Larry Coker is making his return to college coaching at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is not inheriting a program of tradition and championships, he is building a program from scratch. UT-San Antonio will begin playing FCS football in 2011 with hopes to move on to FBS a few years after that. The Roadrunners have brought back Coker to coaching in the hopes he will ignite college football in a big city in a state where football is king. Coker and San Antonio hope that he can rekindle that magic he had for a few years in Coral Gables.
Coker had been a lifetime assistant at schools like Oklahoma, Ohio State, and was the offensive coordinator at Miami under Butch Davis. When Davis left for the Cleveland Browns following the 2000 season, the players lobbied for Coker to get the job. At that point how could the administration argue with the players' desires? The 2001 Hurricane team is regarded by many as the best college football team of all time. Coker led the Canes to an undefeated season and national championship. He went 31-1 to start his head coaching career. It started to go downhill from there however. The recruiting slipped, losses mounted, and Coker began to feel the heat. In his final season, 2006, the Canes lossed defensive player Bryan Pata to murder and had an on-the-field brawl with FIU. The brawl is one of the first things people point to when they accuse the U of being "thugs". Coker was fired after the final game of the regular season after amassing a 60-15 record (that's an .800 win percentage).
I firmly believe that Coker got a bad shake of things. Current head coach Randy Shannon was the defensive coordinator on the team but the problem was with the offense. Coker never found a suitable replacement for himself, and the Miami offense turned anemic. Shannon was drowning in the same predicament until he hired Mark Whipple in the offseason. The Canes offense has seen a resurgence so far this year. It is hard to gauge how Coker is remembered by the Miami faithful. He should be remembered for guiding the ship to success after Butch Davis fled. Yet most will see him as the coach who let Miami slip into mediocrity in the middle part of this decade.
When I was at Miami and waiting on line for tickets to the 2003 Fiesta Bowl Coker came by and thanked the fans and provided pizza for us who were waiting in the rain. No one ever doubted Coker as a person and that will be a big strength for him as he builds the program. I will be rooting for the Roadrunners when they start their program up in 2011.
The hiring of Coker is similar to what Georgia State is doing with their start-up football team. They begin play next year with NFL and college coaching veteran Bill Curry at the helm. What better way to introduce football to these big urban areas than by bringing in a coach with the experience and credentials to succeed. Many more programs are entering the football fray in these instances, like Charlotte who will begin their college football in 2013. The addition of these big names might bring along bigger expectations from teams that are coming out of nowhere, but Jim Leavitt has been able to bring South Florida out of obscurity to rankings in the polls so the future may be coming quick.
Coker, Who Won It All at Miami, Starts Over With Nothing [NYT]
H/T TBL
Wednesday, September 30
Larry Coker Returns to College Football
Tuesday, September 29
When Should Tebow Be In The Game?
There are two questions surrounding Tim Tebow's concussion. Neither involve Conan O'Brien's concussion but here's hoping he gets well also. The most important one is when he should return. Fortunately the Gators have a bye week before heading down the Baton Rouge to face the Tigers, at night. But is that enough time for Tebow's halo-encompassed cranium to proerly heal? Orson over at EDSBS does not think so (the comments section has some good info and perspectives as well). The main argument is that when someone suffers an injury like this they are more likely to suffer it again. Considering that Tebow has been rushing the ball quite often the last few games, one has to think Florida is going to curtail his rumbling.
Now Tebow being the great competitor that he is (that is said without sarcasm, the dude is a gamer) is going to most likely lobby for the status quo when it comes to playcalling. Add to the fact that the UF receivers have shown a sliver of the ability that Harvin and Murphy provided last year and it seems that Tebow will again be charging into opposing defenses. We have seen NFL quarterbacks take these shots again and again which led to their retirement. Troy Aikman, Steve Young, and most recently Trent Edwards. There is no replacing or repairing the noggin and when it gets rattled, it is serious trouble. Maybe even a more appropriate example is former Carolina linebacker Dan Morgan. Morgan suffered repeated concussion and was forced to retire before his Pro Bowl career reached its fulfillment. The way Tebow runs makes him more alike to Morgan that the others mentioned.
