Bleacher Report - Articles by tyler rorem

2009 NFL Mock Draft for the Detroit Lions

tyler rorem — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:55:24 -0500

Now that Millen is gone and the worst season in NFL history is over, the Detroit Lions can begin to rebuild. Hear is what I think will happen. The Lions will look at a QB to start and pass on Stafford. They go with building there defense and O- line. I sprinkled in two offense players that could make an impact in the passing game, and NO they are not wide receivers. Newly named head coach, Jim Schwartz will want to leave his fingerprint on the roster. The first two picks, will be stars in the new LIons defense.

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Michigan Could Be "Dancing With the Stars" Come March

tyler rorem — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:57:55 -0500

The Michigan Wolverines have been one of the better surprises this season. With two key wins over UCLA and Duke in non-conference games, the young Wolverine squad has shown that they are a force and a contender to dance this March.

John Beilein has his squad hitting a Big Ten-high nine three-pointers per game. Young players such as freshman Zack Novak and Stu Douglass have been big contributors to the offense and Beilein's "let it fly" shooting scheme.

The Wolverines have found a leader in Manny Harris, who averages 18.6 points a game along with 7.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists. DeShawn Sims brings in 16.4 points a game and 8.4 rebounds to give Michigan a great one-two punch of young talent.

If Michigan can win their home games and steal a few on the road in Big Ten play, then we may get to see them play in March for the first time since 1998. The Big Ten is no ACC or Big East, but it is still very competitive and has some great teams. If all goes right, maybe Michigan can slay a few more giants this season.

Purdue, Michigan State, and Ohio State are already locks for the tournament. All Michigan has to do finish around third in conference play or win the Big Ten tournament. These things can be accomplished this season.

Michigan fans better be ready, because you have a real reason to watch March Madness again.

The Utah Utes Should Be College Football's Postseason No. 1

tyler rorem — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:10:23 -0500

College football left us with many great memories this season—last second touchdowns such as Michael Crabtree’s TD against Texas and memorable rivalry games like Florida and Georgia. This season also left us with many questions. Who is the real No. 1? Who is the real champion?

Florida, as most know, defeated Oklahoma for the BCS National Championship. Many feel that Texas should have played for the title due to defeating Oklahoma earlier in the year. It only seems logical that if two teams have only one loss each and one loses to the other in their one loss, the winner of that game should be ranked higher. Instead Texas was stuck playing Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Florida, on the other hand, defeated Alabama, who was ranked No. 1 for five weeks of the season, in the SEC championship. Florida earned their spot, unlike Oklahoma and Texas, and USC was left out.

USC didn’t get into the championship game because they lost to a subpar opponent in Oregon State or that they play in a much weaker Pac-10 conference compared to the SEC and Big 12.

The only team that was left out that didn’t deserve to be was Utah. The Utes went undefeated in the regular season beating four ranked opponents and six teams that went to a bowl game. That is impressive and very hard to accomplish. Utah also defeated Alabama who was ranked No. 1 in the nation before losing to the later crowned champion Florida Gators.

If anything, Utah should have played in the BCS Championship game, but because Utah plays in a non-BCS conference in the Mountain West, they only received an “at large bid.”

Now that the season is over, the true champion should be Utah. The undefeated season, including their defeat of Alabama, should be enough to earn the No. 1 spot.

Because of the BCS system and bowl game selections, Utah won’t be the “official champ," but everyone knows that they deserve to be called No. 1 just as much as Florida.