SB Nation - Earl Heyman

Saints 2009 Position Battles: Defensive Tackle

Saintsational — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:00:18 -0000

We're getting closer to the end of our early look at the Saints' 2009 roster as we discuss the teams defensive tackle candidates today. The depth here is a little thinner this year following the loss of both Brian Young, Hollis Thomas and Antwan Lake. The good news is that it's significantly younger as well. Deciding who will make the team, however, isn't too difficult barring an unexpected surprise.

Current defensive tackles on the Saints roster:

Player	Height	Weight	Age	Experience
Sedrick Ellis	6'1"	307	23	2
DeMario Pressley	6'3"	301	23	2
Kendrick Clancy	6'1"	305	30	10
Rod Coleman	6'2"	285	32	10
Remi Ayodele	6'2"	318	26	3
Earl Heyman	6'1"	289	21	R

Sedrick Ellis is the only player on this list that I would consider a sure thing. He worked his way into a starting role last season and no one on the team appears to be able to unseat him. Ed Orgeron is long gone and his contributions to the Saints organization were minimal to say the least but he was key in acquiring Sedrick Ellis so for that, we must thank him.

The only other defensive tackle who is practically a lock, though not a sure thing, is veteran Kendrick Clancy. With Young and Thomas now gone, Clancy's stock just shot up along with his name on the depth chart. Not only will he make the team this year, he should be starting unless someone else can knock him off.

Saints fans should be excited about finally getting to see 2008 draft pick DeMario Pressley in action this year. The defensive tackle was placed on IR during training camp last year only after creating a buzz about his talent. If Pressley is as impressive as all the talk suggests than he might be the one to oust Clancy from his starting spot. It would also greatly reduce the Saints lack of depth at DT.

What we can expect from Rod Coleman is anybody's guess. Coleman comes into training camp after taking the 2008 season off but was quite talented in his prime. Noted for his pass rushing ability more so than his run stuffing [Edited by Saintsational, 05/13/09 11:26 AM CDT ], Roderick could turn out to be a smart pick up. Like Pressley, if Coleman exceeds expectations than the Saints will have solved their defensive tackle depth issues.

Rounding out the list are Remi Ayodele and Earl Heyman, two players who face the toughest odds in training camp. Ayodele was brought in last year but only notched a total of three tackles in six games. Heyman was brought in last week and has yet to play a down in the NFL. Assuming the Saints are only keeping four DT's, both will need near miracles (read: injuries) to make the team this summer.

Now it's your turn to weigh in. Is this position really that easy to predict or will there be a surprise or two during training camp this year?

Poll

Will Ellis, Clancy, Pressley and Coleman all make the team this year?

Yes

475 votes

No

65 votes

540 votes | Poll has closed

Your 2008 Louisville Football awards

Mike Rutherford — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:48:27 -0000

The most important step on any particularly difficult road to closure is acknowledging the existence of an unpleasant reality. So while the best healing approach at the moment may seem to be to deny that the 2008 Louisville football season ever took place, or to admit its presence but add that it ended in 1997, neither is actually a healthy option.

So let's go ahead and face this thing, head-on, together. We'll hand out some awards, have some laughs, shed some tears, break some shit, then chuck this season in a box and stick a small, vomit-colored bow on top.

My hand is here; feel free to reach for it if need be.

Offensive MVP: Victor Anderson

There was much chatter during the spring and summer months that Anderson was going to be the surprise of the season, but nobody was so bold as to predict that the St. X product would race past the 1,000-yard mark, shatter the U of L freshman rushing record and earn Big East Rookie of the Year and Sporting News Freshman All-American honors.

Again, our lone beacon of sanguinity for the next nine months.

CONTENDERS:

Eric Wood

George Bussey

Defensive MVP: Jon Dempsey

The Junior College transfer came in with relatively little hype, but led the Cardinal defense in solo tackles, total tackles and forced fumbles, and trailed only Adrian Grady in tackles for loss. He was the lone Louisville defender to earn All-Big East accolades, garnering a second team nod.

CONTENDERS:

Adrian Grady

Earl Heyman

Best Moment: Cantwell's 24-yard TD pass to Scott Long to give the Cards the lead for good against USF

A tremendous pass and catch that resulted in the feeling that this team could compete for a conference title in a down Big East. True story: they actually called off the rest of the season after that play.

