Bleacher Report - Articles by Daniel Gorter

Mardy Gilyard:The Man Who Overcame

Daniel Gorter — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:08:11 -0400

Sudden shock swept over the dread-locked youth standing eerily still. His heart froze at the disheartening news. The significance of the fact slammed into his icy heart, producing a coat of networked cracks that spread across his numb soul.

His heart shattered.

All that his life was built on seemed to crumble from beneath him. The road he had been travelling was barricaded by his own failures. His ambitions were slayed by the sword of his own undoing.

What now?

University of Cincinnati sophomore Mardy Gilyard didn't know.

He had just received news that his scholarship had been nullified do to his poor grades. But this was simply a punch on the shoulder compared to the knockout blow that he had been evicted from on-campus housing for cheating on an exam.

He had nowhere to go, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Mardy endured a long, grueling four months of life on the streets. His shelter at night: a car borrowed from his fiancee's brother. He worked four different jobs, construction worker, cook, sales representative, and deliveryman, struggling to pay his debts while meeting his most basic needs.

Seventeen-hour days of strenuous work blurred into nights cramped in a car, yearning for change to come and save the day, for a chance to escape this life on the streets.

It was just salt in his wounds when he learned that his grandfather had died.

Mardy was at an all-time low.

But Mardy pulled through it, in large part due to his family and fiancee's support, and his regular praying. In his spare time he would be on the phone with his fiancee, sharing about his difficulties and opening up his heart. She would assure him that he would make it through those tough times.

Cincinnati Bearcats football head coach Brian Kelly was responsible for Mardy's return to the campus, classes, and athletics at the University. He restored Mardy's scholarship, and the young man returned to the football team and life on campus.

Mardy was changed, transformed. Determined to not let himself slip into the immaturity that he had yielded to in the past, he let the kind, caring, compassionate young man that had always been within him flourish.

A self-acknowledged "sucker" for kids, Mardy joined Wesley Chapel Mission Center as a part-time counselor. He mentored, encouraged, and empathized with inner-city youth that endured hardships and struggles. His dedication to service and his faith-fueled care for others was apparent to all who knew and met him.

His return to the gridiron allowed him to thrive as a football player. Two years and 26 games later, Gilyard is now expected to be a top prospect for the 2010 NFL draft, and is considered one of the best wide receivers in college football.

His first year back was nothing to laugh at, as he posted 536 receiving yards and three touchdowns. But he exploded in 2008, hauling in 81 passes for 1,276 yards, including seven 100-yard games, and 11 touchdowns.

He also shined on special teams; accumulating 944 yards off kick returns, including two that he brought to the house.

His talented play allowed the University of Cincinnati to go 11-3 and win the Big East Championship in 2008.

Even through this success, Gilyard's tender heart has shone brilliantly.

Just one example occurred after Gilyard caught a near-touchdown pass. Bolting forward with unstoppable momentum, he avoided a wall and crashed through an entrance to the stands, bulldozing a kid in the process.

Forgetting about his disputed near-touchdown catch; he ripped off his helmet and immediately checked whether the kid was okay. Picking the boy up, Gilyard gave him a long, gentle hug.

Gilyard's story is a story of a man that overcame, a man that overcame life on the streets, but most importantly, a man that overcame his past and its problems.

Whether he’s hauling in touchdown passes on the turf, or counseling troubled kids at a mission center, Mardy Gilyard is a walking and talking story of triumph over adversity.

I would like to cite two articles, Daily Press's "Bearcats receiver turning it around" by Juan Rodriguez and Post-Gazette's "Cincinnati's Gilyard making amends" by Chuck Finder, for providing key, though not exclusive, information for this article.

Why Tim Tebow Will Succeed in the NFL

Daniel Gorter — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:22:13 -0400

Superman. It's what they call him. I can see why. Two BCS Championships. A Heisman trophy. Plenty of records.

But what makes him a legend in Florida is not the stats. It's the excitement he brings to the fans. It's the fiery passion that grips his spectators and overflows to his teammates. It's the role model he is sculpting and the formulaic molds he's shattering. Yeah, maybe the BCS titles help, too.

What Tim Tebow offers is an uncanny mixture of God-given talent and relentless work ethic, competitiveness, and grit.

