Joe Sakic should never, ever be mistaken for John Elway. That would be difficult to do, but even their job performance. Joe hasn't done a very good job.
Let's start with overall performance. I am limiting this to Joe's GM time which starts on May 10th, 2013.
Coaches: Joe picked a wild card in Patrick Roy. Roy only had experience at the junior level where talent would leave guaranteed every 4 years. Molding someone for short terms is difficult, but dealing with long term effects is harder. You can hold a grudge against someone in Juniors and be happy when they leave 1-3 years later. Patrick had no real experience and needed to work his way up. He didn't become a hall of famer just because he played awesome at the junior and high school level. He became a hall of famer because he worked his way up.
Next and current coach Jared Bednar is the same thing. Bednar was an AHL coach. No winning teams to speak of at the NHL level. I get it that he is somehow excused because of the short timing. I can tell you for sure I don't give sakic a pass on this one. He had Kevin Dineen ready to go. Kevin helped Chicago, who's coach we fired, win cups.
Drafting: The first year. I guess you can call this good but I don't. The Avs need defense. Not centers. MacKinnon is a solid forward. But Sakic had Seth Jones ready at D and passed. This is a near failure.
The next year he did another terrible job in Bleakly. The guy was drafted in the first round but never even signed a contract. He was a total bust.
//short
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Monday, January 2, 2017
Big 10: Big Losers
What a year.
Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State all caught big rankings and big year end bowls. All 3 caught the darling eye of everyone watching. Michigan because the powerhouse at the big house was back. Ohio State because they are the Alabama of the Big 10 and Penn State because they are the once scandal ridden team which was set to come out of the ashes and settle the score.
The problem: None of these teams did. The big reason comes in many forms. 1. Ohio State is a year away from competing. Yet some how pre season recruiting gave them the upper edge over better playing teams.
Michigan is not quite dynamic yet. They are talent driven. This will be displayed come the NFL draft when most of their defensive unit get's paid by the NFL.
Penn State was a victim of circumstance. They showed their true colors against Michigan but somehow won against Ohio State.
This should have been a forecast. This should have been a note of what was to come. But it wasn't. Not even this low level Wisconsin fan saw this coming. Hell Wisconsin should have been playing in mid December had the media picked it right. But instead the media picked LSU as the favorite. Then when WI beat a top 5 team in Michigan State they gave the badger a pass. When they lost by a combined score of 13 to Michigan and Ohio State in the next 2 weeks the media was salivating. When WI beat Nebraska, the badgers were locked in as a Cinderella.
Then comes the result: A Wisconsin team that wasn't ready to play at this level was thrust into the big 10 championship against a team that didn't belong their. Somebody was going to win and that team was not ready for the CFP or the Rose bowl. I'm not being salty towards Penn State.
My point is the Big 10 is about a year away from this season as being elite. That's going to show when Penn State and Ohio State do finally show up. The question becomes how does Michigan respond?
The next question is who will respond in the Big 10 west. The forgotten part of the conference.
My prediction is simple: OSU grows. This is a given under Urban Meyer. The guy lives for recruiting. Michigan is going to get a year off. That certainly doesn't mean a losing year, it just means a year off from this year. Penn state is going to play on, and they are going to play on until they get that rematch with Ohio State. At that point, everyone will know that OSU is far superior to PSU.
The west is going to get dicey, and weak. WI and their awesome year is going to fade to memory. The realization that the QB is no better than the fans at throwing comes to fruition. No running game spells a disaster for WI. I don't think this helps Minnesota in winning the Axe, but it does help Nebraska and Iowa.
Iowa will regain ground lost during this year. They will compete. Nebraska will do the same. The hiccup will come when they play each other. I don't think either will make it to the title game, but that game will decide who was closer to it. Nebraska will likely win and be the "we should be in the CFP" team. But they will in all likely hood face a better Big 10 East team that won't relent. I'm guessing that will be Ohio State. This win will put OSU in the same position they were this year: the CFP.
Where do other teams stand?
Let's look:
Michigan State had a very off year. You can learn from a loss, but this kind of season does nobody good. All that gain from the last 2 years is gone. Diantio needs to start fresh.
Illinois isn't going anywhere. Lovie Smith might have been a bears head coach, but he still has work to do.
Purdue is a Drew Brees away from competing. They only have had 1 of those in the last 25 years so here's hoping for number 2.
Northwestern can be competitive, but the structure of this season didn't help them. My best guess is next year will not either.
