Monday Morning Roundup - 10/12/09

"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice." - William Jennings Bryan

College Football Saturday

On Saturday night we witnessed a gritty, gutty performance from my current Heisman favorite Tim Tebow. While his stats wouldn’t show the type of success that he had, the Florida quarterback made some outstanding plays against a very stiff LSU defense. He was able to command his offense and lead his team to yet another victory in what could go down as the best college football career off all time. With a

favorable schedule until the SEC Championship game, the Florida Gators are on track to make it to yet another BCS National Championship game. After watching the game on Saturday, I can confidently say that the Gators are the top team in the nation. I’d expect to see Alabama give them a run for their money in the SEC Championship game, assuming those are the two teams in the game, however I’d be very surprised if Florida wasn’t in the BCS Championship game again. With this game, I wanted to watch Tebow closely and see how he operated not just at quarterback but also when he was running the ball after suffering his bad concussion two weeks ago. Here’s my take on Tebow: I really don’t think he’s a quarterback in the NFL. He has consistently shown me that he struggles with going through progressions, his accuracy is erratic at times, and his arm strength isn’t on par with some of the other quarterbacks that could be in this year’s draft class. I think that Tebow projects best as a fullback, H-Back/tight end, and as a wildcat quarterback. As a second or third round pick, a team would be getting excellent value, both on and off the field, and would be getting a versatile leader who can inspire a team as well as any other player in the game of football.

Now, for a team like Jacksonville, who many think could take Tebow with their first round pick, would they play Tebow at quarterback? I highly doubt it. If the Jaguars decided to take Tebow, I think that his best role in their offense would be as a split back with Maurice-Jones Drew in the backfield with David Garrard still playing quarterback. They would have another strong presence in their running game and Tebow would give them an excellent chance to implement the wildcat formation into their offense. The choice is up to them as to whether or not they want to take him in the first round, however, if it were up to me, the highest I would take Tebow is maybe towards the end of the first round. Tebow’s intangibles more than anything else is what would make it hardest for me to pass on him. He’s a pure winner and his passion for the game is the best that I’ve seen from anyone in college football in the last four years. Just adding a presence like his to your locker room could stimulate a team like Jacksonville, which could really use a shot in the arm to get their franchise going. One thing is clear, it’s going to be a very fun offseason documenting Tebow’s transition into the NFL.

The Alabama Crimson Tide absolutely took Ole Miss apart on Saturday and I personally think that they are

the No. 2 team in the country after their performance against the Rebels. Coming into the game, many

anticipated this matchup as being a potential trap game for Alabama. Going into Oxford, Mississippi is never easy, especially when Ole Miss has gotten off to a sluggish start after being praised as one of the top teams in the country. However, with a dominating defense as well as one of the best running games in the country, the Tide were able to cruise to an easy win. This team is set up for success. Add in an up-and-coming quarterback as well as the best receiver in college football, and this team could very easily be making some big noise in January. It’s a shame that the Tide and the Gators would have to play in the SEC Championship game because the game between these two teams, whenever it comes, could very easily be the real Natl. Championship game. The Tide are a very impressive team and should give the Gators all that they can handle if they get a chance to play.

The end of the Bobby Bowden era at Florida State could be coming very soon. With plenty of talk this past week about how Bowden’s run with the Seminoles should come to an end after the year, Saturday’s loss to Georgia Tech in the great shootout that it was certainly will add fuel to this fire. Think about this: The Seminoles are 2-4 this year and have lost five of their last six at Doak Campbell Stadium. With a head-coach-in-waiting in Jimbo Fisher, as well as the recent cheating scandal that the team had, there may not be a better time for a change. As much as we’d like to see Bowden go out on top, that clearly isn’t going to happen this year.

If there is a better player in college football than Tennessee safety Eric Berry, then I’d love to see someone

suggest him. Berry might be the most instinctive football player that I’ve ever seen. His awareness on the

field is tremendous and his playmaking ability on the defensive side of the ball is some of the best that I’ve ever seen. I have no doubt in my mind that Berry is the next Ed Reed/Troy Polamalu/or whatever All-Pro safety you want to name. Any team that has the privilege of landing this guy in the 2010 should be extremely thankful. Berry is going to be an outstanding NFL player and it’s a shame that more people aren’t aware of how good he is. If it were up to me, Berry would be on the Heisman ballot. Just having him on the field makes opposing offenses change up their game plans in order to stay away from him, yet he continues to make play after play. Eric Berry is a very special player, there is no doubt about it.

