Southeast Sports

Bobby Johnson has turned the corner at Vandy

2006-10-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

Seems funny to say considering we are only 3-4 at this point in the season. But that win over Georgia was more than just a win. More than just a win over a ranked team. More than just a win over a ranked team on the road. This was a turning point for this team.

In previous years, Vandy may hang tough with a good team. May even pull an upset. But the very next week theyd get blown out by a mediocre conference team. Those days are over.

After finishing 5-6 last year with a once in a lifetime player like Jay Cutler, lots of people thought this would be a return to normalcy. A return to struggling to keep up with the bottom dwellars in the conference. But so far this year, we've played every conference game close. The only blowout loss was a 20 point defeat at Michigan(who currently is undefeated and likely the 2nd best team in the nation). The three conferences losses have been by a combined 12 points. And quite frankly, Vandy had a legitimate shot to win all of those games. But it remained the same ole vandy because they couldnt finish the deal. But that changed on saturday. We finally got over the hump and beat a good team on the road.

Last year when Steve Spurrier returned to the SEC to coach South Carolina, he commented one of the big differences in the conference is the talent level at Vandy has gone up. We have SEC caliber player littered across the team. I still think Bobby Johnson is a little too conservative for his own good at times, but he sure can recruit at this school. Chris Nickson, Cassen Jackson-Garrison, Earl Bennett, Sean Walker, Ryan Hamilton, Jon Goff, etc, etc... All of these players could make SEC rosters.

The talent keeps going up. The attitude is changing. The next step is finally get that bowl monkey off our back. who knows, maybe itll by decemeber.

should NFL schedule be changed?

2006-07-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

A question was asked on the AskVic column at jaguars.com recently about the NFL scheduling. currently the way the NFL schedules the season, each team plays the other three in their division twice. home and away. they will play all the times from one AFC and NFC division which is on a rotating basis. the final two games are played against teams that finished in the same spot in other divisions in the conference. for example this year the Jags are playing their AFC south counterparts twice, the AFC North, NFC North, and the Pittsburgh and Kansas City(both of whom finished 2nd in their divisions last year just like the Jags did).

So with this scenario the only teams each franchise is guaranteed a game against are the one's in their own division. The two main benefits is that teams in each division should play schedules that are relatively equal and each team will play all the other franchises in the NFL in a four year span.

Regarding both of those points, I personally could care less about playing all the teams in the league. I have no interest in seeing the Seahawks, Cardinals, Niners, jets, giants, etc.... maybe playing them once in awhile would be cool but i dont need to see these teams every four years. and im sure a good number of the fans of those teams could care less about seeing the Jags or texans.

While I agree that its nice in theory for all the teams in a division to play relatively the same strength of schedule, I think over time that works out. If the Jags luck out and play a relatively easy schedule while the Colts a difficult one, it would be no surprise that the following year the roles would be reveresed. Even with similar schedules, teams luck out by catching opponents when they are cold or banged up.

Id be much more interested in seeing teams play against regional opponents or against teams in which they usually play good games... pseudo-rivalries.

Looking at the Jags for example, Id love to see them play the Steelers and Panthers every year. They were forming a nice rivalry when they both played in the AFC central and even now when they do play, the games are usually very contested and very exciting. The panthers is an obvious choice. Both teams came into the league the same year. Theyve battled to reach certain milestones first. And theyve debated over who has had the most success. This seems like a natural rivalry which would generate tons of interest. Id also like to see the three Florida teams play each other every year. Almost like a Florida Cup. Battle for instate supremacy. Another idea would be to play games against former players or more interesting former coaches. While the Jags do get to play Coughlin and the Giants in his second season there, it could have just as easily been his fourth season when the interested would have almost been gone.

Now these games dont even have to last forever. Of late the Patriots and the Colts have formed a great little rivalry based on all the postseason games and the regular season games with postseason implications. Once this little rivalry is no longer interesting because the teams quit being good, or if Peyton and Brady leave or retire, etc... then they can quit playing each other. Now it just so happens that they have played each other the last three regular seasons but there are no guarantees with this current schedule format.

While this idea admittedly has a college feel to it, especially the Florida Cup idea, I think it would generate a lot of interest in each regular season. While the Jags have lucked out this year with an interesting schedule, the 2005 season was a total bore. I want the schedules to be interesting. Id like to see the Jags play their division opponents, the steelers, panthers, bucs, and dolphins every year.

College basketball playoff

2006-06-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

This is my idea for a new college basketball playoff system.

There has been a lot of talk recently about whether the NCAA should expand their national tournament to 128 teams instead of keeping it at 65. And I agree with some of the arguments on both sides.

Someone in support of the 128 team tournament would argue that for almost all small and mid major conference teams, the regular season is absolutely worthless. Since their only real hope of getting into the national tournament is by winning their conference tourney, then their regular season is basically a warmup for that one chance. Also, the regular season for the best teams in the major conferences are also "essentially" worthless because all they are fighting for are seeds in the tourney. Its not like they are fighting to keep their season alive. So, since you have all these teams whose regular seasons are essentially worthless and the tourney is already somewhat watered down with so many average teams, then you may as well just make the tournament even larger and add a whole nother round of excitement.

Now someone in support of keeping the 65 team tournament would say the product is already watered down enough and is already exciting enough, so why bother changing it? Its already one of the most exciting sporting events of the year and youd be stupid to change it.

And I agree somewhat with both arguments. If youve read my piece on the college football playoff, youd know I dont like the idea of meaningless regular seasons. But on the otherhand, I do love March Madness and wouldnt want to change it. And while listening to both arguments recently, I came up with an idea that would include the best of both worlds. Now its not totally refined and may need some tweaking but I think the general idea is a good one.

As of right now, there are 31 conferences in college basketball. I think each conference should be guaranteed two spots in the national tourney. The first spot should go to the regular season conference champion. And the second spot should go to the conference tournament champion. That would give you a total of 62 entries which would leave 2 spots for atlarge teams.

