College and pro football are very different; therefore it is impossible to use professional football potential to judge the success of a college career. The games are different and the players are asked to do different things. It is illogical to use the possible accomplishments of a professional athlete to determine how great of a college career they had. Here are some of the differences between professional and college football that illustrate how ridiculous it is to use pro potential to judge a college career.
While pro football is clinical and precise, college football is more emotional. Both are difficult, however. Professional football is about competition against the best in the game as physical bodies and game smarts evolve with an intense focus. College football is about the heart of competing, keeping emotions in check to stay calm and complete the job no matter what the situation is. Sure, pro football has that element to a degree – but nothing is quite like college football.
Then there is passion, and pressure. College football has boatloads of both, while pro football does not have both in the same way college does. College football has 100-year old rivalries, pro football has teams changing towns if ticket sales lag. In college football every minute of every game counts. Taking a play off could be the difference between the BCS and Champ Sports Bowl, or the Champ Sports Bowl and a seat on the couch on January 1. In professional football, even 1-3 teams make it to the Super Bowl.
It is impossible to use professional potential to adjudicate a college career because college athletes – even the ones that fail to study hard – do have to perform in the classroom for at least three years before they can think about going to the NFL. They have to balance a split focus (unless they attent Auburn or Florida State) and must excel on the field given the pressure from fans, coaches, and teammates. Professional football players have a singular focus – football. There is a substantial difference.
College football has very different offenses that professional football does. An NFL team could never run a triple option offense or a spread offense the way a college team does. But, does that mean the college players who run those offenses, but never have a career in the pros, are undeserving of acclaim in college football? Absoletly not. Former Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch and former Oklahoma quarterback Jason White never played a down of professional football – does that mean they did not earn their Heisman Trophy? No way, they were great college players. Should the NCAA take away Ron Dayne’s Heisman Trophy and all time career rushing yards record just because he flamed out in the pros? Nope. Here is a whole list of football players who won college awards but never made it in the pros – all of these players have their college football legacy firmly intact despite their lack of fulfilled potential in the NFL. The two types of football simply are not related.
The rules between the two types of football are different, too. College receivers need to have one foot inbounds for a completion, in the pros it is two feet. The hash marks on an NFL field are much closer together, meaning most plays start in the middle of the field and force the defense to cover a lot of ground – not the case in the college game, which often forces offenses to run plays to a very short side of the field and kickers to kick from difficult angles. Overtime is different between the two as well, with college football overtime requiring both ability and stamina while the pros rely on the luck of a coin toss.
The point to outlining these differences is to prove that the games are very different, and using potential performance in one to judge performance in another is unfair and inaccurate. Does Albert Pujols become a better minor league player in retrospect because of the numbers he has compiled as a professional and his fulfilled potential? No. Does LeBron James become a more outstanding high school player because of his incredible professional career? No. More, does a successful college coach mar his legacy by a failed professional coaching attempt? If it does not happen to coaches, why should it happen to players?
It is a matter of expectations. College football is seen by many fans as a feeder system for professional football, rather than what it actually is – a sport completely unto itself. College football is not just a feeder system for the NFL, or the games would not matter as much as they do. Only a handful of college players go on to play professional football.
Here is the 2009 class of College Football Hall of Fame Inductees. Not all of these gentlemen had great professional careers. But, that is no reason to deny them admittance into the college HOF.
Read Sports Geek’s argument that performance at the collegiate level is the measure by which college athletes should be rated and evaluated, and Loyal Homer’s argument that the players potential to perform in the NFL is a better standard by which to gauge and evaluate them.
When the media’s pre-season All-SEC team was announced at the beginning of the month, there was no surprise seeing Tim Tebow’s name. There was some surprise, though, in the fact that he was NOT the name on top of the list. Somehow, there was another player in the SEC who garnered more of the 64 votes than Tebow did (granted, it was only one more vote, but it was enough to cause a buzz!). That person was defensive back Eric Berry of the Tennessee Volunteers.