I am positive that Florida's medical staff is working around the clock to ensure Tebow is ready and cleared to play against LSU but the decision will ultimately be up to Tebow and I think we all know what he will choose. Although I rip Tebow for the media hype that surrounds him, it is unfortunate that he is injured and if this affects how the college season plays out. On the flip side, a worse scenario is him returning and the Gators winning it all in which he will be instantly canonized as a living deity and his concussion MRI is installed on a plaque outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The second question to answer is more hindsight in nature and has already been bantered on at length but: WTF was Tebow doing in the game at that point? If you take away the fact that Florida was dominating the game and it was late in the 3rd quarter, Tebow was ill before the game even started. All day long TWWL's bottom line informed me that Tim was suffering from a "respiratory illness" and flew on a separate plane to Kentucky. When he was carted off it suddenly became a possible case of the flu. Bottom line, he was not fully healthy so why extend him in a game that was already secure. Put Brantley in,have him hand it off and get out of Dodge. Not everyone agrees on this point but I think the Tebow illness beforehand should have made the decision. If it is pertinent enough to be a headline, then I am sure it was a concern for Florida before the game took place.
Week 3 NFL De-Cleeting
I am not trying to go all Al Pacino on everyone, but after watching the games this week it really hits home how much a game of inches professional football really is. One play, catch, drop, penalty, or missed tackle your team is in crisis mode instead of yocals screaming Super Bowl aspirations on the radio. With the microscope permanently fixed on the landscape of the NFL, those plays are seen over and over again and talked about ad nauseum until the weekend gives us a similar set of plays to discuss. I, as a fan, have been on the uplifting side of the slim margins, and I have watched everything slip away by the fingertips of fate. It is why we hate and love being fans at the same time and this week we look at instances of inches that have teams going in different directions.
Sunday, September 27
Can Everyone STFU Now?
Everyone certainly got caught up in the hype didn't they? Miami was a team that some predicted to go 0-4 to start the season when looking at the gauntlet schedule of at FSU, Georgia Tech, at Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma. Yet after two big wins the ridiculous rants came in from all sides.
The worst among them were (not surprisingly) from Canes fans. Check any message board or comments section from a UM related post and there were the inane statements such as:
"The U is back!"
"Jacory for Heisman!"
"We're running the table!"
"The swagger is back!"
"It's just like the early 2000s!"
Delusional Miami fans were not the only ones. Leading the hype machine in the media was ESPN, who after ignoring the U when they had been down the last couple years, began to see good ratings for Miami's Labor day and Thursday night game. Suddenly every show was discussing them, Herbstreit had them in his top 5, and everyone on the gameday set was picking them to beat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. This of course led to all the idiots watching TWWL to regurgitate that sentiments that Miami was indeed back and Jacory Harris was no doubt impermeable to mortal forces. Virginia Tech ended all the discussions yesterday with a 31-7 win.
Not that some of the praise was without cause, Miami's offense looked good, the defense had a great performance against a Georgia Tech team that scorched them last year, and the team had some confidence. Even I allowed my hopes to get up after the 2-0 start. If we had won yesterday it would have been a 3-0 ACC start with the tiebreaker over the best two teams in the division. Even Hokie prognosticators were predicting Miami to win.
It all came crashing down yesterday though. The skies opened up, Harris fumbled after a blitzer came free, tackles were missed, Matt Bosher (BOSHER!) happened again, passes were dropped, and the muffs did not bounce the Canes way. This should be a good lesson for the Canes. Perhaps they got a little ahead of themselves and thought it was going to be easier to walk into one of the toughest places to play and beat a team that had its pride hurt twice in the early season. Now the Canes can scrap any nonsensical national title talk because as of right now they are not even leading their own division in the ACC. I hope this reality check brings back the focus and urgency we saw in the first two games for this Saturday when Oklahoma comes to town.
