Gator Gridiron
Roger Franklin Williams
For those of us who follow football on a 365 day basis, late February and early March brings us to the "Silly Season" of football in America...aka the NFL Combine. The combine is a 3 day period a couple of months before the April draft where top NFL prospects are assembled to perform a variety of absurd tasks such as the shuttle run, triple jump, long jump, high jump, etc. that are ostensibly designed to measure a prospects potential as a professional player. (I guess scouting players during their college careers and watching tape of their on-the-field performances makes too much sense to NFL personnel types....or represents too much work.) After all the poking, prodding, one-on-one interviews, Wonderlik tests, etc. ad nauseum, the determination of the "experts" usually goes something like this, "Tim Tebow just isn't suited to play quarterback in the NFL because he 1) played in a shotgun-spread offense instead of a "pro-style" offense 2) he is not a "pure pocket" passer 3) he leaves the pocket to gain yardage running the ball.... and Emmitt Smith is too small and too slow to ever be an effective NFL running back."
Now that Cam Newton has come along in 2011 we learn that the talented young man with the checkered past is a "can't miss" NFL prospect due to the "benefits" of his style of play at Auburn which include 1) he played in a shotgun-spread offense instead of a "pro-style" offense, 2) he is not a "pure pocket" passer 3) he leaves the pocket to gain yardage running the ball.
Say what??? Cam Newton is being touted as a can't miss prospect by the same exact so-called experts who spent most of 2010 so matter-of-factly declaring that Tim Tebow could never play QB in the NFL, even though Tebow and Cam Newton played in a very similar shotgun-spread offense, neither of them are classic "drop back" passers and they both are noted for being prolific runners as opposed to "pro-style" QBs???
Why would Cam Newton be a better NFL prospect than Tim Tebow?
The intelligent, INFORMED short answer is that Cam Newton IS NOT A BETTER NFL PROSPECT than Tim Tebow.
Mel Kuiper, Jr. and his sad-sack peanut gallery of imitators in the so-called "talent expert" industry have unwittingly exposed their bias, incompetence and malevolence. Gator Gridiron, as well as other informed observers (which, sadly, is a very small community), have been declaring for years that Kuiper and his ilk are not talent "experts" at all. They are, rather, snake oil salesmen, making it up as they go along in order to generate more publicity for themselves, as well as to reward or punish young men, based on their own personal biases (or, reportedly, satisfy other more base motives). Now with their contradictory "analysis" of Tebow and Newton, both dual threat, spread option, shotgun QBs, they have revealed to America how subjective, nebulous and self-serving their "evaluations" really are.
(Also, for the record, if anybody is really thinking out there in NFL land.....Tim Tebow is one of the greatest passing QBs in the 140+ year history of college football: almost 10,000 career passing yards, over 80 career TD passes, the highest passing efficiency rating in SEC history, the 3rd highest passing efficiency rating in NCAA history, the best passing performance in BCS Bowl game history---over 450 yards in the 2010 Sugar Bowl, not to mention he had THREE outstanding years, as opposed to 1 outstanding year for Cam Newton.....not to mention, no arrests for burglary, no arrests for resisting arrest, never caught cheating, never implicated in any "play for pay" schemes, etc, etc, etc)
Thank you, Mel....for showcasing to America what Gator Gridiron and a cadre of other informed observers have known for decades.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
ANOTHER UNDERSERVED, IRRATIONAL INSULT FOR TEBOW
Gator Gridiron
Roger Franklin Williams
New Denver Broncos Head Coach John Fox declared Kyle Orton as his "starting quarterback" on Thursday. (Gee, and I thought Steve Addazio was an idiot.) Putting aside the fact that the term "starting quarterback" in February is about as much of an exact term as the phrase "the check is in the mail", Fox' statement does reflect the mindset of the new leadership of the Broncos. It also represents, temporarily at least, another obstacle for the NFL career of Tim Tebow. Acutally, not just another obstacle, but another irrational, moronic, unfair obstacle. After providing the Broncos with a shot in the arm in the last 3 games of last season, when he led Denver from a 0-17 halftime dedicit to victory in one game, became only the 3rd QB in the history of the National Football League to throw a 30+ yard TD pass and run for a 40+ yard TD in the same game in another while making Denver's final 3 contests competitive as he piled up yardage, first downs and, of course touchdowns, Tebow now has to suffer the indignity of being relegated to 2nd rate status once again. (Tebow accounted for 13 touchdowns in his minscule time on the field---3 games as a starter---while the "starting quarterback" Orton accounted for a total of 20 in 13 games while going a scintillating 3-10 as "the starter".)
