Bleacher Report - Articles by Edmon

Counting Chickens: 2009 Florida Gator Schedule

Edmon — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:37:49 -0500

Old Aesop knew a thing or two about life lessons.

He taught me that slow and steady wins the race, that greed can ruin a perfect situation, and how no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. His stories make sense and can be applied to everyday life, so why am I not heeding the fable of “The Milkmaid and her Pail?”

The story goes that Patty, a farmer's daughter, is daydreaming as she walks to town with a pail of milk balanced on her head. Her thoughts:

"The milk in this pail will provide me with cream, which I will make into butter, which I will sell in the market, and buy a dozen eggs, which will hatch into chickens, which will lay more eggs, and soon I shall have a large poultry yard. I'll sell some of the fowls and buy myself a handsome new gown and go to the fair, and when the young fellows try to make love to me, I'll toss my head and pass them by."

At that moment, Patty tossed her head and lost the pail full of milk. Her mother admonished, "Do not count your chickens before they are hatched."

When you have Mr. Heisman (not of the Sam Bradford type) returning for a senior year, things look good. When you are also returning 11 starters on defense, things are looking great.

Mix in a little Urban Meyer and a dash of Charlie Strong and you have the beginning of a pretty unbelievable recipe (I hope it calls for asiago cheese). Also throw in the fact that Florida will likely be No. 1 in the polls (oh, how I hate preseason polls, another rant for another time).

Oh, I still haven’t gotten to the kicker yet, have I? Florida’s schedule is extremely favorable.

How favorable? Take a look for yourself:

Sat. Sept. 5 Charleston Southern

Sat. Sept. 12 Troy

Sat. Sept. 19 Tennessee

Sat. Sept. 26 at Kentucky (Lexington, KY)

Sat. Oct. 10 at LSU (Baton Rouge, LA)

Sat. Oct. 17 Arkansas (Homecoming)

Sat. Oct. 24 at Mississippi State (Starkville, MS)

Sat. Oct. 31 Georgia (Jacksonville, FL)

Sat. Nov. 7 Vanderbilt

Sat. Nov. 14 at South Carolina (Columbia, SC)

Sat. Nov. 21 Florida International

Sat. Nov. 28 Florida State

The upside: No Bama or Ole Miss

The downside: One game, just one small miscue, one daydreaming Saturday afternoon will send Florida from L.A. to LA.

Troy is a tricky team. (I just heard representatives from LSU and Florida State say AMEN.) WLOCP will be slightly less exciting with two first-rounders gone. Florida State could finally show signs of life next year, but the biggest test will come from the school of jacking cell phone numbers.

LSU will certainly have Oct. 10 circled in Sharpie (or their favorite generic brand permanent marker). Why? Because LSU wants to play spoiler and improve their odds.

2006 National Champion: Florida

2007 National Champion: LSU

2008 National Champion: Florida

LSU just figures it’s their turn again. I’m sure most LSU and Florida fans would love to alternate national championships, but I’m too busy counting chickens.

I hope I’m right and that my chickens don’t come home to roost. I’m going to run to Chick-Fil-A and get me an eight-piece with a sweet tea now. Then go home and watch Armageddon and hope that “Chick” gets to see his son again.

Okay, I better end this before the sky starts falling.

10 Things I Learned From the National Championship Game

Edmon — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:30:15 -0500

Florida’s Defense Was As Advertised

Heisman Trophy winner. Record-breaking offense. Don’t tell that to Charlie Strong and his underclassman-filled defense.

The Gators did what few have been able to do, and that is get pressure on quarterback Sam Bradford.

When the defensive line couldn’t get to the Heisman winner, they made sure Bradford had to throw it into small windows. The goal-line stand and Ahmad Black’s interception will long be remembered from this game.

After an impressive 2006 season and this year’s championship game, Charlie Strong will be fielding a lot of calls. While Urban Meyer and fans in Gainesville, FL will miss him, he’ll be a great head coach somewhere.

Oklahoma’s Defense Was Better Than Advertised

All the talk was that the Big 12 doesn’t play defense. Forcing Florida’s quarterback Tim Tebow to duplicate his number of interceptions for the year in one game is no easy feat. They also bottled up Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey.

If you’re grading on the curve, Florida’s defense gets an A+. Oklahoma’s is right behind with an A-.

Brent Venables earned a lot of respect last night. I expect him to be a head coach soon as well.

Bob Stoops Can Coach

If I said that you would coach against Bobby Bowden, Pete Carroll, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer in championship games and win one of four, I think you’d be happy with that result.

Bob Stoops and Oklahoma aren’t overrated, they just had some bad matchups against great coaches.

Percy Harvin Is a BEAST

Okay, I didn’t just learn that. I’ve known that for three years.

He just reconfirmed it to the nation and the NFL last night. He was only at 85-90 percent, folks! If he can ever get healthy and stay healthy, he’ll be a playmaker in the NFL.