Iowa: Are the Hawkeyes for real? It’s clear that this is a team that has a chip on its shoulder and doesn’t care who they are playing. One more thing is clear: the Big Ten is nowhere near the conference that it used to be. I think that you could make an argument that the conference doesn’t have a Top 10 team this year. Penn State has played too many cupcakes and obviously can’t step up when they need a win; Ohio State is clearly overrated after watching the way they’ve struggled this year against Army, USC, and now Wisconsin this week. I think that Iowa has a realistic chance of making it to the Rose Bowl this year.

NFL Sunday

It’s become clear that the NFL has more parity this year than I’ve seen in awhile. With top contenders like New Orleans, New York, Minnesota, and now Denver, as well as bottom feeders like St. Louis, Cleveland, Oakland, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay, the league is giving us more this year than ever a major difference is the difficulty and strength of some teams. This is something to keep an eye on as the rest of the year unfolds: will the teams at the bottom be able to scrap together some wins against highly ranked teams? And will some top teams tumble against some of the more mediocre teams in the league?

We had a very eventful day in the NFL yesterday as the Denver and New England game lived up to the

hype as one of the top games of the season thus far. The student-against-mentor storyline was fun to

watch as Josh McDaniel took on his long-time mentor Bill Belichick. I’ve been very impressed with the way that Denver’s defense has played so far this year. Their offense has the talent to make plays with Brandon Marshall, Knowshon Moreno, Eddie Royal, etc; however, Denver’s defense was among the worst in the league last season. Thanks to the fast-tempo style of play that new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has brought, this defense has had a chance to take advantage of its great speed. Bringing in Brian Dawkins and Andre Goodman has helped this team significantly in 2009. Denver is going to be a fun team to watch the rest of the year, not as much because they’re undefeated, but more because they’re a smash-mouth team whose physical style of play should keep them in every game the rest of the way. I also feel great for head coach Josh McDaniels, who has gotten off to a terrific start to his career. The passion that he showed at the end of the game is what makes football so fun to watch and be a part of. I'll be rooting for him the rest of the way in 2009.

Hats off and congratulations to the Cincinnati Bengals for their victory on Sunday. The team was playing with plenty of emotion after defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife passed away this past week. You could tell that they wanted to win the game for him. On a different note, this team is one of the surprises of the AFC, as they’re one tipped pass to Brandon Stokley away from being undefeated. With a stout defense and a run game that hasn’t been this good in quite awhile, Rey Maulauga and Cedric Benson two of the players most responsible for the Bengals great start. At this point, Maualuga has to be the favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. Yesterday’s game in Baltimore may have been the toughest game of the year for Cincy, so for them to come away with a win really gives them a great shot at having a good second half to the year. With games still coming up against Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit, and Kansas City, this team could be in store for a big year.

Indianapolis has pulled away in the AFC South and currently enjoys a three game lead over Jacksonville and Houston. The Colts have done an outstanding job of fitting players into the roles that the Colts have in their offense, as both Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have stepped up and provided quarterback Peyton Manning with go-to threats when Reggie Wayne isn’t open. In addition to having Dallas Clark, and Anthony Gonzalez, who will eventually be returning from injury, Indianapolis is showing that their running game is capable of carrying the team. The Colts’ schedule isn’t exactly a cake walk the rest of the way with games still against Baltimore, New England, Denver, San Francisco, and the New York Jets. However, as of now, they certainly look like an impressive team.

I honestly feel that it’s sad that the Dallas Cowboys needed overtime to beat Kansas City, one of the worst

teams in the league. I understand that Arrowhead Stadium is one of the hardest stadiums in the league to

play in, but the way that the Cowboys, and specifically quarterback Tony Romo, played yesterday suggests that head coach Wade Phillips will be lucky to make it the rest of the year. With a team that has looked sluggish and disinterested at times, I would be surprised if owner Jerry Jones didn’t decide to make some sort of move at the end of the year. If they can take something away from the game, outside of actually winning it, it was that Miles Austin has finally broken and reached the potential that many had for him. The first player from Monmouth to ever be invited to the Combine, Austin has shown that his upside is high and he has the tools needed to be a good No. 2 or No. 3 receiver in this league, if given the opportunity.

The Tennessee Titans have now dropped to 0-5 and 0-6 appears likely with a game against New England coming next week. I said it last week and I’ll say it again this week, the Titans need a shot in the arm; that shot is sitting on their bench in the form of quarterback Vince Young. I would start Young against the Patriots next week without a doubt. In terms of the draft, like I said in my mock draft, this team needs to go with the best player available. They could use another playmaker on offense, however they could also use a stud defensive lineman like Albert Haynesworth was. One way or another, Tennessee will likely have some big changes to make next offseason.