Miami is not back, because back for Miami means competing at a national championship level every single game. All the great Miami teams never had a game like this. This week instead of reaping in praise from the media and fans, the Hurricanes should focus solely on how to beat Oklahoma. If they need a reminder bigger than the beating the Hokies put on them, they should bring out the tape of the last meeting they had with Oklahoma in Norman two years ago when they got undressed 51-13.
Friday, September 25
Present Your Ocular Atttention To These Games
Starting tomorrow at noon there will be a parade of games that are worth tuning into. There may be no shifting on the national landscape of college football but there are some critical match-ups and a chance to get a sense of where teams stand.
Saturday
(9)Miami @ (11) Virginia Tech, 3:30 on ABC
Even as a Miami fan I am tired of the question of whether the U is back or not. I still say no but just look at the commenting thread on any of the bevy of articles on UM this week and you will see such gems stating how the U is back and cannot be beat. Anyone can be beat in Blacksburg and as Tyrod Taylor showed last week, the Hokies do not even need to be in control of the game to pull one out. Still, as Chris Brown points out the passing attack of the Canes has been formidable even in its simplicity. This game more than likely comes down to Miami offensive coordinator Mark Whipple vs. legendary defensive coordinator for Tech Bud Foster. Whoever wins gets a leg up in the ACC and will be in the top ten come next week.
(6) Cal @ Oregon, 3:30 on ABC
You may be saying, "Cleet, these first two games are at the same time?!" Well while I will be paying full attention to the game above, no reason why this game should not occupy your attention during commercials and timeouts. Last week in casual conversation Catfish mentioned to me how Michigan State was the Clemson of the midwest. Clemson is known for being a team with high expectations from their fans who attract good talent and maybe have one year or two where their program was the best in the land yet always fall flat on their faces. I concurred with his observation and took it further by saying Cal is the Clemson of the west. Here is step 1 to proving me wrong. Cal travels to Eugene tomorrow to take on a Oregon team that just snapped the longest FBS winning streak in the country by beating Utah. When Cal has high hopes, it usually drops one of these Pac-Ten games. Now with USC losing to Washington, Cal has the inside track on the conference title if they can beat the Ducks and then beat USC next week at home. It is a tall order for sure, but the Bears have been hyped up and they have the premiere player in Jahvid Best. You know how when each season starts the Heisman hype is beyond annoying and the lead candidate usually lacks the big performances to back it up? Well enter Best who is averaging 7.8 yards per carry and has 8 rushing TDs through 3 games. I will pause a moment to allow that to sink in. If Oregon wants any chance in this game, they have to put Best on the ground.
Iowa @ Penn State, 8:00 on ABC
I am really not being ABC's boy here, I swear. Most mention of this being the Saturday night big game is being met with groans and eye rolls. However, considering Penn State has played Akron, Syracuse, and Temple nobody really knows what they can do. There is the revenge factor for the Lions since Iowa crushed their title hopes a year ago, but to me this is more of a battle for who will occupy the spot of contender for the Big Ten title with Ohio State. Iowa fans have been praying for the Kirk Ferentz to take the big leap with the program and once again their hopes are high. Do not expect many fireworks here, both teams will put forth solid defensive efforts and the 20 point barrier may not be crossed, by both teams combined. But if Penn State loses the Big Ten will have a huge identity crisis now that their two featured schools will be all but out of the title picture.
Thursday, September 24
Thursday Links
One of the events we missed covering from being away last week was the passing of Patrick Swayze. I was amazed at how many people shared my affinity for Dalton and Bodhi. It's never to late for a nod to the man who taught us that "pain don't hurt." RIP and Vaya con Dios.
