Tampa Bay Sports Fanatic

Francisco Cervelli

2008-03-12T19:05:00.001-04:00

Barry Bonds to Rays: Fair or Foul?

2008-03-02T19:27:00.003-05:00

As I'm sure many of you know, rumors were swirling last week that the Tampa Bay Rays were showing interest in signing Barry Lamar Bonds. Now, my initial reaction was: that's just stupid!

Upon further review, though, it's not as stupid as you might think.

Financially, it makes a lot of sense for the team, provided Bonds isn't looking to make the $16 million that he made last year, an amount that he is no longer worth. Bonds is a draw. There's no way around that. People will come to see Bonds play. He holds the record for most HR's in a career. And there's no denying that Rays' attendance hasn't been very good. According to http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/rays3.shtml, in 2007 the Rays had 1,389,031 in attendance for the season. That is almost HALF the average of other A.L. teams according to that same source. Now, a lot of that has to do with poor performance of the team overall. Average attendance is almost half of what it was when the team debuted. The Rays have a young team with a lot of upside, but they need somebody to DRAW people to the stadium. Bonds could be that guy.

Now, as to the competitive aspects. Bonds would likely slot into a DH spot for an A.L. team, allowing him to focus on what he's best at now that his head has swollen 3 times it's original size: hitting. And make no mistake, he's still very good at that, and he's better then Jonny Gomes, the guy who has filled the role for the Rays. Gomes hit .244 with 17 HR's and 49 RBI in 107 games. Bonds last season hit .276 with 26 HR's and 66 RBI's in 126 games. More importantly, Bonds had a .480 OBP (BETTER then his career average) and .565 Slugging %. Comparatively, Gomes had .322 OBP and .460 Slugging %.

So, when you break it down, it makes a lot of sense both financially and competitively for the Rays. However, in the end, I'd still likely say it would be "foul" for the Rays to sign him. The so-called extracurriculars surrounding Bonds could likely end up poisoning what is a young and therefore easily influenced team. The steroid cloud, the perjury investigation, and the huge ego that comes along with Bonds would likely hinder the teams development as well as chemistry, and Bonds could negate any advantage brought by Bonds.

National Signing Day 2008

2008-02-05T16:13:00.000-05:00

National Signing Day is finally upon us. Schools all over the country have been courting this high school kids for over a year and it all comes down to today. Rivals.com has the Gators at number 1 right now, but there is talk that the Gators could lose two of their commits. Offensive Lineman Ricky Barnum made a trip to Michigan last weekend and is said to be torn between the two programs, and Defensive Back Ramon Buchanon made a trip to Miami this past weekend and is still deciding as well. While it would be nice to have both of them in the class, even if they lose both the Gators will have another top recruiting class under Urban Meyer.

The classes will become official starting around 8 am. Other than the 2 commits that are now debating, the Gators are not looking to any surprises in the class. Meyer has another solid class and has moved onto the 2009 class already.

While the Gators are pretty set in their class and are not waiting on anyone, the same cannot be said for other schools across the country. Alabama has gotten a huge influx of recruits in the past couple of days and are now number 2 in rivals.com class rankings. The number 1 recruit in the country, Terelle Pryor, will finally make his long awaited decision between Michigan and Ohio State. Michigan has pushed very hard for his services, but I think in the end he will be a Buckeye.

Today will be a huge day for college football and high school players across the country. We will try and keep it updated all day.

18-1*

2008-02-04T22:28:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, Adam's been pretty busy, and he asked if I'd be interested in helping out with this blog, and I thought "Why the hell not? Maybe my thoughts will look smarter on the screen then they do when I speak." Well, as a brief background, I'm more of a New York sports fan in a lot of ways, I was born there. I'm a Mets fan (sigh), a Knicks fan (bigger sigh), and a Giants fan. So obviously I'm in a pretty good place right now. I'm a pretty avid Fantasy Football player and I follow most of what is going on in sports. I'll try and keep most of my posts here to Tampa Bay related stuff, but for my first post...

My first post I'm going to use to talk about the Super Bowl, which was just an incredible game and an incredible experience. I'm sure most of the readers here are Bucs fans, and so now I know what you guys felt like a few years ago. On to the game!

A lot of polarizing thoughts with this game, people either wanted to see 19-0 or they wanted to see those dirty cheating bastards go down in flames. And go down they did. What a game. Ebb and flow, Tom Brady's pretty boy arse getting planted into the turf every other play (or at least, that's what it felt like), and Eli Manning outplaying the Golden Boy, especially when it counted most. You know it's got to hurt Brady to lose to a Manning in the last game of each of the past two seasons.

I don't know what my favorite part was during most of the game: the constant pressure on Brady, Eli outplaying Brady, or the awkward movements and facial gestures of Peyton Manning in that private booth. You'd think he was the Giants O-Coordinator for all the times they showed him on screen.

What are they going to call that unbelievable play where Manning escaped three defensive linemen and heaved it to David Tyree, who caught it with one hand and one helmet? The Manning Miracle? The Legend Killer? I have no idea what to call it, just like I had no idea how it happened at first. It was one of those "All-Time" type of plays.

And, finally, we get to the Patriots. The funny thing is that their entire season (which started amidst cheating accusations) means NOTHING. Without a championship, it means nothing to go 18-1. It's such an incredible sounding record, and it means nothing. Not tomention the accusations that surfaced this week surrounding the Pats taping the Rams' practices before their upset of the dominant St. Louis Rams. So now it looks like we're not only going to be putting an asterisk on their season, but maybe their entire dynasty...Bill Belichick's little Gestappo Kingdom that he keeps shrouded in secrecy seems to be crumbling around him. He's lost his perfect season and it looks like his genius label may have been based off cheating.

Not only that, but I get to read Bill Simmons' again with a sneer on my face. Maybe now he can stop knob-slobbing everything that comes out of Boston.

Anyway, I'll always remember this doofy looking goober winning a Super Bowl for my team, and for taking out the team that was already pronounced as the "Best Team Ever."

I've never been so happy to hear Mercury Morris be obnoxious.

My Apologies -- Busy

2008-01-30T00:28:00.001-05:00

This has been me for the last half a month. I have been busy and was not able to post. That will stop now and you can expect much more posting going on in the coming weeks. I have new help with the site coming in. Mike Novak will be helping me out and will have some very informative articles on all the things we do here. For those loyal readers who have been coming and not seeing anything new I apologize. We will get stuff up and new things will be ready very soon.

Valero Speaks Out; Can We Take Off the Petwer Glasses Now?

2008-01-13T14:59:00.000-05:00

Ever since Jon Gruden has been the head coach of the Buccaneers there have been negative rumblings about him after players and coaches have left. The comments have come from all sorts of players and coaches. Most of the comments have been behind closed doors and fans only hear about them from certain news media who rely it. Many fans have refused to believe any of the "rumors", and continue to blindly support Gruden claiming that these are just rumors and are made up by Gruden haters. Will Art Valero's public comments he made on the way out change anyone's mind? For intelligent fans yes, but for the fans still wearing the glasses, probably not.

Valero, who was offered an extension, but turned it down, told reporters that it will be nice to work for someone that you know will not changes things as you go down the hall. Valero further went on to discuss how there are some great players and coaches here, but Gruden was not one he mentioned. You can tell that Valero did not want to be here, and hinted that there are others that feel the same way. This is nothing new when it comes to Jon Gruden and how he treats people around him. Have Bucs fans not noticed just how many players and coaches have left this team within the past couple years only to go on and have success on other teams?

What will it take for people to realize that it is not the talent on the team, but the head coach himself? Even Jeff Garcia, who everyone loves and says is "Gruden's" QB, commented on the fact that we did not need to go out and get more talent, but we needed to use the talent already on the team. Maybe if the Bucs were to lose a key figure head of the team, like Monte Kiffen? Kiffen wants an extension and wants to be here in Tampa, but he is not getting the offer he wants, nor deserves. His name is now being mentioned with teams from Atlanta to Oakland. Whatever he wants he needs to get because he is the Bucs, but that may upset someone's ego on this staff.

Gruden is just fine with losing guys like Valero, Joe Berry, Rod Marinelli, and the list goes on. When these guys go it opens up a spot for him to bring in his guys. It is no coincidence that Gruden is looking to bring in Bill Cahalan to be on his staff. The same Cahalan that did nothing as a head coach in Oakland, and single handily destroyed Nebraska football. That is the type of guy that Gruden wants on his team, and Bucs fans will have to deal with. Can we please just take a step back and listen to the guys who have left and finally take of the glasses?

Its Time The Bucs Part Ways With Jon Gruden

2008-01-06T20:54:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the Super Bowl Jon, but don't let the door hit you on the way out. These are the words that I hope coach Gruden will hear very soon from the Glazers. Gruden has now coached as many years with the Bucs, six, as Tony Dungy did. Gruden has the Super Bowl title, but has 6 less regular season wins, and only one more playoff win than Dungy. If you take away the Super Bowl season, Jon Gruden has a regular season record of 36-44 and is 0-2 in the playoffs. There are 10 coaches who have coached continuously the last 6 six years, and only 1 has a worse record than Jon Gruden.

I will admit that when the Bucs decided it was time for Tony Dungy to go that I felt it was the right move. He had gotten us as far as it seemed he could and refused to make the necessary changes to his staff that the Glazers wanted. Things seem to have almost come full circle now for the Bucs, except that they are worse off. Gruden has a worse record than Dungy did, the team is in worse shape then when Dungy was fired, and Gruden also refuses to make the changes necessary to fix the problem. The difference with Dungy and Gruden is the changes needed to be made by Dungy were about the X's and O's of the game, while Gruden needs to change everything but the X's and O's. Gruden is a great offensive mind, there is no doubt about it, but he is not a good head coach.

Since Gruden took over the reigns in 2002 there have been 9 other coaches who have coached that entire time as head coach. Of the nine other coaches in the last six years only one, Herm Edwards, has a worse record than Jon Gruden.

Coach Reg. Season Record Playoffs

Belichek 75-21 9-2
Dungy 73-23 7-4
Reid 61-35 5-4
Holmgren 58-38 4-4
Shannahan 58-38 1-3
Fox 51-45 5-2
Fisher 50-56 2-2
Billick 50-56 0-2
Gruden 48-48 3-2
Edwards 42-54 2-3

Of the coaches above, Billick was just fired and Edwards was basically fired from the Jets before going to Kansas City. The three playoff wins that Gruden has to his name all came in the Super Bowl year and since than he has not advanced. The coaches on that list that have kept there jobs are consistent and good coaches. Gruden does not belong in the same discussion with most of the guys on that list. Also, the coach that the Bucs fired to get Gruden has the second best record over the last five years and has almost as many playoff losses as Gruden has appearances.

Jon Gruden helped the Bucs get a Super Bowl and for that I will forever be greatful, but his time here is up. Since the Super Bowl season the Buccaneers have gotten worse and Gruden shows no signs of being able to get this team back on track. The offense, which is why he was brought in, has not been very good and the defense has kept this team alive. The team that lost the playoff game today against the Giants did not lose because they lacked the talent. They lost because they played uninspired football and had a bad game plan; those things are on the coach. Jon Gruden, in the words of Donald Trump, you're fired!

WVU Hires Bill Stewart After Huge Bowl Win

2008-01-03T22:50:00.000-05:00

West Virginia followed up an emotional bowl win by hiring the man who coached the team in that win. Bill Stewart was left with the impossible task of holding WVU together and keeping them focused on playing a dominant Oklahoma team while their head coach left for Michigan, and everyone wrote them off in the bowl game. Stewart not only held them together, but led them to a victory over a more talented Oklahoma team. Combine the win with campaigning from the WVU players and he was awarded the job. The question now becomes, was this a knee jerk reaction after a win, or the right man for the job?

The Mountaineers have been on a roller coaster ride all year from a loss to USF that seemed to end their season, to losing against a terrible Pitt team with a chance at a National Championship appearance on the line, and finishing with a huge win over Oklahoma. The team was down and most expected them to quit, but they came out fired up and dominated Oklahoma. The players credited Stewart for not only helping them through the tough time, but also the win. While it was a great story we have seen a similar one before. When Butch Davis left Miami for Cleveland, Ken Dorsey went the AD at Miami and asked for Larry Coker to be kept as head coach. Miami won a National Championship in the short term, but were left poorly for the long term.

Stewart, like Coker, is the nice guy that players say they love and want to play for. The problem is that sometimes the players don't play hard enough for the "nice guy." While screaming coaches have seem to fallen out of favor for todays athlete, there is still a need for someone who can be the bad guy when needed.

This will be Stewarts second go at being a head coach, with his first go-round not being very good. Stewart was the VMI head coach from 1994-1996, and had a record of 8-25. Since leaving VMI, Stewart has coached on a couple different teams in many different capacities. He was hired in 2000 by Don Nehlen and stayed on when Rich Rodriguez got the job full-time after Nehlen's retirement. Most recently he has been the tight ends coach.

One would hope that WVU had Stewart on the top of the list before the Fiesta bowl and the win was only the final part that put him ahead of another coach, but we will never know. Maybe the players are right and Stewart is the man for the job. He is a WVU guy, the players love him, and he has been with the team for 2007. If he can convince recruits that nothing will change and surround himself with a great staff, he will succeed and this will be a good hire. If he becomes another Larry Coker than it will seem that WVU made a knee jerk reaction and made a bad choice. Only time will tell.

I think WVU did what they thought was best. There was not that big name coach out there to land right now. Ask older WVU fans what they think of a Bowden and they will give you a bad look and tell you how happy they were that Bobby left when he did. WVU fans did not want Terry Bowden, and was another assistant and another school any better of a fit? I don't know for sure if this hire was good or bad, but the move is definitely not as bad as the media is making it out to be.

Capital One Sums Up Season. Could it Continue?

2008-01-02T19:45:00.000-05:00

The Capital One Bowl summed up the entire Gator season in one game. The offense went through Harvin and Tebow with a couple contributions from Caldwell, the defensive line got no pressure on the Quarterback, and the secondary was eaten alive. While the offense needs to add one more play maker, they were still great and will be next year. The defense on the other hand needs some major fine tuning.

The Gators will definitely lose one starter, Tony Joiner, to the draft and most likely will lose Derrick Harvey as well. The rest of the 9 starters will return and try to build on the dismal 2007 season. The defense was a very young bunch this season and you would expect them to get better, but many of them did not show signs of improvement through out the season.

Middle Linebacker Brandon Spikes was heralded as the next great middle linebacker at Florida, but he had a disappointing season and was run over in the bowl game. Joe Haden emerged as a great corner, but other than that the secondary will be a huge question once again. Wandy Pierre-Lois was not able to make the plays that the gators need from their second corner. Jacques Rickerson and Marques Anderson did not have good years and were target all day in the Bowl game for big gains. Meanwhile, Major Wright has shown the ability to knock people out with his huge hits, but looks to be lacking in the coverage ability that the Gators will need back there with the corners lacking.

The front four have done a good job of stopping the run, but were not able to get to get the pressure and sacks needed to take the pressure off of the secondary. The Gators may take a huge hit with the loss of Derrick Harvey, the Gators best defensive lineman. If they can not get the pressure up front without having to blitz, it will be a long season again on defense.

From the recruiting trail thus far it is obvious the coaches know what the problem is with the team. Of the 15 verbal commitments thus far, 9 are on defense. The Gators were able to get the number 1 athlete in the country, Will Hill, to commit to Florida and he wants to play safety and soon. The Gators also got 3 other secondary players all in the top 16 of defensive backs and safeties. Also, the Gators also recruited Ahmad Black last season to play corner and he could step up.

If recruits live up to the hype the Gator front four could be amazing. Carlos Dunlap, John Brown, and Justin Trattou are all type defensive line recruits that can clog up the middle and rush the passer. The Gators will need brown to get eligible so he can play, and also for the others to step up. The pass rush will need to help take pressure off of the secondary.

The linebackers were talked about all season as the strength of the defense, but really they were a bit disappointing. In big games Brandon Spikes and Dustin Doe seemed to disappear or get run over. Jeremy Finch, the nations best safety recruit last season, moved to linebacker in the fall, but was injured in the second game. If he can come back healthy that would be a huge boost to the linebackers and may create one of the top linbacking cores in the SEC. The team will need these guys to step up in run defense and coverage with youth in front and behind them.

The Gator defense once again let it's offense down, this time in the bowl game. The defense is young and can go either way. If this defense gets better, there may not be a team that can stop Florida next season. If they get worse or stay the same the Gators will be looking at another failed season and Capital One Bowl game.

Bucs Need More Than FG To Beat Giants

2007-12-30T22:38:00.000-05:00

The Buccaneers have exceeded expectations this year and will host a playoff game, but if they expect to get out of the first round they will need to get more than field goals out of their drives. The Bucs have won games with great defensive efforts and getting points from the kicking game if they could not get in the end zone, but in the playoffs you need to score touchdowns with your drives and not just field goals. The Bucs have struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone, and if they are not able to reverse the trend they will not make it past the wild card round.

The Buccaneers need only to look at Saturdays game against the Patriots to see an example of why you need touchdowns. The Giants almost ended the Patriots dreams of a perfect season because they were able to score touchdowns while the Pats were kicking field goals. At one point in the game the Giants had a 28 to 16 lead because they were able to score touchdowns on 4 drives, while New England was forced to kick field goals.

Yes, the Giants lost last week even though they scored touchdowns, but the Bucs are not the Patriots. You knew watching that game that the Patriots would score the touchdowns they needed to win, but the same cannot be said of the Bucs. Many fans have overlooked the Giants and worried about who the Bucs would play in he second round. Hopefully the fans watched Saturdays game and understand that the Giants team is for real and if we continue on our field goal offense we will lose.

The Bucs were able to score in the red zone a couple times today, but still struggled. Yes, they played their second team, and yes it did not matter, but they need to make sure they score touchdowns when they have the ball, because if they don't, it will be a short playoff run for the Bucs.

Bruins Hire Rick Neuheisel

2007-12-29T18:02:00.001-05:00

UCLA just named Rick Neuheisel as their head coach. Neuheisel played quarterback for UCLA in the early 80's before going on to be a successful coach in college. He has a 66-30 career record in college and took Washington to a Pac-10 Title and Rose Bowl win in 2000.

Neuheisel got in trouble in 2002 when he was involved in a NCAA March Madness pool. Washington fired him for violating the NCAA rules, which he sued Washington and the NCAA over. He got over a 4 million settlement and has been coaching in the NFL since. Last year he was the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens and this season he was promoted to offensive coordinator.

Neuheisel is a guy who knows how to win and has done so already in the Pac-10. He does have a history of indiscretions not only at Washington, but at Colorado also. His problem is that the NCAA will be watching him closely, especially after he sued them and won. I think he will be fine and this was a great hire for UCLA. Neuheisel is a great offensive mind and is a great recruiter. It may take him some time, but he will get the players he needs and UCLA will once again be a force in the Pac 10.

Welcome New Contributors

2007-12-29T17:18:00.000-05:00

Many of you may have seen that I have been posting a bit less. I recently started a new job and have been working more hours and found it difficult to keep up with the writing. Well I have done two things, 1) decided I will find more time for writing because I like doing it, and 2) I have recruited some more people to help contribute.

Please welcome Sandrock and b_stokes to the blog. Sandrock is from Oregon and went to Oregon State University. He will bring us a divergent view as he is from the opposite coast I am. Stokes, better known to me as statsman88 at the football cafe, is from Big 10 football country. He does like his SEC football teams, which immediately makes him a great guy in my book. He already has posted one article with the BCS. These guys know what they are talking about and are going to be some great help to me.

College Football Playoff Final 4

2007-12-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

What started with eight is now down to two. With the BCS leaving something to be desired as usual we created a playoff. The top 6 seeds were the BCS conference leaders, with the last two at large bids going to the next two highest rated teams. Our top 8 again:

(1) LSU
(2) Oklahoma
(3) Ohio State
(4) USC
(5) Virginia Tech
(6) WVU
(7) Georgia
(8) Missouri

We used the BCS bowl games and the top bowl games played on January 1. The four teams to advance were (Votes in Paranthesis):

LSU (13) over Missouri (6)

Oklahoma (14) over Georgia (7)

Ohio State (10) over WVU (9)

USC (16) over Virginia Tech (2)

Personally I voted for all of the winners except for OSU. I felt that WVU would have spread them out and won, but it was not what happened in our playoff. With the top four moving on, our next match ups were as follows:

LSU v. USC in the Sugar Bowl

Oklahoma v. Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl

Very good match up between LSU and USC in my opinion. I voted for LSU thinking they could take USC, but the votes ended up 10-10. With the votes tied after a full week of open voting, it came down to a coin flip and USC moved on. The Oklahoma game would not be close in my opinion and the voting reflected that. Oklahoma rolled the Buckeyes with a vote of 14-2.

Our National Championship Game:

#2 Oklahoma v. #4 USC in the Sugar Bowl.

College Bowl Game Predictions

2007-12-16T14:56:00.000-05:00

Its almost that time of year again! I'm sure we have all done our yearly "I hate the BCS" complaints to neighbors and friends and probably mentioned that a playoff system would be better to our co-workers. But the time to watch college football once again is fast approaching so lets take a look at whats coming up:

BCS Bowl Games:

National Championship-LSU vs. OSU
Once both Mizzou and WV lost their season finales, Ohio St. was declared a lock to be in the championship game. But does anyone think they will win? I don't. It almost seems to be a repeat of last year- OSU is a lock for the championship and a controversial SEC team gets in to face them. In last years championship, Florida blew OSU off the field. While I'm not sure it will be as bad as last years game, I do expect LSU to win handily. LSU has a defense that is recovering from some nagging injuries, and when healthy is most likely the best D in the nation. I do not think they will have trouble stopping a mediocre Buckeye offense. The other factor that plays a big role is LSU's quaterbacks. LSU has a two-man system with Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux. Flynn is more of a pocket passer while Perrilloux is more of the athletic-running type. OSU's only loss of the season came against Illinois and their athletic QB Juice Williams who exploited the OSU defense. Perrilloux has a very similar style to Williams and I would expect LSU to study what Illinois did and use Perrilloux a lot in the game.

Final Prediction-LSU 38 OSU 17

Fiesta Bowl-West Virginia vs Oklahoma
This matchup sparks alot of interest between two of the bigger names in college football and pre-season favorites. For me, I think this will be a great test not only for WV, but for the Big East as a conference. The Big East has been widely regarded as a weak conference, but a win for WV against powerhouse Oklahoma would undoubtedly give some respect to the Big East. WV has been bi-polar this season. At times they can put up 40-50 points and totally dominate, or turn the ball over alot and look very sloppy. Oklahoma has beaten Missouri twice and also beat Texas, but inexplicably lost to two very mediocre teams in Texas Tech and Colorado. Oklahoma looked very good though in the Big 12 championship against West Virginia. My opinion is that the Big East is a weak conference, WV has played weak competition, and they will not be able to keep up with Oklahoma.

Final Prediction-OK 34 WV 24

Rose Bowl-Illinois vs. USC

Now I like Illinois and what they've done to bring their football program back from the dead, but I don't like this matchup. Sure they beat OSU, but I don't see them hanging with USC in this one. John David Booty is now healthy and had the Trojans rolling at the end of the season. I don't see Illinois' defense being able to even touch the USC offense.

Final Prediction-USC 48 Illini-21

Orange Bowl- Kansas vs. Virginia Tech

I can't recall there ever being a more un-interesting BCS bowl game. Kansas played a very weak schedule that avoided them playing Texas and Oklahoma. We all saw that Kansas just wasn't as good as Missouri when they played in the season finale. Now Kansas is a decent team, but they should not have gotten a BCS bid over Missouri. Virginia Tech started out their season getting wiped off the field against LSU 49-7, but then lost only once more the rest of the season. The question is, did they really get that much better, or was their ACC schedule just that inferior to that of a SEC schedule? IMO, these are two teams that are overrated and I really could care less what happens. Hopefully it is an even matchup however and is a good game

Final Crapshoot- Kansas 28 Virginia Tech 27

Sugar Bowl- Georgia vs. Hawaii

This one should be interesting, everyone wants to see how legit Colt Brennan and Hawaii is after going undefeated but playing the weakest schedule possible. I give Hawaii credit, they wanted to play a big-time out of conference schedule, but no one wanted to play them. After last year's incredible Boise St. upset of Oklahoma, could Hawaii do the same to Georgia? Not likely in my opinion. Hawaii has had some close calls against some pretty weak teams (Louisiana Tech game comes to mind) and struggled against the only power conference team they played-Washington. Georgia, led by their Freshman phenom running back Knowshon Moreno, was the hottest team in the country the last half of the season, when they won 6 straight that included wins over Florida, Auburn, Kentucky, and mid-major power Troy. I think Georgia will be Hawaii's first and only loss this season, but it will be a big one. I see Georgia running through the holes of that Hawaii Swiss Cheese Defense and putting a hurt on Colt Brennan and the Rainbows.

