"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." It is as though Charles Dickens was chronicling my fantasy season this year. Two different leagues, two vastly different results. One league for money, one for a Cubs game. One standard scoring, the other used point per reception (PPR). One was managed by myself, the other was part of a project in class with the team run by two others apart from myself. One saw a title win for me, the other saw a second to last place finish. Along the way I noticed things, regretted things, and rejoiced over things. Here are some highlights from this year, as well as previewing next year. Let's start at the draft.
Best Draft Pick
Dez Bryant (WR - Cowboys) - He was on my team in both leagues. Both leagues were 12 team leagues and I got him in the 4th in my pay league and the 5th in the other. Usually I would try to dig a bit deeper for best draft/value pick, but the bottom parts of both my drafts weren't the best. Having said that, getting Dez where I got him, is ridiculous. What do Julio Jones, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Roddy White, Wes Welker, Greg Jennings, Demaryius Thomas, Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, and Victor Cruz all have in common? They were all WRs taken before Dez, but finishing behind him in fantasy points this season.
I can't fault people for not picking him and, as you'll find out later, I actually tried actively to trade him. He has had a history of drops and had his share of off the field problems. But c'mon, the dude is a physical freak. You had to figure he would break out at some point. He destroyed the opposition in the second half of the season and rewarded his owners with a 34.4 (43.4 in PPR) pt effort in the championship week for most leagues. The scary part is that he put up insane fantasy numbers despite three games early in the season with less than 2 pts and a broken finger in the last two weeks. Imagine what he'll do next year with a full off season. Yikes!
Worst Draft Pick
Phillip Rivers (QB - Chargers) - Where to begin with this clown? He has become my most hated player in football. I figured he got all the suckiness out of his system last year. There's no way he could be bad again this year right? Wrong! He only put up three games over 20 pts all season, whereas RG3 did that in his first three games. I actually watched a couple Chargers games and his interceptions were just awful. I'd just scratch my head and wonder what in the world he was throwing to/at? His talent makes him so tempting, but he had a banged up offensive line and made terrible decisions. Although I got him in the fifth round, I still took him ahead of the likes of Big Ben, Matt Ryan, and Andrew Luck. Get it together Phil!
Best Waiver Pickup
Alfred Morris (RB - Redskins) - Morris wasn't on my team for that long, but he was a key in a trade package that allowed me to get Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster (I gave LeSean McCoy, Roddy White, and Morris for AP and Foster). Even if I had kept him, he still had one heck of a season and finished ahead of the likes of Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, and Michael Turner to name a few. It is very rare that a player that productive is able to be scooped up off waivers, but he went undrafted in virtually every league. Anyone that was lucky enough to pick him up sure was a happy camper.
Worst Waiver Pickup
Ryan Tannehill (QB - Dolphins) - This was the contributing factor to one of only three losses in my PPR league. Aaron Rodgers was on a bye and Tannehill had put up decent numbers and was going up against the soft Titans defense. He should be good for 15-17 pts, at least double digits. What does this jamoke do? Puts up 2.58 pts. Those are Phillip Rivers numbers! Although we still finished first in the overall standings, that game made it closer than it needed to be.
Player I'm Glad I Didn't Trade
Dez Bryant - See a theme here? Dez is awesome. Thankfully, his awesomeness did not show until late in the season. Before then, I'm pretty sure I tried to trade Dez on a daily basis. I packaged him with others, tried trading straight up, I just thought he would struggle down the stretch and Romo would go back to throwing to Miles Austin a lot. My quest to trade him started after his week 10 performance against Philly where he posted 14 (ESPN Standard Scoring) pts. The offer I thought would have the most success was Dez, Titus Young (a nine point effort in week 10 and 22 pts two weeks before that), and Josh Freeman (guy I was trading with was a Vick owner) for Calvin Johnson. It was declined and Dez by himself went on to post 121 points from week 11 on, whereas Megatron went for only 104. Fortunately for him, his team still made the playoffs, but lost last week in the semis, by 12.
Player I Can't Believe I Traded
Adrian Peterson (RB - Vikings) - Yep, I'm the doofus that traded AP. Hear me out though. When I traded him, he constantly had injury updates saying something was hurting. I still didn't trust his knee all that much either and cringed whenever I saw him take a hit. Before I traded him (week 9 when he went bananas), he had only put up two good games, against Jacksonville and Arizona. He also still had to face Seattle, the Bears (twice), Houston, and his bye. He was getting his yards, but not his TDs, and I didn't think that would change. Silly me. He went for 31 pts in week 9 against Seattle and finished the year with at least 25 points in 5 of his last 7 games. Lesson learned: Never doubt AP's recovery from injury. Ever.
Best Sleeper Prediction
Matt Ryan (QB - Falcons) - This was a toss up between Ryan, Seattle's D, and Reggie Wayne, but Ryan takes the cake. Ryan's draft position was all over the place as he dropped to the eighth in one of mine, and was taken as high as the third in my other. A discussion on value based drafting will be presented later. The fact is he was taken after a number of quarterbacks due to him not putting up monster numbers in the past and the Falcons leaning on Michael Turner and the run game to win them games. Instead, the Falcons unveiled a hurry up, no huddle offense which Ryan thrived in. Sure he had some bad games (Oakland and Arizona come to mind), but he also had spectacular ones such as the opener against KC, at the Superdome against New Orleans, and most recently on the road against the Lions to clinch the #1 seed in the playoffs. He won't go nearly as low next year since the secret is out, but he gave great value if you snagged him in 2012.
