Bleacher Report - Articles by Julian Rosario

Which College Football Teams are Real and Which are Fake?

Julian Rosario — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:03:10 -0400

Saturday showed me a lot about my early views on the early college football season. Besides the fact that some of the rule changes and the way that they are interpreted are ridiculous, I was shown to be right and wrong on quite a few teams.

Florida

Sorry to say, but I am no longer sold that Florida can win a national title. I was extremely impressed with Tim Tebow's ability to throw the football, as highly underrated as that seems to be, I am not sold that this defense can get them out of the SEC!

Miami also seemed to dominate the offensive line time and time again, and Miami showed that youth can be served, and they may be able to win the pathetic ACC.

I think the only reason the 26-3 score was as one-sided as it looked is because the Miami defense was not being able to adequately rest because of the young offense's inability to keep them on the sidelines.

This team could struggle if they do not fix these things.

Penn State

By far, the most impressive team this weekend had to be Penn State. They destroyed Oregon State, slapping them around as if they were an FCS team.

I was not only impressed by Evan Royster, who ran all over the OSU defense, but Darryl Clark, who should have silenced doubters about his grip on the offense.

Seemed to me that Clark can keep a play alive while hitting that ridiculously talented receiving corps in Jordan Norwood, Derrick Williams, and Deon Butler.

Clark is accurate and strong-armed, and if I'm a future opponent of Penn State, I would fear that combo.

East Carolina

After beating a overrated Virginia Tech team, ECU played West Virginia at home, and proved that beating VTech was not enough to them this year, that they want more.

They held Pat White well below the standard that he normally puts up and shut down WVU, holding them to a lonely field goal.

Everybody has BYU as the team to break through and be this years BCS buster, but I will go out on a limb and say that ECU can be there.

They play in C-USA, and there are few challenges in that conference, if they stay out of their own way.

Georgia

I do not understand why people think Georgia cannot manage this schedule. I think this is the second-most talented team in the country. I understand that USC may be more talented, but I think Georgia has enough to get out the hardest conference in America, the SEC!

I mean, the injuries can take a toll, but you can see this team can just plug another cog right in the machine and continue pushing through. Knowshon Moreno is the real deal, and I like what Caleb King provides as a backup.

Matthew Stafford seems way above the levels that he needs to get to in order for Georgia to win and win big. And I think this defense can terrorize Rudy Carpenter and Tim Tebow.

As for LSU and the rest of the teams on the schedule, I do not think they possess enough offensive firepower to keep up, although the defenses are what makes these schools run.

Ohio State

I wonder what Beanie Wells thought as he watched his team struggle against Ohio. "Why the hell are these guys playing, The Vest knows I'm the real reason we are this hyped!!!"

OSU looked horrible all game long, and as far as that defense goes, they were not as good as advertised. I watched this whole game, and realized that as many accolades as James Laurinaitis gets, he missed a lot of open-field tackles.

After laying out Theo Scott early, back-up quarterback Boo Jackson repeatedly escaped the pocket and showed what the Ohio State defense lacks, and that's complete athleticism all around the field.

Against USC and other potential opponents, that will be a problem.

Oklahoma

I hate to say it, but as a Longhorns fan, I fear the Sooners. Sam Bradford was my sleeper for a Heisman run, and he backed up my hype with his performance last night against Cincy.

I think that this year's Red River Shootout will be great, one of the best games this year, but I wonder what scheme Will Muschamp will come up with to slow down this offense.

DeMarco Murray just reminds me so much of Adrian Peterson, and we see what he does on a weekly basis. I mean, this OU team looks like it hits the field saying any team that opposes us has hell to pay.

They have been a disappointment in the last four BCS games that they have appeared in, and Bob Stoops has seemingly said enough is enough. I just cannot hold my impatience for the Red River Shootout!

Overall, some of the games were highly entertaining. I think once some more of these non-conference match-ups come out, we will have a lot to discuss. Until then, people have some hype to live up to, or falter like Clemson.(HAHA, Tommy Bowden)

Where Are My World Series Rings Yankees???

Julian Rosario — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:49:18 -0400

The turn of the century brought much anticipation for the New York Yankees. One being a birth-right, another World Series title, which would have made five in the last six years, and of course, four in a row.