What's wrong with these idiots in the NFL? Or, more specifically, Denver?
The answer to that is complex, but mixed among the complexity are some elements of the base,dark side of the human condition. For example, longtime observers of the NFL, such as Gator Gridiron, are keenly aware that the NFL provides a textbook example of that insidious corporate disease "group think". The price, or at least the perceived price, for failure--losing your job--is so high that those in positions of authority over personnel decisions fall back on tangible qualities such as 40 yard dash times and results of such arcane exercises as the shuttle run (whatever that is). For quarterbacks there is only one accepted style of play and that is the classic drop back passer model. Any player who dares to deviate from the accepted template of physical appearance or playing style is shunned by the group (player personnel types/front office executives/coaches). No one has the originality or courage or integrity to break away from the group norm and accept the common sense notion that there is not just one way to play quarterback....even when outstanding, successful, winning play is being demonstrated right before their very eyes!
New Denver coach John Fox is apparantly another one of these sad-sack, cold, gray souls who lacks the discernment or courage to step outside the "group-think" norm of the other nameless, faceless corporate NFL drones.
DOES ELWAY FEEL THREATENED?
Alas, in Denver, Tim has ANOTHER non-performance related obstacle in his path---former Hall-of-Fame QB and Denver icon John Elway. At first glance Gator Gridiron felt that having Elway more involved would be beneficial to Tim....seeing how Elway faced some of the same frustrations that Tebow has endured when he (Elway) came into the league. Elway--admittedly more of a "drop back" passer than Tebow-- came under fire, nevertheless, for his propensity to abandon the pocket and run to buy time or gain yardage; the same complaint so often hurled at Tim. Elway, however, seems to be another Tebow detractor.....perplexing....until one reflects back to the before mentioned "base, dark side" of human nature. As the resident "All time Greatest Bronco", maybe John Elway understands, in an innate kind of way, that status is a LOT safer with Kyle Orton as starting QB than with Tim Tebow.
Roger Franklin Williams
New Denver Broncos Head Coach John Fox declared Kyle Orton as his "starting quarterback" on Thursday. (Gee, and I thought Steve Addazio was an idiot.) Putting aside the fact that the term "starting quarterback" in February is about as much of an exact term as the phrase "the check is in the mail", Fox' statement does reflect the mindset of the new leadership of the Broncos. It also represents, temporarily at least, another obstacle for the NFL career of Tim Tebow. Acutally, not just another obstacle, but another irrational, moronic, unfair obstacle. After providing the Broncos with a shot in the arm in the last 3 games of last season, when he led Denver from a 0-17 halftime dedicit to victory in one game, became only the 3rd QB in the history of the National Football League to throw a 30+ yard TD pass and run for a 40+ yard TD in the same game in another while making Denver's final 3 contests competitive as he piled up yardage, first downs and, of course touchdowns, Tebow now has to suffer the indignity of being relegated to 2nd rate status once again. (Tebow accounted for 13 touchdowns in his minscule time on the field---3 games as a starter---while the "starting quarterback" Orton accounted for a total of 20 in 13 games while going a scintillating 3-10 as "the starter".)
What's wrong with these idiots in the NFL? Or, more specifically, Denver?
The answer to that is complex, but mixed among the complexity are some elements of the base,dark side of the human condition. For example, longtime observers of the NFL, such as Gator Gridiron, are keenly aware that the NFL provides a textbook example of that insidious corporate disease "group think". The price, or at least the perceived price, for failure--losing your job--is so high that those in positions of authority over personnel decisions fall back on tangible qualities such as 40 yard dash times and results of such arcane exercises as the shuttle run (whatever that is). For quarterbacks there is only one accepted style of play and that is the classic drop back passer model. Any player who dares to deviate from the accepted template of physical appearance or playing style is shunned by the group (player personnel types/front office executives/coaches). No one has the originality or courage or integrity to break away from the group norm and accept the common sense notion that there is not just one way to play quarterback....even when outstanding, successful, winning play is being demonstrated right before their very eyes!