Berry’s place at the top of the list is not without justification. He was a unanimous All-American last year, and is expected to set a new NCAA record for interception return yards very early in the 2009 season. The surprise lies in the fact that Tim Tebow, a favorite to win the 2009 Heisman Trophy award (which would be his second) and the leader of the reigning national champion Florida Gators, has been a dominant presence in the media since becoming the first player in NCAA history to both rush for AND pass for at least 20 touchdowns in the same year, 2007. He was expected to receive the most votes.
When considering the accomplishments Tebow has already racked up, add to those accomplishments the expectations for Tebow and the Gators this year – I do not think anyone would have disagreed if Tebow was named a unanimous selection. So you can imagine our surprise when he not only fell short of the unanimous vote, but also was not even the top vote getter on the list!
It made us wonder what, exactly, was the criteria these voters were using when they cast their ballots?
There can be little doubt that Tim Tebow is one of the most accomplished players in college football history. He has two national championships, has one Heisman award, and is a favorite this year to add to both of those totals. Eric Berry cannot boast a resume like that. What Berry CAN claim, at least in many media circles, is that he has a greater likelihood to move on and be successful in the professional ranks.
Berry is already considered to be a top prospect for the NFL Draft next year. His head coach at Tennessee, Lane Kiffin, is a former NFL head coach and agrees that Berry will be a very likely success at the next level. For Tim Tebow, on the other hand, expectations are not as high. Many believe that Tebow will move on to the NFL, but few expect him to continue as a successful quarterback once he leaves the college game.
So the question posed to Sports Geek and Loyal Homer today is:
Which is the better criteria by which to evaluate a college player, college success or pro potential?
NCAA Football is generally considered to be a feeder system into the professional ranks. Does that mean that a player’s potential to take the next step should be the key benchmark by which to rate their success? On the other hand, is a players ability to produce and succeed within the college game the better standard, even if that player is not likely to see continued success once they move on to the professional game?
Sports Geek will argue that the better measure is the player’s collegiate resume. While the NCAA football programs are viewed unofficially as a feeder system into the NFL, they are NOT minor league organizations. NCAA football is a separate entity from the NFL, and accomplishments and credentials garnered while in that game should be evaluated on their own merit, not how they would translate into a professional game.
Loyal Homer will argue that a player’s professional potential is the better barometer for evaluating their talent. Athletes at the highest level of college football are expected to move on to the NFL, so that naturally should be the standard by which those players are evaluated and compared against one another. If fans and the media expect those players to move to the next level of the game, then the best method for rating those players is to determine their likelihood of success.
Hats off to Sports Geek and Bleacher Fan for well-thought, well-researched debates on such a hot topic. This has been a dominant water cooler issue in sports the past week (in addition to Michael Vick and Brett Favre). It is even being discussed by people at my “real” place of work, which is largely filled with females. Rick Pitino has obviously dug himself quite a whole in the court of public opinion.
Bleacher Fan details the morality clause in Pitino’s contract that states that the coach’s employment can be terminated for “acts of moral depravity” or “disparaging media publicity of a material nature that damages the good name and reputation of employer or university, if such publicity is caused by employee’s willful misconduct that could objectively be anticipated to bring employee to public disrepute or scandal.”
Sports Geek, while not condoning Pitino’s actions, focuses on recruiting and the amount of success Pitino has had on the court. It is kind of hard to argue against his credentials in the game of college basketball.
After considering both sides, I am ruling in favor of Sports Geek. Pitino does not deserve to lose his job.
Look, I am not condoning what he did. He cheated on his wife. He lied about it and allowed the extortion case to go on before finally coming clean to law enforcement. We have not heard from his wife – and we really do not need to – but I am assuming she has forgiven him. Good for her. We all make mistakes and we all deserve second chances.
The main problem I have with this whole situation is that this “affair” started back in 2003. That was six years ago. Six years ago, I was about to start my senior year of college. Where has Karen Sypher been? Yes she was married to Tim Sypher, but why is she coming out with these allegations in 2009? I do not like the timing of the situation. As far as the morality clause, I can see why Bleacher Fan and others would see that as just cause for firing. Yes, as defined by the wording of the contract, I believe it is just cause. But, just because it is in the contract does not mean LOUISVILLE has to fire him. It is all about how that clause is interpreted. They have determined that firing him is unnecessary.
