Group: TGP March Madness

Pass: Tgp19

I recently did an editorial on my thoughts and would like to hear what other people have to say.

http://youtu.be/sR3ANqj9emA

I hate Bama but this is great.

It looks like multiple teams will have strong arguments for the top 4, and I continue to be fascinated by a potential SEC Championship game between an undefeated Alabama and an undefeated Georgia. You would assume both teams would make the Playoff in that scenario (no matter who wins, barring a blowout), but what if you've also got:

• undefeated, Big 10 champ Wisconsin
• undefeated, ACC champ Miami
• 1-loss, Big 12 champ Oklahoma

Can you justify kicking out one of those in favor of a 1-loss SEC team that didn't win its conference?

I hate this fucking rule. What do the rest of you think?

 

 

Top 10 (rest are in the link)

 

https://graphics.wsj.com/table/COUNT_09212017?embed=1

1  Ohio State		1,510,482,0002  Texas		1,243,124,0003  Oklahoma		1,001,967,0004  Alabama		  930,001,0005  LSU			  910,927,0006  Michigan		  892,951,0007  Notre Dame		  856,938,0008  Georgia		  822,310,0009  Tennessee 		  745,640,00010  Auburn		  724,191,000

Talk up your noticed prospect and discuss

It's not an extremely long read, but it's an in-depth look into the Bison program and its fans. Please take a look, and if you do, I hope you enjoy it!

I'm mixed on this. I think power five teams should play it because its more enjoyable to the viewers, and they have a legitimate shot of making the NFL. But I'm not a purist to the point of saying we should have John Doe from Old Dominion with a .000001% chance of making the NFL out there getting injured and not having the money to pay it because someone wanted to keep the game the same at all levels.

Baylor will announce the dismissal of head coach Art Briles, according to Craig Smoak of 1660 ESPN.

 

The news release is expected to be announced at noon ET. It was previously reported that school president Ken Starr's position would be altered by the end of the month, and many believed that would be the only move in reaction to the recent sexual assault allegations and potential cover-ups involving Baylor student-athletes. Briles has long been loved by the Baylor community and surrounding area, not just for turning the football program into a powerhouse but also for his work int he community. That community, however, was damaged by student-athletes under Briles and Starr's watch. Star requested that the full report and investigation be released to the public. Briles apparently let the football know via text.

it's worth reading the full write-up, it's a pretty cool breakdown of what seems like a really small piece of gameplanning that ended up having a huge impact on the outcome of the national title game, the short version is that someone at Alabama noticed that Clemson's return team lined up really tight for directional kick-offs which left a lot of space open to the off side, you could tell they'd practiced the play, but it's interesting to see that they ran it in response to Clemson's formation

Group Name: The Gridiron Palace

Password: NFL

Group Page: http://games.espn.go.com/college-bowl-mania/2015/en/group?groupID=85752

it's set to confidence and won't let me change it, so you'll rank the games and get more points for games you're more confident in, but ya'll know how to do this so go ahead and join

It's Jacksonville, Alabama. Not Florida. Jacksonville State played Auburn close earlier this season. This should be a great championship game, especially if Wentz can play and doesn't show too much rust.

Go herd!

Report: Synthetic marijuana led to Robert Nkemdiche’s fall from window

Posted by Darin Gantt on December 15, 2015, 12:58 PM EST

AP

Possible top-10 2016 NFL Draft prospect Robert Nkemdiche, who was arrested after falling out of a hotel window in Atlanta last weekend, was reportedly using synthetic marijuana and was paranoid at the time of his accident.

According to Clay Travis of FOX Sports, the Ole Miss defensive tackle was using what’s commonly referred to as “fake weed,” a synthetic cannabinoid which doesn’t show up on drug tests. But it also comes with side effects which include paranoia, delusion and hallucinations.

The report said Nkemdiche was convinced someone was chasing him when he went through a double-pane window and fell 15 feet to the ground. A bush apparently broke his fall. He was taken to an Atlanta hospital for stitches, and was released before being taken to jail and charged with marijuana possession.

Nkemdiche’s brother Denzel, a linebacker at Ole Miss, has also had issues with the drug according to the report. He was hospitalized and missed the final two games of the season after he was found near the edge of the roof of his townhome, wrapped in a blanket and afraid someone was trying to get him.

Nkemdiche hasn’t declared for this year’s draft, but that’s widely expected after the Rebels play in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. The school hasn’t declared whether he’ll play, or whether he’ll be able to.

Whether he does or not, the entire situation presents a red flag for NFL teams, though his impressive talents will certainly keep him near the top of draft boards. How much of a concern it is likely varies by teams, though the fact he FELL OUT OF A WINDOW and isn’t still hospitalized speaks mostly to his remarkable good fortune.

Had never heard of synthetic marijuana but sounds like a helluva drug, people seeing ghosts so scary looking they hide on roofs under blankets and jump out multiple story windows.

He might not fall out of the first round anyway, but still

1.) Clemson (8-0)

2.) LSU (7-0)

3.) Ohio State (8-0)

4.) Alabama (7-1)

5.) Notre Dame (7-1)

6.) Baylor (7-0)

7.) Michigan State (8-0)

8.) TCU (8-0)

9.) Iowa (8-0)

10.) Florida (7-1)

11.) Stanford (7-1)

12.) Utah (7-1)

13.) Memphis (8-0)

14.) Oklahoma State (8-0)

15.) Oklahoma (7-1)

16.) Florida State (7-1)

17.) Michigan (6-2)

18.) Ole Miss (7-2)

19.) Texas A&M (6-2)

20.) Mississippi State (6-2)

21.) Northwestern (6-2)

22.) Temple (7-1)

23.) UCLA (6-2)

24.) Toledo (7-1)

25.) Houston (8-0)

Tracy Claeys will be the interim head coach.

