NCAA Bracket Rants: Did MTSU and St. Mary's Deserve Bids

by John Huffstetler

Did MTSU, St. Mary's, LaSalle, and Boise St. Deserve Bids?

MTSU- MTSU did not deserve to receive a bid. The Blue Raiders dominated the Sun Belt this season losing just two games at a decent Arkanasas St. team in OT and in the conference tourney to FIU. The Sun Belt, however, had a down year with a strong Denver team leaving to join the WAC. There were other teams that posted similar records in better conferences, like both LaTech and the previously mentioned Denver squad from a solid WAC conference, that did not receive consideration for an at-large bid. So why Middle Tennessee? That's a good question that I can't answer. They played 5 solid teams during the non-conference schedule: Florida, UCF, Akron, Ole Miss, and Belmont. They were blown out by Florida and Belmont, lost in OT to Akron, and beat Ole Miss and UCF. This means they beat two tourney teams this year in Ole Miss and the mediocre Western Kentucky squad that stole their Sun Belt bid. Mid-majors deserve a chance, but they need to accomplish more during their season than simply crushing bottom-feeders.

St. Mary's- In past seasons, St. Mary's has failed to receive at-large bids to the tourney because of their traditionally soft non-conference schedule. This year, their schedule was still soft, but they managed to receive a bid they didn't deserve. The Gaels have a strong squad, but their wins just don't stack up when compared to those of Tennessee and UVA. Their best wins this season came against Creighton, Utah St. (before injuries killed their season), and BYU twice. They also lost non-conference games to good, not great, Pacific, Georgia Tech, and Northern Iowa teams. If this St. Mary's team played any of their squads from the last 5 years, they would probably lose. So the timing of this bid considering their lack of quality wins is curious. Like MTSU, the committee seemed to award beating mediocre teams and amassing high win totals over beating quality.

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NCAA Bracket Rants: Maryland, Tennessee, and Virginia Left Out of the Tourney

by John Huffstetler

Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee left out of the draw-

Maryland- As a Maryland grad, the Terps deserved to miss the tournament. Outside of their 2 wins over Duke, MD only defeated one tourney team (NC St.). They also lost to a fellow bubble team in UVA twice this year. Their soft non-conference schedule hurt their cause dramatically, and the Terps were not helped by their strongest non-conference foe Kentucky looking mediocre for most of the year. They also were unfortunate to draw a soft Northwestern squad in the ACC/Big Ten challenge. When I asked Mark Turgeon when I ran into him this year at Rio Grande in Bethesda, MD about the soft non-conference scheduling, he said they purposefully kept the schedule soft because most of the scheduling was done before he signed several key recruits. In other words, they wanted the schedule soft because he was unsure how good the team would be this year. Expect a tougher non-conference schedule next year and their first NCAA tourney bid in his tenure.

Virginia- Virginia deserved to be in this tourney based on how they played later in the season. UVA accomplished much more in conference than MD, but was essentially doomed by some head-scratching non-conference losses. The Cavs went 0-3 this year against Colonial teams! They lost early to both George Mason and Delaware and mid-season to ODU. Interestingly, this was universally considered a terrible year for the CAA with VCU leaving for the A-10 and perennial powerhouse ODU (who defeated UVA) going 5-25! UVA posted great non-conference wins over fellow bubble team Tennessee and at a solid Wisconsin team, but the Colonial losses tarnished their non-conference results.  In conference, they went 11-7 and posted two wins over Maryland and wins over NC St., UNC, and Duke. If you take out the first 3 games of the season, Virginia is a tourney team. The committee gave too much weight to the early losses to Delaware and George Mason. Remember, even Miami lost to Florida Gulf-Coast early in the year. Teams can start off the year slowly and still be among the best 68 teams in the nation.

Tennessee- Unlike Maryland, Tennessee played a brutal non-conference schedule and deserved to be rewarded with a trip to the tourney. Of their 12 losses, only 5 came against non-tourney teams (2 to UGA, 2 to Bama, and 1 to Ark) and even those losses weren't bad. UGA was considered a "bad loss" by ESPN when they showed the Vols tourney resume, but UGA played much better basketball in the 2nd-half of the season. In fact, I cashed several betting tickets supporting Georgia in their late-season surge. These losses, however, probably unfairly doomed the Vols tourney chances. One could point to the Vols wins and say there was a lack of quality, but the committee demonstrated by including St. Mary's and MTSU that having a lack of quality wins is not important in their decision-making process. Tennessee's quality wins over Florida, Kentucky, Mizzou, Wichita, Xavier, and UMass, while slightly lacking, put the wins of these aforementioned teams to shame. To compare, MTSU's most impressive wins this year came against UCF and Ole Miss, and their domination of the Sun Belt came in a down year for the conference following the departure of a strong Denver team for the WAC. Although I support mid-major teams getting an opportunity to prove themselves, there is a glaring problem with including MTSU and leaving Tennessee out when you compare their results side-by-side.