I am sure Pitino has been reprimanded behind closed doors by university officials. His reputation has sure taken a hit. He is sure to receive a lot of heckling by opposing teams’ fans in the upcoming season (I cannot wait until Louisville travels to Rupp Arena to take on Kentucky). I would also expect Kentucky’s new coach, John Calipari, and others, to use this against Pitino in recruiting. But, I do not see this as an act that warrants being fired, especially for something that happened six years ago. What if something you did six years ago came back to bite you in the behind? Would that be right? Should you be fired from your job for some of the things you did back in 2003? I know it is not going to happen anytime soon, but I wish that we could just all move on from this.
Memo to Rick Pitino: You need to send Brett Favre and Michael Vick a thank you card. He has stolen some of your thunder!
At best, Louisville men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino is guilty of being a married man with children, who cheated on his wife, then paid $3000 to the woman he cheated with for “medical insurance”.
At worst, as Karen Sypher has alleged, Rick Pitino is guilty of rape, then forcing her to have an abortion against her will.
Now, University of Louisville president Dr. James Ramsey and athletic director Tom Jurich have a big decision to make, although as far as I’m concerned, the choice seems pretty clear. The decision is whether or not to enact the “morality” clause built into Pitino’s contract, which would allow the university to fire Pitino for his indiscretions.
The morality clause, as reported by ESPN.com writer Jemele Hill, states that Pitino’s contract can be terminated for “acts of moral depravity”, or for “disparaging media publicity of a material nature that damages the good name and reputation of employer or university, if such publicity is caused by employee’s willful misconduct that could objectively be anticipated to bring employee to public disrepute or scandal.”
In translation – If Pitino does something that reflects poorly on the University of Louisville, whether his actions are deemed as legal or not, he can be fired.
Bear in mind that a “morality clause” is not required by any legislative body to be included in a contract. If the university leaders truly do not care what Pitino does, as long as he is winning, then there is no need to include the specific documentation which highlights the moral and ethical expectations placed on him. They could have simply left that part of the contract out and said “Go win games. Don’t commit any crimes, and win games.” The fact that the morality clause WAS included in the contract implies, therefore, that the moral and ethical choices of Pitino DO matter to the university. Why else would they include those clauses in the contract if they did not intend to follow-through on them if violated?
Let’s go back, then, to the question posed by Loyal Homer – “SHOULD Louisville have shown Pitino the door?” The answer to that question is a resounding ‘YES’!
Sports Geek has mentioned the recruiting success of Pitino as a reason to keep him employed. What Sports Geek does not mention, though, is the recruiting success of the entire university.
Louisville is not a basketball team. Instead, it is a university that FIELDS a basketball team. The recruiting success to populate a basketball roster pales in comparison to the university’s overall recruiting needs. Pitino can be credited with 13 recruits to the University of Louisville, all for a program that generates approximately $25M in revenues. The University of Louisville as a school, however, is responsible for recruiting more than 22,000 students, all of whom generate more than $187M in tuition revenue.
It is a mistake to imply that Pitino’s actions (and the public reaction to his choices) will only impact the basketball program. The University of Louisville is first and foremost an institution of higher learning. That institution exists to create opportunities for people from ALL walks of life to have a more successful future. By allowing Pitino, as an ambassador of the university, to create this scandalous situation through an act of immoral adultery, and then remain employed without consequence, is to imply that the university condones his actions. And while there may be high school basketball players who don’t care what the university thinks about Pitino’s actions, I can assure you that there are THOUSANDS of parents of prospective students who DO care. Those students are MUCH more important to the university (at least they SHOULD be) than the 13 recruited by Rick Pitino.
In total, Louisville will generate more than $930M in revenue, with more than $880M coming from academic endeavors, and only $50M coming from the combined athletic department. It is Louisville’s responsibility to protect the full $930M, not just the $25M which is generated through the basketball program.