He's a fullback who plays quarterback, a tough goal-line runner who throws winning touchdown after winning touchdown.

The term "leader" fits Tebow to a tee. He leads by example, both on the field and off. His courage shows when he stands up for what he believes in and when he runs like a madman, crashing into one 300-pound defender at a time.

But, for a football quarterback, one size doesn't fit all. That's why so many critics don't expect him to succeed at the next level. True, he is dominator at the college level. Perhaps the best. Ever. But will that translate into success on NFL turf? Most critics say maybe; some say no. Few say yes.

And it's very understandable as to why. He's not exactly a prototype passer.

And he evokes a fountain of questions.

Will he be able to make the transition from Florida's spread option offense to a pro-style offense? Can he survive a 16-game season taking the hits he receives so regularly at Florida? Will he stick to running, or will he maintain his duel-threat, quarterback/running back status on a pro team? Will he suffer the same fate as Alex Smith, coached by the same coach that now brings us Tebow?

There are many more questions that could be asked. So many that NFL scouts have likely grown wary of his risk factor; as a result, he may fall into the second round of the 2009 NFL draft, the third or fourth quarterback picked.

The man that many claim to be the greatest college football player to grace an NCAA team has a chance of sliding into the second round. You could win money with that joke.

And while I completely understand the skepticism regarding Tebow's chances in the NFL, I have to digress. I wholeheartedly believe that Tebow will be a great NFL player, one remembered for generations to come.

Though they may deceive, numbers do not lie. While Alex Smith's great numbers were derived from his fairly good accuracy and arm strength, they also largely came from a system that swelled his numbers far beyond his skill and potential. However, Tebow has the physical tools and decision-making ability that are key in the next level.

Tebow's statistics show a man with a nose, and arm, for the end zone. Unwilling to let a sliver of opportunity slip by, he makes the most of every chance he gets and keeps plays alive. 51 touchdowns in 2007 and 42 this past year illustrate his ability to lead his team toward and into the end zone.

A clutch quarterback, he makes the right choices at the right times, evidenced by his four- and six-interception counts the past two seasons, respectively. To put this in perspective, Sam Bradford, widely accepted as the No. 1 quarterback heading into the 2010 draft, had 16 interceptions in the last two years.

Keep in mind that Tebow faces the toughest defensive conference in the entire NCAA. This denotes tougher coverage and less time in the pocket. Yet, Tebow still produced a 172.37 passing efficiency rating, leading the Southeastern Conference and ranking fourth overall in the nation.

Tebow's nearly too-good-to-be-true numbers are too blatant to have been simply inflated by the system, and his low interception and high touchdown ratio displays his practically error-free play and superior decision-making in addition to his ability to rally his team and drive down the field time and time again, punching in touchdowns upon touchdowns.

Tebow's finest attributes, however, are veiled by the glamour of his records, awards, and championships. Tebow has the rare gift of absolute dedication and the singular ability to lead in a way scarcely seen in a quarterback. He can sway the morale of an entire team. He can hold a group of players together like glue. Selflessness is his slogan, and competitiveness is his motto.

In the NFL, Tim Tebow will provide the wisdom of a veteran in the energetic and passionate body of a rookie. Whether he adjusts to his team or his team adjusts to him, his football aptitude and comprehension will allow him to make the changes necessary.

Tebow has extraordinary leadership qualities, notably needed in the NFL, and the exceptional ability to read defenses, sustain drives, and make intelligent, rational choices. His fortitude, toughness, both mentally and physically, strength, and will make him a remarkable runner.

Tim Tebow is, at his core, a football player in every implication of that word. Blessed with innate physical prowess and a passion, competence, and dedication to the game, Tebow will thrive at the next level. And in years to come, he will be remembered for the elation he brought every moment he stepped on the turf and for being an exemplar of a great player, and, more importantly, a great person.