Indiana was the most under achieving team this year in the big 10. Curiosity compels me to not count them out, but then realize they cannot recruit.
Rutgers will probably win a game or 2. But let's not hope it's against anyone in the big 10.
Maryland is going to have real trouble in football. Here's to the basketball team!
Now let's show the forces in the big 10 west:
Nebraska: they can recruit and will. But most likely won't be enough to win what they want.
Iowa: They will return to the status quo in the next 3 years.
Wisconsin: Gary Anderson brought tough tests, and good recruits. Those tests are now over, will the recruits be as well?
Minnesota: They can win, but just not at the national level. Where will they fit?
Then the East:
Penn State: No signature wins in the last 6 years. Nothing to really remove them of their past that they so want to put behind them.
Michigan: 2 years of Jim Harbaugh and no big wins. Not a coach firing position but a kind of WTF kind of position.
Ohio State: No points after the Michigan win. Who shows up next year?
Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State all caught big rankings and big year end bowls. All 3 caught the darling eye of everyone watching. Michigan because the powerhouse at the big house was back. Ohio State because they are the Alabama of the Big 10 and Penn State because they are the once scandal ridden team which was set to come out of the ashes and settle the score.
The problem: None of these teams did. The big reason comes in many forms. 1. Ohio State is a year away from competing. Yet some how pre season recruiting gave them the upper edge over better playing teams.
Michigan is not quite dynamic yet. They are talent driven. This will be displayed come the NFL draft when most of their defensive unit get's paid by the NFL.
Penn State was a victim of circumstance. They showed their true colors against Michigan but somehow won against Ohio State.
This should have been a forecast. This should have been a note of what was to come. But it wasn't. Not even this low level Wisconsin fan saw this coming. Hell Wisconsin should have been playing in mid December had the media picked it right. But instead the media picked LSU as the favorite. Then when WI beat a top 5 team in Michigan State they gave the badger a pass. When they lost by a combined score of 13 to Michigan and Ohio State in the next 2 weeks the media was salivating. When WI beat Nebraska, the badgers were locked in as a Cinderella.
Then comes the result: A Wisconsin team that wasn't ready to play at this level was thrust into the big 10 championship against a team that didn't belong their. Somebody was going to win and that team was not ready for the CFP or the Rose bowl. I'm not being salty towards Penn State.
My point is the Big 10 is about a year away from this season as being elite. That's going to show when Penn State and Ohio State do finally show up. The question becomes how does Michigan respond?
The next question is who will respond in the Big 10 west. The forgotten part of the conference.
My prediction is simple: OSU grows. This is a given under Urban Meyer. The guy lives for recruiting. Michigan is going to get a year off. That certainly doesn't mean a losing year, it just means a year off from this year. Penn state is going to play on, and they are going to play on until they get that rematch with Ohio State. At that point, everyone will know that OSU is far superior to PSU.
The west is going to get dicey, and weak. WI and their awesome year is going to fade to memory. The realization that the QB is no better than the fans at throwing comes to fruition. No running game spells a disaster for WI. I don't think this helps Minnesota in winning the Axe, but it does help Nebraska and Iowa.
Iowa will regain ground lost during this year. They will compete. Nebraska will do the same. The hiccup will come when they play each other. I don't think either will make it to the title game, but that game will decide who was closer to it. Nebraska will likely win and be the "we should be in the CFP" team. But they will in all likely hood face a better Big 10 East team that won't relent. I'm guessing that will be Ohio State. This win will put OSU in the same position they were this year: the CFP.
Where do other teams stand?
Let's look:
Michigan State had a very off year. You can learn from a loss, but this kind of season does nobody good. All that gain from the last 2 years is gone. Diantio needs to start fresh.
Illinois isn't going anywhere. Lovie Smith might have been a bears head coach, but he still has work to do.
Purdue is a Drew Brees away from competing. They only have had 1 of those in the last 25 years so here's hoping for number 2.
Northwestern can be competitive, but the structure of this season didn't help them. My best guess is next year will not either.
Indiana was the most under achieving team this year in the big 10. Curiosity compels me to not count them out, but then realize they cannot recruit.
Rutgers will probably win a game or 2. But let's not hope it's against anyone in the big 10.
Maryland is going to have real trouble in football. Here's to the basketball team!
Now let's show the forces in the big 10 west:
Nebraska: they can recruit and will. But most likely won't be enough to win what they want.