CONTENDERS:

Johnny Patrick's fumble return against Memphis

Adrian Grady scoring against Tennessee Tech

Worst Moment: Myron Pryor's fumble return

Yes, the game was already out-of-hand, but being forced to watch Eric Wood chase Pryor in vain was almost too much to take. It actually might have been too much to take, because I honestly don't remember seeing it live.

CONTENDERS:

Lawrence Wilson's (Connecticut) interception return

The clock hitting zero in the Carrier Dome

Best Play: Victor Anderson's touchdown catch against Connecticut

When he first caught the ball and I saw where the defenders were positioned in front of him, I would have set the odds of Vic getting the ball into the endzone at no better than 10:1. This was the moment I officially climbed on the No. 20 bandwagon.

CONTENDERS:

Cantwell to Long against South Florida

Travis Norton tackling Jourdan Brooks by his hair against Rutgers

Best Game (For Louisville): Louisville 24, South Florida 20

Ah, back when the only question was which bowl this team would end up playing in.

CONTENDERS:

Louisville 38, Kansas State 29

Louisville 51, Tennessee Tech 10

Worst Game (For Louisville): Syracuse 28, Louisville 21

Kentucky sucked because it was the first game of a season so many were already anxious about (and because it was Kentucky), Rutgers sucked because it was just about the most humiliating thing I've ever had to sit through as a sports fan, but the Syracuse loss coming just a week after the South Florida win re-introduced the notion that something was seriously, seriously wrong with the program, and that - I think - makes it just a touch more depressing than the competition.

CONTENDERS

Kentucky 27, Louisville 2

Rutgers 63, Louisville 14

Best Game (Overall): Louisville 24, South Florida 20

Extremely slim pickins here, but Louisville's top triumph of the season also came in the contest that most resembled an actual big-time college football game.

CONTENDERS

West Virginia 35, Louisville 21

Connecticut 26, Louisville 21

Best Individual Offensive Performance: Victor Anderson against Kansas State

Going off for 176 yards and three scores on just 18 carries and two receptions will do that for you.

CONTENDERS:

Victor Anderson vs. Middle Tennessee State

Hunter Cantwell vs. Kansas State

Best Individual Defensive Performance: Johnny Patrick against Memphis

JP was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week after his 19-yard fumble return for a touchdown propelled the Cards to a 35-28 win over the Tigers. He finished the game with six tackles and figured in a potential 10-point swing at the end of the first half when he blocked a field goal that was returned for a U of L touchdown.

CONTENDERS

Adrian Grady vs. South Florida

Jon Dempsey vs. Kentucky

Best Individual Performance by an Opposing Player: Pat White (West Virginia)

Yet another remarkable performance by White, who will finish his college career having rushed for 8,657 yards and 32 touchdowns and thrown for 11,998 yards and 51 more scores in just four games against Louisville. He also hired Ron Cooper and hit a halfcourt shot to knock the Cardinal basketball team out of the 1981 NCAA Tournament.

CONTENDERS:

Mike Teel (Rutgers)

Donald Brown (Connecticut)

Least Reliable Body Part: Scott Long's knee

I don't think a completely healthy Scott Long for the whole year would have resulted in two or three more victories, but this offense desperately needed a legitimate deep threat and No. 84 was the only one it had. Him being out for nine games and only being truly healthy for one was a far bigger blow than some are willing to acknowledge.

CONTENDERS:

Latarrius Thomas's knee

Trent Guy's whatever kept him out most of the last month of the season

Most Appearances by a Penalty: Not enough men on the line of scrimmage

I might have seen this penalty called twice during all the hours I spent watching NFL or other college games this season, and somehow I don't think there was a U of L tilt over the past three months where the Cardinals weren't flagged for it more than once. Amazing, really.

CONTENDERS:

Holding

Kicking the ball out-of-bounds

Worst Coaching Decision: The 3rd and 23 draw to Brock Bolen against Cincinnati

Not because it wasn't a play designed to pick up a first down, and not because it went to Bolen (well, kind of because it went to Bolen), but because it was a play designed to set up a 45-yard field goal try for a kid the staff hadn't been confident enough to let try a 25-yarder on 4th and 6 or 4th and 3 earlier in the game.

