Mid-Season College Football Thoughts and Predictions on the Big XII

It's hard to believe that we are already half-way through the college football season. Now that I think about it, it's more depressing than anything. So much has taken place that my thoughts right now are almost the complete opposite of what they were 2-3 weeks ago. I’ll try my best to express my thoughts on this season without it seeming like I am just living in the moment, but it won't be easy.

Let's begin with who I believe is the biggest surprise in the Big XII this season, the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Before hosting the Sooners, they ranked at the top in most defensive categories which would have to be a first for a program that is primarily known for having a high scoring offense. It wasn't their performance against OU that convinced me, it was how they took Geno Smith, who at that point looked like he was on a mission to win the Heisman with no questions asked, and just made him look like your average Joe holding the Mountaineers to just 14 points! Granted, the defense didn't look as sharp against TCU but it is undeniable that this Texas Tech team is light years ahead of where they were last year. My heart has me pulling for Tech to win out and force a 3-way tie if necessary. My head says they will lose 1 or 2 more games though. 

Now, let's move onto the two top ranked Big XII teams in the BCS with the Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas State Wildcats. I'll start by addressing the Sooners and how they have looked since my last entry when they lost to Kansas State. Oklahoma right now looks nothing like the team that struggled at UTEP and lost to Kansas State. This team looks confident, poised, and on a mission to fight their way not just to a Big XII title, but back into the National Title picture. This starts with Landry Jones who over the past 3 weeks has looked nothing like he has since Broyles left. Landry Jones is finally stepping up and stepping up early in games making the right throws and hitting his receivers in stride. Since his embarrassing performance against Kansas State, Landry Jones has 7 TDs to only 1 INT. This improvement is undeniable and does give me hope for the rest of this season, but I am still not ready to buy in 100% just yet. He's had too many "Why would you do that?!" games for me to simply forget them all after 3 solid performances. Oklahoma's offensive line play has also stepped up and in a huge way. In the last three games they have only allowed 2 sacks after allowing 6 in the first 3 games!  Talk about improvement! I see the Sooners finishing 11-1 or 10-2 this season.

Now all of this improvement will be for nothing for National Title implications if Kansas State doesn't lose two games. With one loss, Kansas State owns the tiebreaker between them and Oklahoma and in this scenario I just don't see anyway Oklahoma can play for a national title without winning their conference despite what happened last year with Alabama. Kansas State is beatable as I saw it with my own eyes when Oklahoma lost to them at home several weeks ago. Oklahoma played their worst football of the season against them but Kansas State managed to only pull out a 5 point victory. I have a hard time believing they will go undefeated despite all of the hype around them after dismantling a West Virginia team that was exposed a week ago in Lubbock. I'm not entirely sure which teams will step up and beat them but in a year where the Big XII looks as competitive as ever with the exception of a worthless Kansas squad, I wouldn't be surprised if they were upset a couple of times. I see K-State finishing 10-2.

Now for a quick summary of each of the other Big XII teams:

Baylor: High powered offense with no defense. They have almost taken on the role of Texas Tech of old. I expect them to go 6-6.

West Virginia: After Texas Tech was able to slow down their offense in Lubbock, Kansas State had no problem mimicking that same style and holding West Virginia to 14 points again. I'll admit to hopping on the West Virginia and Geno Smith bandwagon early, but I see this West Virginia squad losing 4 games. 

Iowa State: This is the most competitive I have seen Iowa State since I have been a college football fan. Surprisingly, the player I thought would allow them to take off, Jared Barnett, is holding them back. With all of the pieces there, they are one quarterback away from being a legitimate team. I do expect them to battle for bowl eligibility but end up 5-7. 6-6 if they're lucky.

Kansas: Lol.

Texas: David Ash showed so much promise to start the season, but after a disaster in Dallas, I believe he only looked so good because he was playing against defenses that seem no better than scout team defenses. I can see them dropping 2-3 more games against Tech, Kansas State, and possibly TCU.

TCU: I still am not sure how to evaluate TCU. They got embarrassed at home to Iowa State but just last week were able to hang with a very improved Texas Tech squad. Their remaining schedule has Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Kansas State, Texas, and Oklahoma respectively. I really have no idea how they'll finish but I'm going to predict they end the season 7-5. 

Oklahoma State: It was announced Sunday evening that J.W. Walsh, a freshman QB who has been nothing but impressive since taking over for starting QB Wes Lunt, will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury. With Gundy not announcing a starter for the next game between Wes Lunt and Clint Chelf, I just don't feel confident that the Cowboys season is going to end well. Especially, since there are question marks all over the place for their defense. OSU's schedule doesn't get easier until Baylor. This could be a season Gundy wants to forget. I predict a 6-6 season. Best case scenario, 8-4.

Until Landry Jones puts up, I will not shut up.

For those that know me, you know very well where I stand with Oklahoma Sooner quarterback Landry Jones and how long I have been standing by this opinion. Like most opinions, some agree with me, while others disagree, and that's what is great about life and especially football, the debates. This post is a more in-depth look as to why I think Landry Jones is highly overrated and why the word "Landry Jones" and "heisman" in the same sentence is hysterical.

For those who are new to college football, or excel at not talking to anybody in the outside world (especially if you live in Oklahoma), Landry Jones is entering his fourth year at starting QB for the Oklahoma Sooners. Before I go further, let me quickly summarize his three, going on four, seasons at QB.

Freshman year: He was thrown into a very hot fire as trophy winner Sam Bradford went down due to a shoulder injury. Overall, he had a promisin heisman g debut his first year at quarterback and a very impressive game against Standford at the Sun Bowl. Some freshman mistakes, but lets be honest, nobody was expecting him to carry the team as well as Sam Bradford did. Promising nonetheless.