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Rants from Last Night: Boldin Traded to 49ers for Basically Nothing, Melo Back from Injury and Knicks get Pummeled, Iona -4 is the Gambling Bad Beat of the Year

by John Huffstetler


Monday March 11th

Joe Flacco and former teammate Anquan Boldin

Ravens trade Boldin to 49ers for a Bag of Peanuts- Anyone who watched the Ravens playoff run understands the value Boldin added to their offensive unit this season. When Flacco had nowhere to go with the football, he would throw it up for grabs to Boldin because he rightfully trusted that Boldin would either use his uncanny strength to come down with the football or bat the ball away. Flacco himself supported Boldin in his contract dispute and hoped for Anquan to return. Asking Boldin to take a pay cut is one thing, but for the Ravens to quickly unload him for just a 6th-round pick after he refused (while he was in Africa on a relief effort for that matter) is absolute lunacy. They received no value for a well-regarded player with high value following a Super Bowl run where he popped on film.   This is a guy Joe Flacco trusted enough to lob the ball to when nobody was open. Now Flacco no longer has his safety valve, and that can make a huge difference for a QB's confidence level. Now Flacco must find somewhere else to go when the under duress. This trade could cost the Ravens more than just Boldin. They could lose Flacco's confidence and happiness as well.


Update: Melo Returns and Knicks get Throttled- Carmelo Anthony left the Cavs game last Monday with his team down 22 in the 2nd quarter. After he left, the Knicks rallied to win by 5. In fact, the Knicks had outscored their opponents by 65 points since he left that game (3-1 record) with their only loss coming by 1 to a strong Thunder team. Melo returned to the lineup Monday against Golden State and the Knicks got crushed by the Warriors 92-63. Granted, the Warriors welcomed David Lee back to the lineup in a huge home game, but losing by 29 is unacceptable. Melo led the team with 34 minutes played, shot just 4-15 from the field, and the Knicks were -29 (the exact Margin the Knicks lost by) while he was on the floor. Plus/Minus is a complicated stat with many factors at play (fellow teammates on the court, opponents on the floor, etc.), but a -29 is dreadful no matter how you look at it. The Knicks need to limit his minutes, plain and simple. His role should be that of a solid 6th man who can provide an offensive spark off the bench. His defense is simply to poor to play him 30+ minutes a game.

Iona -4 is the Gambling Bad Beat of the Year- Put anyone who took Iona -4 last night on suicide watch today. Iona was up 8 over Manhattan with 6.2 seconds left, then read this link from Beyond the Bets to see what happened next. Truly a terrible beat.

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Rants from Last Night: ESPN's Latin Night is terrible, Michigan's FT Issues, and Derrick Rose's Unneccessarily Long Rehab

by John Huffstetler

Sunday March 11th

Kobe Bryant and Lebron James in their Latin Night Unis

ESPN's Latin Night or "Noche Latina" is Infuriating- Does anyone else hate this program? Essentially, ESPN and the NBA are trying to market games to the Hispanic community, but there are so many annoying elements. First, they change the names on each teams' jerseys and on ESPN's bottom line to some stupid version of their name in Spanish. For example, the Miami Heat become "El Heat" and the LA Lakers become "Los Lakers." Secondly, they call in Latin Night, yet it lasts an entire month. How about just calling it latin month so someone like me isn't watching all week saying, "wait, wasn't it Latin Night two nights ago?" Lastly, every game score on the ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU bottom line involving Latin Night is followed by a long disclaimer explaining how the game is part of Latin Night, thus slowing down their score updates and wasting everyone's time. The idea to celebrate Hispanic culture for a day, a week, or even a month is terrific, but ESPN does a horrible job marketing it. Like most everything else they do, it comes off as cheesy and forced. America, and more specifically the Hispanic community, deserves better than this shamelessly self-promoting, poorly-conceived "Noche Latina."

Michigan's Trey Burke

Michigan can't make clutch Free Throws or Rebound- My beloved Wolverines blew a late lead (which they were fortunate to have to begin with) when Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke missed the front-end of 1-and-1 free throws on back-to-back possessions to relinquish a 5-point lead with under 1 minute remaining. Both free throw misses occurred with every other Michigan player back on the other end of the court, which is a foolish strategy I've noticed frequently this season in College Basketball. To start, you are allowing the other team to grab an uncontested rebound on any miss. Burke's miss hit the rim strongly and bounded back and to the left for what would have been a highly contested rebound available for either team. In addition, Burke and Hardaway are accustomed to shooting with the foul lane full of bodies. In a pressure situation, why are you changing the situation and adding stress for your players? It makes absolutely no sense, and I guarantee players shoot a lower percentage on free throws (would love anyone who can find the #'s to send them to me) in crunch time when their teammates are back on defense as opposed to beside the lane.

Beyond the late FT issues, Michigan can't rebound! If you get out-rebounded by 21, you are lucky to be in the game, plain and simple. Indiana frequently missed first shot opportunities, but grabbed a whopping 19 offensive rebounds. To be fair, Michigan plays a guard-heavy, ball-handling lineup in order to avoid turnovers (+8 vs Indiana) at the expense of their rebounding, but adjustments must be made to this strategy if the rebounding margin gets so out of hand. Here is a write-up of the game by Jeff Fogle on his Stat Intelligence blog that perfectly explains how Michigan was fortunate to hit 3's just to remain in the game, and how this bodes for them in the future. I've personally written them off for the NCAA tourney, but I hope I'm wrong.

Derrick Rose in street clothes...shocker

Derrick Rose's Vagina Hamstring hurts, delaying his return- Derrick Rose is delaying his return from an ACL tear because his hamstrings are "on fire" after workouts. He's been medically cleared for full contact for a month now, yet he remains on the sidelines despite his team's 7-11 record since the beginning of February. I would understand if he was playing limited minutes citing some discomfort in his repaired ACL, but he's talking about his hamstrings bothering him AFTER workouts. Did he ever think his hamstrings might be "on fire" because he's been sitting on his ass for 10 months? Shut up and get back on the court. Maybe then you'll be able to workout without your Vagina, I mean Hamstring bothering you. Grow a pair, and play a few minutes every night for your team.