Worst Sleeper Prediction
Christian Ponder (QB - Vikings) - Similar to the Best Sleeper section, there were a few to choose from here. I thought Ponder would make great strides this year with AP and Percy Harvin helping out as well as another year in the Viking's system. Nope. Even though the Vikings are playing outstanding this year, Ponder has been far from great. He's had a couple nice games such as against San Fran (go figure) and at Washington, but his inconsistency continues to hurt him. It didn't help that Harvin got injured and the offense started to lean heavily on AP. I actually still agree with everything I wrote in his sleeper section, it just didn't pan out. Maybe next year buddy.
Best Bust Prediction
Jermichael Finley (TE - Packers) - What happened to this guy? He used to be the next Antonio Gates, but drops and broken chemistry with A-Rod have led him to many fantasy benches and even the waiver wire in some leagues. His talent and size are there, he just couldn't put it all together this year. He had two, yes two, double digit fantasy outings. He finished behind the likes of Brandon Myers, Jared Cook, and Scott Chandler. Not exactly an All Star group of TEs right there. In a twist of fate, I think I'll actually put him in my sleeper section next year because I think his draft stock will fall significantly. The guy can still play and if he could catch the ball, he has the potential to put up Gronk and Graham type numbers. Only time will tell.
Worst Bust Prediction
Bears D/SPT - Here's one for the Bears fans reading this. I was wrong about your defense. They put up five games of over 20 points and got takeaways left and right. I thought this group would start the aging/breaking down process this year, but it was not to be. For those that picked the Steelers D over this group, sorry. My prediction of bust actually started to come true towards the end of the season. Urlacher got hurt (which I thought would happen at the start of the season) along with many other players and the Bears put up -1, 5, and 6 points in weeks 13, 14, and 15, respectively. I still don't like them for next season as I think they were way too dependent on turnovers this year. I'll say that next year is the year they bust. Gotta get it right sometime don't I?
Just a few other tidbits of info:
A note on value based drafting
I mentioned this before when talking about Matt Ryan. Value based drafting is what all fantasy players should do. This is the reason why your draft probably saw a number of running backs go early and very few WRs. Why is that? The reason is because I can find a quality WR in the later rounds, but that is very hard to do with running backs. For example, in one of my leagues, Mike Williams (WR - TB) was taken in the 13th round. This was the number 2 WR on the Bucs. He would be on the field, playing, after having only one down year last year. By comparison, Rashard Mendenhall was taken in that same round, a few spots after Williams. The thing is, Mendenhall was injured, was already guaranteed to miss some games, and had to adjust to a new system with new offensive coordinator Todd Haley. So in the 13th round you can have a solid #2 WR or a RB with injury issues that is guaranteed to miss games. See the point? You can get good receivers late, not so much with running backs.
The other example I will bring up is the drafting of RG3. He was taken in the second round in one of my drafts. Despite the fact he put up first round numbers, this was not a good pick. It took all of us drafting by surprise. Why is it not a good pick, you might ask given his extraordinary season? Well, consider some of the players taken after that pick in the same round were Matt Forte, Julio Jones, Brandon Marshall, Roddy White, and Wes Welker. RG3 was being taken around the 6th round in most drafts. This person's selection in the sixth round was Shonn Greene. So his team could have had RG3/Forte instead of RG3/Greene. Realize that even with Greene's 34 point performance, Forte missing the St. Louis game, and Forte not scoring more than 20 points, he still finished ahead of Grenne. The difference is even more staggering if you consider if he would have drafted Marshall or one of the Falcons receivers. Just keep that in mind about players that are projected low. As great as you think they will be, you'd be better off getting them at their appropriate spot rather than passing up a great player in the first or second round.
RG3 Works For Me
Along these lines, anyone who did draft RG3 should have at least been in their league's playoffs. Even the person described above made it. The team I played in the PPR league for the title had RG3. If you had RG3 on your team and did not make the playoffs, never play fantasy again (unless you drafted MJD and DeMarco Murray). Heck, as long as you found a viable backup for week 15, you should have made your title game. Period. Some people I know had RG3 and A-Rod on the same team! Imagine the trade possibilities. So, again, although I don't want to deter people from fantasy football, if you had RG3 and didn't make the playoffs, it might be time to find a new hobby.
PPR Awesomeness
I didn't really notice the difference between PPR and non until this year. I had always been in a standard league, but I like the PPR a lot more. I feel there is much more skill in player selection involved. With standard leagues, players essentially are rewarded for the big plays and TDs. Mike Wallace might only have one catch, but if that catch is for 60 yards and a TD then BAM, 12 points and you're glad you started him. PPR is great because you can have a player like Danny Amendola, who will not get drafted anywhere near Mike Wallace, get 6 catches for 60 yards and he's got 12. I feel like standard is a lot more luck and PPR rewards true contributors to their teams. Wallace's one deep catch might come in garbage time, whereas Amendola contributes throughout the game and probably helps the Rams pick up one or two first downs. Obviously the big names like Megatron and AJ Green will be great in both formats, but it allows the Amendolas and Antonio Browns of the world to make a difference in fantasy football.