Now I could be swayed into saying that for some of the minor conferences, the regular season champion and the conference champion would play for just one spot in the tourney. And I could be swayed into saying that some of the minor conferences should be grouped together as to not give as many spots to bad teams. And I could be swayed into saying that maybe the Big East should be rewarded with an extra bid or the divisions should be thought of separately because their conference has so many teams. There would need to be some tweaking. But hear me out...

Back in the day, the only way to make the national tourney was to win your conference tourney. Now, with all the atlarge bids, the major conference tournaments are essentially worthless because the teams that win are probably good enough to have qualified for the national tournament already. Back in the 70's, I guarantee you there were a lot of people who could tell you which schools won the previous 5 ACC tournaments. Now, there isnt a sole on the planet who could. It just doesnt matter. With my plan, these conference tournaments would once again be unbelievable, do or die games with seasons riding on the line.

Now with this plan, the regular season also becomes more important. Late in the college basketball season, we know who the top teams are and which of them are making the tournament. So the only games of real importance are the teams battling for 500 in the major conferences hoping to secure a bid. Again, like in football, i really dont care about Indiana with an 8-6 conference record playing Purdue with a 7-7 conference record battling for one of the bubble spots. I just dont care. I want to see 13-2 Duke playing 14-1 North Carolina with the winner earning a spot in the tournament. Now you could argue that the games for Indiana and Purdue now become meaningless but in my mind, they still have to keep playing well because they still have a shot of winning their conference tourney. And they still want to get a better seed for their conference tourney.

Also lets say the same school wins the regular season and conference tournament championship. You could have the two second place teams play for the second atlarge bid. Again, youd have another do or die, season on the line game which would make it even more exciting.

Now you could argue that this system makes the early nonconference games meaningless. Ive got two responses about that. First, after a bit of tweaking there would probably be more than two atlarge bids and for those schools, the strength and win-loss record against the nonconference schools would come in to play. Also, in the current system, if you think about it, the nonconference schedule really isnt that important anyways. How many bubble teams each year get left out because of a weak schedule? Not very many... three, four, five? Plus, most schools have four or five games against good teams and the rest are cupcakes. So the record against nonconference opponents are usually pretty close for teams of similar talent.

Now you could argue that if you awarded each conference two spots, youd have more lousy teams in the final tournament. But the beauty of the ncaa tournament is all the upsets on the first weekend, and then watching the cream rise to the top from the sweet sixteen on. Well in college basketball, you have 7 major conferences(ACC, Big East, Big10, Big12, C-USA, Pac10, and SEC). Then you have a group of conferences that almost yearly produce a couple of really good teams(Mountain West, A10, MAC, and Missouri Valley). So thats 11 conferences each most likely producing 22 really good teams. Couple that with at least two atlarge bids, there will be plenty of great teams to fill out the sweet 16 with possibly an upset or two along the way.

So basically in my system you would have a series of tournaments throughout the year. The conference regular season would be a round robin tournament with the winner getting an automatic bid. The conference tournaments would produce an automatic bid. Possibly, if you want to tweak some of the smaller conferences and if the major conferences that have the same school win the regular season and conference tournament titles, then you would have what is essentially a play in game getting an automatic bid. And then youd have the 64 team tournament itself. I think the excitement at the end of the year would be just the same but then youd have more excitement throughout the regular season as well.

Magic select JJ Redick in the first round

2006-06-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

Not a big fan of this pick. I know Redick is known as a great shooter, but I feel like his potential is limited to college. He really doesnt have the size to be a two guard in the NBA and he certaintly doesnt have the athleticism. I have a hard time believing he could be a fulltime starter. He appears to me like a guy who is more likely to be a situational shooter who comes off the bench. Also, even though he was known as a great shooter in college, his 3 point FG% really wasnt all world. As everyone points out, when Duke played LSU in the ncaa tourney last year, Redick was guarded by players with NBA level athleticism and they totally shut him down. Is that a foreshadower of his pro success or lackthereof?

I was really hoping they would take Ronnie Brewer from Arkansas. He has the size(6'7 with a 7 foot wingspan). He has the athleticism(40+ inch vert). He is a great defender. He hustles on both sides of the floor. He is a good ball handler. He is a good passer. His father played in the NBA which rubbed off.. he has a high basketball IQ. His only true weakness is shooting. But thats something that can be taught with practice. A lot of those other qualities Brewer has cant be taught. I think he would have been a better fit on this team.

I really like what the Magic have done this past year. Jameer Nelson, Carlos Arroyo, Darko Milic, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu. Fun team to watch. Magic really could use a good shooter but again Redick seems more like a situational, 6th man kind of guy. I think Brewer would have been a better fit.

first of two 2nd round pick is coming up in a few minutes. ill just wait to post this...

and the pick is... James Augustine out of Illinois. if they were going after a forward surprised they didnt take Alexander Johnson out of Florida St. i thought he was a higher ranked prospect. anyways Augustine has some decent reviews. from scouts inc and espn "Augustine might not be drafted very high, but he could be one of those guys who will stick on a roster and have a solid pro career. He is a skilled big man without all the flash. He might be a poor-man's version of Jeff Foster, with a better jump shot. He will be a solid and productive hard worker. Expect him to be selected early in the second round."

one guy still available that ive seen a bunch and like is guillermo diaz out of miami. big time athlete with out of the gym hops. would probably be a guy who comes off the bench as a sparkplug. which is fine for a 2nd round pick in basketball. most of these guys dont make the team.

i think the magic just traded up. looks like the second of two 2nd rounders is... Lior Eliyahu from Israel. Never heard of him. sounds like a guy who will be left in europe for awhile. er... left in israel or wherever he plays.

well time for bed.

Early recruiting news

2006-06-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

The Gators already have 6 verbal commits from the same high school.... Lakeland Dreadnaughts. Lakeland is the defending "mythical" national champions finishing first in the USA today high school poll. They are also the two time defending 5A champs in the state. And they havent lost a game in a few years.

