SB Nation - Rob Bruggeman

All-Big Ten Awards Announced, Swept Once Again By Toto

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:45 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

about 1 month ago: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Iowa City, Iowa. Northwestern won 17-10. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

View full size photo »

Good news, everyone!* The Big Ten announced its picks for the all-conference teams. Naturally, the offensive and defensive player of the year are both Terrelle Pryor. Okay, not true; he's not even honorable mention.

But there's plenty of actual good news. First, the devil media named Kirk Ferentz coach of the year, and here he is reminding them that they can go suck it and he hasn't forgiven them for the slights of the regular season.

Such language, Kirk!

As for the players, here's the link to the voting results. The media named Bryan Bulaga to the first team on offense, while the second team featured four of his friends from the line: Rafael Eubanks, Dace Richardson, Kyle Calloway, and Tony Moeaki.

On defense, the first team had a little more Iowa representation; Adrian Clayborn, Pat Angerer, and Tyler Sash all received their no-brainer merits. On the second team, Brett Greenwood and Amari Spievey. Iowa put eight players on the media's honorable mention team: Ryan Donahue, Broderick Binns, A.J. Edds, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Karl Klug, Daniel Murray, Adam Robinson, and Ricky Stanzi.

Not surprisingly, the coaches had a slightly higher opinion of the Hawkeyes; here's the link to their voting results. Bryan Bulaga was named their offensive lineman of the year(!!!), an award the media doesn't give out. Bulaga is joined on the first team by Moeaki and Richardson, both of which are worthy selections. Calloway and Eubanks didn't make the second team--not sure why on Calloway--but Derrell Johnson-Koulianos snuck in on a three-player tie for second-team WR.

On defense, the coaches agreed with the media in putting Sash, Clayborn, and Angerer on the first team roster. They also added Amari Spievey; as coaches, they're more likely to know that the reason Spievey didn't have a ton of picks wasn't that he's not good at football, but that there's just no hope in throwing at him; Spievey was a machine this season, and we're starting to lose hope that he's got more than one game left in an Iowa uniform. A.J. Edds is the lone Hawkeye on the defensive second team.

For honorable mention, it's as follows:Christian Ballard, Kyle Calloway, Ryan Donahue, Brent Greenwood, Karl Klug, and Adam Robinson.

Full All-BXI teams and a few thoughts are after the break.

MEDIA

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	JOHN CLAY, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Tandon Doss, Indiana	Blair White, Michigan State
WR	Keith Smith, Purdue	Zeke Markshausen, Northwestern
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa
G	Justin Boren, Ohio State	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Dace Richardson, Iowa
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Kyle Calloway, Iowa
T	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin	Dennis Landolt, Penn State
TE	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin	Tony Moeaki, Iowa
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan State	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Jared Odrick, Penn State
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	GREG JONES, Michigan State	Josh Hull, Penn State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Brent Greenwood, Iowa
DB	Donovan Warren, Michigan	Amari Spievey, Iowa
DB	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern	Brad Phillips, Northwestern
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

COACHES

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	John Clay, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Eric Decker, Minnesota	Tandon Doss, Indiana*
WR	Blair White, Michigan State	Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Iowa* Keith Smith, Purdue*
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa* Joel Nitchman, Michigan State*
G	Dace Richardson, Iowa	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Justin Boren, Ohio State
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Rodger Saffold, Indiana
T	Dennis Landolt, Penn State	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin
TE	Tony Moeaki, Iowa	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Jared Odrick, Penn State	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa Linebacker	A.J. Edds, Iowa
LB	Greg Jones, Michigan State	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Donovan Warren, Michigan*
DB	Amari Spievey, Iowa	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern*
DB	Brad Phillips, Northwestern	Brandon King, Purdue*
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue* Jay Valai, Wisconsin*
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

Okay. While we're quite happy that Bulaga got such high accolades for the season, we can't be alone in thinking that he was hardly the best lineman in Iowa City, much less the Big Ten. He was either on the sidelines or out of sorts for the majority of the season, and we still haven't seen the elephant-tusk-covered road grader from last season on display. He totally would have deserved a preseason OL of the year, but his performance over 2009 didn't merit such superlatives.

