jesushchrist bill. let's try this another way to untwist your panties. USC has a guy who is currently 3rd on their depth chart who started for Arkansas in the SECCG and you don't hear me or anyone saying that the backup at USC is better than 4 QBs in the Pac10. You don't hear anyone else saying that (whoever the hell the backup at Ohio State is) would be starting for all but 3 other QBs in the B10... Ditto that any other conference. The kid may well be that damned good... but FF, how can you possibly quantify and backup such a claim? The answer is... you can't... and that makes it bullpucky
I didn't say you weren't entitled to your opinion Corey. But I do wonder why you have to use profanity in most of you posts. As to my panties in a wad, it seems it's you that goes off the deep end when something positive about the Gators is posted. Bullpucky or not.
I believe it was SI originally making that claim in my first post. Maybe they have the back-up we are looking for?
More Gators....more Brantley.... http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/ncaa/04/18/florida.springgame.ap/index.html "Sophomore John Brantley threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns, ran for two scores and led the Orange team to a 31-21 victory over Tim Tebow's Blue squad. "He had a great spring," offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said. "You watch his presence in the pocket, his poise. He took a shot under the chin and delivered a strike. All the signs and evidence of a guy that's really developing into one heck of a football player. "He's a legitimate player, and we have a lot of confidence in him. That was a major deal for the spring, and I think the exclamation point was out there for him today." Brantley was 14-of-23 passing, with completions of 26, 47 and 50 yards. His 47-yarder to Frankie Hammond Jr. highlighted a 90-yard touchdown drive in the first half. They also hooked up on a 50-yard score on the second play of the second half."
BTW, the article mentions edge.....did I read it right that Brantley outplayed Tebow? You play like you practice right? Somebody's not waiting for a payday are they?
AJ, if Tebow was wanting a payday he would be gone. :wink: :wink: He was held out most of the spring game. In fact Brantley played for both teams much, if not most, of the game. I guess he's just a stud! :lol: :lol: Of course wearing the red jersey where he couldn't be tackled didn't hurt. :wink: :wink:
I'm curious. Was he playing against the first-string defense? If so, wouldn't it concern you that an unproven rookie QB shredded your starting defense? Or was he playing against the second or third string defense, in which case wouldn't his stats be favorably distorted? Is it possible that the intent was to showcase the kid by diluting the defense? Just asking.
Here lies my primary concern about the unquestioned supremacy of the Florida Gators for the 2009 season. On paper, the Gators should roll through their schedule like the juggernaut that they are. The Gators are unquestionably, in the minds of most rational people who don’t hold a personal vendetta against all things Gator, the most talented team in the nation entering this upcoming season. Urban Meyer has time and again proven that his system not only works in the SEC but has the potential to dominate the conference (which is why I hope he is in South Bend next season). The fact that the Gators return their entire 2-deep on defense is even more of a concern to me as a fan of a bitter rival. Last year’s version of the Gators’ D was great, I hesitate to guess how good they will be this year. Given all that, the Gators still seem to have something to prove and they have Tebow as an incredible leader to keep them focused on the task at hand. That is just the tip of the iceberg of their resume for 2009. However, one thing concerns me if I’m a Gator fan. The irony is that the thing that concerns me if I’m a Gator is the very thing that makes me so optimistic. Tim Tebow passed up the potential of NFL millions (well, maybe not millions since he would have quite likely been a mid to late round project) for the chance to return to his Gators. No question he wanted to come back because he loves the game and the college experience. However, I think honing his NFL skills might have had a little to do with his decision, don’t you think? Mel Kiper Jr. asked him at the Heisman ceremony how he would feel about playing H-BACK in the pros. Think that may have been a reality check?? Like him or not, Kiper is the most well known “expert” when it comes to the NFL draft. It seems that I recall a certain other decorated QB that played in a similar system to Tebow, although his system was a bit more run-oriented than the Gators’, that chose to return for his senior season to hone his skills. That QB was Pat White. West Virginia was supposed to run roughshod over the Big East last season with White and Noel Devine back. Now, I’m not comparing the WV team to the Gators as the Gators are vastly more talented. However, the QB situation seems very similar. There has already been talk coming out of Gainesville that the Gators will work Tebow from under center more the upcoming season. Now, I don’t think Tebow would willingly sacrifice the success of his team for his own selfish reasons but perhaps the tinkering with a good thing could cost the Gators a game along the way. It certainly cost the Mountaineers. Maybe this is just a Tennessee fan hoping that game is on September 19. Or maybe I’ve spotted the soft spot in the dragon’s armor….
