The 2014 Running Football Thread (College & Pro)

[OJsDad]

Glad Mariota is back. 

[Steelgrave]

If Manning retires, who is the Broncos second string QB.  Do they look to draft one.

Brock Osweiler from Arizona State. He was selected in the second round, I believe, and has been groomed as Manning's replacement since day one. They will need to draft a backup QB, but there is every reason to believe Osweiler will be the starter once Manning has left the building.

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/7450/brock-osweiler

[BanzaiCat]

Ah yes, the very classy Carolina Panthers  ::)

Ah, well. It was a nice gesture to make to a 12-year-old. Although I'm not so naive that I don't think there was some hope for good PR behind it in the first place.

[bayonetbrant]

well last night sucked big hairy sweaty monkey nuts. But then you hear the rushing stats, and Ohio State just totally blew the Ducks off the ball all night long. Hard to win it game when you're not even starting to tackle people until five yards downfield. Eesh!

[OJsDad]

What a great game last night.  I never expected Ohio State to dominate Oregon the way they did.  OSU's defense made great adjustments after Oregon's opening drive and TD. 

When has a team been -4 in turnover margin and win by 22.  Oregon only got 10 points off of those turnovers.  If not for them, Buckeyes may have scored another couple of touchdowns.  Oregon's only turnover was on an interception of the last play of the game.

Ezekiel Elliott is a monster.  In his last three games, he has over 200 yards rushing.

[bayonetbrant]

Ezekiel Elliott is a monster.  In his last three games, he has over 200 yards rushing.

Last night, a lot of that credit goes to the O-line.  I heard a stat on the radio this morning that he had over 100 yards before contact and had 11-12 runs or so where he was 5 or more yards downfield before contact.  The O-line totally dominated that game.

[airboy]

well last night sucked big hairy sweaty monkey nuts. But then you hear the rushing stats, and Ohio State just totally blew the Ducks off the ball all night long. Hard to win it game when you're not even starting to tackle people until five yards downfield. Eesh!

Not for the wife and I.  Ohio State was the preferred option.

The Florida State QB is a jerk.
Bama - I live way too close to these people.
Oregon - Can't pull for any team whose uniforms make my eyes bleed.

That leaves Ohio State and their wonderfully dorky and moon faced mascot.  Well played.  Oregon typically gets killed in the final game by a team with an excellent offensive and defensive line - which Oregon on the West Coast almost never sees in play.

Oregon does have pretty nice fans based on going to the 2010 national championship between Auburn and Oregon.  And by the way, Cam Newton was never found to break any NCAA rules at AU and he has been coming back to complete his course work.  So all of the Cam Naysayers should at least be considering eating a little crow.

Dook still sucks.

[OJsDad]

With the conclusion of the first College Football Playoff series, what are your opinions.  Did the best team win, or just the team that played the best that night.  Should the number of teams stay at 4 or expand to 6 or 8.  Did the 4 teams that got in this year deserve to be there or should someone else been there. 

Here are my thoughts.  I think that the team that is playing the best at the end of the year did win. 

I would like to see the number of teams expand to at least 6 but no more than 8.  If it goes to 8, then the top four host the game at their home field.

I'm still not sure that FSU should have been in playoffs this year.  I understand the selection committee is going to have a hard time leaving out an undefeated defending national champ, but I don't think FSU showed that they were that strong this year.  By not sending a message that undefeated and defending champ is not enough to get you back in the next year, they have made it hard going forward to deny any team in the future with the same circumstances but not playing well from getting in.  Unless they expand it for 6 or 8 teams.

I think Baylor should have been there instead. 

[bayonetbrant]

I think putting Baylor in there rewards cupcake scheduling.

FSU has a mandated annual game with Florida.  They've sucked lately, but it's still a power-5 bowl team.  This year they added a non-conf neutral-site game with Ok St, at a field that was almost commuting distance to Stillwater.  They beat GT in a conf title game.  There's absolutely no way you can make an argument that they didn't deserve one of the 4 slots in the playoff.  Remember - no one knows how those games are going to look until they're played.

I think Ohio St was the hottest team at the end of the year; I'm not sure they were the most accomplished across the balance of the season (and that's not just my hatred of the Buckeyes talking). 

Mike and Mike summed it up well the other morning with Greenberg expressing it this way:
There's the 'best team over the course of the season' and then there's the 'champion' and they aren't necessarily the same thing.

How often does one of the 1-seeds win the Super Bowl?  How often does the #1 team win the NCAA tournament?  How many wild card teams have won the World Series?
Greenberg's point was that in college football, more often than not the 'best team over the course of the season' and the 'champion' were the same thing.  By adding more teams into a playoff, you increase the likelihood that they will not be the same.  This year, I think, was one of those years.  Ohio State earned it under the rules for this season, and kudos to them for taking advantage of the opportunity afforded them by those rules.

[Marty Ward]

With the conclusion of the first College Football Playoff series, what are your opinions.  Did the best team win, or just the team that played the best that night.  Should the number of teams stay at 4 or expand to 6 or 8.  Did the 4 teams that got in this year deserve to be there or should someone else been there. 

Here are my thoughts.  I think that the team that is playing the best at the end of the year did win. 

I would like to see the number of teams expand to at least 6 but no more than 8.  If it goes to 8, then the top four host the game at their home field.

I'm still not sure that FSU should have been in playoffs this year.  I understand the selection committee is going to have a hard time leaving out an undefeated defending national champ, but I don't think FSU showed that they were that strong this year.  By not sending a message that undefeated and defending champ is not enough to get you back in the next year, they have made it hard going forward to deny any team in the future with the same circumstances but not playing well from getting in.  Unless they expand it for 6 or 8 teams.

I think Baylor should have been there instead.

The team that played best Monday won. The team who plays best in the championship game will always win. Whether they are the 'best' team doesn't really matter.

[bayonetbrant]

if you want to learn a LOT about college football, and how it's actually run and not just played, you could do a lot worse than listening to these
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/logan_zone/11677809/

He also covers a lot of pro football, too, but his college stories are much better.  The video is just the guys talking in a radio studio, so you can put it on in the background and listen while you do other stuff.  Totally worth listening to and getting some great war stories from the inside.

[bayonetbrant]

if you want to learn a LOT about college football, and how it's actually run and not just played, you could do a lot worse than listening to these
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/logan_zone/11677809/

He also covers a lot of pro football, too, but his college stories are much better.  The video is just the guys talking in a radio studio, so you can put it on in the background and listen while you do other stuff.  Totally worth listening to and getting some great war stories from the inside.

this one about killing the clock is hilarious
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/colleges/video/14249791/

starts around the 4:35 mark or so

[MetalDog]

If you don't put FSU in, and they win their bowl game, then how does that look for your Playoff Champion?

[Bison]

This is a horrible weekend for me.  All I want is to see Rodgers, Carroll, and Bill and Tom all cry.  Ugh.

[OJsDad]

This is a horrible weekend for me.  All I want is to see Rodgers, Carroll, and Bill and Tom all cry.  Ugh.

You may get to see Rodgers cry.