The NFL's 10 Most Efficient Wide Receivers

Daniel Gorter — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:04:00 -0400

Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald . . . all game-changers. They make the highlight catches, they produce the eye-popping stats, they catch the media's and the fans' attentions. They're the big play makers, and in that right, are the best in the game. But oft overlooked are the unspectacular receivers who keep their offenses going by consistently catching the balls thrown to them. Deciding to take a look at the stats, I created a rather sophisticated formula in which to measure a receiver's efficiency, or in other words, ability to most consistently catch any balls thrown to them. As a backbone stat, I calculated the Reception Percentage of all NFL receivers with a reception count above 50, based on last year's statistics. The Reception Percentage is the percentage of passes targeted to them, i.e. thrown to them, in which they caught the ball. I then took the twelve receivers with the highest Reception Percentages and further broke down statistics that would influence the players' Reception Percentages. I took two additional statistics into account - their respective quarterbacks' accuracy percentage, and their strength of schedule. For the Quarterback Accuracy Percentage, I would simply take out all attempts and completions involving the respective player from their quarterback's stats and then calculate the quarterback's accuracy. A higher accuracy would deem worse for the player, as a player with a more accurate quarterback would get easier passes to catch - and thus a higher Reception Percentage. For the strength of schedule stats, I would calculate the average passing completion percentage that opposing teams' defenses would allow (Ex. – If player A played Team A and Team B, I would see what completion percentage Team A allowed to Teams A’s opposing teams and then average that with Team B’s completion percentage allowed to their own opposing teams). In other words, the better the pass defenses that a player faced, the lower the Strength of Schedule Percentage. I only calculated (into the average) teams in which the specified receiver played against (no teams that played the receiver's respective team while the receiver was injured or not playing for any other reason). So, overall, I took into account three factors: the percentage of passes thrown towards the receiver that the receiver caught, the accuracy of the quarterback throwing to the receiver, and the toughness of the receiver's opponents' pass defenses. To calculate the final rating I took each player’s Reception Percentage and subtracted the average of their Quarterback Accuracy Percentage and Strength of Schedule Percentage from it (think of the QAP and SoSP average as how well he “ought to do” in his given situation). For example, a player who caught 70% of the passes thrown to him yet had a poor quarterback with a QAP of 50% and faced extremely tough defenses who, on average, allowed only a 50% completion percentage, the player would obviously be an extremely efficient receiver, warranting his incredibly high rating of 20.0 (70 - 50 =20). After calculating each of the twelve receivers’ Efficiency Ratings, I ranked them accordingly and took out the bottom two to create a list of the top ten most efficient receivers in the league. Get ready to be surprised. Be prepared for a shock. Names will be mentioned that you may not know, names will be absent that you may have expected! Ladies and Gentlemen: The Top Ten Most Efficient NFL Receivers!

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Why Steve Slaton is the Next Fantasy Stud

Daniel Gorter — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:06:46 -0400

If you are looking for the next fantasy surprise star, just look down south. Steve Slaton of the Houston Texans shows all of the signs of an upcoming fantasy star.

We will look at him at a fantasy, statistical, and logical level. Let's start with some stats.

In his rookie season, Steve Slaton posted over sixteen hundred total offensive yards, nearly 1,300 of which were rushing. He played on a team with a weak defense and acted as nearly the sole running back for the team.

What makes the feat even more impressive is how well he did considering his conditions. Following a season where the Texans' star running back had only 773 rushing yards, Steve Slaton nearly doubled the yardage, all as a rookie. Slaton played under a weak and inexperienced offensive line that hardly were an asset to him.

Now let's compare Slaton's rookie season to a few other running backs that we know. Slaton worked for an average of 4.8 yards per carry (the same average as Peterson for 2008), a better average than the average of the rookie seasons for Ladainian Tomlinson (3.6), Marshall Faulk (4.1), and Matt Forte (3.9). Quite impressive!

Wait, wait wait, you say. What about the other rookie stars who posted much higher averages in their first year? Why leave them out? What about players like Adrian Peterson and Barry Sanders?

Well, we have to remember that Slaton played under a poor offensive line, though it will improve as years pass. Peterson, for example, played behind two pro bowlers in his 2007, rookie season.

Steve Slaton displayed consistency and endurance throughout the 2008 season. Four of his last seven games of the season were 100+ yard games. His average for rushing attempts 21 through 30 for each game was an amazing 8.7 yards per carry. This came as a surprise to some who saw him as too weak to take the beating as a starting running back.

Now let's look at Steve Slaton at a fantasy level. He was one of the most consistent producers for all fantasy players last year. Ranked seventh of the running backs at the end of the season,11 of his 15 injury-free games were above ten points (ESPN standard scoring).

In fact, he had less single digit point games than Adrian Peterson, excluding non-started games.