Luck, No, Not Andrew
Last, but not least, luck. I'm beginning to lose faith in my fantasy predictions and wonder how people like Matthew Berry have jobs. I'm not saying there's zero skill involved. If you start Mark Sanchez, the Jaguars D, and Shane Vereen then yeah, you'll probably lose. But there were so many instances this year where my team would outscore nearly every other team, except the one I was facing. Players that have no business having big games, would have big games against my team. My team, in the regular season, outscored 6 out of the other 11 teams in my league including two teams that went to the playoffs. For points against, however, I had the most points scored against me by 40 points. One team barely got 1000 scored against him which is ridiculous. Here is my shout out to all the players that pushed the luck NOT in my favor
Oh hey, Reggie Bush wanna drop 30 on me, the only time you will all season? Sure. "Don't worry," says Jamaal Charles, "I can top that." 35 dropped on my face. Rams rookie kicker, bet you feel like putting up 17? Yep! Jordy Nelson knows how to put up 30 too (I actually won that week though). Issac Redman about to drop 20 on me? Seriously? You haven't been playing all year. Andre Johnson, time to remember how to play when you play my team. Oh right, here's 33 for ya.
Whew. Deep breath. I actually won three of my last four matchups including the Sacko Bowl, so no hilarious, embarrassing stunts for me. Also, a title win in my PPR league helped to ease the pain. All I know is my Sundays are about to become much more productive, and I cannot wait for next year. Worst to first baby!
My Top 10 for next year
1. AP
2. Foster
3. RG3
4. A-Rod
5. Brady
6. Rice
7. Lynch
8. Megatron
9. Brees
10. AJ Green/Doug Martin
Matty O
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
49ers: Ya Got Me Convinced
If you don't read the whole thing, at least check out the part at the end.
Ever since last year when the 49ers made their Super Bowl run, I've doubted them. Sure that defense is nasty, and their special teams is fundamentally sound (even though it cost them in the NFC Title Game last year), but am I supposed to believe that Alex Smith can quarterback a Super Bowl winning team? Thankfully, it looks like I won't have to. Enter Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick was a second round draft pick out of the University of Nevada. Had he played at a more prominent university, he might not have come out of nowhere like he has. Consider that at Nevada, he was the only FBS quarterback to ever pass for over 10,000 yards and rushed for over 4,000 yards in a career. He made Nevada a relevant program and was a thorn in Boise State's side for the years he was there. Early this year, he was learning and sitting patiently behind Alex Smith as he watched his 49ers go 6-2 heading into their bye week. Then came week 10 against the Rams. Smith, who had been playing well so far, went down with a concussion.
Down 17 entering the 4th quarter, the 49ers needed a stellar performance from Kaepernick, and he delivered. He passed for 117 and ran for 66 with a touchdown. The most important stat was zero, as in number of turnovers. He took care of the ball, didn't try to be Aaron Rodgers, and let the stellar defense keep the 49ers in the game. It worked, sort of. Despite tying the game in regulation, both teams missed field goals in OT, and the game ended in a tie. This was the start of the Kaepernick movement and may even become the Kaepernick era if he keeps it up. While there was some controversy and confusion at first over who would start, Kaepernick has solidified his spot as the starter to the delight of 49er, and fantasy football fans everywhere.
Since that tie, he has gone 4-1 with his only loss coming against the Rams in OT. Thankfully for the 49ers it doesn't look like they will be facing the Rams in any context until next season as the Rams will likely miss the playoffs. San Fran, meanwhile, have already clinched a playoff spot and can win the division with a win over Seattle this Sunday. His most recent virtuoso came against the Patriots yesterday in prime time, in Foxborough, in the rain, on Sunday Night Football. This is when I became a believer.
The Patriots, at home, in the second half of the season? Forget about it. Frequent flyer miles aside, there's really no good reason to even go play them. Stay home, enjoy California, take the L. Instead, Kaepernick and the defense came out on a tear and jumped out to an early lead. By the end of the first quarter, the Pats had already thrown an interception and fumbled the ball, while Kaepernick had already thrown a TD to ex-Patriot Randy Moss. By the end of the first half, it was 17-3 as the defense had smothered Brady and the vaunted hurry up Pats offense. In the third quarter, when the Pats had halftime to make adjustments, it got worse.
Their first two possessions of the third quarter, the Pats fumbled and threw yet another interception. The fumble led to a whacky touchdown when Kaepernick fumbled the snap (a common occurrence for the 49ers in this game) and an alert Frank Gore picked it up and ran it in for a TD. The interception led to a Michael Crabtree TD catch from Kaepernick. With ten minutes left in the third, it was San Fran - 31, Pats - 3. People may have picked the 49ers to win, but no one expected a blasting of this magnitude. Then, as if content with their lead, the 49ers played a kind of prevent defense. They were still getting pressure and making tackles, but it wasn't as intense as early on as anyone who saw the game will tell you. Not the best of all decisions. No matter how good your defense is, if you give players like Brady or Rodgers time back there, they will tear your defense to shreds. And he did.