This is hardly a new development from these postseason lists, however; generally, the lists are crafted off of the preseason lists, and anybody whose knee blew out with more than four games left was excised and replaced by someone else. After all, Bulaga was only a second-team All-BXI player last season, even though he was by far the best lineman on the team in 2008. Seth Olsen, meanwhile, had the good fortune to be a first-teamer to start the year, so he was on the first team after 2008, despite a relatively blah senior campaign; we'd have put him about fourth on the list of Iowa linemen for 2009, behind the two bookends at tackle and Rob Bruggeman at center.

Essentially, Bulaga won the award in 2009 for his play in 2008.

At the end of the day, this comes down to stats; there aren't any for linemen, despite the ill-fated attempt to get the "pancake" introduced about a decade ago (for this, we blame Orlando Pace). It's assumed that linemen are sure things, and that as long as they stay healthy, the narrative has stayed true. After all, without stats, most scribes have no time (or no idea) how to watch linemen individually.

Frankly, though it's a subjective stat, we'd love to see how linemen grade out per play (remember that Blake Larsen famously graded at 100% during his senior season at Atlantic; lord, had those knees survived...) Without having the means to undertake such an activity ourselves, we'd imagine that if you graded each Iowa offensive lineman, Kyle Calloway or Dace Richardson would probably be at the top.

If they're not, which is possible, then it would probably be the guy who didn't even get an honorable mention: Riley Reiff. He was stout in relief of Bulaga--hell, we're pretty sure O'Brien Schofield would not have batted Reiff around like a catnip mouse, unlike some Iowa linemen--and he basically forced his way into the starting lineup even before Big Dace went down. But since he wasn't even a projected starter, to say nothing of a preseason honoree, Reiff didn't have much of a chance for postseason mention. Shame, really; dude is legit, and he hasn't even filled out his frame yet.

As for the skill players, it's a little disappointing that Stanzi only made one honorable mention team. But we get how that can happen. Spievey only making second team in the media is flatly ridiculous. If he'd put together that same season in an Ohio State uniform, he'd be getting All-American talk.

Other than that, we don't have a ton of beef; Stanzi killed himself by leading the conference in interceptions when he went down to injury, and the rest of the offensive skill players were far too inconsistent or hurt to merit much consideration. Jeremiha Hunter not getting any honorable mention love is a little disconcerting, but the BXI was lo-ho-hoaded at linebacker this season; we're not quite sure whom we'd place him above. He'll get some love in 2010 if he stays healthy. Also--given the play of Jeff Tarpinian in relief--if Hunter stays healthy between now and next September, there's no position battle at weakside backer next season, right?

So, all in all, a fair list, even if the voting on offensive linemen is basically a year behind schedule. It's a year behind for everyone else, after all. Anybody else that you folks think got shafted? Did Marvin McNutt deserve a nod, or is he still a year away from recognition?

*/Farnsworth'd

Previewin': Iowa

Beauford — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:09:08 -0000

Maize n' Brew mercilessly drifts through yet another preview; this one long overdue. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Previously: Illinois, Northwestern, Penn State

Explanation and indemnifications found: here

The Hawkeyes finished last season with a bang, beating Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks in the Outback Bowl 31-10 (of the SEC, no less!). As damn near the only Big Ten team to have anything approaching a resounding bowl victory, Hawkeye fans come into this season with super-high expectations, especially given the effusive praise the defense has received this off season. Of the teams that SCM, MnB Dave, and I have had "roundtable-like-substance" discussions about, Iowa was among the most divergent in opinion, with SCM checking in as "not too concerned" about the Iowa game, and MnB Dave stating it would be the toughest road test of the season. I landed in the middle. On the administrative side, Kirk Ferentz recently signed a 7-year 21-million dollar contract extension. This figures to keep him in Iowa for a long time; he is already the second longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten.

More Previewin' Dead Ahead.

2009 Schedule:

9/05	Northern Iowa	12:05 PM
9/12	@ Iowa State	12:05 PM
9/19	Arizona	3:35 PM
9/26	@ Penn State	8:00 PM
10/03	Arkansas State	TBA
10/10	Michigan	8:05 PM
10/17	@ Wisconsin	12:00 PM
10/24	@ Michigan State	7:00 PM
10/31	Indiana	TBA
11/07	Northwestern	TBA
11/14	@ Ohio State	TBA
11/21	Minnesota	TBA

A "meh-ish" OOC slate, followed by the typical Big Ten fare. I will point out that Iowa has a brutal road schedule this year, traveling to Penn State, Michigan State, and Ohio State - all of which figure to be angling for a New Years Day bowl.