CONTENDERS:

The deadball timeout against Connecticut

Making a big deal out of Cincinnati players praying around the Cardinal bird

Biggest Personal Overreaction (Positive or Negative): The Zack Stoudt jersey throw after the Bilal Powell fumble and TD against Kentucky

Yes, it was a big play, and yes, nobody else saw it, but it was still incredibly premature and unnecessary.

CONTENDERS:

Crazy fist pumping and screaming among an otherwise tame group after the Long TD against South Florida

Getting hammered in a giant Snoopy head after the Syracuse loss

Best Kragism: "We’re frustrated with productivity in terms of points."

It's a solid aspect of productivity to be frustrated with.

CONTENDERS:

"I don't judge games by the score, I judge them by what I see on film."

"I think (now former Syracuse head coach) Greg Robinson is doing a nice job there. He's building the program there. I know he hasn't seen the fruit of his labor yet, but I think he's done a good job. I think they're very, very well-coached in all three phases of the game. We know we're going to have our hands full up in the Dome. We've never played well there. We know we're going to have to play our 'A' game when we go up there."

Best Performance by a Player Who Never Saw the Field: Rock Keys

He was like Titanic in '97.

CONTENDERS:

Zack Stoudt

Will Stein

Best Reason to be Optimistic about the 2009 Season: Victor Anderson being alive

I was going to add "and healthy," but a one-legged Vic is still probably more of a reason to be excited about the Tennessee State - or whoever the hell we play in next year's opener - game than just about anything else.

CONTENDERS:

The potential of a healthy Scott Long/Trent Guy/Doug Beaumont receiving trio

Alcohol

On Syracuse

Mike Rutherford — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:04:09 -0000

Experiment results: not talking about it doesn't, in fact, make it go away

If the 2007 loss to Syracuse was what ushered in the notion that there was something wrong with the Louisville football program, it's the 2008 loss to the equally dismal Orange that has reintroduced it.

A week after a win over No. 14 South Florida and the most positive buzz surrounding the program since Andrew Robinson tossed for 423 yards and four scores inside Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, the Cards landed on another chute and fell to an Orange squad that had been 0-6 against FBS opponents, and had been outscored by a total of 223-134 in those games.

We've been able to dance around this for the first two months of the season, but the performance of the rest of the Big East and U of L's inability to roll over a weak non-conference schedule have made it perfectly clear: this is, at best, a very average football team.

Still, the loss to Syracuse doesn't automatically brand the '08 Cardinal football season a failure. What it does do is kill momentum, enrage a large portion of the fan base, and drastically increase the likelihood of the '08 Cardinal football season ultimately being branded a failure. If Louisville handles business in what should have been the lone sure win remaining on its schedule, then all the Cards have to do is win two of four to finish the season 8-4 and ensure positive offseason vibes regardless of postseason performance.

That's not to say 8-4 and positive offseason vibes are out of the question. In none of U of L's final four games will their chances of winning exceed 60% or their chances of losing dip below 40%. A quartet of tossup games will be the ultimate determinant of this season's definitive label.

The tools are there for a 3-1 or 4-0 finish, but it's on the players and the coaching staff to regroup and have the mental toughness to step up and save the season.

More scattered thoughts:

I'm not going off on Kragthorpe, but Johnny Cochran couldn't defend going 0-6 against Kentucky, Syracuse and Connecticut in the two years after a one-loss season that culminated in an Orange Bowl victory.

Also, here are the rankings of Big East coaches who have lost to Greg Robinson in the four years G-Rob has been in the league:

1. Steve Kragthorpe - 2
2. Randy Edsall - 1
3. Everybody Else in the World - 0

I think the intense reaction to Earl Heyman's postgame quote -"Coming off a big win against South Florida, you have to refocus in and sometimes that can be hard. To be honest with you, I think it's kind of good for our team. We got a wake-up call." - was a little bit unjustified. Sure the quote was ridiculous, but I think it was simply the product of a guy reaching for the right words after a stunning loss in his senior season and grabbing nothing but inappropriate cliches.

There's no excuse for Troy Pascley dropping a pass with no one in an Orange uniform within 20 yards of him, but I still wonder why we're sending a guy who hasn't played in a month on a route we think can result in a score. If you think this play has the potential to go big, why not send Beaumont or Guy deep?