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Rants from Last Night: What you Missed

by John Huffstetler

Saturday March 9th

Melo and Amare would probably be more helpful
on the Sesame Street squad than the Knicks

Knicks cruise without Melo and Amare- The Knicks spanked the Jazz last night without their two most high-profile and most overrated players. The remaining Knicks held the Jazz to 84 points on 38.5% shooting, allowing just 38 points in the first half. This trend of improved defensive effort without Melo or Amare in the lineup has been noted over the past few seasons, but it is worth reiterating. The Knicks are simply a better team without them, and imagine the salary cap space they would have if these two weren't under contract. The true star of the Knicks is Tyson Chandler, who dominates defensively and facilitates his teammates offensively. With Amare's latest injury looking long-term, the Knicks will easily wrap up the Atlantic division and earn a top 3 seed in the East.

Gonzaga survives 1st-half scare, still doesn't deserve a #1 seed- The Zags pulled away late to beat a dreadful Loyola-Marymount team late last night. The Zags have played exactly 3 legit teams since New Year's (Butler, St. Mary's and BYU), yet Dick Vitale and Joe Lunardi seem to think they deserve a #1 seed. The West Coast Conference is incredibly soft this year (10th best in conference RPI), and the Zags have padded their wins based on this softness alone. This does not mean they can't have success in the tourney, but they shouldn't be rewarded for playing in an easy conference. Their non-conference wins over Baylor, Oklahoma St. (on the road), Kansas St., Davidson, and Oklahoma are impressive, but not enough alone to warrant a #1 seed. Give them a 3 or 4 seed this year.

Murray St. Head Coach Steve Prohm

Poor coaching and major choking dooms Murray St. in late loss to Belmont- Up 58-51 with 2 minutes left against Belmont, Murray St. looked poised to return to the NCAA tourney once again this year, but they forgot to finish the game. Belmont cut the lead to 2 with 1 min left, but the Racers answered with two free throws to put them up 62-58 with 48 seconds left. Belmont hits a jumper with 37 seconds remaining to cut the lead back to two. Here's where terrible coaching took over for the Racers. Belmont obviously must foul or be left with 2 seconds on the clock to tie the game, yet head coach Steve Prohm does not choose to get his best free throw shooters on the court. He keeps Ed Daniel on the court, whose 61.1 free throw % ranks 10th on the team! Belmont's pressure forces a pass to Daniel and, shocker, he misses both free throws. An inexcusable mistake by Prohm, and I hope Murray St. fans are questioning this poor decision-making today that allowed Belmont to force overtime.

Check back tomorrow for more rants.

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Who Deserves to Win the Major NFL Awards

by John Huffstetler

With the NFL Honors Awards tonight, much debate surrounds the top awards to be presented. With that in mind, here's who deserves to win (not who will win) the major awards that will be given out tonight from New Orleans.

NFL MVP

Tom Brady- Choosing between Brady and Peyton Manning this season is almost impossible. They have incredibly similar statistics in yards (4,827 to 4,659 Brady), TD's (37 to 34 Manning), and INT's (8 to 11 Brady), but I will give the slight edge to Brady because the Patriots played a more difficult schedule than the Broncos this year. Manning's Broncos had the 2nd worst strength of victory (.385) among all playoff teams this season. In fact, only 6 teams in the entire league had a worse SOV, meaning Manning was beating up on mainly inept bottom-feeding teams. So what about Adrian Peterson? No chance. As I wrote in a previous article, a running back should never win MVP because it is not a valuable position. Running Backs are largely the product of an effective offensive line, and the Vikings offensive line was ranked 3rd in the league (according to Pro Football Focus). I would vote for Brady, Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Robert Griffin III, and Matt Ryan over Peterson without hesitation. His remarkable rehab deserves attention (he should win Comeback Player of the Year), but awarding him MVP because of his amazing story would be a travesty.

Defensive Player of the Year

J.J. Watt- There are several worthy candidates here, but no one had a disruptive effect comparable to Watt. Despite critical injuries to the LB corps, the Texans finished in the top 10 in both yards and points allowed in large part because of his ability to disrupt the QB. He led the league in sacks with 20.5, followed closely behind by fellow contenders Aldon Smith (19.5) and Von Miller (18.5). What dramatically separates Watt from Smith and Miller, however, is his uncanny ability to deflect pass attempts at the line. He was tied for 10th in the league with 16 passes defensed, which is absurd for a defensive lineman. In fact, he's the only non-secondary player in the top 30 in the league. By comparison, Smith had 1 and Miller had 2. He also recorded more tackles than both Miller and Smith, despite the fact that LB's typically record more tackles than lineman. The only other worthy candidate is Charles Tillman because of his amazing ability to separate runners from the football this year. His 10 forced fumbles easily led the league, and he also recorded 3 Ints, 85 tackles, and 16 passes defensed. He would be my second choice for DPOY, but Watt's sack and passes defensed numbers are too impressive to ignore.

Rookie of the Year

Robert Griffin III- When was the last time there were 3 rookies so deserving of this award all from the QB position? It is a shame that of Wilson, Luck, and Griffin, 2 must lose this award. All 3 players turned around their teams in leading them to the playoffs while putting up terrific numbers. Griffin, however, separated himself from Luck and Wilson in several key ways. First, one would expect a rookie QB to make mistakes and throw several ints, but Griffin rarely did. His 5 Ints led the entire league among QB's with more than 2,000 yards. Wilson had a respectable 10 Ints, but Luck tied for 3rd in the league in most Ints with 18. Griffin's 65.6 comp pct was 4th in the NFL and Wilson was 8th at 64.1, while Luck completed a routine 54.1% of passes. These two stats alone eliminate Luck. When then taken head-to-head, Griffin edges Wilson in every major passing category while also gaining more yards on the ground (815 to 489) and scoring more rushing TD's (7 to 4). This award should be a no-brainer. Griffin had the best rookie campaign for a QB in my lifetime and deserves to hoist the trophy.