One thing the media will harp on that is off base:

With the early departure of Shonn Greene, destroyer of defenses; worlds, to the NFL, people have been focusing on Jewel Hampton and Jeff Brinson as the flag carriers for the Hawkeye running game that was so effective last year (26th in the nation). What might matter more is the development of the interior offensive line who must find replacements at Center and Guard respectively. New starters-ish (see below) Rafael Eubanks and Dace Richardson look to step into the starting roles. Eubanks is certainly no slouch, a 4-star to Scout who competed for the starting position last year with departed senior Rob Bruggeman. Eubanks had started at Center as a Freshman and a Sophomore before Bruggeman ultimately won the job last year. However, Eubanks should do just fine in the middle. Dace Richardson looks to get the start at Right Guard. Dan Doering was named a starter last year until injury side-tracked much of the season. A 5-star all-world recruit in 2005 with offers from Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Tennessee, and anywhere else he mentioned as possibly having a shot, Iowa is downright USC-esque with their offensive line replacements. Lose a starter? Plug in another top-100 recruit. Richardson is another 5-star recruit. All have seen significant time in back-up rolls or, in Eubanks case, as a former starter, so it's not as if they're true freshman or anything.

The line looks like this, where ** denotes returning starter:

LT: Bryan Bulaga**	Jr.
LG: Julian Vandervelde**	Jr.
C: Rafael Eubanks	Sr.
RG: Dace Richardson	Sr.
RT: Kyle Calloway**	Sr

This offensive line has the potential to shove Iowa towards yet another stellar rushing year, regardless of Shonn Greene's departure.

One thing the media will completely ignore that is integral to this team's success:

While focusing, and deservedly so, on Iowa's stellar trio of linebackers, people are forgetting that they must replace the 95 combined starts of the ferocious defensive tackle duo of Mitch King and Matt Kroul. That Mitch King guy? Yeah, he was an All American. Kroul was a second-team All-Big-Ten selection last year as well. Replacing those bodies isn't going to be easy, and may put an additional strain on the linebacking corp that is expected to carry this defense. Another thing worth mentioning, courtesy of a discussion with OPS, is the fact that new Cornerback Shaun Prater is suspended for two games, and his backup Jordan Bernstine seems not to be able to stay healthy. A situation worth watching.

Most important contributors on each side of the ball:

Offensively, and I hate to pound this into the ground, but this is going to be the offensive line unit as a whole. Ricky Stanzi was good and effective when he could turn and hand the ball to Shonn Greene only throwing when necessary. Granted, he engineered the drive that ended Penn State's national title run, but I just wonder how he will fare if the running game isn't as dominant as it was last year. If the offensive line is as good as it looks on paper, we may not have to find out, which is good for the Hawkeyes, and bad for everyone they play.

Defensively, it's got to be Pat Angerer, the senior outside linebacker and All-Big-Ten selection from 2008. He is undoubtedly the leader of this defense, and with the departure of King and Kroul, will be asked to step up even further this year. A good season this year virtually guarantees a first-round selection come the 2010 NFL draft.

Area that scares you as Michigan Wolverines:

How about that defense? The unit ranked 5th in scoring defense last year in the country and returns all but three starters. The loss of King and Kroul hurts, but jeeeeeezus thats a talented, experienced group.

Area that makes you salivate as the Michigan Wolverines:

The strategy here, having not seen any games, seems to me to be stop the running game and let Stanzi beat you with his arm. While the line and the running backs have potential to be very very good, it still remains only potential. If there is a trouble spot on this team, it's the fact that if the running game isn't working, Stanzi remains a wild Stanzi-ball throwing wildcard.

Random factor that you think will come into play this season:

As always, the BHGP tailgate scares the shit out of me in only the way a few guys standing around a 2006 Hyundai in a gravel parking lot drinking beer can. Oops Pow; this is my serious face.

Overall Record:

9-3

Final Big Ten Standing:

3rd (after a tie for first, so 2nd if you want)

Bowl Destination:

Another New Years Day bowl, movin' on up to the Capital One to beat the shit out of another unwitting SEC team.

