Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2010 Missouri Football Predictions

!±8± 2010 Missouri Football Predictions

The Missouri Tigers head into the 2010 season with 16 starters back, eight on each side of the ball, and have to be thinking they have a great shot at taking down Nebraska for the Big 12 North title. The Tigers finished the season 8-5 in 2009, but were just 4-4 in conference play. The Tigers have racked up five straight winning seasons under head coach Gary Pinkel, and I see no reason why that streak doesn't get pushed to six in 2010. Here is a quick preview of what the Tigers will look like this season, plus my prediction on where they finish the season in the Big 12 North.

Offense:

The Tigers continue to produce top notch players at the quarterback position, and they have to love what they got in junior to be Blaine Gabbert, who stepped in and threw for 3,593 yards with 24 touchdowns to just 9 interceptions in his first full season as a starter. Gabbert is already considered one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12, and I think we could see some huge numbers put up by this kid in 2010.

Gabbert will have to go to work without his two top threats in the passing game, as the Tigers lose Danario Alexander and Jared Perry, who combined for 2,477 yards and 20 touchdowns. The Tigers do bring back starting wide out Wes Kemp and one of the top tight ends in the Big 12 in Andrew Jones, but for this unit to produce big again in 2010, the Tigers will need junior Jerrell Jackson and sophomore TJ Moe to step in and make a big impact as starters this season.

The Tigers welcome back senior running back Derrick Washington, who had a team best 865 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2009. Washington ran for 1,036 yards in 2008, and I think we are going to see him break the 1,000 yard mark again this season.

One reason Washington figures to get back on track in 2010, is the offensive line comes in very experienced with four starters returning. The only change will come at right guard, where junior Jayson Palmgren looks to make his way into the starting lineup. The Tigers have two of the top tackles in the conference in Dan Hoch and Elvis Fisher, but the leader of this group is the highly talented senior center Tim Barnes.

Defense:

The Tigers had just four starters back on defense last season, but still managed to improve against both the pass and the run. This year with eight starters back, the Tigers are hoping for an even bigger improvement on this side of the ball.

One reason the defense improved was the outstanding play of red-shirt freshman defensive end Aldon Smith, who earned Big 12

Defensive Freshman of the Year after finishing the season with 64 tackles and a team best 11.5 sacks. The Tigers also bring back junior defensive tackle Dominique Hamilton, who will welcome fellow junior Terrell Resonno into the starting lineup at the other defensive tackle spot this season. Junior Jacquies Smith looks to earn the other starting job at the open defensive end slot. Smith had 39 tackles and 1.5 sacks in his sophomore season as a backup.

At linebacker the Tigers bring back two starters in senior weak-side linebacker Andrew Gachkar and junior middle linebacker Will Ebner, but the big question is how will this team make up for the loss of strong-side linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, who was a first round pick in this year's NFL draft. Heading into the fall it looks like sophomore Zaviar Gooden will get the first crack to replace Weatherspoon.

All four starters return in the secondary, led by one of the top corners in all of the Big 12 in senior Carl Gettis, but for this unit to really make an impact this season they have to start creating more turnovers, as the Tigers had just seven interceptions last year.

Prediction - 2nd Big 12 North: The Tigers are a scary team heading into the 2010 season, and figure to give Nebraska all it can handle in the North. The only reason I have the Tigers finishing second in the North this season, is they have to play Nebraska on the road, but a win in Lincoln and the North should belong to the Tigers once again.


2010 Missouri Football Predictions

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Monday, December 26, 2011

NCAA Division 1 FBS Football - Who Will Be The Next to Move Up?

!±8± NCAA Division 1 FBS Football - Who Will Be The Next to Move Up?

In recent years, a number of schools have explored moving up from Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as I-AA) to Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The most recent team to make the move was the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers in 2009. There are four more teams slated to move up in 2012 to 2013, however. These include the University of South Alabama Jaguars, University of Massachusetts "UMass" Minutemen, and the Texas State University - San Marcos Bobcats. A fourth program, the University of Texas - San Antonio Roadrunners, is a startup program without any FCS history that is going directly into FBS.