Final Prediction- Georgia 55 Hawaii 21

Hate the BCS? We Created a Playoff!!

2007-12-16T12:04:00.000-05:00

Most College Football fans hate the BCS and how they try to determine the top two teams in the country. The BCS sometimes lucks out and gets the top 2 teams right, but that is mainly because the season was full of dominating teams or there just happens to be 2 undefeated teams. Fans have been screaming for a playoff, but it is most likely never going to happen. With that in mind, some rabid college football fans and I decided to make that playoff a reality. We created an eight team playoff with the 6 BCS conferences getting automatic bids, with the remaining 2 at-large bids going to the next two highest ranked teams. We used the team ranks that we had come up with after the final week and had the games played in the major bowls that happen on January 1st and in the BCS. The higher seeded team got to play in a bowl that was closer to home. Here is how the seeding ended up:

(1) LSU v. (8) Missouri --- Capital One Bowl

(4) USC v. (5 ) Virgina Tech -- Rose Bowl

(3) OSU v. (6) West Virginia -- Gator Bowl

(2) Oklahoma v. (7) Georgia -- Cotton Bowl

The voting is going on here. So far LSU, USC, and Oklahoma have commanding leads. OSU and WVU are tied at the moment. The voting ends this Wednesday at 11:59 PM and we will move into the final four. If you want your vote counted then go to the cafe and vote!! All results will be posted here with a write up.

My Votes:

LSU
USC
WVU
Oklahoma

UPDATE and FORMAT CHANGE!!!!!

2007-12-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

This is my first post in a week due to the fact that I just got a new job working in the legal field and my time has become a bit more limited. I will be posting more as I figure out how to manage my time a bit more efficiently, which will be very soon. As far as the format change. As I said in a previous post I am now a part of the crew at The Stat Pack. With being a part of that and still keeping up here I have decided to post all my baseball content over at The Stat Pack as well as some of the Football articles that I write here. This Blog is now going to focus solely on Football, but it will expand the content in that area. I have some help coming aboard that will increase the posts and knowledge of the blog. We are going to delve into all College and Pro Football, no matter the team or conference. I will obviously still be posting more about USF, Florida,FSU, and the Bucs than any other team, but we will not focus solely on them. I hope you enjoy the format change and to keep up with my baseball takes, just head over to The Stat Pack.

Congratulations To Tim Tebow

2007-12-09T16:21:00.000-05:00

The Heisman voters finally read what the award is supposed to measure.Tebow became the first Sophomore to be named the Heisman Trophy winner and only the third quarterback to win it when his team had three 3 losses or more. The award is supposed to measure the best player in college football and not the best senior on the best football team. Tebow deserved the award and the voters got it right this year.

The race for Heisman came down to two players this season: Tebow and Darren McFadden. While McFadden had a good season and a great game against LSU, he did not show up in a couple games this season when his team needed him the most. Meanwhile, the Gators lost 3 games this season, but none of that was due to bad play by Tebow. Tebow showed up every game he played and put up great numbers, they just were not good enough to overcome a bad defense in certain games. McFadden is a great talent and should be the first overall draft pick, but was not the best college player this season.

Critics have come out and said that voters only voted for Tebow because he is the only member of the 20-20 club in the history of college football. They also said that his numbers were a direct result of not having a viable running back in the offense. Further, they have said that Tebow calls his own number in the twenty so he can score and jack up his numbers. These people all have valid points and while some of it may be true, it doesn't diminish what Tebow did this past season.

Voters may have been persuaded by the fact that Tebow is the only member of the 20-20 club. The fact is that they should be. No one in the history of football have ever thrown and run for over 20 TD in the same season. While he had 20-20, it is not like he barely made it. Tebow threw 29 touchdowns and ran for 22. Also, of those 22 rushing touchdowns 7 were from 6 yards or further out, while 6 of McFadden's 15 rushing TD's came from 6 yards or farther. Tebow's numbers are not inflated b/c of Qb sneaks from the 1 yard line and he should not be punished because he is able to run over, around, and through people.

The Gators may not have had a viable running back per se, but Meyer rotated players into the position that put up yards that any program would love to have. In one game Percy Harvin had over 100 rushing and receiving as a wide receiver. The Gators did not have a running back designated, but they had talent that Meyer put into the backfield that could take it all the way at any time. Tebow may have gotten less touchdowns if they had a full time bruising running back, but we will never know that. Finally, if everyone knew he was the only running threat, why didn't they stop him?

Fact is that Tebow not only ran all over people because he could, but he had the second highest pass efficiency rating in the country as a passer. He averaged almost 10 yards a pass and completed almost 70% of his passes. He was criticized before the year with not being able to throw the ball and when he showed everyone he could they criticized him for not doing it more over running. People are going to hate him because he is talented and has had success from the moment he stepped on the field. They will make things up because as you saw in the ceremony he does not have much to be critical of. He is a guy who is not only great at football, but is a great role model for everyone. He deserved the award and gator fans are lucky to have him.

Tebow Wins Maxwell and O'Brien Awards

2007-12-06T23:15:00.000-05:00

Tim Tebow had a good night at the College Football awards in Orlando. He was up for 3 awards (Maxwell, Camp, and O'Brien) and ended up taking home 2 of them, with Darren McFadden of Arkansas taking home the other.

Tebow won both the Maxwell and O'Brien awards. The Maxwell award is given to the nations most outstanding player, while the O'Brien award is given out to the best quarterback in the nation. Last season's winners of the awards were Brady Quinn (Maxwell) and Troy Smith (O'Brien).

Darren McFadden walked away with the Walter Camp award, which is given to the player of the year. Interestingly enough and maybe a bad sign for Tebow, the last 3 years the Heisman winner was also the Camp award winner, while the Maxwell award winner has been the runner up to the Heisman. Hopefully Tebow will break that streak this year because he is the best player in the country and should be the Heisman award winner. It will be intersting to see how the Heisman plays out on Saturday because although Tebow should win it, the voters have something against giving it to an underclassman and a wave of Tebow haters have made their way to the air waves in the past week.

For the third year in a row a Penn State linebacker won the Bednarik award, which is given to the best defensive player in the nation. Freshman Michael Crabtree won the Biletnikoff award for the best wide receiver in the nation and Matt Ryan beat out Colt Brennan for best senior QB in the country. Most of the award winners were exactly as I had them a few weeks ago. Here is the list of all the award winners : ESPN.

Kiffin To Oakland At Season's End?

2007-12-06T22:36:00.000-05:00

Monte Kiffin's contract runs out at the end of the season and rumors are popping up that he may not want a new contact, but instead go to Oakland. This rumor has been around since his son, Lane Kiffin, took over as head coach of the Raiders this season. Normally I would not give much credence to a rumor about Monte leaving the Bucs, but this one actually makes sense.

Kiffin has been the mainstay on the Bucs for years now. They have had coaching changes every where on the team except for the defensive coordinator. His name has always come up for different jobs around college and the NFL, but he has always turned them down to stay with the Buccaneers and the defense he has created. Monte does not have the desire to be a head coach anymore and is happy with the Bucs as the defensive coordinator, but if there ever was a job opportunity that may be too good to pass up it may be to go to Oakland at the seasons end. The job is not open at the moment, but the Oakland defense has been bad all year long, especially against the run and many people believe that the coordinator will be gone and the spot will be open.

If he were to make the move there really would be nothing the Bucs could do to keep him in my mind. He would not be leaving because of money, power, or a desire to be somewhere else, but because it would offer him the chance to be with his son. How many coaches in the NFL actually would have the chance to coach side by side with their son? How many people in everyday life would love that opportunity, let alone in a job like the Kiffin's have. This would be the opportunity of a lifetime for a guy who is all about his family. As much as it would be terrible to lose him, you would have to understand his desire and respect him for it.

While not desirable at all to lose Kiffin, they would have a replacement they could go to in house. The Bucs have a history of assistants that have gone on to be great defensive coordinators and head coaches. They have never had the need for those guys to stay and be defensive coordinator for the Bucs because Monte is here, but if he left the spot could easily and should go to Raheem Morris. Morris is in the secondary coach right now and every Buc fan knows the reason that the secondary has been so much better this year is because Raheem came back. The Bucs made it no secret that they wanted him back and knew they needed him, as is obvious by how much they gave him in a contract. Morris is a young and fiery guy, who in my mind would be able to step right in like Mike Tomlin was able to and be the coordinator. Maybe the Bucs know Monte is planning on leaving after his contract is over and that is why they made such an effort to get Raheem back. If Monte goes he will be sorely missed, but I think the Bucs will be in good hands.

June Jones Needs to Shut His Mouth Because He Sounds Like a Moron

2007-12-04T11:44:00.000-05:00

With national spotlight finally on June Jones team because they made it to a BCS game, Jones decided to use it to sound like a moron. Jones told the media that his quarterback, Colt Brennan, was not a system quarterback, but Florida QB Tim Tebow is. You can see where he has a point, I mean no quarterback has ever been accused of putting up great numbers just because they were in the Run and Shoot offense *Cough* Timmy Chang *Cough*.

Jones commented that his QB is the best passer in College history and that Tebow's numbers come off of Fades and Dives that he would not be doing in the pros. First, The Heisman is not about which player will be the best pro player, it is the award given to the best college player in the nation for that year. Second, his quarterback is the best passer based on what, his numbers? His numbers are a direct reflection of not only the system he runs that allows him to throw the ball 472 times this season and over 500 each of the last two seasons. Finally, I guess the Gator games are on too early for Jones to watch because if he did see them he would know that his statement about where Tebow's numbers are coming from is completely wrong. If his 20 rushing TD's came off of 100 or 200 yards in a season, than maybe he has a case, but Tebow has run for over 900 yards. Hey June, go watch the film and you will see him run up and down the field and not just dive forward. In that film Jones will also see the arm strength and accuracy that Tebow has not only on fades, but on slants and his deep ball.

Jones wants you to believe that Brennan is the better passer and not just player, which is what the award is for. Fine I will play your game Jones, lets look at there stats from the past season.

Brennan : 166.3 QB Rating 71.4 % Passing 4,174 Yards 8.8 Yards Per Attempt 38 TD 14 INT

Tebow : 177.9 QB Rating 68.5% Passing 3,132 Yards 9.9 Yards Per Attempt 29 TD 6 INT

Who is the best passer? Well if you go by an all around body of work it would be....Tebow. If you give the amount of attempts to Tebow that Brennan had he would have 43 TD and only 9 INT. He would also have 4,673 yards. Tebow was ripped before the season for not being a passer and running to much, but he has the highest pass efficiency rating in the country and if he were in Jones system he would have decimated Brennan's numbers.

One last thing there June; your schedule. Brennan put up these numbers and looked like a great quarterback against the 119 strength of schedule in the NCAA. That is 119th out of 119. On second thought, man Brennan did do a great job, I mean how could he do that much against those vaunted defenses of Nevada, Louisiana Tech, Idaho, and San Jose St. Meanwhile, Tebow put up his numbers against such bad defenses like LSU, South Carolina, Auburn, and Georgia. If you can't tell, that is sarcasm June, I only tell you because you are obviously blind. Brennan is a good quarterback and I am not taking anything away from him, but for you to say that Tebow is a system guy and Brennan us the best passer in the history of football makes you sound like a moron.

Final College Football Rankings

2007-12-03T23:02:00.001-05:00

The BCS uses all sorts of formulas with computers and people rankings as well. Many people think the BCS is wrong and also believe that the voters do not get it right. With this in mind I have got together knowledgeable football fans from across the country with representation of each conference in the polls. The fans come from members of the Fantasy Football Cafe College Sports Forum. These fans watch more football than most of the voters and are extremely knowledgeable. They are allowed to vote however they want, just like if they were a Harris or AP voter. Some vote based on based performance, some on future, some on a combination of those, while others vote based on which team would win on a neutral field. They send me their top 35 and I calculate it to come up with the top 25 and we compare it to the BCS. I have included the averages for the top teams to show just how close they are packed together. Here is the final BCS standings and than our final standings:

BCS

1. Ohio State 11-1
2. LSU 11-2
3. Virginia Tech 11-2
4. Oklahoma 11-2
5. Georgia 10-2
6. Missouri 11-2
7. USC 10-2
8. Kansas 11-1
9. West Virginia 10-2
10. Hawaii 12-0
11. Arizona State 10-2
12. Florida 9-3
13. Illinois 9-3
14. Boston College 10-3
15. Clemson 9-3
16. Tennessee 9-4
17. BYU 10-2
18. Wisconsin 9-3
19. Texas 9-3
20. Virginia 9-3
21. South Florida 9-3
22. Cincinnati 9-3
23. Auburn 8-4
24. Boise State 10-2
25. UConn 9-3

Rankings

1. LSU 1.7 (6)
2. Oklahoma 3.1
3. Ohio State 3.5 (2)
4. Georgia 3.6 (1)
5. USC 5 (1)
6. Missouri
7. Virginia Tech
8. Kansas
9. Florida
10. West Virginia
11. Arizona State
12. Illinois
13.Clemson
14.Boston College
15. Tennessee
16. Auburn
17. Hawaii
18. Texas
19. Wisconsin
20. Cincinnati
21. Virginia
22. USF
23. Texas Tech
24. BYU
25. Arkansas

Obviously the major difference in the rankings is the top 2 teams. Both rankings include LSU, but the fans think it should be Oklahoma playing against LSU and not Ohio State. Just to remind everyone, these fans are representative of every conference across the country so there is no SEC or other conference bias. OSU has played a soft schedule and the only team they played with a decent offense, Illinois, beat them. Oklahoma beat the number 1 team last week for the second time this year and there second loss came when their starting quarterback was out. I think Oklahoma v. LSU would be a better game and would be the right matchup.

The other major difference that would have an effect is Hawaii. They did not make the top 16 in the fan poll, which means they do not get the at large bid to a BCS bowl game. That would allow one of the other conferences that does have 2 teams in it already to get another team in, which in this case most likely would have been Missouri, who got shafted in the real BCS bowl games.

Bucs Find Something With McCown

2007-12-02T23:42:00.000-05:00

Last week the Bucs lost Jeff Garcia on the first series and with him went the offense. The Bucs were not able to move the ball with Bruce Gradkowski at the helm and managed just 16 yards of total offense in the second half. With Garcia sidelined for the game against the Saints, Gruden decided to turn to Luke McCown instead of Gradkowski, and the result could not have been any better.

Last week the Redskins stacked the box with eight guys and dared Gradkowski to throw the ball, knowing full well that he does not have the arm or the accuracy to stretch the field. With no threat of the deep ball the 'Skins ate the Bucs up on offense and almost took the game. The Saints learned very quickly that McCown is not Gradkowski and he will take your are and make you pay. McCown threw one of the nicest deep balls to Galloway I have seen all year as he started the game going 15-15. He did make some bad decisions at times that almost cost the Bucs the game, but he shook those off and redeemed himself with the game winning touchdown pass on a greatly engineered drive.

The Bucs have never had a good young quarterback on the roster that seemed like he could run Gruden's offense and Gruden has been criticized for that. It was only one game, but McCown showed he has the physical talent and the head to be a quarterback in the NFL. He made some bad rookie mistakes, but those will go away with game experience. What McCown did show though was a knack for finding the open receiver in the pattern, keeping the play alive when it seemed to break down, and he can throw a great deep ball. McCown has been in this offense for a couple years now and seems like the type of QB that Gruden likes. He is mobile, strong arm, and makes good decisions with the football. Garcia is the QB now, but he is getting older and Buc fans know they will need a guy to replace him when he goes. McCown looks like he could be that guy to replace him and gives the Bucs some hope for the future after Garcia leaves the team.

Gators Have A Date With Michigan In The Capital One Bowl

2007-12-02T23:00:00.001-05:00

The Gators officially accepted their bid to the Capital One Bowl game in Orlando today. Many thought that their opponent would be Illinois and Ron Zook would get a crack at his former team, but with Ohio State headed to the National Championship game, Illinois is headed to the Rose Bowl and Florida has a date with Michigan.

This will be only the second time the two programs have ever played each other. The first time these two teams met was in 2003 at the Outback bowl with Michigan coming away with a 38-30 win. Michigan comes into the game with an 8-4 record, while the Gators are 9-3. This has been a disappointing year for both programs, but a win in the Bowl game would be a nice consolation.

This will be the third straight season that the Gators will play a Big 10 school in their Bowl game. In the past the Gators did not play well in Bowl games and have an overall record of 16-18, but that has all changed with the arrival of Urban Meyer. Meyer is one of the best coaches when given time to game plan for a team. He has a record of 22-2 when he has an extra week or more to prepare for a team, including a perfect 4-0 record as a head coach in Bowl Games. The Bowl games are a part of the teams schedule for Meyer and not just a consolation for winning during your season. Michigan has struggled this year against the spread offense, and no one runs it as well as the Gators. Meyer will have them ready to go and send Lloyd Carr out on a loss.

National Championship Game Should Include LSU

2007-12-02T10:13:00.001-05:00

The BCS was once again thrown into turmoil yesterday when the number one and two teams in the country, West Virginia and Missouri, both managed to lose there games. Missouri I expected to lose, but West Virgina's loss to Pittsburgh shocked me and proved that they should not have been in the discussion for top team in the country. With that said, now the BCS will have it's final poll come out soon and Ohio State is sure to be the number 1 team in that poll because they only have one loss and were 3rd in the last poll. The question then becomes who should be number 2 and play them in the national championship game. There are a couple of two loss teams that will try to make a case, and I will go through them, but LSU is the team that should be there.

Georgia 10-2 Previous BCS Rank #4

Georgia will say that they were number 4 so they should move up just like OSU did and be in the national championship game. They were number 4 before this week, two people lost, so they should be two. Georgia has put a string of games together and has been dominant in a tough SEC schedule ever since the Florida game. They have beaten 4 teams that were ranked in the top 25 when they played them, but only two of them remain in the top 25 now. Georgia lost early and that always helps when you are talking about these polls. Georgia is a good team, but the problem I have is that not only did they not win their conference, they didn't even win their half of the conference and get into the title game. Georgia was beaten at home by an average South Carolina team, who then went on to be beaten soundly by LSU, and they were trounced by Tennessee, who just lost to LSU in the conference title game. If you can't win your conference you should be in line for a national championship.

Kansas 11-1 Previous BCS Rank #5

Kansas only has one loss so they should jump these two loss teams right? Wrong. Kansas beat up on terrible teams all year long and everyone bought into the hype, but when the time came to play a decent team, they folded like a lawn chair. Missouri out matched Kansas in every phase of the game and showed what a fraud Kansas really was. They are a decent football team, but they are not good and again just like Georgia they did not even win their half of the Big 12 conference. Kansas fans will yell that they have only one loss, but when you don't play anyone that is an easy way to only have one loss, and if you don't win your conference, you don't deserve a NC bid.

Virginia Tech 11-2 Previous BCS Rank #6

Virginia Tech is the next highest ranked team and they won their conference so they should go right? Wrong again. Virginia Tech did win their conference and has some quality wins over 4 top 25 teams on the year, with 3 of those being in the ACC. Tech has improved over the course of the season and they have a great defense, but the ACC is not a strong conference and when they stepped out of conference to play LSU they were thrashed and were never even in that game. VT deserves to play in a BCS game because they won their conference, but that conference was down this year and when they stepped out they were exposed as being the best team in a weakened conference.

USC 10-2 Previous BCS Rank #8

USC is one of the best teams in the country right now and they actually make a very string case. USC won their conference, which was very tough. Many people on the East coast do not watch the Pac 10 much and don't think it is very good outside of USC. I can tell you that this was true in years past, but this year the conference was very tough in the top of it. USC had two losses on the season, with one being a devastating loss to one of the worst teams in the country, Stanford. USC was banged up in the Stanford game and in the Oregon loss as well. John David Booty was injured the whole Stanford game and was not able to play against Oregon. Now that the Trojans are all healthy they have steamrolled ASU and UCLA on their way to a Pac-10 championship. While I think they make a great case, I still would put LSU over them.

Oklahoma 11-2 Previous BCS Rank #9

Oklahoma is another team that looks to be deserving in this crazy year. Oklahoma beat Missouri twice this year, including in the Big 12 Title game. They have two losses, but in the Texas Tech loss they had to play without quarterback Sam Bradford, who has had a great season and has been there leader. They have shown that when Bradford is in the game they are able to beat pretty much anyone and beat them soundly. There other loss to Colorado was a big loss because they had a huge lead going into the second half and basically became anemic on offense and gave up big plays on defense to an average Colorado game. The Big 12 was not great this year so there strength of schedule makes it hard for me to place them above USC or LSU.

LSU 11-2 Previous BCS Rank #7

LSU has the most talent in the country on their team. They do have two losses, but both losses were in long overt time games, one at Kentucky and the other at home. LSU has played the toughest schedule by far of the teams that are vying for a birth in the BCS National Championship game. They played 7 teams that were in the Top 25 when they played and two of those are still in the Top 10 now, Florida and Virginia Tech. LSU's struggles came in a stretch where they played some of the toughest teams in the SEC without a break. LSU played Tennessee for the SEC championship without there starting quarterback and still managed to beat them, something that USC was unable to do without there starter as was Oklahoma. LSU played a tougher schedule, had closer losses, and is the better team than the teams that are vying for the number 2 spot. The only thing LSU did bad, was lose late. LSU is the better team and they should be in the National Championship game against OSU.

College Football Rankings Week 7

2007-11-29T22:53:00.000-05:00

The BCS uses all sorts of formulas with computers and people rankings as well. Many people think the BCS is wrong and also believe that the voters do not get it right. With this in mind I have got together knowledgeable football fans from across the country with representation of each conference in the polls. The fans come from members of the Fantasy Football Cafe College Sports Forum. These fans watch more football than most of the voters and are extremely knowledgeable. They are allowed to vote however they want, just like if they were a Harris or AP voter. Some vote based on based performance, some on future, some on a combination of those, while others vote based on which team would win on a neutral field. They send me their top 35 and I calculate it to come up with the top 25 and we compare it to the BCS. I have included the averages for the top teams to show just how close they are packed together. Here is the BCS week 7 and our Week 7:

BCS

1. Missouri
2. West Virginia
3. Ohio State
4. Georgia
5. Kansas
6. Virginia Tech
7. LSU
8. USC
9. Oklahoma
10. Florida
11. Boston College
12. Hawaii
13. Arizona State
14. Tennessee
15. Illinois
16. Clemson
17. Oregon
18. Wisconsin
19. Brigham Young
20. Texas
21. South Florida
22. Virginia
23. Cincinnati
24. Auburn
25. Boise State

Rankings
1. Missouri (4) 2.75
2. WVU (2) 2.88
3. Georgia 4.13
4. LSU (2) 4.37
5. Ohio State 5.25
6. USC
7. Oklahoma
8. Florida
9. Kansas
10. Virginia Tech
11. Arizona State
12. Boston College
13. Tennessee
14. Illinois
15. Clemson
16. Auburn
17. Hawaii
18. Texas
19. Cincinnati
20. Oregon
21. Virginia
22. Wisconsin
23. Texas Tech
24. USF
25. Arkansas

As you can see the top two teams are the same, which makes sense in my mind. Those two should be the top two in this case, but I don't believe they are the best two teams in the country right now. A big difference in the rankings that would effect teams trying to get into that BCS title game is the case for the 3-5 teams. The BCS has OSU at 3 and all the OSU fans are just waiting for one of the top two to fall so they can jump in. In our rankings UGA and LSU are ahead and OSU most likely would not jump them because their season is already over. Strength of schedule seems to have come into play here and the teams that played the tougher schedule are getting the benefit of the doubt over a one loss OSU team that did not play a very tough schedule. Also, Hawaii is not in the top 16 and thus would not be headed to a BCS bowl game like they would in the BCS standings. I think this is how it should be because Hawaii is dead last in SOS in all of the NCAA. Hawaii has played no one all year and at times struggled against terrible opponents.

A Look at the Young for Garza Trade

2007-11-29T00:15:00.001-05:00

If the old adage is true that pitching wins championships, the Rays moved in the right direction on Wednesday. The Rays added a very talented pitcher in Matt Garza, who has the potential to be a good number 2 starter in this league, a good stop gap shortstop in Jason Bartlett, and maybe their future closer in Eduardo Morlan. It is always difficult to have to part with a player that has the potential that Delmon Young has, but the opportunity to upgrade the team in three different areas was too much to pass up.

Read the Rest at The Stat Pack!!!

Gator Transfer Looking at USF?

2007-11-28T09:24:00.000-05:00

Lost in the transfer of Jarred Fayson was that former Jefferson stand out Tight End, Trent Pupello, was also granted a release from his scholarship. Pupello was a two way star at Jefferson and a four star recruit coming out of high school. Pupello was not used much in his two seasons at Florida and with the emergence of Cornelius Ingram and Aaron Hernandez at TE he knew he was the odd man out.

Unlike Fayson, Pupello was not restricted in the schools he could transfer to and he has said he is looking at USF. Pupello grew up in the Tampa Bay area and his family still lives here and when you combine that with the fact that USF is an up and coming program in need of someone to catch the ball it makes perfect sense for him to come to USF.

