A College Phenomenon...

Here of late, most football topics in the NFL surround the Denver Broncos but most importantly their questionable franchise quarterback, Tim Tebow. I want to start this story by stating that I think Tim Tebow is one the greatest college quarterbacks to ever take snaps on Saturdays. What he did at Florida is nothing short of magnificent. He is just a great guy. A man that makes you want to raise your child using Tebow as the model. He is a faith based guy. He is a man that possesses great character, leadership and a work ethic that most people can only envy. I said on numerous occasions that I wish he would hurry up and graduate so that I can go back to hating Florida. Watching him play the game was an inspiration, but I have my doubts when it comes to be being a great NFL quarterback.

When this is bitter topic is brought up around pro-Tebow fans their first reply is “He’s a winner.” Yes he won in college but take into consideration that Chris Leake won a national title at Florida as well while every year there is a quarterback that wins a national title but will never be good at the NFL level. Then, of course, the counter is he is winning in the NFL. Many people of today reference back to the Miami game, a game that Tebow was horrible in until the final 5 minutes of the game. “He ignited his team to keep playing and to win.” I personally believe the recovered on side kick was what ignited the Broncos to rally back and defeat the winless Dolphins. Even after the onside kick, the offensive play that put them into position to win the game was a bad throw to a receiver that made one hell of an adjustment to catch it. Yes, they won that game but they came out the following Sunday and got embarrassed by a good Detroit Lions team, but they turn around and defeat the surging Oakland Raiders that are struggling with the loss of franchise player Darren McFadden and questionable Carson Palmer at quarterback. The wins in his young NFL career do not provide enough evidence that he can consistently win.

The reason I cannot see him being a good quarterback much less an elite is the fact that his throwing mechanics are horrible. “Who cares about his throwing motion?” I do if your bad mechanics are resulting in horrible throws. Being that I am firm believer in numbers, especially at the professional level, I put a lot of stock into his very sub-par statistics. In Tebow’s career, he has a 48% passing completion rate while posting a 46% rate this season. Those are horrible but they are even worse when you take into consideration that his average pass attempt is only 6 yards. So basically he has a horrible completion rate when most of his passes attempted should be out of the roof. Some present the argument that not all successful quarterbacks have a smooth throwing motion such as Phillip Rivers but his motion does not affect his passing ability obviously because Rivers has posted some pretty respectable numbers throughout his career.

Timmy’s true strength as a quarterback is his raw athletic ability which produces good running skills. He is only second behind Michael Vick in quarterback rushing game average with 50 yards per game, but the thing that worries me about his running numbers is that they are designed running plays like his college system not scrambles. What makes Vick so dangerous is the fact that his runs come from great coverage so he tucks it and runs for daylight without taking any hard licks. Tebow’s running game is, again, by design and the NFL proves every year that with time and film they can shut down those plays. The zone read is a very popular play for him, and in Atlanta, they ran the same play for Vick but the success was only for a few games before it started getting shut down. Not to mention, the Falcons only used a couple of times a game as a wrinkle unlike Denver who uses it as a staple play. I see his strength as a temporary fix, not a long term solution.

Is Tebow the most overrated quarterback in the NFL? No. Simply because young guns like Sanchez are being protected by scheme so you do not know how he would do in a situation like Denver. He is not being forced to win the game only being asked to manage it because the Jets win by running and defense. Is he the most talked about? Yes. The attention on Tebow is built up by the media because he is so much fun to talk about. He was a college phenomenon and is a young player that raises a lot of questions. I wish Tebow all the success in the world, but I do not view him as great NFL quarterback. He needs to be with an organization that has a coach that can mold quarterbacks but even then I think he is a long shot. I do not wish to see him fail. I want him to prove me wrong because he would be great for football. The image he brings to the table is one that is needed in a world that is stereotyped as thugs and criminals.

Houston, we lost a Nutt.

The Houston Nutt era will come to an end in Oxford November 26 after the annual Egg Bowl against Mississippi State. This announced resignation comes to no surprise to me. Nutt experienced moderate success when he first took over the Ole Miss program but the last few seasons have been no fairy tale while in the middle of a 12 loss streak in SEC games. Why was he not successful? Well, like any other coach in college football one has to be able to recruit. Based on ESPN’s recruiting rankings, Ole Miss’s 2009 class was ranked #22 while his 2010 and 2011 classes were both ranked at #25. One may say that a consistent top 25 recruiting class is pretty remarkable and that person is correct but when you are coaching in the SEC then your perspective of a top recruiting class is slightly modified. In 2009, LSU had the #1 recruiting class while Alabama was #2, Florida #5, Georgia #6, South Carolina #12, Tennessee #15 and Arkansas # 20. Similar numbers are reflected for the ’10 and ’11 classes, but the 2012 class rankings right now do not even have them sniffing the top 25 while Vanderbilt has moved into #25. If you cannot recruit, you cannot win. That is plain and simple. Nobody cares how good of an Xs and Os guy you are if you cannot get the talent into your institution.