Curtis Brinkley is legit, but there's no excuse for letting him go for 166 when he's playing on a team with a below average quarterback and next to no talent at wide receiver.

I wish Kragthorpe would at least say something to his players during timeouts. I don't have to know what it is, but it would make me feel better.

ESPNU continually bringing the Syracuse student on for sideline reports made me about 3.7% more upset than I would have been otherwise. Woodny Turenne catching a pass, Bill Ashburn returning a punt, Vic Anderson being a senior and Greg Tomczyk being black didn't help either.

Does this station just not care about being compeltely wrong 20% of the time?

Abdul, it's time for this to stop, man.

Not that he would have automatically sparkled with him, but Hunter Cantwell really needed a healthy Scott Long for 12 games to come close to having the type of senior season so many of us were expecting.

If you're searching, Victor Anderson and Johnny Patrick are reasons to be excited about the next couple of years.

Johnnie Burns has done a tremendous job in his first and only season at tight end. The effort he's put into making himself a boon to this offense is evident every time he steps on the field.

How about Joe Tronzo stepping up and making some huge plays? It's always a pleasure to see guys who do all the little things getting a small taste of the spotlight.

No praise for the defensive ends after this one. There was no pressure coming from the edges, and Syracuse's tackles aren't that good.

Mike Rutherford's Saturday night culminated with him stumbling around the Highlands wearing a full wardrobe of normal clothing and a giant Snoopy head.

Thank you, Cardinal football.

Louisville 24, South Florida 20

Mike Rutherford — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:11:56 -0000

As you roll out of bed this morning and stare the start of yet another work week directly in the face, the Louisville football team sits at 5-2 and directly in the middle of the race for the Big East championship and a spot in a BCS bowl game.

I'm not saying it's time to start laying out plans for another New Years in Miami, but seriously, what game remaining on the schedule scares you? What game remaining on the schedule can the team we saw Saturday afternoon not beat?

Steve Kragthorpe desperately needed to sustain this fan base's attention into November and the start of basketball season, and by notching the biggest win of his Cardinal career to date he's all but ensured that there will be a buzz surrounding the U of L football team post-Halloween.

Anticipation, angst and excitement have all made their way back to Saturdays in the Derby City.

I can't see myself ever watching a game from the 2007 season again, but if I did, my guess is that I would be blown away by the drastic fall off in defensive intensity when juxtaposed with what we've seen week in and week out this year. This unit isn't nearly as talented as the '04 or '06 defenses, and it's probably not as talented as the '07 defense, but these guys play their asses off every single down and it's been an absolute pleasure to watch for the past two months.

Ron English could fart in my dinner tonight...spray fart.

Scott Long. Scott Long. Scott Long. 2008. 2008. 2008.

The curtain finally rises.

I know I bring this up every week, but I don't think the importance of the play of our defensive ends can be overstated. Mitchell, Gnat, Scott and Scruggs were phenomenal on Saturday, and really paved the way for guys like Jon Dempsey, Adrian Grady and Earl Heyman to have big games.

Speaking of Grady, this was the game we've been waiting for him to have for about 14 months.

Johnny Patrick is slowly turning himself into an NFL prospect. If he makes a similar leap in progress this offseason then he could be the recipient of a significant amount of praise once his senior season rolls around.

I really wish we had Woodny Turenne for another season. He's already got the skills you can't teach, and the mental side is finally starting to click.

Hunter Cantwell wasn't exactly stellar, but he was good, and he made a perfect throw when his team needed it the most. The constant locking into one receiver is discouraging, but when you have that kind of arm sometimes it doesn't matter that the guys on the other team know where you're going with the ball. It also helps when the guy you're locking into is a healthy Scott Long.

Do yourself a favor on Saturday and focus only on Eric Wood for three or four plays. No. 77 is far and away the best player on this team.

Major kudos to George Bussy (as well as the double and triple teamers) for stepping up and getting the job done on George Selvie after it looked like he might hit double digits in sacks before halftime.

I'm still extremely uneasy any time toe (or cleat) meets leather.

Life is more exciting when Trent Guy's on the field. Also, I'm really eager to see what Chaz Thompson does once he finally gets his hands on a return.

Seventy-three yards? When is Victor Anderson going to step up and have a positive impact on a game?

It was good to see Bilal Powell get into the open field and make some people miss. It was also good to see Brock Bolen jumping over people.