New England rattled off 28 straight points with Brady contributing to two of them (ran for one, threw for one). He was shredding the defense, as the atmosphere in the stands picked back up, and defense found itself once again. Three and out became the name of the game as the Pats tied the game with around seven minutes still left to play. The way the Pats were moving the ball, it wasn't that crazy to think they might win by a couple scores after being down 31-3. The Pats then fell victim to special teams and the Kap. Following the TD that tied the game, returner LaMichael James, who should be used more in their regular offense, raced down the sideline and returned it for 62 yards. The very next play, Kap showed poise in the pocket and found a wide open Crabtree for a 38 yard TD. San Fran's D seemed to wake up and they sacked Brady twice on the Pats next possession. A late field goal by the 49ers put it pretty much out of reach, though Brady made it interesting at the end. After a Pats FG put them within striking distance, a failed onside kick ended the game at 41-34. Regardless of the score, this was a big win.
Colin proved to me, he can ball. His other victories were impressive, but I still needed to see something. The Chicago win was impressive, but as we're seeing now and as I've tried to warn people all year, the Bears are overrated. When that defense doesn't get turnovers for the offense (49ers turned it over 0 times) they are a mediocre team at best as the 49ers proved in destroying them 32-7. I started to get a bit more belief when they beat the Saints in the Superdome, but that was against the Saints D. I could grab ten other random friends and we could go put up a few scores on that D, so I still wasn't that impressed. His other victory came against the Dolphins and well, they're the Dolphins. This win spoke volumes about how good this team is. On the road, in a place where no one wins, and they pull it out with a guy who wasn't even in the conversation of starter a few weeks ago.
The upcoming schedule is going to be tough and test Kap. If he can knock off the Seahawks in Seattle, then you would simply have to be ignorant to not give this kid his props. His dual threat running and passing keeps defenses guessing and he rarely makes the bad decision that costs his team the game (excluding the 16-13 OT loss to St. Louis, though he did a lot to put his team in a position to win). I could certainly see this team Super Bowl bound. As of right now, they have a first round bye and finally have their man at quarterback. The other teams in the playoffs would be the Falcons, Packers, Redskins, Vikings, and Seahawks. They've already beaten the Pack and Seahawks. They have not and will not play the Redskins or Falcons. Their loss to the Vikings was early on when Alex Smith played like, well, Alex Smith with an INT and a fumble lost. I think it would be a different story this time around. Hop on the bandwagon while there's still seats available. This wagon is going all the way down to New Orleans. See you there New England!
Matty O
On a much more serious note and just something that I've noticed the last couple days, people need to take a different perspective when thinking about the shooting in Newtown, CT. I've seen multiple, long threads on Facebook about gun control and recently numerous people posting about Deadspin.com's article regarding Sunday Night Football and Obama's speech. Stop it. You like gun control? Fine. Write a letter to your senator or read up on gun policy instead of giving reasons like "guns are evil." All those gun control posts do is just wind up in 10 people going at it over guns, freedom of speech, and finally ending up at why Coke is better than Pepsi. It's pointless. Were those tweets mentioned in the article appropriate? No, of course not. But what good are you trying to accomplish by posting that? Are you trying to go after football, even though all stadiums and players paid tribute to those victims? I bet your workplace won't do that today. Were you trying to go after people that hate Obama, and try to associate hating Obama with rudeness and classlessness? Or are you just trying to make other people look bad? You can disagree with me on this and I probably won't see eye to eye with everyone, but if you really do care, then post stuff like the Morgan Freeman post.
To those that have not read it, he makes the point that the media will "glorify" this shooter which gives others something to strive for or top. Everyone will know the shooter's name by week's end yet many of the victims will go unknown and lost from memory. If you really want to take something away from this, research a news article like this, that makes you familiar with one of the victims involved. You can also donate to United Way CT or the Red Cross. Again, don't take my head off for this if you don't agree, but just think about which of your actions will have the desired results you want. Thanks for reading!
Ever since last year when the 49ers made their Super Bowl run, I've doubted them. Sure that defense is nasty, and their special teams is fundamentally sound (even though it cost them in the NFC Title Game last year), but am I supposed to believe that Alex Smith can quarterback a Super Bowl winning team? Thankfully, it looks like I won't have to. Enter Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick was a second round draft pick out of the University of Nevada. Had he played at a more prominent university, he might not have come out of nowhere like he has. Consider that at Nevada, he was the only FBS quarterback to ever pass for over 10,000 yards and rushed for over 4,000 yards in a career. He made Nevada a relevant program and was a thorn in Boise State's side for the years he was there. Early this year, he was learning and sitting patiently behind Alex Smith as he watched his 49ers go 6-2 heading into their bye week. Then came week 10 against the Rams. Smith, who had been playing well so far, went down with a concussion.