Iowa: They will return to the status quo in the next 3 years.
Wisconsin: Gary Anderson brought tough tests, and good recruits. Those tests are now over, will the recruits be as well?
Minnesota: They can win, but just not at the national level. Where will they fit?
Then the East:
Penn State: No signature wins in the last 6 years. Nothing to really remove them of their past that they so want to put behind them.
Michigan: 2 years of Jim Harbaugh and no big wins. Not a coach firing position but a kind of WTF kind of position.
Ohio State: No points after the Michigan win. Who shows up next year?
Friday, December 2, 2016
Colorado Buffaloes: A nutshell
Dear Colorado,
This is your gravestone. You played a well fought season, but in the end the only reason you won was because your QB was decent. You proved this to be the case on 3 occasions: Michigan, USC, and Washington. The reason you lost: your QB.
Let this be a lesson. But let this be also a moment for every buff's fan to realize what has happened since the last time CU was relevant.
The last time CU was relevant was due to a mistake. A 4th down which was accidentally marked a 3rd down. That was in the early 90's. Today your team plays a better game. Though like in the 90's, you relied on a QB to control the tempo.
I want everyone to know that I am a Wisconsin Badgers fan. I watched in the earlier years of WI's bad seasons. Camp Randal was a ghost town. You could give away tickets to anything in Madison. Then came Barry Alvarez. He won a rose bowl, and then another. This gave WI the Midwestern program launch.
This is where I stop my WI charade and talk about CO. This is a major building block for CU. The team has grown and so has the school. Fans jumping the fence for a field rush is cause for a fine. ( I didn't know this until pregame). So now you have a history to back on. It's important to remember this season. You buffs didn't do this for nothing. You played your hearts out. Your 10-3 record is an awesome feat!
My congrats to all CU alumni (including myself) on a wonderful season. Now it's time to focus. What does this bring us? Does it bring us closer to national relevance?
I can answer the latter question. Look at Utah. They came from the mountain west. 2 years ago they got up to the #4 ranking before tumbling. They have been a top 25 team, but not a contender. I truly believe this is where CO will fall if they do not bring in better recruits. This season was based off of a spread style offense. The QB would take off if he didn't recognize the call. That won't be the case next year. Your back up QB cannot scramble. So you'll need to work on your deep and intermediate routes. I honestly see next year as a normal year.
But all in all, thank you CU!
This is your gravestone. You played a well fought season, but in the end the only reason you won was because your QB was decent. You proved this to be the case on 3 occasions: Michigan, USC, and Washington. The reason you lost: your QB.
Let this be a lesson. But let this be also a moment for every buff's fan to realize what has happened since the last time CU was relevant.
The last time CU was relevant was due to a mistake. A 4th down which was accidentally marked a 3rd down. That was in the early 90's. Today your team plays a better game. Though like in the 90's, you relied on a QB to control the tempo.
I want everyone to know that I am a Wisconsin Badgers fan. I watched in the earlier years of WI's bad seasons. Camp Randal was a ghost town. You could give away tickets to anything in Madison. Then came Barry Alvarez. He won a rose bowl, and then another. This gave WI the Midwestern program launch.
This is where I stop my WI charade and talk about CO. This is a major building block for CU. The team has grown and so has the school. Fans jumping the fence for a field rush is cause for a fine. ( I didn't know this until pregame). So now you have a history to back on. It's important to remember this season. You buffs didn't do this for nothing. You played your hearts out. Your 10-3 record is an awesome feat!
My congrats to all CU alumni (including myself) on a wonderful season. Now it's time to focus. What does this bring us? Does it bring us closer to national relevance?
I can answer the latter question. Look at Utah. They came from the mountain west. 2 years ago they got up to the #4 ranking before tumbling. They have been a top 25 team, but not a contender. I truly believe this is where CO will fall if they do not bring in better recruits. This season was based off of a spread style offense. The QB would take off if he didn't recognize the call. That won't be the case next year. Your back up QB cannot scramble. So you'll need to work on your deep and intermediate routes. I honestly see next year as a normal year.
But all in all, thank you CU!
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Scathing Review: Green Bay Packers
It appears I'm quite good at annihilating the teams I love. It's turned out quite a few times that my predictions were correct. I've also been incorrect my fair share of times. Green Bay will be no different. I believe that I'll hit one or two of these topics directly on point while swinging hard but missing terribly on a few others.
