Much Ado About Nothing?

Over the last few weeks there has been a ton of conversation about the possible musical chairs that may take place with college athletic conferences. Much of the conversation was sparked by the Big Ten’s December 2009 announcement that they are looking to expand their Conference in 12-18 months, followed by their subsequent April 2010 announcement that they intend to accelerate that timetable. This news has set off a fire storm of speculation as to how the landscape of college athletics will be affected, college football in particular. This speculation has led to lots of theorizing on what the ultimate layout of the conferences will look like, and the theories range from a massive overhaul resulting in four super-conferences to a simple one team expansion of the Big Ten conference. As with the conversation of the possible expansion of the NCAA tournament, the truth likely lies somewhere in between.

The conversation on this topic became intense a month ago when the presidents of the 11 Big Ten institutions met with Jim Delany the Big Ten Conference Commissioner. At this meeting the Commissioner was thought to be attempting to come away with a mandate to expand the conference. If the commissioner could secure that mandate, he could move forward attempting to notify the commissioners of the conferences he intended to take schools from and negotiating with these target schools. The Big Ten’s major target here is thought to be Notre Dame, However insiders are claiming that the conference will likely expand the conference to 14 or 16 teams. This leads to the obvious question…where will these teams come from???

There is a great deal of speculation that the Big Ten is targeting at least three Big East schools, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers. Add Notre Dame to this equation and the Big Ten would have fourteen schools and expand their reach far beyond the Midwest. If the conference expands to 16 teams it is thought that the conference will add the Universities of Connecticut and Missouri to the equation. Nebraska is another name that is in the mix for expansion given that Notre Dame is such a wild card in all of these conversations. All of this speculation of growth within the Big Ten conference has created speculation about how the other conferences will respond. Will the Big East be forced to fold? How will the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and PAC-10 respond?

Those questions have created a jockeying of position of sorts amongst the other conferences and teams that are hoping to capitalize off of all of the shifting by either making their conference stronger or in the team example, moving the team to a bigger conference. Steve Spurrier has speculated that Arkansas would go back to the Big 12 if there is a major shake-up. Former East Carolina coach and current University of South Florida coach stated that he would love to see East Carolina make the move to the Big East. There have been discussions about the possibility of TCU, BYU and possibly Boise State to the Big 12, maybe Utah to the Pac-10. The possibilities are endless.

In looking at all of this possible movement, one has to ask what do all of these conferences and schools stand to gain, especially the Big East schools which currently run the College Basketball landscape. The answer is REVENUE. College Football is the cash cow of college athletics, so most college athletic departments make decisions based on how much revenue will be created from it’s football program. The Big Ten is king of the hill when you evaluate football from this perspective. The Big Ten is home to the schools with some of the largest stadiums and largest television markets and strongest academics. If the Big Ten is able to secure schools like Notre Dame, Syracuse, Rutgers and Pittsburgh, it will add the largest television markets in the United States to its list of covetable assets. It will also allow the Big Ten to host a conference Championship game which the ACC, Big 12, and SEC are already doing. I for one am excited to see how all of this will play out. It would be great to a non-SEC team win a BCS title. But again, I think the ultimately while there be some movement, much like in college basketball, the movement will not be as dramatic as some predict.

The Final Cut: Part II

Ok now I’m going to cover the Saints defense, but before I get started I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the performance of Rod Harper who may have just slid himself in above Courtney Roby last night with that punt return for a TD and a few nice grabs. Also, I have to point out that in my last blog I mentioned that Joey Harrington was a lock to make the team. This is not completely accurate due to the pending suspensions Charles Grant, Will Smith and Garret Hartley. This means that the Saints have to bring extra defensive ends and an extra kicker in order to have players at those positions for the first four games. This creates a roster squeeze. In this respect Harrington’s veteran status hurts him because ordinarily you would put your 3rd string quarterback on the practice squad. However, Harrington is 30 years old and has accrued too many NFL seasons to be placed on the practice squad. This makes Harrington a likely candidate for a cut tomorrow. Another element that may alter how the final roster shakes out is the season ending injury to Billy Miller last night. You always hate to see an injury like that in such an insignificant game. And it couldn’t have happened to a better guy. In all of my dealings with this team Billy Miller was by far the most affable guy in that locker room. His presence will definitely be missed in the locker room. Best of luck to him. Now on to the defensive roster.

Defensive End- Charles Grant and Will Smith are locks at this position. However, Charles Grant really needs to produce this year when he comes back off of suspension, otherwise you may start to hear rumblings about him being cut this coming off season. Bobby McCray is treated like a starter in this defense due to his ability to rush the passer on 3rd downs. This means the saints must decide between Charleston and Spicer for the final defensive end position. The veteran Spicer has played in a Gregg Williams defense so he likely has the advantage in this situation.

