What were they thinking?

And the winner is... Texas Tech's Mike Leach

The situation: Beginning of the fourth quarter and Texas Tech is up 28-23. Tech is driving and eventually ends up having 1st and goal at Houston's seven yard line.  Three plays later and its now fourth and goal at Houston's one yard line.

Decision/Result: Leach goes for it on fourth and goal and Houston stops Taylor Potts for no gain.

Result: The result came much later on Houston's game winning drive. Instead of having to go for two to just tie the game, all Houston has to do is just score to win the game.

It is always easy to second guess from the couch or bar or wherever you are watching a game, but I just can not figure out why Leach went for it. Your team is up five points in the fourth quarter and your defense has played relatively well, just kick the field goal. I am sure Leach's reasoning behind going for the touchdown is that Houston was not going to drive 99 yards and he ended up being correct there. However, all Houston had to do was simply score a touchdown. Leach admitted to making the wrong call, which is much easier to say after the fact. Any fan wants their coach thinking at critical times of games and its clear that Leach has too much pride is his offense to think clearly.  Put the pressure on Houston and make them go for two if they score as they did at the end of the game. As a result of Leach's poor decision, Tech is 2-2 with a tough schedule playing in the Big 12 south.  I think Leach may have cost his team a potential bowl bid.

Tech's future games (number in parentheses is win loss record)

New Mexico-Win (3-2)

Kansas St.-Win (4-2)

@Nebraska-Toss up.  Its a loss if Nebraska's defense is playing well (4-3)

Texas A&M-Win (5-3)

Kansas-Toss up. I think they get a win here, but for arguments sake, lets say loss. (5-4)

@ OK. St-Loss (5-5)

Oklahoma-Loss (5-6)

Baylor-win (6-6)

A 6-6 record would leave Texas Tech in bowl game limbo and instead of being 7-5, they would be 6-6 at the end of the year. Obviously these are just predictions, but it shows how one decision can affect a season.

Runner up: Gary Pinkel going for numerous uncalled two point conversions in Mizzou's win against Nevada. There is no need to go for two point conversions until the fourth quarter.

-Mike Moreau

Leadership. Competitive Fire. Dickwaddery.

Thanks, gatorzone.com. Now I destroy your false idol.

Let me preface this post with two valid and important points. One: I apologize to the world that I have not posted in ages. I know you've missed me ever so much. Two: Tim Tebow is one of the greatest collegiate football players of his generation. He's also, from all that's been printed about him, a fine young man.

Tim Tebow is also a grade-A dickwad.

"How can you say this?" come the cries from all corners of the media / Florida trailer parks. "Tebow is a saint! From stone was his visage built, into steel his words have been etched, and daggummit, the kid's got a heart of gold!"

Well, the guy sure isn't nice to his teammates. If you've watched ESPN in the past 24 hours, you have seen a replay of Florida's 23-13 victory over Tennessee on Saturday. Sure, everyone debated over whether the win was big enough for the Gators, favored by 30 in the Swamp (side note: the amount of hate spewed from the stands at Lane Kiffin and his Volunteer team in this game was palpable. People in the Big 12 who say Mizzou fans are bad should go to one SEC rivalry game and try to say it afterward. I dare them). But I think the real story came from a play early in the second quarter. Tied at 3-3 and inside the red zone, Tim Tebow saw all his Gator receivers covered (he thought)... so he called his own number and ran naked bootleg to his right. There were three Volunteers waiting at the end of his run, and Timmy leveled one of them, Refrigerator Perry style, before going down. End of play, positive yardage, no sweat for a running QB. Right?

Oh, wait. There's Tebow during the next timeout emasculating his entire offensive line for letting three white shirts tackle him at once. Looks like he's using words his Christian family never taught him. He's got enough red in his face to look like a giant pimple. He looks like Gordon Gekko on Black Monday after a coke binge the night before... sans the sweet hair. If you don't believe me, watch the play yourself. (Ed. note: As much as I don't want to link there... it's the first highlight on the reel.)

Pundits have praised this type of behavior from #15 before. "He's a natural-born leader! You've GOT to love the intensity he brings to the foot-ball game!" I heard one tonight that simply took the cake, though. "THAT'S the type of guy you want to play with!"

Really? If I was an offensive lineman, would I really want a man who some people in the South revere as a demi-god asking me who I didn't block on a busted play? Because when the cameras see it - like they did on Saturday - I will never, ever be right. Never mind the entire play call pulled to the offense's left, never mind that Tennessee had some excellent downfield coverage, and never mind that Tebow had motion receiver Jeffrey Demps open in the flat for a short gain, or at least no loss on a busted play.

Never mind any of those facts, because they will always be wrong. What Tim Tebow does is universally right in the press and in the eyes of the football fan, because Tim Tebow almost wasn't born, does missionary work, etc. His word is inviolate.