New Denver coach John Fox is apparantly another one of these sad-sack, cold, gray souls who lacks the discernment or courage to step outside the "group-think" norm of the other nameless, faceless corporate NFL drones.
DOES ELWAY FEEL THREATENED?
Alas, in Denver, Tim has ANOTHER non-performance related obstacle in his path---former Hall-of-Fame QB and Denver icon John Elway. At first glance Gator Gridiron felt that having Elway more involved would be beneficial to Tim....seeing how Elway faced some of the same frustrations that Tebow has endured when he (Elway) came into the league. Elway--admittedly more of a "drop back" passer than Tebow-- came under fire, nevertheless, for his propensity to abandon the pocket and run to buy time or gain yardage; the same complaint so often hurled at Tim. Elway, however, seems to be another Tebow detractor.....perplexing....until one reflects back to the before mentioned "base, dark side" of human nature. As the resident "All time Greatest Bronco", maybe John Elway understands, in an innate kind of way, that status is a LOT safer with Kyle Orton as starting QB than with Tim Tebow.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
INTRIGUING NEW OC FOR GATORS
Of the many new plot lines for Gator Football this coming seasoson, the dramatic change in the Offensive Coordinator coaching position is one of the most intriguing. At first glance the Gators go from a self-promoting, incompetent, in-over-his-head, career damaging (Tim Tebow), career destroying (John Brantley,Urban Meyer), meathead (Steve Addazio) to one of the most accomplished offensive minds in the game (Charlie Weis). From a guy who parlayed a middling career as an offensive line coach into a position of commanding the fabled Florida Gator offense, then taking that offense, along with careers of John Brantley and Urban Meyer down into the depths of the Atlantic to a guy who helped to groom a player who will go down as of the greatest NFL QB's of all-time (Tom Brady), while directing an offense that picked up 3 Super Bowl rings. What a dramatic step up....at least on the surface. A closer look, however, produces a more somber perspective. For example, Weis' greatest successes have taken place in the professional ranks; the NFL and college football are dramatically different, to the point of being almost two different games. In Gainesville Weis won't be teaching his complex pro-style offense to professional, experienced men, but to teenagers and college kids, some of them immature and others still learning to develop a professional work ethic off-the-field while balancing the rigors of college life, the Gainesville "social scene" and the challenge of being away from home for the first time. The new OC with the gold-plated resume will also be living in a much different geographical/cultural milieu. Will Weis, a self-proclaimed "Jersey Guy" known for his gruff exterior who has spent the bulk of his life and career in the Northeast be comfortable coaching college kids in the rural small town South? I mean, Gainesville ain't exactly South Beach...or even Tampa or Orlando, for that matter. It is important to note that even though Weis did not ultimately succeed at Notre Dame as head coach, his offense was consistently highly productive and he groomed two QB's who were early round NFL draft choices.
How will Charlie Weis do as Florida Gator Offensive Coordinator? Will he produce a newer, more high-tech 21st Century version of the exciting, high flying offense that has characterized Florida Football, for the most part, since Steve Spurrier's arrival as a Soph QB in 1964? Or will he struggle to adjust to a different social/cultural/regional climate while attempting the difficult process of teaching young college players the nuances of his sophisticated, professional system? Like just about every other aspect of the dramatic recent changes in Florida Gator Football; only time will tell.
How will Charlie Weis do as Florida Gator Offensive Coordinator? Will he produce a newer, more high-tech 21st Century version of the exciting, high flying offense that has characterized Florida Football, for the most part, since Steve Spurrier's arrival as a Soph QB in 1964? Or will he struggle to adjust to a different social/cultural/regional climate while attempting the difficult process of teaching young college players the nuances of his sophisticated, professional system? Like just about every other aspect of the dramatic recent changes in Florida Gator Football; only time will tell.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
GATOR FANS EAGERLY AWAIT SPRING FOOTBALL
Gator Gridiron
Roger Franklin Williams
With the start of spring football just around the corner--first day of practice is March 16--Gator fans across Florida and across the country are filled with various degress of anticipation, optimism and anxiety.
