Going Bowling

As one player’s career prepares to rocket inevitably towards the status of legend in Miami, a legend’s career sputters just trying to get off the ground in Mobile. We’re in the dead of winter, the college season is over, and it’s time for the two most interesting bowls of all: the Super Bowl and the Senior Bowl.

The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is a dreadful event. No wait, that’s a little harsh.
The Super Bowl is like George Foreman. Once a strong champion(ship) with enormous punching power, it ballooned to larger than life proportions in the late 80’s. While not quite as great as it used to be in its younger, fresher days, it still connects with one of those haymakers every once in a while to capture our intrigue. Today it lives on as a monstrous cultural icon that cannot be ignored. Plus, each new member of the Super Bowl family is named “Super Bowl” after the original. Okay, now I’m really reaching but seriously, the Super Bowl is out of control. The game that has turned into a weeklong circus has grown so absurdly huge that for a city to host the Super Bowl it must submit a bid to prove its capability of holding the festivities. Thousands of media members converge on “radio row” for one giant gossip-laden shmooze fest. The spectacle has built up over the years. Unfortunately, at the end of the road you’re still just talking about a football game that isn’t played any differently than the football games played two weeks ago. With all of the hype it’s pretty difficult as a fan to walk away from the game satisfied. We’ve been pretty lucky the last two years, but how often can you expect the underdog team’s quarterback to pull a Houdini move and hurl a desperate pass down the field to a receiver who acrobatically pins the ball between his hand and his helmet to spur a fourth quarter comeback? Nonetheless, the Super Bowl is still football’s championship, and the legacy of professional sports careers are ultimately measured in championships. As anti-climatic as the game may be, here is my take on Super Bowl XLIV.

Can’t you just picture Peyton Manning in a space suit on a launching pad preparing to get rocketed into orbit where he will live forever as football royalty? It looks as though this game is his chance to make a bid for the crown of greatest quarterback ever. If he wins it seems as though nothing short of injury could keep him from the title. If he loses, he’ll have an uphill battle to separate himself from the likes of Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, and even Tom Brady.

After the championship games, the Colts were the consensus pick to win as the betting line for the Super Bowl started out at 4 points and then crept up to 7 as gamblers started to bet mostly on Indy. Things have cooled down some and the Dwight Freeney injury has a decent-sized contingent swaying towards New Orleans. However, I just can’t get past the way the Saints looked in the fourth quarter of the Vikings game. They froze up. The game was too big for them and they got jittery. Maybe they got it out of their system and will play a crisp game this weekend, but I can’t see them winning. Manning is too good. The Jets were one of those teams that catch fire at the end of the year and ride a wave all the way to the Super Bowl. They had the right formula. Take away the top two weapons to slow down the Indianapolis offense and use that big offensive line to grind them down until they topple over. It worked for two and a half quarters. Midway through the third, Manning’s trap sprung and all of a sudden you realized it was the Jets that were ground down. Greg Williams’ defense will come at Indy with a few more fireworks, but I think by the fourth quarter they will run out of magic tricks. Does the Freeney injury leave the door cracked open for the Saints? Probably, but Indy’s linebackers and safeties were fantastic against that Jets running game. I think they will force Drew Brees into one-dimensional shootout mode. They will keep pace for a while, but I like Indianapolis to separate in the fourth quarter.
The Pick: Colts by 17

The Senior Bowl:

Before all of the madness invaded Miami, the NFL world converged on Mobile, Alabama for a peek at college football’s best and brightest seniors during last week’s Senior Bowl practices. Amongst the players vying for the attention of NFL coaches and scouts was perhaps one of the greatest college football players of all time. The biggest storyline revolved around how Tim Tebow looked. How was he adjusting to pro-style formations and coaching? Can he play quarterback in the NFL? Despite all of the media focus on Tebow, there were plenty of winners and losers throughout both the North and South squads. Here are some of the highlights.