However, after losing a heart-breaking seven game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who deserved to win just as much as the Yankees did, we hit a period where results were not matching the insane contracts that were not justified with the play on the field.

As I relive these contracts, please just remember, we applauded these contracts as they were given out. =[

Jason Giambi

Contract: Seven years, $120 Million

As one of the few Yankees that are not only still on the team, but actually still hit the field, I can't be as hard on Giambi as other Yankee free agent signings. However, that being said, Giambi was paid a ton of money, and was expected to anchor the middle of the Yankees lineup.

In the first two years, he averaged .282 with 41 HR's and 115 RBI's. Then came the first sign of trouble, as Giambi got hurt and played only 80 games the next season, hitting only .208 with 12 HR's and 40 RBI's. He rebounded nicely in the next two seasons, averaging .262 with 35 HR's and 109 RBI's.

However, trouble followed him every step of the way as the steroid scandal that rocked baseball hit home as Jason Giambi admitted to using steroids, even apologizing for it. Once again, he struggled, hitting only .236 with 14 HR's and 39 RBI's while playing in only 83 games.

He's never been even an average defensive first baseman, which further weakens his value. He's once again rebounded nicely this season, hitting .250 with 25 HR's and 77 RBI's thus far this season. His stat line as a Yankee reads:

Eight seasons, .254 BA, 29 HR's and 84 RBI's. Decent, but not what we expected, especially with the weight of expectations in New York City.

Carl Pavano

Contract: Four years, $39.95 Million

What can I possibly say about the "American Idle" that has not already been said. He's been the most effective example of "bust" in the free agency era. The thing that disturbs me is that he had one good year, and he is suddenly worth $40 million????

Not only has Carl Pavano proved that he has not been worth the investment, even his own teammates have called him out, including Mike Mussina, who has never been the spokesman for his own team.

His first year, in which he appeared 17 times, he compiled a 4-6 record with a 4.77 ERA, not exactly what we were expecting from a guy coming off a 18-8 season with an ERA right at 3.00.

Since that opening season, a flurry of injuries, including shoulder, back, butt, and elbow injuries, caused him to missed all of the 2006 season, and appear in just three games since 2005. Not to mention the broken ribs, which were broken in a car accident that he told nobody about. His stat line as a Yankee reads:

Four seasons, 20 appearance, 6-6 record with a 4.98 ERA. Completely HORRIBLE!!!!

Kei Igawa

Contract: 5 years, $20 Million, plus $26 Million paid to Hanshin Tigers

Kei Igawa was once regarded as one of the better pitchers in the Japanese baseball league, and considered one of the good to great Japanese baseball exports. Sad to say, that has not been the case, as this guy as been horrible every time he has stepped on the mound.

This guy has been so horrible, when the discussion of who to bring up from Triple A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he is no where near consideration, even as horrible as the health of the Yankee pitching staff has been.

He's almost as horrible as Carl Pavano, expect for his reasons for being off the roster have been pitching-related, not injury. His stat line as a Yankee reads:

Two seasons, 16 appearances, 2-4 with a 6.66 ERA. Pathetic!!!!!!!!

Jaret Wright

Contract: Three years, $21 Million

Jaret Wright was once a highly touted prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization and a key cog for the team's run to the 1997 AL Pennant and World Series berth. After two bad years and five injury plagued ones, Wright found what seemed to be his niche during the 2004 season in Atlanta, going a solid 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA.

He parlayed that success into a freshly minted contract and a newly stitched Yankees jersey. However, Brian Cashman should have taken the hints from the Atlanta scouts when they didn't extend a contract offer to Jaret, as he returned to his previous form.

He hit the mound for the Yankees just 13 times in 2005, going 5-5 with 6.08 ERA. He followed that with some improvement, going 11-7 with a 4.49 ERA. However, after that season he was no longer able to call himself a New York Yankee, as he was traded to division rival Baltimore. His stat line as a Yankee reads:

Two seasons, 43 appearances, 16-12 with a 5.29 ERA. Run out of New York!!!!

In the end, there are plenty more infamous blow-ups that involve bad players(Hideki Irabu, to give one example) But the point of the matter is there have been no World Series championships won since 2000. In New York City, that is unacceptable.