Sophomore year: A year where Landry Jones was looking to take the title as "Best QB in the Big XII". It was a good year statistically, but I couldn't help but wonder if he was a mentally weak quarterback when it came to games on the road. Getting upset my Mizzou and Texas A&M on the road and barely escaping the wrath of Cincinatti. His game of the year that season was bedlam where OSU's secondary just laid down and let Landry do whatever he wanted. It was in this season I began to have concerns despite winning a BCS bowl (against an unranked UConn team).

Junior year: This is where my concerns and worries started to come true. Landry clearly went onto the decline in his junior campaign especially after losing safety blanket Ryan Broyles. Landry wouldn't throw a TD pass for 3 games until the Insight Bowl against the lowly Iowa Hawkeyes. It was how he ended the season that I became convinced Ryan Broyles made his career.

Senior year (after a 2-1 start): Landry Jones has been less than stellar and has began a debate amongst Sooner fans based on his worth and value after being average against UTEP, good against a Florida A&M team, and flat out awful against Kansas State.

Now that the history lesson is over, lets get to my overall opinion of Landry Jones. Landry Jones has done absolutely nothing to be worthy of Heisman discussion the day he became a starting QB for the Sooners. He has proven to be inconsistent and the fact that there's even a debate on Landry Jones entering his FOURTH year as a starter, is very alarming to me. If he is as great as some people claim, there should be no debate as to if he's good. Yes, he does own Oklahoma records in passing but he's been a full-time starter for going on four years. Can you imagine if Sam Bradford played four full seasons at QB? Landry would not be close to touching any of his records. Adrian Peterson is fourth in school history in rushing but he is clearly the best running back to play in the NFL from OU. Tony Romo has impressive numbers but what does he have to show for it? Landry Jones has the skill set to be good, but not the intelligence. More often than not, he forces passes into coverage and pays the price as we saw against Kansas State. I could go on about Landry but that is my general summary of him.

Now lets look at the numbers. Since losing Ryan Broyles, Landry Jones has thrown for 7 TD passes to 11 turnovers. Granted, you should expect a decline after losing such a reliable receiver, but Landry is still playing like he is a freshman. Good QB's don't have this problem as they generally make their receivers good. We can even look at Brandon Weeden. Although Weeden only had one game without two time Biletnikoff winner Justin Blackmon, Weeden made Bo Bowling his leading receiver that game with 9 receptions when playing at Kansas State. Brandon Weeden looked anything but helpless. That one game without Blackmon, Weeden looked better than any game Landry has had without Ryan Broyles and I dare you to find a game since Texas A&M of 2011 where Landry Jones looked better.

With all of this said, I decided to look further back at OU quarterbacks besides Landry Jones and Sam Bradford and decided to do a comparison of Landry Jones and 2006 QB/WR Paul Thompson. I am in no way implying Paul Thompson is a better QB, however, I am implying that Paul Thompson was more efficient. The difference between the two was Thompson knew his limitations and did not try to do anything too crazy with the skill set he had. He tried to be efficient and do what was needed and within his ability. Josh Heupel deserves a lot of praise as he was able to replace a future star (Rhett Bomar) destined for a Big XII title and replace him with a WR who was still able to earn OU a Big XII Title. He utilized Paul Thomson correctly and his play at QB was nothing short of a miracle after many felt hope was lost when Rhett Bomar was expelled. Paul Thomson's passer rating that one season? 142.5 and only lost two games to Texas and Boise State (ugh). Now the record books will show three losses but I REFUSE to call OU's win at Oregon a loss. In Landry Jones career, he's only had one season where his passer rating was better than Paul Thompson's and that was his sophomore year at 146.3. That is astonishing to me and speaks volumes to what Paul Thompson was able to do as well as what Landry has NOT been able to do.

With all of this being said, I could go on about how I believe it is now time for Blake Bell to start but I have already written enough for today. What I will say is that Blake Bell has 12 TD's to Landry's 7 TDs and 2 turnovers to Landry's 11 turnovers since losing Ryan Broyles. If Stoops copies everything from Urban Meyer's playbook during the Tim Tebow era, I have a hard time believing that anyone in the Big XII will be able to stop the Oklahoma offense. The kid may not be as accurate as Landry Jones but I fully believe he has a higher football IQ than Landry Jones and isn't going to force passes! Now I know right now people may roll their eyes at this but I predicted Tim Tebow's NFL success, Terrelle Pryor's non existant NFL career (although it's only been two seasons), the New York Giants winning the Super Bowl last year, and even Tim Tebow's victory over the Steelers and then predicting them to lose to the Patriots. I say this to show I'm not biased towards Tebow. I also predicted Landry Jones to be incredibly overrated. Humble right? I have to establish some credibility though. Bottom line, I hope Landry Jones proves me wrong since it would only benefit my college team; but I firmly believe it's not going to happen.

I leave you guys with a Blake Bell highlight reel from his senior year in High School. Besides his spring game this year (in which he was 14-19, 171 yds, 1 TD and no INTs, best of any QB that spring game) there are not really any other highlights of him throwing the ball. There are many other things I would address, but I feel this should suffice for the blind support he has.

The Controversy of College Football Playoffs is Finally Over! Or is it?

It's something that has been talked about for many years whether it was 2004 with the debate surrounding Auburn and their place in the national title; 2008 with the Texas Longhorns feeling screwed by the BCS for seeing a team they beat (The Oklahoma Sooners) play against Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators; or even just last year with some feeling Oklahoma State getting the shaft to watch a rematch it seemed many did not want to see. Ladies and gentlemen, the fix is in. Or is it?