There are a number of candidates to move-up from FCS to FBS. Knowing who will be the next to move up requires a thorough examination of the college football landscape. There is an arms race going on among major college football programs which has led to conference expansion in major conferences like the PAC-12 and Big Ten as well as huge TV rights deals with conferences as well as individual university networks like the Longhorn Network and BYUtv. Budgets have soared and it has become increasingly expensive to build and operate top notch facilities and provide the best tools for the 85 scholarship football players to compete at the highest level.

While less prestigious conferences like the Mountain West, Mid American Conference, and Conference USA have found it more difficult to keep up financially with the big boys, they will likely benefit in the fact that college football is so popular right now that major TV networks like ESPN and Fox are searching for any type of college football programming they can get, and these conferences are in a position to provide the networks with a reasonable return on a smaller investment. Schools like the University of Montana are likely looking at these TV deals and thinking, while we like the playoff format in FCS, could we potentially benefit from the money and TV exposure that come along with playing in a mid-major FBS conference?

Villanova is actively considering moving from FCS to FBS. Already being a member of the Big East Conference for all other sports, they would be in the enviable position of immediately being a member of an Automatic Qualifier (AQ) conference. Besides the aforementioned University of Montana Grizzlies, other schools that have been most frequently mentioned include the Montana State University Bobcats, Lamar University Cardinals, University of California - Davis Aggies, Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs, and Appalachian State Mountaineers. All these schools, with the exception of Appalachian State, are likely candidates for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) which has been decimated by the defections of Boise State University, University of Hawaii -Manoa, California State University - Fresno, and University of Nevada - Reno. Appalachian State would be a strong candidate for the Sun Belt or possibly even Conference USA. One other program to keep your eye on is the University of North Carolina - Charlotte. They are starting an FCS program in 2013 and might be a program to move up quickly.


NCAA Division 1 FBS Football - Who Will Be The Next to Move Up?

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Youth Football Plays - Passing the Ball

!±8± Youth Football Plays - Passing the Ball

Many youth football plays are designed to be simple so that the young kids on the field won't have too much to think about. Most of the plays try to limit the possibility of mistakes and turnovers. This is why the majority of youth football plays are running plays. However, there are a few passing plays that every youth football team has in their playbook. Two such plays are the tight end dump and the screen.

Most youth football plays will begin with a personnel package of three running backs, a quarterback, five offensive linemen, and two receivers (either split ends, tight ends, or wide receivers). This is the most common personnel package for the tight end dump and the screen as well.

The formation for the tight end dump will be a stacked eye (all three running backs lined up in a line behind the quarterback) and a split end lined-up on each end of the offensive line. The quarterback will take the snap, fake a handoff to the fullback and then dump the ball off to the split end on the right side of the line (tight end dump right) or the split end on the left side of the line (tight end dump left).

At the snap of the ball, all the offensive linemen will try to cut block the defensive linemen - they will dive at their feet and try to knock them down. This is to allow for a passing lane for the quarterback to throw the ball. The split end who is supposed to receive the ball will take one step off of the line of scrimmage and wait to catch the ball.

Another one of the few youth football plays that calls for passing the ball is the screen. This play can be run in a variety of ways. It can involve the quarterback dropping straight back and looking downfield or it can involve the quarterback rolling to the left or the right side of the field.

It doesn't matter what the quarterback does, the split ends and the running back will do the same thing. The split ends will run straight down the field to draw the defensive backs away from the play. The running back will run out to the right (for screen right) or to the left (for screen left). After looking downfield, the quarterback will turn to the running back and throw him the ball.

The harder of these two screens is the one that requires the quarterback to role one way and then throw the screen to the running back on the other side of the field. However, this play also has the potential to work the best. This is because the entire defense will probably flow to the side of the field that the quarterback roles to. So, when the ball is thrown to the other side, the running back should have a lot of running room.

Most youth football plays involve running the ball because it's easier and has less risk than passing the ball. However, there are a few youth football plays that involve throwing the ball. Two great passing plays are the tight end dump and the screen.


Youth Football Plays - Passing the Ball

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