Finally, let's think this through logically. After posting such a consistent, surprising, and amazing rookie season, Steve Slaton can only go up. With Andre Johnson stretching the field, Slaton should get open lanes and few men boxes to run through.

With an offensive line that is gradually getting better and better, and with a team that is now at a playoff level, Slaton should flourish.

Expect Slaton to continue his consistency throughout this year and beyond. He will exceed his milestones of 2008, and I expect he won't just rise to sixth or fifth of the running backs. I fully expect Steve Slaton to be a top three fantasy running back in the next couple of years.

So when you are at your draft, don't pass him up. Think hard about him as a late first rounder, and definitely snatch him as a second-rounder.

Fantasy Football 2009: Draft Tips and Tidbits

Daniel Gorter — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:13:27 -0400

Sure, the 2009 NFL Preseason is months away, but it's never too early to start looking at fantasy football. With fantasy football season knocking at our doors, it's time to take an early look at some of the top players in the draft, drafting strategies, and potential shockers and sleepers.

Without further to do, let's get started with some tips and tidbits about players and strategies:

-Don't be afraid to take Peterson as the No. 1 draft choice. It's as simple as that. You have seen what he has done the past two years, and with Percy Harvin now in the mix, Peterson should be facing less eight men, or sometimes nine men, boxes.

And even after an incredible year last year, don't be surprised if Peterson improves on his numbers of 2008.

-Who's number two? Peterson is the clear-cut number one pick, but the next choice in the draft is hotly debated. Matt Forte? Michael Turner? Maurice Jones-Drew? My opinion - take Chris Wells second. He will make an immediate impact as a rookie. Kidding, kidding. To tell you the truth, you don't need to know my opinion.

It depends on your style and strategy. Michael Turner—reliable and proven. Matt Forte—huge upside. Maurice Jones-Drew—consistently getting better, could rack up many touchdowns, both receiving and rushing. It's up to you.

-Don't be afraid of taking an elite tight end around the fourth or fifth round. Surprise running backs and wide receivers can often be picked up in the later rounds or be taken off the waivers, but your chance for a great tight end is limited to only a couple of people. You won't find a tight end who averages fifteen points a game off the waivers.

Nab a tight end early if there isn't another player you really want at that point in the draft.

-Knowshon Moreno is, well, good. In fact with Cutler now gone, opponents will still be afraid of the pass attack with Marshall and Royal stretching the field, but the Broncos will also focus on a rushing attack. Moreno has huge upside—don't pass him up in the mid to later rounds.

-Don't worry about making a reach. Who cares whether you choose a player "too early"? If you believe in a player, take him. No one who took Michael Turner "early" last year regretted it. Don't be limited by a draft suggested order list or ranking. Take who you want. Period.

-Kickers don't matter. Don't draft them till the last rounds, if at all. Nab a kicker of a good team, more team points = more kicker points.

-Fantasy defenses aren't always reflections of how good a team's real defense is. Draft them late, and draft aggressive defenses.

-Draft backups of your top running backs. Just do it. Trust me.

-Don't just look at your own needs. If an opponent in the draft still needs a QB at round six and you have one already, be nasty and steal a QB before your opponent can choose. Play against other players, not just for yourself. Not only does this hurt your rivals, these players can be useful trading tools.

-Some sleepers (or sometimes—Good players that are worth more than most people think):

-- WR - Vincent Jackson, Eddie Royal, Antonio Bryant, Patrick Crayton, Derrick Mason, Michael Jenkins

-- RB - Steve Slaton, Knowshon Moreno, Darren Sproles, Derrick Ward, Felix Jones

-- QB - Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub, Donovan McNabb, Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Delhomme, Chad Pennington

-Overrated folks (or sometimes - Good players who will be taken too early):

-- WR - Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss (they are first tier, but Johnson needs a reliable quarterback and Randy Moss may disappoint. I would take Steve Smith ahead of them), Anquan Boldin, Terrell Owens, Roy Williams, Braylon Edwards

-- RB - LaDainian Tomlinson, Ronnie Brown, Darren McFadden, Joseph Addai

-- QB - Tom Brady (he's great, but he'll be taken too early), Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer

And finally, ignore me if you want. Do you what you think is best. Be bold. Be risky. Be yourself.