Unfortunately, as Jemele Hill points out in her Page2 article, the message that the University of Louisville will send by allowing Pitino to remain employed is that “…decency takes a backseat to victories and banners.” That ugly truth about the skewed priorities of society speaks to the heart of today’s debate. Pitino will receive a ‘get out of jail free’ card for his actions, when you and I both know that he would have been fired without question if he was a professor of geography, or if he was a .500 coach. Instead, Louisville will demonstrate the very shallow double-standard that exists in sports, enabling people to behave as if they are above the rules which govern the “common man”.
My plea to Louisville is to do what is right, not what they feel is profitable. There is more at stake here than selling basketball tickets. Rick Pitino is replaceable, reputation is not!
It is the middle of April 2009 and the air is colored by a sense of urgency and remorse. A usually slick and confident Louisville head men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino is sitting at a desk with his head in his hands, disrupting his normally carefully placed black and gray locks. Lying on the desk is a rolodex and a cell phone. Pitino is in cleansing mode. He is making a series of phone calls he now has to make. He calls the University of Louisville’s president, then the athletic director. He calls his former pupil cum University of Florida national championship coach, Billy Donovan, and asks Billy to add his son Richard to the staff in Florida. He knows he has to tell the truth. The truth… that he made a mistake. According to his story – a story he has been forthcoming with (in certain circles) since April of this year – Pitino engaged in consensual sex with a woman in a restaurant. Now he is alleging that the woman in question, Karen Sypher, is trying to extort $10M from him. (I would the link the story, but it is not that hard to find.)
The problem with the Pitino story is that it is more than just a sleazy affair in a restaurant (really… Pitino… a restaurant?). It is hypocrisy. Rick Pitino claims to be a practicing Catholic, brings a priest on road trips with the team, and was even pictured in last season’s media guide with the Pope. Sypher alleges he provided her with money for an abortion, money that he claims was for her health insurance. Depending on which story checks out, that is another potential layer of hypocrisy.
But, here is the rub, folks. None of that matters. None of it. It is all smoke and mirrors and pomp and circumstance. It is a well-choreographed public relations/lawyer circus. Here is how public relations works. The sooner the story gets out, the sooner it is replaced in the news cycle by something more juicy or important. The sooner the truth comes out from the source of the scandal – taking control of the information – the sooner it blows over. Those are tried and true tenants of crisis management. Pitino and his other “team” completed an alley-oop on the crisis management. Now all they have to do is wait for the next scandal. And there will be another scandal. When that happens, Pitino’s restaurant tryst will become simply an “affair” and the alleged abortion will not be talked about at all.
The only thing that matters is winning. Rick Pitino is a winner. If Louisville wants to keep their basketball program on top – and the revenue flowing into the institution – they will keep their prized possession, legendary author and coach Rick Pitino.
As long as Pitino is winning he has tenure. His record is impressive. His all time college coaching record is 553-191. His two most successful coaching stops, at the University of Kentucky and now at Louisville, yielded amazing records of 219-50 and 200-72, respectively. He is a winner, and he is a winner because he gets good players to play hard for him. Recruiting is a key to his success (which is a “Choice” if you read his book).
The primary argument detractors will spew down upon a suddenly human Pitino is that he will be unable to retain his recruiting. “Players, and player’s families, will be unable to stomach what Pitino has done,” they will say. “No parent will let their child play for such a morally backward man,” others will say. Saying and doing are very different. Recruits are doing – that is, they are standing by Pitino. All of them.
Lawrence High School star center, 6-foot 10-inch Michael Chandler, features a picture of him and Pitino as his profile picture on his Facebook page. He told the AP, “My commitment is very strong.” That is important because it is a verbal commitment from a junior – a member of the 2010 class.
