by Friends of the Program on December 12 at 6:31PM
I have finals this week, which is why things have been a little slow around here lately. Much like the DeathStar, things should be fully operational by Friday. Until then, here's a little college football stuff from longtime reader Phil Barnes.
Alright, Rickhouse seems to have had problems with homework or something along those lines so I will be filling in for him for a day or two. Let me start off by introducing myself; My name is Phil and I work with Rickhouse during the week at the Sun-Times. I live and breathe sports and do not know where I would be without it. Alright that’s enough, on with the most troubling news of yesterday.
I was shocked last night to hear that Bobby Petrino stepped down from his head coaching gig with the Atlanta Falcons. There are many reasons as to why this becomes such big news to me.
First off, HE DIDN’T FINISH OFF HIS FIRST YEAR!! Camon’ Bobby, be a man, act 40 (ok, so he is 46.) This just seems like the easy way out. The team sits at 3-10, which is not great, but there are still three games left, where they play a weak Arizona squad and the team from Tampa that has been up and down all year. And even if he wins one of those, it is a respectable season compared to the other first-year coaches, who had 10 times the talent Patrino was dealing with. Norv Turner jumped on a Charger-team that won 13 games last year, and until recently, made the term “underachieving” look like a stretch. Ken Wisenhunt has coached possibly the most talented NFL offense to only six wins this year. But things could be worse. His name could be Cam Cameron and could be coaching the god-awful Miami Dolphins.
While many people make the argument that Petrino did not succeed because he lost Mike Vick, in my opinion, Vick going to jail was the best thing that could happen to the franchise, and here is why.
Mike did put fans in the seats, and #7 jerseys sold like hotcakes, don’t get me wrong, but he did not fit Petrino’s offense. His horrendous 54% career completion rating would never have worked in an offense that was based on competing passes. What could have happened was Atlanta, who would probably get a top-8 draft pick, trades down for more picks (quarterback was not their only problem) and select Brian Brohm, Petrino’s golden protégé, who fits the offense like a glove, in the late first round, or early second. Or if they felt fans would be unhappy by replacing Vick with Brohm, The Falcons stay where they are at in the draft, and take a Vick-esque quarterback in Andre Woodson, who has completed 63% of his passes in the last two years at Kentucky, compared to Vick’s 54% his last year of college ball. While I am not saying that either of these guys takes the ATL to a Super Bowl, or even the playoffs their rookie years, it lets Petrino start an up-hill battle in the NFL HE prefers.
But instead, Petrino decided to take the job at Arkansas, a school with above-average prestige and a team that usually gets the scraps of talent down in the south. Did he realize that he will be losing the two reasons why Arkansas has even been mentioned as a top-tier team in the SEC? Darren McFadden will be gone within the first 45 minutes of next April’s draft, and his backup running back Felix Jones will surely be taken no more than a round later. So Bobby will be stuck with the same scenario he was stuck with in Atlanta, but at the college level.
I wish Bobby Petrino the best of luck. And while he may eventually succeed in Arkansas, but until then, the decision will confuse me. That’s enough for this evening, let me get some feedback but don’t be too hard on me, it’s my first day.
I was shocked last night to hear that Bobby Petrino stepped down from his head coaching gig with the Atlanta Falcons. There are many reasons as to why this becomes such big news to me.
First off, HE DIDN’T FINISH OFF HIS FIRST YEAR!! Camon’ Bobby, be a man, act 40 (ok, so he is 46.) This just seems like the easy way out. The team sits at 3-10, which is not great, but there are still three games left, where they play a weak Arizona squad and the team from Tampa that has been up and down all year. And even if he wins one of those, it is a respectable season compared to the other first-year coaches, who had 10 times the talent Patrino was dealing with. Norv Turner jumped on a Charger-team that won 13 games last year, and until recently, made the term “underachieving” look like a stretch. Ken Wisenhunt has coached possibly the most talented NFL offense to only six wins this year. But things could be worse. His name could be Cam Cameron and could be coaching the god-awful Miami Dolphins.
While many people make the argument that Petrino did not succeed because he lost Mike Vick, in my opinion, Vick going to jail was the best thing that could happen to the franchise, and here is why.
Mike did put fans in the seats, and #7 jerseys sold like hotcakes, don’t get me wrong, but he did not fit Petrino’s offense. His horrendous 54% career completion rating would never have worked in an offense that was based on competing passes. What could have happened was Atlanta, who would probably get a top-8 draft pick, trades down for more picks (quarterback was not their only problem) and select Brian Brohm, Petrino’s golden protégé, who fits the offense like a glove, in the late first round, or early second. Or if they felt fans would be unhappy by replacing Vick with Brohm, The Falcons stay where they are at in the draft, and take a Vick-esque quarterback in Andre Woodson, who has completed 63% of his passes in the last two years at Kentucky, compared to Vick’s 54% his last year of college ball. While I am not saying that either of these guys takes the ATL to a Super Bowl, or even the playoffs their rookie years, it lets Petrino start an up-hill battle in the NFL HE prefers.
But instead, Petrino decided to take the job at Arkansas, a school with above-average prestige and a team that usually gets the scraps of talent down in the south. Did he realize that he will be losing the two reasons why Arkansas has even been mentioned as a top-tier team in the SEC? Darren McFadden will be gone within the first 45 minutes of next April’s draft, and his backup running back Felix Jones will surely be taken no more than a round later. So Bobby will be stuck with the same scenario he was stuck with in Atlanta, but at the college level.
I wish Bobby Petrino the best of luck. And while he may eventually succeed in Arkansas, but until then, the decision will confuse me. That’s enough for this evening, let me get some feedback but don’t be too hard on me, it’s my first day.
|
great post...i was going to do one on this as well, but figured he would change jobs by the time i got done with it!