Aquila...I can't blame ya for hoping. For me Tebow with another year of experience is nothing but a great thing. He has three years in Meyer's system under his belt and his knowledge can only be that much better. His fire should still be there and I hear that it is. I think Tebow and Spikes came back to win yet another championship and that is their real motive because Spikes probably would have been top 15 in the draft although now he may go top 5. The only real soft spot I could possibly see right now is the WR position getting some fairly unused talent although at the end of last season Cooper and Nelson came on very strong in the two championship games and most likely will build on that. Otherwise...TE....get this TE....Hernandez ran a 4.53 40 the other day before the Orange and Blue game. That is lightning quick for a TE. On the question of what defense did Brantley throw against it was mostly 2nd and 3rd teamers as many defensive starters were held out.
Sid, two things. First there were over 20 players held out of he game, mostly for injuries, probably most would have played if it were an important regular season gam. Second, the teams are typically divided up and players may move from one to the other during the game. Brantley ended up playing and scoring for both offenses. I don't think it was planned to showcase him, but more to give him work. As I mentioned above the QB's were not tackled.
Aquila, I'm buying everything you say. Also if I'm a betting man and can take any one team or take the field against that team, I'm taking the field. I think that no matter how good a team appears before the season starts that an injury or an off day can end your championship hopes. No one in college football is ever guaranteed winning the BCS. But I would rather be starting from the position the Gators are starting from this year than where most other teams are starting. I also think that USC, Texas and Oklahoma are all in similar positions. Hey, don't hold your breath until Meyer is the coach at S. B.
Counting today Meyer has had 5 first round draft picks in his career....4 at Florida while earning 2 national titles. At the same time ND has one first round draft pick in the last 6 NFL drafts and we know all about the rest of the story. It seems pretty self explanatory to me.
Dave, You can get your dig in at ND all you want. Why don't you compare yourself to the heavy weights like USC? That seems like a much more appropriate comparison. You can't discount the Tyrone Willingham factor for one part of the year and then champion it the next. Your numbers reflect exactly what we have been saying. We weren't bringing in the talent to South Bend like we should have been. Charlie has changed that. The kids drafted this year were the 'tweener' class that no one in their right mind would tell you was a good one for Charlie. He was simply grabbing bodies and filling in depth numbers. It may sound crazy and desperate, and that is because it was.. You should have seen what our roster would have looked like if we left Ty to his own devices for another year. Most of us ND fans have been telling you guys for years just how bad of a job that Ty was doing and I don't think you guys really understand the impact of it.
I left a response on USC in the other topic. I am very impressed by their draft record over the last few years. Here is this year's result by conference and it leads easily to the conclusion of why this past season's final BCS rankings came out as they did: Southeastern 37; Atlantic Coast 32; Big Ten 28; Big 12 28; Big East 27; Pacific-10 23; Mountain West 16; USC had 11 of those 23 PAC10 draftees leaving only 12 players from the rest of the conference. By contrast Florida had 4 drafted leaving 33 players from the rest of the conference. Sure UF has some underclassmen on the team that will be drafted but say you add 6 more to UF's total of 4 then the SEC has 43 players drafted to the PAC10's 23. Oh...and Utah had 4 drafted leaving the Mountain West with only 12 players drafted otherwise. The bottom line is that while USC is impressive talent wise they do not get as much credit for similar records as PAC10 champ when compared to the SEC Champ in the final BCS analysis. Thanks for bringing up these draft numbers Corey...... :wink:
You ignore two things, which you do every single year it seems so it is hard to believe it is chance or oversight. 1. The Pac10 and MWC have fewer teams. 2. USC just cranks them out every year, but the other teams seem to follow a cyclical process. The Pac10 was a very, very young conference. Also, we've seen the Tyrone Willingham effect knock down a former annual NFL factory (Washington). A few more things, a few years back I ran the numbers to show that (per team) the Pac10 produced more NFL talent.. in other years, it was about a wash with the SEC/Big12..all relatively close...but this is the first year that you seem to put any stock into it? Why is that? Also, why are you switching arguments? The case here is that you can't compete with USC... and if the SEC has so much NFL talent.. then why don't the onfield results reflect that dominance you boast of? As for this thread, and back on topic.. You were comparing apples and oranges with ND vs Florida due to the Tyrone effect...and you know it.
Florida is 1-0-1 vs the team "we can't compete with" and that was when USC was great and Florida was just pretty decent. I absolutely disagree with your contention. ...and here is the ratio of NFL draftees per team in the three conferences when you take out the 3 teams in question for strength of schedule/BCS ranking purposes: SEC - 3 PAC10- 1.1 Mountain West - 1.33