Jermaine Gresham Is Also Beastly

Mr. Gresham, there’s a call for you. It’s the Pro Bowl; it wants to know what you’ll be doing for the next ten years.

Tim Tebow Can Make Mistakes

Tebow matched his season total in interceptions in one half of football with two.

Fortunately for him and the Gator nation, he was also superb. What Florida lacked on first and second down, Tebow made up for on third. He led the Gators to 12 first downs in 17 attempts.

I’m Not a Fan of ACC Officials

I’m usually for unsportsmanlike conduct flags, but the ACC officials used their yellow hankies a little liberally in the first quarter.

In the process, the game slowed and it was visually painful.

Before I get bombarded with comments, I believe that Tebow deserved his.

The Triple Option Will Be the Craze in 2009

Get ready, folks. Stock up on plutonium; warm up your DeLorean, because we’re going back to the future.

Georgia Tech has done mighty well this year using the old throwback.

Florida, on the other hand, uses it a tad bit differently. Just like a normal option run with a minor wrinkle, tight end Aaron Hernandez runs in right behind the defenders.

It’s a game of pick your poison for defensive ends and linebackers after that. Do you cover the talented tight end, the Heisman-winning quarterback or the track star running back?

Expect to see a lot more teams using this play in 2009.

Urban Meyer Has Surpassed Steve Spurrier

It’s hard to imagine that, in four years, Meyer has supplanted the "Ol’ Ball Coach.”

Even if he only stays around until young Nate graduates, Meyer will have a statue and his name etched in Florida lore.

The University of Florida Is THE National Champion of the 2008 Season

I’m willing to concede that Utah is great and they would have battled well with Florida, but when it’s all said and done, Florida won the BCS and the AP (which I don’t put that much stock in) National Championships.

There will be fans that want to tarnish or discredit this championship. They’ll do so in the name of their own team or their wish for a playoff.

BONUS: What I Learned from Barack Obama

Obama wants a playoff to determine a National Championship, not a head to head battle.

To me, it seems kind of ironic that he belongs to a party that, along with the Republican Party, made it impossible for anyone not from those two parties to participate in Presidential Debates. Glass houses, Mr. President-elect, glass houses.

10 Things I Learned About College Football This Year

Edmon — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:57:02 -0500

1. Even if the Florida Gators leave Miami with the trophy, the SEC’s crown has been taken. The Big XII has moved on from their Big II days. Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Missouri are all doing well. Does that mean the SEC’s run be over? With only a few teams losing QBs, it could be on its way back up...

2. Returning a QB means a lot more than ever. With spread offenses everywhere, it’s become more and more important. Ask Oklahoma, Florida, and Texas how important it is. LSU and Michigan were hit hard by trying to replace that all important offensive position. You can have the nicest car in the world, but if it doesn't have an engine it won't be seeing interstate speeds.

3. Freshmen are more important than ever. Terrelle Pryor saved what looked to be a lost season for the Buckeye faithful. Julio Jones set the tone for Bama’s breakout season. Janoris Jenkins secondary play has the Gators thinking two in three. Jacquizz Rodgers made more than a few fans this year with his exciting runs for the Beavers.

4. That in a three way tie, you go with the head to head argument. We all know the game; paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper. If you take out rock’s victory against scissors, of course paper should stand triumphantly. Unfortunately, you can’t dismiss such in a three way tie.

5. You can have the most first place votes and still not win the Heisman. So Tim Tebow wins the most first place votes and gets left off the most ballots. This just seems odd to me. Guess the non-stop media love has its backlash. Who would have thought? To be honest, you couldn’t really argue with whoever won the award, they were all deserving.

6. That the voting system for awards is completely unpredictable. Davey O’Brien Award goes to Sam Bradford, Maxwell Award goes to Tim Tebow, and the Walter Camp Award goes to Colt McCoy. That was the easy part. Tebow wasn’t including in the O’Brien, all three were included in the Walter Camp (likely due to five finalist instead of three, but Bradford was left Maxwell).

This is like little league where everyone gets a trophy. Well, everyone but the QB that had 4747 yards, 41 TDs, and a passer rating of 163.03. Take a long look around folks. You might not see a group of QBs like this again. Well, until next year. As all but one has eligibility left.

7. That Ohio State’s two straight BCS losses can hurt Penn State’s title hopes. Everyone outside of the state of Pennsylvania took a deep sigh of breathe when Daniel Murray’s field goal dashed the hopes of Nittany Lion fans waiting and hoping to show that they didn’t have a lot in common with their Big Ten brethren. Voters and fans rejoiced at the thought of a BCS title game that might be competitive. Somehow the Big 10 has been relegated to MAC, Mountain West and WAC respect.

8. No matter how the season ends, most of the fans on the internet won’t be happy. You’d of thought I would have known this by now. The internet is good for a few things; porn, checking scores, anonymous non-stop complaining. There is a reason you don’t here playoffs talk until the end of the season. That’s usually when said anonymous complainer writes about the NEED for a playoff. College football is quickly approaching the NFL on terms of fans and income revenue. I doubt that it “needs” to do anything to fix its product.