Here are some videos courtesy of sunshine preps.

Steve Wilks
Chris Rainey
Ahmad Black
Paul Wilson
LaShawn Pouncey
James Pouncey

Here is a better compilation of Chris Rainey. Link is flaky. doesnt always work. He is the best prospect of the 6 theyve got verbals from. one of the top 3 backs in the state.

And arguably the best player on the team has yet to make a decision but the gators are prolly in the lead...

John Brown

I feel like i should make another plug for SunshinePreps.net. so yea, all you coaches out there got a player who you think should be recruited. go to sunshinepreps.net! or call up Derek Williams!

Worst part of the year for sports is now

2006-06-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

I used to dislike February the most because football was over and it was 6 months until it began again. But at least youve got conference basketball season coming to a close. plus youve got college baseball starting. and youve got all the build up to the nfl draft starting.

But now my feelings have changed. once this weekend comes to a close, college baseball will be over. although i must admit im not too interested in the finals this year. i could care less about oregon st.

now all we've got are the dog days of summer for baseball. must admit i havent watched a mlb game from start to finish this year. well except for the jacksonville suns games ive gone to. but thats minor league.

the only good thing is we are thiiiis close to football starting once again. jaguars training camp kicks off on july 29th! nearly one month to go. first preseason game is usually the hall of fame game in canton, oh. this year its aug 6th. first jags preseason game is aug 12th. first college games i believe are on august 31st.

almost there....

USA loses to Ghana 2-1.... out of the world cup

2006-06-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

finished dead last in the group with 1 point. pretty ugly world cup for america.

the only real bright side is the majority of our best players are some of the youngest on the team.

not really sad to see Pope go. good player whose best days are behind him. not really sad to see reyna go. we need better people in the middle.

someone needs to kick donovan and beasley in the ass before the next cup.

id like to see dempsey sent over to england. thought he looked like the best player on the team but he plays in mls so he can only get so much better unless he goes abroad.

gooch had a rough first game but i thought he was pretty good the rest of the time. he is still really young. hopefully he'll be going to a better european league.

too bad corey gibbs got hurt before the world cup started. i dont know what team he is on now. i thought i read he was without a team leading up to the world cup. hopefully some team in a good euro league will pick him up. i always thought he could be good.

i dont think ill be too sad to see arena go. not like i know a whole lot about soccer strategy. but i do know that in a lot of sports certain coaches are good at taking terrible organizations or teams and turning them into solid programs. yet those same coaches arent good enough to take them to the top. but youve also got some coaches who are the exact opposite. they cant build from the ground up but they know how to make good teams great. maybe im off base but arena doesnt seem like the type to take us to the next level in international soccer. i think he won some college titles with the Hoos and i think he won some MLS titles with DC but the world cup is a different animal. maybe im wrong but i think maybe we need some new blood.

also, i wish we played more games against the best countries. we should play in that south american tourney that mexico plays in. we should play more european teams on european soil. we need to quit playing as many friendlies with canada and guam.

thats my little rant. guess we'll be back in 4 years. cant imagine we wont be able to qualify out of north america.

USA needs win over Ghana / Czech loss to Italy

2006-06-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

welll the USA is two games in to the world cup. looked like shit against the czechs. thought they possessed the ball longer than i thought they would but they couldnt create a decent scoring opportunity to save their lives. got blown out. looked pretty good against italy early on. they really needed to score but could never finish. were lucky to come out with a tie thanks to a pathetic own goal by the italians. plus the refs had a couple close calls that forced us to play 9 vs 10 for the whole 2nd half. still not sure why Arena didnt use his last sub. and why wasnt Beasley running around like a madman after coming in. he was the only guy with fresh legs. shoulda come in like a chicken with its head cut off.

not to kinda rip off what jeff prosser said on the local radio but how in the world could we get that blown out by the czechs? i know their best athletes play soccer and ours dont. blah blah blah. they are smaller than pennsylvania for crying out loud. we're america. we just got our ass kicked by pennsylvania jr!

how bout those italains? they totally play the role of superstars. long wavy hair. act like they get shot after somebody breathes on them. what pussies.

well anyways one more game to go. already got the morning off of work. we need to beat ghana which will be tough. and then we need the prissy italians to beat the czechs.

World Cup 2006 is approaching

2006-05-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

If you need a reason to get pumped up, here are all the goals the USA scored from the 2002 tourney... picture quality isnt great...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwqBiJoREEk

Jimmy Smith retires

2006-05-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Sad day for jaguar fans. unexpected news for sure.

Smith will go down as one of the top 2 or 3 jaguars in history. In a group with Brunell and Boselli. One of the best receivers in his time. Not sure if he has amassed enough stats to warrant an invitation to the Hall of Fame, but he is borderline.

Ill always remember that diving TD catch against the Broncos in the 96 playoffs. in case ive never mentioned this before, i was there, 14th row 50 yard line! haha

My Jags Draft for 2006

2006-05-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here is my draft class for 2006. I thought I did pretty well on the first day. Getting value at all three picks while addressing needs... at least what I perceive as needs. Second day was difficult. part of which was due to the fact that the Jag's front office bungled a couple trades leaving themselves only one pick outside the 7th round.

1)D'Qwell Jackson - LB - Maryland. Florida boy. Was the ACC defensive player of the year. Led the entire ACC in tackles as a junior and senior. led maryland in tackles the last three years. played inside and outside at maryland. smart player who is very competitive. biggest knock is that he doesnt have great timed speed. some might say this is a reach. but he went only 5 or 6 picks later to the Browns. think he is a solid player that would come in from day 1 and start.

2)Eric Winston - OT - Miami. Would have been a top 10 pick if not for a bad knee injury a couple years ago. came back last year and struggled some early on. was playing better by the end of the year. they say his injury can take up to two years to recover from. at worst should be a solid RT in the NFL. if he can fully recover from than knee injury and play like he did prior to that, he could be a real steal. first round potential in a second round pick. Ended up going to Houston in the beginning of the 3rd round.