Pupello would be a great fit in the USF offense and would give Matt Groethe a dependable target that he could go to not only in the red zone, but all over the field. Pupello has played on special teams at Florida and also some on defense, but he wants to get back to tight end and making plays. The Gators do not need him on offense and USF would be a great place for him to land to showcase his abilities.

Don't Tug On Superman's Cape

2007-11-28T09:19:00.001-05:00

Even Superman knows Tebow should be the Heisman

Start McCown if Garcia Can't Go

2007-11-27T22:46:00.000-05:00

The Bucs will most likely be without starting quarterback Jeff Garcia this weekend when they go to New Orleans. Garcia injured his back on the first drive of Sundays win over the Washington Redskins. Today on 620 WDAE's Ron and Ian Show, Garcia said that at the moment he isn't even thinking about picking up a football and throwing it. He was on his way to One Buc Place to have treatment done and you could tell by his tone that he is in a lot of pain. Since the Bucs season would be over if they were to be without Garcia for an extended period of time, they would be smart to let him get healthy.

If Garcia can't play on Sunday than Jon Gruden will have to decide on who the Bucs starting QB will be against the Saints. On a normal team the choice should be the back up, but it is not that easy for the Bucs. Bruce Gradkowski has been the backup to Garcia all year and came in for Garcia last week when he was knocked out of the game, but he is more backup by default rather than skill level. Gruden admitted to the media that due to the fact that Jeff Garcia gets over 90% of the snaps during practice they made Gradkowski the backup due to the fact that he has more game experience than McCown. They now have time to give McCown the snaps in practice and should due so.

The game against the Redskins was deja vu of last season. The Bucs could not move the ball when Garcia went out of the game and it got progressively worse as the game went on. The Bucs gained 16 yards of offense in the second half with Gradkowski leading the way. We had to sit through the bad offense for most of last season until Gruden finally put veteran Tim Rattay into the lineup and the offense finally got going. Gradkowski is not an NFL quarterback and no matter what Jon Gruden wants to believe, he never will be. He simply does not have the arm strength to make the throws that are needed down the field and cannot read a defense to save his life.

Although Gradkowski has more game experience, it is not like McCown is a rookie quarterback. This is McCowns 4th season in the NFL and he did get some starts when he was with the Cleveland Browns. McCown has been around Gruden's offense longer than Gradkowski has and he is physically more talented. McCown can make the throws down the field that is needed for the Bucs to move the ball and has the mobility that Gruden likes in a quarterback. He was the number 2 QB all through training camp and the pre season because he showed that he was the better quarterback between he and Bruce.

We all know what we have with Bruce Gradkowski, an offense that cannot run the ball because the defense stacks 8 men in the box and no passing game because the QB cannot get the ball to the receivers. McCown offers better mobility, a stronger arm, and more knowledge of the play book. I for one cannot stand to watch an offense like we saw last year and last Sunday again, and if Bruce is in the game that is exactly what will happen.

If the Bucs lose to the Saints on Sunday they will only be one game up on New Orleans and will no longer own the tie breaker. The game is pretty important to their playoff hopes and they are going to need an offense to win the game. The Saints are vulnerable to the passing game, especially the deep ball. In order to exploit that vulnerability the Bucs need to have a quarterback that can make those throws and Gradkowski just can't. We all know what we have with Bruce, lets see what Luke can do.

Fayson Set to Transfer

2007-11-27T21:18:00.001-05:00

Sophomore wide receiver Jarred Fayson has asked the University to let him out of his scholarship so that he can transfer to another school and the University of Florida has agreed. Fayson, who has been active in every game for the last two years, was not happy in his role in the Gator offense. n his 11 games this season Fayson rushed for 96 yards and caught 12 balls for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns.

As part of the agreement to let him out of his scholarship, Fayson is not allowed to transfer to any University in the state of Florida. While the stipulation about non-Florida schools could be because the Gators play Miami, FSU, and USF in 2009 when Fayson would be eligible to play, it was directed more to USF in my opinion. Fayson played his high school football in Tampa, originally committed to USF before coming to UF, and the Bulls have a great need for a dependable wide receiver. Wherever Fayson decides to go he won't be there for long because he will only have a year of eligibility left.

I understand where Fayson is coming from, but this is a mistake. He does not like his role in the offense right now, but next year Bubba Caldwell will be gone and he could have worked hard and showcased himself as the number 2 wide out in one of the best offenses in the country. Instead, Fayson will sit out a year and have only one year to play in another offense that likely will not be as good. The loss of Fayson to the Gator offense is not a big one. The Gators still have their number one target in Percy Harvin and with Louis Murphy and Riley Cooper showing they can be a good set of wide outs the Gators are in good shape.

Tim Tebow for Heisman

2007-11-27T10:58:00.001-05:00

I cam across this video on Youtube. A great clip of Tebow highlights set to the tune of 3 Doors Down. Watching the video you cannot come away unimpressed by what he has been able to do. Keep the hype going.

Heisman Top 5 -- Week 14

2007-11-26T22:55:00.000-05:00

My disclaimer as always: The Heisman trophy is given to the best player in the country and that is how I look at the award. The best player may not be on the best team in the country. There are many things that go into being the best player including stats, leadership, and what you mean to your team. Here is my Top 5 this week:

Tim Tebow - Quarterback - Florida
Stats - 12 Games 177.9 Rating 68.5 % 3,132 Yards 29 TD 6 INT 838 Rush Yards 22 TD
Last Week: 19-28 262 Yards 3 TD 89 Yards Rushing 2 TD
Tebow had another dominating effort last week against the Seminoles. Tebow has the award won in my mind no matter what any other player does in the coming week. Tebow has shown that not only does he have the talent and statistics to win the award, but also the fact that he never had a bad game all season. Tebow was in the spotlight and teams knew that he was going to be the Gator offense all season, yet he was able to compile unheard of statistics in the toughest conference in the season. It does not matter that he is a Sophomore or that the Gators have 3 losses, he is the best player in college football this season.

Dennis Dixon - Quarterback - Oregon
Stats: 10 Games 161.2 Rating 67.7% Passing 2,136 Yards 20 TD 4 INT 583 Rush Yards 9 TD
Last Week: DNP Injured for Season
Dixon?? Isn't he done for the year? Dixon is done for the year and I said last week that I took him out for a healthy player, but the fact remains that this is where he belongs. The Oregon v. UCLA game illustrated exactly how important Dixon was to the Ducks. As I was told, "The Ducks went from a National Champion Contender, to being shut out by UCLA," all due to the fact that they lost Dixon. Dixon was not only the Duck offense, but also the heart and soul of the entire team. Dixon's stats were great before he was injured and he may be the most important player to his team in the country. The only person who belongs in the talk with Tebow is Dixon.

Pat White - Quarterback - West Virginia
Stats: 11 Games 153.2 Rating 69% 1,498 12 TD 4 INT 1,144 Rush Yards 14 TD
Last Week: 9-13 107 Yards 1 TD 1 INT 186 Rush Yards 2 TD
White and the Mountaineers are set up to play for the National Championship after demolishing UConn last week. White is more of a runner than Tebow and Dixon and less of a passer, but his importance to the team is about the same. WVU has only lost one time this season and that was when White was out for most of the game against USF. WVU loves to run the ball and Steve Slaton is a great weapon, but if they were to lose him they could still win, but if White misses a game the Mountaineers are done. White is a great athlete and has his team in line for a National Championship, but as great as he is, he is still behind Dixon and Tebow.

Chase Daniel - Quarterback - Missouri
Stats: 12 Games 155.9 Rating 70.5 % 3,951 Yards 33 TD 9 INT 258 Rush Yards 3 TD
Last Week: 40-49 361 Yards 3 TD
Daniel had a great game against Kansas last week and has Missouri in line for a shot at the National Championship if he can get them past Oklahoma this week. He struggled last time they played Oklahoma, which is there only loss on the season, and this game will be tough for them once again. Daniel is a great quarterback and has good numbers, but he has not played the same tough schedule as some of the above players. Daniel is a great story and what he is doing for Missouri is great, but he is not the best player in college football.

Darren McFadden - Running Back - Arkansas
Stats: 12 G 1,725 Rush Yards 15 TD 6-11 Passing 4 TD 164 Receiving Yards 1 TD
Last Week: 32 Rush 206 Yards 3 TD 3-6 Passing 34 Yards 1 TD
Face it, the guy is the most talented player in college football. He has scored a touchdown by running, passing, and receiving. The Wild Cat formation that the Razorbacks run contribute to some of his success and the fact that he has Felix Jones on the field with him at times definitely help him at times, but this guy still does it all. Everyone on defense knows that McFadden is the guy to stop if you want to beat Arkansas, but he still manages to get his stats. The problem with McFadden is that he went missing for a couple games this season and Heisman winners do not do that. His numbers against similar opponents to Tebow's are not even close with Tebow having much better numbers. McFadden should be the number 1 pick overall in the draft, but that is not what the Heisman is supposed to measure.

Thanksgiving Vacation

2007-11-22T19:46:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the TBSF readers out there!!! I am on vacation with my wife until Monday, so posting will be limited until I get back home and have some time to post my new articles. Everyone have a great Turkey Day and check out DRaysBay or the StatPak to get your blogging fix!!!!

College Football Rankings Week 6

2007-11-20T17:22:00.001-05:00

The BCS uses all sorts of formulas with computers and people rankings as well. Many people think the BCS is wrong and also believe that the voters do not get it right. With this in mind I have got together knowledgeable football fans from across the country with representation of each conference in the polls. The fans come from members of the Fantasy Football Cafe College Sports Forum. These fans watch more football than most of the voters and are extremely knowledgeable. They are allowed to vote however they want, just like if they were a Harris or AP voter. Some vote based on based performance, some on future, some on a combination of those, while others vote based on which team would win on a neutral field. They send me their top 35 and I calculate it to come up with the top 25 and we compare it to the BCS. I have included the averages for the top teams to show just how close they are packed together. To me it looks like you can interchange the 2-4 spots. Here is the BCS week 6 and our Week 6:
BCS

1. LSU 10-1
2. Kansas 11-0
3. West Virginia 9-1
4. Missouri 10-1
5. Ohio State 11-1
6. Arizona State 9-1
7. Georgia 9-2
8. Virginia Tech 9-2
9. Oregon 8-2
10. Oklahoma 9-2
11. USC 8-2
12. Florida 8-3
13. Texas 9-2
14. Boston College 9-2
15. Hawaii 10-0
16. Virginia 9-2
17. Illinois 9-3
18. Tennessee 8-3
19. Boise State 10-1
20. Connecticut 9-2
21. Wisconsin 9-3
22. Clemson 8-3
23. South Florida 8-3
24. Cincinnati 8-3
25. BYU 8-2

Rankings

1. LSU (9) 1.1
2. Kansas (1) 4.2
3. WVU 4.6
4. Missouri 4.7
5. Georgia 5.1
6. Ohio State 5.4
7. Arizona State
8. Oklahoma
9. USC
10. Virginia Tech
11. Florida
12. Oregon
13. Texas
14. Boston College
15. Virginia
16. Illinois
17. Tennessee
18. Wisconsin
19. Clemson
20. Uconn
21. Auburn
22. Hawaii
23. Boise State
24. Cincinnati
25. USF

Again the top four are the same as the BCS, but the difference is how close they are in this cote than in the BCS. The difference between Missouri and Kansas is a lot further in the BCS than in our rankings. The Kansas and Missouri game will put an end to that and I think if Missouri wins they will jump WVU. Georgia is higher in our rankings than in the BCS and I think that is due to the fact that the voters in our poll take SOS into account while they are determining the selection. Once again Hawaii is much lower than the BCS. I can tell you that many left them very far down on there list or off of it all together. In my opinion it will all be a moot point after this weekend because I believe Boise State will beat Hawaii.

Gators Get Harvin Back, but Defense Up in the Air

2007-11-20T16:24:00.001-05:00

The Gators biggest play maker not named Tim Tebow returned to practice this week. Percy Harvin has missed the last two weeks with migraine headaches that have been so bad he had to be sent to the hospital for treatment. Harvin is back at practice this week and says he will play this week against rival FSU. Although the gators offense has scored without him, they have still missed his home run presence in the game. Percy is a guy that is a threat to take it to the house anytime he touches the ball and defenses have to account for where he is on the field every down. With Harvin back it will open up the field even more for Andre Caldwell, Cornelius Ingram, Jarred Fayson, and others. This is great news for the Gators.

The Gators are going to need Harvin in the game against FSU because with the injuries in the secondary they may need to score every time they have the ball to win the game. The Gators starting corner Joe Haden is doubtful with an ankle injury and his backup Markihe Anderson still has a sore knee and even if he does play he will not be as effective as he should be. If Haden were not to play that means that freshman Jacque Rickerson will have to start and play extended minutes, something he has not done this year. The Gators secondary has been it's Achilles heel all year long and these injuries combined with going against the duo of DeCody Fagg and Greg Carr does not look good for the Gators. They will need some of the younger secondary players to step up and play a great game with Haden out of the game.

With the secondary still hurting the Gators will need the front four to step up and try to get pressure on the Seminoles. The Gators got good news on both sides of their lines when they learned that both of the Pouncey twins will be able to play. Mike Pouncey has been big up the middle plugging up holes and making it difficult to run. Pouncey also gets double team sometimes because of his size, which leads to the ends coming free for sacks. Maurkice Pouncey's return to the offensive line will help in protection of Tebow and running the ball with Harvin, Fayson, and Moore.

Boras

2007-11-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

I am now a contributing writer on The Stat Pack. My first article is a piece on Scott Boras and if he has lost his effect with teams. The Stat Pack focuses more on baseball, but still has articles from all walks of sports. The writers over there are quality writers and have some great insight and connections to great interviews. My Articles at The Stat Pack will be different from the ones here and have different content. I will have an interview from the Pittsburgh Pirates 1B/OF Steven Pearce over there very soon. Be sure to go check it out!!

Heisman Top 5 -- Week 13

2007-11-19T12:41:00.001-05:00

My disclaimer as always: The Heisman trophy is given to the best player in the country and that is how I look at the award. The best player may not be on the best team in the country. There are many things that go into being the best player including stats, leadership, and what you mean to your team. Dennis Dixon went down last week and although he is still on my list because of how great his year was and how much he meant, I left him off of this list and have 5 healthy players. Here is my Top 5 starting this week:

Tim Tebow - Quarterback - Florida
Stats - 11 Games 177.5 Rating 68.5 % 2,870 Yards 26 TD 6 INT 749 Rush Yards 20 TD
Last Week: 25-34 338 Yards 3 TD 1 INT 31 Yards Rushing 1 TD
The Gators were expected to blow out FAU and maybe give Tebow some time off, but the defense did not step up until later in the game and Tebow had to stay in and lead the offense. He set a career mark in passing with 338 yards and became the first player in FBS history to have 20 passing and 20 rushing touchdowns in the same season. We all saw what happened to Oregon when Dixon went down, and I believe the same would happen to the Gators if Tebow were to go down. Much like Dixon, Tebow is the emotional leader of the team and pumps up both the offense and defense. If there was ever a sophomore deserving to win the award it is Tebow.

Chase Daniel - Quarterback - Missouri
Stats: 11 Games 155.1 Rating 69.3 % 3,590 Yards 30 TD 9 INT 252 Rush Yards 3 TD
Last Week: 28-41 284 Yards 4 TD
Daniel moved up because of another great performance last week, but also due to Dixon's injury and Mike Hart's terrible day against OSU. Daniel has had a great season and has Missouri with a chance to go to the National Championship game. He has carried this team when they need it and seems to help them respond offensively when other teams score on them. This week will be a big test for them as they play Kansas and could do wonders for his Heisman chances.

Pat White - Quarterback - West Virginia
Stats: 10 Games 153.5 Rating 69% 1,391 11 TD 3 INT 958 Rush Yards 12 TD
Last Week: 13-19 120 Yards 1 INT155 Rush Yards 2 TD
The Mountaineers played a game with huge Big East implications on Saturday against Cincinnati. Cincy was a team that many thought would upset the Mountaineers because of how good Cincy's defense is and style that they run. I watched the entire game and what I came away with was that White may be just as important to his team as Dennis Dixon was to Oregon. Cincy was playing great defense and was able to stop Slaton and the wide outs. The game was close until WVU just let Pat White do his thing. White was able to make the reads and run all over Cincy, but also had the vision to make the pitches to get more yards. WVU has one loss this season and that was the game that White only played a quarter of.

Darren McFadden - Running Back - Arkansas
Stats: 11 G 1,519 Rush Yards 12 TD 3-5 Passing 3 TD 164 Receiving Yards 1 TD
Last Week: 28 Rush 88 Yards 1-1 Passing 1 TD 4 Receptions 50 Yards 1 TD
Face it, the guy is the most talented player in college football. He has scored a touchdown by running, passing, and receiving. The Wild Cat formation that the Razorbacks run contribute to some of his success and the fact that he has Felix Jones on the field with him at times definitely help him at times, but this guy still does it all. Everyone on defense knows that McFadden is the guy to stop if you want to beat Arkansas, but he still manages to get his stats.

Glenn Dorsey - Defensive Tackle - LSU
Stats: 11 Games 55 Total Tackles 11.5 Tackles for Loss 6 Sacks 4 Passes Defensed
Last Week: 1 Tackle
Defensive players do not win the Heisman, but Dorsey makes an argument. He is the heart and soul of the LSU defense and when he is in the game teams cannot run the ball up the middle. His stats are pretty good for a defensive tackle, but more than his stats is just him being on the field. His presence totally changes the game for the LSU defense and they can focus more on the passing game knowing that Dorsey is a big man clogging up the middle. He won't win the award because he is on the defense, but he deserves some talk.

Gators Set records, but Get Eliminated From SEC Race

2007-11-17T17:14:00.000-05:00

Tim Tebow and Andre Caldwell both set records in a dominating victory over FAU at home on Saturday. Caldwell broke former Gator wide receiver, Carlos Alvarez's, Florida career reception mark. Caldwell had a big game and compiled 13 receptions, which had him 3 short of breaking another one of Alvarez's records, most receptions in a game. Tebow set a career high in passing yards on the day, but he set a bigger record when he rushed for a touchdown in the first half. Tebow's rushing touchdown game him 20 on the the year, which made him the only player in NCAA FBS history to throw and run for 20 touchdowns in a single season. The 20 touchdowns also set an SEC record for a quarterback. The Gators dominated FAU on both sides of the ball and seemed to score at will because of Caldwell and Tebow.

The individual accomplishments were great, but they were overshadowed later when the Gators learned they had been eliminated from the SEC East race. The Gators needed Kentucky to beat Georgia and Tennessee to lose to either Vandy or Kentucky next week. It looked good for a while, but the Kentucky ended up choking the game away and Georgia ended any chance the Gators had to make it to Atlanta and represent the SEC East. The Gators now have only the rivalry game against FSU and a bowl game left on their schedule. At the moment it looks like the Gators will be headed down here to Tampa to take on Ron Zook and Illinois in the Outback Bowl. Next week is tje big game against the Seminoles, who have looked better as of late. The Gators have a 3 game winning streak against the Seminoles and Urban will look to extend that.

The Gators did have some injuries in the game that may effect them next week. Both starting corners, Joe Haden and Wandy Pierre-Louis, were both injured during the game and their status has not been updated yet. Also, Percy Harvin missed another game with migraine headaches. Hopefully all three of them will be healthy this Saturday for the rivalry game, but we will have to wait.

Closer Found?

2007-11-16T17:43:00.001-05:00

Towards the end of last season the Rays finally cut their ties with Jorge Cantu and shipped him to Cincinnati and in return the Rays received Calvin Medlock and Brian Shackelford. The Rays were just trying to get something for Cantu, but they may have got their future closer in the deal.

Medlock has had good numbers since being drafted by the Reds. He has a career 3.24 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. What is most impressive has been his ability to adapt and get better as he goes through the minors. Medlock seems to struggle when he is first moved up in the minors, but later adjusts and puts up good numbers. He was having a tough season last year when the Rays traded for him, he had a 5.63 ERA for AAA Louisville in 16 innings. After the trade though, Medlock pitched 15.2 innings and had an ERA of 3.45. Maybe he adjusted or maybe pitching coach Xavier Hernandez helped him work through whatever his struggles are. Whatever it was that was fixed has only made him better.

The Rays sent Medlock to the Arizona Fall League to gain experience this off season. If what he did there is any indication of what he can for the Rays, than they robbed the Reds in the that trade. Medlock gave up 3 earned runs in his first 4 innings in Arizona, but fixed that and did not give up an earned run in the last 12.2 innings he was there. With the Fall League rapping up Medlock will most likely finish with a 1.62 ERA and 9.5 K/BB ratio. While in Arizona batters had an average of .127 against him and he had a .56 WHIP.

Medlock has all the makings of closer. He does not walk many, gives up few hits, and has the pitches to get the strikeouts when necessary. The Rays are in need of help in the bullpen, but they may not have to go out and get too much help. He is not ready to close just yet, but he will only get better as he gains major league experience. The Rays need to give him a real shot in Spring Training to see what he can do.

Will Rays Pursue Izturis?

2007-11-16T14:27:00.001-05:00

Rotoworld is reporting that the Pirates have declined their 5.45 million option on Cesar Izturis today. With have Jack Wilson and his big salary on the team, plus Freddy Sanchez in the mix there was no need to spend that much money on a utility infielder. With the Rays need for a defensive shortstop will they pursue Izturis?

The members over at DRaysBay came up with a wish list of players they wanted to see on the Rays and Izturis was a name that popped up. Izturis was a gold glove shortstop in 2004 for the Dodgers, which was the last time he played a full season, and made the all-star team the next season. He was traded to the Cubs in 2006 for Greg Maddux and recently traded to the Pirates. Since he left the Dodgers he has not really been a full-time shortstop, but he is still young and has the potential to be a gold glove shortstop again.

Izturis is not much of a threat with the bat. He has a lifetime average of .259 and an on base percentage of .295, but the Rays do not need him for his bat. Izturis is very good defensively and has a lifetime fielding percentage of .979. Izturis has great range and does not make very many errors. The Rays need a veteran defensive shortstop to come in and be the stop gap at the position until Reid Brignac is ready to take over. The Rays defense was horrible last season and adding Izturis would help that immensely. Izturis is not worth what he was getting paid and many teams will want him to be a utility player for them and not the full time shortstop. The Rays may be the only team that can offer him a starting and full time spot, which may allow them to sign him for a lesser price.

Harvin Out, Pouncey to Play

2007-11-16T10:15:00.000-05:00

Its official, the Gators will be without star wide out/running back Percy Harvin for the second straight game. Harvin, who missed last week with a severe sinus infection and migraine headaches, has not gotten any better this week and actually had to be hospitalized. Other Gators had to step up last week to make up for the loss of Harvin and will have to do so again this week. Hopefully Harvin will get better and be able to play next week at FSU. The Gators may not need him to beat FAU this week, but he would be a huge loss for the FSU game.

The Gators did get some good news on the injury front though. Freshman offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey was cleared to play this week after being carted from last weeks game with a sprained ankle. Urban Meyer said he had a good couple days of practice and he is a fats healer. It will be good to have Pouncey back in the game, but like Tebow he needs to be pulled later in the game if the Gators are up big.

Cam to Play Extended Time ??

2007-11-15T13:54:00.000-05:00

The Gators are expected to win big this week as FAU comes into the swamp. The odds makers have Florida as a 35 point favorite at the moment, and many people think it may not be that close. The Gators seem to have gotten on track defensively, especially at home and the offense seems to be scoring at will. If the Gators are to get up big early the question will be whether or not they should leave Tim Tebow in the game. Urban Meyer addressed this earlier this week and said that Cameron Newton has had two good weeks of practice and could see time in the game.

On one hand you do not want to chance Tebow going down on a fluke play and have him miss the FSU game, but on the other Tebow is a Heisman candidate and may need the stats to win the award. My feeling is that if the Gators have a comfortable lead they need to turn it over to Cam and let him run the offense.

If the Gators are up enough to let Cam into the game that means that Tebow has done already gotten his stats and their is no reason to risk him getting hurt. Further, the team needs him healthy to win against FSU and the bowl game so there is no need risk him getting injured just for stats. Also, I would like to see Cam get some game time and see what he can do. He has gotten some minor work and looked good in that action, but it would be good to see what he can do in extended action. Cam is a true Freshman and will be the Gators quarterback after Tebow leaves. He is actually bigger and faster than Tebow is and should be fun to watch in a few years.

Harvin Doubtful

The Gators are most likely going to be without their biggest running and receiving threat again this weekend. Percy Harvin, who missed the South Carolina game with a sinus infection and migraine headaches, came back to practice this week, but after a working for a bit got sick again. The Gators had to take Percy to the hospital and Urban Meyer visited him when he had an IV going and said that Percy was not looking good. It seems that Percy is sicker than they once thought and the Gators will most likely be without him this weekend.