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Angry Rant: Adrian Peterson Does NOT Deserve to be NFL MVP

by John Huffstetler

To start, no running back ever deserves to win the MVP. Adrian Peterson had a terrific season (for a running back). He almost broke the single season rushing record and rebounded from a horrific knee injury on the atrocious dirt at FedEx Field (wait, that sounds familiar) to become one of the greatest stories of injury rehabilitation in pro sports history. As a result, he is overly credited with Minnesota's amazing turnaround this season from a 3-13 joke to a 10-6 playoff team. The team's dramatic turnaround in the defensive secondary and their jump to elite status along the offensive line with the addition of Matt Kalil are factors in the turnaround that are conveniently ignored. He is now garnering MVP support from people who frankly don't understand how the game of football works or the lack of importance of the RB position. Here is a link to my article from October discussing how every running back is essentially overrated because their yards gained are predominantly based on the blocking from the offensive line in front of them.

Vikings stud rookie OT Matt Kalil

When examining offensive line statistics from multiple outlets, Minnesota's offensive line consistently ranked in the top 10. This article from Pro Football Focus, which ranks offensive lines based on run blocking, pass blocking, and lack of penalties, has the Vikings o-line ranked 3rd in the entire NFL this season. Run blocking, obviously, has a large effect on rushing yards, and the Vikings were 2nd in the league in this category; additionally, penalty yards and pass blocking have a big impact on rushing yards because an offensive line that avoids penalties and sacks puts their team in a position to run the ball in shorter down and distances. The Vikings were 5th in penalties and 11th in pass blocking, meaning the offensive line not only was creating running lanes for Peterson, but they were also frequently keeping the Vikings in running situations.

As a result, Peterson was tied for 3rd in the league among RB's in % of snaps played at 74%. By comparison, however, EVERY top MVP candidate at QB played 97% or higher of the snaps (Manning (97%, Brady 98%, Rodgers 97%). Peterson frequently left the field on 3rd down, the most important down in the game, in favor of Toby Gerhart. This is understandable considering the nature of the RB position and the fact that Peterson was coming off a devastating injury, but the fact remains that every QB was on the field on every important 3rd down and Peterson was not. For a running back, Peterson's snap % was fantastic, but overall, it was below average. Peterson's 2,097 yards this season was easily first in the league among RB's by over 400 yards; however, in a passing league, 28 QB's had more yards and 8 QB's had more than DOUBLE the yards that Peterson gained. His 12 TD's ranked 3rd among RB's, but 12 QB's had more than double his TD production (3 had triple his TD's).

The Top Two MVP candidates: Brady and Manning

Of course QB's should have more yards and TD's than a running back, but isn't that the entire point? The NFL is a league where teams live and die on the play of their Quarterback. There is a reason that Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers always make the playoffs. There is a reason why their teams consistently perform despite the talent surrounding them or the injuries the team sustains. There is a reason why the Colts and Patriots, respectively, missed the playoffs when Manning and Brady were lost for the year with injuries in past seasons. Running backs should NEVER be considered for MVP. A great tackle? Absolutely. A dominant defensive player? Definitely. Running Back is the least important position on the field and giving an MVP to someone who plays such an overrated and unimportant position would be a complete joke. Who should win MVP this year? Take your pick of Brady, Manning and Rodgers. You can't go wrong with any of those choices. I would take Brady because he played a slightly more difficult schedule than Manning, and beat him head-to-head. QB's should win an overwhelming majority of the MVP awards because they are the most important player in a team's success. Failing that, a great o-lineman or defender. Never a running back.


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Hey Mel Kiper, Here's Why RG3, Not Andrew Luck, is The Rookie of theYear

Why RG3 is the Rookie of the Year

I read an article by Mel Kiper posting his All-Rookie teamon ESPN.com today. It was pretty straight-forward and predictable except for a glaring omission– this year’s clear-cut Rookie of the Year was left of the team in favor ofthis year’s No. 1 pick.

Here’s Kiper’s reasoning as to why he (wrongly) pickedLuck for the team over Robert Griffin III:

Quarterback

Luck

Andrew Luck, Colts:This could have gone to either Robert Griffin III or Russell Wilson, and itwouldn't offend most close observers. But if it offends you, before you leap tothe comments to have your say, let me make my case for Luck. The rookie recordfor passing yardage (4,374 yards) is nice, as is that he ran for fivetouchdowns to go with 23 touchdown passes. But he gets the most juice herebecause no team in history has had this kind of a turnaround after drafting atNo. 1, and Luck was the greatest reason the Colts turned it around. Folksaround the NFL will tell you the same thing.

The Colts were 2-14 in2011 and didn't add any significant value in free agency, and this season theywent 11-5. The Colts were 26th in total defense and used numerous rookies onoffense, and Luck was hit more than any other quarterback in the NFL. But hemanaged to improve, get results and deliver late, as evidenced by the sixfourth-quarter comebacks he engineered. RG III was exceptional, too, but losesslight ground because he has a better supporting cast (Washington beat theGiants twice in 2011) and didn't play in one of the huge wins of the season,when Kirk Cousins led the team to a win in Cleveland, which kept Washington'splayoff hopes alive. Wilson has been exceptional, but the defense carried theSeahawks early in the season as he got comfortable. Luck wins here based on hisbody of work over the course of the season, which spearheaded Indy's stunningturnaround. But they're all great.