What real leader faults his followers when he decides to act on his own? I'm sorry, but you can't throw your O-line under the bus for following the play in the playbook. None of them have heads on a swivel to see Tebow's change of direction behind the play, and for all we know (the TV shot didn't show too much), Tennessee was playing numbers on the strong side. Florida tried a WR overload on the short side of the field, had everything snuffed out by great red zone defense, and then Tebow looks like a Tex Avery cartoon on the sideline because no big galoot was there to block for him?

If it were anyone else on Florida treating fellow players like crap after that same play, I think Urban Meyer might dig back to some Mormon roots and bench that kid's butt for as long as he saw fit. He would get it into his skull that this was a team game, and we do not treat our teammates and brothers-in-arms like that. There is no room for that kind of disrespect on a championship team.

Seriously, would anyone be at all surprised if we found out, once Tebow turns pro, that he treated his teammates like garbage on a regular basis? That nobody spoke out for fear of external pressures (AKA "Tebow-lovers") ending in their getting benched or cut? That practice was a nightmare at the hands of a taskmaster who is given free reign because his coach knows he's ridden the kid to two championships? Now that the "fire and brimstone" has been seen on a national stage, in an instance it should never have been employed, I would be shocked if we didn't hear stuff like this someday.

I seriously hope when Tebow goes pro, he acts like this at his first training camp. It would preferably be for a team that has already anointed him a starter, or drafted him in the hopes he becomes a core piece of the franchise.  If all this falls into place, 20 bucks says Tebow goes into a no-contact scrimmage with strong words for a wideout, and leaves with a black eye.

That's what real-world dickwads end up with once in a while. Here's hoping Tim Tebow can have the pleasure of the same experience if he doesn't treat his mates with a bit more respect.

Always a saint,

~Matt

What were they thinking?

Patrick Mannelly (www.longsnapper.com)

I would like to apologize about not updating this earlier. I just have not had the energy lately to do this, which is surprising considering what I am going to talk about. I think this a lot, so it could become a continuing segment.

What were you thinking first edition Winner: Patrick Mannelly and Lovie Smith 

4th and 11 on your own 30 yard line, up 12-10, what do you do? Most people reading this blog would say punt, actually SCREAM it 99.9% of the time.

     For some unknown reason that punt did not occur. Instead the ball was snapped to an unprepared Garrett Wolfe who ran for two yards. The Packers went three and out, but were in field goal range and went up 13-12. No one can say this one play changed the game, because the Bears regained the lead before losing it again. It however definitely affected the outcome.

     We learned after the game that Mannelly had the authority to snap it to the up man if he saw something he could exploit. The situation Mannelly thought he could exploit was the Packers having too many men on the field. This might have been a good play if a) it were not 4th and 11, b) the penalty would have resulted in a first down, and c) inside your own 30 yard line in the fourth quarter of a big game. Not to mention Mannelly had his head down and Clay Matthews got off the field. The failed play lead to a challenge of twelve men on the field and subsequently the loss of the Bears last time out. 

     This is were Lovie Smith comes into play. I can not for sure say Lovie gave Mannelly but someone had to give him that authority. This is something I am sure the Bears have worked on in practice many times. Did they practice time and situation and how to make the proper play call? It looks like the answer is no. Patrick Mannelly is great at his job, but at such a critical point of the game, the long snapper should never have the authority to make such a call. Their job is to snap the ball,  run down the field, and attempt to make a tackle, not audibles. 

     Mannelly can not be blamed for the lost because Jay Cutler had four interceptions and the Bears as usual failed to score touchdowns. A lot of fans might fail to realize the Bears still had a chance to go on a game winning drive before Cutler threw his fourth interception. The play is magnetized is because it happened late in the fourth quarter of a big game against Packers.  All that being said, it is one game. I am sure the team will learn from their mistakes and make better decisions all around. Mannelly still gets the award for what were they thinking?

     Runner up for WWYT is Charlie Weis. Weis's time management allowed Michigan to save their last two times outs for their game winning drive.

-Mike Moreau

College football reactions

College football is back and I just wanted to share some thoughts I had on the Missouri vs. Illinois game. Throughout the season I will talk about other teams as well. I figured being a Mizzou grad, I would start with them.

Blaine Gabbert (Jeff Roberson, AP)

Mizzou vs Illinois (Mizzou wins 37-9)

Coming into the game, the majority of the talk was about duo Juice and Benn. A lot of the talk consisted of how dangerous of a combination they could be this year. Mizzou was a mystery to the national media. There was no consensus on how this team would be after major losses on defense and offense.  Well that is why the game is decided on the field.