The way this new system works is a selection committee of 15 people will discuss and pick out the 4 semi-finalists that will compete for the national championship. This instantly tells me there will be controversy. Man was made to create as well as to screw up. Something tells me that we will become prisoners of the moment and send a 2 loss team, most likely in the Big 10 or Notre Dame (with more respect to Notre Dame's schedule), to the playoffs because they finished off their schedule in dominating fashion against the terrible teams the Big 10 has to offer e.g. Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois, and the other step children. The end result of this is a complete blowout of the first round and whoever is believed to be the 5 seed to put another asterisk for yet another college football season.

If we see a 4 team playoff with 2 SEC teams, I'll bet all the money that I have that everyone outside of the SEC will be kicking and screaming about an SEC bias. Lets all be honest for a second, the only reason there is an SEC bias is because they've won the last 6 and have won 8 of the 14 BCS National Championships. SEC's overall record is 8-1 in the national championship (the loss is LSU to Alabama last year), Big XII is 2-5, and the ACC, Big 10, Pac-12 and the Big East all have 1 national championship a piece and the same record of 1-2. We cannot deny how powerful the SEC has been as a conference, keep in mind that I hate the SEC and that also, a team that lost to Iowa State has no business of being in the National Championship game.

Now lets reach the bigger issue, although there is a large chance to consistently see 2 SEC teams in this 4 team playoff (until a conference finally decides to dethrone the conference King), I'm more upset about the fact smaller schools will still be cheated out of a chance to play for a National Championship. More recently people mention TCU and their triumph over Wisconsin in 2009. What people fail to recognize is that TCU was a 3 seed and would have made the playoffs anyway but I have better examples. One example was in 2006 when an undefeated Boise State had a perfect season and broke my heart in a thrilling upset over my Oklahoma Sooners 43-42 in overtime. What was Boise State ranked before this game? Number 9. A perfect 12-0 season and they were barely considered a top 10 team. Another example was two years later when the Utah Utes completed a perfect season and were set to face Alabama. They didn't just beat Alabama, they embarrassed them. A 31-17 victory over a team that barely missed the bid for the national championship game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Before the Sugar Bowl victory, the Utah Utes were ranked number 6. Number 6! A team that would surely miss the cut under the new playoff regulations as well, which leaves room for controversy.

With all of that said, lets talk about the upsides of the new playoff system. For starters, the bowl systems are still alive and that means we still have many years to participate in ESPN Bowl Mania and pretend we have an idea of who will win the Idaho Potato Bowl. No, I didn't just make that up. Trust me, I enjoy getting lucky with those predictions and telling people I knew all along that OU (as in the University of Ohio) would win the Idaho Potato Bowl. The bowl systems are a great way to keep football programs like Duke, Iowa State, Baylor, Mississippi State, Illinois, and other terrible football programs competitive so that they can set realistic expectations for themselves to make a bowl game so that we have better opportunities to see those upsets that we all go nuts over.

Another great thing about this new playoff system is that there won't be as much debate over if the national champion is truly the national champion. I think sometimes people fail to realize that college football is not like the NFL where any team has a chance to beat anybody e.g. The Kansas City Chiefs (5-7) beating the undefeated Green Bay Packers (13-0). So excluding any smaller schools getting cheated out of the playoffs, there should no longer be any debate regarding of who the best team really is. I say this assuming that people are going to be unbiased and accept the facts of what happen on the field. But when will I learn?

2012 Denver Broncos Mock Draft

The Broncos seem to have become one of the most talked about NFL teams the past couple of years: from Josh McDaniels improbable 6-0 start, to drafting Tebow, to hiring John Elway, to firing McDaniels and hiring John Fox, to starting Tebow, to going on a magical run, to trading the QB that made them relavent after acquiring the best regular season QB of all time. So here we are. Less then two weeks away from the draft and the Broncos have 7 picks in this years draft and they are going to need them if they hope to make a super bowl in the next couple of seasons.

Lets be honest, the Broncos were not pursuing Manning just to escape Tebowmania (although I fully believe that was a reason), they want to win a super bowl with a guy who has done it before. With 10 QBs starting in Denver since John Elway's departure, Manning is by far the best QB to put on a Broncos uniform since Elway left and possibly all time. Is Manning alone enough to take them on a Super Bowl run? Absolutely not. There are many holes that need to be filled and this prediction is a little biased for who I would love to see in Denver, as well as pieces I believe would work there. So lets begin.

Round 1 (pick 25): Derel Worthy (DT, Michigan State) 6'2 308 lbs

The Broncos were ranked 22nd against the run allowing an average of 126 yards per game. They need drastic improvement at the defensive tackle position since losing Bunkley in free agency to the Saints. Between Derel and Javon Still it was a hard pick but Still has had two major surgeries and if I'm the Denver Broncos I want a player who is healthy and is ready to win now. With time running out with a questionable Peyton Manning, you can't take chances on fragile players. With Derel making many top player appearances after this past season and the consistency he shows on the field, you can't go wrong with Derel at 25.