3)Max Jean-Gilles - OG - Georgia. another florida boy. Early in the draft process was considered a fringe first rounder. ended up dropping to the beginning of the 4th round taken by Philly. i have no idea why he fell so far. there was concern about his weight and that he wasnt as dominating as he could be. but was named first team all american. i think he could have come in right away and started at LG for the Jags. while it may seem odd to use two first day picks on offensive lineman, i thought that was one of the biggest weaknesses for the Jags last year. plus I think I got very good value with both of them.

Now this is one of the problems picking where the Jags do. They traded away their 4th rounder to move up just a handful of spots in the 3rd. Obviously if i were running this draft, i would not have done so. Jean-Gilles would have still be there if we stayed there in the 3rd. And in the 4th round I would have grabbed DeMario Minter, also from Georgia. and then I probably wouldnt have used my 5th round pick on...

4)Dee Webb - CB - Florida. obviously a bad value here since the Jags actually drafted him in the 7th round. this was a difficult pick for me since some of the guys I was targeting had gone off earlier in the round... DeMario Minter, Marcus Maxey, and most notably, Jeff King. King was a player I really wanted and fully expected to be there in the 5th round only to see Carolina get him a few picks earlier. So thrown for a little bit of a loop, I didnt know who to pick. Was a strange year in the sense that there werent many second day players that I really liked. And half of them just got drafted earlier in this round. I debated between taking Webb, Marcus Hudson of NC St and Jeremy Mincey of Florida. I went with Webb thinking this was good value(thought he would have gone near the 4th round somewhere) plus the Jags could use some depth at the position. He reminds me of the Fred Gibson pick last year where throughout the college football season I told myself I would never draft this guy. Gibson because he didnt love football and Webb because I saw him repeatedly beaten deep. But just like Gibson, I thought this was good value and since I wasnt sure who to take, I grabbed Webb. Even if he turns into a good player, it was still bad value. I wonder if Hudson or Mincey will turn out to be better players. He had potential. Was highly touted coming out of high school(ed white in jax). but he struggled to live up to that at florida. came out early when he probably shouldnt have. we'll see how this turns out. one of my least favorite picks of all time.

5)David Anderson - WR - Colorado St. first of two 7th round picks. Jags traded their 6th for two 7ths. when i was out in colorado, saw quite a few rams games and was always impressed by this guy. plays fast. quick in and out of breaks. knows how to get open. has great hands. will catch balls over the middle. doesnt have great 40 time but neither did Jerry Rice. I think 40 times are overrated and that Anderson will be able to get open in the NFL. Biggest weakness is his size. 5'10 and 200 pounds or so. Basically the same size and plays the same way as Wayne Chrebet. I think he could be a similar player if given the chance. drafted by Houston who is in need of receivers. hopefully he'll make the roster.

6)Gerald Riggs - RB - Tennessee. 2nd of two 7th rounders. highly touted coming out of high school. didnt live up to potential at tennessee. had some injuries and had hard time cracking starting lineup with deep crop of backs. best year was 2004. ran for over 1000 yards and nearly 6 yards a carry while mostly coming off the bench. supposedly has first day talent but but never lived up to it. wasnt drafted. signed by the dolphins as undrafted free agent. may actually have a shot of making roster with ricky williams out for the year.

So there are my picks for the year. Dont like it as much as I liked last years. Difficult because I dont know when or where the Jags will make a trade and it usually throws me for a loop. Other than Webb, I think I got pretty good value with my picks. I fully believe the first three will become at worst solid starters in the league. The 2nd day picks could become solid contributors given the opportunity.

Jags 2006 draft is complete

2006-05-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

Here is my opinion on the Jags 6 picks. I think its an alright draft. Dont love it. I wrote something on the first three but Ill address them again after giving it more thought.

1)Marcedes Lewis - im not a huge fan of this pick. I do think he could turn into a great player. Im just not sure about that. He does look like he has great hands, can make difficult catches, and has the height to be a mismatch. But he doesnt look very fast. From the highlights I saw, he doesnt appear to get a lot of separation. i wonder how thatll translate to the NFL. he doesnt look like the kind of TE that will bowl people over in the open field. from the clips ive seen, he doesnt break many tackles. He looks like a WR. he is tall and lanky. doesnt have a lot of bulk on him. I wonder if he will have a difficult time blocking DEs and LBs. My biggest worry though is this past year against USC, CAL, and Northwestern in the their bowl(three of the four toughest games), he was completely shut out. a total nonfactor. combined for 4 catches and 36 yards in those three games. What did those teams do to shut him down? was told they put corners against him. cant imagine a guy with that height would be totally shut down by college level corners. if so, thats not a good sign. maybe they put bigger defenders on him. maybe faster. maybe they double and triple teamed him in which case NFL teams wont be able to afford that luxury. Basically i think he has too much risk for a first rounder. Heath Miller went in a similar spot in last years draft but I dont think Lewis is quite the prospect Miller was. I think Lewis could turn into a very good TE but I think there are a lot of questions that need to be answered first. Jaguars were willing to answer them. We shall see...

2)Maurice Drew - very productive player as a RB and especially as a return man. very fast and quick. but he is barely over 5'6. so the question is, can a 5'6 RB ever be a fulltime starter in the NFL? and if not, is it worth it to spend a 2nd round pick on a change of pace/3rd down back/return man? Unless he turns into one of the elite return men, i think the answer is no. But again, we'll have to see. I dont think this is a case like Pearman who was just too slow. Drew is extremely fast. And he is solidly built. the guy is over 200 pounds at 5'6. he is pretty thick. with that weight, there is a possibility he could be a fulltime starter. I think it would need to be on a team like the Colts, Eagles, or Broncos though. Not sure he could run it between the tackles, 20 times a game, 16 games a year for a team like the Jags. And even more critical, can a guy 5'6 stand in and block pass rushers on a consistent basis? Im not sure he can. Im excited about him as a return man though. I think the minute he walks into camp he will be the starting punt returner and possibly the kick returner as well. I was reading in the Dallas Morning News where he averaged nearly 25 yards per kickoff and punt return in his career! Not just any given year but for a career. Thats pretty amazing. I think this guy will be a very good punt and kick returner for the Jags. I think he will also win the 3rd down role and should be at worst a solid player there. But the question remains, can he be an every down back? And if not, should you use a 2nd round pick on a speciality player?