A preview of the Miami-Virginia Tech match-up featuring the keys to the game for both sides. [Gobbler Country]
Speaking of that game, the guys over on the 7th floor are trying to come up with the definitive nickname for Jacory Harris. [7th Floor Blog]
A bit of optimism for the worst teams of college football. [Rumors and Rants]
Too soon? Steve McNair's death mocked in the nameof Halloween. [Sportress of Blogitude]
Rex Ryan has another phone message for Jets fans for the Titans game this Sunday. [KSK]
The best leaps in college football. [Bleacher Report]
A dust storm rolled over Sydney yesterday turning it into a life-like simulation of Mars, without Cohagen, Quaid, or Michael Ironside. [YBNBY]
The MLB playoffs are right around the corner, which means it's time for A-Rod to commence choking. [Bugs and Cranks]
Hockey is back! Yes you are probably just as enthused as I am and what better way to discuss which teams will make the playoffs than through the eyes of Vegas. [Puck Daddy]
Wednesday, September 23
Gators Still Focused on Tennessee Game
One of the most anticipated games of the week and the season in college football occurred Saturday with a mild 23-13 result. It was one of my top ten games to watch the entire season. The thought was that Urban Meyer was so infused with wrath that he was going to light up the scoreboard at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium like Bastille Day. So it was a surprise to many that the Vols hung tough with the first-ranked Gators Saturday in Gainsville. For all the warnings about the incoming wrath of Pope Urban and Lord Tebow, Tennessee being out-manned, and the Gator fans screaming for blood, it was a pretty darn well contested match-up.
No one was disregarding Monte Kiffin and his defensive genius, but the popular thought was that Tennessee did not have the personnel to stop the incoming onslaught of Gator offense. However, Kiffin together with defensive line coach Ed Ogeron showed just how well they could put together a gameplan. What really helped the Vols was the play of safety Eric Berry who flew all over the field making tackles and intercepted Tebow. Berry cemented his top ten pick status on the field, but in the end it was not enough to overcome the Gators offense. The 28 and 30 point spreads though, suddenly looked ridiculous.
So it a hard fought game and it appeared after a brush-by handshake by Kiffin and Meyer that everyone could move on with their season. But no, once again the words of the two coaches have sucked everyone into the vortex once again. It was Meyer firing shots at Kiffin first, insinuating that Kiffin was just playing ball control and not trying to win the game.
"When I saw them start handing the ball off, I didn't feel like they were going after the win,"
Why would a two-time national champion even bother to say this after the game was already won? Because this is who Meyer is, bottom line. He is one of the best coaches, if not the best, in the country there is no disputing that but his insistence on embarrassing opponents on the field and thin skin when it comes to his adversaries is getting old for UF detractors.
Kiffin of course refused to hold back and came back with this salvo:
"This offseason the commissioner made a big deal of renewing vows in terms of what we say about other teams, other coaches and other players," Kiffin said. "Obviously Urban feels he doesn't need to follow that. We won't say anything else."
In regards to Meyer playing up the fact that members of his team had flu symptoms before and Saturday's game, Kiffin lofted this grenade:
"I guess we'll wait and after we're not excited about a performance, we'll tell you everybody was sick."
With the rest of the season to go for the national title, it only plays to this notion that Meyer and the Gators wanted to embarrass Tennessee for them to make such statements after the game was over and won.
My favorite quote out of these shenanigans was from Meyer alluding to the pace of the game:
"The way we lose a game there is throw an interception. Why put yourself in that position? Let's find a way to win the game. We're not trying to impress the pollsters."
So is this really how Meyer feels about Tebow's ability to throw the ball? For all the rebuking about Tebow's lack of passing ability his own head coach said he was hesitant to throw the ball in a contested game because of a possible second interception by the defense. Urban knew where Tebow's strength lies, running the read option and carrying the ball in short yardage for first downs. Tebow ended the day with 24 rushes. This appears to be the same strategy that lead to the Ole Miss loss last year for Florida, and there is no Percy Harvin to turn to this year.