Round 2 (pick 57): Jamell Flemming (CB, Oklahoma) 5'11 206 lbs

This is where my bias and hopes come into play. However, Jamell has a lot of upside despite my bias. He should excel as a zone defender because of his closing speed to wrap receivers after the catch. He is able to deliver the big hit and isn't afraid to jump inside to slow the ball. He is also able to transition well from coverage to close on the ball and has very strong hands and quick reactions which lead to interceptions. In high school he played as a wide receiver if that speaks for his ball handling skills. His willingness and successful blitzing off the edge is huge as the Broncos need some speed off the edge after losing Andre Goodman. If it doesn't work out at CB, the Broncos could consider to move him to safety with combination of range and sure tackling. With an aging Champ Bailey and a secondary that was exploited badly against the Lions, Patriots, Packers, and THE VIKINGS, there is a need of a cornerback that needs to be filled.

Round 3 (pick 87): Brock Osweiler (QB, Arizona State) 6'7 242 lbs

If available, Brock is a steal in the 3rd round. Brock's height of 6'7 just....screams to be drafted and learn behind a 6'5 Peyton Manning. Brock, overshadowed by many playing for an average Arizona State team, set school records this past season becoming the first QB to throw for over 4,000 yds and had 63.7% completion percentage in spite of the lack of talent around him. With Manning's neck being a liability, it doesn't hurt to draft a guy who has a similar physical set such as Brock.

Round 4 (pick 108): Ryan Broyles (WR, Oklahoma) 5'10 192 lbs.

Is there any team with as many question marks at the receiving corp than the Denver Broncos? I do not believe there is. An argument can be, and has been, made regarding the lack of passing ability they had at the QB position but Calvin Johnson was able to be a top 5 receiver the past few seasons despite Matthew Stafford being injured most of the time. If you have a safety blanket WR, any QB can give him great numbers. We already saw how huge Ryan Broyles was for Oklahoma's offense after he tore his ACL. It's hard for me to think of, off the top of my head, many QBs that self destructed like Oklahoma's after losing any wide receiver. Ryan Broyles, statistically one of the best wide receivers of all time, can provide Manning with a security blanket in the same way Wes Welker offers Tom Brady. Ryan Broyles has some of the best hands you can ask for and if you look past his height and ACL injury, a steal in the 4th round and a major asset to a team with questionable receivers. 

Round 4 (pick 120): Chris Rainey (RB, Florida) 5'8 180lbs

Let's be real for a minute, Knowshown Moreno (AKA NoShow Moreno) hasn't lived up to the hype we all set for him before the draft and if he isn't cut before the 2012 season, he will be cut after the 2012 season. Chris Rainey just clocked in at a 4.3 40 dash time and was the show in Florida after Tebow's departure. This kid can run, catch, and play kick off return. So much talent and speed and a sleeper in this year's draft. If he's still available by this point, he's a steal for any team to draft.

Round 5 (pick 137): Leonard Johnson (CB, Iowa State) 5'10 196 lbs

As a measure to add depth, I think the Broncos need to draft another CB in Leonard Johnson. Although he does have a hard time tackling downfield I will never forget the impact he had against Oklahoma State in their upset. Although Iowa State's young QB got a lot of the praise for the upset, nobody mentions Leonard Johnson's effort to hold two-time Biletnikoff winner, Justin Blackmon, to only 99 yards (speaks a lot for Justin Blackmon), as well as had a big interception in the 3rd quarter to keep his team in the game. Along with being second team All Big XII, he has promise that could develop into a solid CB.

Round 6 (pick 188): James Hanna (TE, Oklahoma) 6'4 252 lbs

Yes, another Sooner. However, James Hanna is a very underrated TE as he left the NFL combine with a 4.49 40 yard dash time and despite having a QB who loved staring down one receiver (I'm talking  about Landry Jones of course) still finished his career at OU with 50 receptions for 765 yards and 11 TDs when spending most of his time at OU backing up star TE Jermaine Greshman. Many teams will sleep on James Hanna but he is a diamond in the rough in this years draft.

That is my 2012 mock draft for my Denver Broncos. They have Peyton Manning in place, with these pieces and enough hard work from a rookie class like this, I don't believe many teams will stand a chance. This is of course an unrealistic draft but one can dream right?

Are All Athletes Role Models?

I hope everyone had a great Easter this past weekend! I know I did! The reason I even bring up Easter is because that is where I will begin with this subject. This past Easter Sunday Tim Tebow was hosted by Celebration church in front of 15,000 people in Georgetown, Texas for a little Q & A. As a Christian I loved a lot of what he said such as his biggest dream is for the fad "Tebowing", where a person gets on one knee and starts praying, to become something that is common and not known for something done by him. Another thing he said (that I could not agree more with) was that the sooner the United States is restored to "A Nation Under God" the sooner a lot of our issues today can be a part of yesterday rather than today. But the one thing he said that stood out to me, and so many sports analysts and talk show hosts, is when he said that despite what some athletes want, they are role models whether they like it or not and its up to them to set a good example. Word for word that's not what he said but that was the main idea.

Is Tim Tebow correct though? Are all famous athletes role models? I've listened to much commentary regarding this and I think people are missing the point so let me be clear by what I'm saying. The question isn't "should" famous athletes be role models. The question is, "are" they? We can all make excuses about what we "should" have done; but the question is "did" we do it? Social media having influence on society is something that I've heard debated for a couple of years and the most consistent answer is,"Everyone thinks that it does, but it really doesn't." How sure are we of that? When Drake released his hit single "The Motto" it became an instant hit. One of the now popular acronyms in the song is "YOLO (You Only Live Once)" which by a majority of what I see in culture today is an excuse to now drink that extra beer, hook up with that random guy, to reach dangerous speeds down the highway, and other decisions that could eventually leave someone who made those decisions to say,"Why did I ever do that?" Now I'm not condemning anyone that does any of these things or believe that these things wouldn't happen despite the new fad but it is having an impact on culture and that is undeniable. Another case and point is anything that degrades our previous President George W. Bush. I admit to my conservative bias and will be the first to say he did a few things I was not fond of, however, socia media said so much regarding their belief of his lack of intelligence and alcoholism when he was in college that would turn most Americans to believe he was one of the worst presidents we ever had. Now President Obama openly admitted to smoking marijuana when he was younger but how many times can you find a comedy show rip on him for that? Social media does have a strong control over us and it's time for us to realize that and make decisions for ourselves, whether it be to agree with what they tell us or believe the opposite after conducting research. I have asked people who "hate" George Bush why they hate him, most common answer I get is,"Cause he's stupid." Nothing beyond that, but I digress.

