I’m glad to be such a proponent for change. After last week’s rant
about Tedd Ginn being the only receiver in ESPN’s Heisman watch, Chris
Spielman added Calvin Johnson- who by the way still isn’t the best
receiver in the NCAA, and kept Ginn in the mix, probably because Kirk Herbstreet paid him.
But I digress.
Spielman is getting closer to getting his list right but here’s how I would have my wide receivers ranked.
- Mario Manningham WR- Michigan –Twelfth in the NCAA in receiving yards with 527; first in the NCAA in touchdown receptions (9).
- Calvin Johnson WR- Georgia Tech – Just ahead of Manningham in yards (559) right behind him in touchdowns (8).
- DeSean Jackson - WR – California/ Robert Meacham WR Tennesee – Solid numbers all around.
In the case of running backs Northern Illinois finesse back Garrett
Wolfe has still been overlooked by Spielman even though he has 496 more
rushing yards than any other back in the nation. He may play in the
MAC, but 353 yards against anyone, even Ball State, is worth a tip of
the cap.
Besides, Ball State heads to Ann Arbor in a month, and I’d bet my life
Mike Hart doesn’t crack 253 yards against the Cardinals. Spielman still
has him on his list though, along with Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma who
has 400 less rushing yards and five less touchdowns.
I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone Wolfe put up 285
total yards on Ohio State plus a touchdown. To find someone with a
performance that good you must go back to last September when Vince
Young had 340 total yards. I wonder if he was on Spielman's list?
And I've heard so much about this "it" factor- I thought I knew what "it" was, but I apparently I don't know what "it" is when Steve Slaton is listed as a contender, but Garrett Wolfe is left in the cold. If this kid did any more work they'd call him Larry Johnson.
Michigan defeated Minnesota 28-14 this weekend, but before I even had time to watch the replays my State fan friends were already talking smack.
“If Michigan was so good why did they only win by 14.”
I must have heard this at least three times since Saturday. People downplaying a fourteen point win, yet when we talk about USC’s 28-14 win over Michigan in the 2004 Rose Bowl- USC thumped them. Isn’t this a double standard? And didn’t Michigan State just lose Illinois? How comments are like that even remotely justified.
Thoughts on High School errrr Michigan State Football Reading the newspaper today I realized that Michigan State cared more about who was planting what on the 50-yard line after Saturday's game- than what was on the scoreboard.
And it's not like a team that just lost to bottom feeding Illinois even has the right to oppose a flag plant in the first place- but the ironic thing is they were the ones who started the flag planting in the first place.
Forget about Notre Dame and the Golden Megaphone trophy- nobody brings the Megaphone trophy to the games anyway. What is important is that the players are more motivated to fight after games they lose, and taunt the Irish after wins, than they are to beat a team with as much prestige as my flag football team.
Say what you want about who was right or who was wrong but ask yourself a question: Would Ohio State ever flag plant, or get in a fight after a game? What about Auburn, USC, Michigan or Texas? Definately not. So if John L. Smith wants his team to become elite like the powerhouses I've mentioned maybe he needs to have his team act like one. Otherwise they will never play like one.
And its not like he's going to have a long time to do it. Surely the search for John L.'s replacement began moments after the loss to Illinois but is there anyone really out there. Gary Barnett and Rick Nueheisel and Steve Mariucci come to mind as great replacements for the Spartans. They would surely help continue the trend of Spartan coaches who couldn't control their teams actions on and off the field.
Mid-Major coaches are a tough breed to choose from too- Smith has proven that since he came up from Lousville as did Dan Hawkins with this terrible thing he calls a football team over in Colorado. Then you have the coordinators and assistants from around college football in the NFL, but would anyone really leave a job in the NFL to coach for MSU and risk career suicide? And would anyone leave a cushy job as a play caller to take the reigns of a program struggling to breathe right now?
Probably not.
Thoughts on Howie Long’s thoughts on the Lions:
During Sunday’s NFL pre game show on FOX Howie Long stood up for Matt Millen crediting Millen with a tough job in managing the Lions. As if his Radio Shack commercials aren’t bad enough, he has the nerve to support Matt Millen the worst general manager in the history of sports. Yes he is way worse than Isaiah Thomas.
When the Lions hired Millen in 2001 he was in charge of rebuilding a mediocre team who had limited success in four previous decades. A few sporadic playoff appearances, a couple wins, and a whole slew of 8-8, 9-7 and 10-6 records. The Lions needed a little help to become a little more consistent, take some shape, and become a contender now and then. But with Millen, the best they have done is 5-11. Basically, Howie Long supports a guy who has managed to rebuild so poorly that it needs to be rebuilt again. He supports a general manager who drafts terrible players, chooses poor coaches, makes bad media decisions (calling Johnny Morton ####) and offends fan more than anything else. He also supports a team president who has presided over the worst stretch of Lions football ever. You look it up. In the pantheon of terrible Lions stretches has there ever been a worse five years for them? No.
I could go on for hours but the point is clear, the Lions have always been terrible, Millen has made them intolerable, he is just as bad, if not worse than any one else in the organization. Every one is to blame, and if Howie Long doesn’t think so, maybe he should ask himself how he would evaluate the situation if this was his favorite team.