Front Office:
Ted Thompson isn't doing anything different than he has the last 5 years. He'll leverage the future of the franchise on the draft and sign a few free agents every once in a while that will commit long term to the Green and Gold. See Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers. While the Packers don't have anything out of the box good coming from this draft, nothing will really change. The guy we draft this year won't be ready for about 3 years, at least.
Coaching:
HC: Mccarthy is a very good coach. He made an emotional decision to give away play calling. With every fan in an uproar for the first 6 games of the season, the packers went 6-0. It seemed to be going well. Then a 2 game skid featuring Carolina and Denver put him back at the controls. As the play caller he went 4-4.
OC: Can't think of his name off the bat but he did a pretty good job the first 6 games. By the end of the 6th game, fans could tell this offense was not ready for prime time. Too much time on the field because of poor defense dragged the OC to the ground.
DC: Probably the Achilles heel of this defense. Capers put probably his worst season on record in the books. It's only gotten worse the longer he stays. The dagger in my heart was week 6 when my beloved pack allowed 500 passing yards to Phillip Rivers. Absolutely disgusting. Unfortunately for my liking, Dom will be back because his defense didn't allow all that many points.
Offense:
This year was absolutely terrible. Probably a huge product of Jordy Nelson missing, but it was bad.
Probable fixes: Get nelson healthy, though it doesn't help that the Packers put a whole season worth of tape on how bad receivers down the depth chart are. I'd put the replacement WR position at number 3 on the offensive needs.
Tight ends were a huge problem. None of them performed. It doesn't help my review that the Rodgers to Rodgers hail mary won play of the year. This is still a bad area. Next season when Jordy is getting covered from every location the TE play won't be any better. That is of course barring a free agent TE fits the bill. I'd put this at number 2 on the offensive needs.
Offensive Line: These guys were terrible. All season long. A combination of inexperience and bad play along with injuries cost this offense. This needs to be fixed with a quickness. I'd put this as the number 1 need on the offense and either a 1 or 2 need for the total team.
Honorable mention: Lacy was supposed to have a great season. He had an offseason like a fan and showed up to camp overweight and unready. I expect Lacy to be out of Green Bay within 2 years.
Defense:
Front 3: Our core of pass rushers were pretty decent. Though the game has changed so much with regards to the depth of this position, the Packers had a fair 2015 at this position. They likely will need to upgrade at some point, but nothing that requires a free agent deal.
LB's: This is the hardest part of the defense. Matthews is clearly not effective as a multi use linebacker. He may be the captain, but he needs to be focused on putting the QB on the ground. Playing 60% of his time from the middle position won't help his cause. I thought I heard something about him moving back outside, which would be great. This would also open a huge problem up the middle. Leading to the number 1 need on defense, possibly number 1 or 2 for the team.
Secondary: This is where it get's a little dicey. Clinton-Dix had a decent season, but he's got too much growing to do. Hopefully this year helped his cause. He's going to need to either add weight or focus on becoming faster and turn towards a corner. He looked lost this year, but I believe this growth will come in time. At the CB position, the packers have a real problem. Sam Shields is the only real shutdown corner the packers have and he was hurt a good portion of the season. No option in the draft will fix this for another few years. This is a huge hole, and the number 2 need on defense. It's also the solidified number 3 need on the packers team. If an OL, or MLB can't be picked up in free agency the packers need to pick up a CB.
Front Office:
Ted Thompson isn't doing anything different than he has the last 5 years. He'll leverage the future of the franchise on the draft and sign a few free agents every once in a while that will commit long term to the Green and Gold. See Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers. While the Packers don't have anything out of the box good coming from this draft, nothing will really change. The guy we draft this year won't be ready for about 3 years, at least.
Coaching:
HC: Mccarthy is a very good coach. He made an emotional decision to give away play calling. With every fan in an uproar for the first 6 games of the season, the packers went 6-0. It seemed to be going well. Then a 2 game skid featuring Carolina and Denver put him back at the controls. As the play caller he went 4-4.
OC: Can't think of his name off the bat but he did a pretty good job the first 6 games. By the end of the 6th game, fans could tell this offense was not ready for prime time. Too much time on the field because of poor defense dragged the OC to the ground.
DC: Probably the Achilles heel of this defense. Capers put probably his worst season on record in the books. It's only gotten worse the longer he stays. The dagger in my heart was week 6 when my beloved pack allowed 500 passing yards to Phillip Rivers. Absolutely disgusting. Unfortunately for my liking, Dom will be back because his defense didn't allow all that many points.