Down 17 entering the 4th quarter, the 49ers needed a stellar performance from Kaepernick, and he delivered. He passed for 117 and ran for 66 with a touchdown. The most important stat was zero, as in number of turnovers. He took care of the ball, didn't try to be Aaron Rodgers, and let the stellar defense keep the 49ers in the game. It worked, sort of. Despite tying the game in regulation, both teams missed field goals in OT, and the game ended in a tie. This was the start of the Kaepernick movement and may even become the Kaepernick era if he keeps it up. While there was some controversy and confusion at first over who would start, Kaepernick has solidified his spot as the starter to the delight of 49er, and fantasy football fans everywhere.
Since that tie, he has gone 4-1 with his only loss coming against the Rams in OT. Thankfully for the 49ers it doesn't look like they will be facing the Rams in any context until next season as the Rams will likely miss the playoffs. San Fran, meanwhile, have already clinched a playoff spot and can win the division with a win over Seattle this Sunday. His most recent virtuoso came against the Patriots yesterday in prime time, in Foxborough, in the rain, on Sunday Night Football. This is when I became a believer.
The Patriots, at home, in the second half of the season? Forget about it. Frequent flyer miles aside, there's really no good reason to even go play them. Stay home, enjoy California, take the L. Instead, Kaepernick and the defense came out on a tear and jumped out to an early lead. By the end of the first quarter, the Pats had already thrown an interception and fumbled the ball, while Kaepernick had already thrown a TD to ex-Patriot Randy Moss. By the end of the first half, it was 17-3 as the defense had smothered Brady and the vaunted hurry up Pats offense. In the third quarter, when the Pats had halftime to make adjustments, it got worse.
Their first two possessions of the third quarter, the Pats fumbled and threw yet another interception. The fumble led to a whacky touchdown when Kaepernick fumbled the snap (a common occurrence for the 49ers in this game) and an alert Frank Gore picked it up and ran it in for a TD. The interception led to a Michael Crabtree TD catch from Kaepernick. With ten minutes left in the third, it was San Fran - 31, Pats - 3. People may have picked the 49ers to win, but no one expected a blasting of this magnitude. Then, as if content with their lead, the 49ers played a kind of prevent defense. They were still getting pressure and making tackles, but it wasn't as intense as early on as anyone who saw the game will tell you. Not the best of all decisions. No matter how good your defense is, if you give players like Brady or Rodgers time back there, they will tear your defense to shreds. And he did.
New England rattled off 28 straight points with Brady contributing to two of them (ran for one, threw for one). He was shredding the defense, as the atmosphere in the stands picked back up, and defense found itself once again. Three and out became the name of the game as the Pats tied the game with around seven minutes still left to play. The way the Pats were moving the ball, it wasn't that crazy to think they might win by a couple scores after being down 31-3. The Pats then fell victim to special teams and the Kap. Following the TD that tied the game, returner LaMichael James, who should be used more in their regular offense, raced down the sideline and returned it for 62 yards. The very next play, Kap showed poise in the pocket and found a wide open Crabtree for a 38 yard TD. San Fran's D seemed to wake up and they sacked Brady twice on the Pats next possession. A late field goal by the 49ers put it pretty much out of reach, though Brady made it interesting at the end. After a Pats FG put them within striking distance, a failed onside kick ended the game at 41-34. Regardless of the score, this was a big win.
Colin proved to me, he can ball. His other victories were impressive, but I still needed to see something. The Chicago win was impressive, but as we're seeing now and as I've tried to warn people all year, the Bears are overrated. When that defense doesn't get turnovers for the offense (49ers turned it over 0 times) they are a mediocre team at best as the 49ers proved in destroying them 32-7. I started to get a bit more belief when they beat the Saints in the Superdome, but that was against the Saints D. I could grab ten other random friends and we could go put up a few scores on that D, so I still wasn't that impressed. His other victory came against the Dolphins and well, they're the Dolphins. This win spoke volumes about how good this team is. On the road, in a place where no one wins, and they pull it out with a guy who wasn't even in the conversation of starter a few weeks ago.
The upcoming schedule is going to be tough and test Kap. If he can knock off the Seahawks in Seattle, then you would simply have to be ignorant to not give this kid his props. His dual threat running and passing keeps defenses guessing and he rarely makes the bad decision that costs his team the game (excluding the 16-13 OT loss to St. Louis, though he did a lot to put his team in a position to win). I could certainly see this team Super Bowl bound. As of right now, they have a first round bye and finally have their man at quarterback. The other teams in the playoffs would be the Falcons, Packers, Redskins, Vikings, and Seahawks. They've already beaten the Pack and Seahawks. They have not and will not play the Redskins or Falcons. Their loss to the Vikings was early on when Alex Smith played like, well, Alex Smith with an INT and a fumble lost. I think it would be a different story this time around. Hop on the bandwagon while there's still seats available. This wagon is going all the way down to New Orleans. See you there New England!