Defensive Tackle- Sedrick Ellis and Kendrick Clancy are the week 1 starters at this position. Anthony Hargrove has shown himself to be a 3rd down pass rushing specialist much like McCray so he is pretty much an alternate starter and a lock to make the roster. The remaining positions come down to Demario Pressley and Remi Adoyele. Adoyele's play late last season and throughout camp and the preseason give him the nod here.

Linebacker- The Saints will start Fujita, Vilma, and Shanle at linebacker. Troy Evans is a lock because he provides the Saints with versatility and he is a great special teams player. Dunbar showed his potential last night against the Dolphins with 13 tackles and forced fumble as well as a fumble recovery. Marvin Mitchell will also make the roster as a solid back up at the middle linebacker spot and a solid special teams performer. The final spot in this unit will come down to Waters and Cassilas. Here it would make sense for the Saints to hold on to Waters and place Cassilas on the practice squad.

Cornerback- The Saints will go with Jabari Greer, Tracy Porter, Randall Gay, and Malcolm Jenkins. Leigh Torrence is the man on the bubble in the corner group. Gregg Williams likes versatile players in his secondary so it may come down to Prioleau and Torrence for a roster spot. If Prioleau can play the saftey as well as the corner, Williams may elect to stick with Prioleau. Torrence may have a shot at the practice squad if he has not been in the league too long. Danny Gorrer will likely be in the group of players cut Saturday.

Safety- At the Safety position, Darren Sharper and Roman Harper will be the day one starters. Usama Young and Chris Reis have likely locked up back up spots and they will both play major roles on the Saints special teams. Pierson Prioleau may be the odd man out at this position. He was brought in, in large part to help teach the rest of this secondary how to play a “Greg Williams Style” defense. Now that the preseason is over and it is time to trim the fat off of this roster, the Saints may decided he has done enough teaching. The rookie Chip Vaughn will likely be placed on IR because he simply has not had enough time to prove himself. Although he claims that his injury has healed, the Saints can’t risk waiting to see if he can clear waivers in order to be placed on the practice squad. This would be the only way that the Saints would be able to allow him the opportunity to make the active roster at some point this season

Punter- Thomas Morestead already got the nod at punter when the Saints cut Glenn Pakulak. This was really a no brainer after we spent a draft pick on a punter.

Kicker- The Saints will have two kickers on the roster for at least the first four games with Garret Hartley suspended, John Carney will step in and fill this role.

The Final Cut: Part I

45-7?! 9 pre-season turnovers?! Lets just hope the Saints can keep rolling like this right into the regular season. A lot of people say that the preseason means nothing, but Saints fans really can’t help but get excited when they see that the record breaking offense of last year remains (with what appears to be a stronger running game) and new defensive philosophy is in toe. A defensive philosophy that stresses getting pressure on the quarterback and forcing turnovers is just what the doctor ordered. In keeping with that excitement, lets look at the offensive side of the Saints roster before the Saturday cuts that will form the final 53 man roster.

Quarterback- This is the one position on the Saints roster where there are no question marks. With three veteran quarterbacks over the age of 30, we pretty much know what we have at this position. All three of these guys look to make the final cuts. The only real question here is how much longer will Drew Brees be able to perform at this record breaking level.

Running Back- There is a lot depth at this position this year and at least one of these guys will likely be cut by Tuesday and maybe two by Saturday. Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas are locks to make the roster. We haven’t seen too much from either one of these guys in camp and pre-season because of injuries and because the coaches focused their observations on the other four backs. The big story in the backfield during camp and pre-season has been Mike Bell. A former fullback who has played at up to 235 pounds, Bell showed up to camp at 219 pounds, displaying more quickness than what Saints fans became accustomed to a year ago. Bell has looked great in camp with the exception of two fumbles. Bell all but sealed his spot on the roster and a substantial amount of weekly carries with his week two pre-season performance against the Texans tallying 10 carries for 100 yards. The Saints will definitely keep at least one fullback on the active roster and that will be Heath Evans, the free agent acquisition from New England.

This is where it gets interesting in the back field. The Saints now have to decide between the three remaining tail backs and one fullback. The battle for the “big back”or short yardage back spot is between Lynell Hamilton listed at 6'0 235, 5'10 226 pound rookie Herb Donaldson, and 5'10 218 pound rookie PJ Hill. Hamilton, the elder statesman of the group appears to have the edge given that he is the most familiar with the system and is the biggest of the bunch. His numbers (31-143-0 through two games) are the best of the group. Hamilton’s only issues have been that he has failed to get into the endzone and he fumbled twice in the first game. Donaldson and Hill have both shown flashes of the talent that warranted the Saints taking a chance on them. Hill made a really solid showing in the 45-7 blow out against the Oakland Raiders putting up twelve carries for eighty three yards and two touchdowns. Donaldson had a nice fourteen yard touch down run on third down against the Texans.