So the Gators were sick and just playing down to their competition on Saturday. They are not trying to impress pollsters, they just want to win big to stick it to their opponents. Perhaps Meyer has that confidence because he knows as long as his team wins the SEC and has no more than 1 loss, the BCS title game is all but guaranteed. In this case, since Florida is scrutinized and receives as much praise as any college team in the country, they should just focus on the task at hand and leave the Volunteers in the dust and out of the papers.
Kiffin rebuffs Meyer's comments [ESPN]
Tuesday, September 22
0-2 in the NFL: What it Really Means
With the first two weeks of the NFL season in the books, the pundits are out in force to point out that teams that lose their opening two games have a very small percent chance of making the playoffs. Until last season, they enjoyed using the “Since 2000...” stat, but with three teams making the playoffs after losing two straight to open the season and with the Giants as the then reigning champions, despite an 0-2 start, many have switched back to “Since 1990...” representing the expansion of the league from 14 to 16 games and from ten to twelve teams in the playoffs.
So here are the stats:
Since 2000, only nine of 79 teams that began the season 0-2, made the playoffs.
Since 1990, only 22 of 160 teams that began the season 0-2, made the playoffs.
Annually, these stats have suggested that good teams have had a less than 15% chance to make the playoffs if they get off to a slow start. This is a bit of a red herring, however, because they include the often futile efforts of teams like the Rams, Browns, Lions and Bengals, as well as four expansion teams. With this in mind, let's take a look at the true impact of going 0-2.
This Week In Drunken Fandom
via TBL
The ending of "Black" by Pearl Jam in the background is a perfect touch while he is bent over the can pondering the state of his semi-conscious mind.
via World of Isaac
Lions fans are never to be outdone.
Sometimes You Forget: Andre and Pete
One of the events of last week while we were in blackout mode was the U.S. Open final between Roger Federer and Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro beat Rafael Nadal and Federer in consecutive matches to win the U.S. Open title handing Roger his first loss in New York since 2003. Federer had chances to close out the match but the younger Del Potro had a motor and a hefty forehand. At one point Roger was even reduced to swearing at the official for allowing what he thought was a late challenge.
Another year, another failure to get Federer and Nadal in a Grand Slam finals. This year, it seems injuries have caught up with Nadal. If it is not his knee, it is an abdominal injury. Last year when Nadal could not keep up in the U.S. Open after winning the French, Wimbledon, and an Olympic medal Catfish ruminated as to whether Nadal was tennis' version of D-Wade. The man pushes himself so hard so often that maybe Nadal will use a different approach entering next year's Grand Slam run.
It has been well over a year since one of the greatest matches ever and we have yet to see another Grand Slam final between to two titans of tennis. We may not see another; with Nadal's injuries and Federer approaching 30, perhaps we will not be that lucky. This got me thinking about the greatest tennis rivalry of the previous generation, Sampras-Agassi. While Nadal and Federer have met 7 times for a Grand Slam title compared to Pete and Andre's 5, the latter had the ability to capture the nation because they were Americans and prevalent in the landscape of sports during the 90s and early 2000s. It is unfortunate that no American has risen up to challenge these Nadal or Federer or that they are not as appreciated for their accomplishments because they are not American.
Besides their nationalities, Pete and Andre had everything you could want in a sports rivalry. They had distinctly polar personalities; Andre was always outgoing and loved the attention even after he dropped the "image is everything" label while Pete was more shy and retiring. Pete is arguably the game's best server ever not only because of his power but his accuracy and timing. Andre is just about undisputed in his title of best returner of all-time. Their rivalry began back when they were just kids training to become greats and lasted throughout their careers. Sampras won the most majors and 20-14 over Andre including 4-1 in Slam finals yet Andre had more fans and completed the career slam. Below are the highlights from one of their best matches, the 2001 quarterfinal final which went to four straight tie-breakers while neither man was broken on serve.