Matty O
On a much more serious note and just something that I've noticed the last couple days, people need to take a different perspective when thinking about the shooting in Newtown, CT. I've seen multiple, long threads on Facebook about gun control and recently numerous people posting about Deadspin.com's article regarding Sunday Night Football and Obama's speech. Stop it. You like gun control? Fine. Write a letter to your senator or read up on gun policy instead of giving reasons like "guns are evil." All those gun control posts do is just wind up in 10 people going at it over guns, freedom of speech, and finally ending up at why Coke is better than Pepsi. It's pointless. Were those tweets mentioned in the article appropriate? No, of course not. But what good are you trying to accomplish by posting that? Are you trying to go after football, even though all stadiums and players paid tribute to those victims? I bet your workplace won't do that today. Were you trying to go after people that hate Obama, and try to associate hating Obama with rudeness and classlessness? Or are you just trying to make other people look bad? You can disagree with me on this and I probably won't see eye to eye with everyone, but if you really do care, then post stuff like the Morgan Freeman post.
To those that have not read it, he makes the point that the media will "glorify" this shooter which gives others something to strive for or top. Everyone will know the shooter's name by week's end yet many of the victims will go unknown and lost from memory. If you really want to take something away from this, research a news article like this, that makes you familiar with one of the victims involved. You can also donate to United Way CT or the Red Cross. Again, don't take my head off for this if you don't agree, but just think about which of your actions will have the desired results you want. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
NIU in the BCS
Like it or not, the Huskies are in. 12-1, undefeated in the MAC, and crashing the BCS as the first non-automatic qualifying conference team to make a BCS bowl that was not undefeated. Since the announcement, the decision has caused quite a bit of controversy. Even as a Huskies fan, I can see both sides to it, although I do think in the end, they deserve to be there.
For those who don't follow NIU, Kirk Herbstreit is public enemy number one amongst Huskie fans. During the Selection Show that put NIU against 11-2 Florida State, Herbstreit called it a sad state for college football that the Huskies got in, going so far as to call it a joke. While his choice of words was probably not the best, he did bring up some good points (hear me out Huskie fans). Unlike all the "BCS busters" in the past, this Huskies team doesn't really have that hype or signature win. The only team from a major conference they beat was Kansas, and they finished last in the Big 12. Their other big win was against a questionable number 17 Kent State in the MAC Championship. I actually thought the Kent State and NIU rankings should have been reversed going into that game (NIU was No. 21). Add in a close win against Army, and you have a less than impressive resume to say the least. The lackluster schedule that lesser conference teams play has been used against teams for years. The thing that should give people pause when seeing NIU in a BCS game is the way they went through their "easy" schedule.
One point ESPN analysts kept bringing up, that is a good point, is the BCS busters of old absolutely DOMINATED their competition. Take the 2006 Boise State team that beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. They only played one team from a power conference in Oregon State, who eventually finished the year in the top 25. Apart from that, they played the likes of Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, and Idaho. Similar to NIU's Toledo, BSU also had a formidable team in their conference that year that finished 11-3 and 7-1 in the WAC in Hawaii. So while the easiness of schedule is comparable, the dominance is not. NIU beat a last place Kansas team by 7. BSU beat said Oregon State team who finished in the top 25, by 28. They rolled through their schedule, surviving a scare against San Jose State, but ultimately finishing undefeated. Due to Ohio State losing in the National Championship, they wound up as the only undefeated team that year. It was a memorable team, who played in one of the most memorable bowl games ever.
To be fair to NIU, they also had a stretch of conference games where they were blowing teams out, and they have yet to play their bowl game which could turn into a classic. Still, I wouldn't even call this NIU team the most memorable one in recent years. The team I would turn to would be the 2003 Huskies team led by Michael Turner. They started the year beating a top 20 Maryland team, went on the road and beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and beat Iowa State of the Big 12. Realize that the Iowa State win that year was the icing on the cake, whereas the Kansas win this year was a "big" deal. Unfortunately, that NIU team lost to a ranked Bowling Green team whose only losses that year were to #4 Ohio State and twice to a Ben Roethlisberger-led Miami of Ohio team, and rival Toledo, both games away from home. Due to the lack of bowl tie-ins, the 10-2 Huskies were left watching bowl games instead of playing in them. Instead of a worthy Huskies team, Northwestern, Kansas, and UCLA played in bowls, lost, and finished with losing records (6-7). Now the shoe is on the other foot due to the BCS system. It is for this reason that the Huskies deserve to be in the Orange Bowl.
The only teams that I do have sympathy for in this whole BCS mess are Georgia and Texas A&M. Georgia played the #2 ranked Crimson Tide hard and lost the game in a heart breaking way. I thought they would wind up beating the Tide and playing Notre Dame for the title. They improved greatly throughout the year and deserve a BCS bowl spot. A&M actually did beat that Crimson Tide team and had potential Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel electrifying stadiums all year. Their only losses were by three to #3 Florida and by five to #8 ranked LSU. But don't remove NIU to get those two great teams in there. Instead, if we're trying to keep mediocre teams out of the BCS, remove Louisville and Wisconsin.
