Golden Nugz 06.05.09
by GopherNation on Jun 5, 2009 3:00 AM CDT
in Golden Nuggets
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PrintPreseason lists are starting to come out. All-Americans, All-Conferences and All-whatever else.
Phil Steel has named Eric Decker to his second team All-American squad and then nine others on his All-Big Ten preseason lists. Suprisingly two of the incoming JUCOs made his lists.
- Eric Decker - 1st Team
- Traye Simmons - 2nd Team
- Hayo Carpenter - 2nd Team
- Jeff Wills - 3rd Team
- Troy Stoudermire - 3rd Team (as kick returner)
- Garret Brown - 3rd Team
- Lee Campbell - 3rd Team
- Marcus Sherels - 3rd Team
- Adam Weber - 4th Team
- Matt Caruful - 4th Team
- Marcus Sherels - 4th Team (this time as a punt returner)
Adam Weber at 4th team? I think he is at least third team material and highly underrated, but that is just one man's opinion.
- Yahoo.com is starting their list of the top 100 players in college football. Eric Decker ranks at 92nd.
- Scout takes a look at the Big Ten schedules. The author says we have the toughest schedule in the league. Best Case...8-4, worst case...2-10, likely...6-6.
- I like these lists. This fanhouse post ranks the top 25 coaches in NCAA basketball. Tubby gets ranked as the 12th best coach in the land, in part because of his quick rebuilding job here in Minnesota.
- I have really loved this short series by Stop n Pop over at Canis Hoopus debunking common misconceptions about the Wolves offseason. What type of player should they draft? Is the local media asking the right questions about the coaching decision Kahn has to make? Great stuff and a great blog.
- Finally, three Gopher baseball freshman were named as "Louisville Slugger" Freshman All-Americans
AJ Petterson (Minnetonka)
Nick O'Shea (Blaine)
Justin Gominski (Mahtomedi)
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Alright GN -
To move Adam Weber up, you’ve got to move someone else down. Here is how I rate the Big Ten QBs, on performance and potential, which is what I’m sure Steele used as his benchmarks too:
(1) Juice Williams (Illinois)
(2) Darryl Clark (PSU)
(3) Ricky Stanzi (Iowa)
(4) Terrelle Pryor (tOSU)
(5) Weber (Minnesota)
(6) Tate Forcier (Michigan)
(7) Mike Kafka (NW)
(8) Whoever starts for MSU
(9) Whoever starts for Wisconsin
(10) Ben Chappell (Indiana)
(11) Whoever starts for Purdue.
I personally think Weber is overrated by Steele. Weber may be good, but the fact remains his record as a starter is 8-17.
2 things.
1 – Juice Williams is not the best QB in the league and might be the most overrated player in the country. To put him on top is crazy in my opinion (I know many may agree with you, but that is what I feel). Excellent athlete but watch him throw the ball over the course of a game, he misses wide open receivers on a regular basis. He threw 16 INTs in his junior season (4.2% of his passes were INTs), on your list I would put him 5th.
2 – I can understand the logic and there are some good QBs in the league. But I guess my point is that he is highly underrated. Clark and Pryor are the top two but I think you could make a strong argument that Weber is the third best QB in the Big Ten. He greatly improved from 2007 to 2008 and put up good numbers behind what was a brutal offensive line with NO running game. Stanzi had a good year and turned around Iowa’s season but he had lots of help up front and a decent RB that defenses had to gameplan for.
anyway, I understand you can make good arguments for 5 or 6 B10 QBs that they are one of the best. I don’t have a huge problem with Steele putting Weber on his 4th team, just was a little surprised that a two year starter who threw for 2,700 yards last year (and was in Rittenberg’s top 30) . Weber was one of two returning B10 QBs who threw INT’s on less than 2% of their passes… Clark-1.87% and Weber-1.95%. Or better yet. Every 51.25 passes Weber threw and INT, Juice for instance threw and INT every 23.8 passes. AND he was sacked 31 times (by far the most last year).
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
Gotcha....
A couple counter points:
(1) In combining past performance and future potential, there can’t be much question in the rankings above which QB’s have the best combo of both. Juice, Clark and Pryor are the only QB’s in the conference who have played in BCS bowl games. Yeah, they all lost, but they were there. Plus, they all have an upside (well, maybe not Clark as much). Does Weber, in this new offense? I dunno.
Looking at my rankings again, I would flip Stanzi and Pryor.
The question I ask in these rankings, always, is: would I rather have QB “X,” on a good day, over the QB of my team, on a good day? I am definitely sure I’d rather have Juice, Clark, Pryor and Stanzi as my QB, on their respective good days, than Weber in 2009. Juice broke all-purpose yard records in 3 stadiums last year. Clark is a mature leader. Pryor is sick, and Stanzi is the best pro-style QB in the conference.
In 2010, that list may expand to include Forcier, Cousins (MSU), and Kevin Newsome (PSU).
I think that the QB listings also are beholden to what these prognosticators think the team is going to do record-wise. I just read the Athlon preview while checking out at the grocery store last night. They have Northwestern fifth, Michigan 8th and Minnesota 9th this year in conference. Based on that, they unfortunately think Minnesota is due for a 5-7 or 4-8 year. And, if that were to happen, Weber would likely suffer in comparison (lower yards, more INTs).
Don’t forget, also, that Weber’s passing stats may suffer without the November dome games (although looking back to 2008 that may not be much). Illinois, with a run-option for Juice, may be better suited to handling a snowy / cold day, and getting Juice better stats, than Weber in the pro-style. I reserve the right to change my mind on November 7th.
Now, if Illinois goes 4-8 this year and Minnesota goes 11-1, well, Weber is better than Juice. But based on what the potential of each QB is on their best day, I don’t think it’s out of line to call Juice the best QB in the conference.
As an example – in 2005, Bryan Cupito had a pretty good year statistically. Chad Henne did not. I think the teams ended up with similar records. Which QB would you have said would be the better bet for success in 2006?
I look at Juice v. Weber much the same. Illinois’s offense is set up for Juice to succeed much more than Minnesota’s is this year. Weber has been hurt and is learning a new scheme. This is year number 4 for Juice in his system, with the added ability to run if he wants (it seems that option is being taken away quite a bit by Fisch).
Illinois at home Vs MN?
How did juice and the Illini do against MN last year at home? Mn as I recall beat them on the road outdoors. Head to Head a Sophmore in Weber beat Juice…..You also are discounting Marquis Gray…he is not on this list, but was near the top of the nation in dual threat QB’s coming out of HS, he is a year older and had as good a spring as anyone in the Big 10.
Uh, I saw the result in 2007....
..and it has little to do with this year. While Juice had three turnovers, including an end of game INT, he did throw for 462 yards.
Weber did well too. I don’t think the 2007 game does much but give Illinois some motivation for this year.
And yeah, Gray played well in the spring. Good for him. If he’s on the field for more than the assorted novelty series (like Vince Young his freshman year) it means Weber is hurt, or the game is out of reach either way. I hope you’re right and he’s in there in a Gopher blowout. I don’t see it happening.
agreed on Weber
but it is way too early to start making prediction on Gray. He could be outstanding but he hasn’t been in uniform for one snap of college ball yet. It isn’t discounting anything just not projecting something on a kid who has done nothing yet.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
Top 25 Coaches List About Right
Where is Billy Gillispie?
Right where he belongs.
Fired.
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