Offense:
This year was absolutely terrible. Probably a huge product of Jordy Nelson missing, but it was bad.
Probable fixes: Get nelson healthy, though it doesn't help that the Packers put a whole season worth of tape on how bad receivers down the depth chart are. I'd put the replacement WR position at number 3 on the offensive needs.
Tight ends were a huge problem. None of them performed. It doesn't help my review that the Rodgers to Rodgers hail mary won play of the year. This is still a bad area. Next season when Jordy is getting covered from every location the TE play won't be any better. That is of course barring a free agent TE fits the bill. I'd put this at number 2 on the offensive needs.
Offensive Line: These guys were terrible. All season long. A combination of inexperience and bad play along with injuries cost this offense. This needs to be fixed with a quickness. I'd put this as the number 1 need on the offense and either a 1 or 2 need for the total team.
Honorable mention: Lacy was supposed to have a great season. He had an offseason like a fan and showed up to camp overweight and unready. I expect Lacy to be out of Green Bay within 2 years.
Defense:
Front 3: Our core of pass rushers were pretty decent. Though the game has changed so much with regards to the depth of this position, the Packers had a fair 2015 at this position. They likely will need to upgrade at some point, but nothing that requires a free agent deal.
LB's: This is the hardest part of the defense. Matthews is clearly not effective as a multi use linebacker. He may be the captain, but he needs to be focused on putting the QB on the ground. Playing 60% of his time from the middle position won't help his cause. I thought I heard something about him moving back outside, which would be great. This would also open a huge problem up the middle. Leading to the number 1 need on defense, possibly number 1 or 2 for the team.
Secondary: This is where it get's a little dicey. Clinton-Dix had a decent season, but he's got too much growing to do. Hopefully this year helped his cause. He's going to need to either add weight or focus on becoming faster and turn towards a corner. He looked lost this year, but I believe this growth will come in time. At the CB position, the packers have a real problem. Sam Shields is the only real shutdown corner the packers have and he was hurt a good portion of the season. No option in the draft will fix this for another few years. This is a huge hole, and the number 2 need on defense. It's also the solidified number 3 need on the packers team. If an OL, or MLB can't be picked up in free agency the packers need to pick up a CB.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Green Bay: Moving Forward at WR
Really, there are only two halves to an NFL season. The first 8 games and the second 8 games. Throw away the bye week for the purpose of this blog.
Let's focus on the Packers first 8 games. 6-2. I would say that's pretty good. But if you break down the numbers, quite a bit doesn't jive with the record.
The receivers had a problem this year. A big one. In the first 8 games, Rodgers did a pretty good job of covering for the catching woes. But those last two games exposed GB and their receiving corps.
The second half GB finished 4-4. Not a good record at all. If it wasn't for some late game heroics at Detroit, this would have been 3-5. The entire second half was what the first half should have been: a disappointment.
Now Green Bay is out of contention and they are golfing. So who does this franchise turn to next? Rodgers is set, and Nelson is back. So we know the two number one's.
The issue this year presented itself early on: No receiver on this Nelson-less team is a clear cut number two. In prior years it was either Jennings or Nelson getting other receivers open. The commanding double and sometimes triple coverage created all hell for opposing defenses. That didn't happen this year. Instead, Cobb couldn't get open and Adam's couldn't catch passes.
Richard Rodgers is a decent tight end, but he certainly cannot handle the load that finley once commanded.
Moving forward, the Packers now have a problem. They have many receivers who are not ready to be clear cut number two's but a whole bunch of mid tier receivers. Cobb, Jones, Montgomery, Abberderis, Janis, and Adams.
From that list above, Abberderis is going to have the hardest time making the team. He played well in a handful of games but didn't establish himself.
Jones was the talk of the team the first 6 weeks. But after that, he wasn't the same player. Not knowing his contract situation doesn't help this blog, but I'll assume he's under contract for next season. He's too slow for the number 3 spot but will have trouble establishing himself as the number 4 guy. too much bottom depth.
Cobb is safe. He's not going anywhere but he's been exposed big time. He got a nice contract extension but should be thanking Jordy for this. He wasn't open when he needed to be and couldn't break from receivers. He does have the entire off season to work himself, but that's quite a bit of work.
Adams deserves to be cut. His play declined badly this year. The reality is he gained quite a bit of experience and will most likely headed to the number 3 spot.