The “Big Four” – the incoming freshman that Pitino recruited to fill out his roster in the ultra-competitive Big East basketball league – are not only committed, but have already started taking classes. That recruiting class ranks 21st nationally. An important piece of the class, guard Peyton Siva, said on his Twitter account, “Yo I ain’t leaving. Rick(‘s) personal life is his life. He’s here to coach me and is the best teach of hoop to me! So like the fans say, ‘Go Cards.” That is the perfect summation of Pitino as he begins to orchestrate his exit from the scandal. I can hear him talking to a family in a living nine months from now saying, “I am not a perfect man, and I will not pretend to be. But I am an excellent basketball coach. If your son wants to play for the best, win, and have an opportunity to continue to play in the NBA – another league I’ve coached in – I’m the best teacher for him.” It is a strong pitch because his basketball record is strong.
The 2009 class is a good recruiting foundation for Pitino to continue to build. And build he will. Basketball players like to play for winners, not perfect men. Pitino is admired for his ability to coach and motivate. Those things are unchanged… just like his status at Louisville will also remain unchanged.
Rick Pitino, one of the “golden boys” of college basketball of the last twenty years – due in large part to his tenure at the University of Kentucky – has gotten himself into quite a pickle with his alleged shenanigans. In case you are not up to date, here is the story.
All summer long, and in the backdrop of the national sports scene, an extortion case has been going on in Louisville, Kentucky. I loosely paid attention to it. My initial response was basically to just shrug it off. But, things changed last week when Pitino confirmed that he had consensual sex with Karen Cunagin Sypher. The details of the situation began leaking out… that it happened at a restaurant back in 2003, that Pitino paid $3,000 for health insurance or an abortion (depending on which side you believe), that the marriage to Pitino’s equipment manager, Tim Sypher, was possibly a part of a cover up scheme, etc. The list goes on and on.
The Sports Debates is not going to focus on the allegations as a whole. What we are most concerned with, however, is what this means to the University of Louisville, and more importantly, what this means to the Louisville Cardinals basketball team present and future.
Louisville president James Ramsey has attempted to put this situation in the past by publicly stating that the university is 100% behind Pitino in this situation. Though it was recently revealed that in order to help put this situation in the past, he asked Pitino to issue a public apology, which he did last week. An apology is all well and good, and society in this country is more than willing to give someone a second chance. But…
Should Louisville give Pitino a second chance, or should they cut ties with him and create distance from this scandal?
Sports Geek will argue that Louisville made the right decision to keep Pitino on board as coach of the basketball team. Bleacher Fan, on the other hand, will argue that Louisville should have taken a stand and dismissed Pitino. In case you missed it, both Bleacher Fan and Sports Geek were once again on Matt Mc’s Sports Fix yesterday to discuss this issue in depth. Here’s the link to that interview – it is classic TSD.
In the meantime, it is time for the arguments to be presented to his honor (er, me). The winner of this debate gets a replica brand new Rick Pitino white suit with cuff links and hair mousse.
Read Sports Geek and Loyal Homer’s arguments on which teams would have been a better fit for Michael Vick.
I was as shocked as anyone to see the announcement last week that Michael Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Not shocked because of what it meant for Vick, but for what it meant for the Philadelphia Eagles organization.
The Eagles now have to accept full responsibility for the social experiment that is Michael Vick’s return to the NFL. Whether it is the intention of head coach Andy Reid that Vick compete with the incumbent Donovan McNabb for the starting quarterback position or not, people will nevertheless view the two stars as competing. That perceived competition will add undue pressure to McNabb, and it unnecessarily shifts focus away from the more pressing needs of the team.
If Reid tries to insert Vick into a new role which he is not as comfortable playing in, and Vick fails, then Reid will be to blame for misappropriating Vick’s skills because he put Vick in a position where he was destined to fail. Either way, Vick can mitigate many of his shortcomings, and the Eagles will be almost entirely to blame if the experiment is unsuccessful.
The Philadelphia Eagles are the wrong fit for Michael Vick.
The team that should have been trying DESPERATELY to bring Vick into their organization is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! Whether they believed the negative press was worth it or not, the Buccaneers are in desperate need of a player with Vick’s abilities. Tampa Bay would have presented a much more suitable home for #7.
The most obvious reason why Vick belongs in Tampa Bay is because the team is starved for talent at the quarterback position. Under new general manager Mark Dominik, and new head coach Raheem Morris, 2009 will mark the fifth time in six seasons that the Buccaneers begin the year with a new starting quarterback. This year, it will either be career backup Luke McCown or the injury-prone Byron Leftwich playing the role of signal-caller – and expectations are not very high for either.