Louisville won the Big East. Big whoop. One could easily make the argument that the MAC is better than the Big East overall. Unlike NIU, who played a ranked Kent State team, Louisville went the entire season without having to do so. While NIU's loss came by one to Iowa, Louisville was throttled by 7-5 Syracuse by 19 and lost in triple overtime to a 5-7 Connecticut team. They won by seven points or less in six of their ten wins, compared to four such wins for NIU. Wisconsin, meanwhile, might have destroyed Nebraska in the Big Ten title game, but their overall record is 8-5 and only 4-4 in the Big Ten. The only reason they were even there is because the two teams ahead of them in their division, Ohio State and Penn State, are ineligible to play in the Big Ten title game. The only ranked team they played this year was Nebraska, having lost in the regular season but winning when it counted. This is also a team that beat Northern Iowa and Utah State by a combined seven points. SEVEN! And these two teams belong in the BCS? That Mr. Herbstreit, is the true joke of the BCS.
Look, NIU can't change its schedule. They don't control who is in the MAC. They play who they play. Larger programs refuse to face NIU at home and, given NIU's recent success, refuse to play them at all. This is one of the reasons why Iowa played NIU at Soldier Field rather than a home and home. NIU beat everyone on their schedule besides that Iowa team, although it was only by one the first game of the season. The team wasn't nearly as good as it is now and they had their chances to win that game. After that game, they went on a tear, averaging 42 points per game the rest of the year. They hung 63 points on UMass and 55 on Central Michigan, both Divison I FBS teams. Before you write that off as just beating up on bad teams, realize that NIU's Orange Bowl opponent Florida State hung 55 on Savannah State. Savannah State is a Division I FCS or I-AA team who finished last in their conference this year. Clearly, despite a flawed BCS system, NIU deserves to be there. They won their conference, beating a tough Kent State team in the process, and finished with only one loss. It's not their fault the Georgias and A&Ms of the world got left out.
This may be one of the last years that something like this happens because of the approaching playoff system. I hope NIU takes advantage of it. It seems people are pushing this game to the side and ready to call it a blow out. Not so fast my friend. Hope comes in the form of Jordan Lynch and the Clemson game that Florida State won. Although they beat the Tigers, Clemson's quarterback Tajh Boyd presents similar problems for defenses that Lynch has. Both are more than capable runners and can throw the ball when called upon. Boyd threw for 237 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, and 44 rushing yards before the Tigers fell. If Lynch can have the kind of patience he displayed in the MAC title game, I think he can have success against this FSU defense. I do think some of the bounces and "lucky" plays will have to go NIU's way to win this game, but it will be closer than people think. Apart from the Fiesta Bowl (Oregon vs Kansas State), this is the bowl that you should tune into as far as the BCS is concerned.
BCS Bowl Matchups as it should be
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs Kansas State - They got this one right in what should be the best bowl game out of all of them, BCS or not
Orange Bowl: Florida vs Florida State - Rivalry game in a BCS bowl? Taking place in Miami? Yes please. All the legends would come back for that game. It would be great for the sport
Sugar Bowl: Stanford vs NIU - This would be a great game in my opinion with superstar Lynch going against freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan in a surprisingly evenly matched game. Also, putting this game in New Orleans would get rid of Stanford's closeness to the Rose Bowl and put NIU in a dome (see MAC Championship for NIU's success in domes)
Rose Bowl: Texas A&M vs Georgia - Regardless of who is playing, the Rose Bowl is always a big deal, so why not let the two SEC titans battle it out. Being in separate divisions kept them from playing each other this year. Manziel and veteran Aaron Murray would get to duke it out in what would be an exciting, high scoring affair
Matty O
For those who don't follow NIU, Kirk Herbstreit is public enemy number one amongst Huskie fans. During the Selection Show that put NIU against 11-2 Florida State, Herbstreit called it a sad state for college football that the Huskies got in, going so far as to call it a joke. While his choice of words was probably not the best, he did bring up some good points (hear me out Huskie fans). Unlike all the "BCS busters" in the past, this Huskies team doesn't really have that hype or signature win. The only team from a major conference they beat was Kansas, and they finished last in the Big 12. Their other big win was against a questionable number 17 Kent State in the MAC Championship. I actually thought the Kent State and NIU rankings should have been reversed going into that game (NIU was No. 21). Add in a close win against Army, and you have a less than impressive resume to say the least. The lackluster schedule that lesser conference teams play has been used against teams for years. The thing that should give people pause when seeing NIU in a BCS game is the way they went through their "easy" schedule.
One point ESPN analysts kept bringing up, that is a good point, is the BCS busters of old absolutely DOMINATED their competition. Take the 2006 Boise State team that beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. They only played one team from a power conference in Oregon State, who eventually finished the year in the top 25. Apart from that, they played the likes of Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, and Idaho. Similar to NIU's Toledo, BSU also had a formidable team in their conference that year that finished 11-3 and 7-1 in the WAC in Hawaii. So while the easiness of schedule is comparable, the dominance is not. NIU beat a last place Kansas team by 7. BSU beat said Oregon State team who finished in the top 25, by 28. They rolled through their schedule, surviving a scare against San Jose State, but ultimately finishing undefeated. Due to Ohio State losing in the National Championship, they wound up as the only undefeated team that year. It was a memorable team, who played in one of the most memorable bowl games ever.