Rays Moves

2007-11-14T13:49:00.000-05:00

The Rays made a couple of roster moves today. They have exercised their option on closer Al Reyes and declined the option on 1B/DH Greg Norton. The Rays also reinstated outfielder Rocco Baldelli, shortstop Ben Zobrist, and catcher Sean Riggans. The Rays had until Thursday to pick up or decline the options on Reyes and Norton, but wasted no time.

Reyes was a fantastic gamble by the Rays during the off season last year and keeping him was an obvious choice. Reyes will still be the Rays closer at the moment, but they may make some moves in the off season, which would move him to the set up role he excelled in when he was with St. Louis. Reyes did struggle at the end of the season after being lights out in the first half, which could be a concern for the Rays, but those struggles could be due to not getting consistent pitching time, his injury, or because he had missed the previous year with an injury. Whatever the struggles were from, picking up his option was a no brainer.

Releasing Norton cam as no surprise either. The team is full of young talent that can play the DH position and Norton was not playing well when he did get a chance. The best thing he did as a Ray was get hurt in last Spring training, which allowed Carlos Pena to have the first base job. Thank You Norty.

The other moves were just to put guys back on the roster. Zobrist could be cut and let go in my opinion. he was terrible with the bat and is not a great defensive shortstop. Baldelli says he is healthy and the Rays will hope that is true once again. With the Rays releasing Josh Paul earlier, Sean Riggans becomes the back up catcher for the Rays.

Crawford to the Cubs?

2007-11-13T15:42:00.000-05:00

ESPN 1000 in Chicago is reporting that the Rays and Cubs are are talking and maybe close to a deal that would send Carl Crawford to the Cubs for Rich Hill/Carlos Marmol/Ronny Cedeno. It was floated out earlier today and the guys over at DRaysBay picked it up and speculated that this could be the deal and ESPN 1000 has just confirmed the names.

The bad press has already started over this on local radio. Many fans are going to be upset if the Rays let go of Crawford, but they are not getting "no names" in return that many think they are. Rich Hill is a young starter who has tremendous upside, would be a great addition to the rotation, and the Rays would have control of him for a while at a the minimum. Carlos Marmol is a great you closer who could come in and immediately be the guy the Rays can go to and shut the door at the end of the games. Adding Marmol would allow the Rays to move Reyes to the 8th and be the set up guy like he was in St. Louis for a while. Cedeno is the least talented player, but he is still a very good defensive short stop that can come in and improve the Rays infield defense and hold down the fort until Reid Brignac can get up.

No one wants to see Crawford leave the Rays, but this trade would bring the Rays viable players in return that can help them win. All 3 players address needs that the Rays have, including the 2 major ones in another good starter and bullpen help. You would like to see maybe one more player added into the deal since Crawford is so talented, but they would be getting value.

EDIT - From what I have heard the Rays are not going to do this deal, but it was offered to the Rays. While I think the Rays could get more for Crawford, it was not a bad offer and could have helped the Rays in the long run.

College Football Rankings Week 5

2007-11-13T12:59:00.000-05:00

The BCS uses all sorts of formulas with computers and people rankings as well. Many people think the BCS is wrong and also believe that the voters do not get it right. With this in mind I have got together knowledgeable football fans from across the country with representation of each conference in the polls. The fans come from members of the Fantasy Football Cafe College Sports Forum. These fans watch more football than most of the voters and are extremely knowledgeable. They are allowed to vote however they want, just like if they were a Harris or AP voter. Some vote based on based performance, some on future, some on a combination of those, while others vote based on which team would win on a neutral field. They send me their top 35 and I calculate it to come up with the top 25 and we compare it to the BCS. Here is the BCS week 5 and our Week 5:

BCS

1. LSU
2. Oregon
3. Kansas
4. Oklahoma
5. Missouri
6. West Virginia
7. Ohio State
8. Arizona State
9. Georgia
10. Virginia Tech
11. USC
12. Florida
13. Texas
14. Virginia
15. Clemson
16. Hawaii
17. Boston College
18. Boise State
19. Illinois
20. Tennessee
21. Michigan
22. Cincinnati
23. Kentucky
24. UConn
25. Wisconsin

Rankings

1. LSU
2. Oregon
3. Oklahoma
4. Kansas
5. Missouri
6. West Virginia
7. Georgia
8. Ohio State
9. Arizona State
10. USC
11. Florida
12. Virginia Tech
13. Texas
14. Clemson
15. Virginia
16. Tennessee
17. Boston College
18. Illinois
19. Cincinnati
20. Kentucky
21. Michigan
22. Hawaii
23. Auburn
24. Boise State
25. Wisconsin

This is by far the closest the rankings have been to the BCS this season. With the more games being played the rankings have become a little more a like because the basics seem to be obvious, but there are some minor differences that would be important to the Bowls and National Championship. The difference between Kansas and Oregon in the BCS is not very much and many believe if Kansas wins out they will definitely jump Oregon in the BCS, while that may not happen in these rankings. Kansas does have it's biggest tests coming up and if they can go undefeated I think they will be number 2 in the country.

The other major thing with Bowl implications is Hawaii and Boise States rank. To get into a BCS bowl the Hawaii or BSU would need to get into the top 12 or in the top 16 and is ahead of one of the BCS conference champions. The BCS rankings would most likely have Hawaii in a BCS game if they win out, but by these rankings Hawaii would not see a BCS bowl game. I personally would love to see Hawaii in a bowl game because they would get run off the field by these other teams and it would put in end to their complaining about getting no respect.

This Offseason Very Important for Rays

2007-11-12T23:13:00.000-05:00

The Rays have finally unveiled all of their new changes with the uniforms and name change. The Rays front office is hoping to not only change the design of the uniforms, but also the design of the team and the Rays fan base. With all the hype surrounding the new team and the Rays front office wanting a new stadium, this is the most important off season for the Rays franchise.

The Rays showed great offensive promise all of the 2007 campaign and the pitching seemed to get better as the year went on. The Rays had fans excited at the end of the year and it showed at the unveiling of the new uniforms and team name. They had 7,000 people show up in the middle of football season at a park in St. Petersburg to watch a fashion show of Rays players. A couple years ago they may have gotten 700 for something like that.

With all of the changes it has come out in the newspapers that the Rays front office wants to build a new stadium where Al Lang field is now located. The Rays confirmed the report a couple nights ago that they are looking at a $450 million dollar ball park, but will only need about $60 million from the city to have it built. In order for the Rays to get the 60 million needed they will need the voters to turn out and vote for a tax raise to get the stadium built. The Rays stated in the paper today that they want the referendum voted on in November 2008. If the Rays want people to come out and vote, they need to give the fans a reason to be excited and want to vote for the stadium to be built.

For the Rays to get the fans to come out and vote they will need to get people excited and have a reason to want to get a new ball park built. This is the reason that this off season is so important for the Rays. Right now they have the momentum and excitement of the fan base, but if they do not address certain areas of the team and go into next season with the same basic team and do not spend money there will be problems. While fans really need to act like this is only the third year of the franchise they have lumped this organization in with the last and are tired of seeing losing baseball. Fans in the bay are long for a team that is .500 and at least a little competitive. If the Rays organization can make some moves and get this team to .500 by the end of next season I can guarantee that fans will come out and vote yeas for a new stadium. If they do nothing and the team continues the way it has the fans will just believe that it is the same old thing and leave the vote alone.

The Rays know what spots on this team they need to address for the team to be competitive; the bullpen and the starting rotation. There are some key free agents that are available to the Rays that can help both if these areas. The Rays can also address the areas in trade and have some offers out there. Whatever the Rays do they need to make sure they show the fans they are committed and if they do the fans will return the favor come November 2008.

Bucs Sign Keiwan Ratliff, Release Chas Gessner

2007-11-12T12:26:00.001-05:00

With Michael Clayton healthy and able to play this weekend against the Falcons, the Bucs cut wide out Chas Gessner from the roster. They Bucs then signed corner back Keiwan Ratliff to the roster to take Gessner's spot. The move makes sense for the Bucs because they lost Torrie Cox for the season last week and had only 4 corners on the roster. Gessner was a special teams contributer and nothing more, so it made sense to add another corner with Clayton returning to the lineup.

Gator fans will remember Ratliff from his time at the University of Florida. Ratliff was the SEC player of the year two times in his career and was an All-American his senior season. He owns the records for most punt return yards (860), and interceptions in a game (3). Ratliff was a second round draft pick for the Bengals in 2004, but was released earlier this year.

Ratliff has played 51 games in his 4 year career and has 102 career tackles, 3 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles. He had a nice first year returning punts averaging 12.2 yards per return, but struggled in his next two seasons as he was in and out of the position.

Ratliff offers the Bucs some insurance in the secondary position with Brian Kelly and Phillip Buchanon's history of getting injuries. He has played in the league for 4 years so he has game experience. He also gives them a guy who can return punts, which will allow them not to chance Hilliard, Galloway, or Buchanon getting hurt on a punt return. This reminds me of the move the Bucs made last year when they acquired Buchanon off of waivers after he was released for being soft. Buchanon has been a great find for the Bucs and maybe Ratliff needed to be in a cover 2 type of system to succeed like Buchanon.

Heisman Top 5 -- Week 12

2007-11-12T10:07:00.001-05:00

My disclaimer as always: The Heisman trophy is given to the best player in the country and that is how I look at the award. The best player may not be on the best team in the country. There are many things that go into being the best player including stats, leadership, and what you mean to your team. Here is my Top 5 starting this week:

Tim Tebow - Quarterback - Florida
Stats - 10 Games 177.1 Rating 67.8 % 2,532 Yards 23 TD 5 INT 718 Rush Yards 19 TD
Last Week: 22-32 304 Yards 2 TD 1 INT 120 Yards Rushing 5 TD
The Gators were without their star wide receiver Percy Harvin for the game which meant they had to lean on Tebow, and he responded. Tebow was the offense against South Carolina and dispelled any rumors that he is not the most important person on that team. Harvin can take a lot of pressure off of Tebow, but he showed in the South Carolina game that he can take the team on his back when he needs to. He has some of the best talent on the field and should be the Heisman front runner right now.

Dennis Dixon - Quarterback - Oregon
Stats: 9 Games 163.1 Rating 67.9% Passing 2,074 Yards 20 TD 3 INT 549 Rush Yards 8 TD
Last Week: IDLE
Dixon got a break this week and got a chance to rest up his ankle so that he can be healthy for a run at the National Championship game. Oregon has a Thursday night game against Arizona coming up and if he goes off like he is capable of on Thursday it will help his Heisman hopes. I think that Dixon will win it because he is a senior and they will be in the National Championship game in my opinion, but I still believe Tebow is the better talent and should get the award.

Mike Hart - Running Back - Michigan
Stats: 8 Games 215 carries 1,188 yards 12 TD
Last Week: DNP Injured
Why is he still here? The game against Wisconsin showed exactly why Hart should still be in the Heisman talk. Had Hart played in the game against Wisconsin than Michigan wins that game in my opinion and are undefeated in the Big 10. No one on the Wolverine team could get anything going on the ground and without a ground game the Wolverines were forced to rely on freshman Quarterback Ryan Mallet to try and win the game through the air. Hart is a great talent and when healthy is one of the best players in the country. His numbers are not what they would be if he was healthy, but without him the Wolverines have no shot against OSU.

Chase Daniel - Quarterback - Missouri
Stats: 10 Games 154.7 Rating 69.4 % 3,306 Yards 26 TD 9 INT 279 Rush Yards 4 TD
Last Week: 27-35 352 Yards 3 TD
Daniel carried Missouri against TAMU over the weekend. He has the Tigers set up for a hug game against Kansas for the Big 12 North Title and a rematch against Oklahoma, who gave them their only loss. Daniel has great athleticism and has a knack to be able to keep his team in any game and dominate the competition that he needs to. If they can beat Kansas and Oklahoma he may vault up this board even more.

Pat White - Quarterback - West Virginia
Stats: 9 Games 157.7 Rating 69% 1,251 11 TD 2 INT 803 Rush Yards 10 TD
Last Week: 16-25 181 Yards 2 TDS 147 Rush Yards 1 TD
White dominated the Louisville Cardinals on Thursday night and won the game for the Mountaineers to make sure that the Big East championship has to go through Morgantown. The Mountaineers should be undefeated and lost to USF without Pat White. While White does have Slaton and Devine on that team, it has been shown that they can win without Slaton, but can't win without White. White is one of the most talented athletes in the country and while he won't be a quarterback in the NFL, he is a great QB in college and has come into his own this year as a passer.

Tebow Show Dominates Gamecocks

2007-11-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

The Gators went into Columbia needing a win to have a chance at the SEC East title. The Gators had to play the game without star wide out Percy Harvin because he was in Gainesville with a sinus infection and Migraine headaches. The Gators would need to lean on Tebow to win the game, and he accepted the challenge and dominated South Carolina. Tebow accounted for all 7 of the Gator touchdowns, running for 5 and throwing for 2. His numbers could have been even better as Murphy dropped an easy touchdown pass and James fumbled inside the 10 yard line going in. If there was any doubt that Tebow is the most important part of the team, the South Carolina game put an end to that.

After their run defense being exploited last week against Arkansas the formula to beat the Gamecocks was simple, run the ball. The problem the gators have is that Harvin had been their run game because Kestahn Moore has been inconsistent at best and Brandon James just does not have the experience. Not having Harvin in the game altered the game plan from the start, but the Gators adjusted and Tebow led the way on offense. The Gators managed a running game that was not exclusively Tewbow by using James and Jarred Fayson in running situations. James showed some of the same explosion running the ball that he does on kick returns, but he did put the ball on the turf a couple times, which is the reason that Moore was benched.

The Gator defense came out fired up in the beginning of the game and got a fumble and blocked a punt that both led to touchdowns, which gave the Gators a 14 point lead after only 4 minutes in the first quarter. Brandon Spikes had a great game not only tackling, but in coverage. He tipped 3 passes, one was intercepted, one Cory Boyd made a great catch on, and the final one was knocked down in the end zone. This defense has taken a lot of heat all season, especially with their play on the road, but they came up big in this game at the right times. They did give up some big plays in the passing game with busted coverages, but for the most part they were able to stop the Gamecock offense from staying on the field for sustaining drives.

The Gators needed to win this game to keep their SEC title hopes alive and they came out swinging. They now will have to sit back and hope that Kentucky can beat Georgia and either Kentucky or Vanderbilt can beat Tennessee so that they can go to Atlanta. The Gators finished the SEC season with a 5-3 record. They will finish the season against FAU and FSU at home and then will await a bowl game.

Florida Live Gameday Thread

2007-11-10T11:48:00.000-05:00

Today is a big day not only for the Gators, but for the SEC race. Tennessee takes on Arkansas and Georgia is at home to Auburn. If those two team were to lose today and the Gators beat South Carolina they will be in a great opportunity to win the SEC East. I will be updating the thread throughout the day. Feel free to leave your thoughts on the games.

Ole Ball Coach v. New Ball Coach

2007-11-09T15:34:00.001-05:00

The Gators take on the South Carolina Gamecocks tomorrow night at 7:45. What once was a one-sided SEC game for the Gators has become a big time rivalry game ever since former Gator and Gator coach Steve Spurrier took over the reigns at South Carolina. It was started by Spurrier immediately when he cut the number of visitor tickets that would be available for the Gator/Gamecock game in 2006. It was made even worse when the Gators lost the game in Columbia that year. Last year Spurrier was on the visiting sideline for the first time in his life when he brought a tough team into the Swamp. The game was back and forth and the Gators needed to block a last minute field goal to win the game and go to the SEC championship and eventually the National Championship.

This year the game means a lot for both teams once again and none of it has to do with who the coach for either team is. South Carolina has two tough games left on their schedule and if they want to go to a decent bowl they need to win at least one, if no both of them. The Gamecocks have been up and down all season mainly due to a very inconsistent offense. Meanwhile the gators still have a shot at the SEC East crown if they can win this game and get some help from Tennessee and Georgia. While the Gamecocks have been inconsistent on offense the Gators have had the opposite problem, struggling on defense. This is the final SEC game for the Gators, who will finish up with FAU and rival FSU in the final two weeks of the season. They need to finish strong and win this game; sticking it to the ball coach.

South Carolina had a rough game last week not only losing to Arkansas, but also having several key members of the team getting injured. Leading rusher Cory Boyd sprained his shoulder, Strong Safety Emmanuel Cook injured his ankle, and Corner Captain Munerlyn also injured his ankle. Boyd is expected to play, but the other two are questionable and even if they do play they will be limited by their ankle injuries. The injuries would be big blows to the Carolina defense because Munerlyn is their captain and best cover corner, while Cook is the leading tackler on the team. If these two defenders are out the Gator offense will have an even easier time moving the ball down the field.

Those injuries to the secondary hurt even more because it has been the secondary that has been the staple of the defense. South Carolina has the second overall defense in the SEC giving up only 20.8 points per game, but that is the by product of having such a great pass defense. The run defense of the Gamecocks has been absolutely terrible and they are 11th in the SEC in run defense. Last week Arkansas ran all over South Carolina gaining over 400 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, the pass defense is 4th in the SEC and has more interceptions than touchdowns allowed. The loss of Cook will hurt them not only in that secondary, but also stopping the run, thus depleting them in an area that they already are bad in.

While the Gators do not have a running back like Darren McFadden to run against this defense, they do have Percy Harvin. Last week the Gators ran Harvin like he was their running back and he ran for over 100 yards against a good Vanderbilt defense, while still getting over 100 yards in receiving. Harvin and Fayson will be called upon once again to get the ball out of the backfield and expose that South Carolina run defense in the game. While Harvin is a wide receiver, he runs better than most running backs and he will tear this South Carolina defense a part on Saturday. The Gators will use a rotation at running back to keep the guys fresh and allow Harvin to get into the passing game, but expect Harvin to get the majority of the carries.

The Gamecock offense will be lead by senior Blake Mitchell, who had been replaced by Freshman Chris Smelley earlier this season due to ineffectiveness. Mitchell's stats on the year are: 59.3% passing, 6 TD and 6 INT. The Gamecocks have thrown for the most yards of any team in the SEC and this will be a problem for the Gators. The weakest part of the Gators defense has been the young secondary. While they have been getting better as each week goes on, they are still young and Spurrier has a way of confusing young players with his schemes.

The pressure up front will need to come like it did last week to help out the secondary. The Gators front four has not been great this season, but last week they finally got some pressure up front and caused havoc in the backfield. Mike Pouncey switched from the offensive line to the defensive line and he not only clogged the middle to stop the run, but also was able to get up the field and help get pressure. The young Gators are stepped up last week and will need to again this week. Freshman Safety Major Wright will play with a smaller cast on his hand, but Kyle Jackson may get the start again over Wright. This would be a set back for the Gators because Jackson has been terrible all year long, while Wright has been great in run support and decent in coverage. If the front four can get pressure and the secondary can bend, but not break the gators will win this game.

PREDICTION: Gators 34 SC 24

No Untouchables

2007-11-08T11:43:00.001-05:00

Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman told the media earlier this week that none of the players on the Rays roster were untouchable. He went on to say that they will listen to offers for any of their players, including Scott Kazmir, Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, Delmon Young, and Evan Longoria. Friedman did not say that they were on the block, but said that they would listen to offers for any of their players.

Many Rays fans heard this news and figured what else is new and complained again about the management and the way the team is run. They have heard the rumors of Crawford to the Chicago Cubs, Rocco Baldelli to Minnesota, and Scott Kazmir to many different places and assume they are going to happen after Friedman's statement. Rays fans need to take a step back and read what was actually said by the Rays and look at where some of the rumors are coming from before they get all up in arms about the management.

The Rays have never said that they are looking to trade any of their players, all they said was that they would listen to offers. If the Padres were to offer Jake Peavy, Chris Young, and Heath Bell for say Delmon Young and some one else should the Rays just say no because Young is untouchable? The Rays know what they need to make this team better and have shown that they are going to build with their young players, but will need others. To make players off limits just because they are good would hamstring the team from making deals. Even if they have a high price they can listen and it opens up dialog with other teams throughout the off season. The Rays said that no one is untouchable, but they never said that they are willing to trade their best players for nothing in return or for prospects. Rays fans are a bit skeptical and have a right to be with how this team has been run in the past, but they must remember this is a new group and they are trying to move on.

With all of that being said, I do disagree with the way this all came about. It is one thing for a GM to tell other GM's in the meetings or privately that they are willing to listen to offers for anyone, but another to address the media about it. Players need their egos stroked from time to time and the last thing you would think they want to hear is that they are replaceable. Now that is not what was said, but just like fans they will read it anyway they want. We have already heard Kazmir voice his concern that he won't sign a long term deal until they get veteran help in here, and Crawford has also had similar complaints. If these guys do not feel like they are being listened to they may feel shunned by the organization and make it harder to deal with them or want out. Sometimes you have to let information known, but I think this was a case that could have been handled a little better.

College Football Rankings Week 4

2007-11-07T16:17:00.000-05:00

The BCS uses all sorts of formulas with computers and people rankings as well. Many people think the BCS is wrong and also believe that the voters do not get it right. With this in mind I have got together knowledgeable football fans from across the country with representation of each conference in the polls. The fans come from members of the Fantasy Football Cafe College Sports Forum. These fans watch more football than most of the voters and are extremely knowledgeable. They are allowed to vote however they want, just like if they were a Harris or AP voter. Some vote based on based performance, some on future, some on a combination of those, while others vote based on which team would win on a neutral field. They send me their top 35 and I calculate it to come up with the top 25 and we compare it to the BCS. Here is the BCS week 4 and our Week 4:

BCS

1 Ohio State
2 LSU
3 Oregon
4 Kansas
5 Oklahoma
6 Missouri
7 West Virginia
8 Boston College
9 Arizona State
10 Georgia
11 Virginia Tech
12 Michigan
13 Connecticut
14 Texas
15 Florida
16 Hawaii
17 USC
18 Auburn
19 Virginia
20 Boise State
21 Clemson
22 Alabama
23 Penn State
24 Tennessee
25 Kentucky

Rankings

1. LSU (6)
2. Ohio State (2)
3. Oregon
4. Oklahoma
5. West Virginia
6. Kansas
7. Missouri
8. Georgia
9. Arizona State
10. Virginia Tech
11. Michigan
11. USC
11. Auburn
14. Boston College
15. Florida
16. Texas
17. UConn
18. Clemson
19. Alabama
20. Virginia
21. Hawaii
22. Boise State
23. Tennessee
23. California
25. Kentucky

This is the new rankings that have come out this week. They look a little more like the BCS rankings than last week and the week before. It does look like maybe in the end the polls will be close together, unless one of the top teams falls and others falter. The big differences are obviously who the number one team in the country is. Again the thing you will notice is that just because OSU has no losses does not mean that people are voting them number 1 overall. The other main differences are USC, UConn, Hawaii, and Auburn. The USC difference does surprise me because the media normally has them higher than most fans I know, but in this case it seems that people think the Pac 10 is not what it really is. UConn and Hawaii being lower do not surprise me at all. Hawaii has not played anyone and if you look at their schedule and Troy's schedule the only reason Hawaii is undefeated and Troy is not is because Troy took it upon itself to play 3 SEC schools while Hawaii plays no one. UConn has its toughest games ahead of it and could move itself up the ranks.

Your 2007 -2008 Gator Basketball Team

2007-11-06T13:53:00.000-05:00

The Gators officially open up their season on Friday night against North Dakota State. This years team is unranked and has a totally different look than the years past. The most senior player on the team is junior guard Walter Hodge. Of the 12 players, the Gators have 2 juniors, 3 sophomores and the rest are freshman. Gator fans have seen their team win back to back championships and look good doing it. Fans will have to remember that these players have talent, but will be learning on the fly this season.

Even though the Gators lost the core of their team, they are not without talent on the roster. Billy Donovan has done a great job of recruiting in the past couple of years and the cupboard is not bare. The Gators have talented players on the team and if they buy into Billy's system early the team could very well exceed expectations. Expect the Gators to run a faster more up tempo game then they have in the past and they may go back to pressing more often they have in the past couple of seasons. Donovan has the athletes and numbers he needs to run his press for most of the game and with a young team this may be the best system to run and put the pressure on the other teams. Here are the players that will be running that system:

Starters

Jai Lucas - Freshman - PG
Lucas was the 7th ranked point guard last year by rivals.com. In his senior season he averaged 26.3 PPG and 7.5 assists per game. He was a 2007 McDonald's All-American and a Parade All-American as well. Lucas is very quick and has great vision. He looks to get other people involved and is a true point guard. Lucas is also a great defender, which Donovan strives for in his players.

Walter Hodge - Junior - SG
The most senior player on the team and the only member left on the team from the back to back national championship squad. Hodge was a great player off of the bench last year, but with all the starters gone he now has the chance to step up and step into the lineup. He is a great offensive guard and also had the second most assists on the team last season. His defense is not as good as one would hope, but it is not bad.