If Louisville were to somehow reel off seven straight and capture a second BCS bowl victory in three years, don't think for a second that I wouldn't scour the ends of the Earth to discover This Guy's real identity.

Stoudt jersey + appropriate hat = 3-0

I laugh every single time on the Kroger commercial when it cuts from the extended shot of intense Steve Kragthorpe to "Ground Chuck - $1.99."

Jim Leavitt is hilarious.

Dontavia Bogan certainly thinks highly of himself. His antics don't come anywhere near Matt Grothe's 2006 postgame comments in terms of level of annoyance, but, yeah, he was annoying.

I am happy.

What to read while thinking of how great you'd be as a debate moderator

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:30:05 -0000

I'd flip out and get way too intense for absolutely no reason. It would be awesome. They'd write about it in the papers.

It's Thursday, the weekend's right around the corner, you're getting drunk and dancing to music at work for seven hours, so it's only right that we kick this thing off with a generic Louisville/Middle Tennessee preview.

Louisville defensive end Earl Heyman remembers last year's game against Middle Tennessee only too well.

The Cardinals won 58-42, but their inability to stop the Blue Raiders from rolling up 555 yards was a troubling sign of things to come as Louisville finished a disappointing 6-6.

"That game was crazy," Heyman said. "They ran up and down the field last year."

Ah, yes the '07 Middle Tennessee game, AKA: "The Day the Music Died...and Louisville Football Started Making me Want to Take a Sledgehammer to my Testicles."

For our part, I thought we handled the whole thing quite well.

MTSU senior quarterback Joe Craddock - who burned Louisville's defense for 97.8% of his season production in 2007 - will apparently be splitting time with the nimble and aptly named Dwight Dasher on Saturday afternoon. The Murfreesboro Post has more on the Blue Raider QB situation as well as a pile of quotes from Rick Stockstill too massive to be handled by any human being in a single sitting. Poe does not approve.

Big ups (ya-huh I can pull it off) to Victor Anderson for landing a spot on the Rivals.com Midseason Freshman All-American Team. Let's just hope he avoids the "Second Running Back Listed on the Rivals.com Midseason Freshman All-American Team Curse." Last year it was O.J.

Thanks to Jerb, I now have images to go with the stories I heard about the '85 Florida State game while growing up.

I had no idea that Gary Montgomery was around (and still bad ass) back in '85. I also didn't have Herb Crook pegged as a kicker.

I haven't checked out USA Today's college basketball preview yet, but if this is true I'll definitely entertain the thought of writing an angry email while knowing full well in the back of my mind that I'll never go through with it.

In the conference preview section, Louisville is picked to finish sixth in the Big East, where Marquette is the projected winner.

That's a bit strange, considering the Golden Eagles have a new coach, replacing Tom Crean. Dick Vitale has Louisville second IN THE NATION and I believe they are Number Three, behind North Carolina and Connecticut, in the Athlon yearbook.

But if you turn to the middle of the USA Today preview and look at their 2009 NCAA Tournament bracket preview, you'll see that Rick Pitino's team is a Number One seed that is projected to lose to North Carolina in the NCAA championship game.

If James Worthy is in charge of the preview section then this whole thing is going to make a lot more sense.

Cardinal Empire takes an in-depth look at Middle Tennessee. Because that's who we play on Saturday. You knew that? OK, just making sure. Where am I?

The subject of which squad Louisville fans should be pulling for in this weekend's Kentucky/Arkansas game has been a fun topic of conversation for the media, but in reality I don't think there's much of a debate. Bobby Petrino could bitch slap me in a room full of models tomorrow and I'd still root for the Hogs to win by 100.

Tom Heiser agrees; at least with the cheering decidedly against UK.

Looking for a completely trifling Louisville football fact that will impress absolutely no one in any plausible social situation? The Cardinals' streak of not being shutout since Sept. 23, 2000 is the 32nd-best in Division I-A.

Note: I haven't let a rhetorical question go un-answered since '89, so if you read the first line of this blurb and said something outloud, we should probably hang out. If your word of approval or disapproval was preceded by an obscenity, then we should definitely hang out.

A blog called Football For Days identifies Hunter Cantwell as one of the five most disappointing players of the college football season so far.