As Gator Gridiron has discussed the upcoming first glance at the new Gator regime with other Gators, we have heard a variety of very interesting questions (in addition to posing a few or our own). We'll share a sample with you today...
"Gee, can't wait to see what Coach Will and his staff have in store on offense and defense!"..."Isn't it great to land a guy with the impressive pro offensive credentials of Charlie Weis?"..."What will the new offense look like?"..."How will Senior QB John Brantley perform with new coaches and a more pass friendly system?"..."Will highly touted Freshman QB Jeff Driskel compete for playing time or even emerge as the starter?"..."And what about prize, surprise recruit Jacoby Bissette?...will he compete for the starting job?"..."What about last years QB's Trey Burton and Josh Reed; how do they fit in?" ......
..."Gee, I hope Jeremy knows what he is doing bringing in a young HC with no head coaching experience...."..."Is Will Muschamp really the man to keep the Gators at the highest echelon of college football--competing for the SEC Championship every year and for National Championships on a regular basis?...I mean he looks so young..."..."Will a crusty (some call him abrasive), self-proclaimed 'Jersey Guy' , Weis, who who struggled as a college head coach at Notre Dame really fit in college, especially in the SEC?" "Will Brantley stick around for his Senior year or transfer?
These questions and scores, if not hundreds, of others abound throughout Gator Nation. In the coming days Gator Gridiron will begin to share our thoughts on some of the possible answers...as well as pose a few more of our own....until then, we'll cotinue to be content....ecstatic actually...by focusing on our own rhetorical question,
"Isn't it great that that incompetent meathead Addazio has been expunged from Gator Nation???!!!! Yes!!!!!
Roger Franklin Williams
With the start of spring football just around the corner--first day of practice is March 16--Gator fans across Florida and across the country are filled with various degress of anticipation, optimism and anxiety.
As Gator Gridiron has discussed the upcoming first glance at the new Gator regime with other Gators, we have heard a variety of very interesting questions (in addition to posing a few or our own). We'll share a sample with you today...
"Gee, can't wait to see what Coach Will and his staff have in store on offense and defense!"..."Isn't it great to land a guy with the impressive pro offensive credentials of Charlie Weis?"..."What will the new offense look like?"..."How will Senior QB John Brantley perform with new coaches and a more pass friendly system?"..."Will highly touted Freshman QB Jeff Driskel compete for playing time or even emerge as the starter?"..."And what about prize, surprise recruit Jacoby Bissette?...will he compete for the starting job?"..."What about last years QB's Trey Burton and Josh Reed; how do they fit in?" ......
..."Gee, I hope Jeremy knows what he is doing bringing in a young HC with no head coaching experience...."..."Is Will Muschamp really the man to keep the Gators at the highest echelon of college football--competing for the SEC Championship every year and for National Championships on a regular basis?...I mean he looks so young..."..."Will a crusty (some call him abrasive), self-proclaimed 'Jersey Guy' , Weis, who who struggled as a college head coach at Notre Dame really fit in college, especially in the SEC?" "Will Brantley stick around for his Senior year or transfer?
These questions and scores, if not hundreds, of others abound throughout Gator Nation. In the coming days Gator Gridiron will begin to share our thoughts on some of the possible answers...as well as pose a few more of our own....until then, we'll cotinue to be content....ecstatic actually...by focusing on our own rhetorical question,
"Isn't it great that that incompetent meathead Addazio has been expunged from Gator Nation???!!!! Yes!!!!!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
GRIDIRON GATOR: AHMAD BLACK IS A GREAT NFL PROSPECT
Gridiron Gator
Roger Franklin Williams
Unlike 2010 when the Gators produced 13 players who appeared on NFL rosters during the 2011 season, Gainesville is not exactly a hot spot for NFL scouts for this years NFL draft. With the 2010 Senior class picked clean last year with 5 juniors leaving school to pursue their NFL dreams, only a couple of draft eligible players from last fall seem to excite NFL scouts. The concensus top Gator prospect, at least among NFL personnel types, seems to be Michael Pouncey, who will mercifully return to his natural position of OG in the pros. NFL draft-niks also seem excited by Will Hill as a prospect at S. Let's hope Will achieves more in "The League" than he did as a Gator.