Now I'm not sure about most of you, but I did feel positive influences from athletes when they did good things. I always liked Peyton Manning and all of the things he did outside of football as well as his very positive attitude he showed on television. I do disagree with the idea that because Michael Vick fought dogs that somewhere in Atlanta, Georgia some group of kids are searching all over the city to host dog fighting competitions. But the idea is that with a large stage like Michael Vick, Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Lebron James, etc. that you CAN influence the lives of others it's just how they go about doing it. 

I'm 20 years old and have a few role models: My dad, my grandfather, and Tim Tebow. It sounds ridiculous to have a sports role model at the age of 20 but think about it. At one point we all embrace a pressure that makes us uncomfortable, I don't know what yours may be but at one point or another we are faced with it and it's up to us to see how we handle it. Tim Tebow is in the National Football League, played four years in Florida, and could have any girl he wants sexually and get any drug he wants under the table yet nobody has or can bust him. The pressure he felt, to me, must be unimaginable. The fact he said no to all of it is huge! If he can say no to all the free sex, parties, and anything that could tarnish his name, what's our excuse? He's impacting lives by building children's hospitals in the Philippines and uses any opportunity he has to meet very sick children and I know I'm not the only one who looks up to Tim Tebow. 

The point is that with the stage provided, any athlete can become a great role model and influence the mind set of the younger generation and mold it into something great. On the opposite end, I don't believe bad role models seen in the media can influence how people act as much as bad role models we see in our physical life. So in a way Tebow is correct but in a way he is not. Yes, all big time athletic stars do have an opportunity to set a positive example and change the world in their own way, but if they choose a lifestyle that is opposite to others I don't believe people are weak minded enough to mimic that lifestyle just for the sake of being similar to their favorite athlete. Charles Barkley, despite how much I disagree with him on many issues, makes a good argument in this commercial (it's only 27 seconds long so it won't kill you to watch this).

This was difficult to expand on because there are so many points to be made regarding if athletes are all role models. Should someone who throws a football, shoots a basketball, hit a baseball, kick a soccer ball, shoot a hockey puck, and is a classified world champion swimmer (I'm looking at you Michael Phelps) be a role model to our younger generation? No, but the sad truth is young kids do look up to them and if history has taught us anything most of them will fall eventually. We are only human after all and we tend to forget that they make mistakes well. It's up to us to teach younger generations to judge people by their actions AND their intentions. We judge ourselves by our own intentions and not actions   but we need to be even with ourselves and others and do the same. I realize this is supposed to generally be about sports and it quickly turned into a social issue rather than a sports issue. I'd love to hear what you guys think of all this and I realize I didn't touch on enough but this is a general idea on how I feel about the whole issue.

OU's QB Football Spring Game Evaluation.

I'd be lying if I said this post isn't just me trying to get away from writing a journal for my history class as well as begin studying for my accounting exam but...this is something I was wanting to address at some point. So my first year at The University of Oklahoma has been everything I had dreamed it would be. Perfect. The only real blemish was the disappointing 2011 football season the Sooners had, but I am not going to go ahead and address all of the issues the 2011 national title favored Sooners had last season but instead, address what I saw in the spring scrimmage from March 31, 2012.

If you haven't had a chance to or wish to watch the highlights from their scrimmage you can catch all three videos here: http://www.soonersports.com/allaccess/index.html?media=313639

Let me just start out by saying that I'm doing my very best to ensure this isn't in anyway biased as I am not a huge fan of current starting QB Landry Jones. I tried my best to support and believe in his abilities , but at the end of every game he plays it becomes something very difficult to do. I find myself feeling as frustrated as Dallas Cowboy fans do with their QB Tony Romo. I mean, sure Romo and Landry have good numbers but can they, or have they, come through when you need them too? No. Looking back on his first year starting, due to Sam Bradford's injury, I had a lot of hope and was more understanding as he was a backup to the best QB in Oklahoma college football history. He had no chance of reaching similar numbers or producing as much as Bradford. But when we look back at OU's past couple of seasons, starting with 09; OU is one good QB away of reaching a BCS game and maybe the national title as I believe Bradford beats BYU, Miami, University of Texas, and the Cornhuskers. The loss by TTU was too much to argue that OU could have won with Bradford. Anyway, after his freshman campaign he had a fairly successful sophomore campaign throwing for almost 4,800 yds and 38 TDs. Then his junior season arrived and he fell apart as OU's best wide receiver would miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL. After this, Landry wouldn't throw another TD, have 6 ints, all through 171 pass attempts and then end the streak against the lowly Iowa Hawkeyes. To be fair, Blake Bell was put into a special package around the same time Broyles suffered the season ending injury that would take Landry out of a majority of red zone situations and give Blake Bell 12 rushing TD's during the same stretch. But I digress. This is about how OU looked in their first scrimmage of the year.