And for those coming via twitter, here.

Welcome To The NFL, Part 2: The Not Drafteds

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:39:26 -0000

As mentioned to the right, Iowa had a few guys go to schools as undrafted free agents. These are they, or whatever the right grammar is.

In what we can all agree was the most egregious oversight by GMs across the league... Andy Brodell went undrafted. Luckily, the Galloping Ankenyman was quickly scooped up by the Green Bay Packers, where he's already drawing obvious comparisons to Sterling Sharpe. At least that's what this gnome is telling me, because I am fucking tripping balls like crazy right now. Did you know my fingers are made of music?

Matt Kroul is totally going to be roomsies with Shonn Greene after he signed with the New York Jets. We're not really sure why he went there. It's possible that he puts on 30 pounds and becomes a 2-gap stuffer or something; that seems more plausible than playing end in a 3-4 system, since Kroul is as much a defensive end as, oh, KOK is. Hope he goes somewhere else.

Rob Bruggeman went to Tampa Bay, so... say hello to the Brugganeers! Yes, I'm still higher than a kite. He's smallish, but Bruggeman's technical skills and pure work ethic are probably going to be enough for him to stick around--remember that Casey Wiegmann was in the exact same boat when he was coming out of Iowa a few years back.

And then there's Mitch King, who signed with the Titans. We don't have much to say about the Titans, but listen. If 32 general managers can't figure out a way to use a 275-280 pound defensive lineman who was generally regarded as the single most unblockable person in the Big Ten last season, we're pretty sure that's not the lineman's fault. King is like a healthier Jared DeVries, who was a 3rd round pick and has only been in the NFL for 11 years now. Further, if you think King can't learn to play at a high level wherever you need him to play, I'm sorry, you're goddamn foolish.

We can say this with a good amount of confidence: King will stick around and make some coach very happy, probably for longer than most of the 21 defensive tackles that got drafted instead of him.

Bruggeman Up For The "Rudy Award," And Yes, THAT Rudy

Oops Pow Surprise — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:11:36 -0000

God DAMN it:

University of Iowa NOMINATES Hawkeyes senior offensive lineman
Rob Bruggeman FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL RUDY AWARD

LAS VEGAS, NV (December 9, 2008) – The University of Iowa nominated Hawkeyes senior offensive lineman Rob Bruggeman for the SECOND ANNUAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL RUDY AWARD, it was announced today by The Rudy Foundation 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The award honors student-athletes who demonstrate exemplary CHARACTER, COURAGE, CONTRIBUTION and COMMITMENT as members of their collegiate football teams. These same traits were immortalized in the blockbuster film “RUDY” in 27 seconds and against all odds on a gridiron in South Bend, Indiana, enabling Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger to carve his name into college football lore.

We're really not making this up. It's cool to see our players in line for postseason accolades, especially in light of last season, but given that either A) Bruggeman wins a totally worthless award, or B) he loses it to someone else; we'd really prefer that it never existed in the first place.

You Like Me! You Really Like Me!

Hawkeye State — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:00:06 -0000

The 2008 Iowa football team is winning awards like Titanic Gladiator (yeah, definitely Gladiator). Shonn Greene and Mitch King won the big awards, but they weren't the only players recognized. Now, for awards given at an earlier ceremony:

First Team All-Conference
Shonn Greene, RB (media (unanimous) & coaches)*
Seth Olsen, G (media & coaches)
Brandon Myers, TE (coaches)
Mitch King, DL (media & coaches (unanimous))

Second Team All-Conference
Rob Bruggeman, C (media & coaches)
Bryan Bulaga, T (coaches)
Kyle Calloway, T (media)
Matt Kroul, DL (media)
Pat Angerer, LB (media & coaches)
Amari Spievey, CB (coaches)
Ryan Donahue, P (coaches)

Honorable Mention All-Conference
Kyle Calloway, A.J. Edds, Bradley Fletcher, Matt Kroul (coaches)
Bryan Bulaga, Ryan Donahue, A.J. Edds, Bradley Fletcher, Brett Greenwood**, Brandon Myers, Amari Spievey (media)

That's one hell of a haul, considering Iowa had just two honorable mentions last season. Congrats to one and all.