Let’s start by addressing Kiper’s main argument: Luck didn’thave the supporting cast that RG3 did, and that the turnaround by the Colts from 2-14 to playoffs that was spearheaded by Luck was the most impressive storyline in the ROY debate – and that the Colts’ 26^th ranked defense is evidence that Luck was the reason for the Colts’ turnaround.

First of all, this wasn’t last year’s Colts.  Let’s remember that that 2 win team was quarterbacked mainly by Dan Orlovsky and Curtis Painter. Anything with an arm is a noticeable improvement there. Let’s also consider that 2/3 of the Colts roster was overhauled.  There were 35 new players on the Colts this year, so it is in no way the same team as last year from a personnel standpoint.  Let’s also consider that the entire coaching staff was turned over, and that the entire team was riding an unquestionable emotional lift from the heroic battle with cancer that coach Pagano faced.

The Colts GM, Ryan Grigson turned
over practically the entire Colts roster
this year.

The crux of Kiper’s argument is that Luck singe-handedly turned around this team, but he’s failing to even notice that Ryan Grigson turned over the entire offense, defense and special teams.  He then points to the fact that the Redskins beat the Giants twice last year as evidence that the Redskins are a vastly superior team.  Sure, they beat the Giants – an incredibly historic and hated divisional nemesis – but they also lost to the lowly Bills, Dolphins and Vikings. I’d chalk those Giants victories up to a rivalry and good matchup more so than the implied greatness of a 2011 Redskins team that Kiper clearly never watched.

How about we also point out that Luck and the Colts play in the AFC South, not the NFC East – the vastly superior, best division in football that the Redskins play in.  Two games against the Jaguars, two games against the Titans, and games against the Bills, Chiefs, and Lions and we’re already at 7 wins.  The Redskins play in the same division as the Cowboys, the pre-season champ Eagles, and the defending Super Bowl champions, and they ended the season in first as division champions.  Where’s Luck’s division championship? We’ll have to keep waiting; but, as far as RG3 goes, he’s already brushed aside Michael Vick, Tony Romo, and two-time Super Bowl champ Eli Manning.

Kiper makes a great observation that Luck overcame the league’s 26^th ranked defense to make the playoffs.  Very impressive, but wouldn’t RG3’s defense being ranked 28^th be slightly more impressive?

Apparently RG3 getting hurt for a game and a half hurts his ROY candidacy in Kiper’s mind.  I for one think it strengthens the head to head. Consider that the Redskins and Colts only had one common opponent: the Cleveland Browns.  Luck was able to beat them by 4 points, throwing for 186 yards while RG3’s backup beat them by 17 and threw for 327 yards in the process.  Imagine what would have happened had Griffin played!

Kiper also points to some statistics, but this is where RG3 clearly wins out.  All you have to do is put them side-by-side and you can see who the clear winner is.

RG3 en route to the end zone after a 76 yard run against 

the Vikings

Luck threw for more yardage, but when we look at total yardage, RG3’s Rookie rushing record of 815 yards puts him up over 4,000 yards - a mere 200 total yards behind Luck.  Yardage, even.  How about touchdowns? Luck: 28, RG3: 27.  Touchdowns, even.

In those two categories, the players are essentially tied, but in every other meaningful Quarterback statistic, RG3 wins.  Let’s think about the fact that RG3 was one of the three most efficient passers in the league this year.  He was bested only Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning as the top rated passer in the league this year while setting a Rookie record for QB Rating at 102.4. Luck’s QB Rating?  A measly 26^th ranked 76.5 – behind Christian Ponder, Nick Foles, and Blaine Gabbert.

Mark Sanchez was a better statistical

comparison to Luck than RG3 - similar QB

rating, comp. percentage, and turnovers. 

RG3 also completed 65.6% of his passes this year - another rookie record - and good for the league’s fourth best, just behind Matt Ryan, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers.  Luck? 54.1%, ranked 31^st in the league, and he had a worse completion percentage than these symbols of passing accuracy: Blaine Gabbert, Matt Cassel, Michael Vick, and Mark Sanchez.

Luck is intercepted by the Bears Tim Jennings in week 

one

I wonder why Luck’s completion percentage was so low.  Maybe it’s because he was throwing the ball to the wrong team.  He threw EIGHTEEN interceptions this year. Combine that with his 9 fumbles, and we have the NFL’s second most turnovers at TWENTY-SEVEN (only Mark Sanchez had more)! Luck was good for 1.6 turnovers a game this year.

On the flip side of that coin, RG3 had 5 interceptions and 3 fumbles.  Luck had almost as many interceptions for touchdowns as RG3 had total interceptions (3 to 5).  Overall turnovers: 27-5 in favor of RG3.

Kiper’s fatal flaw is thinking that ROY is a team award.  It’s not. It’s an individual award.  But even if it was a team award, then RG3 wins there. Of the three rookie QB’s in the playoffs, he’s the only one who won the division.  Add to that that he won it in the NFC East – the NFL’s premier division, and it just becomes a no-brainer.  He also happens to be the only one of these three guys to make the pro-bowl.

If all of that isn’t good enough to sway you, then how about we let Osi Umenyiora tell you: "That’s the best quarterback we’ve played this year, for sure. It’s just unfortunate that he’s a rookie, because he’s going to be around here forever, doing stuff like that. That’s just crazy.”