There are a few possible scenarios in terms of how the Saints can handle the situation at running back. First , it is possible that all three of these backs do not make the roster. It is also possible that the Saints keep Hamilton on the 53 man active roster and keep either Hill or Donaldson for one of the 8 members of the practice squad. The last possible scenario is that the Saints keep only Hamilton and put him back on the practice squad where he remained the majority of last season. I think the likely scenario here is that the Saints keep Hamilton as the fourth back and Hill on the practice squad. At the back up fullback spot, Olaniyi Sobomehin will probably be placed back on the practice squad.

Wide Receiver- There is another intense battle going on for the Saints at the Wide Receiver position. The Saints are pretty much locked in on Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Devery Henderson, and Robert Meachem making the roster. However, this leaves room for probably one, or at most, two more receivers on the 53 man active roster. Three players have made a case for the one or two spots that remain. Courtney Roby came along last year and showed that he can be a dangerous kick returner, but that begs the question, should the Saints use a roster spot solely on a kick returner. Adrian Arrington spent last year on the practice squad with coaches raving about his potential. However, he can’t return kicks and this would still leave the Saints with a hole at the kick returner spot. #13 Rod Harper is the third receiver that has made a case for this spot. Harper has come on strong proving his worth as a receiver and a special teams player. Harper returned a punt for a touchdown and also hauled in a touchdown catch. In my eyes you try to go with six here and keep Roby and Arrington and place Harper on the practice squad. Sklyer Green appears to be the odd man out here. He just is not a great wide receiver and does not appear to have the break away speed necessary to be a return specialist.

Tight End- At the Tight End position, Jeremy Shockey and Billy Miller are locks to make the roster. The problem at this position is that the loss of Dan Campbell for the season leaves us without a blocking Tight End. Buck Ortega, Darnell Dinkins and Martrez Milner are our remaining options. Dinkins is probably the best blocker of the group, but he has missed a great deal of camp due to injury. Milner was a long shot to begin with and has not done anything overly impressive to earn his keep. This means that Ortega will likely be the third Tight End for the Saints. We shall see what type of impact this has on the Saints running game.

Offensive Line- The Saints will start Jamaal Brown, Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin, Carl Nicks, and Jon Stinchcomb on the Offensive Line. With the surgery to Jamaal Brown, Jermon Bushrod will start the season at Left Tackle, with Zach Strief possibly seeing some playing time. Former starting Guard Jamar Nesbit, along with back up Center Nick Leckey will round out this unit.

That’s its for the Saints Offense. Stay tuned for a breakdown of the Saints D...

Update

A lot has gone on in sports since I last posted. So I think that its best for me to just give a brief synopsis of my opinion on some of the more relevant stories, at least those relevant to me:

• Rest in Peace Steve McNair, Arturo Gatti and Vernon Forest. All of these situations are very sad and tragic in their own right. All of these men were known for there courage, playing/fighting through injuries, and leaving it all on the field. I think its best we try to remember them for those attributes.
• Happy Trails to Tyson Chandler. I blogged a while back about the Chandler-Wilcox trade that was never finalized due to a failed physical. Chandler returned from injury after that non-trade to have his best week of the season, only to return to the bench with that same nagging toe injury. So this time around I’m glad that the Hornets were able to execute the trade and get more of a comparable player with less mileage than Chanlder. If Okafor can hold his own defensively against Western Conference Centers, this should be a good trade for the home team.
• I’m on the fence about the acquisition of Ike Diougu, but there is very little risk with this signing and there is an opportunity for a decent sized reward. However, the acquisition of Diogu doesn’t make it any easier knowing that Brandon Bass should be our back up Power Forward.
• David Ortiz on roids?!?!?! And the Red Sox clubhouse investigated for an in house supplier?!?! I believe I predicted this a few months back when the Manny story broke. Still waiting on Bill Simmons to write something now that his worst nightmares have been all but confirmed.
• Starbury: Whats really good dude? Tears, vaseline, car accidents, twitter, and ustream are never a good combination. We are getting a first hand view of a career coming to a train wreck of an end. I feel like I’m watching Iron Mike Tyson all over again. All we need now is “fade into bolivian” speech.
• Along these same lines, I think I’m due for a blog on my views on the effect that twitter and other online social mediums are having on the sports landscape and the dissemination of information. Look for that in the weeks ahead.
• Am I the only person feeling like all is right with the world now that football season looms. Fantasy Football, games on Thursday through Sunday, its like 6 months of Christmas. The gift that keeps on giving.
• Next blog will cover the latest from the Saints training camp with news and notes from around the rest of the league.