Neither McCown nor Leftwich present Tampa with a viable long-term solution under center. While there may be questions regarding whether or not Vick can return to the same level he was playing at when he left the game, it is hard to argue against the fact that he still presents greater upside for the team than do the current options of Leftwich and McCown. Raheem Morris has already embraced 2009 as being a year with an open quarterback competition, so why not add Vick into the mix? He would have been available at a very cheap price (signing with Philadelphia for $1.6M with a team option for a second year), posing only a minimal risk that could have paid off with huge dividends if Vick were able to step in and lead the Buccaneers.
What made the seeming lack of interest from Tampa even more surprising was the fact that the Buccaneers had a very aggressive offseason in many other aspects. The team had already brought in tight end Kellen Winslow from Cleveland and running back Derrick Ward from the New York Giants. They had also released some of their ‘older’ big name players like wide receiver Ike Hilliard and linebacker Derrick Brooks. The Buccaneers appeared to be a rebuilding team ready to look to the future, except at the quarterback position.
The combination of Michael Vick with Kellen Winslow, Jr. would have been especially exciting (and productive). While with Atlanta, Vick’s favorite target was his tight end Alge Crumpler. Over the five year period they were paired together, Vick and Crumpler combined for more than 3,700 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns. Winslow, a pro bowler with a remarkable ability to make big plays (he even made Derek Anderson look good!), would have been a perfect complement to Vick. Vick’s scrambling and rushing ability would have also paired nicely with Derrick Ward in the backfield, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season in part time work for the Giants.
Tampa Bay had a great deal to gain and very little to lose if they pulled the trigger on a deal with Michael Vick. In the midst of rebuilding, and in dire need for talent at the quarterback position, the Buccaneers would have been able to put Vick’s considerable ability to immediate use. While the prospect of dealing with the negative publicity from signing Vick may have seemed unappealing to Dominik and Morris – both of whom are themselves rookies in their respective roles – the seeming refusal to even consider Vick is something they will regret for years to come.
This is really a debate about Joel Segal, quarterback/convict Michael Vick’s agent. In the NFL, no less than ten teams (arguably more) are unsettled at the quarterback position at this stage of the pre-season. Somehow Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles – one of the few franchise’s in the NFL that does not have an unsettled quarterback situation. In fact, during the most recent off-season the Eagles actually took measures to improve their Pro Bowl quarterback’s contract, reassuring Donavan McNabb that he was the team leader.
First, here are a couple of reasons why the Philly signing caught the entire sports world off-guard (though, I must say, it was delightful to be caught off-guard in the customarily predictable world of sports journalism). While Philly does not have a quarterback controversy at all, they may have created one. After signing Vick, it is impossible for McNabb not to wonder, “If Vick does well… could I lose my job?” He would be foolish to ignore that inner voice – and he is not foolish (I think). Thus far he is repeating the company line, with the team positioning the signing as strongly urged by McNabb. Then there is the case of team president Jeffrey Lurie. It is impossible to separate the public relations issues from the football issues in this case, and Lurie seems equally concerned with both. In fact, he said in August 2007 that he’d “never” allow someone who participated in dog fighting to play for his team. Lurie has been forced to go against his morals and better judgment to approve this signing.
Because of these reasons, the Philly signing does not make sense… it does not feel comfortable. And the pundits who have shown up on television applauding the structure of the Eagles organization as the real reason Vick signed with Philly fail to see the bigger picture. Most organizations (sorry, Bengals) have a structured environment. It is not impossible to find one that had both need at the quarterback position AND the environment the structure-craving Vick needs. Those two elements are married in the form of the Minnesota Vikings.
Who is the Vikings starting quarterback? Sage Rosenfels, a.k.a. Gus Frerotte light. Words like, “journeyman” and “inconsistent” come to mind – not the words you would like to see used to describe a team leader. In his nine years in the league he has thrown 30 touchdown passes. That is a season for most good starting quarterbacks. In seasons where he has started five or more games, only once has he thrown more touchdowns than interceptions (he still threw 12 interceptions to 15 touchdowns).