 Many feel like they had a good head coach under David Cutcliffe. He was the QB coach and Offensive coordinator for Peyton Manning, while being Eli Manning’s head coach at Ole Miss. He was fired because he did not want to fire some of assistants after administration wanted them gone so they get rid of him one year removed from tying the eventual National Champion LSU for the West division lead. They then hired Ed Orgeron who proved to be a bust and was fired. After two firings, Nutt was hired after being let go by Arkansas. This marks Ole Miss’s 3^rd firing in a matter of years. Sounds like to me that it is OIe Miss’s administration problem…maybe that explains Athletic Director Pete Boone is scheduled to resign this summer.

Who does Ole Miss hire? Who do they bring in to bail them out? There is a lot of pressure building because they have add a very disappointing past few years while most importantly in state rival Mississippi State has one of the best coaches in the country and has pointed that program in the right direction. I have two thoughts when it comes to this position. They can either bring in a hot shit coordinator with no coaching experience or an up and coming Head coach from a smaller program. Names like Jon Gruden, Urban Meyer and Chris Peterson will arise but those three will have zero interest because they are established coaches that have no business trying to rebuild a program.

Here is a small list that I have composed of each thought.

Coordinators

1)      Gus Malzahn. Gus was highly regarded as a star last year as the OC for Auburn but of course he did have Cam Newton to run his offense. He made it to the final round for the Vanderbilt job before he reportedly back out. I feel like he knew Vanderbilt would be struggle not because of recent lack of success but because of the academic standards. Academic standards? This is a problem that can be waived at Ole Miss.

2)      Kirby Smart. Kirby is having one hell of a run at Alabama but is that more him or defensive guru Nick Saban? This is a good question. One that has to be recognized if his name comes into discussion. How has Saban’s tree done so far? Fisher, Dooley and Muschamp. You be the judge.

3)      Manny Diaz. Diaz is the DC Texas under Mack Brown. He has extensive recruiting knowledge of Texas obviously but he has experience in the area being with Mid-Tenn. He is definitely a wild card to me because he has yet to prove he can stay on one spot for more than a few years for whatever reasons. Why do you hire a guy to build a program when his track record suggests that he will leave for a better opportunity?

Small Head Coaches

1)      Bronco Mendenhall. Bronco has experienced a large amount of success at BYU which really impressive because of the academic standards and other things that a coach has to deal with when recruiting. I believe he would be a great fit at Ole Miss. They have a chance of getting him because of the money. Their yearly salary will be much more than what BYU can offer.

2)      Sonny Dykes. Though his win/loss record at LaTech is not attention getting, he has lost a few games this season by one score or less incluing the near upset of Miss. St. The reason I like Dykes is because of his offensive scheme. He is a product of Mumme and Leach which is extremely important because Leach is one of the hottest coaches available but nobody wants the baggage he brings. Dykes brings Leach’s high scoring offense (which has worked in the SEC before at Kentucky) and a progressive mindset.  I really like this fit.

3)      Hugh Freeze. Anyone remember the coach from the Blindside? Not all the college coaches. The high school guy. The one that also got a job at Ole Miss after Michael Oher signed to play for the Rebels. Yeah, he has apparently made some noise in the “Young coaches with huge upside” category. He turned around a traditional loser NAIA program while is experiencing great success at Arkansas state as a first year head coach. He has the success, head coaching experience and most importantly he has ties with Ole Miss and their boosters.

Its Time for a Change

As I sit back and enjoy the two best teams in the country slug it out like Ali and Frazier, I cannot help but to think that the team that leaves Bryant-Denny Stadium tonight with the loss will be robbed of what they rightfully have earned up to tonight. LSU and Alabama are the two best teams in the country without any doubt while the number three is not even close, but the loser will not have an opportunity to play for the national championship. It is horrible if one actually thinks about it. Why do we continue to be enslaved to a system that is flawed? As a one in a million spectator, I cannot change it and niether can you, but the people that can should watch this game and rethink their viewpoints. A very respected person from inside college football told me that though he thinks the system is flawed, it will never change because at the end of the day money made off of the BCS bowls does the walking while a players hardwork and dedication does the walking. I am not making this statement because I believe that I have the solution, I am speaking my opinion because the current system is not working.

The BCS system was an improvement from the old system but time has passed it by and there has to be a change. It is time for an improvement once again. College football is the greatest game in the world. The atmosphere, the traditions and the pride is what makes everyone excited about Saturdays in the fall no matter what school you attend or who you cheer for. We all, as college students, are affected in some form or fashion from the outcome of the game. I feel like this imprisonment we are in is because off all the wrong reasons and it is sickening. I am asking the people that have the opportunity to change it for the best to get over themselves. Choke your pride. Overcome your stubborness. Make your decision with the best interest of college football in mind.