9. The race card is used so often, that sometimes we become numb to it. When I first began hearing about the subject of minority coaches, I passed it off as someone trying to stir the pot. But after reading this article (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/93013-college-football-its-not-just-racism-its-cronyism), I’ve opened my eyes a little wider to whole subject.

10. Hearing the coach talk about another job and the QB state that he’s “50-50” on leaving will give heartburn. This might be a little bit of exaggeration, but I am sweating it. With Urban Meyer stating that Notre Dame is still his dream job and that certain Heisman winner, things are a little tense in Florida. Throw that along with the fact that the Florida Gators play in this little game on the 8th of Jan.

Did I mention that Florida weighs a whole offensive coordinator less? Who would have thought the guy that fans wanted out in September was the glue that held Florida together?

All Playoff Systems Are Just As Flawed As The BCS System

Edmon — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:02:38 -0400

With college football opening up this past week, there's been lots of talk about playoffs. Okay, there are always talks about playoffs.

Every college football fan has an opinion. Some have even gone so far as to propose a 32-team playoff.

I actually like the idea of a plus one with No. 1 playing No. 4 and No. 2 playing No. 3.

You know the quote about excuses being like ***holes, well, it fits for playoff proposals.

Every playoff scenario I can think of is flawed. Don't think the BCS stands alone. Let's take a look at a few.

NBA Playoffs

Last year’s Atlanta Hawks are a perfect showing of why the NBA playoffs are flawed. Going 37 and 45 and making the playoffs is lunacy if you ask me. They shouldn't have been anyone near a basketball court during playoff time.

NCAA March Madness

Have you ever played Hungry Hungry Hippos? Yep, that's the college basketball version of a playoff. Does the Hungriest Hippo usually win? Seldom. If the balls (little white marbles) happen to bounce your way, you too could be the National Champion of college basketball.

Major League Baseball and National Football League

How I hate Wild Cards. One definition for wild card is "an unknown or unpredictable factor". MLB and the NFL insert wild cards to spice things up. It's good for TV, but not great for finding a true champion (is there such a thing?). With Wild Cards, they are just promoting mediocrity.

I know college football has its imperfections, but to me, it's slowly working on fixing them. Remember just a short time ago, No. 1 and No. 2 wouldn't play within two hundred miles of each other. With apologizes to Auburn, rarely has the BCS missed out on its annual one versus two.

Worst College Football Excuses

Edmon — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:46:55 -0400

1. Look at their out of conference schedule/in conference schedule

Example: All the conference hate/love fest.

You guys know how it goes. “Your conference isn’t tough”… "Your out of conference games are all against high school teams”. Forget all of that. Take a look at the whole schedule and go from there.

2. That player won’t be good in the NFL/He’ll be a bust in the NFL

Example: Reggie Bush, Dennis Dixon

We as fans… and human beings love to build things up just so we can watch them crash. Just tune into VH1 and watch any of their “reality TV shows” for more proof.

3. That coach inherited that team

Example: Urban Meyer, Les Miles

Both coaches brought their teams to the promis land of a BCS title. It took Meyer two years and Miles three. That’s two-three years of coaching these players. I think they deserve more credit for coaching these players up than a coach who saw talent.

4. He’s a system player

Example: Colt Brennan, Pat White

Last time I checked, all players played in a system.

5. Our team beat a team that that beat a team that your team lost to

Example: Every team that loses a game

Teams change from week to week. You think the Stanford team that beat USC shows up every week? Michigan demonstrated they weren’t the same team against Florida as they were against Appalachian State.

6. Yeah, we lost a few game early, but we were playing better than anyone else late in the season

Example: Georgia, USC

Just because you’re the hottest team late in the season doesn’t mean you deserve a chance at the ‘ship. This isn’t MLB or NFL where the Wild Card can come in on fire and wreak havoc. You have to take account the whole season.

7. The last coach left in shambles.

Example: Notre Dame

Yes, Notre Dame, I’m looking at you. What are you going to complain about in a few years when you are still mediocre? Ty Willingham can only take so much of the blame.

8. That doesn’t count. That’s when we had (fired coach).

Example: Ron Zook

I’m guilty of this one. I should know better, but I just can’t help myself. As much as I would like to rid the record books of those three years, I can’t. I can have selected memory though if someone brings it up. It makes me feel better.

9. They jumped us in the final BCS standings. That’s unfair.

Example: Georgia, Michigan

Do me a favor Georgia and Michigan fans. Take off your homer glasses and take one long good look at your season, then take a long look at who ended up taking “your place”. Doesn’t it feel good to let go?

10. If anyone ever starts their sentence with “if” run as fast as you can away from them.

Roughly, fans of about 116 team will use this phrase as much as “next year”.