The other quarterback with a shot to start is fourth year player Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson, despite having thrown only 20 career touchdown passes, did play well last season with nine touchdowns against just two interceptions. But, even with his knowledge and experience in the offense, and his incumbent position in Minneapolis, the journeyman free agent Rosenfels was named the starter.
Now, before some readers start barking out crazy things like, “Vick could tutor Jackson” – let’s be realistic. Minnesota should not sign Vick to tutor Jackson – Minnesota needs a better quarterback. I am not going to insult anyone’s intelligence by saying that Michael Vick could tutor Tarvaris Jackson and help him get better. Vick is not a tutor, he’s a talent. Thus, Vick’s tenure in the NFL will end abruptly, when the spark of his talent is diminished. No slow, Chris Chandler-like swan song of mentoring QBs from city to city.
Vick is a short-term, high risk, high reward signing right now. No organization stands more to gain from it than the QB-starved/jilted Minnesota Vikings. Long gone are the high flying days of Randall Cunningham and Daunte Culpepper. The Vikings need a talented, athletic quarterback to take them to the next level – the conference championship level (at least). Vick could be that player, without all of the discomfort and question marks that come with Philly.
If you had your television or computer on at all this weekend, or if you have been conscious at any point since Thursday night, you know that “free agent” quarterback Michael Vick has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. You have also probably seen the footage of him practicing at Eagles camp, and you have probably read the quotes from head coach Andy Reid and from Eagles players about how much he brings to the table. Whether or not he is a good fit in the city of Brotherly Love has been debated over and over. Will he be a backup to Donavan McNabb? Does the West Coast offense maximize his potential? Can offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg create plays for him to showcase his talent? The list goes on and on. The Sports Debates is glad Vick is back in the league. He brings buzz to football, and we are excited to see #7 do what he does best. But, instead of debating his situation, we are going to step back and debate which team should have signed Vick. What team is truly the best fit for him? Sports Geek will argue Minnesota is the best fit, while Bleacher Fan will argue Tampa Bay would have been the best fit for the artist formerly known as Ron Mexico. I will argue San Francisco should have done their best to get Vick.
Being in the southeastern part of the country, I do not hear a lot about the San Francisco 49ers anymore. Obviously, I used to back in the 1980’s and 1990’s, during the heyday of the organization. The days of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Steve Young are gone. These are the days of Shaun Hill, a way past his prime Isaac Bruce, and a hot-headed Vernon Davis. In fact, look at the depth chart. Does that team intimidate you? Does it have that buzz factor? The buzz surrounding the 49ers these days is the ridiculousness of Michael Crabtree. Adding Vick to the team would be a spark to the organization and give the team the league wide buzz they need since being on the west coast the 49ers sometimes seem to get lost in the shuffle.
On the field, his addition would be huge. Where he is a clear backup quarterback in Philadelphia behind Donavan McNabb, he would have had a chance to battle Shaun Hill and Alex Smith for the starting quarterback position. Imagine Vick teaming up with Crabtree (assuming he signs eventually). That could have been a potent combination. Even if he were not named starter, he still could spruce up the offense though. By all accounts, Vick appears to be in excellent shape and he claims to still have the same speed. Also, head coach Mike Singletary is trying to rebuild the 49ers and change their image and attitude. While the expected protests by the Humane Society and various animal rights groups would happen (and they will happen in Philly, also), I think that signing Vick would have taken the organization forward. He would not be expected to be a life saver because the 49ers are not that far away from being a playoff contender. They showed strides in the second half of the season (they went 5-4) under Singletary as he tries to find players that he can win with (as opposed to “Can’t Win with Them”).
While he may end up being a good fit in Philadelphia, I feel like he would have been better suited for San Francisco. The media and fan scrutiny in Philly is going to be off the charts, and he is going to be thrown right into the heat of arguably the league’s most competitive division – the NFC East. Dallas, Washington, and New York all promise to bring more scrutiny than Arizona, Seattle, and St. Louis would have!