Of course, I spent a majority of the time watching all 3 of the quarterbacks through the scrimmage and I am going to start with Drew Allen. Drew Allen is a QB that doesn't receive enough credit as he is a great backup and a guy I wouldn't mind getting a shot at starter. He looked good in the scrimmage as he was only sacked once and did everything he could to secure the ball and not turn it over. He didn't do anything jaw dropping but he didn't do anything that made me cringe. Something that OU coaches and a lot of people are used to seeing as he gets an A+ as a game managing type of QB, but a B- for a full time starting QB. Some games you have to take risks if you're behind a couple of scores in the 4th and I wonder if he has the ability and the confidence to make those deep throws if needed. Although I doubt he will ever be in that position, he definitely could be a starter for many college teams out there.

Next I'm going to evaluate Landry Jones. Landry Jones just made me sick throughout most of the throws he was making. Now although all 3 QB's ran a lot of slant patterns and some screen passes, Landry still found areas to force the ball as you see in the 2nd video he forces a terribly thrown ball to Jazz Reynolds, who's running a slant to the right side, that is covered by two defenders and would very closely be intercepted. The very next pass I have a hard time analyzing as I can't tell if it was a broken play because Trey Franks (#2) accidentally fell, or if it was just a really bad pass as it was swatted down by the safety. Besides a couple of very poor throws he was sacked (or in this case, touched) 3 times, and had a hard time adjusting to the pressure around him. He did have a couple of very good throws as you'll see in the third video he has a great pass thrown to a spot to only where Kenny Stills can (and does) catch it, and another down the left side to freshman Trey Metoyer who breaks two tackles to score the TD. Trey is looking like someone who will eventually dethrone the talented, but lazy, Kenny Stills as the go-to receiver. Overall, after much thought, Landry Jones is getting a B-. A grade that pains me to give him but he did make throws that neither Blake Bell or Drew Allen could make during the scrimmage.

Finally, there is QB Blake Bell. A QB that is being called by many fans to send Landry to the bench and create an offensive style that Stoops has never ran before. A system that is built around a mobile QB. Blake Bell has been discussed as being the best Jumbo package QB you can have but is not a good passing QB. From what I've seen in the scrimmages, he is surely developing into the next starting QB for the Sooners when Landry enters the NFL draft. Blake Bell had an amazing performance and looked very comfortable stepping back in the pocket and reading the field. He even made a terrific deep throw to wide-out Kenny Stills down the left side. He plays the QB position that makes many defensive coordinators have nightmares as he is able to make the defense uncomfortable as he would make them put more in the box to account for his ability to scramble, except this time he is actually able to make the throws needed to succeed at the college level. He has the ability to run the OU offense in the same way Tim Tebow ran the Florida offense. When the pressure did get to Bell, he made a great read and short pass to his wide-out that allowed the receiver some space to get a fast sprint going before he was pushed out of bounds. There is a lot I love about Blake Bell, especially as he is showing to develop as a passer. Overall, Blake Bell gets an A-. The only QB I didn't change my mind about when grading. He is finally coming into his own as he is making great reads, making defenses put more in the box, and finally making the passes needed to become a successful starting QB in college. In my dreams, I see Landry having 3 ints against UT and getting benched for Blake Bell to rally OU to a victory as Longhorn fans and players feel beaten down. Let's just wait and see if dreams really do come true.

My problem with Brandon Weeden as a high NFL prospect.

Going into this year's draft there is a lot of talk regarding the top two QB prospects Andrew Luck from Stanford, and Robert Griffin III from Baylor. After these two QB's the rest of the QBs in the draft are up in the air as far as where they will end up. There's been discussion regarding Ryan Tannehill, from Texas A&M, as a possible surprise pick in the first round as well as Brandon Weeden being a late 1st round pick and this is where I begin to have problems with NFL draft analysts. Especially ESPN's Mel Kiper. 

By now we have all heard of the Cinderella story Oklahoma State football had this past season. They won their first Big XII title, had a historic season on offense, won their first BCS bowl game, and was debatably robbed of a shot at the national title. But this blog isn't about OSU's best season in school history, this is about the best QB to ever play at OSU and why I do not believe he is worthy of a first round pick. Although I do attend the University of Oklahoma, OSU's arch rival, this is all based on an unbiased opinion and from a history of what I've seen as an OSU and OU student and as a Big XII football fan.

Let me first start off by saying that I have a hard time buying into any Big XII QB making a strong impact in the NFL. There are presently four starting QB's in the NFL that played in the Big XII conference and they are: Sam Bradford, Blaine Gabbert, Colt McCoy, and Josh Freeman. Sam Bradford is the only QB that has proved himself of his pick as he was able to carry a team with absolutely no talent his rookie season and be one game away from reaching the post season. However, despite this accomplishment, he fell on his face in his sophomore campaign, but with an O-line like the St. Louis Rams, I don't know of many QBs that would be able to overcome that. Especially when your best wide receiver is an aging Brandon Lloyd. 

Blaine Gabbert, despite all of the predraft hype of how he was a better prospect than Cam Newton, has only proven to be a terrible draft pick. Colt McCoy is a guy that I actually admire and hope the best for, but the sad truth is that he may only make his career in the NFL as a solid backup. Lastly, there is Josh Freeman. A QB I have a hard time evaluating as he had a poor rookie year, an outstanding sophomore season, and then another poor year in his third year as a starter. All of these QB's last year had a passer rating of under 76.0 So why should I believe a guy like Brandon Weeden is going to rise up and change anything?

