from whatever they were in college to 6′, 225 lbs. I was very surprised not to see Adrian Peterson’s height and weight drift to that last year and so far neither Darren McFadden nor Jonathon Stewart’s measurables has either.

So far Chris, son of Howie, Long has performed well enough to consider being stood up as a 3-4 end-backer. So had Ohio State end-backer Vernon Gholston. Dexter Jackson, WR from Evil Appalachian State, camein with a very nice 4.37 in the 40. The Redskins already have two guys like him, but there should be room in the gawdawful Buccaneer receiver corps of Joey Galloway and some dudes. Outside of his rookie year, Michael Clayton has been so injured and unproductive, letting George Clooney play in a leather helmet might be as good. Everybody likes what Arkansas RB Darren McFadden and Michigan OT Jake (no known relation to Howie) Long did.

So far, top 40 yard dash time is East Carolina RB Chris Johnson with 4.24 seconds, top 225lbs. bench press is a tie between Gholston and Jake Long with 37 reps, top vertical leap is 39″ for Auburn RB Carl Stewart, at a position where it probably doesn’t matter. Among WRs and DBs it’s a tie between Tennessee State DB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Kentucky WR Keenan Burton at 38.5″ with Purdue’s Dustin Keller top TE at 38″.

Overcome By Time: Bowls of Many Kinds

I got lazy and fell behind on blogging about several bowl games I watched. Let’s get caught up shall we…

The Super Bowl – Perhaps it was because I was slightly rooting for the Patriots, but this Super Bowl didn’t feel like one of the best ever while watching it. Only after thinking about did I realize that this was a really great game. I won’t say greatest I’ve ever seen. Leaving out those where I had a rooting interest, that honor still goes to Super Bowl XXV with the Giants and Bills or XXXII with the Broncos and Packers. Historically, Super Bowls I, III, V, VII, XXII, XXIII, XXXIV are of at least equal merit. However the stopping of the undefeated Patriots Machine, with Glitter Boy QB and Coach Evil is a great achievement. So is the neat achievement of having consecutive Manning brothers win the Super Bowl. The manner of the victory, late in the fourth quarter, keyed with Eli Manning scrambling out of the pass rush to throw a pass completed after a spectacular catch by career special teams goon David Tyree to set up a winning touchdown. Dan Patrick, on his syndicated radio show, spent last week trying to generate names for the catch. I think he settled on “The Clutch.”

Since a New York team is involved, the noise around the game was a bit overblown. Eli Manning’s hot streak has be interpreted as his ascension to elite status; I’m in the pool of fans who want to wait until next year. I’m still convinced he has an above average career, but nothing more ahead of him. The Giants, as underdogs are wont to do, cast themselves as the greatest underdogs ever, a bunch of rogue misfits, blah , blah. As if no other teams would want Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Antonio Pierce or Palxico Burress among others. Most football journalists and broadcasters went with the Patriots, but it’s not like no one picked the Giants. Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman and Merrill Hoge were among the few who went with New York.

Pro Bowl – I actually watch this stupid thing most years. I’m a sucker for all star games and watching everybody kind of goof around and wear strange uniforms is fun. What I saw of this year’s same was fine. I missed Adrian Peterson’s performance which was the main highlight. I was surprised that Umenyiora showed up for the game; lots of guys who play in the Super Bowl don’t show for the Pro Bowl. Then again, he was the only Giant. Not that unusual to my recollection that the Super Bowl champs don’t have a lot of guys in the Pro Bowl.

Most jarring for me was seeing Chris Samuels and Chris Cooley on the field at the same time wearing the number ‘21′ jersey. The Redskins announced that all the team’s Pro Bowlers would wear the number ‘21′ in honor Sean Taylor, but it saddened me to be reminded of his murder. The Washington Post ran a nice picture the day after the Pro Bowl with Cooley, Samuels and long snapper Ethan Albright walking together on the sidelines wearing number ‘21.’

Senior Bowl – No overriding narrative from me watching the game, just random notes.

• Colt Brennan (Hawaii) started for the South and looks like the Arena League QB I think he is. He’s sloppy and telegraphed the throws I saw. He has tools to be a CFL QB, but needs some time in the AFL.
• Jacob Hester (LSU) lined up some at FB, but I didn’t see much from him. At his size he shouldn’t play FB in the NFL. He’s got a nice Ladell Betts/Aaron Stecker career of short-term starter, third-down and utility special teams back ahead of him.
• Chad Henne (Michigan) made a crap throw on his first TD pass, but Lavelle Hawkins (California) made a terrific adjustment to make the score.
• Sedrick Ellis (Southern Cal) and Turner Laws (Notre Dame) had very good games on the DL. Ellis won this year’s Pat Tillman award for Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.
• Dan Connor (Penn State) always made his tackles but seemed to show some of his lack of bulk. I’m guessing his 230 lbs. list weight is an upward exaggeration. Still he is in place to make the plays, and there’s time to bulk up (hopefully legally) in the NFL.
• Matt Forte (Tulane) had a great game as a RB and earned his MVP award.
• Not a lot of punting, but Matt Dragosavich (North Dakota State) hit a fantastic 69 yard punt.
• Helmets – Kentucky got nice new ones and I didn’t notice. Then again, they don’t usually get the SEC national game on CBS. The LSU guys were wearing white LSU helmets, which I’ve never seen until this game.
• Guys who I saw play well, but of whom I have little other intelligent comment: Wesley Woodyard OLB Kentucky (small), Martin Rucker TE Missouri, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie DB Tennessee State (skinny), Harry Douglas WR Louisville, Andre (brother of Reche) Caldwell WR Florida.
• Other Stuff – Part of the game’s pageantry involves having lots of women wearing big dresses with hoop skirts. This year’s ladies got to do so in the rain for much of the game. I’m going to miss the “Joe’s Diner” ads for the NFL playoffs with Joe “Clifford” Montana and his improbably diverse and quirky clients. The city of Mobile ran “Come Back to Mobile” ads. Good luck. Wonder if they need computer programmers….

Winged helmet news!

Sadly, not as much fun as I hoped. Apparently a communication mix-up between Joe Flacco and the University of Delaware equipment manager is why Flacco wore the white helmet for the early practices at the Senior Bowl. So it was not the result of losing some kind of pecking order thing to Chad Henne.

Large and thus automatically attractive to NFL teams WR Limas Sweed from Texas had to go home with an injury. He was replaced by the much smaller and faster Dexter Jackson from evil Appalachian State. Notre Dame S Tom Zbikowski, who I thought graduated two years ago and was off playing minor league baseball or something, is still actually playing in the Senior Bowl. Shows you how little I’ve been paying attention to the Golden Domers recently.

Random Senior Bowl Observation

I like watching the post-season college all-star games, but this year I have been busy and missed the Hula Bowl and most of the East-West Shrine Game. Fortunately NFL Network is doing a daily report from the Senior Bowl, so unlike ESPN.com’s coverage, I don’t have to pay for it in any direct way.

So part of yesterday’s observations was that the three North Team QBs: USC’s John David Booty, Michigan’s Chad Henne and Delaware’s Joe Flacco all looked good. I’m a bit surprised about Booty, I had him pegged as a future Jesse Palmer, but maybe I’m wrong.

Anyway, as with most all-star games, the guys wear their school helmets, which in the case of Henne and Flacco means two QBs with the “winged helmet” design and very similar colors. Unfortunately Flacco has to wear a generic white helmet. I guess the bigger school wins the argument. I recall Michigan and Delaware guys playing together in either the Blue-Gray game or the Senior Bowl and both wearing the winged helmet, so maybe the white helmet is to keep coaches from getting confused in practice.