The Winners:

Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan:
I was expecting Graham to be a little bit bigger, but weighing in around 265 lbs probably helps him out to some extent as he’s still big enough to draft as a 4-3 DE, but he’s small enough to draw OLB considerations. Analysts reported Graham’s performance on the field as strong all week long. He was clearly more polished than any other defensive end participant and showed a strong ability to win one on one confrontations against offensive lineman. His stock probably jumps from late round 1 to the 15 to 20 range.

Jared Odrick, DT, Penn. St.:
As a smaller DT, Odrick isn’t capable of being a 2-gap clog-the-middle type of player so it was important for Odrick to demonstrate an ability to penetrate into the offensive backfield. Like Graham, Odrick stood out among his position group and displayed consistently the quickness and high-motor necessary to make plays behind the line of scrimmage. With the strong performance, Odrick now finds himself solidly in the first round with a chance to crack the top 25.

Dexter McCluster, RB, Mississippi:
At 5’ 6” and 165 lbs, the term undersized doesn’t really cut it here. If a special teams coach somewhere can figure out how to keep this little guy from getting broken, he is going to score a few TD’s next year. McCluster is lightning quick and runs with fearless ferocity, even between the tackles.

Go Bearcats!
Cincinnati standouts Mardy Gilyard and Tony Pike also did well for themselves last week. Gilyard wasn’t consistent catching the ball but showed off his quickness and rout running abilities. Teams needing a wide receiver will have a hard time passing him up in the mid to late second round. Pike didn’t dazzle throughout the week, but he looked good. He showed good arm strength and gave the impression he might be okay transitioning away from the spread offense. Scouts will have plenty of debates between now and April as to whether Pike is cool as a cucumber or just plain aloof. For right now, he has safely passed Tebow and has Colt McCoy in his sights as he looks to challenge become the third QB taken in the draft.

Other strong showings:
Riley Cooper (Florida) turned heads with great catches all week and the Jordy Nelson comparisons are starting already. Guard Mike Iupati (Idaho) stood out among offensive lineman and now has a good shot to draw first round consideration. Tennessee DT Dan Williams has more size than Odrick. His potential as a nose tackle slides him to the top half of the first round.

The Losers:

Tim Tebow, QB? Florida:
It doesn’t sound right to classify a guy that has succeeded like Tebow as a loser, but he certainly hit a major bump in the road last week. The nightmares that everyone envisioned of Tebow trying to take snaps under center turned out to be just as gruesome as analysts imagined. If fumbled QB/center exchanges weren’t enough to put Tebow’s draft stock on ice, his work during passing sessions throughout the week did the trick. Scouts were left wondering if maybe the guy should just ditch his mechanics and start from scratch. After the Sugar Bowl, I think some people began to think he might be alright as a pro QB. Now the potential for a position switch is the only thing that keeps his stock hovering in the third round range.

Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama:
Mount Cody came to Mobile on a mission to prove his worth as a massive space-eating defensive tackle. Mission failed. His fitness was poor and he didn’t exactly overpower people at the line of scrimmage. A good showing could have gained him round 2 status. Now, he has to worry about slipping out of round 3.

Vladimir Ducasse, OT, Massachusetts:
Ducasse is a small-school prospect that many thought could show off his athleticism and draw first round consideration if he showed OT potential. However, his lack of experience stuck out all week. It’s not the end of the world though. Even if they move him to guard, I don’t think he’ll fall past the bottom of round 2.

Overall, I think we learned some things from the Senior Bowl. There weren’t really any elite prospects on hand, but the late round 1/round 2 type of player was well represented. Draft boards are starting to shuffle, but from here things should stay fairly quiet until combine week. Keep an eye out for my first partial mock draft between now and then. In the meantime, we can look forward to a game featuring the art form that is Peyton Manning playing quarterback. The stage might be a little too big, but it should be quite a sight to see. Kick back, relax, grab some junk food, and enjoy the Super Bowl. It’s as American as apple...no wait. It’s as American as the George Foreman Grill.