What Could Make the Texas Longhorns a BCS Title Contender?

Julian Rosario — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:19:40 -0400

As we prepare for yet another interesting season of Texas Longhorns football, there are a few questions that need to be addressed to have that level of success happen.

Unfortunately, these questions cannot be answered in 20 minutes in spring and fall practices. These question marks are:

1. Colt McCoy

The Colt McCoy we saw last year was DEFINITELY NOT the Colt McCoy that made Mack Brown look like a genius for choosing him over true freshman Jevan Snead. However, McCoy took a major regression from his freshman to his sophomore year.

He went from throwing a freshman record-tying 29 touchdowns with only seven interceptions to throwing only 22 touchdowns with 18 interceptions.

Not all the blame can be placed upon McCoy, as the injury to deep threat Limas Sweed and the inability of the offensive line to gel together attributed to his failures.

During the off-season, McCoy seems to have rounded back into form, but that doesn't mean the question has been answered.

2) Replacing Jamaal Charles

Even though I feel Jamaal Charles was easily one of the most over-hyped athletes in Longhorn football history, the man put up some impressive numbers.

He carried the football 258 times for 1,619 yards and 18 touchdowns. I don't care what anybody says, that is production. However, his deficiencies, including his inability to run proper routes out of the backfield and pass protect, absolutely killed me.

The highly regarded performance against Nebraska, in which Charles ran wild for 290 yards and three touchdowns, doesn't shock me because, well, the Nebraska defense was horrendous last year.

I sat there watching that game and thought to myself, "Why can't Jamaal Charles put that out every Saturday?" I am not exactly too worried, as highly regarded recruit Foswhitt Whitaker, junior Vondrell McGee, and Chris Ogbonnaya should be able to step up for the unexpected loss of Jamaal Charles.

Whitaker is proving to be the explosive play-maker in the mold of Charles, but he has yet to take the field.

3) Will Muschamp

Texas decided to let go of Larry MacDuff in favor of Will Muschamp, the architect of one of the top defenses at Auburn. Muschamp follows former Texas Longhorns DC and current Iowa State Cyclones head coach Gene Chizik to The Forty Acres.

If you remember, Gene Chizik was the architect of the ferocious defense that helped Vince Young lead the Longhorns to a BCS National Title in 2005. As the 2007 season progressed, the Longhorns defense played with "little to no passion," according to defensive back Deon Beasley.

Muschamp's defenses at Auburn were far from that, playing with passion unlike any other playing in the SEC. The aggressive nature in which Muschamp likes to have his defense plays should make for a very interesting year from the defense.

With the spread becoming the offensive style of choice, teams were able to throw all over the Texas defense, and with Muschamp around, I don't envision a repeat of that.

4. Sergio Kindle

Heralded as the best recruit of the Mack Brown era at the University of Texas, Sergio is far from fulfilling the promise he pulled along with him as he arrived in Austin. Slowed by injuries and suspensions, Kindle returns for a junior season in which he should be the player of attention in the Will Muschamp scheme.

A physical specimen, Kindle has the speed, strength, and athleticism to get to the quarterback at will. He will have to be the anchor of a defensive unit that returns only four starters from last year. He seems poised and ready to claim the leadership role that has had his name seemingly written all over it.

The "X" Factor: Playing with The Pride of Texas

"WHEN U RUN THROUGH THE TUNNEL ON GAMEDAY, iT'S SHOWTiME. YOU SEE THE STADiUM PACKED WiTH FANS, BEVO ON THE SiDELiNE AND YOUR TEAMMATES GETTiN CHARGED UP. NOW iT'S TiME TO GO OUT THERE AND PLAY WiTH THE PRiDE OF TEXAS. THERE iSNT ANYTHiNG LiKE iT iN THiS WORLD"- ROD BABERS, FORMER TEXAS DB

Rod Babers, a former star defensive back at the University of Texas, says it best. There is no better feeling to the guys that suit up every Saturday at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

You run out that tunnel and see 80,000 plus fans wearing the burnt orange of Texas, and you better put in your best effort for those fans. The Eyes of Texas football legends watch and scrutinize every move.

THE EYES OF TEXAS ARE UPON YOU!!!!!!!!