Marreese Speights - Sophomore - C
Speights actually got some time in last year for Al Horford and Joakim Noah when they needed a breather or were in foul trouble. He looked very good in his short time last year and was a big force down low. His is a very good rebounder and makes great passes out of the post. He has a great wingspan, which will help him to block shots. Speights has great natural talent, his defense is great, and he showed his offensive prowess last year as well.

Nick Calathes - Freshman - SF
Calathes was actually ranked higher as a point guard than Lucas by rivals.com and other recruiting websites. His abilities and body type allow him to play point guard, shooting guard, or small forward. He has great vision, great perimeter shooting, and can talk the ball to the hole when he needs to. He is one of three people in Florida High School basketball history to be Mr. Basketball for the State of Florida for two consecutive years. In his senior season he averaged 27.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4,6 assists a game.

Dan Werner - Sophomore - PF
Werner also go to play a little last season to give the starters a breather. Werner is able to play both the power and small forward positions. He has great range and is a great three point shooter, while also being able to play the physical game down low and get the rebounds that the Gators need. He reminds many of former Gator Matt Bonner in some regards of the way he plays.

Bench

Jonathan Mitchell - Sophomore - F
Adam Allen - Freshman - F
Hudson Fricke - Freshman - G
Chandler Parsons - Freshman - F
Shayne Payne - Freshman - G/F
Michael Weisenberg - Junior
Alex Tyus - Freshman - F

Heisman Top 5 -- Week 11

2007-11-06T09:07:00.000-05:00

Tim Tebow - Quarterback - Florida
Stats - 9 Games 179.5 Rating 67.7 % 2,228 Yards 21 TD 4 INT 598 Rush Yards 14 TD
Last Week: 22-27 281 Yards 3 TD 1 INT 35 Yards Rushing 2 TD
Tebow had another great game last week against a good defense in Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt was leading the SEC in sacks and interceptions and had a top 15 defense in the country going into the game and they were carved apart by Tebow. Tebow showed that he does not have to run to be an effective quarterback and that he is a great passing quarterback as well. He led the Gator offense down the field for scores in almost every drive, and may have had another touchdown if not for a bad snap. He is a sophomore and the Gators have three loses, but he has yet to have a bad game this season.

Dennis Dixon - Quarterback - Oregon
Stats: 9 Games 163.1 Rating 67.9% Passing 2,074 Yards 20 TD 3 INT 549 Rush Yards 8 TD
Last Week: 13-22 189 Yards 4 TD 57 Yards Rushing
Dixon started the game against ASU on fire and was pretty much unstoppable. Dixon moved the ball easily down the field and had his team up 21-3 real quick. Dixon has great vision as a runner and a thrower and is a great athlete. His numbers last week against ASU could have been better, but he left the game with an injury. Dixon has had only one poor game this season and that was in the loss to CAL. The Ducks have a great shot to make the BCS title game and that is because of how well Dixon has been playing.

Mike Hart - Running Back - Michigan
Stats: 8 Games 215 carries 1,188 yards 12 TD
Last Week: 15 Carries 110 Yards
Hart finally played this week against MSU and had a great game. You could see that Hart had to fight through his injury all game, much like he has this entire season. The guy has more hart and determination than anyone on the field playing against him. The guy just wants the yards more than anyone else on that field and his leadership is unmatched. If he was healthy I think he would be a top of this list. If he continues to go out and play and Michigan wins the Big 10, he will win this trophy.

Chase Daniel - Quarterback - Missouri
Stats: 9 Games 151.4 Rating 68.6 % 2,954 Yards 23 TD 4 INT 233 Rush Yards 3 TD
Last Week: 26-44 421 Yards 5 TD 1 INT 24 Rush Yards
Daniel continued his great play last week against Colorado. He has gone unnoticed by many people across the country because he plays at Missouri and not a more well known team. Daniel has taken this team on his back and led them to an 8-1 record and has them in position to win not only the Big 12 North, but the whole Big 12. He has only had one bad game this season and that was against Oklahoma. The competition that he has played has not been the greatest, but he has not faltered in those games that he needed to put up those numbers. He is a great athlete, leader, and without him Missouri would not even be close to this record.

Darren McFadden - Running Back - Arkansas
Stats: 222 carries 1,314 Yards 12 TD Passing: 2-3 65 Yards 2 TD
Last Week: 35 carries 323 yards 1 TD Passing 1-1 23 yards 1 TD
McFadden is one of the most talented players in college football, and he showed that in an explosion last week against South Carolina. Arkansas asks him to be Mr. Everything for them on their team. McFadden is a great runner and has the power and speed that you look for in a great back. He has great vision and sees the field very well. His vision also helps him when the Razorbacks run the Wildcat formation in which he is the "quarterback". Felix Jones takes away from some of his stats and has an effect on how you look at his importance to the team.

Score Does Not Reflect Game in Bucs Win

2007-11-05T11:04:00.001-05:00

The Bucs beat the Cardinals 17-10 on Sunday, but the score was not indicative of how the game went. The Bucs dominated the game on both sides of the ball for most of the game. The offense moved the ball all game, but came away empty handed on two long drives, which kept the game close. The Buc defense played great and outside of one long drive in the fourth quarter, held the Cardinals offense in check all game.

The Bucs offensive line had probably its best game of the year against the Cardinals. The Cards used multiple defensive fronts to try and confuse Jeff Garcia and the Buc offense. It succeeded in stopping the pass a couple times, but was ineffective against the Buc rushing attack. Earnest Graham became the first Bucs running back in 14 games to go over 100 yards. The offensive line opened holes for Graham and he ran well through those holes and over people. His touchdown run was only 3 yards, but it was a tough three yards that shows just what this guy can do when he is given the ball. Graham has waited for this moment and he has shown in his time that he can be the guy for this team. He has gotten better every week that he has been the starter and seems to get stronger as the game goes on.

The Buc defense gave up a long pass to Larry Fitzgerald in the beginning of the game, but after that they kept the Cardinals from moving down the field regularly. The secondary had an outstanding game deflecting passes, hitting the wide receivers just as they catch the ball, and grabbing interceptions. The front four did not get a sack, but did get enough pressure up front to stop the run and to make Kurt Warner throw awkwardly. The tackling by the front four allowed both Tanard Jackson and Jermaine Phillips to play deep and not have to worry about run support. With being able to play back in coverage the safeties were able to disrupt passes with devastating hits and getting into the wide outs minds. Jackson had one interception and 5 pass break ups on his own. Jackson and Phillips were laying the wide outs out all game and made them think that they would get hit every time they caught the ball. The linebackers were not asked to do much because the front four were able to stop the run and get pressure on the quarterback by themselves. The defense stepped up and had another great day.

While the Bucs had a great game, you could not tell by the score and that is something that they will need to fix in the future to beat the better teams out there. The Bucs had two very long drives that got zero points out of. Alex Smith's dropped touchdown pass in the end zone turned the momentum in the game and had the defense not stepped up it could have been very bad. When you have long drives like that you need to get points. Hopefully the Bucs will be able to get those points in the future, but it was just enough for now.

Gators Dominate Vanderbilt

2007-11-03T18:44:00.000-04:00

Its great to be home. After not playing a home game since the end of September the gators returned to the swamp for homecoming weekend. energized by the crowd, the Gators dominated Vanderbilt in every facet of the game and enjoyed a well deserved victory.

Urban Meyer stated at the beginning of the year that every time he won the coin toss he would elect to receive the ball, but this week his defense asked for the ball. The defense was tired of listening to how bad they are in the media and wanted to come out and set a tone for the rest of the game. The Gator defense let Vandy move the ball a little, but stopped them and made them punt the ball. It was only one stop and it wasn't a 3 and out, but that one stop on the opening drive fired up the crowd and the team for the rest of the game. The defense had let this team down many times this season, but against Vanderbilt they were going to make sure they were not the cause of the loss.

The Gators came into the game hurting on defense and converted freshman offensive lineman Mike Pouncey to defensive tackle due to injuries. Pouncey got the start and played great. The big man clogged up the middle and played with a fire that had been missing from this defense throughout the year up front. The linebackers were flying to the ball all game and Brandon Spikes had one of his best games of the season. Major Wright played the game with a boxing glove on his hand to protect his broken thumb, but even one handed he made plays and looked better than Kyle Jackson. Jackson missed tackles and had to get bailed out by corner Joe Haden on a touchdown pass. This defense is growing up and you can see the talent that guys like Joe Haden and Major Wright have. The defense took a major step in this game and the Gators would love to see it continue the rest of the season.

The Gators offense was pretty much unstoppable in the game. Vanderbilt came into the game with one of the top overall defenses in the NCAA. They were first in the SEC in sacks, tied for first in interceptions, and third in overall defense, but the Gators dominated them up and down the field all day. In the first half the Gators scored touchdowns on 5 of 6 drives and shot themselves in the foot on the sixth drive inside the 10 yard line. Percy Harvin had maybe his best game as a Gator with over 100 yards rushing and receiving in the game. Harvin made hit the holes the offensive line made and with one cut he was gone into the end zone or down the field for a huge gain. Vanderbilt had no answer for Harvin all game. Tebow did not run much and had no real need to. Harvin, Jarred Fayson, and Kestahn Moore were getting great yards on the ground and Tebow found Andre Caldwell and Percy Harvin through the air at will. The wide outs made Tebow look even better than he was with great runs after the catch as well. The Gators missed having the extra threat of Caldwell in the lineup and with him back they have another option in the passing game to help Tebow move the ball.

With the win over Vanderbilt the Gators kept their SEC East Title hopes alive and made next weeks game against South Carolina even bigger. The Gators need to win next week and have Tennessee and Georgia lose one game a piece to go to Atlanta. With some tough SEC games left it is a big possibility that the Gators could get to Atlanta. The team from the west that makes it will not want to meet Florida in that game. The Gators are only getting better and with the additional weeks to help the defense get better and the offense to heal up, this will be a formidable team for anyone.

USF/Cincy Gameday Thread

2007-11-03T15:26:00.000-04:00

Big Game in the Big East today for USF. Their slim Big East title hopes can only stay alive with a win in this game. They cannot turn the ball over against this great Cincy defense, or they will lose this game.

Comments posted throughout the game here.

Florida/Vandy Gameday Thread

2007-11-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

Homecoming game for the Gators today against Vandy. Tough defense for the Gators to go up against, especially with Tebow not fully healthy. Vandy already has a huge road upset win under their belt in the SEC and they always play the Gators tough. The Gator defense will need to step up because they have been the reason the Gators have lost the 3 games this season. The front four is hurting as they have lost their top 2 defensive tackles and had to convert an offensive lineman to defensive lineman to get depth. The Gators are still in the East title hunt and they need to perform today at home. To win the Gators will need to play good defense and get a running game going that is not Tim Tebow.

Post your comments throughout the game here!

Gators v. Vandy During Home Coming Weekend

2007-11-02T13:04:00.000-04:00

The Gators take on SEC East foe Vanderbilt for this year's homecoming game on Saturday. The Commodores have not beat the Gators in the swamp since 1945 and have won a game against the Gators since 1985. Although they have not beat the Gators, the Commodores have come close and given some great Florida teams a scare. In 3 of the last 5 games between these two teams the game has been decided by 6 points or less, including the last two.

Games in the SEC team are always tough and Vanderbilt has already had one upset road win on the season against South Carolina. While their offense is not very good, Vanderbilt's defense has been very good. Vanderbilt has the third best overall defense in the SEC, leads the league in sacks, and have 14 interceptions on the year. They went into Columbia earlier this year and dominated a good South Carolina team, beating Steve Spurrier for the first time in a long time. The Gator players better not be thinking about last weeks loss going into this game, because Vanderbilt will give them a good game.

Vanderbilt's bad offense will go up against a gator defense that has not been good at all this season. The Gator defense started out well on the season stopping the run, but allowing big plays. Since the gators went to SEC play they have not stopped the run at all at times and the secondary is still giving up those big plays. The Gators got more bad news about the defense this week when they found out that defensive tackles Estopinian and Antwine are both done for the season with injuries. With only three healthy defensive tackles on the roster the Gators have talked about playing a 3-4 defense and now have converted offensive lineman Mike Pouncey to the defensive line. Pouncey has actually looked pretty good on the defensive line this week and will get some playing time. The Gators did get some good news on defense when freshman Safety Major Wright practiced this week and has said he will play. With Wright out of the lineup last week the Georgia offense picked on Kyle Jackson all game in the secondary and running the ball at him. Wright will help in run support and is a much better cover man than Jackson.

Offensively the Gators need to make sure they hold onto the ball and make the plays that are there. Tim Tebow's shoulder is still sore and the Gator staff will want him to stay in the pocket more like he did last week. With Tebow hamstrung in the pocket the Gators will lean on Brandon James, Jarred Fayson, and Percy Harvin to get a ground game going. James is going to get the start this week for Kestahn Moore after Moore had two more costly fumbles last week. Moore has been given the opportunity to succeed and he has failed, so it is time to let James and the others get a shot at making plays for this team.

The Gators should get wide out Riley Cooper back this week. Cooper is another deep threat the Gators can use to open up the field and spread the defense out. The offense will still rely on Tebow and Harvin, but others like Caldwell and Ingram will need to step up and make plays at the wide out spot as well. Ingram provides a bad match up for most people, but was not used well last week, so hopefully the Gators can get him involved in the game. The Gator offense does take a hit when Tebow cannot run, but he does have the arm to make the throws and line will need to protect him from that Vandy pass rush. If they can keep Tebow up and get a running game going they will win this game.

Prediction: 31 - 27

Gators Still in Good Position to Win SEC East

2007-11-01T21:25:00.000-04:00

After the Gators lost to Georgia last week it seemed that the Gators hope for the rest of the season were dashed. The Gators owned their own destiny and blew it against a team they have rarely lost to in the past. It seemed that the Gators season and any hopes of a title were over, but I was wrong. Many of you know that I am an avid poster at the Fantasy Cafe and one of the posters there, Shoeless Joe, informed me that the Gators actually have a great chance of taking the SEC East crown. The best explanation is from him directly:

Right now here's how we stand...

UGA 4-2, 6-2
Tenn
3-2, 5-3
South Carolina 3-3, 6-3
FL 3-3, 5-3
Kent 2-3, 6-3
Vandy
2-3, 5-3

(This is all assuming we win out)

We still
play Vandy and South Carolina. So they're out with 4
losses.

Georgia has vs Auburn, and vs Kentucky left - Georgia's SEC
losses are to
Tenn and South Carolina, SEC east opponents, that means it
doesn't matter which
of those two teams they lose to.

Tennessee
still has vs Arkansas, vs Vandy, and @ Kentucky left. They have
to lose one
of those games. It doesn't matter which because they have 1 SEC East
loss
and we have the head-to-head tiebreaker over them.

Kentucky has @
Vandy, @ Georgia, and vs Tennessee. They don't have to lose
any of those
games. Even if they win out it doesn't matter because they already
have two
SEC east losses.

So that means if Georgia and Tennessee each lose
exactly one game
(Tennessee cannot lose two or else Georgia would have the
head-to-head match up)
then we would have a three way tie. (If Georgia
losses two games and Tennessee
losses 1 or more then we win the east because
we have the head-to-head over
Tennessee.) The first tiebreaker is
head-to-head, which is a three way circle.
After that it goes to record
within the division. Since Georgia already has 2
SEC east losses (remember
Florida's losses are against 2 SEC-W, and 1 SEC-E)
they would be eliminated.
If at anytime in tie breaking procedures the tie has
been reduced to two
teams you refer back to head-to-head tie-breaker format in
which case
Florida has the tiebreaker over Tennessee.

We still actually have a
legit shot at winning the SEC-East. Both teams
have some tough games left
and I could definitely see it happening in this crazy
year in the SEC.

As you can see the Gators actually have a pretty good chance of being SEC champion. Georgia has two very rough games left, in Kentucky and Auburn. Auburn is a much better team than they were at the beginning of the year and took LSU to the wire, while Kentucky is a great team and actually beat LSU. Tennessee has three tough match ups left. Arkansas is better than their record shows, Vandy has played everyone tough, and Kentucky is a great team also. This year has been up and down. The Gators will need to make sure that they take care of their own business in the SEC, but with a misstep by both teams the Gators are back in it and have a great shot in the championship game. This week is tough with Vandy and they do have to go to South Carolina, but the season is not over and the team has a chance. The Gators need to get over the loss and keep their eye on the prize.

Preview of USF v. Cincy

2007-11-01T20:40:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago this match up was supposed to decide not only the Big East, but also maybe shape the national championship picture. USF was the number 2 team in the country and both Cincinnati and USF were undefeated. Since then both teams have lost two straight games in conference and are now hoping to stay alive. Cincinnati is in better shape in the Big East because they have not played UConn or WVU, the two teams in front of these teams in the Big East. This game means a lot to both of these teams, and should be a great game.

Many of the USF fans have jumped off the bandwagon, so it will be interesting to see how many people show up to the game. The past two home games have had students lining up for days in advance, but none of that has happened with this game. I expected some fans to jump off, but it seems more than I thought have left. Bulls fans need to come out and get this team fired up. The Bulls have had two straight rough road games and they need the home crowd to help them get back what they have lost and get them fired up to play. Cincinnati is a tough team and will be a tough match up for the Bulls.

The Bulls are hurting, especially on offense and against a tough Bearcat defense, it could mean big trouble. USF is still without their best offensive tackle Walt Walker, which has caused them problems already trying to protect Matt Groethe. The Bulls are also going to be without their top two wide receivers with Amarri Jackson and Taurus Johnson out with injuries. The Bulls wide outs have not been good all year and the loss of their two best ones are going to hurt, especially against the Bearcat secondary. Also, the Bulls may be without running back Mike Ford who left the UConn game. Ford has been the Bulls best back behind Matt Groethe and if he cannot play it will put even more pressure on Groethe to carry the team. Groethe has been great running the ball, but has made mistakes throwing the ball if teams can keep him in the pocket. Cincinnati has been great all year at not only forcing turnovers, but making the most of those turnovers. If they keep Groethe in the pocket, he will make mistakes, and the Bearcats will take advantage.

The Bull defense has been good all season long, with its only real bad game coming against Rutgers and power runner Ray Rice. The Bearcats do not have the power type runner like Ray Rice and their offense really fuels off of turnovers. Quarterback Ben Mauck has been pretty good on the year with 15 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. The Bulls will need to get to Mauck and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. To do this the USF will need George Sealvie to return to early season form and get some sacks and pressures on the quarterback. This is not a high powered offense, like WVU, but they are good enough to win and if the Bulls do not get pressure they will find themselves in a bad spot.

The key in this game will be turnovers. Neither of these teams has a great offense, but both have great defenses. Whoever wins the turnover battle will win this game and the Bearcats seem to be better at getting the turnovers. Expect Cincinnati to keep Groethe in the pocket and make him try to beat them through the air. If Cincy is successful at that they will win the game because they will have at least two interceptions. This is an important game in the Big East and the Bulls will be fired up, but I think Cincy takes this game.

Prediction: Cincy 24 USF 20

Rays Offseason Update

2007-11-01T19:24:00.000-04:00

The Rays have a lot of young players using the off season to gain experience in the Arizona Fall League, Team USA, and other international leagues. Some of the youngsters are playing well and could be in the big club starting next year, but others have not looked as good and may need more seasoning.

The Arizona Fall league, which is the premier off season league for minor leaguers, players include Reid Brignac, Justin Ruggiano, John Jaso, Chris Nowak, Calvin Medlock, Evan Meek, and Nick Debarr. Evan Longoria was playing in the AFL, but has left to play for team USA with the other top prospects. Elijah Dukes is playing in the Dominican league, while Brian Stokes is playing in the Mexican League.

Evan Longoria - 16 Games
Longoria is hitting .310 with 4 home runs and 9 RBI's
in the 16 games between the AFL and Team USA. Longoria struggled in the first couple games, but busted out and continued where he left off in Durham. He has looked great ever since being drafted and count on him taking the starting third base job during spring training with Akinori Iwamura moving over to second base. Longoria has not only been solid at the plate, but also in the field. Rays fans should be excited by this guy and when you combine him with the other young players, the Rays should be contending soon.

Reid Brignac - 15 Games
Many people hoped and thought that Brignac would be the Rays starting shortstop in the 2008 season, but he did not play well in AA this year and is struggling in the AFL. In his 15 games, Brignac is only hitting .177 with 1 home run and 3 RBI. He is also still struggling in the field and Rays fans should not be surprised to see him in the minors for all of 2008 and compete for the shortstop position in 2009.

Justin Ruggiano - 4 Games
He had a great season in Durham and was promoted late in the year to the big club to get a small look. He has struggled in his first four games batting .154 with no home runs. It is early and Ruggiano should pick it up. He is a great player and could be a nice bench outfielder for the Rays or great trade bait.

John Jaso - 5 Games
Jaso had a great season in Montgomery and has continued it in the AFL. Thus far he is batting .333 with 1 HR and 3 RBI in only 5 games. He has a great arm, but has struggled a bit with his defense. He stayed in AA all year, but expect him to go to AAA next year and maybe get a late season all up.

Chris Nowak - 8 Games
* EDITED TO INCLUDE RAYSRULE'S UPDATE -- It was Chris Nowak that replaced Longoria in the AFL, and he played for Montogomery, not Columbus, and he did not show a lot of power, he only slugged .440 with 7 home runs. He hasn't hit any home runs in the AFL either, and he's only slugging .240 there. His best attribute is his plate discipline, he had a .396 OBP in AA this year, and .397 the year before.

Calvin Medlock - 11.2 IP
The Rays acquired Medlock in the Jorge Cantu trade with the Reds. He has done well since coming to the Rays and is having a great AFL so far. He has a 2.31 ERA, .69 WHIP, and has a 1/7 walk to strikeout ratio. Medlock is a candidate to make it to the big club and help sure up the bullpen that had been so terrible last season. Medlock was a big pick up for the Rays and if his stats in the AFL are any indication, he will be a big help.

Evan Meek - 5.2 IP
Meek has played decent thus far and has only a 1.59 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. He does a 4/5 walk to strike out ratio, which isn't great, but is not bad.

Nick DeBarr - 7.1
Another one of the Rays young pitchers playing well. He has a 3.68 ERA and a .68 WHIP. DeBarr also has a 0:3 walk to strike out ratio.

Elijah Dukes - 6 Games
Dukes is tearing the Dominican up, just like you would expect. He has an OPS of 1.206 and is hitting .353. Talent has never been his problem though, but the good thing is he has not gotten in any trouble. The best thing for the Rays is that he plays great and they can trade him for something. Elijah could use a change of scenery from Tampa and his best way to do that is to play well now.

Brian Stokes - 13.1 IP
Stokes has continued where he left off this season; blowing games. He has an ERA of 6.08 and a WHIP of 1.88. The Rays just need to cut this guy.

Bucs Place Torrie Cox on IR, Sign Chas Gessner

2007-10-31T12:18:00.000-04:00

As expected the Bucs placed Torrie Cox on IR with a torn ACL. The Bucs lost their fourth corner back and the guy who had filled in on kick returns with the loss of Mark Jones. Cox had moved into the third corner spot while Kelly has been hurt and if Kelly stays hurt the Bucs will have problems in the secondary trying to replace Cox.

The Bucs also cut wide out Chad Lucas, who was added from the practice squad last week with mark Jones going down. With two roster spots open the Bucs made one move and signed former Bucs practice squad player Chas Gessner. Gessner looked good in training camp the past two seasons and had 10 catches for 169 yards the past two preseasons. He will be asked to do the same thing that Lucas did, be an emergency wide out and contribute on special teams. Gessner may also be asked to return kicks and the reason Lucas may have been cut was because of some hesitation he had returning kicks after Cox went down. Gessner will contribute on special teams and always gives his all. While this is not a huge move for the Bucs it is a move. The Raiders have released wide out Mike Williams, who the Bucs looked at drafting 3 years ago, so they may bring him in for a look.

The Bucs still have one roster spot open at the moment so they will need to make another move. One would have to believe that this move will be to add a corner to the roster to make up for the loss of Cox and give the Bucs a fourth corner they can go to. They have to play Arizona this week, who has 3 good wide outs, and they will need the secondary to be solid.