3)Clint Ingram - I wasnt fond of this pick. Not because of the player but because of the circumstances. The Jags moved up 12 spots in the 3rd round to make this pick but gave up a 4th to do so. Earlier in the 3rd round, a team moved up 5 spots and only gave up a 7th. Then as I found out on the jags message board to a reply of this very post, a team moved up 16 spots into the bottom of the 3rd round and only gave up a 6th. Clearly the Jaguars gave up more than they should have to select a need. They felt Ingram was the last LB capable of starting right away and they paid for it. For the most part, I am completely against trading up, and Im especially against it when we give up more than we need to. Now on to Ingram. I dont think size is an issue. I dont think speed is an issue. Looking at his highlights, he looks athletic. Attacked the back on screen plays. Looks like he read the QBs eye's well. Had 5 sacks as well as 5 INTs as a senior. But the thing that surprised me, was for a guy that appeared to be instinctive on tape and around the ball, he only finished the year with 60 tackles. his best total in his career. reading all the reports on him(which were quite varied), the common theme was that he isnt very instinctive and is a better athlete than football player. which I guess could explain why he was capable of making big plays but was very inconsistent in doing so. Hopefully with Jack Del Rio, theyll be able to coach em up. I think he should be graded a little more harshly because he is essentially a 3rd and 4th rounder. I didnt see anything that had him rated higher than a mid-3rd. most had him lower. I dont think they needed to trade up for him. looks like he is a good enough athlete to start. not sure he is a good enough football player.

4)Brent Hawkins - DE/LB from Illinois St. hasnt played a lot of football. started off at purdue. left to go play basketball. decided to return to football. put up huge sack totals albeit against very bad competition. wasnt invited to the combine but put up impressive numbers at his pro day. total boom or bust player. doesnt have the size to be a DE(the Robert Mathis' are few and far between). the Jags said they wanted to move him to LB. seems odd considering his forte is being a pass rusher. the jags havent had much luck with small school guys in the past. lots of upside. but could just as easily be way in over his head.

5)James Wyche - underachiever. good value in the 7th though. similar to the Bobby McCray pick although I dont think Wyche is quite the athlete. Wyche put up some solid numbers. but inconsistent. i think he might have a hard time making the roster. Hayward, Spicer, and McCray are locks. Wyche will have to battle for the last DE spot. assuming another DE spot even becomes available. Meier is a DT/DE. And Brent Hawkins will start off his career as strictly a combo LB/DE pass rusher.

6)Dee Webb - another underachiever who is a good value in the 7th. just like Wyche, maybe the light will click on and he will live up to his potential. think he is a better athlete comparatively at his position than Wyche is though. got burned a lot at florida although he started playing better by the end of his last year. might have more of a chance to make the roster than Wyche though depending on how many CBs are kept. Williams and Mathis are the starters. Cousin, Starks, Richardson, and Webb could battle for 2 and maybe even three spots.

Overall I think its an alright draft. Could have been better. Difficult because they had so few picks but thats their own fault. I think there is significant questions with each pick. Not many sure things in my opinion. I wouldnt be surprised if only 4 of them made the team. and wouldnt be surprised if only two of them made any real contributions this year. this could just as easily be a good draft as it could be a complete bust.

Jay Cutler goes to the Broncos

2006-04-29T20:52:00.001-07:00

Quite possibly the best player Ill ever see play for Vanderbilt was taken with the 12th overall pick today by the Broncos.

Its bittersweet since I despise Denver so much. But on the otherhand I cant think of a more perfect place for Cutler to go. Shanahan has done a great job turning Jake Plummer from an inconsistent turnover machine into a pro bowler. Cutler's biggest weakness in my opinion is that he takes chances, has iffy mechanics, and is kind of a gunslinger(just like Plummer in Arizona). Looking at what Shanny has done for Plummer, I think he'll easily be able to help Cutler. The Broncos could start me at RB and Id gain 1000 yards. So Cutler will finally have the benefit of a strong running game and oline. Denver runs a lot of bootlegs to take advantage of Plummer's ability to take off and throw on the run. Two things Cutler does well. And instead of going to some crap team like the Texans or Titans, Cutler will play for a team that will not throw him into the fire and will surround him with good players. He wont have nearly as much pressure and wont have to listen to any criticism if things dont get off to a good start.

Its gonna be pretty painful to root for the Broncos though. Ugh. Im really not looking forward to it. But a lot of Cutler's skeptics kept saying how he never won anything at Vandy. Well guess what other QB never made it to a bowl game while playing football at an academic school? John Elway. And where does Cutler end up? Playing for the Broncos? Coincidence? I dont think so. Just another sign that Cutler will turn into one of the top 5 QBs that ever lived! haha...

1st day of the draft is complete

2006-04-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

I have to admit Im not a huge fan of the Jaguars first day picks. On the jaguars message board, i voted it as a 'C' grade. Here are my opinions on each pick.

1)Marcedes Lewis - Pros: Tall, has good hands, can make difficult catches, has the body to put on more weight, while blocking may be one of his biggest weaknesses, that can be taught. Cons: isnt a great blocker, isnt very quick, is slow off the snap, didnt get much separation in college, not sure he will ever be good enough to warrant a first round pick.