The "Gator Gridiron" top prospect is an instinctive, hard hitting, "always around the ball", Safety from Lakeland High; Ahmad Black. Ahmad Black is not only one of the most underrated Gators in the last 50 years, he is one of the Greatest Gator players of the last half-century. From his first game as a starter vs Hawaii in 2008, where he provided a highlight reel of big plays, including multiple turnovers, the hard-nosed DB was always around the ball, whether the ball was in the air, on the ground or in a running backs hands. Hard hits, big plays, more that his share of interceptions, fumble recoverys and fumbles caused and smart, intelligent, instinctive play is what Gator fans, coaches and teammates received from Ahmad Black on a weekly basis over the course of his 3 year career as a starter in the Gator secondary. Of course, the (self proclaimed) "experts" , Mel Kuiper, Jr and Todd "Suzie" McShay don't think much of Ahmad Black..... which makes sense since those particular "experts" have a truly astounding track record of being wrong. (Of course, astute observers know that Kuiper is not an authentic personnel "expert" at all, but a flim-flam man--someone who has taken an extraordinary talent for skillful self-promotion, hype and irrelevant bs and made a career out of trashing achievers who have genuine talent such as Tim Tebow, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, etc.
The Gator Gridiron evaluation is this; I don't know Ahmad Black's time in the shuttle-run, how many times he can bench press 200 pounds or what he does in the verticle leap. What I do know is this, Ahmad Black is a FOOTBALL PLAYER; and not just a football player, but a great one. He has instinct, quickness, playmaking ability, football IQ, heart and guts. Ahmad Black was a great Gator and he will be an outsanding football player in the National Football League.
Roger Franklin Williams
Unlike 2010 when the Gators produced 13 players who appeared on NFL rosters during the 2011 season, Gainesville is not exactly a hot spot for NFL scouts for this years NFL draft. With the 2010 Senior class picked clean last year with 5 juniors leaving school to pursue their NFL dreams, only a couple of draft eligible players from last fall seem to excite NFL scouts. The concensus top Gator prospect, at least among NFL personnel types, seems to be Michael Pouncey, who will mercifully return to his natural position of OG in the pros. NFL draft-niks also seem excited by Will Hill as a prospect at S. Let's hope Will achieves more in "The League" than he did as a Gator.
The "Gator Gridiron" top prospect is an instinctive, hard hitting, "always around the ball", Safety from Lakeland High; Ahmad Black. Ahmad Black is not only one of the most underrated Gators in the last 50 years, he is one of the Greatest Gator players of the last half-century. From his first game as a starter vs Hawaii in 2008, where he provided a highlight reel of big plays, including multiple turnovers, the hard-nosed DB was always around the ball, whether the ball was in the air, on the ground or in a running backs hands. Hard hits, big plays, more that his share of interceptions, fumble recoverys and fumbles caused and smart, intelligent, instinctive play is what Gator fans, coaches and teammates received from Ahmad Black on a weekly basis over the course of his 3 year career as a starter in the Gator secondary. Of course, the (self proclaimed) "experts" , Mel Kuiper, Jr and Todd "Suzie" McShay don't think much of Ahmad Black..... which makes sense since those particular "experts" have a truly astounding track record of being wrong. (Of course, astute observers know that Kuiper is not an authentic personnel "expert" at all, but a flim-flam man--someone who has taken an extraordinary talent for skillful self-promotion, hype and irrelevant bs and made a career out of trashing achievers who have genuine talent such as Tim Tebow, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, etc.
The Gator Gridiron evaluation is this; I don't know Ahmad Black's time in the shuttle-run, how many times he can bench press 200 pounds or what he does in the verticle leap. What I do know is this, Ahmad Black is a FOOTBALL PLAYER; and not just a football player, but a great one. He has instinct, quickness, playmaking ability, football IQ, heart and guts. Ahmad Black was a great Gator and he will be an outsanding football player in the National Football League.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)