College Rankings Week 3

2007-10-30T16:52:00.001-04:00

The BCS uses all sorts of formulas with computers and people rankings as well. Many people think the BCS is wrong and also believe that the voters do not get it right. With this in mind I have got together knowledgeable football fans from across the country with representation of each conference in the polls. The fans come from members of the Fantasy Football Cafe College Sports Forum. These fans watch more football than most of the voters and are extremely knowledgeable. They are allowed to vote however they want, just like if they were a Harris or AP voter. Some vote based on based performance, some on future, some on a combination of those, while others vote based on which team would win on a neutral field. They send me their top 35 and I calculate it to come up with the top 25 and we compare it to the BCS. Here is the BCS week 3 and our Week 3:

BCS

1. Ohio State
2. Boston College
3. LSU
4. Arizona State
5. Oregon
6. Oklahoma
7. West Virginia
8. Kansas
9. Missouri
10. Georgia
11. Virginia Tech
12. Michigan
13. Connecticut
14. Hawaii
15. Texas
16. Auburn
17. Alabama
18. South Florida
19. USC
20. Florida
21. Wisconsin
22. Boise State
23. Virginia
24. Wake Forest
25. Clemson

Cafe Rankings

1. LSU (7)
2. OSU (2)
3. Oregon
4. Oklahoma
5. ASU
6. WVU
7. Missouri
8. UGA
9. BC (1)
10. Kansas
11. USC
12. VT
13. Auburn
14. Michigan
15. UF
16. Alabama
17. Texas
18. Uconn
19. USF
20. Clemson
21. South Carolina
22. Wisconsin
23. Tennessee
24. Wake
25. Hawaii

Some of the differences you will notice is that just because you are undefeated does not mean that they were ranked above other teams. The voters also took the strength of the schedule in mind in their rankings in my opinion. One of the voters who is an Ohio State fan did not rank them number 1, but had LSU number 1 because in his mind OSU has not done enough thus far to warrant it. In my opinion, BC is much further down in the rankings and that has to do with the fact that BC has played no one all season and should have lost to Virginia Tech last week. I have some difference of opinion in the rankings, but I like them better than the BCS. Thoughts???

Brandon Antwine and Javier Estopinan Done for Season

2007-10-30T13:07:00.000-04:00

The Gator defense has lost defensive tackle Brandon Antwine and Javier Estopinan for the rest of the year. Antwine had been struggling with a back injury and was hospitalized for 10 days with a back injury recently. He only had 7 tackles in 4 games on the year, but when in the game he brought experience and helped to clog up the middle. The Gators started out stopping the run very well, but have been run over recently, while he has been out or not played much. While the change in run defense is not all because of his loss, it has had an effect on a defense that has not been very good this year.

Estopinan tore his ACL in Saturdays loss against the Bulldogs. The loss of Estopinan may hurt worse than Antwine, because Estopinan had not missed a game this year, and has been a mainstay up the middle to help stop the run. Estopinan had 19 tackles and one sack so far this season, but his ability to help push the lineman back and clog the middle were even more important. The Gator defensive tackles have not been great this year, but to lose these two puts the Gators in a very bad spot.

With Estopinan and Antwine out and freshman John Brown still unable to play due to academic reasons, the Gators have only 3 healthy defensive tackles on the roster. These players will need to step up to take the place of the injured players and Urban may need to try and use some of his young freshman, like Carlos Dunlap to help make up for the loss. One of the problems in the SEC with defensive lineman is that it is very physical up front and hot, which leads to guys getting tired early and teams need other fresh bodies to come in to help stop the run. One option that has been thrown around is having a three man front this weekend against Vandy. The Gator defense has not been good this year and these injuries make them even worse. They still have tough games left on their schedule and some of these young players are going to need to grow up real fast.

Another Game, Another Player Lost for the Season

2007-10-30T12:25:00.000-04:00

Pewter Report is reporting that Buccaneer corner back Torrie Cox will be placed on IR and is done for the year after tearing his ACL in Sundays game against the Jaguars. This is another blow to a team that has already been decimated by injuries. Cox was playing the third corner spot with Brian Kelly out due to a groin injury and was also returned kickoffs last week with Mark Jones being placed on IR with a torn patella tendon. The Bucs will now have to replace a corner and a kick returner on the roster. The Bucs will most likely have to add a corner to the roster with Kelly still questionable, which means the kick returner will have to be one of the guys that is already on the roster. The problem with this is that the returner position is a susceptible to injury and the Bucs can ill afford to lose any of the guys that they can put back there that already have experience. The Bucs may need to cut Chad Lucas, who was added this past week to replace Mark Jones, and sign a guy who can return kicks and be a fourth wide out.

The Bucs may have also lost a key piece of their front four for at least the Arizona game. Defensive End Greg Spires left the game on Sunday with a leg injury and it may hold him out at least one week, if not more. Spires injured his calf and was replaced by a combination of Greg White and Gaines Adams. Spires has been a steady influence on the line and not only gets after the quarterback, but also plays the run well. The Bucs will most likely rotate White and Adams during the game to replace Spires and hope Spires only misses one game. White looked good when he came in for Spires last week and Adams did have a couple of nice plays as well. It has come out that Adams is mad and frustrated that he has not gotten more playing time. Maybe he will use this frustration to fuel him to get physical and make some plays in the second half of the season. Losing Spires is not good for the Bucs defense, but it does give Adams at least a game to show what he can do.

Heisman Top 5 -- Week 10

2007-10-29T19:24:00.000-04:00

My disclaimer as always: The Heisman trophy is given to the best player in the country and that is how I look at the award. The best player may not, and usually is not, on the best team in the country. Team does effect how a player is ranked, but just because that team is not in the top 5 does not mean they are not deserving. Here is my Top 5 starting this week:

Tim Tebow - Quarterback - Florida
Stats: 8 Games 176.5 Rating 65.8 % Passing 243.4 Y/G 18 TD 3 INT 125 Rush 563 Yards 12TD
Last Week: 14-22 236 Yards 1 TD 13 Rush -15 Yards 2 TD
The Gators lost to Georgia over the weekend and it was apparent that Tebow was not himself. Struggling with a bad shoulder, Tebow played as best he could, but was without his running ability most of the game. While the Gators lost because the defense was not good enough, they also lost in part because of no running game, which is usually made up of Tim Tebow. He is the most important player to his team in the country and has some of the most impressive stats.

Mike Hart - Running Back - Michigan
Stats: 8 Games 200 carries 1,078 yards 12 TD's
Last Week: Did not Play with injury.

Dennis Dixon - Quarterback - Oregon
Stats: 8 Games 160.3 Rating 68.8% Passing 235.6 Y/G 16 TD 3 INT 499 Rush Yards 8 TD
Last Week: 16-25 157 Yards 17 Rush 76 Yards 1 TD
Dixon did not have a spectacular game last weekend against USC, but he did what he needed to win the game. Dixon has led the Ducks to heights they have not seen and have them on the verge of being a national championship contender. This week is a huge showdown with ASU for control of the Pac-10. A good showing in that game may move him higher in the rankings. Dixon does not make mistakes and has the ability to make plays when there are none to be made.

Matt Ryan - Quarterback - Boston College
Stats: 8 Games 131.5 Rating 63.2% Passing 304.1 Y/G 19 TD 8 INT 1 Rush TD
Last Week: 25-52 285 2 TD 2 INT
Many people talked about Matt Ryan as the leading candidate after the game against Virginia Tech on Thursday night because he brought them back in the end. While Ryan did win the game in the end, he was owned by the VT defense all game and looked terrible for most of the game. His yards and numbers came when VT went into a prevent shell and were not trying to put pressure on him towards the end. While some thought it was a gutsy performance, I saw a guy that was dominated by a defense for almost a whole game and exploded when they gave him space.

Andre Woodson - Quarterback - Kentucky
Stats: 9 Games 147.7 Rating 63.8% Passing 270.1 Y/G 28 TD 7 INT 3 Rush TD
Last Week: 24-42 230 Yards 2 TD 3 INT
He is still the best quarterback in the nation talent wise in my opinion, but he has had some mental collapses that cost his team dearly last weekend against MSU. Woodson had more interceptions than touchdowns and the Wildcats are in a downward spiral. He will need to be the guy that gets them out of it, but last week he was unable to do so.

Georgia Takes Cocktail Party

2007-10-27T22:22:00.000-04:00

The Gators were in control of their own destiny, but let it get away against an unlikely foe. Going into Saturday the Gators had only lost twice against the 'Dawgs since 1990. On top of the great winning percentage against Georgia, Urban Meyer had yet to lose against one of the Gators three main rivals (Tennessee, Georgia, Florida State).
Georgia had struggled during the year against its SEC opponents and it looked to be yet another Gator victory on their way to an east title, but there is a reason they play the games.

The Gator offense started and ended the game same way; unstoppable down the field, until a dumb turnover cost them the drive. The first drive ended on a fumble by running back Kestahn Moore, while the final drive ended on a fumbled snap on a bad play call, but the result was the same. The Gators had multiple opportunities to win the game, but the Bulldogs wanted it more.

You could tell that this game was more than a win or a loss for Georgia from the first touchdown. Mark Richt showed that he actually was a classless coach by letting his whole team storm the field after they scored their first touchdown. At first you wonder if the team did it on their own, but at halftime Richt told the media that he told his team if they did not get an excessive celebration penalty by then he would be disappointed; great role model coach. While the classless play seemed to fire up the Gators for a little while, they just seemed to be over matched the entire game. The Gators weaknesses were pretty apparent to most Gator fans and with the extra week to prepare, Mark Richt exploited them.

The Gators offense had done a great Job of making up for the defense, but when the other teams scores on almost every posses ion their is not much for the offense to do. Georgia ran at the Gator defensive tackles, which have been terrible all year, and tore apart the secondary, which has been even worse. The Gators missed Freshman Major Wright in the secondary and at times may have been better off playing with 10 players and leaving Kyle Jackson on the sideline (FreeBagel with the credit). Freshman running back Knowshon Moreno had a career day against the Gators and was definitely the difference maker in the game. He had 188 yards on the ground and whenever the 'Dawgs needed a big play he seemed to supply it for them. If you can't stop the pass, you better stop the run, but the Gators could do neither.

On offense the Gators shot themselves in the foot all day long. From the fumbles by Kestahn Moore to the dropped passes by Cornelius Ingram, it was a group loss on offense. The game plan had obviously been changed with Tebow's injury as he was not the main running threat in the game. Georgia seemed to know the change and pinned their ears back and attacked the quarterback. Tebow was sacked more times in this game than he had the entire year and the Georgia defense seemed to disrupt every trick play the Gators ran. Moore has run his course with this team and will be replaced by Moody next season, but in the meantime the Gators need to bench him and let him wallow in this game. Tebow also missed a wide open Ingram down the middle for what could have been a touchdown. The offense missed opportunities and the defense could not stop anyone. The one thing to take away from this game is that I hope that rivals enjoy the ride, because no one will beat us next year.

USF v. UConn -- Open Thread

2007-10-27T14:19:00.001-04:00

Big Time Battle in the Big East. This has huge implications for USF in their quest for the Big East Title. They can not afford to lose two games in the Big East, especially to UConn who has not lost a game in the Big East yet. Special Teams and the Bulls offensive line will decide this game. Open for Comments during the game!!

Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party -- Open Thread

2007-10-26T10:45:00.001-04:00

Today is the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. The Gators have owned the series against the Dawgs and have won 8 of the last 9. The Gators do have some injuries in the secondaries that may make it even easier for Stafford to pick them apart. This is a homecoming for Tebow who played at Neese High School in Jacksonville. or Gator fans they have to hope that Tebow's shoulder is healthy and he does not run it too much and hurt it anymore than it is. Comment here throughout the game!!

Preview of USF v. UConn

2007-10-26T08:24:00.000-04:00

The Bulls have another battle this week with huge Big East ramifications. UConn is undefeated in Big East play thus far and their only loss on the season was a one point loss at Virginia. UConn is coming off of a rainy victory against Louisville, while USF is coming off of a devastating loss to Rutgers. The big thing for the Bulls will be if they forgot about the Rutgers game and were able to focus on UConn and the Big East Title. The Bulls have had trouble at UConn in the past and this game will be tough one for them to win.

The UConn defense has very good on the year thus far. They are only allowing 98 yards on the ground and 174 yards through the air during the game. They are also third in points allowed in the nation, giving up only 12.7 ppg. They have a stout run defense and a ball hawking secondary that has 16 interceptions on the year. They shut down Brian Brohm and the Louisville offense last week. They allowed Brohm to throw for only 228 yards in the game and picked him off 2 times. This defense looks to make things happen for their team because the offense has not been great. UConn reminds me a lot of this USF team, a great defense and an Offense that does just enough to win the game.

The UConn offense is based around the run and they will look to pound the rock against USF. The Bulls have been good against the run, when those backs are speed backs and trying to get to the outside, but have struggled against power backs running down hill, Ray Rice. Andre Dixon is the leader in the backfield for the Huskies and he is more of a power runner and in fact scored a touchdown last week dragging 4 Cardinals with him for 5 yards into the end zone. The Bulls are going to need to be very physical and hit him in the backfield or make him try to go to the outside so that they can use their speed to an advantage. George Selvie will need to show up this week, which he did not last week. His pressure in the backfield on passing and running plays is vital to disrupting the pass and run game. Pressure causes problems, which will lead to turnovers and good field position for the Bulls.

Expect UConn to follow the Rutgers model on how to defend this USF offense. Rutgers was torched in the first half of the game by Matt Groethe's legs. Groethe was able to break containment and picked up huge chunks of yardage and helped move the ball down field. During half time the Knights adjusted and played containment or had a spy on Groethe the rest of the game. For most of the second half Groethe was not able to move out of the pocket and was eother sacked or made bad throws. Groethe is a good quarterback, but when you make him sit in the pocket and pass he becomes very average and the secondary could take advantage of that.

Injuries on the offensive side of the ball will also effect the Bulls this week. They lost senior offensive tackle Walt Walker with a sprained MCL for 2-4 weeks. His loss is very devastating to the Bulls offensive line, which has had injuries since the beginning of the year. of the 7 sacks that the Knights got on Groethe last Thursday, 5 came after Walker was out of the game. Groethe will need to be able to feel that pressure and move around to avoid it. The Bulls also lost their top wide out Taurus Johnson for 2-3 weeks with an ankle sprain. Johnson led the Bulls in receptions and yards so far on the year. While this loss is a problem, the Bulls have spread the ball out a lot this year and Groethe has confidence in other guys. Amari Jackson will need to step up and make some plays in the receiving game and freshman Hester Jr. will also need to help out and give Groethe a good target to throw to.

The final aspect of this game that may be the most important will be special teams. UConn returner Larry Taylor is the best in the nation in returning kicks and punts. Last week the Bulls struggled in their special teams coverage and if they do that this week, Taylor will take the ball to the house. The Bulls will need to have great coverage on the kicks and perhaps kick away from Taylor if possible. Let's hope when they do kick it, the Refs remember what a fair catch symbol looks like though.

Stovall's Time to Shine

2007-10-25T13:59:00.000-04:00

With the Bucs injuries mounting and having only 3 healthy wide outs on the roster, Maurice Stovall finds himself in a position to shine. Stovall was the star of OTA's and training camp, but did not look good in preseason and has been relegated to special teams during the regular season so far. With Michael Clayton and Mark Jones going down the Bucs are going to need someone to step up and that should be Stovall.

Stovall had some good games towards the end of last season and Bucs fans were excited about him going into the off season. Stovall looked very good in training camp and OTA's and found himself as the number 2 wide out on the depth chart going into game one of the preseason, but had only 4 catches for 40 yards in the preseason. No one has come out and said why Stovall was not used more in the preseason, or during the regular season, but somehow he made his way into Jon Gruden's dog house. The Bucs are forced to let him play now and if he wants to be a starter in this league this is the time for him step up and play well.

Stovall has great size and is a very physical receiver. His attributes will help him make up for the loss of Clayton not only in the receiving game, but also in blocking down field. If you do not get good blocking down field, you will never be able to have runs that go to the house, or great runs after the catch by other receivers. Stovall has shown that he likes contact and likes to get physical, much like how Clayton plays. He is also a tall receiver with good hands, but is not overly fast. The Bucs do not need him to be the big play guy or the clutch third down guy, they have those with Galloway and Ike, but what they do need is another option that will catch the ball and help open the field.

Stovall made his presence known quickly last week when he caught a 4 yard touchdown pass to get the Bucs back in the game. Hopefully that was a preview of things to come for him in the Bucs uniform. There has to be a reason he was not playing earlier, but lets just hope it was because the Bucs are a bad judge of talent in practice. He is in his third year and it is his time to live up to his 3rd round pick.

Heisman Top 5 -- Week 9

2007-10-24T13:32:00.000-04:00

The past week gave us some great performances from some of the top players, but also some disappointing games by others. My disclaimer as always: The Heisman trophy is given to the best player in the country and that is how I look at the award. The best player may not, and usually is not, on the best team in the country. This year their is no clear cut favorites to win the award and hopefully one of these guys will emerge later on in the year. Here is my Top 5 starting this week:

Mike Hart - Running Back - Michigan

Stats - 7 Games 200 carries 1,078 yards 12 TD's

Last Week: Did not Play with injury.

Hart did not play the past week against Illinois with an injury, but that does not move him from the top spot in my mind. Hart is still top 4 in rushing in the nation and is still the most important person to the Wolverines. He was seen on the sideline yelling and getting after his teammates during the Illinois game and looked like another coach out there. For him not to play it must have been serious because he is one of the toughest guys out there. Hart still at the top for now.

Andre Woodson - Quarterback - Kentucky
Stats - 8 Games 153.8 Rating 64.7% Passing 275.1 Y/G 26 TD 4 Int 3 Rush TD

Last Week: 35-50 415 Yards 5 TD

Kentucky was upset last week at home, but it was not for a lack of play by Andre Woodson. He dominated the Gator defense and led the Wildcats on long scoring drives the entire game. He is the best quarterback in the nation and is close to overtaking Hart as the number 1 candidate on my list. He has the leadership and skills necessary to be that guy. It will be interesting to see how he rebounds after the tough loss.

Tim Tebow - Quarterback - Florida

Stats - 7 Games 177.5 Rating 66.1 % Passing 244.4 Y/G 17 TD 3 INT 125 Rush 578 Yards 10TD

Last Week: 18-26 256 Yards 4 TD 20 Rush 78 Yards 1 TD

Tebow jumped into the rankings this week with his great performance against Kentucky. He was barely out of my top 5, but the dominating effort against Kentucky moved him into my top three. Many people say he is the leading candidate, but I still do not think he is as good as Woodson or Hart. He is very important to his team, which also helps his rankings. Tebow leads the team in passing and rushing. Tebow also leads starting quarterbacks in quarterback rating. If he keeps it up he has a chance, but he is a sophomore and that could hurt him.

Matt Ryan - Quarterback - Boston College
Stats - 7 Games 137 Rating 63.2% Passing 306.9 Y/G 17 TD 6 INT 1 Rush TD

Last Week: BYE

The man that people call "Matty Ice" has led the Eagles to an undefeated record and a top ranking in the BCS. He is a tough kid who is very accurate and a smart passer. His stats are not overly impressive and he has played some weak competition, which is why he is at 3 for me, but he does other things that make up for it. Ryan is a great leader on the field and keeps the team focused on driving down the field and scoring. If Ryan has success against the tougher opponents on the schedule he may move up.

Dennis Dixon - Quarterback - Oregon
Stats - 7 Games 165.8 Rating 69.3% Passing 246.9 Y/G 16 TD 3 INT 423 Rush Yards 7 TD

Last Week: 19-20 196 Yards 1 TD 1 INT 12 Rush 99 Yards 1 TD

Dixon did not have a great game against Washington last week, but he still managed to help Oregon get the win. His numbers were not bad, but against a weak Washington opponent his numbers could have been better and should have been better. Dixon was not helped with the way that some of the other Heisman quarterback candidates played this past week. Dixon is still in the running, but he needs to have better games against these types of opponents. Dixon can shoot up the rankings with a great game against USC this week.

Gators Wright and Cooper have Surgery, Medder in a Boot

2007-10-23T17:01:00.000-04:00

Gator safety Major Wright and Wide out Riley Cooper both had surgery on their fingers Monday afternoon. Cooper had two screws inserted into two of his fingers that he broke in the Kentucky game. Wright had surgery on his broken thumb as well. Meanwhile, Offensive lineman Carlton Medder is in a boot right now with a heel injury.

The Gators have said that Cooper is expected to play, but Wright and Medder are both questionable. Even though he will be able to play in the game, those fingers are bound to bother Cooper and could lead to some drops in the game. If Major Wright is not available in the game the Gators have will turn to Senior Kyle Jackson, who was benched earlier this season for Wright, and has not lived up to his recruiting hype. Dorian Munroe will also see time in the game if Wright is unable to go. Wright has been good on run defense and lays some big hits, but he has looked lost in coverage at times. Kyle Jackson is still a downgrade though and this injury is going to hurt the Gators if he cannot go.

The injury to Medder may be the most concerning injury. The offensive line has already had injuries this year and they had to have a freshman come in and fill the guard position for Phil Truetwein. Earlier this season Urban Meyer said he did not trust his offensive line enough to run the ball, and that was before the injury to Medder. The Gators need the line to be sound so that they can run the ball with out using Tebow, who is nursing a shoulder injury. They are also going to need more protection than usual. Hopefully Medder will be able to go this week.

Penalties and Miscues Help Lions Beat Bucs

2007-10-22T16:10:00.000-04:00

The Bucs found a running game in Detroit and dominated the time of possession, but turnovers and penalties killed them and they lost the game to the Lions. Earnest Graham ran with a purpose all day and was able to help the Bucs sustain drives and control the clock. Unfortunately for the Bucs a fumble on the two yard line, a missed field goal, blocked punt, and penalties ended those drives without scoring points. It was a hard defeat for the Bucs to swallow because you just felt that they were outplaying the Lions and would come away with the win.

Graham had a career day running for 92 yards on 19 carries and catching 13 balls for 99 yards. He always seemed to be moving forward and was very physical when hitting the hole and finishing runs off. The Bucs look to have found the guy who can carry it for them 20-25 times a game and get them the good yardage. One thing that Cadillac Williams did not do effectively was catch the ball out of the backfield, which is very important in the west coast system. In his first two games as the starter Graham has looked very comfortable catching out of the backfield and being Jeff Garcia's safety valve. Although it was a great game, the expectations need to be tempered until they play another tough run defense, like Jacksonville next week. The Bucs were also able to get some of the other backs involved in the game and they each ran pretty well. Michael Bennett go the ball 2 times and was in on a couple other play action plays. Bennett had two good runs and you can see his explosion when he touches the ball. BJ Askew had a couple nice catches and runs and is also another physical back. It looks like the Bucs will get Michael Pittman back in two weeks and they should have a nice stable of backs they can go to at that time.

While the running game looked very good yesterday, the passing game lost two more weapons. Wide receivers Mark Jones and Michael Clayton both left the game with injuries. Jones, who has been a top returner this year, is done for the season with a torn patella tendon. Clayton has a high ankle sprain and is awaiting the MRI results right now, but looks like he will be out for a couple of weeks. With the two injuries to their wide outs the Bucs now have only 3 healthy wide outs on the roster with Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard, and Maurice Stovall. They will need to go out and find another wide out off of someones practice squad or a free agent that has not signed on anywhere else. The injuries just keep on mounting for the Bucs.

Outside of the fumble on the 2 yard line, Jeff Garcia had another great game for the Buccaneers. He set a new Bucs record with 19 consecutive completions in one game and was efficient all game long. He was forced to move around a bit because the offensive line did not have it's best game, but he was able to move through his progressions very quickly and find the open receiver. He completed 37 passes to eight different receivers in the game. Garcia is great at recognizing when a guy is not open and checking down to the next option, even in a three step drop. This was his best statistical game as a Buc, but ask him and he will trade it in for a win.

Once again the theme on defense was no pressure up front. The front four of the Bucs amassed three sacks in the game against one of the worst lines in the NFL. The also got ran over by TJ Duckett when he was in the game and ran around when Kevin Jones came into the game. Once again Gaines Adams was invisible. He did show up on the defensive statistics at all and looked lost out there on the field. Whatever game he thinks he is playing, it is not football. The rest of the defensive lineman did not play much better either and although they were not on the field much, they gave up the plays they needed to make.

The Bucs dominated the time of possession in the game and seemed to control most of the game, but when you do not convert on drives you will lose the game and the Bucs did. The defense still does not have a pass rush to speak of and if they don't get one they won't make the playoffs. The running game looked promising, but they will face better defenses in the future. The Bucs made mental mistakes and they can be fixed, but for now they need to find another wide out and figure out a way to stop getting hurt.

Florida/Kentucky Open Thread

2007-10-20T15:59:00.000-04:00

Tied 7-7 in first. Lets go Gators. Comment here on the game!!!

Preview of Bucs v. Lions

2007-10-20T10:34:00.000-04:00

This week brings a battle of two surprise teams on the season. The Bucs and Lions have exceeded expectations already and both teams are competing for not only for a playoff spot, but to be their respective division winners. There is a lot on the line for both teams in this game and expect a close game.

The Lions resurrection is being led by former Bucs defensive line coach Rod Marinelli. He has instilled a sense of discipline and removed players that have been a cancer to the locker room, or do not fit his system. While Rod is known for his defense, it's the offense that is leading the way for the Lions. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz has installed his high flying offense and Jon Kitna has been the perfect quarterback to run the system. Kitna has multiple weapons at his disposal, with the biggest one being wide out Roy Williams. Williams is having fun in the Martz system and has put up some great numbers in the past two seasons. If the Bucs are going to win the game, they will need to shut him down.