And lastly, if you haven't seen it yet, this Jeff Goodman column has incensed the ordinarily even-keeled and priority appropriate Kentucky basketball fan base.

Make this Thursday the best one of the week.

Do we hate Memphis football?

Mike Rutherford — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:00:07 -0000

Since an early age we've all been made aware of the fact that hate "is a strong word," but we'll use it liberally here, if only because we can. Besides, the fortress of taboo surrounding the word has been severely crumbling in recent years. This guy I used to hang out with in college told me Napoleon's troops had been using it for target practice. It's one theory.

Friday night will mark the first meeting between Louisville and Memphis (State) on either the hardwood or gridiron since the 2004-05 athletic season. The long-time rivals have met a total of 135 times in the two sports, but not once since U of L bolted for the greener pastures of the Big East three years ago.

In spite of the separation, I think it's safe to say that the heat between the basketball programs - or at least the fans of the basketball programs - has yet to fizzle. Part of that is because both have been so successful since the split, but most of it is due to the deep-seeded feelings of ill-will produced over a span of decades.

There isn't a Louisville fan out there who felt the smallest bit of sympathy for Darius Washington when he choked, who wouldn't still pay good money to punch Larry Finch in the face, or who still resents Elliot Perry for trying to ruin both goggles and high socks for all of us. That type of disdain doesn't just disappear because of a brief (at the moment) hiatus in the series.

But what about football? The prospect of a pair of .500 teams scratching and clawing to play their way into a pre-Christmas or post-New Year's ESPN2 bowl game isn't exactly going to fire up the nation for Friday night football, but is there enough abhorrence present to at least fuel the respective fan bases?

Let's break down the yes and no.

Yes - The all-time series is a tight 21-19 in Louisville's favor

The Cards and Tigers first met in The Bluff City in 1948, and then dueled in every year from 1968-1983 and 1986-2004. Of the 40 games the two have played, nearly half (18) have been decided by a touchdown or less.

No - The Cardinals have won 10 of the last 12 meetings

Even though the all-time series is tight, U of L has been the vastly superior program for the past two decades, and while the games have often been close, Memphis has won just three times since 1987.

Let's face it, when the program was emerging in the mid-to-late '90s, Louisville's conference rivalries with Southern Mississippi, Cincinnati and TCU were burning far brighter than the one with the Tigers. U of M beat up on U of L pretty badly before 1980, and the Cards have been returning the favor for the last 20 years. The fact that the programs have never seemed to be on an equal plane hasn't helped with the animosity.

Yes - The pair's last meeting was a classic

The Louisville/Memphis game freshest in the minds of fans just may have been the best in the history of the series. The Cards and Tigers combined for 105 points and 1,202 total yards of offense as a last-minute Eric Shelton touchdown propelled U of L to a 56-49 road victory. Stefan LeFors threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns while U of M tailback DeAngelo Williams torched the Cardinals for 200 yards and a score of his own.

No - The difference between BCS conference and non-BCS conference is too great

Conference USA lost the crux of its top-tier when Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida and TCU took off after 2004, and the league hasn't produced a champion with fewer than four losses since. Getting Memphis fans fired up for a tilt with a respectable name from the Big East isn't too tall of task, but asking the Cardinal faithful to bring the passion for a game with a mid-level team from a below-average conference is a tougher sell.

Yes - The 2003 loss

Before Syracuse officially terminated the Steve Kragthorpe honeymoon by snapping the nation's second longest home winning streak, the last team to have defeated the Cards inside Papa John's Cardinal Stadium was Memphis. The Tigers didn't just win, they romped to a 37-7 embarrassment, handing Louisville what would prove to be the worst loss of the Bobby Petrino era.

No - Memphis hasn't been good at football since ever

The Tigers haven't won a conference championship since 1971, and have only managed to pull off postseason wins in the '03 New Orleans Bowl (over North Texas) and '05 Motor City Bowl (over Akron) in the years since. Rivalries which owe their roots to proximity can withstand years of futility, but it's harder for secondary rivalries like Louisville's with Memphis to rage when one side is or both sides are consistently average at best.

Yes - The basketball rivalry is that intense

When two high-profile programs have a uniquely rich history in a single sport, the rivalry automatically carries over to all other sports. It's why the North Carolina/Duke football game or Michigan/Ohio State baseball game is always going to attract more fans than an average contest involving the teams.