I dont really think he adds anything different to our passing attack. Going into next year, he will be just another big, slow receiver. He doesnt have the body to be a TE. He is very lanky and looks like a receiver. It may take a couple years before he has the size and strength to be an every downs TE. He isnt very explosive. He isnt going to get many YAC yards. He looks like a catch and go down kind of player. We already have three receivers like that. What our passing attack is missing is the quick receiver who can make things happen in the open field. Lewis doesnt really add anything we dont already have. But my biggest concern with him is his production in big games. UCLA didnt have to play Oregon last year so their big two conference games were USC and CAL. Against USC Lewis only had 3 catches for 30 yards. Against CAL he only had 1 catch for 6 yards. And in their bowl game against Northwestern he didnt have any catches except for a two point conversion! That doesnt instill me with much confidence. Heath Miller and Todd Heap were drafted late in the first round the past few years and I think both had higher grades than Lewis. Im worried he wont be worth the first round pick we spent on him. Reminds me too much of Reggie Williams. Good stats in the PAC10, big frame, 40 times were alright, but not very quick.

2) Maurice Drew - Pros: very fast, quick, great return man, can catch out of the backfield, tough, low center of gravity, hard to tackle. Cons: 5'6.

If he were 4 inches taller, he'd be a top 10 pick. But as it is, he is only 5'6. Can a guy that is 5'6 be a fulltime starter at RB in the NFL? If not, is it worth it to use a 2nd round pick on a guy that can never be a starter? He might be able to start for a team like the Colts or Eagles, but with the philosophy our offense supposedly has, he wont be a starter for us. too small. a guy like him physically can not run the ball up the middle 25 times a game, 16 games a week. just wont happen. be that as it is, was it smart to use a 2nd round pick on a guy who is going to be a 3rd down back and return man? Im not sure it is. I think every guy you draft in the first round should have the potential to be a starter. I quite frankly I dont think thats the case with Drew. I will admit I am excited at the idea of him as a return man. According to what I read in the Dallas Morning News, he averaged close to 25 yards a kickoff return and punt return for his career in college. Thats pretty amazing. And Im fully expecting him to win both jobs for the Jaguars next year. I think Chad Owens has no chance of making this team. And I think Alvin Pearman has to be worried. Drew does everything he does, but a little better. But again, is a good return man worth a 2nd round pick? eh...

3)Clint Ingram - I have to admit I dont know a whole lot about him and there are a lot of different opinions about him. sportingnews mag ive got says he is a 7th rounder. pro football weekly has him as 3rd-4th rounder. It looks like he has pretty good size. has good but not great speed. wasnt very productive until his senior year where he had 60 tackles, 5 sacks, and 5 picks. the generall consensus I get on him though is that he lacks instincts and is a better athlete than football player. he is an all or nothing player. from the front office's remarks about him, they say he'll come in vying for the starting job right away.

Im a little disappointed in the player because it sounds like we reached a little but the thing Im most unhappy about is the fact we traded up in the 3rd and gave up our 4th rounder to get him! An earlier trade had been made in the day where a team moved up 5 spots in the 3rd round and only gave up a 7th. We move up 12 spots later in the 3rd round and give up a 4th. The market for moving up in the 3rd had clearly been set and we gave up more than we should have. At most we should have given up our 5th. But most likely, with such varied opinions on Ingram, we could have stayed put and still got him.

So overall I think we got three players that will compete for positions of need. But I dont think we necessarily got great value with each pick. Although I dont think they addressed the biggest need which was offensive line.

Now on to my picks. The trading up really threw me but i might have ended up with the same the three picks.

1)D'Qwell Jackson - LB - Maryland. ACC defensive player of the year. Very productive. can play inside or weakside. good tackler. hard worker. very competitive. from the Tampa area. only negative is he is undersized and doesnt have elite 40 time. looking back at recent drafts, size has proven not to be a big deal and Jackson may not have done well in the 40 time but did in the short area quickness drills. (might have taken deangelo williams had carolina not grabbed him the pick before)
2)Eric Winston - OT - Miami. Did not go into the draft expecting to take him. But he fell to our 2nd round pick. Would have been a top 10 pick last year had he not blown out his knee. came back and struggled early. but was playing better late in the year. injury usually takes players two years to come back from. probably a right tackle if he never fully heals. but if he does come back 100%, he could be the steal of the draft and a very good left tackle. (might have taken richard marshall had carolina not grabbed him the pick before)
3)Max Jean-Gilles - OG - Georgia. This pick kind of threw me for a loop. did not expect us to trade up. even if we hadnt, im not sure who else i would have taken. Early in the draft process, this guy was considered a late first. No idea why he is dropping but I think he could come in and start for a team that emphasizes the run. I probably would have taken him with the 92nd pick had we stayed put but I would have felt better about taking a second lineman on day 1 if we had our fourth rounder(had no idea until a half hour later thats what we traded away... slow getting news of trade on internet)

I think I got really good value because all three of these guys had late 1st round value at some point in this draft process. I personally felt going into the offseason the biggest need was offensive line and when Ayodele left, linebacker. I think Jean-Gilles could threaten Manuwai for the LG spot. And depending on how Mo Williams comes back from injury, Winston could threaten him. And at worst, we'd have much better depth.

Looking towards the second day, Im bummed we wont be picking again until the late 5th. My draft could use a TE. I like Jeff King from Virginia Tech. While WR isnt a big need, I really like David Anderson from Colorado St. He'd probably be a 6th rounder. Demario Minter of Georgia has dropped farther than I thought he would. Early on he was considered a 2nd round pick. If we had a 4th rounder, I think he'd be good value there. But as it is...

Magic beat Sonics. Arroyo/Darko played well

2006-02-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

I really like what the Magic have been doing. After dumping Francis and his salary for basically half a season of Penny Hardaway's contract and Trevor Ariza, the Magic will have loads of cap room going into next season and have rid themselves of the ballhog known as Stevie Franchise.

last night was their first game with the new look roster and i think they looked pretty good. granted, it was against an undermanned and lousy sonics team but they still looked good.

I was impressed they got arroyo in the first place and last night he was even more impressive. arroyo, just like he did against the USA when playing for puerto rico, was great at driving the lane and dishing to the open man. he also proved he could knock down open shots when given the opportunity. magic got a real steal in him.