RG3 celebrates an NFC East crown in his first year.

Or Justin Tuck: "I’m pretty mad at the football gods for putting him in the NFC East. To face that guy twice a year is going to be a headache. He takes away from your enthusiasm for the game a little bit, when you play a play perfectly and he still has 4.3 speed to run by guys and makeplays. A guy like him, I don’t think there is anybody in the league just likehim,”

RG3 won his division, was one of the league’s top rated passers, didn’t hurt his team with turnovers, made the pro-bowl, and was themost dangerous and dynamic player in the league this year - ask the guys who played against him. The big difference here is that Luck had a great rookie season, but RG3 had a great season.  That’s why he’s not just the clear-cut Rookie of the Year, but a legitimate MVP candidate.

Good Hire/Bad Hire? Breaking Down the Major College Football Coaching Hirings

by John Huffstetler

Tennessee Volunteers- Butch Jones from Cincinnati- Bad Hire- The main problem with Butch Jones is that he has never proven he can effectively recruit at Central Michigan or Cincinnati. In both of his previous stops, he followed Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, who was widely regarded as a fantastic recruiter. Kelly sent the likes of WR Antonio Brown, DE Dan Bazuin, OT Joe Staley, DE Conner Barwin, RB Isiah Pead, WR Mardy Gilyard to the NFL during his tenures at Central Michigan and Cincinnati. While Jones enjoyed success at both of his stops following Kelly, he left a dearth of talent at Central Michigan after he left because of his lack of recruiting (and most likely will at Cincinnati as well). The proof? Central Michigan is 12-24 since Jones left. Some might argue that this proves Jones was such a GREAT coach that his team could not survive his absence, but what this truly shows is how poorly he recruited and how little talent he left at the institution. Now, he must recruit players against the likes of Alabama, South Carolina, LSU, Georgia, Florida, etc. and there is absolutely ZERO proof he can get the players he needs to put Tennessee back in the elite realm. There were better candidates out there (like former OC David Cutcliffe) and Tennessee failed here.

Auburn Tigers- Gus Malzahn from Arkansas St.- Great Hire- The former offensive coordinator from the 2010 National Championship team returns as the head coach here at Auburn. Malzahn's innovative, up-tempo offense and the dynamic play of QB Cam Newton are widely credited as the main reasons for the Tigers title...not Gene Chizik. After Malzahn and Newton left, Chizik inexplicably switched offenses from Malzahn's up-tempo system and the new offense floundered over the next two seasons before his rapid firing following the disgraceful performance against Bama to end this season. With Malzahn back and coaching many of his former players, the offensive will immediately be more dynamic. Additionally, Auburn fans and boosters love Malzahn for his role in the 2010 title and will throw their support behind someone they view as an "Auburn" guy.

Arkansas Razorbacks- Bret Bielema from Wisconsin- Bad Hire- There is absolutely nothing wrong with Bielema as a coach. He's proven his ability to build national caliber offensive lines and establish strong rushing attacks, which are important characteristics of SEC football. You must run the ball and stop the run in the SEC; however, Bielema is not an "SEC' guy. He is an outsider. This hire reminds me of the ill-fated Rich Rodriguez experiment at Michigan. He was never a Michigan guy, and he was never embraced by the community. Bielema has been quoted within the past year bashing the SEC when talking about Urban Meyer at Ohio State. Referring to the SEC's recruiting tactics, Bielema said, "I can tell you this, we at the Big Ten don't want to be like the SEC in any way, shape, or form." How can you hire a man who openly criticizes the recruiting tactics in your conference?! This hiring boggles my mind. He is an absolute outsider and may never be anything more. This is just a bad fit.

Cal Golden Bears- Sonny Dykes from Louisiana Tech- Great Hire- Just a perfect fit here for both sides on this one. Dykes, like Gus Malzahn or Kevin Sumlin, has shown an innate ability to run up-tempo spread offenses with great success. An institution like Cal, which is currently struggling in recruiting compared to Pac-12 rivals USC, UCLA, Stanford, and Oregon, needs to have a hook to pitch to recruits. Potential talented recruits that are slightly off the radar of the big recruiting powerhouses will relish the opportunity to play in a system where they can expect to score 30+ points a game almost immediately. The question, of course, will be defensively. If Dykes can get enough athletes on defense and a solid coordinator, they could almost immediately compete in a Pac-12 South that is incredibly soft right now (remember when USC was AP #1 to start the season? Great job, AP).

Kentucky Wildcats- Mark Stoops from Florida St. (DC)- Great Hire- Although not as highly respected as the previous 4 jobs, Kentucky deserves acknowledgment for landing a highly respected Defensive Coordinator from a prestigious football family. Unlike fellow middling major conference programs in Purdue, NC St., and Boston College who hired unestablished mid-major coaches with little to no resumes, Kentucky actually made the right decision. My main question here is why Stoops, a highly respected coordinator, would accept a job that almost seems beneath him. The only rational reason is the "Cutcliffe" theory. When David Cutcliffe accepted the Duke job, he was a highly respected OC from Tennessee (wait, why didn't Tennessee hire him instead of Jones?). Because he had such low expectations at Duke, he was given extra time to build the program, and now, a 6-6 finish and a bowl game appearance makes him a hero. Stoops will similarly be given several years to put a program together and try to succeed. Unlike BC, NC St., and Purdue, who did nothing in their hirings to demonstrate the potential for improvement, Kentucky landed a great coach and they have a chance to flourish under his leadership.