Looking at the past five drafts (not including 2015) we can pick out some high profile Tackles & QBs from the first two rounds that played in exclusive spread systems:

-Greg Robinson, Auburn

-Blake Bortles, Central Flordia

-Jake Matthews, Texas A&M

-Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

-Derek Carr, Fresno State

-Jack Mewhort, Ohio State

-Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M

-Eric Fisher, Central Michigan

-EJ Manuel, Florida State

-Menelik Watson, Florida State

-Geno Smith, West Virginia

-Robert Griffin III, Baylor

-Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M

-Mitchell Schwartz, Cal

-Jeff Allen, Illinois

-Mike Adams, Ohio State

-Cam Newton, Auburn

-Jake Locker, Washington

-Blaine Gabbert, Mizzou*

-Christian Ponder, Florida State*

-Derek Sherrod, Miss State*

-Andy Dalton, TCU

-Colin Kaepernick, Nevada-Reno

-Marcus Gilbert, Flordia

-Sam Bradford, Oklahoma*

-Russell Okung, Oklahoma State

-Tim Tebow, Florida*

-Rodger Saffold, Indiana

A * denotes a player no longer on their original team.

A small sample size but a nice snapshot in which we can look at the type of players these prospects became. And while we know the term "spread" can be defined differently with systems having other elements, but each player played in a system with dominant spread principles.

There has been a number of discussions, articles, and breakdowns of how the spread system is hurting the crop of QBs coming into the league. The obvious reasons include lack of reps reading coverage, and a majority of passes relying on YAC yardage resulting in starting QBs without NFL caliber arm strength or accuracy.

Earlier today I thought we should maybe start pushing this conversation towards the OL and the Tackles more specifically. With the number of highly touted prospects not performing the way everyone expected I felt it made sense to wonder if the systems are affecting more than just the signal callers.

Basic thought process is:

-Tackles in spread offenses will run primarily zone or perimeter plays which requires linemen with leaner bodies built more for mobility, not power.

-With those run schemes linemen are often in a two-point stance and not taught to necessarily "fire off" the ball as much as to get lateral and to a spot. This results in lack of reps "drive" blocking players and moving them backwards.

-Number one priority of spread systems is quick hitting plays...get the ball out quick. This results in linemen not having to hold pass protection for the typical 5-step and 7-step routes. The protection schemes are a lot more simplistic as the reads are for QBs. The pro style level protection schemes and techniques aren't being as widely taught as they once were.

These are all thoughts to get the discussion going. Of course there are many factors that go into how a player translates to the pros. But what do you think? Are the spread systems hurting our future QBs and Tackles?

Soooo... they say H-back and I hope that means some handing it off to him and letting him run because like Denard Robinson I think Brax has some skill when it comes to running with the ball in his hands. Moving him completely to WR might be a mistake if he's not great at adjusting to the ball I dunno if he can or can't haven't seen so who knows. But I think if they feature him more so in a RB type role it's for the better.

I hope some of you tuned in yesterday. Wentz was great, and it's just too bad that his receivers aren't very good, because that alone might hold down his potential.

Pay attention to these Grizzlies and Bob Stidt.

Eastern Washington has granted senior QB Vernon Adams a release to transfer.

 

The 6-foot, 200-pounder is visiting Oregon this weekend, and the fit is almost too perfect. The Ducks need a QB to replace Marcus Mariota, and Adams is one of the FCS' best players. You might recall that he accounted for 491 yards of offense and seven touchdowns in a 59-52 loss to Washington this past season. Adams has thrown for 10,438 yards and 110 scores already in his three-season career. NFL Media analyst Charles Davis calls Adams "a master playmaker and a big-time leader," and colleague Bucky Brooks said that though "Adams lacks the ideal physical dimensions to pique the interest of NFL scouts, his production and effectiveness running (Eastern Washington's) high-powered offense will keep his name in the mix over the next few years." If he does indeed transfer, Adams shouldn't have a problem fending off sophomore Jeff Lockie for the starting gig.

True Blue sad.

Every strength training program in the country has a major emphasis geared toward keeping players healthy for the upcoming season.

 

Cincinnati has seemingly found a way to take that a step further with vision testing that is improving players’ peripheral vision. The idea with improving a player’s peripheral vision is that if you can see a hit coming sooner, you can better prepare for it.

But does it actually work?

 

In the four seasons before Cincinnati was doing the vision training (2006-2009), Bearcats players suffered a total of 35 concussions. When 2010 started, Cincinnati began their vision training program and in the four years that followed, the number of concussions has dropped dramatically to just 6 in the four year span from 2010-2013.

 

Before the training program, the Bearcats were averaging around 9 concussions per year. With the new program in place, that number has dropped to about 1.5 concussions per year.

 

“What we learned is that if we create an environment, or give them an opportunity to gain strength in their eyes, it increases your peripheral awareness,” associate AD for Sports Medicine Bob Mangine explains in the clip. “Every year we add a new game or a new gimmick, and we went from simply trying to prevent the concussions to, now, trying to improve performance.”

 

Players are doing everything from interactive iPad games for help, to wearing special glasses on the field to help focus and concentration.

 

Take a closer look at Cincinnati’s vision program below:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LtxAWhpoCU

Seems like college teams are the innovators now (think the VR tech the Cowboys and other NFL teams are now utilizing; taken from the college game.) Every NFL team should have this, I feel like 4-5 years of evidence speaks for itself.