In Weeden's first season as a full time starter, I watched him throw some of the most beautiful passes as well as some of the worst I'd ever seen, something I am now very used to seeing thanks to QB Landry Jones. At the end of the 2010 season, he was already being debated as the best QB in the Big XII which is something I will agree with. One thing a lot of us have seem to forgotten are a few performances he had against: Louisiana-Lafayette (where he threw 3 ints), Iowa State (where he again, threw 3 ints), and against Tulsa (where he threw 2 ints). I understand QB's can have bad games but the games in which he just did not show up are very alarming to me and almost a deja vu from several years ago. 

In 2008, I witnessed one of the best college football seasons of all time. A season in which the Big XII South just looked as tough as any conference we had ever seen with 4 power house football teams with a 11-1 Oklahoma, 11-1 Texas, an 11-1 Texas Tech, and a 9-3 Oklahoma State team (all of their losses came against the top 3 in the Big 12 South). This 2011 Oklahoma State team reminds me a little of the 2008 Texas Tech team between Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree. In Harrells last two seasons at TTU he threw for almost 12,000 yards and 93 TD passes where Weeden threw for a little over 9,000 yards and 71 TD passes. Granted, this isn't necessarily a fair comparison as Mike Leach ran the TTU offense primarily in a spread offense and Weeden actually had a good running game to turn too. The point is, Graham Harrell's success was debatably due to the tremendous wide receiver he had in Michael Crabtree, the two-time Biletnikoff winner. Weeden was also fortunate enough to have a two-time Biletnikoff winner to throw too in just about any situation as well as a Wes Welker type player in Josh Cooper. I think a lot of us tend to forget how much talent Weeden really had around him on offense.

Now I'm not trying to take anything away from Weeden's accomplishments, he is the best QB Oklahoma has had since Sam Bradford, but along with the weapons Weeden has had around him, his age is a big factor on why he is not worth a first round pick. Weeden, like most Big XII QB's, spent a majority of his snaps lined up in shotgun so unless he goes to the Patriots, or a couple of other NFL teams, and starts due to injury, he isn't going to take off like most people believe. Because of his age people like to assume he's NFL ready of the wisdom he has gained at this point. I again disagree with this. He still will need to do what every other QB does when drafted and go through training and spend hours and hours and hours learning how to become a traditional style QB. By the time he has that perfected and is ready to start he will already be in his 30's. By this point, I do not doubt he will become a decent NFL starting QB but nothing more. Once he reaches this point, you'll have him at this level for 4-6 years which to me is not worth a first round pick. Another thing scouts have question marks about is his tendency to stare down one receiver which is a contributing factor as to why he had 26 turnovers in his 2 full seasons as a starting QB. 

Bottom line, his age, the talent he had surrounded himself with in his 2 seasons at Oklahoma State, and the history of the Big XII for producing duds in the NFL at QB are the 3 main reasons I don't think any team should invest in Weeden as a 1st round pick. 2nd-3rd is much more reasonable as I could see him in Cleveland or the Broncos with all of the uncertainty around Peyton Manning's durability. One thing I need to go ahead and mention is that although I am discrediting Big XII QBs why haven't I addressed RG3 then? RG3, in my eyes, is a very interesting prospect and unlike millions across the country, I have heard of and been watching him play since his freshman year. He has been impressive in his time at Baylor and despite being at Baylor university, still set milestones at that position. Although wide receiver Kendall Wright and running back Terrance Ganaway do not receive as much credit as they nearly deserve for their contributions this past season, they were not at that high of a level in the 2010 season and seasons past. RG3 still was a solid contributor in his 2 previous seasons despite the lack of talent around him. Plus, RG3 throws such a beautiful deep pass that I have a very hard time discrediting him.

Do I believe he's going to be as good as most analysts believe? Very hard for me to say since he has always been a playmaker for the Bears. But again, he plays in the Big XII, so if history has taught us anything the last 10 years, it's that the chances do not look good for him. However,  RG3 brings more to the table than a lot of QBs in the past so only time will tell. At the end of the day, Andrew Luck IS the best QB in the draft and the Colts are foolish to draft anyone else 1st overall. Graduate from Stanford, athletic, terrific passer, and has potential to do for the Colts what Peyton Manning did. Again, only time will tell.

J! E! T! S! JETS JETS JETS!

So Tim Tebow is officially going to be a New York Jet as of March 24th at 4 p.m. I was honestly surprised by this outcome since I fully expected he would land in Miami, Florida to be a Dolphin. I'll be honest, after a couple of hours of thinking about it...I realized this is the best fit for Tebow and for his career a well as for Rex Ryan's future. He is going to be put in as a back-up to the 3 year starter, Mark Sanchez. Mark Sanchez is arguably one of the most over-rated players in the NFL and has been babied ever since he was given the starting position. I realize calling Mark Sanchez over rated is humorous for me to say despite the debate surrounding Tebow but that's not the point. Mark Sanchez is officially now set up to either:

A. Step-up in his role as a leader and perform to the level his contract shows he should be doing. Or

B. For Tebowmania, or what some people are now calling Timsanity, to take hold of the Big Apple and become the Jets new starting QB.

In the end, I believe the pressure will crush Mark Sanchez and he will be riding the bench as he watches a winner take the helm of the franchise and lead them on a magical run as he once did in Denver. Another thing I absolutely love about this outcome is the chemistry that will develop between Tim Tebow and Rex Ryan. Although they are two completely different people Rex Ryan was a victim of Tebowmania and knows exactly what Tim is capable of. Rex Ryan is also the type of guy that doesn't care how Tebow is playing the QB position so long as they are winning, which will give Tebow that security to know he isn't constantly battling for his life to keep his starting spot, which will give him more comfort in the position. To me, this is a match made in heaven and provides Tebow with the largest stage in the U.S. to continue on his journey of saving souls. Once he becomes a starter (which I predict will be mid-season going into their 9th game) the morale in the locker room will slowly, but surely change. I don't believe the Jets will be holding Bible studies or going on mission trips but they will have the magic and belief the Broncos once had last season, but there will be more of it.