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College Football Week 13 Reflections

by John Huffstetler

SEC >>>>>>>>>>> ACC- Of course, anyone who watches College Football already knows that the SEC is MUCH better than the ACC, but oddsmakers still installed both Florida St. (-7 vs. Florida) and Clemson (-4 vs. South Carolina) as favorites in their huge in-state tilts. In both instances, the SEC schools out-gained their ACC foes and dominated the 4th quarters on their way to outright victories. Additionally, Vandy and Georgia decimated Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, respectively, to push the SEC record to 5-1 on the season against the ACC. The lone ACC win came in the opening week when Clemson squeaked out a 7 point win against an Auburn that finished the season 0-8 in the SEC and then fired their head coach (see below). There will be at least one SEC/ACC match-up in the bowl season (Peach Bowl) to watch and see if this trend continues.

Big 12 = No Defense- It's absolutely pathetic how poor the defense is in the Big 12. There are two teams who have, on occasion, shown the ability to stop opposing offenses: TCU and Kansas St. Not surprisingly, they are the top-ranked Big 12 teams in yards per play at 5.1; however, this only ranks 33rd and 36th nationally. 5 teams (half of the conference) ranks 89th or lower in Defensive YPP, which is staggering for a major conference. On could argue that the Big 12 has strong, high-tempo offenses, which helps to account for the poor rankings, but this still shouldn't account for rankings that poor when also factoring in the poor out-of-conference schedules of most Big 12 squads. The Baylor 52 - Texas Tech 45 and Oklahoma 51 - Oklahoma St. 48 OT thrillers on Saturday were great games, but they demonstrate that the Big 12 desperately needs better athletes on defense if they want a team to emerge as a title contender next season.

Gene Chizik at Auburn firing makes sense/Danny Hope firing at Purdue makes no sense- When you consider how his players seemingly gave up on the season mid-way through. There were moments early in the season where Auburn looked like a potential bowl team with close losses to strong Clemson (by 7) and LSU (by 2) squads. By October, however, it already appeared like the Tigers had given up on being competitive. The offense was never strong, and hasn't been since Gus Malzahn departed to coach Arkansas St., but a defense that looked potentially strong early started to get gashed by Ole Miss for 41, Texas A+M for 63, Georgia for 38 and Alabama for 49. There just appeared to be a lack of effort and intensity, capped by there listless effort against Alabama. I watched Purdue battle in a tough-fought win over Indiana on Saturday to earn a bowl-berth and thought about how different these teams finished the year. Purdue battled for head coach Danny Hope for 3 straight wins and left every bit of their effort on the field. Obviously, the Hope  firing rumors have been there the whole season, but watching that Indiana game and seeing the energy and enthusiasm of the Purdue sideline says everything about Hope as a coach. Newsflash Purdue...you're Purdue!! You will not get great recruits. You need a guy who can get good recruits and coach up the player's he has. They played their hearts out for him and you just punched them all in the face.

USC Back-up QB Max Wittek is a future stud- "With the first pick in the 2016 NFL draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select Max Wittek, QB from USC." Wittek's stat line against Notre Dame was far from impressive with just 186 yards passing and 2 picks, but he showed me an incredibly quick release and off-the-charts arm strength. His comments before the game guaranteeing victory, although ultimately misguided, shows his confidence in his own abilities. He reminds me of Brett Favre when I watch him play. No player I've seen this year collegiately at QB impresses me more from a raw talent standpoint than Wittek. There does appear to be a major drop in QB talent coming to the NFL over the next 3 years following the recent surge in NFL-caliber talent. He will undoubtedly be a better NFL player than USC's highly-touted starter at QB Matt Barkley.


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Angry Rant: Alabama beating an NFL team is laughable

by John Huffstetler

I don't know Steve, when you coached
the Skins and I coached the Dolphins,
we did pretty terribly.

This debate regarding great collegiate teams and poor NFL teams was rekindled by Steve Spurrier's comments about Alabama possibly being favored against some unnamed NFL teams. For starters, Alabama isn't even that good this year. Last year's Bama squad would beat this year's team, and last year's squad couldn't even beat LSU at home during the regular season (or top 6 points). This year, Bama's "brutal" schedule so far includes wins over Michigan, Miss St., Tennessee, Missouri, Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss, and Arkansas. One of those teams is ranked...none are that good. They avoid playing Florida, Georgia, and Spurrier's South Carolina squad out of the East this year out of shear luck. Any of these teams would have a legitimate shot to beat the Tide on a neutral field. Most years, this team isn't even the best in the country, but there simply aren't many good teams this year (that's why average Kansas St. and Notre Dame teams are in the top 5).

There are so many options for high school players to choose from

Beyond the fact that Alabama is assuredly overrated this year, the thought that any college team could beat an NFL team is totally ridiculous. The talent level on any of the 32 NFL teams is much higher than any college team because of the significantly greater number of college squads and the level of maturity and physical development of the players. There are players on 124 FBS teams (pictured to the right) (and some players from other divisions as well) for the NFL to choose from, and they choose the best players. The natural counter argument to this is that Alabama gets the best prospects in the country to choose from; however, the spread is still dramatic. Many players choose a school close to their hometown or because they grew up liking a team. Not every great player just blindly chooses Alabama. There are also hundreds of players every year that go under the radar and earn their way onto an NFL roster through their development and achievement at smaller schools. Here's an all-star squad of players from non-division 1-a schools:

QB- Tony Romo- Eastern Illinois (or how about Joe Flacco from Delaware if you prefer)
RB- Fred Jackson- Coe College
FB- Mike Tolbert- Coastal Carolina
WR- Victor Cruz- UMass (Pictured to the left holding the Super Bowl trophy
Vincent Jackson- Northern Colorado
Marques Colston- Hofstra
Miles Austin- Monmouth

OL- Michael Roos- Eastern Washington
Willie Colon- Hofstra
Jahri Evans- Bloomsburg
Dan Connolly- SE Missouri St.
Chris Kuper- North Dakota
DE- Jared Allen- Idaho St.
Robert Mathis- Alabama A&M
DT- Stephen Bowen- Hofstra
Jacques Cesaire- Southern Connecticut
LB- Akeem Jordan- James Madison
London Fletcher- John Carroll
Stephen Cooper- Maine
CB- Brandon Carr- Grand Valley State (or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from Tennessee State if you prefer)
Cortland Finnegan- Samford (or Brent Grimes from Shippensburg if you prefer)
FS- Nick Collins- Bethune-Cookman
SS- Danieal Manning- Abilene Christian
K- Rob Bironas- Georgia Southern
P- Mike Scifres- Western Illinois

       Alabama wouldn't even beat that team. The point is, the NFL doesn't just take players from the best schools. This is a collection of the best 32 rosters of football players in the country. This list proves that there is talent scattered throughout the country that contributes to NFL rosters at a Pro Bowl level. Not to mention the fact that every player that is drafted into the NFL becomes better as their career progresses for years. Players get smarter and stronger in their mid-to-late 20's than they were from 18-22.

To compare the talent level on one NFL team to Alabama, let's take a look at the Kansas City Chiefs and their top players, since they are one of the teams being compared to this Crimson Tide squad, with a particular focus on their stellar collegiate careers:

Kansas City Chiefs

Quinn accepting the Johnny Unitas Award

QB- Brady Quinn- Although largely ineffective on the pro-level (because of the higher talent level in the NFL), Quinn set 36 Notre Dame records during his collegiate career. In 2005, he finished 4th in Heisman voting, while winning the Sammy Baugh trophy as the nation's top QB. In 2006, he won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Maxwell Trophy as the best college football player. He also finished 3rd in Heisman voting.

RB- Jamaal Charles- As a true freshman at Texas in 2005, Charles rushed for 878 yards and 11 touchdowns with a 7.4 yards per carry average to help Texas win the National Championship. In his Junior year (his final collegiate year), he rushed for over 1,400 yards, including a 290 yard game against Nebraska. He ranks 4th in Texas history in rush yards (despite skipping his Senior year) behind only Ricky Williams, Earl Campbell, and Cedric Benson.

WR- Dwayne Bowe- Bowe started 31 games for LSU (in the precious SEC) where he recorded 154 catches, 2,403 yards, and a school-record 26 TD's. In his senior year, Bowe earned 3rd-team All-American honors and 1st-team All-SEC honors for the top-5 Tiger squad.

Big #11- Derrick Johnson

LB- Derrick Johnson- Johnson was one of the most dominant LB's in the country during his career at Texas. He finished his career with 281 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 9 Int's and 11 Forced Fumbles. He was a first-team Big-12 selection 3 times, first-team All-American twice, and he won the Dick Butkus award as the best linebacker in the country and the Bronco Nagurski award as the best defensive player in the country during his Senior season.

SS- Eric Berry- In his three years with Tennessee, Berry racked up 241 tackles (as a cornerback) and had 14 Ints. Considered nationally to be the best shut-down corner in the country, he earned the following accolades: 2-time First-team All-American, 3-time All-SEC, 2007 SEC Defensive Freshman of the year, 2008 Vince Dooley Award, 2008 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, 2008 and 2009 Jack Tatum Award winner, and 2009 Jim Thorpe Award winner.

Glenn Dorsey holding the National Champ. Trophy

DT- Glenn Dorsey- Although he has struggled to stay healthy and find consistency on the pro-level, Dorsey was one of the most decorated defensive tackles of all-time while at LSU. He was twice named first-team All-SEC and All-American. In 2007, he won SEC defensive player of the year, the Lombardi trophy, the Outland trophy, the Bronco Nagurski trophy, and the Lott trophy while racking up 69 tackles, 12.5 TFL, and 7 sacks for the National Champion Tigers.

I could go on as Brandon Flowers (VaTech), Tamba Hali (Penn St.), Javier Arenas (Alabama), Brandon Siler (Florida), Tyson Jackson (LSU), Dexter McCluster (Ole Miss), Steve Breaston (Michigan), and Eric Winston (Miami Fl.) among others had stellar careers for major collegiate football programs. The point is that the Chiefs are LOADED with collegiate football talent. They are essentially a collegiate All-American team unto themselves. Take these collegiate resumes and match them up with the resumes of the current Bama players. It's not even a comparison. This a collection of some of the most decorated collegiate athletes in the country over the past decade...and they're now 1-7 this year. Again, because there are only 32 NFL teams compared to over a hundred college teams, and these are men...not boys.

So shut up Steve Spurrier and others, and show these decorated, accomplished NFL players like the Chiefs some respect. Comparing them to a college team is not only an absolutely ridiculous argument, but it's disrespectful to these teams and players who deserve more respect than to be compared to a group of children who aren't even that good to begin with. I'm instituting a new policy: Anyone who makes the argument that Alabama could beat a pro team can legally be punched in the face without repercussions. I'm flying to South Carolina now to punch Spurrier squarely on his outrageously red cheeks.


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