Darko also came in and played meaningful minutes. while he definitely looked lost at times at where to be you could see he has a lot of potential. was very good at finishing around the basket and was quick getting the ball off. showed a nice outside shot. showed a lot of energy. gotta remember he is still only 20 years old. if given the opportunity to play a lot like dwight howard was, i think he could really develop just as well.

with nelson, arroyo, howard, darko and a load of cap space, i think the magic really have a lot to look forward to. they are in a much better place than they were a few weeks ago.

Magic trade for Darko

2006-02-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I kinda like it. Maybe Im a total idiot but Ive never thought of Darko as a bust because Ive never seen him play. Now is he not playing because he sucks or because the Pistons are too good for him to see the floor? While both could be true I tend to think moreso the latter. Given the chance to play, especially with a good frontcourt partner like Howard, I think Darko has a pretty good chance to succeed.

Besides I dont think they gave up all that much when you consider the Magic's history. Darko and Arroyo for Cato and a 1st round pick. Cato is a stiff who is expensive. He barely saw the court on a lousy magic team that has little depth. And while you may hate to give up a first rounder, lets look at the last few magic first round selections. Fran Vazquez, Dwight Howard, Reece Gaines, Ryan Humphrey, Steven Hunter, Jeryl Sasser, Courtney Alexander, Keyon Dooling, Mike Miller. Miller and Howard are the only two players that should be starting in the NBA.

In return they get Darko who could be just as ineffective as Cato or a pretty good player. And Arroyo who I think makes a pretty good PG. started the whole 03-04 season for the Jazz who played much better than anyone thought that year. didnt see much action for the Pistons though because again they are a great team with good depth. Arroyo, who played for Puerto Rico in the last Olympics, lit up the USA in what turned out to be a stunning loss for America.

Maybe Im crazy but I think this could end up being a good trade for the Magic.

Signing day was about a week ago. Good class for Florida and Vandy.

2006-02-09T15:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the Gator Recruiting Map. Rated by some as the best class in America. Here is a link to the overall Gators class. And here are some video highlights courtesy of Sunshine Preps for some of these recruits.

Tim Tebow
Jarred Fayson
Bryan Thomas
AJ Jones
Riley Cooper
Jacques Rickerson
Corey Hobbs
Chevon Walker
Trent Pupello
Terron Sanders
Wondy Pierre-Louis
Jim Barrie
Brandon James

As for Vandy, this was one of Bobby Johnson's better class. Still near the bottom of the SEC but good for Vandy nonetheless. Here is a link. Surprise recruit was Greg Billinger who turned down Georgia at the last second.

The only video I have is of Myron Lewis. Looks like he has pretty good ball skills.

Even if the Steelers lose Ben Roethlisberger is still a champion

2006-01-31T15:21:00.000-08:00

http://deadspin.com/sports/nfl/its-good-to-be-big-ben-151809.php

Its great to be a champion haha.

and in cased you missed Matt Leinart's night on the town

My draft picks rookie seasons

2006-01-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

Every year I watch the NFL Draft and pick players as if I were the Jags GM. Now that the season is over, I can look back and see how my picks did. As it turns out, this is most likely my best draft class ever. 7 of my 8 selections made NFL rosters which is almost unheard of while the 8th member made a practice squad. And 5 of my 8 selections actually started in some games for their respective teams!

After my debacle for the 2004 draft where I read too many experts and worried about where players should be selected, I went with my gut and took whomever I thought was a good player. In the 2004 draft, I really wanted one of the Miami LBs, Vilma or Williams, but since the Jags were selecting 9th and I kept reading that was too high for Vilma or Williams, I went with Kenechi Udeze because he was "supposed" to go around the 9th pick. As it turned out Udeze ended up being drafted below Vilma and Williams and has been quite the disappointing pick so far. So this past year I took Channing Crowder in the 2nd round when he was "supposed" to go a round later. Looking back no one will remember where he went, just that he ended up being a good player.

Anyways, on to my draft picks.

1st round pick Mark Clayton, who made some starts for the Ravens, ended up leading all rookies in receptions and finished 2nd in yards. He finished with 44 receptions, 471 yards, 2 TDs, as well as a rushing TD. 2nd round pick Channing Crowder, who made some starts for the Dolphins, finished 2nd on the team in tackles and led rookies in fumbles recovered. 3rd round pick Ciatrick Fason, who was mostly used as a short yardage back for the Vikings, led the team with 4 rushing TDs. He finished the season with 32 carries for 62 yards. 4th round pick Fred Gibson was the only member of my draft class not to make an NFL roster. Was drafted by the Steelers but was let go and later made it on the Dolphins practice squad. 5th round pick Gerald Sensabaugh, who made some starts for the Jaguars, was a special teams standout and came on at the end of the year replacing Donovin Darius at SS. He finished with 18 tackles and one pass knocked down. His stats really dont do his play justice. Of course it helps I watched all the Jags game and saw the impact he made, especially on special teams. 6th round pick Jovan Haye made it on the Panthers 53 man roster by was inactive most weeks. Did not record a tackle on the year. 6th round pick Rob Petitti I believe started all 16 games at RT for the Cowboys replacing an injured starter. 7th round pick Adam Bergen made some starts for the Cardinals and finished the year with 28 receptions, 270 yards, and 1 TD.

Overall, was a pretty good draft by me.

What should the Jags do with David Garrard?

2006-01-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

According to the NFL radio network on Sirius, three teams are interested in trading for Garrard. Cardinals, Dolphins, and Ravens. Should the Jags trade him? Is this the highest his stock has ever been? Is Quinn Gray good enough to be elevated from #3 on the depth chart to Byron's backup? Can the Jags get a 2nd rounder for him?

I believe the answer to all of those questions is yes.

The Jags should trade him. Keeping him will just fuel this controversy over who should start. According to local Times Union writer Mike Freeman, the debate has has even reached into the Jaguars lockeroom. Not only that, Garrard probably deserves the chance to start. He is good enough. And has patiently waited his turn. Given the opportunity I think he could make a solid starter in this league.