                                                            (ShaneKeyser, McClatchy-Tribune)


Offense                                                                                   

I was extremely impressed with Gabbert's feel for the offense. He made good reads and scrambled when needed to. Its hard to put a lot of the teams success on one player, but Mizzou needs Gabbert to play well to have a good season.  Danario Alexander had a fantastic game and will have a great season if he can stay on the field. The offense also had a little bit of balance, something they did not have much of last year. Mizzou should continue to run the ball to take pressure of Gabbert. Last year Mizzou did not run the ball enough and teams keyed in on the passing game.  One other key factor I almost failed to mention was the kicking game. Grant Ressel was 3-3 and perfect on extra points.  A number of people, including myself, failed to think of the impact of losing Jeff Wolfert. Wolfert the most accurate kicker in NCAA history played a key part in Mizzou's success the last two years. If Ressel is anything close, that should also take some pressure of Gabbert.  The only concern I had were the few dropped passes that happened. Dropped passes kill momentum and drives. If the offense stays balanced and Gabbert continues to be accurate, I see good things happening.

Defense

This was the biggest concern coming into the game. I came away very impressed with what the defense did against the Illini.  After reading up on spring reports of the defense, I felt they would be better.  I felt they would be better because they would blitz less. The defense got a little blitz happy last year and did not get to the quarterback much. That resulted in teams lighting up Mizzou's defensive backs in numerous games, including last year when juice had 451 passsing yards and 5 td passes.  This year they held the Illini to 9 points and were able to control the Illini from the start of the game to the finish. Something Mizzou will have to do is get takeaways and they got off to a good start. The defense had an interception and fumble recovery in the game Saturday. The defense looks faster and simpler than the defense last year. If you are looking for a player to look out for other than Sean Witherspoon, check out Aldon Smith.  Aldon had a great game and was all over the field. I expect big things from him this year.

Overall

Mizzou won the game as I figured they would, but just not in that fashion. They played well on both sides of the ball and controlled the majority of the game. Mizzou will not take the next two teams lightly (Bowling Green and Furman), but the next big test is at Nevada.  Even though Nevada got crushed by Notre Dame 35-0, it will be the teams first game on the road.  It will be a good experience in a tough place to play football games. With all that being said, I have a positive outlook on the rest of the season.

-Mike Moreau

Ricky Rubio mess

    The answer to the question, where will Ricky Rubio play has finally been answered. Unfortunately for Timberwolves fans , it will not be in Minnesota.

   According this article on Rubio, Timberwolves general manager (GM) David Kahn says Rubio backed out on a deal to play this year. Rubio nowor has always wants to play in spain for two more years to better prepare himself for the NBA. There is a lot of blame to be spread for this happening. 

1. Ricky Rubio-

   One has to wonder, did Rubio ever plan on coming to the NBA this year? Or did he see he got drafted by the Timberwolves  and is trying to get them to trade his rights to a major market team. Either way, Rubio does not escape this mess without blame.                                                    Ricky Rubio

   I  dont believe Rubio ever planned on coming to the NBA for a couple of reasons. Rubio as stated earlier is still under contract for his Spanish team. The buyout is 8 million dollars and the NBA only allows NBA teams to give 500,000 to help with a buy out. That means Rubio, if he really wanted to play this season would have to pay 7.5 million dollars to get out of his contract.  Rubio is 18 years old and does not believe he is ready to make the big jump. Instead of waiting two more years and possibly falling out of the lottery, Rubio decided to apply for the draft.  With all the hype Rubio got, it made his decision easy. Enter the draft now, become a lottery pick, stay in Spain for two years.  If the Timberwolves and other NBA teams knew this coming into the 2009 draft, I do not believe Rubio is a lottery pick. If Rubio is not a lottery pick, the Tiberwolves and David Kahn are not involved in this mess.

2. The Minnesota Timberwolves-

    David Kahn is not having the best off season and he has himself to blame for it. Drafting foreign players under contract is always a risk. No one knows whether or not to believe Kahn when he says Rubio backed out of a deal. Kahn definitely tried his hardest to get Rubio signed.  It started with this trade that gave the fifth round pick and Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov. Kahn also made multiple trips to Spain  that failed to get Rubio to break his contract

    What would have happened if Hasheem Thabeet was still on the board? I bet David Kahn does as well.. Kahn says he has no regrets about taking Rubio because he believes that Rubio was the best pick at the time. However, why not take Jordan Hill? An up and coming front line player to team with Al Jefferson. Or if you are interested in another guard, take Stephen Curry who can play the PG or SG. Another option could have been DeMar DeRozan, who probably needed another year in college but is a player similar in size to Rubio and a SG. Current and future NBA GMs should learn from this experience and do some homework on a foreign player before drafting them.

     Now both sides have to sit around playing the waiting game. Rubio has to hope that in two years the Timberwolves will have room for him. Rubio will be two years behind Johnny Flynn who should develop into a solid PG. Two years is a long time and the Timberwolves could make moves that could make Rubio expendable.  On the other side of things, the Timberwolves have to hope Rubio is still the player they drafted two years from now. Lots of things could happen that hinder develop like Rubio getting hurt or Rubio just not getting better as a player. Do not forget the fact that Rubio might not even be an NBA caliber player, scouts have been wrong before. 

-Mike Moreau