* -- Voters are allowed to choose two running backs for first team all-conference consideration. Greene didn't get a unanimous selection from the coaches for first team all-Big Ten, which means one coach inexplicably had him third or worse in the conference. It's either the result of a massive oversight (unlikely) or a petty, vindictive, childish vote by someone with a vendetta against Iowa. Whoever did it should be relieved of their duties as a voter on these awards, a coach in this conference, and a living being on this planet.

I'm looking at you, Fitzgerald.

** -- We don't get Greenwood's inclusion, either, but we're not going to rain on his parade. Besides, the Big Ten's official website has his name misspelled. That's just cruel.

Two-Deep Audits: Offense

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:30:05 -0000

The two-deeps used in these mid-conference audits are taken directly from The Gazette's Marc Morehouse, whose fine On Iowa blog is a fixture on our RSS readers.

IOWA OFFENSE

WR — DJK, Stross

Well, this is a good place to start. DJK's 2008 has been pretty meh, actually, and while it seems pretty obvious that Stross' legendary speed is gone and never coming back, he's turned into one hell of a possession receiver; his hands are probably the best on the team. DJK is physically capable of making plays that nobody else in the WR corps can make, but he hasn't put it all together for a dominant game since, like, Northwestern 2007. If there was an unsafe starting job on the offense at this point (Kuempel aside), this is it.

LT — Bulaga, Kuempel

Good jesus, Bryan Bulaga. The word on him in summer camp even as a true freshman was that he was a mean, nasty blocker. But nobody could have anticipated the total domination he has put on opposing defensive lines. He regularly plants defenders 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, and it is simply no exaggeration to say he deserves All-American consideration.

LG — Vandervelde/Eubanks, Gettis

What should have been the weak link of this line (I mean, did you see Vandervelde last year??) has been rock solid. Think--if the left guard position was getting abused even half as regularly as with last season, then it wouldn't matter one bit how good Bulaga is, running to the left would be an exercise in futility. But Vandervelde has improved substantially in his second season on the line, and the rotation with Eubanks is perfect for both players, as there's always a fresh pair of arms to throw at opposing DTs. I would not have guessed before the season that this setup would work--at all--but damned if it's not solid.

C — Bruggeman, Koeppel

I often wonder if losing Bruggeman with that ACL last season didn't hurt Iowa worse than anyone could have predicted. Remember, he was right in the mix for a starting spot before he blew that knee out, and by the time NIU rolled around in 2007, Travis Meade was starting. No disrespect to Travis, but, you know, he's not even on this two-deep even with a starting guard injured. Bruggeman has been solid, even if he's on that Beanie Baby tip and he fixes computers and stuff. Clearly no need to make a change here, especially since Josh Koeppel is the long snapper and Eubanks is audibly clearing his throat.

RG — Kuempel, Doering

Seth Olsen was ostensibly Iowa's best lineman coming into this season, even if nobody thinks so at this point. Still, he was hardly a weak link, ever, and you'd think his departure would hurt the line, but Andy Kuempel absolutely dominated in his absence against Wisconsin. Watch this video of Shonn Greene again, but this time, watch Kuempel's blocking at the RG spot.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but you'll notice all four touchdowns went Kuempel's way. He's very good at executing blocks at both the first and second levels, and if Olsen is unable to go, expect to see Kuempel making Brit Miller's life hell this Saturday. Olsen deserves this job when he's healthy, but the lack of dropoff is very encouraging.

RT — Calloway, Aeschliman

Speaking of improvements from Year 1 to Year 2, how about Kyle Calloway? Greene's last TD came on Calloway reach-blocking a corner all the way to the sideline before Greene even came into play. We get the notion that he's a lot happier not being the blindside blocker for the QB in this offense, unlike with the left-handed Christensen. Now he's usually got TE help (and Moeaki and Myers are both very capable blockers) and he's the point man on rollouts to the right, where Stanzi's most effective. Calloway's vast improvement has kept Aeschliman off the field, which is both A) very good (it means there's good blocking) and B) horrible (Aeschliman, at 6'8", 315, is comedically large and fun to watch).

White receivers celebrate like THIS...