The Washington Redskins, from what I’ve heard, could have new coach three or four weeks from now. Word on the street is that owner Daniel Snyder has reached out to Mike Shanahan, and while Shanahan has turned Snyder down as of now, it’s clear that the Redskins will be in the market for a new coach this offseason. With Mike Holmgren, Bill Cowher, Shanahan, and Jon Gruden all available, it’ll be interesting to see how much money Snyder is willing to pony up in order to get one of the proven coaches. Head coach Jim Zorn has completely lost touch with his team and they are in a major skid. They have had a fairly easy schedule thus far, which is shown in their 2-3 record; however their schedule gets a lot tougher as the year goes on. They have a stretch of games from weeks 9-13 against Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. After that they have an easy one against Oakland and then face the Giants, Dallas, and San Diego to finish the year. I’d be surprised if this team made it to five or six wins, especially if they have a new coach.

NFL Draft Implications

First off, here’s a quick thought. With the way that Sam Bradford’s season has gone, and with the fact that he’s only a junior, I think that the best decision for Bradford may to be to return to school for his senior

year. With other quarterbacks like Jake Locker, Jimmy Clausen, and Jevan Snead potentially entering the draft as well as Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow, Bradford may not look like as attractive of an option as he did last year when we only had Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez headlining the rookie class. Next year, Bradford would only have to compete with Ryan Mallett from Arkansas as the only real contender for being the top quarterback taken in the 2011 draft. This is my point: Bradford passed up millions last year to stay in school; entering the draft this year may actually hurt him more than anything with how bad of a year he has had and with how many other good quarterback prospects could be in this year’s draft. If he stayed once, chances are he could stay again. Staying for yet another year may be the best option for Bradford’s future.

While watching the games on Sunday morning, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a worse combination of teams at the bottom of the league than the Rams, Buccaneers, Browns, and Chiefs. Each team is so far from being a contender that it’s embarrassing. I’ve decided to take a look at each team and see where they could go with their future Top 5 pick:

St. Louis Rams – I honestly turned the St. Louis-Minnesota game off on Sunday because I couldn’t stand to watch anymore of it. Kyle Boller might be one of the worst quarterbacks in the game and it astonishes me that a team actually thought enough of him to take him with their first round pick. It’s pretty clear that this team needs a quarterback of the future, it just depends on who it will be. I think that Jake Locker is the favorite now, however it all depends on which quarterbacks decide to enter the draft. I don’t see any way that this team doesn’t go quarterback with its first pick in 2010.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Whether it’s Josh Johnson or Josh Freeman, this team is going to deal with growing pains throughout the rest of the season. However, they at least can say that they have two young, talented players to try to build their team around. You can’t say that about St. Louis or Cleveland. What I am worried about is that the Buccaneers defense has been dreadful and their offense hasn’t been much better. Their line hasn’t been able to get a consistent push, and as a result their running game hasn’t done much. The Buccaneers best bet would be to shore up their defensive line with one of the top defensive tackle prospects in Gerald McCoy or Ndamukong Suh. Adding an elite safety like Eric Berry could be another option.

Cleveland Browns – The more that I watch this team, the more that I think they need to blow everything up and start over. Sure they got a win on Sunday, but they did won it in about as scrappy of a way as possible, 6-3. The Browns have handled the Brady Quinn situation about as poorly as possible and clearly don’t think that he’s the quarterback of the future. Derek Anderson’s performance against Buffalo was awful and he’s also not the answer at the position. However, who is? Are they going to take another Notre Dame quarterback in Jimmy Clausen with their first pick? Would they go with Bradford? This team clearly needs an answer at the quarterback position. I currently have Eric Berry going to Cleveland as one of the top players in the draft. Now, I really think this team needs to go with an offensive player. Dez Bryant isn’t worth a Top 3 pick, nor is Jahvid Best. Cleveland’s already invested a ton into their offensive line, leaving quarterback as the most realistic option. At this point, Clausen, Locker, and Bradford have to be the favorites for the Browns.

Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs almost were able to pull out the upset over Dallas on Sunday, but yet again they dropped another game as their offense continued to struggle. Kansas City has two key players to build around and that is quarterback Matt Cassel and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Left tackle Branden Albert has talent, but he’s had an up-and-down start to the year. I really think that bringing in the top offensive lineman available, for example Russell Okung or Trent Williams, would give the Chiefs more size and talent up front. They haven’t been able to run the ball consistently which has also hurt them. Bringing in a big tackle would help their offense tremendously.