The Lions are getting a boost on offense this week with the return of Kevin Jones to the starting lineup. Jones, who led the Lions in rushing last season, has been out or limited for up until now and without him the Lions have been terrible running the ball. Last week the Redskins put only 4 men in the box and dropped the rest daring the Lions to run the ball and they couldn't. The Lions were unable to pass the ball with all the defenders in the secondary and were embarrassed by the 'Skins.

Buc defensive coordinator Monte Kiffen has done well stopping Mike Martz in the past. The rivalry between Martz and Kiffen goes back to the Bucs playoff loss at St. Louis. Kiffen has been able to slow down Martz's high flying offense in the past and will look to do so again this week. The Bucs have not gotten a good pass rush going this season, but if they are going to this should be the week. The Lions have been terrible protecting the passer this season and the Bucs front four are looking forward to reeking havoc in the backfield. If the Bucs can get pressure on the quarterback the defense will be able to stop the offense and lead the Bucs to a victory.

The Lions defense has been terrible on the year and the Bucs will need to take advantage of that in the passing and running game. The Bucs were able to run the ball very well in the early part of the season and controlled the clock. The Bucs need to get back to running the ball well and set up Jeff Garcia and the passing game. Ike Hilliard has been the man for Garcia this season when he needs a play made. Galloway is the deep threat for the Bucs, but Hilliard has been the consistent force for the Bucs wide outs and has been the most dependable receiver. Michael Clayton made a big catch last week and it is important for him to step up once again and keep the momentum going. The Bucs need another option like Clayton to step up and make plays to keep the offense moving.

The Bucs traded for running back Michael Bennett earlier this week and while I think it was a good move, don't expect him to make an impact this week. He has practiced, but Gruden's system is complex and he needs to understand a blocking scheme as well as the plays. He may get a couple of plays in the game, but fans should not be disappointed if he doesn't have a huge game running or receiving. The Bucs will also most likely be without starting tight end Alex Smith who has been a nice safety valve for Jeff Garcia. Jerremy Stevens and Anthony Becht will have to step up and make up for the loss of Alex Smith not only in the receiving game, but also blocking.

This should be a tough game for both teams and expect it to come down to the fourth quarter. The big things to watch will be if the Bucs can get pressure on Kitna on defense and if they can run the ball effectively on offense. If they can do those two things, the Bucs will win the game.

Heisman Top 5 -- Week 8

2007-10-19T16:21:00.000-04:00

With the season entering the BCS portion I have decided to start my Heisman watch each week. Each week I will put out who I think are the top 5 Heisman candidates in the order I would vote for them. The Heisman trophy is given to the best player in the country and that is how I look at the award. The best player may not, and usually is not, on the best team in the country. This year their is no clear cut favorites to win the award and hopefully one of these guys will emerge later on in the year. Here is my Top 5 starting this week:

Mike Hart - Running Back - Michigan

Stats - 7 Games 200 carries 1,078 yards 12 TD's

Hart is the leading rusher in the NCAA and averages the second most yards per game. Michigan lost it's first two games, but that was not due to a poor performance by Mike Hart, who ran for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns in those two games. Mike Hart has been the most important player to his team this year. Michigan lost their first two games and also lost their senior quarterback in the second game. Mike Hart put the team on his back and has carried Michigan back into the top 25 and has them on track to compete with OSU for the Big 10 title. Without Hart the Wolverines would not be in contention for anything and Lloyd Carr would be out of a job.

Andre Woodson - Quarterback - Kentucky

Stats - 7 Games 149.9 Rating 63.7% Passing 255.1 Y/G 21 TD 4 Int 3 Rush TD

Woodson is the best quarterback in college football and has led the resurrection of the Kentucky program in the SEC. Woodson is a smart quarterback who throws a great ball. Last week he led the Wildcats to an upset victory over then number ranked LSU. Woodson has only had one bad game this season and that was at South Carolina when he was blitzed and knocked around all game. Woodson is another guy, like Hart, that can carry the team on his back and whatever way he goes the team goes. Woodson has Kentucky in the top 10 of the BCS for the first time in their history.

Matt Ryan - Quarterback - Boston College

Stats - 7 Games 137 Rating 63.2% Passing 306.9 Y/G 17 TD 6 INT 1 Rush TD

Dennis Dixon - Quarterback - Oregon

Stats - 6 Games 173.6 Rating 70.2% Passing 254.2 Y/G 15 TD 2 INT 324 Rush Yards 6 TD

Dixon returned for his senior season at Oregon after playing baseball for the Braves in the off season and head coach Mike Bellotti was concerned at how he would respond to the lay off. Dixon has responded just fine and has thrown only 2 interceptions all year. Dixon is very fast and is a dual threat quarterback. He has a great arm, very accurate, smart, and a great athlete. He had one bad game where he threw the two interceptions against Cal, but Oregon still had a chance to win in it at the end of the game because of Dixon marching them down the field. Dixon is a great leader and makes the plays when he has to and has the ability to make those plays.

Sam Bradford - Quarterback - Oklahoma

Stats - 7 Games 181.1 Rating 70.7% Passing 241.3 Y/G 20 TD 4 INT

Oklahoma's problem last year was that Rhett Bohmar was thrown out of school just before the start of the season and they did not have a quarterback to fill in. Bradford has come in as a freshman and has led the Sooners to a great record and has done so in exciting fashion. As you can see by his numbers he is a very accurate passer who makes the right plays when they are there and does not force the ball into bad spots. He is not overly mobile, but he does not have to be. Bradford is surprisingly composed for a freshman and is a great field general. His problem is that he is a freshman and I do not expect him to compete for the award because of this, but he is one of the best players in the country.

Florida v. Kentucky Preview

2007-10-19T14:01:00.000-04:00

The Gators open up the second half of their season on the road against Kentucky. Kentucky is coming off of a tough win against LSU at home, while the Gators had a much needed bye week to get healthy. This is a huge match up in the SEC East as both teams have a chance to not only win the East, but win the SEC. After Kentucky's win against LSU they find themselves in place they have never been before, the top 10 of the BCS rankings. The Gators know that they still control their own destiny and the first step towards Atlanta begins tomorrow.

The emphasis in this game for the Gators on defense will be to keep Andre Woodson off balance and make him uncomfortable. To do this they are going to need switch up their defense and do more blitzing than they have been doing. So far on the season the coaches have tried to protect their young secondary and in doing so have allowed quarterbacks to sit back and pick apart the secondary. Brandon Cox has been terrible on the year, but looked like Tom Brady against the Gator defense earlier this year because he was able to dink and dunk all the way down the field because he had no pressure on him. Woodson is the best quarterback in college and if he is given time to sit back in the pocket he will shred the defense apart and it will not be a good day for the Gators. The Gators did get great news in the secondary over the bye week with the return of Markihe Anderson. Anderson had played outstanding in the secondary before getting injured and he offers the Gators some experience in the secondary that the Gator coaches can trust.

Kentucky will once again be without their starting running back Rafel Little due to a thigh bruise and their backup is also not 100%, so the pressure will once again fall to Woodson. The Gators have been pretty good about stopping the run all season against good backs, so expect Kentucky to become one dimensional in the game fairly early. South Carolina was very successful against Woodson using blitzing schemes and making him uncomfortable in the pocket in their meeting two weeks ago. Hopefully the Gators will be able to blitz him and get him to make some mistakes that they can take advantage of.

The Gators offense should get a big boost this week with the return of Andre Caldwell to the starting lineup. He played a few plays against LSU, but was nowhere near being healthy. Caldwell has said that he is almost 100% and is ready to go this week. The Gators have had a difficult time replacing Caldwell in the passing game, which has led the offense to revolve around Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin almost exclusively. Without another viable wide out teams have been able to focus in on Harvin and stop the Gators passing game from getting the big plays.

While the passing game will get a jump start with Caldwell coming back, it is more important that the Gators get their running game going early and often. The Gators finally committed to the run against LSU and were able to gash the Tigers for big yards. The Gators easily ran for more yards than any other team against LSU and they did so running the ball right at them. Kestahn Moore had a good game and it looks like he is ready to step up and be a dependable back for the Gators. The offensive line is getting better as the year goes on because the younger guys have been playing more and getting more comfortable together. The Gators have had a week off to rest and get ready for this game. Kentucky is coming off of a draining physical game against LSU last week and the Gators need to take advantage of this. They need to run the ball and move the Wildcats off the line and beat them physically. If the Gators can run the ball it will also open the passing game and allow them to move the ball well every drive.

The Gators had a disappointing first half of the season, but they still can control their own destiny going forward. They have a lot to play for and they seem to be getting better as the weeks go on and the younger players get more and more experience. The first half is over and the Gators need to forget about because their is no going back. The second half starts tomorrow and beating Kentucky will get them back on track.

Prediction: Florida 31 Kentucky 21

Rice Runs Over Bulls in Rutgers Win

2007-10-19T08:11:00.001-04:00

The Bulls had not given up 100 yards to a running back in the past 14 games, but the last running back to do it was Ray Rice, and he did it again. Rutgers road Rice all game and he amassed 181 yards on 39 carries. He was not only able to run up the middle, like many thought he could, but somehow he was also able to get to the outside against the Bulls speedy defense. Rice has a history of running over the Bulls and I expected him to get his hundred, but 181 is a surprising number from a defense that was playing so well. The Bulls seem to struggle with the backs that run downhill with power and are not trying to get to the outside like WVU does. Rice showed why he is still a Heisman candidate on a team that does not have a very good record and once again ran on a great defense because he is that good.

Even with Rice running for that many yards is was not an easy victory for the Knights, who needed to use all of their trick plays to pull the upset. You knew that Rutgers was going to pull out all the stops when the used a fake punt on the first drive of the game. They later scored on a fake field goal, which USF actually looked to be ready for, but there was a great pass and catch on the play. Rutgers knew that they needed to win this game and they went all out to do so.

Special teams was not so special in this game. Rutgers muffed two punts that USF was able to capitalize on and score points. It looked at times like Rutgers was trying to give the game to USF with the dumb plays and bad play calls. USF's kickoff coverage played terribly and allowed Rutgers to get good field position with great runs and because of stupid penalties at bad times. USF's special teams was not very good in any aspect of the game. They had a field goal blocked and also missed a field goal in the game to go with the poor coverage on kickoffs. They were able to overcome these problems in the Auburn game, but not last night against Rutgers.

The obvious problem in my mind is that the offense is Matt Groethe. His wide outs dropped passes that he put right into their hands. The running backs were not able to get anything going and once again Matt Groethe was the leading rusher for the Bulls. The big gains for Groethe came in the first half when Rutgers was running man and did not have a spy on him. After half time the Knights adjusted and made sure they were running containment or had a linebacker spy on Groethe to make sure he could not run. Once they were able to keep Groethe in the pocket they were able to stop the Bulls offense. The Bulls wide outs were unable to get open and when they did they dropped the ball. Groethe was able to get a couple runs, but for the most part he was lying on his back due to the 7 sacks in the second half. Rutgers adjusted at halftime and the Bulls were unable to deal with the adjustment.

Much will be made by Bulls fans about the officiating. I have already heard and read enough to know that the refs are being blamed for the loss. It is easy to use the refs as an excuse, but the fact is that if you play well enough it does not matter what the refs do. They did get a touchdown called back, but they had the ball and could have marched down he field and scored a touchdown, but they did not. You have to deal with adversity and just get back on the field and do your job. The push off in the end of the game was a blatant push off and had to be called, but the fact is they should never have put themselves in that spot. The were only 20 yards away from FG range and allowed Groethe to be sacked. He then spiked the ball for some unknown reason and put the offense in a very bad spot. It is useless to complain about penalties because they could have been overcome if the Bulls had played their game.

Ben Moffitt Semi-Finalist for Butkus Award and George Selvie Semi-Finalist for Lombardi Award

2007-10-18T19:34:00.001-04:00

Ben Moffitt has made it to the semi-finals for the
Butkus award given to the nations best linebacker. Past award winners have been NFL players like Patrick Willis, Paul Pozluszny, and Derrick Johnson. Moffitt has been great this year and has helped the Bull defense dominate good offensive teams and get wins at Auburn and against West Virginia.

On the season Moffitt has 52 Tackles, 27 of which have been solo. He also has 3 interceptions, which he got at key times in the games, and one even returned one for a touchdown against WVU. Moffitt is also the leader on the defense and makes sure that the plays are called and that everyone is in their correct position for the play. He provides much more than athleticism, but also provides the senior leadership the defense needs to be successful.

Moffitt has some tough competition for the award this year though. The other 9 semi-finalists include: Ali Highsmith (LSU), Dan Conner (PSU), Shawn Crable (Michigan), Jordan Dizzo (Colorado), Erin Henderson (Maryland), James Luarinaitis (OSU), J Lemman (Illinois), Keithm Rivers (USC), and Wesley Woodyard (Kentucky). Conner is another great linebacker out of PSU and James Laurinaitis is also up for the Lombardi award. Moffitt will need to continue his great play for the rest of the season, and he will also need his team to keep winning and stay in the national spotlight. Moffitt has been great all year, but I don't expect him to take this award in the end.

George Selvie was not even on the Lombardi watch list until about a week ago and now he is a semi-finalist for the award. The Lombardi is given to the best lineman, offensive or defensive, in the country. Selvie is a great talent and has been dominant all year long. Selvie leads the nation in sacks with 11.5 and has 17 sacks in 19 career games. Not only does he get sacks, but he also causes havoc in the backfield.

Selvie has shown not only the speed needed to play defensive end, but all the physicality that is needed to be a great DE. One thing that Selvie has that you see Gaines Adams lacks is the nasty streak and physicals needed to go up against the biggest LT in the game. Selvie is only a Sophomore, so that may hurt his chances of getting the award.

Just like Moffiit, Selvie has some tough completion for his award. The other 11 semi-finalists are: Glenn Dorsey (LSU), James Laurinaitis (OSU), Sam Baker (USC), Duke Robinson (OK), Xavier Adibi (VT), Calais Campbell (Miami), Dan Conner (PSU), J Lemmen (Illinois), Chris Long (UVA), Jack Long (Michigan), and Alex Mack (CAL). Dorsey maybe the best defensive player in the nation and once again Conner and Laurinaitis are up for their second award. Selvie does lead the nation in sacks and if he keeps it up he stands a good chance of winning the award, but it will hurt that he is only a sophomore.

USF Faces Rutgers In Big Time Thursday Night Game

2007-10-18T10:02:00.000-04:00

The Bulls have their first test tonight since the BCS rankings came out. They have to go up to New Jersey to play Rutgers in a big Big East match up on Thursday night. Rutgers is having a disappointing season thus far, but a win over USF would put them back into the Big East picture and may turn their season around.

If previous stats mean anything, Rutgers should feel pretty good because home teams have a record of 14-7 on Thursday nights this season, and home teams have had similar success in past seasons. Rutgers needs to only look to last season to gain confidence and see what a game like this can do for the rest of their season. Last year Louisville came into Rutgers ranked number 3 in the country and were upset on a field goal at the end of the game. This is a different team and different year for Rutgers, but these players have done it before and are ready to do it again. Rutgers also has not lost three consecutive games at home since 2003, when the team was horrible. Both teams are coming off of big wins last week, Rutgers over Syracuse and USF over UCF.

This game will be a match up of two great running games as well as two good run defenses. Rutgers, led by Ray Rice, averages 182 yards on the ground per game while USF, averaging 180 yards a game, get their yards from 3 different sources. The Bulls have been getting equal contributions from running backs Ben Williams and Mike Ford, as well as quarterback Matt Groethe. Both teams will need to the run the ball well in this game if they want a chance to win the game.

These two defense are middle of the pack in the Big East in rush defense, but have looked good stopping the run this season. The Bulls shut down WVU early this season, who have the number 2 run offense, and also shut down the nations leading rusher, Kevin Smith, last week. Rutgers shut down Navy and their number 1 rush offense earlier this year, but struggled against Maryland to stop the run. Both of these teams depend on running the ball to score points and to help open up the passing game. The team that runs for more yards in this game will win the game.

The two quarterbacks in this game could not be more different. Teel is a pocket passer, whose job is to be efficient and get just enough to win the game. Meanwhile, Groethe will use his legs and arm to try and win the game and much more is asked of Groethe in the offense. Teel is a very efficient passer and normally does not make many mistakes, which will cause his team to lose the game. When Teel makes mistakes, Rutgers gets into bad positions and tend to lose the game. Teel had bad games in both the Cincinnati and Maryland loses earlier this season. Rutgers was up in the Cincy game going into the half, but Tell made mistakes in the second half to cost them the game.

Groethe has not had a good year passing the ball, until last week against UCF. The Knights do not have a good secondary and Groethe did exploit that all game. He struggled earlier this year against teams that did have good secondaries like FAU and UNC. If Groethe tries to force balls in against Rutgers, they will get picked off and end badly for USF. While he only has 3 interceptions on the season, they have been in the red zone or during bad spots in games. Groethe will need to take what the defense gives him and not try to force anything.

The biggest stat in this game will be turnovers. Whoever wins this turnover battle will win this game because these two teams thrive off of getting turnovers and taking advantage of them. If the Bulls make mistakes tonight, Rutgers will capitalize and win this game. It is going to be very loud at Rutgers tonight and they are ready to end USF's magical run. The Bulls are coming off of a short week and have not played in a big Thursday game like this ever. This should be a great game that will come down to the fourth quarter and whoever makes the least amount of mistakes. Rutgers will be ready for this game and I think it may be too much for USF.
Prediction: Rutgers 27 USF 24

JUCO DT Epps Commits to Florida

2007-10-16T16:33:00.000-04:00

The Gators got another commitment on defense yesterday. Troy Epps, who has played for the Coffeyville Red Raiders for the past two season, has verbally committed to the Gators. Epps is a defensive tackle, but can play anywhere on the defensive line and be effective. In six games this season he has 47 tackles, 14.5 of them for a loss, 2 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles.

Epps played high school football in Union, South Carolina, where he not ponly played offense and defense for the football team, but also lettered in soccer, and was the number 1 heavyweight wrestler in the region for four straight years. His senior season he played full back and defensive tackle. He had 65 tackles, 6 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. Epps running back coach said that he had great hands and was very powerful. He was named offensive and defensive player of the week during the season.

Epps obviously has the power and speed to play defensive tackle and as a JUCO transfer will be ready to step right in next year. The defensive line has been a problem for the Gators this season, who lost 3 starters from last season's defensive line. The Gators have addressed the line in recruiting, but this will be an immediate help next year. Last years number 1 defensive lineman, Carlos Dunlap, will most likely join Epps on the inside and help to create a dominant front four once again.

Bucs Make Trade for Michael Bennett

2007-10-16T09:03:00.000-04:00

Reports are that the Bucs have made a deal for running back Michael Bennett. Bennett has been backing up Larry Johnson in Kansas City for the past two seasons, but with Priest Holmes apparently ready to play, Bennett became expendable. The Chiefs will get a conditional draft pick for Bennett, but those details have not been released yet.

Bennett went to Wisconsin and was a sprinter along with being the starting running back. He was stuck behind Ron Dayne his first two seasons, but broke out his junior year for 1,592 yards, despite missing two games with injury. Bennett ran a 4.13 40 yard dash at pro day and is rumored to be one of the fastest men in the NFL. He was a first round draft pick by Vikings in 2001 and had a pro bowl sophomore campaign in 2002.

The problem for Bennett has been injuries. After his 2002 year he went down with a foot injury and has not been fully healthy since that year. He is an effective back when he is on the field, but that has been only a few games a season. The Bucs have had bad luck with injuries to their running backs, so it is worrisome that they signed another guy who has been injury prone. If Bennett can stay healthy he will be a nice addition to the backfield, but other than his sophmore year he has yet to stay healthy for an entire year.

If the Bucs were going to make a move, this was probably the best move they could make without mortgaging future drafts to get a guy in here that may not contribute. Bennett does have great hands and should be a great third down back for the Bucs. He is not a power back and with his injury history he is not a guy you want to feature, but he will be a nice change up from Earnest Graham. Bennett also gives the Bucs another guy they can put back to return kicks that may be effective. He has the speed and shiftiness needed to be a good return man and could help give the Bucs good field position on kick offs.

We will have to wait and see what Bennett does for the Bucs and what the condition of the pick was, but this is not a bad move. Teams knew that the Bucs were in need of a back and had outrageous demands for third string running backs. This is not the sexy move that fans wanted, but it may be enough to hold on until Michael Pittman can come back from his injury.

Where is the Pass Rush

2007-10-15T15:13:00.000-04:00

Much has been made of the resurgence of the Buc defense this season. They have been flying to the ball and the younger guys seem to have brought back the athleticism and attitude this team used to be known for. While the defense has looked like it has had a resurgence, their is one huge thing missing this season that used to be a big part of the Buc defense, a pass rush.

The Bucs have 11 sacks in the first 6 games of this season with 3 coming against the Panthers, 2 on Kerry Collins in back to back plays, and 1 that was the result of Vince Young tripping on his running back. The sacks that the Bucs are getting come from either coverage sacks, or the offense running the wrong play. The Buc front four has been over matched by every offensive line that they have played so far. The Bucs have tried blitzing with corners, safeties, and linebackers, but that hasn't helped. Without a pass rush the Bucs will find themselves on the field longer than they should and giving up points that they should not be.

The Tampa 2 defense relies on the front four to get pressure. It is a zone coverage and if a passer gets enough time back in the pocket he will be able to read the zone and find the holes in it. The Bucs have had some coverage sacks so far this season, which has been nice, but it is supposed to be the other way around. Jovan Haye has been the best defensive lineman as far as sacks go and he only has 3 sacks in 6 games, meanwhile Giants' defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora doubled that in one game. The Bucs knew this was going to be a problem, which is why the drafted Gaines Adams with the fourth overall pick, but he has done nothing so far. Adams did have his first "sack" yesterday, but that came when he touched Vince Young down after he tripped over his own back. Adams has been dominated at the line this year and at times has looked lost trying to get to the quarterback. Spires and Carter have looked much better at defensive end this year and as much as they need Adams to get on the field, they need to have a pass rush more.

Patrick Chuckwurah was brought in to replace Dewayne White, and has looked good after coming back from injury, but he went down with a shoulder injury against the Titans. The Bucs will need Greg White to get over his injury and try to rotate in and get a pass rush going. The Bucs don't necessarily need sacks, but they do need to disrupt the quarterback in the pocket. If the Bucs do not get the pass rush going, they are going to picked apart this week by Jon Kitna.

USF 2 and UF 15 in First BCS Rankings

2007-10-14T19:18:00.000-04:00

The first BCS standings of the year are out and USF is number 2 in the nation, while the Gators are number 15. USF had never been ranked in the top 25 since the inception of the football team, but that did not stop it from making a huge mark in its first BCS rank. While the Bulls are enjoying great success this season, the Gators are 15th in the first rankings and still have tough tests to go.

The best thing for the Bulls is that they are number 1 in the computer polls and are closer to number 1 OSU than number 3 BC. If someone would have said that USF would be 2 and BC would be 3 in the first BCS rankings this year, everyone would have laughed at them. This season nothing seems impossible and USF has probably the easiest schedule of any of the undefeated teams left. Next week will probably be their toughest road test at Rutgers, but that game does not seem as tough as it did in the beginning of the year with how bad Rutgers has been this season. Meanwhile they get Cincy and Louisville at home where they seem to be unbeatable.

OSU's schedule has been ridiculously easy thus far and they will finally get tested down the stretch. Their really are only two games that should test OSU: at PSU, and at Michigan. Michigan can still win the Big 10 and that game maybe for the Big Ten title. PSU has been on and off this season, but they have always been great at home, especially at night. BC has had an easy schedule and it doesn't really get much harder, but they do have to go to Virginia Tech, which has gotten better every week.

The Gators are 15th in BCS rankings, but they have a lot of tough tests to go. They have to play 2 teams that are in the top 7 of the BCS and another that is in the top 20. If the Gators can win out in the regular season they would have to most likely play LSU again in the SEC Championship game. If all of this were to happen for the Gators and the undefeated teams were to lose at least one game, they would have a huge chance of getting into the top two. The probability of it happening or pretty close to none, but it goes to show the parity in the NCAA this season.

The Bulls control their own destiny for the National Championship and the Gators control it for the SEC championship. While the Gators are familiar with this territory, it is new to the Bulls. Many would be worried about what a top ranking like this means to a team that has never been here before, but with Coach Jim Leavitt at the helm there really is nothing to worry about. Leavitt has kept his guys focused all year long and no one should expect it to change. Congrats to the Bulls on being number 2, lets see if they can hold on for the rest of the ride.

Garcia Leads Bucs Past Titans

2007-10-14T18:43:00.000-04:00

Vince Young has led his team back on fourth quarter drives his whole career, but this time Young sat on the sideline and watched Jeff Garcia lead the Bucs down for the winning score. In a game where the defenses seemed to dominate the game, Garcia stepped up and led the Bucs to a victory.