Tebow now has the backing of a REAL top 5 defense and with a more talented and experienced receiving corp. By the end of the Jets 2012 regular season, Tebow will have a record between 6-2, 5-2, or even 5-3 (depending on when he is started), leading them to a win in the wildcard round at the Denver Broncos but will fall short in the Divisonal round to the Baltimore Ravens. Depending on when Rex Ryan is ready to change the tradition of the New York Jets and out of the shadows of the New York Football Giants and start Tebow is when their playoff run will start. The difference is, Tebow will  develop as a passer and I believe he will complete over 50% of his passes. Does that make him an elite QB? No. But it makes him more consistent and what people underestimate and forget is that Tim Tebow has made a living out of proving people wrong and works harder than 99% of the players in the NFL. He will become a consistent passer and in his second year with the Jets will be completing 59% of his passes. Book it.

Despite all of this, I will still be rooting hard for my Denver Broncos as they now have secured a playoff spot for the next 3-4 seasons, so long as Peyton Manning is healthy. Although, if Manning falls to injury, and the Broncos hit a losing streak, I will be slightly satisfied as I watch John Elway fall to his knees knowing the mistake he made and hopefully see an over-rated John Fox lose his job. In the way they handled and treated Tebow, despite my love for the player, would have been wrong no matter who it was. Their actions went against every word they had both said regarding their belief in Tim Tebow and if they never believed in him, they never should have given him the impression otherwise. As this drama slows down and Tebow signs with the Jets, I will start writing about other sports stories rather than just Tim Tebow. What I do know is, with Linsanity and Timsanity in the same state, that makes my love for New York grow by more levels than ever imagined.

The First and Surely not the last blog about sports. And Tebow

So I've thought about publishing a blog but decided against it many times but after all of the Denver Bronco drama I just feel like I have to put my thoughts somewhere that doesn't fill peoples news feeds with sports talk. So today Peyton Manning announced he will be opening negotiating with the Denver Broncos, something that I had sadly been hoping wouldn't happen. My mind said Manning but my heart said to keep my man crush Tim Tebow. After all, I had been a Denver Bronco fan for as long as I can remember and Tebow took us on a magical run and a playoff win I had not experienced since 05 when we were one game away from the Super Bowl.

So how do I officially feel? Great move by John Elway and John Fox. Two men who never believed in Tim Tebow as a long term solution and the only way you'll ever get away with trading or releasing a man that made your franchise relevant is to bring in a guy who is arguably one of the greatest QB's of all time. I even have a hard time ripping John Elway for this, as the Broncos now have a secure spot in the playoffs for the remainder of Peyton's career. One thing Peyton will realize is that he is now apart of a team that is falling apart and is highly overrated.

I hear a lot of,"Tebow's 8-5 campaign had a lot to do with the Bronco's defense and Von Miller!" My problem with this argument is Denver's defense was ranked 24th in total yards and scoring on defense, 18th against the run, and 22nd against the pass. The defense many want to crown as "Top 10" did not even finish in the top half of the league in any category.  I'll take this a step further and dissect the games the defense receives a lot of credit. I'll just summarize the wins over the Dolphins, Chiefs, Jets, Chargers, and the Bears. The only impressive performance defensively against any of these opponents is holding the Chargers to 13. Every other performance is not impressive in the slightest. Why should this defense be deemed "good" for holding, what was, a winless Miami team to 15, The Chiefs to 10 and 7 in both meetings, and 13 to the the lowly Jets offense?  Not to mention the lifeless Bears that after losing Jay Cutler lost 5 out of 6 games without him and did nothing but put up low numbers offensively. That Broncos defense SHOULD hold these teams to low numbers. Just because they did doesn't make them "good". It makes them average. Don't get me wrong, the defense did keep the Broncos in a few of the Broncos wins, but they are not the sole reason they won. Where was this "good" defense when they faced the piss poor Minnesota Vikings where Christian Ponder looked like Brett Favre throwing for a Viking rookie record of 381? This defense has been blown off the field for 30+ point games 6 times in 18 games. This is why I am unimpressed with the defense of the Denver Broncos.

Where do I think Tebow will land? Hard to say. I'd love to have him and Manning in Denver and run an offense similar to the University of Oklahoma's (except with a great passer) and just have Manning run the offense until the Broncos reach 1st and goal or 3rd and short down situations. Throw Tebow in at QB (in OU's case Blake Bell) and have him earn those tough yards. Realistically, I think the best location for him is Miami. After failing to pick up Matt Flynn or Peyton Manning in free agency, the Dolphins have reached out to sign David Gerrard that puts Miami in a very unsure situation. A Miami team where a defense was top 5 in scoring, 15th in total yards, 25th in passing, and 3rd against the run. This team can flourish with Tim Tebow at QB and Miami got hot late in the season and despite starting 0-6, finished the season 6-10. Tebow can sell tickets, lead comebacks, and continue to develop as he can help the Dolphins become a legitimate threat in the AFC. I don't believe Tebow is the piece to dethrone Tom Brady, but Tebow and the Dolphins could definitely earn wildcard spots.

In conclusion, this free agency period and all of the trade talks more than makes up for the lack of any NFL offseason fun due to the lockout last year. Oh, and don't forget, #FreeTebow