Yes - Louisville fans have grown to hate the Liberty Bowl

When your reward for winning a conference championship is freezing your ass off on or the day before New Year's Eve, it's impossible not to inherit an extra bit of hostility towards the event's host city and university...especially when you're forced to do it approximately 37 times between 1993 and 2004.

Obviously, these games had nothing to do with the Tiger football program, but act like they didn't make you dislike Memphis even more.

Conclusion

To be honest, I'm having a hard time getting on the Memphis football bandwagon of hate, partially because I'm not sure I've ever harbored any particularly intense feelings of detestation toward the gridiron Tigers. Would I like to beat Memphis more than a comparable program like Central Florida or UTEP strictly because of the heightened level of history between the Cards and Tigers? Sure, but that still places U of M markedly behind Kentucky, West Virginia, South Florida, Connecticut, Cincinnati and Rutgers in terms of both my general disdain for and desire to topple opponents on the 2008 schedule.

Still, chair fights, Calipari, batteries and switchblades being thrown onto the court. Kind of makes you hope extra hard that Earl Heyman lays out the Tiger quarterback...even if you don't know what his name is.

Cardinal football by the numbers

Mike Rutherford — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:00:06 -0000

A bye week coupled with the disappointment of last Friday's loss has left us with nothing productive or particularly interesting to discuss (side note: How do you guys feel about the football team's new head coach? Doing a good job? Doing a bad job? Still too early to tell? We should probably spend the next week and-a-half talking about that because I'm sure it's a dialogue that will result in a unanimous conclusion we all find pleasing).

I'm not in the mood to make up anything appropriately cheeky (read: annoying), and the restrictions I've put in place in order to keep my premature basketballulation from doing more damage to the city than Ike three weeks ago don't allow me to write about the sport extensively yet, so this morning you get numbers. It's like an un-frosted strawberry pop tart (second side note: the pop tart people have been frosting their strawberry product since like '88, if you try to pawn the original off on me in any setting, I will throw shit and make you cry).

National rankings are the numbers in parentheses.

TEAM RANKINGS

Rushing Offense: 212.75 ypg (18)
Passing Offense: 222.5 ypg (52)
Scoring Offense: 28 ppg (61)
Rushing Defense: 70.75 ypg (11)
Pass Efficiency Defense: 109.08 (39)
Total Defense: 252 ypg (13)
Scoring Defense: 23 ppg (60)
Net Punting: 29.64 (113)
Punt Returns: 7.71 ypr (76)
Kickoff Returns: 14.70 ypr (118)
Turnover Margin: -.25 (T-75)
Pass Defense: 181.25 ypg (35)
Passing Efficiency: 119.16 (78)
Sacks: 1.25 pg (81)
Tackles For Loss: 5.5 pg (63)
Sacks Allowed: 1.75 pg (65)

Individual Rankings

Rushing: Victor Anderson - 105.25 ypg (T-20)
Passing Efficiency: Hunter Cantwell - 120.38 (77)
Total Offense: Hunter Cantwell - 207.5 ypg (59)
Receptions Per Game: Doug Beaumont - 7.25 (T-10)
Receptions Per Game: Josh Chichester - 4.25 (T-97)
Receiving Yards Per Game: Doug Beaumont - 96.25 (19)
Interceptions Per Game: Woodny Turenne - .5 (T-24)
Punting: Cory Goettsche - 38.18 ypp (74)
Punt Returns: Doug Beaumont - 8.6 ypr (47)
Scoring: Victor Anderson - 9.0 ppg (T-31)
All-Purpose Runners: Victor Anderson - 121.0 ypg (66)
All-Purpose Runners: Doug Beaumont - 110.0 ypg (T-88)
Sacks Per Game: Maurice Mitchell - .5 (T-74)
Sacks Per Game: Earl Heyman - .5 (T-74)
Tackles For Loss Per Game: L.D. Scott - 1.25 (T-40)

Thoughts

--Wow, we really suck on special teams. Jesus, 118th on kick returns? How many teams are there in D-1, like 175? There's 119? Eat all of that, Kansas.

--Ron English rules.

--Doug Beaumont rules slightly more effectively.

--When do you think was the last time we ranked outside of the top 50 in passing offense? I was gonna say yesterday, but that's only because I'm a smart ass.

--My god we suck on special teams.