Janis will go back to special teams. Again, he gained experience but unless someone can unseat Cobb for the number 2 spot nothing is going well for these players.
Montgomery is the guy that intrigues me the most. He got the short end of the stick early on. Injuries shortened his season. He has a great work ethic, but not quite the talent yet. Assuming Adam's doesn't get cut, I expect Montgomery to work towards the number 3 spot mid season.
Let's focus on the Packers first 8 games. 6-2. I would say that's pretty good. But if you break down the numbers, quite a bit doesn't jive with the record.
The receivers had a problem this year. A big one. In the first 8 games, Rodgers did a pretty good job of covering for the catching woes. But those last two games exposed GB and their receiving corps.
The second half GB finished 4-4. Not a good record at all. If it wasn't for some late game heroics at Detroit, this would have been 3-5. The entire second half was what the first half should have been: a disappointment.
Now Green Bay is out of contention and they are golfing. So who does this franchise turn to next? Rodgers is set, and Nelson is back. So we know the two number one's.
The issue this year presented itself early on: No receiver on this Nelson-less team is a clear cut number two. In prior years it was either Jennings or Nelson getting other receivers open. The commanding double and sometimes triple coverage created all hell for opposing defenses. That didn't happen this year. Instead, Cobb couldn't get open and Adam's couldn't catch passes.
Richard Rodgers is a decent tight end, but he certainly cannot handle the load that finley once commanded.
Moving forward, the Packers now have a problem. They have many receivers who are not ready to be clear cut number two's but a whole bunch of mid tier receivers. Cobb, Jones, Montgomery, Abberderis, Janis, and Adams.
From that list above, Abberderis is going to have the hardest time making the team. He played well in a handful of games but didn't establish himself.
Jones was the talk of the team the first 6 weeks. But after that, he wasn't the same player. Not knowing his contract situation doesn't help this blog, but I'll assume he's under contract for next season. He's too slow for the number 3 spot but will have trouble establishing himself as the number 4 guy. too much bottom depth.
Cobb is safe. He's not going anywhere but he's been exposed big time. He got a nice contract extension but should be thanking Jordy for this. He wasn't open when he needed to be and couldn't break from receivers. He does have the entire off season to work himself, but that's quite a bit of work.
Adams deserves to be cut. His play declined badly this year. The reality is he gained quite a bit of experience and will most likely headed to the number 3 spot.
Janis will go back to special teams. Again, he gained experience but unless someone can unseat Cobb for the number 2 spot nothing is going well for these players.
Montgomery is the guy that intrigues me the most. He got the short end of the stick early on. Injuries shortened his season. He has a great work ethic, but not quite the talent yet. Assuming Adam's doesn't get cut, I expect Montgomery to work towards the number 3 spot mid season.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Colorado College Tigers Next Season
I've been looking around the preseason blogs and everything seems to be ragging on Colorado College. They had one of the worst seasons in the history of their program last year. After an offseason that features quite a few new faces, I've decided to focus on 4 of the members of the incoming class.
First, I should mention I love the goalie position. I'm a firm believer that a program should work it's talent from the goalie forward. Placing special emphasis on defense and shot blocking.
Coach Haviland of Colorado College did just that with the incoming crew. Though not drafted (at least yet) Jacob Nehama brings a spark to my eye. Standing at 6'0 tall, he's not a Jon Gillies type of netminder but his stats speak for themselves.
He finished the season with 29 wins, 13 losses and 4 ties. Kick in his .913 save percentage and this guy appears to be on track to do some serious damage. To put this into perspective, take Joe Howe (current volunteer goalie coach at Denver) during his time in the USHL. He finished his first season with his best record of 13-5-1 with a .915 save percentage. I liked Howe in net and I think I'll like this guy too. If you compare Jacob to similar goalies in stature, I think you will find he is a top notch goaltender. His size makes him not as marketable as current CC netminder Tyler Marble. Either way, in net CC will have the ability to have dueling goaltenders. MN State - Mankato has had the same issue for the past 2 years and it's produced wonderful dividends.
Next, let's look a bit at Trey Bradley. He's a very small player. Based on size alone, I wouldn't expect too much from him given how large CC's ice surface is. However taking a look at his USHL stats, I would have no problem looking at Trey as a serious set up man on any line.