Yes, this is the highest his stock has ever been. Granted it was against weak competition, but Garrard went 5-1 playing in place of Leftwich at the end of the year. He completed close to 60% of passes, threw 4 TDs with only 1 pick. He is relatively young, has a cheap contract, and has the dual threat that people seem to live in a QB. His stock will never be higher as a Jaguar than it is right now.

I believe Quinn Gray is good enough to be the backup. If you listened to the last Jaguars game on TV, the announcer Gus Johnson might have gotten carried away when he called Gray the best QB on the roster. But nonetheless, it gives you an idea of how good Gray really is. Throws a nice ball and has a big arm.

A first round pick is asking too much but a second rounder is possible. Id be surprised if they could get that but its definitely possible. Teams value draft picks as if they were first born it seems like so a bottom half of the 2nd round pick is much more likely than one in the top half. But given how valuable Garrard has been, the Jags shouldnt ask for anything less than a 2nd.

Id trade him!

Jaguars season comes to an end

2006-01-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

Well the Jaguars finished the season 12-4 making the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Playoffs were shortlived however losing to New England in the first round. Overall a pretty good year to be a Jags fan.

Lets break the season down into positives and negatives. and ill finish it off with the best moments of the year.

Positives:
-Winning 12 games
-Making the playoffs
-The offense and Byron Leftwich, for the first time since Del Rio became the coach, really started to click before Byron went down with injury.
-Paul Spicer returning from a leg injury with a vengeance along with the great production from Rob Meier.
-The emergence of three good, with the potential to be even better, receivers in Ernest Wilford, Matt Jones, and Reggie Williams.
-Getting Khalif Barnes in the 2nd round and then seeing him play well as he replaced an injured Pearson and worthless Ephraim Salaam at LT(ill admit i was hammering the idea of Barnes during last years draft. i didnt want us taking him with the 1st pick!).
-Developing some solid depth at RB with Greg Jones, Alvin Pearman, and at times LaBrandon Toefield.
-Bringing in Reggie Hayward. Provided good pressure and signed a contract that wont hurt the Jags in the future.
-John Henderson and Mike Peterson playing like Pro Bowlers on defense.
-Getting great play from 2nd day draft pick Gerald Sensabaugh.

Negatives:
-Laying an egg in the playoffs
-John Henderson and Mike Peterson not making the Pro Bowl
-Dropped passes by the receivers
-Lousy play from the tight end position
-Finishing in the bottom third of the league in FG percentage
-Down year for Maurice Williams at RT although we learned recently he played the season with a previously unknown injury.
-According to footballoutsiders, the Jags finished dead last in the league running to the right side of the line.

Best moments of the year:
-Putting an absolute beatdown on the Titans in the last home game of the year.
-Rashean's interception to beat the Steelers.
-The entire Ravens game(Both Matt and Greg Jones going over 100 yards receiving and rushing respectively).
-David Garrards run on 3rd down to ice the game against the Browns.
-Bobby McCray knocking the ball out of Carson Palmer's hand to finish off the Bengals.
-Leftwich's audible on third down in overtime to throw it long to Jimmy who scored the winning TD.
-The flyover against the Colts.

Florida wins CaliFlorida Bowl 20-0

2006-01-02T15:33:00.000-08:00

In the allstar game matching the best high school seniors from Florida vs the best high school seniors from California, Florida wins again to take a 5-2 series lead even though 6 of the games have been played in Cali. California used to do this with Texas but Cali dominated them so thoroughly that the game was cancelled.

Numerous Gator commits were there. Tim Tebow, Jacques Rickerson, Jim Barrie, Dustin Doe, Jarred Fayson, etc... Marcus Gilbert of St Thomas Aquinas committed to UF at the game.

Didnt get a chance to see it but heard it was a rain soaked mud pit.

Expected Wins after week 17

2006-01-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

Here it is. The final rankings for expected wins. 11 of the past 16 years, the team that finished first won the super bowl, and in 4 of the remaining 5 years, the team that finished second won it all. So who finished first this season? pretty easy guess....

1)Ind - 12.7
2)Sea - 12.3
3)Den - 11.7
4)Car - 11.6
5)Pit - 11.6

7)Jax - 10.7

Well the Jags finished up well ranked 7th in the league. It was pretty obvious early on though that they just dont have the offensive fire power to be a serious threat for the Super Bowl.

So if you want to believe in history, place your bets on Indy or Seattle. No real shocker this season however since these two teams are clearly the best two in each conference.

Jags make it back into the playoffs

2005-12-27T14:56:00.000-08:00

After beating the Texans, the Jags have finally made it back to the playoffs. Its been 6 seasons but theyve finally made it. theyve clinched the 5 seed.

they will play either the patriots or the bengals in the first round. if the bengals lose next week and the pats win, then we play the cincy. otherwise its the pats. looks like the pats are finally starting to play well and if we play the bengals that means they would have lost their last two games heading into the playoffs. i know id rather play the team thats backing their way in.

but on the otherhand it would be fun to shut up all the critics who think the jags will be a gimme win, go into foxboro, and beat up on the pats!

Expected Wins after week 16

2005-12-27T14:45:00.000-08:00

With only one week to go the Seahawks have closed the gap on the Colts after beating them fairly easily this past weekend. granted, the colts are playing for nothing and rested some important starters. also, tony dungy's kid killed himself a few days before so obviously the coach was absent and the player's minds were probably not in the game. i wondered how situations like this would affect these rankings. teams resting starters when they have nothing to play for affecting their expected wins. regardless, the colts still maintain their edge but not by much.

1)Ind - 12.8
2)Sea - 12.7
3)Pit - 11.5
4)Chi - 11.5
5)Den - 11.5

10)Jax - 10.1

Well it doesnt look like anyone will catch the colts or seahawks. and remember, only once in the last 16 years has a team that didnt finish in the top 2 of expected wins win the super bowl.