To be fair to NIU, they also had a stretch of conference games where they were blowing teams out, and they have yet to play their bowl game which could turn into a classic. Still, I wouldn't even call this NIU team the most memorable one in recent years. The team I would turn to would be the 2003 Huskies team led by Michael Turner. They started the year beating a top 20 Maryland team, went on the road and beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and beat Iowa State of the Big 12. Realize that the Iowa State win that year was the icing on the cake, whereas the Kansas win this year was a "big" deal. Unfortunately, that NIU team lost to a ranked Bowling Green team whose only losses that year were to #4 Ohio State and twice to a Ben Roethlisberger-led Miami of Ohio team, and rival Toledo, both games away from home. Due to the lack of bowl tie-ins, the 10-2 Huskies were left watching bowl games instead of playing in them. Instead of a worthy Huskies team, Northwestern, Kansas, and UCLA played in bowls, lost, and finished with losing records (6-7). Now the shoe is on the other foot due to the BCS system. It is for this reason that the Huskies deserve to be in the Orange Bowl.
The only teams that I do have sympathy for in this whole BCS mess are Georgia and Texas A&M. Georgia played the #2 ranked Crimson Tide hard and lost the game in a heart breaking way. I thought they would wind up beating the Tide and playing Notre Dame for the title. They improved greatly throughout the year and deserve a BCS bowl spot. A&M actually did beat that Crimson Tide team and had potential Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel electrifying stadiums all year. Their only losses were by three to #3 Florida and by five to #8 ranked LSU. But don't remove NIU to get those two great teams in there. Instead, if we're trying to keep mediocre teams out of the BCS, remove Louisville and Wisconsin.
Louisville won the Big East. Big whoop. One could easily make the argument that the MAC is better than the Big East overall. Unlike NIU, who played a ranked Kent State team, Louisville went the entire season without having to do so. While NIU's loss came by one to Iowa, Louisville was throttled by 7-5 Syracuse by 19 and lost in triple overtime to a 5-7 Connecticut team. They won by seven points or less in six of their ten wins, compared to four such wins for NIU. Wisconsin, meanwhile, might have destroyed Nebraska in the Big Ten title game, but their overall record is 8-5 and only 4-4 in the Big Ten. The only reason they were even there is because the two teams ahead of them in their division, Ohio State and Penn State, are ineligible to play in the Big Ten title game. The only ranked team they played this year was Nebraska, having lost in the regular season but winning when it counted. This is also a team that beat Northern Iowa and Utah State by a combined seven points. SEVEN! And these two teams belong in the BCS? That Mr. Herbstreit, is the true joke of the BCS.
Look, NIU can't change its schedule. They don't control who is in the MAC. They play who they play. Larger programs refuse to face NIU at home and, given NIU's recent success, refuse to play them at all. This is one of the reasons why Iowa played NIU at Soldier Field rather than a home and home. NIU beat everyone on their schedule besides that Iowa team, although it was only by one the first game of the season. The team wasn't nearly as good as it is now and they had their chances to win that game. After that game, they went on a tear, averaging 42 points per game the rest of the year. They hung 63 points on UMass and 55 on Central Michigan, both Divison I FBS teams. Before you write that off as just beating up on bad teams, realize that NIU's Orange Bowl opponent Florida State hung 55 on Savannah State. Savannah State is a Division I FCS or I-AA team who finished last in their conference this year. Clearly, despite a flawed BCS system, NIU deserves to be there. They won their conference, beating a tough Kent State team in the process, and finished with only one loss. It's not their fault the Georgias and A&Ms of the world got left out.
This may be one of the last years that something like this happens because of the approaching playoff system. I hope NIU takes advantage of it. It seems people are pushing this game to the side and ready to call it a blow out. Not so fast my friend. Hope comes in the form of Jordan Lynch and the Clemson game that Florida State won. Although they beat the Tigers, Clemson's quarterback Tajh Boyd presents similar problems for defenses that Lynch has. Both are more than capable runners and can throw the ball when called upon. Boyd threw for 237 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, and 44 rushing yards before the Tigers fell. If Lynch can have the kind of patience he displayed in the MAC title game, I think he can have success against this FSU defense. I do think some of the bounces and "lucky" plays will have to go NIU's way to win this game, but it will be closer than people think. Apart from the Fiesta Bowl (Oregon vs Kansas State), this is the bowl that you should tune into as far as the BCS is concerned.
BCS Bowl Matchups as it should be
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs Kansas State - They got this one right in what should be the best bowl game out of all of them, BCS or not
Orange Bowl: Florida vs Florida State - Rivalry game in a BCS bowl? Taking place in Miami? Yes please. All the legends would come back for that game. It would be great for the sport
Sugar Bowl: Stanford vs NIU - This would be a great game in my opinion with superstar Lynch going against freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan in a surprisingly evenly matched game. Also, putting this game in New Orleans would get rid of Stanford's closeness to the Rose Bowl and put NIU in a dome (see MAC Championship for NIU's success in domes)
Rose Bowl: Texas A&M vs Georgia - Regardless of who is playing, the Rose Bowl is always a big deal, so why not let the two SEC titans battle it out. Being in separate divisions kept them from playing each other this year. Manziel and veteran Aaron Murray would get to duke it out in what would be an exciting, high scoring affair
Matty O
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