Next up is Nathan Kwiecinski. He's no Jacob Slavin, and he has quite a bit of growth to do. I'm not sure where he will fit in the scheme of things. His offensive side stats are not very good, which leads me to believe he is a stay at home defense man - my favorite kind (as a goalie of course). If Kwiecinski can keep opposing players off Marble or whoever is in net, the tigers can do their job in the front.
The show stopper of all of these should be considered Mason Bergh. He's an absolute monster of a player. Not the tallest forward at 6'0, but his stats are oh so good. I would wonder how Bergh and Bradley would do on the same line. Either way, Bergh is an incredibly gifted player. He's going to make the rounds at CC.
CC has reason to believe in it's incoming class. In 2 years, people may be talking about how good this crop of recruits was. Maybe they will all break out this season. Just maybe.
First, I should mention I love the goalie position. I'm a firm believer that a program should work it's talent from the goalie forward. Placing special emphasis on defense and shot blocking.
Coach Haviland of Colorado College did just that with the incoming crew. Though not drafted (at least yet) Jacob Nehama brings a spark to my eye. Standing at 6'0 tall, he's not a Jon Gillies type of netminder but his stats speak for themselves.
He finished the season with 29 wins, 13 losses and 4 ties. Kick in his .913 save percentage and this guy appears to be on track to do some serious damage. To put this into perspective, take Joe Howe (current volunteer goalie coach at Denver) during his time in the USHL. He finished his first season with his best record of 13-5-1 with a .915 save percentage. I liked Howe in net and I think I'll like this guy too. If you compare Jacob to similar goalies in stature, I think you will find he is a top notch goaltender. His size makes him not as marketable as current CC netminder Tyler Marble. Either way, in net CC will have the ability to have dueling goaltenders. MN State - Mankato has had the same issue for the past 2 years and it's produced wonderful dividends.
Next, let's look a bit at Trey Bradley. He's a very small player. Based on size alone, I wouldn't expect too much from him given how large CC's ice surface is. However taking a look at his USHL stats, I would have no problem looking at Trey as a serious set up man on any line.
Next up is Nathan Kwiecinski. He's no Jacob Slavin, and he has quite a bit of growth to do. I'm not sure where he will fit in the scheme of things. His offensive side stats are not very good, which leads me to believe he is a stay at home defense man - my favorite kind (as a goalie of course). If Kwiecinski can keep opposing players off Marble or whoever is in net, the tigers can do their job in the front.
The show stopper of all of these should be considered Mason Bergh. He's an absolute monster of a player. Not the tallest forward at 6'0, but his stats are oh so good. I would wonder how Bergh and Bradley would do on the same line. Either way, Bergh is an incredibly gifted player. He's going to make the rounds at CC.
CC has reason to believe in it's incoming class. In 2 years, people may be talking about how good this crop of recruits was. Maybe they will all break out this season. Just maybe.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
College Football Rankings.......
With most of college football's best week 1 games complete, it's safe to say that we have a baseline week. Or maybe not.......
Of the top 10 teams, only 1 played a ranked team (Alabama). I'm a Wisconsin fan myself, but I kept my cool on this game way before coming in. I knew that Wisconsin is NO WHERE near Alabama's recruiting level. So I almost expected a loss.
So let's take a look at last year's 4 playoff teams and analyze what they did, or didn't do. Then we'll move on to the actual ranking.
Rankings are as of this season, teams are the final 4 of last season.
#1 Ohio State. They have not played yet so no judgement.
3. Alabama. I've never looked at Alabama and said "that's a high scoring team". I've always thought of Alabama as a Python. They use their defense to constrict any team they play. Offense is always a product of where the defense can get the ball to. This year is no different. They have a very potent offense which can score from any point on the field. The defense speaks for itself. They destroyed the Badgers and took away the only weapon Wisconsin has had for the last 5 years, the run game.
#7 Oregon. They won 61-42 over a team that should not have scored more than 20. I know Oregon has a potent offense. But just like the ducks proved last year, they do not have the defense to compliment such a great offense. On the plus side, if the Ducks do find themselves in a showdown against a similar up tempo offense they will hang around much longer than any other team wants. Easily able to outscore opponents and take advantage of mistakes.
#10 Florida State. FSU has been full of the Jameis Winston distraction for well over 2 years. They key question was: Can the Seminoles win without Winston. Although Texas State doesn't really present the ability to answer this question, FSU was able to run up the scoreboard. I would say this leaves them at Neutral.
Winner of last year's big 4: Alabama.