The 2009 Heisman Race should be an exciting one to watch. To begin with, 2009 will feature the first time in history that two previous Heisman winners (Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford) will contend in the same year for another Heisman award. Added into that mix is Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, and although he has not won a Heisman yet, many consider him just as likely a contender as Bradford and Tebow.
Between those three, which candidate has the best inside track to win the Heisman in 2009?
Sports Geek will argue that Colt McCoy should be the favorite this year, and Loyal Homer will argue for Tim Tebow.
As far as Bleacher Fan is concerned, though, the conversation begins and ends with Sam Bradford.
Bradford, who will be the top pick in the NFL draft when he eventually does go pro, surprised many experts last year by declining to enter the draft, instead returning to Oklahoma for the 2009 season.
For many of the same reasons that the reigning National Champion Florida Gators are once again pre-season favorites for the title in 2009, Bradford (who is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner) should be considered the favorite to win the 2009 award, becoming the first person since Ohio State’s Archie Griffin to win back-to-back Heismans in the process.
Having also won the Davey O’Brien award as the top quarterback of 2008, Sam Bradford is without a doubt the best passer in college football. His production cannot be matched by any other player in the game, and the fact that he has another year of experience under his belt will help him to at least match, if not exceed, his results from last year.
I can hear many of you out there questioning why, based on that logic, Bradford would be considered a favorite over Tim Tebow, who has also won the award. The reason for that is because of the manner in which the two quarterbacks won their respective Heismans.
Tim Tebow was recognized as the 2007 winner due in large part to a single accomplishment, becoming the first person in NCAA Football history to run AND pass for 20 or more touchdowns in the same season. Tebow’s feat truly was an amazing accomplishment, and definitely one worthy of winning the Heisman. But, those accomplishments are difficult to repeat and impossible to rely upon. When you consider Tebow’s overall talent, he is not even close to the caliber of player that Bradford is.
Bradford, on the other hand, won the Heisman in 2008 because of his all-around play at the quarterback position. A much more prolific passer than his Florida or Texas counterparts, Bradford threw for 4,720 yards and threw 50 touchdowns, only eight interceptions, and posted a completion percentage of 67.9%. Compare those numbers to Tebow, who threw for only 2,746 yards, 30 touchdowns, and a completion percentage of 64.4%, or to Colt McCoy’s 3,859 yards, and 34 touchdown passes.
As impressive as those numbers are, his career numbers are much more astounding. In two years, Bradford has thrown for 86 career touchdowns, exceeding the numbers that Tebow (67) or McCoy (85) have been able to throw in three years. And while career statistics are not a factor in awarding the Heisman for any single season, they do serve as an indication of what to expect from him in the future.
Bradford also had the opportunity to play head-to-head against both McCoy AND Tebow last year. While the games against McCoy’s Longhorns and Tebow’s Gators amounted to Oklahoma’s only losses, it was not for a lack of performance on the part of Bradford.
During the Texas game, McCoy threw 28 completions on 35 attempts, gaining 277 yards and one touchdown pass. Bradford blew those numbers away in the game, throwing 28 of 39 for 387 yards and five touchdown passes. As for the National Championship game, Tebow was responsible for throwing 18 of 30 for 231 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Bradford went 26 of 41 for 256 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. In both of those losses, Bradford still performed as good as, if not better than, his counterparts on the other side of the field.
Despite his astonishing performance in 2008, the loss to the Gators in the National Championship game has left Bradford feeling as if he still has something to prove, and he has made that his mission for the 2009 season. With teammates like offensive tackle Trent Williams, tight end Jermaine Gresham, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, and linebacker Ryan Reynolds all returning for another year, Bradford feels confident that he can lead the Sooners to their first National Championship since 2000. Thanks to a schedule that includes opponents like Brigham Young, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State, he will have plenty of opportunities to prove his dominance against top-tier talent. It will definitely not be an easy road, but Bradford is another year older, another year wiser, and I expect that he will turn in yet another season of staggering numbers on his way to his second Heisman Trophy!
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