TE — Myers, Reisner

Man, it sucks so much to not see "Moeaki" on this 2-deep. He's worked way too hard to be relegated to rehab for so much of his career at Iowa, and we hope he can make anything of his football career, either here or at some next level. Lord knows he's physically capable when he's healthy; hell, he's Iowa's most athletic tight end since Dallas Clark. Or Scott Slutzker. Or Fritz Fequiere. Luckily, Myers has been quite able, if unspectacular, in his replacement of Moeaki, both last year and this. Allen Reisner plays enough snaps to be a part of the offense, and you could legitimately make the case that Reisner is a better receiver than Myers. Both are among the top 5 TEs in the last 10 years for Iowa, though, and that bodes very well for the offense as a whole.

His hair's so... so soft!

QB — Stanzi, Christensen

This, I think, is safe. The Stanziballs are abating, but we'll need to see if for a sustained amount of time, especially with 4 games left, all of which (yes, even Purdue) can be won or lost by Iowa. Seriously, everything from 5-7 to 9-3 is in play. Anyway, you know how Iowa's offense runs, and it's the run setting up the pass. It was disastrous in 2006 and 2007, but it's happening now, and it's working. Stanzi's probably somewhere around the fourth best QB in the conference right now, depending on how you look at Juice Williams and Adam Weber, but he has certainly earned his starting spot. It's too bad for Christensen, because he suffered through an absolute sieve of an offensive line last year while his receiving corps collapsed in front of him. If Stanzi had to suffer through the 2007 offense while Christensen sat on the bench, then Christensen would be rocking this year while Stanzi sat on the bench with a nervous tic. Timing is everything.

WR — Brodell, Sandeman

Brodell has emerged as the real #1 of this offense, as he's been both a solid possession guy (especially on first down and off play action) and a good deep threat (most of Stanzi's shots downfield). Sandeman is much improved over last year, probably because of the 20 pounds of muscle he has put on, but he's not quite at a Big Ten level quite yet.

RB — Greene, Hampton

I think it's safe to say we're okay with this situation. VOTE GREENE PARTY 2008!

FB — Morse, Leppert

Look, it would be extremely stupid to blame the three straight losses on the fullback, but the fact of the matter is that the offense scored points with a lot more ease when Morse wasn't injured than when Leppert was filling in. Again, looking at Shonn Greene's rushing numbers, there's barely a difference in production--he kicks ass either way--but he seems to kick just a little more ass with Morse in there, who's even a more capable receiving target than Leppert. There's no sense in assigning bogeymen to Iowa's losses on the year, of course, but a healthy Brett Morse puts Iowa a whole lot closer to 8-4 or 9-3 on the season, and that's a realistic goal for a team like this.

EXCLUSIVE BEANIE NEWS

Oops Pow Surprise — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:30:06 -0000

Readers of BHGP, we need to talk.

HawkMania, the banner under which the QC Times' sterling Hawkeye coverage runs, has uncovered disturbing information about one of the captains for this week's game. We'll let Eric Page take care of this for us:

"Rob has these weird collections," McGrath said of his roommate and Week 1 co-captain. "He got into like Pez and those Beanie Babies, those Ty Beanie Babies. He’s a big collector. You go into his room at home, and he’s got all this stuff all over. He gets into all these phases. Right now, it’s Jordans."

Beanie Babies? Really?

Not exactly the kind of information a 290-pound offensive lineman wants out in the open as he’s coming into his own as a starter in the Big Ten.

Jesus God no.

Bruggeman attempts to bring the conversation back into the realm of the sane, but Page, forgetting whose goddamned side he's on! for one moment, won't let up:

No, Rob. Let’s do talk. How many of those adorable little stuffed Beanies are we talking?

"Lots," Bruggeman said. "I have three sisters. I was like 12 years old. Give me a break.

We would like to, sir, but Beanie Babies? Jesus, man. The only way for Bruggeman to redeem himself would be to go on camera and act out a skit with said Beanie Babies (he can just pick whatever ones are his favorites). That way, we wouldn't be able to complain, because our brains will have all exploded.

Last, in related news, Paki O'Meara is a big fan of those shitty Transformer knockoff Go-Bots, Tony Moeaki has 80% of the Snapple Fun Facts collection, and Brett Greenwood has pennies from every year from 1982-2008, plus a few from the 70s. Rad!