The Year of Pierre?
Last night in muggy Miami Peyton Manning found an undrafted second season wideout from Mount Union college for the game-winning 48 yard touchdown. His name is Pierre Garcon. It was his only catch of the game but he displayed his great speed dashing away from Dolphin defenders. The score secured a 27-23 victory for the Colts and thanks to one of the worst cases of clock management by Miami the Dolphins could not muster a comeback. While it may seem that the name Pierre would only be found in an uppity French restaurant or on the streets of France, there are a few Pierres making news in the NFL so far this year.
Last Monday night it was Pierre Woods of the Patriots stripping Leodis McElvin of the ball on a kickoff return which got the Patriots another chance to drive down for the winning score.
Perhaps the most well known Pierre is Pierre Thomas of the Saints. So far he has only drawn the ire of Fantasy players because he was had a sprained MCL and has only touched the ball once this season.
For general knowledge Pierre is the French form of Peter and the name means "rock" or "stone".
Monday, September 21
The Return of NFL De-Cleeting: Week 2
A new week and the ASD is hoping to get back into regular functional mode. Of course any discussion begins and ends with the football right now. The space between week 2 and week 3 is always an interesting one filled with hyperbole. Teams at 2-0 have their fanbases thinking Super Bowl. The 1-1 teams appear to be on the fence and either falling into "we're ok" territory or into panic mode in week 3. The 0-2 teams will certainly be faced with "the sky is falling" prognostications. In this recap of week 2 a team at each record will be profiled as well as assumptions about the state of all teams will be made even though I believe it is too early to make them. If the mainstream media can be duplicitous, why can't I?
Friday, September 18
Wednesday, September 16
Announcement
Due to circumstances beyond our control we will be away from the blog until later this week or into next week. Unfortunate since there has been such a bevy of activity from NFL week 1, the U.S. Open, and Kanye West. I hope to be back up and running tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.
Friday, September 11
Thursday, September 10
Looking Toward The 2009 NFL Season: Predictions
While we have spent a majority of the last month focusing on college football, today is the day when the big brother NFL kicks off. There is a large contingent of people who say that this is the true kickoff of the football season. The Titans face the defending champion Steelers in the opening game. We throw our ASD predictions into the pot at the last possible second after reading and hearing all the analysis from the so-called "experts". One thing that irks me is the fact that strength of schedule is always brought up in the NFL when clearly the trend this decade is that there will be a group of playoff teams that completely fall off and some surprise teams will rise up. That is the parody of the NFL; it's not that each year any team can flip-flop into a winner or loser, there are the elite teams at the top, the horrible franchises at the bottom, and the teams in the middle oscillate between being an upstart playoff team and double-digit losses. Each division is picked in order of predicted finish and the playoffs as well after the break.
Wednesday, September 9
Sports Trivia
A trio of sports trivia on our trivia Wednesday once again from the kings of mental diversion at sporcle.
Home Run Leaders of the 1980s
All-time NBA turnover leaders
The Top fantasy football players of 2008
Tuesday, September 8
Anatomy of An Agonized Fan
While most of the country watched the game last night between Miami and Florida State with a high level of enjoyment, it was agony as far as I was concerned. And my team won. I believe I have finally reached the point where I can no longer enjoy the games that my favorite team in sports plays. After the heart-pounding end to the Hurricanes 38-34 upset victory at Florida State I felt numb, like I had just had ten cups of coffee, four red bulls, and a bottle of Quaaludes. It was hours before I fell asleep and that was not due to my excitement over what lay ahead for the U or the relief of winning the game, it was my body uncoiling from the stress I put myself under watching the marathon game. What follows is a recount of how I watched the game and it is no means a happy tale, it is a descent into the madness of the sports mind. So read on, if you do not fear the disturbed.