On third down with a minute left in the game and Tennessee having two timeouts, Garcia bought himself time and hit Ike Hilliard down field to move the ball. After completing the pass, he got back under center and kept moving the Bucs down field and got them into field goal range for Matt Bryant win the Bucs the game. It was just another one of Garcia's great plays in the game. Garcia was under pressure a lot during the game, but he moved around and made the plays that were there, including a bomb to Galloway when he had Titans all over him.

Fans were excited when the Bucs signed Garcia in the off season, but no one could have known he would have the effect he has this season. He single handily won the Bucs the game on offense today. Garcia has made the plays that are there, and created ones that aren't. His fire and leadership are contagious and without him the Bucs would not be in the position they are right now. He has yet to throw an interception on the season, which shows just how smart the guy is. He may be one of the only quarterbacks in this league that can run Gruden's offense the way it needs to be run. Gruden will be thanking Garcia for a long time, because with out him, Gruden would have lost his job this year.

At the Half

2007-10-14T14:07:00.000-04:00

The Bucs are locked in a tough defensive battle at home against the Titans. This is exactly the type of game that most thought it would be. Both teams ahve struggled to run the ball effectively and are finding much more room passing the ball.

Earnest Graham has found it tough sledding up the middle of the Titan defense, but the Bucs have found room on the outside with tosses and screen passes. Graham has done a great job catching the ball out of the backfield, and has only had one drop so far. Michael Clayton finally showed up and had a huge catch for he Bucs, which set up the Bucs field goal.

The disappointing thing so far as been the inability of the Bucs to move the ball more effectively and out the ball in the end zone. They have forced two turnovers, but have only 3 points to show for it.

The Titans start with the ball in the second half. Lets hope the Bucs can get a stop and move the ball and get another score.

Bulls Dominate Knights in "Rivalry" Game

2007-10-14T11:30:00.001-04:00

The Bulls dominated the game against UCF from kickoff. The Bulls scored their first bunch of points off of Knight turnovers in their own 20. The Knights got back in it for a second, but USF got a safety after pinning the Knights down and after that went on to outscore UCF 52-5 for the rest of the game.

The Bull defense dominated the UCF offense and held one of the nations best backs to 55 yards on 18 carries. Most of Smith's yards came in the first quarter and he was just down after that. Neither one of the UCF quarterbacks could get anything done against the Bulls stout defense.

The Bulls offense was led by Matt Groethe who stepped up and threw for over 200 yards and ran for over 100. The papers in Tampa had been calling for offense and Matt Groethe stepped up and gave everyone what they were looking for. His yardage through the air could have been even better had the wide outs not dropped some great passes thrown by Groethe. The Bulls responded to everyone, including myself, that thought they may struggle with UCF who came in fired up to try and knock USF off of their magical year thus far.

This game once again proved that this is not a rivalry game and after next season it needs to be put to an end. The Bulls have owned the series thus far, winning the first three games and dominating UCF at home. It doesn't make sense for them to keep playing UCF until the Knights get better and make a move out of conference USA. The win against UCF essentially does nothing for the Bulls because they were supposed to win. The Bulls have a lot to lose playing these games and nothing to gain. If they lose to a team like UCF they look real bad to the rest of the nation, meanwhile when they win it really does not help them because they were supposed to win.

The series made sense back when both teams were in Conference USA and both were getting better, but know it is obvious that USF is a step above UCF. USF needs to finish out the contract and find another team to play and maybe make another rivalry game. UCF is no match for USF and the Bulls proved that yesterday. The Bulls own their own destiny now and just need to go about their business the same way they have all year.

Preview of Bucs v. Titans

2007-10-12T17:54:00.001-04:00

The Bucs take on Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans this weekend at Raymond James. Tennessee comes into the game with a record of 3-1 after beating the Falcons at home last week. The Titans maybe 3-1, but could very well be undefeated, as they had a chance to beat Indy, in Indy, on a fourth quarter drive. The Titans have a great defense, a good run game, and quarterback that just knows how to win.

The Bucs come into the game with a record of 3-2, but are coming off of a beat down in Indianapolis. The Bucs were dominated in all facets of the game last week and are looking to get back on track this week. The Bucs have been very good at home this year and have dominated the opponents that have come into Raymond James. The Bucs are 2-0 and home and have won the games by a combined 38 points. The Bucs have ran the ball very well at home and have enjoyed the home field advantage for once. They are going to need the crowd to help them in this one as well.

Titans Offense v. Bucs Defense

The Titans like to run the ball and they run the ball well. They average 153 yards a game and get contributions from a lot of different sources. They have two backs that they feel comfortable going to in any situation and their quarterback is also very good at running the ball. The Bucs have had a hard time with mobile quarterbacks in the past. The big problem for the Bucs is that their speed actually works against them. They are so fast to get to the ball that they are in a bad spot when the quarterback looks to run. The Buc defense as actually been pretty good against the run this year. The numbers for the Buc run defense are a bit misleading because of the St. Louis and Indy games. Although they gave up over 100 in each of those games, they did so on a lot carries to teams dedicated to running the ball. They will have the same type of team this week and will need to rotate the defensive lineman in and out all game to keep them fresh to stop the run.

The Titans have not passed the ball well this year at all. Vince Young is averaging only 145 yards a game through the air. He also has 5 interceptions to only 3 touchdowns. The Bucs have been great against the pass outside of the game against Indy. They have 6 interceptions on the year to go with 5 forced fumbles as well. They have not gotten to the passer as much as they have wanted, but it has gotten better as the year has gone on. Rookie Tanard Jackson has gotten better each week and made some great plays on Peyton Manning last week. The Bucs will most likely be without Brian Kelly again and will need Phillip Buchanon to step up one more time. They got Torrie Cox back from his suspension and that will help when they go into there 4 defensive back sets. Jermaine Phillips has been great in pass defense and run defense all year and will need a big game this week again.

Bucs Offense v. Titans Defense

The Bucs offense has lost key players in the run game the last two weeks. It started when they lost Cadillac Williams and Luke Petigout against Carolina for the season, and then lost Michael Pittman for 6-8 weeks last week against the Colts. The Bucs have turned the run game over to former Gator Earnest Graham and hope that he can carry the load with a couple of spells from BJ Askew and Ken Darby. They recently signed former Raider Zack Crockett to help with short yardage and blocking situations. This has been a big loss to the Bucs who have used the run to pound teams early and often to set up pass plays and wear the defense down. The Bucs have averaged 124 yards a game and have scored 7 touchdowns on the ground. The new unit will face it's most difficult test yet in the Titans. They give up only 72 yards on the ground per game and are one of the best run defense in the league. The Bucs thought they may catch a break with DT Albert Haynesworth being injured, but he practiced on Friday and will play on Sunday. This match up will go a long way in deciding who wins this game. If the Bucs can run the ball successfully against this defense, they should be able to win the game.

The Bucs passing game has been hit or miss, but that is not the fault of quarterback Jeff Garcia. Garcia has done everything he can to keep the Bucs in the game from not throwing interceptions at all, to running for first downs when a play breaks down. Garcia is a great leader out there and reads the defense perfectly so that Gruden can finally run his offense. While the Bucs are only averaging 182 yards per game in the air, it has been enough to win the games. The problem for the Bucs has been the lack of another wide out to step up and help. Joey Galloway as been Garcia's only big play target all season. Ike Hilliard has caught a lot of balls to keep the chains moving, but he does not have that big play ability. Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall have done nothing this season and they are going to need to step up for this team to win. The passing game won't win it for the Bucs, but it will need to be good enough to move the ball. Garcia has been the difference on offense so far, but the Bucs are going to need a wide out to step up and help Jeff out.

Overall

This is going to be a tough test for the Bucs at home. The Titans are a good team with a great defense. Vince Young seems to find a way to win every game, even if he is having a terrible game. The Bucs offense will need to get going and help keep the defense off the field so that they do not give up the long drives like they have at times this season. If the game is close in the fourth quarter, the Titans will have the advantage with Young at the helm.

Prediction: Bucs 17 Titans 14

No More Free Parking for Rays Games

2007-10-12T16:51:00.000-04:00

The Devil Rays announced today that free parking will only extend to people that have four or more people in a car. Stu Sternberg decided to give fans another season of free parking last year, but ended it this season. The price to park will be $10 per car, as it was before the free parking, unless you have 4 or more people in the car, and than it will be free.

The Rays also cut the price of outfield tickets by a dollar, but raised the price of upper deck tickets, but upper deck tickets were raised by a dollar. These are minor changes for the Rays and it is good to see that the Rays have not increased the prices of tickets after another disappointing season.

The one difference in the Rays pricing that is a bit odd is a new $2 service fee charged to fans if they buy their tickets 5 hours or less before the first pitch of the game. I think this will have a bigger effect than raising prices and that's what the organization was thinking. Most people that go to baseball games go a little bit before the game and buy tickets. Many fans decide a couple hours before the game that they want to go to the game. Unlike football, baseball has 81 home games and most fans do not have season tickets, nor do they plan ahead if they want to go to games, unless they want to see a visiting team. While most will just pay it and not even know the difference, it will give the organization money that they had not had before. I think this will give them more money than had they raised every ticket price a dollar.

I do hope that since the parking is not free anymore, they will lower the concession prices back down. The beer prices were raised by a dollar after the free parking, and the cup size also went down. $10 per car is a lot of money, so hopefully they can take some of the concession prices down a bit.

Preview of USF v. UCF

2007-10-11T16:12:00.000-04:00

The annual match up between UCF and USF is almost here and fans are getting excited. The columnists at the Orlando Sentinel are tried, successfully, to drum up some emotion from the USF fans by going to USF wearing UCF gear and flags on his head. UCF fans are getting excited with the thought of trying to upset USF and put an early end to their dream season. The Bulls are ranked number 5 in the country and have sold out Raymond James for the second game in a row.

USF is coming off of a tough win against FAU down in Boca Raton. It was a very close game in which FAU had chances to come away with the upset win, but USF's defense stepped up and made the stops when they needed them most. The offense was led by running back Ben Williams, who ran for over 180 yards and had 4 touchdowns. Matt Groethe had a career day running the ball, but once again struggled in the passing game.

While USF is undefeated and coming off of a win, UCF is coming off of a disappointing big loss to ECU. Many USF fans have made a lot out of that ECU game, but they also need to remember that UCF almost beat a good Texas team. For UCF it will depend on which team shows up this week: the one that played Texas, or the one that played ECU. In a rivalry game everything gets thrown out the window, so neither side should be surprised by any outcome.

UCF Offense v. USF Defense

Talk about a big time match up. UCF has one of the best running backs in college football in Kevin Smith, who is averaging 180 yards a game. Smith has been great all year long and put up 150 yards against Texas, who gives up less yards per game than the USF defense. The Bulls defense has been great all year long and shut down one of the best running teams in WVU two weeks ago. Ben Moffitt and the other linebackers have been flying to the ball and have not allowed teams to get much going offensively. WVU is one of the best run offenses that anyone will play, but UCF runs the ball differently. WVU relies on misdirection and using speed to get to the outside and gain big chunks. The Bulls have the speed to get to the outside, which is why they always give them fits. UCF on the other hand is more of a power running team and will run the ball right at the Bulls. It is a much different animal to have to deal with and the Bulls will be in for a much more physical game.

The UCF pass game has not been too effective this year. Some of this is a product of running the ball so often, but a lot of it is because they are not good in the passing game period. USF corner Mike Jenkins, a possible first round draft choice, will shut down whoever he covers and make it very difficult on the Knights to throw the ball. Once they shut the passing game down, it will make it easier to stop Smith and the run game.

USF Offense v. UCF Defense

USF has been balanced on offense this year going for 183 in the air and 181 on the ground. While its good to be balanced, 183 in the air is not a number to be happy about. It seems that Groethe has taken a step back this season in the passing department and is not reading the defenses correctly. He has had only 3 interceptions so far on the year, but has also only thrown 5 touchdowns. The Knights defense are not the ball hawking defense that FAU was and have only intercepted 3 passes on the season. While they have only had 3 picks, they were at bad times and they have had some other bad fumbles that have cost them. So far the turnovers have not led to losses, but if they keep playing with fire, they will get burned by good teams.

With Mike Ford out last week, Ben Williams stepped up and went over 180 yards. The better the bulls can run, the better they will be able to set up the pass. The Knights have not been great at stopping the run this year and the Bulls may be able to take advantage of it. Hopefully Mike Ford will be back for this game and the Bulls can rotate in their backs along with Groethe running the ball.

Overall

This game will be tougher than most USF fans want to believe. While they struggled against ECU last week, UCF has been good for most of the season and Geroge O'Leary is a good big game coach. Jim Leavitt has been keeping his team focused in on UCF and they will come out fired up. USF will take the game in the end, but closer than many believe.

Final: USF 24 UCF 20

Dave Martinez Named Rays Bench Coach

2007-10-11T12:41:00.000-04:00

The Rays have just announced that former major leaguer Dave Martinez is the new bench coach. Martinez was played outfield for 17 seasons and was one of the original Devil Rays.

Martinez served as an instructor for the Rays during Spring Training the last two seasons. He was also a base coach for the Rays during the past season while George Hendrick was out for 3 weeks. Martinez has a lot to offer the young team and has a good rapport with the players, but the move is a bit surprising.

Martinez had been rumored as a candidate to join the coaching staff, but many, myself included, thought that he would take over a base coaching job and either Foley or Hendrick would move to bench coach. Other than the three week period he filled in for Hendrick last season, he has never been a coach at the major league level. The bench coaching position usually goes to a guy who has been around longer and has had some experience, so this move is a bit odd.

Joe Maddon stated that the reason Bill Evers was let go was because he wanted someone who he got along with better and could bounce ideas off of more. He knew Evers for a long time and got along with him before he was the bench coach, but now he has hired a guy that he has known a lot less than Evers. Hendrick seemed to make more sense because they knew each other when they both coached with the Angels. The big question is whether he did this because he wanted a new guy in there that could offer something different, or did he want someone who he did not feel threatened by?

Evers had been with this club for a long time and many people wanted him to take the managers job before Maddon got it. Foley was also rumored to take the managers job before Maddon and he is very popular as well. While Martinez is popular with players and fans, he lacks the experience that would be needed for him to be a threat to Maddon at the manager position. Right now the benefit of the doubt goes to Maddon and I hope this is a good decision for the Rays. Martinez is a younger guy who can relate to the players a little better than some of the older coaches on the staff now. He will be a great influence and help to this team.

Now if they would only let Hickey go and bring in Xavier Hernandez.

Goaltending Much Improved

2007-10-11T11:52:00.001-04:00

The Lightning have given up the same number of goals, four, through 3 games as they did last year. While they have given up the same number of goals, Holmqvist's save percentage is .945 and Denis' was .925. The number of goal may be the same, but the goal tending has been much better so far.

Holmqvist has made better and more saves than he or Denis did at anytime last season. He has stopped shots that were goals last year and cost the lightning games. Even the lightning opponents are noticing the difference. The Panthers remarked that shots they made last night would have gone in last season, and that Holmqvist is playing the best he has since being in the league. With the way that Holmqvist is playing, don't expect Denis to get much time between the pipes.

Denis was signed to a big deal last year and was supposed to be the savior at goalie for the offensive power house lightning, but struggled all year long. Holmqvist looked much better than Denis during the whole, year and eventually overtook him and started every playoff game for the lightning. This is not new territory for Holmqvist, who was the Swedish national goalie and has won many international games for the Swedish team.

The team has noticed a difference in the way they play with Holmqvist back in the net. Many have commented that they can play a different game knowing that they don't have to do as much on defense because Holmqvist will be there to make the stop. The more games he gets under his belt the better he seems to play. The Lightning seem to have found their savior at goalie, its just not the one they paid all the money to last season.

Dukes Headed to the Dominican for Winter Ball

2007-10-10T14:11:00.000-04:00

Elijah Dukes is headed down to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball this off season. The Rays outfielder had been deactivated by the team while he has tried to get his life off the field back together. The club has said that he has made strides since being away from baseball and focusing on counseling and his family. He has had some problems with his ex-wife, but they seem to be coming around and she has even allowed him to have unsupervised visits. This move may indicate a movement in towards the next chapter in his life.

The Dominican winter ball is a great place to hone your skills in the off season. Dukes will be able to get back into the swing of things and start getting back into baseball condition. As long as he stays out of trouble while he is down there, this should be a great situation for him. Hopefully Elijah can stay out of trouble and get some good playing time down in the Dominican. If he can stay out of trouble and come back to Spring Training with the skills to play again, the Rays will have another viable option in the outfield that can be used in a trade. The Rays will once again have a good number of outfielders in there system and could trade Dukes away for some much needed pitching help. We are all rooting for Elijah not just to get better as a baseball player, but as a man also.

Bucs to Sign Zack Crockett

2007-10-10T08:44:00.000-04:00

Pewter Report is reporting that the Bucs will sign fullback Zack Crockett today. The Bucs made room for a new player yesterday when they placed Chris Simms on IR. They have been looking for a running back ever since Cadillac Williams went down, but it became even more pressing after losing Michael Pittman last week. This is not the splash back that many Buc fans were looking for, but it actually does make sense.

The Bucs have burned up the phone lines trying to make trades for a running back, but teams know how desperate they are and were trying to make the Bucs over pay. It is a credit to this organization to not overpay for someone like Medwelde Moore. With trades not really a possibility the Bucs brought in a couple of backs the past couple of days including Ciatrick Fason, Zack Crockett, Kevan Barlow, and Shaud Williams.

While none of those names is too appealing to Bucs fans, Crockett makes the most sense. We always here how Gruden's system is so tough to understand and that it will take time to learn, but Crockett had been in that system before in Oakland and is the only back that could come in and play immediately. The Bucs will most likely run BJ Askew more in goal line situations and to spell Graham now that they have another full back on the roster. Askew was a running back in college, but was converted to full back when he came into the NFL, so he is familiar with running the ball. When he signed with the Bucs he expressed interest in being able to run the ball, so now will be his chance. This was not the big splash move everyone was looking for, but it just may work.

Chris Simms Placed on IR

2007-10-09T17:37:00.000-04:00

The Bucs have placed Chris Simms on IR officially ending his season. Simms, who ruptured his spleen last season, was the fourth quarterback on the Bucs roster and was never expected to see the field. Most expected the Bucs to cut him earlier in the season, but they made the surprising move of keeping him on the roster. He will continue to rehab from his injury and hopefully come back next year and show he can still play in the NFL.

The Bucs were the only team that was carrying four quarterbacks and Simms really didn't look like he could play even if they needed to. In my opinion the Bucs were hoping to try and move Simms to a team that was in need of a quarterback during the year, but no one was interested. They had been trying to acquire a running back via a trade and they may have been told no about Simms from those teams. With the trade deadline looming, no interest in Simms, and a roster spot needed to acquire a running back, this makes the most sense for the Bucs to do. The interesting part of all this is that Jon Gruden had vehemently stated from the start of training camp that Simms could not go on the IR because he was no injured. He got angry at times when someone even mentioned IR. Simms is now on IR, but has not played a down to get hurt.

Gators Need to Treat Second Half of Season As Whole New Season

2007-10-09T16:32:00.000-04:00

This year the bye week split the 12 game season in two parts. It could not have come at a better time with the Gators coming off of two heartbreaking conference losses and 3 rough conference games in the next 4 weeks on deck. What they need to do is use this bye week to treat this season as two halves and forget about the first half. They still control their own destiny and with an undefeated second half of the season will be the SEC East champion.

College football this season has been full of upsets and parity and the Gators have been right in the middle of it. If someone would have said at the beginning of the year that USF and BC would be in the top 5 right now, while USC and UF were not, they would have been called crazy. Anything seems like it can happen this year, so the Gators need to focus on their own business and let everything else work it itself out. The Gators are lucky in the fact that they pretty much control their own destiny in the SEC East.

The Gators do have two conference losses already, but everyone else in the East also has at least one conference loss and the Gators get to play all of them except Tennessee. If Tennessee loses one more conference game and the Gators can beat Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, and Vanderbilt they will be the SEC East Champion. There are a lot of ifs in that scenario, but they are very possible. The gators get a week to prepare for Kentucky, who will be coming off of a tough game against #1 LSU. Georgia has been not been as good as they were supposed to be and Florida has a history of beating UGA no matter how well they are playing. Vanderbilt always play the Gators close, but have not beat the Gators at the swamp since 1945. The South Carolina game will be the toughest by far as South Carolina has been great this year especially at home.

The above scenario also counts on Tennessee losing at least one conference game, but looking at their schedule it looks very good for the Gators. The Vols have away games at MSU, Alabama, and Kentucky. They also have home games against Arkansas and South Carolina. Tennessee looked great against Georgia last week, but they also had a bye week that gave them an extra week to prepare. Tennessee was dominated by UF and Cal earlier in the year and have looked terrible on defense for most of the year. The gauntlet that they have to run for the rest of the season will create at least one trip game.

The Gators had a rough go of it recently and the mood around the team has seemed to be a bit down. This week will help to get some of the players like Bubba Caldwell and Markihe Anderson get totally healthy. The big thing the Gators need to do in this time is to forget the first half of the season and get ready for the new season. They control their own destiny and still have a lot to play for. This is a young team and the second half of the season will tell show fans a lot about the character of these young guys.

Bucs Looking for Options at Running Back

2007-10-08T15:46:00.000-04:00

With Michael Pittman out for 6-8 weeks, it looks like the Buccaneers are in the market for a running back. Jon Gruden commented in his press conference today that Bruce Allen and Doug Williams are going to be looking for a running back everywhere. The Bucs talked with some clubs earlier in the week after Cadillac went down, but had either been told no, or thought the price was too high. With Gruden and Allen feeling like their jobs are on the line this season, and now having to start Earnest Graham at running back they may feel to he need to make a deal, even if it is over paying. Buc fans will have to sit back and wait to see if Gruden and Allen feel comfortable with Graham and rookie seventh rounder Ken Darby running the show, or will they make a move for another running back. Here are some of the guys that the Bucs have or could be looking at:

Medwelde Moore - Minnesota
Moore is the third string running back on the Vikings roster at the moment, behind Chester Taylor and rookie Adrian Peterson. Peterson has shown the ability to shoulder the load if Taylor were to go out and in the meantime they can rotate between the two making Moore dispensable. The Bucs offered the Vikings a sixth round pick earlier this week for him, but were turned down. Moore has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, but does not have the power that you want from your back. Anything more than a 5th round pick would be overpaying for him.

Ricky Williams - Suspended/Miami
Ricky has filed for reinstatement in the NFL, but the Dolphins have told him that they do not want him on their team. Ricky has had a troubled career and the Bucs would be gambling on the fact that he not only can stay clean, but that he has stayed in football shape while he has been out of the NFL. Another problem is that the trade deadline is coming soon and his reinstatement issue may not be solved by then. This situation seems too much of a gamble for the Bucs at the moment and I think they need to pass.

Tatum Bell - Detroit
Bell has been rumored to be on the trade block now that Jones has come back and ran well. At the moment this is only a rumor and Jones has had some soreness in his foot recently, so the Lions may not want to part with him at the moment. They are winning games at the moment and if they traded Bell and Jones were to go down they would be in big trouble. The other problem with Bell is that he did not succeed in Denver of all places and has not looked good in Detroit either. Bell maybe just another body to put in the backfield and would likely come with too high of a price tag for his abilities.

Michael Turner - San Diego
This may be the best option for the Bucs in terms of getting an actual back that will contribute mightily to the offense. Turner is a great back and could be a featured back here in Tampa after this season. He has been in the league for a while, but has been stuck behind LT. Many teams expressed interest in him last season, but thought the price was two high while he was an unrestricted free agent. There are a couple of problems with getting Turner. Number 1 is that the Chargers can make him a franchise player after this season and command two first rounders for him in the off season. If they can get that than, they will want at least that now. Second, is the fact that he will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, so the Bucs would need to sing him to a long term deal or make him a franchise player and pay a lot of money. A third problem could be that the Chargers may not want to deal one of their offensive weapons at the moment. If the price is right I would take Turner. I think he is worth a first rounder, but not more than 1.

Corey Dillon - Free Agent
The Bucs contacted him right when Cadillac went down and he told them he was not interested in coming out of retirement. He had said that he wanted to keep playing earlier this season, so it is puzzling why he said no to the Bucs. If it is a money issue the Bucs may need to offer a bit more, but if he does not want to come back to a team he feels can't win a Super Bowl that would be a totally different problem they would have to deal with.

Julius Jones - Cowboys
This one has not been rumored, but though I would throw it out there. Jones is clearly second fiddle to Marion Barber in the Dallas backfield. The Cowboys have another talented back in Tyler Thompson behind Jones and MBIII that could jump in and help shoulder some of the load for the Cowboys running the ball. Problem here is that they are making a run and they may not want to disrupt the chemistry of the team. Also, he was a first round pick so the Cowboys would most likely want equal value for him, which may be too much.