Side Notes.
Rankings as of current.
2. TCU. I would love, LOVE the opportunity to roast this entire squad. I don't think Minnesota is a top of the pack Big 10 team. They are in the middle with Wisconsin and Nebraska. TCU is supposed to have this Air Raid offensive system that annihilated every team in it's path last season. Due to the amount of starters returning on offense, TCU was supposed to blow their way to the Big 12 games. Minnesota didn't really play that well and still came within a touchdown of beating the Horned Frogs. Not too good if you ask me. If TCU is indeed the top of the conference, I would downgrade the Big
Stanford and Arizona State. Neither of these teams should have been ranked. Even though the preseason rankings are a combination of the previous year's results and recruiting, I don't understand how these two teams ended where they did. Good thing for both of these teams: They both lost to bad opponents.
Which brings us to the conclusion:
Although the BCS is gone, the ranking system that enveloped it's entire time is still in tact. Currently we have a ranking system in place that stays until about week 8. It's pointless to put rankings on these teams. Everyone is fighting but no one will see the truth until the committee come's out with it's top 4. Every conference swings from time to time. For a while it was the ACC which was taking recruits from California and Texas. Since then, it's been all SEC. I understand giving any team which is in this conference a chance to compete early for a top 4, but placing a team like Arkansas at 18 when they finished 7-6 over all and 2-6 in conference play is atrocious.
Conclusion: We run a modified BCS system. Same drama, except with a tiny playoff.
Of the top 10 teams, only 1 played a ranked team (Alabama). I'm a Wisconsin fan myself, but I kept my cool on this game way before coming in. I knew that Wisconsin is NO WHERE near Alabama's recruiting level. So I almost expected a loss.
So let's take a look at last year's 4 playoff teams and analyze what they did, or didn't do. Then we'll move on to the actual ranking.
Rankings are as of this season, teams are the final 4 of last season.
#1 Ohio State. They have not played yet so no judgement.
3. Alabama. I've never looked at Alabama and said "that's a high scoring team". I've always thought of Alabama as a Python. They use their defense to constrict any team they play. Offense is always a product of where the defense can get the ball to. This year is no different. They have a very potent offense which can score from any point on the field. The defense speaks for itself. They destroyed the Badgers and took away the only weapon Wisconsin has had for the last 5 years, the run game.
#7 Oregon. They won 61-42 over a team that should not have scored more than 20. I know Oregon has a potent offense. But just like the ducks proved last year, they do not have the defense to compliment such a great offense. On the plus side, if the Ducks do find themselves in a showdown against a similar up tempo offense they will hang around much longer than any other team wants. Easily able to outscore opponents and take advantage of mistakes.
#10 Florida State. FSU has been full of the Jameis Winston distraction for well over 2 years. They key question was: Can the Seminoles win without Winston. Although Texas State doesn't really present the ability to answer this question, FSU was able to run up the scoreboard. I would say this leaves them at Neutral.
Winner of last year's big 4: Alabama.
Side Notes.
Rankings as of current.
2. TCU. I would love, LOVE the opportunity to roast this entire squad. I don't think Minnesota is a top of the pack Big 10 team. They are in the middle with Wisconsin and Nebraska. TCU is supposed to have this Air Raid offensive system that annihilated every team in it's path last season. Due to the amount of starters returning on offense, TCU was supposed to blow their way to the Big 12 games. Minnesota didn't really play that well and still came within a touchdown of beating the Horned Frogs. Not too good if you ask me. If TCU is indeed the top of the conference, I would downgrade the Big
Stanford and Arizona State. Neither of these teams should have been ranked. Even though the preseason rankings are a combination of the previous year's results and recruiting, I don't understand how these two teams ended where they did. Good thing for both of these teams: They both lost to bad opponents.
Which brings us to the conclusion:
Although the BCS is gone, the ranking system that enveloped it's entire time is still in tact. Currently we have a ranking system in place that stays until about week 8. It's pointless to put rankings on these teams. Everyone is fighting but no one will see the truth until the committee come's out with it's top 4. Every conference swings from time to time. For a while it was the ACC which was taking recruits from California and Texas. Since then, it's been all SEC. I understand giving any team which is in this conference a chance to compete early for a top 4, but placing a team like Arkansas at 18 when they finished 7-6 over all and 2-6 in conference play is atrocious.
Conclusion: We run a modified BCS system. Same drama, except with a tiny playoff.
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